Maria Goodwin

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

“Tony, I need paper,” Daniel said.

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

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

“I'll look into it,” I told him.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He looked at it for a moment.

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

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

“-Eyes,” He gasped silently.

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

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

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

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

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

“Birth name,” Kay clarified.

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

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

“What was it?” Daniel said.

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

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

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

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

“This is Ben's mom,” I gasped.

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

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

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

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

Daniel remained silent, but nodded slowly.

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

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

“Tell me,” Daniel said. “Everything.”

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

“Which one,” Daniel asked.

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

Kay paused and chuckled softly to himself.

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

“Phantasm?” Daniel asked.

Kay nodded.

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

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

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

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

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

Kay paused and breathed quietly, wiping his eyes.

“And he died a hero,” he sighed.

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

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

Daniel remained quiet for a while, before getting up.

“I need to go for a walk,” he said.

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

-Tony Helioson, signing off

Dates

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

-Tony Helioson, passing out.

Kay

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

Conflict

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

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.