Nightfall, Children of the Elements

She wasn't that great of a hand to hand fighter, so she remained inside, hidden by darkness, plucking some of the lesser demons off with her pistol and a silencer she had pulled from her cargo pants. She plucked off three or four demons like this until one finally came and noticed her.

The lesser demon slipped inside and tackled her, and she rammed it in the chest with her elbow as many times as she could muster until its hands got on her throat and started squeezing. She took her gun and tried to fumble for an aim that wouldn't kill her or severely wound her. But then she realized there was too much risk involved in that and the last thing she wanted to do was, well, die. So she kept ramming with her elbow until she fell to her knees and threw herself backwards to try and crush it, at which point the vise-like grip on her pale and slender neck loosened enough for her to pry herself free and shoot it under the chin. Two more had wandered in, and they were shot on the spot.

The trio had been watching the battle go on, only occasionally having to shoot a lone demon trying to sneak around. It was amazing to watch everyone pull together and use their powers to bring this menace down. The best part was how the majority of the horde was killed by only two fire attacks. Marcus wiped some sweat from his forehead and shot another demon trying to slink around a corner two blocks down. The battle was attracting a lot of lone demons from around the city and had to be ended quickly before things got out of hand.

A shriek shattered the air as a group of flying demons leaped off the top of a nearby ten story building. There seemed to be about twenty of them making a break at the snipers that had been killing their brethren the whole battle. The snipers took aim at the mass heading for them and opened fire. Six of the demons fell, continuing on to crash in to the lower floors. Then the survivors crashed into where the snipers were. Lilith was thrown back and slid about ten meters along floor before pulling out her knife and slashing at a demon's throat. There were three more still in front of her almost looking as if the were fighting over who would get to kill her.

Aculeus punched the first demon to get close to him in the face and felt a satisfying crunch as the bone caved in under his hand. This gave him enough room to bring out his own blade. The blade grew from a rose in his hand, the petals of the rose forming blade, giving it a very exotic look. Two thorns made the cross guard while the stem widened to become the blade's hilt. Aculeus brought the weapon to bear on the demon, quickly slaying two more. The three remaining demons confronting him tried to rush in for a kill but only received a swift decapitation.

Aculeus turned just in time to see Marcus get overwhelmed by the demons. After Marcus had killed his first demon by stabbing his knife through the demon's mouth and up into the brain pan, he had also been rushed by three demons and had lost that battle. A demon bit down on his neck and ripped it open. Aculeus watched in horror as his friend died. A wave of rage washed over him as vines erupted from the floor and trapped the demon that had killed Marcus while strangling the other two. Lilith was about to be overwhelmed as well until her remaining demons were also strangled by Aculeus' vines. He walked over to the demon that had killed Marcus, the rose blade reverting back to a rose. The enraged Oasin pulled the demon from the vines and grabbed its wings, which he quickly ripped off. The demon was dragged by Aculeus to the window, picked up, and thrown at the greater demon.

Lilith screamed as she saw the body of Marcus and rushed over to it. She began to weep and wail into his chest. To her, he couldn't be dead. To her, he was bulletproof. She wailed louder as realization that he was gone just kept hitting her harder and harder. She had loved this man, they had plans. But now those plans meant nothing; Marcus was dead. "Get him out of here," she heard Aculeus say. "Find a place to hide. I'm gonna go and kill that fucking demon. For Marcus." She watched as Aculeus jumped out of the building. He landed in front of the lobby in a pile of plants that he had grown to help break his fall. His rose blade back in his hand as he walked toward the greater demon.

Epsil watched with a large grin as fire exploded around the horde. He even laughed loudly as a second explosion destroyed the remnants of the small demons. The Greater Demon, however, was still alive--and very angry. The teen could see lines in its hide where the flames burned and cracked the scales. The chest wound Epsil left was cauterized, but fresh lines of blood were tracing paths down the elbows and knees of the demon.

Epsil glanced up at the sky as a shriek sounded from a murder of flying demons. The snipers in the building dropped several from the sky. Epsil wasn't too worried, so he continued walking towards the Greater, which was walking out of the fire as well. The two stood and stared at each other for a while before making a move. The Greater got drilled in the face with a wingless corpse. Epsil glanced back to see the dark-skinned plant kid jump out of the window onto a bed of plants, a sword that appeared to be made out of roses in one hand.

Is that crying I hear...? Epsil thought. It is...the other kid must have been overwhelmed just a moment ago. Aculeus is going to want revenge. He turned back to the demon, sprinted forward, and seized Big Bitch by the throat, hurling to the concrete. Giving the demon no time to respond, Epsil immediately grabbed the demon's head and bashed it against the concrete several times before kicking it in the spine and sending it over to Aculeus. He then jumped into the air and landed on the demon's back, eliciting a solid crunch from it's spine.

The black-haired youth looked up at Aculeus with a semi-sympathetic look. "I wanted the satisfaction of killing this fucker, but I think you deserve that right. Go ahead, he's still alive. Make him suffer." He smiled at the vine-armed boy, and took a few steps back, while the demon feebly tried to get up with unresponsive legs and broken wings. One of it's large, curled horns was cracked at the base, almost all the way through, with black blood seeping out. It turned it's head towards Aculeus and growled surprisingly menacingly for it's broken stature. It struggled to try and prop itself up on its elbows.

The hunters arrived on the scene, their snouts and claws dripping black from the demons' blood. Fang instantly lunged at the fallen Greater, but Xiax called him back, telling him it wasn't their kill. The wolf nodded, and ran off, searching for stragglers. Xiax returned to his human form, and walked over to Epsil. "I'm assuming that my calling off Fang was for a reason, and Plant-Boy's not just stealing the kill randomly?"

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After leaving Master, Fang found the site of the explosion. He sniffed around, checking to make sure none were left, and eventually found a half charred corpse of a demon. He clawed open its throat, and ran towards another place where he smelled demon. He continued this, making sure none of the demons had survived.

Hasta watched as demons were exploded, bitten, and ripped apart. His allies' choice in neutralizing the demons weren't as clean as he hoped, but when they came in large groups like these, they wouldn't really have the leisure to do it the way he was trained to. He needed to practice more damaging area attacks, other than just sucking all of the demons into some weak vacuum. Otherwise he'd be left on the sidelines, training demons around and taking them one by one again, and that was tedious work.

He saw Aculeus go in for the kill. In one abnormally large jump backwards he landed by Epsil and Xiax. "...That it?" he asked, glancing around for any leftover demons. He saw the wolf mutilating some barbecue and raised an eyebrow.

”You see that
Gemri?” The Zo said as it watched the group of individuals
slaughtering what remained of the demons the weasel had heard
earlier. The Zo took a few steps before crouching behind a rock, near
the location of the group. It was not clear whether the weasel was
carefully planning its next moves towards the group, or if it was
making another childish game out of the wasteland. Perhaps it would
do both...




Slowly, the weasel raised the skull to
its ear, the same as one would do with a seashell, listening not for
the ocean, but a voice that only the weasel could hear.
”Why... yes, I should! Indeed it would be most
wise...” The weasel fidgeted in place, making slight
rustling noises. ”But, are you quite sure Einstein? I
mean – you could be hurt, and we've only just met each other... you
aren't... seeing other people, are you? - No? Of course not, how
selfish of me to ask, allow me to make it up to you.”




The weasel stood and waved its arms,
making sure the group could see it as it yelled out to them.
”Bonjour! Hello, and good morning – or whatever
time it is... Me and my companions would like to seek company with
the lot of you, oh strange and hairless beings... I would've come
closer, but it may be that you don't take kindly to things with two
legs and fur - as was witness earlier.” The weasel then
popped down under the rock again, suppressing its laugh to a giggle
with its paws, trying not to burst out in laughter from the strange
excitement that meeting other people brought it.





The weasel was not fully unprepared. If
they group should prove to be hostile, it would have a few words with
Gemri – and it may well be fatal.

When the demon growled it was immediately met by a kick the face from Aculeus' booted foot; an audible crunch revealing a broken jaw. "Thank you for this," he spoke softly to Epsil. "And don't worry. It'll suck for him." Aculeus raised his blade and brought down into the demon, just above where it spine had been broken. "This blade of mine is actually coated in a potent neurotoxin that inflicts insane amounts of pain. I've seen some demons cut by my weapon bash their own skulls in because of it." He waited for the demon to start writhing around due to the poison, holding its head in an uncomfortable position so that it couldn't bash its skull in.

Several minutes passed like this, the demon's feeble shrieks filling the air around where the battle had taken place. Aculeus felt the demon had suffered enough and so broke a bleeding horn and jammed it through one of the demon's eyes and into its brain. A few shudders passed through the hulking demon and then it went still. The blade reverted to a rose as Aculeus drew the blade from the body. "I'm gonna keep this horn if you don't mind. Now I need to get my friend's body."

Aculeus walked quietly back in to the building and up the stairs, Lilith's shrieks and wails of sorrow grew louder as he climbed higher. He turned in to the hall that led to Marcus's body and he wasn't surprised to see that Lilith hadn't moved an inch in response to his orders. He helped Lilith stand up and handed her the horn that had once belonged to the greater demon. "It's over now," he whispered in his ear. She nodded wordlessly and picked up the three rifles and ammo that was still left out while Aculeus picked up Marcus' body. Together, Lilith and Aculeus walked back down the stairs and out back towards the greater demon's corpse. They saw what looked to be a small creature call out from behind a rock. "This better be good," Lilith said. She sounded like she didn't want to be messed with right now.

Epsil may have been made out of stone for as much movement he did while the dying demon writhed and screamed in pain. Whatever was on the sword Aculeus had...It was't pleasant. Especially if something as stoic as a Greater Demon was in absolute agony within a few seconds. He made a mental note to stay away from the blade if it came to a fight.

The teen nodded as Aculeus broke off the horn. Probably as a souvenier to his still-living friend. In the few moments Epsil knew the Oasins, he knew the redhead and the other dark-skinned boy were very dear to each other. He understood the pain of losing a loved one quite personally, like probably everyone else. "Well, Big Bitch, you met a fitting end," he muttered to himself, reaching down and breaking the other horn off. The process took him a few seconds, as the horn was quite sturdy, but soon enough it was broken off from the skull of the demon. Epsil smirked and slipped it up a sleeve. He'd turn it into something useful later.

"Good job everyone. The death of Big Bitch here probably scared off the majority of lessers around here are probably scared as hell. However, we're going to have to expect some vicious opposition if the word spreads. If you weren't aware, the Greaters actually have a semblance of order, while the lesers are little more than wild beasts sent to cause chaos. Regardless, you all did well. Nothing is forcing us together now, so if you so wish, you can go your separate ways." Epsil would talk to the two remaining Oasins in a bit, to offer his consolation and even possibly joining forces. A few moments passed, and as the duo was descending, Aculeus holding the corpse of his friend, a voice piped up from down the street. Something small and fury was babbling incessantly.

Lilith looked quite irritated, but nobody else made any move. Epsil scowled and dashed forward, speeding towards the skull-toting weasel. He stopped a few feet away; close enough to grab it by the throat and twist it's head off should it be hostile. "Quit the shit. I want to know what the hell you are, and what you're doing here. You have one minute." His tone was once more deathly serious. His expression was blank, but his amber eyes burned into the weasel, trying to use his gaze as an intimidation tactic.

Nuala let out a small sigh of relief as the demons were all killed, rubbing her eyes before pulling her sunglasses back down. Her head was going to give her hell to pay for that little stunt. She could already feel the headache coming on. Her musings were interrupted by a particularly loud wail, her eyes settling on Lilith. Oh.

A sudden awkward phase overcame her, and all she could do was stare at the girl, feeling a little sad, and almost a little frightened of her. She sounded like Fione after Ander had died. "It's oka--" she began, though was interrupted by Epsil yelling at a weasel. What the hell? She focused her gaze in on the rodent, her attention easily shifted.

The weasel stared into the male's
amber eyes. His blank gaze and tone having little effect on the
weasel, even though in all accounts, it should've. After the man was
done speaking the weasel smiled broadly and took a waving bow,
gracefully moving the hat from its head, revealing a small tuft of
bangs. ”Oh, gracious me! I'm simply flattered that
you took notice of me, even through the density of the crowd. Though,
I do say that you have a remarkable eye for catching the main
attraction.” the weasel said batting its eyelashes and
giving a witty smile. ”But furthermore, you asked a
question, and it is rude of me to neglect such a simple mechanism in
conversation – so, you want to know the Who's and Why's of 'The
Amazing Zo?' Indeed a minute is simply not enough to explain
everything – and 'The Zo' is not one to simply... summarize their
life... so in that regard, I must explain quickly, prepare your ears,
and quite possibly – your minds for this remarkable tale of
grandeur!”




With that, the weasel took a step back
sucking in a large amount of air through its mouth, its chest puffing
out like a balloon, though the smile on its face still unfaltering as
it began spewing out words much to fast for coherent sentences.
”IamtheamazingzoIenjoyparksmuffinsdancingmoolitwalksfurgondolasandepeciallymytwobestfriendsGemriandEinsteinIama
weaselandprefertokeepmygenderasecretifonlytoconfuseandbefuddleeveryonearoundmeIwalkedforaroundsixdays
beforecomingacrossabrokenshackwherenceIfoundyoupeopleIwouldenjoyitifyouwouldallowmetoaccompany
youonyourjourneyIthinkwewouldmakegreatfriendsmainlyduetothefactthatkilling
thingsseemstobeacommoninterestbetweenus.”
The weasel sucked in another big breath as if it were to start again,
only to stop short halfway through. ”Does that cover
everything? Or should I restart? Also, if you don't mind me
mentioning, I do believe you should be 'John Wheymeyer' you look like
that is your name – and so it shall be. Enjoy your new name
John~” The weasel blew a kiss to the man before holding out
the charred flowerstem ”A gift and symbol of my
Friendship... by the way, My dagger's name is Gemri, –
this one is Einstien, but don't worry, he's quite dead... the
weasel said looking to the skull as it gave a sort of sinister laugh
that dragged out until it could no longer be heard.




The weasels ears popped up again
spontaneously, as if none of the previous events had occurred.
”Come then Mr. Wheymeyer, we have demons to
slay!” The weasel jogged in place as it spoke with an
overemphasized British accent, as if it had known the Epsil
for years.

"Sorry for your loss," Aden murmured quietly as Aculeus and Lilith walked back out past him, invoicing his head slightly and watching the Greater Demon endure its death throes before finally passing away. It had been an easier fight than he had expected, but then he wasn't the one who'd had to suffer a loss. Plus, the Epsil guy had really made things easier by taking on the Greater Demon. While Aden was reasonably sure it would have burned eventually, it had still been handy.

"Oh, and well done distracting the demons," he complimented Nuala as he turned away from the group, heading towards the building where he had left his bag. He was in the process of taking a drink when he heard a fresh commotion behind him, and wheeled suspiciously, before seeing (and hearing) what stood opposite them. His face went blank, confused beyond words for a moment. "...What the fuck's going on?"

She came out after Aculeus had descended from the stairs with the body of one of his companions. The boy. She never cared much for him, but death, she supposed, was better than this. Sucks to be him, and it sucked to be the Oasins right now. They'd get over it, she supposed, since they couldn't do much about it. She couldn't help but notice the rose though. Roses were rare in this city. How he had managed to get one, what its purpose was, and how it still looked pretty was beyond her.

Then the goddamn fuzzball spoke. "Oh hell no." she said darkly, pulling out her pistol again. "I say we kill it. Nothing that cute and furry can be good. Kill the damn thing and move on. Wait... is that a SKULL? Did he... did that furball kill someone? All the more dangerous. Let's shoot it and go our separate ways." she snapped.

As he heard the girl mention killing the animal, Xiax had a sudden, uncontrollable urge to attack her. He wasn't sure what it was, but he felt as though he had to protect it. He realized it was similar to how he had felt about Fang being attacked by the demons when they met. What was his connection to animals? Why did he care so much about them. He had barely suppressed the shout, and instead simply said, "It hasn't done anything to us. Killing it now would be immoral." He turned back to the creature, only to see Fang leaping at it. "Fang, no!"

Hasta frowned when he saw Lilith. He had no idea what she was feeling, since he had never cared for someone enough to mourn them, not even his own parents after they finished their duty. It was just the way he was raised.

His attention turned to the strange, fuzzy, weasel...thing. In another large jump he landed a bit closer to it, staying far enough to actually see it. He squinted and studied it before jumping towards it again, landing by Epsil. He stood silently behind the older boy, listening carefully to what this "Zo" had to say.

The youth listened to the weasel babble on for what seemed like forever. The fact that he could talk initially impressed Epsil slightly, but after a few sentences, he found himself wishing the weasel was a regular animal. He ddn't know if he could deal with its incessant babbling. Nothing was really convincing the boy of letting the Zo either stay with the group, or make him continue on alone, however, there was one thing in particular about him...

Epsil's pupils suddenly dilated. "John...?" he said. "How the hell...?" He didn't say anything else, though he seemed extremely irritated at the kiss that had been blown to him. He turned around and walked away from the weasel. "I don't have time for your bullshit, 'Zo'," Epsil snarled. He heard Anon say something about killing the creature and being done with it. "No," he called out to the girl, walking over to her. "He's done nothing but be annoying. No reason to kill him. I think we should kill you instead, you're the one that's excessively violent." He glared at her, his eyes piercing and boring even more than they were a moment ago when he questioned the Zo.

His eyes then traveled to Xiax, listening to what he said. It gave the amber-eyed youth an idea. "If you want to make sure he stays alive and stick around, then he's your responsibility. Whether or not we let him stick around is up to you. Talk to him." He sighed and continued walking, up to Lilith and Aculeus.

His previously angry expression melted into one of sympathy and understanding. "I'm sorry for your loss," he muttered, his tone mirroring his expression. "I know I will be unable to replace him, but with your permission I'd like to travel with the two of you, should this group break up." Epsil bowed his head slightly, a gesture of respect. "I'm sorry for oh-so-rude introduction earlier. I am Epsil." His nonchalant tone was coming back, and his characteristic cheshire grin was already plastered on his face.

”Kill me?!” the weasel started, looking to the woman who seemed to wish it’s death. ”No no madam!
I would suggest not stabby-stabbing me until my life is no longer sustained,
that wouldn’t be wise. Then Gemri here would have to have a long conversation
with your eyes, and possible circumcise you – multiple times indeed, err
possibly. How exactly does the female genital area work again? Nevermind.”
The weasel took a step forward whistling and bobbing its head from side to
side. ”Now let’s go… to… THERE!” the weasel yelled
loudly, pointing off in the distance to a pile of stones. ”There
is absolutely nothing good going on there, we should make it…. SNAZZY!”


The weasel skipped merrily around Epsil before its ears
perked. ”Did you say… ‘sorry for your loss?’ Oh… no no no! Is
somebody dead?! Bring them here! Bring them here! The Zo… will make them better
– that is what I do, for I am, ‘THE AMAZING ZO!’ The weasel bounced
from foot to foot, making jerking motions with its hands, pointing to the
ground at its feet. ”Drop the body there – I know EXACTLY what to
do with it~

Aculeus and Lilith watched what was going on with very little interest. Both of them were lost in dark thoughts which mirrored their expressions. Epsil walked up to them after speaking with the weasel, who appeared to be named Zo, and said a few words to them. "Thank you," Lilith and Aculeus said in near unison. His words appeared to be sincere; he had likely experienced a similar loss before. "You're welcome to join us. But you are right, no one could replace Marcus," Aculeus told the boy. He took note of Epsil's expression and knew that Epsil wasn't made of stone as thought before.

And then Zo spoke up. He wanted to do something to Lilith's body. "You will not touch him," Lilith spoke, her voice oozing venom and disgust. "Don't even come near him or I will end you."

"She's right," Aculeus said. "Even if you could bring him back to life it wouldn't be right. There are some things you just don't do. One of them is disturb the dead. Marcus is with his god now, and his family. It wouldn't do to snatch him from happiness and bring him back to this hell we live in." Aculeus adjusted the weight in his arms and spoke once more. "There is a park about six blocks to the north of us. Lilith and I are going there to lay our friend to rest. That park is about three blocks wide and five long, and on the northern side is a building fifteen stories tall. We'll be in the southeast corner on the ninth floor." Aculeus coughed up some phlegm and spat before he finished with, "Any others may come with us, as Epsil is."