"My apologies, but I believe you are mistaken. None of the Four Kings betrayed one another. We all served faithfully under our leader, the legendary Minamoto no Yorimitsu, who is better known under his alias 'Raikoh.' But I shall identify who the Four Retainers were. I, Sakata no Kintoki, represented Suzaku, the Vermilion Phoenix of the South. Usui no Sadamitsu represented Genbu, the Black Tortoise of the North. Watanabe no Tsuna represented Byakko, the White Tiger of the West. And last, but definitely not least, Urabe no Suetake represented Soryu, the Azure Dragon of the East. The 'traitor' you refer to could be one of two people: Masakado, my former friend who died in battle and became the demon known as the Headless Horseman; or Abe no Seimei, the mighty sorcerer who betrayed us against his own will because he was possessed by the spirit of Shutendoji, our immortal enemy." replied Kintoki.

"That's right. None of the Four Shitenno Guardians would even dare to think of treachery. Tsuna was bound by his eternal vow of vengeance against the enemies of the Imperial Court, Sadamitsu was bound by her undying love for the Imperial Capital, my Sensei Kintoki was bound by his unbreakable devotion to Raikoh, and Suetake was the most honorable of them all. He sacrificed his mortal body and fused his soul to a Holy Tree in order to serve the Court and protect the land for longer than his mortal life allowed." Kiyo added. He quickly took a glance outside and finally noticed the dark, night sky. Realizing that he talked for most of the night, Kiyo picked up his bag and strode over to the hatch that led to the lower decks. "This conversation has gone on for too long. I'm retiring for the night. And please, don't stalk me again. Save your questions for the morning. Until then, goodnight." he said as he opened the hatch.

"Again, I apologize for my descendant's rudeness. Goodnight..." Kintoki's voice rang out before Kiyo disappeared into the lower decks.

It only took a few minutes of searching before Kiyo found a rather small cabin near the cargo bay of the ship. The little room barely had enough space to fit a bed, table, and chair, but it was perfect for an solitary man like Kiyo. After dropping his bag on the table, Kiyo sat down onto the bed and entered a cautious resting posture that most samurai used for sleeping.

"You know Sensei, there was no need for the excessive pleasantries."

"Why are you so wary of others? Are you afraid of forming bonds? What happened in your childhood-"

"Is none of your business, even if you are my trusted ancestor. If I allow myself to befriend others and forget the past, then history will only repeat itself, and I'll end up getting betrayed and persecuted once again."

"So you will only live for yourself? Have you not anyone who is precious to you?" But Kiyo didn't respond to Kintoki's question. For he had already fallen into a cautious, troubled sleep.

 

---

Killrock had mooved bellow decks to avoid any other flying dragons or other sorts of bizar animals he was hopeing Pigs didnt fly in this world aswell. mooveing in to a room filled with turning Cog's he wasent sure what meaning they had buy being close to some kind of machienary was a litle more asureing. "Medieval town hm?...well If I could fool a dragon I supose I can fool a pesant!..." waveing his hands infront of his glowing eyes. he riealised a slight problem. "...woops!".

the android sat. atleast here he wouldent be acused of "keeping people up" whatever that ment. "Recall memmory" he comanded and a few seconds of scrolling he made his next command. "Replay". Ray's voice was being played now “ Without values, your all just like demons. Remember what you’re fighting for…” With a mechanicaliesed Sigh, the android pulled his bag of "goodies" infront of him. feeling around the empty space of where his Exstra mag was he sifted threw deeper to find a small pad that fit in the palm of his hand, and a few other unidentifyable tools. "Memmory recall complete" he buzzed to himself aplying some kind of "mud" onto the pad and began running it over his chest, putting a buff on it. What is your Value, Killrock?, are you really up to dedicateing your self to protect the weak meek meat bag's?. Killrock looked up a bit and down the  hall of Cog's. studying them, how they went round and round, with no other function. all the Cog's did was turn. all there life. turn turn turn. "No" he asured himself. "I will not be like the other droids, I will not have a single dedicated purpose. I will not be a maid" he began to stand, still applying his buff. "I will not be a Butler!" he walked over to one of the Cog's and pointed at it "And I will moast sertanly not be a Cog!, you hear that!, Im-better-than-you!" feeling he got his point across he lowerd his finger. "Droids are built for single purposes. I am built for hunting, others are built to serv there makers , or sold as maids, but what they really are...is slaves" Killrock stepped to his bag again. picking up another tool, his chest plate opend to reveal the dameged speakers. wich his inner self repair unit had yet to finish, his own handy work would go mutch faster.

"If I have to dedicate myself to one purpose. it is that Droids are not just a tool to be baught and sold at a meat bag's liesure!" he set the buffer aside this repair would need two hands, welding thin bars of steel back together. blue flashes popped now and then when he tapped a long pole to two pieces of steel, his left arm working a long set of tweezers. "I will hunt, I will protect, I will do what I want when I whant and how I like it!".

---

Theres a hole in the world like a Great black pit and ists filled with people who are filled with ***!.

^Thanks to Eva ^__^ <3

-"Excellent posture..."- remarked Nate with a smile as he sparred with one of the more advanced students back at the guild, but soon after such compliment, he round-stepped behind his opponent swiflty and made her stumble with a strong clash of hips -"...but I wouldn´t be so sure about the footing."-

By the time these words had ended, Nate had somehow managed to catch Jess, the girl who´d been ignored and "rejected" previously by D, before she even touched the ground during her fall.

-"S...sorry, Nate."- she apologized shyly, blushing when she found out she was now in his strong arms.
-"No need to apologize, luv, you´re doing great."- he stated with a reassuring wink.

-"Awww, hope I´m not interrupting such a heart warming display of child molesting."-

The mellow voice of a man interrupted suddenly as both Jess and Nate turned around and spotted the strange snake man sitting by the stands of the sides of the empty training ground.

-"Jess, session´s over for the day, I´ll see you later. Take care of yourself, alright?"-

The guild´s teacher helped the student stand up before she also expressed her farewell and took off for the dinning hall.

-"Heh, sorry to disappoint you,pal, but I´m barely 412 years old!"- spoke Nate with a carefree attitude in reply to the mysterious individual´s child molesting comment.
-"Oh, I see. My bad then, cutie."-

By that time, the half gorgon had already moved behind Nate with astounding speed, yet this last one remained unimpressed and smiling.

-"Cutie?"-
-"Well, I´ve got to admit that girl did make me a little jealous..."- whispered the snake man into Nate´s ear before biting it softly...or at least he thought he did, for the Silvermyth teacher had already vanished and was nowhere to be seen.

-"Sorry..."- *WHAM* Nate suddenly reappeared as he connected a powerful flying kick to his opponent´s gut, sending him flying back until he finally crashed violently into a wall -"...but I don´t get giggy on the first date."-

A dense cloud of dust spread from the crash site as Nate stood by idly with a slight smile on his face and both arms crossed, waiting for any sign of his adversary.

-"Maybe I can change your mind on that..."-

Nate heard the voice that came from below as a pale hand sprouted from the ground and took hold of his ankle, pulling him down soon after with unmeasurable strength before the snake man tried to kiss him, an attempt which Nate prevented by freeing himself and escaping in the nick of time.

-"Dammit, pal. I don´t swing that way!"-

*BOOM*

The half gorgon´s uppercut sounded more like an explosion as his fist sunk into Nate´s stomach, repaying him with the same coin as the Silvermyth crashed against the wall behind him with an impact even more devastating than the one before.

-"You can call me Red, sweetheart."- expressed the snake man with a sinister glint upon his golden red eyes.

*ZWOOOOOOOM*

The newly arose cloud of dust dissipated in a matter of seconds as an immense gust of wind blew throughout the whole arena from the spot in which Nate stood, holy white aura glimmering and flashing in the fashion of lightning all around him.
Nate then spat some of the blood that ran down his chin from his lips before cleansing the rest with the reverse of his left hand. He´d already released five of ten sephirot seals, one more than back at Ray´s office.

-"Heh, well, Red. How ´bout you and I leave all the idle chitchat behind us and spice things up a bit with a little more physical interaction?"- threatened Nate with a confident smirk.
-"Sounds kinda kinky..."- replied Red maliciously, a reflected smirk upon his own semblant as well.

 

---

Now that everyone was awake, and the ship was docked at Griffon’s Tail, Everyone was called to the top deck for a briefing on their friend, Vega.

 

“Now you all know he’s a puff of smoke, but I need to tell you a leeeeetle bit more about him if your going to catch him.” Gail strode back and forth in front of his fellow Silvermyths. “Vega, is actually, relatively weak as far as the brotherhood goes. On his own, he can do little to hurt you, provided you don’t inhail him. However, a Silvermyth who’s been tracking Vega claims he got a hold of an orc chieftain and ran the entire tribe into Griffin’s Tail. Not knowing what Vega was, they didn’t bother incinerating the corpses after the tribe was slain, so Vega was able to take another host. He is believed to have taken control of the thieves guild leader, due to the increase in burglaries and muggings as of late. So do take care, hold onto all of your belongings, and of course, watch out for muggers.”

 

“At any rate, there is a fool proof way to spot Vega. Aside from his ability to super power his hosts, he will create a black animal that serves as a guard for his host. You’ll see him with a black raven, or cat with glowing green eyes. The pet can shape-shift so watch out! Anyway, let’s depart, and try to locate that thieves guild.”

 

The war galion was parked at one of  Griffon’s tail’s many docks. The people weren’t very surprised with the flying ship, they had seen very advanced technology, but preferred there own simple lives, fuling everything with mana over gas. In fact, some of them had lived on other continents before settling here.

 

After the dock, you could see the city, Griffon’s tail. It was split up into various sectors, representing different living classes. The outside was obviously the poor/slum districts, with there dirt roads and straw houses. Beyond that there where the middle class citizens, in wood houses, with stone walk ways. The center had the castle, and stone buildings belonging to the richest members of the town. However, no matter where you where, you could here the smashing of hammers on anvils, people talking, and feet pounding against the ground.

 

(a week ago)

 

A lone person strode down the empty halls of the Thieves guild. The individual wore a dark, heavy cloak, hiding his/her appearance under it. all that could be seen was this person’s eyes, which where an emerald green. It also had a raven perched on it’s shoulder, with even more brilliantly colored eyes.

 

*SLAM *

 

The door to the boss’s chamber swung wide open. There the thief king sat atop a golden thrown mounted on a golden chest. Gold coins represented a stair case that led up to the lofty height of his thrown. The king himself was a tall individual, his arms as thick as tree trunks and face as pail as the moon.

 

“ What are you doing here so late? I have enough guards for the night, you may leave me be.” “I did not come here for your sake sir.” It said in a voice that was both feminine and masculine. “I came here to take your place.” The king chuckled. “You think you can beat me? I mean it is our code to fight to the death if one desires to take my place, but none have beaten me for a solid decade. If anything I’m stronger than when I first battled the original king!” He was now roaring with laughter. “Tell you what, I’ll give you 1000 gold coins if you let me be, I don’t feel like killing you today.” “But king.” Vega’s host said. “If I couldn’t beat you, then I’d simply take you over, but this body is clearly superior to yours, you can take the 1000 gold coins and leave if you’d like however, I have no use for them.”  “ahhhhhHHHHHH! THAT DOES IT!” The King leapt off his thrown and shook the earth upon landing. He then pulled out his sword.  “Do not get in my way.” He shouted at his guards. “I don’t what to kill him too quickly!”

 

 He then promptly marched over to Vega, who simply stared at the behemoth as he raised his arm, preparing for the killing chop. But upon executing the killing blow itself, all he managed was to covered his foe with his own blood. Apparently the Raven had sawed his arm off with it’s wings, then returned the arm to Vega’s host. “AHHHH! You little brat!” The King of bandits grabbed at the stump near his elbow where his forearm use to be as he fell to his knees in pain. He could now look at his tiny opponent eye to eye. “what did you do to me!?” “It’s actually quite simple…” The bird’s wings where now arms with bladed fingers. It tore the meet off the broken ligament, and then placed the skeletal limb into the palm of the host’s slender hand. “…I beat you…” Vega mercilessly jammed the skeletal stiletto into the King’s jugular , and watched it exit his cranium on the other side. His host then pushed the king over on his side, and proceeded to walk over to the throne. “I’m the king now right?” The old king’s guards nodded quickly, hoping to be spared from this “things” wrath. “Good, you will get everyone here tomorrow, I wish to expand our little guild, and to do that we have to milk Griffon’s Tail dry. Everyone will be out stealing tomorrow, I need no one here to guard me. Got it?” Again, the men nodded in agreement. “Good, This will allow my brother’s to better prepare ourselves for the battle ahead.”

 

(current)

 

“Alright people! Let’s head out!” With a wave of his hand, Gail signaled everyone to leave the ship.

---

Victor listened intently to Gail's briefing. The master of a thief's guild, eh? Shouldn't be too hard to track down. The dhampir checked his equipment. Rapture? Check. Hidden blade? Check. Throwing darts? Check. All set. If he needed sustenance, or to heal his wounds, he'd simply drink one of Vega's thieves.

The assassin was the first to alight the ship as he adjusted his robe and shades. This town was gonna be a lot of fun to hunt in, of that he was certain. Perhaps Vega would be more of a challenge than he'd initially thought.

---

Which side of the divide do you stand on? Find out in this Harry Potter/Star Wars crossover, Divided Worlds

Wow. I've been here for over a year. :]

"Well, you going to move it?" Gail grinned at Akasuki, whom stood motionless beside him. She wasn't having a particularly happy time aboard this ship of nightmares. the noise kept her up all night, and she could have sworn she heard that robot babbling to a dragon or something, but that was stupid, dragons don't approach flying ships and don't attack.

Killrock was dispatching off of the Dutchman, giving everyone he saw a good slap on the back as he walked by "Sup D-man!" a hard slap on the back followed. "Hey there shady!" he gave a slap on the back to Victor as he marched past the Dahpier. and headed off into the town, the lights in his eyes were shut off, and instead it looked as if they were hollow.

Ah, there was Killrock, the only person she could call a friend on this god forsaken voyage. a pity he wasn't real, just a jumble of things hurled together that simulated intelligence. despite this, it was the only thing the samurai felt she could bond with. *boing* Akasuki leapt off the side of the ship, running quickly to catch up with the droid, proudly stomping a path into the city. "Hey kill rock, you don't mind if I search with you do you?" Before he could answer, she scooped up his hand and rapped her arm around his.

"err....no...why don’t you just grab my arm hmm?" the Hucast remarked sarcastically before turning his attention to more "important" matters. which would be storming the thieves guild and obliterating the entire threat. which un benown to him, would be allot harder than he thought.

 

"So what’s your story Killrock? why did you go to a guild to learn, couldn't you just 'install' everything you need to know?" The samurai was now resting her head on his shoulder, blocking his view with her massive dreadlocks and pony tails.

"if you must know, my meat bag buddies insisted I go on this mission to teach every one something!.... though I never understood why they were celebrating when I got on that bus... any how, a Hucast is an advanced droid, I learn by experience in what I see and store it in a permanent memory bank, I could try down loading files, but you never know when some jerk tries out a Virus in one of those files!" the droid announced with a venomous tone

"I see… " Akasuki raised her head when she noticed the townsfolk staring at her funny. Not only that, but it would appear Killrock was allergic to affection, and despised "meat bags" wholly. "Killrock, there's something I'd like to tell you, it has to do with… " The android blocked out the rest of what she was going to say, he spotted a very large meat bag robbing what appeared to be a small fish shop.

 

"hold that thought!" the Droids arm slipped from her grip, and Killrock began marching forwards, Buzzing in his most heroic tone. "Halt there thine fell Thief!" he called out in authority. "Less I must cripple.......thee?"

 

"Wuh?" The thief was a rowdy fellow. tall, but even wider. he didn't take the presence of the android very seriously. "wut you doin'?" he bellowed. Meanwhile, down on the muddy street floors, Akasuki was rising to her feet. "Damn… my hair… " The samurai sprinted over to Killrock's side, this time sword drawn. "Ok fatso, where's the guild?" "Uh! " The thief turned tail and rolled himself into a ball. Afterwards, he began rolling away from his pursuers, as pedestrians leapt out of his way. "What the hell? is that guy… oh never mind, I'll cut him off, you keep chasing him!" Akasuki charged off into a side street as the enormous bolder continued to cause terror on the street.

"No need! I K-...er....SIR! Killrock shall take care of him!" the droid began his own spring, Getting into this medieval Mood...maybe...even more than the pedestrians.

As Killrock sprinted after the thief, he realized that his hands where reaching out for pedestrians as he passed them. he appeared to be grabbing small bags from them as he rolled on by. as he did this, his mass grew.

" Bah Fat thief!" he blankly called out. "Lets see what a little bit of this dose!" speeding past a black smith Killrock reached in, and scooped some extremely hot coals out of a furnace, before throwing them over the thief... and in front of where he was rolling.

"Uh! guys! wait!" he suddenly stopped rolling. "wew, that was a close one better go back… " The thief was now rolling backwards at Killrock!

Killrock stamped his feet to the side. spreading his arms " HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!" the droid was going to latch on to this porker. and wasn’t letting go until he stopped.

The bowling ball just smiled as he headed towards his opponent. "Let's see wut you can do!" The thief slammed into Killrock, driving his heels into the soft mud as he slowly slid backwards. "Guys! he's stopping us! PUSH!" Guys? At any rate, Killrock was now up to his knees in mid-evil-meat-bag-filth. it was then a mud covered samurai leapt from a side street and sliced the thief in two. but that's when the Silvermyths realized it wasn't a thief, it was five! on was the head, the arms, and the legs. the rest of the space was made up of bags filled with stolen gold. "Grab what you can and run!" The thieves did just as the right arm asked. "We only need one alive Killrock!" Akasuki sliced into the one posing as the right arm as the other "opposing limbs" darted off in different directions.

"you may only get half!" Killrock whipped around. not wanting to open a photon blade in this area, Killrock moved the long Staff like pole of his back and into the Gut of the thief representing the left arm. and began gunning after the head. "you have the sword, Il keep this one alive!".

The samurai nodded and chased the one she felt was the fastest, leaving lefty with Killrock. "So, your interested in the thief's guild eh?" He clinched his gut as he got back up. "well, I won't do much good alive, I'm sworn to secrecy!" Lefty pulled out two daggers. "So nobody will know where to find your pieces after your dead!"

"ha...AHAH HA HA HA!" Killrock set the staff behind his back. "ok ok, this is how this works. you strike me first, then il break your arms!, deal?, or no deal?" Killrock politely set his hands behind his back.

Lefty grinned. "I'll accept your offer!" He then swiftly drilled both daggers into Killrock throat, to no avail. " why aren't you dead?!"

"Gee, I wonder... " Killrock's arms came around and grabbed onto Lefty's arms. "now, lets go to my part shall we?" prying the thief off of himself, the tall droid began to walk with the thief trapped in his death grip.

"hey, HEY!" Akasuki approached Killrock, with a little bit more blood on her than last time they spoke. "I got another one, but the other 2 got away, at least you kept this one alive." "Hey! I'm not sayin' a word!" The thief kicked his legs as he struggled from Killrock's grip. "Oh really, maybe Mr. sword could convince you otherwise?" "Eh, no no no! It's not like that! I've never seen the inside of the place! they keep moving it around, and I'm usually only on active duty one a month! but for some reason there's a new boss, and he's got everyone out lookin' for coin!" "I see " Akasuki rubbed her chin. "But, even if I did know, I wouldn't tell you anyway. you see, I’m also quite the spell caster!" Lightning arced threw his body and into Killrock’s chasse.

"... Careful" Killrock’s arms began to tighten as the lightning arched threw himself and back into the Thief. "My armor is VERRY susceptible to lightning, and tends to tighten my joints!" Killrock was doing his best not to drop the little ***, as smoke began to rise from several joints in his body.

Akasuki could tell the hucast was at his limits. with a swing of her blade, the electrocution stopped, and the thief fell into the pool of gold he helped accumulate, and soaked it with his own blood. "to be rich... to have everything you want... " The thief allowed the gold coins to sift threw his fingers as the rest of his life leaked out onto the coins. "You ok Killrock?" The samurai said, shaking him.

Killrock pried the daggers from his neck, sparks lighting up. "Status eleven percent to critical condition" the Hucast said swaying a little.

Akasuki grinned and continued to walk with him. "Well, he confirmed our suspitions anyway, Vega's defenetly the thief king. So, where should we go next?"

Wobbling with her, the Hucanst wrapped its steel arm over her shoulder. "I need a sufficient area to inspect damage and commence repairs without raising suspicion"... and they were headed to the dead end of the road

---

Theres a hole in the world like a Great black pit and ists filled with people who are filled with ***!.

^Thanks to Eva ^__^ <3

-"Yo, Gail..."- called out D as they disembarked from the ship. Afonos followed close behind him, each of them carrying their own luggage.

 

"Wha...? What are you bringing? This isn't exactly a picnic, you know? Thieves are fast little bastards. The less you bring along, the better we'll be, or are you carrying something interesting?" Gail spoke without looking back at his comrades. All he had were his scythes and his overalls. It was all he needed to catch thieves.

 

D remained impassive as Afonos stepped forward with an affable smile that almost shimmered.

 

-"Don't worry, Gail. D has come up with a plan to find the thieves’ hideout."-

 

As Afonos said this, one of the peasant women that werepassing by fixed her gaze upon him him, and blushed, bumping into a wooden post soon after.

 

The half demon smiled as he walked with his comrades. "So, do any of you know what a power word is?"

 

Afonos seemed intrigued as D remained unimpressed.

 

-"Just tell us what it is, Gail."- this last one replied bluntly.

 

"Well, a long time ago, Ray Silvermyth and Storm Crow worked together on a powerful technique called the power word. Everyone has one, they just have to discover it. I guess you could call it a way of unlocking one’s hidden potential. You simply speak a phrase with such passion, that it conjures your inner potential. Most people never discover their own power word, and to be honest, I would have never figured out mine during my human lifetime."

 

-"So, what you're basically saying is that power words are the reason both Ray and Storm Crow are so strong?"- inquired D, uninterested as of yet.

 

"It certainly doesn't hurt to know your power word, but no, they are naturally strong due to aeons of combat experience, and of course, top notch weaponry. However, the most powerful move you'll ever execute will be with the help of power words. That’s what I'm trying to tell you."

Gail shook his finger as he continued walking.

"If you know your power words, you'll fare much better against the evils ahead."

 

Afonos's gaze sparkled with excitement.

 

-"We should train harder and find out our power words, D. That should give us the edge against the Black Calamity."-

 

D merely rolled his eyes in annoyance at his friend's words.

 

"I can't tell you what yours is, but I can give you some hints; the phrase has to embody what you are, what you represent, sort of speaking."

Gail spun around and faced his allies. "Would you like to see mine?"

 

Both Afonos and D halted their march and looked at Gail.

 

-"I thought you said you were never able to figure it out during your human lifetime..."-

 

"I'm in-human now, remember?" The half demon chuckled. "I can't believe there are still people in the guild that don't know I'm half demon. Well, here's the scoop. After I brushed elbows with Divagro, he cursed me. I was to become a demon, so you could say it was his parting gift to me just before he died. Nobody liked me after that, even my own love didn't recognize me. So one day, not too long after the clash, Ray found me and taught me how to overcome the curse. Now, I'm the lovable, handsome Devil Hunter you all know today. I'm not lookin' too bad, being in my 600's."

Gail flexed his muscles. "But enough about me, wanna see a power word?"

 

D sighed as Afonos smiled and spoke for the both of them.

 

-"We would be honored, Gail."-

 

Their leader smiled.

"Keep your eyes open for a targert then, no sense in scaring the townsfolk for no reason." Then, suddenly, a blacksmith came storming out from inside his shop.

"Hey! You need my wares!"

"Uh, no thanks, man, I don't have any coins on me..."

Gail continued to walk away from the old man, but just as D and Afonos started to pass him, he swiped his hand across the brim of  the bag D was holding, who in his stead remained standing there as the thief rushed past Afonos before this last one gave chase after him.

 

-"Gail, don't even think about going after them. Afonos will chase the bandit for a while so he doesn't suspect anything strange is going on."-

 

"Huh? If you say so."

Gail continued to walk with D, looking out for other thieves.

"Say, how have you been? Come to think of it, we don't get to talk very much. I'm always getting bounties and you’re always training."

 

From within his pocket, D pulled out some type of transmitter with a small screen on it that displayed a couple of directional arrows and a red dot.

 

-"Why the sudden interest?"- questioned D as he examined the device he held firmly on one hand.

 

"I don't recruit a lot of people to the guild and I'm just curious about how my boy's holding up." The half demon grinned. "I understand a girl wanted to have lunch with you yesterday, but you refused, why?"

 

-"Because, I have no interest in sharing mealtime with a shallow opportunist who just sought me out to increase her popularity."- explained D as he took some steps back to lean against a wall.

 

"Heh, interesting..."

Gail also stopped, as so did his grinning.

"D, why do you insist on isolating yourself from the others? You don't speak with anyone and you couldn't give a rat's ass about what I have to say. So, what the hell are you doing man? What's up next after the fight?"

 

The lazy Silvermyth stared at Gail with apathy and soon after turned his face away.

 

-"Home, I suppose..."-

 

"Home... home is good..."

Gail dropped one of his scythes onto the ground.

"Nothing’s stopping you from going there now actually..."

The half demon's hair began to wave about as he turned towards D.

"Let me send you there now, I am the ferryman after all..."

With lightning speed, Gail rushed D with his schythe overhead and striking  with deadly precision, Gail couldn’t expect his scythe missing D by less than an inch and nailing into the wall beside him. Apparently, the slacker Silvermyth was already used to quick paced battles thanks to his sparring sessions with Afonos, and so, he'd stepped aside in the nick of time just enough for Gail to miss.

 

-"So hell's my home now? Wow, thanks a lot, Gail."-

 

"Might as well be, but, I do wonder..."

Gail removed his weapon and tossed it onto the ground with his other one.

"You were quick to dodge my attack, but you do realize that all there is at your 'home' is death, right? Sure there are prostitutes and strip bars, but I don't think that's where you want to be."

 

D smiled slightly as his transmitter beeped faintly.

 

-"Gail, I've got a signal on the thief's track. If he heads for his base anytime soon, we can easily trace him with these devices."-

 

After informing Gail, D pulled out yet another transmitter and handed it to him.

 

-"Even if the bandit attempted to drop the bag or remove its contents, my Mag will simply remain in stealth mode and follow after him. Also, I've entrusted Afonos with the task of surveying the area in advance to inform us of the situation once we catch up to him."-

 

D then began to tread in the direction the signal pointed.

 

-"Mind you that there's always a possibilty of the thief not returning to base or even not being one of Vega's man, so I would suggest that you do not inform the others about this until it's been confirmed."-

 

As he walked away, D didn't even bother to turn around and speak the last sentence.

 

-"Oh, and Gail. The Black District...is no longer my home."-

 

Gail smiled as he slid the trinket into his pocket.

"Knowing you..." he said to himself as he strode in the opposite direction "...home is wherever you can lay down your head on."

 

---

Epsilon could not get off the ship fast enough. He was happy now that the waiting was over and his challenge had begun.  He wandered to the outskirts of the castle and seamlessly assumed the attitude and posture of the crowd.      Epsilon found comfort in mingling with any group, but in a crowd of like-minded people he truly excelled.  What he detected was the many different hues and colors of the thieves nature.  As he walked along he could feel the waves of attention as a particular bandit would assess him and appoint a value to him.  Thief…vagrant…patsy…or mark.  Epsilon  silently emitted the message  “I am one of you.  We think alike, we have shared the same existence.  We know the value of a penny, the thrill of the  sting, the frailty of the mark.”  He did this without uttering a word. He did it with the sway in his walk. He did it with the tilt of his head, a knowing wink, a quick and knowing look in the opposite direction.

    After a matter of time Epsilon found what he was looking for. Mulling around at a dead ended lane was a conglomeration of humanity.  These people were quiet, almost sullen .  Epsilon sensed that they were recovering from a  long day of plying their trade. For even the act of thievery , the deceit, the slight of hand, the breaking of ingrained society’s laws creates  a toll on the mind and body.   This would be a time when Epsilon would have the best chance of plying HIS trade.
 
    Epsilon boldly walked into the group.  He made a show of nervously looking behind him, and tucking a billfold into his vest pocket. Looking up he feigned surprise and warmly greeted the group, nodding at random to give the appearance he was aquatinted with several of them.
 
    “Well!” He stated. “ I don’t know about you but word is we need to get back to our digs. He’s waiting for us.”    Epsilon turned on his heal and headed out of the dead end lane. “I sure don’t want to be the one that keeps him waiting !”

    With that the group sprang up and followed Epsilon . Epsilon almost imperceptibly slowed his pace, hoping that someone, SOMEONE would take the lead and show him the way.  Just as he was nearing the mouth of the  lane were it teed off, a tall lanky scruff  of a man took the lead and made a sharp left.  Breathing a long but silent sigh of relief, Epsilon walked just behind and began to chat it up with members of the group.   

As Victor wandered the streets, he spotted one of his fellow Silvermyths - Epsilon, isn't it? - among a group of men all headed in one direction - thieves, maybe? Perhaps they were leading him to the Guild...

Vic moved in the same direction, being sure to keep his distance and stay out of sight. When he was in sight of Epsilon, he nodded at the Silvermyth while continuing to tail the group. He didn't know if Epsilon had any combat skills, but if he got into trouble, it'd be Victor who got him out. His hand resting on Rapture's handle, the dhampir trailed behind the thieves, moving as if he was one with the shadows, a blade in the crowd.

["Blade in the crowd" - Lol, couldn't resist that.]

---

Which side of the divide do you stand on? Find out in this Harry Potter/Star Wars crossover, Divided Worlds

Wow. I've been here for over a year. :]

-"...22...23...24..."-

Nate counted the number of times he bench-pressed with a heavy bar that was bending slightly under the weight placed at both ends of it. As he exercised at the Guild´s gym facility, a band-aid covering the gash on his cheek, Nate reminisced the events of the night before...

~~~~~~~

*KABOOM*

The strong collision between two unfathomable forces shook the training yard whole as a large cloud of dust and debris rose up in the middle of the arena. Nobody in the academy could acknowledge the battle that was taking place within the Silvermyth facilities, specially at that time of night when everyone was asleep and seeing as how the jousting arena had been cleverly designed for sparring purposes, isolating any tumult or noise that may come from the harsh training sessions of the students.
Soon, the thick curtain of dust parted ways under the pressure of Nate´s expanding aura to reveal both him and the snake man, Red, entangled in an agressive deadlock.

-"My, oh my. So this is the strength of an angel, huh?"- remarked the half-gorgon with a smirk, more as a daunting taunt than anything else. Even worse yet was the fact that, though Nate had already released eight out of the ten sephirot seals of his power, Red didn´t seem to be even breaking a sweat as he matched his opponent´s power easily.

-"Who the hell is this guy?! The only people who´ve been able to take me this far are Ray and Gail!"- the Silvermyth thought to himself as he kept struggling to overcome his adversary -"NETZACH!"-

With yet another seal release, Nate´s true form had begun to manifest all throughout his body; a divine being who beared a splendid white-golden halo crown over his head, emitting a splendid holy light that brought tears of joy to the hearts of mortals as three pairs of shimmering bright wings remained open behind his back. He almost didn´t resemble a human anymore, and yet, he was the most humane creature anyone could ever set eyes upon.

-"My...OH MY! You are so beautiful I almost want to keep you all to myself!"- exclaimed Red with traces of blissful tears forming at the lower rims of his eyes.
Moments after Nate´s ascension of power, he was able to easily force the snake man back before breaking and splintering both his arms in the process. He then pulled Red right onto his knee so it would sink painfully into the gorgon´s gut before propelling him upwards into the air, where Nate was already laying in wait thanks to his enhanced speed.
Once there, the angel recieved Red with a crushing strike from his elbow to his spine, which cracked and shattered as well, following immediately after with more punishing blows from Nate´s kneecaps against the snake man´s stomach and chest that rose them even higher in the air. Finally reaching a certain altitude, Nate readied himself to perform one of his Power Word techniques; the Fall from Grace.

-"An angel of dark, lighting to ease the shadows´ sight..."- Nate began as his wings extended and wrapped all around Red tightly in the fashion of a coccoon.
Turning themselves upside down after that, Nate started to spin like a drill with inconceivable velocity as pressure began to gather all around them. In the matter of a second, the spinning projectile they´d become shot down towards the ground like a speeding bullet and just as they were only a few feet away from collision, Nate´s wings lost all solid  and dissipated into countless feathers that hovered away gracefully, leaving Red exposed as he kept falling with no interrupted momentum; a mysterious instance of silence invading the atmosphere along with Nate´s finishing power words...

-"...hearts will grow, the heavens will play, leaving behind the things in the end."- 

... 

*KRAKABOOM*

The crash was so violent and potent, that all of the arena´s floor fissured and crumbled away utterly, starting from the impact point all the way to the sides. The quake had even reached beyond the limits of the training yard and would probably alert fellow Silvermyths.
Nate landed gracefully several feet away from the rising column of debris and dust, back to his original shape and form. He knelt down exhausted, coughing  a dry cough.

-"Superb..."- suddenly spoke the snake man´s from within the shroud of smoke; his tone sounded slightly crackled and pained.
-"No way!"- thought Nate as he then reached into his coat for the black die that soon turned into his broadsword.
-"Indeed commendable. I would even go as far as to say that I would´ve surely died right here and now..."-

Once the view was cleared, Nate´s expression became aghast and unbelieving at the sight he witnessed. Red was laying there, static on the ground, each and every last one of his bones and ligaments crushed or mangled by the strain they´d had to endure. A horrible and twisted wide grin was somehow drawn on his face as he stared with wide open bleeding eyes and gums at Nate.

-"...if killing me was possible, that is."-

Nate placed his blade away and attempted to stand up in order to escape as fast as he could, panic flooding every ounce of his being. But the wounds throughout his body and the weight of having released nine sephirots pulled him down onto the shattered floor as he was no longer able to move. But if that wasn´t bad enough, cracking and gooey noises soon filled the air and reached his ears. Turning around to look over his shoulder, he saw the worst thing imaginable; Red was crawling out of the crater, even in such a battered state, as he approached Nate at an alarmingly fast pace, almost moving like a real snake as he left a thick crimson trace behind him.

-"Dammit, move!"- shouted Nate at his limbs and body, which refused to carry him any further.
Soon, the half-gorgon had already reached the spot where Nate laid down weakly and slowly made his way onto this last one´s body as they were then face to face; Nate staring at the deformed creature´s face, and even worse, at his sinful red golden eyes.

-"How about a kiss to congratulate you for your effort?"- the snake man gurgled as his semblant closed in on Nate´s.

...

~~~~~~~

-"...67...68...69...70."-

Nate finished his routine as he lifted the bar up one last time to place it back on its holders. He then sat on the edge of the bench and wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel.

-"Heh..."- he smiled slightly and stood up to make his way to the showers -"...the ship departed yesterday for Griffon´s Tail. If my suppositions are correct, they should be there already."-

A dark figure stood there, leaning back against a wall as Nate directed himself to the locker room. None of its features or physical attributes could be discerned, as a black hooded cape covered its face and most of its body.

-"Thanks..."- it spoke with a grim low tone of voice that didn´t allow one to identify it as male or female.
Nate merely walked past it as he closed his eyes and smiled.

-"What for? I should be the one thanking you for saving me from snake dude back there..."-

The enigmatic individual then tread forward and away from the wall. Apparently, it was leaving.

-"You know, if you wanna come back, you could always speak to Ray..."- stated Nate without turning around.

The caped stranger halted its march; both their backs facing each other from a distance.

-"...Nate..."- it murmured and paused briefly before taking its leave -"...dead people...don´t come back."

...

 

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