Alright time for the next chapter. I hope it was obvious just who the demon was that Riley was hunting. Anyway, for those wondering, the poll will stay open for a little while longer and when it closes I want you all to remember that it was more of a guide to help me pick a group of characters that would fit well together. What that means is that the top picks will be highly considered but the poll isn't the see all end all, of the decision. I'll be picking characters from all over the poll, many will be at the top but there will be others spread out to help accommodate. I have tried to come up with good stories for most of them, so please understand that my choices had to do with flow and how I could incorporate certain characters and stories without breaking my own AU, so please no whining about someone not getting picked.
Broken Angel
Chapter 72
"Sheep." The demonic voice whispered in Jackie Estacado's mind. Jackie was currently riding the subway train, he was on his way to have a 'conversation' with Dutch Oven Harry, his fucking mob boss uncle's top drug peddler.
Standing around him were numerous people just going about their average day. None of them knew they were currently riding in the subway with an Italian mobster. Let alone did they know that, that mobsters had a fucking demonic voice in his head and the ability to draw out demonic power. An ability that had only been awakened recently.
Jackie himself had no clue where any of these crazy abilities had come from, and quite frankly, he didn't give a shit right now. All he knew was that he needed to send a message to his fucking uncle, and these crazy powers would help greatly in that regard.
The subway car came to a stop as a voice announced that they had arrived at their destination. Jackie stepped off the train and headed towards the exit to the station. As soon as he passed by an opening under the stairs leading out, a hand shot out of the darkness and pulled him into the shadows.
Jackie's first instinct was to pull a gun on whomever had grabbed him but he soon found his gun and the hand holding it, pinned to the wall. His eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness and he found himself pinned to the wall by a woman. She was about as tall as he was, and her eyes were purple and had some freaky fucked up pattern in them.
"Monster..." The voice hissed in his mind.
"Who the fuck are you?" Jackie hissed out as he tried and failed to physically overpower the woman. She had one hand to his throat and the other holding his hand that held his gun. This left him with a free hand, which he used to try and push her off of him but to no avail. It was like he was trying to shove a concrete pillar. She didn't budge at all.
"You're not a demon. You're not even a magical..." The woman noted, her voice carrying a distinct British accent.
"The fuck did you say?" Jackie growled out as he felt the dark power begin to bubble within him.
"I can feel it. It's so strong that it blocked out your humanity. You're a host. Summoning demons is a big 'no, no' in my world. You better have a damn good reason for bringing that thing into this world." The woman stated as the hand around his wrist tightened and Jackie felt the bones begin to crack under the pressure.
"Fuck, you know about this fucking thing inside me? I have no earthly clue what the fuck it is or where it came from. It just showed up all of a sudden." Jackie growled out through gritted teeth.
The woman stared him in the eyes for several moments. She must have believed him because her crushing grip loosened a bit.
"You say this thing just appeared? That you have no idea how it got there? If you're telling the truth then you've probably been possessed by a demon. The question is, where did it come from?" The strange woman mused.
"So this fucking things a demon? Well, good to know. I hope Paulie finds enjoyment in me using it to rip his men apart." Jackie muttered.
"You don't wanna do that. This thing inside of you is feeding off of the darkness and chaos around it. If you have some manner of control over it, then it hasn't fully possessed you. You need to get rid of it, using it in the manner you described will only make it stronger." Riley stated as she eased off of him and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Don't listen to it Jackie." The Darkness whispered, though Jackie noted that it was almost like the woman heard it too as her eyes narrowed after it spoke.
"Look lady, I'll take what you've said under advisement. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to meet a business partner for a 'discussion'." Jackie stated with a glare as he straightened his long dark coat and backed away from Riley.
"That thing is a powerful demon. You may have control over it now, but that wont be true for much longer. I can help you, if you'll let me, but you'll have to be willing. Otherwise, when that thing takes you over, I'll have to kill it and you." Riley warned as she slowly followed him as he backed away from her out from under the stairs.
"I don't know if this shit is a gift or a curse, but right now, it's what I need to get a little payback. I need to make a certain fat fuck, feel the pressure, and I'm gonna use this newfound power to do it. If you've got a problem with me killing mobsters, then we'll settle that later, but for now, I've got to go." Jackie continued talking until he was out from under the stairs. He stared at her figure for several moments, her glowing purple eyes watching him ominously from the shadows.
Jackie backed away from her for several more moments before turning and walking off. He threw glances over his shoulder every so often to see if he was being followed but it didn't seem that the strange woman after him.
Riley stood in the shadows, her Byakugan blazing, as she followed the Italian Mobster with her eyes.
"That thing's power is gigantic. It's not nearly as dense as ours but it's spread out, almost like it encompasses everything around us. I've never seen anything like it." Kurama noted.
"You're right. Whatever that thing was, it wasn't a normal demon. It felt ancient. Far older then anything we've ever faced." Riley thought back as she watched Jackie Estacado exit the subway, out onto the streets.
Riley quickly decided to follow him, but kept her distance. She moved to the rooftops and watched the mobster with her Byakugan. The man quickly made his way to a nearby building which seemed to be some sort of meat packaging plant. Inside, Riley spotted dozens of men, each one armed with at least a pistol. It quickly clicked in her mind, that this was some sort of mob stronghold.
Riley watched from a nearby rooftop as the demon manifested from the mobster's back. This demon took the form of a mass of shadows with a dozen or so long black tentacles emerging from the shadows. It also took the form of twin demonic serpents, with massive razor sharp teeth and glowing red eyes. These two serpents hung by Jackie's side and watched the surrounding area. When he called forth the demon's power, Jackie Estacado's eyes also began to a glow an eerie yellow.
When the demon emerged Riley felt it's power connect to everything around it. Everything bathed in shadows was tied to it's power almost instantly.
"It's a demon of Darkness. Interesting." Kurama noted earning a nod of agreement from Riley.
The two watched as Jackie utilized this demon to infiltrate the building and commence a slaughter of those inside. Riley watched as bullets seemed to impact an invisible shield of darkness around the man, and protect him from damage. She watched as the tentacles lashed out, spearing men and light sources shrouding the area further into darkness. And she watched as the serpents fed on the hearts of those that died. The heart was the vessel for the soul, so in essence it was devouring their souls.
The hitman himself was a capable warrior. He was an excellent marksman and quick on the draw. Within about twenty minutes he had cleared the whole building of enemy mobsters. Once he was finished he went to work setting fire to a massive storage of cash hidden in one of the coolers. It seems this was where the local mob stores some of it's funds.
Riley continued to watch as the demon wielding hitman, finished his work in destroying mob funds.
She was immensely curious about this demon that inhabited the mobster. It was powerful. Incredibly powerful. But it's power was spread out, almost like it encompassed the entirety of the world. It was an odd feeling, but at the same time, it was curious. If this demon was a demon of darkness then it could draw power from darkness itself. However, this thing seemed to be connected to all darkness at once, or at least all darkness on the Earth. If it were connected to all Darkness at once that would mean that it had created the darkness. Which would mean this demon was one of the first to ever visit Earth. If all the darkness of the Earth was tied to it's power then this demon was millions of years old, maybe even billions.
Those thoughts were quite interesting. She definitely wanted to know more. So with that thought in mind, she continued to follow the mobster. He quickly scouted the building for any survivors or any documents of interest, then he pulled the demon back into his body and exited back out onto the streets. He quickly returned to the subway and boarded a train. Riley followed from the rooftops, using her Byakugan to keep an eye on the subway train.
It took about twenty-five minutes to reach his intended destination. Riley watched from a distance as the hitman made his way through the crowds and eventually stumbled upon a man who looked to have been severely beaten. He quickly ran to this man and the two exchanged words. The hitman then made a dash for the exit.
Riley watched him hit the streets and make his way for a nearby building which had been burned down. There were a few gangsters nearby which were quickly dispatched by the demon wielding gunman. He then entered into the burned down building and from the nearby signs Riley could discern that it was an orphanage.
She watched as Jackie Estacado cut his way through the horde of mobsters laying in wait, within the orphanage. He utilized the power of the Dark demon with extraordinary precision and cut down dozens of men in his path.
Riley was quickly able to discern what he was looking for when she spotted three people waiting in a room on the opposite side of the building. Two of these people were men and they both emanated with darkness. One looked like a much fatter version of your stereotypical Italian crime boss, while the other was a cop, probably the mob boss's chief enforcer. The third person in the room was a woman, she was sitting in a chair in the center of the room being watched closely by the cop. Her hands were bound behind her back, and she looked frightened.
Riley made a guess that she was either a sister, wife or lover to Jackie, due to his ferocity in trying to reach her.
She watched with keen interest as, after a few moments, Jackie arrived to the room. The only thing halting his advance was a single door, with a window in it. As he approached the door, the demon emerged from his back and restrained him from advancing.
Right then, he was noticed by those within the room, and the mobster quickly pulled the woman to her feet and started to chide Jackie.
The fat man said something that caused the woman to headbutt him. He quickly stumbled away with a bloody nose while the cop backhanded the woman. Riley could see Jackie struggling with all his might to escape the grasp of the demon and aid the woman but it held strong, forcing him to watch what was about to happen.
The fat gangster quickly recovered and grabbed the woman, dragging her to her feet and pressing her face against the glass window of the door separating her from Jackie.
He then placed his gun to the back of her head, said something to Jackie, and pulled the trigger. The woman died instantly and Jackie let out a scream of anguish and rage as the Dark demon finally released him and attacked the window, breaking it, and causing both men to begin fleeing.
At that moment, Riley chose to act, she quickly descended through the building using her Intangibility, and landed right in front of the cop who was leading the retreat. He ran right into her, and before he could get him bearings she shoved her hand through his chest.
Right then the fat mobster made it around the corner and watched as she tossed the crooked cop's body to the floor.
"What the Fuck!? Who the fuck are you!?" The mobster demanded as he raised his revolver to her. In response, one of her tails shot out and sliced through his arm, severing it midway through the forearm.
He let out a scream of pain and fell to the floor clutching at his severed stump. Blood pumped out of it as Riley grabbed him and dragged him back into the room where Jackie was cradling the woman's body in his arms and weeping.
Jackie glanced up at her, right as she tossed the fat mobster in front of him. One of her tails then shot forward right as the fat mobster was looking up at Jackie, and speared him through the back of his head. The tail emerged from his mouth, where the tentacles on the end, unfolded and wrapped around the fat man's head. Then, with utter ease, the tentacles flexed and ripped the gangster's head in half from the back.
The fat man fell to the floor as blood and brains dripped from his split skull. Riley quickly passed his body and stood over Jackie and his woman.
He slowly brought his eyes to meet hers, and when they locked eyes, Riley could see nothing but pain and anguish within.
"I warned you. Humans should not wield the power of demons. All it does is cause problems." Riley sniped as the Dark demon emerged from Jackie's back and growled at her. Seeing from her earlier spying that it had an aversion to light, Riley quickly manifested a powerful Lumos spell in her hand, which shattered the beast and caused it to disappear.
"You want to kill me and take this thing? Go ahead. My reason to live died with her." Jackie muttered as his eyes fell to the woman in arms.
Right about then the demon tried to re-emerge, only for Riley to use another Lumos, to banish it again.
"You want to get rid of it? Truly? Then I will take it from you. But… in order for this to work, you're gonna need something to fight for. If I kill you, it'll just disappear into the ether and manifest somewhere else. It's anchored to you now, so I need you alive in order to retrieve it. And for that, I need you to fight for your own soul." Riley stated as she started to flash through handsigns.
"My soul died with her. I don't care about living any more." The man stated, his words carried a hallowness to them that Riley could only guess would be present in her own voice if she ever lost those she loved with all of her heart.
Finishing up her handsigns, she used Rinne Rebirth, and recalled the woman's soul from death.
Jackie wasn't even paying attention to Riley and was completely stunned when a greenish light flew into his girlfriend's body and the hole in her head quickly vanished.
"Jackie…?" The woman muttered as her eyes fluttered open.
"Jenny!" Jackie shouted back in disbelief, as he reached up and touched at her face. She locked eyes with him and smiled before closing her eyes and drifting into the realm of unconsciousness. For a moment Jackie began to fear that he had lost her again, but the gentle rising and falling of her chest signified that she was very much alive.
"She'll live. And she'll wake up in a few hours. If you want to be with her, then you're going to need to fight for your very soul because I guarantee this will not be pleasant." Riley stated, drawing his attention to her.
"You… you saved her. You brought her back to me." Jackie stated as he gently rested Jenny on the floor and rose to his feet. "You want this thing? You can have it."
Riley allowed a smirk to spread across her face. She couldn't help but wonder if this was the same determination and force of will she reflected when dealing with her mates. She hoped so. This guy may have been a mobster, but he had his morals and that woman, Jenny, she was his light. Jackie Estacado was not so different from Riley, it seemed.
Riley allowed herself a moment of thought before stepping towards Jackie. The action caused the Dark demon to shoot forth from his back to try and bite at her, but she quickly caught both the serpents with her tails.
"This is going to hurt. It's going to hurt a lot. Focus on your future with her, and you'll survive." Riley stated as she placed her hand on his chest and forced her magic into his very soul.
Jackie seized up as he felt a burning pain, spear through his chest. That pain seemed to course through his very being, and if felt like time itself had slowed to a halt.
Riley felt her way through the mobster's soul, and eventually came upon the boiling blackness that was the Darkness itself. She closed in on the demon and it quickly lashed out at her magic. Much to both of their surprise, when it lashed out at her magic, it faded through it.
Both were completely stunned for several reasons. The greatest of which was that the only reason one's magic would refuse to harm someone was if the person truly cared for them or held a deep bond with them. Neither demon knew the other, so there was no reason their magic shouldn't be able to strike at one another.
The two demons were suddenly tense around one another as they reached out with their magic. When their magic came into contact with each other it flowed through them with ease. This could only mean that their magic shared a vast number of similarities, which shouldn't be possible. While Riley was contemplating this, the Darkness chose to make a move, feeling the ease of which it's magic flowed with Riley's it jumped from Jackie's body into hers through the magical connection that acted like a bridge.
"Shit/Shit/Shit!" Riley said and thought along with Kurama. Riley quickly retreated into her mindscape, intent on stopping the Darkness before it began to attack her mind or soul. What she found though, surprised her.
She found a pitch black mass of shadows, held in place by the Gravemind's tentacles to prevent it from escaping and interacting with her mind.
The Gravemind seemed to be able to hold the Darkness in place which was surprising since Riley herself hadn't even been able to interact with it, moments ago.
Riley quickly advanced on The Darkness, the Gravemind's tentacles parting just enough for her to reach it. The opening provided an avenue of attack for the Darkness and one of it's serpent like tentacles, shot through it, teeth gnashing in an attempt to take Riley's face off.
Riley caught the serpent when it was mere inches from her face and locked eyes with the snarling serpent.
"Are you afraid?" Riley inquired as a ball of hellfire appeared in her hand and the creature let out a startled and fearful growl. It obviously recognized the lethal flames and knew of what it could do. Riley wasn't certain if her hellfire would be strong enough to kill this creature, but it would definitely do some semi-permanent damage.
"I FEAR NOTHING!" The Demon snarled telepathically while the serpent hissed at her and tried to shake loose from her grip.
Riley allowed a devilish smirk to spread across her face as she took on her demonic form. Her wings sprung forth from her back in a burst of feathers, fire, and lightning. As her horns emerged and her tails lengthened Riley felt the serpent relax. For a moment she thought it was submitting as it felt her power.
"You are strong, but you've spread your power out too much. Without it, you cannot hope to defeat me." Riley said with a smirk, but the creature didn't react. The serpent didn't have eyes, only glowing yellow orbs where it's eyes should have been, but for some reason she felt like it was looking at her wings.
"Do you recognize me? I have been making a bit of a name for myself recently." Riley inquired when she felt it staring at her.
"You… I've seen you. Seen you in my dreams..." The Creature whispered.
"What?" Riley asked with confusion. She then spotted movement as a pitch black tentacle broke from the mass and passed through the Gravemind's grip. The tentacle was holding something that made Riley's heart stop. It was a feather. A pitch black feather, that glowed with unholy red flames.
The tentacle brought the feather right up to Riley and she reached out to touch it, her eyes wide with disbelief the whole time.
As her fingers grazed the feather, she felt her magic connect with it. It wasn't a fake. It was hers.
"Mother..." The Darkness whispered almost sounding curious yet at the same time lonely.
"You're… You're one of mine. Gods..." Riley whispered in disbelief as she brought her hands up to the serpent's face and locked eyes with it.
The two stared deep into one another's eyes as the Gravemind released the Darkness from it's entrapment. Kurama watched from nearby equally as surprised by this turn of events. He watched, as Riley gently rested her forehead to the dark serpents own, and he felt more then saw the two interact mentally.
Riley pressed her mind into it's as it did the same, both mother and child opening their minds to each other. Riley found herself flying through the earliest memories of her child. She saw darkness, and for a long time, only darkness.
She watched in utter disbelief and deep seated sadness, as her poor child was forced to float through the cosmos alone. He stayed there for so long he lost his sense of self, his feelings, his emotions. He came very close to becoming nothing.
Then one day, dust began to gather, and the Darkness watched. It was the first thing to ever happen in the nothingness of it's reality. The Darkness watched for what felt like eons as the dust gathered, and gathered, and gathered, until eventually it burst into blinding light.
The light was so bright and painful for the creature that had only ever known darkness. So it sought shelter behind thick layers of dust, and yet it continued to watch as the bright light took the form of a star, and the dust gathered into planets, and then over eons life began to grow on one of them.
To Riley's utter amazement, she realized that the reason why this child of hers was so powerful was because he was a full demon, born from her womb. And he had been sent back to the beginning of time. The reason why it felt like all of the darkness around was connected to him, was because it was. In his loneliness he lost his physical body, and became the darkness and when the sun burst into being, he became that which lived in shadow.
Riley was amazed. Her child was an aspect. It was the darkness that existed everywhere. It was the first demon to ever walk the earth, and was at the very least, several billion years old, possibly far older, since it existed before the sun even burst into being.
She watched his life, and watched as he interacted with the things that grew on the Earth. She watched as he played with the various life forms, learning to hunt and fight from the ancient beasts of the world. She watched as he taught ancient primates to carve weapons, and harness fire, and fight. And she watched with utter disbelief as her child taught the first humans how to fight, and how to kill. The Darkness taught mankind how to wage war.
All throughout history, the Darkness sowed conflict. It was the first Demon to ever live on the Earth.
Kurama watched the two interact and view each others lives. It was an occurrence that would have taken a normal person eons, but for a demon, it occurred in a moment. Kurama could view some of what Riley was seeing, and so he understood just what was going on.
This Darkness was a child of Riley's though unlike Elizabeth or Eleanor, it was born from Riley herself. It was a child she had carried in another time, in another life. It was a full demon, the child of a full powered Riley. It didn't surprise him in the least to know that a demon of this level of power was Riley's child. The Darkness held power throughout the world. It had a lot of raw power but it was spread out and it penetrated all things living and non living. Wherever darkness existed, the Darkness held some influence. If all of it's power were to be gathered, Kurama had no doubt that this demon would be at least as powerful as himself, maybe even more so, but without it's power gathered together, the Darkness was about as strong as a Devil. It held power, but it wasn't godlike in the sense that it could annihilate you with a mere thought like Riley or Kurama.
No it's power came from it being an omnipresent thing, existing in all dark places at once.
Kurama watched the two interact and he knew they were bonding. It was a difficult thing for him to understand but he knew why. Kurama had been taught how to love by Hagoromo, but being a demon, meant that Kurama only had a set of emotions.
If asked, Kurama would say that he loved Riley. Just as he loved his father, just as he loved his siblings, both human and demon. And if asked why he loved them, his explanation would make sense to most people. However… to those who truly knew how a demon 'felt' they'd tell you that it was actually impossible for a demon to feel love.
Riley was a unique exception because she was born human, but demons most often didn't possess the capacity to love, in the way that humans loved. If you asked someone who actually knew a lot about demons, they'd tell you that Kurama didn't actually love people like he said he did. His explanation may have made it sound that way, but he didn't actually feel the same way humans did when he felt love.
It was a difficult concept to understand for someone who wasn't a demon and hadn't studied them for years. Kurama knew that Riley would love The Darkness as her child and she would care for it and protect it with her life, as she did with all of her children, but he also knew that the Darkness would love her because she was it's mother, but it wouldn't love her like Eleanor or Elizabeth did.
What the Darkness felt for Riley, could only really be tied to something like a wolf pup and it's mother. Or say a fawn with it's mother. It needed Riley, and it yearned for her attention, but it didn't love in the same way humans did. It was like the affection a dog showed it's master. Yes, you could argue that your dog loves you, but it doesn't actually love you like you love it. To the dog, you are family, you are a member of it's pack. It will protect you and stand by you because you are family. That is what love meant to it.
Kurama knew that just like all demon's the Darkness would be much the same, with it's own unique interpretation of those feelings. It would come to care for Riley in it's own unique way, but to most people, they wouldn't be able to truly understand it. It was at this moment that Kurama began to wonder if Riley would ever truly understand it either. She was a demon now but so many of her perceptions were still human.
He wondered.
Regardless. Kurama felt the two finish viewing each others memories and learning of each others lives. He watched the two intently, wondering what was going to happen next.
"You need not worry anymore my child. I will help you build a body of your own. You don't need to live in those worthless vessels any longer." Riley stated as she caressed the serpent lovingly, much like Luna would with Riley's various monsters.
"I need no other. With you, our power shall be unmatched. With you, all of the world shall fear my power. Together, our enemies will fall before us." The darkness intoned as the shadowy dark mass advanced on Riley, whom looked contemplative for a moment before offering a kind smile.
"Then I will serve as your host. And with the two of us united, the world will tremble at our power." Riley replied with a smile, as the Darkness reached her and seeped into her body.
Kurama watched and felt as the Darkness fused with Riley's soul. She became the new host for it's power and when it entered into her being, Kurama felt something fundamentally shift throughout the whole of the Earth.
The process was quick, as Darkness seeped into every pour on Riley's body, infusing into her very being. She felt her power swell, then expand, touching all things in the world. For a moment, her mind filled with a billion voices, then silence.
It only took a few moments for the Darkness to fuse itself to it's mother's soul. This would be the first time in all of history it had taken a female host. It seemed fitting that such a host would be it's mother.
Kurama watched as dark mists swirled around Riley's body flowing through her and around her. He watched as her entire mindscape went dark, and for several moments all light faded and he was bathed in blackness. Then a chuckle was heard, that chuckle grew in strength until it was full blown laughter.
The world faded back into being and Kurama found that Riley's tranquil mindscape had changed slightly. It still looked the same, the only real different was that now great clouds eclipsed a setting sun, bathing the landscape in eirie shadows and orange light. (Imagine The Otherworld from the original Darkness in terms of Lighting.)
Riley now stood laughing to herself, flowing around her feet were eight tails, and Kurama found his eyes widening in surprise. He hadn't felt a surge of power, and she shouldn't have been that close to ascending.
"Where the hell did that thing come from?" Kurama asked as he gestured to her eighth tail.
"Our powers have been united and much of the darkness around myself has been drawn in. He and I aren't separate beings like you and I, our magic is now one and the same. Two souls within one mind. Mother and child bound together, as it was always meant to be." Riley replied as the Darkness emerged from all around her.
Instead of coming from her back like it did with Jackie, the Darkness instead began to emerge from the shadows all around her. Dark tendrils rose from the ground by the dozens, within moments over two hundred dark tentacles swayed around her, some small and thin, only a few meters long, while others were as thick as trees and nearly a hundred feet in length. Mixed among the dark tendrils were dozens of serpents like the two that Jackie had possessed, some baring similarities to them, while others looked different. Each Serpent had it's own unique features, either with more eyes, a different shaped mouth, teeth meant for crushing instead of slicing, things like that. The serpents also had a mild change in their eye color and color burning within their bodies. It was now the same purple hue that Riley's Rinne Sharingan held.
It seemed that with access to Riley's power, the Darkness no longer needed to manifest from her body. It could use her power to manifest anywhere around her, and possibly even further.
"So… the two of you fusing your powers allowed you to ascend to the eighth tail. This means you only have one more to go." Kurama noted.
"Yeah. Can you believe this Kurama? It had slipped my mind that my children could also appear in the present or even in the years to come. I've been so focused on this war and other things that I completely ignored the fact that my own children could be out there right now, waiting. Just like the Darkness." Riley replied.
"Yeah… I'd forgotten about that too." Kurama said with a nod.
After a few moments of pondering Riley slipped out of her mindscape, with a happy grin on her face. She spotted Jackie on his knees breathing heavily and looking like he'd just been gut punched.
Riley knew the mobster would be alright since the Darkness didn't hold much of it's power within itself, so it didn't hurt Jackie as much as it would if it had been a bijuu.
"Well that was easier then I thought it would be. Thank you Jackie Estacado, you've given me a great gift." Riley stated with a smile as the man glanced up towards her. She smiled down at him for a moment as the Darkness emerged from the shadows beneath her feet and the lights of the room dimmed.
"I'll see you around. If I'm ever in the area, I'll look you up. Past experience has taught me that it's good to have friends in all sorts of places." Riley told him with a smirk as she turned and headed for the exit.
"You saved... Jenny's life, and you killed... that... fat fuck Paulie. You ever need anything at all… you… you just gotta ask." Jackie replied, between his deep heaving breaths.
"I'll remember that. Take care of her mobster. Love like that is very rare. So be worthy of it. And protect her with all of your might." Riley stated as she waved her hand and a dark bolt of magic rushed into him.
The power she had used was the same that she used on all those unfortunate enough to accidentally cross paths with her when she was out killing as Ralael. She had infused the mobster with an overabundance of positive energy. This would ensure that for the remainder of his life, he'd be generally lucky. In his sort of lifestyle, it paid to be lucky, so she hoped it'd be enough to shield the skilled gangster and his lover from a repeat of what had happened this night.
With that done, she departed, retracting her demonic features as she did. Having found one of her children, had filled her with a sense of elation. Feeling Jackie's love for his girl had made her miss her own mates, and on top of everything, she really wanted to satisfy a few urges that were boiling inside of her.
She felt the Darkness hum in agreement, leaning more towards the brutal side of those urges as sex didn't interest it in the least.
As she made her way through the orphanage Riley began to wonder what she should do to satiate herself. Go back to base and spend time with her mates or bond with her child and enjoy some good old fashion slaughter. She got her answer when she stepped out of the orphanage into a blinding light and the sound of shouting.
Surrounding the exit were dozens of police cars, and nearly a hundred uniformed officers and SWAT members. Dozens of guns trained on her as she shielded her face with her hand, and her Dementor's cloak manifested around her body.
Once the hood had finished covering her face, she glanced around at the swarm of officers. They were screaming at her to drop to the floor and place her hands on her head.
For a moment she considered just leaving but a quick outreach of her senses filled her mind with the darkness of these people.
It only took her a moment to realize who these people were. They were Eddie Shrote's cronies. Eddie was the corrupt police captain that Riley had killed when she arrived at the orphanage. These were his people, she could feel their corruption, and in many cases, their unhinged minds.
A devious grin spread across her face as she released an electrical pulse from her body. The pulse shut down the cars and darkened all of the lights in the area. With that done, she allowed the Darkness to manifest around her. Dark tentacles and serpents began to emerge from the building filling the officers view with a mass of writhing tentacles and a sea of glowing purple eyes.
"Let us feast on these worthless wretches." Riley said with a grin.
"Yes… slaughter them all..." Her child called back with glee.
"Wow… dickhead sure hired a lot of assholes to work for him. Hell I think he purposely ensured that every person under his command was just as fucked up as he was. Ah well, means less scolding from the ladies for killing them." Kurama noted while Riley let out a chuckle as she nodded in agreement.
With a vicious snarl, Riley shot forward. The crowd of men and women opened fire on her but quickly lost her as she vanished in a burst of speed.
In an instant, she was on them.
Screams of pain and anguish tore through the crowd of corrupt officers as Riley lashed out with her claws, her tails and the Darkness itself.
Tentacles explode from the building and from all places around her, spearing those around her, her Byakugan blazed as she used the 360 degree vision to attack everything around her.
The serpents lashed out at those around her, taking off limbs and removing heads with their powerful jaws and razor sharp teeth. To anyone watching, it almost looked like Riley was dancing, the elegant movement as she spun through the crowd, over vehicles and between the bursts of gunfire.
The sea of deadly serpents and tentacles ripped through the crowd, biting and gnashing and tearing until nothing was left.
Utilizing one of the Kaguya clans battle dances, plus her insane reach with her tails and The Darkness tentacles, ensured that she utterly devastated the group of corrupt psychopathic cops in mere moments.
By the time she was finished with her dance, no more than a handful of people were left alive.
She slowly began to pinpoint the last remaining survivors and began approaching them as the Darkness serpents shot out and devoured the hearts of those around her.
The four remaining cops could only back away in terror as she walked towards them, her glowing red eyes, along with the darkness emanating from around her, and her pitch black cloak made her an unholy sight to behold.
She closed in on them, ready to finish them off, when suddenly a wall of green energy appeared between them, and around the cops pushing the darkness away and separating Riley from her targets.
"What the fuck is that?" Kurama asked as Riley stared at the green bubble of energy with confusion. Her eyes drifted along it to one of it's corners where she spotted a rope of energy feeding into the wall. She followed it to it's source which turned out to be a man hovering in the air.
This man had dark skin, and wore a skin tight black and green bodysuit. His eyes glowed with green energy, and the rope of green power led right to a ring he held on his right hand. With Riley's eyes, she could see the massive power within the ring. It was vast and seemed to be tied to his emotions. Much like a demon could do naturally, Riley, with the help of the Rinne Sharingan/Byakugan, could tell that the ring was producing power from this guys emotions.
"Who the fuck are you?" Riley asked after a moment.
The man's reply was to glare at her as he hovered in the air. He then shot a glance over at the handful of cops and told them to run.
Riley's gaze turned to the fleeing sycophants, though before she could pursue them, the man hovered down and stood before her. His cold, radiant eyes focused entirely on her.
"You seem upset." Riley noted with a smirk.
"After the amount of death you've caused today, I'm more then upset." The man replied, his voice carrying authority to it.
"Sorry to hear that." Riley replied with a shrug.
"I'm only going to say this once. Surrender now, and I may show you mercy." The man stated as he aimed his one ring of power at her, like he was ready to fire a beam from it.
Riley stared at him for a moment, then to the dead bodies around her. She then grimaced. "Eh… fuck..."
It didn't take a genius to guess that this strange guy seemed to think she had been responsible for all of the bloodshed that had occurred here. I mean she did kill these corrupt cops, though he probably thought she also destroyed the orphanage and killed all those inside. Then there was also Jackie's rampage at the meat packaging plant, so he probably thought that was her as well.
"You're under arrest. Surrender now, and I wont hurt you." He demanded as his ring began to glow.
"Why is he even giving you a chance? I mean you just turned like sixty people into a pile of limbs." Kurama inquired.
"Morality." Riley noted with a smirk, before dashing at the strange man with extreme speed. He had just enough time to form a barrier between himself and her before she made it to him and drove her fist hard into the greenish energy. A shockwave emanated out from the impact and the man was sent sliding back with a curse.
Riley quickly dashed towards him, ready to lay into him with her fists, he quickly formed a wall around himself made of that same green energy. She easily passed through it with her intangibility and drove her first into his face sending him flying back into a building.
He quickly stumbled to his feet, dazed and confused. He shook his head several times in order to regain focus, by the time he was able to, Riley was on him again. Using his ring to form a barrier around his body, he deflected several of her punches. Each one put an enormous strain on his barriers and he immediately began to backpedal away from Riley as she drove strike after strike into him, moving too fast and with too much skill and precision for him to be able to dodge.
Thinking quickly, the man released a blast of energy from his ring, right into Riley's chest sending her flying back several meters.
"That sure is an interesting toy you've got there. Where'd you get it?" Riley inquired as the two began to circle one another, the darkness encircling the two filling the surrounding area with dark tentacles and serpents.
"That is none of your concern. You'll pay for all the people you've killed today." The man snarled as he aimed his ring at her and glared. He kept his focus on her, but his ears were open for any attack by the surrounding mass of tentacles and serpents.
"Hey, the only people I've killed today were these worthless cunts." Riley countered.
"Worthless? These were police officers! Protectors of the innocent! And you butchered them like they were nothing!" The man snarled in reply his eyes lighting up in an emerald blaze.
"These 'things' weren't police officers. They may have had badges but they were furthest from protectors. What you see here is the destitute ruins of the mobs police connections. These men and women were stationed around this orphanage to keep people from getting in while the mob conducted it's business. Each one of them is no better then the criminals they claim to fight. If anything, these people are worse. They're an insult to the title of law enforcement. Look into their lives and histories, you'll find that each one was worse than the next. You watch… give it a week, maybe two, and you'll start seeing the lives of this cities people improving. These people were part of the problem." Riley replied. The only reaction this got from the man was a slight narrowing of his eyes. Riley couldn't tell if he believed her or not, and that ring of his projected a barrier around his body that blocked magic. She couldn't read his mind without punching through it.
"Are you trying to say that what you did here was right?" The man demanded, his eyes locked on her.
"'Right' is a matter of perspective. To you, they should have all rot in prison for their crimes. To me, this was the fate they earned. Now they'll never hurt anyone ever again, and those who seek to follow in their footsteps will have damn good reason to take pause. I don't expect you to understand or accept it. But that's how it is." Riley stated as she fell out of a battle stance and turned away from him.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" He demanded as energy burst from his ring and formed a cage around her.
"I'm leaving. You're no criminal, so I don't feel the need to tear you limb from limb. And you haven't done anything to piss me off, so I'm just gonna go. Hopefully we never meet again." Riley replied as the darkness faded away and she vanished in a flash, earning a startled look from the man.
She reappeared on a rooftop nearby and looked down at the man. He seemed startled by her disappearance and kept his guard up as he surveyed the area.
A dark serpent rose from her shadow and hovered by her side watching the strange man as well. Both eyed him curiously.
"Why didn't you kill him?" The darkness inquired through their newly established mental link.
"Because the only thing I care about, is protecting that which is precious to me. He's not a killer, or at the very least, he tries his hardest to obey the law and let his view of justice prevail. He's not a threat to me. But he is a threat to those who threaten my loved ones. So I'll leave him be, and let him fight against criminals in his own way. At the very least he'll draw their attention away from me and mine." Riley replied out loud. The darkness let out a hum of acknowledgment, not really caring either way, mostly just asking out of curiosity.
"What now Riley?" Kurama inquired.
"We go back to base. I want to see my ladies and let them know what I've found. Then I 'really' want to keep killing things." Riley answered earning a growl of satisfaction from her child.
This brought a smile to her face. She was always eager to earn praise or joy from her children though it was still a bit off. Eleanor was much easier as she spent a lot of time with Riley, her mates, and her grandparents, learning from all of them. She was like a sponge, so eager to learn and understand new things. Elizabeth was a bit more reserved. Riley still frightened her to a degree, though she tried her best not to shy away when Riley chose to spend time with her. Awkward would be the best way to describe their relationship. Elizabeth spent most of her time with the medical teams, learning how to use magic and more importantly, how to use it to heal things. She was coming along quite well, and her immense knowledge of biology and human anatomy from years of study in her tower, aided her in this endeavor.
Still though, Riley enjoyed making them happy, so she quickly disappeared in a flash, leaving the weary and paranoid Green Lantern to continue scanning his surroundings for several more minutes. (Yes that was John Stewart from Justice League animated. See the end of the chapter for a brief explanation of his appearance, and also yes, this is my way of confirming Raven as a future child and setting her up.)
-Back at Sinnon-
Riley arrived in mid day and grimaced at the sudden brightness. It still threw her off slightly to go from one end of the planet to the other, especially when one was bathed in darkness and the other experiencing high noon.
"Ma'am." A few legionaries greeted her as she made her way through the camp. She offered them nods as they went about their work. She quickly headed for her personal tent, eager to speak to her mates about what she had found while she was away.
As Riley advanced she found her senses stretching into the tents around her. She could feel the life-force of every being in the camp, along with their emotions. With her new connection to the Darkness, she now held access to it's ability to see into the hearts of all people. Not only could she feel people's emotions, but she could feel their desires and their wants, she could almost look at a person and see their darkest secrets. An ability like that, she was sure was well within her grasp, she need only to learn it.
Eventually she made it to her tent where she found Luna. The blonde haired seer was taking a nap on the bed. Riley smiled at her and quickly crossed the room and crawled into bed next to her lover.
Luna's eyes blinked open as she felt Riley wrap her arms around her. "Welcome back." Luna stated as she rolled over to face Riley, and lock eyes with her.
"Good to be back." Riley replied with a smile.
Luna stared at her for a moment then glanced around, it almost seemed like she'd noticed something curious with the world around her. She then gave Riley a curious look, "You brought something back with you, didn't you?"
Riley simply let out a chuckle, not at all surprised that Luna would be quick to pick up on her new tenant.
Riley quickly sat up, Luna quickly following and out from the shadows of the bed, came one of the serpents. It slithered up the side of the bed and across it until in was right in front of the two women.
Luna stared at the creature, looking it right into the purplish glow that was it's eyes. She stared at it for several long moments before smiling.
"He's adorable." Luna stated earning a snort of laughter from Riley.
The serpent let out a growl not exactly liking being called adorable. This earned another snort of laughter from Riley whom then draped an arm over Luna.
"What's his name?" Luna inquired as she eyed the creature curiously.
"He doesn't really have one." Riley admitted after a moment. Since 'The Darkness' was mostly a title not a name.
"Hmm." Luna stared off for a moment, as if racking her brain for possible names. Riley couldn't stop the grin the spread across her face, knowing that whatever her mate chose, it would be funny.
"How about Mr. Snarltooth?" Luna inquired causing the Darkness to bristle at that and Riley to start cackling.
"It's fitting." Riley noted through her giggles.
"You're seer is broken." The Darkness growled out.
This caused Riley to laugh even harder, while Luna just smiled and pat the serpent on the head. It's only reply was to stare at the laughing Riley with bemusement.
"Oh my gods, that was funny." Riley stated as she wiped a tear from her eyes and sent a mental message to her mates to come back to their tent.
It was about fifteen minutes later when they all arrived and found Riley and Luna chatting on the bed.
"Welcome back." Katie greeted first, as her and her fellow mates quickly headed for the bed.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" Daphne inquired, as she sat on the edge of the bed.
"Yep. Brought it home with me too." Riley replied as her mates gathered around her. They all gave her strange looks, at her reply, so Riley chose that moment to begin explaining.
"The demon I felt. It was one of ours. One of our children." Riley told them earning startled looks from all of them and a confused look from Kaede.
"Really?" Fleur asked.
"Yeah." Riley replied as the Darkness serpents manifested around the bed and rose up around them.
The ladies glanced around themselves, surprised, a bit frightened, but also curious.
"It's mine. It was born from me." Riley noted with a tender smile as she glanced around at the serpents and noticed all of them were looking at Kaede. "And I think I know who the father was."
All of their eyes quickly turned to Kaede whom looked completely confused by all that was going on.
Riley just proceeded to chuckle and bring her up to speed about the whole children thing. Afterwards she would explain to them how her journey had gone and about The Darkness.
At that moment, outside of the camp a white zetsu had just passed through the wards, on it's way to Riley. It knew that it couldn't make it to Riley without tripping the wards so It's intention was to trigger the wards intentionally, and get captured by the Legion, then inform her that by now the Kazekage had probably been captured and was about to have her Bijuu removed.
The White zetsu stepped around a corner as it heard people approaching. A bright light shined on it, and for a moment it assumed people had arrived. The light then turned red and a blaring noise was let out. Then gunfire filled the air, and it was suddenly riddled with a bullets. The white Zetsu fell to the ground just as Legionaries made it to him.
"What the fuck is that thing?" One of them asked.
"I don't know, but it walked right into that turrets sight-lines." Another replied.
"Seal it up, we'll take it back to base and inform the commanders." The leader of the squad noted as he scanned the area, looking for other potential threats.
The group quickly returned to camp and informed Tom about what had happened. They unsealed the White Zetsu clone to show him what they had found.
As luck would have it, Madara was in the tent at that time and recognized the clone.
"You know what this thing is Lord Madara?" Tom inquired as the two men stared down at the clone's corpse.
"It's a White Zetsu clone. A piece of Riley's spy in the Akatsuki. What was it doing here though?" Madara inquired as he sent a mental message to Riley.
In a flash she appeared next to him.
"What the fuck happened?" Riley asked.
"Welcome back. It triggered the wards, but before men could get there to apprehend it, it walked right in front of a machine gun turret and was killed. I have no idea what it could possibly want." Tom replied. Neither of them knew that Riley had made it back to camp yet, but with the Hiraishin she was able to cross the planet in an instance so it didn't surprise them about how quickly she had arrived.
"Do you think it was spying for Akatsuki?" Riley asked.
"No, I think Zetsu needed to tell us something." Madara replied as he flashed through handsigns and tried to summon Zetsu. A poof of smoke billowed up, but instead of Zetsu appearing, nothing did.
"What do you suppose that means?" Riley asked, as Madara stared at the empty space with a calculating glare.
"Trouble." Was Madara's reply.
-Meanwhile-
Several vibrant translucent figures stood in a dark cave, each was standing on the fingertip of a massive statue. Floating between them was the body of the Kazekage, surrounded by dark energy as demonic Youki drained from her body and into the statue.
With the use of a portkey, Deidare and Sasori were able to instantly transport to their base, immediately after Deidara finished his battle with the Kazekage. This ensured that there was no trail to follow, and there was no way for anyone to find them. They had just started the ritual, so it would be three days before they were finished. Still though, without a trail to follow, no one would ever be able to find them.
-Back at Sinnon-
"Are you thinking the same thing that I am?" Madara asked his granddaughter.
"The only reason I can think of that would prompt Zetsu to send a clone and not come himself, was that he was participating in the sealing of one of the Bijuu." Riley replied.
"Yes, I agree. They must have caught one, and he was trying to warn us." Madara said with a nod.
Riley stood in silence for several moments, before turning to Tom, "I'm going to Suna. If we're right, the Kazekage might have been captured."
Tom nodded as she quickly headed out the door, with Madara following right behind.
"You think they were bold enough to attack the Kazekage directly?" Madara asked.
"Not if she was with her army. They're tough, but now invisible. They wouldn't attack a whole army head on, not unless it was all of them, which I doubt it was. No, if it was her, then they lured her away, and I can't think of a better place to ambush her then Suna. It's undermanned and they think they're safe so far from the conflict and surrounded by harsh deserts. It'd be the perfect place to stage a trap." Riley replied as sent a mental message to Hashirama, asking him what he was doing and if it wasn't important to return to her body.
"What happened with your demon hunt?" Madara asked during a moment of pause.
"Disperse and check out my memories, it'll take too long to explain. We need to go. Now." Riley replied, earning a nod from the man, whom quickly popped and vanished from sight. It was then that Riley felt Hashirama return to her body and she quickly entered Kamui. Her only thought was to make it to Suna as fast as possible and see if she was right.
If she was, and the Akatsuki had taken Gaia, she would tear the entirety of the world apart to find her.
-To Be Continued-
Alright, there's the next chapter. Next one will be up soon. Hope you liked the new child, and I hope everything made sense with the Darkness. I know the intro of Green Lantern was a bit sudden but I didn't really want to focus on it. At this point in time, many of the superheroes are just starting to really emerge, so this would be only a year or two after John gets his ring, so he's still new at it, not a vet like we see in Justice League Animated. Also that is what I plan on basing a lot of my knowledge off of, I may use different concepts here or there, but that is my primary source of knowledge. I'll be using that and Teen Titans for my DC knowledge here so my apologies up from for not knowing certain things or changing things so that they fit.
Anyway, more on the Darkness later, and as I've mentioned it'll never really love anyone or care for anyone, but it cares for Riley because she's it's mother. It's a very instinctual thing, nothing like the love Riley feels for her friends or lovers, this is something primal and raw, that only an animal could feel or understand. The darkness will never be a good or light-hearted character and we'll see it encourage Riley to commit evil acts over the course of the story, just as others do. I hope you all enjoyed and the next chapter will be up soon. Ja Ne!