Looking Into It

This is Tony again. I'm back at Hideaki's house now. Isiore picked me up. That was kind of her.

I don't know what's going on with Daniel right now. Can't get through to his phone. Funny that a domain with seemingly infinite Wi-Fi has no cell reception. Maybe his phone died or something. I don't know. But I'm sure he's fine.

The Panopticon has me concerned though. Their targeting Daniel now. And I know why. He's a threat to them. Their goal is to suppress information on the Fears. Stop people from believing in them. As a walking magnet for eldritch bullshit, Daniel would obviously pose a problem for them. Especially after the incident I had with them before.

So, I've decided to dig up as much as I can about them. Moss has agreed to help me with that. There has to be something we can find that can be used against them.

One more thing. I got a note today. It was short and simple. I said “I came up with a favor you can do. Get back to you soon.” At the bottom right corner of the page was a single, red thumb print. I guess Jacks finally got something for me.

-Tony Helioson, signing out.

The Board

We've been on the road for a while now. No matter where we go, those dark clouds are always there in the distance behind us.

“What do you think it is?” Kyle asked, earlier today.

“I have no idea,” I said.

“I think it's following us,” Kyle said.

“Looks like it,” I said. “But why?”

“I don't know,” Kyle said. “But I don't think it's the only thing.”

I knew what he was talking about. We were currently stopped at a gas station, and I shot a glance at another car that had parked there. It had been driving the same way as us for a while now, and now it had stopped in the same place. I didn't want to jump to conclusions, but it seemed a little suspicious.

“What should we do?” Kyle asked.

“Wait for Seraph to get back and leave,” I answered.

A few minutes later, Seraph came out of the gas station with some bags of snacks and approached us. As she did, a couple men got out of the other car and began walking toward us. Seraph noticed too.

“Bail?” she asked as she got up to us.

“Bail,” I agreed.

We all got in the car and peeled out before the men made it over to us. Unfortunately, we couldn't get out of the parking lot because a van pulled up and blocked the exit. Two more men got out of it and approached us. One of them rapped on our driver's side window, where Kyle was sitting, and said to step out.

I looked over at their van. Scrawled across the side were the words “We live in the best of all possible worlds.”

“Shit,” I said. “The Panopticon.”

The men from the other car caught up to us and circled the car.

“We're fucked, aren't we?” Kyle asked.

I felt the air behind me becoming displaced as Abdalin spontaneously appeared in the back seat.

“Not quite,” Abdalin said, flipping the men outside the bird before we vanished. All of us, including the car, were now in another place.

The skies were a dark orange color, with purple clouds scattered across it. The ground was covered in black and white squares, and all around us was the rubble of collapsed buildings. There was no doubt about our current location.

“No way,” Kyle said.

“This is the Board!” Seraph gasped.

“Yeah,” Abdalin said. Then he vanished.

“Did he just strand us here?” Kyle asked.

“It would appear so,” I said.

Distant Storm

I waited weeks for Abdalin to actually show up. When he did, he kind of caught me by surprise. He appeared next to me, grabbed my arm, and next thing I knew, we were back in California, at Kyle's house.

“Jeez, dude!” I said. “Warning next time!”

“Whatever,” he said.

“You realize you left Lana behind, right?” I asked.

“Don't care,” he said, walking out into the middle of the cul de sac and looking at the horizon.

“So, can you get me to the Board?” I asked.

He didn't answer.

“Um, hello?” I asked.

“Just as I thought,” he muttered.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“It's here now,” he said.

I looked where he was looking and saw what he meant. There were dark clouds in the sky, miles away from us.

“Is that a storm?” I asked.

“Are you just now noticing it?” he said.

“I just got here,” I said.

“So did it,” he said.

“What?” I asked.

“That's no normal storm,” he said.

Then he vanished. Weirdo...

Kyle and Seraph came outside immediately after that. Seraph slapped me across the face and then threw her arms around me in a hug.

“Stop ditching me!” she said.

“I can't promise that,” I said.

“You two have the weirdest relationship,” Kyle said.

“Shut up,” Seraph told him, releasing me.

I looked into her eyes for a few moments before pulling her back over to me and kissing her.

“Really dude?” Kyle said. “Right in front of me?”

“Yes, Kyle,” I said. “Right in front of you.

I turned my attention back to the looming storm. It looked closer now.

“What is that?” Kyle asked.

“I don't know,” I said. “But I don't think we should stick around to find out.”

Kyle handed the keys to my car to me and nodded towards it, parked on the side of the road.

“Where to?” he asked.

“We'll think of somewhere on the way,” I said.

Kyle nodded and walked to the car. I stood with Seraph for a while longer, looking at that strm. Abdalin was right. There as something off about it.

“You okay?” Seraph asked me.

“I dunno,” I said. “Things just keep getting more and more confusing.”

“It's okay,” she said, taking my hand. “You know we're here for you, right?”

“That's what worries me,” I said, looking at her. “You know that if you stay with me, I might get you killed, right?”

She laughed at that. “I can handle myself. It's you I'm worried about.”

My could feel my heart sinking when she said that. I think she could sense it, because her hand tightened around mine and her voice took on a concerned tone.

“Daniel?” she asked. “Are you... okay?”

“No,” I said softly.

“What's wrong?” she asked. “Tell me.”

“I can't,” I said. There was a lump rising in my throat now.

“Daniel,” she said. “Tell me.”

I took a deep breathe.

“It's what you just said,” I said. “That you're worried about me.”

“Yeah,” She said. “Oh coarse I am. What's wrong with that?”

“You know, don't you?” I asked. “About my destiny?”

“Daniel, what are you...?” She said, her voice trailing off.

“I'm going to die,” I said. “I'm going to die doing this.”

“Daniel...,” she almost whispered.

“That's the only possible outcome for me,” I said. I couldn't stop the tears any more. “I'm going to sacrifice myself for the people I care about. And I'll leave you guys alone, at their mercy.”

“You don't know that!” She said. “There's another possibility. You could be the victor. You could beat them!”

“No, I can't!” I snapped. “Not without my powers! I'm no match for them. I'm... I'm just...”

My legs seemed to give out on my. My fingers slid from hers and I fell to my knees. I had to put my hands out in front of me to keep from hitting the asphalt.

“I'm just a human...,” I said.

Seraph knelt down in front of me and slapped me. Hard.

“Daniel Xavier Ferris!” She said sternly. “You pull yourself together right now!”

I looked up at her.

“You are not just a human,” she said. “Do you know what you are?”

I looked at her, a little confused.

“You're the man you fired a gun at the Mother Of Snakes,” she said. “You're the man who trudged on with a mutilated arm and still kicked every ass that presented itself to you. You've taken on Gods, Sociopaths, and even yourself, and you've come out stronger every time, so don't you tell me that you're just a human. You are Daniel fucking Ferris! The most stubborn son of bitch I've ever met.”

I sat there for a moment. I breathed in and out, clearing my head. I got back to my feet again, and looked back at the storm. It seemed... not as dark, anymore... weird...

I looked back down at Seraph and held my hand out to her.

“Thanks,” I said. “I needed that.”

She took my hand and I helped her up.

“Let's get going,” I said.

“Yeah,” she agreed. “I don't trust that storm.”

I nodded, but to be honest, I wasn't so sure. I don't know what that storm is, but there's something familiar about it. I can't put my finger on it, but I get this feeling...

Whatever. I'll deal with it later. Right now, I need to think about what to do from here.

A Clue

“It's not here!” Lana complained.

“Of curse not,” I said, thumbing through one of the books littering the ground of the old store.

It seemed to have been abandoned a while ago, and all that was left was dusty old merchandise strewn about the place. Lana had checked the covers of every book there, but the Bleeding Crest was no where to be seen.

“What do you mean, 'of course not'?” she demanded.

“Jack said this was a 'former' location of the Bleeding Crest,” I said. “So, it must have already been relocated. The best we can do right now is look for clues on where it might have moved to.”

“This is stupid!” she snapped. “How the hell are we supposed to do that!”

“Check in the office,” I said. “There might be some documents left.”

“Why don't you check?” she demanded.

“Reading,” I said, turning a page in the book.

“Oh, please,” She scoffed. “What about that book is so interesting? It's not helping us find the book we actually need, is it?”

“I dunno,” I said. “It's all in Italian.”

“Then WHY are you reading it!?” She said.

“Dunno,” I said.

“Could you maybe put it down and help me?” she said.

“Well,” I said. “The way I see it, I don't owe you anything. So I'll get to helping you out in a bit.”

“I think you owe me plenty!” she snapped. “Remember the first time you met Dawson? He almost killed you, and if it weren't for the Red Cap, he would have succeeded!”

True enough. I kept quiet and let her continue.

“And when you called out the Wooden Girl just a few weeks ago,” she said. “The Red Cap helped you escape from that, too!”

This was going well. If I played the right cards, I could get her to open up.

“And what about your fight with Red Daniel?” she said. “Your right arm was jacked up beyond repair, but she managed to fix it so that you could fight on even ground. And none of that would have happened if I hadn't infected you with her!”

I slammed the book and glared angrily at her. Time to corner her King.

“Look, I never asked t be infected with the Red Cap!” I snapped.

This really pissed her off, and without thinking about it, she snapped back with “Well neither did I!”

Exactly what I was hoping for. She seemed to immediately realize what she had said. Her eyes widened in shock and she took a step back. I let out my breathe and calmly placed the book down on the shelf beside me.

“Continue,” I said.

She hesitated. Completely understandable. But after some short silence, she finally spoke.

“I didn't asked to be a Vessel,” she said. “I didn't know what was in that glass my friend gave me. He just said to drink it. That it would make me feel better.”

“Did it?” I asked.

She shuddered, it what must have been a mixture of fear and pleasure.

“Oh, god, yes,” she muttered. “It was weird, but I loved it. The feelings it gave me... the feelings it took away... I got lost in it...”

I had heard a similar story from Red Daniel. The way the Red Cap operates is by bringing out the darkest desires in a persons heart and suppressing things like guilt or shame that would hold them back. Lana had gone through the same thing I had in another world. Well, maybe not the exact same thing, but something close...

“Is it better like this?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said, but I think I might have heard some doubt there. “To be able to do what I want, when I want, without it weighing on me... It's perfect.”

“And you wouldn't go back?” I asked.

“Of course not,” she said. “There'd be no point. I've come to far to turn back.”

“If you say so,” I said. “Thanks.”

She blinked in confusion.

“Thanks for what?” she asked.

I turned to the office and started walking toward it.

“For telling me all that,” I said. “I was wondering how long it would take to get that backstory out of you.”

“You tricked me!” She snapped.

“Yep,” I said, turning back to her and shooting a grin. “And you totally fell for it.”

“You're a dick!” she said.

“Whatever,” I said, opening the door and looking inside. “Looks like it's been cleared out in here.”

“Then now what?” She asked.

“We keep looking round the main area,” I said. “I doubt Jacky would have pointed me this way if there wasn't a breadcrumb or two somewhere to lead me in the right direction.”

“Ugh,” she whined, slumping to the ground. “This is so dumb!”

I started to pick up and examine random stuff on the ground. Nothing seemed to stick out.

“You have a family?” I pried.

“None that would miss me,” she said.

“You sure?” I asked.

“If they saw me know, they'd hate me,” she said.

I shot her a glance.

“You don't know that,” I said.

She glared at me, clearly pissed off. It was hard to notice in the dim light, but her hair seemed to brighten a bit, almost to a natural shade of red.

“After everything I've done, they would,” she said.

“Oh really?” I asked. “Is that what you really think?”

“Shut up,” she said, and her hair darkened again.

Whatever. I had gotten enough out of her. Personally, I find it easier t work with servants when I understand them a little. I had learned a bit of Lana's past. That was enough for now.

I kept searching. After a while Lana got up to help too. It took a while before I finally found something.

“Oh shit,” I muttered, and my fingers found the engraving in the floor beneath one of the shelves.

“You find something?” Lana asked.

“Yeah,” I said.

I couldn't really see it in the shade, but I could clearly feel it. A spade, a diamond, a club, and a heart, all arranged in a circle. The symbol of the Game Master.

“I need to make a call,” I said, getting to my feet.

I stepped away from the symbol and pulled my phone out. Tony picked up pretty quickly.

“Hey, man,” he said. “Find anything?”

I told him what I was uncovered. He seemed just as worried by it as I was.

“So, you think the Game Master took the book?” he asked.

“He might have,” I said. “He did have his own magic library, according to Estren.”

“So how do we get in?” Tony asked.

“I dunno,” I said. “We can try getting in touch with Abby, I don't know if he'll help on this one.”

“Worth a shot,” Tony said. “You need your sword back?”

“It couldn't hurt,” I said. “Speaking of, how's Drake?”

“Beta picked him up,” Tony asked. “Didn't say anything about Kay, but I'm sure he read my post.”

“Alright,” I said, as the familiar feeling of Burner's sheath found it's way into my hand. “Keep me posted.”

“Will do,” Tony said.

And that's how my day went. Hey, Abdalin. I know you're reading this. Get over here. We need to talk.

Lords

“Are you sure?” Kay asked, handing me the crowbar.

“He's been gone for months,” I said. “We're not getting anywhere waiting around for him.”

“And you think breaking in to look for clues is a good idea?” Kay asked.

“No one's here, we'll be fine,” I said.

I got the back door open and we entered. Seemed like a normal British house.

“Okay, Daniel's lizard-thing said that there's a trapdoor into the cellar,” I said. “Let's get searching.”

Took us about an hour to locate the damned thing, but we found it and pried it open. We pulled out our flashlights and descended the wooden steps. We found ourselves in what was most definitely a cult chamber. Symbols were etched into the walls among shelf of what I assumed were Satanic texts. And, partially concealed beneath some junk on the floor was a very large crest. The crest of Salazchia. I approached it and shined my light upon it, and nearly gagged. What I had mistaken for just some random junk turned out to be bones. Human bones. Caked in dried blood and reeking of old meat.

“Jesus!” I hissed. “Why!? Just fucking why!?”

“Th offerings,” came a voice from beneath one of the shelves.

I turned my attention to it. There was a young boy cowering beneath it, obscured by shadow. He was chained to the wall, and had a badly healed scar on one cheek where he had been cut. I recognized him at once.

“Drake!” I said, running over to him and kneeling down. “Holy shit! Are you alright?”

“The monsters come,” he said. “They eat the offerings. Then they demand more.”

“The offerings...,” I said, looking at the bones again. “Human sacrifices?”

“Yes,” Drake said. “They didn't want me. Said I was too small. So he went to get more.”

He was barely whispering, and was visibly shaken. Just what the hell had he seen down here?”

“Monroe has been gone a while,” Kay said.

“That's true,” I said. “How have you...”

I turned to the bones once more, a sickening realization struck me.

“You haven't been...?” I asked, my voice trailing off.

“No,” Drake said, realizing what I was getting at and shaking my head.

I breathed a sigh of relief. So he hadn't resorted to cannibalism.

“The boy is far from emaciated,” Kay noted. “Who's been feeding you?”

“The... the Devil,” Drake mumbled.

“The Devil?” I asked.

“So I got a soft spot for kids!” Came a rather loud voice from directly behind me. “Sue me!”

I stood up and spun round and found myself staring into the pentagram eyes of none other than Damien Monroe.

“Sup?” he asked, grinning.

I stepped back in alarm. Kay seemed somewhat surprised as well.

“What are you-?” I started to asked.

“Oh, I'm waiting for Dad to get back,” Damien said. “Speaking of which, you guys picked a great night for a break in. His plane touched down thirty minutes ago. He'll be back any minute now.”

“You're joking!” I said.

“I know,” Damien said, smiling. “One Hell of a coincidence.”

I focused on my left hand and willed Burner to appear in it. The familiar wooden sheath materialized between my fingers.

“You called?” Burner whispered to me.

I shuddered. I'm still not used to being able to see and hear him. I've heard about him from Daniel, but experiencing him myself is something else.

I drew the sword and turned back to Drake.

“No time to talk,” I said. “Heat up.”

“Very Well,” Burner said, and the blade began glowing red. I slashed at Drake's chain, freeing him.

“Come on,” I said, lifting him to his feet. “We've gotta go!”

Drake and I began running to the steps, when the sound of a door opening above us sounded.

“oh, well ain't that just great timing?” Damien chuckled.

The footsteps aproached the trapdoor and began descending the ladder.

“Who's down here!?” A gruff voice demanded, as Demetri Monroe emerged into the chamber. He looked us all over, before his eyes finally rested on Damien. His jaw dropped. “S-son!?”

“Hey, old man,” Damien said coldly.

Demetri took two hesitant steps forward, before falling to his knees, almost sobbing.

“You're here!” he said. “My prayers have been answered!”

“You,” Damien said, remaining oddly emotionless as he spoke.. “Of all people. You prayed for me?”

“Yes!” Demetri said. “For both of you! When you and your sister vanished, I did everything I could to get you back. I've made deals with the darkest of beings, but not until today have any of them delivered!”

“None of them delivered a damn thing,” Damien said. “I've come back of my own volition.”

Demetri seemed to be at a loss for words, so Damien continued.

“I believe you, though,” he said, cracking a smile. “It's a relief, really. All this time, I thought you didn't care.”

“I-I've always cared about you,” Demetri said.

Damien let out a chuckle.

“Oh, right!” Damien said. “I've forgotten the introductions! This here is Anthony Helioson. An old acquaintance. And this...”

He gestured to Kay.

“...Is the Knower,” he finished.

I blinked. Knower? Is that some kind of title? Is that what “Kay” is short for?

“Now, Knower, if you wouldn't mind, would you get Drake out of here?” Damien asked. “That is within your capabilities, is it not?”

“What are you planning, Biker?” Kay demanded.

“A party,” Damien said, grinning broadly. “This is a reunion, after all.”

I caught on immediately. Damien was planning something evil, and Kay knew it too.

“Whatever this is, I won't let you-” Kay started, but I interrupted him.

“Take Drake and go,” I said. “I'll handle this.”

Kay looked at me quizzically, then nodded. He grabbed Drake by the shoulder and they both vanished. Weird... So he really is something more than he lets on.

“Gonna have to ask him about that later,” I muttered.

“Thank you for that,” Damien said. “I don't need him interfering.”

He then turned back to his father.

“Summon Salazchia,” he said.

“Wh-what?” Demetri asked, taken aback.

I stepped between them, sword raised in Damien's direction.

“Are you insane!?” I demanded.

“Hi, I'm the Bloody Biker,” Damien said. “Have we met?”

“I won't let you summon that thing,” I said, taking the best fighting stance I could with the sword.

“You know,” Damien said. “That sword once belonged to a friend of mine.”

His eyes narrowed at me, and the pentagrams glowed with a fierce rage.

“And now some insignificant tool is wielding it,” He continued, raising a hand. “Out of the fucking way!”

There was a flash of light, and I was thrown against the wall to the side. My vision was swimming, but I could still hear. Demetri let out a cry of pain. Damien ordered him to summon Salazchia again. Then, in a whimpering voice, Demetri spoke.

“Great Lord of Malice.”

Oh no....

“Salazchia, Daemon of wrath.”

No no no no no....

“I summon thee!!!”

Oh crap....

My vision abruptly came back. I saw the crest in the middle of the floor begin glowing, and in a flash of light, a figure stood there. It was about 7 feet tall, and dressed in metallic armor that didn't look like any culture native to earth. He held a massive claymore in one hand, and had dark black hair framing his tanned face. His eyes were solid blue orbs, dark enough that they could have almost been black. His mouth was lizard-like, and had needle like teeth. Three horns protruded from his forehead, extending a few inches upward. This was him. Salazchia, the Daemon Lord of Malice.

I could see Damien, standing over his father, smiling viciously at the newcomer, holding a falchion in his hand. Demetri lay on the ground, clutching a wound on his leg, that Damien must have left there. Damien suddenly turned back to his father, swinging his arm in a broad arc.

I could do nothing but watch in stunned silence as Damien Monroe beheaded his own father.

If it weren't for the violence that instantly broke out between Damien and Salazchia, I probably would have gone into shock or zoned out or something. But I didn't have that luxury. I had to come up with something to do about this. Worst case scenario, Salazchia would win, and then go on a rampage. Best case scenario, Damien would be successful and kill Salazchia. But then again, Damien was only the lesser evil by a small margin.

I didn't get a lot of time to think. Although they were almost on the same level, Salazchia managed to gain the upper hand. He slashed Damien in the hip, leaving a deep gash and bringing him down. Salazchia, somewhat exhausted, stood above Damien and raised his sword high.

“You've been a good adversary, Biker,” Salazchia chuckled. “But even the best things must come to an end.”

“So they must,” Damien said.

There was no warning. Salazchia was thrown off his feet by a blast of crimson energy fired straight out of Damien's eyes. He hit the ground a short distance away as Damien weakly got back to his feet. Damien quickly grabbed the sword that Salazchia had dropped, and threw it like a javelin, impaling the Daemon on the end of it. He then raised a hand, and a glyph of glowing red light in the shape of a pentagram appeared before it.

“Go shag yourself!” Damien shouted, firing a blast of energy from the glyph, crashing into the hilt of the sword and driving it further it.

He fired another blast, and then another, hitting Salazchia in the shoulders and driving him back against the wall. He fired another three blasts, each hitting the Daemon Lord, before he collapsed from the effort. Salazchia leaned against the wall for a few moments, panting heavily. He gripped the hilt of the sword and drug it out of himself, wincing in pain as he did.

“I'm impressed, Biker,” Salazchia growled. “You fought well. But now...”

Salazchia found himself cut off when Kay reappeared, standing between them.

“I cannot allow this fight to continue,” he said, n an icily calm tone of voice.

Suddenly, a glowing circle of blue light appeared, hovering in the air around Salazchia.

“This is...,” Salazchia muttered.

Kay snapped his fingers, and Salazchia convulsed in pain as lightning dashed along his skin. Kay snapped his fingers again, and suddenly the ceiling above Salazchia, along with several of the walls and furniture of the room above, came crashing down upon him. He then quickly grabbed Damien by the shoulder, and looked at me.

“I'll be back for you in a moment,” he said.

“Wait!” Damien cried, but Kay vanished before he had any chance to resist.

“What the fuck...?” I said.

It was silent for a few minutes. Then the rumble shifted. I turned to it in terror as Salazchia rose, unharmed, from the debris.

“Damn,” the Lord muttered. “They both got away.”

His eyes fell upon me, and he smiled.

“But I still have some company,” he said, grasping his sword.

“Um, Burner?” I whispered. “Can we take this guy?”

“No,” Burner said. “He's too strong for either of us.”

“A lie would have been more comforting,” I whispered back.

Salazchia threw back his head and left. Next thing I know, Salazchia had me lifted into the air by the throat.

“There will be no comfort for you, lowly human,” he said.

He tightened his grip around my throat. I released my grip on Burner and fruitlessly attempted to pry his armored fingers away.

“Suffocation has always been my favorite form of murder,” Salazchia grinned. “Even more fun than the sword.”

I struggled to get words out. To tell him to stop. But my air supply was completely cut off. I was dying, I was completely screwed.

“Is there something you wish to tell me?” Salazchia asked. “Very well. I will give you your last words.”

His grip loosened up enough for me to get some breathe in.

“Choose them well,” He chucked. “And swiftly.”

I looked down at him. Into his deep blue eyes. I had seen the eyes of a Daemon before, but these were different. Colder. As I gazed into these eyes, there was only one thing I could think to say. My only choice for my final words.

“Azail!” I said, as loudly as I could.

The eyes before me widened, as if in horror, and Salazchia's jaw dropped in surprise.

“I summon thee!” I shouted, will suddenly surging through me.

It happened all at once. A cloud of blackness engulfed us both, and bolts of lighting struck Salazchia from all directions. I fell to the ground as the black cloud took shape and solidified into Azail. I scootd backward, and gazed upon the two of them, standing face to face. The air crackled with electricity round them.

Salazcgia was the first to make a move. He raised his sword with both hands and swung it. Azail caught it between the finger and thumb of one hand, and with a mere twitch, the blade shattered like glass. Azail then stepped forward and punched Salazchia right in the chest, sending him flying into the pile of rubble. He then raised his right arm up high. The upper potion of the arm transformed into a pitch black cloud, with suddenly caught fire, propelling his forearm and fist at high speed, crashing into Salazchia face and exploding into a cloud, which began swirling around Salazchia's body. Fierce lightning exploded within the cloud, and Salazchia let out a cry of pain. The cloud rushed back to Azail, and reformed as his arm, leaving Salazchia lying there.

“Do you accept defeat?” Azail asked calmly.

Salazchia rose to his feet, and roared angrily. His body began growing larger.

It was at this point that Kay reappeared. Seeing what was going on, he grabbed me by the shoulder and said “We need to-”

I threw his arm off and said “Not yet!”

I'm not sure what compelled me to do so, but I knew I needed to stay.

Salazchia grew even larger, until he was twice as tall as before, and three times as muscular. His horns were at least a foot and a half long, and his eyes had taken on an inhuman shape. He was also sprouted large bladed wings. He roared savagely at Azail, you didn't flinch. Azail drew his dagger, which glowed red and expanded into a longsword. Salazchia swung his fist, and Azail knocked it aside with his blade before dealing three swift cuts to Salazchia's chest. They didn't cut very deep, but it was enough to drive the giant back. Azail stood stoically against Salazchia's giant form, as they glared into each other's demonic eyes. Salazchia's face was alien, making it nearly impossible to read his expression. But I could swear that there was fear in those monstrous eyes of his. Salazchia was afraid of Azail.

They continued to stare each other down for a few moments, then with a frustrated growl, Salazchia tore a hole in the air, creating a portal back to Bloody Hell, and stepped through it. IT closed behind him without trace.

“He banished himself...,” Kay said, awestruck.

Azail turned to me, frowning.

“I warned you,” he told me. “Our next encounter would not come cheep.”

Oh. Right.

“And I was just come to blows with another Daemon Lord,” Azail said. “A powerful one. So tell me; what do you have that could make this all worthwhile to me?”

“Um...,” I said, racking my brain.

“Well?” Azail demanded.

My eyes darted around the room, trying to find something that could appease him. But pretty much everything had been wrecked in the conflict. I'm pretty sure Azail wouldn't want any of this junk, and I couldn't give him Burner.

A hissing breathe escaped Azail's mouth. I assumed that meant that he was growing impatient.

My eyes fell upon his clawed feet. Feet that had been stubbed and scarred from traversing the rocky landscapes of Bloody Hell. I had an idea. A stupid one, but it was the best I could think of.

I dre my feet closer to me and began undoing my shoelaces.

“What are you doing?” Kay whispered to me.

“Something dumb,” I said, slipping the shoes off and sliding them over to Azail.

Azail stared at them for several long seconds. He then knelt down and lifted one, turning it over in his hands. They were dusty, low heeled steel-toe boots. A pretty old pair. Looking at them in his hands, I realized they were too small for him, and that worried me. For all of three seconds. He's body suddenly became less substantial, as he turned himself partially into smoke, then compressed it all slightly before re-solidifying. He had just shrunk himself down a bit so they would fit.

He slipped the boots on and tied the laces. He stood up and examined his feet for a few moments, before looking into my eyes and nodding. He then faded away into nothingness.

“You are the luckiest son of a bitch I've ever seen,” Kay muttered. “And also perhaps the stupidest.”

“Hey, remember a few weeks ago when Daniel got pissed off and picked a fight with the Wooden Girl?”

“Let's just go,” Kay said.

We started heading back to his house. I tried questioning him along the way.

“What happened with Damien?” I asked.

“He gave me some trouble,” Kay said. “But I got him to submit. He won't bother anyone for a while.”

“How did you do all that?” I asked. “The teleporting, the seal, the lightning? How?”

“The Panopticon would sum it up as a series of cheap parlor tricks,” Kay said. “I'm afraid I must give the same explanation. It wouldn't be a lie, entirely.”

“Seemed like more than just a bunch of tricks,” I said.

“It's difficult to explain,” Kay said.

“What did Dmien mean when he called you the Knower?” I asked.

“I know a lot of things,” he replied. “Things most people don't have the capacity to understand.”

We got back to his place. I was surprised to see some bags packed by the front door.

“What are these for?” I asked.

“I have to go,” he said. “You need to call Martyr Beta. When you do, he will come for his son. And I must go before then.”

“Why?” I asked.

“I am a threat to the Archive,” he said. “The Martyr's will hunt me down if they can find me. So I need to find a new hideout, and throw off their trial.”

He grabbed the bags and turned to me.

“Drake is resting in my room,” he said. “Both of you may help yourselves to the kitchen. I've left it full.”

He turned away from me, but I called out to him before he could vanish.

“Wait!” I said. “Just who are you?”

He turned back to me, smiling.

“I'm exactly what Damien said I was,” he said. “The Knower.”

And then he was gone.

Splitting Up

“Sup?” I said into the speaker of my phone.

“Hey, Daniel,” Isaac's voice sounded. “Shot in the dark, but do you know anything about Daemons?”

So he was dealing with them too. I thought about Tony and his little Daemon tome.

“Not a lot,” I said truthfully. “I think you'd have better luck with Tony. Want me to put him on?”

“Yeas, please,” Isaac said.

I approached Tony with my phone in hand.

“Hey, man,” I said. “Isaac needs intel. You got your creepy book on you?”

“Give me a sec,” Tony said, putting down his sandwich and drawing the demonic tome from his backpack.

“Here ya go,” I said, handing him the phone.

“Thanks,” he replied, taking it from me.

I left the room as he struck up conversation with Isaac. Lana was waiting for me in the living room.

“So, how much time are we gonna waste here?” she asked.

“Dunno,” I said. “Jack wants me to deal with Monroe, and that's what I'm gonna do.”

“Monroe's human,” she said. “I'm sure Kay and Tony can handle him. WE need to get to the Bleeding Crest before the High Blood does.”

“First of all, I don't fully trust Kay yet,” I said. “I'm not leaving Tony alone with him.”

Lana gave me a pouty face, but I ignored it and continued.

“Second of all, I don't trust you either,” I said. “What happens when we find the Bleeding Crest? What's to stop you from backstabbing me and taking it for yourself?”

“Why would I want that damn book?” she asked.

“I don't know,” I said. “I don't even know what's in it. Obviously, the High Blood wants it, so it much have some value.”

“Oh, Danny,” she said, slowly and somewhat seductively. “I would neeeeeever do anything to hurt you. You know that, don't you?”

“Hey, remember that time you cornered me in an alleyway and infected me with an evil sex god?” I asked.

“Oh, come on,” she said, pouting again. “She's saved your life plenty of times, hasn't she?”

“Look, I don't care what you say, I'm not abandoning my friend.”

“I think you should,” Tony said from the doorway.

I spun around to see him standing there, holding my cellphone in his hand.

“Cath,” he said, tossing it over to me. I scrambled for it and then looked up at him.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I'll hold down the fort,” Tony said. “Go check out the location in the book, then come back when you're finished.”

“But what if Monroe gets back before I do?” I asked. “What you have to deal with him alone?”

“You don't think I can handle myself?” Tony asked.

“He's in league with Daemons,” I reminded him.

“I'm not afraid,” Tony said. “Lana's right. We need to get to the Bleeding Crest. And fast.”

Tony was right. I didn't wanna split up, but it seemed like our best option right now. But there was one thing I was certain of. I couldn't leave Tony defenseless.

I spread my fingers and summoned my sword to me. I gripped it tightly and waited for the image of Burner to materialize before me.

“Burner,” I said. “I want you to do something for me.”

Burner cocked his head to the side.

“I want you to take orders from Tony for a while,” I said. “Listen to him.”

“Can you do that?” Tony asked.

“We're about to find out,” I said, reaching forward with the sword. “Try calling him.”

Tony hesitantly reached his left hand forward. Burner nodded to me, and faded away as the sword vanished from my grasp. It reappeared in Tony's hand an instant later, and a second after that, Burner materialized above him.

“Whoa,” Tony said, awestruck. He then became aware of Burner hovering there and gasped loudly. “Holy Shit!”

I laughed.

“Go on,” I said. “Try it out.”

Tony shrugged off the surprise of seeing Burner there and drew the sword. He gripped it tightly with one hand, and it began glowing red hot.

“Is that all?” Lana asked.

“This is new for both of them,” I said. “Burner works better for me because we're used to each other.. They just need more time together.”

“You sure about that?” she asked. I shrugged.

Tony returned the sword to its sheath and nodded to me.

“Thanks, man,” he said. “I don't know what to-”

“Don't say anything,” I cut him off. “Just borrow him for now.”

“Thanks,” Tony said.

“We should get going,” Lana said.

I nodded.

“I'll catch you later, bro,” I said.

“Take care, man,” Tony replied.

And then Lana and I left.

Narrow Escape

After that talk with Kay about Ben's mom, I went out and just started walking. I was feeling, like, every emotion, ever. And it was frustrating. So, I had to clear my head. I had walked to the edge of town, and still wasn't feeling rational. So, I did the most irrational thing I could think of at the time.
“Hey, Wood Bitch!” I shouted to the heavens. “Where are you!?”
And then a man appeared about two feet in front of me, wearing a crappy opera phantom mask.
“I shall be the one to speak on her-”
I punched him in the face before he could finish talking, he stumbled backwards a bit before glaring at me.
“What the hell, man!?” he demanded.
“Personal space, dude,” I told him, pulling my brass knuckles out of my breast pocket. “So where's your boss?”
Instead of answering the question, he zoom backwards really fast, pulled by invisible strings.
“Okay, I guess we're doing this,” I said, slipping the knuckles onto my left hand.
The strings began pulling him toward me quickly. As they did, he pulled his right arm back, readying a punch. I planted my weight firmly, and braced myself. As he got up to me, I dropped my weight quickly, ducking his punch, and thrust my left fist forward, putting as much strength as I could into it and his solar plexus collided with my strike. My whole arm began throbbing in pain from the impact, and he keeled over, gasping for breath. I rose up and looked down on him.
“You see, when you have that much momentum going forward, crashing into stuff hurts a lot more,” I told him.
Granted, it hurt me too, but luckily I'm right handed and it wouldn't last too long.
He stepped back to try and pull himself together, but I didn't give him the chance. I snapped a kick right at his face, and he went down.
“Okay, now where's the REAL competition?” I asked, turning away from him. “Come out and face me, Wood Bitch!”
It was silent for a while before I heard movement behind me. I looked to see Opera (that's what I'ma call him) getting back to his feet, now holding a sword in his hand.
“I'm not out yet!” He said, wiping some blood from his chin.
“Oh, so this is a thing,” I said, summoning my sword to me.
He charged at me, and I drew my sword to parry him. I quickly learned that he's a terrible swordsman. I disarmed him easily and smacked him in the face with my sheath. He stood there, dazed from the attack.
“That's I neat mask,” I told him.
I ignited Burner, and swung it. It caught him in his left cheekbone, and he collapsed, screaming as he clutched at the smoldering gash on his face.
“And now you have a reason for it,” I said.
I sheathed my sword, and as I did, the sound of wood knocking together sounded some distance away. I looked to see he Wooden Girl standing there, clapping.
“Bravo, Daniel,” she told me. “That was quite a performance. You've gotten a lot more brutal.”
I drew my gun and took aim at her.
“Something on your mind?” she asked.
“You orphaned my friend,” I said.
“Is that all?” she asked.
“Yep,” I said, squeezing the trigger.
The bullet hit her in the head, but she barely flinched. I shot her a few more times before she disappeared. I stuck my gun back into my belt and reached for my sword. I wasn't fast enough, and I took a heavy wooden blow to my head as she reappeared. I lost my balance and dropped the sword. I summoned it to hand again and got back to my feet. She threw another punch at me, and I dodged it. I drew my sword and ignited it as I slashed at her, catching her in the arm and burning it. I swung again, slashing her chest. Suddenly, strings bound my right arm, and I was pulled off balance and swung through the air. I crashed into the ground several feet away. More strings bound my left arm and legs and lifted me into the air, stretching me out like a rack. I was facing the Wooden Girl, who picked up my discarded sword. Before I could summon it back to me, strings bound my fingers, lashing them together and rendering them useless. Can't summon my sword to hand if I can't use them. Strings twisted around my throat as well, choking me. She began walking towards me.
“I've been waiting a long time to end your life, Devil Killer,” she said.
I can help you, you know, the Red Cap's voice sounded in my head.
No, I thought. If I let you have control, you'll destroy me! I won't let that happen!
“And no,” the Wooden Girl continued, “I have the chance. And with your own weapon, no less.”
I never said I needed to take you over, The Red Cap said.
What do you mean? I thought.
You're my Vessel, The Red Cap said. Even without embracing my power, you can still come visit me.
My eyes widened as I caught on to the Red Cap's plan. The Wooden Girl was now right in front of me. She seemed to have grown taller on her way over, and was clutching my sword tightly, ready to plunge it into my heart. Her wooden lips cracked into a twisted smile.
“What beautiful irony,” she said.
Well? The Red Cap asked me.
“DO IT!” I shouted out loud.
I clamped my eyes shut as the Wooden Girl thrust my sword forward. But it never penetrated me. The stings binding me were gone, and I dropped to the ground. I opened my eyes to find myself back in the Red Cap's domain. Everything looked like the place I had just left, only deep blue and black, and the sky seemed to fall away into infinite darkness, with the crimson aurora of the Red Cap streaking across it. I could feel a terrible sensation as the Wooden Girl screamed in fury from the real world, shaking the foundation of reality itself.
A dark blue silhouette of a woman, coated in a crimson aura, ran up to me.
“We need to run!” it shouted. “Now!”
I wasn't arguing. I got up and started running alongside the figure. We kept running for blocks, and as we did, the world around us got more and more twisted. Everything seemed to be flaking, as if it was covered in old paint that was peeling away, and beneath it all the world seemed to be bleeding.
“So was it really necessary to ditch me in Canada?” the figure beside me asked, as we finally began to slow down. I realized that it was Lana I was talking to.
“sorry,” I said. “Forgot. Are we clear yet?”
“Yeah,” she said, and we both stopped.
“Quick question,” I said. “Why am I not tired after all that running?”
“It's because of this domain's nature,” she said. “It's screwing.”
“Right,” I said. “We know anything new about the Apostles?”
“A few things,” she said. She told me what all she had learned, but none of it seemed particularly useful.
“I don't think I can bring them down with that knowledge,” I said. “But thanks anyway. Can we go back to the real world now?”
“Sure,” Lana said.
We sort of just phased back into the normal world. I checked a nearby street sign to figure out where we were.
“Okay, I know this place,” I said. “I can find my way back to Kay's from here.”
I summoned my sword in one hand, and my sheath in the other, and slid them back together. Glad the Wooden Girl didn't break either of them.
“So you CAN summon the sheath seperately,” Lana said. “I always wondered about that.”
“The sheath is part of the sword, of course I can summon it,” I said. “I'll see you later.”
“Right, whatever,” she said. “But we need to get back to the whole Bleeding Crest thing soon.”
“Yeah,” I know,” I said. “Keep your ears open for any new Apostle info.”
“Will do,” she said.
And with that, we parted ways.

Maria Goodwin

We were hanging out in the front room when Demetri returned from the spying mission Daniel sent him on. The little lizard creature crawled through the window and skittered over to Daniel Daniel picked him up and started speaking to the little guy in what I can only assume was the language of shoggoths.

“Tony, I need paper,” Daniel said.

I got him a pen and some paper and Daniel began listening intently to Demetri's incoherent gurgling hissing sounds as he sketched something on it.

“The little guy saw this symbol in there, “ Daniel said, handing me the paper. The symbol was an odd looking glyph, consisting of several overlapping squares, with a sharp looking S with a cross at each end of it.

“I'll look into it,” I told him.

“Go do your thing,” Daniel said, and Demetri scampered off back to the Monroe residence.

I retrieved my demon book, and started looking for the symbol while Daniel began lazily checking out the pictures again. It took a few minutes to find it, but I eventually located the symbol Demetri had described to Daniel. Or at least something close to it. I got up and approached Daniel.

“Uzilha,” I said. “The first lieutenant to Salazchia, the Daemon Lord of Malice.”

“The sin of wrath,” Daniel said. “If Monroe is associating himself with creeps like that, then Jacky boy's right to concerned.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “We should be worried.”

“Regardless, we need to wait for him to get back before we can bring him down,” Daniel said.

I joined Daniel in examining the pictures. One of a young lady caught my eye.

“She's cute,” I said, pointing her out to Daniel.

He looked at it for a moment.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “She has very nice-”

He suddenly stopped talking, and I saw his eyes widening.

“-Eyes,” He gasped silently.

He snatched up the picture and turned to face Kay, who was seated at the couch. He lifted the picture for Kay to see.

“This woman!” Daniel said. “Who is she!? What's her name!?”

Kay looked sadly at the picture for a moment before speaking.

“Maria,” he said softly, then added “Surname of Goodwin.”

“Surname,” Daniel said. “Is that her birth name or marital name?”

“Birth name,” Kay clarified.

“What's her marital name?” Daniel demanded.

“What makes you think she was married? “I asked.

“What was it?” Daniel said.

“Are you sure you want the answer?” Kay asked, the sad tone never leaving his voice.

Daniel remained still for a few seconds before he made up his mind, and nodded slowly. Kay nodded back, and gave his answer.

“After being wed to young David, Maria's last name became Malkator,” Kay said.

The picture slipped from Daniel's grasp, and I barely managed to catch it. I looked at it, and I finally saw what Daniel had. Her eyes. Their shape. Their color. Their lashes. Both Daniel and Eye had seen such eyes before.

“This is Ben's mom,” I gasped.

“Yes,” Kay said. “He did have his mothers eyes.”

I looked over at Daniel. There was a vacant look on his face, that lasted only a few seconds before his expression twisted into one of anger.

“Hey, man,” I said reassuringly. “You don't need to get mad about this.”

“His anger is understandable,” Kay said. “I've felt the same way many times. All those emotions. Fear. Confusion. Sadness. Grief. With the storm of conflicting feelings raging within your heart, anger will rise up to eclipse them all. Am I not wrong. Daniel?”

Daniel remained silent, but nodded slowly.

“You're not mad at me for telling you this,” Kay said. “You're mad at your own emotions.”

Daniel began breathing in and out slowly. It took about five minuted for him to calm himself. Usually his breathing exercises don't take nearly that long. When he had cleared his head, he took the picture from me and approached Kay, and took a seat on the ground before him.

“Tell me,” Daniel said. “Everything.”

“Very well,” Kay said. “I first met Maria when she was sixteen. She had dropped out of school and ran from home. Ran from the creature pursuing her.”

“Which one,” Daniel asked.

“The one you once called the Entity,” Kay said. “The Slender Man. When I met her, she told me of her plight. I gave her all the help and advice I could. But our ways eventually parted. Later on, she was assaulted by a group of Proxies led by Julius Strife. She thought she was gone. However, the descendants of Marshall Smith have a habit of performing over the top acts of heroism. David Malkator, descendant of the Vision and sentry of the Scions, intervened and sent Strife running home to his master.”

Kay paused and chuckled softly to himself.

“At least, that's how she described it to me, the next time we met,” he said. “Eventually, she and David were wed, and they had a child. I saw him as a toddler. He looked much like his father, but his eyes were unmistakably those of his mother. They settled down here in England, and tried to have a normal life. They made friends, put young Benjamin in school, and kept him safe from the horrors of the world. But it didn't last.”

“Phantasm?” Daniel asked.

Kay nodded.

“David Malkator was found dead, while their son was only 5,” Kay said. “The scene was made to look like a proxy attack, but Maria suspected foul play of another source. I agreed, as the Slender Man made a point of avoiding conflict with Descendants, unless provoked. So I agreed to look into it for her. After a few years, I acquired the truth. David was killed by his own brother in law, Carlton Kallaway. I tired to tell her, but by the time I made it back to her estate, she was already dead. The scene was gruesome. String penetrating her body implied the work of the Wooden Girl. Her son was nowhere to be seen. I didn't meet him again til nearly a decade later. He was a Martyr, by this point, working for the Archive.”

A tear dripped from Kay's eye as he recalled the encounter.

“He attempted to apprehend me. I managed to escape, but I see his father's fighting style in all his movements. Realizing his own weaknesses in order to exploit them in others. His father would have been proud, had Benjamin chosen a better side.”

“He did,” Daniel said. “It took him a while, but-”

“I know,” Kay said. “I've heard the stories. He broke away from his master. Discovered his powers. Fought against his darkness.”

Kay paused and breathed quietly, wiping his eyes.

“And he died a hero,” he sighed.

He took the picture from Daniel and gazed at it sadly.

“f only Maria could hear her son's tale,” he said.

Daniel remained quiet for a while, before getting up.

“I need to go for a walk,” he said.

He walked out the door. I decided to give Kay some space, and returned to the guest room to start typing this post. After I got the browser opened and logged into the blog, I saw Daniel's sword vanish from its place on the bed. He must have summoned it. I have no idea what he's gotten himself into, but I'm sure he'll be fine. Maria Goodwin isn't the only person I can see Benjamin in. Daniel has a lot in common with Malkator too. I know he can handle himself.

-Tony Helioson, signing off

Dates

We've been here a little over a week now. I figured it was time to question Kay about the pictures he keeps on that table.
“Hey Kay,” I asked. “Who are all these people?”
Kay sat down on the couch and stared sadly at the picture a few feet away.
“Friends,” he said. “Friends that the war has taken from me.”
“You mean the war between the Fears, right?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said. “Men are pawns in the Great Game. And as pawns, their time is short.”
I payed attention to his wording. He said “their” time, as if he was excluding himself.
“You had a lot of friends,” Daniel noted, glancing at the pictures. There were easily more than 30 frames there.
“Yes,” Kay said. “I remember them all very well, as much as I'd like to forget.”
“What's that mean?” Daniel asked.
“I have the misfortune of possessing, what some call, a photographic memory,” Kay clarified. “I remember their deaths vividly.”
“Must suck,” Daniel said, sympathetically.
“Even without ,y mind constantly recording everything around it, do you think I'd be able to forget?” Kay asked. “I know such things have a way of engraving themselves in peoples memories. Is this true?”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Yes,” he said sadly. “Yes it is.”
Kay nodded.
“I'm going to bed,” he said. “I need to rest now.”
He stood up and ascended the stairs. After I heard his bedroom door close, I approached the table and lifted one of the frames. This one was carved in ivory, and bore the portrait of a man in his thirties. I turned it over to see a date written on the back of the frame. 1979-2013.
“So this is a memorial,” I said. “These pictures have the dates that the people were alive.”
“Like a tombstone,” Daniel said, taking a seat on the couch.
“Exactly,” I said, picking up another picture and checking the date. “1988-2004.”
“The good die young,” Daniel sighed.
“By that logic,” I said, putting the pictures back in their respective spots, “You should live forever.”
“Cool,” Daniel said, slumping down where he sat.
I picked up another picture and turned it over. My eyes widened.
“Whoa, Daniel,” I said. “Listen to this one. 1895-1932.”
Daniel sat up straight.
“He knew someone from that time period?” He asked.
I took another picture and checked the date on it.
“1856-1889,” I read.
“He says these were all his friends,” Daniel said. “Which means he's been alive for a while.”
“From the way he phrased things earlier, I don't think he considers himself human,” I said.
“Plus, he's fluent in Veratian,” Daniel added.
“This deserves looking into,” I said, stretching. “But I think Kay had the right idea. We should rest up.”
“Guest bed's yours tonight,” Daniel said, sprawling out on the couch. “This bitch is mine.”
I grabbed the folded blanket off the edge of the couch's armrest and tossed it to him.
“Sweet dreams, douchebag,” I said. “Punch the Grotesque in the face if you see 'im.”
“Don't let the Intrusion bite, dickhead,” Daniel replied, resting his head on one of the armrests and trowing the blanket over himself.
I went to the guest room and started typing this. And now, I need some sleep.

-Tony Helioson, passing out.

Kay

“This is it,” Tony said.
We had arrived in front of Demetri Monroe's house.
“So, what now?” I asked.
“Jack wants you to put him out of commission,” Tony said.
“Won't be easy,” Said a voice. “He's out of town, on business.”
I spun around to see a man, in his late twenties, mere feet from us.
“I'm sorry, Mr. Ferris,” he said. “I didn't mean to startle you.”
I summoned my sword to my hand and drew it.
“How do you know my name?” I demanded.
“How can I not?” the man asked. “You were sent by Jack, you say?”
“Who's asking?” I said.
“You may call me Kay,” he said. “I'd tell you my full name, but like you, I understand the value of a low profile.”
I became aware of something stirring inside the breast pocket of my jacket. I found myself wondering why he'd wake up now.
“You said Mr. Monroe's away on business,” tony said. “When will he return?”
The creature within my pocket called out and up my shirt, remaining concealed behind the jacket.
“It will be at least a few weeks,” Kay said. “He's gone to the states, to collect something.”
“The disappearances?” Tony whispered to me.
“Maybe,” I whispered back.
The creature crawled up my neck and around to the back of my head. Kay seemed to notice it, and smiled. He then uttered a clusterfuck of seemingly random syllables. But what I heard in the back of my head was “You do not need to be so paranoid. I mean to help you. You can trust me.”
“You know,” I said, the words escaping my lips in the same alien language he had spoken in. “Learning that you speak fluent Veratian makes me trust you slightly less.”
The creature, called Demetri (odd coincidence, that it's the same as the guy we're after), is a shoggoth. An artificial being creature through a complex ritual. Aside from all the alternate universes and Fear domains that exist, reality also has layers. Ours is layer 1, but there's other layers beside that. Demetri, while in contact with me, allows me to speak in and understand languages that originate from a specific one of those layers. The language we were speaking, Veratian, belongs to a place in that layer called Veratis Kalohella, a place I've been to once, and have some nasty memories of. And the Veratian tongue isn't a language that normal people learn.
“I assure you,” Kay said, still in Veratian. “I Can offer you food and lodging as you await Monroe's return.”
I looked at Tony.
“He says we can trust him,” I said. “I'm not too sure.”
“Anything else?” Tony asked.
“He's offering food and a place to stay,” I said.
Tony briefly looked down at his stomach.
“Wanna risk it?” he asked.
“Fine,” I said, turning back to Kay. “But I've got my eye on you.”
“Very well,” Kay said, in English this time. “Follow me.”
Before we went with him, I set Demetri on the ground outside the house.
“Spy for me,” I told him. He nodded and went to hide in the bushes.
Kay brought us to his house, a couple blocks away. It seems normal, I guess. Aside from corner table covered in framed pictures of various people. I'm gonna have to ask about that later. Right now, I need a shower. I'll talk to you all later.

Conflict

So we got to Stanley Park to see Abdalin waiting there. He had aged himself up slightly since the last time I saw him, but he still looked to young for the whiskey bottle in his hand. He was casually sitting in the grass, watching us as we approached. He smiled upon seeing Dyson. Then, when we were a few yards from him, he soundlessly vanished. We didn't have a lot of time to react before he appeared directly behind Dyson, grabbed him by the arm and flung him through the air.
Dyson managed to stick his landing and shot a fireball at Abdalin, who vanished again. He appeared again, swinging his nightstick at Dyson, who produced a barrier to deflect it.
Abdalin drew back, then attacked again, with a lot more strength, shattering the barrier and throwing Dyson off his feet.
“You're no white mage,” Abdalin said. “Why do you even bother going on the defensive?”
“Shut up!” Dyson snapped, creating another force field and expanding it outward toward Abdalin.
Abdalin simply smiled and lifted his free hand, stopping the barrier in its tracks. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the barrier broke into rapidly dissolving fragments.
“Damn it you two!” I snapped. “Cut it out!”
“I don't think they're listening,” Tony sighed.
“I hear you're trying to master Chaos,” Abdalin said. “Why can't you realize such a power is beyond your reach?”
Dyson launched a fireball, which Abdalin easily dodged.
“I recall saying something similar to Marshall,” Dyson said. “And he proved me wrong.”
“You're not Marshall,” Abdalin said, striking at Dyson with his nightstick. “You'll never catch up tp him.”
Dyson deflected the attack with another barrier and threw a fireball that missed Abdalin.
“You don't know me!” Dyson growled.
Their fight continued relentlessly, and as it did, so too did their dialogue.
“You're a wielder of black magic,” Abdalin said. “A force of death and destruction. That's what comes naturally to your blackened heart!”
“My darkness doesn't define me!” Dyson said.
“That's what you think,” Abdalin said. “White magic is a force of creation and life, a power which your heart won't allow you to wield properly.”
“Then try this on for size!” Dyson said.
As Abdalin raised his arm for another attack, he froze. It took me a second to notice why. There was a force field wrapped around his entire body, restricting his movements. Dyson was noticeably having difficulty holding it in place, but it seemed to be working.
Abdalin smiled, then disappeared from within the barrier.
“Now!” Dyson said, spinning around just as Abdalin reappeared behind him. “Too obvious!”
Dyson blocked Abdalin's attack before it could build up any moment, and smacked him with another expanding barrier. Abdalin was sent flying, and Dyson quickly followed up by sending a blast of cold air after him. Abdalin was suddenly encased in a thin layer of ice, binding his movements as he continued to fly through the air, and Dyson fired a bolt of lightning at him. The ice conducted the electricity, amplifying it. Abdalin hit the ground, and sent up a cloud of dirt.
A few moments later, Abdalin rose from the ground, scuffed up a bit, but not showing any signs of injury. He casually bushed himself off, and turned back to Dyson, a bored expression on his face.
“I don't suppose you're planning to get serious any time soon?” he asked.
Dyson spread his feet apart, taking a horse stance, and gathered light power in own hand, and dark power in the other. He crashed the two opposing forces together, like I had seen him do before, and sent them flying at Abdalin. Abdalin smiled, and lifted his left hand, revealing a ring on his middle finger. The ring dissolved into light, and wrapped around his forearm. A buckler appeared there, and bracing himself, he used it to deflect the amalgamated energy that Dyson had launched at him.
“Great to finally give this thing a field test,” Abdalin said, tapping the buckler with his nightstick. “Only spent a few months making it, but it seems to hold up just fine.”
Dyson began building up energy in his hands, and as he did, Abdalin took a fighting stance. I couldn't deal with this any longer, so I rushed between them, summoning my sword as I did. I turned to face Abdalin, gripping the hilt as I did.
“Enough!” I demanded. I looked over my shoulder at Dyson and added “Both of you! This is ridiculous!”
They both stood there for a minute before relaxing their poses.
“Good!” I said. “Now, if you two are done, Tony and I need to go to England to spy on a psychotic devil worshiper. Care to give us a lift, Abby?”
“Fine, fine,” Abdalin said. “Get over here.”
Tony and I both approached Abdalin and took one of his hands. Before he teleported us, he gave one last look at Dyson and said “You'll never be the sorcerer he was.”
“We'll see about that,” Dyson said coldly.
A second later, we were on the streets of London.
“I trust you can find your way from here?” Abdalin asked.
“We're still a ways ff from where we're supposed to be,” I said, reaching in my pocket for the address.
“We're in Europe,” Abdalin said. “Everywhere is withing walking distance.”
“That's not entirely true,” Tony said.
“Whatever,” Abdalin said, slipping the ring off his finger and tossing it to me.
“What's this?” I asked.
“Try it on,” he said.
I slipped it onto my left middle finger. It had a solid black opal on it, with a J engraved in the center.
“It will react to the thoughts of its wearer,” Abdalin said. “Try thinking of a shield.”
I flipped Abdalin off with that finger and thought of a shield, like he said. It dissolved into light, just like it did for him, and wrapped itself around my forearm before solidifying into the shape of a buckler.
“So, this is like your old mask, right?” I asked.
The masks worn by the Game Master's servants are capable of transforming into shields, although I've only seen them become the hand-held variant, not bucklers.
“It's based on the game masks,” Abdalin confirmed. “But it's not quite as complex. It only works as a shield. I'm not as good as my master was at making them, and I didn't put a lot of time into it.”
“I see,” I said, examining the shield closer. It was solid black, and had a large white J on the surface of it.
“One last thing I have to do,” Abdalin said, placing a hand on the shield.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Modifying something,” He replied, as if it was obvious.
Suddenly, the J symbol on the shield vanished to be replaced by something else. It was a symbol, emblazoned in dark red, that I had seen before. It had appeared on my chest when I entered the Red Cap's domain, and I remember absentmindedly drawing it in the dirt before then.
“What does this symbol mean?” I asked.
“The symbol on the shield reflects it's owner in some way,” Abdalin said. “I've passed ownership to you, so that symbol is yours as well.”
I imagined a ring, and the shield returned to its ring form. The new symbol was now engraved on the opal in place of the J.
“Good luck,” Abdalin said, vanishing.
“Thanks for the lift, you've been a big help!” I said sarcastically.
“Come on,” Tony said. “Let's see about transportation.”