Role Play Online

“You think you can really win? How many times have you tried?”

“I have one more try left in me, so why not use it? I think I've finally figured it out this time too. So why not go for one…more…run…”

A snap woke her from her sleep, jolting her awake. What a strange dream. Who were the two talking? And what were they talking about? One of the voices sounded very familiar to her, but she couldn't place it at all. Glancing at her clock, it read seven in the morning. She sighed and slowly sat up, stretching and hearing the pops in her shoulders and back. 

“Guess I might as well get going.”

The girl walked towards her bathroom, grabbing her clothes along the way. Staring at the mirror, she looked over herself before taking a shower. 

Isabella, or as most called her, Isa, looked like any high school student. Her black hair fell to the mid part of her back, her brown eyes so dark they hid the pupils within them. She was graced with enough beauty to make a few people double take, but she would never admit it. While she seemed polite and humble about it, it was more shame than anything. She looked just like someone she wanted to forget, and some days, that was harder to do than others.

Stepping out of her room, she was now fully clothed in the school uniform, tying up her hair as she made her way to the kitchen. A man had his back turned towards her, standing at the stove. Isa could smell the eggs cooking to perfection. She sat at the island and reached out to grab a piece of bacon that was laid out like a buffet.

“I'm almost done with the eggs, could you wait a minute or two Isa?”

“It's just one piece DeLeon, don't get your panties in a wad.”

“Language, Miss Isa, or should I give you another lecture?”

She rolled her eyes and took a bite out of the bacon, obviously not listening. DeLeon was their caretaker. He was the reason they were in this dormitory to begin with. Not that she was complaining, it got her away from her family and that was all she really ever wanted. DeLeon was also the only one that knew about their secret. The dormitory was only for certain students. Students that DeLeon hand picked himself. They all had something in common with one another, something that, depending on the person, they would want to hide or show off to the world. Isa was the former.

DeLeon place the plate of eggs in front of Isa before going back to make another plate. “There should only be one tonight.”

“Good. I don't think I can handle another night of two or three.” She took a bite of her eggs before speaking again. “Do we know what will come out this time?”

“Now that would ruin the surprise, don't you think?” DeLeon chuckled before turning serious again. “No, I wasn't able to pick out what was coming. I just know when and where.”

“Better than nothing.”

They sat in silence for a bit before DeLeon made a sound that was like he just remembered something. “We have a new one arriving today. His name is Aiden Connolly. He has the power of ice, and he seems to be a rather cheerful kid.”

“Great, sounds like he's in for a shock.”

“He's already fought a demon so he knows the basics.”

Isa would've said she would have to see it to believe it, but glancing at the clock she noticed what time it was. She leaned back to look down the hallway that had doors lined along it, all leading to a separate dorm. Sighing, she shook her head a bit and sat up, bringing the plate to the sink before going back to grab her bag. 

“I'm heading out. I'll come straight back to meet this kid before we go out and hunt.”

She made her way to the entrance door, hearing footsteps behind her. She glanced back to see who it was.

Fifty-Six

Noxx's sinewy muscles strained and flexed as he mustered his strength, pulling himself up from the hard floor once again. Beads of sweat glistened on his dark skin, evidence of the exertion he had endured.

Fifty-Seven

Lost in thought, Noxx reflected upon the bewildering events of the previous night. The place he had found himself in defied all logic and reason. It was an otherworldly experience, one that had left an indelible mark on his senses.

Fifty-Eight

The weight of the pressure he had felt still lingered in Noxx's memory. The demonic creature had loomed over him, its face contorted with malice, its gnashing teeth a terrifying sight. It was as if a whirlwind of chaos had swept through the city, sirens blaring in the distance, while he fought valiantly to keep the creature at bay, pressing his hand firmly to the ground.

Fifty-Nine

Recollections flooded his mind—collapsing from sheer exhaustion after a day of relentless fighting, his body pushed to its limits as he defended and rescued those in need. Noxx knew he couldn't explain the inexplicable to others, nor could he risk getting caught, choosing instead to flee when the monstrous entity vanished into the labyrinthine alleyways of the metropolis.

Sixty

Breathing heavily, Noxx dragged himself up from the ground, his weariness evident. The coolness of the floor beneath him provided a respite as he allowed himself a moment to recover before heading towards the shower. The aroma of someone's cooking wafted through the air, likely Deleon attempting to foster goodwill despite his dubious background.

Emerging from the shower and getting dressed, Noxx's mind wandered through the day that lay ahead. Make-up tests and after-school classes awaited him, the burden of academic responsibilities weighing heavily, despite having fought for his life the night before. He couldn't help but wonder if anyone would cut him some slack. Then again, maybe they would if he just smiled and told them he was one of those mysterious street runners.

Opting to avoid Deleon entirely, Noxx slipped out of the back entrance, his distrust for the stranger still intact. Though Deleon's advice on controlling the demon within him had proven helpful, Noxx couldn't simply place blind trust in someone like Isa had. Deleon still had to prove himself. Or at the very least, learn how to cook eggs the way Noxx had asked him.

Sliding his bag over his shoulder, Noxx stepped out onto the back porch, pausing for a moment to lean against the metal railing that led down to the ground a few feet below.

Smoke. The scent of smoke hung heavily in the air, a constant reminder of the rampant fires and terror that plagued the city. And yet… They still had classes in session amidst the lingering haze of destruction.

"Use it. Kill her. Maim her. Break her! How good it will feel to crush her bones. What am I waiting for?!"

 The soft sound of pebbles crunching underfoot could be heard echoing along the path, the crisp morning felt air refreshing on David's exposed skin. The scents of smoke still lingered in the air from the earlier destruction, but if anything it was somehow comforting to him now. He waved energetically to the elderly lady out walking her poodle as she passed by. "Good morning, ma'am. Beautiful dog! I really do love dogs." He gave her a broad smile as she cooed over her pet, apparently she had named it Teddy. "Now. While she's not even paying attention. I could devour her whole and nobody would ever know." David made all the appropriate noises as she told her story, something about how sickly the puppy was when she first picked him up. It was harder to concentrate around the weak or vulnerable, but then again it was always hard to distinguish what was genuinely his own thought anymore. "Have a nice day, ma'am." With a bob of his head, he set off back to the dorms. He'd been woken early by the voices again, and thought to try and clear up his still groggy mind with a walk. He was getting better at managing things now, after all, he'd soon have a chance to kill all the others in their sleep before brea- wait. Was that a stray thought? He bit down gently on his knuckle, a nervous reflex as he went over it again. Kill and eat the others? DeLeons voice echoed briefly in the back of his mind. No, it's not something David would do. Probably. At least, not something a human would do. He nodded to himself and set off again.

 With a pause for a deep breath, David entered the grounds once more. The path leading to the back of the dorms still seemed to be clear for now, and he took the opportunity to scurry back. As he got closer he spotted a figure seemingly relaxing against the railing. "That one is called Noxx. Might even be worth something in a fight, but, how much better he would look broken at my feet." Something leapt as if for joy in his heart at the thought, but he reigned it in and broadcast his usual smile, he was getting good at that. "Good morning, Noxx. Looks like you've been working out, stray strong, King; We'll be relying on you!" He flashed Noxx a thumbs up before heading inside without waiting for a response. He cringed internally - Good god, yeah, that was definitely himself, whatever was left of David, was definitely some kind of dork. Maybe Noxx would think he was kind of cool? . . Then again maybe not.

 Finally back inside, the gentle aroma of food wafted through the hall. He wiped his shoes on the doormat before making his way towards the kitchen. He spotted another one of the students just before walking into the kitchen. "Isabella." He gave her one of his usual cheery smiles. "Good morning Isabella. Thank you for always working so hard for us." - "I would look beautiful wearing your skin." He flinched as the thought hit him. Thank fuck he didn't say that out loud, that was definitely not his, right? He bobbed his head in her general direction before fleeing through the kitchen door. 

"Another unauthorized excursion, Mr Grimshaw?" came a middle aged, disapproving voice. "Sorry, sir. I needed to clear my head a little." David gave a bashful smile as he scratched at the back of his neck. DeLeon turned and gave him a level stare, "See that it does not happen again. You should know better than to leave without permission, despite the early hour it would be better if you came to me first." The dry, disapproving voice somehow helped settle his thoughts, as if that presence inside him was afraid of this man, not that that was any kind of surprise. 
"Yes, sir. It won't happen again." DeLeon's gaze lingered for a moment before returning to the meal he was busy preparing. "I have assigned you to another one tonight." he added, adding a fresh batch of eggs to a tray in the center of the kitchen island. David simply nodded with a smile, "Of course, sir. I'd be happy to help." before piling his own plate with the mornings breakfast. "I've been getting straight C pluses, so it's not like I need the time to study." A stronger, piercing gaze hit David this time as he looked up from his plate, bacon halfway into his mouth. 
"You can, and from this point onwards will, do better." David looked away, chewing slowly as he thought of how to explain his strange yet burning desire to average out an unimpressive score. All he could think to say was; ". . . Yes, sir."

A smoke eye to soften feature. 

A flash of mascara and concealer.

And finally. 

A smear of red lipstick. 

That was all it took, all she needed to decorate herself as the dangerous spark she was. She stepped out her apartment, dormitories had far too many rules for her taste. DeLeon always lecturing about something and all those stuffy little teachers pets with their sensitive little feelings. It was suffocating. Lily strode down the busy street towards the academy, grinning to herself as she rifled around and slid on some headphones, drowning out everything around her as she walked to the music blasting in her ears.

Once situated, she started to move again with a spring in her step. She chuckled to herself as she lit up a cigarette with a brush of her fingers and took a draw. She moved through some crowds of people who were likely fleeing whatever horror had inflicted the city, scared little mice scrambling from the burning church. 

A red-haired woman passed through and eyed her over, 
“Hey, kid! You old enough to smoke?” She remarked and Lily raised an eyebrow at her. She could practically smell the layer of hairspray and cosmetics this woman wore, at least she was trying so props for that. Slowly, Lily looked the woman up and down, as if thinking for a while and judging her. Desperate, old, alone and likely a few cats judging by the smears of cat hair on her cardigan. 
“Are you?” Lily retorted dryly before exhaling a plume of smoke. 

The red-heads split ends smoked and fizzled with dying embers. Lily moved on before she somehow could end up blamed, just an honest mistake after all. Lily made her way down to the academy, stubbing out the cigarette and spritzing herself with a good amount of perfume to mask the passive smell of smoke from her designer clothing. Looks mattered, they could hardly be wonderful heroes if they looked like little trash cans. Besides, the public adored a pretty face and Lily's blonde hair and baby blue eyes made for an eye catch. She flexed her fingers, keeping all the heat bottled up really did make her itch sometimes, she always needed an outlet. 

The music did a great job of drowning everything out successfully and Lily figured it was enjoyable, no needless drivel and pleasantries to exchange with people. They weren't here to make friends, right? They were here to save the world or let it burn, either way Lily was going to look smoking doing it. 

David was the one to greet her, with his usual self. She knew most things about him, but she didn't know about the voice in his head. If she knew, she wouldn't be surprised since even she had experienced it before. Of course, it wasn't as bad as his was, but it seemed to be something that happened every now and then. She raised an eyebrow but nodded to him before heading out. The way he talked was strange, but the compliments were nice so she couldn't fault him for it.

The walk to the school wasn't long. The dorms were far enough away to keep away prying eyes, but close enough to still be within reason of the school grounds. As she got closer, more students started to filter in until it was a decent sized crowd. No one here knew what power she had within her. She would rather keep it that way, staying in the dark where she would be ignored. She was used to that from before the demons appeared, her family not really being there, so it wasn't like she was looking for something new. She just wanted to go back to the old days where she was ignored and could do her own thing. But, that wouldn't happen. 

She spotted Lily with her headphones not too far from her. Isa wouldn't bother her, not wanting to start an argument so early in the morning. They were complete opposites. While Isa didn't want the attention, Lily seemed to thrive in it. Knowing what her powers were, it wasn't a surprise, but Isa knew that Lily had always been that way. You don't just suddenly become that confident overnight.

Isa shook her head a bit and headed inside. She had to focus on school at the moment. DeLeon always said that they needed to strive for success here. It'll help keep their cover, and an education was the best thing you could do for yourself. Isa was a good student anyways, so DeLeon's lectures weren't needed, but she felt that it was still useless considering the world they lived in now and the fact that she could easily die each night.

'DeLeon said there will be one portal tonight so we should be okay if not everyone shows up.' She thought to herself. While she wasn't the assigned leader, she took up the mantle anyways. She wasn't the best, but she did what she could to make sure the others were safe. Isa had been one of the “originals” as DeLeon liked to joke. This group wasn't the first group to fight against the demons. Isa never really talked about it, but she had seen death. She had seen those she cared for be taken away by these horrible demons. She took it as more reason to fight though, to avenge those that had fallen. 

‘We have a new kid tonight. DeLeon said his name was Aiden. He didn’t say what his powers were so I'll have to ask when I meet him. I hope it's something useful.'

((I'll post as Aiden tomorrow and that will be a time skip to the night. If you want to post before then you can))

He gave a slight smile to David as he passed by unsure still how to read him. David's voice emanated politeness, but there was something different about his eyes. They held an unnerving intensity. As if he were looking into the sharp gaze of a hawk or a predator in the wild closing in on prey. Maybe it was just paranoia. After all, everyone among DeLeon's little protégés had encountered death in some form or another. Some more than others. Perhaps that was why David seemed slightly unnerving.

On the way to class he spotted Isa and kept his distance. She was the first and the favorite among them, having witnessed more than any of the others.  Always a bit quiet and to herself Noxx took care around her. If she'd survived this long she was either exceptionally skilled or just lucky enough to escape each time her friends faced something dangerous. He quietly slipped across campus and soon found himself seated in his classroom.

Class 13 was DeLeon's creation, masquerading as a study hall, where they all gathered. The same applied to home room and a couple of other classes throughout the day.  Unfortunately for Noxx, every class he had was shared with the blonde and her phalanx of birds. Like the fairy tale Princess of Pettiness Lily, always surrounded by at least two or three other girls of their class demanding attention with her looks, always the spotlight he imagined her struggle to keep the demon hidden was difficult. While their peers fawned over her at every opportunity He tended to steer clear just giving her a nonchalant wave as she caught his eye. 

As class began, he immersed himself in his notes, attempting to focus on simple algebra. Unbeknownst to him at first, his words transformed into scrawling's. Demonic and otherworldly meanings came from his hand as he tried to write simple algebra notes. His notebook's blank pages transformed into vivid artistic expressions, showcasing depictions of death and unlife that he himself couldn't have consciously created. As the lines of his notebook gave way to shading and intense graphite the teacher’s words slowly faded from his ears.

“These earthly beings shall suffer tonight. The third-born calls for one.” He wrote in intellible symbols that wasn't of his own handwriting. "A single door shall mark his entrance. Sufficient sacrifice in the form of innocent blood must be spilled before he may grace us again." Images of bodies stacked into a small mountain, a gruesome pile of corpses, flashed through Noxx's mind as if he were there. 

The rest of the world faded away, and he found himself standing on the street at night once again. The same flickering streetlight from before stood before him, casting an eerie glow. He watched himself walking forward through the flickering lights, unaware of the nightmare that awaited him. Of course I would sing to him so.

If only I could prevent him from entering his nightmare, I would. I watched him, oh, how I watched. Through his desperation and pain, I witnessed his heart break and his greatest fears become reality. How I long to experience his emotions, even if just for a moment, to feel what he feels. The longing pain I wish to endure-"Jack, pay attention in class. Stop spacing out when I address you. You're fortunate to have this opportunity, boy. Don't waste it."

Noxx snapped back to reality, quickly closing his book. "Got it, sorry," he replied, offering an apologetic grin. That damned song. Like harps and humming in his ears he could still hear it. What did it all mean? He shook his head, attempting to clear his mind and refocus on the present. School, Right…

Aiden Connolly. A cheerful kid with a smile that never seemed to go away. He was a bit of a class clown, but still took his school work seriously. Things were changing for him though. For one, he was starting at a new school. And for two, he had something different about him.

He arrived at the dormitory a little after noon, knocking on the door. DeLeon was the one to greet him, saying the others were already at school. Aiden pulled in his suitcase and DeLeon showed him to his room where he could get settled. The room itself was quite bare with only a bed, desk, chair and drawer. He thought to himself that it was a good thing he brought some of his posters with him.

After he was settled in, he went to the kitchen where DeLeon was cleaning. 

“All settled in, I presume.” He stated, not even turning to look at Aiden.

“I guess so. Still got some stuff to set up to make it feel a little more like home, but I can do that later. So, when does the fighting start?” Aiden asked, smiling as he clapped his hands together. It was obvious he was excited, which would be a little worrisome for DeLeon, if he hadn't seen him in action before. Still, he was going to have to learn just how dangerous this was going to be.

“Now Aiden, I'm going to tell you a few things that you should follow. I'm sure Isa will tell you the same thing, but sometimes you need to hear it twice.” Aiden wasn't sure if that was a an insult or not, but he sat down to listen. “Now, what you are fighting out there are real. This isn't a game that you can restart or get more lives, this is real. The demons can be from hundreds to thousands of years old, some of them having been around for eons. With that said, you have to trust your partners in this, and you must also trust in yourself. One hesitation could mean life or death for you or anyone else. Do remember this.”

Aiden nodded. He knew this, and he was taking it seriously, it was just his personality. Still, he wondered what the other teens were like. Guess he would meet them after school before they all went out for the night. For now, he would head back to his room and play around with his abilities.

Ice. He could will ice however he wanted, though he couldn't just make it appear out of thin air. He needed a water source to freeze, then he could do whatever he wanted. He wasn't sure how he got this ability, but he thought it was pretty cool, pun intended. Waving his hand around, the ice formed into different shapes, some simple like a cube or sphere, while others were starting to get complicated, like a cartoonish cat, or a flower. He had a pretty good handle on his abilities, but even he wasn't a master at it. As he tried to make the flower look more like an actual flower than a five year-olds' drawing, it shattered. He watched the ice fall to the ground, quickly melting into tiny puddles of water. He gave a face, but it didn't seem to discourage him, waving his hand again to make the water into ice once more. 

Messing around with it a bit more, he heard the door to the dormitory open and shut. He glanced at the clock and noticed it was around the time school would've gotten out. He guessed that was either one or all of the other teens arriving back. 

‘Time to introduce myself I guess.’ He thought as he stood and headed for the hallway.

Once in view, DeLeon noticed him right away. “Ah, there you are Aiden, I was just about to fetch you. This is Isabella, one of your partners.”

A girl turned around to see him, giving him a soft, but cold smile. Aiden stopped for a second, wondering if he had seen her somewhere before. Shaking his head, he knew that was impossible, but something still tugged at him. She was rather pretty, smooth skin, shinny and soft looking hair, even her figure was rather nice. However, Aiden could tell that she wasn't always the cheerful type, and that wasn't because she didn't want to be. She obviously had a past. One that she wouldn't like to talk about.

“Uh, hi. I'm Aiden Connolly.” He said slowly, extending his hand.

The girl took his hand to shake it, glancing down as she noticed how cold his hand was. It was a side effect of his power. He felt fine, but his body always felt cold, almost dead-like. 

“As DeLeon said, I'm Isabella, but most call me Isa." She replied, letting go of his hand. “While I wish we could meet under better situations, we have a busy night ahead of us. DeLeon reported that one portal will open tonight, so hopefully the rest of the crew will be there and you can meet them all. For now, lemme know your power.”

Right to the point with this one, got it. Aiden usually tried to get to know someone before stepping into business but Isa obviously wasn't that way. From what DeLeon said, she was one of the original teens he had gathered. He wondered just how much she had seen.

“I have the power of ice.” He finally replied. Glancing over to the cup on the island, he waved his hand and it froze, DeLeon raising an eyebrow.

“Do try not to use your abilities within the dormitory Aiden, we like to keep this place rather clean.” 

Both of them could tell DeLeon meant more that he would like to keep the place clean. Less work for him.

“Alright, that's rather useful. Mine is shadows.” Isa was about to show him, but then remembered what DeLeon had just said. “The others have the power of fire, transformations and control of mass. They should all be here soon so we can get ready to go. The sun will set soon, and that's when the demons come out so we have to be ready. If you'll excuse me.”

Isa walked past him and to her room, shutting the door behind her. Aiden glanced back, watching her go before turning back to DeLeon. “She's uh…nice.”

“A lot has happened in her short life. She's sometimes more of an old spirit than I am. But you're in good hands Aiden.”

Lily figured there wasn’t much time for anything, classes and then home for a quick change and shower. Then back to the dormitories. How she hated it. She spent way too much time at this academy for her own liking but she didn’t really have much of a say, people needed help and she wanted to be at the forefront protecting the poor widdle babies who couldn’t protect themselves. Portals and everything, she clacked her tongue as she made her way back to the dormitories after she had spruced herself up enough that she would look the best going through that portal.

She strode down the corridors and hallways, marking her way out and she moved with purpose, like a lioness hunting on her own territory. Lily smirked to herself, the curtains looked like they would be fun to set alight, half the time she had no idea what her own voice was versus the demon lurking within her. Everyone fought so valiantly against it, she didn’t see the point. Give a little, get a little. She must have been the only one on talking terms with her demon because everyone else seemed to want to shut them up. It was a shame, they didn’t understand that if they just gave it the reigns now and then, it would be quelled. The danger seemed obsolete to her. It wasn’t important, her blonde hair bounced as she found the door to DeLeon’s and simply walked in.

“Ah, Miss Alexander.” DeLeon greeted her and she looked him up and down, she could see his displeasure that she didn’t dress like some preppy little teachers pet or suck up to him to be his favourite. She had no interest in pleasing him or anyone else, they were here for a purpose and better they did the purpose and then they could all go live their merry little lives.

“This is Aiden. Our newest companion. He can control ice.” DeLeon introduced and Lily spared the boy a glance at best. Woohoo, another playmate. She offered up a bare smile and sat down, making herself comfortable as she brought out her phone and eyed it over. Just because she was some weird, demonic powered girl didn’t mean she wasn’t allowed a social life.
 

“I heard there was a ruckus this morning on your way to classes, Miss Alexander.” DeLeon said and Lily rolled her eyes, oh yeah the ladies hair.

“Don’t do it again.” DeLeon remarked but frankly, even he had given up telling the stubborn blonde how to live her life at this stage. She had great grades, despite putting no effort in and she cared more about what shade of lipstick she wore than the safety of others but she was strong, the power of fire was nothing to be scoffed at. Nobody was hurt and she didn’t go out of her way to harm anyone, usually.

Lily gave him a mock salute with her fingers crossed. She couldn’t help but feel like most of the miserable bandits she shared her classes with would be happier if they were allowed some leeway these days but, DeLeon was in charge, his word was law. Until it wasn’t. He’d tried everything with her, basically putting her under house arrest and restricting her movements but it hadn’t worked. She had come back fiercer than before. It was almost admirable how resilient she was to pressure and punishment. If any of them ever got interrogated then DeLeon hoped it was her, Lily gave nothing away and would bite back.

Lily crossed her legs and played with her hair as she watched the new kid, his powers were ice, DeLeon was prattling off information and she smirked, new kid was no problem to her then. Lily zoned out as she waited on the others getting here.
“Full house today?” She drawled towards DeLeon who nodded and she sighed out. Oh, the joys. 

"Hey David, some of us are heading to try out that new Mexican place, Michael said their chickens crazy good. You wanna come too?"

"Rip his guts out." - "Ahh no, sorry." - "Hang them by their entrails." - "I've got something on tonight, maybe next time. Thank you for asking me though." - "Rend their flesh and revel in the blood as it drains down." - "I really appreciate it." Today was an especially bad day. "I'll, see you later, feast on them while you still can." The boy, one of his classmates from math gave him a strange look, raising an eyebrow, but then shrugged it off with an awkward laugh. "Alright, suit yourself." Hold it together David! He kept his smile as he bobbed his head, turning and briskly walking back towards the dorms. Maybe he should ask DeLeon for the night off? He considered as he walked, biting into his knuckle as something struggled inside. No, they didn't know what was coming through. The others should be able to make do without him, he was sure of it, but that wasn't what kept them alive; Making do. If he wasn't there, and they got hurt, or worse - He bit down harder as he wrestled with the violent thoughts swimming through his mind, drawing blood as he hurried faster.

---------------

David practically burst through the door to the dorms, shutting it loudly behind him before stopping to take a long breath, his heart was racing as he put his hand on his chest, still leaning heavily on the door. He'd gotten the reins back again now he was sure of it, that was way too close. He opened his eyes to see DeLeon staring from down the hall; David couldn't quite discern the expression but he was sure it was some kind of disapproval. Next to DeLeon stood - some junior? Ri~ight, there was a new kid joining them today, "I can't wait to see what this one can do." DeLeon finally spoke up; "Are you quite alright, Mr Grimshaw?" David stood upright and brushed himself down, fixing his shirt and putting on his usual smile. "Sorry, sir, everyone, you could say it's been a rough day. Oh, you're joining us tonight too Lily? Then, I look forward to working with you again." He glanced at the newcomer again. "Pretty boys make pretty corpses." - "Let me put my bag away and I'll introduce myself more properly." He scurried briefly into his room, dumping his backpack and wiping off the sweat that was beading on his forehead. You got this David, you got this motherfucker. He amped himself up, took another breath and stepped out again, cordial as ever.

"My name is David Grimshaw, I've been here a little over a year now, senior, but I'm sure we'll see each other pretty often." He walked over and offered out a hand to the boy, careful to restrain how tight his grip would be. His eyes darted across the boys features briefly before settling back on his eyes."Please, treat me kindly." It was only then David realized his right knuckle was still bleeding a little from earlier. 

A stroll home like usual. Through the back alley and down the railing to avoid the 10 flights of stairs down the hill. Distant yelling as another person had been robbed, people chasing after them into a crowd of people. Noxx walked through the bustling city streets, seamlessly blending into the fast-paced crowd. His steps were swift, matching the rhythm of the urban heartbeat surrounding him. The vibrant lights of the cityscape illuminated the evening sky, casting an ethereal glow upon the diverse faces and the myriad of sounds that filled the air.

As it happened the thief from moments ago seemed to be going the same way as him. With a slight smirk and a sharp eye he focused on the dufflebag through the crowd. He watched it fall to the ground as he made it so heavy it tripped the thief to the pavement below. He couldn't help but contemplate the deteriorating state of the city's crime rate, which had worsened since the attacks grew more frequent. Fear clung to the atmosphere like an invisible shroud, and desperation permeated the hearts of its inhabitants. Yet, amidst the chaos, people tried to maintain a semblance of normalcy, carrying on with their lives as if the world weren't teetering on the brink of destruction. The mayor, in a state of denial, dismissed each attack and violent incident with a wide, insincere grin, masking the truth with empty words and the taxpayers' money.

It puzzled Noxx how the city hadn't devolved into mass evacuation. Perhaps it was the presence of families, holding on to the hope that they could weather the storm together. Noxx decided to take a brief detour, stopping at the corner store for a few snacks. The distance between the store and the cemetery, where the Dorm was located, was manageable, and he didn't anticipate missing anything crucial.

Upon stepping out of the store he was hit by something. It sent him hurtling into the glass window of a building across the street. A buzz of adrenaline washed over him as he tried to understand what had just happened. With a warm wet liquid sliding down from his forehead he leaned up a bit dazed from the impact.  A hit like that would have hospitalized any normal person. But what did that mean? Was it a demon? But it was barely sunset. It didn't make any sense. Looking around the room he found himself defenestrated into he realized it was an empty storefront for rent. No one but him, a room full of broken glass and a host of screaming people outside.

"I don't think I've seen one through your eyes Noxx. Look out to the skies." It was speaking to him again. The Angel’s voice resonated from within him dispelling any doubts that this was a mere coincidence. Slipping his hand into his bag he pulled out a leg strap of sharp objects quickly tying them off to his leg before climbing out of the window to hear a glass shattering drone. The booming voice gave way to a large winged beast that pulled off from the ground into the air between the buildings. 

"A trigger Demon. A gate Harbinger. It's heading toward the gate. Follow it or there will be much blood." The melodic tones of chimes and harps echoed in his ears, emphasizing the urgency of the situation. The angel's voice was strange but now wasn't the time to get cloudy headed despite his daze. Utilizing his powers, he leaped into the air, narrowly grabbing onto one of the creature's talons. As he was dragged into the air it immediately started to try to shake him off in a flurry of black feathers. Multiple eyes opened along it's stomach all narrowing in on him as sharpened tendrils came to assault him. 
 

As he was lifted into the sky, the beast vehemently tried to shake him off, a flurry of black feathers swirling around them. Multiple eyes emerged along its stomach, fixating on Noxx, while sharpened tendrils lashed out, attempting to assault him. In a desperate act of defense, Noxx managed to sever one of the creature's digits, causing it to thrash in pain, flinging him off. Black blood splattered across his arms and clothes as he was forcefully dislodged. Reacting instinctively, Noxx lightened his body, becoming as light as a feather. 

Even with a slowed descent it didn't stop his momentum as he barely caught the landing sliding multiple feet back before coming to a stop. With his eyes fixed on the retreating bird, Noxx witnessed it disappear into the depths of the city. Amongst the scattered feathers, he glanced down at the still wriggling claw of the demonic beast. It was at that moment that Deleon's voice called out to him, snapping him back to reality. Noxx realized that the bird had dropped him off right in front of the Dorm's front door.

“Hey… That the new guy behind you?”

It didn't take long for Isa to get ready. She changed out of her uniform and into a simple pair of shorts and shirt, along with some long socks and her usual shoes. Her hair was still tied up from earlier in the day so that was already done. She glanced over to her desk where a sheathed sword sat against it. Next to that was a mask. She didn't want to take any chances of being recognized, and it also gave her that bit of confidence she needed to lead the team. It hid her fear, as well as any hesitation she had. It also helped conceal her when something went, wrong. She wouldn't put the mask on yet, but she grabbed it and the sword, holding them tightly as she walked back out.

By then, it seemed the rest had arrived. She was a bit shocked to see Lily, but she was also glad. Though it might not look like it sometimes, she could probably handle her inner demon the best. Sometimes the demons felt a bit more powerful the closer they were to a portal. She then glanced over to see David introducing himself to Aiden. 

Before Isa could go over to say something, they heard a noise outside. It sounded like a beast and she quickly followed DeLeon outside. They arrived just as Noxx came flying down, catching himself after he made himself lighter. 

“What the hell Noxx?" She practically cried.

Of course, Noxx didn't answer her, instead asking about Aiden. Isa sighed and rubbed her head a bit before nodding. “Yes, this is Aiden. You're watching him tonight.”

She knew she could trust Noxx. David could too, but sometimes he was a bit too unpredictable. Then Lily…well Isa knew she wouldn't do it, calling it babysitting and then leaving the kid out on their own. Isa was sure Lily wouldn't let the kid die, but, it was better not to test and find out.

Aiden nodded to Lily as he was introduced. It was obvious she didn't care for him. That was fine, as long as they got along somewhat then they should be fine. He heard the door slam open and shut, making him jump a bit and turn to see who had done that. Another male student. DeLeon didn't seem surprised at all and didn't stop him as he went to his room.

“Ah, interesting people here…" He commented, not sure what to do now besides to stand there awkwardly. 

The guy that almost tore down the door earlier came back out though, introducing himself. David. Seemed nice enough as they shook hands. Aiden felt something wet though, glancing down to see the guy's knuckle was a bit bloodied. Had he hit it in his haste? Aiden wasn't really that great around the sight of blood, but he wasn't going to faint. Still, he would rather not touch it if it were up to him. He let his hand go and gave a sort of uncomfortable smile.

“Nice to meet you. I hope to get along as well. I-”

That's when the noise from outside was heard, making them all turn towards the door to outside. DeLeon and Isa were the first to the door, opening it and stepping outside. Aiden walked up next, glancing out to see another guy standing there. But, he was holding something. He looked up to where the guy was looking, barely seeing the giant thing fly out of sight. It wouldn't be a surprise if Aiden had thought it was a plane or something like that, but he had a feeling it wasn't that. In fact, he was rather confident it wasn't something man made or really, natural.

He snapped back as he heard his name, glancing between Isa and the other guy. What him? Was he an eight year old now? He raised an eyebrow to Isa, who didn't seem to notice as she seemed to have her mind on something else. Was this how it was going to go tonight?

While Isa was a bit surprised by Noxx's entrance, it certinally wasn't out of the ordinary for them. Still, what was that thing doing out in the daylight? DeLeon didn't seem to know the answer either, as he hadn't said anything. They couldn't just sit around though, who knows what kind of destruction that demon could cause, or had already caused. 

“What the hell was that?”

She listened to Noxx explain how he came across the demonic bird. She glanced back at DeLeon for some sort of explanation about what they just saw.
“They'll lead you to the portal that's opening." He replied. “Though I hadn't seen or heard of one in a while. This means the portal will have rather powerful demons coming through, so do be careful.”

Isa nodded, then turned to the others. “Alright, so you heard DeLeon, we got powerful ones tonight. Aiden, you stay with Noxx. Noxx, don't let him out of your sight. We all go after that bird and follow it to the portal, trying to cause as little damage as possible.” She gave a glance to Lily, but she knew Lily would do whatever the hell she wanted. She just hoped the girl wouldn't set a whole house on fire again.

With that, Isa turned and rushed off in the direction the bird had gone towards. It wouldn't be hard to track it down, but it would be hard to get down. Sure some demons could fly, but it was the bird like ones that were the hardest to catch while flying. As she got closer to the city, she pulled the mask over her head and swung out her hand. Her shadow shivered and lifted up under her, raising her to the rooftops. It would be a lot faster to travel this way than through the city streets. Curfew was enforced and it was almost time, so then there would be more police officers around. She really didn't want to deal with them tonight, so staying up high was the best option.

Finding the bird was easy, seeing it soar ahead of her. Throwing wasn't her strongest ability, so it would be best to try to get closer. She waved her hand again and she was sent flying up towards the beast by her shadow. If she could at least hit it, then it might be forced to land. Getting closer, she saw the amount of eyes it suddenly had, and they were all looking at her. She couldn't back down now though, swinging her sword down. She managed to slash into an eye and some of its body, hearing the thing scream out in pain. It started to fall, still flying a bit, but not as well as before. Isa looked ahead and saw a portal start to open within the park. 

“Looks like we found it. Now what is going to come out tonight?”

She started to fall, quickly getting closer to meeting the earth. She could probably survive it, compared to a normal human, but not without injuries. If no one was going to catch her, she would have the shadows gather below her, creating a soft landing for her.

Lily watched as everyone sort of floated in, considering the dangers she always figured there was more like them on the outskirts. Still, smaller was better, less people to worry about. Aiden looked as though the ground could swallow him up whole if the wind blew too hard and she was actually curious if he had any sort of idea of how horrid things could get.

Lily extended a nod to David by means of greeting, he wasn’t terrible. A little all over the place sometimes but he had least was half-decent to look at and was partially interesting. He never really spared a whole lot of words and was always cordial and polite.
 

Then Lily, with her little leaders attire. The mask, Lily was always curious why she bothered with it but never cared enough to ask. Whatever helped her figure out how she mattered, Lily supposed. Masks were all well and good but when they slipped, it all fell apart. People had to be careful, disguising their true nature and identity led to them losing themselves far too often. Lily wore it in her sleeve, so she thought. 
 

Lily raised an eyebrow at Noxx’s entrance. She pocketed her phone and listened to his story about the demonic bird, well at least that made finding the portal a whole lot easier and she sucked in a breath and got up, as though it took a lot of effort to do so. Noxx was on babysitting duty and she smirked at that, poor thing. That was definitely a positive for her, she never had to babysit. No one trusted her with a newbie around and even less so if she was the responsible one. Responsibility and Lily didn’t match well, they clashed when her need for adrenaline and fire became too much. 

Lily followed the troupe of teenagers and let Isa do her little thing and play the hero as she hummed to herself. Her powers weren’t as precise as Isa’s or the others, fire was an uncontrollable force, everything could catch fire and so she always had to be ‘careful’ but only because she didn’t want to be a murderer. She was a bitch with morals, sometimes. Lily wandered through the streets, her powers didn’t give her flight and she was fine with that. She could set the entire earth on fire if she wanted to and whatever was flying would have to land. Everything was an effort and she let Isa do her thing. Lily scraped her hair back to tie it up and away from her face, burnt ends were so last year. 
 

Lily stretched her jaws in a yawn as she watched the bird, eagle, hawk thing fall and she fixed her earbuds into her ears. Time to rock and roll.

Sharp eyes didn’t miss a trick as the portal started to birth in something spindly, with long legs and a contorted body. It almost looked like a giant spider, if you squinted hard enough. That was a lot of eyes and legs to contend with. Lily could feel heat rising in her fingertips, a snapping and crackling energy that flooded her with heat.

“Oh look, anyone got a giant newspaper?” She asked, grinning.
 

There was a shadow behind her gaze as her hands were laced with heated designs that glowed and flared. She smirked a little, her heart thumping and her pulse racing as adrenaline that was lit on fire flooded her system. It was exhilarating.

Then there was the other thing. The pulse of energy that wasn’t just fire and adrenaline, her own demon lending power. It was like an injection of morphine coursing through her and Lily saw it only as a positive, an enhancement. 

‘Let’s do this.’

She chuckled a little as she tried to nap the demons movements, the cracking of its legs and snapping off its mandibles and fangs. This was a demon, it wasn’t just a spider. It chittered and shot out a ball of what looked like a web but the moment it splattered against a solid vehicle, it began to dissolve.
 

Acidic, venomous webbing.
 

That was new.

Lily glanced towards David,

“Just like old times then?” She remarked, she had worked with David before, frankly she and him worked well together in most situations. Noxx was on babysitting duties for the new kid and Ida was storming the front trying to be a good little femme fatale. Lily sighed and flicked her hair out of the way, she couldn’t believe she had done her makeup for this.

David frowned down at the blood for a half a moment; Not a very big deal but, just another sign of him slipping today. "The blessed shall walk hand in hand with them, their brethren in the abyss." Something lurched inside David for a moment, twisting inside his chest.  "Born from darkness, bound by fate, children of His Will, embrace their innate. Go forth." David put a hand to his forehead as the voice seemed to speak more directly to him this time, a sharp pain in his forehead. What was it even talking about? The commotion at the door drew him back. Great, his worries were confirmed. Tonight was going to be a bad one. No, he couldn't think like that. He just had to get through the night and he'd be fine. Just a little further. He just had to push a little further.

"Off to work without dinner then." he joked, smiling again. He bobbed his head to DeLeon once more and walked outside, taking off his school jacket and carefully folding it before hanging it on the nearby railing. "There will be feast a plenty tonight anyway." He looked over in the direction of the flying creature; There she went as always, Isabella taking off practically all alone. He kept the sigh from escaping his lips. "Let's do our best, everyone." He said with less enthusiasm than he'd intended. His body jerked briefly as tendrils began to crawl out the back of his shirt, strange starry half formed mouths stretching out, eyes forming on all sides of the stalks as he shivered. His eyes sharpened in an instant and the tendrils snapped backwards, slamming into the ground behind him and hurtling him forward. He couldn't quite fly, but boy could he leap.

"Faster. Faster! Go! Kill? Kill!" The voice thrummed inside him now, an engine flooding him with adrenaline as his eyes darted around, following as closely as he could manage without damaging anything too badly - He'd fallen through a roof one or twice before and wasn't keen on explaining a third time to DeLeon. His heart was racing and a starving hunger was wracking him - but he still held the reins tight. It was eager for the hunt and that seemed to placate it enough for now. Good. He'd noticed Isabella falling now and leapt for her next; extending out one of the tendrils gaping maws to just pull on her belt enough to arrest her speed a few meters above the ground, letting go instantly afterwards, still wary of his own hunger. He landed in the park with a loud thud, sending up some bits of pavement as it cracked with his landing. Lily had asked him something, but blood was rushing through his ears now. "Lily. I will go low, please assist me from above. Do not worry about the heat, I can handle it tonight. Isabella, please direct me as you see fit. Signals please." His voice started as a shout but tapered off as he eased open the dam within - narrowing his eyes as he slackened the reins he kept mentally inside. He'd noticed the car dissolving, but didn't have the mental capacity right now to think on it. As with every fight, he paused for a moment to repeat his whispered mantra. "Face it. Permit it to pass over me and through me. Where it has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. I am David."

David's eyes flared as his flesh started to literally crawl, arms bulging with strange misshapen muscle before bursting out into dark otherworldly lumps of ever moving mass, contorting a little as the transformation ran up and down his back. He needed to give it just enough to work with here, legs, arms and back quickly bursting with dark, horrid nether-worldly muscle. God he felt strong enough to tear down a building, he held it for the briefest of moments, nearly forgetting; He gave his usual smile to Lily and Isabella before nodding his head and dashing forward. He would try to focus the creatures attention on him; whatever this form was, it was a lot sturdier than his real flesh. He drew his arm back and with all the might he could muster, sent a huge chunk of pavement at the spider. The voice inside reveled - screaming ecstacy in his mind "Destro~oy!"

The others swiftly raced off, chasing after the winged beast using their unique methods of transportation. Noxx found himself assigned to the task of babysitting.. He glanced at DeLeon before turning his attention to the Newbie, addressing him briskly, "It's Aiden, right? Just call me Noxx. We need to catch up quickly. I'm assuming you can keep up with something as cool as 'control over ice,' right?" Without wasting a moment, Noxx snatched a duffle bag from under the coffee table and bolted out the door, expecting Aiden to follow suit.

"Stay with me. If you can't keep up at this speed, we'll have more problems than just demons,"

Noxx warned, maintaining his fast pace. Once they had a clear path, he abruptly stopped and knelt down, grabbing a stone from the ground. Tossing it casually into the air, he gauged its weight before speaking to Aiden, his blue eyes focused on him.

"This should do."

With a swift movement, Noxx manipulated his mass in conjunction with the stone. He threw it forcefully to the ground, creating a small crater upon impact, before propelling himself forward with the ricochet of momentum. Though Noxx was capable of moving at bullet-like speeds, he intentionally slowed down for Aiden's sake, allowing himself to drift weightlessly through the air as if gravity had no hold on him.

As always, the halo manifested above his head, emanating a blue glow whenever he utilized his powers. With Aiden in tow, Noxx aimed for an alleyway, swiftly donning his battle-ready equipment within the darkness. He emerged transformed into a warrior, prepared for the imminent fight. Night fell swiftly, and Noxx glanced back to see Aiden skillfully sliding across various icy paths, proving his competence.

By the time they arrived at the scene, the rest of the group was already engaged in a life-or-death battle. Noxx's attention focused on the giant spider-like demon that had emerged first. Assessing the situation quickly, he called out to Aiden, "They're focused on that thing. You and I are on cleanup and rescue duty!" Countless lesser demons poured out from the gate, their grotesque forms ripping through the ground, accompanied by an ominous, fiery red glow. Without hesitation, Noxx swiftly dispatched the immediate threats, hurling knives that gained mass during their trajectory, making them weigh half a ton and capable of piercing and in most cases blowing holes completely through the tough chitinous exoskeletons of the lesser demons.

Amidst the chaos, people were fleeing, and distant sirens wailed, signaling the escalation of the crisis. His eyes darted around the streets as hues of blues and reds reflected from the nearby buildings. David ripping into the Spider with a viscous ferocity that scarcely made him look human. Lily torching both the Spiders and anything that dared enter her range. She needed no help. Aiden, while quicker than expected was only one person quickly getting surrounded and Isa recklessly attacking-Wait she managed to do some serious damage to the howling bird overhead but she fell helpless through the air in response. After pinning a few lessers to a nearby wall to cover aiden Noxx changed trajectory, catching himself on a nearby building and baseball sliding into breaking Isa’s fall.

“What were you just going to tank the fall? Stop being so reckless.” He quickly quipped at her as they found themselves at the edge of a rooftop overlooking the growing chaos. He never got used to the sight even now.

Watching them each run off, Aiden was left in a sort of daze. Each of them had their own abilities, very different from his own. Isa said she could control the shadows. Lily, he guessed, would be fire since he saw David transform and sprout those tentacles. It was the amount of eyes that weirded Aiden out. Too many of them. He also guessed Noxx was the mass stuff, since it looked like he fell pretty high and still survived. With their powers figured out, he would now have to figure out who would match with his own. Lily would melt anything he created. David could throw ice weapons if Aiden couldn't. Noxx could help send his attacks farther. 

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Noxx call out to him. Keep up? Of course he could keep up. He gave a wave to DeLeon before turning and running after Noxx, DeLeon watching as they all ran off. 

None of them could hear what he had to say as he watched. “This fight is nothing compared to what is to come."

Aiden didn't have trouble keeping up with Noxx, so he was a bit confused when he suddenly stopped to toss a stone. Before he had a chance to really ask, Noxx manifested his ability and sent himself flying. Aiden's eyes grew wide, the wind practically pulling him to follow. He didn't second guess it and quickly followed, using his ice to help make his feet travel faster by sliding along. There was just enough water in the atmosphere for him to gather and make a thin layer that quickly melted as he passed. He was glad he learned how to skateboard not too long ago. 

He noticed Noxx disappearing into an alleyway so he decided to practice a little bit, since it would still take him a bit to catch up in the first place. Noxx had gone so fast, even if it wasn't at his top speed. Aiden wondered if it was the demon's ability that allowed his body to not have any ill-effects of going so fast. Perhaps it was the same with how he could stand anything cold and that his own body was cold like the dead. 

He didn't have much time to think, catching up as Noxx came back out, looking a bit different. He guessed not everyone wanted their faces out for everyone to see. He had no problem with people knowing, so he just shrugged it off and listened to his babysitter.

“Clean up and rescue, got it." At least he would be able to do some fighting tonight. 

The portal itself was massive, amazing Aiden as they approached. As people ran, he could see the demons already wrecking havoc. He had faced demons before, but never had he seen so many in person. The ones he fought looked nothing like this as well. Could he really do it?

Glancing around, the sounds began to melt away, his own heartbeat being the only thing. It was beating fast, and his breath was matching that speed. Was this adrenaline? Or fear? Both maybe? He could do this, he had to. He was one of the heroes now. But could he? He was still trying to control his powers, and the others had been fighting for a while. Could he really be of use to them? 

A scream broke his thoughts, pulling him back into reality. He glanced over to where he heard it and spotted someone being pinned down by a demon. Without a second though, he rushed over and tackled the thing, sending it into the building's wall. His hands shaking, he held them out and a blast of cold air came from them, freezing the demon. He did it. 

He did it. He got a demon. Giving a slight chuckle, he glanced down to the person he had just saved. The woman seemed more frightened than grateful, screaming and running off. Guess fear did things to a person.

He was ready now, glancing around and finding the next person to save. He actually forgot he was suppose to stay with Noxx, but it wasn't like Noxx was staying close to him to begin with. He would be fine though. He had powers against the demons after all

Spiders. Of course it was a demon spider. Isa wasn't a fan of spiders to begin with, but an acid spitting one? This was getting a little out of hand. She felt something grab the belt of her shorts, easing her speed through the sky. Then she saw Noxx as he flew towards her, catching her with ease and sliding onto the top of a building. 

“I knew someone would catch me." She partly joked. She was betting on someone catching her, but she also had her shadows just in case. However, she knew what Noxx meant about not being so reckless. 

She walked up next to him, seeing just how chaotic it had gotten. “Seems most have cleared the area and even the Police are starting to give us room to fight. David and Lily got the big spider demon, We need to take out that bird. And Aiden…where's Aiden?”

She didn't have to search for him, seeing ice practically explode from an area. Turning her attention that way, Aiden was fighting off a few of the lesser demons, but she could see from this vantage point that more were coming, and there was no way Aiden would be able to defend himself against all of them. 

“Okay, save Aiden, then go after the bird.” She said, quickly changing the plan and jumping off the building. This time, she wasn't betting on someone to catch her, letting the shadows turn into a slide and sending her off in Aiden's direction. 

As she flew by, she held her sword out, slashing at a couple as she landed, skidding to a halt. She was still a bit away from Aiden, but not too far that she couldn't help. Placing her hand on the ground, the demon's shadows stretched out towards her. She quickly grabbed and pulled them up, making those demons fall face first into the ground. Aiden jumped as he saw this, but quickly calmed once he saw it was Isa. 

“Watch your surroundings. You're getting cornered.” She instructed, taking her sword and slashing across the demons she caught. “Get back to Noxx and help him out.”

Now that she made sure everyone was accounted for, she just had to go after that bird. Speaking of, where was that thing?

A loud screaming sound came from above, Isa looking up to see said bird thing flying above them. Well, that was rather easy to find. She gave a nod to Aiden and turned to run after the thing. She needed to get into the air again, so she called out to Noxx. 

“Noxx! Throw me!”

“Got it.” Lily gave David a brilliant, white smile as she moved up with him and approached the crowd of demons he was facing. Keeping up with him was easy. Lily adored keeping in shape as she ducked and wove, keeping careful watch on David as he moved. She offered cover and the ability to blast anything that came into view or touching distance with a healthy dose of fire. This was a game to her, a simple game of cat and mouse and if she was caught then the game was over.

“Nice moves, David.” She winked as she skidded to a halt beside him and looked around. She didn’t really care what the others were up to right then, it didn’t interest her. She was teamed up with David so she was looking out for herself and David. She chuckled a little to herself as she moved forwards,

“Alright, who’s next?” She whispered to herself. Keen eyes sought out the next threat. Spiderlings, gross. But they were pathetic, they’d faced worse.

Screaming civilians didn’t seem to interest her either, unless they were cute. Lily moved up and deftly dodged a pincer stabbing the ground next to her, flames encasing the limb which sent the demon screeching and chittering as she looked up at it.

“You know, demons are supposed to be ugly but you really don’t have to take it to the extreme” she remarked. She was getting hot, her core temperature was up and she made a note to keep an eye on it. These people around her didn’t need to see her weakness, her vulnerability. She wasn’t about to show them, she had never even told DeLeon about it.
 

With a sweep of her arms, much akin to a dance, Lily sent forth an eruption of flames, a wall that battered and burnt the demon where it stood. Fire was catching though and people would need to douse her remnants or the entire city would catch aflame. It didn’t seem to slow her down, again and again, like a gymnast she made sure David had the cover he needed for all of this. Noxx and Isabella were probably busy playing mommy and daddy to the new kid and they could do that, Lily believed in survival of the fittest. Keep up and stay down.
 

She shook her head, as though shaking off something. Her own demon adored the chaos and so did Lily. The line between them both was becoming more and more blurred but Lily was attest she was in perfect control at all times. Because she was.

She glanced upwards to see the bird circling and raised an eyebrow, how inconvenient for everyone as she gathered the heat from around her. The more fire and flames the stronger she got and she could pull on it from wherever she wanted. Lakes and rivers almost always caused an issue, or rain but Lily was stronger than the petite blonde frame she put out there.

“I really hate birds.” She said over her shoulder to David and sent a fireball cascading at the feathered demon, watching it hit its mark.

“So, DeLeon is gonna feed us after this right?” She said as she checked her nail polish, the patterns across her body glowing like embers. She scoffed some.

She’d chipped a nail.

David wrenched at the reins inside as he guided his destructive desires as best as he could, his now slit eyes constantly darting this way and that as he ripped and tore his way through the chaff before him. His mind was a whirling storm, and he was starting to lose himself in the chaos of the carnage around him. Heat from a nearby inferno bathed his purple, shifting flesh as it crawled further up his neck and face, and he was vaguely aware of a friend nearby, for what little that meant to him right now. Large, spiny mandables raced down to bite into him as he raised both arms to seize them, wresting the huge spider down slightly before throwing it off, a slight burning sensation lost to him, insensate in the smothering haze of violence as his forearms sizzled with a splash of acid. He surged forward, taking hold of one of the creatures legs before brutally bashing it free, hacking at the joint madly with an a vaguely claw-shaped mass of an arm. The dark, horrid goo that spurted out scoured the soil beneath, the spiny-crablike spiders screeches a foul shrill sound among the melodies of chaotic violence.

…

 As he bashed at it with its own dismembered part the spiderlike creature wailed its last, crumpled into a twitching, broken heap of hissing goo and carapace. Another wall of scorching flame burst around him as more creatures charging at David met their doom. A soft voice floated a name in the back of his head; Lily. He cocked his head backwards as his body jerked, peering while practically bent over backwards to observe the source of the fire, a wide grin painted on what was still visible of his face. She had said something, but it was lost to him now. "Hello there." a voice called from his lips, though if it was his own he didn't recognize it. Another of the smaller beasts leapt at him, but one of his still scorched arms, without him even thinking on it lunged up and crushed its neck, tossing aside its bloody broken body like a ragdoll. A piercing cry drew his attention above them and his body shivered in anticipation of even greater bloodshed. He wanted it. He wanted to bring that thing down and taste its terror as it realized it was going to die horribly, to watch as he broke it into pieces; But no, he pulled one last time on those reins. His target was the fodder down here, and on God would he leave nothing whole. “Bird is yours.” The voice inside called out to no-one in particular as he focused his vision back down from the flying beast. He darted forward, toward the fresh wave of lesser spawn as his limbs bent and twisted unnaturally to propel him forward even faster, eager for the fight. His guttural laugh was suppressed only by his clenched maniacal grin as he got back to what he did best. Now he fought truly with wild abandon, sending chunks of dirt, pavement and creature wherever they would land, dozens of shallow cuts and bites beginning to show on his arms and legs as he didn't even try dodging any more.

With a nod to his slightly unhinged powerhouse of a friend he bolted off at astonishing speeds, akin to a bullet leaving the barrel of a gun, determined to provide support to the newcomer. He seamlessly weaved through the chaos, his movements a blur as he expertly hurled knives with precise accuracy. The blades found their mark, impaling the bodies of the three lesser demons that trailed Aiden, momentarily diverting their attention from the people caught in the midst of the attack. 

“Just watch your landing” He Took both of isa's hands and twirled around focusing on making her feet the heaviest part of her mid toss. People were tricky, off by a couple hundred of pounds and he could easily dismember them from the manipulation of gravity. He was best with his own body, knowing the pulling feeling accurately enough to keep himself safe at all times. Not so much for others. Thankfully, he'd practiced this with her over a dozen times before. And like every other attempt it was just as tricky. Like a bullet he let her go sending her towards the bird as the sounds of screaming became apparent behind him. It was the cops…

In all the turmoil, the wailing sirens of approaching police vehicles pierced the air. However, instead of actively engaging in the battle, the officers maintained a cautious distance, their role confined to keeping civilians away from the danger zone. The flashing lights of the police cars illuminated the scene, casting an eerie glow upon the frantic civilians and the relentless onslaught of demonic creatures.

With a swift and graceful landing, Noxx touched down with a sliding halt, positioning himself strategically to fend off the numerous demons that lurked in the shadows of the streets. His senses honed, he swiftly engaged the approaching horde, his movements fluid and precise. Each strike was calculated, his weapons becoming extensions of his body as he fought to protect both Aiden and the innocent bystanders. The clash of steel against chitinous hide reverberated through the night, accompanied by the cacophony of snarls and hisses from the demons.

In the midst of the chaos, Noxx's focus remained unwavering, Aiden did well to manage the injured but with the arrival of the police he found himself caught up at gunpoint as many of the officers tried to get him to freeze. It was clear they were simply trying to manage the hellish situation, he couldn't blame them. But getting arrested wasn’t on the menu for the night. The portal was still open despite the screams of the giant demon behind him. That did it for the spider then he imagined. 

“Close it. Before he comes through.”

The whispered chimes rang in his ears again. Waiting for a moment to break away as the police started to approach guns drawn. He spotted Aiden in the corner of his vision as he smiled beneath the mask.

“Sorry guys. Tell you what, I'll come down to the station later with a box of doughnuts and an apology. Later.”

A wall of ice separated him and the police as he kicked off the ground back to the rest of his dorm mates. 
“Hey Aiden, good looking back there. Think you can cover me for a moment?” 
The chimes rang with his own words now strangely. Harps and windchimes played in his ears as he neared the portal itself. Skies of flame and black wings soared out above him reminiscent of the starry night painting as he came to a halt just in front of the massive gate.

Noxx swiftly moved amidst the chaos, his blades slicing through the air as he battled against the horde of demons. As the battle raged on, he spotted the lifeless body of the giant spider demon they had been fighting. With a calculated motion, he skillfully severed one of its sharpened legs, using his powers to lighten its weight. After all, he needed a little more than a knife to do what he planned. Gripping the leg tightly, Noxx knew what had to be done to end the onslaught of demons pouring out from the open portal.
 

Without hesitation, Noxx dove headfirst into the demonic portal, his resolve unwavering. He fought off the few remaining demons that attempted to impede his progress at the gate entrance, striking them down with precise and powerful blows. Pushing his way through, he emerged on the other side, met with the sight of a colossal beast marching ominously towards the gate. The echoes of the Angel’s warnings rang in his mind. This was what it meant earlier today. This demon. Whatever it was. It’d turn the city to dust if it got out. The creature towered at a staggering height of 16 meters or more, its terrifying presence dominating the blood-red skies of the demon realm. Noxx stood in awe, his heart pounding with a cocktail of fear and determination.

Summoning his courage, Noxx plunged the spider leg deep into the fleshy, pulsating mass that resembled a giant heart just on the other side of the portal as he had done twice prior, causing it to gush with profuse bleeding. As the gate flickered, Noxx could sense that it was on the brink of closing. However, at that moment, the colossal beast reached out its hand, intent on breaking through the closing portal. With a final burst of strength, Noxx managed to push himself through the narrowing gate, but not without cleaving off a few of the creature's digits in the process.

The colossal visage of the greater demon screamed in frustration, its massive form visible to the others as the portal closed shut. Noxx found himself floating through the air unable to control his power as his weight defaulted to less than the air he breathed. His thoughts scattered to the winds as he was left drifting, barely conscious from the feedback of the portal closing. 

Aiden almost jumped out of his skin when Isa showed up. He had been in his own world, fighting these demons and ignoring everything aorund him. It was a good thing Isa was the one that showed up then, as it could've ended way worse. Seemed he had a lot more to learn about fighting these things. Thankfully, Noxx got the demons that he had forgotten about, again showing just how much he didn't know.

Before he could really respond to anyone, she heard Isa yell at Noxx to launch her. He had to think again to make sure that was what he heard. Of course, Noxx then did just that, Aiden watching Isa fly into the air. He might ask Noxx later to try that on him, not knowing just how dangerous it was. 

 Hearing the police, he turned to see them and got a little worried. However, they weren't trying to go after them or the demons. Perhaps they knew who the teens were? He shook his head as he really shouldn't be standing in the middle of a battleground just thinking. He needed to focus. 

Noxx was already taking care of the demons around them with ease, so Aiden decided he would be support. He rushed around, collected any and all water that was around him, turning them into ice spears and shooting them at some of the creatures. It was obvious his aim was off, but he managed to get a few. He heard more screams of people in danger and turned to kill a demon just before it attacked someone. 

As he turned to help someone else, he found himself on the wrong end of a gun. He quickly held up his hands, showing he was of no threat, though the police seemed more terrified than authorative. Realizing this, Aiden rushed off and spotted Noxx in the same predicament. It took a lot of concentration, his hands on the ground, but he managed to make a wall between the police and Noxx. It was a thin wall, hardly able to hold up against any of the bullets, but it was enough to distract the cops.

“Got it." He simply replied, taking the thin wall of ice and breaking it down into spikes that he threw behind the officers. He was actually lucky that they either didn't shoot or had shitty aim, because just one of those bullets could've killed him. Instead, he saved their lives, piercing the ice into demons that had tried to sneak up on them. 

“Uh…you're welcome?”

And with that, he was off to give Noxx cover. Aiden figured he didn't mean to actually try to keep up with him, because there was no way he was going to do so with the speed Noxx was going. Instead, he just made sure there was a somewhat clear path and that nothing tried to get Noxx from behind. 

As he threw another ice spear, he felt his heart skip a beat, almost making him trip over himself. That was strange. It wasn't like how someone gets when scared, no, he had already experienced that earlier and he was already scared, despite not really showing it. What was that feeling? He didn't like it, and he would ask DeLeon later, but for now, he had to keep fighting. He wasn't sure what Noxx's plan was, but he had to trust him. That was, until he saw the guy go headfirst into the freaking demonic portal. 

‘What is this guy thinking?!’ Was all he could think before he was body slammed by one of the gross spider things. He slammed into the ground hard, ringing going off in his ears as he saw stars going around in his vision. He really needed more practice. Why did DeLeon send him out when he had just arrived? He could ask him later, right now, he had to really fight for his life. While he saw two or three of those demons, he wasn't sure if that was true or not. Still, he wasn't going to give up that easily, blasting the last of his ice at the creature or creatures. Thankfully, this last hit made it.

Isa and Noxx had practice this many times, as well as actually using it in battle. She was spun around and launched into the air, practically weightless. She knew the dangers that came with it, so the fact that she was still alive was always a miracle. 

She flew through the air, gathering any shadows she could to envelope her sword as she got closer to the bird. All of its eyes around its body then focused on her, a loud screech echoing through the sky. She reached out as she got closer, grabbing one of the tentacles and holding on tight so she wouldn't fly any further. Once she had her grasp, she summoned the shadows around her hands, creating claws so she could dig into the thing to climb up to the body. Of course, the bird didn't really like this and started to wave the tentacle around, atempting to fling her off, but her grip was strong. Just as it swung up, she used the momentum to send her flying up again, this time landing on the back. 

Raising her sword, she stabbed it down into the creature, black blood spilling out. It cried out in pain, the tentacles coming after her. She quickly pulled her sword out of its body and slashed at the tentacles, cutting away at a few. She dodged a few others, pushing herself towards the head of the beast, the shadows growing her sword so it could slice it off at the neck. However, it seemed the bird had a different death waiting for it. 

As she was about to strike, she saw a huge fireball coming straight towards them. She knew it was Lily's doing, but that didn't really matter at the moment. What did matter was her getting out of there without being burnt to a crisp. How was she suppose to get away? That fireball was going to engulf the whole bird, her included. She couldn't just jump away and pray for a safe landing, not twice in one night at least. 

Before she could react herself, the shadows seemed to move on their own, covering her in a dark orb just as the flames hit. She braced herself, arms over her face, as she felt the impact it made. The heat suddenly grew as well, making her feel like she was melting. Her skin burned, the inside of her feeling like it was boiling. She knew Lily could create massive fires, but this almost felt like the sun itself. She was going to be burnt alive, just like this bird, even with the shadows protecting her. 

“Not yet.” A voice spoke

She knew that voice. That was the same voice she heard that night. That night everything changed for her. Why? Why was it speaking all the sudden? She felt her mind slowly fade, drifting off like she was letting someone else take control. No, this couldn't be happening. Why now? Was it because she was weak?

“Sleep. Dream. Slip away…”

Isa was slowly starting to obey, her body feeling weightless now. If she just slipped away, she wouldn't be in this pain. Just slip…away…

On the outside, the shadow orb slowly shrank, wrapping around her body as the flames died down. This wasn't Isa's doing. This was something else.

“That's enough."

A hand rested on her shoulder, making her look back to see who it was. DeLeon. He stood next to her, staring into those red eyes. He raised the mask off of her face and seemed to flick her in the center of her temple. The shadows quickly melted away, DeLeon holding onto Isa as he seemed to float down. They had seen him float many times, hinting that he wasn't human, but no one really asked about it.

“Noxx closed the portal, that's enough fighting for tonight.”

“DeLeon…I…"

“Rest Isa, I still have to fetch Noxx.”

She didn't argue, letting her body go limp against him. She was exhausted from whatever just happened. The others could take care of themselves to get back to the dormitory, Isa knew that much. But what about Aiden? If Noxx was the one to close the portal then where did Aiden go. She was too tired to try to figure it out, letting sleep take her as DeLeon cleaned up the mess.

“It isn't time yet.” Was the last thing she heard before blacking out completely.

Aiden wasn't sure what to do now that the portal was closed. Was he suppose to help clean up, or just head home? He really hoped it was the latter, especially after the cops had tried to shoot him earlier. Then again, it made sense that they would just leave once their work was done. The police seemed shocked to see him there in the first place, so he figured no one knew who they were. Well that was kind of boring. He was hoping to get some praise for his hard work.

Glancing up, he thought he saw something. The bird was crashing down, burnt from Lily, but there was something else hanging in the air. A dark orb floating there, before it started to change, like it was creating a body. Was this another demon showing up? No way, the portal was closed. The demons could only come through the portals. Right? Still thinking of what it could be, it seemed to suddenly vanish. Now Aiden wasn't sure if what he saw was really what he saw. Maybe it was a trick of the eye? Maybe from the stress of almost dying a few times tonight. For now, he didn't really have time to think about it, the sound of the sirens slowly coming back to him.

“I think I should get out of here…" He said to himself.

Figuring it was every man for themselves, he ran to an alleyway to hide for a bit. He waited until he saw a couple of cruisers go by before slowly making his way out. He already had fear in his eyes, so it wouldn't be too hard to think he was just a person caught in the crossfire. Lifting the hood of his coat over him, he looked down and sank into the crowd that had gathered along the perimiter that the police had set up earlier. No one seemed to suspect a thing.

Lily was having a wonderful time, dodging and weaving alongside David. It was thrilling and when the bird was engulfed with flames, along with Isa, she didn’t flinch. She watched, eyes shimmering with excitement. She looked over to David, her eyes were almost completely black as though she had taken a drug and was experiencing the high of it all. The beauty of flames engulfing everything, destroying it, breaking it down to ashes, the cacophony of screams and anguished yells. And the fear, she swore she could smell it in the air around them, people were scared.

Her head cocked and tilted back slightly so she could look at David. Yes, he was a strong one. Very strong. So much to prove and so conflicted.

“Don’t you think it’s pretty, Davey? Isn’t the burning pretty?” She cooed but she sounded a little out of touch, too calm with the carnage as she slowly turned back, her blond hair licking her face as the ember etchings on her skin dulled down and she watched as DeLeon rescued his favourite student. Teachers pet. For a split second, she wanted to gather more fire, throw it in their direction, watch them burn and see just how tough DeLeon was. He might not have been human, he might have been strong but fire was stronger. Lily stared for a long time at Isa and DeLeon, she could do it if she wanted to. Her fingers glowed with the beginnings of heat.
 

And then dissipated.

Fun was over then.

Lily grinned to herself, let DeLeon only worry about his little mice, people like her and David knew fine well the world wasn’t going to look out for them and they were better prepared than the others who had a mother hen clucking over them, ready to pull them from danger. Idiots.

Lily shook herself off and her eyes bled back to their normal crystal clear as she looked to David with a smile, that charming smile she always fixated in place.

“We should do this again.” She remarked to him as she stretched her arms over her head and nudged him, they ought to retreat and get out of harms way for now, unfortunately that was probably near DeLeon and she sighed.

“You did good.” Lily chirped towards David as they walked, he had certainly proven himself to be the strongest of the others in her eyes. He hadn’t slowed down once, he hadn’t needed rescuing and he hadn’t needed her to cover him, it had been a luxury.

Strength was not relying on anyone, the two of them had done that and no one had coke to their rescue. Aiden was a child, in so many ways and needed a babysitter, Noxx and Isa had relied too heavily on one another. Like a house of cards, they would tumble if one was taken away.

“We compliment one another, don’t you think?” Lily said, conversationally and she grinned to David, giving him a flirtatious wink before looking to DeLeon.
 

“Miss Alexander, perhaps you could refrain from settings things on fire when your friends are in the immediate vicinity?” DeLeon drawled out to her, exasperated and  Lily smiled, she would absolutely refrain when her friends were in the vicinity.
 

“I’m sure she’ll always have you around to save the day.” Lily said, matching his drawl of disinterest with her own. She needed no praise from him, nor did she look for words of approval or confirmation. Besides, Isa was fine so what was the big deal?

“So, are we having a cute pizza party now?” She asked expectantly as she placed her hands on her hips and she certainly looked the part of a heroine. Beach waves, makeup not even smudged, a tight outfit and a pretty face.

“Come on, I did all that in heels.” She said, true enough she had some heeled boots on her feet.
 

 David was lost in a dream. A violent dream. He was watching a horrible copy of himself destroy everything in his path while a star of raging flames sent out waves of fire in almost every direction around him; Laughter permeated the air but it was a horrible mockery of the joyful sound he had come to love. This horrible copy was an immortal monster, he could crush physically everything in his path, he- It was almost as if a bucket of water had been splashed across him, the haze of chaos lifting in one pure moment of clarity. David gasped a long deep breath as the portal winked shut, as if he had just come up for air from drowning, having been nearly completely consumed by the bloodshed. He stood panting, both from the exertion and his panic - What had he even done in the fight? His memory was all a blur. His arms were bleeding, burned and everything ached, even in this toughened form. He looked down at his hands in horror as a seemingly cheery, familiar voice came from behind.

 The walls came up in that instant once more. He was back. He could contain it. He was David. He turned with his usual forced, if tired smile. Even his second voice was nothing but a whisper now, having had its fill of slaughter for today. He eased himself out of his transformation, deflating with a sickening sound of bones crunching and flesh turning. He hated hearing it every time, but he kept the smile firmly in place. "Thank you, Lily. I'm glad we could fight side by side, not that you needed my help, of course." He peered down at his arms, twisting his hand back and forth. The burns looked more like really bad sunburn on his human arms, but the cuts might take some explaining back at the school. They'd heal fast enough, maybe he should just call in sick from class for the next few days while things settled?

 He walked with Lily as she talked, he'd so briefly lost control to that creature inside again, if things had gone on much longer that way, he really might have gone off. David made the appropriate conversational sounds as usual, nodding back to Lily while still out of it. He was just a ticking bomb waiting to kill his friends. Friends? What friends did he actually have? Kill his schoolmates. His stomach turned as his despairing thoughts started to spiral, but he'd keep the mask on, keep that cheery smile for the world to see. David looked up to DeLeon, who was admonishing Lily in his own fashion. "It's quite alright, Sir, at least when it comes to me. I may have gone a little overboard myself." He felt the mans piercing gaze as DeLeon leant a little in, examining David, who in turn looked away. "Do you need to talk, David?" David's mask nearly slipped, but he wrenched his emotions inside and kept his smile steely. "No thank you Sir, but I could use dinner and some sleep. It's been a long day." He would've allowed himself a sigh, but he was worried it might all come flooding out through the smallest crack if he let anything out. David peered down at Lily's heels as she all but held them up for the two to see; "I'm glad you're here for us, Lily." He nodded in her direction. "I'm . .  Going to go back now." he managed, rising to his full height and striding back towards the school, as if he wasn't cut, burned, exhausted and an emotional shipwreck. “Please give the others my regards. I'm afraid I can't stay around to help with clean-up.” He waved a hand back as he walked. Now that he thought on it a moment, he would probably go straight to bed.

Amidst the swirling dance of shadows and fire, Noxx found himself floating a few feet above the ground. The chimes in his ears filled the air with a soft, angelic melody, adding a touch of ethereal beauty to the chaotic scene. This gate, like the others before, triggered a feedback effect on his powers, leaving him weakened. There was a undeniable connection between his Angel and the demons, one he wished to ignore as much as possible until his quest for revenge was fulfilled. The desires and whims of the Angel were inconsequential to him; his sole focus was avenging his loved ones.

As he drifted, memories and visions stirred within him, blurring the lines between past and present. He felt as if he were transported back home, sitting alone on the porch steps on a late night, watching cars pass under the warm glow of streetlights. Laughter and distant music filled the air as his little brother and sister played in the yard, his duty as the eldest son compelling him to keep a watchful eye on them. The familiar scent of his mother's cooking teased his senses, and his little sister approached with a toothy smile on her face.

"What's up, Nea? Have you made something?" The words echoed in his mind like a fading memory, a precious fragment of a simpler time. She tugged at his arm, eager to show him a mud pie or a bug she had discovered in the yard. Yet now, a much stronger tug pulled at his arm, snapping him back to reality. His gaze landed on DeLeon, leading him forcefully by the wrist. The image faded, replaced by the cold reality of finding himself on the rooftop, the distant sound of helicopters piercing his consciousness. They had all ended up here, except for Aiden.

"The new kid... Where is he...?"

He leaned forward taking in his surroundings. A heat radiated from Lily beside him as she stood looking down at him before giving Deleon her usual lip. Least he knew she was okay. To his right he found Isa laid out beside him unconscious as more questions popped up.

“I spotted him slipping into the crowd. I'm sure he’ll end up at the dorm sometime soon.” Deleon said while checking over Isa’s Burns. Her charred clothing led Noxx to believe some friendly fire was involved.

"I didn't know you could fly D. I'm fine thanks for asking... Brain’s a little scrambled but I'll live. I'll go get the Newbie, he's my charge anyway."

He staggered to his feet a bit woozy, almost stumbling into David before stopping himself. He seemed just a bit different than his bloodthirsty self earlier lusting for the hunt. Noxx swore he heard the echoes of David earlier screaming with joy while he fought. But now, he was thanking Lily for having his back. Isa seemed like she caught just a bit too much of the heat. He knew flinging her towards them was a bad idea but she was ever the impulsive one. He needed to have a talk with David sooner rather than later. What did his angel say to him? What possessed him to be so different in combat? Or was he the same person that screamed into bloodshed with an unnatural fervor.

As David kicked off, and with the Helicopters pouring towards them overhead he had no want to wind up on the news the next morning Noxx walked to the edge of the rooftop and simply stepped off, disappearing into the alleyways below without exchanging a word of farewell with the others.

Finding himself alone at the fountain that led back to the school campus, Noxx sat in silence, recollecting the events of the night. The curfew imposed due to the attack had left the streets deserted, but amidst the stillness, he spotted Aiden walking back alone, hood drawn up in an attempt to blend in and avoid suspicion.

"Ey. Good job tonight," Noxx greeted Aiden, his voice laced with a mix of admiration and a laid back reassurance.. "Things can get much worse, though. We were fortunate to find the Gate Demon this time. Usually, by the time we arrive, the damage has already been done. The others are probably back by now, glad you didnt get killed or arrested." he added, one leg propped up on the fountain's ledge, the helmet still concealing his face.

He made it out of harms way. Slipping into the crowd seemed to have been the best thing to do for him since he wasn't stopped and questioned. He guessed since he was the newest member that meant no one would recognize him. That worked in his favor, but it would wear off soon, so he would have to figure out better escape routes. For now, he was tired. All he wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep. He had to make it to the dorms first.

He jumped as he heard a voice call out to him, quickly turning to see who it was. It was Noxx. At least he knew Noxx was alright, though he didn't have much to worry about in the first place. He gave a weak smile and walked over towards the fountain.

“Uh, thanks." He replied, lowering his hood to let his hair be ruffled by the soft wind. “I've fought demons before, but nothing like that. That was…well hell I guess. Is it like that every night? And Gate Demon? I'm guessing that's who opened the portal in the first place. How do you all do that and go to school every day? I feel like I could sleep for at least a week after that. I-sorry, rambling. Just, there was a lot that went on tonight and I don't know if I have a very good grasp on it.”

It was a lot to take in. More than a lot. It was impossible to take all that in. He understood demons were about, everyone knew that, and he understood that he had powers to fight against them. What he was having trouble taking in was the fact that he almost died a few times tonight and just how many demons there were. The damage was another thing, but that was the last thing on his mind at the moment. Was he really cut out for something like this? Just how many had died doing this anyways? Did he really want to know the answer to that?

Letting out a sigh, he looked up to the sky to see the moon. It was as if the sky hadn't seen what had just happened in the city. All the destruction, the fear, the death, the sky was indifferent to it all. How small he felt.

“Anyways, I think I'll head back to the dorm and see if anyone else shows. See you there.” He gave a wave and headed off in the direction of the dorms.

Once he got there, the door was already open, DeLeon standing at the entrance.

“You did well tonight." He greeted, stepping out of Aiden's way so he could get inside. “Isa is back and the others are on their way. I believe we should go over what happened tonight.”

Guess he wasn't sleeping just yet. Sighing, he headed for the couch, only to find Isa laying on it, bandanged and out cold. He hadn't seen what happened, but it didn't look good. Was he going to end up like that at some point?

“She'll heal. Because of your abilities, your healing rate is faster than normal.” DeLeon answered before Aiden could even ask. “She'll still need a couple of days to rest so she'll be out of commission. But if she rests like she's suppose to then she'll be back out there soon.”

Aiden only nodded and sat in another chair, glancing at Isa every few seconds. It was if he was scared she would suddenly stop breathing if he looked away. DeLeon said she was fine, but she certinally didn't look like it at the moment. He could see her face twitch every now and then, like she was having a nightmare. Should he wake her? He always heard it was a bad idea to wake someone from a nightmare, but Aiden always thought that he would rather be woken up in a panic than keep going in that state of sleep. But he left Isa alone, watching over her instead as he waited for the others.

Isa wasn't sure where she was. The last she remembered was falling and DeLeon catching her. Before that, she knew a huge fireball came flying at her, but between those memories, there was nothing. What happened? Had she lost control? Or was she just in a lot of pain? Either way, she wasn't conscious at the moment, floating a darkened void with no light around. She had been here before, many times in fact, something that seemed to come as a slight side effect of her powers. But what came next she didn't like at all.

The darkness gave way to streets and buildings destroyed, fires off in the distance with people screaming all around her. While she could see from her own perspective, she also felt that it wasn't really her. She glanced down to see her hands covered in blood, her eyes growing wide as she tried to figure out what happened.

“You have to fight it.”

She heard DeLeon's name in the distance, almost like an echo. She looked around, trying to find him but was having no luck.

“Isa please! I can't hold out much longer!”

She recognized that voice, but then again, she didn't. Why was it familiar yet not at the same time? Who was it, and why were they calling out to her?

“It's too late! We have to take her out!”

Take who out? Again, she looked around, trying to find the source of the voices. Who were they? What were they talking about?

“Forgive me.”

She stopped. Looking down again, there was a blade sticking out of her. It was her own sword, pierced right through her abdomen. Blood spilled out, but it wasn't its usual red. Instead, it was black ooze, dripping and pooling under her. She didn't feel any pain, but she knew it was there, feeling weak and slowly falling to her knees. Coughing produced the same ooze to spill out of her mouth, dripping off her lips. Footsteps approached her and she looked up to finally see someone. 

DeLeon.

She reached out, trying to speak so she could ask for help, but nothing but the black blood came out. DeLeon looked pained, guilty even as he just watched her fall to the ground. He just stood there, doing nothing. Why wasn't he helping her? Why wasn't anyone helping her? Why was she dying?

“I hope this time, it'll work.” He said, raising his hand up. “It's alright, we'll try again.”

Isa didn't want him to do whatever it was he was about to do, reaching out in an attempt to stop him. He gave a weak smile, as if trying to comfort her, but she knew he was about to do something dark. His hand raised, he snapped his fingers, and it was all gone. 

Slowly, her eyes opened, revealing she was back in the dorms. She ached all over and she could barely move. Seemed she had another of those strange nightmares again. Of her being killed and DeLeon apologizing, saying to try again. Try what again? And why was she always killed in a different way? 

She glanced over to see Aiden staring at her, looking scared and tired all at the same time. She was injured, she knew that much. How injured was another thing, but at least she was alive. The new kid was scared though, and she couldn't really have that. His first night and the one in charge was injured, how reasurring. She had to think of something, fast.

“I've had worse." Was all she could say.

Lily watched David, a little unsure of how to react. He was the only one who seemed to acknowledge her existence these days while everyone else was busy playing their little solo violins but he complimented her. He actually complimented her. She watched him leave, a little stunted on what to say back. Her blue eyes shimmered with an emotion she wasn’t familiar with, but quickly she looked back to the others.
 

Lily raised an eyebrow. These people were boring. The night was still young and she had plenty of adrenaline still to use. Like dogs to heel Isa and Aiden scuttled off to DeLeon and Lily looked around. The glowing embers were slowly being put out and she raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. She could use some music and a dance. She always thought it was stupid that people looked at her like she was a child, she was out here killing demons and had a literal one living inside her. Well, existing inside her. She took a slow walk through the streets and eventually happened upon a bouncing party with loud music and drinks and food.

The next day rolled around far too quickly, of course it didn’t matter that Lily felt a little hungover and worse for wear, she still looked completely flawless as she made her way towards the school. Her blond hair was fluffed into beach waves and every speck of her was put together because nobody needed to know. Her perfume was sweet as it ebbed from her and she eyed the classroom door before pushing it open and finding a seat, perfectly done nails digging around to find a notebook and some pens. She knew this stuff, it was boring and dull and she was sick of every teacher telling her “if she just applied herself” then she would do great. She was doing great, what the Hell was everyone’s problem?
 

Still, this was the one class everyone had together so at least there were familiar faces and maybe the new kid, Aiden would be put in to learn about- She checked the presentation- The Tudor Reign.
 

Okay why was this important? At what stage in her life was she ever going to need to know about some boring old nobility that died hundreds of years ago. Lily made herself comfortable and crossed her legs, the jeans hugging her figure and the loose, long sleeved cardigan she wore pooling around her. She actually didn’t mind history, some of it was exciting when they were talking about heads being cut off and everything and eyed their lecturer reached. It didn’t help that he was dull, his voice droning on was like a bee buzzing sometimes and she flicked through her textbook and held it up, propping her phone up so it was hidden from the front as she watched the news playback everything that had happened yesterday.
 

Damn, she looked good.

“Okay! So, we’ll be doing a group presentation at the end of the week so, if you look here, I’ve assigned your groups.” The teacher startled her into lifting her gaze up.
 

Of course.

Of course all the little demon hunters were in the same group.

She blamed DeLeon.
 

“You’ll be selecting a famous Tudor and doing a ten minute presentation and an essay on them, for Friday.” The Teach explained and Lily sighed, couldn’t she just do the essay and be done with it? This was dumb. 

Gods he was tired. David kept his head held high as he trudged back towards the dorms. His arms still stung, his head throbbed with an all encompassing dull headache and his knees were starting to buckle whenever he didn't force himself to walk normally. He was a mess, but he needed to hold it together for just a little longer. A brief moment of hot anger flashed through him, he'd been waiting for just a little longer all day. No, hold it together, David. Emergency vehicles screamed past him on the street, paramedics and firefighters finally allowed to enter the exclusion zone as bystanders bustled to and fro, eager to check out the most recent destruction now that it was 'safe'. Everyone loves a good tradgedy, huh? At least tonight was finally over, he could be happy about that, right? He sighed in relief once more, he could get some proper rest for the day ahead. Things were gradually getting better now. Slowly, not unlike a cat languidly unfurling from a pleasant nap, something stirred inside. What?! Again?! How could it be back so quickly, hadn't it just had its fill?! Davids stomach dropped as he stopped mid step, leaning against the brick of a nearby wall for a moment as he stumbled, hand on forehead as he shored himself up again. What a pleasant excursion . . . The school gates were just up the road, if he could just get away from people he would be able to focus, keep things under control and get some rest. He took off running, half stumbling in his weary state.

David all but tore into his room, slamming the door behind him. "Why?" he squeezed out through clenched teeth, "Why?! What did I do to deser-" memories of carnage flashed across mind; not of tonights event, but a time quite some years ago - begging figures terrified at what he had become as he towered over them. Hot tears rolled down his cheeks as the walls he had put up inside began to crumble, he could let go in here, now that he was alone. He tried to take the few last steps to his bed, but the memories just kept coming. He slid back down against the door instead, balling up as he sat. Would he ever be free of this? Even now, what awoke as whispers was now getting stronger. He couldn't control it, couldn't outlast it, couldn't even have one nights rest. He was just doomed; doomed to turn back into that thing, to kill everyone around him. Despairing, David sat, and wept bitterly.

The light hit David as he lay quietly; he stirred, blinking wearily as he groggily woke. Where was he? He leant up, apparently he had made it to the foot of his bed at some point last night, but had fallen asleep against it. Everything was still pretty sore, though the redness of his arms had faded considerably already. He looked over at his window, a little confused. What time was- Oh crap! He was late! The brief moment of panic jolted through him as he practically flew up to his feet, yanking out a fresh uniform from his closet and getting changed practically mid-run through the dorm hallway.

--

David burst into the classroom, sweating a little, more from the panic than the run itself. He felt the eyes of everyone in the class go to him in an instant, and almost naturally, he turned back into that version of himself, the one they had all come to expect; He smiled awkwardly as the teacher especially regarded him from beneath half-circle glasses. "Ah David, thank you for joining us. I was wondering if you had gotten lost on your way here." 
"Sorry, sir. I-I just overslept, it was-"
"Overslept? That's no excuse, David. Short of dying on my doorstep, I expect every student to attend on time, History is no laughing matter!" 
And so on it went, David making the appropriate, expected sounds and the teacher responding, as if he knew anything David wanted to hear. As if he shouldn't be groveling, thanking David for keeping hell at bay and still coming to class anyway. The already dull light faded even further in David's eyes, finishing making his apologies and taking his seat, dead smile plastered on his face. A stray thought whispered in the back of his mind; Why even fight, if both sides of that portal were a hell he could not escape?

"-you'll just have to ask the rest of your group, David." David blinked, he'd missed most of that, he was in a group? He looked over to the others; He'd gotten lost a moment there, "Ah, sorry, would you be so kind as to tell me what the plan is? I'm still a little out of it. You know, busy night." he said, forcing a bit of a chuckle. 

After Aiden rushed off the sirens wailed and police choppers whirred overhead, Noxx found himself alone in the cool night air, dim street lights casting a faint glow around him. Self-reflection crept into his mind, his thoughts swirling around the events of the night. The cool night air and dim street lighting left him with some small room for self reflection. The others seemed to have a margin of less control over their abilities than him. They acted as forces of raw powwr abd bloodlust. Was it all just accidental friendly fire? Noxx remembered the short few words DeLeon said as an explanation to their abilities. He said they'd been possessed. By what he never elaborated on. Noxx had always assumed they had all had a similar voice and control in their heads but up until now he'd kept to himself. Being able to ignore what or who compelled the others until their group activities became more necessary. His mind used to be singularly focused on becoming a more efficient hunter. As he pulled his mask off he took a deep breath. The portals were getting worse, and they were driven to work together more and more as time went on. It was about time he started asking questions. 

Just as the thought crossed his mind he spotted a familiar blonde angrily trotting off in the night. Lily where was she going? He considered following but as a yawn took over his queries he decided against it. Another day of cardio. And that damned history teacher was back from leave, no doubt with some contrived unreasonable amount of work for the class to do again.

The next morning, as the sun peeked through the classroom windows, Noxx was early to class, finding only a few others who had arrived at the same time. The conversations revolved around the previous night's events, the fires in the sky captivating some with fear, others with excitement. Lost in his thoughts, Noxx flipped through his notebook, only to be startled by an astonishing revelation. His once familiar notes were replaced by strange sigils and alien markings, unintelligible to him. Not a single note or phrase was written in a language he could understand. When did he write these? How did he write these?

“Alright class. You're switching seats to talk amongst yourselves about the project. Go on, pick your partners and scoot.”

His eyes shifted as the other classmates all shuffled around the room. The teacher's instructions broke his reverie, and the class began shifting seats to pair up for a project. By some twist of fate, Noxx ended up sitting beside Lily, one foot against the desk as he precariously balanced himself on two chair legs tilting back and forth. His eyes closed trying not to focus on the fact that he clearly was at a loss due to his note being a jumbled mess of archaic symbols.

"Easy, we put our heads together and rely on the valedictorians." He smirked, knowing Lily could do the assignment on her own if she felt so inclined. "So, while the girls figure that one out, I've got some questions that have been bothering me." He teased just before leaning forward with a thud and opening his eyes to meet David. 

"First one, how did you guys discover your abilities?" The question lingered in the air, followed by a glimpse into the unsettling visions plaguing Noxx. His eyes searched for any sign of familiarity in his friends' experiences. There was no end to the amount of things he could ask, none of them related to their project and all of them in a hushed tone that only the small group could hear.

“I've been seeing things… visions… lakes of fire and massive beasts like the one I saw on the other side of the gate last night. Have the angels… shown you the same?”

Lily looked over when David joined her first and she raised an eyebrow, someone hadn't slept well and she pushed her notebook over to him, 
“Group project. We have to do an essay and presentation on old dead people.” She said to him, standard really and she smirked a little. Noxx joined next and she eyed him over. This was a good opportunity to get the groundwork of them both, David she had fought side by side plenty of times but Noxx, he was new. He was usually off pulling his prowess with Isa and she hadn't seen him fight too much in her presence. She opened her textbook and started flitting through it but cast Noxx a look when he mentioned valedictorians. She had no intention of going that far and she found a list of Tudors they could look at. 

Frankly, she would much rather be out there finding the next portal and setting something on fire but she was under strict instructions to keep her fire to herself in between missions. She had already forgotten the consequences if she didn't but she also didn't feel like ruining her morning with a lecture from DeLeon about how horrid it was that she set a classroom desk on fire to getout early. 

Noxx was upfront with his questions, interesting play by him and she wondered what made him so curious. And then David, ever so polite always. It made for an interesting contrast when the blonde man switched in combat, he would become something primal. Yet, when he was in control, he was polite, formal even. Her blue eyes moved between the two, calculating and assuming what she could about them before she started writing, in a separate book. 

She tucked the journal back in her bag and moved to the other notepad she had.

Noxx's question caused her to smile some, eyes glinting in the light that filtered through the windows.
“I set my step-mother's favourite dress on fire.” She said plainly, her biological mother had died during childbirth and her father was the CEO of some global enterprise and was usually abroad. Hence why she had her own place, guilt money for being away from his precious and dangerous daughter. 
“She was pissing me off, something about my attitude. She was wearing this designer dress, she kept yelling and I guess I just.. slipped.” She shrugged, she never liked her step-mother. 
“I think I was ten. Scared her.” She hummed a little as she turned her gaze back down to the writing. His visions sparked interest and she paused for a moment, her nightmares were usually of crippling fire and brimstone, a priest would have a field day with her. 

She glanced to David, expectantly. He seemed the sort to be plagued by nightmares given his affliction when he fought and she supposed that he was better to ask than she was. She started to scrawl down notes on two prolific Tudors as she listened to the conversation. It was worth knowing everyone's stories, then again she was sure most of these people had some weird sympathy plot point that they lived as a victim off of. Everyone was the same. 

They should burn. 

Lilly snapped her gaze upwards and to the textbook, she had never thought that before. She didn't breathe a word as she felt her heart lurch in her chest and her jaw tensed as she looked back to her work. 

Isa didn't go to school the next day. DeLeon made her stay in bed and rest so she could actually heal better. That, and it would've raised a lot of eyebrows if she came to school with burns all over her all the sudden. A couple of bandages or bruises were fine, as most students thought she took some kind of martial arts class, but burns that were this bad was too much. Isa prefered to keep her cover of being a good student, but she also knew how much image was. The less questions brought towards them the better.

She sat in the commons room, flipping through the channels as she tried to think of something to do. While she didn't care too much for school, it at least gave her something to do that wasn't focused on demon hunting. As she was about to change the channel again, the news popped up. Of course, it was coverage about the demon attack, which wasn't surprising, but what did surprise her was a picture they had on the screen.

“This is the latest picture we have of the teens who have been seen fighting these demons.” The news anchor reported. “Still no news on who they are, but they were able to fight off the demons and save countless people. It's still a question though, if they are really on humanity's side, or if we're just stuck in the middle of a war.”

The picture was blury a bit, obviously caught in movement, but Isa could still see who it was. A male with a space helmet on, in the air, headding off in an unknown direction. Noxx. She didn't know when the photo was taken, but she felt a little more at ease that it was of Noxx and not of Lily, Aiden or David. Isa thought it was better if they weren't found out, despite someone's thought of how they should be praised for their work. While Isa couldn't totally disagree, knowing it would make their job a little easier, she knew it would be too much of a hassle. For that, secrecy outweighed being known. Besides, Isa didn't want to be out in the spotlight to begin with. If she had it her way, she wouldn't even be fighting the demons at all. But that wasn't how the world worked.

“He still wears that silly helment." DeLeon commented from behind the couch. 

Isa glanced up to him and shrugged. “I think it looks good on him. Besides, I wear a mask as well."

“Yours is at least tasteful.”

“Ouch. Good thing Noxx isn't here to hear that.”

She got no reply and heard his footsteps head towards the kitchen. He seemed to be facinated with cooking, being in the kitchen whenever he didn't need to be anywhere else. Didn't bother her any, she just had to make sure she didn't eat too much to ruin her figure. She flipped through a few more channels before letting out a sigh and giving up on finding anything to watch. She had been on the bed since last night, DeLeon saying it was better for him to watch over her. He knew that sometimes she snuck out when she was suppose to be in bed, so he had to make sure she didn't do that this time. 

Aiden seemed rather concerned to see Isa there this morning as DeLeon changed the bandages. It still looked bad, but it was a lot better than it was last night. And like she had said, she had been through worse. Still, she had reassured Aiden she would be fine as he went off to school. While she had hoped to show him around and help him ease into the new life, there wasn't much she could really do. She knew DeLeon would make sure he had history with the others so there was that at least. DeLeon was always pulling strings behind the scenes. It was kinda scary really. He seemed to always know when something was going to happen. How? Anytime she asked he would change the subject one way or another. If she were able to, she would search through his things and try to find an answer, but he didn't even have a room, just an office, and she had tried going through there before. That didn't end too well for her and DeLeon was on her ass for about a month after. She didn't want to go through that again.

Sighing, she slowly stood, stretching a bit before it would start to hurt, and headed outside. “I'm just going to sit on the porch.” She called before DeLeon could ask. Once outside, she sat on a chair and leaned back in an attempt to relax. Looking up at the sky, it seemed so peaceful, like there wasn't any chaos down on this earth. Like the world wasn't trying to end in blood and fire. How does it look from up there? 

Aiden had a hard time falling asleep. His adrenaline had ran out long ago and he was exhausted beyond comparisson, yet here he was wide awake in bed. He had a lot going through his mind about what had happened. He had fought demons before coming here, but nothing like that. Never had he seen such huge things or even that many. While the others seemed to handle themselves well enough, he was out there like a chicken with the head cut off. Something like that almost happened if it wern't for Noxx or Isa. How could he improve? And what about Isa? How the hell was she not dead after that huge fireball that was thrown at the big demon? Was that the power of the demons within them? It scared him to know that she had gotten worse injuries than those burns. Slowly, he drifted off, finally getting some sleep.

When day came, he was groggy. Did he really have to go to school? He was shocked that they didn't get the day off after fighting these demons. How often did they show up anyways? It couldn't be daily. But he had to go today, so he pushed himself out of bed and headed to the bathroom to get dressed.

Stepping out, he saw Isa, still on the couch. She hadn't gone to bed? Why? He didn't get any time to ask, Isa quickly reassuring that she was fine and to head off to school. DeLeon had then walked up to him and handed him the schedule, saying he needed to head off before he was late. He nodded and left without a second thought. 

Noxx was already there as he walked into the class. Aiden had already went to the wrong classroom across the school. Why were the numbers so similar? Either way, he was glad he saw a familiar face in the first class, espceially since it was Noxx. David was alright, but there seemed something off about him. Then Lily, well, he could tell right away that she didn't want to talk to him or even be in the same room. Maybe they could get used to each other, but at the moment, he knew it was better to steer clear.

It wasn't long before the classroom filled with other students. A few of them noticed Aiden and asked if he was new. Of course, Aiden replied that he was, in fact, a new student. They were rather interested in him, especially with the fact that he was wearing a winter jacket when it was the spring time. Sure it got chilly, but it wasn't that cold. He knew he couldn't just say it was because of the demon within him, so he had to cover it with a medical condition. Thankfully, before they could question it more, class was started and everyone was to take their seats. Aiden was glad the teacher didn't want him to introduce himself. He was never embarrassed, but he was still very tired after last night. He didn't notice David wasn't in class until he brust through the door and apologized. Was he really that out of it?

Paired with the rest of the group, he could tell that this was set up by some outside source. There wasn't anything he could do about it, so he decided to just go along with it and sat with the others. The Noxx had some interesting questions. Should they really be talking about this sort of thing out in the open like this? He guessed if the others were doing it, then it should be alright.

“I remember a strange dream," He started, thinking back to it. “I thought I was in Antartica, but I couldn't find the penguins. I walked for a while, then came across a frozen…thing. It wasn't human, but it wasn't an animal. I guess it was the demon now that I think about it. Anyways, I walked up to it and touched it, then suddenly woke up to my pillow being frozen. Parents were very confused that morning.”

As for the angels Noxx spoke about, he hadn't heard or seen anything. In fact, he was a bit confused about that. Weren't they given the powers of demons? Why were angels suddenly involved? Was that perhaps what Noxx saw them as? 

David's pasted on smile faded a little as he listened, half in and half out, only partly paying attention. He watched more than listened to Noxx explaining as a list of names passed through his own mind. Who to pick? Then again, DeLeon might look into things, even if the group overall was getting a high grade David would still probably be aiming for just above a passing grade in the end. He thought on in his own little world as the whispers urged away at him, when a glint of something caught his attention. Something in the mans eyes opposite him. David returned to the real world once more, having been caught in his own thoughts a moment. Did he say Angels? What in the world - David had thought that, maybe they were going through something similar to himself, but were just, better at coping. Or their inner demons were quieter somehow. This guy was speaking with Angels instead? . . Or was he just that far off the deep end? David nodded along, turning to Lily as she spoke, forgetting to keep up the facade. 

He brought a curled finger to his chin as he thought, what was the connection here? They all ~looked delicious~ had powers, certainly. Angel visions, a firestarter with attitude problems, a dream in a frozen wasteland? Then again, Noxx hadn't actually said how his powers manifested, maybe there was some kind of connection he could make? The more I learn, the easier it will be to kill them. After a moment, he perked up again, putting on the same, usual smile he wore for the masses.

“It doesn't sound too bad, but I can only imagine what you've all been through since then. If you do end up needing anything, feel free to come to me and ask. As you know, I'm not exactly chatty, but I can listen well enough. As for me~” He shrugged as if nonchalant, leaning forward onto his elbows. “I was picked up by DeLeon after an attack on my home town. I was pretty young then, I don't remember all the details, but I was manifesting, well, whatever these powers are after a run in with a demon. The things we see day to day? They're just chaff. Real demons, the things that consume, - well, whatever it is you are, your soul I guess? - They're . . not the same. After that, he helped keep me in check while I got the hang of things.”

 David shrugged again as if it wasn't all that. A half truth, David remembered well everything that happened that day, and was haunted by it near constantly. That demon, that devil, whatever it was - The true monster was beautiful; Utterly enthralling. Or maybe that's just, how he remembered it? But the power it radiated was definitely real - Like the whole world had come to an abrupt, terrifying end, a black sun of despair consuming all that laid eyes upon it. “I don't think there are angels out there, friend. If there are, they are as vindictive, if not more, than the things we fight against. How about you though, did you end up, floating away on your first day or something?” He said lightly, trying to keep the mood from dropping. 

 Noxx's mind wandered back to his own experiences, he took their stories as anecdotes drawing him deeper into contemplation. Through the different circumstances, there was a common thread that bound them all – meeting an otherworldly being before their transformation. Not all of them shared what they saw and assuming they were similar to his own blurred distorted memories of the Angel. DeLeon had urged him to control the demon within. Yet, unlike Lily, it never urged him to do anything he didn't want to do previously… Or had it?

He recalled the night he had encountered the entity that called itself Angel, a demon that had chosen him as a vessel. The memory was a blend of darkness and anger, a sense of foreboding mingled with a touch of clarity now that he had put a bit more of the puzzle together. A creature made of ice for the Rookie. No doubt a being of fire crept in the mind of Lily. Same for David he imagined. 

"I was running through the city streets, I remember anger, anger like I'd never felt before or since. I was coming back home to find my home leveled-" he paused mid sentence not realizing just how disconnected he'd become from the sight of his own parents bodies torn into and scattered across broken support beams. Or the red that trailed from the bodies of his siblings into the dark alleys that night. The most strange feeling was his complete numbness to a thought that used to make him sick to his stomach. Even driving him to bouts of post traumatic stress in his nights alone.

"I chased a shadow out into the streets" He continued without a hint of emotion in his voice. "Just as I was able to make its toothy maw out in the dark. A heaviness pushed me to the ground and I was enveloped by light. Be not afraid. Those were its words. And I felt a sense of reassurance. Like I'd never need anything ever again in my life. All my worries, all my anger and wanting to avenge my family were all gone in an instant as soon as I heard it's chimes. When I woke up, I was suspended in the air, unable to find a way to move. Took me hours of swimming in place until I latched into a nearby gutter." 

Tactfully he kept the gory details of what he saw below him in the alley painted red that morning. Noxx's thoughts floated like a cloud of calm as he leaned back in his chair nonchalantly. The revelations stirred a bit of understanding in him. They were all pieces of a larger puzzle, each possessing a unique fragment of a greater truth. Answers that had eluded him were now just the slightest bit clearer. 

"Maybe it is some sort of Demon, maybe Angel's aren't real. But if I've got the sound of windchimes in my ears. I can't imagine what it's like in your head David. You or Isa-" He almost fell from his chair as a book slammed on the desk in front of him. A stern hand connected to an angry furled brow.

"More video game talk Ramerez? Focus up, boy. I'll be keeping an eye on you especially, don't drag the rest of your group down with you. Lily has top marks and if she so much as complains a whiff about you-""You'll toss me from the campus, I get it teach. I'll take it seriously, I promise…"

Seemed he was the only one to see the visions. Meaning there was a reason he was being given warnings. DeLeon likely had little to tell him but there had to be someone else. Someone who could tell him about these things. Although the angel was quiet now, after last night he found his mind too cluttered to prioritize school at the moment. But his impudent response seemed to get the better of their history teacher. Sufficient enough to get back to coaching the other groups with a disapproving grunt barely out of ear shot. 

"On less… Problematic topics. We don't know when we'll be needed to go out at night again. After class we should hit the library and crush this early, get it done sooner rather than later. Who knows, we could be dead by the time it's due. Then poor Lily might get a B."

He smiled at her before Flipping through his history book in an attempt to catch back up with the topic.

“Probably because there's no penguins in Antarctica, that's the Arctic.” Lily remarked to Aiden with a half-amused smile that didn't quite reach the corners of her mouth as she jotted down a few things and looked between David and Noxx when they spoke. Aiden was a little ice totem, easily melted away at her behest. Her blue eyes moved to David, he artfully dodged the question Noxx posed and she supposed it was personal, whatever was whispered to them in the dark and whatever infliction their nightmares forced on them, it was no small thing and nobody wanted to relent their true fears and worst woes. Things worse than a frozen pillow or setting a dress on fire. 

Lily raised an eyebrow, Angels and Demons. They ought to write a book, probably be a best-seller. She chuckled a little to herself as Noxx spoke up about chasing down a shadow and she looked to David. Noxx and him had very different experiences, all of them did. 

She kept her mouth shut though, why they were here, nobody truly knew, she didn't know what their purpose was and she frankly, didn't care. She could take out a few demons, look good and then go enjoy a party. They were still young adults, teenagers all of them and she didn't intend on wasting the best of her years hiding under DeLeon's coattails and begging for scraps. There was a big bad world out there all for them and they would have to learn about it. 

Lily smirked some at the teacher and raised an eyebrow at Noxx when he mentioned her getting a B. 
“Calm down, I do this in my sleep.” She remarked with a shrug, Lily always put in the bare minimum for effort and she somehow managed to pass each time and even excel. 
“I have to spend my time in a library?” She groaned and sighed, “Calgon, take me away.” She muttered sarcastically and looked through her book. 
“Fine, I'll do the essay.” Lily conceded, “You lot put the presentation together and I'll just be the editor in chief.” She said, giggling a little at the thought as she leaned back in the chair and eyed them all. 

“Next time, I'm going to make sure those cameras see me, I'm going to do a hair-flip and break the internet.” Lily said, cockily, “Once they get a look at these baby blues, the public will be dying to know more.”