World Of Vice

So, we did our little summoning for the Red Cap at a whorehouse. A literal whorehouse. Abdalin has some fucking weird connections. Anyway, the owner let us do our thing in one of the larger rental rooms. I think Abdalin bribed him. Whatever. Anyway, Hideaki, Tony, Seraph, Keursio, Abdalin and I sat in the room. I sat on the bed, while they all took seats around me.
“So, is there actually a ritual for summoning the Red Cap?” Keursio asked.
“Not that I know of,” I said, drawing my knife. “I just figured I'd surround myself with debauchery and blood and see if that draws her out.”
“Great plan,” Hideaki said, somewhat sarcastically.
Tony handed me an old mixing bowl, and I used the knife to cut one of my palms.
“If only there was Linkin Park playing,” I muttered, letting the blood spill into the bowl. “Think this'll be enough?”
“Here,” Abdalin said, grabbing the knife and cutting his own hand with it. He then proceeded to drop his own blood in with mine.
“Multiple people's blood, all mixing together in a big red bowl,” I said. “Yeah, I can see why that might appeal to her.”
Abdalin handed the knife over to Seraph, who, after hesitating for a bit, added her own blood.
“Sorry,” I said.
“Don't worry about it,” she replied.
The knife handed over to Keursio, who wiped it off with a towelette  before cutting herself and dropping some of her own blood into the bowl. Tony took the knife from her, wiped it on his jeans, and added his blood to the mix, without hesitating. Hideaki eyed the knife for a moment before turning to me.
“This had better work,” he said, ignoring the knife and drawing his new kodachi. He gripped the blade in his free hand and drew it across his palm, allowing the blood to trickle down into the bowl.
“Great,” I said. “Let's give this a try. I sat cross-legged on the bed and placed the bowl in my lap, letting the smell of blood drift up into my nostrils. I closed my eyes and focused on the smell, using it to meditate.
Come on, I thought. Come out here. We need to talk.
“Is it working?” Tony asked after a while
“Not yet,” I said. “I thought surrounding myself with sex would work”
“Maybe there's not enough,” Hideaki said jokingly.
Abdalin seemed to take that seriously, as he immediately exclaimed “On it!” and rushed out into the hallway shouting “Yo! I need three of your finest girls and a mini-fridge full of lime Jell-O!”
I sat there for a few moments, staring after him.
“The Game Master's death really hit him hard,” I said. “It's pretty tragic.”
“Riiiiiiiight,” Hideaki replied.
I closed my eyes again and concentrated. After few minutes of absolutely nothing happening, I let out a sigh.
“You know, maybe the right ambience would help,” I said. “Does anyone have any Blood On The Dance Floor music?”
I opened my eyes to look at the others. They were no where to be seen.
“Ooooooooor, not,” I said.
The room looked different now The lighting was really dim, and the walls had turned a dark blue. I got up to investigate them. The paint was peeling away, and the drywall beneath was a dark black.
I looked around some more and found myself face to face with a tall mirror. My clothing was different. I was dressed in a black t-shirt and slacks, and had my old vest on. On top of that, there was a dark red symbol on my shirt. The same symbol I had absentmindedly drawn in the dirt that one time. You know, this one;

I left the room and found myself in a long, long hallway. Seeing nothing better to do, I began walking down it, assuming it would take me to the Red Cap. As I walked, I noticed that the condition of the walls was becoming gradually worse. The paint was chipping away rapidly, and the drywall was badly cracked and dripping blood.
“Yep, this is her domain all right,” I said.
I soon became aware of someone with me. I briefly looked over my shoulder
“Oh, you're here,” I said calmly.
Burner, floating just behind me, tilted his head.
“Stop tilting your head,” I told him. “It looks weird.”
We came to a spiral staircase, and began to ascend along it. For a while. A very, very long while. Eventually, we made it to the top, and a new hallway. I continued to walk along it, until I saw a peculiar door There were a lot of doors there, but this one had a glowing red light slipping out from underneath it.
“Guess this is it,” I said. “The Red Cap must be through here.”
I turned the knob and walked in. The floor ended a few feet inside, and beyond that was a huge black void. And floating there was an aurora, much like the Northern Lights, only red. Every conceivable shade of red was repressented in that floating mass of light.
“So,” I said. “This is what you really look like.”
“Daniel,” the Red Cap said. “Greetings.”
“Yeah, hi, we need to talk,” I said.
“You want me to answer your questions?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I said.
“Very well,” she said. “I will answer one of your questions now. The others will come at a cost.”
“What cost?” I asked.
“I am on the loosing end of a war,” she told me. “You know this.”
“I'm not helping you,” I told her. “I want to end this war. I'm not about to pick sides in it.”
“We share a common enemy in the High Blood,” she reminded me.
“Good point, except you're my enemy too,” I said.
“And yet the High Blood are the greater threat,” she said.
“You've cause plenty of collateral damage of your own,” I replied.
“I can put an end to that,” she said. “For the time being. But I cannot stop the High Blood from taking innocent lives.”
“I'm not joining you,” I told her. “End of story.”
I heard laughter coming from the aurora.
“You haven't figured out what Red Daniel is, have you?” she said.
“You mean what he was?” I asked. “Don't know if you recall, but I killed him.”
“That didn't stop him from saving your life when you clashed with the Sentinal, did it?” she asked.
“I don't know how he did that,” I said. “But he hasn't been seen since.”
“No he hasn't,” the Red Cap said. “Regardless, his followers are stronger then us, and unless we can form an alliance, they will spread throughout this world, wngulfing everything with Vice.”
“You're just ticked because they're stealing all your potential victims,” I said.
“Enough,” she said. “Now, you had questions, did you not?”
“Quite a few,” I said.
“I will only answer one right now,” she said. “The others will wait.”
I put some thought into that, trying to decide what was most urgent.
“Keursio's gone long enough without her sister,” I said. “Can you tell me where I can find Isiore?”
Suddenly, more figures began appearing. They were vaguely humanoid, and appeared to be dark blue. Some of them had fierce red auras around them, but most of them only had a little bit of red glow about them.
“Blood Vessels,” I said. “And Scarlet Marked.”
“Yes,” the Red Cap said. “Some one here knows... Ah! Yes, you. Step forward.”
One of the Scarlet Marked approached me.
“Share with him,” the Red Cap said. “Your memory.”
I was suddenly somewhere else. A dark street, late at night. I was peering down an alleyway, keeping myself hidden. I could see three figures speaking. One of them I recognized immediately as Bill Dawson. He had on his beige trenchcoat, with the armor underneath. The man nest to him was dressed in the same armor, but with nothing over it. I assumed it was Angelo Nox. Then there was the third person. A tall man, dressed in a dusty black coat, with his hands stuffed into his pockets. I couldn't quite make out his face.
“I'm afraid you're asking a bit much,” Angelo said. “The answer is no.”
“I don't believe that you understand me, Nox,” the strange man said. “I'm not taking no for an answer.”
Dawson suddenly had a mechanical sword out, raised to the stranger's throat.
“Too bad,” Angelo said. “Because it is the only answer we will be giving.”
The stranger pulled his left hand out of his pocket and vanished. He suddenly reappeared beside Dawson and struck him in the back of the skull, knocking him out.
“This is my final offer,” the man said.
Angelo produced a mask out of seemingly nowhere and placed it on his face. It locked into place, with some of its robo-iron-man bits sliding around as it did, and a bright red spade symbol on the front it it lit up. A giant, high tech spear appeared in his hand.
“Yes, well, this is my final answer,” he said, not breaking from his icy calm.
And then he attacked. They both teleported all over the alleyway, locked in combat The strange man fought exclusively with his left arm, keeping his right hand hidden away. Angelo's speed was unbelievable. I've seen very few people that could move that fast. But unfortunately, that didn't give him much of an advantage. The strange man suddenly wasn't alone. Replicas of him appeared, each with glowing blue eyes. They too fought only with their left hand, and they attempted to overwhelm Angelo. Angelo managed to strike them down and charged at the stranger. Just then, Isiore appeared through a rift and tackled Angelo. Together with the stranger and his copies, they brought Angelo down. He fell to the ground, panting. Isiore stepped back, while the copies vanished and the stranger stood over Angelo. He shifted his right arm, preparing to draw it from its pocket, but another man suddenly appeared before him, with a familiar sword raised to his throat. He was dressed in a segmented long coat of several colors, mostly black and violet. I couldn't see his face. It was blurred, for some reason, but he seemed familiar, in more ways then one. The two men stared each other in the eyes for a long moment.
“You,” the stranger said, after a bit.
“Hello,” the mysterious swordsman said. “I hope I'm not interrupting something.”
“No,” the stranger said. “Not at all.”
Isiore made a move toward the swordsman, but the stranger motioned for her to be still.
“These men are an important investment to me,” the swordsman said. “I'd hate to have anything bad happen to them.”
He lowered his sword to the stranger's sheathed right hand.
“Just as much as you'd hate to receive any more injuries,” he continued
The stranger scowled, and took a few steps back. The swordsman turned his attention to Angelo.
“Get up,” he said. “You're embarrassing me. Making me come out here to deal with this. I have other investments to attend to, here.”
“My apologies,” Angelo said.
I was beginning to see the big picture. This man, with the sword, was the Backer. He was the one who was funding Angelo and Dawson. And the stranger who kept his apparently wounded hand hidden was the one controlling Isiore.
“Now, go on,” the Backer said.
“Okay,” Angelo replied, grabbing Dawson and vanishing.
“I apologize for how quickly everything escalated,” the Backer said.
The stranger let out a loud hmpf.
“Come, Isiore,” he said, grouchily. “Let's go.”
“Oh, also,” the Backer said, fading away to nothing. “You have a spectator.”
The stranger turned angrily, locking eyes with me.
Next thing I knew, he had me pinned to the wall by the throat, his glowing crimson eyes burning into mine. I could feel, and practically taste his anger. He drew his right hand, colored a deep crimson, with a deep gash on its back, from his pocket, and raised it.
“You should learn to keep you meddlesome nose out of things that don't concern you!” he barked, backhanding me with the force of a fucking car.
I was suddenly back in the Red Cap's domain, and I realized that that had all been the Scarlet Marked's memory. I sat there, panting.
“Fuck,” I said. “No, no, nononononoshit shit shit! Fuck! I am not prepared for this!”
“Calm yourself,” the Red Cap said, somewhat soothingly.
“Calm myself!?” I snapped. “This is the Jack of fucking All we're talking about here! Of all the people who could be manipulating Isiore, why'd it have to be fucking him!”
“I understand,” the Red Cap said. “You will not have to face him alone.”
“So what?” I asked. “You're providing backup?”
“You will meet with a Vessel of mine in Chicago one week from today,” she said. “She will assist you
“Just fucking peachy,” I thought.
“As I said, that is the only question I will answer for you now,” the Red Cap said. “The other answers will come later.”
“One last thing,” I said, standing up. “You must know by now that I'm powerless. The abilities that used to keep you in check are gone So why haven't you tried taking over?”
Without warning, the aurora starting rushing toward me. I drew my sword on reflex, and Burner summoned his naginata, but it proved unneccessary. The aurora stopped seconds before reaching me. Tendrils of drakness were binding it, preventing it from reaching me.
“I would love to corrupt you,” the Red Cap said. “Demolish your innocence and fill you with the darkest of vice. But he won't allow it.”
My eyes followed the tendrils to an object in the sky. A cloud of pure black smoke, obscuring something in its center I squinted up at it, and came to realize what the central object was; a large, cracked gas mask. I stepped back in both alarm and horror.
“The Archangel!” I gasped.
“In a manner of speaking,” the Red Cap said.
“He's supposed to be dead!” I exclaimed, anger replacing my fear. “I killed him!”
“Yes you did,” the Red Cap said.
“Why is here?” I demanded.
“Reasons,” the Red Cap said. “It is not important right now. It will be made clear to you someday.”
I glared up at the floating gas mask.
“That is all I will tell you for now,” the Red Cap said. “You and your infernal companion are excused.”
“Wait a second,” I said. “You know what Burner is, don't you!?”
“I told you before,” she said. “Only one question. I have been generous enough. Now leave!”
I was suddenly sprawled across the whorehouse bed. Every was still there, but they were in a state of mild panic.
“Daniel!” Seraph exclaimed. “Where were you!?”
“Uh, Red Cap's domain,” I said. “Long story. Listen, I know where Isiore is.”
I told them everything. They were all just as shocked as I was. You see, Jack's not human. Not really, anyway. He's a deal maker who only works for himself. He's like an evil genie, only more powerful. Like, Lovecraftian Outer God level power. And he's controlling Isiore.
But what unnerves me even more is the Backer. Even Jack was afraid of him. Just who is he? And also, where did Jack get that gash on his hand? That wasn't there before, was it? So many fucking questions...
Also, the Red Cap doesn't realize it, but she answered another of my questions. I know where that meeting between Angelo and Jack took place. I caught a glimpse of a sign before the vision ended. I don't know if Angelo and Dawson are still in the area, but I know I'm definitely gonna check out Vancouver in the near future.

Adon

I encountered another of the Apostles today. A man with golden hair and eyes, with a wavy sword across his back. The one Daniel had met. Their leader. I drew my sword upon seeing him and took a stance.
“So you're the paradox,” he said. “You're not quite as hideous as what Nick described to me.”
“Shut up!” I demanded.
“I do not take orders from you,” he said calmly. He reached for his sword, and took a stance across from me.
I raised my sword to my lips and whispered to it. “Blade of darkness, deliver mercy to the wicked.”
To my surprise, he did the same. And as he did, I could the meaning behind his words. The same meaning I put into mine.
“You carry a Mercygiver,” I stated.
“Correct,” he replied. “Gaudeamus.”
“You've named it?” I asked.
“The sword cannot affect me,” he said. “So I see no harm in giving it a title. No matter how strong its bond becomes to this body, it will never claim me.”
“I wouldn't take the chance either way,” I said. “Mine remains nameless.”
“I see,” he said. “Shall we, then?”
“Yes,” I replied. “Let's.”
We began fighting. As far as swordplay was concerned, we seemed to be evenly matched. He was just as fast. Just as skilled. Just as aggressive. But he didn't have my powers And when I started to use them, I was able to get an edge. After several minute, I got an opening. I pierced the tip of my sword through his heart, then withdrew and stabbed him in the throat as well. For a few moments, I thought I had won. But that short moment of confidence was my downfall. I got cocky, and wasn't expecting him to strike back as hard as he did He kicked me, hard, and I was sent flying backwards. I looked up at him, only to see a red light covering his body, and his wounds closed up. I rushed him again, putting everything I had into it. I stabbed him again and again, but each time he simply shrugged it off and counter attacked. I grew tired, and he seized me by the throat. He looked me dead in the eyes and smiled, before slamming my face into the concrete. I lay there, dazed for a few moment. I heard his footsteps moving away from me, and I looked up. He was leaving.
“You're not going to finish this? “I demanded.
“No need, “he said. “You've already proved to me that you're not a threat.”
“Why you-!” I snapped, but before I could finish, my head was slammed against the sidewalk again, and this time, he held it there.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” he said. “What can you tell me about Daniel's lovely little sword?”
“Wh-what?” I said.
“The short Japanese blade, “he said “What can you tell me about it? And why did you not have your own?”
“That's none of your business!” I spat.
“I'm sure its not,” he said, standing up. “Anyway, I think you should have this.”
He dropped an old, wooden button on the ground next to my face. I could feel that it was one of the items that Marshall and I had been looking for.
“Where did you get that?” I asked
“Oh, it was just lying around,” he said. “More importantly, are you aware of what it is?”
I got up onto my knees and picked it up carefully.
“That item is a prison,” he said. “For a soul my master didn't want.”
“What?” I asked. “Why-?”
“-Would the Ace Of Chaos have you looking for them?” he interrupted. “One can only guess. Who knows why's he's interested in those he's slain.”
I stared blankly at him for a moment. He chuckled and raised a hand into the air. A portal of blackness opened before him.
“I'll leave you to yourself now,” he said.
“Get back here!” I demanded, charging at him.
I stabbed my sword into his back a few times, and he turned back to me. Our swords clashed, as his wounds once again vanished. Both our swords suddenly began emitting a black aura. Well, that's new.
“Fascinating,” he said.
“You got an explanation for this?” I asked.
“I don't understand Mercygivers any more than you do,” he replied.
Suddenly, another man, who I recognized as that asshole Nick, appeared through a portal.
“Boss, what the hell are you-!” he began, then he saw me, and silenced himself. Before I knew it, he had knocked the sword from my hand and elbowed me hard in the shoulder, shattering my collar-bone.
“Leave him, Nick,” my opponent said. “Let us be off.
“Next time,” Nick said, glaring down at me, “I end this.”
I glared back up at them as they both began stepping through the portal.
“Oh, and Nick,” the boss said, before they vanished entirely.
“What?” Nck replied.
The boss turned back to look at me.
“I want my body to be faster than him,” he said. “Make it happen.”
Nick sighed.
“I'll see what I can do,” he said.
Then they were gone, leaving me with a bunch of new questions.

Reunion

This is Tony again. After Daniel told me about his encounter with Isiore, we arranged to meet with each other. After he dealt with the Timberwolf at that bar, he, Abdalin, and Seraph made it to Hideaki's house. Tsu had to go get back to work, but he told Daniel he's keep in touch.
So, Keursio, Moss, Hideaki, Preal and I were all there when Daniel arrived. I opened the front door and let them all in.
“Tony!” Daniel said, throwing his arms around me. “Been way to long, bro!”
“Next time we meet up, can we just do it casually, when no lives are at stake?” I asked him.
“Sorry,” he said. He looked over at the others. “Moss! Hideaki! How you guys doing?”
“Not bad,” Moss said.
Hideaki locked eyes on Abdalin as he entered. The two glared at each other for a moment.
“Samurai,” Abdalin said, in a harsh greeting.
“Joker,” Hideaki replied.
“You must be Preal,” Daniel said, stepping between the two of them before a fight could break out and looking over at Preal. “Nice to meet you.”
“Um.. thanks,” Preal said awkwardly.
“And you're Keursio?” Daniel asked. “Am I saying that right?”
“Yes,” Keursio said, getting up and approaching him. “You've seen my sister? Is she okay?”
“Well, she's alive,” Daniel said. “Not sure about the okay part. Do you know any reason she might want me dead?”
“I can't think of any,” she said. “Are you sure she was trying to kill you?”
“It seemed that way,” Daniel said. “I think someone might be using her.”
“Using her how?” Keursio asked.
“One of two things,” Daniel said. “She could be possessed by something, or she was recruited to kill me. Possibly blackmailed.”
“I suspected that to,” I said. “She might be avoiding you by choice. To keep you safe.”
“The world sure has gotten worse since I've been gone,” Keursio said sadly.
“It hasn't gotten any worse,” Hideaki replied. “It's just gotten better at being bad.”
“Well, if she is being used or controlled, then there has to be someone behind it,” Keursio said.
“Yeah,” I replied. “But we're still no closer to figuring out who it is. Daniel, are you sure there weren't any clues she left behind?”
“I've told you everything I know,” Daniel said. “She attacked me, didn't say a word, then bailed when she realized I had the advantage.”
“So we still have more questions then answers,” Moss said.
“And not just about this,” Daniel said. “There's still the Apostles and the Panopticon.”
“And let's not forget the Blood Vessel war,” I added. “Or the Daemon Lords and Bill Dawson.”
“I can't get all the answers we need,” Daniel said, taking a seat on top of my desk “But I think I can get us some of them.”
“What do you mean?” Keursio asked.
Daniel and I had discussed this over the phone already, but we hadn't mentioned it to the others yet.
“I have a contact,” Daniel said. “One I don't really wanna talk to, but who probably knows some of what we need.”
Abdalin quickly turned and glared at Daniel.
“Who are you thinking of contacting?” he demanded.
Daniel placed a hand over his heart and said “Her.”
You see, this is the kind of guy Daniel is. The kind of guy who will confront the Devil face to face and demand answers.
“You can't be serious!” Abdalin said, catching on a bit faster then anyone else there.
“Why do you think we came here?” Daniel said. “If things go awry, I'll need all you guys to keep me in check.”
“I don't understand,” Keursio said.
“Neither do I,” Preal said. “The hell's going on?”
I sighed, and answered them.
“The Red Cap's been quiet for a while now,” I said.
Daniel nodded in agreement.
“It's about time I make her talk,” he said.

-Tony Helioson, signing out

Shots!

So, Seraph, Abdalin, and I met up with Collector Tsu at the appointed time. He had his phone out and was texting on it.
“Hey, Tsu!” I said. “Nice to see you again.
“Daniel!” he greeted me. “How goes your fight for survival?”
“Not half bad,” I said. “Had a few close calls, but nothing a well placed Deus Ex Machina couldn't fix.”
“Good to know,” he said.
“Um, you have information on the Apostles, don't you?” Seraph asked.
“Me?” Tsu asked. “No. Of course not. Even the Archive is lacking info on those elusive bastards.”
“But- then- why-,” Seraph stammered, before turning to me. “So what was the point of meeting up with him!?”
“I never said he'd know anything,” I said defensively. “But we share mutual 'friend' who can answer some questions for us.”
“Wait, what?” Seraph asked.
“A fer years ago, this crazy bastard here pulled a Timberwolf out of a fire,” Tsu said. “Saved the guys life.”
“Much to his annoyance,” I added.
It's true. That guy was less than stoked to still be alive. Fucking Timberwolves...
“While he was in the hospital, I had a tracer planted under his skin,” Tsu said. “So unless he removed it himself and fed it to a dog, I'm pretty sure the Archive can find him.”
Shortly after he said that, his phone buzzed. So that's why he had it out.
“Speak of the devil,” he said. “Our friend the Timberwolf is currently hanging out at...”
He grimaced.
“...O'Briens...,” he said.
Seraph and I traded a confused glance, while Abdalin threw his hands in the air and exclaimed “Whoo-hoo! O'Briens!”
Abdalin then grabbed Tsu by the arm, and, much to Tsu's surprise, teleported away. I had another moment to think. I knew I had heard of O'Briens before.
Suddenly, Abdalin reappeared, grabbing Seraph's rm.
“Your turn!” He said quickly, before vanishing as well.
I rolled my eyes and took a few steps back. Abdalin reappeared right next to where I had been standing, and seemed confused that I was no longer there.
“So why am I the last one you teleport?” I asked.
“Deal with it, bitch,” he said, grabbing me by the arm and taking me to the street outside of O'Briens.
It was a bar. The name was above the door, with the O replaced with Slender Man's symbol. Now I remembered. This place was a proxy bar. I've read about it before.
After bringing me there, Abdalin barged through the door, shouting “Yo barkeep! I need four shots of whiskey!”
The rest of us stood outside for a minute.
“This is that servant bar, isn't it?” Seraph asked.
“Yup,” I confirmed
“Ever been inside?” Tsu asked.
“I try to avoid places where I'll probably die,” I said. I then summoned my wakizashi. “On the other hand, they do have shots.”
I stepped into the bar, and scanned the area. It seemed to be a slow night. Only about a deozen people were inside. It didn't take long for me to pick our man out.
“Hey, Wolfie!” I called out to him.
He catch sight of me and panicked. He charged toward the door, running past me. Before he could reach the salvation of the outdoors, Seraph spin kicked him right in the chest, knocking him flat on his ass. As she did, I cupped my hands over my mouth and shouted “TIMBER!” Don't give me that look. It was funny at the time.
Seraph and Tsu pinned him to a chair, and I stood in front of him.
“I have some questions for you,” I said.
“I ain't sayin' nothin'!” he protested.
“I want to know about the Apostles,” I told him, drawing my sword. “Tell me what I wanna know.
Abdalin then showed up, slamming a tray on the table text to us, containing four small glasses of translucent brown liquid
“I got us some shots!” he said.
I took one of the shotglasses and splashed its contents in Wolfie's face, then handed the glass back to Abdalin.
“I don't like whiskey,” I told him. “Order me some vodka.”
Abdalin nodded and tuened away.
“Now, talk to me,” I told Wolfie.
“No,” he insisted.
I continued pressuring him until Abdalin brought me my shot. I tossed it back, almost choking on the harsh taste of it Haven't had a shot in a while. Almost forgot how terrible they taste.
“Should have ordered a chaser,” I muttered.
I raised my sword to his throat, and it started to glow red.
“My hands aren't too steady when I'm buzzed,” I told him. “Tell me about the Apostles.”
He seemed genuinely scared now, but he kept his lips tight.
“Abdalin,” I said. “Get me another shot.”
“Look!” Wolfie exclaimed. “Even if I wanted to tell you, I couldn't!”
“And why not!?” Seraph demanded.
I had been afraid of this outcome. I lowered my blade and sighed.
“It's him, isn't it?” I asked. “The one who can make you do things against your will, without questioning it. He ordered you to keep quiet, didn't he?”
He didn't answer, but I could see in his expression that it was true.
“Damn it,” I said, sheathing my sword.
I looked around the bar. Everyone there was watching us with a kind of morbid interest. But there was one guy in particular who caught my eye. He sat by himself, a few tables away fro us, dressed mostly in black, with a gold chain wrapped around one arm. A bit of the chain dangled from his fingers, with a circular blade bearing the symbol of the twin triangles at its end. It swung back and forth, like a pendulum. I could feel the Archangel within him
“Daniel resisted that guy's influence,” Seraph said, from behind me.
The man with the chain stood up, and reached into his vest.
“Maybe this guy could too,” Seraph continued. “With the right persuasion.”
“I doubt it,” Abdalin said. “Few people are as stubborn as Daniel is.”
The man drew a knife from his vest and raised it above his head.
It turned to the others and shouted “Get down!”
The knife whizzed past my head and sank into Wolfie's skull. He gasped a little, then fell silent.
“I'm sorry,” the man said. “Were you finished with that?”
I glared angrily at the man, but before I could say anything spiteful to him, I noticed something. Looking closer at his vest, I recognized it. He caught me looking and smiled.
“Look familiar?” he said. “It should. Used to be yours.”
Which I'm pretty sure is impossible. That vest was destroyed a long time ago. How could he have it, in perfect condition like that?
“You're an Apostle, aren't you!?” I demanded.
“Right you are,” he said, as a strange red light slithered across his chain for a few seconds. “I am the angel's Pendulum.”
“Good for you,” I said, drawing my sword. “I'm his murderer.”
“Let's not get violent just yet,” Pendulum said. “I just came for a few drinks. Fighting you now would be both impractical and counterproductive.”
“What do you mean 'counterproductive'?” I demanded.
“It's complicated,” he said, walking to the door.
“What about him?” I asked, gesturing to Wolfie. “He's one of your own! Why did you kill him?”
“Just business,” he said, walking out the door and onto the sidewalk.
I followed him outside as he walked to the street corner. Seraph and Tsu were close behind me.
“What was his name!?” I called.
Excuse me?” Pendulum responded, nonchalantly.
“What was his name?” I said again. “Who was he!?”
“The fuck do I care?” Pendulum responded.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean!?” I demanded. “He was one of your men! How can you just not care about who he was!”
“Listen here, pipsqueak!” Pendulum shouted back, somewhat frustrated. “He is a Timberwolf! Timberwolves are trained to accept death! To embrace the Archangel! To welcome their demise with open arms!”
He narrowed his eyes at me, and for a moment, I could swear that his eyes and hair gained shades of dark violet.
“What use is an identity to a man like that?” he asked.
I didn't have a response to that. I just stood there for a moment, not sure of what to say.
“I'm out of here,” Pendulum said. “But first...”
With a flick of his arm, he sent his razor flying in our direction. It buried itself into Seraph's arm just before he yanked it back. She cried out in pain, clutching the deep gash it had left there. And that's where I drew the goddamn line. I charged at him, drawing my sword as I did. It burst into bright crimson flames as I swung it, but he vanished just as it passed through the space he had been.
It stood there in silence for a little while before turning back to the others.
“Is she okay?” I asked.
“I can get this stitched up,” Tsu replied. “No sweat.”
“I'll be fine,” Seraph said. “Thanks.”
I breathed a sigh of relief, but I was still concerned and pissed off. Abdalin appeared at my side, and placed a hand on my shoulder.
“You okay?” he asked me.
“I'm fine,” I replied.
“You sure?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “Why do you keep asking?”
“Look behind you,” he said.
I did. I was fairly stunned by what I saw. The traffic light at the corner was lying in the middle of the empty intersection. I hadn't even noticed it before. It had been felled, and the sliced edges of it were still burning with red flames.
“D-did I...?” I stammered.
I looked down at the sword in my hand, still burning with red hot fury.
“Did I do this?” I muttered quietly.
“ParaDan doesn't use the same sword as you,” Abdalin pointed out.
He was right. The only weapon I had ever seen ParaDan wield was that rapier of his, with its sinister aura and dark presence.
“He must have owned it at some point in his timeline,” Abdalin said. “But he know longer does, for some reason.”
I gulped, knowing exactly where this conversation was going.
“Perhaps,” Abdalin continued, “That wakizashi is more dangerous than the Mercygiver he chose to equip himself with.”

And The Cosplay Award Goes To...

Hey guys, it's me, Daniel. So, after making a few calls, Seraph managed to get Collector Tsu's number for me I called him up, and we've arranged a meeting in a few days. For those who don't know about Tsu, he's a guy I met a long time ago, and is a member of the Archive. He haven't spoken in a while, but I trust him more than any other member of the Archive, and he's the most likely to be able to help me with what I need at the moment.
Anyway, other than that, I got in another fight recently
I was bored, so I decided to go scout. I do that. I just wander around, paying attention for signs of Fear activity. Sometimes I find some, sometimes I don't. Occasionally, I'll come across a runner, usually someone who seems more paranoid then your average Joe. And sometimes I get attacked by a servant or some other miscellaneous loony. This time was one of those times.
Someone cornered me in an alleyway. They wore all black and gray, cyber armor. Their face was concealed beneath a dark helmet. They just watched me at first, without making a move. So I decided to say something.
“Hey,” I said. “Cool suit. Who do you work for? General Zod? Ultron? Oh! I get it! You're a Lelouch cosplayer!”
A pair of devices, that looked kind of like foot-and-a-half long sword hilts, sprangs from the gauntlets of their armor, into their hands A pair of blades flipped out of both of them, much like switchblades, and clicked into 90 degree angles from the hilts, giving them the appearance of kama. A kama, if you don't know, is a miniature scythe that originally served as a farm tool but was later adapted into a martial arts weapon and is one of the 5 key weapons used in Kobudo. Both of their kama remained attached to their gauntlets by a set of cords.
“Well, if you're on your way to a Code Geass convention,” I continued, “You might wanna work on your costume a bit. It doesn't quite capture Zero's supreme anime-ness.”
And then they charged at me, swinging their scythes. I summoned my sword and fought back against them. I managed to shove them away from me a bit, and they decided to throw their scythes. I deflected them with the blade of my sword and ignited it. I charged at them, and they jumped into the air, evading my attack. They landed several feet behind me, and I twisted around, reaching into my coat as I did.
“Hey, is your armor bullet-proof?” I asked, and before they could respond, I whipped out my handgun and shot them in the shoulder.
The bullet hit their armor, and became embedded in it, but didn't break all the way through.
“I guess that's a yes,” I said.
They threw their scythes again, and while deflecting one of them, the other one tangled around my leg, and they yanked the cord hard I barely had time to say “Oh shit!” before I hit the ground. Then they kicked my sword and gun from my hands and stomped on my chest, pinning me down.
“Damn it!” I gasped, partially winded. “You know, you guys really need to stop forgetting...”
They put more wait on me, causing me to pause briefly, before I continued.
“.. That I can do,” I wheezed, “...This...”
I summoned the sword back to my hand, and it erupted in to brilliant flames. They stepped back in surprise, taking their weight off me. I also got a surprise, when a giant blurry being appeared above me. It's eyes glowed a fierce red, matching the flames coming from my sword, and it its hand it held a giant, red-hot naginata, a Japanese polearm. I got back to my feet, and with Burner hovering behind me, I turned back to face my adversary.
“Two on one,” I said. “I doubt your cosplay will help you here.”
In response, they charged at me. Burner and I both swung our blades simultaneously, slashing them across the chest and torso. They were flung backwards but the force, and deep burns became gouged into their armor. They examined the damage to their armor, and then they tore a hole in space and fled through it. I got a look at the city beyond the hole before it closed up. Burner faded away immediately after.
“Um, thanks, I guess,” I said. “That was pretty cool.”
I retrieved my gun and returned the sword to its sheath, before pulling out my phone. Tony answered.
“Hey man,” he said. “What's up?”
“I have good news and bad news,” I said. “The good news is, I found Isiore.”
“What's the bad news?” he asked.
I sighed and looked at where the portal had been a minute before.
“She just tried to kill me.”

Daniel and Para-Dan

Hello, everybody. My name is Seraph. Daniel doesn't wanna update right now about what's happened, so I'm doing it. Before I get to that though, maybe I should tell you all a bit about myself, and how Daniel and I met.
It started in high school. I was one of the not-so-hot girls. I'm not saying I was ugly, but I wasn't winning any pageants any time soon either. So, I built up some self esteem issues. Perfectly normal for a girl my age. So, she eventually came for me. The Mother Of Snakes. She promised me beauty. It was a tempting offer. So tempting, that after a bit of internal debate, I ended up accepting. I became her servant, a Lilim. My looks improved, somewhat, but I also ended up with scales. Not that they were a problem. They were in pretty subtle places, so I just had to wear the right clothes to keep them hidden.
So, for a few years, I did her bidding, and learned a lot about the Fears. A couple years ago, I was on assignment dealing with a government organization involved with the Game Master. Stirem Inc. I had figured out where one of their bases was located, but I wasn't dumb enough to attempt infiltration alone. So, just as I was about to start seeing about getting help, my cellphone buzzed. A text from an unfamiliar number, telling me to meet them at the bathroom mirror of a specific house. You see, Lilim can travel through the Garden Of Desolation, a world we access through mirrors. So, I found the mirror the text mentioned, and it was there that I met Daniel. Or, rather, HELLFIRE, controlling Daniel. I had met Dying Men shards before, but never any who were willing to share the body with their host. Anyway, HELLFIRE offered his and Daniel's assistance, and we made plans to break into the base.
Me, Daniel, and some of his friends went there. It was the first time I had spoken with him while he was in control. He seemed okay. He spoke calmly, for the most part, and though he was a bit skeptical about trusting me, he went along with it.
We got into the base, and we found a glowing orb. HELLFIRE said that we had to destroy it, but before we could, Dr. Welric, who I thought had been killed by his son before, interrupted us. There was some violence, and the orb ended up getting knocked to the ground. That was where I made my mistake. I jumped to grab it, but by the time I heard HELLFIRE's warnings, I had already caught it. Something inside the orb started taking over. Silvermist. A Dying Man shard. Also, HELLFIRE's daughter. Or son. Or... sibling... I guess? Dying Men are fucking confusing...
She took over my body. My consciousness was shoved to the back of my mind. All there was was coldness. I could barely tell what was going on outside. It was like that for a while. Benjamin Malkator was the one who ended it.
I was gradually starting to regain my senses. I think Silvermist was starting to release her hold on me.
“You're right,” she said, using my lips. “You are a much more adequate choice.” I could make out Malkator's body as I was forced to rush over to him, and she slipped away from me, possessing him instead. And just like that, all the coldness was gone. The warmth of the room rushed into me, and I lost consciousness.
I started coming to when I heard voices above me. I recognized them. Malkator, Daniel, and the Mother Of Snakes. I began to move.
“Ah,” The Mother Of Snakes hissed. “So you're awake.”
My eyes shot open, and I looked up at her. She was right above me. Staring down at my body hungrily. I had seen that expression on her before, but I had always mistaken it for something else. Something less sinister. But after what I had suffered through at Silvermist's hands, I could now see the truth. Silvermist had used me, like a cheap toy. And the Mother Of Snakes was no different. She just wanted my to be her puppet. Her toy. And I felt like shit for taking so long to realize that.
“Come,” she said. “It is time for us to go.”
I sat up and looked at her, terrified.
“No,” I said. I think my voice might have quivered. “I don't want to.”
“Oh?” She asked, looking both amused and malicious all at once.
After what Silvermist had done, I was sick of it. Sick of it all. I was done. I just wanted to go. Lead a normal life, away from all the Fears. I just wanted to be free. I told her as much, or at least a summation of it. I was too scared to put everything I was feeling into the right words. She just let out a hissing laugh and leered at me.
“It is not your choice,” she said.
She slithered a few inches toward me, and I tried crawling back. I was scared shitless.
“You are my servant,” she said. “You've had enough when I say you have.”
She was almost upon me, and I had the sinking realization that this was it. I was going to die in service to this monster. But my thoughts were broken by the piercing sound of a gunshot, and a bullet went whizzing by her head, almost hitting her, and a voice rang out through the air.
“She said she doesn't want any more of this! Leave her alone!”
At first, I didn't realize who it was. Then I remembered Daniel was there. I turned to look at him.
He was different from when I first met him before the Stirem base. Back then, he had been calm. Collected. He spoke softly, and was pretty reasonable. This was my fist time seeing him angry.
His voice was harsh, and I could practically feel the seething hatred in it. He held himself differently too. His body was tense, his gaze focused, rage burning behind his eyes. He had a gun drawn and was prepared to shoot at her again. The sheer balls this guy had was incredible. This wasn't the power of a Devil Killer I was seeing. This was the power of pure, unadulterated stubbornness.
Apparently, the Mother Of Snakes was impressed too, because after staring into his eyes for a few moments, she said “Very well, Devil Killer. Our time to fight has not come yet. Until then, I shall leave you alone. But from now on, sleep with one eye open.”
And then she left. Daniel and I started dating a little bit after that. Even though he's lost his Devil Killer powers, he still possesses that same stubbornness he displayed that night. He's usually a nice, fun guy to be around. But when he gets into a serious fight, he can become downright terrifying. Put a flaming sword in his hand, and you'd have to be really really brave or really really stupid to cross him.
Anyway, back to today.
Daniel, Abdalin and I have been on the move. We'll drive for a bit, then spend a couple days in a random small town, then get back on the road and move to a new location. Daniel hasn't enjoyed it. He doesn't like running. He'd rather go looking for trouble, but I told him that he needs to take some time off after his last night, and even he's not stubborn enough to defy his girlfriend.
So, we've been staying in this town in Nevada for the past few days, and Daniel's crazy future self found us. He looked like he had had the tar beaten out of him recently. Walked like it to. He was staggering quite a bit. He approached Daniel immediately.
“You okay?” he asked.
Daniel glared at Para-Dan for a while before answering.
“I'm fine,” he said. “A bit out of the loop, though. Why haven't you been telling me anything?”
“Well, um...,” Para-Dan said, a bit awkwardly.
“Cat got your tongue?” Daniel growled. “Come on, spit it out. Why am I in the dark all the time?”
“Because I've had my own business to take care of,” Para-Dan replied. “Stuff that doesn't concern you.”
“What do you mean 'doesn't concern me'?” Daniel demanded. “I thought you came here to help. To give this universe a better future.”
“That is why I'm here,” Para-Dan said. “But I'm doing it MY way.”
“Well, I have my own way that I'm trying to do things,” Daniel said. “And you're not helping any.”
“You want my help?” Para-Dan asked. “Fine. What do you want.”
“Well, we can start with some answers,” Daniel said. “The fuck have you been up to?”
Para-Dan sighed.
“Marshall's been having me track some items down,” he replied.
“What items?” Daniel asked.
“No clue,” Para-Dan said. “I'm in the dark too, but apparently they're significant.”
“Whatever,” Daniel said. “So what about the Apostles? What can you tell me about them?”
“Next to nothing,” Para-Dan said. “I never encountered them in my timeline.”
“Why not?” Daniel asked.
“Because, in my timeline, I didn't kill the Archangel,” Para-Dan said. “They never had a reason to come after me.”
“Just perfect,” Daniel said. “Then what about the Vessel War? How does it end?”
“In my timeline...,” Para-Dan hesitated, as if something in his memories was eating away at him. “It's complicated...”
“What do you mean, 'it's complicated'?” Daniel demanded.
“I mean, it's fucking complicated,” Para-Dan answered. “It doesn't matter anyway. The Vessel War started after I killed Red Daniel, and as I've explained to you, that happened a lot later for me then it did for you. Because of that, the Vessel War in this timeline could play out completely differently.”
“Oh yeah, that's right,” Daniel said, angrily. “Because YOU decided to start up all that dimensional-bleeding bullshit early for me, because you thought it's make me stronger. But look at me now!”
Daniel spread out his arms, exposing his chest.
“I'm fucking powerless now!” he growled.
Para-Dan seemed speechless, and I think I saw a flash of guilt in his eyes. Daniel kicked the dirt in frustration.
“I know you said you want to help make this timeline a better place,” Daniel said. “But did you ever stop to think that you might be making it WORSE!?”
Para-Dan closed his eyes and clenched his fists.
“I didn't know that would happen to you,” he said. “I'm trying to make things right, but even I don't have all the answers, and things are playing out a lot differently this time around.”
“And whose fault is that?” Daniel asked.
Para-Dan opened his eyes, and glared straight into Daniel's eyes. I know I said that Daniel can be terrifying, but Para-Dan can be even more so, especially with all those mutations adding to his intimidation factor.
“Would you stop acting like a petulant child!?” he snapped. “I know I've screwed some things up, but I'm trying my damnedest to set things right again.”
“And what a great job you're doing,” Daniel said. “You don't tell anyone what's going on, you kill people without giving them a chance to change their ways, you keep showing up with new injuries without explanation, and then you run off again before we can get any fucking answers out of you.”
Daniel turned around and started walking off.
“Forget it,” he said. “Just go do your thing with Marshall. I don't give a shit anymore.”
Para-Dan scowled, and then spoke the one word which must never be uttered.
“Retard!” he snapped.
“Oh shit,” I said quietly, taking a few steps back.
Daniel stopped in his tracks and turned his head slightly.
“The fuck did you just say?” he growled.
“You heard me,” Para-Dan said. “Retard.”
Daniel's sheathed wakizashi appeared in his left hand. He turned around and started approaching Para-Dan.
“Daniel, please don't,” I begged.
Daniel stood face-to-face with Para-Dan, and said “you wanna say that again? To my face this time?”
ParaDan reached down with his left hand and clutched the scabbard of his rapier.
“You,” he said, “Are a goddamn, ungrateful, stubborn, immature retard.”
And then the fight broke out. Daniel drew his sword, which caught fir, and Para-Dan drew his own sword, and they started attacking each other.
“Stop it!” I shouted, but they weren't listening.
Para-Dan had started making use of the Godsway, teleporting in and out of it, keeping Daniel on his toes. But Daniel was attentive enough to catch Para-Dan every time he reappeared and continued fighting him.
“Seriously, you two!” I said.
Para-Dan started tapping into the Cold Boy's power, chilling the air around them. In response, the flames of Daniel's sword glowed brighter, protecting him from the coldness. Realizing this, Para-Dan stopped the coldness, and tapped into the Nightlander's power, instead, animating his shadow to join him in the fight. It was two-on-one now, but Daniel fought on anyway.
I waited a few seconds for an opportunity to present itself, then I ran in. I delivered a couple quick side kicks to both of their knees, disrupting their balance. Then I roundhouse kicked Para-Dan in the face and followed up with a hook kick to Daniel's sternum. Then I dropped my weight and broom kicked Para-Dan's feet out from under him, then delivered a full-force punch to his chest as he fell down, forcing him away. Then I shot back up and hit Daniel with a right hook to the temple, stunning him, then I knocked him back with a palm strike to the chest. My boyfriend can kick all kinds of ass. So can I.
“I said, STOP!” I snapped at them.
They both just lied there, staring angrily at each other for a while. Para-Dan was the first to get up.
“You want me to stay out of your life?” he asked. “Fine. Let's see you beat the Apostles without my help.”
Then he vanished.
I turned to Daniel.
“Well,” I said. “Our most powerful ally pretty much just said 'screw this, I'm out', and it's all thanks to you. What do you have to say for yourself?”
“He's a dick?” Daniel said quietly, averting my gaze.
I sighed.
“Well, what now?”
“I dunno,” Daniel said. “ParaDan doesn't know any more about the Apostles then I do anyway, so he wouldn't be able to help much either way.”
“Well, let's start with what we do know,” I said.
“Well, there's ten of them,” Daniel said. “At least. Their leader is some kind of immortal, or at least borderline immortal, with a magic sword. Then there's a guy who can make people do things just by telling them to. He almost got me to kill myself. Then there's the guy who drips his blood into wounded people's throats. I don't know what his deal is, but I'd bet his blood has some kind of healing powers or anesthetic properties. That's about all I got.”
“And Abdalin doesn't know a lot more, or at least he won't tell us,” I said. “So who would?”
Daniel remained quiet for a minute, thinking, before uttering a soft “Shit...”
“What is it?” I asked.
“I totally forgot Collector Tsu's phone number,” he said.
I sighed.
“I'll see what I can do about that,” I told him.
So yeah, that's what happened. Daniel and Para-Dan had a two-man temper tantrum, and have yet to kiss and make up. As I mentioned, I'm typing this up because Daniel didn't want to. Also, I'm gonna try talking to Tony soon, see if I can get Martyr Beta's number off of him. If I talk to Beta, I can probably get Tsu's number. If not, I may have to talk to some of my old servant contacts. Hopefully I can avoid that...