K here's the next chapter hope every enjoys
Broken Angel: Rising Demon
Chapter 8: You are my Family
-Fairport USA. November 5th 1998-
"Hurry! Hurry!" An Armacham security officer shouted over his shoulder to the collection of scientists and researchers, engineers and technicians all busily downloading data or extracting hard drives as Armacham HQ was quickly being cleared out.
News had already reached them that the Origin facility had been at the epicenter of the terrible disaster that was now tearing Fairport to shreds, and now, just moments ago, more information had arrived letting the higher ups know that now the Ward facility had also vanished in a massive ball of fire.
Harlan Wade was presumed to be dead, and a massive containment breach had occurred. Whatever was residing within the Origin facility had escaped and it was believed to be the cause of this disaster.
"Three minutes. You have three minutes to finish what you're doing and then we clear out. If you do not hurry you will be left behind." The Head of the security force shouted over the chaos.
At that exact moment, his radio chimed and he stepped away from the bustling eggheads to answer the call.
"Yes?" He inquired over his headset.
"What's the status on the evacuation? The storm is getting worse. At this rate all of Fairport will be consumed within the hour." Came an inquiry from one of his subordinates. The rush of wing tore across the comm, signaling to the security chief that this question was being asked from somewhere outside of the building.
"We'll be moving out here momentarily. Are the execs evacuated yet?" The Chief asked.
"Yes. Helicopter is touching down now. We're pulling out." Came the reply.
"Alright, we'll be right behind you." The Security Chief stated.
"Good to he-, What the Fuck! AHHHH!" Static suddenly cut off the radio, earning surprise from the Security Chief.
"Hey! Hello! Someone fucking answer! Rooftop! Come in Rooftop! Fuck!" The Security Chief snapped, turning to everyone else and quickly shouting to earn their attention, "Alright, trucks are leaving, lets go!"
Outside the building waited a line of trucks, that the Armacham researchers would use to get out of the city with their works. All they needed to do was make it out the front door. There would be a team of security officers waiting there for them, everything should be secure and there shouldn't be any issues in evacuating.
Even with those assurances, for some reason, no one could shake the feeling of utter dread that filled their hearts. It was like a feeling of utter hopelessness had overcome them. This went beyond the disaster outside, something else was going on, something far worse.
Quickly the group made their way to the stairs and filed down them and out into the main lobby of Armacham HQ. What should have been a steady train leading out the front door, quickly became a chaotic mass as the front runners came to a sudden halt in the middle of the lobby, causing all those in the back to run into them.
"What's going on!? What's the hold up!?" The security chief demanded as he pushed through the mass and up to the front.
One of his officers wordlessly pointed forwards towards the main doors. The entrance-way into Armacham HQ was three sets of double doors, that led to a second set of three doors that entered into the lobby.
Despite the darkness from the storm, the outside should have still been lit by the generator-run perimeter lights that surrounded the building. No light could be seen out the outer doorway though.
The occasional flash of lightning that illuminated the front entrance revealed that something was very wrong.
The bottom half of the outdoors looked to be covered in something. A dark substances that obscured what little light came from outside. Whenever lightning struck, the substance stood out against the back drop, but from this distance it was hard to tell what it was. It almost looked like oil was covering the bottom of the outer doorways, the glass having been smeared in it.
Slowly the security chief and a few of his men inched forward, uncertainty and fear laced their very movements.
Another lightning flash once more illuminated the outside, and the chief could barely make out the form of one of the large trucks waiting to ferry them to safety not twenty feet from the front entrance-way.
Another lightning flash and the feeling of dread rose. Something was so wrong here, everyone could feel it.
The confused whispers that had began when the crowd of nearly a hundred came to a halt, was now turning into frightened murmurs as people began to slowly start backing away from the doors.
Yet another flash of blinding white light, as the instinctual dread held within them swelled even further and many of the security officers came to a halt.
Only the bravest continued to step forward, making it to within about ten feet of the second set of doors when a sudden realization struck the security chief and he came to a halt.
He stood silently for a moment, listening his eyes falling to the ground as he focused his ears. Another flash… and nothing.
No sound came from the lightning. Not a single noise penetrated the building from the outside.
Slowly the security chief lifted his gaze to the outer doorway, his gaze locked on the oily substance that had seemingly been used to paint the lower half of the outer doorways.
Another flash, and just barely, through the murky substance, something could be seen, piled up, just on the other side of the outer entrance way.
For just a moment, there was confusion, and then… suddenly, his stomach sank and his whole body shook with a sudden chill.
"Is that blood?" He asked aloud.
No one said anything, but the answer was clear. The few men that had made it as far as him, were now backing away from the entrance. The sounds of their boots was the only noise.
Another flash of light, and this time movement could be seen over the trucks outside. Another flash, it looked like birds.
As soon as that thought entered into his mind, a noise started to penetrate the air. It almost sounded like the cawing of crows.
One final flash of lightning, illuminated a shadowy figure standing just outside of the entrance way.
A curse tore up from the security chief's throat as he stumbled backwards.
Glowing red eyes, peered through the entrance-way, staring right into his soul.
Just as the security chief was able to steady himself and start to draw his sidearm, the glass of both sets of doorways suddenly shattered and shot forward with such speed, it was as if a bomb had gone off on the opposite side of the entrance from them.
Screams tore out through the crowd as glass peppered the people within, piercing and shredding at unprotected flesh.
The security chief went down to his knees with a curse of pain. The sight on his left side had suddenly disappeared, coinciding with a sudden piercing pain in his eyes socket.
With his remaining good eye his glanced down at his body, blood pouring from numerous impact wound. Razor sharp sharps of glass stuck out of his arms and legs, hit chest was relatively safe due to the vest he wore beneath his shirt.
As he glanced down, pain shot through his throat, and warm fluid began to leak down his neck and onto his chest.
He couldn't see it, but glass must have cut into his throat as well.
Screams filled the air and for the life of him, the man couldn't determine if they were coming from behind him, or coming from his own throat.
That same cawing noise filled the air again, building in intensity. Slowly he raised his gaze once more, finding the same shadowy figure standing where it had been mere moments earlier.
Without pretense, a mass of blackness shot forward, as the cawing and crowing noise became deafening.
Before he could even let out a scream of terror, or even raise his arms to shield himself from the wall of death rushing forward, his sight was cut off by something ramming into his face.
Pain screamed through his body as he felt teeth tearing into the watery flesh of his eyes socket.
Desperately he started to claw at his face, tearing at the monster that was eating him.
Pain filled his every limb as more beasts latched onto his body, tearing into his clothes and then his flesh with impossible speed.
He felt unbearable pain sheer through his gut as one of the creatures tore open his stomachs and drove it's head within, chomping at his intestines with devilish ferocity.
The noise in the air, the screaming and the cawing, it was so bestial and hungry. Monstrous and dreadful.
In his final moment alive, the screaming security chief felt one of the beasts bite off two of his fingers in a single snap of it's small mouth. His last thought as the creature that was attacking his face, finally pierced through the ocular cavity and began to tear into the gray matter of his brain, was the realization that he was being eaten alive.
"Hehehehe… yes..." The Darkness hissed with glee at the sight of the bloodshed.
Standing over the Armacham Security Chief, was Riley, her eyes alight with damnable rage. She stared down at him, his body on it's knees being torn to shreds by a small horde of Kryll. Slowly she lifted her gaze to the rest of the room. Blood sprayed across everything, even up to the ceiling twenty feet above.
Kryll swarmed the Armacham employees, ripping them to pieces in a matter of moments. Bodies were shredded and devoured, blood, tissue, bones, and organs. All within moments.
The Kryll were so ravenous in their assault that the bodies quickly disappeared into a pond of featureless clothes and gore. Piles of organs, bones, and flesh covered the lobby floor, and the murder quickly settled onto the ground, slinking through the gore, feasting to their little hearts content.
With a wave of her hand, Riley slowly drew in all of their souls, passing them into herself, learning all that they had to teach her.
With her daughter and grandchildren safely tucked away in Kamui Riley was now at war with Armacham. At this very moment, clones were striking at every facility, every outpost, every warehouse, ever nook and cranny that they kept their dirty little secrets in, Riley was there raising hell, killing everyone involved.
She intended to dismantle the whole fucking corporation and steal everything of value that it had. Every note on secret projects, every piece of equipment worth millions, every idea, that could revolutionize the world, she took it all.
Riley no longer cared about the city or the people. So long as they stayed out of her way, she'd ignore them, only Armacham was in her sights now though.
Slowly she picked her way through the gore, collecting documents, hard drives, laptops, anything and everything these people were trying to smuggle out of the city.
While she did so, she searched through their memories, any equipment, or vital piece of tech, still housed in the building or even off sight, she sent clones to retrieve. All the spoils of war.
"It's too bad you aren't capturing any of them. Some of these people are downright geniuses. They're expertise could be useful to the Legion's science department." Kurama noted as Riley fished through the bag of one of technicians.
She paused for a moment, considering that. He was right of course, but she was far too pissed off to spare any of them. Even now, she had Skorge brutally torturing Harlan Wade's spirit, much like he had done with Sasori, though purely in a spiritual form as demons often did.
Harlan Wade and all of the chief scientists on the Origin Project, would suffer the same fate, and they'd stay that way for as long as Riley could keep their souls intact.
The rest of these people though… while Riley did want them to suffer, it was merely by association, not due to anything many of them had personally done to her.
For a moment she pondered that idea, when suddenly a cruel thought entered into her mind.
The idea sprung forth from the actions of her own precious child in The Darkness. The creature itself actually gave form to it's soul well. A soul well was something that higher beings possessed. Angels, Demons, Gods, and many other beings all had a soul well where souls could be stored.
For most beings, it was very much just a well of souls, often taking the shape of a swirling pool of life energy and souls. Though for some higher beings, they could actually shape their soul well, giving it form, like a sort of pocket dimension, but this dimension was inside of them. In Riley's case, her soul well was basically the same as most others, but the Darkness, had actually formed it's soul well into a new shape, turning it into a hellscape that Riley's inner mindscape and Kamui now reflected due to her connection to it, as well as her appreciation for the twisted, macabre vibe that it had going for it.
The Darkness's soul well was shaped into the form of a World War I battlefield, draped in earie blackness, where the only light was a dim sunset, just barely piercing through thick black clouds.
This place was a nightmarish realm where the Darkness actively tortured the souls of those it devoured. Anyone who was fully corrupted or turned to the Darkness's side was changed into a demonic servant that assisted the Darkness in torturing the rest of the souls.
In essence, it's inner soul well was an unending war that took place between uncorrupted souls, and the corrupted ones. The uncorrupted were draped in British army uniforms, while the evil ones were given standard German army outfits, both from the first World War era. Both sides fought, unable to kill each other, and unable to stop.
Nothing could die in that realm without the Darkness's say so, and thus the war never ended.
The twisted part of it all was that each trapped soul was given a Frankenstein's monster of a body, that could be damaged but the person would always stay alive. Almost all those within were now twisted, stitched together corpses, filled with pain, and infected with numerous diseases.
It was hell. Figuratively and literally.
It was this that gave Riley an idea. A twisted grin spread across her face as she continued on with her work, intent on finishing off Armacham and then unleashing some new servants upon the world.
Within ten minutes, Riley had finished her search of the building, and dispersed or collected her clones and familiars.
She stepped outside into the wailing winds of the storm, her face full obscured, save for two bright red glows that represented her eyes.
She made her way past the eviscerated corpses of the fallen and out into the parking lot.
She came to a stop right as a familiar face floated down from above, coming to a stop about a foot off the ground, hovering in place as the person in question pierced her with an emerald glare.
"I should have known I'd run into you here." The dark-skinned man with the green ring and form fitting energy suit said to her.
Riley gave him a curious look, still hidden behind her cover. She vaguely remembered the man she had only encountered once before. She had run into him shortly after collecting the Darkness and slaughtering some corrupt cops. She had allowed him to live then, simply because he was not her enemy and would fight other evil doers, keeping her family and friends a bit safer at the end of the day.
She had spotted him earlier, trying to rescue people with that strange ring of his, somehow he had noticed her attack on Armacham HQ, or perhaps his ring has some sort of sensory ability to it, she didn't know. Having dealt the killing blow to Armacham, she was done with Fairport. The city and it's remaining citizens could rot for all she cared.
"Hello again." Riley replied as she began to slowly advance towards him.
He leveled his fist at her, or more specifically he pointed his ring directly at her. She recalled how he was able to seemingly project objects from it that were made of pure energy. It was fascinating to her then, and was similarly interesting now. Though she had things to do, and didn't care to play around with this guy.
"That's all you have to say?" He demanded, his glare deepening.
"You want something more?" Riley asked as she came to a halt.
"You caused this, didn't you?" He asked, though it was obvious by the glow of his energy ring, that he already knew the answer.
"Yes, I did." Riley responded.
"Why?" He asked.
"Why? You ask that like you know me." Riley replied with a tut of laughter.
"The last time we met, you slaughtered dozens of police officers. You claimed they were corrupt. That you were doing the world a favor, that is was justice. Where's the justice in this?" He demanded, gesturing towards the tornado in the distance, that had now swelled to over three miles wide at it's base.
Riley felt her anger flare and she quickly shot forward, slamming her palm into the man's chest, sending him careening back, into a parked car which easily buckled under the force, folding around the man, his eyes wide in surprise at the speed and suddenness of her assault.
She made to march forward when green rods, looking almost like the bars of a prison cell, formed around her, turning into a cage.
She narrowed her eyes at the man in green as he pulled himself up out of the wreck, but the energy wasn't coming from his ring. Slowly she turned her gaze to the right, spotting another man, this one white, wearing the same outfit, with the same green ring floating down towards them.
It was this man that was making the cage around her.
"Hal?" The first of the two stated.
"John, sorry to just drop by like this. Got word that something was going on, on the homefront, so I came to investigate. Sorry I'm late." The new arrival stated as he lowered himself down next to his comrade.
"That's not going to work. She can phase through our constructs." John stated, as Riley did just that, walking through the green bars of the cage.
"That's gonna be a pain. Is this a friend of yours?" The now named Hal stated.
While his suit matched his comrade in color scheme and had a similar design, there were a few differences shared between the men, other then the obvious. While John was dark of skin, clean shaven, with short black hair, glowing green eyes, muscular and relatively tall, Hal was white, with brown hair, same green eyes, tall, and muscular though not as much as John was. The only major difference in their uniforms was that Hal wore a domino mask over his eyes. Or perhaps one was projected, almost like it was to hide his identity.
"No. I met her a while back. She brutally slaughtered dozens of corrupt cops outside an orphanage fire in New York City." John explained, taking up position next to his comrade.
"Sheesh. Well alright then." Hal responded.
"You asked me why I did this? Do you really want to know? Do you really care?" Riley asked, her eyes locked on John.
"Yes! I do care! You started all of this. You killed all of these people. How many thousands have died today? How many more lives have you destroyed? You once tried to justify your murders by claiming that they were corrupt, well what about these people? What did they do to you?" John demanded, leveling his ring at her, and glaring with a ferocious intensity.
Riley was silent for a moment before turning to glance at the Armacham HQ building. She then raised a hand gesturing to it.
"They… took my child… my daughter. They tortured her. Experimented on her! Impregnated her! STOLE HER BABIES! EXPERIMENTED ON THEM! AND YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY I'M SO PISSED!" Riley screamed at them. Slowly as she spoke, she closed her gesturing hand into a fist. As she did, her magics lashed out, crushing the Armacham HQ building like a paper cup.
Both men watched in stunned silence as the entire building, ten whole stories, ripped free from it's foundation and collapsed in on itself, falling in perfect line with the closing of her fist. Three seconds was all it took for the whole building to be reduced to a chunk of rubble only thirty feet across.
It hovered in the air for a moment, before falling to the ground, releasing a powerful, localized, tremor as it did.
Both men shared a glance at that, and John's glowing green eyes softened, just a bit. A part of him probably sensed the truth in her words, or could detect the fury that only a parent could unleash when their child was threatened.
"Humans did this. These people… Armacham… now they're all dead. As it should be." Riley growled, lowering her hand to her side.
"Nothing can undo what happened to them. To your child and grandchildren. But these people don't deserve to suffer for the mistakes of a few." John said to her, the way he spoke, his righteous fury momentarily forgotten. Either he really did care about her reasoning and now that he knew the truth, he perhaps, in a way, empathized with her fury, or maybe, he remembered clear as day how she casually brushed him aside during their last encounter and knew that a fight was not a good idea.
Riley didn't know which it was, and quite frankly, she didn't care at the moment. Instead she simply pierced the two with a glare.
"My child didn't deserve to suffer either. The world isn't fair. And the scales will never be balanced. There is no true justice in this world. If there was, this never would have happened. Killing these innocent people wont make it right. It doesn't even really make me feel better. All it does, is add a few more drops into the jar. Humans did this to my family. What right have they to any sort of discrimination when placed before a beast like me. Monsters don't care about innocent or guilty. When they're angry, there is only their target, and those that get in the way! All of those little people had the misfortune of waking up in my path today. But I will not lose an ounce of sleep for them, because they are nothing to me. You boys want to keep humanity safe from monsters like me? Then keep them out of my way and away from my family!" Riley snarled out, taking a step forward as both men focused their rings on her, ready to attack.
"You can see the proof in my actions. The ones responsible are dead. Now… I leave." Riley stated, and just like that, the raging winds suddenly stopped, and slowly, the massive twister in the distance began to dissipate. Riley didn't even need to move, to end it. With just a thought, all of the chaos she had caused, was finally put to rest.
"I understand that you're in pain, but we can't just let you walk away, not after all of this." Hal stated to her.
"Then I'll kill every single person that gets between us." Riley responded as she turned away from the two.
Both men tensed at that.
"Go now, heroes. Save the people, and inspire them to be good. If they're good, and they don't hurt the ones I love, then you wont have to worry about a repeat of this. You want to stop me, that's the only way. Otherwise, I'll kill you. I'll kill both of you." Riley stated over her shoulder to the two men.
"Even if you did. More would come." Hal said to her.
"Kill all they send, and they will stop coming." Riley responded, answering his challenge with an unseen, toothy grin.
In a burst of speed, she was between the two men, both turned in unison, bringing up their defenses and preparing for her assault as fast as they could manage. They were just in time to take the brunt of a scissor kick that sent the two men flying in opposite directions. Both flew away with great intensity, impacting distant buildings and punching clean through them to hit what was behind them.
With a chuckle, Riley vanished using Apparition to exit the city limits, and then used the Hiraishin to teleport home.
-Riley's House, London, a few moments later-
She arrived outside of her house and slowly trudged up to the doorway.
"You know they're waiting for you right?" Kurama inquired.
"I don't give a fuck. They'll either understand, or they wont. This shouldn't surprise them." Riley responded throwing the door open and entering.
Unsurprisingly, pretty much everyone she knew was waiting inside.
All of her family, all of her children, many of her friends, her mates… pretty much everyone that she had any sort of close relationship with was inside of her fucking house.
A part of Riley wanted to be touched by the presence of so many of her loved ones. The idea of them all responding to such a traumatic moment in her life was honestly very moving. Another part of her though knew that most of them were about to lay into her for destroying an entire city, and even before the arguments began she knew she was over all of it. The final part of her, though just found it funny how so many people could be packed into her house.
In truth her home was by no means small but this was a bit absurd. People were everywhere, on the stairs, the landing, the kitchen, the hallways, the living room, she could hear voices coming out of the upstairs bedrooms and the various other rooms. It really was kinda funny.
"Master, we's have a few guests." Dobby informed her, earning a snort of amusement from Riley.
"No shit." Riley muttered.
Sitting on the stairs chatting with Theo, was Draco. He was the first to notice her enter and as soon as he spotted her, she met his gaze.
Despite wanting to, he wasn't quick to rush over to her. The red glow of her eyes, held a warning. Riley was furious. Beyond furious. She needed her mates. She needed to calm down. Her best friend knew her well enough to know, that only her mates could get her to calm down in the state she was in.
He could clearly see she was agitated, so he slowly rose to his feet and approached her. Doing his best to remain calm, despite the shit-storm that was about to erupt.
"Welcome back." Draco stated, Theo slowly approaching the two, though hanging back just enough to give them some space.
"Yeah." Riley responded.
"Long day, I'm assuming." Draco said to her.
"That hard to tell?" Riley responded with a snort.
"It was one of your kids, wasn't it?" Draco asked.
"Yeah..." Riley responded, her face darkening as she did.
"Bad?" Draco inquired, keeping all emotion out of it.
"They experimented on her. Tortured her. Impregnated her. Twice! And then left her to rot." Riley answered. Draco nodded at that, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He was furious. Furious for her, and her child. He of course knew the theory that was going around. The only reason Riley would unleash such destruction was for her family. This gave him his reason. He was more surprised that she hadn't done worse to be honest.
"I know it means close to nothing, but I am sorry. I'm sorry that it happened. I'm sorry that we couldn't have done something to stop." Draco said to her.
"That's where you're wrong though. I knew I had kids out there. I know what happens when you put demons next to humans. I know what becomes of them when the demons aren't in full control. I could have prevented some of this. I could have found her sooner… I could have done something! Gods be damned why didn't I do something!" Riley snarled as her hands curled into fists, at her last word she threw a closed hand back, slamming it into the wall behind her.
Draco remained impassive, while Theo backed away, his eyes scattering across the walls and ceiling as the runes and seals that Riley had placed to make her home indestructible, revealed themselves and nearly shattered from Riley's strength.
The seals and runes appeared all throughout the house, showing just how close Riley had come to collapsing the building and also alerting all of the inhabitants that something was wrong.
Quickly they all filed into the entrance-way, dozens of sets of eyes finding their way to the seething demoness.
"I understand." Draco stated quietly, as he stepped back, giving room for the horde of women that quickly raced past him to surround their beloved mate.
Riley was still seething as the first of her mates ran into her, wrapping her in a tight embrace. Despite not paying attention, her familiarity with them easily allowed her to place the first to touch her.
In was Luna who had her face buried in Riley's chest, her arms slid around Riley's back, holding her in the tightest embrace that she could manage.
Riley's eyes were still locked with Draco's, when she felt the tender touch of Fleur run along the arm she had used to slam the wall.
Slowly the Veela ran her hands along Riley's arms before they arrived at her curled fist. Fleur gently wrapped her hands around Riley's fist and pulled it away from the wall, holding it between her hands. Delicately, Riley's fist unclenched and Fleur slid her slid her fingers between Riley's.
On Riley's opposite side she felt someone press up against her and their arms slid around her. One around her torso, and one came up and rest on the side of her neck gently tilting her head towards them. Riley could just barely make out Katie whispering into her ear, trying to calm her down.
Her sight-line with Draco was broken when Daphne stepped between the two. Worry, fear, pain, love, desperation, desire, acceptance, all swam in Daphne's gaze as she tried desperately to allow those emotions to flow across their bond for Riley to feel them.
Just behind Daphne, stood Kaede whom watched with concern and uncertainty. Calming people when they were angry was not something she was good at, and she had to fight with herself, as her own demonic side found joy and pleasure in seeing Riley so worked up and powerful.
Behind Kaede, Gaia and Kankuro stood. Obviously the Kazekage had felt Riley's outburst and had come all the way to Britain to find out what the hell had happened to her bride-to-be, to cause such a reaction.
Slowly, Riley broke her gaze from Daphne's, but wherever she looked, she found her eyes meeting with someone she cared for.
So many of her friends, her mother, Tom, Itachi, Shisui, her grandfathers, her uncles, Sirius, Remus, Arturia, her children, finally, Riley gaze fell on Kaguya's. The only gaze not filled with concern, fear, acceptance, or any of that. No… Kaguya simply stared back with curiosity, wondering just what it was that had caused such a reaction, and withholding all judgment, good or ill, until that information was provided.
"It was one of our children." Riley stated aloud. This was what most of them had thought, the only person who didn't know was Kankuro, but he had been brought up to speed, mere moments after Gaia had been informed.
Kankuro and Temari had long been curious about Amaru and all the time she spent with Gaia whenever Riley brought her to Suna. Gaia hadn't told her siblings anything in regards to her daughter, until now that is. No real point in hiding it any longer, and she intended to tell Temari when she returned to Suna.
Riley delicately and while maintaining her bond with them, slowly freed herself from Fleur, Luna, and Katie. She pulled her hand free from Fleur's grasp, peeled Luna off of her, and freed herself from Katie's embrace, taking the opportunity to look each of them in the eyes as she did.
The pain in their eyes, and the fact that they had obviously been crying, broke Riley's heart, and she felt even lower now because of it. Still though, there was someone who would need her more then them right now. Someone who would take this news worse then most.
Riley slowly stepped past the three, passing Daphne as well, as she approached Kaede.
"I found one of our kids. Her name is Alma." Riley offered as she gently took Kaede's hands, her gaze soft, but the red in her eyes did nothing to hide her true state of mind.
Seeing just who the mother was, Draco silently cursed. He, along with Hashirama and Madara were some of the few who knew the truth about just where Riley had found Kaede. Riley's mates didn't truly know the extent of what Kaede had gone through as a child and more importantly, her teenage years as a test subject.
That had never come up, and Kaede had never told them, so as far as most people knew, Kaede was just a strange Japanese half-demon that Riley had found one day.
Draco, as Riley's best friend, had been there for her when she needed a fresh pair of ears to held her in coming up with ways to help heal Kaede's wounded heart and get her to open up more. Now, after hearing about what their child had suffered, Draco fully understood why Riley was taking this so hard. This wasn't just any child of theirs. This was Kaede's child. A child that suffered the same and worse as her mother. Honestly, what Riley did to Fairport was a kindness. She had it in her to do so much worse, and he knew that. No… what she did, that was tame.
"Why are you so angry, Riley?" Kaede asked.
"Because they hurt her." Riley answered, her eyes locked with Kaede's.
"They hurt her." Kaede parroted back.
"Just like they hurt you… and worse." Riley responded, sadness and pain, passing through her voice.
Kaede stared back for a moment, her face blank as she digested that. Slowly her gaze fell, her eyes coming to rest, somewhere just above Riley's stomach, but she wasn't really looking at anything.
"They impregnated her against her will. She has two sons. Both of whom were experimented on too." Riley added after a moment.
Silence permeated the room. The drop of a pin would have sounded like a bomb going off. Despite these things being said to Kaede, everyone in the room had heard her.
Kaede stood in silence, soaking in the words. Suddenly, her killing intent rose as her inner demon screamed in fury.
Curses tore out from those around them as Riley's tails exploded outwards, crisscrossing through the air as they wrapped around Kaede's vectors, restraining them, and keeping Kaede from harming those around her.
"Kaede!" Riley snapped, trying to break her lover out of her enraged state.
Kaede wasn't listening. Her face twisted with fury, her eyes smoldering, as more vectors manifested. For the first time in a long time, her inner voice came to life.
"Find them… kill them all!" It growled, as more vectors began to manifest.
"Kaede." Riley growled, placing her hands on Kaede's shoulders. Still, Kaede wasn't listening. She was angry. Beyond angry. One of her children. Her baby with the woman she loved, taken, tortured, abused, raped, and then the same thing happened to her grandchildren. Wretched humans. Godforsaken devils, all of them! Kaede grit her teeth in rage. She needed to kill something. Now more then ever, she needed to satiate her bloodlust. She had kept her Lucy persona at bay for so long, but her hatred for humans came screaming back with this reveal.
"Lucy!" Riley snapped, breaking Kaede free from her anger. Her eyes rising quickly to meet with Riley's.
It took a moment, but Kaede suddenly realized just what Riley had said, what she had called her. She had nearly done it. She had nearly let Lucy out, here in this room with all of Riley's friends, and family, with people that treated Kaede with kindness, people she cared for.
Sensing that Kaede was thinking clearly again, Riley wrapped her arms around her, and pulled her into an embrace.
Slowly, Kaede retracted her vectors, and settled into Riley's embrace.
"It's alright… they're all dead now." Riley stated, lifting her gaze to look into the eyes of those within the room.
"I'm sorry… I didn't mean..." Kaede began, but Riley was quick to silence her with a gentle kiss to the forehead.
"It's okay. I understand. Like I said, they're all dead now." Riley stated, as she slowly turned her gaze to those surrounding her.
"I know you've all got a lot to say. I know you need your answers. I'll hear it. All of it. But before you all get to the part where you question the hell out of me over everything, there's something you all need to know first." Riley began as she slowly pulled away from Kaede and focused on all of her friends and family.
"This… is a truth that you've all known, but I don't think it ever set in for you. So allow me to take this opportunity, while I have you all hear, to clarify something… You are the people that I love. Each and every one of you. Almost every person I care for in this world, is standing before me now. You are all mine. My friends. My family. My lovers. My children. All of you are mine, and no one touches what's mine. No matter what you say. No matter what you do. No matter how hard you try to convince me otherwise. I will always be there for you. To support you when you need it. To fight for you when you need me too. And… when the pain becomes too great, I will be there to return you pain upon the world, a thousand fold. You may not approve, you may not want it… but that's how it is. I was born to a clan that was cursed to love with all of their hearts, and when that love is wounded we retaliate with a force unmatched in this world. That is a part of me that'll never change. So… never forget that, going forward. Never forget that I'll always be there for you, even if you don't want me too, even if you think what I'm doing is wrong. You're my family… my home." Riley said to them, allowing her normal confidant aloof demeanor to fall, as she showed them just a bit of her emotions. She needed them to understand that this wasn't just about it being her child, she'd have done the same for any one of them. Because it was one of her children, it was so much worse, but for any one of her friends, she'd kill for them. For any one of her family, she'd kill for them. This world meant nothing to her. They were her world, and that was all that truly mattered.
For her efforts she received several smiles, several nods, looks that spoke volumes to the demoness. She knew that many of them already knew this and recognized it as a price of being friends with her. Riley defended her friends, and she avenged their pain. That's who she was, if they suffered, then she would strike out at the source of that suffering. And her powers ensured that every time that happened, it would be no less spectacular then what was seen today.
"Alright… now… who wants to go first?" Riley asked after a moment. She was ready to face their questioning and deal with whatever fallout would come from this attack. Regardless of what it may be, Riley had acted, and now the world would respond.
-Back in Fairport, at around the same time-
The Shinigami hovered over the ruins of the city. Well over twenty-thousand people were dead. Around a tenth of Fairport's population.
A quiet sigh escaped the reaper's lips. He knew the time had come to approach the demoness once again. The deaths themselves were of little concern, it was those that Riley had absorbed, the souls that she had taken, that were the bigger issue. A few hundred souls, here or there, hell even all of those she'd killed was no big issue in the grand scheme of things, but the precedent that was being set…
He needed to approach the demoness and try to work out a deal with her… this had the potential to escalate into a far worse problem if he didn't get ahead of it now. It was time to approach the Archdemon, and make another deal.
-To Be Continued-
Alright, here's the next chapter, I hope you all can enjoy it. Next one is up immediately following.