Cryth shook his head.
"No, no no."
He lifted her chin and made her look at him.
"You have to promise me you won't run away from me. Promise me."

Maraud raised a finger, hesitated, then curled it.
"Well, I personally wish no harm to humans. It's merely a food chain kind of thing."
Across the room, a man came in with a rose to present to the barmaid.
Maraud instantly shifted his chair around so he was as far away from the man as possible, then resumed talking.
"As for this demon of which you speak, I am familiar with their kind." Half a smile flitted across his face. "I am good at recognizing their work. Succubi and female vampires are like foxes and wolves. Similar killers."
He cocked his head.
"Well, should I run into such a demon, I will do my utmost to deliver her to you. Any preference on in what state you want her to be in? Limbless, headless?"
For a split second, an unbelievably cruel smile lit his eyes.
"I could of course subdue her, making her subservient to me, so when you tear her apart she'll beg me for her life."
Then the cruelty faded as he looked at his drink.
"Up to you." He couldn't resist. "I might also throw in a chew toy," he said jokingly.

Amelia nodded
"I promise I wont run away."
she looked at him her eyes filled with sadness
"I have no where else to go, I wouldn't know how to survive on my own"
she looked back out the window
"What if they come for me again, what will I do?"
she looked back at her brother
"I wouldnt know what to do"

"I would prefer alive. Hearing her begging for mercy would be pleasing to my ears." Maraud's cruel smile seemed to infect Fenrir and the two sat there staring at one another with predatory smiles. "But whatever works best for you. Oh, and if you're looking, just make sure it squeaks. If you could also have it be one of those cartoon girls with the small bodies and large heads I'd be very grateful. But the squeaking thing is necessary." He said to the vampires jest with a grin on his face and a chuckle in his throat.

Cam looked behind her and saw the man get knocked down again. What is his problem? Why doesn't he fight? She couldn't figure it out. She stared at the creatures that remained standing before her, less certain of their intent. She saw their bodies, they were a pale purple just like everything she saw but had a definite shape in the purple. She looked back at the man, examined the walls around her then looked back at the purple demons. It all made sense.
With no idea if it could help or not she abandoned her sword breaking it down into a fire extinguisher looking device. Placing a hand on one wall she began the complex alchemical equations necessary to break the cement down. She pressed the trigger and watched as liquid cement shot out of hose and covered the creatures surrounding them with the grey gunk. It could help, then again it could easily make things worse. Either way she tried. The "fire extinguisher" turned back into a sword and she severed another limb from a demon's body.

Tybalt stroked his chin with an intrigued look on his face.
"A lone warrior wandering the land to avenge his destroyed hometown...what a story!"
He looked towards Fenrir with a gleam in his eyes.
"If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to go with you and Decoda as well. I have to see how this epic tale of yours plays out! Don't worry, I think you'll find that I can be useful to have around; I can, as the saying goes, "throw down with the best of them."


The two angels approached the abandoned bar. When they were in front of the entrance, the angel with Sauriel spoke up.
"I apologize, but I really must be going. I wish to keep a careful eye on my church, especially considering the circumstances."
"Go," Sauriel replied quickly before walking inside the building. He was soon confronted by a looter who was scavenging for supplies to steal. The looter dropped the items he was going to steal and turned around to face Sauriel.
"Your kind don't have any place here, winged freak. You better start running. Grab your weapons, men!"
A group of men, about a dozen of them, stopped what they were doing and drew their weapons. Sauriel remained silent and summoned his spear. The man's face contorted with anger at this act of defiance.
"Stupid angels...you think you're so high and mighty, but you can bleed just like anyone else!"
He charged towards Sauriel, but the angel grabbed the man's arm and stabbed him in the stomach. A strange glow came from the man and started to be drawn towards Sauriel's spear. The man stared in disbelief.
"Wh...what...what are you doing...?"
Sauriel responded coldly.
"You are pathetic and weak, but even your small amount of power can serve a higher purpose as I add it to my own. To put it in a way that even you can understand, I am taking your life energy just as you tried to take your ill-gotten goods from this place."
He looked towards the other men in the room.
"You will all suffer the same fate for raising your weapons against a higher being."
When the man was nothing more than a dried up husk, Sauriel pushed the corpse off of his glowing spear and let it drop on the ground. The men, both enraged and horrified, charged at the angel.

Decoda stared at her drink, with a sad expression on her face. "It is a sad day, when a demon takes so many lives, with no regard for what those lives mean to others." She said, then looked at the men at the table with her. It was noticeable, by the look in her eyes, that the alcohol was getting to her. Though she was looking at each of the men, she swore, that she could see six of them, not three.

Cryth shook his head.
"Look. I'm going to be straight with you."
He turned her to face him.
"You have some kind of power. An INCREDIBLE power. I have... an ability of my own, but you're in a whole other league. Ever since we were children, demons have been able to sense this power. Mom and Dad knew this. They knew this would happen, one day. I think you unleashed your power and killed the demons who killed Mom and Dad - I found you in our house full of demon bodies. More are gonna come. But we'll be safe, sis. I promise."

"Touching," the bed commented dryly.

Maraud chuckled at Fenrir's ferocity and humor, and clapped the werewolf on the back.
"Another round!" he shouted, and walked up to the bar - only to stop as though a wall was in his way. He looked at the cross over the bar, shrugged, then stepped closer, got another drink for him, Fenrir and Tybalt, and brought them back to the table.
"I think the damsel has had enough," he said, indicating Decoda. "One last drink, then I will be heading out. I will need to find somewhere new to live within the city, possibly a bell tower or morgue, somewhere like that. What about the rest of you - sleeping, or hunting after this?"

Amelia looked at him wide eyed
"Special power, but how?"
she looked at her hands strangely
"I dont remember seeing any demons, all i remember was waking up on the cold floor"
She looked up at her brother
"Why me...why do they want me?"
she started to shake in fear
"how will we be safe, they will come for me and if they killed mom and dad and everyone else..imagin what they would do to me"

Cryth always had a gift of being able to think calmly.
"Amelia, listen. LISTEN."
He took her hands in his own.
"Calm down. You're going to have to learn to control your power. I'll teach you if I must. Last night I shielded you, so no demons can sense you anymore. You have the ability to stop them. I can help you. You have to calm down. They want you because you're a threat to them. They fear you. And after what I saw back at the house, they're right to do so."

He was knocked to the ground a third time, as the cement hit his attacker.
'Well, that's useful. Angel...that's great, but the problem solved itself. Although...'
7th's visor closed as the beast swung for him, and parried it with his blade.
'Having a small advantage doesn't hurt.'

Amelia looked up at him
"But how am I to control it when I dont even know what it is?"
she looked down at the bed
"Did mom and dad have special abilities?"

Decoda set the glass down on the table, unable to sip the last of the liquid in the glass, as she looked at Fenrir. "At this point, I could *hic* sleep anywhere."

******

Bored, Arianna continued her small journey through the city in her feline form.

Tybalt chuckled and stroked his chin.
"Sleeping outside, huh? I've never tried it, sounds uncomfortable. But hey, I'd be willing to try anything once. I believe that I passed a nice, quiet forest on the way here."
The strange thing was, he really wasn't joking. He seemed like he was actually willing to do it, although his latest drink may very well be affecting his judgment.


Sauriel stared at the last remaining robber. All of the others were laid out on the floor, reduced to nothing more than dried husks of corpses. Sauriel's spear glowed brightly with power as he spoke.
"You may leave."
The man's face contorted in rage. He yelled at Sauriel as he looked at his fallen allies.
"You...you think I'm gonna let you get away with this?! You're dead! You hear me?! JUST DIE, ALREADY!!"
The man charged at Sauriel with his knife drawn. Sauriel grabbed the man's arm tightly, forcing him to drop the knife. When the knife fell to the ground, Sauriel threw the man across the room. He landed right in front of the entrance. Sauriel pointed his spear at the man as he spoke.
"I will not say this again. You may leave, I strongly suggest that you do so. Go now and tell all you see of what you have witnessed here. Tell them that the angels shall not sit idly by as these demons commit their foul acts of sacrilege."
The man stood still, paralyzed, unsure of what to do. With a frustrated grunt, he ran out of the building as fast as he could.

He could see it clearly now. He was blocking each attack and returning with his own. But the thing didn't tire, in fact it was getting more ferocious as the fight went on. Each swipe was more vicious than the last, and they came down faster and faster.
'Do...you...have to...be...this...persistent?' He asked the demon as it continue to strike at him.

Cryth shrugged.
"I don't think so. Mum always reckoned we came out the way we did because..."
Then he went silent.
"It's kinda a long story."

Maraud laughed at Tybalt.
"Sleeping outside is fun now and again. You sleep a lot lighter, but it's amazing how cozy you can actually get in some trees."
He stood up, drink finished.
"Thank you for the toast. Just call me, and I'll turn up. I'm good like that."

"because of what?"
she looked up at him
"Tell me brother...because of what?... I want to know"
she had a desperate look upon her face
"please tell me"

Cryth hesitated.
"...Ok. Mom never told me everything, but she made it pretty apparent our power came from... somewhere. Something she called the True Reality Grimoire. It was a book, the thing that sparked the war, and the revealing of mythical creatures as fact. Basically, whoever owns the book, can write in it's pages and recreate reality in their own image - but the book itself has power. Mom looked inside it."
He paused.
"She was the only person who did. She saw it once, as a girl. When the whole madness kicked off, she was there. Someone opened the book, and was instantly incinerated by it's power. She was far enough away to withstand the blast... but she thinks, and I agree, that the energy from the book... changed her. When she was pregnant with us, she could feel the same feeling as the one the book gave her the one time she saw it. I think the book has to touch you in order for you to read it."

Semira finished her fruit, there was so much more havoc to wreak but she liked to ravish in free luxury from time to time. She crawled out of the bed, threw on a silk robe that was hanging on the wall and walked over to the balcony. She threw open the doors and stepped outside into the darkness. Leaning over the edge of the balcony she could see the entire town
"I wonder how many angels reside in this town"
she smirked
"Well however many there are..there wont be many left when im done"
She noticed some shuffling off in a distance a quarrel in an alleyway
"Seems some other demons are out having fun this evening"
she said with a chuckle. She started searching for her next prey but would look back at the alley way from time to time to watch how it all played out


Amelia looked off for a moment taking this all in
"So this book is what gave us our powers?"
she looked back at her brother
"So all my life I have been lied to?"
she shook her head
"Mom, dad even you knew about all this and never told me."
she looked back at him
"Are they after you too? the angels and demons?"

NEW CHARACTER!
Name: Fonn
Sex: Female
Species: Valkyrie
Ability: Flight, Choosing the Slain, Limited Wind Magic
Weapon: A size changing kanabo (Super big war club)

Spoiler:

Name: Raven
Sex: Female
Species: Fonn's Shadow
Ability: Shape Shifting, Flight, Limited Wind Magic
Weapon: Lance (Can be created from shadows so multiple lances can be used at one time)

Fonn sat on a building's edge gazing over the city. The lights were what interested her the most, the way they shined and illuminated areas while others were left dark. The neon lights that burned hues of greens and pinks in the club district, the flashing lights of emergency vehicles through the streets, street lights, stop lights, headlights, moonlight... the glow of it all overwhelmed her. In the distance a fire burned, the flickering columns of flame playing a puppet show of shadows on the buildings near by. She took a lungful of cold night air, held it then let it out, breath steaming. Stretching was bliss. The rejuvenating effects filled her from the tips of her toes to the tips of her wings. The excitement of a human city was never lost on her, but the sound of battle flared at the edge of her senses. Despite not wanting to, her duty was still her duty.
The sound of feathers came from above as she stood up. A glance upward showed the dark form and it had landed on her shoulder with the rustling of feathers. The Raven sat there contentedly before reporting its reconnaissance. The message, completely telepathic, was brief like always.
The church to the north west. Battle. Death. The Raven reported. Fonn nodded, her gaze turning to the flickering light of the fire.
Wrapping a hand around the long handle of her kanabo she hefted the weapon that appeared too large for her to wield and set it over one shoulder. The fingers of her hand traced the Norse rune inscribed on the weapon and it shrunk down to the size of a policeman's baton. Securing it in the case on her thigh she took to the air, white wings beating teh air serenely as she created updrafts with her magic to stay aloft, Raven following close by.
"Raven, do you think... We really need to go to this battle?" She asked the large black bird.
Our duty. Half to Valhalla, half to Folkvangr. As Odin and Freya command. Raven replied dogmatically.
"Yes, but is it really necessary for us to do so? After all, we are no longer aligned with Odin. The doors to his hall have been forever closed to us."
It is our duty, Fonn.
"We abandoned our duty, when we abandoned Valhalla."
Fonn dropped onto a roof about halfway to their destination. Raven beat her wings in frustration before finding a perch at eye level with Fonn. The beady black eyes of the raven glared into the Valkyrie's.
We are choosers of the slain. Raven spoke sternly into her mind. We choose the ones who are worthy of Lord Odin's hall. Do you not feel the force pulling us there? Pulling us toward our duty?
"I feel it." Fonn nodded. She felt it drawing her like a moth to the flame. An inexorable compulsion for bloodshed. "I just... We are no longer bound to it... Raven, our sisters will kill us if we go there." She pleaded, finally choosing the argument that she thought would convince her doppelganger the most.
The bird cocked its head and looked towards the smoke, calculating how it would word its next reprimand. After several moments of silence the bird nodded once.
They would kill you. Raven admitted grudgingly.
"And you would also die without my life force sustaining you." Another nod and a grudging admittance of her truth. "So. Duty be damned!"
Even though she said that, she felt sadness and doubt at her decision. After the long centuries of visiting battlefields and watching the fighting... after all the time of faithful service... shirking her responsibility was hard, almost unthinkable. But the mortal danger implied by visiting a site where her sisters would inevitably appear gave her the ability to reject her instinct. It was still hard. The tears slowly pattered the ground at her feet.
"Maybe... Maybe we should just go?" She continued to cry. "After all, without our duty... without Valhalla... what is the point in us living?"
Raven cocked her head, sorrow and sympathy passing through our mental link.
With leaden legs and wings, sorrow overflowing her heart, Fonn made her way to street level and walked slowly in the direction opposite the fire. Tears fell the whole way as she walked dejectedly with no goal in mind. Stepping from one pool of street light to the next, casting no shadow as she went. Raven sat on her shoulder and seemed to flinch slightly at the artificial light, although it didn't seem that the large bird could be physically harmed by something as insignificant as a man made light fixture. So consumed with wallowing in her own despair she didn't notice the cat until it let out a yowl when she accidentally stepped on its tail.
She pulled her foot back almost immediately and apologized to it. She was greeted by eyes the color of which she was named, fields of pure white snow. So startled by the bizarre sight her apology died on her tongue. Staring in surprise and confusion at the creature as it glared up at her she suddenly realized what the odd eye color might mean.
"I'm sorry. I-I didn't notice you down there." She apologized earnestly to the feline.

Fenrir raised both hands and accidentally emptied half of his mug onto the floor. "Hey, hey. I didn't say we all had to go and sleep in the woods tonight. I just feel more at home out there right now than in a soft bed."

Decoda looked at Fenrir, then rested her head in her head. "I think I like the idea of a bed." She said, sheepishly, almost as if she was about to take a nap at the table. "I don't think I can keep my eyes open."

******

Arianna stared up at the woman whom stepped on her tail, then transformed into her human form after she apologized. She pulled up the hood of the cloak she was wearing, to shield her eyes from view of others. "Apology accepted." She stated flatly.

Fonn flinched a little at the anger in the shape shifter's tone. "I'm just kind of distracted right now... You see there's this thing that I'm supposed to do, but if I do it bad things will happen." Raven squawked, Fonn looked at her then longingly over her shoulder towards where the smoke and sirens were at. "I'm just... Just so lost right now. I don't know what I'm supposed to do." She said, tears coming anew.

"Tables aren't for sleeping." Fenrir grinned as he waved at Maraud's vanishing form. "Well I say we go find us a den somewhere. Pass out."

Arianna folded her arms, and tilted her head slightly. "Well if bad things will happen, then you shouldn't do it." She said in a flat tone. "At least, that's how my mother raised me."

******

Decoda looked at Fenrir, though her eyes couldn't focus on him as she looked at him. "Can I walk? or should I fly?" She giggled.

Cryth shook his head.
"If you'd known, would you have told me? It would have meant I would never have been normal, it would have meant I could never be sane, it would have meant I would have spent every day looking over my shoulder, spend every night sleepless, every waking moment a nightmare. Would you?"
He paused.
"And no. My power is both ridiculously weak in comparison to yours, and it's different too. My power works just as well on people as it does on demons, but your power... it slaughtered every demon in a instant. It's like anathema to them."

Tybalt was noticeably drunk by this point. He still seemed to be in control of himself for the most part, but he seemed to have trouble speaking.
"Yeah, sure, sleep sounds good right about now. I know a place...what's it called again? An inn! There it is. Really nice place. Good beds. Nice, warm and comfy."
He flailed his arm to the right.
"This way! No, not that way."
He flailed that same arm to the left.
"That way! Yes, there, right around the corner. Let's mosey, everybody!"
He stood to his feet and went over to help Decoda keep herself steady since she looked like she could collapse at any moment. They walked over to the inn and Tybalt waved his free hand to the innkeeper to get his attention, even though the three of them were the only other people in the room.
"We need rooms!"
He then thought of something, turned to Decoda and Fenrir and whispered to them.
"Wait...hold on...do angels and wolfy-people carry money?"


Sauriel walked out of the building and into the streets. He was unsure of what to do since he didn't find anything useful in the bar. He decided to find a new vantage point to see if he could find anything. Without any concern as to how it looked to the people around him, he spread his wings wide open and flew to a nearby clock-tower to see if he could find something of interest. From his new position, he soon noticed that there were a lot more strange occurrences in the city than he had first thought.

Amelia thought for a moment
"It would have been better then finding out your whole life was a lie"
she sighed and claimed out of the bed and walked over to the window. she crossed her arms over her chest and started rubbing her arms with her hands.
"So what do we do now? If they want me for my power they will soon find me. Will you yourself be able to protect me until I am able to use my ability at will?"
she looked back at him



Semira noticed a couple walking in the street below her. They were holding hands, laughing, and kissing.
"Aww such a cute couple"
she smirked then gave a twirl of her finger. The lights in the room behind her started to flicker as she was using her power. Suddenly a loud scream was heard from the girl as several rats appeared out of the ground and started chasing them. Semira let out a maniacal laugh. As they ran down the street, The girl screaming her head off