Continue The Story : Paths Of The Unwanted

[Darkwatck01]

[U, S, A Florida 3:25 Am]

XIII had just found an Inn to say in for the rest of the night. It was not the best but the rate was cheap for the area the he was in. With not much to do XIII looked around the room. The lights were off and the air stiff, there was a scent in the air of a human in the room. With no light the only source came from XIII’s eyes. He sniffed the air, if there was any danger it was not present at the moment. He took off his coat and placed it in the chair that was by a small night stand. The bed looked nice and Inviting but XIII just sat in the ground in a corner watching the door and bath room.I’m going to drive myself mad if I keep this up but at least it will keep me alive. Time pasted by and XIII fell asleep.

The world seemed dark and void of any life. The Deeps of pitch black robe blanked anything from sight. Then from a distance cam the view of a forest. Old and dormant, it was as if time was not moving for it. The smells and sights were all in a heighten state. The stench of humans coming from the east followed by the smoke of fire. I have to run if they find me I’m a goner. Elders what did I do to rile this bests out of their dens.

Then it hit XIII where he was. This was Dark’s dream; this must have been how he was imprisoned in that grave XIII’s father found.

The ground jarred with every step he took. And every moment that went by the Humans drew closer to him. The only light he had was from the moon which was dim in the dense forest. “This way I found its prints!” The sound of the Human hunters rang forth through the air. No ways out, nothing to hide in and no way was he going to fly out the humans had to have cover the sky’s with their little pokers-of-pain. I will not be taken here. is a grave yard somewhere around here somewhere. But where? Dark veered off to the left and there on a dead straight was the Andtrus Grave yard. The grave keeper must have been out for the lights were out in the home.

The sound of the Humans grew closes to him. He knew it was a crime to disturb the dead but in order to get away he had no choice. Shifting through the Graves he happened on a tome that was big enough for him to hide in. I think I’m save for now. I wonder who this belongs to, well at least they won’t mind me here. How wrong he was. Soon after the danger past a unholy presences entered the room. It sent shivers down Darks spine. A ghostly voice over took the air “Dark this is a hall of the fallen, you are still among the living. Leave now!” The voice was not treating to Dark so he challenged it\with a roar that showed he was not afraid. The Grave keeper came in to the area. “Well Dark It seems you have come to a Dead end. The sprites demanded that you leave and you have not. Now they want equilibrium restored. I’m afraid your time here has ended.” Then Keeper pulled out a vile of blue goo. He tossed it at Dark. The moment it made contact it broke open and exurb in to his skin. The flesh started to melt off the bone and turn to ash, his eyes froze and gave off a blue glow. When all but the bone and rotting flesh remand a orb of pure energy collected in Dark’s rib cage. It too gave off the Icy blue glow and steam rolled off it.

The Grave Keeper laughed with a hysterical grin. “You are now what the sprites want. A monster of unholy power and lust. But every power has a curse. And you must now live off another. But who that will be is up to the Spirits. So now you will live in a grave of your own making.” The man laughed once more as Dark started to disappear in a vapor. The light started to leave and the Darkness came back.

XIII jumped awake, on his feet he found that the room was still dark with a blue tent from his eyes. His mind racing with everything he had just seen. “It’s just him messing with me again.” XIII sat back down and once again fell asleep. With the dark room growing fainter XIIIs mind fell back to when Dark first entered his body. The room grew Darker and darker till it was no more but a pitch black room.

(Been some time but I'm back and I think I might have over did it here.)

[sleon]

(I'm sorry!!! I won't be posting for a while!!! Theres a hostage situation happening near my house, less than a mile away. and if you don't believe me, you can check on news in Land o' lakes about it, or go to youtube!!!)

[kronosdragon]

KD struggled against the leather bonds strapping her to the steel table. Metal cuffs bound her wrists and ankles. She bit at the leather strap over her mouth, the heat from the bright lamps overhead leaving a burning sensation on her face. She couldn't move her head from side to side, but she could hear the footsteps of the scientists scurrying around behind her. She growled through the leather strap, her eyes blazing. A man in a white lab coat walked out in front on her as the table began to move upright. The man was the same from her first dream, with the dark hair and gleaming eyes. His glasses reflected the light from the lamps, making them glow with an eerie light.

"You have been a most troublesome test subject, my dear. You've managed to strangle three scientists since we've found you, and two of our best assassins are dead. I think it's time for your punishment."

KD squirmed as the table came to a stop. She bit down harder on the leather strap and watched the scientist as he pulled up a steel cart with a black cover over the top. He pressed a button, and the black cover split in half, retracting into steel surface of the cart. A thick mist spilled out over the sides of the cart, and KD watched with wide eyes as the scientist reached into the mist and pulled out a strange device with a glowing red orb at the end. It was the size of a small dog, and looked like a small canon. The red orb had some sort of shifting mass within its depths, and glittered ominously. KD’s eyes grew wider as the device was pointed at her. She began to sweat.

“You see this?”

The scientist held the device like some sort of weapon. The red orb glowed slightly as it was pointed in her direction.

“This is the turning point of the war, little Kronosdragon, and you are going to help us.”

The scientist walked up to her and trailed a finger gently on her exposed cheek.

“You will surrender your demon, sacrificing your body to give us the edge we need in this war. Your demon is what we’ve categorized as a Class A demon, one that we’ve been searching for generations to uncover. We’ve finally found you, and we’ve finally developed the technology to extract demons from the bodies of their hosts.”

The scientist gave her a sly smile.

“And yours is one of the most powerful ones we have had the pleasure of coming across. This device will separate the demon from your body and capture it inside this red orb, holding it while being able to utilize its destructive power. Now, you’ve been a very stubborn little bitch since we managed to bring you into custody, but now your suffering will come to an end, my dear.”

The scientist brought his hand away from KD’s face and pointed the device at her chest. He pulled down a pair of goggles over his glasses, and the lights went out.

“Sending in the operation cables, sir,” said a voice over the intercom.

A hovering device appeared in the darkness, shining a small blue light so the scientist could see which cables he was plugging in. After the floating object was connected to the device, the lights went out, leaving them completely in darkness.

“All systems functioning properly. You’re cleared for extraction in 5...4...3...2...1...You’re now cleared for extraction!” said the voice over the intercom.

“Excellent. Watch and learn everyone. I’m going to show you how to capture a demon.”

KD strained against her bonds, writhing helplessly on the inverted table. The scientist grinned and the red orb glowed brightly before crackling with red bolts of energy. KD’s back arched as the device fired a bolt of the red energy into her chest. She screamed through the leather strap as her chest felt as if it were being ripped in half. The bolt of red energy connected her body to the device, and the light lit up the entire room. KD’s throat became hoarse from her screams of agony, but nothing else happened. Her chest continued to feel as if it were being ripped apart by the bolt of red energy, but she could hear the demon laughing in the very back of her mind. Her eyes were clenched shut, and she mentally begged for the pain to stop.

The scientist had a look of utter disbelief on his face. The device was working, but the demon was not even budging. The screen on the back of the device confirmed that the Class A demon was still in her body, but it was firmly rooted to her. It wasn’t even fazed.

“Grr…Raise the power level to 55%!”

“But sir, any level higher than 40% is hazardous to the device,” the voice from the intercom reminded.

“I don’t care! Raise the damn levels! This demon is coming out and it is coming out NOW!”

KD felt the pain suddenly spread throughout her torso, seeping down her thighs and upper arms. She was dripping with perspiration, her head feeling as if it were going to explode. The bolt of energy grew in intensity, the hum of the electrical energy the only sound in the room. Yet still, the data screen displayed that the demon was completely and utterly unaffected. The scientist growled to himself.

“60%!”

“But sir-”

“Just do as I say!”

KD felt as if her entire body, inside and out, had been injected with molten metal. She squirmed and writhed in her restraints, all the while, the demon was laughing darkly.

The fools have no clue what they’re doing. That device only works on demons who are physically attached to their hosts, like parasites. I will not be pulled from you with that silly little human object. Oh well, I guess you’ll just have to endure this pain for a while until the man gets tired of blasting you with energy. All he’s doing is recharging your batteries…

KD’s eyes shot open. That meant…she could use her portals again! She winced at the pain as the scientist had the device charged with more power, but she couldn’t help laughing inwardly to herself. As soon as they released her, she could escape and go into hiding.

The scientist was thoroughly pissed off. He had the power shut off, and brought the lights back up. KD panted as her entire body burned and her muscles twitched. The scientist undid the leather strap over her mouth and glared at her.

“Why won’t the demon come out?! Tell me!”

KD took a shuddering breath, and grinned at the scientist.

“Heh…heheheh…hahaha!”

The scientist gave her a blank look as she burst into a peal of spasmodic laughter. He firmly slapped her across the face, causing her laughter to fade into a chuckle. She looked at him with insane eyes. They crackled with energy, and the scientist sighed, running his fingers through his dark hair, and turned around, placing his hands on his hips.

“We won’t be getting anything out of her until she regains her sanity. The pain must have driven her momentarily insane. Start giving her restorative meds,” he sighed.

“Yes sir. We’ll get right on it.”

KD closed her eyes, her breathing erratic and shallow, but she was still conscious. She felt multiple hands reaching up and removing the leather bonds around her torso, legs and arms, then lowered the table and released her wrists and ankles from the steel cuffs. As soon as she was free, she leaped off the table, lunging at a pair of startled scientists and snapping their necks. The third one ran to the scientist with the glasses, shouting, “Security! Security!”

KD saw the scientist with the glasses look at her with flashing eyes. She winked at him and snapped her fingers, a portal appearing behind her. The scientist yelled in rage and sprinted toward her, but she disappeared into the portal, a flash of white light transporting her outside the labs and into the distant city of Nizkherelina, where her life began…and ended.

[Lucky Joe]

Zeke sat silently in his room. Listening to The Captains speech, bored at the lengthiness, he yawned.

“Zeke, you have been chosen for this mission for the fact that you yourself have outstanding technical abilities along with the ability to mute everything that you hold; including computers, unsuppressed fire arms, you know the works. Anyways, you must complete the following tasks.”

Zeke almost fell asleep listening to The Captains monotone voice. As he started to nod off, he tried to wake himself.

“And most importantly, do NOT reveal EHTF under ANY circumstances. You and your squad will leave to the target zone at 10 AM, sharp. Good luck, and good night.”

Zeke pressed one of the buttons on the hologram-pad and it shut off.

“Seems as if I’m gonna have some fun.”

He walked over to his bed, then immediately jumped on it. He was too tired for anything else.


----

---August 16, 2016---


“First off, why were you sent here?” The man said, staring at the assailant in front of him. This man was dressed in a suit, almost a tuxedo,

“The Black Flag Movement decided you had pissed them off so much and sent me.” The man said, he was dressed in faded blue jeans, black-unzipped hoodie and an undershirt with the Anarchist symbol painted in red. The man in the suit laughed sitting behind his desk.

“The Black Flag movement, a bunch of idiots with the idea of freedom rammed in their head… there is no such thing as personal freedom, and if there ever was, all they’d do would do something that other people were doing.” The Well Dressed man said.

“Now see, one thing. Everybody has the right of freedom at birth. Everybody has their freedom to something.” The Not-So-Well-Dressed man said, walking away from the desk the other man was sitting on.

“And when people like you’ he pointed at the suited man ‘Come along to fuck with it, people get pissed. They’ll start to riot and kill.” He picked up a book lying ideally on a near-by table. “And once the last ‘fag’ that disagrees is lined up against the nearest wall and shot…’ he dropped the book ‘… they’ll raise black flags over the corpses of the dead. And guess where you’ll be.” He looked back at the suited man.

“Surprise me.” The man said, leaning back in his chair.

“Suspended by the neck on your own monument in town square, while rioters maim your dead corpse until nothing remains.”

The man gulped. “W-What’s your name.”

“My name.” He walked towards the desk.

“They call me Lucky Joe.” Joe slung out a hand-gun, a Colt 1911, from his jacket and fired four rounds into the fat man who was sitting comfortably behind his oak desk. The man recoiled as every bullet pierced his body, a mixture of blood and cushion from the chair had flown against the wall behind him. The chair leaned backwards as the man gasped for air until the chair finally became unbalanced and along fell back. Joe walked around the desk and looked downward at the man. He kicked his body, and the man moaned; immediately Joe fired two more rounds into the man. He kicked the body again, no movement, no sounds, no anything.

"Good night."


So wait, who was this guy again?

The man’s name was Greshiko; he was a leader of a small Russian Colony in Estonia when the USSR was still considered a nation. He was put under the charge Mikhail Gorbachev himself to run the colony with an iron fist. When the USSR disbanded, Greshiko turned mercenary and wondered if anybody would hire him for his leadership abilities. He was shifted around Europe until he came back to Estonia with a small army and took back his colony and surrounding lands. The small army was based up of a few thousand cheap mercenaries picked up from every to the east of Germany and Italy until the border of Russia.

Alright…

He ended up taking over Estonia, none the less, and once they saw this, more mercenaries flocked to Estonia to get some good pay as a soldier. Most of the weapons the army used were picked up from USSR Warehouses and stock-piles. By 2012, he owned Estonia. Once they started producing tanks, bombers, and started drafting, he officially had an army. He reinstated communism, forced people to work under him and those who didn’t were killed, easy as that.

And?

Nobody liked the idea.

Ah.

The Black-Flag Union started up in hopes of destroying communism in Estionia, they were highly successful, but they need more soldiers. For the most part, they snuck around, killed soldiers, and hid their bodies; nothing major until 2014 when the first riot happened. Then they started bombing major and minor buildings, started killing the soldiers’ families, and targeted Greshiko himself.

What ever works, right?

They continued rioting until 2016, when I got whiff of the idea. I decided I would help those poor bastards, but for no pay. They ended up paying me anyways, and they hung his body by his monument.

Hm, so why did you want me to bring this memory back up to you?

Because I have a feeling that The Black Flag is still active around the world.

And…?

And I think I know where to get some weapons, and some info.

[kronosdragon]

"Mark!"

KD dashed through the empty streets. Her black cloak fluttered out behind her as she ran from shadow to shadow, evading the security search lights. She hid in an alleyway as a patrolman walked past. She held her breath for a few moments before letting it out in a quiet sigh. She looked from side to side before whispering into the darkness, "Mark? Mark, are you there?"

"Hush! I'm right here!"

KD glanced behind her as another patrolman walked by. Since her last rescue mission, they had stepped up security all around the city in an attempt to catch her. KD looked up at the rooftop above her and saw a face peering down at her. A hand appeared against the dark sky and waved for her to come up. She took one more quick look behind her as a third patrolman walked by. He had a flashlight, and was starting to look into the alley. As the light approached her, she leaped onto a stack of crates and bags of trash, then lunged at a hanging fire escape. The rusted metal rattled loudly, causing the patrolman to look up.

Shit...

KD clambered up the fire escape, picking up a rock as the guard began to shout.

"You couldn't have been a little quieter?" came the voice of the shadowed figure on the rooftop.

"Shut up and move, I just risked my life for your sorry ass."

"Hey, I never said I was ungrateful," said the figure, raising its arms in a gesture of surrender.

KD sniffed and crossed her arms. Searchlights flashed below them on the street, the shouts of guards filling the air.

"You'd better be grateful."

The figure stepped into the faint light of the city below, casting long shadows over his face. The young man called Mark looked her up and down.

"You certainly don't look like much...Why do the labs want you so badly?"

KD scowled at him.

"Mind your tongue. I happen to have abilities that they want to utilize for ill purposes. That's all I will say for now."

"What, you won't tell me what these abilities are? How do I know I can trust you?" Mark asked, narrowing his eyes.

KD tapped her foot, getting annoyed with this man who was constantly questioning her motives.

"The entirety of the city is looking for me, so it's obvious that I'm not working with them, and if I really wanted to, I could have killed you a long time ago. Any more questions?"

"Yeah. What's your problem? You act like I just asked you out with some cheesy pick-up line."

KD snarled at him.

"It's none of your business. Do you want to get out of here alive? Or would you rather I just shoved you off the rooftop? Because you would be better off dead than a lab-rat for those scientists."

"Are you threatening the guy you just stuck your neck out to rescue?"

"Oh, so NOW you're acknowledging how I stuck my neck out for you?"

"I never-"

KD's ears picked up a metallic rattling sound behind her. She didn't have to turn around to know that there were soldiers trying to climb up the rusted fire escape. She saw the panic in Mark's eyes as he realized what the sound was, and she smirked. She held up three fingers and mouthed, "One."

The rattling grew louder as the thud of heavy boots came closer. Mark looked from KD to the edge of the roof behind her, his eyes flashing with fear, silently asking if she had gone insane. KD put down one finger and mouthed, "Two."

The rattling suddenly turned into a screech-like creaking. KD's smirk turned into a wide grin as she put down her last finger. "Three."

The creak turned into a loud snap. There was a shout of surprise and the sound of twisting metal followed. There was another loud creak and the following crash of metal on pavement, along with the shouts of pain and anger, added to the din drifting up from the streets below. KD grinned wider at Mark, who was looking at her with a perplexed expression.

"How did you-?"

"That fire escape was ready to go when I jumped onto it, and I'm much lighter than a group of dumb-ass soldiers."

Mark made a few unintelligible noises. His mouth dropped open, and KD walked towards him. He stared at her, and as she passed him by, she lifted his chin, clamping his mouth shut. He took a moment to regain his composure and turned around, facing her back as she walked away, her cloak billowing out in the cool Russian breeze. She turned her head slightly and looked back at him as she reached the edge of the roof. She then stepped off the rooftop. He ran toward her and saw her walking down another fire escape, this one in much better shape than the last. He followed her retreating form.

"You're really something, you know that?" he whispered.

A snort of amusement was her only response. The alley faded away into darkness as KD's foot hit the pavement. She looked around as the darkness faded into the inside of the what-would-be-destroyed base. Here, it was whole, and she was lying curled up on a bed, tears staining her cheeks and a bloodied corpse on the floor beside her. Mark was standing next to the bed, the broken bedside lamp in his hands. Shards of ceramic and twisted bits of metal were lying around the floor, spattered with blood. KD buried her face in her pillow, and Mark tossed the lamp to the floor, bouncing off the corpse of a man...a man with a face that was familiar to KD. She couldn't place a name, but she knew him from somewhere. She was in too much pain at the moment to think, however. Her body ached, and she had the horrible feelings of remorse, disgust and agony raging through her heart. She felt the soft touch of Mark's fingers on her bruised and bare shoulders. The rest of her body was hidden beneath the blankets, wrapped tight around her figure. She cringed from Mark's touch and pulled the blankets up over her shoulders.

"Please...go away Mark..."

"KD..."

"I SAID GO!"

Mark flinched and took a step backward. Never had he seen KD in such a state. Of course, due to what had just occurred, he didn't blame her. He sighed and slowly backed away toward the door. He opened the door and stepped out. He looked back in on her before shutting the door.

"I'll have a medic come in to check you out, and I don't care if you are my leader, I am sending the doctor in whether you want me to or not."

KD turned her head to glance at mark, the same way she had done the first time she led him to the base. He swallowed hard as he looked upon her figure. He knew that beneath the blankets, there were numerous bruises and splatters of blood on the sheets. He dared not say more, the cold look he was receiving from her sending chills up his spine. He shut the door and left her alone. KD let out a quiet stream of sobs and curses.

"Never again..."

"Never again..."

KD mumbled and turned over in her sleep, a solitary tear falling down her cheek and onto her pillow.

[castlemanic]

Castlemanic looked around.

"HELLO!"
HELLO
Hello
hello
hello

As the words echoed, Castlemanic looked all around him. He was completely surrounded in darkness.

"ANYONE THERE?"
ANYONE there?
anyone there?
anyone there?

The sounds rebounded off of unseen walls. Castlemanic looked all around him. A stream of light illuminated a circular section of the floor around him. He had moved several feet in all directions, but seemingly the light moved with him or he did not move at all.

"the hell kind of shit is this?" Castlemanic said. He looked straight up, but the light was too bright for him to look into for long. He looked back down again and all around him. He suddenly felt a cold, twisted feeling crawling up his spine.

A dark laugh sounded all around him. Castlemanic looked around and quickly spun, trying to catch the original source.

"PITIFUL FOOL, YOU THOUGHT YOU GOT RID OF ME?"

The laugh sounded again, surrounding castlemanic completely.

"I, THE VERY EMBODIMENT OF DEATH ITSELF, AND YOU WERE IGNORANT ENOUGH TO THINK YOU KILLED ME?"

Castlemanic tried to look in all directions at once, as futile as it was.

"AND NOW, YOU STAND BEFORE ME, THE SHEEP BEFORE THE BLADE"

Castlemanic furrowed his eyebrows. He reached for his sword behind him and unsheathed it.

"YOUR ACT OF DEFIANCE SHALL BE YOUR LAST! MORTAL!"

Castlemanic swung his sword in a circular motion, by luck parrying the scythe about to slash at him. Castlemanic jumped backwards as the scythe sliced through the air infront of him. Bringing up his sword, he blocked the next blow before spinning around and launching his own counter attack, which the assasin leaped over gracefully. Castlemanic turned around and aimed the sword's rockets into the darkness where he last saw the assassin.

"Come and find me, coward! NO MORTAL IS WORTHY OF WIELDING THIS BLADE!
Castlemanic shot off a few rockets into the darkness.

No sound came back

He swung his sword in a different direction, launching missiles out into the darkness. The missiles went straight forward, never touching anything until they disappeared from sight. Castlemanic swung himself around in a circle, launching rockets in every direction possible. Yet not a single explosion was heard.

"COWARD!

Castlemanic grabbed his blade with both hands, raised it above his head and near his back as the bade collided with the scythe, saving castlemanic.

"Whatever gave you the impression i was a coward?"

Castlemanic lifted his blade upwards, knocking the scythe up in the air. Swinging himself around, he dug his sword into the chest of his enemy. He lifted his hand to the sky, catching the scythe halfway through its fall. The dark hooded figure fell to the floor, clutching the opening of the wound. No blood poured out, but bone was exposed behind the black cloak.

"To think a mere MORTAL could wield the blade-"

"I don't know what gave you the impression i was mortal either."

Castlemanic swung the blade, ripping through the beggining of the hood, cutting halfway through before castlemanic felt a pain in his arm. His eyes suddenly flashed open as the blade finish ripping through his left arm. His hand flew across the room, blood spattered across the walls as the blade dripped with the red liquid. Castlemanics hand regenerated that instant, but he looked at the ground towards his hand. His hand started to wither, turning black before crumbling to dust.

"It's over. It's done, I've finally killed him!" Castlemanic said. Happily he gripped the scythe in his hand as it dissappeared in a blue mist, reverting itself into castlemanics right palm. Castlemanic decided he had slept, stood up and sat at his desk, working through the latest equations he had worked through.

[sleon]

In the room, Wraith started to shift in his sleep. His eyes were shutting tighter and his fights tightened. "Seanri..." he whispered as he dreamt...

Running...

That was all he could do. To where he neither knew nor cared. his mind was only focused on a few things. His mother's dead body on him, the pure rage, the man who caused all the misery in his family. The storm had gotten worse, making it difficult for him to run in the mud. It wasn't long for him to trip near a hill.

After taking a few breathes, he slowly got up. In front of him was a small stream that seemed to have formed from the rain. He gets up and walks up to it.

He flinched as he noticed his reflection. Short, flattened hair that reached to his chin and was an unusual silver to black from the roots to the tips. pale skin and hazel eyes were reflected along with the mud and blood that was mixed around his face, arms and legs with small to medium sized glass shards embeddedin them, black t-shirt and dark shorts. Furiously he kneeled down and started washing it off.

When he was finished he looked back at his reflection once more. But as he watched his reflection, lightning struck near by as the light spread through the forest and his reflection changed to that of the man.

Out of fear and rage, he started kicking and stomping on the water. At the same time flashbacks of what happened started to form in his head.

Seanri running into the room...

A loud bang...

The man's harsh grin...

His mother's final act...

The rage that consumed and awakened something inside him...

The man dead...

After he was finished, there was just a small puddle mixed with a red dye, rocks, sticks, grass and leaves. Wraith looked around and found a small cave near by. he gets inside and sits down with his knees to his chest and his arms wrapped around his leg.

'It's alright...'

Wraith body jerked as he remembered those now painful words.

'You shouldn't say such things...'

stop it.

'They're wrong about you...'

Stop it! He puts his hands on his ears and tried to clamped them shut.

'And don't forget, I-'

"STOP IT!!!!!!!"

His body was shaking, eyes shut, and tears streamed down his face. 'growl' Eyes open wide as he lets go of his ears and turns to look in the abyss. Seconds later, he sees huge pairs of golden eyes. With adrenaline now pumping threw his body he runs out and hides in a large bush that was a few yards away. He looks through to see the what it might have been.


Out of the cave was an unusually large Mountain lion that seemed about ten feet long and 6 feet tall from head to paw. It Had long claws and huge saber teeth, and it lifts it's head up and sniffed the air, to look for its prey. Or more importantly, whatever it was that was inside it's cave. After a few minutes, it turned its head around to reveal that it had a collar on its neck.

As Wraith sees the beast going farther and farther away, he took a chance and started to quietly go back up the hill. At first things were going well. But as he reached the top, a strong gust of wind blew hard on him, making him trip and slide only a few feet down.

It caught the large cat's attention and with it brought a loud snarl. With all his energy, Wraith starts to climb the rest and runs. After abut 15 minutes, he hide under a hollowed redwood tree at the same time the Saber appeared to search him out.

It paddles around and walks forward, ahead of where Wraith was hiding. As he hears the beast getting closer, he looks around for something to defend himself with. Thats when he noticed the a long glass shard on his arm.

Hesitant, he gets the collar of his shirt to his mouth and had his left hand grasp the shard. He closes his eyes and pulls the shard out, feeling immense pain and would have screamed loud had it not been the material he had used to muffle his cries. letting the material go he rips a small piece from his shirt and tightens it on the wound, and readies his 'weapon of choice'

(Sorry! its getting late!!!! i'll tomorrow!!!!!!!!!)

[Razgriz]

(I still have my tests going on so I won’t be starting the new in-game day yet. I just felt like dropping in a flashback post for the hell of it. See you guys soon.)

It all happened that night…

20th of May, Wednesday… 2012…

Everything began for me that time…

I knew nothing…

What was currently going on with this world… Where I was… Who I am…

The only thing I had when I stepped off the steel table was these little emotions: hatred, pain, violence, sadness, loneliness…

Hints of agitation for which I never found the cause for… No stimulus that had put me in such a state…

At first, I thought I was insane to begin with… My reason for being there…

Like a child sliding out from a woman’s womb, I had a painful beginning. My first pulses that came from my heart felt as though I was being pricked by millions of needles on every corner and space of my bare body. And like a child, I screamed in agony as my senses began to calibrate into this world. My ears were deaf at first and how I wished they continued as they were – My scream and its echoes were the first audio that greeted my young ears. My mind was as if it was going to melt just by my primal bellow. I could not take the pain, I forced myself up the surface I was on and my eyes open, which I thought were literally melting for all I see was nothing but red and the sensation of liquid forming on my eyes.

The pricking had stopped, my scream lowered its intensity slowly, leant back down, keeping my head positioned towards the ceiling above me – Gasping for air as if I was dunked underneath water for the entirety of my slumber here. My eye-sight began to give way, I was first blinded by a dark red hue but as its presence dissolves away, I was greeted by a cold and depressing sight of motionless concrete which made up the ceiling. I fixed my eyes thoughtfully at it; analyzing every crack it presented me with - The occasional creature crawling out from a crack. I shut my eyes; realizing immediately I could not continue looking intently on the near-lifeless material. I rammed my eyelids down. My eyes stung for its prolonged exposure to the atmosphere. I felt a thick texture dripping down from the corner of my eye. I felt for my face and dipped my finger into the liquid. With slit openings, I examined my drenched finger; covered entirely with a dark red hue of a liquid.

Blood…

It was sudden; my body ached for its taste. I did not know what it was when I set my eyes on it but for some reason, I knew. Following that, those same emotions felt erratic, stimulated perhaps – It all felt connected somehow; are they present for a reason and blood being a clue? I closed shut my eyes again, bringing my arm across my face; wiping off the blood tearing down. I sat up again; without any support from my arms. I looked down at my body – I was naked and my skin was pale. I brought my hands up to my face to see them layered with blood. I clenched my fists repeatedly, feeling the pressure I brought upon them – Which means my senses were straight. I studied my body, it was well-toned and built. I scooted myself towards the edge of the table I was on. I craned my neck to take in my surroundings.

I was in a gloomy, dusty, dark room. My mind began racing with thoughts of common sense and knowledge – Following my first sight of blood. It appeared to be that I was in a surgeon’s operation room – Go figure, I was on the surgeon’s table. I looked down to my side to find that I had my back on the straps that were supposed to restrain the patient brought on this table. Heh, I suppose the surgeon did not do a good job in holding me down – Or have any good hygiene, the room was a mess; blood stains, moss-covered tables and shelves, broken glass cabinets and the like. No surgeon tools, no one in sight.

My first words were gibberish and too low to here at first but I finally came through. I called out if there was anyone around. The eerie sound of the moving wind within these dark halls was my only response. Funny, I could see very clearly even though my senses told me it was dark, really dark. I could see no light, not even the cracks around the place emitted a single ray. Was I deep within this place? That would be answered later. I slid off the table and finally felt the ground beneath my feet. Pitiful, I fell on my knees and grunted. Like a child, I needed to learn how to walk but from what I have seen from my body – I am not even close to being a child. I got up fairly quickly but dropped down again. I had to hold on to the steel, cushioned table and walked around it as I guided myself on its border; my legs shaking.

Like my voice, my eyes, my senses, my mind, my legs finally came through. I stood upright and craned my head around to find the first point of interest that, for some reason, caught my attention – A sink. In a run-down place like this, my common sense told me the water would not be working but my legs continued towards it. I gently turned the tap and to my surprise, water flowed down the rim without interruption. I allowed the descending, spinning stream of water fall on my blood-stained hands – Rinsing it off. I slapped the water on to my face, knowing that I had blood-stains there as well. I carefully wiped my face with still wet hands then I suddenly noticed.

On the left side of my face, I felt a small cleft on my cheek. I trailed it with a finger, parallel to my nose to my eye. The surface of the gap felt rough and hard. I felt another cleft above my eye, half the length below it. I did not know what it was but fortunately, there was a mirror nearby. I walked towards and stared at my full-body reflection. I need not stress that I was naked. I had bangs hanging over my face. I shrugged them aside and wedged them on my ear. I walked closer and stared at my face. The cleft I was referring to was a scar – A deep, dried, long scar. As it appears, it dried a long time ago. I looked to be the age between twenty-five and thirty-seven. My hair was jet-black and my eyes… My irises were red. For some reason, it was a surprise to me, as if I had never seen these sorts of eyes before. This had given me the conclusion that I had a life before but for some reason… I could not remember anything about my past.

For some reason, as if by instinct, I was duty-bound to check my teeth if by any chance they were dirty. I screamed in surprise as I opened my mouth; falling back on the ground after losing balance – I had… Fangs, sharp fangs. I stood up, dusted myself and stood before the mirror. I observed my fangs once again, my heart pounding in shock and awe. I sighed and kept a hand on the mirror; drooping my head down. I briefly glance up. I gasped. I pulled my hand back to find a cold-mist formed around where I placed it – Leaving a hand-print. It slowly faded away. I paid more attention to the mirror’s surface rather than my reflection. I looked back down on my hand then reached out towards the mirror to see if it would happen again.

And it did… With expressionless eyes, I glared at the fading mist on the glass surface of the mirror. My thoughts raced exhaustively trying to piece everything back; making an attempt to make sense of it all. Red irises… Razor-sharp fangs… Well-built body… Pale skin… No body-heat... Was I some sort of monster? What am I? Who am I? I take the form of a human; bipedal on my feet. My thoughts raced with well-worded lines of English – A language I appear to speak well. I had no body hair. No traces on my bare arms or legs. Only my head bear hair. I could be human. I could be not - As my features are much more than human, from what I understand. I lifted my bangs off my ear and watched them as they slid over my face, covering a portion of my frowning face. I sighed again, towards myself. I made up my mind to try and piece everything later. There was a patient robe hanged on the wall beside the mirror. I suppose I should get myself clothed. Then again, I do not feel cold at all or hot. It feels as if I had a normal body temperature when it is apparent that I do not. Was I human, how did I know all this?

Tightly, I knotted the straps of the robe making sure it would not fall off. I looked at myself on the mirror again - The robe revealing the outlines of my body. I noticed that the breast-pocket on my left was marked with a bold-font ‘E’. Then it suddenly hit me – I analyze things unnecessarily. I shrugged off the fact of the design of the pocket and walked towards the broken down door the led the way out of this gloomy place. On a tiled-counter, I found a branded pocket-knife. Why was that lying around here? I kept it safely in my pocket – It may come in handy. I looked around the room again and contemplated – This is where I was ‘born’, this is where it began. From here, I do not know what would become of me or my future. I had no goals or motivation to continue with my life which felt new and fresh but had signs of experience and age. All I know that this place will be nothing but a memory for I will never come back here.

Heh. I turned my back on the room and walked towards my freedom, towards a new beginning of this body, towards this present day…

Yes, towards this present day – 13th Of December… 2024…

It all happened that night...

Everything, including my status right now, my being, began for me that time...

[sleon]

(continueing the storie!^^")

After a few heart pounding minutes, rain still pouring down, the Saber slinks off to a different direction, which was the left side to wraith's view. Seeing the large cat disappearing into the dark forest, he gets out of his hiding spot and runs away. After 5 minutes, he's slows his running to a fast walk and looks around at his surroundings.

The storm had calmed down a bit, thunder sounding at the distance. The forest started to get thicker and the trees bigger. He still has his glass shard in his hand, refusing to let it go.

All seems fine.

*snap*

Wraith turns around for a split second before ducking as The large Saber launches at him. It doesn't comepletely misses him; one of the front claws sliced through the back of Wraith's shirt and made 3 large, deep scratches.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH" Wraith screams in pain, feeling the new wound mixed with the rain. He slowly gets up on his feet and faces the huge lion.

(sorry, i have a limited tme on my computer!T_T)

[Darkwatck01]

[U.S.A, Florida 4:05 Am]

XIII opened his eyes and saw that the room did not change. The smell of that human was still in the air, it was one he knew. What is she doing here? I could have sworn that… Before he could finish there was a rasp at his door. Not taking any chances he put on his coat and reached inside the sleeve rapped his hand around the hilt of a dagger that was hidden. Walking to the door he looked through that seeing glass. Through it he saw more of the man that he killed and ate in the grave yard.

Look whose back, and it seems he brought a friend or two. What do you say straight attack or are you going to run for the next couple of years? Either way all I can do is give you my power, but no you can harm humans in your little espied. Look here I could easily kill them but no. You want to get in to that stupid. But go on go, kill yourself see if I care.

XIII shut Dark up and kicked open. The door knocked the one in front of the down the rest jumped back and pulled out suppressed 9mm Glocks(I’m saying that for it’s the Glock 17 modal). XIII wasted no time he bolted out of the room and jumped over the side of the railing. The man looked down but did not fire. They walked to the stares and walked down them. XIII had already gotten in to the town and jumped inside a building. I need to get out of here, I need a computer. Maybe I can get in to the DQ’s network, If it’s still up. But first I need to get some rest an hour is not good.XIII looked around and saw that everyone was looking at him. “I…umm…Playing a game, and will I figured I might as well pop in here. Got any drinks?”

The bartender looked at him and pulled out a bottle of beer and places it on counter. “Whatever so long as you pay like ever one else.”

XIII moved over to the bar and pulled out a five dollar bill. “Will this cover it?” The Bartender took the five and started to hand back the change when he said, “Keep it and give me four more. I’m going to need it.” The bartender just put the change in the register and places the bottles on the counter.

You’re just a washed up drunk, and yet I like the taste. Whatever you did remember to put that hood on did you not? I don’t want to get run out of here….you did good.XIII picked up the battle and drank. He stayed there for the rest of the night till the first light of dawn shined on the land. With each drink all XIII could think about was the smell of that woman nothing more.

Could she be here still alive? Or is this my minds way of punching me for not going back to save her. If she is alive leading me around. No, no one could have survived the explosion. But if she did why hide and lead me all over hells half Ackers.

(I know this seems odd but I feel like putting this up as a quick run out. PS XIII has a hood on his head to cove his eye's which glow with a icey-blue color. The Time and area help you get a feel of when, Sorry to Vamp if he didn't want it. If not I will get rid of the post till later.)

[Razgriz]

(@Darkwatck01 – It’s alright. Besides, it’s in the rules – You can manipulate time in your posts if you’re alone. However, if you’re in a group, you have to discuss the time and date with the other players. You don’t have to delete your post.

Anyway – Let’s begin the new day.

And a little problem… I forgot when both Operation: Desert Mole and Operation: Underground-Line will commence. 10:30AM, the Operations will be executed.)

[North Africa, Algeria, E.H.T.F. Underground Refugee Base]
[7:47AM GMT]

Her eyes opened gently, her body lying sideways on her bed – Facing the wall. Selina slowly got up and stretched. She kept her palm lightly on her mouth as she yawned. On a drawer-table, beside the bed, she snatched her spectacles and put them on. Kicking the sheets from her legs, she scooted herself to the edge of her bed. She unbuttoned her office, long-sleeved polo-shirt, slid it off and kept it neatly on the bed. She gently rubbed her bare neck and glanced at the newest addition to the E.H.T.F refugee community – Kronosdragon. Selina unstrapped her bra and kept it on the white polo-shirt. She stood up and walked over to the bathroom, getting the bath-robe hanged behind its door. She slid into as she walked towards Kronosdragon.

She sat on her bed, gently nudging Kronosdragon, “Kronosdragon, wake up.” She softly said, “Your deployment time is 10:30AM, wake up.”

Kronosdragon shifted around in her sleep, groaning towards Selina’s attempt to take away her slumber. Selina nudged again, “Wake up.”

The D.Q. member shrugged the secretary’s hand off her shoulders. She shifted again, facing her, “I’m awake…”

“Are you sure?” Selina asked with a concerned tone.

“Yeah, I’m sur- What the hell!?” Kronosdragon sat up suddenly, “How did I get here!?”

Selina gave her a bewildered look, “You were rescued by Vampi-”

Kronosdragon shook her head, “No, no, no! I was asleep outside, in the corridors… I couldn’t have just slept walk here…”

Selina sighed, “That is not of concern right now…”

“Yes, it is.” Kronosdragon gave her a glare, “Whoever brought me back here must’ve groped my body.”

Selina laid her calm eyes on the agitated expressions of Kronosdragon. She shook her head, covering her face. She scooted beside her and calmly kept a hand on her shoulder, “The only ones that have the keycards that allow entrance into the rooms of these halls are night-shift patrolmen. And I know them well; they would not do such acts. So do not worry too much about it.”

Selina stood up and gave her an assuring smile, “I will take a bath first. You can help yourself to the drinks I kept in my mini-fridge.”

Kronosdragon watched as Selina locked herself in the bathroom. Kronosdragon slid the blanket off her and sat at the edge of the bed. She found herself still in the same clothes she wore while she slept outside. She craned her head towards the room’s door; there she found her coat hanging on the door.

~~~~~

Vampire-Jade fluttered his cold eyes open, staring at the ceiling. He got up slowly, tilting his head; popping sounds ensued from him. Vampire-Jade sat there topless, his bare body pale and cold as usual. He stretched towards the glass, corner-table and unplugged his P.D.A. He got off from bed and stood up; still wearing his black jeans. He walked towards his mini-fridge and took out a small bottle of milk. He leant on the wall as he gulped it down. Nothing was in his mind. He knew he had a mission today and babysit Kronosdragon. Momentary thoughts raced through his mind but shrugged them off. He threw the bottle into the waste-bin and walked towards his drawer. He pulled it open and stared at his clothes.

… No glitter this time…

He took the clothes that matches the same outfit he usually wears for missions and walked into the bathroom – Taking a bath is the first thing on his mind.

(Oh God! I’m sorry, it’s lazy… >_< That’s what happens when I study hard for the tests…

NEWS POST UPDATED - (Click Here))

[kronosdragon]

KD rubbed her face in both sleepiness and agitation. She grumbled to herself as she stood up and stretched, and was startled by the numerous pops and cricks she heard, most coming from her back and shoulders. She immediately started her normal morning routine of Tai Chi.

If you're gonna' sneak around, make sure your body doesn't give you away.

KD listened to sound of running water as she closed her eyes and began easing into her forms. She was a little off=balance from lack of practice for the past week, but she quickly regained her form and continued through with the motions.

Parting the Wild Horse's Mane...

She smoothly moved her arms, twisting her back to face sideways and stretching her legs, bending slightly at one knee.

White Crane Spreads its Wings...

She moved backwards, pulling her arms gracefully with her, taking one step back.

Brush Knee, and-

She toppled forward with a startled squeak, losing her balance. She grumbled and rubbed her forehead, then sighed and walked to the mini fridge. She opened it and saw various drinks; water, milk, coffee, and several different kinds of fruit juices. KD grabbed a can of coffee and opened it, the aluminum tab popping and releasing the pressure inside with a hiss. KD silently pondered about who would've picked her up and carried her.

There's no way one guard could have done that...maybe two? No, the guards wouldn't touch me after what I told their buddy. Perhaps another DQ member? But...the only ones I know are...

KD felt a surge of bubbling rage, but she quickly calmed herself with a deep breath.

Now, no need to get riled up this early in the morning. Okay, so there's Selina, and then there's Vamp. Apparently, Selina has been asleep this whole time, so that leaves him...but wouldn't I have felt it? I should have woken up the moment someone touched me...

She shook her head and rubbed her eyes. She yawned and stretched, downed her coffee, and made her third attempt at her morning Tai Chi, and managed to go through all 24 forms with little difficulty, despite her lack of sleep. She stretched out and bent over backwards, flexing her back muscles. She felt a twinge of pain, but shrugged it off. As the water shut off in the bathroom, she sat down on her bed, thinking.

Why are these dreams coming back again? Why now? I'm safe for the moment, those people won't be looking for me in the middle of the African desert...So what's my problem?

KD pressed her palms to her eyes, applying gentle pressure. Only when she felt the pain in her forehead did she realize something odd. She quickly pulled her hands away from her face and looked at her nails. They were slightly longer than before, and were tipped in her blood. She heard the door of the bathroom open, and she quickly wiped the blood from her forehead and grabbed a towel, along with her issued soap and shampoo. She nodded quickly to Selina as she walked out, then hurried into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. She looked in the mirror, rubbing the blood from her forehead. She noticed her eyes were slowly changing color. Her deep brown still remained, but toward the top of her iris, that brown was turning more into a blood red. She looked down at her nails.

Razor sharp...

She sighed and walked to the shower, turning the water on and getting it started. She quickly stripped down and placed her clothing neatly on the toilet seat, along with her towel. She stepped into the shower, sighing as the hot water ran over her skin. She leaned her head against the tiled wall, noting how cool it felt against her forehead. She closed her eyes and looked down at her numerous scars, her eyes falling upon the wolf's head last. She scowled angrily at it and looked away, then began scrubbing her hair.

Now is not the time to think about things passed. It's in the past, I need to focus on the present. I have a mission in a few hours and I need to be ready.

KD quickly finished her shower, feeling refreshed and clean. She put her clothes on and walked out into the room, vigorously drying her hair with the towel. After a quick brushing, her hair was smooth as silk once again. She grabbed her coat and put it on, shrugging her shoulders as she straightened it out on her trim form. She reached under her pillow and grabbed her black hair tie, then pulled her hair up into a ponytail, leaving her long bangs hanging down at the sides of her face. She turned and glanced back at Selina, then reached for the door handle.

"Thank you...for blocking the demon from my mind for this short while. I'll see you later."

KD walked out into the hall and shut the door behind her. She pulled her combat knife from her coat pocket and strapped it to her thigh before walking toward the mess hall.

[7:59AM]

[castlemanic]

Castlemanic was in a rush. He threw on his combat clothes and boots, sheathed his sword, summoned and dismissed his scythe which he had full control of now, and dashed straight at the door-
With two loud thuds, castlemanic bounced off the door and landed on the floor heavily.
"Stupid mother fu-" Castlemanic got up while muttering, opened the door and ran as if his life depended on it.

Running down the corridors, he crashed into several officers and patrolmen full on, throwing them against walls and dashing with all his might round any corners he could find. He suddenly found himself running past the new recruit and shouted "HURRY! WE'RE GONNA BE LATE!!"

A few more crashes and finally casltemanic found himself at the docking bay, ready for the battle to start.

"Holy shit, i can't believe i made it."
He looked at his watch, it was 10:35, He looked up and found everyone staring at him in utter surprise.

"Oh no, don't tell me it left already!"

Everyone gave him a puzzled look. Castlemanic groaned, turned around and looked at the clock above the entrance.

8:00AM

"WHAT THE FU-"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three men lay sprawled on the floor, a man swung the blood off his sword onto the wall as a woman with a short katana walked up to him.
"Don't tell me-"
"-they've found us? Yes they have." He replied. He sheathed his sword cooly before facing the woman.
"We don't have much time, prepare everyone for immediate evac, we can't wait a mom-" Her words died out as the sound of a tank rolled by quickly in all its might.
"We're gonna have to be sneaky about it, we don't have time."
They both ran off into the alleyway they were in.

[Lucky Joe]

(Wow... I think this is my best post so far...)

Joe sat up from his bed, and looked around. Nothing interesting, really, he thought to himself before standing up. He walked over to his dresser, only to be reminded about the cruel fact that he has no clothing. He also wondered how the hell that everyone else has a different pair of clothes everyday while he himself had nothing and no idea where he would buy these clothes. He also wondered, and remembered that back in his lengthy career as a spec-op in the Stealth Ops they gave him two guns, a knife, and one uniform plus body armor that couldn’t even stop a .45 ACP rather than a regularly used 7.62x39mm used by most terrorists at that time.

“Lucky bastards.”

His body was covered up by the shadow substance, once disintegrated, it revealed a grey undershirt, a black jacket, and blue jeans.

“Not my best look…”

He sighed and walked out of his room, locking it on his way out. On his way to wherever he decided to go to, he met quite a few soldiers who gave him a nasty look most of the time. Some greeted him, while other just walked right on by. He didn’t care much; he never wanted to be an authority figure to anybody. If he ever was, he really didn’t know it. The fact of telling somebody what to do and how to do it never really set right with him. He only noticed that the fact that he usually disrespected authority figures once becoming a mercenary, plus the fact that he had done things in which he would have to keep secret forever, lest start wars amongst fractions that your average day person hasn’t even heard of.

He wouldn’t have it any other way.

As he was walking, he noticed he was walking towards the mess hall. He decided he might as well just go there.

[shadow_strike]

[E.H.T.F Base]
[6:56 AM]

“178, 179, 180…” Everybody in the gym was looking at the girl who was currently beating a punching bag. Mutters were going around with bets and comments.

“Bet she doesn’t break it off the chain.”

“Are you insane? It’s barely hanging on!”

“I bet a hundred dollars that she breaks it around 210.”

“Nah, it’ll be around 200.”

Strike ignored the growing crowd and focused on the sound of her fist hitting the punching bag and the noise that the chain makes as it goes back from the force of every punch. She came to the gym to get some exercise in before the mission and realizing she wasn’t able to go to sleep. She started off on the treadmill, but then realized everyone was watching her, so she moved to a more secluded spot, hoping they would take a hint. ‘I was obviously wrong,’ she growled, looking glancing at the people.

“Did she just growl?”

“I told you she was a freak.”

“Freak? More like a demon. Have you ever seen her smile?”

She felt anger bubbling up inside of her as they continued talking about her. She put more strength in behind her punches.

“What about that one time?”

“That was forced.”

“What about the party?”

“Nope.”

“Has she ever been happy?”

“The world would’ve ended by now.”

The crowd screamed as they got out of the way of the flying punching bag. The bag got a few members as it flew. It hit the wall with a powerful thud and slowly slid down the ground. Everyone looked at where the bag was coming from to see no one standing there.

“Did anyone keep track of how many hits she got?”

“214.”

“More like 226.”

“Ha! You wish!”

“I bet it was a weak cha-!” He was cut off when a chair was thrown at his face. He screamed in pain and covered his face. Everyone looked to see where the chair flew from to see Strike walking away.

“That bit-” Strike slowly turned her head and glared at the crowd. They were all quiet. She glared at them for a few more moments before walk away.

Strike sighed as she walked out of the gym doors. They never liked her. After all, on her first day here, she tried to be friend but ended up making 20 people go the medical wing over an argument about whether or not she was really a DQ member or not. She blinked when she realized she was at her room. She was alarmed when she felt that someone else was in her room. Ignoring the lock, she burst into the room, almost making the door fly off its hinges. She sighed in relief when she realized it was Shadow sleeping on her bed. She walked to her closet, grabbed some clean clothes and headed towards the bathroom, making sure to shut the door leading into her room first.

She turned on the water to the hottest level and waited a minute before sticking her hand in. She nodded at the temperature and quickly stripped and jumped in the shower. Her tense muscles relaxed under the heat of the water and she closed her eyes. After a minute of standing there, she started to clean herself. She stepped out and grabbed a blue towel that was hanging there and started to dry off. She had just slipped on her shirt and pants when she glanced at the mirror and froze.

In the mirror was a young girl, around 12, staring at her. She had a giant smile on her tan face and her eyes shined with happiness. Her light blue shirt and khaki shorts were lightly covered in dirt while her short hair was curling around her face, giving her an innocent look. Strike reached out and touched the mirror, the girl doing the same. She blinked and the girl was gone, leaving Strike to stare at a pale woman with brown hair that touched her shoulders, wearing a dark red shirt and black baggy jeans with scars on her arms. She sighed and started to do her hair. She huffed in annoyance when her fringe started to cover her eyes. ‘Have to get that cut soon…’

Strike walked out of the bathroom and saw Shadow was still asleep. “I swear, that girl can sleep through anything,” she muttered, putting on a black jacket and dark gray shoes. Yawning, she looked at the time. “Almost eight? Better get some breakfast then.” She grabbed her key and walked out the door, making sure it would lock before heading to the mess hall.

[7:57 AM]

[kronosdragon]

KD stretched her arms above her head and leaned against the wall. She had passed by the mess hall several times, but her hunger had yet to reveal itself. So she calmly waited in a shadowed corner while her body caught up with her brain. A small group of soldiers walked past her, giving her strange glances and slowing down to see who it was that was hiding in the corner.

"Keep moving," she hissed, flashing her fangs.

They looked at each other and quickly hurried on their way toward the mess hall. KD sighed and closed her eyes, fighting the urge to go back to sleep. The demon had remained silent all morning, which confused her a bit. She had left her room a while ago, she had expected the demon to pop up by now. She silently mulled over this until the demon finally spoke.

They're searching for you...

KD jolted at the demon's voice. It was low, as if it were whispering to her.

You know you can't stay in one place for too long...I suggest you leave here as soon as possible, lest bad things happen to your friends...

Since when do YOU care what happens to my friends? Besides, the only friends I have are my men and women.

What about that handsome fellow? What was his name...Vampire-Jade?

Hmph. He's no friend of mine. Maybe an acquaintance, but not a friend.

KD crossed her arms and lowered her head, so she could concentrate on the demon.

Oh? Well, in that case, you should have no problem leaving here. Your friends will be safe here, but you aren't. You know you must leave...or they will find you.

They haven't the slightest idea of where I am. At most, they know I was in Nizkheralina, but I left them no clues as to where I went. They won't be looking for me in the middle of the African desert. Why are you so keen to make me leave?

I don't want you making connections you'll miss when you need to leave. That, and I've caught wind that they've finally developed a way to pull me out of you. It'll still kill you, and I don't want to be captured any more than you do. It's safer if we just keep moving...

Why do I get the feeling you're hiding something?

Because you're paranoid?

Okay, now I KNOW you're hiding something.

But the demon went silent after that. KD even tried coaxing it out, but it refused to talk to her. KD shrugged and leaned her head back against the wall. She opened her eyes when she heard more footsteps coming down the hall. It was a woman with a dark red shirt and black jeans. She looked like she had tattoos on her arms, but upon closer inspection, KD determined that these were not tattoos, but scars. She watched the woman with wary eyes, but she felt no danger from her, so she gave her a slight grin as she came closer.

"You must be another DQ member."

[shadow_strike]

[E.H.T.F Base]
[8:00 AM]

Strike sighed as she approached the mess hall. Some new guys ran by and completely destroyed her jacket. She glared at them and they gave her the money to buy a new one. She was going to get another one, but her stomach said otherwise. A smile started to grow on her face as she smelt the food. 'Ah, pancakes. Someone must be new or very happy today.'

As she approached the mess hall, she saw someone lingering in the shadows. She had brown hair pulled up in a pony tail with her fringe at the side of her face. She couldn't see the rest of her, but she could feel her wary stare. She frowned mentally and suddenly felt self-conscious. 'Must be the scars. It's always the fucking scars.' She was surprised when she stepped out of the shadows with a tiny grin on her face. She saw that she was wearing a coat, but what really caught her attention was the long teeth sticking out her mouth, long nails, and her red eyes. 'Bah, I've seen weirder shit.'

"You must be another DQ member." Strike nodded and relaxed. This new member didn't seem like any trouble. She stuck out her hand and smiled slightly.

"I'm Strike."

[kronosdragon]

KD carefully took her hand, making sure to avoid making contact with her nails.

"I'm Kronosdragon, but everyone calls me KD."

KD gave Strike a wider grin. This girl didn't have a negative air around her, but she did seem a little tense. She then noticed the jacket. She sighed.

"I see you had a run-in with Jake and Toneil."

"Who?"

"Jake and Toneil. They did the same thing to my jacket when I first rescued them. They're brothers, part of my resistance. I'm sorry. They like causing trouble to anyone who doesn't give them a good reason to show some respect. I'll be sure to give them a good talking-to."

[shadow_strike]

Strike blinked, a little confused, but nodded. She and KD stood in an awkward silence for a minute. She shifted her feet and looked back up at KD, who was staring at a wall.

"So uh..." KD shifted her eyes towards her. "Want to get something to eat and talk?"

[Lucky Joe]

His continuous walk finally led him to the mess hall. As walking, he continued thinking on how easy these guys had it. Back when he was a Spec-Op, the constant fear of not surviving was a constant threat. He was usually sent into a jungle most people haven’t heard of, to fight an army most people never heard of, by a guy he didn’t even know or meet who sent soldiers to their graves every day. And on his last mission, that same man lost two squads of people, one of which included Joe, in a jungle in some armpit near Vietnam. He’d probably had two new squads the next day.

“I still fucking hate that guy.” Joe said under his breath.

Though, without joining the U.S. Army, he would’ve never had met his wife, never would have had his two kids… never would’ve been recruited to the SBOF… never would’ve joined DQ… get captured by the n00bs

He still remembered the day the n00bs executed his wife and son in front of his eyes. The day he was trained to be an E1337… the day he escaped with his daughter. After this thought, he started thinking that the E1337s changed too. Back when he was in, it was a group of soldiers who knew how to fight, even though he never did a mission with them. Now… he doesn’t know, and quite frankly, he didn’t want to figure out. He never did a mission because he ended up getting sent to The Stealth Ops, a group of bad-asses who could sneak into a heavily guarded base within seconds. Then Jinsov cut funding when the founder of the Stealth Ops died.

Once escaping though, he left all of that behind. Deciding it would be better that way. After all that pain, he still was a part of DQ, but worked mostly on his own as a mercenary. A few missions here and there for DQ, but the main amount of money came from the workings as a mercenary. He stopped thinking so much when he reached the doors of the mess hall. He walked by two people, both having a smile on their face. He dismissed it continued walking. After a few, he noticed two women out of the corner of his eye conversing, he looked over, one in a red-shirt, black jeans and a ripped up jacket with scars across her arms, he snickered at the sight; the other one was out of his sight, and he couldn’t see what she was wearing. He dismissed this, as well, and walked into the mess hall door. He stepped forward in-line.

After a few seconds, he could actually see what was given to them. The choices were scrambled eggs, pancakes, an apple, milk or coffee, and the option of ham or cereal; the cereal, upon closer observation, was Wheaties. He sighed as he picked up his plastic tray. He looked around for the time, but instead formed a watch across his right wrist and looked at it, stating the time as 8:03 AM.

[kronosdragon]

KD nodded and entered the mess hall with Strike, taking a place in line with her. She sighed and grabbed a tray, passing one back towards Strike.

"Here you go."

She moved forward with the line, the scent of pancakes and fruit enticing her stomach to growl.

Finally...

She took a stack of pancakes and slathered them in strawberry and blackberry jams, then rolled them up into jam-filled tubes. She noted the strange looks she was getting from some nearby soldiers, but she only had to look in their direction to get them to freeze.

"What are you staring at?" she snapped. They immediately went about their business.

She snorted and turned back to the line, picking up a ripe mango.

"So," she started, addressing Strike, "what's your power?"

[shadow_strike]

Strike looked up at KD, who was putting jam on pancakes. She grabbed another stack of pancakes, making it 12, and grabbed some strawberries, strawberry syrup, whip cream, butter, and syrup. She walked over to KD and grabbed a mango too. She led KD to a table and sat down.

"I control ice and to a lesser extent, water and wind, though not by much." She poured strawberry syrup on one of the pancakes and started to cut it up. She grabbed a strawberry and put it on one of the slices before taking a bite. "Mmm..."

[kronosdragon]

"I see...I make portals."

KD sat down beside her and began cutting her pancake rolls. She could hear whispers floating up from the table behind them.

"It only makes sense that those two would be together."

"Yeah. That new chick, the one in the red coat, I heard she was a demon..."

"A demon? Demons don't exist!"

"There's living proof right there, egg-head. Just look at her! I heard she has fangs longer than Vamp's!"

"What? No way!"

"I heard...

KD growled and slammed her fork and knife on the tray. She turned to Strike and smiled eerily.

"I'll be right back..."

KD stood up and marched over to the table of soldiers, whose whispers stopped immediately as she approached them. They all looked up with questioning eyes. She leaned on the table with one hand and looked one of them straight in the eye.

"Demons don't exist, hmm?"

She suddenly thrust her nose within an inch of his and bared her fangs. She whispered, "If it wouldn't destroy this entire base and everyone in it, I would gladly release it and show you what Hell really looks like."

She backed away and glared at the man who had started the conversation.

"And you."

She dug her nails into the metal surface of the table and slowly dragged them over it, slivers of the steel curling away from her fingertips and letting lose the most terrible screech known to man. Everyone at the table and several tables around it covered their ears and cried out in surprise.

"Try asking someone before accusing them of being a demon. I'm human enough to let you live, but if I were to let the demon free right now, you would be splattered all over the wall, without so much as an inch of flesh remaining for them to tell who or what you were."

The man looked up at her in fear and she stopped dragging her nails over the table. She tossed her hair and turned on her heel, leaving them with a solid, "Hmph!" and returning to her table. She sat down as if nothing had happened and continued eating her pancakes, ignoring the sudden silence that had draped over the mess hall.

[shadow_strike]

Strike had a curious look on her face when she saw KD get up. 'Is she really going to confront those idiots?' She sighed when the men got a cocky look on their faces. 'I hope she breaks their ugly faces.' She pushed away an empty plate and grabbed another one.

She glanced up and watch the as KD bared her fangs at one of the men. She smirked and took a bite of her pancakes. She almost dropped her fork in surprise when she saw KD's claws drag across the table, making the metal curl off, ignoring the horrible sound it was making. 'Holy shit...I don't want to piss her off...' She snapped out of her daze and continued to eat as KD came back to the table.

When KD sat down, she started to eat right away, ignoring the silence. Strike looked up and saw all of them looking at them. A growl built up in her throat but she quickly stopped. She stood up and lowered the temperature in the room. "Go back to normal activities." They ignored her and continued to stare. "NOW!" Her voice boomed throughout the room, snapping out of whatever trance they were in and making them go back to their meals, looking at them occasionally. She sat down and continued to eat, ignoring the harsh whispers about them.

[kronosdragon]

KD pretended that she didn't hear the whispers and instead continued eating her breakfast. She looked around casually, searching for any of her resistance fighters. She saw Mark walk out of the line and waved him over. She gave him a smile as he sat down beside her.

"Good morning ma'am. Making friends, I see..." he said, looked past her toward the table of men she had just tormented.

KD huffed and gave him a light smack in the back of his head.

"Don't say such nonsense."

Mark laughed and picked up his fork, rubbing the back of his head with his other hand.

"Alright, alright, I know when to hold my tongue."

He looked to KD's other side and saw Strike. He smiled at her.

"Well well, so you ARE making friends. And who is this, if I may be so bold as to ask?"

KD looked over to Strike, then back to Mark.

"This is Strike."

KD looked back at Strike and gave her a grin.

"I like her."

Mark chuckled.

"Well, a friend of KD's is a friend of mine. Nice to meet you Strike."

He took her hand and kissed it in a gentlemanly way, smiling kindly. KD swatted him away.

"Will you stop that? Sorry Strike, Mark is quite the...outgoing type," KD said, shooting Mark a glare. He raised his hands in submission and went back to his breakfast.

"Hey! Don't blame me for my demeanor that YOU gave me, KD."

"Oh, don't start that again..."

"After all, it was you who-"

"That's enough of that," KD said calmly. "Finish your breakfast."

Mark shrugged and went back to his breakfast.