#1 - DEN OF DEMONS

by **Lazarus Carter** Thu May 02, 2013 6:56 am

E V E N T # 1
DEN OF DEMONS

*****

12:04 PM
21ST JANUARY, 2012
PARALLEL OF LAZARUS' HOTEL ROOM
INFERIS

The crossing went by more or less without a fault. Lazarus appeared in a room not dissimilar from the one they had been in, and moments later came the other four. The Asian twins, introvert and extrovert each, two halves of a whole that seemed to fit almost perfectly into a role provided. He'd met Jinhong shortly after his first excursion into this damned place, not two weeks ago - and obviously, Pulean had come just moments after. Then came the boy; Jerome, they'd said? The twins had brought him along, having found him separately a couple of days ago. Tall, chestnut hair, and kind of detached, all-in-all - though that was just what the redhead had concluded of him thus far. Finally came the last of the Asian-Americans. Yuuko. The girl he'd met on his first chance entrance whilst he was driving back through D.C. from meeting some family on the outskirts. She was cold - or had been at first - but a dab hand with that blade of hers.

All in all, that made five of them. But, really, what were they? Just a group of kids who'd happened upon this realm by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Perhaps Jinhong and Yuuko knew what they were doing, but Pulean was no fighter, and though the Jerome boy looked like he could hold his own, he didn't yet know of his experience here. That only left him - and he'd been here once, and accidentally let off some guns that he didn't remember how to summon and hadn't had on his person when he lapsed back into Earth. So many questions left unanswered, and yet they'd decided that it was imperative they do this thing.

Part of the clincher with the whole deal, when he and Yuuko had located the den two or so weeks ago, was that there was a nearby hotel he could hole up in. And for some reason - a reason that, funnily enough, eluded him now in origin - he'd decided that the best idea was to hire out the hotel room, wait for a little while to try and find some teammates - check - or get their strength back - still not totally sure - and then go charging at the fucking thing.

In the real world - though, how real was it? - Lazarus had looked over the place in his own free time. It was barely a kilometre's walk, within line of sight from the window he found himself propped by now, around mainly flat land, and there were plenty of ditches and banks to hole up in. The structure proper was on Earth a parking lot. And now, in horror, once more he looked on at it; an infested ruin, ivy running up the edges in furrows, and line upon line of the tiny little bargain bucket Demons perched on the edge cawing and squawking in that shrill, unnatural chitter of theirs that made his very bones ache and shiver.

Lazarus took his deep breath. Was... he expected to take the initiative on this? His hotel room, his and Yuuko's operation, he supposed - and as was already evident, she wasn't exactly a leader. Inhale. Exhale. And go. "Right." How to do this? Searching for a distraction, the redhead scanned the room once more; it was more or less identical, save for peeled paint, bare, rotting floorboards, and a splintered door hanging ajar onto the corridor. Fire exit at the end of this floor would get them into the game quickest.

"The time's now just gone noon." He announced. "The target's maybe half an hour's walk on foot, but we've got to be quiet and subtle about this whole thing." Lazarus shrugged. "So, keep whatever weapons you've got away until we get there, I guess." Maybe he needed to bulk up on this whole pep talk thing. "No idea how many birdbrains are holed up there." 'Too many' was the probable answer. Just how and why had he been roped into this again!? And why had he dragged Jin and Pulean into it as well?!

With a look down, he rose his sleeves once more, and mused on the chrome guns he'd conjured not a couple weeks ago. The memory was faded somewhat, but still stood out poignant in his mind - even being in this place gave him the chills, but it did remind him that he wasn't delirious. Completely, at least. The way he'd just drawn them and without any knowledge or training - fuck, he'd never even held a gun, or gone paintballing, let alone fire one - blown two of those little fuckers away with aplomb... was scary. Awesome, and gave him a quick shot of adrenaline-laced pride, but scary all the same. The sleeves - his entire jacket, infact - had once more gone from black to white. Same for his cargo pants and boots - though with a quick tweaking of the zip, it appeared that the t-shirt he'd decided on had remained the same colour underneath. Huh. This place was nifty.

Maybe he'd be able to conjure the guns again - infact, this whole thing was banked on hopes and conjectures, as without them, he would find himself somewhat useless; and as the noises and ambience chattered around him, his periphery slowly swirled through an array of tints. This, again; he hadn't realised the exact expanses of the sensation before, and though it had left when he'd returned to Earth, upon his return, it was now more acute, and more subtle, but somewhat omnipresent in the corner of his plane of vision. Research had lead him to the fact that he had undergone something known as visual-auditory synaesthesia; but it was completely unheard of to develop for such a short amount of time as it had, as was the existence of this world altogether, this "Inferis". So he just pinned it down to supernatural causes. Though it did make rather a fun light show all in all when he managed to summon those guns from God knows where. He had to admit, that part had been fun enough.

According to Jin and Yuuko, though, he should have simply been able to summon them again at will after the first time. Looking down at bare, lithe hands, he scratched his head and resigned to trying when push came to shove, not really eager to be lugging them around for the duration of their travel. They were light enough, sure, and comfortable, but extra weight was extra weight, and something else for Lazarus to fuck up. "So, uh... any questions?"

by **Lazarus Carter** Thu May 02, 2013 7:01 am

E V E N T # 1
POSTING ORDER

Lazarus will commence every round.
Jerome, Jinhong/Pulean and Yuuko may post in any order, but after that order is established once, it must be continued for the remainder of the event.
Reverend Smith will post at the end of every round.
Rinse and repeat.

DO NOT break posting order unless permitted to do so.

Failing to post for five days straight will result in your turn being skipped and your character being bunnied to fall unconscious.

Other than that, let's go!

by **Jinhong Jangmi** Fri May 03, 2013 5:04 am

The Entropic Chasm. The Dark Twin of the world of Washington, DC above. The twins stepped through into the decrepit version of the capital of their home country with rather serious expressions upon their faces, their respective clothes changing into identical militaristic outfits. For Jinhong, it was as if her whole demeanor had changed, any shyness regarding those that she didn't know was gone because here? Here, they couldn't afford it. They were here to do a job, and they were going to do it. Pulean, on the other hand, was relaxed but also highly alert, glancing around the hotel room that they found themselves in as she walked further in. She glanced back to Jerome and offered him a smile while Jinhong was looking out the window to the streets that were below. So they had formed a little troop for this, alright. Her only concern was that she didn't know of their various skill levels. Lazarus she knew was fresh off the block, and Jerome had been coming for almost as long as they had. Pulean was easy, they were twins, but that other girl? Yuuko was her name she believed? Well, she didn't know her at all. The way she carried herself, however, would say that she was also a veteran of coming here.

Honestly, Jinhong was a little bit concerned about this. They had two good fighters, a healer, a whip boy, and a newbie. Her mind was already running through what would be best for their survival, but she was no speaker. She couldn't lead people. "I don't like this sis." "I know. We'll be fine though. You know I can protect us." "Us I'm not worried about. Them I am worried about." Jinhong glanced back to her sister after their telepathic exchange, grimacing as she scanned the area again. She wished that she had come here to scout before this whole thing. "Right." Blinking, she turned towards Lazarus now as he spoke, Pulean stepping up beside her as they clasped each others hands. They were both ready for what was to come, but what was everyone else? It was clear that they were a team very accustomed to working together. It wasn't like they ever hunted apart. "The time's now just gone noon. The target's maybe half an hour's walk on foot, but we've got to be quiet and subtle about this whole thing." Jinhong's lips tightened, Pulean noticing though she did not react herself.

"So, keep whatever weapons you've got away until we get there, I guess." The twins looked at each other, nodding to each other before looking back at Laz. "See? He's about as good as you are at talks!" "Oh hush you." "*giggle*" Thank god she was in serious face mode, otherwise Jinhong would have probably blushed at her sisters teasings. "No idea how many birdbrains are holed up there." That... did not bode well at all. Jinhong was always careful to scout as much as she could so that she knew as much possible, this.... this was making her stomach clench more and more in unease. "So, uh... any questions?" Taking a deep breath, she looked back out the window, glancing to their little group. "Might I make a suggestion?" She asked, not bothering for permission as she stood to attention with Pulean also turning to the rest of the group. "Why not have either myself or Yuuko as front guard with the other as rear guard. Pulean should be in the middle to be able to cover healing when needed. Considering you and Yuuko have been here before, it depends on whomever is chosen as frontguard who would follow behind them. If it were me, then I would have you behind me since you know where to go. Otherwise it would be Jerome behind Yuuko and you in front of me. Make sense?" She looked to each of them in turn, coming back to Lazarus last.

"It'd keep us safest while traveling there. In a fight Jerome and Lazarus, you two are our longer ranged people. Yuuko and I can get up close. Pulean can offer healing and the occasional stunning via her voice." She glanced to her sister beside her whom nodded. She turned back to the rest of the group, "Or we could just cross that bridge when we come to it."

by **Jerome Fontaine** Fri May 03, 2013 9:28 am

With a snap, Jerome had disappeared in whirls of smoke into the tear, right behind the twins. A small hotel room, he had had a different idea when they informed him to come with them to a hotel room. He was a tad disappointed when he saw two others, but once they disappeared, he smiled. MORE Demon Hunters. And a mission as well. Ooooooh, it was going to be quite the level today. Once he came in, he felt his body re-sculpted with more muscular tone, broadening his shoulders and tensing his arms, his clothes replaced with ones of a different time. Silver fur lining his leather tunics top and arm holes, as well as his boots. The clothes felt a little tight, but not too constraining on his movement as he twisted from left to right.

All together, they truly looked like a motley crew, two girls in combat gear, a 11th century demon slayer, a curvy schoolgirl, and a...regular looking Joe Sh'moe. Huh. Didn't see that one coming. Everything was crumbling, overgrown. It felt...familiar. Like he had been here all his life. In a way, he had, the Fontaine name had been present here for centuries. He took a gloved hand to his ponytail and unfurled it, whipping his bangs back and forth. They laid atop the silvery fur collar, turning to wisps of coils. He stood against the corner of the room, back to the corner and arms crossed, looking at everyone. Even in combat gear, the twins looked fetching. Almost...commanding. The air had changed around them as well, something different about them.

He looked to Lazarus, as he had found out from the twins, as he began to speak. He looked nervous. Then again, who isn't on these types of things, Jerome hadn't done anything but a nest of succubi, nothing like these...bird guys or whatever. Succubi could be charming and clever, but easily manipulated and forced to submit. There were only 5 last time too, not as many as these. Now he saw why he was here. Muscle, he guessed, but eh. Hunters helped Hunters, he supposed. "So, uh... any questions?" Jerome just went to open his mouth when of all people, Jinhong opened her mouth. Then spoke alot of strategy. Strategy he inwardly commended, stuff like that was Fire Emblem material for flawless victory. But in real life, things weren't turned based.

In this world, Jerome had a pretty nasty habit. He had developed the slight quirk of speaking Demon in Inferis since the only things he met down here were, well, demons. So his tongue and throat twisted around these infernal words as he spoke, not even noticing himself. "You make a good point, Jinhong. Strategy is a good plan and your formation seems suitable for the task. The only problem is that...I might slightly deviate. This world affects us all in some way or another. I won't tell you how, you'll see that in a minute." His mouth flashed a smile as he looked out towards the source of the squawking. Oh, he hoped they could scream. He bumped himself on the wall then moved closer to the window, peering out, shoulder to shoulder with Lazarus. He looked at him, then flashed another smile. "You're a gun-wielder right? Regular Dante you must be. Jinhong makes a good point, if we follow it we should be fine. Me and you get them out of the sky, Yuuko and Jinhong can deal with the rest, and Pulean can back us up with status effects and heals. Perfect raiding party, y'ask me."

His gaze returned to the window, watching the demons. OOOooooh, he wanted to pluck their feathers out. He needed to lash something, kill. He was giddy for lack of a better word, and his right heel tapped against the floor with a quick tempo. Coins were in, now just to hit the start button and round 1 could commence.

by **Yuuko Koizumi** Fri May 03, 2013 10:17 am

Yuuko leaned against the filthy and dilapidated wall, arms folded underneath her sizable bust. She watched Lazarus as he spoke, a bit ticked off at him for suddenly assuming himself the leader. Just because he had rounded up these people didn't mean that he was ultimately in charge of the operation! Still, Yuuko said nothing for the sake of keeping the peace among the team. It'd be pointless to start a fight over who was leading the operation.

She listened to them all take turns at deciding what was to be done with the operation. Honestly, Yuuko didn't care at all. She'd just do what she needed and kill whatever needed to be killed. The others would just have to stay out of her way. Yuuko would make sure not to cut them or anything but, that doesn't mean they won't receive a swift kick if they stand between her and her target. It was nothing personal, Yuuko just didn't want to have to blow through them to attack her real enemy.

Yuuko's snake-like eyes ran over her temporary comrades. They were all quite... "different". The young man who was labelled as Jerome looked like he should be some sort of stereotypical male stripper at a gay bar with all that leather and a whip. The two asian women looked a bit out of place with their uniforms, since they were so dainty looking. One would find it odd for them to be wearing military uniforms and for the brown eyed one to be carrying a sword. The brown-eyed one, whom was called Jinhong, did make a few good points though and improved Laz's poor plan. Everyone was putting in their two-cents. Finally, after tiring of listening to them all, Yuuko spoke for the first time.

"Jinhong, your plan is fine. Lazarus, do whatever they tell you since you're new at this. Don't argue. Pulean, I don't know what your fighting capabilities are yet but I want you to remain in a safe spot. If we lose our healer, then we may lose our lives. If someone is injured they will come to you if they can. If not, then we'll cover you and bring you to them. Jerome, cover Laz's ass when you can. Any questions? Are we all in agreement?" Yuuko said this with her authoratative and no-nonsense tone. She may have been the youngest out of the group, but that did not mean she couldn't be a leader among her elders. Age had nothing to do with it. It was all about what you know and how you use that knowledge.

"If there's nothing else to discuss, then let's move out when the time is right."

by **Reverend Smith** Fri May 03, 2013 11:44 am

Tony Alabastor. Italian-American guy, about six-three, in his mid-thirties. Knight Templar, and a former Navy SEAL. Guerrilla expert, he was the guy who knew how to handle himself in the demonic den they'd be infiltrating. He was a serious-faced guy, didn't kid around.

Beck Hartman. Man outta Michigan, about five-seven, trained in the CIA after six years as a cop, and four in Iraq. At a stoic fifty, he knew what she was doing, and he knew it well. Crusader, he made a perfect example of a pure demon-slaying machine.

Denzel Martinez, hailing from London, and of Spanish heritage, was by far the shortest on the team, at a mere five-two, but he quite made up for it. He was their eye in the sky, and could pack some heat, even for a Blackhaven agent, when the going went tough. Recon, mind you, is his forte, and a fairly useful one, too; gotta know what you're up against.

Hans Gunthar, of the Netherlands, was the team's fourth man, and he was the medic, and quite skilled at what he could do; seventeen years as a doctor, he was more than capable of providing medical field assistance, and a little supporting fire.

And lastly, the good Reverend Adrianus Aloysius Elia Gerlach Smith VII. Age fifty-seven, commonly referred to as The Rev. Occupation? Madman.

And he was to lead the pack of five on their mission. Their mission? Infiltrate and destroy a nest of demons in Inferis. Same old, same old, right? Well, actually, it seemed today, they were hitting the motherload. Big den, many critters to crush. Fun stuff, as far as Rev was concerned. So there they were, in DC, in an empty parking lot, as Rev, atop his motorcycle, gave a nice battleplan and speech. This was always the easiest part of every mission like this.

"Alrighty, gents. So! Here's what we'll be doing, alright? Alabastor, I want you to come in through eh... Some door. Shoot stuff. Kill it dead. Make demon sandwiches of the consistency of peanut butter sandwiches when you're done, maybe. Hartman, you come in through... A door. Shoot things, kill them, and if you wish, you can shoot the bodies a bit more. I don't care. Martinez, you sneak in through... Well, I doubt there'll be more than two doors! That's plain odd. Window, maybe. Figure out stuff, I don't know. Aaaand you, Gunther. Stay out of my way, and make sure anyone who doesn't stay out of my way gets a second chance at not being in my way. Sooooo... Short, cut, clean, to the point? My Universal Three-point; Kill it with death. if that fails, we bullcrap. If that fails, and our legs are still attached to our bodies, we use them. For running away, that is. Any questions?"

"...We're really just... Winging it?"

"Well you've got a sharp head on your shoulders, Doc." He truly was a madman. He was also completely and totally serious.

"Right-ho! Could waste a precious hour discussing proper procedures, OR. Could spend one minute preparing CrossGear for go-time. On my mark. Five... Four... Three... Two... One."

His motorcycle kicked to life, and as it sputtered down once more, the sky was red. He glanced to his four comrades. "Easy-peasy. Ready, gentlemen? You're about to see a one-man-army in action." Arrogance? Or mere fact? Maybe a mixture. But at any rate, Rev let fly a loud roar of his engine, before zipping off, towards his target, the other Templars following behind in an APC. He hadn't worked with a team in a while... Should prove fun, to say the least.

by **Lazarus Carter** Sat May 04, 2013 9:00 am

"Might I make a suggestion?" Lazarus nodded immediately, smiling brightly at the typically more introverted of the twins - she was smart, but quiet, so he imagined this took a lot. "Why not have either myself or Yuuko as front guard with the other as rear guard. Pulean should be in the middle to be able to cover healing when needed. Considering you and Yuuko have been here before, it depends on whomever is chosen as frontguard who would follow behind them. If it were me, then I would have you behind me since you know where to go. Otherwise it would be Jerome behind Yuuko and you in front of me. Make sense?" Tactics had never been the boy's strong point. Years of experience with Age of Empires aside, he was still just a teenager, and only had his moral and rallying worth as any qualification for leading. None of the others - save for Jerome, who he didn't know in depth - seemed to possess that sort of drive. And whilst they were all more skilled than him, and had far more experience, without him, they probably would have just gone about it individually. And that would achieve nothing, but another two dead Demon Hunters added to the innumerable body count.

Pulean remained relatively quiet, but Jerome was the next to pipe up - and in a pseudo-unfamiliar language all the same. However; squinting as he listened, the redhead oddly realised that he could understand it as if it were English, yet it sounded so... irregular, and different. What was it... some form of dialect specific to this universe? Lazarus wouldn't have been surprised. "You're a gun-wielder right?" The redhead paused for a moment, then nodded. He guessed, at the very least. "Regular Dante you must be. Jinhong makes a good point, if we follow it we should be fine. Me and you get them out of the sky, Yuuko and Jinhong can deal with the rest, and Pulean can back us up with status effects and heals. Perfect raiding party, y'ask me." The teen knew of Dante, but had never really played Devil May Cry in full. He'd heard tales of the release of a new installment which had at this point seemed to serve only to agitate the fanbase.

"Well, uh... Jerome, right?" Lazarus paused, scratching his head, but waited for no answer before continuing. "Let's try and stay undetected til we get to the place itself. Don't want a shitstorm of birdbrains descending on us from God knows where and tearing us all to shreds the moment we get outside." Though that'd still probably end up happening. Murphy's law. A code he seemed to unwillingly live his life by. "So keep it in your pants for now, man. At least til we get there." Jesus Christ, what was it with these people and bladed objects?

And now, of course, it was Yuuko's turn to "instruct" him. "Jinhong, your plan is fine. Lazarus, do whatever they tell you since you're new at this. Don't argue. Pulean, I don't know what your fighting capabilities are yet but I want you to remain in a safe spot. If we lose our healer, then we may lose our lives. If someone is injured they will come to you if they can. If not, then we'll cover you and bring you to them. Jerome, cover Laz's ass when you can. Any questions? Are we all in agreement?" BITCH PLEASE. She still forgot the birdbrain count was two to him and one to her. New at this? Maybe. Unskilled? Well... in all fairness, probably. He'd only really been able to summon the guns once. But he knew how much her kicks to the ribs hurt, and wasn't really feeling like another one, so he just shrugged until she went on. God knew she would. "If there's nothing else to discuss, then let's move out when the time is right." Now that was something he could agree with.

*****

12:39PM
21ST JANUARY, 2012
PARKING LOT/AVIAX DEN
ENTROPIC CHASM
INFERIS

The journey there had been long and mainly quiet. To avoid detection, the group - even just with the five of them - had kept all chatter to an absolute minimum, so save for the rhythm of their steady, pounding feet, they kept almost complete silence. Luckily, no flying parties of the birdbrains had come over - and as they reached the covering wall of the den, leading up to the raised ground floor of the structure proper, the eerie chitterings ringing out from within almost in an angry, conversational fashion, he sighed, and slumped back against it with a sigh. Thirty seconds respite then they'd move. "Didn't lose anybody, right?" Happy twin, quiet twin, cold bitch, whip boy. All four. Excellent. "I make this thing to be, what, five levels tall?" Six if one was counting the exposed roof, with line upon line of the Demons perched upon. No doubt they'd descend in a vicious swooping manner the moment combat broke out and their little friends screeched for them. And swooping, as we all know, is bad.

For a moment, Lazarus panicked; realising that he had no weapon, still, only made things worse, and he was meant to be the long-range specialist for this moment. However; in that moment of distress, the boy clamped his eyes shut and snapped both fingers, simply on some sort of gut instinct. A subtle clunk, and a familiar, though not uncomfortable weight returned to both of his hands, and his jacket expanded somewhat. He pulled down the zip, and with a grin, regarded line upon line of clips sitting in the crossed bandoliers once again. The redhead, apparently, still had it. "Right-"

At that point, the gunslinger would have continued with some vague, though somewhat now-confident spiel of their "plan" - pistols in his hands made him feel something of a more affirmed leader, as one would expect - if not for the chittering behind him growing louder and louder with every waking moment... until it became dangerously ominous, and almost irritatingly close to his ear. For a moment, Lazarus had half-instinctively considered spinning around and telling the source of said noises to politely shut the fuck up. Then he realised that they hadn't come from anything human. Or earthly.

Gulp.

An earsplitting scream cut through the relative hush between the group as the Aviax scout that had discovered their little hunting party screeched in alarm for his demonic comrades, and an echoing mass fluttering and squawking slashed through the sky. In accompaniment, Lazarus' vision filled with an ugly off-gold flash of nigh-on blinding light for but a moment - proximity apparently made his synaesthesia worse - and things burst into absolute chaos. Great. "FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!" The redhead yowled, diving downwards as the birdbrain began its assault, hacking at the thin air where his face had been, before moving down and onto him.

With a vigorous turn, the teen threw the bird off his back, not before it drew a slim cut into his lower back with one of its claws, evoking a sharp yowl from the boy. Immediately, the redhead spun over, and pointed his right-handed gun at the dazed bird, pulling the trigger over and over. CRACK. CRACK. CRACK. CRACK. The teen was panting until he finally realised its inorganic form was starting to hang limp. Dead.

Some form of bestial alarm had been raised, and with a mass scraping of rusty nails that held together the KFC rejects' forms, they all appeared to either rush to guard stations or move to defend in light of their one fresh fallen. They were beginning to advance; and though sentience was not something the Aviax Demons possessed, in a flock, they were deadly and very able to cut human skin and flesh to ribbons. Which boded really well for the Hunters.

With the element of surprise completely forgone, patting away the rivulet of blood wetting the gash in his white jacket and trickling down onto his cargo pants, Lazarus winced. The epinephrine began to slowly numb the pain to nothing but a dull tickling sensation, and slowly, breath haggard, he rose a pistol-bearing hand towards the parking structure, looking towards the other four with a weak yet inspiring grin, adrenaline surging through every vein in his body - lest he would have been crying at this point in time. That first visit had done something to break his mind in; but after that close encounter with the Aviax pounding at his back, things had just become different. This was no longer a hunt. This was about survival. Gritting his teeth, for once, Lazarus Carter swallowed his absolute fear, replacing it with some shaky substitute for courage, and smiled weakly at his friends. "Let's do this." Only one thing was certain.

All hell was about to break loose.

by **Jinhong Jangmi** Sat May 04, 2013 10:35 pm

It was of some relief that Lazarus did not seem to mind her taking over for a moment, his smile causing no blushes in this situation. She may as well be a completely different person. But Jerome, on the other hand.... "You make a good point, Jinhong. Strategy is a good plan and your formation seems suitable for the task. Her back immediately stiffened at the sound of that infernal language, her crimson eyes shooting him a look of pure intensity. Pulean touched her twins shoulder, her jaw tightening, "He's an odd boy. You know that." "But does he have to speak in that?!" "Habit maybe. You will not cut him down, I promise you that." The look was gone as quickly as it had arose, all of her tension going down into her hands that she clenched into fists. "You're a gun-wielder right? Regular Dante you must be. Jinhong makes a good point, if we follow it we should be fine. Me and you get them out of the sky, Yuuko and Jinhong can deal with the rest, and Pulean can back us up with status effects and heals. Perfect raiding party, y'ask me." The twins looked at each other. "I will do what I can." Pulean said with a small smile, nodding to Jerome.

"Well, uh... Jerome, right?" Both twins nodded in unison as Pulean led Jinhong a little bit away from their whip-wielding friend. It was obvious her sister was in no mood for his normal antics so there was no sense in remaining closer towards him. It would only infuriate her more. "Let's try and stay undetected til we get to the place itself. Don't want a shitstorm of birdbrains descending on us from God knows where and tearing us all to shreds the moment we get outside." Jinhong had to nod in agreement, if the numbers were as great as Lazarus was implying, then remaining quiet was the key. "So keep it in your pants for now, man. At least til we get there." Now at that.... There was a soft peal of laughter as both twins stared at him for a moment, blinked, then laughed softly at that. It was rather short lived though, "Jinhong, your plan is fine. Lazarus, do whatever they tell you since you're new at this. Don't argue. Pulean, I don't know what your fighting capabilities are yet but I want you to remain in a safe spot. If we lose our healer, then we may lose our lives. If someone is injured they will come to you if they can. If not, then we'll cover you and bring you to them. Jerome, cover Laz's ass when you can. Any questions? Are we all in agreement? If there's nothing else to discuss, then let's move out when the time is right."

Jinhong had to appreciate her matter of factness, but even she could see there was some... tact.. that could have been applied. Pulean just sort of sighed as they looked at each other, the twins glancing to each other before they prepared and then set off.

*****

The twins crouched down, both of their eyes watching crevices, abandoned buildings, and the skies with wary looks. Along their travels they did come across a thin metal rod, Pulean picking it up with a gloved hand. After a quick examination, she deemed it close enough to a rapier to work should she need it, making sure she hadn't held up the group by doing so. She hadn't thankfully. But now... now they were in front of the den. And boy could they tell that they were at the right place. "Didn't lose anybody, right?" The twins shook their head, they had everyone. "I make this thing to be, what, five levels tall?" Pulean stared up at the roof and narrowed her eyes, the lines of the bird creatures sharpening as she did so, her lips tightening. This... was going to get bloody. "There's at least 7 up there from what I can tell." She murmured softly, Jinhong having to really squint in order to tell. "Something like that." It was a very quiet conversation, but that meant swooping and aerial attacks would happen. Too bad these weren't just a curious Witch of the Wilds.

With that, the Twin Roses looked at each other and nodded, Jinhong bringing her index and thumbs together as the rest of her fingers curled. While in this formation, she tapped her fingers together twice, pulling out her fang from the space between her fingers. She hovered her one thumb over the exposed edge near the cross guard, waiting for the moment before she cut it open to let her blood run down through the various rivulets all down the length of her blade. "Right-" The twins respectively smiled at him, though Jinhong's was more of a smirk at this moment, "Told you it was no big deal." They spoke at once, both falling quiet as they stiffened at one simple fact. That chittering was getting louder. "Scout?" "Scout." Without warning, there was a resounding screech that stabbed through their eardrums. Oh, and cursing. "FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!" The resounding screeches and growing roar of the chitterings was really rather defeaning, Jinhong rising up as she pressed her thumb down into the sharpness of her blade, her blood trickling down. "Let's do this."

Jinhong needed no further instructions as she met the first group that came flying out of the building, a low dart of motion as her blade swooped out to slice through the three that got closest to her. They let out howls of pain as her blood hit their system, quickly poisoning them. Their talons descended and she ducked and dodge rolled, readjusting her grip as she leaped forward again for another couple of quick slices. They fell down dead moments later. She let out a roar as her eyes blazoned a brilliant crimson, meeting the next group head on with her blade a brilliant flash of death in the ambient light of Inferis. She hadn't descended into her berserker state, but for now? All she saw was red, demons, and blood. Pulean, on the other hand, was right there beside Lazarus, gripping her wrist with one hand as the other held itself over his wound. "It's alright, its just a light cut. You're lucky he didn't get you that deep." She spoke to him as she focused her energy into knitting the flesh and skin back together, her sisters roar reaching her ears. "And there she goes..." She whispered mostly to herself, taking only a moment or two to close up his injury.

But there was a chittering growing behind them, the sapphire eyed twin whirling about and stabbing her improvised weapon into its chest. Well, it LOOKED like its torso section anyway and from the screech it let out she was right. With two quick flicks of her wrist, two more resounding THWACKS were let out, the beast falling down dead.

by **Jerome Fontaine** Mon May 06, 2013 5:25 am

Lazarus was squinting at him...why? Jerome raised an eyebrow slightly as his grin disappeared into more of a confused half smile. What was he looking at? It was probably the outfit, he surmised, as he looked towards the floor and nodded to himself. Though, from the corner of his eyes, he could see the twins...Jinhong had a flash of a very powerful look before it disappeared, whilst Pulean brought a hand to her shoulder. What the hell was he doing? Did leather make these people uncomfortable, or did he word his plan strangely or what? At this point, Jerome still hadn't pieced together he was speaking the infernal language. But Jinhong had an aura of "pissed" surrounding her. "I will do what I can." Jerome smiled, not his twisted sadistic grin though, but a genuine, heartfelt smile. A rarity. "That's all I can ask, Pulean. Thank you."

"Well, uh... Jerome, right?" Hmm? Jerome looked towards Lazarus as he turned his body to him, scratching this insane itch at the back of his head, near the hairline. His eyebrows were raised somewhat, as he had gotten his attention. He noticed the twins move away, but that was reasonable, Jinhong wasn't too happy with him at the moment, no idea why though. "Let's try and stay undetected til we get to the place itself. Don't want a shitstorm of birdbrains descending on us from God knows where and tearing us all to shreds the moment we get outside." Jerome could only get in a "'Not a problem." before the next line came. "So keep it in your pants for now, man. At least til we get there." Now that...kinda pissed him off inside, deep down in his core. Sure, he wasn't the greatest at self-control, but he wasn't some sort of beserking monster either. He could make it to the nest without pulling Inheritance. Or causing any scenes. He was about to say something when the twins giggled...Damn, with them laughing, he'd kill the mood. Jerome had a thing about killing the mood

But thankfully he didn't have to do it, because then the schoolgirl piped up. She had looked rather cold this entire time, until she opened her mouth. "Jinhong, your plan is fine. Lazarus, do whatever they tell you since you're new at this. Don't argue. Pulean, I don't know what your fighting capabilities are yet but I want you to remain in a safe spot. If we lose our healer, then we may lose our lives. If someone is injured they will come to you if they can. If not, then we'll cover you and bring you to them. Jerome, cover Laz's ass when you can. Any questions? Are we all in agreement?" Now this was a girl he could get along with. Cold, distant, commanding...Kinda reminded him of Thorn from the Dungeon, a loyal employee and personal trainer for Jerome. But hands down, Yuuko had better looks. You could fall for a girl like her. "Such fire..." he muttered. Even cold girls had that drive. Then she looked to her and gave a salute with his first two fingers. "Aye-aye, cap'i'tan."

And with that, they headed out. Time for some fast travel.

*****

Jerome had remainded adamantly tied the twins, right behind them for every step. He hadn't yet summoned the Inheritance yet, carrying around 6 feet of pure slicing death (that clinked and clunked like nobody's business) was not ideal for a mission with so much tact. His heavy steps were a little hard to quiet, but he had managed to remain so. Being near the twins gave him a tad bit more comfort, familiar faces always helped a situation. "Didn't lose anybody, right?"..."I make this thing to be, what, five levels tall?" Jerome put a hand on his brow, peering at the structure in front of them. "...It's big." was about all he could muster, at this distance, even his fixed eyesight wasn't of help.

It seemed the girls were readying themselves for the raid. Jerome could only readjust his armor then held up the first two fingers of his right hand. They were tipped in a small ball of luminescent blue, the essense that writes out the circle from which his whip is drawn. Just a few wrist flick and he'd pull it and slash whatever needed slashing. Then it happened. The one thing one must never do on a mission. And the twins were the perpatrators. "Told you it was no big deal." ...Jerome felt his head fall, looking at the ground and shaking it side to side. "You've jynxed us."

Indeed they had because the sounds of those god damned chittery wooden bastards got louder and so did Lazzy. "FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!" That was when Jerome stood up and drew a cross by his left shoulder, right shoulder facing the incoming hostiles. He snapped his hand out to the circle and it formed instantaniously. "Alright, everybody, time for level one!" But he waited, hand poised by the circle. He waited and waited...this things were fast though. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5-NOW! His hand flashed into the circle and pulled forth the hilt of the whip, bringing the rest of the razor whip with it, doing a turn as his arm shot out and emcompassing the area in a circle of sharp, pointy, slashy death. Three were clipped. Pulean had gotton one with a bit of pipe (kudos were to be given after this) but the one she had killed wasn't alone. Two more.

Jerome cut the first through the upper section, where he assumed the head was, and it fell. The second one was not so lucky. With a strong arm, he flicked the whip around the wooden body and its tip stuck into it. With his other hand, he pulled on the whip, bringing the resounding crunch of a crushed body. Jerome's grin was wild as he flicked the whip again, dislodging the splinters. He then turned his attention to Lazarus, standing at his back, whip at the ready for another attack. "Ready to cover your ass, bro!" He laughed and started lashing more of them, trying to keep them at bay from Lazarus. Some pistol cover would be much appreciated.

by **Yuuko Koizumi** Sun May 12, 2013 11:17 am

"Watch yourself Lazarus!" Yuuko shouted at Laz when she saw him get nicked by one of the demons' deadly sharp points. If he hadn't been flailing around like the inexperienced monkey he was, then perhaps he wouldn't have gotten injured. Thankfully they had Pulean, and the cut was dealt with quickly. The minute she had spotted a demon, her sword had been drawn. She noticed Jinhong was all ready too, especially with that battle cry. At least everyone was... enthusiastic about winning. They'd need to keep up that attitude if they were to defeat the demon hoard. Although, Jerome was kind of a fucking weirdo when he fought. He had the biggest shit eating grin whenever he killed demons it seemed.

"LET'S GO!" Blade poised for attack, Yuuko charged in side by side with Jinhong. Wildly, she was slashing her sword left and right. She killed any demon she spotted, and anything that got in her way. Splinters floated in the air as she hacked and hacked at their wooden bodies. Adrenaline pumped through her body, her eyes were big with warrior's rage. It was a war now, a fight for survival. Her body and mind wouldn't allow her to stop. Exhaustion and pain was a nonexistent thing now. Fighting and killing, that was all there was. Yuuko gained several gashes and cuts as she tore her way through the swarm of demons. It was a good thing that most of them had clotted already, and would scab over in a little bit thanks to her healing powers. Otherwise she'd probably be bleeding A LOT. With a final loud grunt, she sliced off the head of a demon who was on the move to strike. It couldn't even cry out before dying, since the death was so sudden and quick. Wood and metal lay all around the ground as the fight went on. The adrenaline was wearing off by now.

Yuuko could feel her swings grow weaker, and her morale wavering. Her legs were jelly and her breath was gaspy. She didn't even know how Jinhong was doing at the moment. She had used too much power that it was putting a strain on her young body. "C-can't give up.. I got to.. keep going.." She whispered encouraging words to herself, trying to rekindle her strength. If she didn't, she'd die. Yuuko couldn't die, Yuuko wasn't supposed to die. Not yet anyways, no it just wasn't her time. There was too much to be done, too much she hadn't figured out and done. Yuuko was too young and too strong to die here, in Inferis of all places. She'd rather die in a gutter on Earth than die like a warrior in Inferis. More demons were coming her way already, wanting revenge for death of their brethren. Yuuko stood her ground, but her hands were shaking as they struggled to hold her blade steady.

"COME AT ME!" The beasts let out terrible shrieks and hisses as they charged forward. Yuuko squinted, ready to give it her all. They ascended upon her, and she began swinging her blade left and right. They pecked and slashed and clawed at Yuuko, and she returned the favor by cutting out hunks of their bodies. Just as she believed she had felled the last one of the small group that had swarmed her, she dropped to her knees. Yuuko couldn't stand anymore, she desperately needed a rest. "G-got you, bastards," she wheezed out. Sweat coated her forehead and neck from her hard work, all mixed in with her blood new and old.

And suddenly a great pain washed over Yuuko. It was the most incredible pain she had ever felt, and the intensity of it was so bad her vision was white for a moment. Yuuko had failed to notice another demon approach, and now it's rusty sickle was impaled through her side. Blood stained her clothes and the ground. The world was spinning now, and her head felt light as air. Yuuko couldn't choke back the shriek of pain that escaped past her lips when she felt the pain. And all she could do was sit there and take it. No, no, NO. It wasn't supposed to go like this!

"Fuck.. fuck... I-I'll kill you... I won't die.. I c-can't.."

by **Reverend Smith** Wed May 15, 2013 2:33 pm

Alabastor was standing at the left corner of the wall, a pair of SMGs in hand. The comparatively-young New Yorker tapped his fingers on the trigger of the left gun, impatiently waiting for mission launch. He knew what he was doing, he knew it well. Go in, cap skulls, go back out. Go home. Easy-peasy. Until he'd been assigned a squad leader, that is; the most infamous and notorious squad leader on his side of the Atlantic, alas. He didn't know whether to worry about the demons, his dormant PTSD re-emerging, or about his own leader adding his corpse to a pile of collateral. It was stressful to say the least, as one could tell from the beads of sweat on his forehead, causing a few strands of his jet black hair to become slick and cling slightly to his skin.

Hartman stood at the right corner, an assault rifle in one hand, as he crossed himself with the other. Like Tony, he was a bit concerned about his squad's leadership, but even more than that, he was worried that the lord wasn't watching over them in Inferis; it was a concern of his every time he headed down here, and he felt it was a reasonable concern; why would God care about Hell, and the fights within? Maybe it was all just another fight, the Templars' presence going uncared about... But he had to reassure himself otherwise, for his sanity. "Hmm... Ready when you guys are."

Gunthar stood a bit off from them, next to the purring engine of the motorcycle, a good ten feet away. He was busy at work getting his medical supplies in check, ensuring he had everything he needed for some on-field healing and mending. Hopefully nothing that bad would happen, but he was on the team of the King of Unfriendly Fire... He had to prepare for a worst-case scenario, at any rate. Cocking a revolver, he nodded to the man on the bike. "Go-time."

Martinez was perched, hawk-like, on the roof of the tall structure, watching quietly. The small figures below seemed to be getting prepared. He, personally, had a pair of machetes beside him, being a close-combat specialist, next to his true forte, intel. He'd done his best to give a rough map of the swarm, and it seemed most logical to take it from the top floor, the fourth, and fight down. It seemed to be their best hope for survival. "All good, Rev." But as he glanced around, he caught sight of something odd; a small group of people entering on the opposite side...? Hmmm... Hunters. Growling slightly, the man hating them and their kind, he went to flick on his headset, only to be drowned out by a roaring motor.

Down below, Rev had finished his ramp(!?), using rocks and scrap he'd found nearby, and was currently airborne, with a loud "AWWWWWWW" as he flew. Seeing the stone wall in plain view, he grinned a wicked grin, before drawing his cross from his back. He was mad. He was insane. He was Reverend Smith. Holding the cross in front of him, he collided with the wall with a thundering

CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH
"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAHH!!!"

Any within a fairly good distance could hear the noise, and no sooner had the four Templars, besides Martinez, entered the top floor than had a swarm of Aviaxes come onto them. Rev parked his bike, not bothering to stop, choosing instead to use that momentum to tackle one of the bone-wood-bird-things out of the air, landing on it cross-first; smashed to bits. Around him, his team was expertly handling business against the birdthings. As was to be expected of combat-hardened oldsters, rather than a bunch of magical girls and bishie-eyed teen guys.

Overhead, Martinez scowled down at his fallen earpiece. He'd intended to warn Rev about the Hunters, but now there wouldn't be much point, given his insane "subtlety;" the Hunters were likely as aware of their presence, if ambiguously, as he was theirs. "Ay Dios mios..." With that, he clamored down, through the hole made by The Dutchman, and joined his team on the assault. So far.

So good.

by **Lazarus Carter** Thu May 16, 2013 2:06 am

"It's alright, it's just a light cut. You're lucky he didn't get you that deep." With a gentle thrum of energy, he felt Pulean gingerly near the affected gash with two interlocked hands and OH FUCK DID THAT STING. If having flesh torn open was anything, sewing it back together that quickly was pretty fucking painful, too. The redhead Demon Hunter gritted his teeth and looked up off into the crimson sky as she pulled flesh back into flesh and left the cut sealed, nothing more than a patch of bloody skin. That didn't stop it from hurting.

"Thanks." Laz murmured briefly at Pulean, smiling as best he could, before the roar of her twin began to resonate, the other Korean clambering up onto the first level of the car park, Yuuko and Jerome in tow, as chaos seemed to erupt from within the parking structure. The wince of pain turned quickly into a grin as he brushed his fingers over the freshly-healed skin; but even that expression didn't last for long, contorting swiftly into a look of determination as he nodded, grunted, and gestured for the pair of them to begin their ascent, following up the other trio.

Jinhong was occupying herself beating an Aviax around, and Jerome was promptly smacking into Demon after Demon, operating crowd control and laughing in a manner which irked Laz somewhat, bearing the connotations of a sociopath. Midway through his combat - which the boy rather seemed to be enjoying - the Frenchman called out to him almost jovially. "Ready to cover your ass, bro!"

"Like I need it!" The gunslinger responded in kindred banter. For once, for just a moment, things actually seemed to be going alright. First time had been somewhat harrowing; but as a member of a team, a team that helped each other, a team that healed each other, and a team that, no matter what, no matter how long they'd known each other, seemed to have each others' backs out of mutual distaste for demonkind... it... really wasn't quite that bad. Raising both pistols, Lazarus tilted them off horizontally and stared down at another Aviax, squawking and ruffling the metallic scrapings of its rusted nail joints as it seemed to lock on to the redhead, ready to charge at him, sickle-like fingers bared.

A gulp - and instead of a shaky frown, this time, the makings of a grin slipped into Laz's face. Irrespective of everything he'd said, and as fucking harrowed as he was at this moment in time, he had a safety net. His team. The people who he hoped would become his comrades. In that moment, nothing else mattered. "I don't think so..." With that, he rose both pistols, and fired one shot from each simultaneously, slamming into the Aviax and sending it teetering back, chittering somewhat less vicious and foreboding now. Raising the right half of the Nomad duo, the engraved "Vulcan" reading in dull indents on the side, Lazarus let "Mars" rest on the corresponding shoulder and pulled the trigger of Vulcan twice more. CRACK. CRACK. Both rounds buried themselves in the avian Demon's chest and it collapsed with a screech, its twitchings finally starting to cease.

Lowering both pistols, however, he then laid his eye on one of his... less-fortunate team members. Yuuko. She had been facing off against a large group of the Demons, dealing a fair amount of damage with that blade of hers; but as she faltered in the end, panting and backing up, she hadn't seen one of the chittering birds flank her from her left. "G-got you, bastards," Laz could only watch as it darted forwards and skewered her through the side of her midriff. "Fuck.. fuck... I-I'll kill you... I won't die.. I c-can't.."

This was it. This is what hung in the balance.

Play games with people's lives and your friends end up dying. Scumbags, thieves, barbarians, and murderers aren't ever the sole casualties of war. Good people fall on the battlefront every day. Everything seemed to freeze around the redhead. The Korean fending off her own Demons, the Frenchman striking time and time again with that chromed, barbed whip of his: the Japanese schoolgirl promptly getting trounced by another bird Demon.

Thus far, what had he been? A burden. A pathetic attempt at a leader when others could have done so much better. He had four kills to his name when all these others took down four like that in a pinch. And from Yuuko's insinuations, these had been nothing but lesser Demons, little fish in a far larger pond. They weren't fucking about any more. This was Hell. No place for the weak of will or personality. No place for his fucking about. No place for his ignorance and his fear.

Lazarus Carter was a scared little boy in far too deep. At least, that's how he'd gotten into this whole ordeal. The part of him that wanted to back out, the part of him that had been haunted by waking nightmares and visceral memories of this place, the part of him that wanted to leave it all behind and just forget about it: the rest of his brain was slowly swelling up, the tiny fragment of his cortex that held within the slowly-growing defender and survivalist, and telling that foolish part of him to toughen the fuck up. If he was weak, people were going to die. And no matter how young or inexperienced he was, he wasn't about to succumb to that sort of selfishness.

And in that moment, something clicked within Lazarus. The fear didn't disappear. Oh, it was still there, welling in a vicious, acidic pool at the bottom of his stomach. But the rising flames of integrity and bravery just squashed it and rose far higher. His hands stopped trembling. His lips stopped quivering. His eyes stopped widening, and instead sharpened and narrowed, his gaze centering on the Demon raising its sickle to carve the final blow into Yuuko's chest.

One sentiment hung then in his mind. Sometimes, even ordinary people are raised to rise above and beyond the regular call of duty we sign up for as everyday citizens. Every once in a while, people have to do things they're not prepared for. This was his trial. This was his tribulation. This was him paying for nineteen years of relative peace. If, for now, he had to help defend the world? So fucking be it. That meant his family. His friends. His teammates.

The pistol rose high up as did the sickle in the distance. A single finger, without a single quiver, tightened around a single trigger. CRACK. The bullet didn't puncture anything, slamming instead into the Aviax's side and knocking its strike off-centre, sending it reeling into a nearby pillar. It chittered and bucked its head unnaturally, "snarling" in whatever sort of Demonic manner it could muster at its new assailant. Fresh crimson blood was still pooling around Yuuko from her wound. Time was of the essence.

He hadn't even taken a pause between firing that shot and breaking into a sprint; he covered most of the ground before the Demon had time to even react, but once he arrived, the deformed, sickening irritation of a bird, the comparative horror, leapt at him, and mid-jump, Laz rose his foot, and brought it straight into the wooden midsection of the Aviax, knocking it once more into that very same pillar, dazing it and causing it to slump against the tarmac of the parking lot as he lowered his pistol, a vicious snarl rising, for once, in his throat. The pair of handguns found themselves raised once more, chromed, sleek, and glistening in the dim harsh light of the parking lot, slivers of red skies forcing themselves in through cracks and crags in the cement.

And looking down to the stunned Aviax against the pillar, an ungodly crash and an almost human shout resounded levels above as he aimed both pistols down at the Demon's body. That meant that the battle was far from over; and the war being even further away in the bigger picture. Words echoed from his mouth in a language Lazarus didn't know he could speak. "You wooden bastards stay the fuck away from my friends." CRACK. And that was all she wrote.

The Demon down, the crashes from above seemed to draw most of this level's birds up a level as Lazarus called the remainder of the team over, their battles hopefully drawing to a close; specifically the more exuberant of the Korean pair. "Hey, Pulean!" Reaching down from what he knew of high school biology, he kept his hand clamped on the wound and gritted his teeth. "She needs help, NOW!" The redhead looked to his pale Japanese comrade on the floor, and tried to think of something supportive to say. All that trembled forth from his lips was an unintelligible murmur. Could he guarantee she'd be alright? In spite of that change he'd undergone, that distinct warp in personality, the beast that had been called up from within, being seemingly temporary, the reality was infact that the fires he had summoned still raged within, hungry to liberate more ground and clear the place out.

There was a fighter within Lazarus Carter. There had been from the, right from the beginning beginning. It just seemed like he'd needed to be woken up.

by **Jinhong Jangmi** Thu May 16, 2013 7:57 am

"You've jynxed us." ....Excuse me? Jinhong was ready to whirl on him in that singular instant if they hadn't had bigger fries to worry about. Pulean made a mental note of Jerome's words as well, but the two of them didn't say a single thing about it because, well, they had a flock of demons descending on them. "Thanks." Pulean only shook her head, brandishing her makeshift weapon as she helped to fend off the bloody creatures. "Ready to cover your ass, bro!" "Like I need it!" Jinhong, on the other hand, was right alongside Yuuko as they cut their way through the creatures. Oh yes, she saw red, but she hadn't even activated one of her skills yet. She jumped over debris and fallen corpses, occasional glancing over to the others amidst the flurry of wood chunks, feathers, sickles, and blood. Pulean was fine, she was with Laz towards the middle. Jerome was all over the fucking place with that creeper grin across his face amidst the sport, her lips twisting in a look of disgust. But then she saw Yuuko and how she was beginning to struggle a little. At first this seemed like nothing, just a moment of slight fatigue, and so Jinhong continued to lay on the pressure as these creatures kept attacking in droves.

"COME AT ME!" Her ears perked up as did Puleans, both of them looking towards the young Japanese school girl, the sapphire eyed twin already starting to try and make her way to her the instant she saw her fall to her knee's. "G-got you, bastards," Not good. "Jinhong..." "Got it." Out of the twins, only Pulean saw the girl get skewered, whipping around to stab one of the fucking creatures in its damn face. Ooooo she would make a mental note to have a rapier when she went on these trips next time. "Fuck.. fuck... I-I'll kill you... I won't die.. I c-can't.." It was like there was a synchronized motion between the two twins as Jinhong let out an almost inhuman roar, the crimson glow of her eyes positively blazing with fury alit inside her. Now... Shit was going to get real. Forgetting her aching muscles, the little cuts here and there, she dove right into the heart of the Aviaxes. "You want dinner? Right here birdbrains!" She shouted as loud as she could, her blade filled afresh with her blood as she cut the palm of her hand again, casting some of it in the "eyes" of the nearest three with a sweep.

Primal instinct took over, the base spirit of a warrior and all those years of training that they had had. Duck, dodge, feint... Then beat the living shit out of your enemies. She had become water in the flow of this fight and she was dancing a great spinning death with all of these disgusting partners. Pulean let out a shout as two more descended on her, rolling away as they had blocked her trying to get to Yuuko. She got lucky with a couple of little cuts on her arms, forcing herself up as she aimed a well-timed kick and lunge. One went down. The other screeched and swung at her head, dropping low before she stabbed at its legs so it tilted jerkingly to one side. WHAP! WHAM! Down another one went as she panted lightly. Shit. That had taken longer than she had wanted to. "You wooden bastards stay the fuck away from my friends." Another gunshot as Lazarus attacked the Aviaxes with a renewed sense of strength. He had found himself, found the birthright that lay within his blood as they all fought for their very lives at this moment. She saw that he had taken care of those on top of Yuuko while Jerome and Jinhong took most of the heat off of them.

"Hey, Pulean! She needs help, NOW!" She did not say anything, glancing over as she saw a couple of creatures go flying from where Jinhong was a whirling dervish of doom. Within another moment, she slowed her running to a slide, coming perfectly to a stop beside them. "Lazarus, relax and cover me." She spoke quietly as she moved his hand aside, one of her hands clamping down to apply pressure. This was beyond her currently skill level to fully heal, but she could at least make it better. "Yuuko, try to take slow, calm breaths. Slow your heart rate down if you can." She murmured as both of her hands pressed down on the wound. A soft blue glow emerged from her wrists, already sensing how deep it was. Shit.... She could at least lessen the bleeding and heal part of it. After she held her hands there for a moment, the wound had closed itself a little bit, at least enough so that the risk of her bleeding out had lessened. Out came her med kit from her waist, quickly ripping and pulling out bandages and cause to treat the wound here and now. "You doing ok over--" She had to close her eyes as she smoothed an ointment over the cut, continuing to dress her wound. She couldn't even communicate with Jinhong right now. All that was in her mind was destruction. She was alive though, which was of some relief.

by **Jerome Fontaine** Sun May 19, 2013 5:20 am

Jerome's mind seemed to sum the events up in a nice little synopsis: shit had both gotten real and hit the fan. Lazarus seemed to have found a pair, his pistols being that pair, and started cracking off shots like he was Dante. Jerome smiled and took a cursory glance around the battlefield. They were getting swarmed and Lazarus was covering Pulean's healing attempt. As long as he could keep up a barrage with one pistol and cover himself with the other, he'd be fine. Whatever snapped inside him seemed to have increased his prowess with those pea-shooters. And Jerome was rather impressed. As for the other twin...Jerome was almost...scared of her. Was this what he looked like when he fought? No, Jerome had a smile rather than a twisted snarl of rage.

With the girls covered, Laz covered, and Jinhong cutting through the log-like screeching bastards around them, Jerome felt like odd man out. He sort of stood there, whipping Aviax absent-mindedly, until he heard a familiar language. Lazarus, who he was still back to back with, finally piped up. "You wooden bastards stay the fuck away from my friends." Friends. Right...they were friends, weren't they? And no matter what mood, friends help each other right? Right. Jerome gave a reassuring pat-pat on Lazarus' shoulder as he coiled the whip in his hand and made a mad dash for Jinhong. She didn't look to be thinking much about her situation, like some sort of berserker.

Jerome took the opportunity of the environment and took a firm step on a nearby boulder, launching himself into the air towards Jinhong and the swarm. His whip unfurled from his fist, rivlets falling from small cuts in his glove-clad hand. He screamed out a very...very lame quip jumping of Jinhong's previous, demonic one. "I HOPE YOU SAVED ROOM FOR DESSERT, LOGS! TIIIIIIIIIIIME FOOOOOR THE BONUS ROUUUUUUUUND!" With that, he spun his whip and lashed down from the air as he landed, slashing into an Aviax. He didn't say anything to Jinhong, mainly not to anger her. He kept up his long, whipping motions to get the Aviax to back off, most of them learning full well not to get too close to the razor whip.

"Okay, you wooden fucks, let me say something," He spun his whip on his right side, turning it into a spinning, shining ring. "I barely know these people. But comrades are comrades. I am Jerome Fontaine, last heir to the Fontaine Hunters. You have fucked with the wrong people...NOW LET ME HEAR YOU SCREAM!" With that, he dashed to the left, starting to whip at them as he runs in a circle that they had made, whipping them away. "Jinhong, final blows please!" He knew his whip alone, at this range and without the proper windup, would not kill them, but weaken them substantially. Jinhong's blade would do just fine for some finishers, he thought.

What possessed him to run in there, all chivalrous and helpful, was very, very confused even to him. But it could be safe to assume that there was word still resonating in his mind...from Lazarus

Friends

by **Yuuko Koizumi** Thu May 23, 2013 3:56 pm

Everything was a daze. Her vision was blurry, and even breathing made her feel like someone was shoving pins and needles by the handfuls deep into her side repeatedly. People were screaming all around her, and the wails of demons could be heard. Nothing made sense anymore, and the world was spinning around her. The only thing her mind could identify out of the blurred pictures was Lazarus, his red head sticking out the most.

When that redhead was close, she felt a jolt of pain as something pressed into her wound. Yuuko gnashed her teeth and grunted loudly. Not wanting to attract the attention of even more demons, Yuuko did her hardest to suppress the screams that wanted to come out. She slapped a hand over Laz's and gripped it tightly to help her with that. When she felt his hand slip away, she almost reached for it before just letting her arm just drop back down to her sides. That's right, Lazarus hated her... why would he want to hold her hand?

A calmer and more feminine voice was instructing her on what to do, and Yuuko complied since there was no point in resisting. "I-I h-have quick healing abilities.." Yuuko gasped out as she felt something cold go onto her wound. "I-It'll clot p-pretty soon.. s-scab over within the hour.. I'll be back into the fight soon.." Yuuko gritted her teeth and balled her hands into fists with nothing to grab onto. This was the worst pain she had ever felt, and the burning sensation that the sting of pain brought her kept getting worse and worse.

((Sorry this is so short and that I took so long. I work almost everyday and I'm usually too tired to reply >A<;; I'll be better about it next time though.))

by **Reverend Smith** Fri May 24, 2013 1:15 am

Rev, deciding to take care of these creatures the most fun way, tossed his cross aside, back to his bike, the clanging of the metal making a rather loud bang, as he drew from the bike another plaything. The Blesscannon. It was a true beast of battle, a single gauge shottie, and fully loaded, it weighed quite a bit; twenty pounds to be exact, holding ten one-pound shells, and its large size making up another ten pounds. To him, it was a paperweight, and he wielded it with a single hand, grinning madly at the bird-things.

Bididididit. Bididit. Bididididididididit. A steady drumming of hot lead poured from the SMGs in Alabastor's hands, ripping through wood as if it were hot butter. Those demons who could get close enough to him only nicked him with their blades, at best, before SMASH; with a swing of a single firearm, he batted it aside long enough to pump it full of lead. Alas, ranged weapons were only so effective. Unbeknownst to him, however, these such weapons were actually quite effective, with the proper abilities. Alas, Alabastor was not at all like Lazarus Carter.

A distance away, Hartman's assault rifle thudded powerfully, shredding demons into sawdust, the gun sounding more like a jackhammer than anything. He always felt much safer with the large weapon in hand, and it seemed very much to be a part of his own body, rather than a tool. Cutting demons down? Easy.

Gunthar was clearly having a bit of trouble, alas, as two Aviaxes decided to pick on the medic, as he stood far from the action. He hadn't come unarmed, though, and with a revolver, cracked out several shots, although his aim wasn't quite up to par enough to kill either with one shot, instead merely scaring them.

Martinez had just gotten into the room with everyone else, and quickly made his way to Rev, to inform him of the second potential threat. "Sir, Mr. Smith! We've got a situation, there are several De-" -mon Hunters en route. Alas, he was silenced as Rev drew back his shotgun to smack an Aviax, accidentally clubbing his poor comrade in the head. "Ah, crap... Sorry, Mart! GUN, OVER HERE! MAN DOWN." As it was, Gunthar was already on his way over, having had expected such a thing as this. Quickly, he pulled Gunthar over to the side, and went to work. Well, he was alive... That's something, right?

And with that out of sight, out of mind, Rev grinned as about six Aviaxes came at him, lowering his gun, aiming at the mass of them. "Say 'ello..." Click. "TO MY LEETLE FRIIIIIIEND!~" He pulled the trigger.

CRAAAAAAACK.

It was a truly thunderous and deafening blast from the behemoth of a shotgun, as a pound of lead burst from it, exploding into fragmented shards of bullet, ripping through five of the things, shredding them instantly, as it hit the sixth, wounding it, but not killing it. Standing over it, he placed his gun's barrel to it's chest, pinning it to the ground. "Lord, recieve unto yourself satisfaction in the deeds of us men of your word, those who stand triumphantly over the demonic kind, sundering blades and shields, not stopping until they have been torn to nothingness. Amen." And with a sick smile, the gun's heavy blast boomed again, as he stepped back to examine the remains.

Sawdust. Truly a fine example of overkill.

by **Lazarus Carter** Wed May 29, 2013 12:26 am

"Lazarus, relax and cover me." The teen gunman nodded, brandishing the Nomads and watching as, for the moment, the remainder of the Aviax troops skittered back to the stairs and began to head upwards towards the source of further deafening noises. Perhaps it was infighting between the others? Or maybe a call to arms? The least likely course of action was further human insurrection; but anything seemed possible in this fresh Hell.

Then in Demon came the cry alongside the final setup for Jerome and Jinhong taking out the last of their respective group. "I barely know these people. But comrades are comrades. I am Jerome Fontaine, last heir to the Fontaine Hunters. You have fucked with the wrong people...NOW LET ME HEAR YOU SCREAM!" God, that was beyond ham. Great big fucking leg of the rawest meat. That guy knew his speeches, it seemed. As that began to echo and he and the Korean finished off their last blows, Yuuko murmured from behind him. "I-It'll clot p-pretty soon.. s-scab over within the hour.. I'll be back into the fight soon.."

Assertively, the teen shook his head. Now, he had to take responsibility for all of this. There was no-one else to step up to the task: and in Inferis, the redhead had truly found himself. "No. Stay back." Lazarus half-growled. "You've lost blood and you're not going to be in any state to fight for a couple of days. You stay with Pulean and the three of us will take the lead, alright?" With that, he then looked to the group healer. "We need to keep moving." The typical empathy returned to the impromptu leader's eyes as he knelt down once more, lowering the pistols as this hall of the multiplex finally emptied,. "You'll have to support her on your own, or stay here."

With that, the gunman pulled himself up and looked to Jinhong and Jerome, gesturing then to the stairs on the far side. The battlefield was strewn with chunks of wood and rotting sawdust, bent, rusty nails that the winged Demons utilised in place of joints. Split sickle-fingers torn from the dank columns they called limbs. Shattered particulates of bone, spinal ridges cast aside. And from above, in that instant he readied himself to rally them, a deafening noise rang out with a crack, affirming that there was indeed a second human presence above.

The concept of other humans being averse to their presence in Inferis coupled with an ignorance of the existence of Templars immediately lead Lazarus to the belief that those above were their allies, and brought a grin onto his face. Reinforcements. Jerking his head to the stairs, he looked to the other two groups of two, and broke into a sprint, heading to surface onto the steps above. "Allons-y, ladies and gentlemen." That cheeky grin in tow, it was only a few moments before his destination was reached, and Lazarus Carter lead the ascension to the second floor of this multiplex structure.

Even though the redhead was assured of the "fact" that these fellow humans - who he could see, poking his head around the corner, locked in clutch with a group of Aviaxes at least three dozen strong - would be amiable. And though they seemed to be far more competent than their rag-tag band, firing on groups of them without restraint and with extreme prejudice, they weren't without the need for some additional help - so it was now that Lazarus turned back to his group and gestured for quiet. "Flank the Demons. Take 'em by surprise." A vindictive grin jumped onto his face as he waited for the other two attackers and finally leapt into the fray, grasping both pistols tight as he opened fire, not knowing the motives of the other group proper...

((MORE FIGHTING. Jay, remember Rev's default directive is to DETAIN other human presence, NOT to kill.))

by **Jinhong Jangmi** Wed Jun 05, 2013 4:53 am

Pulean did not move a single inch as soon as she began to apply her powers, barely paying any attention to what Yuuko said. "I-I h-have quick healing abilities..I-It'll clot p-pretty soon.. s-scab over within the hour.. I'll be back into the fight soon.." Good to know, and now to retort. "Right now it isn't enough. Even with accelerated healing abilities you would still bleed out. I understand its not easy being incapacitated amidst your team, but you need rest." She spoke calmly and quietly, glancing back to Lazarus as he stepped closer to them. "No. Stay back." She knew full well how mad Jinhong could get when she came to and was told she was to not do anything for a long time so she could recover. "You've lost blood and you're not going to be in any state to fight for a couple of days. You stay with Pulean and the three of us will take the lead, alright?" Considering he said her name, she automatically looked up at him since she could guess that he wanted to move. And if they were moving, it was not going to be safe for the two of them out here in the open.

"You'll have to support her on your own, or stay here." With that, she finished up and quickly finished tying off a knot of the bandages about Yuuko's center. "I've got her." Pulean moved around Yuuko, carefully helping her to sit up as she laid her arms over her shoulders. "Hold on tight to me." She said gently as she then stood them both up with Yuuko on her back, her arms wrapped about her legs as she supported her as best as she could which was surprisingly well. Jinhong might be the obvious fighter, but her twin wasn't some weak flower either. However....

"I HOPE YOU SAVED ROOM FOR DESSERT, LOGS! TIIIIIIIIIIIME FOOOOOR THE BONUS ROUUUUUUUUND!" The words did not even register to Jinhong amidst the flurry of clacking metal on wood and chittering screeches of the beasts about her. To her? It was just another demon talking because that was the dialect she heard. Bringing her sword across her palm again, the blood flowed easily down its length to freshen the poisonous liquid to the brutes about her, slashing across them as they coughed and sputtered. With another roar she chopped her way through them, paying no mind to the lighter cuts and bruises that she had already received. "Okay, you wooden fucks, let me say something. I barely know these people. But comrades are comrades. I am Jerome Fontaine, last heir to the Fontaine Hunters. You have fucked with the wrong people...NOW LET ME HEAR YOU SCREAM!" Demon.... Her head whipped around to look at the shifting crowds of the beasts, flicking her blade down as she charged forward with eyes glowing a brilliant red. "Jinhong, final blows please!" Her name.... With a roar, she jumped forward and brought her blade up, spinning about as her blade danced about her, cutting down the enemies he had left free for her to kill.

But as soon as they were down, she suddenly rounded on Jerome with a growl, her sword coming down to slice at his neck-- "JINHONG JANGMI STOP IT THIS INSTANT." Her twins voiced echoed, shattered the bloody haze that had settled over her as the glow in her eyes vanished instantly, the blade stopping inches from his body. Panting heavily, she stared with lingering anger at the source of that cursed language, blinking a couple of times before her expression grew more calm, grimmer. Her body straightened and she moved her blade away, "I'm sorry Jerome." Her voice was oddly quiet for as much yelling as she had just been doing, pulling out a cloth from one of her many pockets and wiping down her sword before sheathing it. Turning her head, she saw that Pulean had Yuuko on her back, standing solidly as was to be expected, watching as Lazarus gestured towards the stairs inside.

CRAAAAAAACK.

Her head looked up as she could hear the sounds of others that were there, her jaw tightening as she glanced over to her sister. "Templars." They muttered in unison at their respective spots just as their leader called them forth, "Allons-y, ladies and gentlemen." Jinhong hurried up and after him, slipping the cloth back into the pocket from whence it had come. Pulean took great strides as she followed after them at a slower pace, doing her best to not bang Yuuko around considering her injury. She took her time and slipped off to the side as the rest of the team followed after to join the fight going on above. "Be careful. You cannot berserk with those religious fools about." "I know. Just worry about yourself and Yuuko for now." Jinhong slowed behind Lazarus, her crimson eyes glancing over the fight as she quietly drew her sword again. "Flank the Demons. Take 'em by surprise." She nodded once as she crouched down and slipped about to the right as the Aviaxes focused upon the Templars.

Pricking her finger again, her blood slipped down the blades length once more as she crept up quiet as a mouse despite her combat boots. Her hand reached out and tugged, her blade running through the demon she now let fall to the floor as its sickles and tail fluttered pathetically before finally falling still. Wrenching her blade out again, she proceeded to hack through the enemies before her, lips permanently on a slight grimace as her blood dripped out of the cuts that laced across her body. She could ask Pulean later for a patch up, right now she was needed more as another blade in their rough little group. But what would happen once they had finished off the demons here? The Templars would undoubtedly attempt to arrest them and that..... that wasn't something she was really looking forward to.

by **Jerome Fontaine** Wed Jun 05, 2013 6:24 am

A man certainly did have to admire a fighter like Jinhong. That crazed, unbridled look of pure hate and rage really did add to Jerome's resolve as he sliced his way through the Lincoln Logs with quick, serpentine strokes. Jinhong had done as asked, taking out the wounded as he dispatched more of them with a bit more force. But she didn't seem to be registering what he said, although she DID understand his question. Maybe it was her rage, but Jerome was captivated by her action as he stood among piles of splinters and broken logs. He could hear faint voices, Lazarus and the others talking about something, out of danger as it seemed. They must've been waiting for the two of them to finish up. But his stare was almost his downfall as Jinhong finished up...then turned and swung. Jerome was almost petrified by it.

"JINHONG JANGMI STOP IT THIS INSTANT." But it was too late. He brought his right hand up, but miscalculated and it knicked his neck. The leather didn't do much against it and it cut deep, but the cut itself looked only like a papercut. Blood began to trickle and Jerome didn't know what to feel: pleasure or pain, so he stood there frozen for a moment. But as it remained, pain beat out as Jerome grabbed his neck and hissed, dropping his whip with a clank. He took a knee, then he heard Jinhong, who was wiping off her blade, "I'm sorry Jerome." He just looked up from his position at her, grinning and bearing the pain as he nodded to her. This time, the surmised, that English would be good. "No prob-fuuuuuuck....no problem, Jinhong, friendly fire and all that, no worries. Let's get moving." He took up his whip and followed, grasping his slash.

He walked on behind them all, in a state of disbelief. He knew he could follow on, no little cut was going to stop him. He started going up the staircase with them and the adrenaline started to pump as he neared the battle, more blood starting to trickle out, but still not enough to bother him. Then Lazarus piped up, "Flank the Demons. Take 'em by surprise." Surprise was something he knew and it made him grip his whip tighter. It looked like they had back up too, guys with guns always were a plus.

3...2...1, go. Jerome jumped down and started swinging amongst the log-bird-things, slashing and breaking them in pieces. He got back into the swing of things like he liked, him killing things and in control. With the adrenaline running, the pain in his neck started to dissipate and he started swinging his Inheritance two handed with plenty of force. Unfortunately, the only reminder left of his wound was the slow pour of blood going down his shoulder. He fought on though, Jinhong was wounded all over and SHE kept fighting. He be damned if he be one-up'ed.

by **Reverend Smith** Thu Jun 06, 2013 2:49 pm

Gunshots sang out loud and proud as the group of Templars wreaked havoc on the swarms of demons infesting the halls of the complex. Soon, however, as Rev shot off more blasts of his one-gauge shotgun, perhaps more aptly referred to as a cannon, he began to notice new sounds; demon hunters? Certainly seemed that way; there, yeah, a teenie-bopper thing flailing twin pistols, with admittedly stylish technique. As he scanned the room, whilst calmly walking towards his bike, gunning down all demons in his path like a man with a machete, he saw two women, identical in appearance, one tending to another girl, who seemed the youngest. And pulling up the rear was a rather tall and buff-ish guy with a whip, or so it appeared. Such a ragtag bunch compared to the professionalism of the Knights Templar. Soon enough, however, the combined efforts of the two teams concluded, as both realized all demons were dead. His fellow Templars were on edge as his sole steps echoed quite noticeably on the ground, as he approached the gunslinger, all smiles.

Little did he know, the cross he'd exchanged the shotgun for, currently strapped to his back, wasn't exactly meant for negotiations. "Going to assume you all speak English, ja? Good, goodie~ So, hallo, my name is Reverend Adrianus Aloysius Elia Gerlach Smith VII, call me Rev, though. I really appreciate your help with cleaning out this den, you don't even know how much time you saved me!" He grinned and extended a hand for Lazarus to shake, should he so choose to accept it. He stepped back slightly as he retreated the shake, his smile faltering slightly, more apologetic.

"Ahhh, but there is one tiny thing. Just an eency-bitty conundrum, you see, and I hate doing this, especially after your hard work. Really, I hate coming off as the bad guy, so don't take this personally, but..." The friendly, if weak, smile broke, and the cheery warmth in his eyes faded to a serious stare, a face of utter emotional detachment. Didn't make it any easier, knowing there was a chance he'd end up killing at least one of them, while trying to detain them non-lethally... "By orders of the Knight Templar of the Vatican Church, I hereby convict you demon hunters, on charges of violations of section 2, article 1 of the universally recognized Code of Interplanar Travel; you, as demon hunters, are a liability and threat to the Templar Order and all we stand for, by your very existence, and therefore, you are all under arrest. Very sorry."

And with agility and speed rarely seen in men his age, he drew his cross and performed a handstand-backflip at once, such that the cross was used as a shield, in the event of any form of retaliation as he moved to a comfortable range. "Templars, mobilize. Non-lethally neutralize the enemy, by any means necessary." And at his command, the two Templars who weren't involved in medical care at the moment, each took on a demon hunter; Alabastor to Jerome and Jinhong, switching from his pistols to a pair of two foot batons, made for efficiently knocking out opponents, and Hartmen went for Lazarus, wielding a long staff that ended with a rather shocking point. A stun staff, of sorts, you could say. Meanwhile, Rev himself casually stepped over towards the rather badly wounded teen and the barely older medic. "If you'd like assistance, I have a medic with me as well; he lacks your prowess, I'm sure, but he may be of use to you." Ahhh, hopefully she'd be appreciative of his offer. It really was genuine, honestly, but if she attacked him, well... Wouldn't end well, would it?

(~(AND MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOR, DEMON HUNTERS. 8D)~)

by **Lazarus Carter** Fri Jun 07, 2013 5:01 am

The man at the head of it, who carried himself with a surprising and yet intimidating demeanour, seemed to show Lazarus up as the teen continued to aim, cock, and fire his pistols off at all the Aviaxes he could see, throwing himself into the fray, not realising the inherent danger of capture the team had so swiftly put themselves into. "Templars." He heard the word but didn't understand the meaning; and though the tone was at best slightly demeaning, the redhead showed no signs of changing his welcoming embrace of the second, well-armed party. Perhaps it was for sheer naivete - and perhaps it was just that the Hunter wanted the only other human contact he'd experienced so far in Inferis that he wasn't initially familiar with to be friendly.

And oh how wrong he was.

The deafening crack of the man's hefty cannon of a shotgun - which he wielded not only with aplomb, but doing so and unwittingly making Lazarus' weapons look like glorified Super Soakers - came in tandem with a great burst of scarlet light. Normally muzzle flashes didn't play havoc with the redhead's synaesthesia, but the force of this shotgun was so that the light was almost, for a split-second, debilitating, the teen throwing a hand up in front of his face to shield his eyes.

With that, it appeared that the battle was all but over. The man approached them with something of a friendly stance - and for a moment, Lazarus truly believed that this meeting would be one of camaraderie. But it seemed this open and polite nature was, in a sense, twisted by the older man - the clear leader and superior combatant of the almost militant group - who approached them with a bright smile and a heavy European accent. Dutch? "Going to assume you all speak English, ja? Good, goodie~ So, hallo, my name is Reverend Adrianus Aloysius Elia Gerlach Smith VII, call me Rev, though. I really appreciate your help with cleaning out this den, you don't even know how much time you saved me!" A wide, toothy grin, and this "Rev" extended his hand.

"I really dunno what they're worrying about..." Amiably, Lazarus grasped it - though the man's hands were like steaks compared to his, huge and lumbering in that bulky frame. "No problem. I'm Laz, and these are my friends, Jin, Pulean, Jerome, and the wounded one's Yuu." On the fly, he'd just announced these self-created nicknames, smiling broadly and continuing until the good Reverend abruptly cut him off. "I gotta say, that's a real gun you got there, sir-"

"Ahhh, but there is one tiny thing. Just an eency-bitty conundrum, you see, and I hate doing this, especially after your hard work. Really, I hate coming off as the bad guy, so don't take this personally, but..." Lazarus froze in the Templar's grasp and retracted his hand as that friendly smile and warm glance faded to nothing. What? But what? "By orders of the Knight Templar of the Vatican Church, I hereby convict you demon hunters, on charges of violations of section 2, article 1 of the universally recognized Code of Interplanar Travel; you, as demon hunters, are a liability and threat to the Templar Order and all we stand for, by your very existence, and therefore, you are all under arrest. Very sorry." His tone had immediately changed and become dead serious - and though most of it had become white noise, and all this shit about the Church and those Templars, Code of Interplanar Travel - the meaning behind it all was staring the redhead and the rest of the party straight in the face. "We're taking you in." The epiphany rang loud and clear and in a moment that friendly atmosphere shattered and became no different from the tension between Hunter and Demon alike. Humans. Who would entrap and detain their own kin when there was such a greater enemy who sought to terrorise and maim them?

Whilst he knew at his core it would be far significantly less intimidating than the Reverend's speech, his voice lowered to a growl and he dropped back, stalking in a backpedal as he once more raised both pistols, aiming them straight at Smith. "Like fuck you are." There it was again. That grit-toothed determination, that defiance, that courage and that utter hostility that Lazarus seemed to be able to conjure up just weeks after breaking down. In the heat of the moment he could truly seize life for himself and be a man - it was just the knock-on effects of it all that gave him more of a second reflection on the whole sequence, time and time again. "Guys..."

[INITIATE THEME]

The Reverend's display of acrobatics coupled with a bark of orders in that accented English should have startled Lazarus, but in this world he'd seen so much that it now just really didn't affect him. "Templars, mobilize. Non-lethally neutralize the enemy, by any means necessary." The growl lowered to a defensive snarl as one of them sheathed pistols and brandished an electrified, sleek black metal staff of some sort, beginning to move towards the redhead, whilst another unsheathed dual batons and converged on Jerome and Jinhong. At the back was Pulean holding Yuuko. Their chances weren't really looking good. "If you'd like assistance, I have a medic with me as well; he lacks your prowess, I'm sure, but he may be of use to you." Snide motherfucker.

But he couldn't do anything about that just yet - and whilst defending the wounded and the medic was to be a priority, for the moment, Lazarus had to first concern himself with the immediate problem - an advancing man, short though stocky, with a look of hardened, wizened grit determination upon his pallor, and electricity crackling in a fairly disconcerting matter at the end of what was essentially a big metal pole. As if to threaten the redhead, he prodded it towards the air near his stomach, and as the teen recoiled, pressed some sort of button generating a small static surge in the general vicinity of the staff's end, before pulling it back, rotating it, and doing it once more in a deft cycle.

"Fuck..." Lazarus murmured. He knew - scared as he was - that the threat of essentially being struck with a cattle prod was what was happening here in an attempt to make him buckle, and it took all his adrenaline and might to blank the otherwise tumultuous fear out, and overcome it as best he could. There was a timing to this, a rhythmatic flow to the way that this Hartmen wove a pattern, swooping in, down, and out with his staff; and like any musical enthusiast, the redhead knew that timing was key.

And in preempting that split-second gap between the recoil and the start of a new pattern, when the staff-bearer held his weapon broad and wide across his torso, the redhead pushed back - for in the time it would take to raise, aim, and fire his pistol, the man would react. "I don't..." Bringing up his leg in a swift, deft arc, he slammed a moment later the bottom of his sole into the staff and knocked it back into Hartmen's chest, winding him. "...think so!" The intricate weapon dropped to the floor and almost immediately disabled itself, seemingly being powered or activated by the Templar's grasp. And at that point, huffing and red in the face, but angry and ready to retaliate all the same, Lazarus leant forwards and grasped the man by the shoulder, still well within his reach, pulling his other hand forwards to press the cold barrel of a gun into his collarbone, gritting his teeth, and squeezing the trigger, all in some fluid interweaving sequence of slightly martial arts-styled attacks.

The shot rang out and it took a moment for Lazarus to process what he'd just done, stepping back - not quivering, not shaking, and not horrified, but just somewhat surprised that he had the ability to defend himself in such capacities. He'd been in fights before, and sure, he'd killed Demons; but everything here had been so visceral as the bullet passed straight through, grinding up the bone and sending Hartmen to the floor clutching at the fresh wound with chunks of gore and viscera blown out the back. Blood began to trickle down his uniform and he doubled over into the foetal position groaning sharply. "Stay down." The redhead ordered.

But looking at the other three still standing, Lazarus knew too well that his luck wouldn't be quite as good with them. Superior training, equipment, understanding of this world - all of that was clear. The odds weren't in their favour, and, as always, they were the underdogs, trying their absolute best to beat the house. And with one down, the redhead knowing he could perform that final, crippling blow, but not exactly wanting to kill another human, hostile or not, the logic he was hearing here was to quit whilst they were ahead. They had three fighters, one wounded, and a medic versus three combat-ready Templars and one guy who could draw that shotgun and blow them away in an instant if this fight was anything but non-lethal. Fuck.

In that moment, he knew that the decision had already been made - but with Jinhong semi-feral, Yuuko out of the picture, and Jerome acting like some breed of psychopath anyway, there wasn't anyone to take the reins and look at this whole thing objectively. "PULL BACK!" Lazarus howled. "WE'RE GETTING OUT OF HERE!" He screamed with the utmost determination, raising both pistols and firing in bursts of sharp, semi-automatic fire upon the Reverend and the one engaging his two close-combat specialist comrades. Suppressing fire was the way forward. With that, he began to backpedal once more, backing up against the far wall of the stairwell, never ceasing his shots as he cried a final time for his newfound cohorts- no, friends, to start filing towards the stairs. He could hold his own against humans with long-range weaponry. The others stood less of a chance of not being captured. The silver lining here was that he knew the boundaries and limitations of humans; they were, in a sense, objectively easier to fight back against there. A bullet to the head put every human down. Wasn't the case for some Demons, he imagined.

"GO!"

((Everyone start leading out. Laz will bring up the rear. Pey and Vi, make sure to have Pulean and Yuuko start running as fast as they can cause they're less likely to be able to defend against the troops being preoccupied and wounded respectively.))

by **Jinhong Jangmi** Sat Jun 08, 2013 10:35 am

Even as Jinhong was dispatching the last of the Aviax's with the Templar threat still before her, there was a rat nipping at the back of her mind. The look on Jerome's face moments before. She had almost killed him. She had MEANT to kill him, wanted to in that singular moment because.... he had been no different than a demon. Thank god for her sister otherwise.... Her lips tightened as her sword ripped itself out of the crumbling body, immediately jumping back as another sickle came down towards where she had been. His words echoed in her mind, "No prob-fuuuuuuck....no problem, Jinhong, friendly fire and all that, no worries. Let's get moving." It hadn't just been friendly fire though. And he had inflicted a knife wound on himself in the process which was just as bad. Gritting her teeth, she growled one final time as she kicked the Aviax into the waiting guns of the Templars, rolling backwards away from the group of armored men. She glanced down to Pulean whom was clearly not happy with the current situation at all. "Get ready to run. I'll cover you as best I can." "You are barely in any shape to. But.... I will. What about the others?" Jinhong glanced towards Jerome and Lazarus, her lips frowning further as she lowered her blade for the moment, trying to think of what their best options were. An entire squad was here, and their leader was no slouch with much superior firepower to their own. "We aren't going to do that Jinhong. We are all getting out of here." She was ashamed the very thought had crossed her mind. "Of course."

"Going to assume you all speak English, ja? Good, goodie~ So, hallo, my name is Reverend Adrianus Aloysius Elia Gerlach Smith VII, call me Rev, though. I really appreciate your help with cleaning out this den, you don't even know how much time you saved me!" Her eyes turned back towards the dear Reverend, not even bothering to pretend to look friendly. So when she saw Laz reaching his hand and shaking the mans, her eyes widened a little and she started to step towards him to stop him-- "No problem. I'm Laz, and these are my friends, Jin, Pulean, Jerome, and the wounded one's Yuu." Pulean closed her eyes as she took a deep breath, looking down to Yuuko as she leaned close to her ear, "I'm going to have to run and that won't be pleasant on your wound. I'm sorry." Her weight was already shifting as she took a step back down one step and then another, slowly getting them down to the bottom floor. "Ahhh, but there is one tiny thing. Just an eency-bitty conundrum, you see, and I hate doing this, especially after your hard work. Really, I hate coming off as the bad guy, so don't take this personally, but..." "Laz." Jinhong called out once, already starting to back up as she raised her sword, muscles screaming in frustration and pain.

"By orders of the Knight Templar of the Vatican Church, I hereby convict you demon hunters, on charges of violations of section 2, article 1 of the universally recognized Code of Interplanar Travel; you, as demon hunters, are a liability and threat to the Templar Order and all we stand for, by your very existence, and therefore, you are all under arrest. Very sorry." As she watched her new friend, she saw the reality of their situation sinking in with the harshness of a hammer strike to the head, gritting her teeth as she had to pay attention now to the Templars that were moving. "Templars, mobilize. Non-lethally neutralize the enemy, by any means necessary." "Like fuck you are." A man with two batons began to approach, her expression darkening completely as she glanced quickly to Jerome. He was bleeding bad. Stepping in front of him a bit, she kept her sword out because she didn't care if she had to cut these humans down. They were threatening her and her comrades, and she would not tolerate this. Rev turned his attention towards her sister and approached, talking all the while, "If you'd like assistance, I have a medic with me as well; he lacks your prowess, I'm sure, but he may be of use to you." "Pulean, get out now." Pulean scooped Yuuko up into her arms and was back-peddling down the last couple of stairs stairs as she glared at the man, "Like hell you god damned bastard." And with that, she bolted out the door, legs carrying her a bit faster than what seemed normal for a human girl. She was thankful once more that she gained some agility when in this cursed realm.

Jinhong let out a roar as she jumped forward, ducking down to dodge one swing, her sword coming up in a diagonal slash to the mans chest. He blocked it with the second baton, his knee coming up to hit her in the stomach. Her body bent backwards as she backflipped away, sliding into a lunge as he continued advancing. She immediately had to straighten as he swung right and then left, forcing her backwards towards the staircase. Her sword came up on occasion to block the blows, the gunshot ringing out as she glanced towards Lazarus. It was as if that was what sent her off. Pushing forward on the last parry of his blows, snarling at the blow to her ribcage as she dove forward herself. Her sword imbedded itself in the chest of Alastor, the man freezing for a moment in shock and pain as blood began to pour. Her foot came up and she kicked him as hard as she could so he fell off, wrenching her sword out of him. Her blood wouldn't do anything to him, but it didn't need to. The wound itself with the kick had staggered him back. "PULL BACK!" Her head shot up as she looked again to the redhead, one of her hands going to her side at the pain that was blossoming there. Yeah... she probably had a broken rib now. "WE'RE GETTING OUT OF HERE!" She didn't hesitate as she grabbed the railing beside her and swung herself up and over. Her feet landed on the last couple of steps below, barreling out after her sister whom she knew was already a decent distance ahead of them. "GO!" "JEROME COME ON!" She barked up at him, glancing back to see that he wasn't with them at all. Lazarus was following up after her, and so she turned her gaze ahead again as she grit her teeth. Fuck... She was more beat up than she thought. But she did not relent, adrenaline now fueling her as she forced her legs to pump and get her the fuck out of dodge.

by **Jerome Fontaine** Mon Jun 10, 2013 9:56 am

Finally, the logs were gone...splinters and sawdust scattered the floor of the multiplex, the two groups of humans looking at each other. Through his hazy eyesight and biting pain, he huffed and puffed in oxygen as he examined the soldiers before them. The blonde, husky one...had a cross with him. Crosses...demon hunting...maybe they were like the early Fontaines, "divinely inspired to do the Lord's work. They seemed like pleasant enough people and they knew how to get shit done. That shotgun Rev was holding had Jerome's attention for a bit, then he looked at the others. Jinhong...he sighed as he looked at her. He shouldn't had lied. He knew she was going to kill him and if it hadn't been for her sister, he would be. But fear. Fear was contagious. If he showed it, he would've spread it. But he saw it in the twins. Their fear was towards this squad of men. He examined their movements; it looked like they were gonna run. Jerome's suspicion had been reserved, but now he was wary of them. Especially the big one. "Going to assume you all speak English, ja? Good, goodie~ So, hallo, my name is Reverend Adrianus Aloysius Elia Gerlach Smith VII, call me Rev, though. I really appreciate your help with cleaning out this den, you don't even know how much time you saved me!"

Jerome nodded, letting his wrist go limp and his metal whip clanked softly against the cement. Lazarus was shaking his hand and that made Jerome a bit uncomfortable, moreso for Lazarus' well-being than anything else. "No problem. I'm Laz, and these are my friends, Jin, Pulean, Jerome, and the wounded one's Yuu." "The wounded one" was not him...they hadn't noticed. Not Laz at least. That was good, no one needed to worry about him; they were almost done anyway. All they needed was to get the pleasantries out of the way. "Ahhh, but there is one tiny thing. Just an eency-bitty conundrum, you see, and I hate doing this, especially after your hard work. Really, I hate coming off as the bad guy, so don't take this personally, but..." "Oh fuck, this guy can not be doing this right now..." Then, Jinhong had called Laz's name. Jerome started to back up a bit, but his energy was starting to wane. His focus faded for a moment and his whip dissipated into shimmering, golden dust. He didn't have the drive to continue the fight, but he did have enough to keep pressure on his wound and to stay alive.

"By orders of the Knight Templar of the Vatican Church, I hereby convict you demon hunters, on charges of violations of section 2, article 1 of the universally recognized Code of Interplanar Travel; you, as demon hunters, are a liability and threat to the Templar Order and all we stand for, by your very existence, and therefore, you are all under arrest. Very sorry." Bigotry...my god, it was thick in the words alone. Jerome's spat as far as he could, right in front of his shoes, the fluid more blood than saliva. Jerome tried to remember back to his family archives...Templars. They rang a certain bell. He found several documents after a certain date which warned about their antics and to dispatch of them at all discretion. But his family did have some connection to them. So, if they're gonna pull out some codes, Jerome would too. "Well Reverend...under section 95, article 6 of the Fontaine Code of Conduct, I have the right to tell you to shove off, or else you will be met with deadly force. So piss off, Welshman, your church has no power over ME or anyone else here. Thoughts otherwise are not wise, get me?" Jerome had no idea how long ago that section was made, or what it had to do with here...but, that was probably the blood loss, which grew by the minute.

Everything next was very much a blur. But the one event that stuck out was Jinhong. She came to cover him. Responsibility, or friendship brought her to him, maybe a bit of both, but she defended him for all she was worth and then some as he stood there, helpless to do anything. The others were already going, but Jinhong stayed. He now owed her as she ran the attacker through with her blade...oh, he didn't like favors. Jerome kept to his feet barely, head swirling in the air as he continued to stagger backward. Soon, Lazarus called out, "PULL BACK! WE'RE GETTING OUT OF HERE!" And they all scattered, Jinhong already down the steps with Jerome not too far behind, sliding himself under the railing. He started running after the pack, Lazarus and the others ahead a few feet. Jerome ran and ran and ran...then he heard a pop. A bubble of blood popped from beneath his fingers and started down in streams. His entire lower body disappeared as he kept running, falling further and further behind. Then he hit ground. Everything was black and cold. Was this what death felt like? No...dead people didn't have shaking breath. Fontaines were strong. Before he fell into the pit, he grabbed that last thread hanging. He couldn't hold forever now. He preferred it this way, though...better him than anyone else.

Because Jerome knew he was going to be taken. Deep down in the pit of his stomach, he knew. "I'll see you guys later...take care of yourselves." He rasped this whisper to them, knowing they couldn't hear him. But it gave him some respite.

by **Reverend Smith** Wed Jun 12, 2013 5:43 pm

Ahhh, it pained the old man to do it. They were just a bunch of kids, what harm could they possibly have caused? Still, though. Rules is rules, one must suppose, and while he may be a living epitome of chaos and anar- (DISCLAIMER: After being exploded by Kenny, I hereby state that Lucrum has all of the anarchy, and Rev has only a little anarchy.), he still had to follow the rules, regardless. Which isn't always fun, isn't always what he thinks is the right way to do things, but is always the way he must operate. Ah, but he still felt awful, especially for the pint-sizer before him. Poor kid actually trusted him; well, he'd have to be the one to break to him the one solid piece of advice in Inferis:

Trust no one.

The kid was actually being friendly, so he had to cut him off mid-sentence, simply to get a word in edgewise, lest his team get antsy and start shooting without orders. Lazarus then, apparently quite taken aback by his words, glared straight at him, materializing his little capguns, child's things, really, compared to his own armory, and cracking off two shots, each pinging off the iron cross. Not too shabby, though; he could feel the force behind the shots. A fairly decent force. Not too shabby at all...

Also none too shabby was the Cajun's speech, emerging from the kid, who seemed a bit worse for the wear. "Fontaine, eh...? Interesting..." And indeed it was; the Fontaine family, or at the very least, an ancestral branch of it, had ties to the Smith family, back home in Nederland and such. Indeed, Jerome's ancestry was one held in esteem by knowledgeable Templars; for quite a good few years, the Smith and Fontaine clans of knights were impeccably talented at demon-slaying, setting records, some still standing to the day. Nowadays, there weren't as many prolific Smiths, namely just his immediate family, and the last Fontaine in the order retired decades ago. Still, though; it was splendid refreshing of his mind's historical archives to hear the name. Ehh, the insults though... "Dutch, actually, not Welsh. The Netherlands, whatwith Amsterdam and our windmills and wooden clogs and such, compared to Wales and their sheep. And um... Well, their non-sheep things too." Eh, whatever.

Now with really nothing to do, not wishing to soil the fairness of the fight with his undoubtedly lethal methods, none of which possessed the finesse for capture, he watched the battles ensuing. Hartmen was doing quite well, especially for his age, but even Rev could see the meticulous patterning of his blows. He was predictable, easy to counter, easy to dodge. Not a challenge for the mighty Billy the Kid wannabe, it seemed; he was disarmed after a few moments, before taking a rather nasty close-up shot to the collarbone. Even Rev had to wince at that one; he'd seen the guns in action on his cross. On human flesh, at that range? Devastating.

As he'd stepped over to offer medical assistance to the wounded one, he received a rather nasty shock as the medic lashed out at him verbally, causing him to nonchalantly raise his arms up, in that well-known "eh, suit yourself" type of shrug. "Don't have to be so rude about it, a simple 'no thank you, Reverend Smith, but I appreciate the offer.' would have quite sufficed, you know." And with that, he let the two leave, watching the medic's sister and the Cajun fight Alabastor. Or really, just the girl; poor lad seemed ALSO in need of medical attention. Yeesh. Oh, speaking of! "Oy, Gun, tend to Hartman, kay? Mart's got himself covered. Kinda." And just as he turned back to the fight again, he saw Alabastor get speared in the chest. "Scratch that; prioritize, Gunthar. 'Bastor first."

But even as he said that, he realized why it was a bad idea; Lazarus called a retreat, cracking shots randomly at himself and, unfortunately, Alabastor. Two shot were sent that way, one striking a wall, the other planting itself firmly into Gunthar's left glute; ouch, bullet to the bum. Never fun, but he'd get over it. Couldn't sit for a while. Just his luck to be going to tend to Alabastor. That said, three bulets went Rev's way, two pinging off his cross again, though the third struck him square in the shoulder, splattering a spray of blood against the wall.

He put his hand to the wound thoughtfully, a blank, almost curious, expression on his face. "Did he just... He did, didn't he... Hehe." A grin rose on his face, building into a chuckle, then to a laugh. "Man, that kid has some brass balls, whoo! Haha!~" At the sound, Gunthar looked up from treating Alabastor, and began moving towards Rev.

Mr. Smith, I'll be right o-" Rev casually put up a hand, waving him back to his work.

"T'is but a flesh wound, Gunny. Save your supplies for the ones that count." Even as he said that, the blood seemed to have already stopped flowing the the spot, and should one see through the small hole in his shoulder, one could see veins slowly stitching themselves back together. It would take an hour or so, but his body would be repaired with no need for medical attention. Stung a million wasps, though. Had it not been for the shock value, he may have actually felt the shot.

Hearing a voice, a butterfly's flutter on the clear spring breeze, barely audible, he turned, noticing now a body. The Fontaine lad... He pulled out a phone; four, possibly five, injured people, and one medic? No way! dialing a very familiar number, he chimed in brightly. "Hallo honey~" He had, in fact, dialed his wife's number. One of the Templar's finest medics, she was, before retiring. She could still come out to play, though, non? "Mind heading downstairs, to a complex? Has a door built right in by me~" Waiting a moment, he grinned. "See you soon, then, Ashley. Bye~"

Right, she was en route. Leaving him with... Well, little else to do. Martinez was out cold, but relatively fine, so he hoisted him into a fireman's lift and, careful not to bang the man's head on anything, or drop him onto inexplicable spikes, he walked out to the vehicles, loading him into the APC. Heading back up, he did the same for Alabastor, recently repaired from that nasty stabbing. As he was heading back up, his wife arrived. The two ascended back to the appropriate level and she went fast at work saving the Fontaine kid's life. And as she and Gunthar helped to carry Hartman down, he lifted Jerome up, carrying him to his bike. Setting the lad in the small sidecar he used to keep some of his weapons in, he smiled a friendly smile. "We have a bit of catching up to do, demon hunter..."

by **Lazarus Carter** Fri Jun 21, 2013 8:05 am

A single solitary word echoed through the halls of Lazarus Carter's mind in that isolated instant.

RUN.

There was nothing else, nothing more, nothing less, simply the urge to run surging through his veins in an insane cocktail of toxic adrenaline pumping through every inch of his arterial tissue just fueling it all. It was like some twisted sort of battery acid, a chemical motivator that kept him going through the flesh still knotting together thanks to Pulean at his back, the aches and pains in his muscles, the stretching of his tendons and sinews, and clamminess of his skin, the tiring of his very bones...

And in that instant Lazarus blanked everything else out. Screams, cries, distant squawking; all became naught but white noise. Pulean came past first carrying Yuuko. Jinhong next. Not a moment later he himself barreled down the stairs, hands gliding against the rusted railings as his hands nicked and cut themselves and began to heat with the pain of friction. And all of it he simply blanked out. But above it all, above everything else, there was one fact he recalled not til their sortie from the parking lot was near to finished, another hundred miles from the entrance of the ruined stone structure.

Lazarus paused and his crimson irises widened, the Nomads suddenly hanging heavy in his hands. And he ground to a halt at the back of the queue, turning around hoping to see another pseudo-psychotic Cajun face, twisting on his heel, pivoting, wishing, demanding that they hadn't done it. But all that greeted him was empty air and that horrible lurching feeling of flagellating self-disgust it brought with it. Jerome was not there. The redhead had forgotten the count.

Their teammate lingered still with the Templars.

He looked up to the floor they had been on as indistinct voices mumbled out in the chatter intermixed with faint groans of agony, courtesy of - hopefully - he and Jinhong. Lazarus considered calling for their newfound yet lost teammate to somehow make an escape; a daring one-man stunt of bravado as he leapt from a window or executed them all on the spot, blood streaking from his brow, and walk out as everything detonated in a blaze behind them.

But alas, even in Inferis, that was not true realism here. And to shout would to be to give their position away once more as the Reverend, it appeared, the disgraceful human being he was, had simply let them leave. There was no sign of pursuit. And for four to survive and one to fall to capture, though it should have been five to none, the odds were somewhat in their favour. They would fight another day. Whether Jerome would emerge unscathed was another issue entirely.

"Fuck," The teen stuttered under his breath, becoming minuscule and cold for a moment as he realised his foolish neglect, biting at his lip vindictively to hate himself for such pathetic ignorance. But the utilitarian in him spurred him on as he turned around and continued to bring up the rear whilst they traipsed along the path they had once more taken, before finally reaching a safer spot on the bank of a ditch, panting, icy blood in their veins like acid.

The others looked to him quizzically. Four of their ilk had emerged. Where, said their stares, is the fifth? To answer them, solemnly the Hunter spoke. "We..." Lazarus sighed regretfully. "...lost Jerome." To be fair, he wanted to blame it on the Cajun fool for falling behind and losing himself - at the end of the day he wanted to call it every man for himself just so he didn't entirely put himself at fault. But that was not the way they functioned. Their group, that had today, in those past short few hours become something more than a band, than a rag-tag party, and, instead, a team.

They were human. Truly human, unlike those detestable 'Templars', enigmatic who seemed to use intelligence and charisma to trick those of their own breed whilst the Demons prowled around them. It disgusted Lazarus. It sickened him. "We'll get him, though." Determinedly he spoke, fist curling into a ball as he stared pensively up at the structure, barely half a kilometre away in the distance.

"I hate to say it..." With a sigh, he continued his relentless stare. "But our business here from done yet, folks." Now as his knuckles whitened with the skin around them and his face paled, the de facto, self-announced, implied team leader announced a mission statement. "First off, we're gonna find a way to get him back." There was the first goal, and didn't that seem impossible enough? "Then, we're going to get our revenge on that Reverend Fuckstick," Eloquent as always. "And, finally, when we do that, when we expand, when we build," Through gritted teeth he uttered the penultimate lines of his speech. "We'll come back here and kill every Demon motherfucker we can find. And we won't stop til we die or they all do." Blunt and to the point.

His voice lowered to a growl for the final defining essence of this band, this party, this grouping. A single, solitary biblical term echoed in his head. One he remembered from a Montana religious camp some crazy aunt had near-bludgeoned him into during childhood. The children. The children, just like they were, of two distinct entities. Of Angels, of purity, of chastity, of hope, and of Demons, of revulsion, of corruption, of desire. Two contradicting elements that in amalgamation formed a new entity entirely. Something the world before had and has never seen. And in a way, something that was just like them. Motives of Angels and powers of Demons. It was a perfect metaphor.

"We are..." A grin to accompany the snarl. "...Nephilim."

[END #1 - DEN OF DEMONS]

by Sponsored content

#1 - DEN OF DEMONS

#1 - DEN OF DEMONS

Re: #1 - DEN OF DEMONS

Re: #1 - DEN OF DEMONS

Re: #1 - DEN OF DEMONS

Re: #1 - DEN OF DEMONS

Re: #1 - DEN OF DEMONS

Re: #1 - DEN OF DEMONS

Re: #1 - DEN OF DEMONS

Re: #1 - DEN OF DEMONS

Re: #1 - DEN OF DEMONS

Re: #1 - DEN OF DEMONS

Re: #1 - DEN OF DEMONS

Re: #1 - DEN OF DEMONS

Re: #1 - DEN OF DEMONS

Re: #1 - DEN OF DEMONS

Re: #1 - DEN OF DEMONS

Re: #1 - DEN OF DEMONS

Re: #1 - DEN OF DEMONS

Re: #1 - DEN OF DEMONS

Re: #1 - DEN OF DEMONS

Re: #1 - DEN OF DEMONS

Re: #1 - DEN OF DEMONS

Re: #1 - DEN OF DEMONS

Re: #1 - DEN OF DEMONS

Re: #1 - DEN OF DEMONS

Re: #1 - DEN OF DEMONS