A/N: This is not a new chapter, but please feel free to reread the now elongated beginning to this tale as I work on expanding and/or continuing my writing of this story.
Prologue
The Halfa Life
Hello there. You probably don't know me. Hell, I don't even know why I'm even saying this. Maybe it's just the stress I've built up over the last two, almost three years, and I'm not talking about school. No, my problems stem from another plane altogether. My name is Nick Negron, but most people in my hometown of Crystal Heights know me by a different name these days: Phantasm.
It all started with the day I lost the love of my life. We were both only fifteen, but we had a connection that had people thinking we would be married by graduation. Maybe that was my plan, I don't know anymore. Anyway, me and my girlfriend Ruca Faye had been driving back home from our latest date: a concert held at the old fairgrounds just outside town.
I think we had been laughing at something, a stupid joke or maybe some bullshit about one of our classmates, the day messed me up so I don't exactly remember. What I do remember is the tractor-trailer ramming into my side of the car, a glimpse of grass and sky as the car rolled off into the roadside ditch usually only needed when the heavier rains came to town. Then there was darkness.. Until my sight was engulfed in a bright white light. Next thing I knew, I was lying in a hospital bed, battered but not broken. I was thankful I had survived, but then where was Ruca?
As I became more oriented to my position in the hospital bed, I saw the bedside table absolutely covered in cards and those ridiculous teddy bears and shit you find in Hospital shops. I realized something was off, however, when I noticed how many of the cards weren't 'get well' cards. No, they were 'sorry for your loss' cards. Needless to say, Ruca was gone forever.
That night, having regained enough energy to get up and move around in an attempt to stave off the pain I felt over losing Ruca, I wandered into the bathroom. Looking back on events, my grief and anger probably all caused my ghostly abilities to manifest, my hair turning platinum silver and my eyes a hauntingly vivid purple. I phased through the wall and scared myself back into my room, the ghostly form shifting to my normal appearance without a thought.
After I was released, I had two days to get ready for Ruca's upcoming funeral. The night after the funeral was the worst my depression could get, but it didn't prepare me for the ghost of Ruca appearing to me. She told me she was sorry, that she tried to stay with me but the light wouldn't let her.
Skip ahead a few months, I had been seeing Ruca's spirit ever since that night, but our roles evolved as time went on from then. I began training my ghostly powers, finding I had to due to the increasing numbers of hostile ghost attacks happening around Crystal Heights. No one knows why the attacks started or even how, as Ruca had told me that any ghost had to pass through the veil with the help of a portal, one which tended to be as indecisive as a toddler and the living world's exit was unknown as far as Ruca could tell me. None of the phantom adversaries I fought could tell me anything useful either, so I hit a dead end once again.
Soon after, Ruca brought an omnipotent ghost with her to see me. Her name was Eona, and her powers were based with time and space itself. Eona taught me more about my new post-accident existence. According to her, I had become a rare entity known only as a Halfa, neither truly completely alive or dead, and it fell upon a Halfa to fight the evil that continuously corrupted and evolved in the shadows of the world. I didn't want the responsibility, I was too confused as to why I was chosen to accept this fate, even as forced as it was. Then I got a probably horrible, balance-destroying idea. I asked Eona if there was a way I could bring Ruca back, even in the capacity that she would be in the same vein of existence as I now belonged.
Eona told me there might be a way, but no one in the Spectral World knew of a way to intentionally create a Halfa. They had no want to, the power and responsibility shown to bring even the most qualified ghosts to the corruption of evil. I thought that was the last of that idea, until my godfather Grant Zephyr moved to town and became the mayor. It seemed suspicious to me at the time, but I had bigger things on my plate than the strangely immediate takeover of town that Grant issued. At least, I thought it was.
Not a week after my godfather moved to town, I encountered a powerful ghost known only as Sephiroth. I of course made a few quips about the old Final Fantasy character while we fought, but that wasn't helpful much. That first time, I couldn't win. I knew it almost as soon as the battle had begun, but it was my honor as Crystal Heights' protector to fight. Ruca came and somehow managed to save me, but Sephiroth looked at her like he had a plan up his sleeve.
Soon after Sephiroth appeared, Ruca disappeared entirely. I looked all over town in the spots I knew her spirit would frequent, but she never showed back up. I knew she had probably just moved on, and by this time I had two of my closest friends helping me with the ghost fighting, but it still hurt. Tim Avery was a technical genius and helped design some outside tech to fight ghosts with and even a capturing device while my more physical friend Elliot Tate took to the streets with me in my fight, armed with a modified metal baseball bat that allowed contact with spirits.
I never thought to ask Sephiroth if he had anything to do with Ruca disappearing, or even if he would tell me. He seemed to have some form of obsession with me, and I eventually found out that he was the last Halfa created before I had been given my powers. This came as a shock as well as the fact he wanted to groom me to be his heir, whatever that meant.
These days, the biggest threat I have to face is Sephiroth, who loves to mess with me and does so often enough. Sure, there's still plenty of small-time spirits to brawl with, but Sephy is my nemesis. Thankfully, school has been going well enough where my ghostbusting isn't affecting my grades as much. Silver lining, right?
Anyway, enough about my past. That's the boring bit, to be honest. Especially with my greatest foe to date coming from an unexpected source, and an even more twisted scheme..
Location Unknown..
The girl opened her eyes, but to no avail. She was still in the same empty, black space she had woken to for as long as she could trouble herself to remember. "Good, you're awake." Came the voice of the only person she seemed to know.
"Yes, master." replied the girl emotionlessly, robotically.
"I have a task for you, my dear. I want you to make your debut to the local hero, Phantasm. Fight him. I want to see your new capabilities."
The black space around her opened up as the girl sat up, locking eyes with those of Sephiroth. "Yes, master." She stated with a nod as she fully stood.
The silver-haired villain smirked as a pair of purple batlike wings erupted from the area around the girl's shoulder blades, bronze-colored horns sprouting from her head and a long purple tail tipped with the signature arrowhead associated with the devil or demons. "Good. Very good." Let's see how you handle her, Nick.
Crystal Heights High School..
"You think Eona's right? That ghosts aren't the only thing we need to worry about anymore?" Asked Elliot as he, Tim and Nick sat in the back corner of their homeroom, waiting for dismissal.
"I would hope not. What else could I need to fight other than ghosts? Would my powers even really be that effective against something of another origin?"
"Well, we can ask these questions all day, but until we see the proof of her words, all we can do is speculate." Chimed in Tim.
"Yeah, but about what? You think demons or some shit's about to start attacking?"
"That may be most logical, really. Nick's powers, for what we know, affect spectral enemies the most, but he can damage anyone in reality. Especially when it comes to our usual endgame to battle where Nick has to siphon the Corruption from whatever foe he's fighting at the time. If the trend of corruption and darkness that shapes itself onto our enemies is any indication, then demons would be the next biggest cause of such negativity."
"Let's not talk about this. I don't want to worry about it until it happens." And why do I sense.. Her? Nick thought as he stared out the window as the bell for dismissal rang.
As the trio made their way to the buses, a strong wind blew around them as a shape appeared in the sky. At the distance the creature was flying, Nick thought it just a bat judging by the wings, but knew better once the entity made its way closer.
The figure was obviously a young woman- somewhere around Nick's age- and something about her was familiar to Nick. Almost too familiar, he figured as she stopped several feet away, smirking with the tips of two sharp fangs peeking from her ruby red lips. Other than the wings, horns and tail, the creature looked human, confirming that she was most likely similar in age to Nick's seventeen, physically at least. She reached out and grabbed Nick's collar, pulling him closer with the telltale sound of sniffing. "Phan.. Tasm.."
Nick made the front of his shirt intangible momentarily, the woman's claws phasing through the material before he returned it to solid form, his face contorted into one of confusion. "What the-" Nick's voice caught in his throat as he could recognize her voice, like something from a long-dormant dream or memory. "Who are you?" He asked the woman, looking around to find the other students had all run off from the sudden attack, most likely fearing it was another ghost. He looked at the creature critically, trying to ascertain why he knew- deep down- that he knew this creature.
"Nick, there are no ghosts with forms like that, but I know what does." Nick looked at Tim as he jumped back to avoid the female grabbing him again. "Demons."
"You had to say it, didn't you? This is your fault for mentioning them in class. Now cover me before I can't get away from her hands."
Tim and Elliot blocked the creature from reaching Nick as he took a breath with his eyes closed. When he opened them, they were the cosmic purple of his ghost half. "Phantasm Arisen!" He shouted as a ring of light formed around Nick's waist, extending to create a curtain of light before retreating back to reveal him in his ghostly form, a negative-filtered copy of the outfit he had been wearing the day of the accident forming automatically on his form.
"Phantasm.." Said the girl again, her voice sounding controlled or robotic, almost like a computer would speak. "Defeat Phantasm.. For master." She said before rushing towards Nick.
Using his flight ability, Nick hovered over the ground with a ball of purple plasma forming around his fist. "I'll ask you this once. Who are you and who sent you?" He asked, the ball aimed directly at the demonic-looking creature.
The creature regarded him for a moment before answering. "Sephiroth.. Master.. I.. Have no name."
Well that only helps so much. Thought Nick as he fired his Plasma Ray at the creature, who was hit straight on with the attack as she staggered back.
The demon(?) stood back up and snapped her fingers, a wave of fire forming a shrinking circle around where Nick stood. Nick used his Cryonic Breath power to put out the flames, feeling even more familiarity from the almost spectral fire. I know this heat.. Why can't I figure out who this is? He thought as he was sent to the ground by a lightning fast kick.
"Ugh. Fuck, that actually hurt. Alright, so you're good." He had to put his arms up to block a flurry of attacks that ignited a memory within Nick. Old martial arts classes, an important brown-skinned girl laughing before unleashing the same attacks then as the ones this demonic woman sent his way. Blocking each strike, Nick pinned one of her feet to the ground and really looked at her. Then it all clicked into place as he noticed the creature's face was the same as the one in his memory. The same face as..
"Ruca?" Nick asked in a whisper after what seemed like an eternity staring at something, someone unknown but still so familiar. "Ruca, is that you?" He asked again, louder as Tim and Elliot looked at each other from the place they stood away from the fight.
"Wait, he just said Ruca, right?" Tim asked Elliot, who nodded with a pale face. "How?"
The girl stopped trying to force her way out of the hold Nick had her in, her eyes shining red before her face became immensely more expressive. "Nick.. What's going.. Defeat Phantasm.." Ruca's real voice was overshadowed by the robotic tone once again as she proceeded to trip Nick by putting all her strength into lifting her pinned foot, sweeping Nick's now only grounded leg with the same leg he had just had pinned.
"Tim, Elliot! We need to capture her. And then we're going to see my godfather." He said, referring to Grant Zephyr. Being Nick's godfather was one such title, others being the mayor of Crystal Heights and yes, even Sephiroth, the older evil Halfa that constantly messed with Nick's life. "He has some fucking explaining to do." Nick got back up and unleashed a flurry of his own upon the now all-but confirmed transformed Ruca.
"If we can somehow get her into her regular spiritual form, we can capture her." Tim said, rubbing his chin in thought.
"What if this is some new type of corruption?" Elliot said. "Nick, siphon the corruption!"
Nick nodded. He didn't want to use the siphoning ability he possessed, the corruption absorbed causing him to get all manners of sick depending on how much corruption existed. The real issue was that this version of his now ghostly girlfriend was constantly leaking corruption from it, like it wasn't created in the natural way and thus was behaving erratically At least, as erratically as a portion of immeasurable negativity coalesced into a spirit's own form, causing a dark corruption of the ghost, could be. It had been about a year since Nick had begun needing to use his power like that, but it was a small price to pay to uphold the balance of the world and safety of Crystal Heights.
Here goes nothing.. He thought as the purple glow around both of his hands turned a vibrant green as it spread from his hands into Ruca's, the purple aura of corruption absorbing into his green cleansing energy. Nick had to focus to keep his hold on Ruca, who visibly struggled as the source of at least some of this situation was drained out of her bit by bit. The aura hadn't dissipated at all but Nick could feel the power behind Ruca's struggles weaken more and more as he pushed back against her.
The emotion returned to her face as the horns on her head disappeared. "Nick.. Stop him. Sephiroth.. Is only the beginning of.. All this. Ahhhh!" She shrieked as her wings faded away as well, followed shortly by the tail. Once Ruca at least looked fully human in form again, Nick called. "Tim! Now! I don't know how much longer I can keep draining her. She has too much!"
Tim rushed over and pointed what looked like a parabolic microphone attached to a boombox-like item resembling a normal bluetooth speaker. Pressing the trigger, a ray of tractor beam-like rings surrounded Nick and Ruca, Nick pushing himself away as Ruca gave a sad smile before her form faded into whisps that were then absorbed into the containment device. "Ruca, captured. Wow, never thought I'd have to say that."
"Me neither. Now, we have to go see the mayor about his apparent experiments." Nodding, the three teenagers began making their way towards Grant Zephyr's mansion, the buses having evacuated the other students in the chaos. Hopefully, Sephiroth himself wouldn't deny Nick some answers behind the fury he could feel bubbling in his mind.
Spectral World, Fortress of Ages..
Eona looked on at the events going on in the living world and frowned at the sight she saw. "Love put to the field of battle as enemies.. Tragic, yet fitting. How did the corruption turn a ghost into a demon, I wonder? However this happened, this can only get worse from here, young Nick. I pray you can handle the new truths of our realities with these events."
Mayor's House, Soon After School Dismissal..
Nick walked up to the door of the small mansion with purpose, a fire in his eye his friends had rarely seen before. "Nick, are you sure this is the right way to go about this? Sephiroth has more power at his disposal than you can handle for even ten minutes and you expect to just march in there without a fight?"
"My godfather he may be, but Sephiroth has shit to fucking explain and I will put him through a goddamn wall if he decides to play games with us about this."
"Why is Ruca still so important to you, anyway? She's been dead two years now. We thought you were moving on?"
Nick sighed. "We were working on trying to make her like me, another Halfa. I just wanted her back in enough of a capacity. Now let's get this stupid bullshit over with." He said as he pulled on the wolf door knocker.
Moments later, the door opened to reveal the mayor Grant Zephyr (AKA Sephiroth). "Ahh, Nick my boy! To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Hey, unc. Mind if we come in? I want to talk to you about something."
Grant nodded and stepped aside to let the three teenagers into the house. Once he had closed the door, he turned in shock as a ball of purple plasma shot by his head, splattering onto the wall. "Nick? What is the meaning of this?"
"Don't act shocked and surprised, Sephiroth. You have some fucking explaining to do, and you better answer to my liking or I will make sure you truly fucking die and stop harassing this damn town with your fucking Spectral experiments."
"Why, whatever do you mean?" Grant asked with a smirk as he transformed into Sephiroth, his hair turning silver and the one black-feathered wing erupting from his back. "All my experiments have been for the good of this city, young Phantasm."
"Bullshit. The only thing to come out of your experimentation on the corruption in the Spectral World is destruction. You realize the implications of your research on the denizens in the Spectral World, right?"
"Of course I do. I create power vacuums inside a spirit's core, expanding their power by at least threefold."
"Alright. That is fair enough, but it's not positive as it should be. The shit you're doing is literally destroying ghosts from the inside out. If I don't siphon the corruption that leaks off of every one of your test subjects before it's too late, the darkness coiling itself inside them would explode like a supernova. The Corruption isn't something you can just pick up from one thing and put into something else. It's alive, the darkest reaches of existence trying to fight for control from the light."
"Oh really? And what, then, would you need to talk to me about? I doubt you came here just to test my morals."
"You're right. Honestly, your morals or lack thereof, don't bother me as much as it probably should. No, my qualms are with what you've been doing without my knowledge and how that makes me feel."
"Hmm. Another corrupted ghost attack, then? Unfortunately for you, I have not- ack!" Nick stopped the older man by grabbing him by the throat and slamming Grant's back into the wall behind him, hard. Nick's eyes showed his anger as they flashed red and purple and back again.
"Don't you dare fucking lie about this, you piece of shit! This time, your bullshit is personal, and I have no more reservations about totally ending your Halfa existence if it would mean these fucked up plots of yours are put to a stop. Godfather or not."
Grant/Sephiroth struggled to speak against the pressure Nick was putting on his neck. "What could I have done to deserve such ire? It's unbecoming of such a town hero."
"Oh, fuck yourself, Sephiroth! Even a hero gets brought to the edge, and depending on your responses, this may be that final push off." Nick's eyes now glowed a steady reddish hue, his anger fuelling his spiritual powers as he growled. "Now, what the fuck did you do to Ruca?!"
"Ruca? Now where have I heard that name.. Ah, wasn't that your late girlfriend?"
"Don't play stupid. She confirmed you were behind it."
"Behind what, Nick? You're avoiding the issue, aren't you?" Sephiroth taunted as Nick clenched his other fist at his side.
"Ruca isn't even a ghost anymore! Whatever your experiments have been regarding her, I can't change her back to a normal ghost by siphoning off the corruption inside her. It multiplies itself instead of dissipating. If I can't take away that darkness, it'll kill her. I lost her once, thought I had twice and I will not stand for her eventual destruction because of whatever fucking sick game you choose to play with our lives! So tell me how I fix it, or I'll hand you over to Holmes and we can see how long you truly last within the cells of the Pit of Darkness."
Sephiroth's eyes widened, recognizing the name of the Spectral World's most secure prison and its warden, whom had several outstanding warrants for Sephiroth's capture and imprisonment. "You wouldn't dare. You know that blasted cop would never trust you once he knew you had my location all this time."
"I don't give a fuck. Once he knows what you've been doing, messing with the natural order of things? He'll probably give me a medal for bringing you in. Now I will ask you one. More. Time. What did you turn Ruca into?" And don't you dare say what I already theorize is going on.
"Isn't it obvious, my boy? You're a smart one, nose always in a book about the supernatural. You must know exactly what young Ruca has become. How did you even know it was her?"
"I almost didn't, until she had me locked in hand-to-hand. Her moves reminded me of the two of us sparring when we were younger."
"Ah, memories. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. But, always important. You really want to know what you're about to start facing?"
"Tell me what you fucking know, asshole! Or so help me, I will shred your life into nonexistence. Don't test me, uncle. For the personal worth of the issue at hand, I'm not above killing family to stop the machinations of an evil, manipulative bastard of a nemesis once and for all." The hand around Grant's neck began to glow purple but with red streaks mixed in here and there.
Sephiroth knew the red color to Nick's normally purple plasma and eyes was due to his negative feelings influencing his spiritual core, turning it darker and more corrupted. Sephiroth's endgame had always been for Nick to succumb to the corruption he fought, but the anguish behind the young hero's actions and his motives made it clear to Sephiroth that maybe he had gone a bit too far. If Nick's rage was focused on him and resulted in his death, Nick would go out of control to the extreme. Something told Sephiroth that would be infinitely worse than anything malicious he could even think of.
"Nick, ease up on him or you'll kill him before he even tells us anything. What good would that do Ruca, huh?" Tim said, holding Nick's shoulder.
Nick's eyes stopped shifting, the sparks fading from the aura of his plasma as he slackened his grip a bit as Grant wheezed to speak. "I.. Fine, I'll tell.. You what you.. want to know.. I take it.. You did manage to contain her?"
Nick held up the containment device by a cord. "Yeah, and it almost killed me to get her form to revert. Why?"
"Ah, the next step in the evolution of Corruption, of course! One day, I will find a way to show you that Corruption is the Spectral World's best chance of survival in the years to pass. Ghosts were just the beginning. The Corrupt, the Cursed, the demons, the true enemies you have no idea of. She has become the first of many experiments to replicate the process in which Demons are created.
"Unless you teenagers haven't put it together, your lovely Ruca is now a fully formed Demon, not just a powered up ghost on a rampage. In fact, I bet your minds are all having such wonderful thoughts about the subject. It seems most teenagers these days have some sort of fascination with sex and the occult."
Nick had suspected what Grant had done, but he had to hear it. "You turned my girlfriend into a fucking Succubus?! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't tear your spine out through your goddamn ass!"
"I can't change her back, Nick. She's permanently one of a darker existence now. As you probably noticed, I had to hypnotize her to my will just to obey me in that form. But, I may be able to bring the real her back. I figure there's a way to make her like us, only Demonic instead of ghostly."
"Why should I even trust you? Your goal in everything is to turn me evil hoping I don't snap your neck just from turning sides."
"That is true, but I didn't realize she was so important to you, a sort of anchor if you will. I will help you find a way to save her but I will ask that you help me in the future. Demonkind are coming, and there's a reason they're feared more than the ghosts that attack our city. I may be on the evil side of things but I am trying to stop this world from being consumed by the darkness, same as you.
"Eona must know of a way. She is the only ghost who would have any knowledge of demons and the methods used to stop them."
Nick let the man go, screaming in anger. "Fuck you! If this is all some wild goose chase, I can promise you'll meet a swift death. Tim, El, watch him until I get back." Nick said before making a portal to the Spectral World, thinking of Eona's Tower as he stepped through.
Eona's Tower, Spectral World..
Nick exited the portal in the Spectral World, made obvious by the floating islands and items strewn about. He was just outside of a tall tower marked with a giant clock situated on the top of a spire. He knocked on the door which was opened soon after by a tall girl that looked his age with long lime green hair and almond shaped bronze eyes. "Nick! I thought I wasn't going to see you again!" She said as she embraced Nick in a tight hug. This girl was Tempora, Eona's daughter.
"Hey, Tempora. Kinda came to see your mom. Bit of an important matter."
Tempora huffed. "Of course you are. Mommy gets all the boys coming here for her."
Nick blushed as he rubbed the back of his head. "I don't even want to dissect that statement. This has nothing to do with how much your mom may or may not be one of the oldest milfs in history."
"It better not, buster. Go on up then, I suppose." Nodding, Nick began climbing the stairs to Eona's loft at the top of the tower.
When he reached the top of the stairs, he entered Eona's study and groaned. "Would it kill you to add an escalator button?"
Eona turned to Nick with a smile. "I couldn't do that. As simple a matter as turning those stairs into an escalator is, it would only make people lazy."
"But everyone here can literally just levitate and phase through walls. Why make them work that hard? It's a lot of stairs."
"My tower negates all but my and Tempora's powers, leaving any visitor needing to walk if they want an audience with me."
"Kinda harsh, but fair. But, I'm not here to talk about that."
"I figured you were not on a social call. Not with the aura of budding darkness around you."
Nick sighed. "Yeah, my temper's been screwed up today. But for good reason. You remember my old girlfriend Ruca, right?"
"The redhead you were always so adorable with back when you were still fully human?" Nick nodded. "Yes, I recall. Her ghostly form has been missing for about a year now, right?"
"About that, yes. But, she didn't go missing or cross over or whatever." The frown forming on Nick's face told Eona volumes about the chip he was carrying on his shoulders.
"Oh? So you've found her, then." Eona could see all time at any time, but she had decided to stop hovering over the happenings of Nick's life once she had begun mentoring Nick in the use of his powers. "Why do you seem about to murder someone?"
"Because given today's events and revelations, I absolutely am." Nick crossed his arms. "Sephiroth is up to something big, and Ruca was only the beginning."
Eona's eyes narrowed. "What did that soulless whelp do to that poor, sweet girl?"
"She's not so sweet anymore, my ribs can attest to that." He said, rubbing the sore spot where the demonic Ruca had roundhoused him. "Sephiroth has taken his experiments on the Corruption way too far now. He actually transformed Ruca from a ghost into a demon. And not just any kind of demon, no! He had to go and make her a succubus."
Eona gasped. "He's figured out how to turn ghosts into full-fledged demons?" Nick nodded, more surprised that Eona hadn't foreseen the events herself. "That can mean only terrible things for the future. How do you know Ruca is a full Succubus?"
"Other than the fact my siphoning powers can't permanently shift her back to her spiritual form, Sephiroth's word. Her body was constantly leaking the corruption. I almost passed out just from the effort of siphoning her to contain her for the moment." Eona could see the pain on Nick's face as he talked about it. "I just want her back.."
Eona sighed. There may be no other way to turn the tides of what the future now held. No way but one.. "There may be a way to help."
"What?" Nick said, trying but failing to hide the hopeful tone in his voice.
"If you wish to save her, there may be but a single way to do it. You must journey to the Realm of the Succubi and speak with their Queen, Gina. You are to say you are my apprentice and the balance of the Realms is in jeopardy, understand?"
"Of course, but how am I going to convince a legion of demons to help ghosts? Ghosts that absorb too much corruption become demons, but that is within the natural balance, right?"
"Yes, that is correct. But, the Queen and I have an understanding, and she owes me a couple of favors. Never say I don't do anything for you."
"Other than train me to the bone when I come around? You don't, really." He laughed as Eona giggled along.
"You need to tone that mouth down if you are to speak to Gina. Otherwise she may just decide to screw us over and turn you into an Incubus out of spite. Now, go." Eona flourished her hand as a portal opened. "Show me once again why I chose you as my apprentice."
"I won't let you down, Eona. I have.. There's too much at stake for me. I won't come back without the help we need." Eona smiled and nodded as Nick walked through the portal.
"Let us hope we aren't already too late."
Realm of the Succubi..
The first thing Nick noticed as he stepped out of the portal was just how beautiful the landscape was. It reminded him of a landscape painting of Japan, complete with cherry blossom trees and a huge mountain off on the horizon. "For a world of demons, this place isn't half bad." He commented as he sensed another presence, turning to see several Succubi and Incubi in armor descend from the skies upon him.
The first to land on the ground surrounding Nick held out a sword made from an onyx-like metal and was as jagged as a shark's tooth. "Halt, who dares intrude upon the Realm of the Succubi?" He asked, his tail swishing dangerously slow like a cobra waiting to strike.
"My name is Nick, otherwise known as Phantasm. I am a halfa who wishes to speak to her majesty Queen Gina on behalf of Eona the Time Ghost. The fate of the Realms and their balance depends on it." Nick stated, bowing in respect to his would-be captors.
"Mikhail, let him pass," Said one of the present Succubi, gently lowering the Incubus' sword. "I have heard tales of this young hero. The Queen may indeed want to speak to him. There has been much danger here lately."
"Yes, from the Spectral Realm! We have no reason to trust this abomination."
"Mikhail, shut up. Nessa is right. Abomination to the natural order a halfa may be, but most demons are nothing but former hybrids, or abominations in your colorful vocabulary. Come, young one. I shall escort you to her majesty." Said another Succubus as she dispersed the rest of the group, walking beside Nick as she led him to a settlement in the distance.
"Thank you for dispersing the hostility. I didn't need another near-death experience by Succubus today."
The demon girl stopped. "Another? But no Succubus has gone to the Human Realm in decades. Why would one of our kind just go and attack a ghost?"
"She wasn't in complete control of herself, but even then she's not a natural Succubus.."
"Not natural.. What could you mean by that? There have not been any conversions for years."
"What do you.. Oh, yeah I guess that has been a theorized conclusion to some of a succubus' abilities. But no, she wasn't converted. Not like you would a human. She was.. Is still a ghost, first and foremost. But my godfather, who is also a halfa like me and my biggest enemy back home, has been doing experiments with Corruption energy. He figured a way to turn a ghost full-demon, and my girl.. She was his first success. I almost died trying to siphon the corruption from her."
"You have the ability to siphon the Corruption energy?" Nick nodded. "Interesting. And this succubus that attacked you, your girlfriend..? She was fully formed as one of us?"
"Down to the smallest detail. Why are you so interested in this all of a sudden.. What?!" Nick looked over at the Succubus accompanying him and was shocked to see an intricate tiara on her head now where it hadn't been moments before. "You.. You're the Queen?!"
The demon girl nodded in amusement. "Yes. It is not often there are visitors to my Realm, especially from Eona's domain. You must be the apprentice she spoke of in her letters, the one able to stop the Corruption."
Nick sighed. "Yeah, probably. Although judging by this morning, I'm nowhere near powerful enough to stop fully and possibly completely functioning demons."
"Maybe you give yourself too little credit, young one. Seeing as this issue you're having is both relevant to my kind and a matter of the heart, I shall assist in any way I can. Now explain more about this unsavory godfather of yours.."
A/N:Rewriting this story, starting with merging the first two chapters as I felt there was more than enough to warrant them put together and not kept separate. I will be working on the last full chapter later today to post as quickly as possible. Due to the knowledge D.P. came back with a new graphic novel (suspiciously named after one of my FnaF series) I decided I had to come back to this and try to keep going. Unfortunately updates will still be sporadic as hell. I have a lot of stories going on all at once,l at varying degrees of success so please bear with me. Sorry this wasn't a brand new chapter.