- Zodiac - [Inactive]

Clark stopped jogging when he heard multiple footsteps coming round the corner of the park he was napping at. First a girl around his age, most likely from his school then multiple men in black and white tuxedos. Clark assumed they were chasing her but the reason why was unknown to him.


Maybe I should help her? Unless she's a criminal... Either way they look like people straight out from the Men in Black. Not sure I'd want to mess with those people...


Clark stood where he was, hesitating as to whether he should help and if he did, who? He slipped his phone back into his pocket, stood behind a tree as stealthily as he could (not very) and watched the scene unfold. If it got out of hand then maybe he'd help.

Cellphone


Map of town and school


Wallet ($10)


Dorm key
 
She adjusted her glasses returning her attention back to the sounds the boy had mention, she remained quiet, nodding. She took a moment to get a good look at him, a wonderful mess of auburn hair and lovely eyes. She smiled.


"Yeah, I heard it."


She suddenly felt like a little kid investigating some grand scheme devised by adults. She leaned towards the boy, her smile only growing bigger and her eyes flickered with excitement. Whatever shyness she had was gone as she thought about discovering what caused the noise.


"Wanna go check it out?"


Before he could respond she was making her way towards the closest gunshots, which was towards the park.
 
Ukime continued to run from the men , looking back every chance she got when one didn't fire near her feet. Running into the park her eyes flickered for any place to hide. If you thought bullet trains where fast, her eyes were much quicker. Looking toward some bushes and trees she saw something, male perhaps. She could only see a few inches of its head and its shoulder. She frowned a little and shook her head, not the best hider she thought. Luckily though he was there and could be her escape. Quickly she changed course running diagonally toward the slide before turning fully toward the shrub. Once one of the men fire, the bullet grazing her leg she jumped for it, pushing the boy down into the ground and covering her ears .


She looked back and over the shrubs to see the men stand their, by the dent of their brows she could tell they were angry. She frowned before rolling off and onto her rear end, bringing up her grazed leg. She started to blow on it and wipe away the blood with her hands.


"Creeps, attacking a girl. Don't they have shame."


She gave a shocked locked, like a girl figuring out she had landed on something. Turning her head she looked toward the boy and gave him a small smile.


"Oh...I'm sorry, I saw you here so , I jumped?
 
Instinctively, he shook his head to brush his hair out of his eyes. Looking back to the source of the sound he looked back at the girl. There was a fifty-fifty chance of danger. His guess could be wrong and the noises are actually gun shots, or he could be right about the sound and the town was testing the fireworks.


Without giving her a proper answer, he trailed behind her. Being new to the town, he trusted that the girl at least knew her way around town. Derek wondered when it would be a good time to introduce himself. He was stuck with a girl he just met until he knew his way back.
 
Jacen was walking on the way into town, headset on his ear and his phone in his pocket. He had decided to head to Soul Food for some grub and check the shops in town for some t-shirts...despite being solo, he wasn't alone. His...friend from his northern life decided to hit him up.


"Easy, that means you're the one that made it."


"Oh, don't give me that. How did I make it?"


"You're boarding at a nationally recognized high school, you're going to go to a good college, you're the smartest guy I know, and your parents are loaded."


"Yeah, I'm living the American dream in Bumblef***, Alabama. Some days, I really regret leaving the North..."


"You regret being a big fish in a small pond, a pond full of crappy teachers, crappy food and fights? Or was it the cold weather and brick buildings that kept you interested?"


"I regret leaving you."


"...J, you and I both know it wasn't your decision. Plus, being down there seems a lot better for you."


"Yeah, it seems so but I don't know if it is...I just feel like I should have tried to convince them to let me stay or something."


"If I recall correctly, you were damn miserable at Ox. You wanted to stay where you weren't happy?"


"I was happy when I was with you, and that was enough."


Way to go...always making things awkward. I bet she's probably about to laugh at me right now.


"Aww, lemme find out that Oxford High's ice king is really Mr. Softie?"


Leave it to Ki to know exactly how to defuse a moment...


"If I recall correctly, soft was the last adjective on your mind when it came to me."


"Oh, don't make me come down there and hurt you."


"Sorry, I couldn't resist. Did I make you blush?"


"Keep talkin', I'll book the next flight down."


"Ooh, so impatient. Careful, you might not go back."


"Who said I'd want to leave?"


...some days, I also love being m-why are there people running away?


"Hmm...good to know I still have that effect. Listen, I gotta call you back tonight...something's gone down in the square."


"Oh, is that what they're calling it down there?"


"Kiara...I'm serious. Something's not right."


"You never use my full name unless...look, just don't get into any trouble. Stay safe...I don't want to have to come down to visit you in the hospital, Jacen."


"Somehow, I don't think I'm the one that'll be in...I'll call you later. Love you."


Jacen ended the call and picked up the pace on his walk, something obviously went down...and he was heading right for it. That might not have been the smartest idea, but this wasn't the time for ideas.


I'm starting to think that "boring Southern town" was just a front...
 
Suddenly, Alice felt a sudden rush of blood running into her brain, the sight of blood must have caused her to feel woozy. Her vision became fuzzy with white clouds and her mind going blank. She couldn't process what was happening as her hand released on Hotaru and her small body falling to the ground with a thump. Just like that, she fainted and leaving many people confused of why she fainted.


( Shittypost xwho knows what! )
 
"Alright, it looks like you're good to go. Don't strain yourself, though. Go and rest in your dorm."


The nurse patted Farra on the head and walked away. Farra stood up and brushed off her pants. "Time to go home, I guess," she muttered.


Farra walked through the crowds that surrounded a nearby building. Suddenly, she heard screaming. Her heart began to race; something was happening. She pushed through the crowd just in time to see Red, his Majesty himself, get attacked by--Damien? Isn't that the kid who was so snuggly with Dominic? Farra rushed forward, and splashed in the blood. "Everyone, back up. Now!" Farra yelled at the crowd. Pulling off her black jacket, she tried to stop the blood flow, but her efforts were fruitless. He was dead. Looking down at her bloodstained clothing, she sighed. "Show's over, folks. Go home."


Farra ran as fast as she could to the school gym and into the locker room. She stripped off her sticky red clothes and turned the water on in one of the nearby showers. She scrubbed her body with the cheap foam soap that school provided in the showers. "Bad place at the bad time," Farra grumbled to herself. Suddenly, a voice rang out in the otherwise empty locker room. "You smell like blood; you must be Farra Rei. Mind if I talk to you?"


(If this post is bad/not supposed to be posted, let me know.)
 
Nikky walked towards the park, immediately spotting two men, looking very suspicious. She made a hand signal to the boy behind her, she wasn't well versed in sign language, but it was a cool thing to do. She lowered to a crouch and walked over to the trees for shelter, the shadows engulfed her so it would be hard for them to spot her. Slipping from shadow to shadow to get a closer look she took note of the guns on their person, the thought of actually being shot occured to her, but it only served to make her heart beat faster with excitement.


Huh, well how about that? She grinned, then looked around; two men in public holding guns no doubt they'd be caught. She then noticed a figure, actually two figures, hiding behind some bushes. Her face took on a serious expression before she turned to speak to the boy. "Hey, you got a phone? Call the police, like, now."
 
With Red's, gargling last words a gale of wind blew behind him. A transparent, muscular figure had dashed in behind Red. He could only be seen by those who had Zodiacs, other Zodiacs, or those who have interacted with them in some way. The figure snatched something from behind Red's head. A tag looking object with some odd scribes written over it. The man disappeared, only leaving the blue afterglow of his eyes, staining the eyesight of others for a second or two. Damian was on the ground, gritting his teeth from the awful burning sensation the hot lead was leaving in his flesh. The pain was only secondary, as Damian knew what he had done in public and it wouldn't have been forgotten anytime soon. They could pin him alone on all the murders occurring around town. They could have him trialed, and for his supernatural powers possibly put on Death Row. The possibilities concerning his fate are endless now... There was only one option Damian truly had left. Run. His face fell to a bitter frown. He looked over his shoulder and saw some of his friends in Soul Food behind the crown of people surrounding him. After taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, Damian vanished into his own shadow and speedily lurked away.
 
"Take care of yourself Ashlei."


The paint splattered lady who Shun came to know as Jess gave Ashlei a large hug and her farewells. While the girls had their time, Shun noticed a young boy, with a painted sheet of paper in his hand, nervously hovering at the living room doorway. Attempting to beckon the boy forward, Shun was only given a glare in return which caused him to lightly chuckle in response.


"Hey Ashlei, I think you got yourself a little admirer."


"Hmm?"


Turning to look at Shun with a questioning gaze, Ashlei noticed the youth just before he darted aside once eye contact had been made. Beginning to chuckle herself, Ashlei playfully skipped forward to peek around the corner at the boy who had attempted to flatten himself against the wall.


"Boo!"


A smile came to Shun's face as he on looked the interaction between the two, and Jess, who was smiling herself, came to his side to begin an explanation of the scene before them.


"Ashlei is really popular with the children, in particular that boy. His name is Alfie, and unlike the other children who are local to this neighborhood, he comes from this city's orphanage. It just so happened that Ashlei discovered his talent a few years past, and forced me to allow his enrollment. Over the years she has basically been his big sister, and whenever she visits our school, he is always excited to show how much he has developed in her absence. Alfie really doesn't like the others too much, which is probably why he was shyly hiding behind the doorway. Seeing you agreed to help out, you might be able to get close to him in Ashlei's absence though."


It would be several minutes later when Ashlei would return with a glowing smile and a surprisingly well done portrait of herself. Concluding their farewells with Jess, the two friends would depart from the school and begin a cheerful walk to Ashlei's house where the final set of farewells would be given.





"I'll have to get you to deliver my farewells to Adonna. If you have time tomorrow morning, feel free to drop by, but if not, I suppose I'll be seeing ya in three months."


Shun who was pulled into a hug thought he noticed the glisten of a tear in Ashlei's eye, however, after separating all that remained was the cheeky grin encompassing her face. Running up to the door of her house, Ashlei turned to give Shun one last wave, before disappearing within.


Left alone, Shun loudly yawned as he began his walk back towards the dorm. The fatigue from the events of the day before left Shun with a desire to spend the remainder of his afternoon in bed, yet the twinge of pain mixed with the grumbles of his stomach, led him to an alternate conclusion. Making his way toward Soul Food for a bite to eat, it would be a several blocks away that the sound of gunshots, heard and a familiar feeling, felt.


Paralyzed by a sudden chill that fell upon his existence, Shun stood breathless as memories from the fight began to flood his head with visions of the danger he had encountered. Taking in deep breaths, Shun slowly began to regain some composure allowing him to continue forward.


Rushing to the source of his feeling, Shun noticed Hotaru and Alice along the side of the road and followed their gaze onto the bloody scene of two boys he recognized from the academy.


"What's going on?"


Shun's question, although directed at Hotaru and Alice, was rhetorical, as his answer to the situation was already determined from a quick analysis of the scene. Reaching into his backpack with his left hand, Shun retrieved the mask which had thankfully remained at his side, and placed it upon his face.


Bastion, it seems I need your help again.


Falling back into an alley, Shun took hold of Bastion's brush with his left hand and began a painting under an assumption he had devised from the experience of using this power. Having summoned both a swallow and phoenix, Shun had noticed a lack of difference in energy used to summon either smaller end painting. Rather it was the number of paintings he had attempted to summon in a row that brought upon the mental fatigue.


Praying for its silence among the rowdy crowd, Shun took hold of Bastion's gun and quickly shot the two paintings, bringing to life a group of three students with video cameras and a large sheet of cloth.


With the crowd focused on the scene at hand, Shun and his creations easily made their way to the front unnoticed just as Shun began his attempt to dispel the crowd.


"And that's a wrap, people."


Lifting his hand into the the air as if a signal, the arms of the students lowered their cameras just As Shun gave them a satisfied nod.


"Good work to everyone, but Ryan, how many damned times did I say no realistic effects!? Do you see this commotion you've caused!? Your going to be cleaning the street and apologizing to the shops."


Shun grabbed the shirt of the middle student as he directed his qualms toward the student's absentmindedness.


Releasing the shirt, Shun walked toward the boy and the corpse where he threw the manifested cloth over the body before addressing the public.


"I apologize for the trouble my club has caused. We were filming a movie for our school's festival. Had I known realistic effects were to be used. I would have personally gotten permission from you all."


Shun's ploy relied on two assumptions that he hoped would come true. The first assumption concerned the zodiac user recognizing himself as a neutral fellow holder, and the second being the public accepting his ruse. Shun figured for an ordinary person it would be easier to accept the possibility of a benign option rather than a harsh truth, and it was under this assumption he hoped the crowd would disperse. Even if his plan succeeded, the situation at hand would still be grave, but Shun simply desired the safety of the citizens tightly grouped around them.
 
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Farra, startled, slipped out of the shower. There stood a petite woman around 47. "Please cover yourself; thank you," the woman said smoothly. Farra grabbed a nearby towel and wrapped it around her body. "My name is Chairre Llyid. I'm a school guidance counselor here. I'm afraid I have to take you to the police department." Farra choke on her own spit. "P-police station? For what?" She stammered, twiddling her fingers. The woman smiled. "Why, you're the prime suspect in the Rosewood Murders, of course. But you knew that," Ms. Llyid said. Farra stared at her. She looked as if she had been slapped, but inside, she was seething with rage and formulating a plan. 'First, make up a story; pin it on my mother? Good idea, but obvious. Fake tears? No. Never works. Wing it? Yup, I'll end up with that.' The woman cleared her throat. "Are we done here? I think we have an appointment that you shouldn't be late for."
 

<--


| Afternoon |


| Saturday |


Date: September 21, 2014

​



The police had arrived not soon after the commotion ended. Once people began to gather and gawk at the scene, they were on scene. One student had done her best to avert eyes, or at the very least attempt to cease the blood pool that grew in size every moment. Luckily, Shun's club act trick seemed to get an 'Oh, okay' reaction out of the crowd. Even the police, who had just arrived by then, simply clicked their tongues in annoyance before driving away to complain about the youth later. An interesting use of my power, Shun. You helped ease the panic in their hearts. Bastion's voice was most enlightened by Shun's quick thinking and stage acting.


As the crowd was tricked into believing what had happened was actually fake, and not real, they returned to their regular activities, customer and employee alike. Dominic, however, knew it wasn't fake. He was amongst the remaining people who watched, a grim expression on his face. "Damian.. Is he really a monster?" He asked no one in particular. Ever since he discovered the boy's ability, he shoved off the thought in his head that pinned Damian as the murderer to the back of his head. Now it had become apparent that he was out of control with it.


Do I have to even say it?





No, you don't.


His hair had fallen out of wack, covering his eyes and doing no justice to brighten his aura. In the next few hours, something terrible was going to happen. It was a feeling buried deep in Dominic's gut; now it surfaced. "I've got to talk to him." He stated, generally towards Hotaru, Shun and Alic- Well, Alice seemed to be taking a nap. She had most likely fainted because of the gruesome scene in front of them. "That's all he needs, just a little talk." He repeated, this time a little lower as if he was reassuring himself more than anything. Ben, who had been sort of hiding since it all began, finally shown himself to the others. "You're going after him? What if he attacks you? Or worse?" "Damian wouldn't do that. I know him too well to act out of line like that." Just like you expected him to simply be a misunderstood boy. Look in front of you. That's all the reason you need. Dominic clenched his head between his hands, baring his teeth. "J-Just shut up..!"
 
Hotaru felt her hands being squeezed by Alice. Her stomach was being scratched at, low hissing could be heard. She dropped the hand that held the cat in her shirt at her side. Clearing her throat a bit, her mind quickly turned on. What was she thinking about? The image of Damian and Red standing, crouching a bit as they stared off. Voice....she needed her voice to call them out. Blood, Red was coughing out blood as Damian's shadows pierce his throat. The sky seemed to darken a bit, Hotaru could feel her blood pulse loudly, these short seconds seemed to slow down. Time seems to only slow down when you are falling. Hotaru was not falling. Her feet were planted into the ground. The wind was blowing her hair backwards. It was like the wind was opposing her will to join in. For second, she felt like she was falling head first. The cat fell out of her shirt falling to the ground on his feet. Hotaru bit into lips, a nervous habit of hers. Quickly grabbing two or three stones in her free hand, she sprinted to the three figures dragging Alice along.


Once they neared the figures, she felt Alice's hand go limp. Hotaru glanced back at Alice who fainted at the side of the road. Hotaru let out a small squeal, Hotaru winced a bit as she tried to drag her off the cement and onto the grass. Suddenly everything went chaotic, people were screaming at the sight of blood and the shadows. Shun joined in, but Hotaru couldn't reply to him, she was focusing on the blood spilling from Red. When she heard voices that wasn't familiar to her, she quickly snapped back to reality. Students were yelling cut, it was like the production club was there. Hotaru glanced at Shun as he joined in, this was probably his doing.


Panic seemed to go away in an instance, people didn't think it was a ruse and went on with their lives. Hotaru felt herself leave Alice with the black male cat, unconsciously she walked over to the two males. Red was still on the ground causing people to stop and wonder as to why he would not stop his performance and go on about with his life. Hotaru saw a flash of blue eyes go away, she blinked a bit and watched as Damian ran away. He was probably scared of what the townspeople had to say of his act of murder. If he had stuck around longer, he would have had an ease of mind that he was not targeted.


Hotaru brushed her hair behind her ear, the blood from Red stirred before grouping up at the joints. Like a puppeteer, Hotaru used his blood as puppet strings. One hand below her waist, she had managed to get Red to sit up against a tree near Alice. Quickly gathering the blood in midair about one inch from the ground, Hotaru had no choice but to return it to the corpse of Red. She sniffed a bit, looks like the cold was getting to her.
 
Artemis was talking to a cute boy one moment, the next she heard a loud noise and was on the ground. The boy was hurt, she knew that, but she didn't get to see him before he ran off. Instead, she laid there for a short while, staring at the sky and wondering if this is the sort of stuff her parents warned her about. She really had no idea what just happened, but it obviously wasn't good.


That was when her headache came back. Artemis quickly put her hands over her eyes, hoping it would ease the pain some. It didn't. She shook her head, trying to clear the pain out by sheer willpower. However, it wasn't working. The headache only got worse, intensifying to the point where she wanted to scream--


That is, until she heard more voices.


Glancing up, she saw many people around her suddenly, all doing and saying different things. She felt confused, and she wasn't sure whether she should get up and leave or try to talk to someone else to find out what happened. There was one specific boy who caught her attention, wearing a mask and going on about something as if it were all fake. The body disturbed Artemis, and she looked away as she stood up, not wanting that image in her head for too long. However, her gaze shifted back to the boy. Why did he have that mask on? Was he trying to hide something? Did he know what happened? The shaken redhead watched him, not realizing that she was, in fact, staring. How rude, Artemis.
 
James saw it all. The boy shooting, the other boy shooting shadows at his throat.


"What the f***?" he asked to nobody in particular.


He started walking towards the boy with a bleeding throat, as the other one had ran off. The boy was covered in ragged clothes, and smelt of alcohol, drugs, and things he didn't want to think about.


There was someone nearby, telling everyone it was all a fake, none of this was real. Maybe it was... yeah...


No. He recognised the nearly dead boy, he was someone from school. Underneath all that crap, was Red, the headmaster's son. This was not fake. Red was dead.
 
Clark had hoped that the girl being chased was coincidentally running in the direction of his hiding spot but Clark wasn't so lucky. Bullets flew as did the girl who came crashing down on him, causing Clark to hit the ground with a thud.


"Am I just so attractive that girls are jumping on me?" Clark said with a sarcastic tone. He sat up slightly but kept low enough so he could remain concealed under the foliage.


"Not to be invasive or anything but why the hell are people chasing you with guns?" Clark asked. A hint of anger in his tone due to him being dragged into something which could lead to guns being fired at him.


Clark sighed and laid back down. Maybe if I pretend I'm unconscious those men will leave me be if they find us here? Clark thought to himself as he listened for footsteps so he was prepared to feign unconsciousness if the two of them were discovered.
 
,Farra slipped into the interrogation room, anger flashing in her bright green eyes. "You must be Ms.Rei?" the interrogator asked, scanning her with his bespeckled eyed. "Have a seat," he said, motioning towards the plastic chair across from him. Farra remained standing, with her arms crossed in defiance. "Alright, be stubborn," the interrogator grumbled. Leaning back, he called out to the guard posted outside: "TAKE THE CHAIR!"


After the chair was taken, Farra moved over to the table. "Let's get to business, Ms. Rei. First question: do you admit to--" he started, but she immediately answered, impatience in her voice, "No." The interrogator stared at her, and continued with the questioning. "Okay, then... Next question. Have you lived in Rosewood, North Carolina, in the past three years?" Farra sighed. "Yes," she muttered. The interrogator smiled. "Yes, that's all we'll need for now," he said as he stood up. "Good day, Ms. Rei."
 
She looked at him , chuckling at his comments as she watched the men pull out a cell phone. She looked back at him wondering why herself. She didn't mix in with bad crowds, well at least those that would kill her. Kai's partners didn't dress like that and they didn't know her name either. These guys seemed more vicious like debt collectors or some one out of a mafia movie.


"I'm not sure myself, maybe my dad...he was always the gambler and never won anything. He had put us in debut many times over...but I thought we handled them a few years back. Unless they found the compensation less than what they wanted."


She thought back a few years when he said that Ukime was a guy, a protection thing. Maybe they found out she was a girl and want to use her, or maybe work for them. Whatever it was their method was to rash and violent.


"We can't say here you know, eventually they'll come through here and look for me...maybe you , is there any short cuts around here."
 
Nikky took note of the armed men's position in relation to the people hiding behind a bush, She immediately recognized Ukime and a boy.


"Ukime?"She asked herself a bit unsure they certainly weren't friends, she only knew her name after all. Still, she was in a shitty situation and Nikky wasn't the kind of jerk to leave a friend, if not fellow student to die.


She had a lot of questions for them, but right now she had a mission to do. Nikky managed to relax a bit, calling her crazy stunts missions made it seem less dangerous than it really was. The girl moved closer to the couple in the bushes, the darkness shielding her along the way. All those years of playing super secret government agent really helped.


She positioned herself behind them she was practically unseen in the forest, but they had their backs turned to her. She picked up a rock and chucked it towards the Ukime and the boy hoping to get their attention, they needed to get out of there before they got caught, and quick.
 
There was a sound, distinct and loud, in the air. It sounded exactly like a set of firecrackers. During the day? Adonna grimaced, because there was only one other thing it could really be... Oddly, instead of running towards the sound to figure out what it was, as was her nature to, she paused. Let's say it was what she thought it could be, and not firecrackers, then what good would come out of running into the fray? No... she'd need a different approach. Well, she couldn't just turn her back on the situation, and besides, that was the way she was heading anyway... I'll go check it out, from afar... If need be, I can call the cops... That idea didn't sit well with her, but she was getting ahead of herself anyway. It would be a good idea to see what the hell was happening first. Maybe it really was firecrackers.


She continued down the sidewalk in a light jog, the movement hurting her injured side. She grimaced and ignored the pain best she could. Loud sirens could be heard in the distance, getting closer. They passed her and disappeared around the bend. That couldn't be good. But she couldn't quicken her pace, not without further aggravating her injury. She put a hand to her side, wincing at the initial pain. Adonna didn't realize that spots of blood were seeping through the bandage and onto her shirt. Perhaps it hadn't been the brightest idea to wear white over a fresh wound, bandage or no.


By the time she got there, the cops were rolling away. What the shit just happened? Weren't small towns like these usually safe? Relatively speaking anyway. That's when she saw a camera crew, and Shun. Oh, so they were filming something. And that redheaded girl, what was her name again? And hey, Hotaru was there too, and Hotaru's blond haired friend, who was napping by a tree along with, the f*ck? Wasn't that Red? This scene was making less and less sense.
 
Clark continued to lie on the ground. Now more calm and less angry at Ukime as he began to listen to her as she chatted away to him. Clark wasn't the luckiest person but to somehow get involved with gun wielding debt collectors chasing after a high school student just showed it wasn't his day. Maybe I walked under a few ladders, did a black cat pass by? Clark thought to himself. However the thoughts of his bad luck were interrupted when a rock sailed through the air and landed right next to him. Clark, not suspecting the surprise rock, flung himself away from it. Initially he thought they'd been discovered by the gun wielding men but thankfully it seemed a girl around the same age as Clark had noticed him and Ukime.


Clark smiled and tapped Ukime on the shoulder and directed her attention to the girl. He knew they had to leave their hiding spot now considering the amount of noise he made. Clark began his stealthy crawl towards her.
 
She looked over at the rock then toward a girl who was looking at them. A smile of relief crossed her face as she got low and began an army crawl toward her. She thought her life was more at risk so she got beside Clark instead of staying behind him and crawled a little faster. Reaching the girl she came to a stop then got up a little so she could crouch.


"Thank god, you have an exit right?
 
Damian had resurfaced a few blocks away in the shadow of an abandoned factory, towering over the neighborhood. The husk of the factory gave off a ghastly atmosphere, so much that it hasn't even been bothered to be demolished. The windows were dirt swept. Tinted by the grime. Some cracked and shattered. The walls were missing paint, chipping, cracked, molded... This place has been vacated for what may have been decades now. Damian wasn't daft enough to try and hide inside, but he needed a quiet, secluded spot to hide until the panic rolled over. While Damian knew he didn't necessarily do anything wrong he knew that his power was seen... On top of that, why did Red, of all people try to kill him? First Len tried to attack him, now Red? Originally he and Red had no quarrel or even spoke to each other prior. This was beginning to rub Damian the wrong way. Did more people know about his power than he suspected? Is it because he had this power he was now targeted as a threat? If that's the case how many more are willing to take him out? How many view him a monster? As he thought about this, he remembered that battle with Reese and the huge Hollow. The others had power as well... But Red didn't come after them. Neither did Len. They only came after Damian... Why him? Why me? Damian thought. The more he pieced this together himself the more frustrated and confused he became. None of it made sense. Of course he killed his Stepfather but that was his own vendetta... It would've hardly affected anyone else. He grew anxious. Damian was beginning to feel like he was targeted out of fear of what he has become. He also felt a little betrayed that he was being targeted and no one else. "I don't... I don't understand. Why me?" Damian fell to the concrete floor, pulling at his hair some. "Lance? Lance..?" Punctual as usual, Lance answered to Damian's calls of help. His face looking more desolate than normal. "I know, Damian. You did what you had to... I won't beat around the bush. I'll just say it. The other Zodiacs... They don't trust me. Nor do they 'like' me. They find my lack of allegiance and isolation disturbing with my type of power. For all we know, Red may have been tipped by Len who was led to us by another Zodiac who goes by the name of Kenshi... We have a history." Just like that, Lance explained everything Damian needed to hear. If there was anything Damian appreciated about Lance it was that he was always straight to the point. He never wasted time with pointless details. "So... You really think this is just someone after me? Us? Because we're simply just misunderstood?" Lance nodded. These recent turn of events has only made Lance grow even more bitter towards Kenshi and the other Zodiacs. "Possibly... For all we know, others can be in on it--" Lance was cut off by a strange noise. It sounded like something was being pulled apart along with the harsh cackle of electricity. The duo looked forward towards the source of the sound. A rift was opened in the atmosphere, a navy blue worm hole had spread itself open before Lance and Damian. Red orbs and ethereal tethers spewed from abyss within the hole. Soon, two figures exited from inside. One, the same perfectly sculpted figure from before. His body could match what the Greeks considered the body of a God. His hair and face was finally completely visible. His face was stoic. He had a serious exterior. His eyes glowed a hue of light blue underneath his flowing brown mane. The other, was shorter. He wore a tan trenchcoat over beige slacks, a casual shirt and grey vest. His dark hair was short and side swept, his eyes a gray blue, and he had an official posture about him. This man beside the 6'2ft Zodiac was his host. He looked like your common fodder businessman. The two appeared to be in some sort of sync. You could feel a sort of synergy off the two. This duo has been paired with each other for what may have been a few years. As Damian eyed the men he couldn't help but feel completely intimidated by them. They looked a lot more dangerous than he or Lance. Despite not knowing the limits to Lance's power. The coated man stepped forward, holding his hand out towards Damian. His once expressionless face had softened to a warm, inviting grin. "It's okay. I understand what you're going through. Me and my Zodiac both. If you come with us, we can shelter you until the accusations and hysteria passes." The man proposed. Damian looked to Lance for any sort of advice, but Lance appeared to be focused on the Zodiac before him and the Zodiac was focused on Lance. They peered into each others eyes with great focus, as if an animal was sizing up it's prey. Lance hadn't seen this Zodiac before or even heard of one fitting this description. His suspicion stood... With both the Zodiac and his Host. Taking his eyes off the Zodiac for a moment he saw Damian's concerned glare meet his own. Lance had felt a ping of guilt for not paying attention to Damian sooner. "Uh-- Y--Yeah. We have no other choice right now, Damian. I'm sure they're here to help..." Lance said with obvious qualm. The mans grin widened and the Zodiac had simply strengthened the pull of the portal, keeping it open for the three. Damian and Lance entered the wormhole and the other two followed, closing it behind them with a loud crack of lightning booming from the sheer force of the portals forced closing.
 
Nikky looked away so her uncertainty wouldn't be visible, "Oh yeah, I know where to go."


In all honesty, Nikky didn't have a clue where to head and on top of that she had a poor sense of direction, adding that up resulted in them getting lost in no time.


But she refrained from telling them that bit of unimportant information, if she was going to be a hero might as well act like one. She checked over at the group of men, after the boy's little spasm no doubt they'd be heading towards them right about now.


"Stay quiet." She ordered, Nikky surprised herself with the sudden change of tone in her voice. She headed deeper into the forest then turned left hoping to end up on the far side of the forest away from the goons. When that plan didn't work she managed to find a bike trail and followed that out of the woodland area.


They came out clean, well besides getting scraped a bit by a few low lying branches they were pratically unharmed. Nikky made sure to leave the park before turning on Ukime and the boy for interrogation.


"So, what exactly happened there? If you don't mind me asking."


Love, Tapatalk
 

---


| Evening |


| Saturday |


Date: September 21, 2014

​



Despite whatever Dominic thought or believed, this was real. This wasn't something he could kick under the rug. He brought Damian to Brookfield, now it was his duty to aid him in whichever way he could. Dominic straightened his posture, a saddened but understanding expression on his face. He noticed his friends from before, the ones who had taken down the spider with such ease, there. Whether or not it was a coincidence or not didn't matter.


"I don't recommend any of you follow me. Damian knows me best, but the rest of you are still strangers to him. He won't hesitate to attack you." For the first time since the original dream, Kenshi made himself visible by materializing before the hosts. "It'd be wise if-" "-It's the pup!" Tyrik had suddenly appeared soon after Kenshi, elated to see Kenshi after so much time had passed. "-Yes, yes, me. Back to what I was saying." The wolf shook his head after disregarding Tyrik completely.


"It would be wise for the hosts to accompany us in finding Lance and his host. While he is only one host and a Zodiac, I felt a stronger power at work here." "That's too dangerous, you can't just pull ordinary people into this ghost war." "Of course, but none of you are ordinary people, are you?" Dominic clicked his teeth, glaring elsewhere. "Besides, it's too dangerous for Damian to have Lance as a host. A combination of those two won't bring any brighter days to anyone." "I'm just going to talk to him. No exorcist intentions." Kenshi turned to face the angered Dominic. "If you're truly still going to hold onto that while Red's lifeless body lies here, fine."


A small pause formed after that, with Dominic breaking the silence with a sigh. "Where is he now?" "I have his scent, I'll track it. Make sure to keep up - once I start, I won't stop." "What do you mean by th-" Kenshi had already dropped his head to the ground and picked up the trail of Lance's power. He sudden leaped up to the restaurant's roof, then moved from rooftop to rooftop while remaining on the trail. "Hey, wait!" Dominic shouted, running after him from street level.





---




​



After a good fifteen minutes of playing catch up, Dominic finally caught up to Kenshi at the front gate of an abandoned warehouse. Panting, he looked up at the darkened structure. "He really hid in there..?" After a few confirming sniffs, Kenshi glanced up at the building as well. "This is the old soda bottling factory-.. I remember sneaking in here as a kid to watch the machines." "The trail ends here, but I don't sense Lance or Damian around." Dominic deepened his frown. "Still.. that other source of power, it was definitely here. My assumption is that Lance must have decided to take Damian into Limbo." "Limbo?" "The world of your so called nightmares. The name of it is Limbo." Dominic nodded slowly, running a hand over his hair to straighten it from the intense running. "We'll need to construct a magic circle and follow them in. I don't exactly have the power to pull anyone into that world. Dominic, I need you to prepare a one in the factory." "I-I don't know how to draw a magic circle, let alone just drawing in general!" "Then who does?"
 
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