K time for some adventuring. Hope you enjoy.
Also just a quick reply to a guest that wanted to point out a 'major plot hole'
Artikuno: Yes, I think I do know that asteroid you are referring too. I think you are trying to reference the size of the meteors she is dropping on the planet and trying to infer that it would cause mass extinction. I need to remind you that F=ma. Meaning that just because an object is large doesn't necessarily mean it will provide a great deal of force upon impact. The largest meteor Riley has dropped on people was five thousand meters across or five kilometers, or just over three miles. And if you've seen Naruto then you know the move she utilizes causes the meteor to manifest only a few hundred meters above the earths surface. A kilometer at most. And the meteor doesn't fall that fast, so even though the meteor that she dropped on Konoha was roughly half the size of the one that wiped out the dinosaurs, it wasn't moving very fast, plus that one was sent away by Minato and he probably literally dropped in on the earth so it didn't cause much of an impact. So… I'm not entirely sure what 'problem' you are referring too?
Anyway… moving on.
Broken Angel
Chapter 62
The first thing Riley felt as the darkness faded was the feeling of rain falling onto her skin.
Riley's vision started out blurred but it cleared after a few moments. She found herself sitting in a row-boat next to Luna whom was warily rubbing the grogginess from her eyes. Riley glanced around and found that the boat the two were in, was in the middle of a large body of water.
"Hm… it seems they're finally awake." A woman stated. Riley quickly glanced over and spotted a woman wearing a raincoat sitting in between them, and a man in a raincoat whom was rowing the boat.
"Yes. Quite the rest they had. Must have been nice." The man stated.
"What… the fuck…?" Riley muttered as she glanced over at Luna, whom she quickly noticed was wearing a very old style dress. It was blue, and obviously there was a corset underneath, and Riley could sense Luna's discomfort as she placed her hands on her waist and made a face.
Riley quickly glanced at herself and noticed that she too was wearing a long old fashioned dress. The sight of it, drew giggling from within her mind..
"It looks good on you, Riley." Kurama complimented with a chuckle.
"Eat me." Riley fired back as she noticed a lighthouse coming into view.
"Where are we?" Luna inquired as she took very light breaths due to the constricting feeling of the corset under her dress.
"That is a good question. Perhaps you are where you need to be." The woman in the rain coat stated as she passed a small box back to them.
Riley took it and opened the box. Inside were two pistols, a picture of a much younger looking Elizabeth, probably in her late teens, a postcard with a picture of an angel statue, and on the back of it were three symbols with numbers beneath them. A key, with one under it. A bell with two under it. And a sword with two under it.
Riley showed the card to Luna whom was now shivering from the cold rain.
She took the card right as Riley cast a warming charm on her lover, earning a smile from the younger woman.
"Are you going to just sit there?" The man inquired.
"As opposed to what? Standing?" The woman asked in reply. The two began to bicker while Riley utilized Kamui to remove Luna's corset, as the poor girl was having trouble breathing in it. Riley did the same with her own and tossed both into the ocean as they pulled up to a lighthouse.
The two quickly climbed up a ladder that led onto a dock, and as soon as they did, the two in the boat started rowing away.
"Should we tell them when we'll be back?" The woman inquired.
"Would it help?" The man asked.
"It might offer a measure of comfort." The woman pointed out as they got further away.
"Hey… is someone supposed to meet us here?" Riley called out to the two.
"I would hope so." The man replied.
"Seems like a dreadful place to get stuck." The woman added.
"Douchebags." Riley muttered as she draped an arm over Luna.
"Well… it worked. I wish we knew where we were though." Luna stated.
"Yeah… wonder why they gave us guns?" Riley wondered as she opened up the small box and handed one of the pistols to Luna.
"What do I need this for?" Luna inquired.
"Never hurts to have a back-up weapon. Think of it like a shuriken or kunai. They may not be magical, but like I said, never hurts." Riley replied as she examined the weapon. The numerous people she had absorbed gifted her a detailed knowledge of firearms, so even though she had never utilized one actively in a combat sense, she knew how to operate them.
"You know how to use one of those things right?" Riley inquired as Luna sealed the firearm into a seal on her wrist.
"That ends the dangerous end right?" Luna asked as she pointed at the barrel of the gun that Riley held and smiled.
"Smartass." Riley muttered as she too, sealed away the firearm.
"Where do you think Elizabeth is?" Kurama inquired from her mind.
"Hey… Kurama, so are all of you in there?" Riley inquired. She was just a bit surprised to still be able to hear him. She had made a guess that she might not be able to connect with Kurama while using the time turner, but then again, maybe being a part of her helped to connect him to the events.
"Yep/Yes." Came Hashirama's and Madara's replies.
"So I have my grandfathers with me, plus Kurama." Riley informed Luna as they walked up the dock. Both made it about ten feet before stopping and examining the stylish old style, heeled boots they were wearing. Both shared a glance before transfiguring their shoes into something more comfortable, and useful in a fight.
"Why does this dress make my ass look so big?" Riley muttered, earning a chuckle from Luna.
"I guess we're in that era. It looks good on you Riley. Though the hair looks a bit odd." Luna noted with a chuckle.
Riley glanced at Luna and noticed that her hair was up in a very fancy old time style. Riley reached up and felt her hair up in quite the same way. Both made faces and immediately undid their hair decorations. Luna tied hers off in a pony tail and Riley just let hers hang down.
"From our hairstyles I'm guessing this is sometime in the early nineteen hundreds. I don't know when though. I'm not a big fan of fancy hairstyles." Luna noted earning a nod from Riley.
From there the two entered the lighthouse and exited the rain. Riley could hear music echoing from above and from the scent it was obvious that someone lived here.
"Do you think Elizabeth is here?" Luna inquired.
"Maybe..." Riley answered as they made their way up the lighthouse.
Eventually they made it to a level with a man tied to a chair. It seems that he had, had his brains blown out.
"Well that's comforting." Riley noted.
Luna glanced at the corpse for only a moment before looking around the room. There was some radio equipment and a map of the United states of America.
"I think we're just off the coast of the U.S." Luna noted as she examined the map.
"Yeah… it looks like he was tracking something." Riley stated as she examined a few notes around the room and spotted a few newspaper clipping of sightings of something in the sky.
After a few moments the two left the room and continued upwards. Eventually they were on the roof of the lighthouse and standing before a door with three bells. Each bell had a symbol. A sword, a key, and a bell.
"That looks familiar." Luna noted as she rang one of the bells. It start to glow a bit. Understanding what was needed, Riley rang all of the bells the number of times indicated on the paper for each symbol.
That's when things started to get weird.
A loud bellowing horn filled the sky, and turned it red. This continued for several moments as the two girls stood dumbstruck.
"I think we might have broken something." Luna noted earning a confused nod from Riley.
After a few more moments the booming noises ceased and a door opened behind them. It led into a chamber with four chairs sitting back to back. The two shared a look before sitting. As soon as they were comfortable arm restrains appeared and held them down.
"Riley..." Luna stated with a bit of worry.
"This is weird." Riley noted as she tested the strength of the restraints. She felt them give slightly so she knew she could easily escape if she needed too. She felt restraints wrap around her ankles and the two inhabited chairs started to move.
"What the fuck is going on?" Riley muttered while Luna let out a few giggles. It seems she was starting to enjoy this odd carnival ride they had walked into.
Eventually the shaking stopped as their two chairs were placed back to back while the other two slid out of the way. A metal pod was then placed around them while a female voice that sounded like it was coming over the radio began to say 'ascension.'
"That doesn't mean what I think it means?" Kurama stated.
"I think we're going up." Riley stated, still very confused.
"Aliens?" Luna inquired with a smile.
"Eh… fuck that." Riley muttered as the female voice began to count down.
As soon as the voice reached zero, the pod lifted into the air. It shook violently but Luna seemed to enjoy the ride. Riley wasn't all that impressed. Nothing truly beat winged flight.
The female voice listed off their height until it reach 15000 feet and just said 'Halleluiah'.
"Holy shit!" Riley muttered as she gazed out the window.
"Wow… that's amazing." Luna stated.
"Holy shit/Wow!" Were Madara's and Hashirama's statements.
"How the fuck…!?" Was Kurama's only addition.
Riley heard a parachute deploy above the pod as she stared out at the sight before them in amazement. High above the sky, was a massive floating city. Riley couldn't even believe it. There were countless buildings and several airships littering the sky, and a massive angel statue in the center of the floating city.
Her own mind was already wondering at the hows and whys. She definitely planned on learning all she could about this city before she left.
Eventually the pod hit the roof of a building. This roof had some sort of landing pad which quickly began to descend and deliver the pod to the interior of the building. As it did, prophetic words from some sort of quote slid past them. Along with several murals and stained glass windows depicting images of paradise.
From the quotes Riley immediately got a sense of religious fanaticism from this place. With a quick stretch of her senses she saw the darkness this city held. Shaking off her wonder Riley refocused herself. Luna's and Elizabeth's safety entered the forefront of her mind.
"What's wrong Riley?" Luna inquired as the pod came to a halt and they were released from the chairs.
"This place feels all sorts of wrong. Don't let the bright lights and beautiful, serene atmosphere fool you, this place holds great darkness." Riley replied as the two stepped out of the pod and bore witness to a stain glass mural of a man with a flowing white beard, leading people unto a glorious paradise. Meanwhile in the background, Riley could hear singing. Some sort of choir.
"This place is a mockery of holy places. It tries to give off the appearance of a holy paradise but I feel nothing but decadence and fanaticism coming from this city." Kurama noted, earning a nod of agreement from Riley.
The two young women linked arms and walked forward. They were led through a few halls which had a few inches of water covering the floor, and passed a man in a white robe. Seeing the two, the man stated with a smile that didn't quite seem natural. "Pilgrims from the sodom below. Welcome."
"Excuse me sir, we're looking for someone." Luna stated to him.
"Aren't we all." The man replied with a smile as he gestured towards the stairs that led down.
The two young woman shared a look, and from what Riley could feel from this man's emotions, he was fully focused on his prayer and dedication. It was odd to feel from a man whom wasn't really doing anything, other then standing there.
Before heading down the stairs the two explored the two nearby side rooms. Where they found a few silver coins that Riley snatched, since she could seal it away later and find it in the future for use. After all… more money, never hurt. Luna also found a strange device with the name of a woman. 'Lady Comstock.' She activated the device and woman's voice exited it, sounding old and the quality wasn't good. The woman spoke of the use of retribution in a city without sin. And about the usefulness of repenting if you did not sin. It was confusing.
The two women shared a look and headed back out. They passed by the man in the white robe who was still praying, and headed down the stairs. In the distance they heard some sort of preacher addressing his congregation.
Eventually the two found themselves in a wide open room, lined with candles and filled with more people in white robes.
They trudged through the waist level water that filled the room and made it to where a group of people were gathered around a preacher whom was standing before a tunnel that seemed to lead out of this place. He noticed the two and immediately addressed them.
"What's this? Pilgrims from the Sodom below? Welcome to our great city… you have come a long way, and your pilgrimage is nearly finished. Step forward and receive baptism, and have your sins washed away." The man stated as he reached a hand out for Luna to take. Riley immediately put a stop to that. Religious significance or not, there was no way she was letting someone intentionally shove her mate under water.
Riley quickly stepped forward and took the man's hand. As she did, she launched a Legilimency probe into his mind. Quickly discerning that his intentions were less then noble, Riley quickly channeled the Imperious curse through her hand and watched as the man's eyes glossed over.
"Our sins are our own. See to your own in the cleansing water's of baptism. And don't stop." Riley whispered that last part. The man smiled and stepped away from the congregation earning confused looks from the mass as he knelt next to a pool and began dunking his head under water. Meanwhile Riley and Luna proceeded down the tunnel.
"Well that wasn't weird or anything." Luna noted.
"He planned on nearly drowning us and then searching our persons for any form of ID so that they would know who we were. That was his real purpose." Riley stated earning a nod of understanding from Luna.
Eventually they made it out of the tunnel and into a garden of sorts. Proceeding forward they found themselves standing before three statues of George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson.
The three statues depicted them in flowing robes holding items out to the people. The depiction was odd, as it painted the three founding fathers of the United States in an almost heavenly light. Neither one of the young ladies was American so they didn't truly know how Americans viewed the founding father's but this didn't seem accurate. Especially when they noted how each was given the title of 'Father' which was incorrect if their knowledge of American history was accurate.
As they proceeded through the overly tranquil garden, neither could shake the feeling of being watched. It didn't take a genius to tell what they were staring at. Riley's eyes were still the ominous glowing purple as they had always been and besides that, her unnatural beauty was drawing many looks.
Eventually they stepped through a gate that led into the rest of the city. Now that they were away from the religious conversion center or whatever that place was. They got to experience the city at it's base. It was sunny and idealistic. The buildings were pretty, the skyline was wondrous, and the art work was overly symbolic. As they entered the city they were greeted to the sight of a magnificent statue that depicted a man with a long white beard, carrying a sword, like he was about to lead a battle charge.
As the two walked down the streets admiring the floating buildings and mechanical carriages, they heard many an older man catcalling. They were probably more focused on Riley since she actually looked like an adult, while Luna looked more her age.
Riley could only roll her eyes at their boldness. The people at Hogwarts were never so bold. Probably because she had built a reputation by the time she was old enough to be considered hot, or sexy.
They passed by a few shops, which held very few items of interest.
"So what's the plan, Riley?" Luna inquired as they walked.
"First we find Elizabeth. Then we steal this city's secrets. I wanna know how they made those mechanical horses and flying buildings. Then we leave. Simple as that." Riley replied.
"Makes sense. That's a big statue." Luna noted as they got a glimpse of the massively large angel statue in the center of the city.
"There was a picture of that statue in the box we were given. Maybe we should make our way there." Riley suggested, earning a hum of agreement from Luna.
The two continued forward for several more minutes. It was about now that Riley began to notice that there weren't many other races wandering about. It was only whites. There weren't any Blacks, Asians, Spanish, or any other ethnic groups. Just Whites. That immediately set Riley on edge. She'd probably seen about two hundred people since she had arrived and all of them were White.
As they walked, Riley began to actively scan the crowds of people for any other races. In the following ten minutes she spotted only three people of differing races. Two were Black, one was sweeping the floor in a closed shop, and the other was shining a White man's shoes. The only other individual she spotted was a Chinese man, whom looked to be trimming some rosaries for a white woman whom was keeping a very close eye on him.
That settled it for Riley. Not only was this place filled with hate and decadence, but she could easily spot the blatant racism that was put on display. There was darkness here. A lot of it. And some of the darkness did not feel natural.
The two quickly arrived at a blocked off bridge that connected two streets. It was closed to allow a parade of floats to pass through. As they did a female's voice spoke of their prophet and leader and how an Angel of sorts had visited him and convinced him to lead the people unto this floating city as some sort of new Eden.
Both of the young woman felt their moods darken when the voice spoke of some 'miracle' child. The Lamb. And how she was waiting in her golden tower, preparing for when she would lead these people in the prophet's place.
Riley got some nasty vibes from the message. She couldn't really explain it, but she felt uneasy hearing this. The child that they spoke of, must have been Elizabeth. Which meant that this prophet had taken the child as his heir. But then why was she up in that golden tower? Was she there for her own protection or perhaps was she a captive? Riley didn't know but it angered her to think one of her own children could have suffered as a child, just as she had.
Luna seemed to sense what Riley was thinking and took her arm. She pulled herself close to Riley, resting her head on Riley's shoulder in the way she often did when trying to convey her feelings of affection towards her beloved mate.
Riley responded to the gesture, allowing the tension in her body to fade. She allowed the warmth of Luna's presence to sooth her ire and keep her focused.
As soon as the parade had passed the way was reopened and they were ushered on by a police officer, whom wished them all luck at some sort of raffle.
The two young women decided to pass through the fair as it was in the direction they needed to go anyway. And both found themselves intrigued by some of the things they saw.
When they first entered the fair, Riley's eyes immediately locked onto one of the booths. A man was offering a sample of some sort of substance to play one of the games. Though with Riley's eyes she could see that the bottle he was offering was infused with magic.
The two watched for a few minutes as a muggle man walked up to the booth and tried out the game. When he drank one of the bottles that held the name, 'Bucking Bronco', Riley watched as the magic within the bottle fused with his body and then to her amazement this muggle was suddenly able to perform a unique magical ability.
With a blast from his hand, a shock wave shot forward and lifted another man into the air, as part of the game. Riley and Luna were both amazed by this, as these people were clearly muggles, yet they had found a way to harness magic in a bottle.
From Riley's gaze, she could see that the man's magical core, quickly returned to normal, as it couldn't produce the magic necessary for continued use of that spell. So while they could use magic, they needed an alternative energy source as their own cores were unable to produce magic quick enough to facilitate more then a handful of uses.
That's when Riley spotted a blue bottle that was infused with magic. When she examined it, she found that her magic seemed to be invigorated by it, if only slightly. Handing the blue bottle to Luna, the younger girl opened the bottle and breathed in the scent. Riley could see that it had a big reaction as Luna's core began to produce more magic at a higher rate. Luna quickly corked the bottle and handed it back to Riley, whom sealed it away when no one was looking.
"They've found a way to invigorate a person's magical core to produce magic at a rapid rate. Amazing. It would be wise to seal some of that substance up for later study. That could drastically increase the power of our forces in battle, if they can regenerate lost energy at a rapid rate." Hashirama stated to Riley, earning a nod of agreement from her as they moved about the fair.
The two passed some sort of side show that was displaying some handicapped person in a large mechanical suit. While the announcer was treating it as some sort of miracle, Riley could sense that the person trapped in the suit was in pain, both physical and emotional.
"He looks so sad." Luna murmured as they moved past the exhibit.
"He was in pain." Riley stated, deep in thought.
While Riley was busy thinking, Luna spotted a woman giving out bottles of something called 'Possession', after seeing what the other substance did to the muggle, Luna decided to try this one herself. Riley wasn't really paying attention as the young girl approached the woman.
"Eager to try some darling?" The woman inquired with a smirk.
Luna nodded as she was passed a bottle. She gave it a curious look before uncorking the top and drinking it down.
Right as she did, Riley glanced over and watched as the much more potent magical substance fused with Luna's body. Riley could see Luna shudder and then go misty eyed for several moments. Riley could see her magic fusing with the substance, changing and altering. Whatever this stuff was, it was fundamentally altering Luna's magic. After a few more moments Luna shook her head and glanced over at Riley.
Riley folded her arms over her chest and gave her a scolding look, which Luna simply shrugged off as the woman turned on a projected that basically explained what 'Possession' did.
Afterwords the two stepped to the side and Riley quickly questioned her mate.
"Are you alright?" Riley asked.
"Yes. I feel odd though. Like my magic is different now." Luna replied with a curious look.
"Yeah… I can see something odd occurring in your magic. It almost looks like you have a bloodline now." Riley replied.
Luna nodded in response as green energy began to flow around her hand. She allowed it to flow for several moments showing it off to Riley before releasing the energy at a nearby vending stall that seemed to be operating the door leading forward.
While Riley saw a greenish misty female figure rush from her lover's hand, Luna felt her will and consciousness dominate the machine. It was an odd feeling as she felt her magic manipulating the mechanical object over a distance. She urged the machine to open the gate that was barring their way, and it did just that. Luna felt herself smiling as Riley gave her a look.
Sensing the question in her look, Luna just stated, "I don't know how I did it. I just felt that I could. It was easy."
"From what I can see of your magic, it looks like you've had a spell infused with your body, allowing you to use it without a wand. I'll need to investigate more, but we are definitely swiping more of those bottles before we leave. If we can harness the ability to manipulate machines, then the magical world will no longer need to fear the muggles." Riley replied, earning a nod from Luna.
From there, the two proceeded through the gate and encountered some children playing hopscotch. They were singing about some sort of songbird coming and taking the bad kids away… it was creepy. Riley also took note of the children's emotions. Even though they were young, Riley could still sense a deep seated, almost ingrained hatred in them. It seems parents in Columbia wasted no time in spreading their racist views to their children.
The two proceeded through the city streets until they reached the raffle. Riley felt a surprising amount of pain, embarrassment and agony echoing out from the festive event and she subconsciously held Luna closer.
As they proceeded into the raffle, they heard a man talking about the celebrations. He was encouraging all of the men to take a numbered baseball from a woman holding a basket full of them.
Riley watched and got a sickening feeling from the man on the stage. He had little care in him for human life. He felt like a monster, and Riley felt the almost instinctive need to kill him. Luna must have felt Riley's anger rising, because she quickly rested her head on Riley's shoulder and held her hand in a comforting gesture.
As it always had, the gesture seemed to placate Riley for a moment as the drawing for the raffle occurred.
The crowd around them cheered loudly as the biggest ugliest brute of a man won the raffle and he let out a roar-like cheer much to the crowds amusement. The announcer on stage quickly ushered him to the front of the crowd.
"Alright folks, let's show him what he's won!" The announcer cheered and with that, curtains on stage began to draw back and a man and woman tied to posts were moved forward by some mechanical device. The two looked terrified, the man looked to have received a fair beating a short time before this, while the woman looked scared out of her wits. Both were crying for help, the man in particular begging for the woman to be spared any pain.
While this was happening the crowd was filled with mocking laughter and people singing the stereotypical wedding tune.
"Looks like you've won… first throw!" The announcer stated with glee. The crowd started to cheer as the big man grinned from ear to ear.
For Riley and Luna, this blatant act of humiliation and torture wasn't hard to figure out. The woman tied up on stage was black, while the man was white. Obviously they were targeted because of their relationship.
The incident as a whole disgusted and angered Luna and she quickly drew her wand. While for Riley it hit a bit closer to home. Now no one ever openly said it, mostly because people weren't that suicidal most times, but Riley felt the looks she would sometimes get for being with her mates, most notably Fleur.
The looks people would give Riley and Fleur, simply because Fleur was a Veela often made Riley's blood boil. Fleur always kept her head held high and ignored it, but it always enraged Riley. So seeing these two persecuted for their feelings for one another, hit Riley right in the soft spot, and she wasn't having any of it.
"Oh Hell No!" Riley snarled as she moved forward through the crowd.
Right then the tall burly man cocked his arm back and prepared to throw the baseball, right as his arm reached the set position, Luna cast a Cutting Curse that removed the bastard's hand in a sudden spray of blood.
The man let out a scream as his hand fell to the ground still clutching the baseball. People in the crowd were confused at first, unable to understand what had just happened. Meanwhile Riley passed the screaming man and one of her tails shot from underneath her dress and speared the man through the chest.
This woke many from their confusion as screams erupted from the crowd.
"What in the blazing hell..." The announcer began to say, only for Riley to vault onto the stage and seize him by the throat.
"You know… it's bigoted bastards like you, that have make life so difficult for the people I love." Riley whispered to him.
"Now listen here..." He began only for Riley to quite literally shove her fist through his gut.
"Why can't people just mind their own business?" Riley muttered as she removed the man's soul and absorbed it.
Meanwhile the crowd was scattering in terror. A few big strong masculine men tried to tackle Luna to the ground but she easily put them down with several Reductos. Right about then a few police came rushing into the crowd.
"Wow." Riley muttered as she felt the announcer's memories intertwine with her own. This guy was Jeremiah Fink, the leader of the company that produced those bottles of magic, which were actually called Vigors. Riley felt his knowledge fuse with her own, and a menacing grin tore across her face. The possibilities with this information, were limitless.
She was suddenly shaken from her thought process when she heard a gunshot ring out. She turned her head and spotted Luna just finishing from a roll to avoid the gunshot, as she quickly fired another curse at an armed officer a few yards away. This curse was another Cutting Curse which easily severed the man in two.
"You alright Luna?" Riley inquired as she admired the fifteen bodies strewn about the area, courtesy of Luna's spellwork. After fighting against the Leaf ninja, her mates were well and truly blooded. And the blatant hatred and racism these people showed was more then enough for Luna to clear her conscious and kill any that attacked her.
"Yes. They weren't much of a threat. They were basically muggles, but their guns weren't nearly as dangerous as the ones in our time." Luna replied, earning a nod.
After a moment Riley glanced over to where the man and woman were tied up a moment ago, only to find them missing. Activating her Byakugan she spotted someone assisting them backstage in getting away.
It seemed not everyone in the city was an evil prick intent on hurting innocent people.
Feeling content, the two young women proceeded in the direction of the golden statue.
As they moved forward they were confronted by a few more cops who tried to attack them with firearms and batons, but both of them easily dispatched their attackers. Another interesting thing was a machine gun turret that started to shoot at them the moment it spotted them. It seemed unmanned which drew immense curiosity from the two, and Luna quickly used her new found powers to take control of the machine and turn it against their enemies.
Thanks to Riley's absorption of Fink, she knew how to build more of those mechanized turrets, and she was already planning on what to do with all she now knew to increase the power of her own army.
As they moved forward, the two began to hear police shouting about a fireman being close by.
"What do you think that means?" Luna inquired as she banished a nearby officer over the edge of the street and down towards the earth below.
"It's some douchebag, who plans on throwing fireballs at us." Riley replied, knowing full well what a 'fireman' was from Fink's memories.
"Oh, I see." Luna stated as the two passed through a gate and came across the fireman. As Riley had explained, it was a man dressed in an armored suit who screamed about purging them in burning fires.
Riley quickly shut him up when she released the pistol she had from it's storage seal, infused a single bullet with wind chakra and put the bullet through his head.
The wind infused round easily pierced his armor and kept on going for several hundred yards.
The fireman fell to the ground dead, in an instant as the two walked leisurely past him. Luna though stopped as she passed him, when she noticed a glowing red bottle poking out of a satchel he had on him.
Kneeling down, she removed the bottle and found it to be another vigor. This one called, Devil's Kiss. She showed it to Riley whom gave her a look.
"Go ahead and use it but let me know if you start to see things. According to Fink's memories those Vigors rewrite a person's brain chemistry on top of their biology so that they can utilize the power. I don't know how much of an adverse effect it'll have on someone with a lot of magic and Occlumency training so you might be fine." Riley informed her.
"You don't want it?" Luna inquired.
"Nah. Most of them do things that I can already do. The only one that really interests me is one called Murder of Crows which I definitely plan on obtaining. I'll leave the rest for you." Riley replied. Luna nodded in understanding and drank down the Devil's Kiss.
Just like before, Luna had a reaction to the drink. While to Riley it simply looked like Luna was freaking out, to Luna she felt like her body was burning up from the inside. The pain built for several moments before suddenly stopping. She shot a glance at Riley whom simply stated, "Got a bit of a kick to it, doesn't it?"
"Yes it does." Luna replied as she channeled a molten ball of fire into her hand. She then gave it a toss down the street and it violently exploded sending a mechanical horse drawn cart, flying into a nearby building.
Riley took note of Luna's ability to use the Vigors, being much higher then a muggle. It must have been the higher concentration of magic she possessed. For the muggles of this city, they could only use these abilities a few times before needing to use the blue 'salts' to replenish their magic. For Riley and Luna, their cores regenerated magic quickly so the vigors could be used a much larger number of times and they didn't need 'salts' to replenish them. Though in Luna's case, the blue salts wouldn't hurt as they replenished magic.
As they continued forward, Riley couldn't help but ponder the extent of these Vigors. The biggest downside with them was that they altered brain chemistry and overuse could cause hallucinations. However, they had never been tested on magical beings before, so it was curious to see what effect they would have on a person that already had the necessary brain chemistry for magical use.
She also couldn't help but wonder as to what other abilities she could channel into Vigors and then give to her army. The possibilities were immense.
The two continued on, never overly hampered by the disconnected floating buildings. While Riley could fly, the both them still had Shinobi training and could jump quite high, cling to the sides of buildings and even run along the magnetic railings that the cops used to get around.
It took the two about a half hour to make it to the first true area of interest, it was some large building located very close to the base of the golden angel statue.
It was an odd place, inside, everything was covered in bird crap and there were ravens everywhere. The creepiest part though was the imagery. These people seemed to vilify Abraham Lincoln the man whom helped to end slavery in America, and glorify John Wilkes Booth, the assassin who killed Lincoln.
The belief, really nailed home for the two just how dedicated these people were to their beliefs. To the people of Columbia, if you weren't of a very specific race, you weren't better then an animal, or a slave. There were only a handful of people that didn't actually see it that way, but they were in the minority.
The two quickly passed through the building and came upon some sort of courtyard where a man with a coffin strapped to his back, was busy feeding a man of Asian decent to the Ravens. The two quickly moved to put him down, striding into the courtyard with grace and purpose.
Riley quickly channeled magic into the ground and, quicker then a bolt of lightning, a tree branch erupted from the ground and speared the maniac in the gut, killing him before he even realized there were people following him.
The two quickly approached his body where Riley found what she was looking for. The Murder of Crows Vigor. She hastily pulled it from the man's satchel and held it in her hand. She shared a glance with Luna before shrugging and downing the bottle. It tasted foul, but Riley felt the magic within mix with her own. Suddenly her magic reached out and connected to all of the Ravens and Crows that circled the open courtyard.
While she could communicate with animals using the powers she had developed when she ascended to the third tail, this Vigor now allowed her to command these birds. She felt her will overtake them, and suddenly all of the birds in the courtyard, developed glowing red eyes.
Demonic energy passed through her new bond to them and the birds all fell to the ground and began to mutate.
Luna watched in amazed silence as Riley's demonic Youki fused with the murder of crows and mutated them into something else.
Riley allowed a feral grin to spread across her face as she watched the birds change into new familiars.
The mutation for the crows and ravens was rapid. In only a minute their feathers and beaks fell off. They grew elongated mouths that were now filled with dozens of razor sharp teeth. Their bodies mutated into long worm-like shapes, and they grew an additional two sets of wings which were now leathery like a bats. (Kryll from Gears of War)
After a few more moments the mutations ceased the newly minted minor demons soared to life and began to fly. They were much faster and while they sounded like crows, it was quite obvious that they were not.
"Their little bodies couldn't handle your demonic Youki. They mutated into a new form when they were dominated by your power." Kurama noted, more to Hashirama and Madara then Riley, but she still heard him and nodded.
"They're beautiful." Riley cooed as she held out her arm for one. One of the small little demons perched on her arm using it's lower set of wings as legs and it stared at her, letting out a cawing noise.
"Fearsome." Luna noted as one also landed on her arm as well. She gently pet the creature and felt it's skin which almost felt like how a scab would, and it looked to be leathery like a reptile's flesh.
Riley glanced over, and she offered her mate a smirk. She was not at all worried that her new familiars would attack her. After all, they were now part of Riley, and of course, Riley's magic wouldn't intentionally or unintentionally harm what Riley truly cared for.
"Did you know this would happen?" Luna inquired as she held out her other arm for another of the fearsome little demons to land on. All in all, there was a total of about forty of them circling above or crawling on the ground.
"I suspected that something would happen. All animals have a keen sense of magic. So I figured the birds would undergo a few changes. I didn't think they would mutate this much. Though… I can't say I don't like what I see." Riley answered and right then a team of about ten cops burst into the room. They were all armed with pistols and machine guns.
As soon as they entered sight line, Riley willed her newest familiars to attack.
Like a swarm of bats, the little beasts charged. It was an utter blood bath. Where crows and ravens would peck and claw and served as a great distraction, these new little buggers, were immensely more lethal. They were fast and agile and their teeth were razor sharp. They whipped by the unarmored police officers, gnashing out with their tiny mouths. Their teeth were so sharp that they ripped large chunks of flesh from the officers with each pass. The swarm of forty of these minor demons, tore the ten men to shreds in under a minute.
Blood sprayed all across the courtyard as the officers screamed and wailed in agony. One man went down clutching at his throat where one of the little demons had lodged itself and was now furiously biting away at anything within reach.
Another had the arteries in his leg severed and was on the ground trying in vain to hold the shredded limb together.
Still a third was on his back, a massive hole in his gut. Once again, one of the little bastards had imbedded itself into it's target and was now stuck inside the man's guts eating it's way out.
Riley watched the scene with a manic grin, while Luna watched on with disinterest. She didn't feel much for these people. They were bigoted, racist, cruel, maniacal human beings that shouldn't be allowed the air they breath. These were hateful people, and Luna was beyond done, feeling things for hateful people. She wasn't about to spare a second thought to those who hurt others simply because they saw themselves as better. These people reminded her of her own bullies who had made her life a nightmare, simply because she was different, such treatment as a child helped to color her perspective of bullies, no matter what shape they came in.
It only took a few more moments for the little beasts to finish the collection of people off. Riley and Luna strolled past the shredded remains of the group, neither one caring for the pain they had endured before death.
As they made it to the exit, Riley glanced back and activated Kamui. A hole opened in space and Riley willed her new little familiars into it. The flock screeched and swarmed into the hole, vanishing into the pocket dimension.
The two continued on from there. They utilized the sky-rail to move towards the statue. The two could have just used the magnetic grapples, but they didn't require them, as they were both fully capable of running along the top of the rails and jumping from them. Luna was certainly benefiting from her training with Riley, as well as her numerous trips into the forbidden forest, and hopping from tree to tree.
As they were racing down one of the sky-rails towards a building close to the statue they spotted a team of soldiers firing up at them with machine guns. The two quickly closed in but right before they cleared the gap, a voice echoed across the sky, telling the soldiers to stand down.
There were eleven men and woman in total and they all dropped to their knees and bowed their heads in reverence.
Riley and Luna landed amongst them. While Luna looked confused and curious, Riley wasted no time in slicing each one in half with her tails.
Luna didn't say anything to stop her, just offered a curious glance as Riley finished the last one off.
"They'll just be trying to kill us later." Riley stated as she entered into the nearby building, Luna followed not far behind.
As they entered, they found about twenty more armed guards on their knees bowing. Feeling a sense of annoyance at their reverence to their prophet, Riley slammed her KI into them. This woke all twenty of them from their reverent stupor and they all started to scream in sheer terror and panic.
Riley then unleashed the swarm of her demonic familiars from Kamui, and they quickly began to rip the gathering of men and women to shreds.
Riley and Luna ignored the bloodbath and crossed the room. They found themselves on an elevator and took it up. Right as they did, a massive picture of the Prophet Comstock appeared before them, through a large window.
"Why have you come to this place?" The prophet's voice called out to them.
Neither woman answered as the lift rose higher and the swarm of bloodthirsty murder birds followed them up, killing anyone nearby.
"Was is for Money? Fame? To clear up a debt? Why did you come to our Eden?" The Prophet asked again.
"Self righteous, sanctimonious, cunt." Riley muttered.
"He sounds like he thinks very highly of himself." Luna noted.
"Regardless of your reasoning. This is where your journey ends. You will return to the Sodom from whence you came!" The man bellowed as the lift made it to top.
The two stepped off, right as Riley's swarm finished off the last of the kneeling guards.
She quickly resealed it, as the two made for the exit. Right then the prophet started to shout. "GO BACK! GO BACK!"
At that moment, bombs began to hit the building blasting out a nearby wall. Riley instinctively shielded Luna with her body, blocking out the debris.
"I don't think he likes us." Luna noted as the two made their way over to the new opening.
"I agree." Riley said with a nod as they spotted a large airship hovering just outside, ready to rain more fire down on the building.
The two shared a look and then jumped from the building to the airship. There was only five guards on the vessel and they were quickly put down with a few curses from our young heroines.
"Let's see where this thing can take us." Riley stated as the two entered into the ships control room. Inside they found a woman praying to a picture of Comstock.
Riley could sense her malice and one of her tails instantly shot out and wrapped around the woman's throat. She pulled the woman close and grinned viciously as she struggled against Riley's strength.
"Riley..." Luna called out to her, drawing Riley's attention to where her mate was pointing. Just outside of the front window was a smaller airship and on it was Comstock.
"The Lord forgives all. But I'm just a prophet. So I don't have too. Amen." The Prophet stated. Right as he did, Riley threw the woman's body through the front window and stuck out her hand, catching Comstock's airship with gravity.
In a burst of speed Riley dashed through the broken window and appeared before Comstock. The men at his side sprung up only to be blasted off of the vessel courtesy of spell work from Luna, whom quickly joined her mate.
Riley stood before the so called prophet and stared the man down. He had a steely gaze about him, and his emotions were firm and focused.
"So you are assassins. Sent from the Sodom below to kill me, and lead my lamb astray." Comstock stated as he eyed Riley with contempt.
"She is not your lamb. You found the girl and declared her your heir. Then you locked her in that golden tower. I've seen Fink's memories. I know that you're preparing her for a war with the world below. It wont succeed." Riley stated.
"You have no idea what we are doing here. You came to this Eden with hatred in your hearts, and it has left you blinded to the truth of things. Elizabeth is the future. And she will lead the people of Columbia unto a new age. You have no right to infringe upon god's work!" Comstock fired back.
"We have every right." Luna countered as she eyed the man with contempt.
"She belongs to Columbia. To the people. You shall not lead my lamb astray." Comstock stated with bold confidence. Unafraid of death or pain.
"She belongs with her family. You found her, and took her for your own. You are trying to wield a power far beyond what you could imagine. You aren't wrong though. This is god's work. You just referenced the wrong god." Riley countered as she allowed her demonic features to spring to life.
This drew shock and awe from the prophet as he stepped back in surprise. Here before him was a literal dark angel.
"Elizabeth is my daughter. Our daughter. We will be returning her to her family. And… for every act of pain, humiliation and torture you inflicted upon her… I will return onto this city a thousand fold." Riley stated as she started to grin.
"Your… daughter…?" Comstock muttered as the information clicked in his mind. He knew that Elizabeth wasn't his child. He had found her once upon a time and learned of her immense and unusual powers, but he knew she wasn't his. Now an angel stood before him, not just a vision but a true angel, bathed in black, a fallen angel, and it was declaring Elizabeth it's child. He had been gifted with the child of a fallen angel. Could it have been the work of the Angel of Columbia? Could it have been her will for him to guide the lamb? These thoughts raced through his mind as he felt the sky around him darken.
"What are we going to do Riley?" Luna inquired.
"Comstock had Fink arming the city for a war with the rest of the world. I've never heard of any floating city attacking the world. So that means the attack failed. My guess is… we're meant to destroy this city and the threat it poses to the world. If so… then I think it's time to take the kid gloves off." Riley replied.
Luna nodded in understanding as Riley began to weave handsigns together. Riley quickly slammed her palms into the floor of the airship and seals shot out. In a large poof of smoke. RAAM, Skorge and Loki appeared.
"Loki… you and Luna will go and retrieve Elizabeth. RAAM, Skorge… we'll be going to ignite the fury of the Vox Populi." Riley stated.
At that moment, Father Comstock finished drawing a small pistol from his sleeve. He aimed it right at Luna and pulled the trigger. Riley watched the bullet travel towards her mate in slow motion. She focused her vision on it, and drew the round into Kamui. Before he could fire again, Skorge shot forward and seized Comstock by the throat.
"The people you have oppressed and enslaved will unleash their wrath upon your perfect Eden. Elizabeth shall never serve as your heir. You are nothing more then a worthless little human, trying to play at being more important then you really are." Riley stated with a dark glare as her third eye appeared and her lips pulled back in a vicious toothy snarl.
"You will not succeed." Comstock gasped out as Skorge held him a full two feet off the ground. "Elizabeth will..."
At that moment, Skorge crushed the prophet's throat. Preventing him from speaking, and forcing him to gasp and gargle painfully as he struggled in vein to draw in a breath of air.
"Elizabeth is not yours. These people shall suffer for your bigotry and hate. And Elizabeth… will be freed from her prison." Riley replied as she absorbed the prophet's soul.
Her mind filled with his memories. She gained a clearer understanding of Comstock's goals. She understood now of what he intended for Elizabeth. And she could see just how he had treated her. She was a lab rat. A test subject. A 'thing' that the scientists of Columbia experimented on since she was very small.
Riley let out a vicious snarl, as Skorge felt the Prophet's body go limp.
"Luna… go and retrieve our daughter. I'm going to destroy this place." Riley ordered, earning a nod from her mate.
"What about the oppressed. Will you spare them?" Luna inquired.
"I will incite the rage of Vox Populi. This city is no better then Konoha. Those seen as different, as outsiders, are treated like garbage. I will ignite a revolution. I will see the oppressed rise up, and fight alongside their allies. With my help, they will cast down the Founders and take this city for themselves. And maybe… just maybe… we'll receive a major ally in the future." Riley explained as the Dementor King materialized around her and she pulled up her hood.
Luna's eyes widened a bit as Riley took on her form as Ralael.
"You're going as Ralael?" Luna noted with a bit of surprise.
In response Riley glanced as her and grinned. Then in a burst of speed. Her, Skorge and RAAM jumped from the airship, Skorge still carrying Comstock's corpse, and the three headed for the city.
Luna stood with Loki and the two watched their three companions disappear into the streets below.
"Shall we go miss Luna?" Loki inquired. He stood in his human form, and was as elegant looking as a phoenix could be.
"Yes… let's." Luna agreed and the two quickly jumped from the other end of the airship to the rail system below.
Luna and Loki quickly made it to the base of the island. Not wasting any time, the two dashed into the building. There was no one in sight. It seems like the place had been abandoned. Inside they found charts and documents detailing studies on Elizabeth. They found growth charts and certain items taken from Elizabeth that held meaning like a diary, a teddy bear and even a bloody cloth from her first menstrual cycle.
That last one made Luna gag. Who would keep that and study it? She got her answer when Loki pulled a switch in front of said item and the blood on it vanished in with a loud electric surge-like noise.
Luna was confused, but Loki quickly informed her that, that was the same sound that Elizabeth's power made when she tore holes between dimensions. He guessed these people were trying to harness her power. Earning a nod, the two continued forward.
What they found, angered Luna greatly. In one room they found a projector which when turned on, showed video of Elizabeth. Luna watched it with a curious gaze as she got her first real look at her daughter. What angered her was that these people were constantly watching her, and the video kept referring to Elizabeth as 'Subject'.
Though past her anger, she was able to smile at seeing how smart the girl was. It seems Elizabeth took after Riley when it came to her pursuit of Knowledge. Sure Luna was a Ravenclaw but not even she was as studious as Riley.
In another room, were photographs. It was a dark room and peppered around it were dozens of photo's of Elizabeth. They were photos of everything from eating to painting, but the worst ones were when she was sleeping and bathing. Luna felt anger bubble inside her, at seeing Elizabeth put on display like this. Like her daughter was some form of lab rat. It reminded her painfully of how people used to mock her and watch her like she was crazy for believing in the things that she did.
Despite still holding her beliefs, Luna quickly came to acknowledge that her beliefs were the reason for her mistreatment and despite her acceptance from her friends as well as Riley, Luna chose to mostly keep her beliefs to herself. Often times, instead of referencing one of her many creatures, she would instead hold her tongue, knowing that despite her friends caring for her, they didn't believe in the same things that she did, and often times, they would give her odd or curious looks when she mentioned them.
So Luna held her tongue. Only around her father or Riley, would she actively reference her creatures. As only the two of them wouldn't give her those odd looks when she did.
From there the two proceeded into the next room where they found a massive machine channeling incredible torrents of energy.
"What is this thing?" Luna inquired, she read some of the signs that referred to it as The Siphon.
"It's drawing power from Elizabeth. They are trying to harness it. But she's too strong for them to control. She may only be a half demon, but her demonic half comes from an Archdemon. She is much stronger then they could possibly imagine." Loki replied.
Luna nodded in understanding of that. A person only being half Riley would still put them on a plain, above everyone else. So it was no surprise that Elizabeth held such power.
The two did not remain for long and quickly passed through the room and headed out the other side. Eventually they made it to an elevator which they quickly took up.
Stepping off, they found themselves standing in a small room, and against the far wall was a metal shutter. Pulling a switch on a console in front of them, opened the shutter and revealed a glass window.
"They're watching her. At all hours of the day." Loki noted as he checked a small machine on the wall that said 'specimen locator'.
Luna glowered angrily, and pointed her wand at the window. With a bit of transfiguration, she turned the window into butterflies and hopped through it.
Loki followed and the two made their way through the cozy interior of Elizabeth's prison.
They passed through and eventually made it into a library. Loki spotted her first, standing before a massive window. The young woman they were looking for, was staring out across the sky, with this look of yearning on her face.
Luna eventually spotted her too and proceeded forward. Silently the two closed in on her. Once they were no more then ten feet away, Luna adopted her typical dreamy look and glanced out the window.
"It's quite beautiful isn't it?" Luna inquired.
"Ah!" Elizabeth squealed out in terror as she spun around and spotted them.
"I think you startled her." Loki noted with a chuckle.
"The view is quite lovely up here. It hides that terrible things happening in the city below." Luna stated as she stepped up next to Elizabeth who was still eying the two with complete surprise.
"Wh-Who are you?" Elizabeth gasped as she struggled to regain her breath. She so rarely saw people in her cage. Now there was a young blonde girl and a tall aristocratic looking, dark haired man, standing behind her. How had they even gotten in?
"My name is Luna. Luna Lovegood. This is Loki." Luna answered as she gestured to herself and then to the dark phoenix.
"Luna, Loki?" Elizabeth repeated as she stared at the two.
Luna took this moment to truly examine her daughter. She was a bit taller then Luna. According to the growth charts seen below, she was between eighteen and twenty. She had eyes like Riley's were once upon a time. Her hair was dark, not to dissimilar from Riley's in color. But it was wavy and curly like Luna's.
"How did you two get in here?" Elizabeth inquired as she studied the two.
"Through a window." Luna answered in her dreamy fashion.
"A window? Could you show me?" Elizabeth inquired, hoping they could lead her out of her prison.
"Sure. But first..." Luna began to reply when a metal statue nearby began to loudly play a tune. It only got the first few notes out before Loki blasted the statue with a pitch black fireball.
"Hope that wasn't anything important." Loki apologized as he motioned for Luna to continue speaking.
"How did you do that?" Elizabeth inquired.
"Magic." Luna answered.
Elizabeth stared at the strange girl for several moments. She actually believed her. After all, with the things that Elizabeth could do... She would believe any answer right now. Right then an explosion tore through the sky behind them as one of the many airships that littered the sky erupted in a massive ball of fire.
At that moment demonic power swept through the floating city and the feather that had been with Elizabeth since she could remember started to glow and and heat up for the first time since she could remember.
Elizabeth held up the feather and gawked at it as it glowed with fire.
"Riley isn't very happy with this place." Luna noted.
"Who?" Elizabeth found herself asking.
"Oh... Riley. Your sire." Luna replied.
"My sire?" Elizabeth parroted back at her.
"Yes. I think i should explain." Luna stated earning a confused nod from Elizabeth.
From there Luna began to explain. Little did Elizabeth realize that her life was about to change.
-To be continued-
Alright. There you go. As you can see these little side adventures will be short. Only two or three chapters. Keep offering up ideas I've gotten alot of good ones. Also i did alter a bit to remove the quirky ness of this minor chapter. So i kept the leuteces influence to minimum. Hope you enjoy. This adventure will he finished mext chapter. Ja ne.
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