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.”

Call

“He did WHAT!!??” Seraph's voice screeched from the other end of my phone.
“Well, she kissed him,” I explained. “Against his will...”
“Put him on!” she demanded.
“Okay,” I said, handing him the phone and mouthing “She's pissed.”
Daniel put the phone to his ear and said “Hey, babe.”
“Explain!” I heard her shout.
“Well,” he said. “What happened was...”
He explained to her the details of our encounter with the Apostles. At the end of it, I heard her let out a sigh and say something silently to him. Daniel hit the speaker phone button.
“Tony,” she said.
“Yeah?” I asked.
“Don't let him make out with any more super villains,” she said.
“I can't make any promises,” I said.
“I'm so devilishly handsome, I can't keep them off,” Daniel said.
“Daniel!” she snapped.
“I'm kidding!” he said defensively. “You know I love you.”
She sighed.
“Look, I have something else to talk to you two about,” she said.
“What's up?” I asked.
“The Apostles attacked here too,” she said.
“Are you all right!?” Daniel asked.
“Kyle, Preal and I weren't there when it went down,” she said. We made it back afterward.”
“What about everyone else?” I asked.
“They got beat, but they're okay,” she said. “Abdalin and Myrir's crew arrived to back them up.”
“Myrir's crew?” Daniel asked. “Who all does that entail?”
“Myrir herself,” Seraph said. “Then Sound, Gamer, and... um...”
“Who was it?” Daniel asked, with an edge to his voice. He knew as well as I did who it was, otherwise Seraph wouldn't be hesitating to tell us.
“Psycho Bitch,” she said softly.
Without a word, Daniel summoned his wakizashi to his free hand and flicked it a few inches out of its sheath.
“Is she still there!?” I demanded angrily.
Dyson, who was standing to the side watching us, glanced awkwardly between us before taking a few steps back.
We had history with the one called Psycho Bitch. One of our best friends, Paris, had been captured by Slender Man and made into a Hallowed, and it was all her fault. Either one of us would jump at the chance to make her answer for it.
“I'm sorry,” Myrir said. “Most of them left before I got here.”
“Most of them?” Daniel asked.
“Gamer stuck around,” she said. “He says he wants to talk to you.”
Daniel closed his eyes and began breathing in and out slowly. His mental state has been all over the place since he lost his powers, and his temper is difficult for him to control. Fortunately, he's still a martial artist. With enough meditation and controlled breathing, he can usually get a hold of himself.
“Alright,” he said calmly, a few moments later. “Let's hear him out.”
“Hey Pac Man!” Seraph said. “Get in here!”
There was some noise from the other end, before a young man spoke up, saying “Daniel Ferris?”
“Reginald,” Daniel replied.
“My name isn't-”
“What do you want, Reginald?” I interrupted.
The Gamer sighed.
“Look, I need to warn you,” he said. “The Apostles are out of your league. You can't beat them.”
“Not with that attitude,” Daniel replied.
“They have Ren on their side.”
“Oh shit,” Daniel said.
Ren Takeru, aka the Thorned Prince, is an old friend of Hideaki. After having a piece of the Bleeding Tree (a weird thing growing in Slender Man's domain) stabbed into his arm, the Plague doctor fused it into his body, allowing him to grow tree parts out of his body, and even turn his flesh to wood. He's grown extremely powerful over the years, and is hellbent on killing Slender Man, even if the rest of the world burns in the process. He's a deadly character that I'd rather not have as an adversary.
“They've also recruited an Intended Emissary,” Gamer continued. “I believe you've met. His name's Mute. He's a technopath.”
“Oh, that guy,” Daniel said. “I can take 'im.”
“You beat him once,” Gamer said. “You get too cocky. It'll be your downfall.”
“Says you,” Daniel replied. “I think it makes me more charming.”
“Whatever,” Gamer said.
“So how do you know so much about Mute?” Daniel asked.
“From your Timberwolf rival's blog,” Gamer said, as if it was obvious. “Duh.”
“Puppy Dog has a blog?” Daniel asked, surprised.
There was silence on the other side for a few seconds before Gamer asked “How the Hell have you survived this long?”
“By making clever quips and setting my sword on fire,” Daniel replied.
“Ugh,” Gamer sighed. “Look, Myrir and the rest of us are willing to lend you our help-”
“Not needed,” Daniel said.
“These guys are too dangerous for you,” Gamer insisted. “Just trust me. I can help you out here.”
“I might trust you more if you hadn't stolen my grandma's jewelry box,” Daniel retorted.
“How many times am I gonna have to apologize for that?” Gamer asked.
“I don't know,” Daniel said. “I'll pick a number later.”
Gamer sighed again.
“Look, we're here to help if we're ever needed,” he said.
“Tell you what,” Daniel said, bringing the phone closer to his mouth. “I'll accept you guyses help when you GIVE ME MY FRIEND BACK!”
Those last words were uttered with intense, hostile fury. I don't blame him. Psycho Bitch is one of his teammates. How the Hell can we trust them?
There was silence on the other end, then the sound of movement before we heard Seraph's voice again.
“I think you made him sad,” she said. “He just left.”
“Good,” Daniel said. “Where's Abby?”
“Passed out,” she said. “You need him to take you somewhere?”
“There's a couple addresses in Europe we need to check out,” I said. “Can you send him here once he wakes up?”
“No!” Dyson interrupted. “That man is not coming here!”
“Dude,” Daniel said. “He's cool. He's on our side now.”
“Do you really believe that?” Dyson demanded angrily. “He's the Black Joker! Do you have any idea how many Scions have died by his hand?”
Daniel turned on Dyson angrily, thrusting my phone into my hands.
“And how many Cards have died by yours!?” he demanded.
Dyson fell into stunned silence, as Daniel eyes bore into his own.
“Feel free to count them off,” Daniel said. “I've got time.”
Dyson remained silent for a while longer before saying “We'll meet him this weekend at Stanley Park. He's not coming to my hideout.”
“This weekend at Stanley Park,” I relayed to Seraph. “You got that?”
“I'll give him the memo. Which weekend?”
“Saturday,” Daniel said. “The sooner the better.”
With that, we hung up. And now we wait.

Getting Lucky

Daniel and I have spent the last few days looking after Dyson. While one of us is out patrolling, the other one is sitting with him, treating his wounds and keeping him fed. We've been talking with him about Nox and Dawson's presence in Toronto. He's been looking into them as well, but his magic training has been cutting into his snooping time a bit. But he has figured out that they're working on something big. Probably several somethings. Unfortunately, he doesn't know where they've relocated to.
“I may be able to find out, though,” he said yesterday, over ramen. I was sitting down with him while Daniel had left, and our conversation had come back around to Dawson's location.
“Really?” I asked. “How?”
His gaze drifted to a symbol on the wall.
“I can always ask,” he said.
The symbol was of a large eye in the center of a vortex, with a large pupil and no iris. The symbol of the Vision.
“You mean her, right?” I asked.
“I am no longer her Scion, but I will always be her servant,” he said.
“How is she?” I asked. “She still, you know, exists, right?
“She is in pain,” he replied. “Whatever's corrupted the Streams is damaging her I don't know how long she can last.”
“But what's causing it?” I asked.
“She won't say,” he said. “Listen, it will take me a while to contact her, and I'll need to be alone when I do it.”
“Daniel and I can't wait around forever,” I said. “We'll need to take off soon. Can I get your phone number for when you get an answer?”
“Don't have one,” he said, allowing some mana to dance along his fingertips. “Those things tend to glitch out around me.”
“So how do we keep in touch?” I asked.
“When I figure out where they've gone,” he said, “I'll find you.”
We sat in silence for a while and finished our food. Then Daniel showed up, limping slightly with blood dripping from his left arm.
“Holy shit!” I exclaimed.
“Hey, Dyson,” Daniel said, grinning broadly. “Can I get a heal?”
Shit. His sanity was slipping. Again. This has happened several times since he lost his powers. It's downright terrifying. I don't like him when he's like this. He's completely unpredictable.
“What happened?” Dyson asked, running over to heal Daniel's new injuries.
“Timberwolves,” Daniel said. “Got in a fight with a couple of them.”
He then locked eyes with me, grinning broadly.
“And I think some of the Apostles are here, too,” he said.
They'd found us. They were here.
“Damn it,” Dyson said. “You two had better hide out here until-”
“Dyson,” I said, interrupting him. I tried to keep a calm tone as I spoke. “Finish healing him. Then we're going to go face them.”
“What!?” Dyson snapped. “Are you crazy?”
“I don't know,” Daniel said. “Do I look crazy?” Then he started laughing like the goddamn Joker.
“There's no avoiding them,” I said. “This needs to happen.”
“You are crazy,” Dyson said. He had finished healing Daniel, who was now standing straight and raring to go.
“Wait here, Dyson,” I said. “We'll be fine.”
Daniel and I left, and stood out in the street. Daniel drew his sword, which burst into flames. People on the streets stopped and stared at him in confusion and horror.
“Hey! Apostles!” He called out. I'm here! Let's go! Come one!”
He then drew his gun and started firing it into the air. The people started panicking and fled, getting as far away from us as possible.
“Daniel, stop,” I said. “You're scaring the Canadians.”
He wasn't listening. He was looking at something down the street. I followed his gaze and saw them approaching. Two of them. A man and a woman. The man had on a beige suit, and had golden hair. There was a large sword across his back. The woman was a brunette, and carried a pair of Chinese broadswords. Apostles.
They stopped a few yards from us. The streets were now empty apart from the four of us. The man spoke first.
“Hello, Daniel,” he said “And Tony, I presume?”
“Here to try and kill me?” Daniel asked.
“Aprrehend, actually,” the man said.
“Well that's a switch,” Daniel said. “Wanna research me a bit before you shove a knife through my heart?”
“Something like that,” the woman said.
I stepped forward, grasping my bokken tightly.
“I won't let that happen,” I said.
“You are more courageous than I gave you credit for,” the man said. “Lasciel, if you would.”
The woman rushed past me before I could stop and attacked Daniel. Of course, we were both expected that, and he was able to get his guard up just in time. The two of them began fighting savagely. If I tried jumping in, I'd definitely get hurt.
“Well, I guess they're fighting now,” I said.
“Are you not going to help him?” the man asked.
“He'll be fine,” I said. “I think he can hold his own against her, at least for now. You, on the other hand...”
I turned and faced the man fully, and let my bokken rest on my shoulder.
“You must be Adon,” I said. “The leader.”
“That's right,” he said. “And the woman your friend is fighting is Lasciel.”
“I kind of guessed that,” I said.
I turned slightly to get a look at them. They were still really intense, and they didn't show any signs of slowing down yet.
“Daniel believes that the key to winning any fight is to be more aggressive then the other guy,” I said.
“And what's your opinion on that subject?” Adon asked.
“I think he has a point,” I said. “But there's other factors to take into account. Like power, skill, or luck.”
“Correct,” Adon said.
“I know you're tough,” I said. “You can hold your own against ParaDan, so you've obviously got me beat as far as power and skill go.”
“Exactly, “Adon said. “So a smart man like you should know better then to oppose me.”
I smiled at him and took up a fighting stance.
“Let's see if I can get lucky,” I said.
“That's the spirit,” he said.
He came at me, unarmed, and I evaded his first attack. We began fighting. He didn't use his sword at all, and I could tell that he was holding back. Worked for me. I deflected or dodged all of his attacks, and managed to get some hits in. They were light attacks, though, so he shrugged them off.
It was only a little way into our fight that Lasciel let out a loud and sudden shriek of pain. Adon's attention on me wavered, just for a second, but it was all I needed. It was time to get aggressive. I swung my bokken fast and hard, hitting him anywhere I could find an opening. His collar bones, elbows, floating ribs, knees, temples, etc. I could hear his bones breaking, but he didn't respond. Not a single grunt, or gasp, or cry of pain came from him as he went down. He hit the ground, and I stepped back.
I turned to check on Daniel's fight. He had gotten a hit in on Lasciel, leaving a bloody wound on her forearm, but she had since gained the upper hand. They were both disarmed now, and he had him by the scruff of the neck.
“You put up a hell of a fight,” she told him grinning. “I actually enjoyed myself a bit. But it's over now. You're coming with us.”
A red light began enveloping Adon's body. He was healing. Crap.
“You think you guys can hold me?” Daniel asked.
“You can't escape us, handsome,” she said.
“Handsome?” he asked her.
“Up close, you are kind of cute,” she admitted.
Then she pulled him closer and planted a kiss right on his lips.
“Wow,” I said, gawking.
“Yes,” Adon said, also gawking. “Wow.”
She parted from him, and he laughed.
“You know what's funny?” he asked.
“What?” she demanded.
“You still think I'm disarmed,” he said.
His sword reappeared in his hand, and he smashed the end of it's hilt into her temple. She released him gripped and stepped back, clutching her head where he had hit. She growled angrily and took up a fighting stance. But before the fight could continue, the sound of sirens began approaching.
“See what you did, Daniel?” I asked. “Now the Canadian police are on their way.”
“Took them a while,” Daniel commented.
“Lasciel!” Adon snapped. “Retreat!”
“But-,” she said.
“Now!” he demanded.
They both vanished.
“Guess they don't wanna deal with the authorities,” Daniel said.
“And neither do we,” I replied.
“Hey!” Dyson called, from the doorway of his hideout. “In here! Quick!”
We ran back into his underground base, behind the fake wall.
“They'll probably investigate this building,” Dyson said. “But they won't find us behind this illusion. You can hideout here for now, but you'll need to leave once the heat dies down.”
“Okay,” I said. “Fine with me.”
“I hope you two are happy with yourselves,” Dyson said. “Creating a ruckus like that.”
“Are you kidding?” Daniel asked. “That went WAY better than I was expecting.”
“Why, because you made out with a hot evil chick?” Dyson asked.
“Yes,” Daniel said “That's exactly why.”
“Seraph's gonna be pissed,” I said.
“I'll explain things to her,” Daniel said. “I'm sure she'll understand.

-Tony Helioson, signing out.

Dyson

“Are you sure we're in the right place?” Tony asked me.
“No idea,” I replied. “All I have to go on is a vague description of the place from Ben, and I don't exactly have my eldritch super senses anymore.”
We were standing outside an old, abandoned building, which I assumed was the right place, but I couldn't be sure until I went in to investigate. So I approached the front door and opened it up.
“Um, you read the sign right?” Tony asked me.
“Course I did,” I said.
“You know what 'condemned' means, right?” he asked.
“Of course I do,” I replied. “It means 'come on in, there's candy'.”
Tony sighed and followed me in The place was pretty much vacant from the look of it, and was starting to fall apart. We walked down some stairs into the basement and found ourselves in a small room. It was empty as well. But that didn't mean it didn't have its secrets.
“Time to see if this works,” I said, reaching into my bag and drawing out a small hand mirror.
I had received it a while back, and it was time for it to see some use. I looked in the mirror, and began rotating, so that I could get a look at each walls reflection. I found what I was looking for. Smiling to myself, I lowered the mirror and approached the wall, placing a hand on it. It felt normal, like drywall covered in cheap wallpaper, but I knew there was nothing normal about it.
You're not real, I thought.
The wall seemed to ripple before my eyes, before it faded away, revealing a hidden staircase behind it. I could no longer feel the wall there. I reached forward, and my hand passed through empty air. Tony walked forward to stand beside me and placed his hand against the wall. After a moment, he moved his hand forward as well, and blinked a couple times as he too perceived the staircase.
“One hell of an illusion, huh?” I asked.
“Black magic that forces all five senses to perceive something that's not there,” Tony said. “But once you understand that there's nothing there...”
“The illusion no longer affects you,” I finished for him.
You see, my mirror is special. It only shows what's real. Illusions don't show up in it So by looking at each walls reflection in it, I could see that one of them was fake.
“So this really is Dyson's hideout,” Tony commented.
“Let's go deeper,” I said starting down the staircase.
“Better brace yourself,” Tony said.
“Right,” I said, summoning Burner to my hand.
We proceeded down the stairs until we came to a ritualistic chamber. There were scorchmarks all along the walls, scrolls scattered everywhere, ruins carved into the ground, and at the center of it all, Dyson Malrick laid there, unconscious. He has bruised, and had some noticeable burn marks on his skin and robes. I wushed over to him and tried shaking his shoulder to wake him up.
“Dyson!” I yelled, panicked. “What happened? Wake up! Who did this to you!?”
“Wish I could say it was me,” came a familiar voice from beside the stairs. “But he was already like that when I got here.”
I spun around. Damien Monroe was standing there, leaning against an oversized falchion he had stabbed into the floor. He stared at me, with a hungry smile spread across his face. I met his gaze with as much anger in my expression as I could muster.
“Tony,” I said, rising to my feet “Take care of Dyson.”
Tony didn't question it.. He ran forward and dragged Dyson's body to the opposite wall and began trying to wake him up.
“You've been waiting for me?” I asked.
“I saw your blog,” he replied. “Knew you'd be coming here.”
“Figures,” I said, drawing my sword. “I can already guess what you want with me.”
“You guess correctly,” he said, yanking his sword from the ground and taking a fighting stance.
“Let's get this over with,” I said.
We charged at each other, weapons flying. It was a blur of flashing steel at first, and I couldn't keep track of it very well He was the first to break out of swordplay, by firing an energy blast from his eyes. I saw it coming a split second in advance, and ignited my sword, using it to deflect the blast to one of the walls. We clashed again, and he launched a blast of red light from his hand, striking me in the chest and knocking me back. I crashed into a wall to the right of the staircase, and slumped to the ground. My chest was burning from where his energy blast had hit. He charged at me, swinging his sword. Before he could reach me, Burner appeared before me, in all his bizarre blurry glory, and blocked Damien's attack with his naginata.
“Whoa,” Damien said, taking in the large ephemeral spirit that had appeared between us. “That's new.”
“Yes,” I said, letting my sheath slip from my left hand and drawing my gun. “It is.”
I fired at him twice, hitting him once in the chest and once in his left color bone. He can regenerate, but it's a slow, painful process for him, so inflicting debilitating injuries can still work against him. He'd have trouble using that arm for a little while. I got back to my feet and charged at him. We clashed blades again, and Burner joined in, giving him two opponent's to deal with. But Damien is no push over. He didn't back down, and kept fighting against us both. As Burner attempted to impale him, he deflected the attack and got a hit in his his laser vision, hitting me in the shoulder. I cried out in pain, dropping my gun and almost dropping my sword. Burner angrily stabbed his naginata forward, grazing Damien's ribcage, and Damien responded by swinging his blade full force, knocking Burner away from him. Burner, wounded, slumped to the ground and faded away. Damien got back up, and readied his sword for another attack.
“GET! OUT!” Rang Dyson's voice throughout the chamber.
We both turned to see Dyson awake again, kneeling on one knee. He was wounded and weak, but still noticeably angry, and all that anger was aimed in Damien's general direction. Dyson raised both of his hands. In his left hand, a cloud of darkness appeared, and in his right hand, a shining light was emitted. He fired both of them at Damien, and as they flew, they twisted around each other. They remained distinctly separate, but I noticed something. It was subtle, but between those two energies, there was a soft, silver light sparking into existence.
It lasted about a second, before the two blasts met with Damien's torso, throwing him back against the staircase. He hit with tremendous force, and started coughing up blood. Afterward, he raised his head just enough to see the anger in Dyson's eyes, before vanishing through one of his hellgates.
Dyson slowly made his way over to me, and placed a hand over my wounded chest.
“This may take me a moment,” he said, as warmth flooded my senses. “I'm not very proficient with light magic.”
I looked around the room as he healed me, recalling that brief flash of silver as he hit Damien with both light and dark mana, and suddenly the damage to the room and dyson's wounds took on a whole new meaning.
“You've been trying to recreate chaos magic down here,” I said.
“Failing,” he said. “I've been failing.”
Chaos magic is the perfect combination of light and dark magic. Only two people has successfully mastered it. The Ace Of Chaos and Benjamin Malkator. No one else has done it because dark and light magic tend to reject each other with explosive force when blended together. Which explains the scorch marks. The Ace Of Chaos managed to find a way around that, and it sort of just came naturally to Ben.
Dyson finished healing me and then slumped down.
“Now,” he said. “I'm sure you both have very important business to discuss with me, but right now, I...”
His voice trailed off as he fell unconscious again. I guess trying to blend magic forms together is more exhausting then one would think.
“Let's let him rest,” Tony said. “He's been working hard.”
“Yeah,” I agreed.
But I'm still worried. Dyson Malrick is trying to master chaos magic. And from that attack I witnessed earlier, I'd say he's getting close. This is serious.

The Backer

“You sure this is the place?” I asked Isiore.
“This is where Dawson and Nox set up base while they were here,” she confrimed.
“Guess they moved,” Tony said.
It seemed he was right. The warehouse we had come to in Vancouver was abandoned. Completely empty.
“So, back to square one?” Lana asked. For the record, Lana is the alias our Blood Vessel friend is currently using.
“Well, not quite,” I said. “I know a guy. We'll see about meeting with him soon.”
“In the mean time,” Tony said, turning to Isiore, “You should get back to Keursio.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Thanks for helping us find this place, but Key's worried about you.”
“I can't yet,” Isiore insisted. “I owe you. I can't possibly-”
“Isiore!” I cut her off, turning to her sternly. “That's all well and good, but you can pay Tony back later. Your sister needs you NOW.”
She stopped for a moment before speaking again.
“I understand,” she said. “Thank you.”
She turned away from me and tore open a rift into what I assume is the Empty City.
“I still don't understand how you do that,” I said.
“It's complicated,” she said.
Suddenly, a loud voice spoke up above all of us.
“Well, well,” came the familiar tone. “What have we here?”
Isiore spun around and looked up, with an expression of both fear and anger upon her face.
“Backer!” she snapped.
“Oh shit...,” Lana muttered.
“Nice to see you too, Fountainborn,” said the Backer's dissembodied voice. “And you brought the detective and the Ex-Devil Killer along. And look! A whore!”
Lana cursed under her breath at that statement.
“Um, Daniel?” Tony asked. “Doesn't he sound like-”
“Either it's a coincidence, or he's fucking with us,” I said.
“And what if it's neither of those things?” Tony asked.
“We'll worry about it later,” I said.
“I think I'm gonna worry about it now,” Tony replied.
“So,” the Backer said. “What brings you all around here? You aren't snooping, are you?”
“So what if we are?” I asked.
“That would be awfully naughty of you,” he said. “Not that it matters. William and Angelo have already moved on.”
“I don't suppose you'd tell us where to?” I asked.
“Do you honestly think I'd sell out my investments to you?” he asked.
I shrugged.
“Honestly, I don't know why you'd bother funding someone like Dawson,” I said.
“Oh, he's not all bad,” the Backer said. “His and Angelo's research could prove very useful to me. And besides, I have more money then I know what to do with. Why not throw a little of it their way?”
“Money that doesn't belong to you,” Tony said.
“Oh, so you've been doing your homework?” the Backer asked.
“15 bank robberies in five states,” Tony said. “With the cameras disabled each time. And that's just this month.”
“Oh, is that all you've pieced together?” the Backer asked.
Tony growled at him.
“Why!?” he demanded.
“OH, like you wouldn't rob a bank or two if you could get away with it,” the Back said.
“No, I wouldn't!” Tony snapped.
“Heh heh,” the Backer said. “If you say so.”
“So, who are you?” I asked. “And what's your deal?”
“I have no intention of telling you anything about me,” the Backer said. “To be perfectly honest...”
I felt him behind me a split second later. His face was right beside mine, with his mouth hovering next to my ear.
“...I hate you,” he whispered, in a spine chilling tone.
I drew my wakizashi, igniting it as I did, and spn around, shouting “Join the club!” as I swung the blade through the air. But he was gone before my sword had fully left its sheath.
“I would,” his voice spoke a few second later, “But they have enough members already.”
“Master,” I heard Burner say to me. He materialized beside me. “We have faced this adversary before.”
“What?” I asked.
“Not as he is now, but there is no doubt that we have clashed.”
“Ah, yes,” the Backer said. “The spirit of the sword. Burner, correct?”
“You can see him?” I asked.
“I'm afraid I'm out of time,” the Backer said. “We'll meet again soon, Daniel Ferris. Until then...”
His voice trailed off into silence.
“He had left,” Burner informed me.
“Good,” I said, sheathing my sword. “I was getting sick of him.”
Isiore looked worried.
“You guys be careful,” she said. “The backer... he's...”
“I know,” I said. “He's not someone we wanna take lightly.”
“Right,” she said, stepping through her portal. “Be careful.”
The rift closed, leaving the rest of us alone.
“I don't get it,” Tony said. “His voice...”
“Forget about it for now,” I said. “We've got other things to worry about.”
“You sure?” he asked.
“Don't worry,” I said. “We'll get to the bottom of him when we can.”
“So, where to now?” Lana asked.
“Let's get back to the hotel,” I said. “Tony and I are going out tomorrow. Alone.”
“What?” Lana asked smugly. “No girl's aloud?”
“Pardon me if I still don't trust you,” I said. “But we'll need to meet with our contact without you.”
“So who is this super-duper mystery man?” Lana asked.
“Yeah,” Tony asked. “Who do we know in Vancouver?”
“Oh, that's easy,” I said. “Dyson Malrick.”

The Jack Of All

So, Tony and I managed to find the right museum and went there on schedule. We had the Blood Vessel wait a few blocks away, just in case.
“So I assume you can hear us, right Jack?” I asked.
“Of course,” Jack said, appearring a short distance away. His right hand was hidden in the pocket of his long coat. He looked almost exactly like I remember him. Young, about our age, with shoulder length, straight black hair. Around his neck, he wore a pendant of an eye, with a red X through its pupil. He also wore a fedora atop his head.
The biggest difference I saw were his eyes. Instead of being brown, like I had always seen them before, they were red. They also lacked pupils. Just big crimson circles in a sea of white.
“How's it going?” I asked him.
“Can't complain,” he said. “You?”
“Meh,” I said.
“So why is Isiore working for you?” Tony asked.
“She is in my debt,” Jack said. “Simple as that.”
“What does she owe you for?” I asked.
“Her beloved sister, of course,” Jack said. “It's because of me she escaped from Hell.”
“You sure about that?” I asked. “Because as I understand it, that was Ben's doing.”
“Yes,” Jack said. “But how do you think Malkator found him self in the right place at the right time?”
I stopped and thought about that for a moment.
“You're the one you closed the portal and trapped Ben there,” I said. “And you set up his meeting with Keursio...”
“And youhad something to do with the Vision being there too,” Tony said.
“Do your work right,” Jack said, “And no one will no you did anything at all.”
“So Isiore owes you for that,” I said. “So why did you send her to kill me? I take it you don't want me around any more?”
Jack stroked his chin with his left hand.
“It's a bit more complicated then that,” he said. “I don't need you running around making things harder for me, but depending on HOW you die, things could grow more complicated still. So, I've decided to make a bit of a game out of it. See how it plays out.”
“I see,” I said. “So, am I safe now?”
“I suppose, for the time being,” he said. “You're not worried?”
“What's one more eldritch super-being added to the list of things trying to kill me?” I asked.
“I see,” Jack asked. “So, what else is on your mind?”
“The wound on your hand,” I said. “How'd you get it?”
“That information,” he said, clenching his fist inside his pocket, “Is not for sale.”
“All right, then,” I said.
Then Tony stepped forward.
“I'd like to negotiate for Isiore's freedom,” he said.
“Tony?” I asked.
“Trust me,” Tony said, turning back to me. “I know what I'm doing.”
“Do you now?” Jack asked, grinning
“I'd like to absolve her debt for her,” Tony said. “Let her go, and pass it on to me.”
“Are you sure you wanna do that?” Jack asked.
“Do we have a deal?” Tony asked.
“Hmmm...,” Jack muttered. “Perhaps your brains may serve me a bit better then her brawn.. Oh, what the hell! It's a deal!”
With that, Jack appeared directly before us, and pulled his hand out of his pocket. In the past, it had always seemed deeply sunburned, but now it looked dark, blood red. And then there was that cut. It looked a lot more horrifying then it used to. He extending his hand toward Tony, who looked at it for a moment before speaking again.
“I have some conditions,” he said.
Jack curled his fingers slightly.
“Oh?” He asked.
“I won't kill anyone,” Tony said.
Jack nodded hesitantly.
“And no brainwashing me,” Tony continued.
Jack nodded again
“And I won't let you turn me against my friends.”
This went on for about five minutes. Just Tony listing a bunch of things that Jack could and couldn't do. For some things, Jack gave a slight nod. Sometimes he didn't react at all, and sometimes, he noticeably grimaced. Finally, Tony finished.
“Those are my conditions,” he said.
Jack thought for a long moment.
“You're really twisting my arm here,” he said. “But, I think I can still make this work.”
The two of them then shook hands. Jack then snapped the fingers of his right hand, and Isiore appeared there.
“You are absolved of all your debts,” Jack said, putting his hand back in its pocket. “This man has taken them from you. You are free to go.”
“What?” Isiore asked.
“I'll explain later,” I told her.
“So,” Jack said. “You have two questions weighing on your mind right now, don't you Daniel?”
“More then that,” I said. “But knowing you, I should setting for the small ones.”
“Ask away,” Jack said.
“Do you know anything about Burner?” I asked him.
“A couple things, but that knowledge will not come cheap,” Jack replied.
“Then I won't bother with it,” I said. “As for my next question, what can you tell me about the Bleeding Crest?”
“It will cost you a favor,” Jack said.
“What did you have in mind?” I asked.
Jack handed me a picture of a man with writing on the back of it.
“Disable this man,” Jack said. “Kill him, or at the very least thoroughly incapacitate him.”
“Why?” I asked.
“He is the harbinger of an evil force,” Jack said. “It makes the Sentinal look utterly miserable by comparison.”
“I'll see what I can do,” I said, a little worried. “Now, about the Bleeding Crest?”
“Page 104 of that Italian book you have contains the name of a former location of the Bleeding Crest,” he said. “That will give you a place to start.”
“Well,” I guess that's something,” I said.
“Well, I must be off now,” Jack said, turning back to Tony. “I'll see you when I come up with something for you to do.”
And with that, he vanished.
“You know,” I said, “Even with all those limits you set, he's still gonna find a way to screw you over.”
“I know,” Tony said, smiling. “I'm counting on it.”
I got chills. I have no idea what's going through Tony's mind, and I'm not sure I want to.
We then explained everything to Isiore. Then I examined the picture, and the writing on it. There was a name and an address, in the UK. As soon as I saw the name, I turned back to the picture and stared at it in horror.
“Oh God,” I said. “I can see the resemblance.”
“What's that?” Tony asked.
“This man,” I said, showing him the picture, “Is Demitri Monroe.”
Tony's eyes widen at that.
“Azail said that someone else was calling up the Daemon Lords,” he said. “You don't suppose...”
He didn't say anymore. We both knew the truth. This man, that Jack's assigned me to deal with, the the father of the Bloody Biker.