A small gathering of men had assembled in a pub in the human world. At their center was a man in red robes, sipping a flagon of ale.
"Why have you called us here, Raoul?" one of the men asked.
"Something has happened to our Master," the man in red answered. "His presence has... faded."
"Impossible!" another of the men said. "Are you saying he... died?"
"Not," Raoul said. "It's more complex than that."
"Then what do we do?" the first man asked.
"Yes, yes, what do you do?" said a sing-song voice from behind Raoul.
"Greetings, Stenophylla," Raoul said, without turning around. "What do you want?"
"I want to see what Nyasient'e's servants are doing now that he's... gone!" Siline said, his smile as broad as ever.
"What to you know about it?" Raoul asked, setting his drink down and turning around on his stool.
"Deceit has made use of human magick to seal your god away," Siline replied.
"That is inconceivable," Raoul said. "No man-made spell could seal Nyasient'e. There is no talisman or scroll in existence that could contain such power."
"No talisman or scroll was used," Siline said.
Raoul thought for a moment. "I see," he said, thoughtfully. "Deceit made use of his own body. A risky move."
"Indeed," Siline said.
"Who the hell is this Deceit!?" one of the men demanded.
"If our Master's inside him, we'll bust 'im or, won't we!?" another of them said.
His words were met with cheers from his companions, all except for Raoul. The cheering was suddenly silenced, and all the men recoiled in horror. Siline's eyes had changed, and the courage had all but faded from the men's hearts as they beheld them.
"I would not recommend throwing your lives away like that," Siline said. "Deceit could slaughter all of you with no effort whatsoever."
"As powerful as Deceit is, that seal won't last forever," Raoul said, getting to his feet and standing face-to-face with Siline. "The Operator's Hand will remain strong until Nyasent'e returns to us, with me a their leader."
"As great as your longevity is, do you really think you'll live that long?" Siline asked.
Raoul lifted a hand and moved his hood up, revealing his empty eye sockets. He was completely blind to the horrific sight of Siline's eyes.
"I will live for however long it takes," Raoul said.
Present Day, in California
"Why couldn't we have stopped in one of the border towns?" Damien asked.
"Kestrel said this place would be a good place to start," Kaiser said.
"It doesn't matter what town we stop in," John said. "Either way, we're in California."
"So what now?" Damien asked. "Are we just gonna ask around like 'Good day sir, do you know where I can find the Magister?' Oh, I know! We can snoop around for clues! And maybe dress the shadowy bird thingy up like a dog!"
"He has a name!" Kaiser snapped.
"Whatever you say, Shaggy," Damien said.
"Enough, you two!" Hera growled. "Can you guys try to take this seriously?"
"I don't mean t interrupt," David said, "But do you think these guys might be able to help?"
David had wandered off to look at a flyer taped to a stop sign. John walked over to look at it too.
"Anthony and Xavier's Private Detective Services," John read out loud. "They're just a few blocks from here."
"Think it's worth a shot?" David asked.
"I don't know," John asked. "But then again, what else are we gonna do?"
20 minutes later
John stood before the suburban house, with a white fence in front of its doorway.
"This is the detective office?" Damien asked.
"Guess so," John replied, reading a sign attached to the white fence. "It says if we're here for detective services, to knock on the garage door."
"Okay then," David said, knocking.
A few seconds later, the garage door slid open and a man in his early 20s approached them.
"Hi, I'm Anthony Helioson, Private Detective," he said. "How may I help you?"
"We're, um, looking for someone," David said.
"Alright, come on in and tell me all about it," Anthony said.
Every one entered the garage, which had been set up like an actual office. John sat across from Anthony at his desk.
"So, who are you guys looking for?" Anthony asked.
"Someone called the Magister," John said.
"What does he look like?" Anthony asked.
"No idea," John replied.
"What can you tell me about him?" Anthony asked.
"Not much," John said. "He's supposedly a magic user. A friend of mine said he could help us, but other than that, I don't know anything about him."
"Well, this is tricky," Anthony said. "I suppose I can ask around a bit, and dig for some information, but I don't think I'll be able to find much."
"Great," Damien said. "All that bullshit with Lord Strain and Akuma and Nyasient'e, and now we're at a dead end."
Without saying a word, Anthony got to his feet and began rummaging around a file cabinet.
"What are you looking for?" Hera asked him.
"There's one of those names that I recognize," Anthony said, pulling out a file and dropping it on the desk. He opened it up to show John. "The Operator's Hand," he said. "They're a cult going back hundreds of years, who just so happen to worship a pagan deity known as-"
"Nyasient'e," John finished for him, noticing the highlighted name on the paper.
"Rumor has it, a faction of the Operator's Hand is hiding out in the basement of the old church," Anthony said. "I was just about to go check it out. Wanna tag along?"
"Of course!" John said. "It's a long shot, but this could bring us closer to the Magister."
"So when do we leave?" Damien asked.
"I'm afraid I can only bring one of you," Anthony said. "More than that would be too suspicious. Besides, I'm used to only having one partner."
"Speaking of which, where is that Xavier guy?" Kaiser asked.
"His name's actually Daniel," Anthony said. "He prefers to use his middle name though. He's on business up in L.A."
"You guys work well together?" John asked.
"Yeah," Anthony said. "I'm the brains, he's the muscle."
"So who's your wildcard?" Hera asked jokingly.
"Also Xavier," Anthony said. "So, which one of you wants to come?"
"I'll go," Hera said. "I know a thing to two about cults. I'd been the most valuable to you."
"What about Kaiser?" David asked.
"Hera's right," Kaiser said. "She would know more than me."
"Alright," Anthony said. "It's decided. Hera and I will go to the old church to investigate the Operator's Hand."
Meanwhile, in Netherworld
"Here it is!" Krysix said, standing before his machine. It was a complex metal platform surrounded by giant Tesla coils.
"This'll bring us to the human world?" the Gambler asked.
"Yes," Krysix said. "It's not completely accurate, but it shouldn't bring us too far off."
"So, let's get going already!" Manny Kinn said.
"Hold on a moment," the Gambler said.
A few seconds later, two people appeared, and kneeled before the Gambler. One was a man, dressed in loose black clothing with a black and violet jacket. He had a tattoo of a question mark under his left eye. The second was a woman with tan skin, dressed in a tight red shirt and maroon jeans. her black hair was down to her shoulders, and she wore question mark shaped earrings.
"Took ye' long enough," the Gambler said. "Abdalin, Cleopatra, we be on our way to the human world, to hunt down the Magister."
"Yes sir!" the both said in unison.
Krysix started up the machine, and a black portal appeared in the center of the platform.
"Prepare for takeoff," Krysix said.
Later, Inside of the Old Church
"So, where's the basement?" Hera asked, brushing some cobwebs off her shoulder.
"There should be a trapdoor behind the alter," Anthony said. "Look at all these footprints. They're leading right to it."
"So this place was used recently," Hera said.
"Exactly," Anthony said. "Let's go."
The two of them approached the trapdoor, but in flung open just before the reached it. A tall, twenty-year-old man climbed up the stairs to meet them. There was a longsword strapped across his back.
"Been a while, Anthony," he said.
"Who's this guy?" Hera asked.
"David Kallaway," Anthony said. "He was arrested for patricide 5 years ago, but the Operator's hand broke him out."
"So this is their hideout," Hera said.
"Not any more," Kallaway said. "Everyone else already left."
"Then I'll just have to get my answers out of you," Hera said, as her scythe appeared in her hand. "What do you know about the Magister?"
"I have nothing to say regarding that crackpot," Kallaway said.
"So you do know him!" Hera said. "Tell me everything!"
"If you think that scythe of yours scares me, you're dead wrong," Kallaway said.
Oh yeah!?" Hera yelled, swinging her scythe in a wide arc.
As her scythe sped through the air, Kallaway reached out a hand and caught the blade before it could cut him. He then turned sharply and flung her against a far wall. Her scythe clattered to the ground several feet away. Anthony charged at Kallaway from behind, but he turned again and kicked Anthony into a nearby pew. Her got to her feet, and ran up to him, throwing a strong right hook at him. He blocked it effortlessly, along with her next punch, and the punch after that. She quickly realized that he was just as strong as she was. Stronger, even. He threw a jab that caught her in the chest with the force of a runaway car. He struck her again in the shoulder, and then he caught her with a backhand strike to the temple. She collapsed on the ground in front of him, as he drew his sword from it's sheath.
"I'm sorry," he said, raising the sword above his head. "I have orders to keep."
He brought the blade down, but another sword blocked its path.
"Deus Ex Machina, bitch!" said the sword's wielder, throwing a punch that connected with Kallaway's jaw.
Kallaway stepped back and glared into the newcomer's eyes. It was a man, about Anthony's age, with shoulder length brown hair and freckle. He was wielding a katana, with a black blade and a red handle. He wore a gray vest, with a second sword across his back. It was an elegant European longsword, inside a black and indigo sheath.
"Long time no see, Kallaway," he said.
"Daniel Ferris," Kallaway said. "It has been a long time."
"I prefer Xavier," he said. He then turned to Hera. "I'll take it from here."
"But he's too strong!" Hera said. She tried to get up, but her injuries wouldn't allow it.
"Don't underestimate me," Xavier said, taking a few steps back. "I can take him."
Kallaway took a few steps back as well, clutching his sword tightly. They both took fighting stances, then charged at each other furiously.
No comments:
Post a Comment