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.

Chicago

So, Daniel and I haven't updated in a while, so I figured now was as good a time as ever.
Right after Daniel put up that last post, he gathered all of us together and informed us that he had no intention of meeting up with the Blood Vessel in Chicago. He then asked me and Abdalin to patrol with him. While we were out, he explained what his next move would be to us. We both agreed it would probably be the smartest move.
So, every night, for the next six days, the three of us would go patrolling. Except that on the seventh day, we lied. We left told the others we were going out to patrol again, but as soon as we were a few blocks away, Abdalin grabbed Daniel and I by the shoulders and we all vanished.
We then found ourselves in Chicago.
“Seraph's gonna be pissed,” Daniel said.
“Whatever,” Abdalin said, vanishing.
“Well, let's get moving,” I said.
We started walking. You see, the truth is that Daniel had lied. He had every intention of meeting with the Blood Vessel. He didn't really want to, but it seemed like our best bet for finding and dealing with Jack.
“It's been a while,” Daniel said after a while.
“Since what?” I asked.
“Since you and I did this,” he said. “You know, handling a case together, just the two of us.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Just like the good old days.”
Daniel laughed, but it felt sad. He knows as much as I do that the “good old days” are over.
“I'm nervous,” he said. “About Jack.”
“He was my contact once,” I said. “Maybe I can reason with him.”
“I hope you can,” he said. “But there's no telling what he's planning. Plus, Isiore tried to kill me. What if he's the one who ordered it?”
“I don't know,” I said. “Let's hope this Vessel can actually help us.”
We arrived at a local pub and entered. Daniel ordered us a couple ales and some steak sandwiches. It didn't take me long to notice that there was something off about the pubs other patrons.
“Daniel,” I said. “Have you noticed that-”
“We're surrounded by servants?” he asked. “Yeah, I knew that before we came in Why do you think we're here?”
“Perfect,” I said sarcastically. “So when does she get here?”
“Dunno,” Daniel said.
A few minutes later, a Blood Vessel walked through the door, and Daniel immediately groaned. Turns out, it was the same Vessel who had infected him with the Red Cap.
“Hello, boys,” she said, taking a seat with us.
“Hey,” Daniel said. “So, you're gonna help us with Jack, right?”
“Yep,” she said.
“What's the catch?” I asked.
“The High Blood-” she started, but Daniel interrupted her.
“Is situated in three different points in this city,” he said. “You want our help breaking them up.”
“Yeah,” she said. “Pretty much.”
“I'm not dirtying my hands,” Daniel said. “But I'll help. I agree that they need to be put in their place. But I'm not killing anybody.”
“Very well,” she said.
We discussed some game plans for dealing with the High Blood and pinning down Jack's whereabouts for the next hour or so. Then Daniel brought up another point on our agenda.
“So, Ol' Red wouldn't answer all my questions when we spoke,” he said. “But I was wondering if you may know anything about the Apostles.”
“I'm afraid I don't have the information you want,” she said. “But I know how you can get it.”
She then ran a plan by us. I was shocked at the idea. Daniel showed some surprise at first, but his expression quickly shifted to one of deep thought.
“That's... farther below the belt then I normally strike,” he said. “But...”
“Desperate times?” I asked.
He nodded.
“We might have to,” he agreed. “The question is, how do we get the Apostle's to fall for a plow like this?”
“Leave that to the Boss,” the Vessel said.
So, we started helping the Vessel out with the High Blood. I'm not gonna go into all the details, but we got the High Blood to scatter and leave the city. I'm a little surprised at how easy it was. We also obtained this book written in Italian, which Daniel thinks might be a clue to finding the Bleeding Crest book they've been searching for. I'm gonna work on translating it, see what I can find.
Also, last night, we had something interesting happen. Daniel and I were sitting in a hotel room, discussing how we might locate Jack. While we were drunk.
“Maybe we could do something to attract his attention,” Daniel suggested.
“Yeah, but how?” I asked. “It's not like we have his phone number or anything.”
“Maybe I could make ringing sounds and see if he picks up,” Daniel joked.
I laughed and said “Yeah, you try that!”
“RING RING!!!” Daniel shouted. “RING RING!”
Suddenly, a loud dial tone sound filled the air, followed by a voice.
“I'm sorry, the Jack Of All cannot answer the invisible phone right now,” it said. “Please leave your name and number after the creepy child's giggle, and I will get back to you as soon as you stop being a dumbass.”
Then a creepy child's giggle played, and Daniel sat up straight.
“Hey Jack, it's Daniel!” Daniel said. “We need to talk! Give me a call back at 1-555-gosuckreddanielsballsack! Now what button do I press to end this fucking message.”
“Meet me at the museum Saturday night, dickhead,” Jack's voice replied, before the sound of a phone slamming down on a receiver filled the room.
“What the fuck just happened?” I asked.
“No idea,” Daniel said. “But we'd better figure out where that fucking museum is.”

-Tony Helioson, signing off

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.