Returning Shadows (Massive RP Story pt III)

[_____Chelle / Ylemae]

Lem sat there in her chair at the Reet Retreat. The safest place she figured for the time being... but why? Clyburn had given her the sight, yet all she could feel is the anger and hatred towards him and his 'friend' Don. Was it so long ago that nothing seemed to matter? The World was in Choas, but at least there was order to this Chaos. The enemy was there, and the enemy was here. Enemies all around, but they all shared the same objective. They all shared the hatred towards Omni-Corp. The Clans... all was so easy. Gather information, hack into the insurance agency's database, go in for the kill. Such was the fate of all those deemed 'guilty' by the Immediate Solution. Judge... Jury... Executioner.

I was all these things and I did not care. After all, what I was doing was right. They wanted to cause pain, hatred, even more chaos as we try to establish peace.

But then the sight was given. Her eyes opened to more than one view. She had seen the treachery that was the IS. The inner workings of it, and hated what was there. First thought was these men worked for Clyburn, but they could also be the men from SOL... couldn't they? Why did they have to be involved in this at all? Men just out to further their own ambitions... men who seeked to dominate the planet seperate from both the Clans and Omni-Corp.

I was doing the right thing wasn't I?

Markarian had opened her eyes. Showed her the truth. And for all the horrible things she had done, Markarian still wanted to help her.

This world is turning upside down. What was in front of me, is now behind me. What is to my right, is now to my left. What is up, is now down. All around, it is turning...

And I don't know where I even am anymore.

[_________YumYum Crow]

The techie hunched in his uniform coat, tryin to hide from the cold glare of the tatooed opifex. That gun in his hand looked mighty dangerous... like some sort of laser cannon or something miniturised into a hand held form. The opifex was stalking down the alley, hard by the wall in Omni Trade. Overhead, a bilboard floated by on grav plates, while that female voice sang the praises of the Company...

"Be glad you are one of us. Omnitek protects!"

The tech shivered. He had almost died, he was sure. He had heard the news feeds... of this phantom Demoneyes the mad MP who killed everyone he met. Some protection...

"You saw him along this wall?"

The techie nodded, jerked from his reverie. The opifex Intern-Ops agents was examining the grimy wall in detail, scanning for prints... anything.

"And he just appeared out of the shadows? Did he say anything to you?"

"He looked at me...!" The tech wrung his hands. He was just a maintainance worker for heaven's sake! "He appeared out of thin air. Right there, where you are. And he looked right at me. More like through me."

Quinn stared hard at the worker. Overweight, aging. By the look of his equipment, still laid out where he was working on some malfunctioning venting, he was probably none too enthusiastic about his work. A slacker, then, he concluded sourly. No wonder his quarry handn't bothered to communicate -it would have served no purpose.

Quinn sighed inwardly. So far, his task had been a failure; a complete waste of time and resources -thankfully, only his own. It was hard to conduct a manhunt for a ghost, a phantom, a hullucination, maybe? He was sure that was all his last contact -a slum stim addict- had seen standing on a platform over the open sewer chanting something.

A dozen sightings across the Omni-1 metropolis. And nothing. No more killings. No more speeches about reckonings. And Demoneyes had not sought him out, either. He hissed at that -oh, how Quinn longed to land one on that frail nanomage face...

Maybe, Quinn thought. He should turn his attention to more immediate concerns -like silencing this news reporter who seemd to be causing disunity among the Corporate flock. A Clan agitator perhaps? He ponder for a long time, analysing his current strategy.

For the poor, overworked and underpayed mainainance tech who had been called out to a late night job on some stupid venting that was hissing too much, the wait was pure murder.

[______________Dr.Log]

Drlog had been in the reet retreat for around half an hour. It was not how he remembered it, the only chatter he could here was bawdy banter, cheap flirting between groups of drunken youths. No one he was aquinted with was around, the other bars had been the same.

Damon liked these kind of places, he was sure of it, maybe he liked catching people relaxing and off gaurd. Maybe he just liked a drink. No, he thought to himself, the people Damon wanted where the ones who liked to drink and Damon just followed them there. He scratched his chin and left the bar, he'd looked for Don with no luck. He'd tried to contact Lesentia and Sezmra and drawn blanks on both. He tried to remember who else had worked on the case before, the SIT files would be buried deep in omni admin by now, and he was now just a soldier not a leader, he had no strings to pull to get them back.

He had to track down Damon one way or another yet he had no leads. The papers that he was originally delivered didn't reveal much, it was almost like someone wanted him to know Damon had returned, but didn't want him to do anything about it. He pondered the thought a bit further as he approached the Whom-pa's and then it struck him. Damon had been an Omni Meta-physiathingy gone bad. Before he'd met Damon he'd allways seen Mp's as Nt's who beleived in God or something like that, but Damon had shown him something he had reached into His atrox soul and left a mark. He had felt a similar feeling once before as a young Enforcer. Something seemed to click in Drlogs head, confirming his new belief in meta-physical power. He laughed, one of omnis famous and equally bizzare pr nightmare of recent times. He was of coarse thinking of the Halloween Uncle pumpkin head saga. The mind behind all that had been an ex omni Mp, the more he thought about it the more he could draw similaritys between Damon and Neleb. DrLog had met Neleb twice, although there hadn't exactly been any words spoken, he wondered if he was still rotting in that godforsaken pit, and if he knew anything of Damon, his powers or his whereabouts. He would have to find out.

[_____Chelle / Ylemae]

Jenae Markarian... a true genious Lem had thought. The cure she had provided seemed to have worked fine. No more did this thirst for another's soul seemed apparent. No more did the visions come to her in the middle of night. Yet... there were differences. She did not know what exactly they were... but in everything that happened something seemed to be behind it. It was almost sixth sense, yet some help this did when I was brutally attacked and wounded... she had thought.

Hiding... days of hiding. No surfacing, no reporting, no contact. She had seen numerous messages come to her from the Omni Inquisitor asking of her where-abouts, yet she had set her com to respond automatically with an away message. The third day of hiding she was surprised to see a message from Loria, of all people. He just wants to know where I am to kill me...

Markarian, the one who had helped her, she now avoided at all costs. Some gratitude... but oh well. It did not matter. Nothing seemed to matter... but as a few days turned into a week the path ahead of her seemed to become more and more clear.

As much as this "Demoneyes" character seems to be nothing more than an enemy, he had connections to someone... somewhere... of a plot against Rubi-Ka. I am no assassin anymore... but my loyalty to Omni-Corp has never wavered. I am her daughter, I am her chosen. I will protect her for all that I can do.

Lem looked to her EN-RAL, then loaded it full of ammunition. And I will also find out what is going on... one way or another...

Clyburn... we have... 'unfinished' business. For good or ill... it must be concluded.

[Demenzia]

Conflicting feelings. Anger. Hate. Despair. Sadness. Fear. A need to cry. A need to laugh. A ferocious joy, a terrible relief. A path behind, a path ahead. Yet she was still shaking, unable to decide, unable to go on. Fallen on her knees. The cold floor, the warm shadows. The warm floor, the cold shadows. Cold. Darkness. Cold. Cold. Still here?...

Jen raised her head, her whole body still shaking from the shock, her quiet and indifferent facade now dropping in a matter of seconds, feeling the tears fill her eyes and the hard taste of blood in her mouth. Until the last moment, she had thought it was going to be over for good this time... Thought about Hayley, Quinn, Lee, Raquel, Jo, all the people she'd never see again, about Malcom she'd never find back, about Heiji, about her unfinished job, about poor Lemmy, about Chester she would never be able to help, about... all that she was to leave behind. Death was a sweet thought, but... this way? From the ghostly hands of this man... this monster she despised so much?...

"YOU! THIS ENDSS NOW!" Jen had frozen upon hearing the voice... his voice... echoing in her com, as she was working on the heavy program that would maybe save Chester's life, if only the man could resist one more day or two to the virus he was rejecting so badly. Odd, that this was going to happen this way. She had always figured that the confrontation would occur face-to-face; hearing Damon show himself this way was a little surprise. Was he so afraid of her now, that he didn't dare confront her, as he had done on the last week-end with Don and his friends, just before deadly wounding Rejeckted?...

Damon Clyburn. His angry, hateful hissing words. Then the shadows, rising around her, causing her to repress a gasp of sheer terror. Her face was a mask of contempt and quietness, her voice firm and steady, as she has sworn to herself to believe in front of him now, but in her heart, she was already feeling the cold grasp, the darkness surrounding her, infiltrating her, its disgusting touch tearing through her organs, filling her lungs, her mouth, her stomach, the quiver intensificating... Suffocation? No... completely giving-up, rather. It was easy, so easy. Just closing her eyes, and letting the shadows carry her away... carry her to...

JEN!!

His mental scream woke her up. The Fixer opened her eyes again, her breath stopping for a second. No. Damon was wrong, and Heiji was right. Yes. Heiji didn't fear pain, Heiji was so talented at making complete abstraction of physical sensations when there was need to. So strong. So... present. Always with her. His rage, his anger, the inner turmoil of his soul, but also his need for protecting her, his desire, his love for her. Hadn't he given his life for her? Not only by offering protection, but by giving her his soul too? Heiji... Can we... are we strong enuff?... And his answer was clear, as he was sustaining her through the trial. Yes!

What she had dreaded and refused to accept could maybe save her this time. Damon and her own cure had turned her into... something... she couldn't approve, something she refused to see. Something Damon had never even let her time to talk about, something she had wanted to point to him, at least in the beginning, to make him understand how different she was now. And yet, it was already too late. Remember, Jenny. Remember what happened when you're feeling threatened. Remember the anger! Jen grinded her teeth. Anger, hate, rage, despair - If I'm to die, it WON'T be to his hands!... She didn't even wonder anymore how Damon was able to reach her from afar - shadows were everywhere, yes... always everywhere!... She just... gave up. Not to his shadows, but to hers.

Raising her hands, as if to welcome them... raising her hands in an unnatural reflex, feeling the cold in her, feeling how she could stop it... Get away from meh! My time ain't near. Get away! Get back to yer 'Master'! And let 'im know that I ain't his puppet, that he ain't any right on meh, on my life, or on my thoughts! get away! She felt the warm strength, all of a sudden, dark and warm, fueled by the anger, the repressed hate, the raw desire of getting rid of this man once and for all... hers, Heiji's, both their feelings, strong, strong, terribly strong, burning in ther shared soul, in their shared body. Alone, Jen probably wouldn't have stood a chance. For once, however, she blessed Heiji's half-mad nature, and the way he had to turn this into a merit rather than a deadly flaw. Anger, negative feelings, the one she lived through her nightmares, the voices whispering to her ears every day and night... It was hard to understand, it was more like an instinct, and old one, something she had always known, yet also always refused to acknowledge. Hate was the key, hate was making her strong. So she threw it away at Damon and at his shadows, at the power he thought he had over her, in a unique mental scream of rage and hate.

GO AWAY FROM MEH!

The light went back in her office - no, back to her eyes, actually - as if nothing had happened, nothing but her trembling legs that wouldn't carry her any longer, and the remaining sensation in her throat and lungs. Damon was gone, she was alone with Heiji again. She should have died. She should be dead! And yet she wasn't.

Jen blinked in confusion, barely realizing that she had now fallen on her knees, the fear coming back to her in a rush, hitting her violently. Her head was spinning, her hands, where she had touched the shadows, felt like if they now were in fire, even through her gloves. She wasn't dead. Damon wouldn't kill her as easily as he believed! Yet with the thought came the realization, of what she now was, of what she had done, of what she may stay, for the rest of her life. Moved by a reflex, she managed to crawl to the bathroom, half-collapsing over the toilet bowl, coughing and vomiting in shock and horror, barely able to catch her breath again.

What am I! WHAT AM I!!...

Her own scream echoed in her mind; finally, she let the tears out, sobbing convulsively, furious at Damon for his assassination attempt, furious at herself for having conceived an unperfect cure, even if this had just saved her life. She was feeling drained of all strength, her head now dully pounding and aching, her heart beating like mad in her frail chest.

"What am I... Heiji, tell meh... what have I become..."

The wild laughter raised in Jen's throat, and she chuckled through her tears, then laughed, then screamed, pounding the ground with her fists, then laughed again, lost and crazy, unable to calm down. No one would get her out of this. No one probably could, not herself, not even Damon, and she wouldn't crawl begging at his feet, never!... But being human... staying human... She could control this... but could she accept it?

Letting herself slump against the wall behind her, the Fixer put on a weak, hazy smile. Damon would pay for this. She hoped that he would never try to reach at Lemmy, or at Hayley, or at any other person she loved. She wondered if he had done the same to Don, too, Don who had now openly spat his disgust at Damon's face. If he'd to the same to Raquel... should she tell Raquel? Damon would sooner or later try to kill her again, but had she any right of endangering her sis too?...

Letting out a trembling sigh, Jen buried her face in her hands, and simply went on crying...

[Tussa]

Pain! It was so painful! The memories, but not her own. She stood straight up, looking at the female meta-physicist with one eye and looking at the memories with the other. The memories of a sister she loved, but didn't know, a brother and father she loved but didn't know. The clear thought of a mother she never had.

'No…these people are not my family, I don't know them! I’m Hayley Dinnen…not their daughter and sister' She looked at the woman again, this person known as Wingless, a woman she had held in contempt for touching her mind, shifting it and poking around where she shouldn't be poking. Her eyes were calmer now, not glowing like they did just a few moments ago. In the background, Hayley heard Dons voice and the soft voice of Dericad, speaking to Jen where she had collapsed. Jen! Collapsed! She tried to fight back the memories, but couldn't. The pain increasing as she saw the family she remembered but had never met...the sister…Khendera.

The darkness…the shadows…the other realm. The hissing of a demon she used as a tool, the meta-physical creation of life she knew so well, but not. Her mind was exploding, and she heard Don cry out for Wingless and her to stop fighting. Then everything went black.

Waking up at a reclaim terminal her head was spinning and hurt like hell. Her whole body in agony, and still these…memories. Hayley closed her eyes and tried to focus on breathing while her body was adjusting after a rebuild. Gods how she hated this! "Jen!" she said out loud, wincing as she tried to stand up. Jen was still back at Rompa, after collapsing. She had to get there. Walking very slowly at first, feeling the nanobots completing the build then slowly jogging before finally sprinting at full speed. A male voice ringing in her ear, 'Elvie…my daughter…' Elvie? Who the hell was Elvie? A strange urge to call for someone, or something called Seiryu. She shook her head, closed her eyes and kept running. There…Rompa was just down the street, soon she'd be with Jen again. She had to see if she was ok.

Hayley stopped as if a brick wall had hit her in her face. She saw the entrance to the bar, but just ahead of it…another figure. A tall man clad in black. His eyes were glowing red, even from this distance. Her heart passed a few beats as she recognised him as Damon Clyburn, known as Demoneyes. The memories were gone like a feather in strong breeze, her heart was racing in panic…he had seen her and raced towards her. She ran backwards, unable to turn around and take her eyes off his face. A wall! She had ran straight into a wall and the man was approaching her, hissing. She had no where to go, no where to turn - she was trapped! Panic. Fear. Hate. His eyes were glowing bright red as he hissed at her "Your time hassss come, my dear"

His arm grabbed her and lifted her by the throat, his hands so cold. Her heart racing, her mind in panic. "Remember the icy touch of death, my dear?" A disgusting sound of a throat cracking. Her own? Falling to the ground like dead meat. A lulled sense of darkness embracing her as she was losing consciousness. Then…a sharp sting in the neck, and pain so strong, nothing like any other pain she had felt in her life, rushing through her.

Darkness. Cold. Voices echoing in her ear. Something tugging her arm, her legs, her hair, her head. Her eyes blind, but able to sense shadows in the pitch black surroundings. Screams from thousands of people hitting her with full force. She looked up and saw nothing but darkness, nothing but pain, materialized in the shadows flickering around her, striking her body, kissing her skin. A cry from far, far away, a female voice she knew…calling her name over and over. An unknown voice, but yet familiar, a slight mechanical ring to it. The shadows suddenly twitching and pulling her back, away from the voices, away from the awareness. She cried out, she wanted to go to them, but the shadows held her back, whispering to her.

You belong to us now. They do not matter.

She ran blindly through unknown terrain, constantly falling. Tears flowed from her eyes, she didn’t know where she was going. Her thoughts spinning around a memory of people she had loved, of a family she didn't know and the forces of another realm. Every memory lay close to her, almost tangible. The shadows and screams always nearing, chasing her on, whipping at her with black strings of agony.

She fell to her knees again and saw every memory she had spread out in front of her. Vincent, Jen, boarding the shuttle to Rubi-Ka, her mothers smile when she was a child, her fathers stern voice when reprimanding her…everything there, so clear and shimmering, together with these unknown memories. Then the shadows engulfed them, erasing one memory after another, taking her mind and soul into them claiming ownership of something that cannot be owned. She screamed at first, not knowing what to do to stop them. They hissed at her and licked her skin again, more aggressive now, but still…in a way…caring.

The calling - stronger now. The feeling of being tugged at. She was annoyed. What or who were these people who wouldn't let her sleep? Why were they disturbing her? The shadows wheezed and ran up and down her body, made love to her, fiercely. She saw herself from above, looking down at the frail opifex body. The shadows were over her now, colouring her skin dark grey, making it look sick and poisoned. One entered her ear and a matte was spread over her eyes. They seemed desperate for some reason. But they didn't hurt her anymore. Soft whispers in her head, hissing and tugging at her mind.

This voice again! The female voice, sobbing and crying out her name. Who was she? A low murmur and warning from the shadows, growing thicker and denser. A painful blow in her back, a ripping sense in her head. She lifted her hand to her neck, looking for a scar, a memory. Bite? A strong hold around her shoulders, not the shadows…no…something else. A woman? The screech from the shadows as they lifted from her body, forming a wall in front of her.

She opened her eyes. They were white and matte, looking dead. She looked blindly around her and whispered a name she knew "…Jen…?", then closed them again and slumped back against the wall. A loud shout "WAKE UUUUP!" A war …the shadows squealing. Then her own voice, so strangely distant. She didn’t say this…who was speaking for her? "I. Am. Here." Her nails diving into flesh, the smell of blood. Fear. Panic. What was happening?

Another woman. Her body glowing, towering in front of her. She looked into her eyes and again this unfamiliar voice spoke. I have your memory. Wingless. It's. Beautiful. The other woman, the one holding her shoulders crying heavily, trembling with anguish and rage…still tugging her…still pulling the shadows from her. The towering woman looked tired, blood was gushing from a wound in her neck. "us...e it...to...counter the...shadows..."

She looked at the woman with her dead white eyes. Pulling out the horrible memories that belonged to this person, all the pain, sorrow and dealings with another realm. It really was beautiful. Thwarped thoughts rushed through her head, two sides of her speaking at the same time. No! It wasn't beautiful. It was horrible! Then darkness once again overwhelmed her and her body fell back, releasing the grip she had on the other woman.

[Lauri]

There had been no time.

No time to show him, what she'd learn.. no time to prove it. No time to prove it to herself...

"I'd almost rather I was going through it with you...sometimes. It's just frustrating."

"It is frustrating, and I cannot guarantee I won't see him face to face again, Braedon."

She had explained all she could to him, about Damon, about this. The "virus", how only Damon was the true carrier, how Don may be... provided the situation was right. Raquel was never meant to spread it, only, to see.

No... he merely wanted me to "see" what he saw.

"And Brae.. Did I ever tell you what.. I .. saw? I can't.. remember. Now."

"No, I was about to ask...oh..."

"Keep in mind, I was still an Employee...", he nodded at her to continue. "I saw horrific things. The stench of decaying flesh fresh in my nose... terrifying winds.. My precious Rome Blue had been torn apart. The crackle of notum in the air as buildings continued to crumble."

The solitus winced, obviously disturbed, reaching to take her hand for comfort.

"It was scary, to say the least. Damon claims to... be our.. Omni-Tek's saviour. Somehow, he believes Omni-Tek is in grave, serious danger.", she looked down, smiled, and rubbed at his hand.

Old Athen, that's where the pair had been.. as always, on his perch... Braedon had voiced his concern over ridding us all of Damon. Was it possible?

"No.. he's not easily dispatched, I'm afraid.", she nearly sighed, just wanting to lay down and find rest. No rest would ever come, not the kind she needed.

"I'm no fool. I wanted to face him myself, but the look in your eye when I suggested it...", he sighed, annoyed, irritated, "...I realized I was being foolish. I can't beat him, can I? At least not by myself...not in any customary manner. I feel so frustrated by all of this."

"In fact.. he should be dead three times over... at least, I've lost count." Braedon growled a bit, clenching his jaw, at this. He so desperately wanted to make everything right.

"Maybe, maybe there is a way...I don't know, maybe I am crazy... I can show you, though... sometime, if you like. Show you what my curiosity has found." It was all she could offer without sounding like a mad woman. The sky had grown dim, and Braedon suggested they all go get some rest....

Rest! Rest....

Reality snapped back and she stood there, panic filled the air, barely anyone noticed her as she came in. She saw Jenae rush towards the back of Baboon's, and Raquel attempted to follow.

"Jen!"

"She's not here!", a strange male voice yelled out.

"I know she is.. JEN!", Raquel ran past the DJ Booth without a second thought, hands hurrying open the automatic doors. When she burst in the "Green Room", confusion was slowly dissolved. Several people occupied the small office to the left, and Raquel approached the door. Murmurs could be heard as the door swooshed open; an odd looking man near the corner-mat was.. "praying".

She studied the room, Jenae stood there, her back to Raquel.. peering into that corner. A pair of blonde ladies wandered the area, one moving towards the mat from time to time. Finally, the opifex just moved further into the room next to Jen, curiosity having taken over. Laying on the mat, propped up against the wall was an opifex female. Long, black, peach tinted hair, dampened by sweat, draped over her shoulders. Raquel did not recognize her, really, but from Jenae's shocked state...

"Jen?"

It was no good, Jenae was all but gone, dropping to her knees in despair as she looked on. The opifex woman was shivering, obviously affected by ...

"Jen, what happened?"

"He bit her." The voice was familiar, but new. Don had rushed in, gun in hand.

"What?! Not another one!"

"Can you.. either of you, use your 'powers' to help her?!", the man who had been praying pleaded with them. He seemed horrified at this, moreso than Jen, in a different way. From time to time he would approach her, worriedly, just wanting to hold her it seemed. "Whatever it takes, I can.. I can share my own life if need be! My life was guaranteed to end when I was created, I'm an 'android' of sorts.."

"Maybe.. we can help her, I don't know..", Raquel mumbled, and Don seemed to agree..

"Take me, give me the virus, so I can see what she sees, so I can help her! Don.. ", the man began to jump to wild conclusions, needs.

"No okay, can we just stay calm? No one's biting anyone, and if anyone does, I'll shoot you myself. Now.. we have two choices, three really, but I won't mention one as I don't want to be shot. We either try to help her... or we go get Damon." She looked up at Don, Damon had contacted her before she'd arrived at Baboon's, and she intended to share this.

"Damon is in the Gardens..", he said. She nodded at him, amused at the timing, ".. he's contacted me, and I'm going to get him."

Raquel agreed, and the small crowd grew restless... who would stay, who would go. What about the young girl? In a rare moment of clarity, Raquel threw up her hands in frustration and bolted out of the office, through the Green Room doors.. to make her way outside, to find Damon. To end this.

"I'm going to get him. Stay if you wish!" She yelled to them. Once outside, she hurried to the corner. The Gardens weren't far.. just down the alley and through the archway near the Whompa. Don had followed her, she knew he would, and had no qualms about it. However,..

"I'm coming, too." It was Dericad, the 'android', "Hayley means something to me." Her su****ions were right. A flicker of a smile at his heroism formed in her heart.. but she regained her bearings.

"Just stay back a bit.. so he's not scared off."

"Sure"

"And if you foul this up...", she merely narrowed her gaze, turned, and ran back down the alley. The pair followed her as she reached the mouth of it. Thinking similarly, she stopped and let Don by. She was no Employee, and he would scout the area for a moment for guards. He gave her a little wave with his curled fingers, and she followed. Easily enough, they made it to the Gardens' archway and slipped in.

The flora overwhelmed them. This place held both good and bad memories for her, and they taunted her as she entered. Slight memories of a tall man, smiling at her in a grove of mushrooms, faded into her mind.. and out. Don was a bit ahead, Dericad circling around. Their quarry was in sight. Upon a plateau of tree root, a dark shadow stood. It was hard to discern his shape, shadows ebbing slightly around him. They knew, however.

Raquel and Don stopped mere feet from the trunk, looking up at Damon. He seemed mildly disturbed by Don's presence, and turned to her.

"Damon, what have you done to Hayley?"

"Ssssssezmraaaa.."

Raquel answered, reaching up to her hands, absently slipping off her gloves. She awaited his volley while tucking them into her pants pocket. Movement near her, Don was discarding his gun, for a knife, it seemed.

"Ssssstop him."

"Who? Don?" She motioned to the man next to her, Don's oddly tinted white hair gleamed slightly in the encroaching moonlight. He stood there firmly, never gazing away from Damon. "He merely wants to know, as I do, what you've done to Hayley."

"Ssssssssss, I made her one of usssssss."

"There you go again, just taking people, changing their lives without their permission." Don blurted.

Raquel sighed slightly, her shoulders slumping. "Damon, I thought you had failed?"

"Ssssssss, I have ssssseemingly, but before the portal issss opened, I have yet one more chance. Or all issss losssst. Sssssezmra, you know of me, do not allow thissss!

"You've worn your welcome.... hurt too many people...", Don blankly replied.

Raquel lifted a hand and motioned to Don for silence. She muttered something under her breath, her other arm brushing by her face. She'd quickly whispered to Don in her wrist-comm. He understood, she needed him to trust her now...

What she was about to do.. could damn her very soul.

(("part 2" coming later today))

[Tussa]

She woke up confused. Where was she? Blinking hard several times she focused on the surroundings. This was the backroom in Baboons. She looked around. Why was Jen here, and why was she crying? Suddenly Jen collapsed on the ground, crawling on her knees towards her, pleading her, staring at her through tears. Jen looked straight into her now icy blue, but still matte eyes, searching for something. Hayley felt scared and strange. Why was she acting like this?

“Hayley.... it ain't…over?...” Jen stuttered. What over? She didn’t understand. A sudden chill passed her and she felt very cold and uncomfortable. Her eyes were itching as she looked at Jen in confusion. Jen stared back at her, still studying her eyes with a look that expressed both pain and anger. “..It ain't ya...” The two women looked at eachother…one su****ious, one frightened. “Jen, it’s me.” What was happening…she didn’t understand. The room was getting colder by the second.

Without warning, Jen jumped to her feet and started weaving patterns in the air in front of her. She had tears flowing down her cheek as the now strong shadows danced from her hands and on to Hayley, who backed off, terrified. “What are you doing?! Jen! Don’t!” But Jen didn’t listen, she kept on crying and sent these dreadful shadows towards her. “Come back …come back, please…!” she begged through her wails before collapsing on the floor again, screaming out her pain. Hayley was petrified and didn’t understand what she talked about…her thoughts were sort of numb…something had happened but she couldn’t remember…couldn’t remember!

The woman she knew as Wingless staggered towards them, barely able to stand on her feet. Hayley looked at her, fear shooting out her eyes as she realised she knew this woman’s entire past, her memories. Everything rushed through her head, before her eyes, all the darkness, all the pain…things she was never meant to see, things her mind wasn’t prepared to see. She heard herself screaming from the top of her lungs that she didn’t want them, to get them out. Her eyes wide as she saw the world through a meta-physicists eyes, she whispered “The…darkness” before she fell to the floor, as Wingless took back what was hers.

“...Gonna KILL Damon...! Gonna kill I’m...NOW!... And then it's fine. Everything is fine.” Words coming through a thick haze. Hayley could hear Jens voice, but didn’t quite understand what she was saying. She closed her eyes and when she opened them again, she was running through the city towards the park she knew so well. She felt pulled there and upon getting there, she saw Jen, Don, Han and many other people. Up on a tree trunk she saw a slender, beautiful opifex woman whom she didn’t know. Together with a man dressed in a black coat and hood. She tilted her head as she looked at him and suddenly felt very calm.

Again, the voices were muffled, as if the sound came through some sort of thick wall. The people around her were shouting, seemingly very angry, but she couldn’t grip what they said. A hissing sound far away beckoned her to turn. She stared at the dark figure on top of the tree trunk and tilted her head. She knew him. Her eyes, matte icy blue in color, studied him, as he obviously had an argument with the opifex woman. She wanted to go to him.

A hand was placed on Hayleys shoulder and she jolted around and looked straight into Dericads exposed mechanical eye, blinking in tangent with his human eye. She whispered, ”You're...a machine” He nodded. ”Partially.” Her cold fingers touched his torn facial skin, tracing blood running down his cheek from the destroyed eye socket. The shouting behind them was increasing, and it made her feel uncomfortable. The subdued voices were far, far away, everything was. Until she heard a sharp gunshot.

She turned around in what seemed like slow motion, seeing all these people standing there. This man, clad in black in the middle of them, his head and mouth touching Jens neck, like he was kissing her…her face twisted in suffering as she turned and shot round after round into his head. The shadows around them in close embrace, hurling around Jens body at an amazing speed. Don, as he silently moved behind the man then sunk his knife deep into the man’s back. Dericad, as he was mumbling something in a language she didn’t know. A man with a pink Mohawk firing a burst of bullets into his back. She saw all this and felt a tremendous amount of grief. Inside her head she was screaming for them to stop, but couldn’t utter a word.

She looked at Jen, lying next to the man’s dead body. She kneeled down and said her name before standing up, facing Dericad. ”You did something. Earlier. You talked. She touched his cheek as she looked at him with dead, white eyes. I heard you. I heard what you said. You spoke to my soul. She traced the lines of his torn skin with her finger and smeared blood on it. Then, kneeling to Jen and looking at her with bright blue eyes she whispered, ”You’re strong, Jen”, before she got up, licked her finger clean of the blood and walked off, nodding to herself and smiling.

Leave them. They are nothing. They are relics of a primitive world.

[Demenzia]

Pounding pain. Oppressed breath. Burning fever. Devouring shadows. And a desperate need of getting out, out of herself, out of the suffering, out of the fear. Scared! Shadows! SHADOWS! She heard her own scream echo in the darkness, and the sensation of having her own breath ripped out of her came back, once again. Head jerking backward, body curling in a ball between the sheets now damp with cold sweat. Burning from within. Eaten from the inside. Shadows. Shadows. Only shadows.

A long whimper escaped her dry lips, and Jen struggled to open her eyes, gasping for air. She needed slep, but the nightmares wouldn't let her sleep. She needed someone, but human contact against her burning skin was horribly painful. Shadows. One of the bedroom's lamps was still lit, yet the walls looked covered in darkness to her... and the shadows were dancing, dancing, as they had been doing since the even ing before. There's light in you. Only you can choose. Only the light can fight the shadows. Wingless' words. The meta-Physicist had comforted her, showed her how to kill the monster. A simple switch to pull, and her weapon would hurt the shadows themselves. Shadows. It was already too late for her. The shadows were now part of her being, and they would n't let her choose. She had to fight Damon with this only weapon now. But not alone. Not alone anymore.

Shadows! Jen gritted her teeth, finally letting out another moan, her frail body seized by another convulsion, the thick veil of darkness wavering above her, around her, from her. Her shadows. The ones Damon had forced in her, in a last desperate act. The ones she had forced out of Hayley, her attempt suddenly broken, and now unable to pull them out. She wished for death, then for deliverance, then for death again. Breathing hard, she tried to remember, to focus her mind on the recent events. Something, anything, to help her forget the sarp, deep pain clawing at her, twisting her guts, filling her chest.

There had been Chester, whom she had given the nanobots she had managed to craft to heal him, after three long sleepness days. There had been Elvie - Wingless - who had talked to her, told her about the Crimson Blades, made her almost panick when she had asked what had happened to Heji (how could she know Heiji, that was impossible?!...), and shown her how to destroy the shadows, even though Jen knew she wasn't the right person to fill this role. Then, Don had called her, havin g managed to track Damon Clyburn to his hide in the sewers. When they had arrived, he was already gone, but some in formation was still retrievable. Then... What has it bee n then? Hayley turning her comm on. Meeting her in Rompa's. Jen was feeling terribly tired and depressed, and the constant animosity between Don and Hayley wasn't helping. She had briefly talked to Skulleader, too, as Wingless had told her he had already fought such a battle. Then... her memories were quite blurred, but she knew that she had collapsed, because she remembered Hayley's panicked voice, someone calling for a Doc, and Dericad softly speaking to her. Exhaustion, stress, who could knew... the Fixer wouldn't even remember when she had properly eaten for the last time. Wingless and Hayley had... done something though. Something that had sent Hayley to reclaim, in a matter of minutes. Memories. She could feel the shadows around her, in her. Someone - Don?.. - carrying her in his arms to a quieter spot. Baboon's, the small room in Baboon's. They were talking to he, telling her to wake up, but she was so tired!... Yet in her half-unconscience, Jen had felt/heard the mental scream, when Damon had latched his teeth in Hayley's neck. The shock, the wave of darkness threatening to engulf her, waking her up in tears and violence. Dericad was already on his way to Rompa's, warned by her screams, bringing Hayley back to Baboon's too. It was feeling like a nightmare, and when Don and Wingless had called for help and ran after Damon, she had followed, unable to feel the exhaustion, moved by her only hate and anger, the shadows flickering around her, more and more strongly. Damon was such a slippery being, escaping them, once again. And....

She tossed and turned in bed again, burying her face in her damp pillow, a trembling hand pressed on her throat, where Damon had bitten her. Was it a nightmare, or reality? Had she really gone back to Baboon's, to find a Hayley that wouldn't even recognize her... and who, when finally speaking again, looked and sounded like someone else, her usually shiny eyes now cold and matte? She vaguely recalled having fallen on her knees near her friend... there was Raquel's voice too, trying to comfort her, Raquel and Wingless, and Don muttering that maybe they could help Hayley... and Jen had felt the shadows in her, whispering, growing, nourishing on her despair and rage as they had done a few days ago... projecting them on Hayley, in an attempt to destroy what Damon had did to her friend, to gather the shadows and assimilate what she could of them. This was a path of confusion, and what she emembered best was the pain, exploding in her when the shadows had rushed back to her, broken by... Wingless? The Meta-Physicist had been wounded, and Hayley had vaguely recovered, accusing Elvie of being in possession of her memories now. But Jen culdn't hear them anymore, the presence of Damon filling her mind again, clouding all thoughts. Sezmra! Sezmra had managed to trap him, and he was at her mercy now!... Sis always had the answer. Sis would always help. So she had to help her Sis too. She had to...

KILL 'IM!!...

She was in the park near the whompa to 20K now, standing near Don, Dericad and some other people, barely aware that Hayley was following her, attracted by Damon's presence too. And there above, standing on a bent tree trunk, Raquel was strongly retaining Damon. Demoneyes! At their mercy, although Raquel was pressing him with questions, and Jen didn't wish to shoot her Sis while trying to hit Damon. What was he saying?... "We could have been gods among men! And we ssstill can, look at me! Sssss in order for the whole to sssusstain, ssome musst be lossst". Words that were only angering Raquel... Raquel.. hiow was she main tain ing him? Jen squinted, noticing the intricated network of blueish shadowy threads... Raquel... Raquel could still see the shadows too... Another burst of hate in her guts, the veil of shadows rising again aroun Jen's frail silhoutte. Damon, again. "You turn from me... then I damn you.. and all your kind, I damn thisss city, and thisss planet! I place upon you and all who ssstand here today.... the curssse of ssshadows, never to leave, forever embedded into your sssouls!" Jen couldn't care anymore now. May he go to hell, him and his curses, and if Raquel wouldn't ler him go, i]she[/i] was going to put an end to this. She took a step on her side. Aimed the gun again, so that she would hit Damon, but not her Sis. Pulled the switch. And pulled the trigger, the modified weapon shooting right in Damon's arms, breaking the shadows, ripping through them... dephasing them.

This one is fer Raquel! And this fer Malcom! And fer Hayley, and Don, and Randa, and all the others!... She heard Damon scream in pain, a second before she felt the air moving near he, his cold hand grasping her by the neck, his fangs sinking into the tender flesh of her throat, shadows engulfing in her, meeting her own , the darkn ess thickening more than ever. She could resist, at least for a short while... her passion, her hate, her anger, the terrible shock of two willpowers... going on shooting in Damon's abdomen, not aware of Raquel, stunned, or Hayley, looking in fear and horror, of Don, thrusting a knife deep in Damon's back...Then it was over, then Jen realized the pain throbbing in her neck, feeling the weird nanobots in her blood already eating at Damon's corruption... collapsing in raw suffering, knowing just enough to be satisfied - Damon was dead!...

Struggling for breath again, the fire in her chest and stomach not leaving her anymore, the shadows going on burning her. He was dead, but she had paid the price, unable to recover, unable to get rid of the darkness within her. The whispering voices were stronger, too, and amongst them, for a second, she thought she heard words... a soft but cold feminine voice, calling her name... then nothing but the usual gibberish. Jen knew they had brought her back to Baboon's, along with Hayley, and yet, this memory was blurred too. She had fallen asleep, maybe fainted again; the nightmares wouldn't stop now, and she was crying, begging for help, sobbing uncontrollably under the assaults of pain tearing her body in shreads of darkness.

Shadows... they're in meh... in... m-meh... s-s-shadows!...

Jen curled in pain again, clutching at her chest with a hand, nails half diving in her pale skin, as if to rip the shadows away from her. It was useless, hopeless. it wouldn't go. She had done too much, in too little time. And now...

...It's... eating meh... inside...

[Lauri]

"Come to be Sssssezmraaaa."

Raquel ambled towards the trunk, "I know things seem hard... We are mere mortals, understand that even though this is a blessing of sorts, it is a hard burden."

"My only child left, my dearessst Ssssezmra."

She craned her neck, looking up at him, her hands reaching for the mossy tree. Before, she had felt so confident in her decision. Something tugged at her though, as she gazed up into his awkwardly shimmering "eyes". She would be strong.

"You are my last beacon, Ssssezmra. The only one who hasss not turned upon me."

As he spoke, Raquel calmly moved to climb the tree to finally stand before him. She bowed her head and took the hands he offered her. Skin against skin, he felt so pale, yet so alive. His palms up, her palms down, she held those hands gently. Shadows flowing around his form seemed to welcome her. This pleased her, greatly, and her voice lowered to intimate whispers.

"My 'father'."

"My child... child of the shadow, remember my gift, and turn not your face from mine."

"Oh, I shant.. I never have. But they do. They don't see what I see.", she bowed her head further, sniffing involuntarily, almost wincing at something. "What they rejected. Despised. I embraced."

"Then you musssst guide them into the darkest corner, the most hidden darknessss, for you are my only child, the only hope for the survival of thisss shattered planet."

Raquel heard his words, breathing out slowly. Her breath flowed out, the scent was odd, metallic, and her tongue glided over her lips.. lips lightly stained with blood. Just a smidgen. Whispers between them still.

"The survival of this planet? Are we so surely doomed?"

Damon reassured her "fears" in whispers, as he always did.. always trying to convince her of the path he desired her to take, and was sure to harp of those that would stop the salvation of the planet. Raquel really could not tell one way or the other who was right. But she would not stand for anyone being hurt, any longer. Studying the shadowy tendrils licking towards the ground below... she turned her concentration inward. This was not the time she had planned to do this... uncertainty prevailed, was she ready? Her heart pounded in her chest as the dark energy swelled inside her, sweat beading on her forehead, hands quiverring.

"Damon.."

"Yes, my dearessst child?"

"I've been spending time.. with what you've given me..", she lifted her face, eyes gazing at him. In response to her words, darkness seemed to well betwixt their grasp as shadows danced about the two, growing stronger, like ghosts of cold wind. A soft growl escaped her throat and she arched her neck back. Nothing existed beyond those shadows around her.. she ignored all but the darkness. Breath turning into occasional panting, she squinted, opening her eyes again to peer at the sight with a sliver of fear. A blue tint shimmered across the "surface" of the shadows, faint. The air in her lungs felt heavy, thick. Something inside her heart, her will, grew stronger.

"This planet will survive.. yes."

"Sssss, if all comessss together as planned.", Raquel clenched at his hands further. Painfully. The tint weaving amongst the shadows grew deeper. Her teeth grit, she danced with the shadows in her soul.

"Of course, as planned."

"My dearessst child, you have given thisss ancient heart a glimmer of hope."

Like an unpredictable animal, Raquel snapped. She was searching for an opening, an opening to strike, and instead of choosing it, her will chose it for her. A brief, mad chuckle rose from her lips, her hands quickly moving to grasp at his wrists. Holding them apart, she faced him now.. grinning sadistically.

"There's always hope, right?", she spoke allowed now, ending with a laugh as her hands wrenched at his arms. The shadows she now commanded swirled, sensing her amused irritation. Damon sighed, growing dismayed.

"I know I wield no power as you, but I am not afraid of you."

"And you have turned your face from me."

"No, I have chosen only to respect what you have given, instead of being shameful of it. With that, I choose my own path. My path is of respect."

Suddenly, Damon pulled his right arm free, clasping the hand to Raquel's forehead. Instinctually, she grabbed at his collar, jerking herself closer, a wild look on her features.

"Fight me 'Father', do me the pleasure!", she growled violently, "I have spent hours, days, studying this, honing just a bit of what you wield so easily!"

"Why would you want to do thissss?", he posed her with an inquiry.

"I want to live. I don't want to end up like they did.. Su.. the agent.. "

"Ssssss, then embrace what I've given, do not fight your creator. Fight thossse who oppossse him."

The opifex narrowed her eyes, the tint of the shadows blinked as she waivered. "They only want to protect their kind, I understand that.."

"They fail to sssee that it will not protect their kind, but only doom them."

"I once believed that, believed YOU! For this damned city!! And then.. you kill." Raquels emotions floated from rage to sadness... the lightly blue tinted shadows around her following persuit on her emotional ride.

They argued. Had Damon damned them all? "Killed" them, really? Decided their fate?

"I only tried to clear the path for the better of thissss damned planet."

"Why do you care?!", she scoffed at him.

"For I was here before any of you!!", the shadows Raquel commanded grew thinner around him as she shook before him.

"This is not your home. I don't understand...", she slumped, nearly sobbing. "Why, why this planet...why not just let us die..", she began to mutter, as if to herself.

"Becaussssse we could have been gods among men! And we ssstill can, look at me!"

Raquel furrowed her brow, her mind had found another anchor in this thread of darkness. "That's what you want. For us to survive, to subjugate us?"

"No, but to become as I am.."

Her fingers tightened around his robe, her lips stretched thin with a new hatred. "I don't want to be a god!!" Fingernails dug into his skin.

"You sssstrike the hand that feedssss? The loving hand that hassss given you everything?"

"I never asked you for anything. I took.. I utilized. I did not force it upon others and FAIL as you have!!"

"Sssss and now you come before me, matured, yet ssstil so young."

Blue tints exploded across the shadowy surfaces again, a new fire found within from which to feed. She let out one last hushed whisper flow from her lips before falling back inward, all for her concentration.

"And of my own will."

"Sssso be it."

Their volley was renewed, their conflict set once more. Something else was out there though, something on the boundaries of Raquel's current world. Besides Damon and the darkness, she saw nothing, heard nothing, but she sensed it.. and fought like mad to ignore it. She needed everything.

RAQUEL!

"I wonder, 'Father'.", she continued, "What happens when you drink of your own?"

"Sssssssss you would perish in the grip of torn ssssshadow."

Tugging harder on him, she hovered closer, her face near his. "Oh yeah? What would happen to you? Because if there's any chance you'll die... I'll take it."

He hissed loudly at her, his eyes beginning to glow a sick red. Raquel continued on, taunting him, of Hayley's freedom from such a horrid fate. A sordid voice echoed out, piercing the shadows, their tendrils licking out from time to time, almost in fear. He spoke of cursing the planet, cursing all to the shadows. Raquel was not phased much; old women "cursed".

"When the portal is open you will feel itsss grip. And fall to your knees in humility."

Don't care, go to hell!

Something felt as if it brushed by her, warm.. almost hot. What.. was it.. Damon jerked back suddenly, violently. He grimaced in intense pain, groaning.. Raquel was knocked back herself as he screamed and struggled. The shadows dissipated significantly and the world rushed back into Raquel's senses.

Everyone was here, Don, Dericad, Hayley, the bounty hunter Barbile, Spugface, Blesser... even Jenae. Raquel barely noticed she held a gun upright as she assaulted Damon. The agent heard more gunfire and she held her eyes tightly shut. The assault of the rest of the world coming back to her was detrimental to her efforts... once again, she needed all she could muster. Shouts, screaming, names, she blocked it all out. Kneeling there on the flat of the tree trunk, her fists clenched, her face wincing. She let her will mold with the shadowy tendrils. The blue tint glimmered across them beautifully as they sought her target. Damon.. injured... yes... she saw nothing but what she sensed... the dark tentacles probing for her, aiding her in her destruction. They overtook Damon's own blackness, swallowing the shadowed halo around him, absorbing them, assimilating them. They pressed onward, attempting to weaken him, to strangle his own darkness.

Blood.

Yes... blood, the shadows mingled deeper into Damon, seeping into his wounds, feeding off his own essence... his own soul.

Must.. overtake...

With all her might Raquel poured her body and soul into the task, intent on ridding everyone of this malignancy. Sweat trickled down her face, her body shook, her mind quaked.

And then, suddenly.. a dark flash.. as if the additional shadows of she and Damon had disappeared. They were gone. Raquel stumbled backwards, nearly falling from the tree as she reached out and grabbed at the bark. Managing to keep her balance, she opened her eyes, hearing the somewhat relieved voices.

But something was wrong... horribly wrong. Carefully, she blinked.. and with her hands, guided herself off the tree trunk. She moved to sit down upon the grass, tiredly. She felt as though she hadn't slept in weeks.... her muscles ached. Reaching up, she rubbed at her eyes... smoothed back her hair. People attended her, healed her a bit, hoping she was alright.

Screams erupted, Jen! Jenae was hushed, and it seemed Damon was finally dead. Raquel felt oddly calm for the moment, he certainly was not nearby, and that was indeed a comfort.

People spoke, some happy he was "dead", some happy it was over.. some concerned over Jen, Hayley... Raquel was not happy, worry marked her face, for Jen, for the rest.. for what happened. And too, for herself. How would she explain this...

How would she explain that she was blind.

[Tussa]

Her nanobots racing through the veins without any goal. She was back in the darkness, only this time it wasn't dark. She saw vast plains and remnants of buildings very unfamiliar to her, glowing in some sort of light…shadows flowing like visible winds over them, tearing at the grass, but leaving them unharmed still. She heard voices and cries, screams and whispers. Her clothes were tattered and her skin was cut several places. From the wounds trickled shadows like smoke from a fire, leaking from her. She felt a tug in her abdomen and the plains were blown away just as easy as they had surrounded her.

"NOOOOO!" The scream rang in her ears as she looked into the eyes of Dericad. She was panicking and every cell in her body hurt. Nano-bots were speeding through her system, causing damage in their blind way. He spoke words in a language she never heard before, but she couldn't ask him to stop. His eyes were fixed at her icy blues. He spoke softly, but to Hayley, every word was like knives in her ears. She grabbed his wrist, dug her nails into it, eyes manically flaring from him to the other person in the room. Another scream, "NOOO! YOU’RE KILLING…", then a whisper "…me…"

People hurrying by, a man carrying Jen to the next room…she saw it all, but she couldn't say anything. Her look was held by Han…Dericad. He used some sort of tool or scanner on her. She felt her body seizuring, convulsing and her back on the verge of breaking. Again he spoke in this weird language and again a thousand knives pierced her ear and mind. The shadows grew strong, then faint inside her, screeching as they complained against his actions. She heard Don and two other people mumbling in the room next to them and wanted to shout for help, have them make him stop. Her consciousness lingered between reality and dreams as she fought hard to stay in some sort of awareness. She couldn't. Too much. Pain and torture, the shadows wincing as she was. Then silence.

Hayley opened her eyes, grabbed Han's wrists and stared at him through white, blind eyes.

Leave her, android. She is not yours to take.

Again this strange voice…Hayley felt calm, barely aware of what was being said.

Han winced and looked back at her, both eyes very much human, and whispered "She is not yours to keep. I love her, you do not"

You do not know her. She is ours now. Leave her. There is nothing you can do. You are a relic.

"She is no ones but her own. Even unknown to her, I will not let her be taken. I will not let her be corrupted." She looked at him, panicked…what was happening? Her eyes flickered and she felt a tingle in her neck, where Damon had bit her not long ago. She wanted to reach out and touch him, tell him she was fine, that he should see to Jen instead, but she had no control over her body. Again this language! Red hot nails, long sharp knives, hitting her with every word. "This is your last chance, speaker of the damned, get away from her or I will destroy you myself." Somewhere in the distance someone said three simple words…'Demoneyes is dead'. Inside, she wailed, knowing they spoke the truth…she’d seen it herself, afterall. Why had they killed him? For some reason she couldn't understand.

NO! LEAVE! YOU ARE OUT OF BOUNDS! YOU WILL KILL HER!

A shout surprised her….it was her voice again, but trailed with sneers and a hatred so strong…all directed to Han’s voice, who in return kept whispering while holding her gaze steady. "You…will…not...take…her!!"

It is too late. Are you blind to what is coming? Your time is over. She is a token. Nothing more.

A very bright light coming from Dericad…pain and horror…the plains again, with shadows dancing over them. She stretched out her arms towards them, begging them for release. They vaporized slowly in front of her eyes while creatures looking nothing like she had ever seen before moved silently on the ground. She looked behind her and saw Jen, worried about her, seeing her sweaty brows and her feverish eyes. There were lots of people around her, and Hayley felt her hands go numb seeing her. She was ok, they said…exhausted, but ok. Jen asked her in a very weary voice if she was allright, and she was confused. Shouldn't she be? Strange enough she saw shadows dancing around Jen, weak one moment, stronger the next. It didn't feel awkward at all. She couldn't explain how she could see them. In fact…she couldn't explain much at all from the last couple of hours but she didn't care about finding out either. Only thing was this low hum in her body, like a musical instrument trying to find the right tone.

A few hours later, in Jens apartment, she sat together with Don watching over Jen. She felt much better now, and the low hum was gone. Jen was fighting a long and weary fight. Don held her very close and said that it was the only way; she had to ride it through, no matter the cost. It was all in her head. Watching Jen sob and her body so frail, her voice so weak and distant, was hurting Hayley. She knew that the shadows she could see protruding through Jens skin was part hers. These shadows, put there by this appalling man called Damon, in Jen, in her…in so many others…they were gone from her now. Jen had fought them and managed to draw most of them into herself, doubling her own strain. It was a very bad feeling and something she had to help Jen free herself from. If she only knew how.

She excused herself by saying she had to go take care of something, right after Jen had fallen asleep on her low-perched couch. Walking aimlessly through the city, Hayley felt the low hum coming back, steering her towards the park. She stopped in front of the tree trunk where she had been earlier that day. She looked at the spot where Damon had fallen earlier...nothing there now, but damp grass and insects.

Stay here. The essence is strong. Draw from it.

[______________Dr.Log]

Well that had been a complete wastes of time, Drlog thought as he wiped splahes of Nelebs blood from his armour. The nanomage was completely out of his mind, he hadn't been named Neleb the deranged for nothing. If he did know anything of Damon, it would be easier to get blood from a stone, than to prise this knowledge from Neleb, who had cackled as Drlog tried to question him across the cavernous chamber. The fight was inevitable, and Drlog had left the steps of madness no more wiser than before he entered.

Strolling slowley back through omni forest, he considered getting help from some of his current unit. He hadn't been there long and wondered if these front line fighters would laugh at him, like he had first laughed at Damon. Drlog glanced don at his comm, for no particular reason, and what he saw doubled his heartrate. Doncarnage's comm was on and open. Drlog didn't hesitate in calling him up.

Drlog: Don are you there is your comm on ? Don ?? Don ??
Doncarnage: yes..I am here
Drlog: where are you i need to talk to you, I think you know i do.
Doncarnage: We can meet at baboons.
DrLog: Ok

Don sounded wierd, very direct and to the point. Although Drlog had only had a few brushes with this guy in the past, he allways remembered a cheerfull scallywag, someone who talked smart no matter what the circumstances. The tone of Dons voice, which was allmost monotonous, worried him deeply. He ran all the way to Baboons.


The club was empty, apart from a few people dancing and a DJ, the barstaff where the only ones present. No sign of Don, he'd be in the back no doubt. "Do you have permission to go backl there ?" the Dj had directed this a Drlog as he walked past to get into the back. He ignored it and continued through the door. Don was sitting there, on the sofa, he looked white, whiter than the pastey tones of a nanomage. For a solitus this was worrying. He approached Don with caution, He'd allready been attacked by one crazy nanomage this evening, and he didn't plan on making it 2.

Doncarnage: Hello
Drlog Hello Don
Doncarnage: So what is it

Drlog thought before he answered, he didn't want to get caught up in a series of riddles and games, he would be to the point. Directly to the point.

Drlog: Damon
Doncarnage: yes..
Log: well,

He felt around his mind for the right words, Don answered before he could find them.

Drlog scratched his chin

Doncarnage: damon is hunted.. by me as well
Doncarnage: he has gone too far, harmed those close to me

drlog nodded, and breathed a silent sigh of relief, he was beginng to suspect Don of being leige with the self proclaimed prophet of shadows. Fresh in the knowledge that Don too hunted Damon, The atrox spilt his heart out.

Drlog: Look I don't know what the hell is going on
Doncarnage: (keeping his composure) I see
Drlog: all I know is he's back and he wants something, and someone wants me to know this
Doncarnage: he wants an army

This revelation hit Drlog like a glass bottle, over the head.

DrLog: you what ?

Doncarnage: He's been recruiting like mad wanted me to recruit as well, but he ahs gone too far, his true colours shine thorugh.

DrLog (still stunned by this turn of events) an army for what ?
DonCarnage: I don't know but he is not letting anyone stop him, he ordered me to kill jen..but I could not do it and i turned on him he has gone too far

The last sentance circled Drlog's head, it seemed, that don HAD in fact been cahorting with the metaphysical lunatic.

Drlog: hold on hold on

he wanted to hear it from the horses mouth.

Drlog: youv'e seen him, spoken to him ?? been working for him ??
Doncarnage (replying, allmost callously) well when he came back we just resumed business as usual
Doncarnage: I wanted to help
Drlog: and what the hell is Business as usual
Doncarnage his whole trying to save omnit tek blather
Drlog: save OT from what?

In his mind drlog answered his own question, Damon had originally appeared to help them, but as much as he helped he hindered, was he an ally ?? No, he couldn't have been, it was a ploy, to gain trust, and to gain allies. It had to be, Thinking of Damon as an ally frightened him more than having him as an enemy. He made a conscious desicion never to think of Damon as an ally.

Doncarnage: his old truspace icc allience he used to talk about
Drlog: Yes I recall.
Doncarnage: Jen refused to help, as did Sez
Doncarange: He wanted to kill jen, i refused, now we hurt him.

"Now we hurt him" struck a chord in Drlog.

Drlog thats what I like to hear.

Feeling confident of Dons attitude towards Damon, Log continued.

Drlog: I cannot explain what he has done to me but meeting him has chenged my life
Doncarnage: Its safe to say we feel the same Log

Drlog looked Don up and down, it was clear to him that Damon had changed Don in a different way, and not in the sense the Log had meant. It was blatently obvious that Don was a different man, with the skeleton of his former self. He didn't want to argue though, Don obviously knew a hell of a lot more than he did, and until now Drlog had drawn a blank wherever he looked, he abviously needed Don a lot more than Donneeded Him.

Drlogs comm beeped

Drlog: I have to go
Doncarnage: allright. good luck.
Drlog whatever your plans the removal of Damon, count me in, he's a nutcase and has power, he needs bringing under control.
Doncarnage nodded
Doncarange: I agree
Drlog: I'll be talking to you soon then.
Doncarange: till then
Drlog: keep safe
Doncarnage: you too

Drlog left, but one thing worried him, Don had been so to the point it was unbeleiveable, he wondered if he could trust him. With no other avenues to follow, Drlog decided he would have to. As he left Baboons, and walked a through the darkened streets, something happened to Drlog that he would never forget, and that he would never speak of. It was allmost as if, for a few seconds, he was surrounded in shadows, shadows that called to him, and flickered like flames, licking him and calling to him, tickling his every fear. He blacked out.

[Demenzia]

The attacks were now coming at a frightening rate... coming and going, coming and going, making her think one moment that she was feeling better, then taking her down again in a cloud of shadows, causing her to faint, suffer hallucinations or convulse on the ground, her legs unable to carry her any longer.

It had happened the evening before, after this long and horrible day of semi-sleep, fever and panick. Maybe triggered by the brief yet exhausting conversation she had had with Zack, by Hayley's actions too, by all the stress going on around her, Lemmy's illness, Lemmy's questions about her state, when she would have just wanted to tell her the truth and stop the lies about 'Ms Jenny being just tired'... just some more exhausting events, added to the gut-twisting certitude that her 'father in darkness', Damon "Demonantous" Fadri, was still alive. Jen vaguely remembered having felt so ill all of a sudden that she had rushed out of Rompa's... remembered a confrontation between Omni-Pol officiers and Devil's Advocate members... she hasd refused their help, there wasn't anythin g a Doc could do for her shadows anyway. But it was hurting like hell, and after she had begged Hayley to come back and help her, the memories were just another blur. The tearing pain, the shadows rolling in and out of her body, the fever again, someone carrying her to a quieter place... She could barely listen to Heiji, even, her mind lost in its own agony, taking him down with her... bringing them both to the shadows they should never have left in first place...

Jen was dying, and the awareness of this upcoming decay was oddly relieving, in a way. It was going to end, finally. No more crap to care about. No more sadness, no more sacrifice for people who would'nt even care about her in turn. She had hated Demoneyes strongly enough to control the shadows for a time... but she didn't want hate anymore now. Relying on hate an danger was too hard, she wanted love... just love... and yet, love wasn't for her. Who could she hate so strongly again? Don? He had been kind to her, actually, and she didn't hate him. Demonantous? She could, but hadn't enough strength left to face him again. Raquel? Raquel had betrayed her, yet she had always been unable to hate her, not Raquel, not her Sis. And there was this whispering voice too, sounding so much like Hayley's... "You were made of hate. You are not loved. Nothing can save you. Give in. There is no hope." Why would Hayley tell her that, anyway ? It wasn't like her. Still, Jen was feeling like giving up. There was one person she could hate enough, maybe - herself. And by doing so, she would destroy herself through her own shadows. Would it be such a loss?...

She couldn't remember what thoughts had brought her back to reason, allowed her to recover enough to be brought back to home through the Grid. She was sad... sad, because she had seen the sincerity in Don's voice and eyes when he was saying he loved her and wouldn't let her die. It wasn't fair. Malcom should have been by her side, not him, but she couldn't blame him for that, either. And the day after, when she had spoken to Lemmy, the smile had been brought back to her face for a little while. Jen loved her, as if she was the daughter she would never be able to have, as if she was the little sister she never had had. They had talked, and surprisingly, Lemmy had refused that 'ms Jenny' told her the truth about her state. In certain aspects, she had already begun to grow up, even though her natural temper and the curse of her memory were making such moments rare. Lemmy. She had to live for Lemmy, at least.

Then, a new crisis had hit her. Jen was now lying on her couch, desperately trying to keep the shadows inside of her, unable to control them any longer, yet not wanting Lemmy to suffer, not wanting her to see what 'Ms Jenny' really was. The girl's reaction though was surprising her; Lemmy hadn't run away in fear, Lemmy was on the contrary trying to help her, giving her fresh water, telling her to breathe, telling her how much she loved her, how the doctors would cure her too. A feeling of family. Jen couldn't help but weakly smile; Lemmy's presence was so soothing... so good... so kind, in this hard moment... Yes. Lemmy would...

"No one ssstrikess my Father, and livess!"

Jen jerked away in terror, Demonantous' voice hissing directly in her head, through this dark link they had shared, long ago - the link of shadows. And panick rolled over her, as she grabbed her comm, screaming to Don to come and take Lemmy away from her. Damon! This Damon would try to kill her too, and Lemmy would be caught between the two fires... She had managed to get back on her feet, push the little girl away from her, almost throwing her in Don's arms when they had finally been out, before collapsing again. A voice of darkness in her, the hissing, threatening words, his laughter when she told him she would kill him too... "Come little child the timess come to play... here in my garden of sshadow.. come little child your times come to pay... here in my garden of ssaddnesss! Demenzia, it isss you who will fall thiss time! I have a knife waiting for you, and the resst, on thiss knife liess the criesss of a thoussand soulsss, a thoussand ssshadowss... and the power to rip apart your very being, your essence, once contact made with you... you no longer are.. you ceasse to exist.. and it will find its way to your heart, thisss I promisse in the name of my Beloved father!" She was screaming in agony, convulsing on the ground, screaming, barely aware of Lemmy hugging her tight, kissing her burning cheeks, begging her to come back. Giving up... would have been so easy, so easy!... Easier than hate...

Hate! I can hate the entire world for you if you need me to! I can hate any person, I can hate and feed on anger... my love!...

It was too much for her, and Jen simply blacked out for good this time. The woman who opened her eyes again on Lemmy... wasn't really a woman. The woman was a stranger, a however very familar one. One that had been watching over Jen. The only one, maybe, to really be able to help her.

"Omae wa Lemmy", the being whispered. And feeding on the shadows, weilding them through his hate and rage, Heiji, for the first time, met the gaze of Jiselle.

[Tussa]

Sitting in Rompas, waiting for Jen. It had become like a routine, and Hayley quite enjoyed these quiet moments. Most people were at work or finishing up some assignments at that time of day, so Hayley was nearly alone in the big bar. She had just finished talking to a Mr. Freiman, and had enjoyed their short conversation before he left her, when a tall nanomage male walked in.

There was something about him she recognised, his very pale skin, his black clothing, his almost glowing eyes. He circled around her, staring at her, studying her. She felt very uncomfortable, and asked him who he was, and as he answered she felt herself go cold and numb. ‘Ssss you will sssoon sssee’. This was Damon Fadri - Demonantous, the son of the now dead Damon! Jen had told her about him but she had never seen him.

She barely had time to even consider the emergency evacuation program before he had lunged out and grabbed hold of her. Then things happened very fast. People around them tried stopping him, only to be met by his clawing. He was not as strong and powerful as his father, there was no doubt, but he still held a very dangerous position. They threw insults at eachother, and he was almost contained by two of the people around them. But hidden underneath his clothes, the nanomage had brought forward a knife. ‘Thisss issss ssoo you are now one of uss Wavebreak. I bring unto you the ssshadowsss of truth!’ With the low hissing he plunged the knife into Hayley stomach, then let her go. She fell to the ground, holding her stomach, seeing blood gush from the wound.

Around them the onlookers had had enough and while one of them, incidentally Mr. Freiman, quickly gave her medical attention, helping the nanobots to stitch up the wound, others were already fighting the nanomage. One man shot an arrow straight into Demonantous’ arm, making him cringe and run away, clearly wounded himself. She got up on her feet as the wound was closed and sat in anger a little, talking about how this nutcase always managed to get away from the authorities. Then…the visions took over.

At first she didn’t see much. The room got a little darker and the natural shadows grew larger, as if the light dwindled. She closed her eyes and lightly shook her head to correct it. But when she opened them again, she saw this man who had shot Demonantous infront of her. Trybes, as he was called. His flesh was rotting, and the normally tender, grey opifex skin was a sick black and falling off in pieces. She closed her eyes hard, not wanting to see this, but she saw more, much more. Horrible, revolting things. Her stomach turned, she felt nauseous. Again she opened her eyes and this time she saw the people around her reduced to snivelling creatures, begging for final death, while shadows…hundreds of them danced around both her and them. One thought rushed through her mind as she pressed her temples hard. Jen. She had to find Jen. She got up and ran as fast as she could away from the slaughterhouse unfolding before her eyes.

In full panic she raced through the entertainment district of Omni-1, seeing the ruins of a city held in war’s clammy hands. Everywhere around her were shadows, corpses, small children missing a leg or an arm torn off, holding their toys and crying for mommy. The buildings were on fire, or in ruins, and the stench…the stench of burnt and rotting flesh…it was everywhere and made her eyes water. Hayley had no idea where she ran, her feet moved on instinct. Once, she barely missed a collapsing building and had to dodge several falling blocks of concrete and rods of steel. She ran until she felt the taste of blood in her mouth and stars dancing in front of her eyes.

She woke up sitting on grass, her own vomit spread out in front of her, Jen sitting behind her, holding her and whispering to her that everything would be ok. She felt ice cold and couldn’t remember what had happened. She looked up and saw the sky burning, remembered the things she had seen and began weeping…a long, sore wail escaping her, as if grieving the loss of something very dear to her. Her body ached and every breath was pure pain. Jen continued whispering to her, but it was far away…nothing she could grasp easily. She was slipping away and it felt good…letting something else take control, relieving her eyes from the horrific sight of torture. ‘Jen…They are calling me’. A shiver set in, and Hayley remembered no more, her eyes staring calmly at Jen, icy blue and matte. A trickle of shadows ran down her right arm, and she spoke.

She will follow us. Not him. His essence is strong. But not needed.

[Tussa]

For the fourth time that night, Hayley woke up from nightmares, sweat running from her in small streams and her stomach turning. She got up and staggered towards the bathroom and threw up yet again. Her whole body was shaking and she had never felt this sick in her entire life. Jen had taken her with her earlier, despite her objections, to confirm infection as she had said, and to administer some program to her system that would relieve her of many of the symptoms.

The program had been painful, as her DNA was reverted to prior state. She didn’t care much, though. What she had seen had nearly brought her down. Everything she cared for, the company, her job, her friends and her family…in the sights they were all gone. These were nothing like the earlier dreams she’d had, about vast plains and serenity. No, this was the future…she knew it, and nothing Jen could way would convince her otherwise. Jen had taken her home, made sure she was ok and then left her to rest and get rid of whatever withdrawal she would experience.

The night passed like this…close to no sleep and when she did, she had nightmares. All she really felt like doing was to go home to Omni Prime. Home to see her family and explain about her job in Vector Blue. Play with her younger siblings and enjoy long afternoons with her parents. Of course…that was impossible now. She had responsibilities here, and couldn’t just up and leave them. Tossing and turning, she tried to remember what had happened the last few days, but she couldn’t quite grasp all of it. She partially remembered the Demoneyes and Demonantous affairs, but she could only vaguely recall what happened or was said. It was like she was parted in two lately…one part dealing with this immense pressure and torment, the other dealing with her daily routine.

Sure, she had felt the presence…sure…she felt the pull in the hissing voices that scared her so much, voices she still heard vividly inside. She also had this nagging feeling of some other presence. But who, she didn’t know. Ever since the day Wingless had performed that mindshift stunt, where Hayley saw things she wasn’t meant to see, briefly held knowledge of the meta-physical world and the emotional distress that followed…ever since that moment, she had felt a presence. Before Damon had gotten to her. Before anything else…something there. She had heard her voice speak, but she couldn’t recall what she had said or to whom. It was an uncomfortable thought.

Finally, she fell asleep again, brutal dreams ravaging her, about the future, about the company she worked loyally for, about the friends she had made. About Vincent, who she had loved so much, about Han, who she was helplessly falling for. About Jen, who had shown her so much trust and companionship. All of it gone…in this future she saw. Shadows and darkness, failure and loss. And yet…something in the horizon. Something she couldn’t identify. Vast plains and strange creatures. And a whispering voice inside her.

[______________Dr.Log]

It had been a few days now, and Drlog had seen no contact from Don, and had slept well, undisturbed. His dreams had been his own now for at least 2 consecutive nights, and he was looking forward to bedding down that night.

He awoke in the early hours, soaked in sweat, and hotter than a ****ey mongo meal. He'd heard a new voice, so similar to damons that he almost mistook it as him, but some of the subtle tones where different ..... was it him? ... was it another? ..... the words cicled his head.

"Sssshadows call your essence home, a wasteland grim you sssshall roam, but if united handsss take heed the titan houndsss of hell sshall flee"

A riddle ! it must be.... Why was he being toyed with ?? Drlog rolled over, and wiped his head clear of sweat with a towel, he was desperatley tired now, moreso than before he'd gone to sleep, yet at the same time felt wide awake. He tossed and turned for a few more hours before finally dropping back off.

Drlog awoke again, to what appeared to be the sound of smashing glass, he jumped out of bed and looked round his apartment ... nothing, no sign of any breakages, in fact no sign of anything made of glass, he'd been dreaming again, he must have, for another riddle was traversing his mind :

"Ssss the titanss gather, their talonss ssharp, they lay in wait beyond the dark, but if united hands take aim, the titans revealed ssshall recieve ill fame, Their knees sshall buckle and secretes told asss we stand victorious true and bold"

[Lauri]

"Shoo! Shoo!!"

The leet kept licking her fingers. Raquel wanted to punt it down the hill, but part of her could only berate it. The blind friendliness of the creature soothed her somewhat as she sat in the park. The awkward rumble of the waterworks system nearby acted as a chorus in her ears. Everything around her was so vivid, audibly. She could ear the chirp of reets, a pair of rollerrats squealing at each other over a scrap of food, and the liquid crash of the waterfall atop the hill she rested upon. Even the rustle of leaves made the park seem more alive than ever.

She frowned at herself and pulled her hands away from the docile leet. Reaching to her wrist-comm blindly, she fumbled for the right buttons. A small beep echoed back to her, it seemed so loud...

"Kirasha? Are you in the Grid or near a term?"
"Hi Sez.. I'm in the Grid, why?"
"I hate to bother you.. but.. could I talk to you for a bit? I'm in the park outside Braedon's place."
"Alright, I'm on my way."

It took a lot to finally blurt out a need. Raquel had looked up to Kirasha for a long time now, stealthily, and to suddenly admit she needed help took more courage than killing Damon. No, a different kind of courage.

The agent sighed... she could hear something rustle near her feet, and a cold, wet, furry mouth found its way back to her fingertips. Silly animals, she thought. Faintly in her ear, she could hear the conversations of her organisation waft by. People greeting one another, general topics.. and his voice. He had told her not to go to Damon...

Moments passed, time began to melt into something unrecognizable. Raquel turned her head at what sounded like faint footsteps... the leet lapping at her hand suddenly darted away in fear, feet scratching across the dirt quickly.

"Sorry it took me so long.", Kirasha said. Her voice was startling yet welcome. Raquel nodded strangely, unsure of how to react.

"Glad you could come, though... have a seat if ya like.", she waved a hand, hoping Kirasha wasn't upset. It seemed as though Kirasha moved to sit a feet or two across from the agent. Raquel wringed her hands nervously, almost avoiding the woman. She was so happy Kirasha was here, but now she felt dread, shame.

"You look...", Kirasha trailed off and Raquel looked towards her voice as she smoothed back her hair self-consciously.

"... well you look horrible. Where have you been?"

"Yeah...," she sighed, ".. I feel so bad, something happened.. and..", she could almost feel Kirasha's irritation grow. "Well, I got myself in trouble." The agent stopped there, in an effort to collect herself.

"What?? What happened, are you hurt?"

The opifex slumped, and couldn't hold it in any longer.. "Brae told me not to do it, he told me to stay away from Damon... you know that... I didn't...", Kirasha paused, listening, "And it was horrid... and I'm worried he'll be angry with me... but I can't hide in the park forever... Damon ran rampant in Omni-1 again. A day or so ago, attacking people-"

"Sezmra. What happened?", Kirasha interrupted the blathering agent, her voice laced with agitation, ire.

"I tried to help kill him... and we succeeded! We did it! Somewhat.."

Kirasha was quiet, enthralled by what, Raquel wasn't sure. However, the opifex was determined to get a grip on herself. Reaching up to her face, she deftly plucked her sunglasses from her nose. Nervously, as if she was as naked as a babe, her eyes darted around, screaming for their hiding place to return.

"He didn't get away without a bit of vengeance.."

"I thought he couldn't be killed-"

"Not by mere gunshots or weapons it seems... there's too much to explain, so much to go into," Raquel looked around randomly, wishing she could see Kirasha's face despite her shame. Even though she was no longer an Employee, the fear of failing still resided within her. Direct disobedience was not just assured punishment in her mind, but it fathered shame, disappointment. Something that made Raquel's heart recoil, ".. I didn't have time, to warn you or Brae, anyone. I just did it.. that part of Damon is gone."

"Then.. what vengeance?", Kirasha asked, curious uncertainty in her voice.

Raquel bowed her head, her face flushing, eyes watering... she mumbled her blindness as she lifted her gaze, the dark murkiness still veiling her eyes.

"What?!", Kirasha studied the agent intently, examining every portion of her face in hopes of some kind of evidence of what the agent spoke. She reached out to lift Raquel's face further, cupping the blind opifex' chin with her hand. Raquel blinked oddly, and Kirasha noticed how the woman's mild grey eyes were now a muddy, dull blue color, "Yes, I see it... now."

Raquel muttered her story of fumbling around Omni-1 blindly until she could activate her NCU and grid herself home, and to her hiding place the park. Kirasha's unspoken confusion was enough for Raquel.. her theories of why she was blind flowed from her lips like a torrent of confession. She explained it was as though she was blindfolded. Hints of images would bleed through from time to time, very very faintly, as if all was a mirage for a split second. Blackness swelled across her eyes, oily and constraining. She rubbed at her face, exhausted, stray tears dampening the areas around her eyes. A small beep sounded and a breath escaped Kirasha's throat.

"Sezmra, Brae is asking where I am."

Raquel couldn't help but look worried. She fidgeted in response, whispering something about her foolishness. Wiping at her eyes fully, to clear away any tears.

"Okay, I won't hide from him."
"He has to be told, yes.", Kirasha averted her gaze, quickly dashing away a tear. Raquel sensed reigned in emotion from the woman, but she kept quiet, unsure, blind. Kirasha spoke into her comm, conversing with her lover about the situation.

"I've told him, you're here.", Kirasha finally said with a shivery breath. Raquel nodded, fretting in her silence. "I, I guess I'll wait with my questions until he gets here. I don't know what to-". The agent chuckled for a second, nervous, scared.. she reached out clumsily, probing at the world in front of her. Kirasha caught the opifex' hand in hers, holding it reassuringly. The agent smiled warmly, squeezing her hand.

"You'll not be staying here any longer. We'll take you home."

((to be finished later today))

[Lauri]

Kirasha wiped at her eyes as he neared. Braedon approached with a frown slowly gracing his features. He was already asking Kirasha what was wrong before studying the pair. Finally, he ascended the hill completely and stood over them.

"Braedon, she's hurt.", Kirasha remarked while he looked back and forth between the two, "She can't see." Raquel merely gazed toward his voice, noticing the rustle next to she and Kirasha. Soon, the hand Kirasha held was covered by his own. He must be sitting.

"She what...", he lifted his other hand and waved it across Raquel's line of sight. While she could sense the image a bit, her eyes didn't respond in kind. Braedon's jaw dropped as she mumbled about Damon. He looked closer, noticing the odd muddy color of her eyes... he was in shock...

"You went to him..."

"Yes, I wasn't prepared, it just.. happened.", the agent sobbed, wanting to explain.

"He did this... to you..", Braedon spoke in a low, sad tone... as if in a state of disbelief, he held Kirasha's free hand now to comfort her. Raquel shook her head at him, trying to explain that she brought it on herself. His grip on her hand became painful, and he soon loosened it in an attempt to calm himself of a new rage. He was confused, and rightfully so. The young opifex did her best to clarify. Of how she betrayed Damon, held him at bay for Jenae. How they overtook him, eventually murdering him in the garden of Omni-1.

"So you're telling me this fiend is dead?", he finally asked.
"Partially... we were so excited.. we thought we'd finished it.", she continued on, explaining that Damon, when destroyed finally, would "reincarnate" into one last culmination. One last creature. After moments of explanation, they seemed to understand... but didn't understand how she came to be, blind.

"I don't understand, Sez. How did.. this happen to you? How do I fix it?", his voice broke up as he trailed off.

Raquel was still rambling though, it seemed.. overtaken by the hope she had had that day when she faced Damon. "I used his own against him.. his own "powers", I took his shadows, I took his darkness.. and corrupted it.. needless to say it made him vulnerable." She let out a chuckle, a strange one that was soon cut off by Braedon.

"Are....are you more of what he was because of this?"

Raquel was shocked, she had not even fathomed that. This new fact assaulted her thought process. Her brow furrowed and she wondered, analyzed it all over again. She seemed lost again, and she moved to take each of their hands in hers, trying to be a comfort too.

"You never answered my question, Sez... how do I fix this?"

"I'm not.. I'm not sure."

Braedon muttered again... saddened. Raquel could only grimace, feeling the guilt swell inside her for making anyone worry about her.

"You said you could see a little?", Kirasha rescued them both from their tumble into hopelessness.
"Very slightly... sometimes. Maybe...", she thought to herself, calculating good possibilities once more. Braedon continued to simmer, his hands trembling from time to time as he processed what was going on.

"Sez, this other... what is his name?", Braedon asked suddenly.
"We call him Demonantous, or should I say that's his 'name'", she kept on, as Braedon repated his name awkwardly, as if to himself. "He can rot in hell for all I care."
"And this guy, okay so he's alive then?", Kirasha interrupted, "Is he after you as well?"
"Yes, well, he insists we assist him."

Braedon chimed in once more, drifting from what seemed like his own world, to ask her if she was any different besides the blindness. She shook her head, confirming that she was just tired, otherwise, all was the same. Braedon's hand slipped from her own and soon his warm fingertips were brushing her cheeks, "So cold." His touch was almost hot, indeed. Raquel licked her dry lips, trying to moisten them.

"We're taking her out of here, she's been here for days."
"Yes, she should stay with us... it's safest.", Braedon agreed.
"Though, I may need a lil' nudge to the right door...", Raquel chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

Braedon helped the opifex to her feet and he led the way down the hill, Kirasha assisting Raquel her descent. They soon made their way to the park entrance, and closer to home.

((eek, bigger than I thought, more coming later!))

[Lauri]

The trio eased into the hallway, Kirasha tapping a key on the door panel as the door wooshed shut. Familiar smells assaulted Raquel; the metallic hallway, the light musky smell of leaves. The air seemed warm on her skin, and despite the weather, she was grateful.

The two offered to fulfill any mundane needs she had, like food or drink... Raquel declined, unsure she could even stomach anything after such a long day. She resolved to have some water, later. Right now she was just thankful to be indoors, and able to rest, at ease that Braedon and Kirasha knew the truth.

Braedon offered a hand to her as she sat, she took it happily and got comfortable on the soft mat in the living area. Braedon joined, sitting to her left, and Kirasha moved to sit to her right.. both across from her. No one really spoke, and Raquel stretched her arms, working out a few kinks. The agent rubbed at her eyes and blinked them tiredly. Still silent, the pair across from her sat in what seemed like a sad daze.

"Sez, you know how I feel about you. I hate seeing you like...this. But, I do not blame you. I just want to find a way to help you...more than anything.", he gave Kirasha an uncomfortable look before turning to speak to Raquel.

"I'm sorry to have upset you both...", the agent responded, still feeling bad about hiding.
"Don't be sorry, I know how I would feel if... I just don't like to see you this way.", Kirasha added.
"I love you both and I even if I did something mildly foolish..."

Mildly.. Kirasha muttered under her breath.
"It's her nature, she could do no other.", Braedon whispered back before speaking aloud again, "Sez, you fought this fiend with his own powers...you had to have embraced them in some way. As much as I hate to say it, perhaps the answer to...healing you...lies within those same shadows?"

Raquel faced his voice, frowning a bit. Her hand wandered to her neck and caressed the collar there, almost willing a greeting to the scar she wore beneath her shirt there. She agreed with Braedon, that it was possible.. yet disturbing. Braedon seemed a bit ashamed of mentioning it, and Kirasha could only express concern that possibly going to those lengths could be more harmful than good. She was correct in that assumption. Raquel had no idea what would happen if she fought fire with fire in this sense.

The looks they gave her were barrier breaking. She had to express to them what she understood. Carefully, Raquel explained how after Damon was murdered many months ago, during his first appearance, that his final incarnation... the same that now roamed Rubi-Ka, was more tangible than his previous self. He seemed to be around more, less ghostly, and had more needs. One such occasion was while he had been hunted by the KFM alliance. Raquel had protected him, even to the point of allowing him to feed from her blood to sustain himself.
Braedon knew where the agent was taking this, he realized what it was that sustained Demonantous. He could only whisper his understanding as Raquel continued to explain that blood was what kept him revitalized. He looked towards Kirasha and she looked back, somewhat boggled by all of this. Raquel couldn't blame her much, this was a lot to absorb in such a short amount of time.
Could Raquel really falter to the extremes Damon had? Could she really give in to the craving...

Before she had a chance to decide either way, Braedon spoke up, "You should get some rest. You'll stay here of course." Raquel nodded at him, affirming his assumption. She wasn't going anywhere, the prospects of sleep in a nice safe place was bliss to her now. He reached out and fetched her hand, helping her to stand, Kirasha helping to steady her balance. It was amazing how losing one's sight threw off the other host of senses. They led her to the bedroom, slipping past the door and to the bed.

Raquel sighed happily as she sat on the edge of the bed. Oh how nice it would be to slip into some warm blankets and dream peacefully. Silently, she hoped that no nightmares would hinder that dreaming.

"Ah... I guess you'll be wanting to change, I'll step outside...", Braedon glanced at Kirasha before leaning to kiss Raquel on the cheek. The opifex was almost startled, but comforted as she realized it was Braedon. "It will be alright... I promise you that," he whispered in her ear. Raquel was smiling, kicking off her boots as he straightened.
"Goodnight Sezmra. Rest well.. you're safe here.", he reassured her, then kissed Kirasha gently before stepping from the room.

Raquel worked on removing her gloves, feeling a bit nervous. Kirasha edged over and sat on the bed next to the opifex, an arm reaching up to encircle Raquel. As if a burden was lifted, Raquel leaned against Kirasha, slumping into her embrace. That gesture did so much to comfort Raquel, she hoped Kirasha realized it in their silence.

"We'll be outside when you wake. Nothing will happen to you."
"Be careful... don't let him near either of you.", the agent whispered back as she lay into the bed, dreary, perhaps rambling again.
"I won't. We won't...", Kirasha softly brushed her fingertips to Raquel's arm, only briefly as she stood.

Raquel nodded at her simply, watching her leave the room. She decided against changing, all she wanted to do was lie down... sleep.. part of her wanted to be prepared for anything. Even her hair was still pulled back into a ponytail. Slowly, she lifted the blanket over her shoulder, turning onto her side on the edge of the bed. The soft pillow welcomed her weary head and she closed her eyes... the milky blackness melted into a solid darkness and she beckoned sleep to take her away.

[AiymaNeut]

((But for the Sezmachine from the ghost of Alam ))