Sorry the update took a few days, the sickness was too great.
Enjoy!
Damien had to admit, Silverridge seemed like a nice place.
A nice place that had a weapon that could decimate entire countries, but a nice place nonetheless.
He and Terra were walking through a crowded street, looking for any signs of Phantom Dove. Given that the city wasn't burning to the ground, he assumed they hadn't struck yet. Damien had been in a lot of high risk situations the past few months, most of which being life or death. He had never, not even in the face of Taisho or Kronos, felt so worried. It wasn't even about Apocalypse or what he wanted, it was what he planned to use to get what he wanted that had him worried. An Etherion cannon that could fire on anything in the world with controlled bursts was a very dangerous weapon, and if they didn't hurry one of the most evil, vile men Damien knew of would get his hands on it.
"See anything?" Terra asked. As Damien had gotten a look at all the Phantom Dove members prior to them running off, Terra had told him to keep an eye out for any of them should he see them.
"No." Damien replied. Terra walked a bit ahead and started to look around. It was about then Damien sensed another presence, and sighed. "Go away." He said.
"Why?" Xisplate demanded. "We can't talk."
"I'm busy." Damien cast the demon an irritated look. "And you seem to have the idea we're friends or something."
"I assumed what happened was water under the bridge." Damien stared at the demon like he was insane.
"Water under the bridge?" He demanded. "Need I remind you you hijacked my body, used it to destroy my home, and killed my sister?" Xisplate sighed.
"The fact that you've yet to get over that shows how immature you really are." He informed Damien, making him growl. "The fate of your country, your world, is hanging on the ropes right now. Show some sense Damien, I'm on your side." Damien kept the demon's gaze for a few more seconds before he growled and looked back in Terra's direction, walking away. After a moment, Damien sighed.
"Sense anything?"
"A great evil." Xisplate informed him. "The Olympians no doubt have a hand in Apocalypse's being here, only they could convey such a feeling." Damien gulped nervously.
"Are...They here?" he asked weakly. Xisplate shook his head.
"The Olympians wouldn't waste their time with you mere mortals." He replied. "That's why they send their underlings to do it for them."
"Mere mortals?" Damien asked lowly, so Terra and no one else could see him talking to himself. "Are they really Gods?"
"No." Xisplate replied. "However, they are just as powerful as one, which is why they refer to themselves as such. Why would someone of their caliber deal with you directly?"
"You seem to know an awful lot about these Olympians." Damien said, narrowing his eyes at Xisplate. There was no sign of reaction on Xisplate's face, so Damien couldn't read him.
"It is not just your world at stake, Damien." He told him. "The Olympians get what they want and everything falls apart. Remember, I'm on your side."
"You seem really intent on reminding me of that..." Damien muttered as they rounded a corner.
"Keep forgetting and I'll remind you." Xisplate informed him flatly. "Now, pay attention. Your peaceful trip will not last much longer." Xisplate then disappeared and before Damien could ponder what this meant, the hair on his arms stood up on end. Slowly looking towards the park, he spotted one of the Phantom Dove men sitting on a bench, as nonchalantly as possible.
"Terra." he said, making the earth mage stop. "Found him." Terra followed his gaze and narrowed her eyes.
"Which one is he?" Damien made a face.
"He's new." He replied. "He wasn't there when we fought Phantom Dove the first time." Terra groaned, and Damien looked over to find her clutching her head. "What's the matter?"
"My head hurts." She replied, rubbing her temples. "Ugh, what the hell..."
"A headache?"
"I guess, but..." Terra groaned again. "It's not my thing to get random headaches..." Damien turned back to glare at the man,who still had not moved. Hell, he even cast a few people kind looks. Damien wouldn't mistaken him for some random passerby if he hadn't sensed him.
"Come on," Damien said, pushing through the crowd. "Let's get this guy."
It was dark, far far to dark. Drake and Winter were currently wandering around in the sewers, blinded by the darkness around them. Drake only had a very vague idea where they were going, as the echoing of his hearing negated it's usefulness.
"This is insane." Winter hissed from directly behind Drake. The two had resorted to staying close as too not lose each other. "I'm going to give it to this guy when we find him."
"If we find him." Drake corrected. "I have no idea where we are right now."
"You're in my game, Dragon Slayer." Drake and Winter jumped and looked around on instinct, of course seeing nothing. "And I'm making the rules."
"Who are you?" Drake demanded.
"Quintus." Drake recalled the name from the original fight against Phantom Dove, and the man who had created the shadowy veil Apocalypse had hidden in at the estate.
"What do you want from us?" Winter asked, making Quintus chuckle.
"Fun." he replied. "I was the only one Apocalypse also wanted on the look out for an entrance to the Etherion cannon, as I'm sure you've all learned is underground. But of course, after sensing a powerful pair on my trail, I decided some fun would be in order."
"You...sensed us?" Drake asked weakly.
"Of course, Dragon Slayer." Quintus said, chuckling. "We're talking about the son of Cobra the Poison Dragon and the daughter of Chelia the Sky Goddess, I'm no fool." Drake could practically see the smug look on his face. "I see what the shadows see."
"Why don't you come out and fight us like a man?" Winter asked, trying to challenge Quintus' manhood. Quintus snorted in derision.
"Like I said Winter dearest, I'm no fool. A fight head on with you two would be asking for it. Besides, I'll give your little group, hmm, an hour until Apocalypse can start the firing sequence. After that, you've already lost."
"What the hell are you targeting with that cannon?" Drake asked, hoping maybe Quintus would be stupid enough to say something.
"Not my place to say." Quintus replied, making Drake curse under his breath. "Besides, you two have enough problems to worry about right now. Will you make it out of these sewers alive? Only one? Two? I guess you\ll have to find out." Quintus spoke no more, leaving Drake and Winter alone.
If only it felt like that.
Ever step Drake took, he could practically feel Quintus' eyes watching him take it, and it was unnerving. His hearing couldn't pick up shadows, so he had no idea if the man had vacated the area or was watching their every step. He and Winter were about to turn the corner when something shattered as it hit the ground, followed by a rustling noise.
This caused Winter to cling to him tightly.
"W-What the hell was that?" She whispered in his ear.
"Rats." Drake replied, hearing the small rodents scurry away from them. "Harmless little sewer rats." Winter had yet to let go, and Drake started to feel uncomfortable. "You can let go Winter."
"I..." Drake could tell she was red in the face.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Your body heat is comforting..." She mumbled under her breath. Drake wasn't one to get embarrassed about things like this, but even he felt the heat rise to his face. It wasn't like Winter to admit something like that.
So of course he opted to tease her.
"Wow," he said with a smirk. "That might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me." Winter growled and punched him in the chest as she let go.
"Not interested, Cyanide Breath." She told him. "We broke up years ago, we'll keep it that way."
"Fine, I don't care." Drake turned and started to walk again, but did not hear Winter behind him. Sighing, he turned and outstretched his hand. "If you're that scared of the dark, you can hold my hand." He said it in a teasing manner, so he did not expect Winter to actually grasp his hand and hold in firmly. "Uh..."
"Something the matter?" Winter asked in a sweet tone. Drake wished he could see her face so he could punch her.
"No, nothing." They continued on their path into the darkness, still no clue where they were going.
"..."
"...Your hand is clammy as shit though."
SMACK!
"Ow!"
When Mami walked onto the bridge, the amount of concentration was unnerving her. Ken was rapidly typing away with his archive, paying her no one else any mind.
"What's he doing?"| She asked Taro. The tan man shrugged.
"He isn't talking to us." he replied. "All he's doing is sitting there and typing away." Mami nodded and was about to check on him when Akio walked past them.
"Where are you going?" She asked. Akio stopped to talk.
"To check on Nashi and Elise." He replied. "from what we were told Nashi might wake up at any moment, Elise might stay out." mami nodded and he walked past them, allowing Mami and Taro to advance on Ken.
"Yo, Ken." Taro said. Like he'd told Mami, the dirty blonde did not look up at them.
"Ken." Mami tried, tapping his shoulder, still not getting a response.
"Ken."
"Ken."
"Ken."
"Ken?" Still nothing, and now the droning was even pissing Mami off. Sighing, she stepped back a bit.
"Oh man." She said in a low purr. "it's sooooo hot in here, I think I'll take my shirt off."
"Say what?" Ken asked, immediately turning around, making Taro face palm.
"Perv." Mami said as she walked up ti him. "Now, before you get lost in your fantasy world again, what are you doing?" Ken sighed and turned back around, resuming his typing. It was a moment or two before he spoke again.
"I'm running simulations of an Etherion strike on multiple key targets." He said.
"Like what?" Taro asked.
"The castle, Crocus in general, Era, the like." Ken replied. "Hell, I'm even running simulations on how big the blast would be to wipe out the whole country."
"I doubt he's targeting the entire country." Mami said. "He'd kill himself in the process."
"Yes, because he's totally sane." taro said sarcastically.
"Well, in any case," Ken said. "Without the actual stats of the blast I can't get an exact detail of what he might be hitting."
"Well, good job anyway." Mami said, patting him on the back. "Now we just have to wai...!"
"GUYS! GUYS!" Everyone turned as Akio sprinted onto the bridge, completely out of breath.
"What? What happened?" Mami asked as she walked up to him.
"It's..." Akio took a deep breath. "It's...Nashi..." Mami's stomach turned violently at these words.
"What about her?" Mami asked. "Is she dead? Dying? In pain? Come on Akio, open up!" After Akio spent too much time catching his breath, Mami grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him violently. "Come on! What is it?!"
"Mami, calm down!" Taro shouted, grabbing her and pulling her away. "Now Akio, catch your breath and tell us, how bad is she?" Akio stood up straight, his eyes full of worry and confusion.
"She's gone."
Oh Nashi, you so sneaky! Sorry again for the long wait on updates, I wasn't feeling good. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!