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[Shwa]

Emptiness was Demitri's world while he stayed a prisoner at his home base, not an ally anymore, but a prisoner with blood on his hands. Blood from fellow allies, younger soldiers and the shame of disgracing his father the Commandant. Inside of Shields protected cell, Demitri roared with burning rage, his communication cut off with his master threw the man into fits and tantrums, thrashing about as he tried desperately to free himself and return to his cruel owner. The living black armor suit that aided Demitri in the killing of Blues was located in a secret location, the powers of the high counsel kept its powers from activating and running back to Demitri or Sybille. It simply laid on the cold floor of the cell room, folded up like clothing, the guards on duty were high ranking officials who have previously fought against enemies who wore such an item, but they were all based in Egypt when they encountered the item It too, felt emptiness. Demitri's writs and calfs bruised from his many struggles of becoming free from his captors, the hours passed along with days without the giant noticing, after his tirade of yelling and thrashing about, he would simply fall unconscious at a moments notice, giving his body little time to heal up. He did enjoy the security of knowing paid would not wake him, his master was never that kind, always finding a new way to torture the soldier day in and day out. There was something that brought life back to the caged animal, a scent, a simple scent that brought a wave of peace inside of the angry beast, and then the woman who always came to him three times a day. Fed him, bathed him, gave him fresh clothes, even just to stay and talk with him when he was feral. Time passed where the slave enjoyed her company, and slowly, more memories of her held in his mind, a deep affection for the woman who had shown him kindness.

The afternoon was long, Demitri calmed his thrashing as the woman named Alex left once again, the beast inside grew angry as he continued to use his powers to his aid, but nothing seemed to work in the cell he was entrapped in. There was however, an echo....and familiar voice that echoed around Demitri's head. It was distant at first, but as the hour passed, it grew in magnitude and tone. The giant shook in his spot a little, scared and angry at the intruder inside of his thoughts, he had hoped it would never happen again, but he was too hopeful to know better.

(There's my slave) A whicked laughed followed, Demitri tensed his body as he stood straight up in his spot, a devilish smile danced across his face as tears slowly fell from his eyes, his master had found him. The slave was relieved, yet terrified at the same time. (Did you find the item that I seek my pet?)

(Yes Master, I have found the Book of Set, the spell book you sought after my master. Have I done good, master?) Demitri concentrated hard in his words, it was difficult to speak even in his mind, the protection measure they took on the cell he was trapped in was more than he would ever had anticipated.

(You have slave, and I shall reward you with your freedom. The distraction you caused allowed me to enter and enfultrate the facility without a second glace, I have taken the form of a person here. I will be obtaining the second piece I need very soon. The book is now in my possession...) Demitri smiled more at his masters words. (...I shall free you now my pet, cause a little commotion for me while obtain my prize, I shall bring you once I have it). Like that, the voice dropped, making the giant whine in sadness. But his mood changed when the cuffs that held his arms and legs broke off in a snap, the feeling around the cell was different as Demitri felt a surge of power course through his veins, the runes it up all over his body as the beast smiled and aimed his hand for the door. The guard looked back for a moment, but a moment too late as the door flew open, crushing the solider on the wall he stood opposite from when guarding the cell. Demitri slowly stepped out as he cracked his knuckles, making his way out of the brig in a haste the man had no intention on being silent. Using his many powers to destroy everything in his path and cripple soldiers that stood in his way. Then, the alarms sounded...

"ATTENTION ALL HDF MEMBERS. PRISONER 342 HAS ESCAPED. CAPTURE AT ALL COSTS!!!"

"Master..." Demitri grunted in triumph, completing another task in such a haste usually rewarded the giant an extra hour to rest. Demitri made it down the hall, only to trip while running and fall face first on the steel floor, looking behind himself, the man could see his feet here now encased in a block of ice. Frost and Jason, now in full wolf form, approached slowly towards the broken commander.

"Stay right where you are Demitri" Frost held his arm out still, ready for some more action. Jason growled when Demitri easily phased his legs through the ice black and stood up in a hunched stance, much like Jason when he hunched. Both animals stared one another down, Jeff and Tank came from the corner, Tank now fully in steel mode as he gasped when seeing his father figure.

"If we can't stop him, at least keep him busy" Jason howled as he charged the beast, Demitri returning the favor as both men clashed mid air before rolling on the ground, punching, clawing and going all out while the alarms still sounded. Jason was thrown off to the wall when Demitri landed a harsh kick to his abdomine, before the beast could get up, Jeff levitated his former commander in mid air. Tank took the hint as he rushed towards Demitri, connecting his steel shoulder to the mans ribs, bones cracked upon impact, sending the man rolling down the hallway.

(I'm sorry Dad...) Tank thought as he frowned underneath his steel skin, but he needed to do his part to protect his friends. Demitri struggled to get up as he looked at the four men, smiling as blood ran down the side of his mouth.

"This one shall not fail his MASTER!!!" Charging his wind powers, the beast charged at the four, they in turn, doing the same to hold off as long as they could.

[Darth Vectis]

Marcus stood in their room, his feet firmly planted where Sybille and Ali had been but moments ago, his hands clenched into fists as his runes raged with a white hot fury he only showed a few times. His anger, hatred, and sadness washed of him as he let it all soak in, letting the feelings take over his body as he couldn't think of what to do next. His feet carried him from the room, his mind no longer in control of his actions as he moved through the halls now, a glowing pillar of pure energy. The alarms no longer even reaching him as he walked through the halls with a purpose, that was achieved when he came across the scene of Alpha team surrounding a single figure who appeared to be holding his own against the mass. Marcus whispered the words of a long extinct time, his magic coursing through his body as suddenly the crowd dispersed, all of them being pushed in all sorts of directions away from the feral Demetri. Marcus stood before whispering again as he lifted Demetri into the air with a single hand raised, he struggled, managing to lash out with his wind powers, the power glancing off of Marcus.

"Where is she? Where is Sybille?" Demetri saw a grin filled with insanity, a madness that seemed far to advance for anyone to break. He couldn't understand how Ali broke through his mind, how she had managed to get him to speak beyond the growls he howled now.

"This one will never betray his Master. He is out of your grasp fool!" Marcus looked into the rune visage of Demetri's face, seeing how easily that could have became him. He thought about crushing him then, ending it all for Demetri with just a single word and a simple gesture. That was, until Demetri suddenly dropped to the ground, he had managed to break free from Marcus grasp and stood staring at him, the mad grin all over his face. He stood hunched over, Marcus pushing aside any notions of mercy now, in this fight, he would win and he would finish this. Before he could even strike, a black mist swirling from nowhere, enshrouding Demetri before he just vanished all together. Marcus felt his heart sink, the grief snuffing out all of his anger as he fell to his knees, the Alpha team finally released from his grasp as they all rushed toward where Demetri use and where Marcus knelled. Jason stood before them as himself, the other crowded around trying to figure out what was going on. Marcus felt hands on him, his eyes closed to the world as his hands hung limp in his lap and hung his head as he ignored everything around him.

His mind flitted back to the week he had shared with Ali in real, and complete happiness. He had was recalling when he had been talking to her about him moving into her quarters. It was only the night after their conversation, they had been laying in bed together as they held hands. His thoughts were so open now, floating on a whim as something he hadn't done since he took up the mantle of the Mystic. Letting his life be consumed by the dark thoughts of so many nights gone, it had taken years off of his face to just lay here with her. To feel her warm touch on his skin as they just laid in silence, the lights of except for a lonely one on Ali's night stand.

"So what do you think?" He remained silent for the time, content with just caressing the skin on her arm as he thought of what to say. He wanted to just say yes to her idea, to rush over to his room and start bringing in things to make this their room. He was sure the secret was out about them at this point, no one had said anything or even made comments about it. Maybe it was the rumor that he knew everything that happened in the compound that kept them to a minimal, maybe it was the looks Ali gave people when they even had the thought of snickering or whispering about her. No matter what it was, it made life easier with small things like that. He looked into her eyes, trying not to get lost in them and actually answer her question.

"I don't know how much you would like that, I have so many artifacts, scrolls, books and other paraphernalia that would just clutter-"

"Just shut up Marcus."

"Ok." He said simply as she smiled at him and shook her head, giving him a kiss before giving him a whack on his chest.

"Go get your stuff, your moving in." Marcus nodded as he started to rise when she grabbed him and pulled him back down to her, gracing his lips with another kiss.

"Not just yet marked man, we have something to finish up." Making love that night, Marcus had been hard pressed to bring enough stuff back. Ali had tried to rise to help him be he had turned her down, talking about the baby and how a lot of things were going to change for her daily regiment. She had sighed at him, he was surprised when she had just put her arms around him and said ok as she kissed him more. She didn't fight him on it, she wasn't afraid to give him a good hit every now and then and she definitely showed her frustration with everything he did, but he did it for her. Every night, when they would lay there for that time they stayed together the words she whispered to him made it all the more important he protect them. Every night she whispered to him the same words that always lead to the passion they shared in their bed.

"I love you Marcus." The words echoed in his mind regularly, feeling the truth behind the words, Masan no longer influencing her thoughts or decisions. He felt a twang of guilt for putting Masan to sleep, just because of their history, but that always changed while he was with Ali. Even when she would leave him three times a day, he still just waited for her to return, he could only imagine how she was handling the situation with her former lover, and the father of her baby, only to return the the mystic to be embraced by him. He always did his best to ease her distress, and it seemed to work every time she came back. His thoughts and his grief still hung out there for Demetri, but he still held a selfish desire for Ali, even if Demetri were to get better, he didn't want to give up everything they had now. He was sure that will all the things he had moved into their quarters now made it more, official in his mind, he hoped she had felt the same when she asked him. The thought of marriage had crossed his mind a few times, appearing because of her growing condition, he was starting to see a bulge appear on her stomach, the baby growing bigger everyday and he found his hands constantly touching it when they laid together at night.

He snapped out of his thoughts when his face suddenly stung, he saw Jason standing before him as he was yelling at Marcus. Marcus looked around almost in a haze, seeing the faces crowding around. He even saw Tempest face, his youthful eyes showing his concern and how his progression had come along. It seemed, that whatever god had tried to use him and withdrawn its hold shortly after their vacation. Since then, he had been in training to control himself, the other helped him along when they could. He slowly rose as he started to push hands away, bodies next as he finally stood and tried to get his barrings. When he did he set off, his new destination in mind as the black mists started to gnaw at his thoughts. The team followed in his wake, he looked back only momentarily, seeing Pocket brought another memory to mind. Only happening a few days ago, he had been sitting at the table as usual, a dinner was cooking for Ali, he had done his best to prepare a meal should would enjoy the most. He had to keep her away from green beans, one of his favorite foods, and other items that incited retching from Ali. He had hoped to finish it before she got back from he time with Demetri, she said she had a few other things to do after so he took the advantage. Hearing the timer, he quickly rose from his seat and went to finishing the meal, slicing and dicing fresh vegetable and plating them, putting a side of sliced meat for her.

He had finished setting up the table, a kitchen towel tossed over a bare shoulder as he was walking around only in his gym shorts again. A light glean of sweat on his brow, he was about to turn to get dressed when he heard the door slide open. His head turning to the noise to see Ali come in, she looked at the table, seeing the set up, a single white candle on the table with the plates set up. She looked up at him as she smiled at him, he let out a sigh as he showed her an innocent grin.

"I thought I had more time. I would have been better dressed but-"He had no time to finish when she launched herself at him, her arms around him as the kidding became passionate and wild. They kept backing up until finally Marcus touched the bed, she pulled away to give him a push on to the bed, straddling him she gave him her sweet smile, the special one she gave only him. As his hands reached out to starting undressing her, they heard a knock at the door, Ali turning while Marcus stretched his neck to look. He nudged him to the side as she sat on the bed, he rose, walking to the door he hit a button on the card panel to open the door, his eyes widened as he say Pocket standing there.

"Calypso, its good to see you. Whats going on?" She had her usual smile on her face, looking into the room for Ali.

"I just wanted to talk to Ali, I haven't gotten a chance to talk to her." Marcus moved aside as Pocket entered the room, her multicolored hair still a constant reminder of her change. Ali jumped up from the bed and gave Pocket a great hug, Marcus had a small smile on his face as he watched the two talk. He saw Pocket touching Ali's stomach, he could hear the congratulations and Pocket jumping about excitedly about the whole thing. Marcus took a seat at their dinner table as they talked for a bit, he nibbled on the food until he saw a finger from Ali pointing at him.

"Not yet Marcus." He held up his hands as he chuckled softly, deciding to take the opportunity to get dressed the way he wanted to. The memory faded away as he reached the door to the Commandants office, he slid his key card as he walked into the office, seeing the Commandant standing around his desk going over papers. Marcus approached, his bodyguards trying to bar his path before Marcus pushed them aside.

"Where is he Shield?" The Commandant looked at him with red rimmed eyes, his expression blank and hard.

"We don't know. The book of Set is missing as well." Marcus let a growl escape his lips.

"Your son was the distraction, Sybille was here! He took Ali, he probably took your book too. We need to find them." Shield went back to looking over papers, before speaknig.

"We're doing everything can. We have limited resources right now, we can't pull everyone from the field in a reasonable amount of time. We need to be patient." Marcus paced for a second before he roared and flipped a table in his office, the sheer rage caused his runes to flare for a second, giving him the strength to send the table into the wall, smashing it apart and sending papers all over the room.

"That's not good enough Shield! We don't have time for any of this, we need to find her now." Shield kept his composure as he spoke.

"Let me know how to find them then, and we'll go after them right now." Marcus was struck silent then, he turned away from the Commandant, heading back to His and Ali's quarters, searching through his books and his scrolls to find anything to help him find them, anything to find her and bring her home.

[K.G]

Alright, my internet got shut off but thank mankind for a PS3 and a key board. Unfortuantly this is the 3rd time I've started this post...each time something happened and it got deleted before I could finish it...I've had better days needless to say. >.< So this is most likly going to be a short post, I'll just ask that you guys try not to jump ahead of me to far...I really don't want to be left behind in my on RP...that would suck. But hopefully I'll get the interwebs back soon and we can finish this up. Til that...and it pains me to say this with how excited I've been to finally reach the ending part of this... I am going to try and post in bit and pieces til I can finish it up fully since it's bugging on me. I'll let you know with a small note at the end saying it's finished.


Ali stirred from the black abyss, her head swimming and pain radiating through her skull and the back of her neck as she came to, her mind racing as the events rushed through her mind. She opened her eyes and looked around, she could feel her weight pulling on her wrists and looked up to see her hands tied above her head as she hung from the stone wall. She looked up as a cold voice echoed acorss the area gaining her attention.
"Welcome back to the land of the living my dear. So glad you could join us."
She frowned as her vision cleared and she saw Sybille sitting on a large stone throne, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked at her, a smug smile in place.
"Where the hell am I?"
"Can you not tell? Just look around you, it sould be simple."
She did look, her head turning this way and that to take in her surroundings, she recgonized where she was and frowned more.
"The Northen ruins?"
He chuckled and nodded as he stood slowly and made his way towards her.
"Correct. Now, can you tell me what this temple was used for?"
"Summonings, sacrafices, pagan rituals. What of it."
She felt as if a bucket of ice water fell ontop of her as he touched his fingers to her stomach.
"Just that my dear just that."
She squirmed away from his touch, trying to get as far from his as possible.
"Don't fret my dear, you'll be in good hands."
She lashed out with her legs trying to kick him and gasped as she found a large hand wrapped around her ankel, Sybille's smug expression growing larger as Demetri stepped in front of her and dealt her a harsh back handed slap to the face causeing her to yelp.
"You shall not speak that way way towards this one's master!"
She looked at the large man, shocked from his aggresion, the blood already filling her mouth from her bust lips, a bruise already forming on her cheek from his strike.
"Now now Slave. She's just a simple minded woman. You must treat her gently, she's in no condition to rough treatment."
"How do you know?"
He laughed and covered his face with his hands as his body shook.
"Know? I made it possible. You should be thanking me dear. If not for me, it never would have happened."
She shook her head only to yelp as Demetri grabbed her and lifted her into the air, her feet hit the ground and she lashed out trying to connect a kick to Sybille's ribs only to have her foot caught in Demetri's large hand. Sybille chuckled and shook his head.
"Useless. Bring her slave. It's time to start."
Demetri wrentched her arms behind her back causeing her to scream from the rough treatment, over the coarse of the week she had grown so accustomed to realxing, Marcus having taken it upon himself to cease her harsh training by going directly to the Commandant. She had been doing paper work behind a desk only to return to her room to have a dinner waiting for her followed by the gentle touches Macus gave her. She fell forward as the stopped, having climbed a set of stone steps to the top of the small platform she looked over at Demetri and saw him smiling.
"Now, for the final pawn. Come out my friend."
Ali turned as the black mist swirled around the area, Cloak stepping out and walking towards them, Ali felt her heart jump hopefully.
"Has it been set Roger?"
Cloak nodded as he knealt in front of Sybille.
"Yes, the trail has been set, they should arrive within moments."
"Good."
Ali gasped as Cloak rose and stood next to the man, Sybille's smile grew.
"I have a plan my pet, you see I've been doing research and I've come to realize that my pact entails to much more power than simply cleansing the earth of filthy humans. I had the ability to become a god. Useing the right sacrafice and pawns it's quite simple really."
She felt her blood run cold as his eyes flickered to her stomach and back.
"No...No!"
"Oh yes, your unborn child has enough power already to level cities, imagine the possibilites if I could use that power."
Demetri shuddered next to her suddenly.
"C-child?"
Sybille frowned and wrapped his hand around Demetri's throat, his hand glowing and sending the giant to his knees as a scream tore from Demetri's throat.
"Stop this!"
She covered his body with her own trying to ease his convulsions, the move only making Sybille laugh.
"How amusing. Even though you'be taken a new lover you still hold onto this man as a life line still try to comfort him and ease his pain."
"I still love him! I never stopped loving him!"
Demetri's harsh breathing could be heard under her his next words making her smile.
"...Oranges...Alex...Mine."
She put her cheek against his back as it rose and fell with his breathing but screamed as Sybille's foot connected with her cheek sending her spawling.
"You stay away from him! I don't know what kind of magic you use but nothing should be stronger than my hold on him!"
She looked up and spit blood on the dirt, her busted lip bleeding again, her head spun around to look over her shoulder as another sound filled the small area, Sybille chuckled as he grabbed her and hauled her to her feet in front of him, Demetri and Cloak standing behind him, the blue fog of the young transporter Mist fading slowly to reveal her team, standing at the ready. Tank held Lily on his shoulders, already incased in is steel skin, Frost was charged and ready to go as fog poured from his skin which was a light blue and had a thin sheet of ice covering it. Jeff, Pocket and Sasa were all back to back looking around, Sasa had her machete at the ready while Pocket had a pistol in her hands, Jeff's stoic face only looking for the danger. She was shocked to see Tempest among them, fire flowing from his hands as he stood with her team. But what broke her heart was the man standing in front of them all.
"Marcus!"
She watched as the runes on his body began to glow madly as he looked at her, seeing the bruise on the pale skin of her cheek, the blood that rolled from her busted lip and the hands of his enemy holding her in place.
"Alex, let you go Sybille!"
The man behind her chuckled lightly as he threw Ali over to Demetri as well as the dagger, the soldier catching it and her easily.
"What fun would that be old friend? You would only attempt to kill should I release her only to kill my loyal slave in the process. Tell me, do you think she would forgive you for that sin?"
"Shut up! I'm sick of your mind games Sybille! What are you planning?"
"It's a full moon tonight Marcus. Don't you remember? All those years ago, the lesson you gave me on the gods? What it would take?"
Marcus' eyes grew wide.
"Your insane! There's no telling what you'll unleash!"
Sybille laughed as he looked down at them.
"Only if I am the one to sully my hands. But I won't be. My slave shall do the dirty work for me."
"You would have him kill- You really have become a monster."
"You would know mystic. I followed in your footsteps. After all I did look up to you all those years ago. Now, watch as your world falls apart yet again."
He motioned to Demetri who threw Ali forward, raiseing the dagger above his head he brought it down towards her, she closed her eyes waiting for the pain but it never came. She opened her eyes to see Tempest standing above her a sad smile on his face.
"Forgive me Alex. For everything I've done to you."
He coughed and she blinked as blood landed on her cheek as it came from his mouth, looking down she could see the dagger protuding through his stomach. She screamed as he fell to the side, lifeless, his blood pooling around him.
"Tempest!"
Sybille turned and scoffed.
"Slave, do not fail me again!"
Demetri nodded, raiseing the dagger once again only to pause as Lily wrapped her arms around Ali's leg scowling up at the man.
"Stop it!"
Ali wiggled trying to get the girl off of her, nothing working with her arms behind her back, she looked over as Marcus knelt next to her, his warm hands moving aginst her skin as he untied her, Lily's distraction giving him enough time to get her loose. He cupped her cheek as he looked her over, her bruised cheek, her busted lip, the raw marks from the ropes that were tied around her wrists. His gaze fell as she pulled away from the little girl and the mystic and slowly approached Demetri.
"Please...stop this..."
He raised the dagger again, Marcus' voice ringing in his ears.
"Dammit Demetri stop! She's pregnant! Are you really going to allow Sybille to make you kill a child? Let alone yours!"
Demetri dropped the dagger as he fell to his knees, Ali rushing over and wrapping her arms around him, holding him close as she rocked back and forth. Her powers relaying her feeling to him as she buried her face in his hair whispering quietly.



O.O;; that took...forever! But it's all done. Hope you all enjoy it. I'm going to pass out now. That was more stressful than any post I have ever written...ugh.

Edited by Knuckles' Girl, 27 April 2011 - 07:47 PM.

[Shwa]

The small town of Ammond Terrance began to settle in for the night, the markets and shops all around unpacked their items to rest for the evening, the street lights illuminated the quiet streets as the townspeople made their way to their respective houses with family awaiting them. It began to rain, lightly for a while until the wind picked up, blowing violently in the night sky, swaying trees and street lights with no mercy for their struggles to stay grounded. A little boy ran as fast as he could,, soaked clothes hugged his body and flesh, his hair, tied in a pony tail, equally drench"ed by the elements as the onslaught of water poured down. But more than water fell that evening, boy boy produced his own water that streamed from his eyes as he raced with all his might to get home, worried about his safety. But, something else seemed to be on his mind as he thought more and more about the recent storms that passed in their town lately. He knew, it wasn't natural. Without noticing, the boys sneakers missed a hole in the ground, causing the boy the fall forward and roll as his ankle slowly swelled up, hissing at the pain, he slowly stood up again and hobbled to his house. He only hated it when they lived in the woods, a log cabin house like no other in the area, surrounded by the woods and forest life. Finally reaching the door, the boy opened and dove in, kicking the door shut. A woman with long, raven colored hair came to his side as the boy cried, his eyes now completely white. Hugging the woman he sobbed more as a muscular figure came from the stairs to check the commotion.

"Whats the matter Demitri? Are you ok?" His mother asked with her husband kneeling to pick up the boy in his harms and take him to the couch.

"Go fetch him some clean clothes honey, he's soaked." The father ordered, she nodded and went off, the man placed his son on the couch, seeing his skin turn blue as he shook all over, but he noticed the eyes more than anything. Trying to play it off, the man started the fire in the living room fireplace.

"No need to cry over wet clothes son" His father gave a small laugh, but looking behind his shoulder, he could see one of Demitri's little feet turn slightly off than the other, the boy remained silent and cried more as his mother returned.

"T. Have a look at his leg will you" The man gave her a worried look as he brushed his head towards Demitri's direction, coding for her expertise. She took the hint and nodded, kneeling down and examining her son, seeing where his twisted ankle began to swell up, the boy trying to escape the pain when she touched it, but his mother was stronger than that to just let go. Within seconds, the pain vanished, still sore, but gone completely as the boy finally opened his eyes and saw his leg wiggling around with his other half. Demitri wiped his eyes and smiled slightly, his eyes still white as the storm lessened little by little outside.

"Pavlos...I think we know now why the wind blows so harshly" Touch began to undress her child from his wet clothes and place the warm, clean ones on, taking the drenched pieces to the launrdy. She came back from the kitchen with a cup of cocoa for her son, who smiled and began to drink.

"Dad, whats momma talking about?" Demitri stared while his father stared off into the distance, in deep thought. He came to his own conclusion before standing up and taking a seat next to his son, with his mother on the other side as they sat together, watching the fire.

"Son...you know the different stories of things going bump at night?..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Demitri walked down the halls in full Marine Corps uniform, having finished the yearly Marine Corps Ball, he smiled as he passed his fellow enlisted and officers, taking off his cap, the man smiled as he looked at the night sky. So crisp and clear, seems so surreal to be back in the states after being overseas for so long. His personal space though was taken away when his father showed from the shadows with a man covered in a dark blue cape around his body, his hood covered his eyes and most of his facial features, a person Demitri has never seen before. But, unlike Demitri, the cloaked figure has been watching and protecting the boy from harms way. Just in the shadows of the night along with his fellow operatives.

"I'm so proud to have you safe and back" Pavlos went over to hug his child, who returned the affection by his father.

"Thanks Dad, where's momma?" Demitri questioned.

"She's where we're going now. It's time my boy" Pavlos smiled and laughed patting his son roughly on the shoulder. Demitri was puzzled until the cloaked man stepped towards the two, then, it suddenly turned pitch black. Within seconds, they were in the middle of a thriving base, soldiers of different ages and sexes roamed the facility, but their military emblem was something Demitri has never seen before.

"Dad, where are we?"

"Welcome to the Human Defense Force my boy! Happy 24th Birthday!!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Demitri filed some paperwork in his quarters, his usual busy task at the end of a long work day, some of his body already earned scars from battles with the undead and monsters of the night alike, his recent scar on his chest, large and diagonal to his body. It burned and throbbed in pain, but the man was just happy to be alive and able to complete his mission with the rest of the squad. Demitri peered at his watch and cursed to himself.

"****, I'm late. What a way to join a new team" The man rushed from his seat to his door, making it to the hallway the man dashed as fast as he could, securing his key card and tucking in his undershirt as he passed fellow operatives in the hall. Finally making it to his destination, the doors slid to the side as everyone peered at the large man, there was a girl facing all of them as they stood at attention in front of her, two other people who looked younger than Demitri. The girl with long lair turned to the man, looking up at the massive giant, but not feeling scared or intimidated like everyone else usually has.

"YOURE LATE!" She roared, placing her hands on her hips as her gaze grew more vicious, Demitri on chuckled a little bit as he stood at attention as well.

"Apologies, paperwork kept me" Demitri continued his gaze on this young girl, what balls she had to yell at the newly appointed Commandant's son like this. But, that was to be kept a family secret as they all agreed upon since Demitri's grandfather was now the High Counsel leader, another promotion in the same year for his family.

"I don't accept apologies, you may be a decorated soldier, but I wont have slacking in my unit. Understood?" The girl sure was a fire cracker, Demitri closed his eyes to roll them without her noticing. "And don't roll your eyes at me" The comment brought the man to snap open his eyes in surprise, but he smiled as played it off. "My name is Ali Talon, your new Team Leader, so get use to it muscles..."

"Demmy" Demitri interrupted, making the girl turn to her side as she talked away, dismissing the group. "Bark bark to you too" The smallest girl in the room giggled a little before turning her head towards the man.

"I'm Calypso, but people call me Pocket. This is Jeff, he's not much of a talker but..." Jeff, who stood next to the girl, grunted before leaving the room as well, making the small girl frown a little. Demitri smiled as he replied back.

"Name is Demitri, you can call me Demmy if you'd like...."

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Demitri Athens, 30 years of age......

"What are you doing here already?"

"I was going through some old files. You look like ****, whats going on?

"I hear we have a mission, I haven't had one in a while."

"Speak for yourself"

"Why is it you call Calypso by her nickname and not me?"

"Because personally, I like you real name better than your nickname"

"Jeff, I'm not asking you to take the pistol, I'm telling you to take the damn pistol. I don't want any of those things getting close to us."

"Well now. This is the infamous HDF. Interesting indeed."

"Jeff, take the damn shot!"

"ALI!!!!!!!!"

"Damn, your a SIREN!!!!"

"You were careless, how could you have let your guard down for such a low level threat creature like that?"

"SCATTER NOW!!!"

"I don't know Hank, we were compromised..."

"Are you feeding me now too?......Yeah, it grazed my spine"

"Demitri....wake up! You're safe and sound at home with me...us."

"Don't be so childish Pocket"

"We...we were all scared, then some man appeared and was talking all crazy and what not. Saying some squad was on the way to eliminate everything that moved, but for some reason...he let us go without warning. It was like he wanted us to leave, he was scary looking and looked like he had no soul, and he was commanding th-those things to kill our friends. We took the only option we could."

"COMMANDER! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS??"

"You're over stepping Talon..."

"Does anyone know about the boy who cried wolf?"......it gets better, here's the HDF version..."

"Wolf..."

"Get...off"

"This is the Warded Man. What is going on HQ?"

"We believe Sybille is following them...."

"So...Sybille is his name. I'll remember that punk"

"You mean he's vital to you..."

"Aye, indeed it is. I would have to draw every single rune I know for my power..."

"FOUND YOU!!!"

"He summoned the Gods..."

"HOW DARE YOU!! GUARDS, DETAIN DEMITRI ATHENS FOR INSUBORDINATION IMMEDIATELY"

"Yes sir, I am aware of what transpired when Ali was taken..."

"Demitri my boy, what's the matter? I'm sorry I'm harsh but honestly I'm surprised by your actions then...and now. What's going on son?"

"...cause he ordered me to stay "pure"..."

"Mortal, you have asked me so much with so few questions. The answer will only come with my return.."

"Don't you give in Alex, now without a fight...."

"T-that's my brother Jason!"

"I thought I heard whispers in here....you did chump!"

"We have Jason Talon in my team, our mystic is keeping his wolf transformation under control for now..."

"My name is Lily. This is my big brother Tank..."

"My name is Gene, where you you hiding at?"

"I love you Demitri...."

"I love you Alex....I want you to be part of my family, family, family....family...."

The words echoed over and over inside the man's head. Wave upon wave of memories for the past year forced itself out of the secured regions of Demitri's bent mind, the control finally released as the man shook in Alex's arms a little as she rocked his body with hers, Demitri could feel all of his rune powers fading him, the sketches and markings vanishing off his body like water evaporating into the air. The man scars on his body re-opening as he bleed while the woman he loved held onto him, wondering what caused his gashes and cuts to show as if he just got them all now.

"Demitri..." Ali cried as Jeff and Jason went to the two while the others held off Sybille, who had the Book of Set in his hands. He was not too pleased on his powers left his body, he couldn't even understand how it happened. Marcus was a bit shocked as well, but that would be a research project for another time. Demitri's body winced in pain as he groaned through his teeth, slowly opening his eyes, he sniffed and spoke softly in pain.

"Alex...I sure could use an orange right about now..." He smiled weakly as Jason scooped the damaged man onto his back, fully transformed into his wolf form, he had plenty of space and strength. Jason have a sad look to Ali as Jeff helped her stand, he realized now it wasn't Demitri acting brashly, he was being controlled. Ali only gave a slight nod to her brother when she met his gaze, finally on her feet again, they all turned their attention towards Sybille and Cloak. Fire raged in each members eyes as they faced their opponent and trapped friend.

"New assignment, apprehend Cloak..." Ali shouted, taking out one of her throwing knives she kept on her all the time, she was exhausted and fragile, but her rage gave her fighting spirit all the boosts it needed. Pocket projected her sniper rifle while Sasa aimed her gun towards Sybille. Jeff cracked his knuckles as Tank ordered Lily to move to safety, which she did without question. Marcus' runes lit to their full intensity as Gene enclosed his body in a sleek layer of ice, every part except for his head, blood on his shirt from checking on his deceased friend tempest. Jason growled and stood ready, surprisingly, Demitri held one eye open as his hanging arm on Jason's side gathered wind, the giant was losing blood fast, but this was more important. His family, his friends, his loved one...and his unborn child.

"What about Sybille?" Sasa asked, but they all knew the answer, it was game over for the monster as he laughed at their stances.

"Hold on tight boys and girls, this is gonna hurt" Demitri whispered, Jason being the only one who heard, smiled at the comment.

(That's the old man I know) The wolf howled in excitement.

OOC: MAN THAT TOOK FOREVER!! Sorry for the delay, but lets get this going!

[K.G]

Whoop, I'm barrowing my mother in laws laptop so I can get some stuff for the ARMY done, but I'll be keeping track of this as well. ^^ Hopefully I'll internet back soon. Hopefully




Ali looked back at Demetri, his blood covered his skin and Jason's fur, she was surprised her brother had even come along. She looked back up at Sybille and Cloak, her eyes narrowing in on Cloak.
"So, you were a part of this from the very start?"
He didn't answer her but looked back at Sybille who nodded at the man, he vanished in a wave of black mist and Ali felt every hair on her skin stand on end, goosebumps raiseing on her skin.
"Aelx!"
She turned towards Marcus' voice but was thrown back towards Sybille as Cloak appeared beside her and threw her, she grunted as Sybille caught her, his face contorted into a nasty frown as he looked down at her.
"I have no idea what you've done, but you managed to save him, at the cost of your own life. I will have my power, one way of another."
She felt a scream erupt from her throat as Sybille sent a powerful blast of wind into her back, her name echoing as the members of her team called out for her. Falling to the ground her vision swam as she looked towards the others, Sybille's voice echoing above her.
"Roger, get rid of them while I do what needs to be done, you'll get your reward in due time."
The man nodded and faced the team, Marcus roared in anger as his runes flared brightly, the mystic could feel rage flood his system as Sybille apprached his lover on the ground, he could see blood seeping through her shirt from the blast he had sent into her back and she was getting pale. Behind his rage he worried, worried for her and for the child she carried.
"Sybille! You touch her and I swear to every god I know you'll regret it!"
Sybille only laughed as he grabbed Ali and hauled her to his feet, a clean dagger gleaming in his hand as he held it to her throat, his laugh dieing down to a chuckle.
"My, how visious you've gotten Marcus, all for a woman, I think you would grieve more if this one were to die than the last. How many night have you spent with her?"
Demetri looked between Ali and Marcus confused at first, but as Sybille's words sank it, he realized what the man was talking about, he looked at Marcus' glowing back, his voice was weak as he looked between the woman he loved and the marked man. His face falling into a painful expression. Ali struggled as much as she could, getting another dagger into her hand she threw it back and drove it into Sybille's leg causing him to curse and throw her down the stone steps, the hard surface striking her skin, and she screamed as she felt her shoulder come out of place and her leg bend at an unnatrual angle. Landing on the ground she listened to her own harsh breathing, her ears ringing in her head, her vision swam more as she lay there, pain radiating through her body as Marcus rushed forward and wrapped his arms around her gently, his forehead brushing against her's.
"Ali, are you alright?"
She nodded weakly gasping as pain exploded behind her eyes making her cling to him, she gritted her teeth trying to hold the scream back until it bellowed forth causing Marcus to jump slightly and look at her worriedly, his gaze shifted to Sybille as she wirthed in his arms.
"What are you doing to her?!"
Sybille's laugh echoed through the clearing as he strode down the stairs slowly, his large grin on his face.
"Be it her, or the child she carries, I will have a sacrafice."
Marcus let loose a growl from deep within his throat but looked over his shoulder as a wind blast came from Demetri, the man striding forward, healed and on a war path, Madam Touch and Commandant Sheild standing a little way behind them with Lily and another young girl that Marcus recognized as the new trasport operative, her name slipped his mind, she looked terrified as she cowered behind the two adults, her frame shaking. Ali looked up as Demetri looked down at her and Marcus.
"I think it's obvious that the three of us need to have a conversation, but that's for later. Right now, protect her I have some payback to deal to this bastard."
Marcus nodded as Ali buried her face in his chest as she clung to his robe, he could feel her tears strike his skin, whether they were because of the pain she was in, or because of the situation they had found themselves in he couldn't tell. Standing he handed the woman to Jason who growled as he sniffed her, his large wet nose touching her cheek as he whined, without care Marcus bent forward and gave her a short kiss, which she returned weakly.
"We'll be back."
With that she watched as he threw the robe from her body, his runes glaring against the dark as he walked forward with Demetri, both ready to end the monster and go back home.

[Darth Vectis]

Marcus had seen things go differently in his mind, he had hoped he could remain calm and collected when they had finally found them. He had hoped he could keep it together long enough to put an end to Sybille and this mad dash for power, he knew the ritual Sybille was attempting. He had almost tried it himself once, but once he had discovered the secret to making it work, he had destroyed anything he could find for the ritual. The only thing he couldn't have destroyed was the Book of Set, the tomb itself had been marked and enchanted against age and against deliberate damage, giving it toe HDF was all he could do with it. The only other source of detailed knowledge for the ritual was Marcus himself, and Sybille had wanted to know it from him. At first, Marcus had flat out rejected him, telling him to leave the subject alone and to not bring up the ritual. Time had passed then, Sybille had waited months before broaching the subject, Marcus rejecting him again this time a little more hesitantly.

Sybille took it a step further then, asking Marcus if he could teach him runes, how to draw them and how to make them work. Marcus didn't mind this so much, originally he only taught him simple runes. Ones that effect things to a very minor degree, things that wouldn't mean much to other people. After months more, Marcus got more complicated with the runes, showing him ones that not only affected objects and the elements, but ones that could affect people as well. Sybille seemed intent on those lessons, Marcus had hardly noticed as he taught him the runes. He kept going with the lessons, knowing Sybille wouldn't be able to use most of the symbols without access to his magically infused blood or another magic user to control them. Masan had come into his life at that time, his time with Sybille had lessened significantly, so he fit as much as he could into those short lessons. The runes became more complicated, the specific order they needed to be in added a level of complexity that few understood. Sybille learned them all quickly, much to Marcus' surprise, he thought of Sybille as his apprentice at this time, friends in the fact he could share knowledge with him that he couldn't even properly describe to Masan without having to explain everything from the beginning. Marcus taught him everything he felt comfortable teaching him, most things he kept to himself due to it being family secrets, runes and techniques his family had developed along with objects that helped their powers.

After Marcus had finished the lesson one night, Sybille had asked again, asking about the Ritual of Set. Marcus had hesitated when he asked about it, thinking no harm would come of it at this point. All of the knowledge he had was practically useless to him, the right energy was out of his grasp. He explained to him the ritual then, telling him all of the painstaking details it took to perform it correctly, explain how he first need the assistance of a god, giving the blood sacrifice to Set before moving on to the ritual itself. Every nuance that went into the actual ritual, save for one last part he had refused anyone to know, and that small detail would come back to haunt him. After Ghost Echo had been together for little over a year, Sybille struck, he had tried to skip the god, drawing out the runes needed for the ritual and he knew what he needed then without the gods intervention. Marcus recalled that night all to clearly, the distress call that they had all received, they had arrive to their destination, the place no longer matter to Marcus, it was only what had happened that day that he cared about anymore.

They had received a message telling them Sybille had disappeared, his last known location was the ancient ruins. He didn't remember where, he remembered Cloak taking them, the black mist enveloping them and dropping them off instantly, Coltaine and Yedan had been the first to move, they were the most battle ready of them all, Fiddler had pulled up the rear as he carried his signature crossbow he had built himself. Yan Tovis had her MP5 on her, she had moved ahead of Marcus and Masan at that time, They pulled up the rear of the group, Marcus' tattooed hands were exposed to the world, his chest showed under his robe but his face was unmarked, his arms and legs as well. He had only needed his feet, hands and chest covered to do what he needed. Masan was holding long knives in her hands, her face cold as they all moved quietly through the ruins. They had come across and intersection, Yan and Yedan went one way, Coltaine and Fiddler another. Masan and Marcus had taken the last way, treading carefully they suddenly started when they heard a scream, clearly feminine, meaning something was happening with Yan and Yedan. They turn and ran back the way they came to where they had taken their turn, coming across a pool of blood that trailed off in a direction, Marcus wondered where Coltaine and Fiddler had gone off to. Marcus and Masan followed the blood, they soon found Yedan's body, the sword he carried had been driven through his chest up to the hilt.

This had baffled them at the time, Yedan never gave up his sword to anyone. The fact someone had killed him with it was practically impossible in his mind. They kept moving, Yan was nowhere near by and they needed to find her. They no longer walked, running through the stone structure at full speed before they came across another body, Fiddler was high of the ground, pinned to the wall with bolts through his chest and limbs, Masan was horrified at seeing the bodies. Marcus had initially been disgusted with the brutality of it, but his mind started to see a pattern now. Yedan was the weapons master of their group, his name The Watch was not just his call name, but his title given to him at birth, it symbolized his role in the group, ever vigilant. Fiddler had been the musician and the sapper, his father had been a mason, their positions had been precise in this maze. Marcus anger was growing with every new piece of this twisted puzzle, they found Yan barely alive, three knives had been rammed into her chest, two through her lungs and the last in her stomach. She had tried to talk, blood had filled her throat as she laid on the ground dying, Masan had embraed her until she passed on, weeping for the youngest member of their team. When she lifted her body Marcus saw it, a rune engraved into the stone that was freshly made. He touched it, feeling a surge or life coming from it as Yan's blood touched it. He rose, he felt betrayal in his heart, rage coursing through his veins as he and Masan ran on. The finally came to a clearing, pillars stood tall in a circle where an X shaped structure was raised, Coltaine was strapped to it. His chest was carved up, his arms and legs sliced and chunks of flesh were missing from his limbs, all while he was still alive, that hard loon still in his eyes even when he was dying slowly.

"Marcus...Masan... run." He gruffly spoke to them, his head hanging as his body tried to go slack, his body getting heavy but secured tightly to his dead bed. His blood pooled all around the foundation his the X, Masan approached him, Marcus trying to understand why he would do this. Why he was killing everyone he had come to know as his family. His question was answered when he saw Sybille appear, a gleaming knife in his hand that Masan hadn't seen until he was already on her. Marcus watched in horror as the knife passed through her tender flesh, into her stomach, a sadistic smile on Sybille's face as he pulled away. Marcus rushing forward to her, lifting her back up on to his lap, his mind no longer caring about Sybille and his sick ambition. His thoughts only of her, seeing where the blade had entered broke his heart even more, he started to tremble as he realized his family was going to die here. He looked up at Sybille with hatred in his eyes.

"Why do this? Why us Sybille?! We were your family, we would have died for you!" He just smiled at him as he gripped the knife in his hand.

"Why do I need family, when I can be a god?"

"Why bring us here then? You could have done this ritual anywhere!" Sybille shook his head.

"No, it needed to be here. I needed to draw you all out, and now I need your blood to finish it!" Sybille lashed out with the blade, Marcus ready to welcome the death when they heard a noise from above. Sybille looked up and his eyes opened wide, a flock of crows had gathered over the ruins, a group so massive that it was impossible to count how many were there. Marcus stared at the crows as well, remembering something Cotlaine had said to him once while they were on reconnaissance. He had told him about an 'enchantment' a town seer had put on him for saving their village from an attack. They had been some backwater place that almost know knew of, the seer had said she would protect his soul by giving him the chance to be reborn again. He had scoffed at it then, but after that day, he noticed crows followed him everywhere from that day on. Today was the final day they would follow him, the flock of crows suddenly swooped down, their cries echoed in the ruins as the horde slammed right into Coltaine, the crows passing by him and in second the X that held Coltaine was empty, his body completely gone. Sybille stared in disbelief and twisted anger as he prepared to turn and end Marcus life. By then, it was too late for Sybille, Marcus already risen and stealing the blade away before lashing out with it, cutting Sybille across his chest. He vanished into the ruins, Marcus ready to pursue when he heard Masan coughing. He had dropped the knife, knelling at her side as he held her in his arms.

"Marcus.....please don't let this ruin who you are....... remember my love." Marcus cried that night, whispering to her of everything that she meant to him. Staying with her until she finally faded into the abyss, into a darkness Marcus couldn't follow until he finished what was started here tonight. He made a promise to himself then, a promise to end Sybille's life, and every ambition he ever had. That memory burned brightly for Marcus now, his whole body glowing with the intensity of all the rage and anger he could muster. The thoughts of anything else but killing Sybille were far from his mind, Ali being the only thing to break that idea, until her current condition kept his rage at peak. They came to the stairs Sybille had descended, seeing how it spiraled into the earth, leaving a large O in the middle. Marcus looked to Demetri momentarily, their eyes meeting. He could see the cold rage in his for Sybille, he could also see a hint of hurt in those eyes. He could only imagine what he was going through, being the mad mans puppet for months, all while his love had been falling into the arms of the marked man. If he only knew about what they had done while together, while he was gone form their worlds when they embraced. The thought pleasing to Marcus about how they held each other, but encroached upon his own sanity, Sybille's words echoing in his mind momentarily.

"You would know mystic. I followed in your footsteps. After all I did look up to you all those years ago. Now, watch as your world falls apart yet again."

Marcus turned back to the stairs and stepped off the edge, plummeting down the middle until the ground met him. He slammed into it with such force as to create and impression in the ground. Demetri followed, able to slow his decent as he landed beside Marcus. He looked to Demetri again, gesturing with his head the direction they need to go. They stood shoulder to shoulder as they walked onward. Hunting Sybille now with an prejudice in their hearts.

"Lets make this quick Marcus." He remained silent as he walked, his thoughts far from showing that kind of mercy to Sybille, he didn't show it to any of them. They came into a room where the light from the moon showed in, a massive opening the source of the light as they stood looking around for him. He was on top of them in moments, both of his feet in mid air as he crashed into Marcus chest. The runes saving him from sever damage, but not from the force of the push, sending him back until he smashed into a wall. Demetri lashing out with violent wind blasts that spun Sybille around but didn't cause any visible damage. He was on Demetri in moments, two kurki blades in his hands as he lashed out at the giant with inhuman speed. Demetri dodging as best he could, one blade catching him on his shoulder on his return trip, Demetri reacting with a wind shield to separate them momentarily. Marcus charge him then, whispering words of old as his hands lashing out, Sybille suddenly being hit by invisible forces that stunned him for only a few seconds, giving Demetri the time to throw a charge wind blast at him, the force devastating as it launched Sybille through the air, Marcus rushing to where he was going to land to deal more damage. Sybille's landing was more graceful then he expected, a fist sped toward Sybille who managed to dodge it. Sybille took advantage of the dodge, Marcus started to whisper words of power when he was struck in the face. The impact causing his head to whip back before a fist hit him in his stomach, doubling him over before another hit smashed into his back, sending him to the ground with another kick to his chest, sliding him across the ground.

Marcus coughed, tasting a metallic flavor on his tongue he spit out the blood filling his mouth as he was on his hands an knees. He heard Demetri grunting as he fought Sybille alone, doing his best to blast the man away but finding the results less the desirable. Marcus mind started to fill with panic, Sybille was too fast, he could stop Marcus words before spoken, Demetri's power had little effect since Sybille controlled it. He saw now, that neither of them were fast enough or strong enough for this. He tried to rise, finding he could only get on his knees before falling back on to his hands. His runes started to fade with his lack of concentration, until he heard a whisper in his mind, one he thought was impossible to hear.

Marcus, you can do it. He can't win this fight. Marcus shook himself as he tried to suppress the words, he failed as the words entered his mind again.

Just listen to me, listen to these final words and know what you can do Marcus. The words began to filter into his mind, his mouth whispering them as they came, vanishing once he spoke the words. He could feel something, something deep inside of him began to change, he suddenly heard thoughts and feelings he hadn't heard or felt before. He felt another person's mind in his own, the recognition of who it was startled him as he inhaled sharply. He looked up momentarily to see Sybille use a Kiurki knife to cut it across Demetri's chest. He roared in pain before both of the giants massive fists plunged towards Sybilles body, the force of a hurricane behind them as the smashed into Sybille and sent him bouncing across the ground, Demetri breathing heavily as he stumbled slightly trying to remain standing. Marcus heard her voice now, Masan speaking into his mind.

Marcus, I give up my last ounce of life for you, as I always would. Please find peace after this, my love. My Koibito.

"No Masan!" Marcus yelled out loud, his body suddenly tingled, the tingle quickly becoming a sensation as if lighting was now coursing through his body. His body twitched and ached now, he grunted as the pain became great and then he could feel his body become lighter. The blood in his mouth gone as it healed, looking at the runes on his body, he could see them waver, as if starting to move. He rose from his place on the ground, feeling alive, feeling as if his body and mind were free now. The words for a rune appeared in his mind as he readied to speak it, just holding out his hands the power struck Sybille making him lose his breath. Demetri taking the Que to strike Sybille as hard as possible, Sybille tumbled away, coughing as he stood shaken. Marcus felt his energy course through his body, the rage never coming close to this level. He understood now, Masan giving up her soul for him to grow. She died for him again, this time, her sacrifice would not be lost.

[K.G]

23 years ago, in a small town on the East Coast a baby girl was born, she weighed 8 pounds and 9 ounces with dark hair and chocolate brown eyes, but what made her so specail were here parents. She lay in her mother's arm, the woman she would grow to look exactly like, her father leaning over the woman's shoulder smiling. Exodus kissed his wife's cheek lightly as their son shuffled forward. The large man picked the boy up and showed him his little sister, his deep bass like voice rumbling in his chest and vibrating through the little boy making him smile.
"This is Alex, your younger sister. Jason I want you to protect her, no matter what. Can you do that for your mother and I?"
The little boy nodded and reached down smiling as the child in his mother's arms wrapped her plump little fist around his tiny finger and gave him a toothless grin that made him giggle...
------

Ali sat in a corner, her knees tucked to her chest as Jason had his arms wrapped around her trying to hush her sobs and comfort his sister. The news of their parents death hitting them hard, just a week before they had been in their home playing on the floor with their father. His large frame pinning them down to the carpeted floor gently as he wrestled with the young children. His booming laugh echoing as their mother shook her head as she cooked dinner. Exodus holding Jason up by an ankel as Ali clung to his leg. Cliar shook her head as she looked back at her husband and children.
"Go was your hands kids, time for dinner."
They smiled and rushed to the bathroom as the man walked over and embraced his wife with a gentle smile before blinking rapidly and looking down his nose becoming cross eyed as she pointed at him with a slight frown.
"I don't think so Exodus Talon. You need to wash your hands as well."
He gave her a puppy dog look which only made her scowl, sighing he slumped his shoulders and trudged to the bathroom, hearing the kids giggle as their father joined them for washing his hands and a small water fight between the three of them they sat down to eat.
They would never know that feeling of family again, they would never be abel to hear thier parents laughter or feel their embrace, the mission they had been sent on having taken their life. Jason frowned as Hank gave them false compassion.
"We don't want your bull! We can do just fine on our own!"
He had grabbed her hand and drug her down the hall back to their home.
---------------------

Rocking on the bed she held her hands over her ears, her eyes watering as she tried to block out the noise, she screamed quietly as it blared for a moment before becoming soft again. It had been going on like this all day, getting worse little by little. the 16 year old not sure what was going on. She looked up as her brother walked in, seeing her he rushed over, dropping his gear as he knealt beside her.
"Ali, what's wrong? Talk to me?"
"They won't stop...the voices...they won't go away..."
He looked around before cursing and running over to his belt, yanking off his phone he flipped it open and waited, he spoke into it swiftly, quietly and watched his sister as she rocked back and forth on her bed.
"Madam Touch, I don't know what's wrong with her."
The smooth voice coming from the other side of the line calm and soothing.
"I'll be there shortly, try to keep her calm."
He hung up the phone and walked back to his sister, holding her and waiting for the woman to show, moments later the door slid open and she walked in, her raven clolored hair shineing in the light as she glided over to Ali. Kneeling down she put her hand to the young girls forehead and nodded almost instatly.
"Her powers are developing. She is going to be a very powerful mentalist. What kind of mental power...I can not say. Give her time, she'll push through."
Jason nodded and watched the woman go, turning back to his sister as she sobbed.
-------------------

"That bastard! That's really why he was chaseing you around?"
18 year old Ali shook her head, wiping silent tears from her face.
"It's no big deal Jason. Really."
"You've been dating the guy for how long now?"
"Almost 2 years..."
"And all he wanted was to get into your pants. Your sure?"
She tapped the side of her head as another silent tear slid down her cheek.
"I can read his emotions remember? I'm positive."
He growled low in his throat and she saw the sparks faly up and down his arm as his anger flared.
"I'll kill that son of a-"
"No, it's alright. It'll teach me to try and get close to any one. It won't happen again."
"Alex, c'mon now, that's not what I meant..."
She shook her head and he could see her eyes begin to dull slightly, hardening her self up already from the world outside.
"It's fine. It'll save me alot of pain this way. I don't ever want to feel this way again."
"Ali, don't lose yourself because of this moron...please?"
"I refuse to get hurt again Jason. I won't do it. Never again."
Jason sighed, from than on his sister barely laughed and she began to get very work orianted.
-------------------
5 Years later....

Ali threw the chair acorss the table and kicked the vase from the end table as Hank stood in a corner watching the mayhem.
"You! You sent him there! Why?! Is it not enough you have to stip me of my parents but now my brother?!"
"Talon, I merely sent him on a mission. If he perished it was his own stupidity."
Ali felt rage bubble under the surface as she felt the man's complete lack of concern for her brother's death. She spun around and connected her foot with another vase and sent if flying at the man, he shook his head and raised a large piece of earth blocking the cermaic pottery.
"Talon, you need to settle down."
"Like hell! Why are you so intent on destroying my family?!"
She looked at him, seething and began to stalk towards him only to fall to the floor screaming in agony, a tall, thin man stepping forward. Hank held up his hand.
"Be at ease Anthony, I think she gets the idea."
Ali lay on the floor, tears flowing from her eyes, confused and in pain she didn't try to fight back anymore as she succumbed to her grief. Hank walked forward and put his hand on her head shushing her gently.
"Easy now Talon, I have much more for you to do. There's no point in you wasting your life. If I were you I would harden my self. Don't get close to anyone, you'll only lead to their death."
She sobbed and curled in on herself as the two men left her room, from than on, she would never be the same.
--------------------------
1 Year Ago.....

Ali stood in front of the young man and woman, her temper riseing as she looked at her watch again, turning as the door slid open and a large framed man walked in, he was handsome, but she had more important things on her mind.
"YOUR LATE!"
"Apologies, paperwork kept me"
"I don't accept apologies, you may be a decorated soldier, but I wont have slacking in my unit. Understood?"
She could feel the urge from him to roll his eyes and clentched her fists.
"And don't roll your eyes at me" The comment brought the man to snap open his eyes in surprise, but he smiled as played it off. "My name is Ali Talon, your new Team Leader, so get use to it muscles..."
"Demmy"
Ali looked back at him, taking in his features again, but shaking her head as she dismissed them and walked away. His small grin flashing through her mind as she walked, shaking her head she frowned at her self and instantly walked to the training room putting her self through a level 10 training session. Sweat dripped from her body as she fell to her knees on the pads, her breathing harsh as his face swam in her mind, shaking her head she screamed and slammed her leg into the sand bag busting it and spilling sand onto the floor, her voice low as she spoke to her self.
"I refuse...I won't open my self again."
-----------------
His markings were strange to her, covering his entire body, he was an enigma and she watched him carefully, her emotions slowly emerging with the help of Demetri. He was an enigma and she was curious about him. She watched as the marks on his body began to glow, feeling bits and pieces of emotions coming from the man. It wasn't long til he placed a marking like his own on her wrist and sooner than she thought she connected to the man.
-----------------------
Ali looked at her team, her brother's fur brushing her skin as she watched the two men drop down and begin their search for Sybille.
"Jason, put me down."
"Your insane, you're not going to find them"
She shook her head and slammed her elbow into his chest making him groan and drop her, she winced as she landed on her injured leg, she limped forward, stopping as a green glow began to surround her, followed by a gasp. Sheild was by his wife's side instantly.
"What is it Touch? What's the matter?"
"Stop her...Stop her!"
They all watched as Ali turned to face them and smiled sadly before dropping down into the hole in the earth, landing she winced again, her arm and leg still sore, standing she followed the noises of battle towards the two men she loved and the one she wanted dead more than anything.

[Shwa]

Demitri huffed air quickly into his lungs, the gash from Sybille’s blade went deeper into the man than eh originally thought, coughing up blood from their fight, the soldier sunk to one knee to regain some energy. Marcus seemed ready to take on his duties, to finish whatever debt he had with this mad man, both glaring at one another, Sybille with victory on his mind, Marcus with revenge for all the things the man has put him, and his new allies through. He was esponsible for so much death,m destruction and chaos in the mystics world, using Demitri to kill Blues, his only friend left from years passed by was now dead at the hands of Sybille’s dirty work of using others. Still, he hated Demitri still for knowing it was him alone, at least his body, that dealt the killing blow to his friend. The swords left behind for his memory, wishing Blues was more direct about his final words, it fueled the mystic to no bounds to finish off the twisted man. Demitri finally gathered the strength to stand as he clenched both of his fists, Sybille glanced over at the giant, still wearing his sick smile he donned many a times they’ve met in person. It brought hatred to the giant as he spat blood to his side before cleaning the smere on his lips.

“This isn’t over, not by a long shot Sybille” Demitri dashed towards the man, Sybille was surprised he had any fight in him still, but it dind’t damper the mans phesad as we welcomed the futile effort to stop his master plans. Demitri was a raging bull, pumping his legs to speed his body into full momentum as he came closer and closer to Sybille, before they could reach arms distance, the soldier flipped over the mans body, turning his torso to face the confused enemy as Demitri roundhoused kicked the man. Sybille grunted as he spun several times, only to land on his feet once again.

“Fooling Wind Wizard, you think I will not heal from physical dama….” Sybille was cut off when a stone fist extended from the wall behind Marcus, trailing like a snake in the air until it collided with his body. Marcus whispered a couple of spells while Demitri made his dash, the stone fist carried Sybille into the air and turned downwards, colliding his body to the ground. The impact was enough to shake both Demitri and Marcus, but both men held their ground as the tremors stopped.

“You obviously suck at teamwork punk” Demitri smiled, he knew the fight was far from over, but they had an advantage over the man, a slight one at that, but it was enough to deal as much damage as they could. Their main objective was the get the book away from his grasp. Marcus began to chant another spell, but a stone collum rose from beheath the mystic, striking him in the stomach, much like hanks attack in the ballroom. Marcus grunted as he was sent into the air, blood leaving his lips as he floated for a moment, Demitri made a dash to come underneath his ally and catch him, but he was shot with flash of lightning that rose from the ground, sending him sliding and rolling as the giant shook in pain. Sybille’s laugh filled the room as the stone that held him exploded, the twisted being walked out casually as he appeared in the light once again.

“Now now, that’s no way to insult someone. After all, I will be one of many Gods you will bow down to, if I let you live that is” Laughing once again as he blasted Demitri again with a shot of lightning, stronger this time as it sent the to the wall. The giant bounced hard off the wall as he landed face first, the same time, Marcus finally landed on the ground as he too skidded before stopping. The mystic groaned in pain, he could tell something broke inside of his body, the swelling presented itself quickly as Marcus held his side. Stinging pain coursed through that area, it was getting tougher to move as the man stood slowly, shaking and almost falling right back down. Demitri stopped his convulsing as he groaned, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as he thought about their current situation. They were indeed in a losing battle, even if they had all their members facing off against the man, it would do the group no different. One by one, they would have fallen like Demitri and Marcus have already. Demitrit thought about all his wrongs he’s done in the past, a sense of guilt washed over the man as he remembered promises he’s made to Ali: Never to harm her, to always love her, to make her part of her family…but it seemed like it wouldn’t happen if Sybille got his way. To all who were involved with the case, it seemed like dark times were about to come to fruition.

“Marcus…” Demitri gasped as he focused his vision, everything was a blur, blinking didn’t seem to change anything, it slowly dazed or went away, leaving the man to whine as he sat up slowly, ringing in his ears made it hard to focus. The mystic finally rose to his feet, hunching over as he stared at Sybille who slowly made his way towards Demitri. “Is that really my child she’s carrying?....have you two been together while I was not myself?” The truth was the only thing the man wanted at his point, if it was going to be his time to die, he would rather know every. But no matter what, he would always love Ali, and always will till his dieing breath. Marcus narrowed his eyes, his actions were just as shameful and greedy when the situation arose itself, but he owed it that much to his ally to tell the truth.

“Yes and yes he mated with your loved one Wind Wizard” Sybille interrupted before Marcus could speak, standing over the giant on the ground as he conjured a ball of lightning in his palm. Demitri could see the stare Sybille gave to him as he looked down upon the giant, the light from the energy ball flickered wildly as if it were a strobe light. But Demitri could only concentrate on the truth. The love he felt for Ali was more than he’s had for anyone else, not admitting to her that she wa his first love, and his ideas of her being there forever entrapped the man in a happy dream that he would hope would last forever. The pain she went through losing her memories, the suffering he felt not having her scent, her body or her voice close by, the mental connection they’ve made over the time period. The sheer pleasure of havnig her to himself while they relaxed on the island, over and over they made love and it was as if the heavens themselves approved of their match. The pain he put her through when he was a slave to a mad man, the physical and mental worry he’s dealt when the giants mind was not his own…there was no way to every take any of those pains back. But, Demitri knew that he still loved her…and his promise to have a family with her seemed to be coming true, even during this moment of defeat at the hands of Sybille. Suddenly, his heart pumped loudly in the mans body, everything froze for a moment, time and space itself stopped as the giant heard a voice familiar to him. It was but a whisper, but loud enough for the giant to make out clearly in his ears:

“Help will come when you least expect it…”

Demitri was dumbfounded at the fact he couldn’t remember who it was from, or where he heard it from in the first place, but some strength slowly pumped into his veins as he felt time slowly come back to life, the light flickering from Sybille’s lightning ball flashed wildly once again.

“This is the end for you Wind Wizard” Sybille laughed as he raised his hand, prepared to bring the lightning blast down onto the soldier, forcing his arm down, he succeeded in his goal, the blast collided and brought up gravel and dirt. Marcus stood shocked, he couldn’t believe it came so quickly, Sybille used his own wind powers to clear the mist, but when the mist cleared, Demitri’s body was not on the ground in a bloody mess. “How can this be-“ Before the man could protest, Demitri appeared behind Sybille, locking his massive arms under Sybilles and arms and lacing his fingers behind the mans neck. Sybille squirmed as Demitri held tightly, feet planted as his eyes glowed white, shooting off small sparks of white lightning here and there as he held the mad man in his spot. The book of set dropped from Sybille's hands and down onto the floor below, the mad man cursed as he tried to free himself from the muscular mans headlock.


“I’m not dying by your hands punk” Demitri turned his body as the two faced Marcus, still stunned to see his ally alive, but now they had an opening. “Take the shot or I take you Marcus” Demitri roared as he could feel electricity from his enemy course through his body, the pain was breathtaking as the man wanted to scream in pain. But the giants eyes glowed brighter as white sparks of lightning increased in intensity, suddenly the pain went away with each second that passed. Sybille was amazed Demitri was still able to have a solid hold of the man, even when being shocked. Marcus whispered a spell, longer than the other ones a Sybille returned his gaze to the mystic, he knew what incantation he was speaking of as his eyes opened open in fear. There was a sudden noise that echoed in the room, all three men looked around for a moment before shuffling could be heard, it was coming closer and closer to their location. Sybille struggled, but Demitri held his place grappling the mad man.

[K.G]

Ali leaned on the wall trying to catch her breath, she couldn't tell how long she had been running, but her chest burned and the newly healed injuries throbbed with pain. She could hear the sounds of the fight getting closer, she knew she was going the right direction. Taking a deep breath she summoned more willpower and stood erect and began to run again. She had to get to them, she had to help them, if either of them were to die, she would die inside as well. She gasped as her weak, newly healed leg gave out on her and she hit the stone floor on one knee, she looked at her hand as it landing in something wet, her hand came off the floor red and she felt panic well inside of her at the sight of the blood. Unble to tell whose it was she pushed her self to her feet and began to run. Pushing her legs as hard as she could she rounded the corner to see Marcus kneeling on the ground, Demetri stood behind Sybille holding the man in a head lock, his eyes white and sparks of white lightning flashing across his skin. She sighed as both seemd to be in one piece if not worse for wear, but she felt her heart stop as black mist began to swirl around Sybille, feeling her stomach twist she ran forward and tackled Demetri to the floor as a large, wicked sword passed above their heads, catching the end of her hair and chopping almost half an inch off of it. Demetri wrapped his arms around the body that had collided with him, the scent making him freeze.
"Alex?"
She sat up slightly, still breathing heavily and looked at him, tears welling up in her eyes as his own turned hazel and stared back at her.
"I'm sorry! Please, forgive me...I'm so sorry..."
He blinked slightly before pulling her close and holding her tightly for a breif moment before he sat up, wincing at the pain from his wounds, looking down at her he frowned.
"What the hell are you doing down here?! Are you trying to get your self killed?"
"I-I couldn't let you do this alone!"
He stood slowly and looked down at her still sitting on the stone floor unable to stand, her legs far to weak. She felt her heart break as he looked between her and Marcus, frowning slightly.
"I just want the truth Ali, from you."
She nodded and opened her mouth but felt her voice leave her as she saw the black mist riseing from the floor around her, Demetri's eyes going wide as he reached for her, Marcus calling her name. She suddenly found herself being held above the ground, the cold feel of a dagger held to her stomach as a strong arm wrapped around her throat. Sybille walked forward in front of her and smiled.
"Go ahead little one, tell him the trust, this will be the last time you have to tell him how you truly feel. Tell him how you betrayed him."
She shook her head as her tears spilled down her cheeks, she met Demetri's eyes and choked on her breaths as the dagger knicked her skin causing a growl to come from Marcus as both men stood, breathing heavily. Sybille stroked a finger down her cheek, letting it slid down her neck and her chest to rest against the scar between her breasts caused by Demetri's wind blast.
"Tell him, my little sacrafical lamb. Let your final words break him."
She took a deep breath and bit her lip softly before speaking.
"I love you Demetri. I never stopped loving you. Yes...Marcus and I-We...we were together while you were gone, and I can say that I fell in love with him...but please...don't-don't blame him! Just don't think badly of him...we were both so lost...and I-I was so alone with out you..."
Demetri looked away from her, clearly hurt but her next words caused him to look back at her.
"But I never forgot you! There was never a day that went by that I didn't think about you! My love for you never lessened. The child I carry is proof of that, your child! OUR child!"
She glanced over at Marcus who was still kneeling on the stone floor, Sybille's crule laughter echoing in the stone halls.
"Yes, now you know the truth of her betrayl. Now my little lamb, what about my dear mentor? What do you have to say to him?"
She smiled, the soft, sweet smile she reserved for him glowing on her face making him inhale a sharp breath as he saw it.
"Thank you. You healed the tears in my heart. You kept me whole while I was torn in half. You saved me from my dispair and, no matter what happens. A piece of my heart will always belong to you. A part of me will always love you."
Both men watched in horror as Cloak threw the dagger to Sybille who smile wickedly and thrust the dagger forward, Marcus and Demetri calling out for the woman they loved but blinded as a bright flash of light flared through the small hall, Sybille's scream echoing around them. When the light dimmed the could see Ali laying on the ground unconsious, blood seeping from under her shirt, a large gash wrapping around her stomach, to high to hurt the child but deep enough to worry the men about blood loss. Sybille cursed as he looked at the hilt of the dagger in his hand, the blade gone. He looked at Cloak as he pulled another dagger from his boot and walked towrds Ali's prone form as Cloak strode forward getting between them.

Edited by Knuckles' Girl, 29 April 2011 - 02:28 AM.

[Lilt]

OOC: I'm borrowing your format, Mage and KG. It's just too good not to use. Also, it will help explain some things about Pocket too.

IC:

Pocket stored her Barret rifle back in her mind. There was no point in using a weapon that was so precise against a target that could move like Cloak. Pocket wanted to chase after Ali, she really did, but right now she had to deal with the teammate who had betrayed them all. She was never that close to Cloak, as she was with the others. But she did try to talk to him outside of his duties of transporting the team around. He had seemed like a nice guy. Pocket's rage burned though, when she realized that even then he was planning on betraying all of them for promises from Sybille. She now knew what weapon would be perfect for this job. Holding out her hand, a dark weapon appeared and she grabbed it. It would have been called a billhook, if it didn't have other blades coming out in strange places, like misshapen teeth. Before Pocket could get a chance to use it though, Cloak appeared in front of her, his hand grabbing her throat. His grip tightened as her mind went to other times...

18 years ago, in an apartment complex like any other. The happiest day in Calypso's life

"Caly, we're home!" Calypso's father called out happily.

Three year old Calypso found her way to the front door, her aunt following behind.

"Here you go, Caly. It's your new baby sister." Calypso's mom said, leaning down so her first born could see.

Calypso stared in amazement and joy. She had a sister. She had a sister!

10 Years later, a different apartment complex in both location and quality

Things hadn't gone very well for the Velius family. The father had lost job after job. And with now two daughters to feed, things were a lot harder than when they only had Calypso. This drove him to drink and bad mouth his youngest daughter. The same father who used to give her so many praises, since she was the youngest. Calypso couldn't stand to see this and since her mom wouldn't do or say anything, she had to stand up and protect her little sister. Her plan didn't accomplish much, but give her a portion of what her youngest sister had to put up with.

"Come on, you can play with any of my dolls okay?" Calypso said to her sister, bringing her into her room to try to comfort her.

It was then that she saw it. She pushed her sister's sleeve up.

"What's this?" She asked, already knowing the answer but not wanting to believe it.

"Did he...Did he hurt you?" Calypso asked, looking at the bruises.

Her younger sister only nodded as Calypso cried.

"I don't know when, but we're getting out of here." Calypso cried as she hugged her sister.

A few months later...

Calypso's plan to run away backfired. She was caught trying to wake up her sister to take her away. Her father guessed at what they were doing and hurt Calypso until she couldn't move. Her plan had come at a bad time. Certain neighbors and coworkers kept making mention that Calypso's mother was a witch. Her father tried to get it out of his wife what everyone was talking about, but she never would explain. He would just hit her too as she kept her silence.

A few days later, when Calypso was bruised but not sore anymore, her sister came running into her room with tears in her eyes. Her father followed after her angrily. Calypso recognized that look. Her younger sister was going to get the worst beating she had ever had. Calypso tried to reach out and hug her sister to herself to try to protect her, but what happened instead shocked and terrified Calypso. Her sister just vanished suddenly before her eyes. It seemed like a bad dream, but her father screaming 'witch' and beating her again and again reminded her that it was too real. Calypso slipped into unconsciousness.

When she awoke, her mother was nowhere to be found. Her father was the only one at the house, but Calypso wasn't sure. She didn't want to check though, since she could smell death. She threw up and ran out of that apartment complex, never to go back again. Her life would change now.

Several years later...

Calypso had lived on the streets, doing what she did best. Stealing. She found out that if she imagined it, she could take an item and make it disappear in an instant. What had surprised her the most though, was that she could later bring back that same item. This was very helpful for her survival. She had one friend, named Bion who was her partner in crime. She never told him about how she was able to steal so well. She also never really got a chance to tell him her real name. He just called her Pickpocket but soon, Pocket for short. She always laughed at that name. She always wanted to tell him how appropriate it was.

One day though, Pocket was caught. She thought it was by the police, but it was someone else. A man who said he knew about her powers. She thought it was a bluff, but he gave her a convincing demonstration to prove he wasn't bluffing. She stopped playing dumb and gave an example of her power in return. He seemed interested and told her that he had a place she could stay. It wasn't the police and it was better than being homeless, so she accepted. She never got a chance to say goodbye to Bion though.

A few months later, location:

Spoiler

CLASSIFIED

Pocket, in her new home, seemed like a completely different person from who she was in the past. She smiled a lot more and actually laughed after all of those years. She opened up quickly to everyone who helped her train or trained with her. Superior officer and subordinate, she was friendly to all of them. (Well, not to the subordinates, but only because she was still a new member to the team and didn't have anyone under her.)
She was now a part of Team Alpha.

Some years later, Egypt...

Pocket thought this was going to be an easy mission. Just go and find a city that wasn't there. Not be able to find it, since it didn't exist and then head back home. However, like all of their missions had been after meeting Sybille, it was much more than she expected it to be. Both bad and good. As for the good though, she met one of the newer members of their team. Someone that would later be very helpful to her and a part of her Alpha family. The Marked Man, Marcus.

Several months later, location: another dimension or a dream?

Pocket's words had brought both Calypso and Marcus inside of the tower, where Pocket hugged the Body and cried. Calypso stopped her fight against Marcus and fell on her knees and echoed Pocket's tears. Soon, Marcus had watched as all three of Pocket's entities had come together. The next time his eyes saw Pocket, it was in the real world. She had woken up as well, her hair color permanently changed from the experience. She didn't know until he had pointed it out to her. She checked a mirror and said:

"Cool."

She turned around when she heard Marcus calling her by her nickname. She shook her head and smiled.

"I know that nickname has stuck and I wouldn't trade it for anything, but feel free to call me Calypso from time to time okay?"

Present time...

Pocket fought against Cloak's grip on her, trying to concentrate. However, it felt like years that he had had his hands around her throat. The other members of the group, that weren't tied up with fighting Sybille or going to help Ali, ran towards Pocket or Cloak. They seemed to run in slow motion though and Pocket knew that she would die before they got to her and Cloak would just vanish again. She had to do something.

"Goodbye, Pocket." Cloak said, smiling and eager to break her neck.

His words though, brought anger and concentration back to her. Just enough for her to summon a bladelet close to where his hands had been. Cloak jumped back in time to not sustain any injuries as Pocket put on her bladelet.

"My name is Calypso!" Pocket yelled, angrily.

She was ready for battle, but Cloak vanished. Probably to help Sybille. With Cloak now gone, Calyspo had no reason not to follow Ali. She jumped down the same hole, hoping she could make it in time.

OOC: Just to let you know, KG. This all happened before Cloak teleported down to Sybille and Ali and everyone.
Also, sorry for borrowing the same format. But at least it got me motivated to make a long post finally. ^^

Edited by Lilt, 29 April 2011 - 02:56 AM.

[Darth Vectis]

Marcus finally rose from where he knelled, the pain no longer an issue for him, when he had seen Sybille hold her yet again, the blade in his hands as he demanded her to speak. It boiled his blood, the runes refused to glow, he felt lost momentarily as he didn't understand why they didn't responded the same way. It became clear when the moved instead, as if his skin was heating up and the runes wavered on the heat wave. When he had heard the words to Demetri, he felt the pain of loss, he felt the world pulled out from under him with her words to him.

And there it is, everything we had just to keep her from being lonely. The words stung his mind, he felt the power coil like a snake, ready to strike at anything that drew too close. He could feel his heart closing up, the bleeding wound to be sealed with his power to make him immune to the damage it would cause him. He was preparing his body for the end, to unleash everything in one final move to wipe out Sybille and Cloak, he could cover Demetri and Ali with protection, but that would be it for him. Before he could put his heart in a box, she smiled at him with the special smile, seeing in her eyes that everything they had, was real. And then she spoke to him and his breath caught.

"Thank you. You healed the tears in my heart. You kept me whole while I was torn in half. You saved me from my dispair and, no matter what happens. A piece of my heart will always belong to you. A part of me will always love you." Marcus body stiffened, he felt her love through the rune, he kept hold of that as the power no longer coiled, but feeling smooth, almost as if it was ready for him to command it, give it a purpose.

I was wrong, it's not goodbye, it's find me another day. A smile did not touch his lips, his thoughts were free as words passed before his mind. The ritual he had prepared for Sybille need only two more things, and Blues had delivered them to him. Marcus' mind struck as he realized it then, everything, even his own death, had been part of a plan to come here, to bring this to an end. Marcus saw the flash, Ali laying on the ground, he wanted to go to her, to hold her once more before the night ended. But, that was not going to happen, not anymore, he would have to find another way, another time. The words, the symbols, the runes all were part of a greater chain in his power, leading to where he stood now, it simply waited for him to let it go. Seeing them both approach her gave him the sign for him to finally bring it all to and end, he lashed out then, the runes no longer needed to be created, the complicated chains not drawn, he simply willed it now. The force erupting was like a sonic boom, Cloak blind sided by the impact, causing him to tumble and twist, his progress halted. Sybille turned to Marcus at that point, a new dagger in his hand ready to become a god. Marcus twisted a hand, the metal bending in the blade before a solid slab of earth came down on him, smashing into his back before retracting again, another smashed into his knee, sending him down to kneel. He tried to throw a wind blast at Marcus, the wind turning and twisting before striking Marcus, a smile on Sybille's face before he saw Marcus unharmed.

"You die tonight Sybille, no more games, no more plots, it all ends tonight." Sybille roared in fury as he charged Marcus.

"I will not die! I will be a god!" His hands lanced out, the power of his god pact still in his blood as he tried to kill his mentor. Marcus grabbed his arm, twisting it bringing it around his back and then forcing him to the ground. Marcus bringing down a foot on Sybille's knee, a crack could be heard as his leg was now limp as he tried to rise. Marcus hitting him in the back of the neck with one forceful punch, backed up with the energy of his new strength. Sybille cried out as a rock slab erupted behind him, trying to take out Marcus, he took a step back to avoid it then charged through it, the runes changing in an instant, giving him the protective shell to tear through the rock with ease. Sybille called out to his servant, Cloak vanishing then appearing beside Marcus with a knife in his hand, Marcus eyes remained cold. Cloak suddenly thrown aside with a blast from Demetri, Marcus looked over and saw the two now staring at him Ali giving him a nod.

"Do it Marcus." He heard Demetri faintly, Sybille on his hands and knees, Marcus giving him a sharp kick, the sound of ribs breaking on the impact echoed slightly, Sybille laid on his back now, Marcus hand flew in a flurry as multiple rock projectiles smashed down on Sybille, each on hitting a different spot at a different time. The damage quickly became too much for Sybille's body to heal quickly enough, the blows breaking bones, creating bruises and leaving Sybille motionless. He breathed harshly as Marcus started to calm down again, standing over Sybille's bruised body he raised his hands against, a stone X rose from the ground. Marcus lifting Sybille up and pressing him against the X, the rock reaching out and grabbing his arms and legs pulling him securely on the X. Marcus face cold as he remembered the night Coltaine hung from the wooden X, his destroyed body, Fiddlers corpse riddles with bolts, Yan choking on her own blood, and Yedan died before he even had a chance. Masan, and their baby, both had died in a blink of an eye, and she scarified the last part of her, for him. He could take his time liek Sybille did, but he refused to go as low as he did.

"Now, its over." Marcus lifted his hands, a massive rune appearing below them, the intricacy of the symbol putting previous work to shame. Sybille seeing the rune tried to struggle.

"That's impossible, you have to draw your stupid runes! You couldn't have known this where we would bring you, no matter what you couldn't have known."

"Powers evolve Sybille, yours stopped when you chose a God. Mine never stopped." Marcus reached out and securely gripped Sybille's head, Sybille trying to fight it but Marcus kept his hands on him.

"I made this ritual just for you, I spent years perfecting it, and now you'll see what will happen." Marcus graced Sybille with the words he had prepared, the ancient language slipping from his lips as a hum started up as the words grew more intense, the speeding picking up as the rune on the ground started to glow, creating an eerie blue light, the blue quickly turning into a purple light, Sybille's body beginning to convulse, blood starting to trail down from his nose and ears. He started to scream before it suddenly caught in his throat, his face in silent terror as his body shook more violently as every words passed on. Marcus face grew darker as the words grew louder and more passionate, Sybille finally released the scream, its sound earth shattering as a purple mist started to float up from the rune, traveling slowly until it started to slide over Sybille, tendrils of the smoke struck into his body, Sybille arching his back as the pain flooded his body. He tried to fight the tendrils, Marcus still speaking the words, feeling the climax coming Demetri cradled Ali as the open room started to shake, a violent wind rushing through the room as the words neared the end the tendrils started to pull something from Sybille, he tried to fight it, his body struggling to break lose and hold it in, but nothing would stop the mist now. The tendrils fully removing the struggling form, an exact copy of Sybille himself except the body was blood red, fouled by all of his evil and darkness. His soul was lifted high into the air, still struggling, still fighting, trying to scream but not having a voice of its own, with Marcus' final words the mist plunged his soul into the rune, a roar erupting from the earth as the mist seeped into the ground again, the rune fading into nothingness. Sybille's body hanging limp and lifeless on the stone X, Marcus lowered his hands, bowing his head as he took a deep breath.

"Its over. Finally, you can all rest in peace now." He heard someone coming through the passage behind him, turning he saw Pocket standing in the opening. Her face harder then it use to be, her eyes still showed her inner joy but had reserves.

"Calypso, I'm glad you found us. Ali is hurt, we need to go now." His voice cold as he did his best to keep his composure, so many feelings raged through him now, the runes on his body were still now. His mind remained in motion, he didn't know what to do, he didn't even want to move. He knew, after that ritual, he was going to need rest, he was going to need his hourglass again with a bed no longer an option in his mind. Demetri rose with Ali in his arms, he could see Demetri was just as exhausted as he was, both were barely standing, it was a miracle when they started walking Marcus was dragging an unconscious Cloak, finding him heavier then expected. . Pocket close at hand as she did her best to tend to Ali's wound, the bleeding had slowed but not enough. They picked up their pace as they came to the stairwell, the moon still shining down. Marcus looked to Demetri, his facing looking years older.

"Use your powers, get her up quickly. They need healing now." Demetri complied swiftly, the wind raging around him as is propelled him upward, Marcus watched them go, speaking to Pocket without looking at her.

"Calypso, I have an idea. Take my hand will you?" She held her hand out unsure what was to come, he gripped hers gently and smiled before looking at her.

"Now, imagine a doorway, one that leads us from here to up there. Give it a try." Pocket was not sure, but she tried anyways, her minding focusing on creating one doorway to the area with everyone. Marcus let some of his power flow through her, the desire effect appearing instantly as a tear appeared, then stretching open to reveal and empty blackness. Marcus kept hold of Cloak as they stepped through together, the darkness enveloping them before they suddenly stood out in the moon light again. Marcus grinned to Pocket as she showed a great smile at him.

"Great job Calypso, we need to see if we can teach how to do it on your own." Marcus walked over to the Commandant, who was standing by his son, his wife bent over as she healed Ali. Marcus felt relief flood him, knowing she would be safe now as he tossed Cloak at Shields feet. Shield looked down at Cloak, then looking to Marcus face, seeing relief in his eyes when his face tried to remain cold.

"What do you have to report Marcus Demos?"

"Sybille is dead Commandant, The Book of Set is with Demetri now." Demetri looked up at him, confused before touching a pocket on his pants to find the book. His eyes widened momentarily before going back to Ali, Marcus' power had worked as he had hoped. It was a risky move, but he had to try.

"We are clearing out now, Mist, get yourself and the new recruit to start pulling everyone out. Alpha Team, you've earned to honor to go first." Marcus bowed his head as Alpha Team walked to mist, gathering together, Jason having reverted to his human form. Gene ice free, Tank and Lily stood by Ali and Demetri, Ali now standing up again with Demetri's support. Marcus craved to be the one holding her, almost tempted to walk over and try to help, but he couldn't do it, the least he could do was stand near her now. Mist enveloped them all, bring them back to the head quarters, Marcus sighed as he knew what this meant, a conversation he wasn't ready for on the horizon. He waited as the other dispersed, Demetri and Ali the only ones left, he crossed his arms as he looked at the two now.

"So what now?" He said plainly, his mind far to wracked with emotions and his body worn out to play games now.

[K.G]

Ali was lost in her thoughts, watching Marcus kill Sybille hit home that she was safe from the man, but her mind was else where as thet made their way home. She thought back on when she had first starting having feelings for Demetri...two years ago.

She was 21 back than, her hair was shorter, only to the small of her back she had been told by Hank that she was to do a infiltration mission and she was to take one person with her. Back than she took him because of his skills. He was the only one out of her team that could beat her during sparring with out the aid of his powers, he communicated with her just fine, unlike Jeff and he was serious at all times during a mission which Calypso was still working on. The mission was supposed to be easy, an in and out job. Go in, get the information, and than get out. But something had given them away during the mission, something had gone wrong and they had been running for their lives within an hour of the mission starting. Demetri dashed behind her, giving her the lead, trusting her to get them out. Her braided hair flying behind her as her smaller frame flittled through the halls of the building trying to get them to the roof. She cursed as she turned the corner and stopped, Demetri smashing into her only to grab her arm and hold her upright as she toppled forward. Surrouned by the enemy she did the only thing she knew how, dropping into a fighting stance she had gotten ready to fight.
"Are you stupid? Do you want to die young woman?"
He had wrapped his arm around her waist, causing a strange heat to flood her system, and smashed through the ceiling with his wind til the reached the roof, once there he let her go and allowed her whirl on him. She had been unble to say anything to him, as soon as she spun she saw the blood blossoming across his chest, gasping she rushed back to him and lifted his shirt, more shocked than anything to see a few scars on his skin already, shaking her head she looked at the gash, it was deep and would leave a scar.
"When did this happen?! Athens, answer me!"
"I told you it was stupid to fight agaist all them. You would have been cleaved in half if this had hit you."
She had gasped realizing that he had gained the injury while he had grabbed her, guilt washed over her and from than on she swore to her self that she would protect him just as he had protected her.

Ali came back from her thoughts for a moment, they were still walking, Pocket and Marcus next to each other as she bounced gently in Demetri's arms, they were warm around her and she felt secure and she realized that she had missed his arms around her more than she thought. Tucking her head down she felt Demetri stiffen slightly before relaxing and putting his face in the top of her head slightly, but her gaze locked on Marcus. He was looked straight ahead, not looking at her. It hurt and she closed her eyes letting her mind wander again as she tried to keep her vision from swimming.

The fog was thick, and she had been barely able to see a thing, even her own hand in front of her face, but the howling and growling let her where she needed to go. She sprinted forward to see her brother and had felt her heart stop at the mass of vampires surrounding him. The fight had been hard and they had done the best they could but when their changed parents came down on them their situation turned bleak. She had been useless as her fathers hand ripped through her skin and she had been thinking of any way to get help, it came to her as she looked down at her wrist. As soon as she had spoken the small word, as soon as the rune began to burn, images flooded her mind. She felt her mind bog down under the information but what made her pule race was a memory, one that was not her own and the face of the marked man split into a small smile. The next thing she had known Demetri had her in his arms and she could see Marcus standing close to her, his face twisted in pain as he looked at her. Ali had tried to reach for the man, tried to comfort him and ease the pain from his features but could do nothing as he had walked away from her to help her brother.

Ali's body swayed this way and that, the two men had seemed to pick up thier pace, she could feel her skin starting to get cold and she figured that she was loosing to much blood, her mind slowing down, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as she succumbed to darkness yet again.

The Beach had been beautiful, peaceful, relaxing even with Tempest being there, and it had started off perfectly. The first night there, the first night her and Demetri had made love, she didn't think she could get any happier, but each time she felt her heart sore more. His large warm hands had felt natural and right on her skin. His gruff voice calling her name, holding her against his body as she fell into sleep. It had all be wonderful and even when he had started to act strange, when he had begun to whipser to himself and become violent towards the others she held onto him. She never wanted to believe that he had betrayed them, she never would and she was sure she was the only one who thought that as the end of the vacation wound around, Tank being in intenaive care as they returned.
She recalled the last day on that beach, the kiss she had shared with Marcus that had opened a flood gate of emotions. Her relationship with him had been different than with Demetri, there were time she had been with Demetri where his passion, and desperate need for her would blind him, his action would be passionate, but wild, while other times he would be sweet, and soft with her. His hands ghosting over her skin and giving her chills. She loved both, and her body reacted to both with an aching need for the man that had never seemed to be sated. Her time with Marcus had been completely different, he had always been gentle, making it seem as if she would break if he held her to tight, afterwards she was content to lay with him and talk, their voices hushed as they caught their breaths, her need for Marcus was different than it was with Demetri, she had just wanted to be around the man, his voice and presesane calming her, though her passion for him grew it never dampened her need for him to be near her. And when he had moved in with her, for that short week, her life seemed whole, even if only for a moment. The joking fights they had, the passion they shared, even the small simple things as laying on the couch with him while he read a book, which was something else she never knew him and Demetri had in common. Every chance both men had, they would have their noses in a book and more than once Ali would make her self comfortable, cuddling up to the Mystic while he was on the could reading, eventrually falling asleep.
Ali stirred as she was placed on the ground, a green glow surrounding her, after a few moments she was able to stand with some help from Demetri, seeing Marcus gaze towards her she felt guilt well up inside her. Her words to him had been true, and she was sure they would never change. As they were taken back to base, his words froze her to her spot.
"So what now?"
Ali couldn't answer, but she was sure Demetri either had questions...or something he wanted to say to them, she just wasn't sure if she was ready to hear it...

[Darth Vectis]

Marcus' mind fluttered all over as the last words escaped his lips, his heart trying not to hammer out of his chest as the seconds passed. He let himself dive into the memories, his mind leaving everything behind as he it let itself be consumed by the feelings and the memories of his time with Ali, Looking upon her face now could only make them more powerful and more potent.

He recalled it clearly as it was only a few days ago now, one of the many times they just sat on the cough as he was reading another book, the words in a long dead language that almost no one knew anymore. Marcus childhood had been spent learning these words, understanding their meaning and what knowledge these old books brought, the only other people who could read these words were his family, and most of them were gone now, his mother was all that was left and she was with the High council now. He let the thought pass as he went back to his book, Ali had been finishing up cleaning when she had walked over to him, wearing only a tank top and shorts as she sat beside him. He only wore his shorts when in the room with Ali, every time he tried to put a shirt on it just ended up getting tossed somewhere so he gave up on trying to wear anything more when they were alone. She tucked her in her legs and she cuddled into him, lifting one of his arms up so she could tuck herself into him as he put the arm around her and she laid against his shoulder. She looked at the book he was reading, the words clearly unreadable to her.

"What are you reading Marcus?" He glanced down at her as he chuckled before speaking.

"It's the Dirad Jeonla." She gave him an annoyed look as he laughed again.

"It's a book on shadow realms, what effect they have on the world and which ones are dangerous and which are harmless." She rolled her eyes as she snuggled up closer to him, a smile on her face as she listened to beat of his heart, the beats rapid as he held her close. She had her arms on his chest, her fingers delicately rubbing his skin, he saw the rune on her wrist. When he had changed the rune to suppress Masan, he had unintentionally changed the function of the rune, giving Ali the ability to communicate with him with just the rune, convey feelings and thoughts without having to touch him. It had been jarring initially, but that changed when Marcus understood it was Ali's mind. A thought struck him then, closing the book in one hand he set it aside, she looked up at him and lifted herself up to looked at him.

"You can't be done already." He shook his head as a smile showed on his face.

"No, I had a better idea actually. Take my hand my love." She took his hand with a unsure look on her face, not knowing what he was planning.

"Close your eyes, and empty your mind. Don't think of anything right now." She rolled her eyes as she closed them, holding his hands as she emptied her mind, finding it difficult at first. She then felt a rush of energy shoot up her arms, sending a tingle through out her body.

"Open your eyes Alex." She opened them as the tingling faded, she found herself standing in a world covered in shadows, everything moving and swirling around her. She didn't know what to feel, confusion threatening to take over her senses as Marcus put his hands on her. His touching soothing her fear, she turned to look at him as he put an arm around her shoulder. Her hand on his chest as she tried to grasp the world around her.

"Where are we?"

"We are in a shadow realm, this is actually one of our minds. This is what everyone's mind looks like, blank, empty of everything until you call upon it." More questions showed on her face.

"Call upon them?" Marcus nodded as she gestured to the empty world.

"For us, this is where our memories live, everything you ever experienced, everything you every thought of, ever feeling you ever had lives in this space. These worlds are even shared with alternate versions of yourself, their memories gather here as well."

"Alternate self?" Marcus nodded again.

"Its complicated, but trust me, I've seen a few a few of them."Ali smiled as she gave him a playful hit.

"How many girls have you brought here before me?"

"None actually. This is my first time with someone else." Ali blushed slightly.

"Come on, you must have brought Masan here once or twice." Marcus shook his head.

"Never did, never felt the need to bring her here." Ali's heart beat was rapid, Marcus then pointed out into the darkness, her eyes focusing in on nothing before he whispered to her.

"Watch." With just a though, the beach was suddenly before them. The memory playing from Marcus perspective, the feelings and thoughts he had were all felt by Ali as she saw the vacation happen all over again. Everything felt so real and as if she was there again, the memory faded and she stood away from Marcus now as she started to experiment. Simply thinking about something imagines appeared in the empty blackness, her childhood, her parents faces, Jason when he was younger, times with the team. He saw Demetri more then once, the embraces they shared he tried his best not to look, but they still struck hard as his own mind began to wonder, losing control his mind went through the moments with Ali. She turned when she noticed the images changing, feelings the waves of emotions as Marcus started to lay out their entire relationship in his memories. The kiss on the beach, the nights they spent together, the thoughts of how they started with happiness in their hearts. They turned sour when he remembered telling her they shouldn't see each other for a time, the hurt in his mind rushed into Ali, she saw the memory of how he looked as it tor him apart. The memories lead into the talk they had, when Masan had appeared, the feelings they both had influencing the memory as Marcus came up behind Ali and wrapped his arms around her as they watched the memory together, finding themselves standing the same way they did that night. A smile held on her face as she watched it, suddenly the memory turned, as she saw Marcus in a tuxedo. Her eyes wide as she saw Lily in a dress, holding a basket of flowers. Marcus felt panic rush in as he willed the memory away, she turned on him.

"What was that Marcus?" He remained silent as the image burned into his mind, it wasn't his memory, just a thought he had some time that brought to life the memory of another Marcus somewhere in the unlimited worlds out there.

"Bring it back." He looked down at her, surprise on his face as she pleaded with her eyes. He nodded as the thought crossed his mind again, the memory appearing once more. Ali was transfixed on the image as it played like a home movie. Marcus stood beneath and archway, his hands at his sides with a huge smile on his face. He was dressed in a tuxedo, his tuxedo a mix of black and red, Ali was surprised to see him wearing shoes. His tattooed face seemed like it would break from all of the smiling, Jason stood beside him with Jeff behind him and Gene behind him, Pocket and Sasa stood on the other side now, holding bouquets in their hands as they all smiled. The sounds of gentle music played as the image shifted, seeing someone walking down the isle, a flowing white dress covered her body, the veil over her face as she held her own bouquet, Tank holding her arm as he walked her down the isle. When she finally reached Marcus he drew the veil over her head, Ali smiled at him with glee in her eyes. Passing her flowers to Pocket, she held Marcus hands as the ceremony went on. Words spoken between them of their love, of everything they did to get there and finally saying I do to each other. They kisses as the crowd clapped, rushing down the isle as husband and wife now. The memory broken up into flashes now, scenes form the wedding and reception, everyone touching Ali's stomach as Marcus drank and talked to with Jason and Gene. The images appeared more, a family walking together, Tank and Lily there with Marcus and Ali as she carried the new born in her arms.

Ali didn't move for several moments, unsure of what she had just seen as the images faded and left them in the shadows.

"Was that what you imagined Marcus?" He shook his head.

"That's the memory of another Marcus. All I did was have the thought." She didn't know what to do, she simply pulled herself into him and let him wrap his arms around her. His focus was on Ali when he saw the smoke start to swirl and formed a body. The old man now stood there, a finger pressed to his lips as he smiled at the man. Marcus using his head to gesture for him to leave, Shadowthrone using his hands to make faces at him as if he were a little kid. Ali felt the movement and looked up at him, he smiled at her as he stopped for a moment, Shadowthrone silently giggling at him.

"Get out of here old man!" He finally said aloud, Ali looking up at him confused.

"Who are you talking too?"

"No one." She raised and eyebrow at him and then turned to look at behind her, Shadowthrone vanishing before she saw him. She shook her head at him as her thoughts went back to the wedding she saw. Marcus spoke again.

"Its time to go now." She nodded as she closed her eyes again, opening them to find herself still on the couch, the clock not having moved at all. Her face showed surprise at the concept.

"It happened to me the first time too."

"What did?"

"The confusion. Time means nothing in those realms, we could have been there for years and then comeback here and no time would have passed." She tried to grasp the concept, but let it slip away as she had other things on her mind. She rose from the couch while still holding his hand, guiding him to the bed, the wedding still on her mind as they made love that night.

Marcus came back then, feeling the nudge of Demetri as he signaled for them to start walking. The time was coming, he hoped he could control himself.

Edited by Dassem Ultor, 29 April 2011 - 07:55 PM.

[Shwa]

Demitri's inner thoughts haunted him, some events while he was enslaved sprang in his mind, his sneaking around and the lives that he took while under the control of that mad man. It haunted the giant more and more as he thought about Blues, the new recruits he murdered while under the mans control, the way he harmed his mother while infiltrating their personal living space to search for the Book of Set. Demitri rubbed his weary eyes as the three continued to walk to Demitri's room, or what he still thought was his room when he and Ali shared a moment together in the shower before the raid. He could feel tension in the air rise more and more as they continued down the hall. No one said a word, it felt like no one wanted to take a breath of air as they made their way, Ali was fearful as they walked, knowing Demitri was not going to like what he saw.

"Demitri, wait" Breaking the silence as the three paused, standing in front of the door that lead to the room Marcus and Ali resided in together. Demitri said nothing as he slid his key card through the small control panel, the metal doors slid open as Demitri stepped inside, speechless at what he saw. Ali's personal effects laid along side with Marcus' scrolls and book, Demitri recognized them when he peered inside of the mystics room once to call for his aid. But he recognized some of the scrolls that hung on the wall, along with various clothing that obviously didn't belong to Ali, mixed with the collection of books and sandals on the floor. Demitri slowly made his way forward as he approached the large bed, the sheets still had Ali's blood on them from the attack Demitri dealt her while he was under Sybille's control, it pained the giant to see that as his vision blurred for a moment, making him hold onto the wall for support. Ali rushed forward as she placed her hands on the mans back, only to feel his muscles tense when Demtiri grunted in anger, she backed away slowly, Marcus stayed silent. He knew the man was more that paining from his battle, he was feeling it all in his heart and spirit. Demitri finally stood up right as he turned and leaned his back against the same wall he held for support, looking down at the carpet below, refusing the see Ali's glare or even look at Marcus. The giant felt more shame and guilt for all the events that took place while he was gone for three months, but still, he hated what took place while he was not himself. He tried to understand their reasons why they committed such an act behind Demitri's back, but the giant refused to just let things slide.

"So..." He spoke. "...this has happened more than once, hasn't it?"

"Yes, it has" Marcus spoke quickly, he knew letting the answer linger was not the best for now especially with Demitri's fragile mental state of thinking. The man sighed as he leaned his head against the wall, brushing his hand behind his ears to let his hair move away from his face.

"This all happened when I was gone, correct?" Demitri asked, still keeping his eyes closed, he only saw red as his blood boiled slowly, but he kept calm.

"Yes Demitri.." Ali gave a sad sigh, her own emotions fluttered in her mind, she had wished she could take everything back, but even that was a lie to her own self.

"What about when I was locked up...I remember, I remember you saw me a couple times...you spoke to me. I heard you" Ali was shocked, she had thought his primal state wouldn't remember much since he was under Sybille's control. "You told me you loved me, and never stopped. Did you also mate with another during that time?"

"Demitri you have to understand, we were both...alone" Marcus finally spoke, admitting the truth about his own feelings on the situation. He was alone, for a long time until he made the connection with Ali, their bond seemed to surpass Demitri's bond with her on another level, but Ali still had her own personal connection with the former commander. "It wasn't right, we acted out on pure emotion, ones we couldn't even control." Marcus bit his lower lip a little, seeing no change in Demtiri face or movements as he leaned on the wall. Ali thought it best to express everything mentally towards her love, concentrating hard as she closed her eyes, but at that instant, Demitri snapped his head towards her direction and roared with a mighty voice.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!!" Snapping Ali out of her thinking as she stepped back, his eyes sparked white electricity as Marcus now stepped in front of Ali to protect her. The move made Demtiri more angry, but the giant calmed himself as he took a couple of breaths, his hazel eyes returning as he unclenched his tight fist, letting his fingers course blood back to his body. He saw the two staring at the giant, like he was still under Sybille's control as Ali shook slightly as she held onto Marcus' clothes. "I'm....I'm sorry Ali for shouting. Just please...not right now, I've had one too many voices in my head....not now" Demitri scratched the back of his head for a moment, seeing Marcus and Ali calm down for a bit.

"We know things were difficult for you Demitir, they were for all of us. But, we cant take back what we did...and I'm not sure if we would want to" Ali moved from behind Marcus and walked towards her lover, both men were shocked at her statement, but under the circumstances, Marcus had to agree. Ali faced the giant as she looked up, seeing his sad face, she knew the man was hurting, but she also knew it was her fault as well. Slowly, Ali raised her hand and placed it on Demitri's chest, right over his heart, feeling his organ pump faster and faster. It pained her as well. Demitri softly grabbed her hand and bent down, kissing his love on top of her knuckles before speaking again.

"It's just gonna take some time..." Without saying anything, Demitri brushed past Ali as he stood in front of Marcus, looking down at him with stern eyes. "Outside, now" Pushing past the mystic, he moved towards teh door as they opened and closed in an instant. Marcus gave a stare towards Ali, unsure of his next plan of action, he got fearful stare from the young woman as she shook her head. Demitri said nothing as he walked out of the room, Demitri directly on his left, as the doors closed as Demitri punched in his lock code. Trapping Ali inside the rune, the action caused the mystic to quickly face the giant as he looked down upon the mystic, eyes glowing madly now. "I just want to say this, I'm not sure if I can ever forgive you for having what is mine. Not matter what the circumstance, I would have thought you out of everyone would have had better control over yourself"

"The feeling is mutual Demitri, I meant no harm, but in fact it did cause harm to a lot, and to you most of all. Have I told you why things progressed the way they did? The mystic seemed calm in his words, but Demitri raised a hand and haulted the man from continuing.

"No, and frankly, I don't care to know." Marcus nodded and sighed, but the moment he did, a hard punch was delivered to this left cheek, sending the mystic flying to the ground, shaking a bit as he quickly stood up, only to be grabbed around his arms. But it wasn't a sparring grab, it was almost like a hug, Marcus fully focused now as he noticed he was being hugged by the giant, tight yet determined.

"Demitri...?" He questioned, now feeling his cheek swell from the blow he received.

"I can't forgive you now...but I can at least thank you for protecting her" The giant released his hug and towered over his ally once again, Marcus was caught off guard slightly at the token of thanks...and token of hatred that came before. The giant began to walk away, taunting the mystic to speak.

"Where are you going?"

"To see my mother, and to put myself in the med ward for lockdown" Demitri stopped as he looked behind his shoulder. "I still have thoughts of killing you...so, I'm pretty sure that's a sign there are some after effects from Sybille's powers. Although, maybe they're my own..." With that, the giant went on his way, Marcus giving him the slightest of nods

[K.G]

Ali flet her legs give out under her as the door shut, she could hear their voices and whimpered as she heard the stike and knew, without a doubt that it was Demetri striking Marcus, the thought tore at her heart and she found her self crying. After a few moments of silence the door slid open and she looked up to see Marcus walk in slowly, his cheek swollen and red.
"Oh Marcus!"
Standing up she rushed forward only to stop as he held up his hand to stop her, she paused and felt her throat tighten more as the man put his hand on his cheek as he looked down.
"Where is he?"
"He left."
Tears slipped from her eyes more at the thought, Marcus saw the pain in her face and shook his head.
"I said that wrong, he went to the med ward."
She looked up at him shocked, her hands on her stomach as it twisted.
"Why?"
"He said that he has ideas about killing me...said that he didn't know if it was Sybille or himself..."
She nodded slowly, and jumped, looking at the door as there was a soft knock on the outside, her heart leaping into her throat at the thought that Demetri had come back.
"Talon, it's Patch. Can I come in?"
She sighed and looked back at Marcus.
"Yeah Chip, come on in."
The door slid open and the man walked in, he gave her and Macus a smile before he turned his gaze on Ali.
"Hey, I just wanted to tell you that Madam Touch wanted me to bring you to the medical room, she wants to start you on regular medical appointments."
Ali frowned as she nodded slowly as she took a step forward.
"What for?"
"The baby Alex. You have to be looked at regularly for the saftey of the child."
She nodded slowy and looked at Marcus, he nodded and watched her go, followed by Patch.
The walk was slow as she followed Patch through the halls, the walk taking only 5 minutes til they entered the room, she looked up as Demetri sat on a table, his mother's hands hovering over him, his eyes locked with her's and she looked away to guilty to even look at him. Madam Touch patted Demetri's shoulder and walked over to Ali, her face calm and a gentle smile on her face.
"Hello Ali, how are you feeling?"
"I'm-"
She glanced at Demetri as he watched silently, his face turned down in a hurt frown as he looked towards them, she looked back at Madam Touch.
"I'm feeling alright. Tired mostly."
"You look exhausted dear. Patch, get X for me will you?"
The young man nodded before walking away to get the other medical agent, Touch looking over Ali, her hands hovering over her as she moved them up and down her body.
"You seem to have an iron deficiancy, we'll have to fix that. Not only that it seems as if you haven't eatten much, that's not good either dear."
She trailed off as Patch returned with a young man who gave Touch a friendly smile.
"What can I do for you Madam?"
"X, glad you could help me. I need to see the child she's carrieing."
Ali blinked as the man nodded, she could see movement out of the corner of her eye and turned her head, seeing Demetri standing and make his way over to the table she sat on, a shocked look on his face.
Madam Touch didn't seem to notice as she pushed Ali gently til she was laying down, Ali did so with no fighting til she was looking up at the people surrounding her, but she looked at Demetri the most, his face blank as the yound man, X, put his hands on her stomach, she gasped as her skin turned translucent. Touch moved forward and began to hover her hands over Ali stomach, smiling she nodded and looked back at Patch.
"The sonogram if you will?"
After a few moments Ali jumped as a cold gel covered her stomach and Touch smiled as she went through the steps much like Patch had done the frist time and Ali felt her heart jump yet again as the soft thump of a heartbeat filled the small room. Hearing a gasp she looked over, seeing Demetri looking at the small screen, his eyes shining with unshed tears. Throwing cation to the wind she reached forward and gently took his hand, he frowned and looked down at her fingers as they linked with his. Touch and Patch walked away for a moment, giving the two a second to talk while they looked at the black and white screen, showing the growing child within her.
"Demetri..."
"I'm still not ready yet."
"I know that, but can I just say something...please?"
He looked at her, meeting her eyes and she could feel herself getting lost in them as she usually did.
"I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you...I never wanted to cause you more pain than what you've already going through..."
He looked away from her to look back at the screen.
"Ali, I don't know if I could ever trust you already that man again."
"Please...I'm not asking you to...I know you won't, but I want to tell you...I never did stop loving you. I always called out to you, I always hoped that one day you would come home to me."
"Than why?"
"It's a long strory love-"
"Don't."
She blinked, his voice having taken on a gruff tone.
"Don't call me that. Not right now."
She nodded slowly and looked away from him.
"It's a long story...I just needed company...I was so lonely while you were gone and at first that's all it was, all I went to him for was company, just to have someone to talk to...but over time..."
"I think I can put the pieces together from there Alex."
She felt her heart jump as he sat up, she paniced and sat up quickly with him and threw her arms around his neck.
"Please, I don't want you to leave me alone...I meant when I told you that I love you, I never stopped loving you. You were always on my mind."
He pried her off of him and looked down at her, an unreadable look on his face.
"Alex-"
Throwing caution to the wind she pushed her self forward and connected her lips with his, he reacted in instinct as he wrapped his arm across her shoulders and pulled her forward deepening the kiss for a moment and elicting a conteneted sigh from her, the sound jogging him from the action and made him pull away. He was breathing heavily as he shook his head, Ali looked up at him, her cheeks flushed as she took sat taking deep breaths to try and slow her pulse. He shook his head and walked away from her with out anothe word. She felt her heart shatter and held the emotions at bay as Patch and Touch came back telling her to come and see them once a week, sliding off the table she made her way back to her room and opened the door to see Marcus pacing back and forth, he looked up as she entered, her throat tightened and with out words she threw herself into his arms sobbing into his chest as the pain of what she had done to the two men she loved finally crashed down ontop of her.

[Darth Vectis]

Marcus stood their just holding her, feeling the tears touch his skin, the cool touch made him shiver slightly. He hated seeing her cry, that was the one and only thing that tore at him the most of anything that happened between them. He felt himself melting in her embrace, he wished it was under better circumstances but he wasn't about to be picky now of all times. Marcus hadn't thought this far ahead when it came to his relationship with Ali, with Demetri's mind as warped as it was, and him unable to find a means to break his bonds, it seemed like he would never be the same man. Marcus couldn't lie about how he would have loved to have Ali to himself, to be the only one loved by her, but he knew that wasn't going to happen. He knew he had arrived too late, her connection with Demetri was greater then theirs and Marcus felt like dying then. With all of the pain being caused around them Marcus had to cause one more hurt before things could come close to mending.

"I think I should move my things out Ali." He felt her grip tighten, his throat tightened as well, wishing he could take the words as soon as he said them. He he refrained, as he felt the tears increase. He tightened his arms around her.

"I don't want you to go." She whispered to him, he felt the truth of the words, his own mind agreed with what she said, wanting to just end it there. He couldn't do that, he knew he needed to do this now, at least do one thing right.

"Do you still love Demetri?" His mind knew the answer, but his heart hoped that she would say no. She nodded her head to his question, feeling his hear shatter with that simple nod.

"Then I need to my love." He felt her breath catch at the last words, he let go of her, starting to pick up things nearby he grabbed several books, tossing them into a box nearby. He didn't even care about whether he damaged them or not, they weren't his world anymore the woman who was left crying, her hands held to her face as she watched him packing things up and toss into a box, was the only thing that matter to him anymore. She was his everything now, and now he had to hand his entire world to someone else, had to be witness to someone else's love. Once the box was full, he lifted it up, the weight feeling greater then what it really was, the weight of the world on his shoulders again. He set the box aside as he started to load up more, only having about half a dozen boxes on hand, he packed as much as he could. Holding his tears back as Ali just watched, unable to do anything as the conflicting feelings tugging and pulling her in every direction. When he filled as much as he could, he prepared to take the first trip of many to his old quarters. The walls were bare now, his scrolls and trinkets gone as he had packed things indiscriminately, he stood at the door now, finding it difficult to take the step out. Marcus could still hear her gentle weeping, the soft sound was all it took for him to look back at her.

She walked to him now, standing at his side as he held a box in his arms, unable to move as she gently reach out and touch his face, her hand on his face he couldn't hold back the single tear that rolled down his face when he closed his eyes for just a moment. He turned away then, walking out the door and heading down the hall, Ali's sobs resumed, Marcus felt the wave of grief and sadness smash into him like a wave. Causing him to falter for just a second before continuing his walk. When he was about half way there he looked turned to look back from where had come from. He had prayed she would come from him, stop from getting this far. He could imagine it now, he could feel his heart calling out to her, the rune reacting to it and she making the final choice. Ali racing out of the room, running to catch up with him, yelling his name as she saw his marked body causing him to turn, dropping the box as she throws herself at him, their lips locking in a passionate kiss. The memory of the other Marcus came to mind for him, seeing the wedding, Ali in her beautiful dress as she held his hands. Those final words of I do crossing his lips before meeting her for one last kiss before the rest of their lives went on, Marcus had been ready to be a father, he didn't care who's it was, all that matter is that it was with Ali. He turned away again, letting his hopes get up like that was damaging to his soul.

He finally made it to his old room, walking through the door he placed the box down, needing a few moments before he went to collect more. He started to unpack the things he had, books and scrolls he had he just tossed aside, until he found something that caught his eye. Slowly reaching in he withdrew a small trinket, covered in markings, it was a small stone used for complicated rituals. Ali had gotten him a set of these, telling him that she had just found them one day while she was out, she bought them not knowing anything about them except that Marcus might like them. He had been speechless when she gave them too him, unable to thank her any other way he gave her a passionate kiss. The tears erupted from him then, sliding down his face as they landed on the stone itself gripped tightly in his hand, he left himself fall to the ground as he wept for his lost love. He wept for the loss of that wedding, of never getting that chance with her. He kept trying to tell himself it was the right thing to do, but no matter how many times he said it, the words simply were worthless.

[K.G]

Ali looked up at the door hoping beyond everything that Marcus would walk back through the door, his box in his arm to just drop it on the floor and gather her into his arms, kissing away her tears and reassuring her that everything was going to be alright. After moments of sitting there, she realized with a sob that he wasn't coming back. Standing on shaky legs she stumbled to the door and waited til it slid open, much slower than she wanted it to. Not even caring about anything, not the people in the hall saluteing her, not the 'hellos' nothing, her eyes only on the door down the hall. Reaching it she searched her pockets for her keycard, not finding it she punched her code in and waited again for the door to slid open, once it did she stumbled in. Seeing him there, tears running down his face she couldn't hold herself back as she fell to the floor beside him causeing him to look at her with wide eyes and than fall back onto his backside as she threw her self into his chest.
"I don't want you to go!"
He sat there, frozen for a moment before he acted, wrapping his arms around her shoulders he held onto her tightly, Ali felt her self relax slightly as he held her, her tears still falling.
"I know-I know that it isn't right, and I know that I can't have both of you...but I-I don't want to let you go just yet...at all!"
She waited for him to say something, anything but when nothing came she looked up at him, he was looking down at her, his face streaked with tears as well.
"Alex...you have to make a choice..."
She shook her head and tucked her face down into his chest.
"I don't want to...I don't know if I can."
His arms tightened around her more.
"Ali..."
"I know-"
She swallowed the lump in her throat before continueing.
"I know I can be happy with you...I saw it. I saw how happy we can make each other. How am I supposed to make a choice when the answer is so hard to see."
"You love Demetri to much to choose me."
She shook her head violently, making his body shift with the movement.
"I do love Demetri, nothing could ever change that...but...I don't know what I want anymore..."
His breath caught in his throat at her words.
"Alex, your carrieing his child."
She nodded, still not looking at him.
"But...that doesn't bother you does it?"
He didn't answer her right away, the silence made her nervous til he sighed and burined his nose in her hair, his arms tightening around her.
"No, it doesn't bother me at all."
She nodded slowly, lifting her face to look at him, she took a deep breath before leaning forward and pressing her lips against his, the groan that escaped him was almost music on her ears as his eyes drifted shut, she pulled back enough to speak.
"I love you Marcus. And I don't know if I'm ready to say goodbye yet..."
Before he could argue she pressed her lips to his again, pressing her self into his arms til he toppled backwards, he looked up at her as she sat up slightly and looked down at him.
"I don't want to say goodbye, the time we've had together was real, and it was some of the happiest moments of my life..."
"Alex...what about Demetri?"
She put her forehead to his chest, guilt washing through her in a fresh, sharp wave; only to be replaced with sheer hurt as she recalled him pulling away from her in the medical room, pulling away from her touch and kiss.
"I don't think he could ever forgive me...I don't think he could ever look at me the same way again."
"You know that's not true, he loves you much more than you think, he'll come around."
She threw her fist into his chest causeing him to stutter, he looked down at her to find her look gazing up at him, tears falling from her eyes.
"I don't really think he ever could."
Marcus closed his eyes and sat up, still holding her to his chest.
"Alex, you shouldn't be here. Go. Wait for him in your room. That's where you should be. Not here."
"Shut up Marcus! How can you know where I should be if even I don't know?!"
Her words stopped him short on his logic, he was unable to argue with that.
"Ali-"
Before he could say anything else she sat up and kissed him, activating the rune on her wrist she relayed every emotion that was flowing from her and into him causing him to gasp against her lips and giving her the moment to deepen the kiss with no fight from him.

[Darth Vectis]

Ali's emotion coursed through his body now, the sheer ecstasy of it robbing him of all logical thought, he felt her need, he felt the raw energy she put out with the rune. The glow intensifying with the passion on the kiss, Marcus encircled her tightly in his arms, pulling away only to breath as they kissed deeply again. Marcus could feel his passion rising to the top, his runes began to glow, the first time since Masan gave her soul for his new development he felt them glow with the intensity of his feelings. Marcus felt Ali's hands pass under his robe, touching his flesh as her nails scrapped against his skin with her need. He groaned in pleasure as his hands grabbed her shirt and pulled ti from her body, Ali pushing his robe off his shoulders as she grazed her teeth across his collar bone, Marcus undoing her bra and tossing it aside before lifting her up and setting her on the bed, her hair falling to frame her face.

Marcus stood quickly, his robe falling away as he got on top of Ali and started to kiss down her neck, her hands holding on to his arms and squeezing as he worked his way down, kissing and licking any skin he could. She didn't flinch when he touched her scar between her breasts, before moving down to her stomach, Ali's fingers digging into his body again as he fumbled for the button on her pants before accidentally break it off and unzipping her pants and pulling them off, leaving her in nothing but her panties now. He hands traveling down his body and removing his last article of clothing as he did the same, his passion escalated at seeing her undressed form and he embraced her, her moans and screams spurring on his body as they rotated and turned. His mind losing all track of time, only focusing on her body, seeing her back arching and how her hair fell around her shoulders. Time slowed to a crawl to them, everything else in the world didn't matter to the two lovers, everything was perfect as it was, their hand entwined as Ali took control, Marcus on his back. His heart soared as he could feel Ali's do the same. When it all came to and end, they both simply laid there, their bodies drenched in sweat and their muscles sore, Marcus kissed her gently before pulling back again catching his breath. He looked into her light brown eyes, seeing how her need for him didn't fade from those portals. His would never fade for her either, he glided his hand up and down her arm, happy to feel her skin again.

"I didn't know you could do that Alex." She smiled at him with that private smile, a small giggle escaping.

"I had to have some secrets."

"You were late." She looked at him, questioning what he meant.

"I had hoped you would of stopped me in the hall." She gave him a wake on his chest.

"You should of just come back, shouldn't make the lady run after you." He smiled at her again, she cuddled up to him now, her eyes gently closing as he held her. His mind working to much for him to rest now, he felt invigorated again, as if he still had a chance. When Ali had finally fallen asleep, he rose from the bed silently, dressing in only his lion cloth and shorts again he had managed to cram into a box. He was leaning to pick the box up, ready to bring it back to their room when he suddenly heard something from Ali, a small noise that drew his attention. He pulled the sheet back just enough to see her face, he could see tears streaming down her face in her sleep. The sight broke him all over again, he could only think of one thing that would make her weep like that, she was thinking of Demetri, and how what they just did betrayed all of his trust yet again. He sat down on the couch as quietly as possible, his face in his hand as he felt his life slipping away again. He had let his passion get the better of him, and wouldn't lie, it had felt right and felt like he was flying. He wanted to keep it, he was ready to do whatever it took. He stopped his thoughts right then and there. He couldn't start this war with Demetri, this would tear the base apart, and tear the team apart. Worst of all, it would destroy Ali. He couldn't let that happen.

He searched through a few boxes, finding a pair of pants and a random jacket he had, changing into cleaner clothes, he searched through the boxes at quietly as possible. Ali's tears had stopped now, her body still shivered even with the blanket on her. He couldn't take it any longer, sneaking over to her, he placed his first two fingers on her forehead, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he plunged into her dreams. He saw a world covered in darkness, two forms of life before her, one in the hulking shape of Demetri, the other in the shape of Marcus. Their faces on the shapes, both held their hands out to her, when she couldn't choose immediately, they turned and walked away. He saw her stand from her place in the darkness, first, following Demetri, her path changing quickly as she suddenly was running down Marcus' path. He saw her stop then, ending up in the middle again, she wept as she looked between the paths, seeing how close she was to reaching the end of either path.

Marcus pulled away then, he went back to the box then, pulling out a small piece of paper and finding an old pen he began writing. It didn't take him long, the letter short but expressing everything he needed it too. He folded it up and wrote the words, 'My Alex' was about to place it beside Alex when he caught the sight of his robe, he remembered the days she wore it, it was her favorite. He tucked the letter into the robe pocket, he gently pulled the blanket back and laid the robe on her naked body, putting the blanket back over her. He couldn't stop looking at her face, his fingers touching her face, the energy flaring to life in him as he left light blue marks on her face. Giving her one final kiss he whispered to her one last time.

"I love you Alex, I only wish that memory could have been our memory." He turned away then, leaving the room and the boxes of stuff, he only grabbed three things, first was Blues bandanna, the next was his swords he left Marcus. The last thing he took was the picture of him and Alex, he would keep that always. He would get someone else to transport them to where ever he went. He knew it needed to be away from here, for her sake. He walked through the halls now, quickly making his way through as his sandals clicked with his speed. He reached the office the Commandant was residing in while he stayed here, he pushed through the people, before finally reaching the door to the Commandants office, knocking loud enough he heard someone call back. He opened the door to see Shield sitting in his chair looking over reports. His eyes focusing in on Marcus.

"Captain Demos, what can I do for you."

"I need transport Commandant." Shield raised an eyebrow at him.

"Why is that?" Marcus kept his face calm, even though a storm of sorrow raged in his chest.

"I need to find more information on the gods." Shield leaned back in his chair, looking over Marcus.

"Where would you go?"

"Where ever I needed to Shield. I'm the only one who has significant knowledge of the gods, I'll find what we need to bring them down. I need to leave this base though." Shield simply stared for a few moments. He then nodded to him.

"Fair enough Marcus, when do you wish to leave?"

"Immediately." Shield's eyes grew wide, then his eyes glided over the swords in his grip. He nodded to Marcus then.

"Very well, Mist will take you where ever you need to go. Your things will be there shortly after." Shield held out his hand to Marcus, Marcus leaned forward and shook his hand with his one free hand.

"Good luck Marcus." He nodded as he left the Commandants office, the swords still tightly in his hands as he prepared mentally for this journey. He wasn't sure he would come back the same way he left.

[Shwa]

Demitri was finished with the examination he got from his mother, there were still runes inside his body that Sybille implanted with a uniwue writing power, but they were slowly fading away like the sand blew in the desert. Demitri marveled at the image of his child growing inside of his beloved Alex, but the man was too broken inside and out to be with her at a time like this, though happy and overwhelmed he was about his child safe and sound, he felt his heart break more and more after the discussion he has with Ali and Marcus. The giant sulked down the hall for a moment, passing the same room Ali and Marcus had resided in, he could hear some talking coming from inside, Ali's voice echoed as she gasped for air and sniffled, Demitri could tell she had been crying while she spoke to the mystic. It didn't matter anymore to the giant, he continued on his way towards another room, a single cot, dresser and small bathroom that seemed cramped. Someone the size of pocket could live here comfortable, but not someone with Demitri or Tank's build. The giant sighed sadly as he flopped down onto the cot, it didn't feel the same but the soldier needed a place to rest his thoughts and body while he thought of his next course of action. He thought back to happier times, or what little he could remember, the thought of the mystic and his beloved being together always pooped back into his train of thought, taunting the soldier. The man tossed and turned as he rested, the night went by quickly, but rest did not come easy as the giant felt sick and disoriented. Still, something wasn't all right with him, Madam Touch informed the soldier that her son would still hear voices and become confused with his emotions, but slowly it would die down. Demitri stayed in that room for several days, sticking to small meals and meditating to reduce the stress on his body, impure thoughts would cross his mind once in a while, but Demitri was slowly gaining his mental ground as he fought the bad thoughts away from his mind.

Another couple of days past, and word of Marcus vanishing caught Demitri's attention, the mysic was the acting team leader, but Commandant shield gave him a solo mission from which no one would know of his return to HDF. It was only stated to be classified, which got a high disapproval from Ali, but that was no hard guess to why. Demitri entered the chow hall and made some small chit chat with the woman when she appeared, she seemed alone and distraught, but mostly shameful on her actions. Her tears meant nothing to Demitri, he simply nodded and continued his food before leaving, not intending to play the hurt victim, but in all reality...he was. There would be times when Ali would sit outside of Demitri's room at night, crying silently for the giant to say something to her, to fill the void the reopened when Marcus left, this happened for several nights. Some nights, Demitri would cross by his old room during the day, hearing more crying come from inside, it tore at his heart to know his lover was hurting so, but the man was uneasy at the facts laid out for him. But, he missed her to the core of his heart..

"Alex..." He whispered, shaking his head sadly as he continued on. Later that week, Demitri was eating in the chow hall when Tank sat across the table from his father figure, Demitri didn't need to look and see who it was, he knew this boy was like his new shadow and friend, for someone as young as he was. Demitri continued his chewing as he spoke.

"What is it my boy?" Laughing a bit, Demitri started to sound like his father.

"Talk to momma..." He spoke quickly, Demitri finally met the boys gaze, it was sad and hinted fear. Was he still afraid of Demitri after the beach accident that occured? So many thoughts popped into his head on his emotions. Demitri put his utensil down as he swallowed the rest of his meal.

"In time..."

"No. Now. Please Daddy...." Tank narrowed his eyes, he too seemed tired and exhausted. Tank had often visited Ali when he was feeling ill from the baby growing, or depressed about not having her lover next to her. "She needs you dad...please?" It sometimes bothered Demitri to hear someone else claim his as their parental figure, this wasn't something he was good at adjusting to, but for Tank and Lily, it seemed natural. Demitri threw in the towel happily as he stood from his chair looking down at the boy.

"Alright, but promise me you'll get some rest. Got it?" Tank grew a big smile as he nodded, watching his father figure. Demitri went back to his room that afternoon and washed up, trimming his facial hair that grew wildly and making sure he smelled nice. The soldier went out into the gardens during sunset and picked a couple of red Tulips before he entered the base when the night sky took over. Making his way towards Ali's room, the giant practiced his speech to his loved one, explaining his rationality and second guesses, but one truth stood out more than the others. No matter what, he loved her, and was going to love her until the day she died. The giant was hesitant as he held his fist to her door, taking a large swallow of saliva, Demitri finally tapped lightly on the door to their room. Waiting for a response, the man paced in a small circle, hoping she would have the courage and show Demitri forgiveness for his distant attitude towards the mother of his unborn child. In truth, the man simply wanted to lay next to her like they had before, and finally get a good nights rest with noting to trouble his mind.

[K.G]

Ali stirred from her slumber, more than aware that the bed was colder than she sould have been if Marcus were there with her, his scent lingered around her like a cloud and she sat up slowly and blinked trying to clear her vision, it was than she felt the material of his robe of her bare skin. The scent of him coming off of it, looking down she picked it up and held it to her body keeping herself covered as she slipped from the bed and began to search for him. A small smile on her face as she recalled all the times he had left her sleeping peacfully as he made something for her to eat, his concern for her and the baby warming her heart. But as she continued her search through his room she felt her smile begin to slip slowly, her heart began to pump faster as fear kicked in, he was no where to be seen. thrusting her hand in the pockets of his robe to bring it around her body she froze as she felt a slip of paper in one of the pockets, taking it out she recgonized his script on the front and felt her heart twist.

My Alex,
I wish that I could have stayed, but this is for the best. I have to say thank you, for so many things but mostly for bringing me back to life. I was the happiest I can ever remember being when I was with you and that is memory that I will revist often. I am sorry...I can already feel the chill seeping into my skin as I write this and I want nothing more than to go back to holding on to you, but I can't I have to let you go. I love you Ali, I'm not when it happened, or really even how, but you became everything to me, and I would gladly give up my books, life, soul if I could keep you happy. Take care of your self, for me and the baby. I'll try to keep in touch.
For All Eternity
Marcus

Ali felt her legs give out as she read the letter, than reread it and than again, hot tears flowed down her cheeks as she brought the letter close to her heart and held onto it, as if holding onto him, the face that he was gone leaving her cold and lonely, standing up after a few moments she gathered her things and walked to the bathroom gasping as she saw the small mark on her face, the line looking like a trail of tears that pulsed and glowed faintly, her tears came freshe again and she slid down the wall to curl up on the floor and sobbed, her voice echoing throughout the room driving it deeper that she was surly and truly alone. After that she locked her self in her room, her grief taking control of her life, she barely had the will to get up from bed and was grateful when Tank began to check in on her, brining her food and making sure she ate, the entire time she clutched Marcus' robe to her chest as her tears seemed never ending. She ventrued out from time to time, seeing Demetri in the lunch hall and trying to talk to him barely getting an answer from the man, it only hurt her more and after almost a week she refused to even get up from bed. She stopped eatting, even when Tank would bring her meals she would roll over on her side and refuse making the gaint boy worry more and more til he finally went to Demetri himself. Telling his father figure that Ali needed him, and that Demetri should talk to her. That very night Ali lay in bed, just like all the other nights, holding a pillow to her chest as she cried, her stomach had stopped growling long ago and she had began to lose weight, her skin turning pale, her cheeks no longer full and blushed with a healthy color they were pale and almost grey due to lack of nutrition, her body to weak to even hold her self up on the bed any more so when the knock came at her door she didn't bother to try to open it. The knock came again and she could hear pacing out side but merely rolled over and ignored it, she had given up all hope of ever fixing things between her and Demetri and she didn't think Marcus would be back for her anytime soon. Her body ached for both men but at the moment her heart reached out to the giant, wanting nothing more than for him to gather her into his arms, tell her everything was going to fine, that he forgave her and still loved her and that no matter what he would always be there for her. She shook her head slightly, knowing that it was impossible, she had done to much damage. She felt a small flutter from her stomach, having lost so much weight due to her dispair she could feel the baby move, her body didn't even have the energy to move her hand down and touch her stomach. Looking at the ceiling she closed her eyes, more tears falling down her cheeks as she passed out, unable to hear the voices and pounding on her door.
Outside Madam Touch and Patch had shown up, seeing her son there Touch frowned as she drew closer.
"Demetri, what are you doing here?"
"I wanted to talk to Ali, is everything alright?"
Patch shook his head as he followed Touch closer to the giant and the door he stood in front of, Demetri frowned as his mother took out a small paper of codes and began to punch them in swiftly.
"How long have you been here baby?"
"Almost 5 minutes, she won't open the door."
Patch let out a small curse before helping the woman with the codes, Demetri begining to feel dread fill his heart.
"What's this all about?"
Patch looked back at the large man with a frown, his eyes holding a pain for his friend behind the door.
"Ever since Demos left, and you pretty much refuse to talk to her, she's locked her self in her room. Tank said she stopped eatting, that she wasn't sleeping, said she'd lost weight and was to weak to even move. Not only that she hasn't been back to see us since the day you guys got back from the ruins."
Demetri's face fell as Patch continued, on and on til he felt his own heart shatter and gently pushed his mother to the side, he typed in his own code, the Commander's code that he still remembered before being controled and felt his heart jump as the door slid open. The room was silent as he walked in slowly, the quiet sending a shiver of unease up his spine, and for good reason as he caught sight of the woman on the bed. Her eyes had small purple bags under them that stood out against her pale skin, she was thing and hollow looking, only a shell of the woman he loved and she looked so fragile, so easy to break he hesitated on picking her up but as she couched sickly he made up his mind. Striding forward he scooped her up, wincing as he felt how light she was compared to what she used to weigh and carried her out of the room and towards the medical ward. Touch and Patch did what they could, healing her sore muscles and fatiged mind, but there was nothing they could do for her condition, having to put IVs in her arms and pump fluids into her system. Demetri stayed, holding her frail hand in his large one gently, his heart breaking as she stayed unconsious for almost a full week. When she finally did crack open her eyes Demetri's heart broke fresh to see the tears slipping from the corners of them, her eyes blood shot and almost lifeless as she seemed to have little to no will to move. He cleared his throat gaining her attention, her movements slow, and almost painful as she turned her head to look at him.
"Oh Alex...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
She closed her eyes, the tears still falling as she shook her head slowly.
"Stop...please...I'm so tired of dreaming...stop haunting me and let me be..."
His chest heaved as his heart beat began to beat faster, Demetri could feel the tears gather in his own eyes at her words, she had suffered so much that she didn't even believe that he was real. Without hesitation he bent over her bed and pressed his lips to her's making her whimper, he was gentle and he placed his hand on her cheek, his thumb rubbing her skin softly. He pulled away slowly, his pulse racing and his body reacting on it's own to her scent and feel, he shook it off his main concern being her well being.
"Alex, your not dreaming, I'm here."
She shook her hear more as the tears began to come quicker.
"No...no your not...you can't forgive me and I can understand that...just please...stop tormenting me."
Demetri tangled his fingers with her's as he pressed his forehead to her's, his emotions rushing through her and making her gasp. His gentle love, his forgiveness, and she blushed as she felt his desire coarse through her causeing a small, almost timid moad to bubble from her throat, he pulled back smileing down at her gently.
"You see? It really is me."
He gasped as she threw her arms around him and pulled him down hugging him tightly as she began to sob into his massive shoulder, coming out of his shock he wrapped his arms around her and held onto her tightly, pouring his emotions into the small woman in his arms as she wept in his arms.
Ali stayed in the med ward for almost two weeks, Demetri staying with her when he wasn't gone taking care of duties, the base had began to calm down more, the rumor mill finally catching on about her little bundle of news and spreading quickly. Ali slipped into the office as a few of the women tried to get her to stop and talk to them, the small bulge more noticable under her shirt now and apparently just begging to be touched or rubbed, which annyoed the woman to no end. She peeked through the blinds of the door and squeaked as thick arms wrapped about her middle shocking her, the large warm hands covering her stomach were the only ones she didn't mind any more and she leaned back into her lover's embrace smiling.
"Hello love."
His deep voice chuckled in her ear sending pleasant chills down her spine, he felt the shiver and turned her around slowly and caught her lips with his. She moaned into the kiss as his arms wrapped around her pulling her close, holding her tight, his hands slowly running up and down her body making her shiver even more. Growling into her mouth as she slipped her fingers under his shirt, her nails raking across his skin and making him shudder. He took his lips from her's and locked them onto her neck as he lifted her feet off the floor and carried her to his desk where he opted to make love to the woman. Her sighs and moans of pleasure floating from his office and out for the secrataries to hear. Ali lay on the couch in his office, holding his uniform jacket to her as she watched him straighten his hair out and fix the low pony tail he had it in, tucking his under shirt back into his pants he looked over at her with a michivious grin making her chuckle and shake her head. She stood and slipped the jacket over her arms, it hung off of her hands by almost 3 inches showing the size difference between her and her lover, she buttoned it and squatted down to help him pick up the papers and other things that had gotten strewn about the room during thier loving making. He met her gaze and chukled as she blushed.
"I think you made enough noise to alert the entire base love."
Her blush deepened and she tucked her hair back while she continued to pick things up off the floor.
"What a way to make an impression as your first day back as Commander, wouldn't you agree Demetri?"
He smiled and grabbed her wrist as she reached to grab a pen, pulling her into him and kissing her deeply, she blinked as she felt somthing press into her palm and looked down. Seeing the small velvet box she choked on what ever she was about to say swallowing thickly she found her voice after a few moments.
"D-Demetri...is this?"
He took it from her hand and opened it, the ring glittering in the dim light, the diamond was small and modest, knowing that she would have a fit if it were to big, and the silver glittered brightly. Small symblos were etched into the band, looking like small swirls of wind and she laughed through her tears as she realized it was his way of making it his own.
"It's beautiful."
He took her chin in his hand and made her look at him, his smile was gentle and loving as he bent forward and caught her lips in a slow kiss.
"I told you, that I wanted you to be a part of my family. I know things have been hard, but it's all in the past..."
She sniffled and closed her eyes as he continued, her mind drifting slowly to the other man that held a piece of her heart, his runed, smiling face coming to her mind before she opened her eyes to look up at Demetri, feeling her heart swell with love for the man as he kissed her knuckles.
"I love you Alex Talon, and I want you to marry me."
He touched her stomach gently making her smile.
"I want this child to be born into a full family, which is why...I've also talked to my father about adopting Tank and Lily."
She looked up at him shocked before a smile spread across her face.
"Do you mean it?"
He nodded.
"We move into the other suit in the top half of the building. It has 4 rooms thanks to my father adding on to it, it's big enough for all of us. We can be a family...if that's what you want..."
She saw the doubt flicker through his eyes and pulled him down kissing him passionately, he growled happily as he slipped the ring on her delicate finger before his hands unbuttoned his jacket from her expertly and proceeded to make love to his future wife yet again, this time taking his time and being gentle.
The wedding was set almost a month after Demetri had proposed, it was beautiful, a fall wedding, Ali's dress being white, and trimmed in black and orange to match the season, Demetri's tux matching her dress, the orange dress shirt and black tie coming together nicely, Ali couldn't stop smiling throughout the entire thing, but every now and than she would remember the memory Marcus had shown her of this very scene happening with him...she shook the thought off as Pocket approached her with a large smile.
"I'm so happy for you! And with a little one on the way, have you thought of a name?"
Ali looked back at Demetri who shrugged and chuckled as Gene threw his arm around his friends shoulder takling drukenly making Demetri laugh. Ali felt her heart skip a beat at the sound of it and felt her own smile grow. As much as her heart ached for Marcus from time to time, she truly loved the man she had just married. She looked at the bands on her hand and smiled more squeaking as long arms wrapped around her and drug her forward onto the dance floor, the dusty, thick scent letting her know who it was almost instantly.
"Jason, you've been smoking again."
He chuckled deeply, the sound viberating through her as she shook her head.
"And on my wedding, really?"
"Come on sis, you can't expect me to watch you marry him and not want a cigarette."
"Jason we've been over this. He was being controled."
Jason swung her out before bringing her back in as they swayed back and forth to the music.
"Don't matter, I've never been a fan of him."
"It's only cause I'm your sister."
He gave her a wolfish grin making her chuckle, his smile fading slightly.
"Have you heard from-"
"No. I haven't."
Her answer was short, curt and to the point.
"I'm just asking a question Ali."
"Not one that I want you to ask."
"Why is that, I was asking about a friend."
She closed her eyes as familiar pain and loss throbbed through her entire being making her grit her teeth and hold back the tears as they gathered in her eyes.
"I really do not feel like crying on my wedding day Jason. So please-"
"Why would you cry? There's no reason to unless...Oh...."
She pulled away from her brother and began to walk towards the building, Demetri watching curiously, he caught her gently by the arm.
"Are you alright?"
She nodded and kissed him briefly before continueing into the building and stopping at the old room, one that meant more to her than most. It was where they fully came together and he had finally said goodbye. She swiped her card and walked in slowly, her heels clicking on the tile of the floor til they met the carpet of his room. She sighed as she stood in the door way, memories flooding her mind before it became to much and she spun around and walked out. Going to her and Demetri's room she dressed in a pair of dress pants, and a white dress shirt and got ready for the reception, hardening her mind against the memories and going back to her husband.

Marcus walked through the halls of the Eastren Base, his most frequent stop since he left almost a year ago, some of the mumbling coming from a few younger member catching his ears.
"-Northern Base, yeah, their new Commandant just had a son a few weeks ago. I heard they names him Neos."
"Really? That's amazing. Who is the mother?"
"The Commander, Alex Talon. I heard she named a god father as well, I can't recall his full name but his last name was Demos. Can you believe it?"
The voices faded and left Marcus to his thoughts, how many other members of the HDF could have the last name Demos? Shaking the thought from his mind for now he kept walking, his mind kept drifting back to the woman he had left behind, unknowing that her mind drifted back to him frequently as well.

Ali sighed as she entered the room, the living room was a mess and Tank just shrugged as Demetri looked up at her with a rueful grin.
"Hello love."
Putting her hand on her hips she glared down at the man who was covered from head to toe in vines and small paper flowers. She looked over at her youngest as he put his hands flat on the floor and gasped as a bright light filled the room, only to clear and show him giggling and cuddling a stuffed bear to her chest. She felt her heart twist painfully, the power reminding her so much of...
"He just showed that to me a few moments ago. My mother says he's developing at an amazing rate....you alright, you just got pale."
She shook her head not trusting her voice.
"Yeah, I just remembered that I forgot to turn in my paperwork to Dizzy. You know how she gets."
The massive man chuckled and nodded.
"That would certainly turn my stomach, you better go and get that done, I'll handle dinner."
She nodded and kissed him and the children quickly before she escaped, her feet moving swiftly as she stopped at the door she visited often. Looking around she nodded to herself seeing no one around her she swiped her card, entered the room, and locked the door behind her. She looked around the room sadly as the twist in her heart became more violent, she sat down on the bed and put her face in her hands as silent tears fell from her eyes, she ran her finger along the small, light blue trail he had marked on her cheek and slowly, ever so slowly began to get her breathing back together as she pulled a folded up picture from her pocket, she stared down at it, her tears now silent but falling none the less. She couldn't deny that she missed him, that she yearned for his presance and company but her body ached for him as well. She could still remember his soft touches, his gentle words of love. Guilt washed over her as she thought back to her husband in the other room with her children, he knew she loved him, and so did she. She would give anything for the large man and had shown that on more than one account but the feelings she had shared with the man in the picture had been real, very real and try as she might she couldn't will them away. She sat there for only gods know how long before she cleaned her face and went back to her family, her heart fluttering happily as Demetri met her at the door with a warm hug and passionate kiss. The past behind them and the furture awaiting.

Edited by Knuckles' Girl, 30 April 2011 - 07:22 PM.