Alright, time for the next chapter, hope everyone is having a good time. I'm eager to really get this story going, I want to have plenty of fun with this one so let's keep on keepin on.
Broken Angel: Rising Demon
Chapter 6: Growing darkness
- October 1st 1998-
-Pentref Cysgodian Hud, Britain-
"I'm more then a little insulted." Riley muttered as she folded her arms across her chest.
"Why? Because they'd bomb the city out of existence rather than accept our help?" Itachi inquired.
"Yeah, that'd be it." Riley responded as she shook her head. She was currently in Itachi's office, with her was Wesker, Kabuto, Daphne, and Madara.
Riley's group had just returned from the Arklay mountains and had just finished their debriefing.
"According to their ambassador, they were taking our offer very seriously and had convened a hearing at MACUSA to discuss it." Daphne offered, earning a shake of the head from Riley.
"Yeah, bull. They were stalling. All they had to do was say yes, and I could have let the Kryll out to devour all of the infected, it would have been over in minutes. Instead, they choose to play politics and left tens of thousands to rot and die. Fucking morons." Riley hissed with a growl.
"We offered, they refused. Its out of our hands now." Itachi stated after a moment of silence, gaining a nod and a sigh from Riley, in response.
"Still it's an odd thing that they would bomb the city and ensure that no one survived, when they could have simply accepted our aid and mind-wiped the survivors. That's an unwarranted amount of pride and arrogance." Madara noted.
"More then likely their refusal stems from their desire to keep their involvement with Umbrella a secret. The risk of the Legion discovering the deal they made with William was more then likely to high for them to accept." Wesker stated, earning thoughtful looks from those around him.
"He's probably right." Riley said with a shake of her head. She was half tempted to resurrect all those that had died and leave it to the US government to explain what the hell had happened. Everyone would know it was her, but it's not like they could go after her without making it seem especially shady.
In the end, Riley simply shook her head and let out a sigh. Politics was a game she was good at but she hated when it hampered her. This whole situation could have been handled in a matter of moments, had politics not been involved.
It took several moments but Riley finally let out a sigh and locked eyes with Itachi.
"Well… now we know where we stand with one of our so called allies. If the US wants to bomb their own people rather then risk their secrets getting out, then that's their prerogative. Fuck em. We have our own concerns." Riley stated voicing her agreement with Itachi's earlier sentiment.
"Yes. For now, we need to get those you rescued to work. We'll have them swear blood oaths, and we'll have them moved to the R&D Division and help get it up and running." Itachi said, focusing his words on Kabuto and Wesker.
"I'll have the R&D team take up residence in Rapture. They can safely test their experiments there, and it'll be an enclosed system. Fewer chances for a leak." Riley offered earning a curious look from those around her and a nod from Itachi.
"I like that idea. The city is massive and more then capable of serving as an efficient laboratory. Plus they can begin studying ADAM and it's affects when working in conjunction with the Viruses." Itachi stated, again drawing curious gazes, this time from Kabuto and Wesker, meanwhile, Madara and Daphne, thought on that idea and nodded in agreement with it's logic.
"Kabuto go and fetch William and Annette. I'm going to show you where you'll all be working from now on." Riley commanded. Kabuto offered a nod and vanished in a swirl of wind, while Riley turned towards Wesker. "Rapture is an asset of mine, that I'm leasing it in part to the Legion. As of right now, it serves as a manufacturing location, where it produces our weapons and equipment. It's location is top secret and it's in a secluded part of the world. I'll provide you and the others magical means of transportation to get from here to there, most of our staff will take up residence there and remain there indefinitely while the administrators will have free access. You can use the city to set up with the equipment and supplies we stole from Umbrella."
Riley's explanation earned even more curiosity from the man. Sensing this, Daphne chose to expand on what Riley was saying.
"Rapture is an underwater city, built several decades ago by a wealthy man named Andrew Ryan. It's built on the sea floor in the northern Atlantic. Riley went there years ago to rescue your sister Eleanor. Once done she slaughtered most of it's inhabitants and claimed the city for her own. Over the last few decades the city has been repaired and enhanced with magic. As of right now it's a ghost town with barely two hundred individuals living there, though it's large enough and spacious enough to house over fifty thousand people." Daphne explained to her son.
"Fascinating. Such a location should prove more then sufficient to carry out our studies." Wesker hummed thoughtfully as Kabuto returned with Annette and William.
"Apologies for interrupting your recovery, but my colleague and I have to discuss business with the two of you." Itachi stated, eyeing the two intently.
Before either could answer, Riley's tails shot out, touching everyone in the room and teleporting them all to Rapture.
William and Annette both fell to the ground in surprise at the sudden movement while Riley simply let out a chuckle.
"Welcome to Rapture." Riley stated as she stepped up towards a large window that opened up to show the massive underwater city in it's entirety.
"Wh-what is this?" Annette muttered in disbelief as she regained her focus and pulled herself to her feet alongside William. As her words left her mouth, a massive squid swam by the window, the creature was nearly thirty feet long, more the large enough to cause both scientists' jaws to drop in amazement.
"This is where you'll be working from now on. Rapture, an underwater city located between Iceland and Greenland. Here you'll perform research on behalf of our organization. Do this, and no one will ever know the role either of you played in the fall of Raccoon City, nor will the US government or Umbrella learn of your survival." Itachi said to the two, drawing their attention away from the window.
"From now on you'll be working with Wesker and Kabuto, developing and engineering new tools for us to utilize. Our organization exists as Britain's magical military, but we are also focused on the prosperity of the people who live here. Your research will be utilized in aiding us in this endeavor. Work hard, and cooperate, and you'll find yourselves living very comfortable lives. Refuse and the next place either of you end up is on the other side of the glass." Riley informed them, her eyes flashing red as she did, and allowing just the tiniest sliver of her KI to slip out, causing both former scientists to seize up in fear as their deaths flashed before their eyes.
"God…" Annette muttered, as she nearly wet herself from sheer terror. William meanwhile felt his whole body vibrate painfully, Riley's magic within him flaring up in response to her aggressive stance.
"From now on, you'll report directly to Kabuto and Wesker. As senior administrators from the NEST the two of you are being offered positions directly beneath the two of them. Work hard, and prove your loyalty to our organization and you'll find yourself rising through the ranks quite quickly. We need good people, and due to Wesker's recommendation, the two of you were brought on. Show us what you can do and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the results." Itachi stated to the two, his gaze piercing and focused.
"Alright… I'll show you guys around, I'll let the four of you discuss where you'd like to set up here, and then we'll begin bringing in the equipment we stole and get your new lab up and running. If there is anything more that you'll need just let me know and I'll get it for you. Cost if of no concern to me." Riley stated after a moment of silence.
She then turned and began to head off motioning for them to follow as she did. Itachi moved by her side, gazing out at the sea life as he did.
For a few seconds Madara, Daphne, and the four scientists remained in the room. Finally Kabuto spoke up, a smirk spreading across his face.
"She never ceases to impress." He stated, earning a chuckle from Daphne.
"You should see the flying city." Daphne quipped with a smirk as she turned to head off, gaining a snort of amusement from Madara in the process.
"No she does not." Wesker agreed after a moment, as the four followed after them.
-Fontaine Futuristics, Rapture. October 7th 1998-
"Do you see this?" William inquired, his gaze fixed on the lenses of a microscope.
"ADAM truly is a marvelous substance." Kabuto hummed in agreement from nearby.
Over the last week, the Legions R&D department made it's new home within Fontaine Futuristics within Rapture. The labs and computers already there, needed to be upgraded, but it was already designed as a lab environment.
Raptures technological wonders were absolutely mind blowing. The automated machines, and assembly lines, coupled with the development of Plasmids and Gene Tonics, opened up an entirely new area of research for the nearly dozen former Umbrella scientists that had been collected from the NEST.
During their time there, Riley took the opportunity to deliver all of the collected research she had gained from her trips to Rapture, and to Columbia, so as to allow the R&D teams to build off of all of it.
While ADAM was the most revolutionary discovery that the two shared, the Anti-gravity technology developed by the Luteces, was a close second. It took only a few seconds after learning of the existence of such technology for all four scientists to offer a suggestion for the Legion to begin acquiring individuals with skills in the field of Quantum physics and the like.
Eleanor was quick to join the R&D department, returning to Rapture and using her incredible mind to help it's newest inhabitants understand all that Rapture had to offer. Upon learning of Eleanor's desire to join the research team Riley pulled her daughter aside and delivered a request to her. She didn't care what Eleanor worked on, but Riley had a project she wanted Eleanor to look into. That project was to extend the range of the Vita-chambers to cover large areas of space, at least several hundred miles, but Riley wouldn't turn away a larger radius for them to function.
Riley's reasoning, was if Eleanor was successful in her research, then they could construct Vita-chambers, keyed into each and every member of the Legion. And if they died in battle, they'd be immediately revived at a safe location where the chamber was held. For instance if Eleanor could get the chambers to function across the planet, then Riley could build a place in Britian that would house a chamber for every single one of their soldiers, and then they really wouldn't have a reason to fear death. And that would free up Riley from having to be on alert to revive them.
Eleanor thought it was a wonderful idea, as the Vita-chambers responded most acutely to trauma based injuries which is what you were most likely to receive on the battlefield. While they couldn't do anything about disease or old age, or something like a person's organs shutting down, if someone got shot, stabbed, blown up, or something like that, the Vita-chambers would bring them back.
Aside from that project, little other direction was given to the R&D department other then the motivations and general purpose of the Legion. So long as their research benefited the Legion or Britain, Riley and Itachi didn't really care what they did with their time.
With access to ADAM, research into the T-Virus and the G-Virus began anew. Riley left her two newest familiars in the form of the NEMESIS Tyrant, and William's G-Virus body, in the hands of the scientists so they could study them. Little had been done to change them when Riley dominated their wills, so they were viable research subjects, plus as Riley's servants, if anything happened, they could be released to defend Rapture from attackers, or Riley could summon them if need be.
All of their captured specimens were placed in Rapture for the scientists to begin experimenting with, using new ideas, as well as ADAM to see if they could further improve upon Umbrella's existing bio-weapons.
It was Kabuto whom first got the idea to see if the plasmids could be used on the undead. The first test involved giving the Incinerate plasmid to an undead dog. This caused it to burst into flames and quickly break down into a pile of ash. But it gave Kabuto a few ideas and after conferring with Eleanor, they were able to create a new strand of the plasmid that was keyed into canine DNA, and tried again. Again it was a failure, though it took much longer for the undead dog to burn away. This resulted in them dialing back the intensity of the plasmid to fit with a dog's smaller body mass, and they tried a third time. The third test was a success. The undead canine burst into flames but it did not burn away. Instead it seemingly developed a raging inferno within it's own body. It's eyes exploded out into twin balls of fire, and it began to breathe flames from it's mouth.
By all accounts it was exactly what anyone would describe a 'hellhound' as.
As soon as they succeeded, Eleanor sent word to Riley. Riley in turn brought Skorge there and upon seeing the beast, both master and familiar agreed, that Skorge's hounds needed the same upgrade.
And so it was that Riley's demonic familiar now had over two dozen fire breathing hounds in his service. The first thing Skorge taught them how to do was spit fireballs at targets.
The horde of hellhounds quickly became the spark that ignited the R&D division's passion for development. Upon seeing the new creatures in action, Itachi commissioned the R&D department to begin developing animal based plasmids, that were specified for dogs, and for insects. More specifically ninken, and the Aburame's beetles.
After a meeting with both Tsume Inuzuka, and Shibi Aburame, both clan leaders agreed that the utilization of new plasmids would be the next step to developing new abilities for their clans. So both sent a representative from their clan to Rapture to begin assisting the R&D group on their first official project.
Now, after only a week of working, the group was already knee-deep in research as it used all of the new resources at it's disposal to open up new directions that were never-before thought of. The reveal of magic was another aspect that blew most of the scientists away. Learning and seeing what it could do, enthralled them and earned the Legion the support from most of them, as they were eager to learn more and get their names on new and amazing discoveries.
"Wonders never cease." William hummed as he sat back and rubbed at his face.
"I'm assuming that means the mutation took?" Kabuto inquired, glancing over his shoulder at the man.
"On a cellular level yes. We still need to conduct tests on live hosts before we'll know for certain." William responded, earning a nod from Kabuto.
"Well then. Let's get everything ready. I'd hate to keep our benefactor waiting." Kabuto responded, earning a snort of amusement from William.
Elsewhere in the facility, Annette Birkin was busy conducting tests on the mutated former body of her husband. She had given the creature the name G, and was working to try and understand the connection between William's DNA and the G-virus. Why this mutation? Why this reaction? Was this explicitly related to William or would anyone else be affected the same way?
While William split his time between advancing the T-Virus, G-Virus, and ADAM crossovers, Annette was more focused on refining the G-Virus itself. William still spent a lot of his time working with her on their creation, but the vast expanse of new possibilities opened up by ADAM and magic, put William in the position of walking that path to make those discoveries alongside Wesker and Kabuto. The trio's research and ambition was quickly earning them a name for themselves, one that Annette and her new gal-pal in Eleanor would often snicker about.
"I'm surprised. With everything that's going on down here, you'd think you have enough to work with." Annette heard the voice of the commander say as one of the automated doors opened in the room she was in. She glanced over her shoulder at the door as Itachi and Wesker entered into the room, obviously in discussion about something.
"While the expanse of new possibilities, warrants exploration, there is still more then can be pilfered from Umbrella to further our gains. Not to mention the fact that they've received a major blow to their US operations. We can take this opportunity to strike out at their other branches as well." Wesker responded.
Hearing that, Annette fully turned to listen in on the two as they continued their discussion. Both men noticed her, but neither seemed to care that she was present. Instead they stopped walking and Itachi turned his full attention towards Wesker.
"You have a target in mind?" Itachi inquired.
"Yes. Rockfort island. Umbrella utilizes it as a training ground for their forces. We can capture more equipment, samples, personnel, and we can remove one of Umbrella's chief executives. Alfred Ashford. His family is tied to the founding of Umbrella. His death would be a severe blow to their collective pride and their internal infrastructure, plus the loss of the facility's training grounds will stymie their ability to train more USS and UBCS forces." Wesker explained the reasoning for this target. Itachi looked thoughtful and then glanced over at Annette. She remained silent as Itachi walked over to her, stepping up next to her alongside Wesker as both men glanced at the G, which was suspended within a water-filled tube and appeared to be inert.
"Umbrella has proven that it's willing to use innocent people as cattle for their own gains. Morality is something we cannot afford to covet in organizations such as this, however… the senseless deaths caused by their desire for power cannot be ignored. The Legion exists to protect the people of Britain, but we also exist to punish the wicked of this world and all those who threaten our home. Umbrella is a danger to us. One that has proven it's willingness to allow innocent people to suffer for it's own gains. That I cannot abide. You may be doing this out of a need for revenge against them, but your logic is sound." Itachi stated, his gaze firmly on the G, studying it's deformities with a calculating gaze.
"I wont deny that watching Umbrella burn to the ground wont be cathartic. Though in this case, I see it as a bonus." Wesker responded, also eyeing the G. Each day, the former Umbrella scientist saw his respect for the Legion's Lord-Commander grow. The man may be young, but Itachi Uchiha was pragmatic, direct, resourceful and utterly ruthless when it came to his enemies. But more then all of that, Itachi was utterly brilliant and was wise beyond his years.
"Regardless, as I said your logic is sound, and I agree that Umbrella is a rival that must be dealt with. Rockfort island is where you suggest we go next?" Itachi asked, turning his attention to Wesker.
"Yes." Wesker responded with a nod.
"Alright then. Bring the details to Shikaku. We'll prepare a strike team. This will be a Search and Destroy mission. Let this be our first step in dismantling Umbrella for good. While we prepare for our assault on Rockfort Island I want you to work with Shikaku to plan a course of action for our continued operations against Umbrella. If we're going to begin dismantling them, I want this to be carried out with precision. First Rockfort, then the next, then the next. Step by step until we finally slit their throats." Itachi ordered, his eyes growing in intensity as he spoke. Earning another nod from Wesker, the lord-commander of the Legion turned to head out.
Wesker stood in silence for a moment before glancing sideways at Annette. She stared back at the shades wearing scientist before letting out a sigh and turning back towards the G.
She made a noise of fright when she spotted it's eyes open, staring through the tank out at the two of them, it's eyes glowing yellow as it watched them.
Wesker smirked and let out a light chuckle as he turned and headed off, Annette glanced after him before recomposing herself and returning to her studies. There was something very interesting about this creature, beyond even the G-Virus. Riley had stated that she used her magic to dominate the creature's will, but Kabuto later expanded upon that explanation telling his fellow scientists that such a thing wasn't possible for normal people.
Only those with exceptional abilities or an extreme level of power could use their magic to force another being to bend permanently to their will.
Annette was fascinated by the possibilities that magic presented. The best way she figured to learn it's limits was to study it's affects on creature's such as the G, along with the other new bioweapons that were being produced.
It may not give her the answers she needed, but in this new area of exploration, every step forward was a journey onto itself.
-Pentref Cysgodian Hud, Britain. October 8th 1998-
"So… I'm assuming you have your answers?" Itachi inquired. Sitting across from him was Hashirama and Tobirama Senju.
Riley stood off to the side, also listening in as both brothers explained what they had found in the Elemental Nations, in and around the sight of Riley's battle with the Ten-Tails.
"It's as Kaguya said. There is a scar in nature itself. The magic that flows in that area is being turned foul by the presence of this scar, and the radius of the effects are slowing expanding with each passing day. The local wildlife is becoming much more violent, and the people living near that area are also experiencing a rise in violent tendencies. While we were there we noted an increase in fights, as well a murder that occurred in broad daylight." Tobirama explained to Itachi and Riley.
Itachi was silent for several long moment before glancing at Riley, who's eyes were closed, and she looked to be deep in thought. After several seconds she felt Itachi's eyes on her and she opened hers.
"You tried purifying it?" Riley asked her grandfather.
Hashirama nodded with a sigh.
"You tried sealing it?" Riley directed the question towards her grand-uncle.
Tobirama nodded and folded his arms over his chest.
"Then it would seem our current options are exhausted. We should let Gaia know what you found and adviser her to do what grandmother said and evacuate the area and keep an eye on the spread of this malevolent energy. Hopefully in a few years, it'll stop expanding and the effects will die down." Riley stated, again earning a sigh from Hashirama.
"I wish such a thing wasn't necessary but you're right. There aren't many people who live in that area so evacuating it wont be hard." Hashirama stated.
"For now we'll just have to be careful, but if it continues to expand we'll have to look into other options in order to fix the damage. For now though, we'll send our report to the Kazekage, and leave it in her hands. We have other issues that we can actually do something about, like locating the remaining Akatsuki, as well as the rebel terrorists, and the missing reanimations that disappeared during war." Itachi agree with Riley earning a nod of acceptance from the two founders in response.
-Riley's House, London. October 9th 1998-
The sun bled over the horizon as Katie Bell pulled herself through the front door of Riley's home. She had just spent a long night at the hidden village doing various duties, things including training, paperwork, and processing new recruits alongside some of her seniors. Katie was quickly becoming accustomed to military life. When she was little, the idea of becoming an auror had been her focus a few times but ever since the fourth great ninja war she felt the Legion was her calling. While working there, she got to fulfill plenty of her life's goals. Including the opportunity to to all sorts of places and see and experience different things.
Right now things were boring because the Legion was still getting on it's feet but more and more missions were slowly trickling in as the Legion's reputation as problem solvers became more apparent to those in the surrounding countries. If things kept up, soon they'd be deployed to places far and wide, and once their missions were done, they'd have some time to see these amazing places they were sent too. Katie loved that, and she also loved the idea of serving. It made her feel useful, not just to herself, but to others as well. She liked the time she got to spend with her team as well as the opportunity to learn more about magic.
Though as a downside, the hours were long, and Katie often found herself dragging into the house at odd hours, either in the middle of the day, the early morning or even well past sundown. Her hours were in no way set, but that did add a sense of change to her work week, which she did enjoy to a certain extent. She removed her jacket as she closed the front door and she set in on the coat rack with the nearly dozen others that were present there. She heard noise in the living room, which was odd at this early hour in the morning. She was about to make her way towards it when a small door opened nearby, and Dobby the house elf poked his head out to see who it was. Katie offered the little elf a smile and motioned for him to stay quiet as she headed towards the living room to see who was awake this early in the morning.
Arriving in the living room, she found Riley sprawled out on the couch, laying on top of Riley was Kaede, whom was cuddled up to her, the two comfortably resting, one of Riley's arms hanging off the couch while the other was around Kaede holding the Diclonius queen to her.
The couch was just long enough that even with Riley stretched out on it, there was still room for another person to sit on one end. That space just so happened to be occupied by Luna whom was sitting upright, her head rested on the armrest of the couch.
Katie eyed the trio curiously glancing between the three and the television that was playing the news. She wondered what the three of them were doing out here. Perhaps Riley was feeling restless in bed and came down to bore herself to sleep with some TV? That seemed like it could be a possibility. Though considering Riley was a demon and could fall asleep at will, she knew that it couldn't be the case, despite it sounding plausible. Maybe Riley just wanted to sleep downstairs tonight, and somewhere along the line, Kaede came down and cuddled up to Riley, and then Luna did the same, taking the remaining space to be close to her beloved mate, but not to disturb Kaede or Riley.
Katie didn't know but she chose not to dwell on it, she was about to turn and head towards the stairs when she spotted Riley's tails draped around the couch, one even slipped around Luna, holding her.
Katie looked at where the tails were placed, extended out enough that they either lay spread out across the floor, or draped over the couch at various places. A curiosity built in Katie's mind as she pondered this, quickly concluding that it was a protective stance by Riley. The way the demon's tails were laid out, if someone managed to break in, despite how unlikely it was, then the instant they got close they'd be shredded by Riley's tails. It was a way of keeping anyone from ever getting close to her beloved mates.
Katie allowed a soft sigh to escape her lips. Despite the wards, despite the reinforced wood that the building was made of, despite Dobby, Riley was still paranoid about someone hurting the ones she held closest to heart. Even now, Katie could feel her own personal shadow, always following her, always there to protect her if things got out of hand. Her own personal wraith to keep her safe. And Katie knew that the wraiths weren't the extent of Riley's protective measures.
Katie didn't know where, and she was sure she'd never find it, but she knew she had a Hiraishin seal on her body, just like all of Riley's other mates, that Riley could use to instantly jump to their location if she needed too. She also knew that Riley sent clones to watch them whenever they left, though in truth, Katie actually suspected that Riley sent more then one clone to watch her mates.
It was a safety net that Katie didn't like thinking about. She preferred to think that the wraiths were the extent of Riley's over-protectiveness but she knew that they weren't. In fact, if she was being honest, she knew that Riley's protective measures for her mates, went beyond what even they knew, or had even thought of.
Again, Katie didn't like thinking about it, as it often made her head hurt. Instead she simply chose to offer the three a silent goodnight and head upstairs to join Daphne, and Fleur in bed.
-October 11th 1998, Gringotts, London.-
"You have a good day Ms. Delacour." Came the raspy growl of a goblin.
"I will Razorblood. Do send my regards to your wife for me." Fleur responded with a pleasant smile as she made her way out of the back of Gringotts to go home for the day. It was around midday, though Fleur had been there since the early morning in a meeting with several senior goblins as well as Itachi, to discuss the financial status of the Legion.
The legion itself received funding from the Ministry, but it's primary backer was actually Riley, whom threw money at it, as one of her only known expenses. In truth the goblins actually paid a large portion of the Legion's finances, due to Riley's possession of a Philosophers stone. If Riley wanted too, she could create vast amounts of wealth that would throw the economy into shambles, and the goblins did not want that. So in exchange for continuing to keep from breaking the system that their society revolved around, they paid a large percentage of the Legion's upkeep, and as an added bonus, they would receive a solid token of five percent of whatever revenue the Legion made for so long as they continued to finance it. They may take a hit sometimes, but every so often, things around the world would heat up, and more missions would filter in, meaning a solid influx of money.
This financial alliance between the legion and the goblin nation was overseen by Fleur, that was her primary job. Technically she was a member of the Legion, she just wasn't a field operative, and she spent most of her time at Gringotts working with the handful of senior account managers to ensure that everything the Legion needed was payed for.
In truth it wasn't all that expensive to operate the Legion. All of their weapons were made in Rapture. All of their buildings were constructed with Wood Style and Earth Style. Special runes made it so there was little to no upkeep for most structures. And with Hashirama's help, they could grow their own food on the island. So in truth all they really needed money for was a few supplies and the standard payroll for the soldiers to live off of, when there weren't missions coming it.
Again, it was a good agreement for the goblins, and they were actually working hard to make sure the Legion was in a good place to get missions done as they'd seen how rich the daimyo in the Elemental Nations got off of simply taxing their Hidden Villages. Getting a solid five percent from each mission was a steal for them.
Fleur enjoyed her job. She was good with numbers, and the goblins and legionaries treated her with respect. The customers at Gringotts however…
"I have been here for nearly an hour! Are you going to help me or not?" A surly voice echoed into the back halls of Gringotts and it made Fleur cringe as she heard it. Being a bank, especially a goblin run bank, that meant that there were times when people would have to deal with trouble, involving their money, and if Fleur were being completely honest with herself, money was probably the easiest way to drive a person up the wall and into a complete frenzy.
It wasn't just simple greed. It wasn't the overly rich, barking on and on about a few lost galleons in fines because said rich boy forgot to pay a fee or two. No it was often the more average or even downtrodden who would lose their minds for every little thing, and while it was understandable, Fleur couldn't help but sigh every time it happened. It was a well known and established fact that the goblins were not to be fucked with. Yelling at them wasn't going to help you. Threatening them was going to cost you. And being a nuisance was going to get you thrown out and your accounts would be shuttered.
Fleur did her best as she stepped out into the main lobby of Gringotts to keep her eyes off the situation brewing between a tan thin man, in rather nice attire, and one of the bank tellers.
"Sir, if you would settle down, I'd be happy to assist you with your request." The goblin teller droned out, almost on autopilot. There was a dullness to his eyes, like he wasn't even there. If Fleur had to guess, the poor guy was probably daydreaming about dinner, or about what he was going to do when he got off work. He was most definitely not giving the customer his full attention.
"Don't tell me to calm down. I have been waiting all day. I need to speak to someone in regards to some transactions made in my name." The man stated. By his side was a younger man, who looked to be in his later teens, possibly his early twenties, he had similarly tan skinned, and looked to either be a brother or even a son of the irate first man.
As Fleur made her way through the lobby, the younger man spotted her and stepped away from the older one to greet.
"Why hello there." He greeted, offering her a charming smile, and causing Fleur to stop in her tracks and let out an internal sigh. What were the odds she could make it through this without being called a name, or having to deal with a belligerent man, who caught a whiff of her allure and decided she was his soul mate?
"Hello." Fleur responded, facing the man.
"My name's Michael, may I ask yours?" He stated.
"My name is Fleur Delacour." Fleur responded, being respectful to the man as a customer to the bank and to avoid causing any trouble for the goblins she worked with.
"Fleur, now that is a lovely name." Michael said to her.
"Zank you. I am wiz someone zough, so if you are looking for a more intimate interaction, I am afraid I am spoken for." Fleur said to him, expecting to earn belligerence or annoyance in response which was the norm for these types of interactions.
Much to her surprise the man offered a nod and another charming smile. "Sorry about that. I wasn't really trying to make a pass or anything. I just wanted to get away from the old man." Michael said to her, nodding towards what Fleur now knew to be his father.
Fleur was pleasantly surprised to find someone who either had no interest in her, or at least a minor immunity to her allure. More often then not she was busy chasing guys off with threats of violence, due to the affects of her allure. Fleur herself didn't actually have a low opinion of men, she just knew how these things tended to go, and how her allure affected men, so it was common for them to be resistant to the idea of her turning them down. She knew it wasn't their fault, most of the time. So again, it was a pleasant surprise to find an individual who either didn't notice her allure, or he may even be gay, and thus had no interest in her regardless.
"It is no problem. I just have an issue dealing with men coming on to me. Too often a simple no is not enough." Fleur offered, earning a nod from Michael.
"Fair enough. Veela right?" He inquired.
"Yes. What gave it away?" Fleur asked.
"Well I could say it was the allure, but that'd be a lie, I barely noticed it. The Delacours are a noble family in France. Jean Delacour is the head of the DMLE there if I'm not mistaken, and if I'm right, Jean Delacour is married to a Veela last I heard." Michael explained earning a curious look from Fleur, as she quickly recognized that this Michael was not just another ordinary customer. If he not only knew who her father was, but knew who Jean Delacour was married to. She couldn't detect a french accent from him so she was a bit uncertain how he knew these things
"Do you do business with my fazer?" Fleur asked.
"My family does some work in France, we handle distribution of alchemical ingredients in the Mediterranean Sea. Roshank's, Gilberts', and Roth's Shipping, ever heard of it?" He explained, earning a nod of understanding from Fleur.
"Ah yes. Is your fazer one of the partners?" Fleur asked.
"Yes, Tobias Roth. That would make me Michael Roth. Forgive me if it seems like I'm prying but if you're the daughter of Jean Delacour, does that mean you're the same Veela beauty that's dating the Hero of the Burning Leaf?" Michael inquired, earning a coy smile from Fleur.
"You are well informed." Fleur offered in response earning a shrug from the man.
"It's useful to keep tabs on things like that. Find out the connections between people. Helps to know what you're getting involved in, when you know just who is connected to who. My father and I were actually here in Britain to discuss deals with the Ministry. We have a meeting there tomorrow, if my father can ever calm down enough to get his current financial situation in order." Michael stated as he glanced over at his father whom was still arguing with the goblin about something.
"Problems?" Fleur asked with genuine curiosity.
"No he's just a miser." Michael responded earning a chuckle from Fleur.
"Well I wish you luck in your dealings." Fleur offered, as it seemed their conversation was coming to a close.
"Thank you. Good luck in dealing with all the bullheaded males and their flirting." Michael offered in return, again earning a coy smile from Fleur.
"What are you doing over here?" Came the surly voice of Michael's father as he stormed over to them.
"I was just speaking to this lovely lady, while I waited for you to finish with your business." Michael replied, earning a sharp look from his father as he glanced between Fleur and Michael.
"Well let's get going. I've had enough of these British slags and their dimwitted little goblin shreiks. And stay away from women like that, there's always something wrong with them.Dimwitted, skanks." The father stated, starting in English and then switching to what Fleur recognized as German, probably figuring Fleur didn't understand what he was saying. Michael gave his father a sharp look, right as Fleur let out a snort of indignation.
"That wasn't nice." A new voice stated from behind the two. Both men glanced behind them to find, Draco Malfoy standing there. By his side was Hermione Granger, who was giving the father the dirtiest look she could manage.
"And who are you?" The Tobias Roth asked, while Michael buried his head in his hands and let out a sigh.
"My name is Draco Malfoy. And you are?" Draco responded causing both men's eyes to widen in surprise and Michael to let out a quiet curse and step away from his father, leaving the man to sink on his own.
Michael stepped over to Fleur and offered her his apologies while his father, started to sweat at being confronted by the British Minister's son and heir.
"Is your fazer always zis rude?" Fleur inquired, glaring at the man in question.
"Unfortunately. Luckily I take after my mother." Michael responded, earning a ghost of a smile from Fleur, as Draco continued to stare the man down.
"Listen… I don't care who you are, or what's got you in such a worked up state. You do not insult someone in such a way to their face. Not here, not in my presence. Apologize and leave." Draco stated calmly and sharply before the father could even explain who he was.
For a moment the man seemed ready to try and argue but after a moment Draco allowed some of his KI to leak out, causing the older man to stiffen with fright. After a few seconds he simply let out a sigh and turned towards Fleur. "My apologies if I disrespected you. I have a lot going on right now. I will take my leave. Let's go."
Michael offered Fleur a glance but then followed after his father, as the man turned and made his way past Draco and Hermione. Just as he passed the two of them, Fleur spoke up with a deviant little smirk, speaking clearly in German for all four of them to hear. "Be careful. You don't want to run into anymore skanks in the near future."
She could see Michael begin to chuckle as his father stopped momentarily before continuing on.
After a few moments the duo was out of the building, as soon as the front doors closed, following their exit, Draco and Hermione turned back to Fleur and she offered the two a smile.
"You speak German?" Hermione inquired.
"Yes. I took took a few classes in school. Welcome home, to the both of you." Fleur responded to them as she stepped up to the two offering them hugs.
"It's good to finally be home. It feels like we've been gone for so long." Hermione responded as she finished hugging Fleur.
"How was Russia?" Fleur inquired.
"It was nice." Draco responded.
"Beautiful. You should have seen it Fleur, we got to travel around Saint Petersburg and Moscow to see all sort of sights. The Hermitage Museum was breathtaking." Hermione offered.
"Oh you must tell me all about it. When did ze two of you get back?" Fleur inquired.
"Only a few hours ago. We actually came by to get our leftover money exchanged back into galleons." Draco answered.
"Have you spoken with Riley yet?" Fleur inquired, knowing the two had been out of the country for nearly three months now, enjoying a vacation and some time for just the two of them.
"Not yet. How have things been around here?" Draco inquired.
"Quite a bit has happened here since you've been away. Riley has taken up cooking these last few months. She's not very good right now, but she's getting better. You two need to stop by soon. I'm sure she will be happy to see you, and I would love to hear about your time in Russia, I've always wanted to go myself." Fleur explained earning a smile from the two.
"We'll definitely swing by. Probably here in the next few days once we unpack and see our families." Hermione offered, earning a nod of agreement from Draco.
"I'll go get started on our money, if you two want to keep chatting." Draco offered earning smiles from the two women as he headed off to speak with the Malfoy account manager.
"So..." Fleur began as she took notice of something bright and shiny on Hermione's finger.
"So…?" Hermione parroted back.
"Did he pop ze question?" Fleur asked. Hermione blushed at that and bit her lower lip. Her eyes shot down to her hand as she brought it up and ran her fingers over the diamond ring adorning her finger.
"Our last night there. He asked me to marry him." Hermione admitted, earning a wide grin from Fleur, who offered Hermione another hug which she accepted.
"Please don't tell Riley. We want to be the ones to tell her ourselves." Hermione asked.
"Of course, my lips are sealed." Fleur responded with a wide grin.
"Any luck on your end?" Hermione asked.
"In truth we're already sort of engaged. Just as soon as we have a date, we can make it official." Fleur explained.
"I'm happy to hear that. You two are such an adorable couple. You've always been so good together." Hermione offered, earning a very happy smile from Fleur in response.
"You are one to talk. You and Draco have been lovebirds since you were eleven. You two have always been good for each other. I'm happy to hear that your vacation was well worth it." Fleur said, again earning a smile for her words.
The two continued to chat until Draco returned with their money, from there the trio headed out and walked together around Daigon Alley for a bit before going their separate ways.
Fleur arrived home to the smell of cooking food, which surprisingly smelled good, which tipped her off that it probably wasn't Riley.
She entered into the kitchen to find Kushina there working with Riley and Dobby to prepare a meal for the family.
"Welcome home." Kushina offered cheerfully as she flew through the kitchen busy making a meal for the rather large group of people.
"Hello. Riley, you will never guess who I ran into today at ze bank." Fleur stated as she approached Riley whom was busy preparing rolls of some sort.
"Oh?" Riley inquired, glancing at her.
"Draco and Hermione are back from Russia." Fleur informed her, causing Riley's eyes to light up at hearing that.
Her demonic mate was quick to finish with what she was doing before sliding over to sit with Fleur and discuss her best friends return from abroad.
Today just happened to be one of those days. Filled with quiet pondering and familial interactions.
-Sunagakure, Land of Wind. November 1st 1998-
Riley sat in silence as the Suna council debated what to do about the growing threat of terrorists, as well as the polluted scar that covered a large swath of their north-eastern territories.
By her side was Yugito, who had returned from Kumogakure and was awaiting orders from Gaia in regards to the sharing of information and the like.
Riley had just come from investigating the scar of corrupted nature energy in the land of wind to determine how much it had expanded since last she'd been there. She delivered the news directly to Gaia, of course Riley being Riley, this news was brought in the middle of a council meeting, but no one seemed bothered by that anymore as the councilors were now all debating on what should be done about the slowly expanding radii of darkness, as well as the Iwa terrorists that were plaguing the countryside.
Gaia sat in silence as she listened to them debate, it was obvious that this discussion had been going on for quite a while, as Gaia had seemingly run out of things to say long ago.
After several more minutes of discussion her eyes drifted over towards Riley. Riley stared back, inquiring over their mental bond is she wanted Riley to depart.
For a moment Gaia didn't reply. Once that moment passed however she raised her hand drawing all conversation to a close.
"It is obvious that this situation will not be resolved here and now. I believe it wise for us to take some time to think on what we've learned and we will return to this discussion at the next scheduled meeting." Gaia ordered, dismissing her underlings.
It took a few moments for the room to clear, when it did, all that remained was Gaia, the Third Kazekage, Yugito, and Riley.
Gaia was slow to rise from her seat, rubbing her face as she did. She looked worn out from the long debate that had just occurred.
"Another great day as Kazekage, no?" Riley inquired, earning a mild glare from her fiance in the process.
"You try putting up with them every day." Gaia muttered.
"Why do you think I'd never want a job as a ruler. Too many meetings, too much paperwork, too much horseshit. I'd rather lead by example and let others decide if they want to follow or not." Riley stated with a shrug.
"Is there anything you require of me Lady Kazekage? If not I'll leave you three alone." Yugito inquired during a break in their conversation.
"Actually… the time is coming for you to transfer to Britain. Since Riley is here, perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to take this opportunity to travel to Britain with her. Save on travel time." Gaia offered, causing the two women to share a glance.
Riley offered a shrug at that. "I see no problem with it. I can bring her back with me."
"Very well then. I'll pack my things, just give me an hour." Yugito responded, earning a nod from both Gaia and Riley. She quickly departed from there.
"Could you give us a moment?" Gaia inquired to the Third Kazekage.
"Of course. I'll retire for the evening then. Summon me, if anything comes up." He responded, and also departed, leaving Gaia and Riley alone in the council room.
"Well… you've got me all alone, and we've got an hour until Yugito comes looking for me. I can think of some fun shenanigans we can get into, in the mean time." Riley stated with a smirk, earning herself a snort of amusement from Gaia whom took a seat in one of the open chairs and offered the neighboring seat to Riley.
"As fun as that idea would be… there is actually something more we needed to discuss." Gaia stated as Riley sat next to her.
"Alright, shoot?" Riley said.
"Our wedding. We need a date. The Daimyo has been inquiring about it. I know you and Fleur have been working on setting your wedding up, but I need to give him an answer one of these days so he'll stop hounding me." Gaia explained.
"Okay. Do you have a preference for when?" Riley inquired.
"Not really. I know Temari is really excited about the prospect of planning the whole thing out, but I honestly never gave it much thought. I would like to be married here in the Land of Wind if that's alright." Gaia informed her fiance.
"That's fine by me. Tell you what, why don't we set our wedding for December of next year. That gives us over a year to plan it, leaves it just far enough out that Fleur and I wont feel rushed if we decide to get married sooner, and given your titles, and importance here in the Land of Wind, it'll give the nobles plenty of time to prepare for it." Riley offered, earning a thoughtful look from Gaia as she leaned back in her chair and thought about the idea.
"Alright, that sounds reasonable." Gaia responded after a few moments.
Riley offered her a smile at that and rose to her feet. She closed the distance between the two and leaned down meeting Gaia's lips with her own.
The two held the kiss for several long moments before separating.
"I love you." Riley stated with a heartfelt smile.
"I love you too, Riley." Gaia responded to her demonic lover.
"Alright, now that business is settled, can we go somewhere where I can help you unwind before I leave?" Riley asked, earning a smirk and a sigh from Gaia.
"Yes, let's go." Gaia responded rising to her feet and taking Riley's hand.
Later that day, Riley and Yugito arrived back at the Hidden Village in Britain.
Riley quickly guided Yugito to Itachi's office so that he could welcome her, and help her get settled.
The two were rather quiet during their whole trip together. While they were on speaking terms now, after Riley returned Karui to Kumogakure, it was obvious that Yugito was still uncertain and possibly even a bit fearful of Riley due to her power and foreign allegiances.
While Riley didn't know what would occur between the two of them, she was committed to at least giving it a try, if only for the benefit of those that worked hard to shape this possible alliance, and get it off the ground.
Once Itachi was done briefing Yugito on how the Legion operated and where she was permitted, and what meetings she should attend as ambassador, Riley would show her around the village and let her pick out a place to stay. As of right now, the village was still wide open and sparsely populated, having just over six thousand members, since the war's end.
Luckily, Yugito had come prepared for her time in Britain, not only had she been studying a bit of magic, learning how to wandlessly cast a few basic charms which while more difficult without a wand, was still possible especially for Shinobi, especially for a Jinchuriki with plenty of excess magic at her disposal. A few of the charms Yugito learned to perform were the translation charms so that she could be understood by others in Britain that didn't speak the Shinobi's language. But she also picked up a few quality of life charms to learn like being able to Scourigify things, to help reduce cleaning time.
Riley was impressed to hear this, and was happy to hear that Yugito was actually taking an interest in her job, if Yugito was happy, then maybe she'd be willing to open up enough for the two of them to share some personal interactions and possibly have some fun.
"So that's the village. Any questions?" Riley inquired once she was finished showing Yugito around.
"No I think I've got a clear layout of the place." Yugito responded.
"Alright then. If you have any questions, or issues, I'm sure Itachi would be more then willing to help you with them. Why don't you give a look see at the open housing and decide where you wanna stay while you're here. Once you've got a place let Itachi know, he'll have the paperwork handled and everything should be golden." Riley explained earning a nod from her fellow Jinchuriki.
"I guess this is where I leave you. If you need me for whatever reason just let Itachi or one of the higher ups know, they all have ways of contacting me. Otherwise… all that's left is for me to ask if you wanna hang out sometime?" Riley stated, earning a curious look from Yugito at the end.
"You know, like a date. If we're supposed to be working on a relationship, I'd like to see if there's any chemistry. So maybe sometime this weekend, I could take you out to London, show you the capital, give you a tour of the place?" Riley offered.
"That would be nice." Yugito responded after a moment, earning a smile from Riley.
"I know this is gonna be awkward at first, but best to start somewhere, right." Riley stated receiving a nod of agreement from Yugito at that.
"I agree." Yugito said. Riley offered her a pleasant look at that before vanishing into Kamui.
Yugito remained in place for several long moments before letting out a sigh.
"Her power is absolutely monstrous. Even being reined in, and kept under control, it's still unlike anything I've ever felt." The Two-Tailed Cat noted.
"I know. It's hard to imagine anyone could be this strong. The way power just radiates off of her. It's like standing before lord Bee when he's using the Eight-Tails Chakra cloak, and she isn't even flexing her power." Yugito responded.
"Be careful with her kitten. I know what your orders are, but getting too involved with her isn't going to end up how the council anticipates it will." The Cat stated.
Yugito was silent for a few moments before turning and heading off, intent on locating a place to call home for the next few months.
-Riley's House, Britain. November 5th 1998-
"How was your date?" Daphne inquired without looking up. Her eyes were currently glued onto an old book she had retrieved from the Hellsing Library. Within the book were intricate details on vampires. Their powers, their abilities, their weaknesses and strengths. Everything Doctor Van Hellsing had learned during his crusade against Dracula, he had detailed within the pages of this book. Now Daphne was busy absorbing all of that information, anything and everything that could make her better at her job and improve the advise she was meant to dish out during problems.
"I think it went alright. It's probably gonna take a while before she's not so frosty with me, but all in all, I'd say it was productive." Riley responded as she strode across the living room and sat on the couch next to Daphne. Also in the room was Kaede and her dog. Both of whom were seemingly entranced by the movie playing the on the TV.
"Studying?" Riley inquired when she caught a glimpse of the book title that Daphne was reading up on.
"Just expanding my understanding of potential adversaries. Vampires have a bad habit of causing problems so it's not outside of the realm of possibilities that I'll have to deal with some in the future. Having an intimate understanding of them, from an expert vampire hunter like Van Hellsing, will benefit me in dealing with them." Daphne explained.
"And having an elite ex-vampire hunter as your new butler, and the chief vampire himself at your beck-and-call, aren't benefits?" Riley asked, with a smirk.
"You know what I mean, Ms redundant." Daphne responded, again without looking up from her book.
"Fair enough. You never can be too prepared." Riley conceded, deciding that it was best to leave Daphne to her reading, instead she moved over to the other end of the couch where Kaede was sitting on the floor, her dog resting his head on her lap.
"What are you up to?" Riley inquired as she sat on the floor next to Kaede.
"This movie is interesting." Kaede answered. Riley gazed at the TV, curiously wondering just what had caught the half-demons attention. It was murder mystery movie, where two detectives were hunting down a criminal who killed people based off the seven deadly sins.
Riley chose not to comment on the violent imagery in the movie, knowing that Kaede had done worse to people in some cases, and being a half-demon she was much less affected by the sight of gore. Instead Riley just kissed the top of the Diclonius' head and rose back up to her feet.
She found her way into the kitchen where Tobirama, Hashirama, Madara, and Izuna were all playing poker. Between Hashirama and Madara sat Kaguya, whom wasn't playing but was watching the four men with a curious and innocent stare.
The sight caused Riley to let out a snort which only Kaguya seemed to notice.
The old goddess glanced up at her, spotting Riley's smirking visage as the men began to play their hands.
"Three threes. Beat that!" Tobirama declared.
"Dammit!" Madara threw down his cards, revealing only two pair.
"Ha! Four of a kind. Looks like I win the pot!" Hashirama stated.
"Uh… Straight Flush." Izuna stated, as he set his cards down, causing the three to stare at him dumbfounded.
"Bastard!" Hashirama declared before falling back into his seat, his head hitting the table in defeat.
Silence filled the room for several moments before the remaining three burst out laughing at Hashirama's antics. Kaguya herself maintained her seemingly innocent curiosity as she stared down at their cards.
Riley simply shook her head and exited the kitchen. Upstairs she found her room empty. Luna was probably at her old home working with her father on the Quibbler, Fleur was still at work, and so was Katie.
Riley entered into the room and made her way towards the bed. She was about to lay on it, when she was hit with an aura of rage that was seemingly emanating from a great distance away.
"Again…?" Kurama noted, stirring from his slumber.
"What the fuck…?" Riley muttered, as she allowed herself to feel the demonic aura that was radiating across the planet.
"This isn't an awaking like Wesker. This is pure rage. A half-demon is directing it's power, going on a rampage." Kurama noted.
"The U.S. There's something there and it's really pissed off." Riley stated as she vanished in a burst of speed.
Using her raw speed, and magic she arrived at the eastern seaboard of the United States. She floated high in the sky over a run down industrial district of a rather large coastal city. Activating her Byakugan, Riley's gaze pierced the landscape as she searched for the outburst of demonic energy that may have been caused by one of her missing children.
"What are the chances, two in less then a couple of months?" Riley thought to herself as she scanned her surroundings.
Her gaze quickly came to focus on a dark aura emanating from beneath the earth. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise as she scanned the area beneath the city. Much like the NEST, beneath the this industrial district there were several large underground facilities. Each one was quite sizable and filled with people, going about various tasks.
Riley gaze quickly located the heart of the miasma like darkness that permeated the area. A large underground facility and at it's heart, a large sphere, suspended in the air, with a powerful electrical current running through it.
The people within were moving quite frantically, they had more then likely felt the same event that Riley had.
Whatever had caused this sudden outpouring of malevolent energy was within the electrified sphere. With a glare, Riley shot forward, intent and figuring out what this was, and perhaps finding another one of her children.
-Auburn District, Fairport USA. November 5th 1998-
Alright, a lot of setup in this chapter, and time for another child rescue. Minor clues to who it is, but I'm not going to be surprised if no one guesses it up front. Here's a hint though, she is a video game character, from an older horror series. Hope everyone is having a good time, and I hope that life is treating you well.