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Post by citizenmike on Jun 21, 2009 0:43:06 GMT -5
Johnny led the newcomer V to the church. He knew they'd find Veronica there. Her sudden fascination with the religion intrigued and confused him. Whatever it was, he was gonna be there to support her.
Johnny opened the door to the church and said, "Hey, Roth."
Veronica turned away from the altar and approached Johnny. "Hey, I have an idea."
"Whats up, Roth?"
"I want to rebuild this place."
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Post by cyansky on Jun 21, 2009 1:19:50 GMT -5
Syl was lying down on the church's roof when it heard the door open and close. It looked down. There was Johnny, Veronica, and a man with long blond hair and a headband that covered his eyes. It cocked its head, curious.
Kiel appeared beside it, looking concerned.
"That newcomer..." it said quietly, "dammit."
Syl glanced at it, then at the ground below.
"You got a diagnostic on his aura?" it whisphered
Kiel gritted its teeth... or appeared to. It was incorporeal, after all.
"That man's not human. There's something eerily familiar about him. The way he moves, the his aura rediates out of him, the way it wraps around the shadows... There's something off about him. Be careful Syl. He's not human. And when there's something familiar about anyone, you must be on the alert. We've faced many supernatural beings in the past, and his man reminds me of one of them... but I forgot which one."
Syl sighed and closed its eyes.
"And here I thought that we would be given the chance to relax in the moonlight."
Kiel glanced downward.
"This church... I thought it was safe. I thought that no one would come here, but... I admit now that I am wrong."
"What did your diagnostic tell you about it?"
Kiel crossed its arms and tapped its foot impatiently. It was a habit it picked up from humanity, although for Kiel it signaled uneasyness rather than impatience.
"Shadows. He has power over shadows," Kiel, everywhere "where the shadows lie, I can sense it. Whenever I teleport in them, there is just this feeling of uneasiness and unsteadyness that's unusual enough for me to... this man is strange. I just can't place my finger on why."
Syl leaned forward, his chin on its fist. It was thinking. After a few moments silence, it said its thoughts.
"You're right. He's a supernatural being, but I can't identify what exactly. He resembles a humanoid shadow demon, but the differences betwen the two crosses out that possibility. Him being a shadow mage is also out of the question as he's not human, elven or any other humanoid species that are classified as being capable of being a shadow mage. That means that he's an unknown, which means we must be careful. Our senses are keen at short range, but we don't know how good his are. Hence, we have to find a way of observing him without being detected, and as small concentrations of his aura lie in the shadows, that makes that very difficult, if not next to impossible. We should either flee here or take the risk."
Kiel nodded, still tapping its foot.
"He's probably detected me already. I stood in the shadows as I tried to get a good look at him, but I just got this feeling that I was being watched."
Syl gazed at Kiel.
"There goes our plans for secrecy."
Kiel nodded. Its smile, however, returned as if it was a boomerang.
"You can count on me to have a backup plan, Syl."
Syl blinked. Kiel ruffled its hair.
"We watch and wait," said Kiel. "Some of the stained glass in the church is cracked, and we have good ears, so we may be able to overhear them if we concentrate."
Syl smiled.
"Fair enough. Thanks Kiel."
Kiel clapped its hand, grinning.
"Anything for you, Syl. Now, let's get to work."
That last word made Syl chuckle. Work. If learning about people was 'work' than Syl sure enjoyed its job. It loved learning, even if that knowledge had its risks.
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Post by sacredrapture on Jun 21, 2009 6:11:06 GMT -5
'Somethings here..' V thought. Veronica was there of course, and Syl. He recognized both, but gave no outward indication that he did. Another being was in the Church. He could be invisible, and just the fact that he could not perceive him properly without concentrating meant it wanted to keep its presence secret.
'Fortunately..' V thought, 'I dont need eyes to see'.
He was aware that his powers could not be as easily traced as those of Myzrael, and he took solace in that fact that this Syl who so bothered Myzrael before with all his tracking abilities would be hard pressed to follow V. The Void was a dimension none could enter without the express permission of the ruler, namely V. All his powers were concentrated through there, and he left hardly any imprint on the earthly plane.
An energy signature was bright as day. Incorporeal. V had a memory of such a being that wasnt hurt by normal means. He tried to remember..
He smiled at Veronica. As averse he was to show emotion, his eyes could not do the talking for his outward congeniality. Pretend or not.
'Nice meeting you. I look forward to meeting all of you here in this city. My name is V.' He raised his head and looked over at Syl, a bit of a ways away. He said nothing.
'Syl was a thorn in Myzraels side when he was still here. It certainly would be interesting to see how they would get along.' he thought wryly.
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Post by citizenmike on Jun 21, 2009 6:19:25 GMT -5
Veronica extended her hand to V and said, "I'm Veronica, its a pleasure to meet you."
Johnny turned to Veronica and asked, "You want to rebuild?"
"Yes, I do.", Veronica replied.
"It's gonna take a lot of work, Roth."
"I know, but I reason its best to do things slowly, but surely."
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Post by cyansky on Jun 21, 2009 9:46:02 GMT -5
Syl sighed.
Not much was going on down there. Veronica introduced herself to V, but not much else happened. It sighed and learned forward. Kiel appeared beside it once again.
"Damn it," said Syl, "if his control over shadows is as extensive as I think, he will be difficult to sense. Myzrael was easy because he left his aura lying around everywhere. This one hides his in the shadows. He could possibly disappear without warning, and then reappear elsewhere, also without warning. I'm afraid that he might ambush us."
Kiel nodded, still tapping its foot.
"As am I. Back on our homeworld, we had a ton of magic-devouring species that were after our heads. We had to have keen senses in order to survive, so that we could see them before they saw us. It doesn't work that way with this guy. I'm seriously worried. He could ambush us at any time. He's like an apex predator - he can kill anything, but nothing hunts him."
Kiel knelt down and put a hand on Syl's shoulder.
"I think we should leave now, Syl. "
Syl looked downward. The roof was uneven, faded and showing signs of neglect. Some tiles were missing; others weren't where they were supposed to be.
"I'm worried," said Syl softly, "I tried to keep track of Myzrael, because 1) he was powerful and 2) he was aggressive. He could have blown me to smithereens at any time, and his shifting moods did not help. It was for my own safety that I tried to keep track of him. It's not the same with this guy, but I can't depend on my senses with him."
It stood started to pace back and forth on the roof, before sitting back down again.
"I don't know what to do with him, and I don't know how to avoid making him hate me or otherwise find me a pest. I don't want to leave, but I know it's not the right time to go introduce ourselves."
Kiel nodded.
"Agreed. We'll listen, but not interfere."
Kiel sat down next to Syl.
"I'll stay here with you."
Syl smiled. Had Kiel been corporeal, it would have leaned on it, hugged it, but now that wasn't possible. It made Syl feel a bit sad, but grateful that no matter what, Kiel would be there for it.
"I'm glad, Kiel."
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Post by sacredrapture on Jun 21, 2009 11:21:17 GMT -5
V saw Syl leave his sight momentarily then seemingly sat down on the roof from where he could see, at an acute angle from the ground. It seems Syl did not want to greet him. How rude.
'Ill be just a moment' V told Veronica and Johnny.
He walked over to a spot where he could see Syl. He shouted up at him.
'I dont think weve been properly introduced!' V said to Syl, his voice echoing off the Church's walls.
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Post by cyansky on Jun 21, 2009 11:58:19 GMT -5
Syl froze, paralyzed. It turned to Kiel.
"You're right. We should have left,"
Kiel shrugged.
"What's done is done," it said quietly, "next time, listen to your elder sibling. Now is not the time for us to chat - that man is looking straight at us."
"... I will."
Kiel patted it on the back.
"Don't cry, Syl, you can do this. I'm here for you."
Syl nodded and crawled so that it could see the man through a hole in the roof.
"Ah, I sincerely apologize for that," said Syl, giving it a friendly smile, "I thought that you would prefer to speak with miss Veronica and Mr. Johnny without me. I thought that it would be rude to interfere unnecessarily, but now I've realized that it's the opposite that's true. Please forgive me, sir, for my ignorance. I did not mean to be rude. My name is Sylredrae, or Syl for short. And... may I ask you your name?"
Kiel pressed its hand to its forehead.
"Accursed etiquette," it muttered, "if you have to join him down there, I'll be writing another entry in your notebook." Syl didn't glance back, nod or do anything to acknowledge Kiel, but it did listen.
This man was dangerous, and he must be treated with caution. Syl didn't know how their powers would match up, and quite frankly, it wished to NOT be on the receving end of this man's wrath.
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Post by citizenmike on Jun 21, 2009 12:16:47 GMT -5
Veronica smiled at Syl and reached out for a hug, "Hey, I haven't seen you in awhile."
Johnny smirked scornfully at the sight of it; he reckoned it was best to stay quiet, and let Syl true show its colors over time.
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Post by Trace on Jun 21, 2009 14:31:10 GMT -5
Trace watched in amusement from the entry to the church. He'd been there from the start, but he had masked his presence. His returned memories had not only given him a new found focus, but also an entire new level of control over his powers. Not even he himself knew the full extent of what he was capable of anymore, considering he had taken powers from his time in Heaven and evolved them through techniques learnt only in hell.
At last he decided to show himself. He walked into the church that he once knew so well with a sense of authority. He would have liked for the others not to notice the change in his attitude, but he was sick of living a lie, and intended to be himself no matter what trouble that caused.
He walked through the ruins of the church with authority. He walked past the newcomer, V he believed he had called himself. He knew that his presence could not be ignored forever, but for now he had no interest in a being that was of no use to him. Trace walked up to Johnny and Veronica, and got straight to the point.
"You wish to rebuild this place. For what purpose exactly?"
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Post by sacredrapture on Jun 21, 2009 21:16:07 GMT -5
Trace. And Syl. The cast becomes oh so ever complete.
V continued looking at Syl. He could see right through him. How sad he decided to be such. V wanted everyone to be on equal footing but it looks like Syl wished to be an adversary. Or was it just being cautious? V would assess the situation as things developed. He noted the energy signature still next to Syl. He couldnt remember where he met a familiar being...
'My name is V.' he replied. He looked down, and did whatever constituted as looking to Trace, since his eyes were covered.
'Arrogant as ever. I think ill share in the disdain of Myzrael for this particular being.' he thought. He said nothing.
He listened in to Veronica and Johnnys conversation.
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Post by citizenmike on Jun 21, 2009 21:46:36 GMT -5
Veronica looked back at Trace and replied, "To build a refuge for solace for the residents using the old religion, my brother." Veronica stopped herself for a moment, wondering why she had just referred to Trace as brother; she just couldn't understand, it just came out. What did it mean?
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Post by cyansky on Jun 22, 2009 1:23:18 GMT -5
Syl smiled and disappeared from V's view.
"We'll keep in touch," said Kiel softly, smiling, "remember - be careful, Syl. This are very powerful beings you're dealing with."
Syl nodded.
"I'll do my best."
Kiel nodded. Then, it vanished, its aura dissipating quickly. Jumping nimbly from the roof, it landed neatly on the ground and immediately headed for the door that lead into the church. It opened it, peeking in from outside.
There it found Veronica, Johnny, the man that called itself V... and Trace... the type 2 fallen angel.
It began to wonder at how Trace would have appeared so suddenly. Trace usually leaked his aura over a considerable distance, making detecting his presence easy, and that was what mattered. So long as Syl knew he was coming was enough to bring some degree of reassurance to its mind. This time was different though, and this time Syl mentally noted that Trace may as well be a dangerous opponent. I have to avoid getting on his bad side, thought Syl.
Syl gave them a shy, awkward smile.
"Um... miss Veronica, Trace... you... seem to be discussing something... am I... intruding on anything important?"
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Post by citizenmike on Jun 22, 2009 1:25:31 GMT -5
Veronica turned to Syl and replied, "Not all Syl. I was just telling Johnny, Trace, and V, about my plans to slowly rebuild the church. How have you been, its been long, I've missed you."
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Post by cyansky on Jun 22, 2009 1:38:10 GMT -5
Syl smiled sweetly. Veronica was nice. It kind of lilked her, considered her one of its few allies in this twisted place..
"Then that's good! It's been a while, miss Veronica, since we've last spoken. It's good to see you again. As for how I've been... well... I've been wandering around. I keep getting lost in this city."
It walked up to her, still smiling.
"How've you been?"
It glanced around to see Johnny, Trace and V, now acutely aware of their presence.
"Ah, and good day everyone," said Syl politely, giving them a curt bow, "... also, it's nice to meet you, V."
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Post by citizenmike on Jun 22, 2009 1:43:15 GMT -5
Johnny kept his mouth shut as he greeted Syl with a nod.
"I've been good...", Veronica replied. "I've been rediscovering the past of this city, to say the least. I can't blame you for getting lost in the city, its size can be quite maddening, then again, its lack of souls makes the city quite smaller than it seems."
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