It All Ends Tonight

[Guest]

Philly. His home, his prison, his territory. He owned this town from the dirt to the sky. Nothing happened here that he didn't know about. And he knew that he had been betrayed. He knew of the pair that hunted him onward, that longed to spill his blood and rip him to shreds. He knew of the woman who wanted him that he would deny for eternity, of the power that she longed to touch and command herself. He knew of his loyal subjects that both feared and respected him. It was a bit chilly this particular evening, in high contrast from the land he had just come from. This was not the land of sunshine, women, and tequila. That land he had left behind. Now, it was time. Time for him to return to the casino that he ran with an adamantium fist. How had they fared with their leader gone for a few days? Had Patience finally lost her patience and tried to take over? HAH, he doubted that highly. But he knew what had been stirring within her lately, what she had been willing to do and already done.

This is a trap.

The voice was so soft in the back of his mind, the waves of chitterings that had resumed cascading over it in such an... irritating fashion. Now the chitterings were back. Go fucking figure. Takatori had his hands stuffed in his pockets, long black coat billowing out behind him as a wind blew past, only slightly ruffling his already rather spiky/messy hair. His chest was bare to reveal the toned muscles of his torso to the world, his booted feet making very soft thuds against the ground. He was wearing black pants, and his eyepatch per usual. Tonight it had a jolly roger on the face of it, a souvenir he had picked up in the land of Esparia. So what had him so on edge? And he was on edge, there was no denying that. There was a slight buzzing in his pocket, slipping his phone out and placing it to his ear as he strolled across the empty street into the quiet park nearby, listening to the voice that reported to him on the other end. Good. All was as he had expected. "Good work. But don't get fucking soft, you have another mission soon." There was a moment of silence as he cocked his head to the side, managing to crack his back via certain movements with his body. His eyebrow twitched and a wicked smirk rose to his lips, "Did I stutter dipshit? You know what the fuck you have to do." He snapped before clicking the phone shut, sighing in frustration as he stuffed the phone back into his pocket.

He cast his grey eye around, observing the occasional homeless person who was laying on some park bench beneath the glow of an overhead light, oblivious to the dangers of the night. But wasn't he as well? Pfft, hardly. He owned the night. THIS was his time. This was his time, and he was still on edge.

[Patience Vinrouge]

Empty. It was all gone. Everything. Every piece of furniture painstakingly loaded, each trinket carefully wrapped. Her dark cabinet had been packed by herself personally, and even now sat in a suitcase in the trunk. Her penthouse was no longer hers. And she was quite fine with that. She was done with this city. She had grown bored of the petty games that were played here. She was moving on, a elegant townhome in downtown London, currently being filled with her possessions. All that remained to be placed in there was her. Soon enough, however. She had one last item of business in Philly to take care of.

Patience Vinrogue, the Lady in White, was wearing black. Black stilettos on her feet, the underbelly and heel a flaring red color. On her fingers were her various array of rings; a red ruby on her right pinky, a silver Celtic knot on her left middle finger. Her long hair was down, brushed to silk and straightened, the diamond studs glittering in her ears. A strapless black dress wrapped around her lithe form, a delicate silver necklace the only decoration at her throat. This was all covered by a bright white knee-length coat. It was buttoned with large black buttons and belted around her tiny waist. The Lady in White was waiting... waiting for the end.

She sat in a black sedan, back windows tinted. Her current boy-toy sat in the front, being a good little driver. On either side of her were two tiny bodies, curled in a drug-induced sleep. She did so dislike drugs but in certain instances, they had their uses. On her lap sat her favorite treasure. A small poppet stared up at her, a loop of dark hair covering it's tiny head. It was very plainly dressed, in little cotton, black pants and a black coat. An eyepatch covered one tiny eye. A poppet that had been painstakingly made many, many months ago. She smiled down at it, a feral glint in her eyes. She could not wait to see this little doll burn.

Or perhaps it was the real person she could not wait to see burn? Either way, the night air was cool and fresh as it breezed through the tiniest crack in the back window. The park in Philly was quite large and lovely and it was where her dearly beloved boss now paced. He knew. She knew he knew. And she knew that he knew that it was she who was pulling the strings tonight. Let him continue to play his little games. She was quite finished. All that had to be done was to remove the head of the snake that was the Men in White.

Patience gently pulled her unlisted cellphone for her coat pocket, flipping it open. Reaching into the phone's nearly empty contact list, she pressed “send” as she hit the first person on that list. It rang once... twice, and then a voice crackled over to her ear. She waited for the voice to finish it's rapid speech before she spoke, her voice low and sharp. “The park. Southeast side. He's there alone. When it's over, move north. Now is your chance, Mrs. Ueda. Do not waste it.” She pushed the red “end” button before the woman on the other end of the line had a chance to reply.

The board was set and the pieces were on the move. Patience felt the car stop, just outside the northwest corner of the park. She needed to be nearby, but she had no desire to be south of where she was now. She was quite content to let her little pawns move and take out the black king. She looked down at the phone again, moving to the only other name in the contact list. She pressed “send” again and listened to the phone ring. As she soon as she heard the click of the phone on the other end, she waited... Silence. Hm. Not talkative, eh? A smile in her voice, she spoke, low and purring. “I hope you had an agreeable excursion. Lots of events have taken place while you've been gone, but I'm quite sure you're aware. I regret to say that, you just... you don't move me anymore. You were a tantalizing enough at first, but I'm afraid you've gone sour. I don't play with boys. Only men. So this is farewell, Damian.”

She snapped the phone shut, calmly handing it over to her driver. He ever so smoothly snapped the phone in two pieces, causing Patience to dart her tongue out over her lips. He would get a special reward all his own, once this was over. She had made her farewells and Anouk Ueda and her brother had their instructions. She watched as her man turned his gaze to the park, waiting for two figures to emerge, although it would be some time, she knew that. She rested her head back against the headrest, eyes closing lightly. She held the poppet in one hand, a long needle casually in the other. The sounds of snores was the only noise that filled the car. Patience settled in to wait.

[Anouk Ueda]

Night used to be Anouk's favourite time of the day. In school, night was when she'd get home from classes and Kendo and cramming and could relax, or take dinner to Ryosuke. Later, night meant that she could relax in a hot bath after a long walk to clear her head and plan. And once they'd taken over the Green Dragon? Nights meant that they were never alone. All day and well into the night the tavern was filled with happy customers, or putting the boys to bed as Ryosuke did the books and till before closing up. Why did it feel like years ago since she slept at night now? Nights now were her enemy, leaving her feeling restless and empty, longing for the warmth of her husband beside her. Nights now were filled with restless dreams of searching, of trying to escape the blood that was seeping through and staining her soul as she waded through it to get to her crying sons.

Nights were sleepless torture as she tried to counsel herself over and over that the lives she was taking were for a good cause and the world was better without these beasts that tried to pass as humans in them. Anouk had been so careful to stay hidden. She knew that one slip up, one bad conversation and she could be found and arrested and charged with at least fifteen murders of people who didn't deserve to live, each of them spelling out her little love note to that son of a bitch. T-A-K-A-T-O-R-I W-I-L-L D-I-E was spelled out so lovgingly with her butterfly, each letter carved into their chests in order to get that bastard's attention. It worked, apparently, because that Ms. White had called her to tell her she'd taken the boys from Takatori and promised her Takatori on a plate.

Anouk couldn't sleep again, but that was normal. Besides, she'd managed a catnap earlier in the afternoon; the flat wasn't the best, but it felt safe. Maybe it was because she was with Ela that she was feeling safe enough to take the small snatches of sleep since he would wake her up if anything was happening. And right now, he was napping on the sofa as she sat at the small table in the kitchen, quietly polishing Mr. Blasty and her knife. That butterfly knife had to be one of the most useful gifts she'd ever been given; a gift from her first good exchange who'd heard her story from the dark lips that whispered it in places police didn't dare tread. He'd wished her luck in finding her family, and given her the knife since it was "well-loved" and sharper than she could legally get. And so far, it had brought her a lot of lucky hunts and been great to silently kill those soulless monsters.

The thoughts pumping out with each beat of her moribund heart were disturbed as her phone vibrated, the sound off to not disturb Ela. Private Caller .....Who was this? It no longer surprised her how many nameless demons had her number; Hell seemed to have amazing reception and a very thorough phone operator. "Moshi moshi?"

"The park. Southeast side. He's there alone. When it's over, move north. Now is your chance, Mrs. Ueda. Do not waste it.” Ms. White was calling. This time with what she'd promised... Anouk's heart raced as her blood went cold, her stomach knotting. Takatori's life was being given to her and Elastor. Finally, they had a chance to go right for the heart of the beast and not just the many heads and claws they'd been fighting. This was their chance. She wondered if Takatori were alon... Ms. White seemed to want the man dead, and had asked Anouk to promise her safety in exchange for Takatori's head, so setting up a trap for herself and Ela made no sense. I wonder how many of them can we make die? Anouk scooped up the shells, stuffing them into a small belt bag and attached a holster to her thigh for her knife. Black leather gloves were pulled on before she grabbed the worn and weathered brown leather jacket and Mr. Blasty.

Since Takatori had killed their parents, Ela had sunk down into the depths of Hell to try and keep Anouk and her family safe. And since Takatori had destroyed Anouk's life, she also had sunk down into the darkness, putting herself at his level in order to hunt him better. I became one of your kind because you pushed me to it to see what I'd do... So be it. Tonight, we settle the score. Anouk quietly walked into the living room, slowly reaching her arm down over the back of the sofa to gently rouse her brother. A black fire burned behind their mother's lavender eyes that didn't belong there at all, and though she tried to hide the raging fury that was boiling in her soul like liquid nitrogen, it dripped off her being and any other man might piss himself and run for his life from the barkeep.

"Let's go, Ela. It's wabbit season."

[Elastor Ito]

He didn't like that look. It wasn't funny. He didn't laugh, but simply woke up to those feral black flames, lingering in lavender as if lighting a field of flowers on fire. What did he live his life for if not to prevent this very moment? What had he sacrificed that all for...? Nu, I want you to be happy, what is this? Elastor frowned, discomfort draining out of icy blue eyes, nearly vicious with intent to reverse time. If only...he had been perfect, but Ela was well aware that perfection was merely an impossible dream. Tired all the time--tired of reality and facing the rouge under his sister's finger nails. She'd never wash it off. It was his fault. But it's my fault, why should she have to suffer? They should have killed him instead, but then they wouldn't get their money. Filthy bills passing through rehashed blood, piling up as high as the numbers printed in ink. "Don't say that," he spat, standing up immediately and brushing the sleep off his rumpled clothes. Tired all the time. He couldn't look at her, looking away at the wall--more interesting to see something blank than something defiled by his own mistakes.

There was an uncaulked crack there. He glared at it, hating it for ruining the momentary expanse of nothing. Of course, there would be a crack there... There was always something, but today... today he would end it all. Nu was coming with him, but he wouldn't let her do it. To add more blood to her hands... Killing--killing didn't end things. Ela knew this. They came back at night when all other things were already thought about. The groans and listless eyes, bashing empty skulls filled with blood and remorse, but not revenge. Revenge was subtle, long, and intangible. People--people were alive, and killing them changed so many things. By ending Takatori, Takatori, he hoped to not only tear out the final page of their sap story, but also rid the world of the misfortune that monster brought upon it. And when they sent him away in a casket of darkness and burnt lavender, let Takatori then laugh away the sweet scent of karma mixed with the shavings of tears never cried.

Ela gripped the hilt of his katana, eyes piercing the air in fervent determination. He would end it. A tip-off--dirty business: someone else wanted him dead, but he didn't care why. No, at this point, Elastor wanted him dead. He felt the anger build, bubbling up, baking the surface of whatever beat inside him. This was it. He shot his sister a look then, a look he felt and knew spoke levels that he couldn't. Why. Did. This. Happen. He knew. It was because he left her alone--thought she could be happy while he sacrificed himself, but no! Takatori wanted more--more of what Ela didn't have and could not give. But he would have sold his soul to make her happy.

He looked away, and in a swift moment, was out the door, down the long flights of stairs, and in the dingy red Porshe. Revenge was only a car ride away...

[Guest]

At the crack of a twig, Takatori turned his shoulders very slightly, his one good eye looking over his shoulder at the tiny squirrel that sat there in the middle of the sidewalk staring up at him curiously. Snarling at it, the creature ran back into the trees with a start, afraid of the tall man. Thats right. Be afraid. Be very afraid. It was childish to perform such a thing at an animal, but Takatori was so very on edge. And he hated being on edge. This night was foreign to him, it wasn't his anymore. And that pissed him the hell off. Who the fuck had gone and taken his night from him? In his own fucking town?!

Argh, SHUT THE FUCK UP!! He growled under his breath at the fucking chitterings that wouldn't fucking stop, and pulled a small rectangular case from a pocket in his coat, the gold plating gleaming in the dim light of a lamp post. He slowed to a stop beneath that orange glow, two fingers carefully opening the lid to look at the pills that lay inside. One end was a lime green, the other a gentle blue with the little beads inside your generic pill color. Sliding one in his mouth, he leaned his head back and grew tense, his teeth digging into that pill with increasing pressure. With a small but clear crack, the contents spilled down his throat, a sigh of utter content escaping him just as his phone began to ring in his pocket. Now just who could that be hm? Oh he knew full well there could only be a few possibilities~ Hehehehehahahehahehaaa.......

He straightened up with the suddenness that startled a person walking by him in the night, their footsteps increasing in pace as they grew softer behind him. The phone was against his ear, the caller ID telling him exactly who he thought it was just as he knew it would be. Ohhhhh those pills worked such wonders.... He stood there in silence, the picture of somberness as he waited for whatever words the serpent would spout at him. “I hope you had an agreeable excursion. Lots of events have taken place while you've been gone, but I'm quite sure you're aware. I regret to say that, you just... you don't move me anymore. You were a tantalizing enough at first, but I'm afraid you've gone sour. I don't play with boys. Only men. So this is farewell, Damian.”

Damian.

"What the fuck-" He began to say, but he had heard the click on the other end of the phone. That shell of calm had been cracked, spinning in wider and wider circles at the single name that fucking whore had uttered. Damian. His real name. How the fuck did she know his real name?! Growling, he withheld the urge to roar at the night that WASN'T his, at this turn of events that was out of HIS control. The fucking bitch knew his name. His phone crumpled under the strength of his grip, shards of plastic flying elsewhere while the electronics sputtered and died with small little sparks. Her voice kept echoing in his head and he knew that the time had come. "Bring it little fox. Bring it." He whispered under his breath as he cast aside the remains of his phone. He wouldn't be needing it anymore. And so with a growing cackle in his throat, he reached out his other hand towards the darkness on the other side of the single lamp, his hands closing on the katana that had been given. A woman encased entirely in a white body suit bowed to him, another coming out from the shadows on the other side to give him a pistol. "Thank you ladies. Now why don't you scurry away since you've been sooooo very helpful. I think A Street would be a good location. Oh, and could you tell Ludwig van to get the music started already? I can hear the insectssssssss scurrying about." The two women merely looked at him from behind the black lenses that hid their eyes and nodded, knowing better than to question what he was saying anymore.

Raising his arms slowly, he could hear the strings beginning so softly in his mind, conducting with the tip of the gleaming katana in his hand. Ohhhhh yes.... Ludwig van.... There you were~! But too light. FAR too light. He slowly began to twirl as he descended further and further into the park till he would reach the center, not making a sound except for the scuffings of his shoes as he walk-danced along. Those that passed him knew the sight of death that approached, could sense the danger that leaked off of him and they got the hell out of dodge. Homeless... couples... even a police man ran from him. Oh the police were in his pocket anyways, who the hell cared! LET THE DANCE BEGIN.

[Anouk Ueda]

It could be argued that the red Porsche was old and pretty beat up, not to mention filthy for all the dirt, grime, and bits of blood that filled the scratches. The candy red 88 Porsche 911 was covered in dents, deep scratches, and several patched-over bullet holes.There were knicks in the once-smooth metal that resulted from sharpened swords lancing out to stab through the car in hopes of killing the very pissed off bartender behind the wheel. Even before she'd found Ela and teamed up with him to find the same monster that left death and despair in his wake, Anouk had already been out hunting and diving into the fray head first. The bood that filled the tiny cracks and scratches were constantly being washed and buffed out; some were drops of her own life, but mostly it was someone else's. This car had gone through hell, just like Anouk. You could call it a beat up piece of shit. Anouk called it well-broken-in. Cars were like leather jackets; old ones had cracks and rips, character and wear. Stories. And a solid steel frame that was better-suited to the modifications Anouk had been paying to have added on since she started taking on people who wouldn't think twice about shooting her through her car.

Et pastores nos esse
Pro te, Domine, pro te.

The tires squealed as it drifted around the corner, Ela sitting in a tense, huffing silence while Anouk drove like a bat out of hell to the park in Philly Ms. White had texted about. He was pissy, but she was used to that. So was she. Ela had good reason to be, though, and she understood it; she was pissed, too. Anouk wanted this to be done and over. She wanted her sons back and to try and pick up the pieces to start over, even though no matter how many times she told herself that she knew in her heart the picture was and always would be forever broken. So little was left of her life now. She'd salvaged a few things from the tavern and their home, but all she had left fit in a small duffel bag in Ela's flat, except this car. That had been something she and Ryosuke had saved up for and bought together from some guy who built Franken-cars for fun. A Porsche body with a Stingray engine block, able to top 170 miles an hour and more than 730 horsepower. When she bought it she just liked the body and the sound it made, and laughed that she'd never need a car to go that fast; she wanted to be a bartender, not a stuntdriver. Fate is funny like that.

Potentia est descendit de tua manu
Pedes ut citius ferre de mandatis.

Oddly enough, despite the dark fire that had consumed her soul and urged Anouk to wade deeper and deeper into blood upon more blood, she was feeling strangely calm. A shot of bourbon and a cig would have been nice, but other than that she was fine. Her thoughts weren't a raging flood of death wishes and the need to see Takatori beg for his life; she knew he wouldn't. Fucker would probably laugh until the last bullet shut him up for good. It wasn't a peaceful feeling either, though; it was that moment that the clouds gather and turn unnatural shades of green and purple before an F4 tornado rips across the land and sucks up everything in its wake. It was that moment to gather. All of the men Anouk had hunted down, cornered and killed on her own, before Ela found her to help. She'd chosen that on her own. Their faces stayed etched in her mind, even though they were scum that didn't deserve to live; they silently screamed, their last words ringing in her ears, night after night. Those words would never leave, and like Lady Macbeth, the blood would never wash off from her hands. Right now she was gathering them all. All of their screams she'd silenced, their strength she'd overpowered, and each bloody letter carved into their dying bodies. Anouk gathered all of them inside to quicken her, praying that the strength from them building up would be enough. Enough bood had been spilled, and Takatori's would cap it off.


Ita fluent flumen ad te
Animae et eam semper scatentem.

The car veered hard to the right, roaring into the night as it roared off the freeway and down the turnoff. She could take main roads to this park, but she wouldn't; Anouk slowed down once she hit city limits, attracting no attention to herself as she made her way down back streets. The Porsche quieted to a low purr as Anouk shut the headlights off, ghosting down the road and parking it in an alley by the park. The park was a public place, but hopefully people would get the hell out of the way and hopefully they'd take Takatori out before anyone had a chance to call the cops. Even if the Philly cops were just as useless as the Vegas ones, they could still outgun the two of them very easily, and killing a cop was last on Anouk's to-do list. Anouk sat in her seat, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly before she made a move to get out of the car. At this point Anouk didn't know if she was praying, regretting or trying to build herself up by tapping that ache that had lodged itself within her soul; she had yet to cry and mourn for her sweet Ryo. She hadn't let herself say goodbye to him yet, using that pain to driver her on day by day, even though it left her ragged, tired and in pain. Her stomach knotted. Please, Ryo... Please, just make me strong one more time.. so I can bring our children home, even though I failed to protect them before... Please...

In Nomeni Patri Et Fili Spiritus Sancti.

Slowly Anouk opened the door, grabbing Mr. Blasty and the bag of rounds. She glanced up to Ela, not needing to say anything. What could be said? "Come on, let's go murder someone! Hope we win! 8D" wasn't exactly tasteful. "So... Any plan? Or do we just charge?"

[Elastor Ito]

This was why he wanted to drive. As they drifted around corners, the scream of rubber burning on cement was the only reprieve from the whiplash he was certainly receiving. Arms crossed tightly against his chest, his eyes bore through the windshield, half waiting for it to shatter from the wind pressure or a misplaced seesaw. Night-assailed parks blew past down the back roads, happy outside lights blurring across the glass he turned his head to try and see out. Colors became one, seeping into each other until nothing was left except darkness--darkness they brought with them, sealed into the sharpness of his blade--laced into the sinews of hot metal bullets. His eyes narrowed, turning just briefly to shoot his sister a fierce glance. He could almost feel her thoughts, see just what she was seeing...like a flashback only something better left a secret. That was precisely why he said nothing the entire way, allowing the relative silence to weigh on the seldom moments remaining before revenge was exacted.

He had his chance. In fact, the bullet hole he received in Drachma was still visible across his pale skin, concealed underneath the black muscle shirt and long trench coat he typically wore. The bullet alone marked not just his flesh, but the danger they were going over the speed limit into. Speeding around trees, fences, parked cars, benches, and various other obstacles, Ela felt like he was watching one of the Cretan soldiers playing one of those Grand Prix video games or something. It made him sick...and it made them stand out. Of course, Ela drove the same speed, if not faster in his own Porshe, but at least his mode of transportation didn't feel like it was breaking apart at the seams. One time he was forced to watch this Aerugese movie called Princess Mononoke by Hayao Miyazaki with some officers. He was only there to earn recognition to rise up through the ranks, but he did in fact watch the movie as a means of entertainment more valuable then that of military men getting drunk off their asses and comparing gun sizes. There was a boar in the movie and it carried a disease that broke it's ancient mind, slowly killing it and driving it insane. Blindly (literally), it charged through the brush and humans in a rampage as it fell apart inside. That was this Porsche. At least in Ela's mind. And the disease--the disease was Takatori.

As quickly as his mind wandered, the headlights beamed off and they disappeared, vanishing into the haze of the streetlights, hardly concealed. Ela glanced at her, uncrossing his arms and then leaning his head back to stare at the pilled ceiling. If they were being looked for, it would be more inconspicuous to keep the headlights on... He kept his mouth shut, holding back every ounce of complaint--every fiber of rejection to better remedy the uneasy air between them. And he did it because he cared enough to bother. How many years had they been apart with hardly no contact at all? Well, at least from his end. If he stayed away... No, Ela was the disease, plaguing everything around him as it spread further to touch the heart of even his sister, breaking into irreparable shards that filled but a single duffel bag in his apartment... He was the disease and Takatori was the source. Nu was just unlucky to have been born into their family. They should hate their parents, Takatori said, but was it them who snaked their way into people's lives, squeezing out all their worth until they turned to ash? Ash like their house in the fire--like Nu's tavern--like what Takatori was about to become.

This time.

No, this time, Elastor could not afford to lose. If he lost, he was certain they would both die. It would be the end of them all and the hate would just continue to spread on and on. If...if there was love left in this world, then he would fight to protect that love--to bring back Nu's children, and prevent something like this from ever happening again. There was already enough suffering in this world...enough terrible people who did anything to get ahead in life, maliciously stepping on others... People. People were naturally cruel, evil things and yet...

"So... Any plan? Or do we just charge?" Her voice punctured his thought processes, dragging him out of the realm of contemplation to that of reality. He sighed, letting her words sink in for a moment before trying to gather an acceptable answer that wouldn't maker her cry.

"We?" He tried not to sound angry, but pieces of his soul were leaking out of his eyes and into plain sight as he got out and stared at the clouded black sky instead of at her. "...I didn't even want you to come. If he-- never mind. Just stay back out of range." If Nu so much as got a bruise...Ela would never forgive himself.

He began walking, katana in his left hand, sheath pointed out in the visage of aggression. If anyone saw him, they would think that they were sucked into a time machine and were now facing the wrath of Oda Nobunaga as he prepared for death, not just his enemy's, but also his own...

[Guest]

The moon gleamed off of the surface of shiny leans, refracting and creating different shimmers. At least... until they reached the figure with his arms now stretching upward in a slow, conducting motion. It was as if the moon couldn't penetrate the darkness that was his entire being, the hell that had found its way to earth. Yes... yes that must be it. He was a demon who had found his way into their realm. Hehe, plenty of mother fuckers would say that. But what did Takatori say? What did the man whose names were very references to that darkness have to say about himself? He wanted a fucking sandwich. No lie. Thats all he had to say about himself. Oh, and that the chittering needed to fucking stop.

"It's like listening to the critters crawl creepily crouched in the clumpy grass~ Cunts." Perfect! The perfect amount of C's yes. Yesyesyes, excellent! But now, the overture was done, and things got so very terribly boring. So boring, he wanted to take the moon and hurl it into the Earth. Why? BECAUSE IT WOULD MAKE IT STOP. All of it! All the bullshit, all the idiots, all the.. the SHIT. It would all die! There would be panic! There would be blood! There would be fire and smoke and screams and despair and---!!! Ohhhhhh he was getting hard just thinking about a huge disaster like that. That shit was better than porn. Porn was boring. Porn was plain. 2 cent hookers with johns who knew nothing about sex. HAH. Pathetic assholes. His arms lowered back to his side as his blade glinted in the moon beams. Come on, come on, come on, where were they?! Where were the pair? Where were the pair that he had drawn back down into his hell? They were coming~ He knew they were coming to lop off the kings head. So whhheeeeeerrrreeeeeee?!

Takatori was not a patient man. He wanted to die, and he wanted to die now! He was ready to, it was his time. AND HIS EXECUTIONERS WERE FUCKING LATE. What was up with that huh?! "Death is late for our date. Shame shame little lamb, you forgot the bait. Pain pain, here comes the pain!" He cackled, giving absolutely no fucks if he could be heard or not. The hell did he care? He would die, then his plan would happen, and big whoop! HUZZAH!

Then there it was.

The air, denseness... Denseness was approaching... RAGE was approaching him! The smell of sewers dried over with blood caked thick was coming. It was coming towards him! And so Takatori laughed again, the sound booming out as he stood there in the center of the park on the grass. "COME OUT, COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE LITTLE FOX! It's time we played~ And we can't forget about mommy dearest! COME SET THE FOREST AFLAME!" He called to the night as if he were chanting a spell, hopping from one leg to the other with utter glee. He was, undeniably, insane. But he wouldn't have it any other way. He stood stock still within seconds, the movement so sudden that it was startling to any who may have observed it. His sword gleamed naked in the light, the sheath held in his other hand now.

[Anouk Ueda]

The night air smelled slightly damp, sooty and with a vague tinge of freshness that struggled through the pollution of the city, even on a pretty night like this. The moon was very bright and far too pretty for how ugly things were going to get. Anouk quickly pushed two shells into Mr. Blasty, moving quietly away from her faithful car closer to Ela's side. A dark look crossed her face. "We? ...I didn't even want you to come. If he-- never mind. Just stay back out of range." ....A dozen thoughts rushed to the surface, none of them immediately in Cretan, and few of them particularly polite. She quelled them, however, instead giving her little brother a dark look as her hackles raised. Did he think this was some fucking Kurosawa film?! If he did, they were short five more samurai, because like hell this was a one-on-one match. She stepped in front of Ela to halt his steps, just for a moment. In all their years apart he hadn't changed at all, and for once in his life, he needed to listen to her and get something through his head in case she didn't have a chance to later.

"ELA." Her voice was low, but that tone was there. That 'big sister is speaking now so shut the hell up before she pops you' tone."Whether you like it or not, this is just as much my problem as it is yours. We were kids when he hurt us the first time, and we couldn't do anything about that. But we're family, Ela, and right now we have the chance to stop him from hurting us and anyone else ever again. But fucking hell, if he were someone that could have been taken out by just you or just me, one of us would have by now. Like hell I'm letting you try and take him on alone." Irritation and something else swirled in the lavender, glinting in the moonlight. Ela was all she had left, come back to her from the recesses of her memory when she ceased to be a part of the world. When she'd needed him most, he'd come back to her and frankly was the only thing keeping her tethered sometimes, and Anouk honestly didn't know how she'd have even survived this long this deep into hell without him there. Damned and bloodstained, but together. And that made the suffering a little easier.

She resumed walking, turning away from Ela quickly before any other thoughts threatened her resolve or chipped at the dam she had been forcing up for months just to keep herself from falling apart and able to push through. Anouk could see the park from where they were, and the deep hush was uneasy, like everyone had already gotten a memo to stay the fuck inside and away from the doors, walls and windows, just in case. Then again, she always felt this way when things like this came up. Anouk was getting more familiar with that feeling her stomach would knot in when it came to gearing up to the fight and going for the kill; she was a bad student. Old teachings told her to accept and prepare for death in any battle, especially since wading through the Men in White had become increasingly difficult. But Anouk refused. Anouk would not go into any battle, especially not this one, already accepting her own death. She couldn't afford to lose, and refused to; accepting even just one finger of Death's hand might as well have been surrendering before she'd even released the safety from Mr. Blasty. If Death wanted her tonight, she'd go kicking, screaming, clawing, and taking that fucker with her.

Anouk halted just slightly as they came closer, a cackling voice sounding all-too giddy shooting something cold down her spine. That... was him. Just the same as it was when her world burned, just as careless and getting off on the chaos and pain. It seized her heart and congealed her blood for just a moment as it registered with the rest of her body that they'd crawled deep enough into hell to face off with the devil himself. As it sank in, her heart restarted and jumped straight into fifth gear, almost making her dizzy with the sudden transition as adrenaline released rapidly. "COME OUT, COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE LITTLE FOX! It's time we played~ And we can't forget about mommy dearest! COME SET THE FOREST AFLAME!" ....Mommy Dearest? Twitch. TWITCH OH if she had a fucking wire hanger that would actually do the trick, Anouk would gladly beat Takatori with it until her arms fell off to kill him!! She shook her head quickly, forcing herself to take a deep breath in. She couldn't afford to lose her focus right now, especially since he'd just announced that he knew they were coming for him. Rushing in blindly would be bad news.

Her gip on Mr. Blasty tightened. Fuck. Takatori was expecting them. She'd hoped that he would have been caught off-guard and left himself open long enough to get a good, clear shot in. "Fucknuggets," Nu hissed under her breath. She shot a quick glance to Ela, and then to where Takatori was. He was alone, something shining in his hand and catching the light. A sword. So he was armed with at least one weapon, but more might have been on his person, just like how he was alone even though he might have had other operatives hiding and waiting for him to say the word. ".....We flank him, she breathed out, her voice hushed and sharp, trying to think on her feet and swallow down the urge to just rush at him shooting. Anouk started to move away from her brother, wanting to move to a better position. "If we come at him from both sides we'll have better chances."

[Elastor Ito]

Somehow, despite his quick pace, a figure drew in front of him. For just a moment, his heart stuttered, thinking it was an enemy instead of his sister. His sister. Right now, she was in his way. In his way. Why was not a question he was asking, no, instead, he merely sidestepped her without slowing in the slightest. "ELA." He cringed inwardly. God, she sounded like their mother. It... frightened him enough to stop in his tracks, boots scrapping against the loose blacktop. Auburn hair thrown sideways in the wind, Ela turned his head slightly back at her with a leery you-have-my-attention-for-five-seconds look glinting through icy blue eyes. Then, she spoke, their attention locked in a match of personality. Stubborn to the core, Ela let the words roll off his shoulders, trying his utmost to swallow the surfacing of rage. She didn't know. She was able to say all that because she had no idea. Nu said we: "we were kids when he hurt us the first time", but she wasn't there. She had no idea. The fire. The death. He pressed his teeth together and brought his sword closer to his side, turning a bit more towards her, back to their destination--back to the faraway figure of Takatori. Because before this started, she had to be made aware just who she was...

"I don't need your permission," he hissed, voice catching against the rigid underwings of the trees. "You are the victim; not some avenger seeking release from your pain. You will gain nothing. I caused this. ...It is because I couldn't protect you that this happened to begin with. I will be the one to carry it and I will do so alone. I don't need help...whatever family we had was destroyed a long time ago. You have to understand... I never intended for you to be involved. ...Because of me your husband was killed. I thought a job as a royal guard would suffice, but there are so many wars. I missed one payment, and as a result, your happiness became the payment. You say we cannot take him out alone, but if not for his servants, I would have had his head. He is alone, Nu. I will not die without taking him with me. You will only be in the way." Anything, anything to keep her away. He was too close to caring--to close to letting his hatred simmer away. He needed all the pain in the world to usher him forth--to pave the path through the park and to that solitary silhouette.

He turned back around and began again at his brisk pace, eyes scanning the surroundings for any signs of a trap. ...It could very easily be a trap. He heard Nu begin walking behind him and then stop just as they reached the grass. He didn't look back, continuing but further, using the trees to conceal himself and the obvious weapon he held whose sheath melded into the shadows themselves.

"COME OUT, COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE LITTLE FOX!" He stopped short, holding his breath. Fox? Nothing more creat-- "And we can't forget about mommy dearest!"

..............................................

"Fucknuggets." Ela blinked, trying to process still everything that had just transpired. So first a crazed voice came out from somewhere beyond the monkey bars and then Nu invented a new type of fast food? He couldn't take that thought any further because a spiel of more unpleasant dialogue was streaming out: "We flank him. If we come at him from both sides we'll have better chances." Plural. We. Again. He hadn't gotten through to her; she still thought that they were going to fight this monster together. No, this was his nightmare; others could not be involved. The ghosts wouldn't forgive him--most of all, he wouldn't forgive himself. Anouk was not meant for this kind of life. She had already killed--had already entered his world before he could stop her. But now...now at least he could stop her before skeletons uprooted themselves below her. ...Before they destroyed her slowly, Ela would stop at nothing to prevent yet another sacrifice to her conscience.

"No. You stay here." He shot her his own look, eyes searing through the distance as he noted she was positioning herself. Grabbing her with his words, he unsheathed his katana with a hiss hovered about with warmth. "I may not have known him, but think about how Ryosuke would feel. What you are doing right now... You need to stop. Let it go. This is not where you belong." If I have to become a monster to kill a monster, a demon to kill a demon, or a murderer to kill a murderer, I will do so...with pleasure. It that's all it took to prevent her further pain, that's all I need as a reprieve.

Ela took off sprinting--a flash of black, red, and silver. Like a ribbon, tumbling through a typhoon, his sword lashed into the sky, bearing down with every bit of feeling he had left in his body. "TAKATORI DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[IDEA]

Spoiler:

[Guest]

They were here. They were here. They were here. They were fucking here!!!!!!!! Takatori couldn't help but grin widely, the way the moonlight fell upon his features as he stood there still as a statue giving him an extremely creepy appearance. It was as if the devil had morphed up from the darkness of the ground and had created this man to be his puppet. No... not the devil... Chaos itself. He was the darkness. He was the shadows. He was the guillotine blade that cut the ties of peace, ripped asunder the bonds of fellowship. And he loved it. Every fucking second of it. He could see the quickening of the pairs pulses, the fear that struck them for at least one instant as they faced him down. This was the inevitable end, and he wouldn't want it any other way. They had words for him, blows and bullets for him, and they wanted one thing from him. His life. Ohhhhh but he couldn't make things THAT easy now could he? Hehehehe...hehehehahahhehaaa.a......AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!! He could cackle like the wolf howls to the moon endlessly!

Awww.... was mommy dearest upset at his little pet name for her? He could feel her rage, only chuckling as his grin somehow seemed to grow even wider at both of their reactions. She was just as delicious to observe as his little fox! No, she still held the fire. She still held more of her humanity, but she was sliiiiipping~ Slipping down down the darkest hole~ Down into HIS realm. Where HE was king, god, and OVERLORD! She was not prepared for it. Not at all. Not like his little foxy woxy. ".....We flank him, "Soft words spoke sharply still sing sweetly to mine ears!" He chastised her, chuckling as he spun the sword in his hand, really getting a feel for his weapon. Oh come on... Come on... THE FIRE. This dance was in its overture! It was time to begin. "No. You stay here." This was too good. FAR too good. Aw man, he was getting so hard watching these two! It was making him chuckle, it made his blood race, and best of all? The chitterings were gone. Ohhhhhhhhh YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!

"I may not have known him, but think about how Ryosuke would....blah blah blah blah blah blah blah BLAH!! WORDS HE GAVE NO FUCKS ABOUT. Takatori shifted from one foot to another, sensing how they were reaching the boiling point. It was just him, and Elastor. And his little fox did not disappoint. "TAKATORI DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!" He couldn't help it, he began to cackle, his single grey eye gleaming wickedly as he gripped his sword and its sheath tighter in their respective hands. "COME AND GET ME LITTLE FOX." He roared, bringing up his sheath to knock back the blow before his blade flicked out with a blur of metal, aiming for a cut on the boys pretty face. He turned his body to the side, black trench coat swaying out as their dance began. "Tell me, have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?* PREPARE FOR HIS MAW!"

*Joker from Tim Burton's Batman

[Anouk Ueda]

According to legend, Amakuni created the sharpest and strongest sword known to man long, long ago. It was made of two types of metal, had a long, sleek curvature, and a serration so fine that allowed it to slice through metal, wood, and bone without breaking. His blades set the standard, and though none were deadlier, are still seen as great and beautiful works of art. Supposedly Amakuni created the double-edged, even though no signed works still existed to prove that legend. However, if one did still exist in the world, its spirit had moved from being that of a tachi to that of Elastor Ito. Cold, shining steel-blue clashed against lavender-blue, locked in the moonlight in a very brief and private battle of wills.

"You are the victim; not some avenger seeking release from your pain." ...LIKE HELL SHE WAS! The useless twats that were the LVPD told her she was the victim in this, and she was, and that she just needed to sit tight and they'd look into it all. They would solve it. They would get her children back. But after no ransom call came and a week passed, the police had given up on finding leads to the mystery people who barged in and destroyed; they had the nerve to tell her to to hope for the best but assume the worst. And that was when Anouk stopped being a victim and did something about it, whether she, Ela, God, or anyone liked it or NOT. "...You have to understand... I never intended for you to be involved. ...Because of me your husband was killed."

Naked steel sharp enough to slice through eight prisoners without falter rose parallel to Anouk's heart, the honed blade pressing in just enough to what was left that was raw and still beat. Ela.... What? Anouk's pace slowed down slightly as the sting began to spread through, her mind processing that. He'd told her so little of how or why things had happened the way they had; he'd dodge the subject, and Nu just thought he was being his usual grumpy self. "I missed one payment, and as a result, your happiness became the payment. She could feel the cut now, shifting quickly from a sting to a hard ache. Why hadn't he told her?! Hell, even... If he'd come to her before all this, reconnected with her before the Green Dragon went belly up, before... before Ryosuke died... They were doing well enough! She'd have helped fix this problem, gladly! Anger and pain rose up like bile and choked her throat, trying desperately to force their way out of her and expose how badly inside she was bleeding.

Anouk stood numbly as Elastor walked off ahead of her, leaving her to try and force it all down and not crack then and there. "You will only be in the way." Ela was ahead of her, but Anouk wasn't seeing him; she was seeing the little boy who watched everything she did when they were small. She saw the Ela that refused to be picked up when he couldn't reach, and didn't want whatever it was if you got it for him; she saw the Ela whom she'd put the stepstool out where he would "find" it on his own and use it when he thought nobody was looking. Time had passed, and circumstances had changed; Ela hadn't, though. Just as he used to be the little boy who refused help directly and to let her put a bandaid where he'd scraped open, Ela was just the same, now refusing to let her help get even and find some peace in it. He said she had nothing to gain through revenge. Bullshit. This fucker murdered her husband. Her Ryosuke, who used to joke about never wanting to get in a fight with his wife since he wouldn't be a challenge. Her sweet, geeky bookworm who would rather watch horribly overacted samurai movies with the boys than ever pick up a sword himself. Takatori had taken someone from the world that the world needed more of, and then laughed as he SKIPPED away with her children. He'd taken her heart, soul, and reason to keep going. And if he was dead, she could have them back. Like hell she had nothing to gain.

Her tears came and were caught, pushed down as Anouk quickened her step to follow behind her brother. "Soft words spoke sharply still sing sweetly to mine ears!" Fucker could hear them AND knew they were there? Fan-freaking-tastic. Next he'd call in a small army of lackies. "No. You stay here." The dark brush gave them some cover and a clear view of Takatori, but as Nu moved to get a better shot, that deadly tachi sliced in deeper to try and sheath itself in her heart and soul. The look he'd given her was just as sharp and commanding as his sword. "I may not have known him, but think about how Ryosuke would feel. What you are doing right now... You need to stop. Let it go. This is not where you belong." His aim just as deadly as hers had become, Ela didn't hesitate to make a killing strike to her. He knew. He knew how much she hated this. The way she'd been having trouble sleeping much anymore, and how frantically she'd scrubbed to get every trace of blood off her wedding ring. Ela knew.. that she'd stopped doing her beads at night because she knew she wouldn't be able to possibly do enough penance for each life or be able to look her husband's ghost in the eyes. The last vestigages of her humanity were screaming for air before she drowned in blood.

Poised on one knee, Anouk's shoulders began to shake as her idiot brother charged screaming. Ryosuke... Lavender shimmered in the shadows as heartbreak surfaced, the broken remnants of what was a happy woman struggling to not let the tears move past her lashes. Arms that would never hold her again, kisses she'd never give again, and wings that she'd given up by killing in order to reclaim their sons. But... It was wrong. Ela was right; it was deeper into the dark than she'd ever been, and over the years she'd met some pretty shady types in her bar. Until all this, she thought she'd seen some of the worst dreggs of humanity; soe had even become sorta friends with her. But this... He wasn't human. So maybe he didn't count on the same list. Nu lifted her eyes, watching from that dark bush as Takatori raised his sword's scabbard to deflect. Time slowed. Ela was going to get himself hurt. It was the boiling pot of oil all over again, and as thought and guilt stepped aside her body acted purely on instinct. The butt of her shotgun met her shoulder as her left eye squeezed shut, Anouk shifting to aim. "TAKATORI!!" Her heart raced in her eyes as her vision tunneled and zeroed in only on the grinning monster in the moonlight, her voice a bitter snarl. "Didja get my little lovenote that I sent through fifteen of your lackies?! Fifteen operatives of the Men In White were silenced by her hand alone, a single letter carved into their chests. Anouk could feel the balisong on her thigh almost calling for blood right now. That knife was a gift from a lesser demon to help her hunt the devil. Her hand pumped the shotgun, loading the shells as she lined up her sights. "How about I seal it with a kiss!!" the cold trigger met her finger as though Mr. Blasty were merely an extension of her own arm, her body holding tight as it prepared for the recoil she'd come to know so well.

[Elastor Ito]

It had already begun--the battle he had been fighting nearly his entire life. Ela's small fingers wrapped around the hilt were now callused and scarred beyond his own recognition. But to him, they were his hands, and they worked; that was all that mattered. He wasn't a "LITTLE FOX." nor was he a human; he had become a monster--a monster borne to kill another monster whose name was...Takatori. Those syllables spoken in whispers through the shadows of flickering streetlights waiting to go out--those syllables the lullaby that urged him to put away conscience and go to sleep. When their blades clashed, he woke up, silver reverberating in his fierce grip. No, this was different from Drachma: it was just them, alone. Damp grass gathered in clumps at their feet, kicked up in a dance of swords. Tatatori's sheath, sliced perfectly in half, lay scattered some distance away where momentum had carried it, but Ela paid it no mind.

Together, black trench coats sang a billowing song, feet moving--moving--moving without stop, without hesitation. The malicious laugh was in the careless eyes of his foe knew nothing but the excitement of a challenge. But this was no challenge; it was a funeral. Teeth grit together in a merciless grin, Ela felt the rage leaking from the seams of himself, no longer tethered. Nothing. Nothing would stop him... Not anymore. Icy blue eyes glinted the look of death, glaring listlessly into the enemy's as his sword brandished forth at Ela. The strike held no strength, gliding like a dove's wings through stratus clouds. Ela didn't move, laughing out loud when the sharp metal pricked its fangs across his cheek and gracelessly...ended. Blood trickled down along the royal guard's neck where his head would have been severed if he had moved the way in which Takatori thought he would...to no avail. Red hair whipped out when he turned, his katana flailing sideways in a shrill of wind mercilessly at Takatori's neck, but he met air, the momentum carrying him back around to face where he had left his sister.

CLICK.

She had her shotgun in place, her eyes focused intensely at the man just out of sword's reach from himself. No. Elastor hissed, eyes blazing with immense fury, silent until he reached for his loose sheath at his belt and flung it blindly at the barrel. She pulled the trigger, he ducked, and the loud echoing of a ruthless shot sailed uselessly into the heavens. Perhaps a leave's life was put to a sad end, but no more deaths piled on her incapable shoulders. No more. He was done. He would not allow her anymore pain. Of this, he was sure it would cause her. How many had she killed? He hadn't a clue, but in the end, did it really matter anymore? She had killed. While he wasn't looking, she had killed, her children were striped from her, and her husband murdered. Happiness became foreign and nightmares frequent all because of him. Not Takatori, but him. That was why...that was why he could not allow her the emptiness that came with a bottomed-out revenge. He knew...all along...while his sword carved through flesh, bone, and muscle of any associated to the name Takatori that this wasn't for them.

They couldn't bring back the dead. They couldn't pretend that they could return to their old lives. That happiness burned alive; it was ashes--dust in the wind. Revenge did nothing to sate that mournful yearning for reprieve; nothing ever would. This...this was for the future--for hope--for if there was any love--any happiness left in this world, he would fight for it. For that, Elastor thrust his sword forward, slashing around at Takatori's knees and then curving straight at that black heart that knew no remorse--knew not the pain--the suffering just a single man's pleasure could impose upon the lives of others...

[Guest]

Aw too bad, no more sheath. Pfft, who gave a fuck? He wasn't going to need it after tonight anyways! Not with what he had in mind. And he would get what he wanted, one way or another. Wait how in the world would that work "one way or another?" It would fucking happen! And there was nothing they could do! Ha... haha... hahahahahahahaaa....... Ohhhh his control would be absolute tonight. HE WAS THE MOTHERFUCKING KING OF THE MOTHERFUCKING WORLD MOTHERFUCKERS! His blood was flowing fast, only getting more excited as he saw that blossom of crimson at Ela's cheek, dripping down and down.... Ohhhhh was he getting such a fucking boner! The sensation blossomed with utter pleasure as their blades clashed over and over in their dizzying dance, their bodies darting about at speeds that could be rather hard to follow. This was what he wanted. This sensation, this... rush. Nothing could ever beat the rush that his little fox gave him. Not like this. Oh hells no....

"TAKATORI!!" Ah yes. Mommy dearest.

The tall man whipped his head as he and Ela both faced the woman, grinning almost wildly at her words, "Didja get my little lovenote that I sent through fifteen of your lackies?! "You need more finess mommy dearest. Otherwise your children will never learn now will they?" He laughed. Laughed with utterly no fear about anything that could happen to him. Pain? Getting shot? Stabbed? Who gave a fuck? He was feeling too hot to give any fucks about injuries. He was one of the most dangerous things on the planet. A powerful man with powerful intentions who didn't care if he lived or died. No... he wanted to die. Maybe that made him all the worse for those involved hm? "How about I seal it with a kiss!!" And with that, the gun went off.

The sheath hit the barrel dead on, causing her shot to miss which only made Takatori cackle in ecstasy to the stars, twirling away from the pair as he prepared himself for the onslaught that he knew was coming. He could see it in Elastors eyes, and unsurprisingly, he merely smiled. But it wasn't one of his crazy smiles. No... it was just knowing, accepting, and almost... warm. Him? The agent of chaos wearing a warm smile? It made him seem almost pleasant if these two didn't know better. He deflected the blow only enough so it would miss his heart, feeling the sharp sting as the blade sunk into the flesh of his stomach. He only grinned now, pulling back with a precise strike at Elastor's stomach. A wound for a wound. Twirling his sword upwards, he aimed a few more quick strikes that he knew would hardly be fatal wounds unlike his own.

His free arm clutched at the hole in his stomach, only half-attempting to stem the flow of blood that signaled the finale of this dance was coming. "Well done little fox. How much you've grown from the little shit that sat there crying in the flames. You weren't ready for this dance then." He spoke, bringing his sword down to cleanse it of blood. Coughing, he merely smirked now, seeming quite open and easy to take down though that was hardly the case. He would still block if Elastor attempted anymore strikes. But what they didn't know, was what was hidden in his coat. Was just how this night would end....

[Anouk Ueda]

"You need more finness, mommy dearest. Otherwise your children will never learn now will they?" Fucking bastard was laughing. Like hell her boys would have to learn the things she'd taught herself over the last few months. She wouldn't let them. Lift a little higher thatn what you think you need and aim down. Left eye closed, aim with your right. Wait for any wind sheers to pass so they don't knock off the trajectory of your shot. Line the fucker's nose in the sights rather than between the eyes; shooting below the nose would blast the lead straight through someone's head and sever the cerebral cortex clean. Anouk's body tensed, holding her breath as the trigger squeezed, giving that tense pressure against her hand and almost pushing her finger away until it hit the mid point. It was a perfect shot, and Ela was out of the way; the shot wouldn't touch him at all except for maybe spatter damage. At a speed she couldn't have anticipated, something came at her, though, just as the trigger squeezed and the shot came smoking out of her Remington's barrel. The barrel of the gun was thrust upward violently, knocking Anouk off her balance and sending that perfectly-aimed kiss goodnight high off into the sky through the trees above.

A small, surprised cry escaped her mouth as she fell backward full-force. What the shit?! "DAMMIT ELA! I had a perfect shot!" Anouk hurried to right herself, not noticing or even caring that she'd switched back to the language that almost felt more natural to speak than Cretan anymore. Fucking devil was laughing again! The hell was that stupid boy thinking?! One shot and it could have been over! Their parents, her husband, their lives, their sanity, ALL could have been avenged in one hit! Why the shit did he do THAT! Anouk quickly whipped back up, trying to reposition herself and aim... But Ela and Takatori were too close, now, their bodies moving too quickly, making the widow growl in frustration as concern knotted her stomach. Ela's sowrd was slashing low, and then-- Straight through, Takatori deflecting it lower to go through his gut. Knowing him stabbing into his heart wouldn't have worked, anyway, like stabbing the void of space.

Seeing the length of Ela's sword skewering Takatori... Nu couldn't rip her eyes way from it, the feeling rising up within her not quite the one she'd expected it should have been. A wound like that was a fatal strike; the monster would be dead in a few moments. So why wasn't she... rejoicing? Why did seeing the blood run off the shining steel, the liquid tinted unnaturally dark in the shade of night and contrasting with the bright metal, make her feel almost ill? It shouldn't have. Blood was soemthing she was growing used to see running off weapons, the knife on her thigh proof enough of that from every time she flipped it open to carve into someone's chest, or to place a well-aimed strike for an opponant's throat, under arm, or any area they'd quickly bleed out from in sudden fights. Anouk had become so very familiar with that moment of killing one that would so willingly kill you... So why? Why? WHY?! Why wasn't staring at Takatori with a sword skewering him making her feel better? Something... just wasn't sitting ri--

"ELA!!" The worried scream erupted from Anouk, Takatori using their closeness to his advantage to strike Ela. She saw it move across her brother's stomach and felt all of her being freeze and her heart stop. His own sword moved far too quickly, clawing and biting at Ela rapidly. Screw what he'd said, she wasn't staying put. She couldn't. She'd already been helpless and watched as her husband died and her children stolen from her side; like hell Nu would sit still and justwatch as he hurt anyone else in her family. Takatori moved his sword to free it of blood, still caught on Ela's blade like a meatball on a skewer as Anouk ran up at a speed she hadn't known since she was young and still competing. Her feet came to a skidding stop on the grass, lavender eyes alight with a brewing fury that blazed back to life as she reached Ela's side. "Ela, are you alright?!" The dark fire burned hotter as she turned her gaze to the bleeding demon, smiling. Still alive. Still dangerous, as though silently daring one of them to strike again. Her hands moved on their own as she pumped the shotgun once more, loading the other bullet and raising it back to her shoulder. At point blank range, there would be no missing.

"And you," she growled, hackles raised, fangs bared, and not even attempting to hide the pure venom in her voice. "You or your men touch my little brother or my children again and I will tear through each of them one by one personally." Not that she expected this grinning bastard to care about such things in the slightest, even though her voice and shoulders were beginning to shake from the rage bursting like a flooding river rising over a dam. At this point, if he baited and struck, Nu would not think twice about taking that bait to engage him. "Right now... I just want to know something. WHY. Why us?! Why our family? Three different generations have been hurt by you..." The world around her had ceased to exist, this blackness filled with nothing but Anouk and the man who haunted her nightmares and occupied her waking thoughts. Closure of some kind, any kind. An answer. A reason for all their sorrow. While he still had breath, that's all Anouk wanted in hopes of feeling peace on some level, even as she gripped her gun, aiming and waiting to blast through the man's head. His last words could set her free once and for all, and then he would be ended and she would sleep again, the precious life of her Ryosuke, the safety of her children, and the lives of their parents all given satisfaction with the blood of the one who had hurt them all.

[Elastor Ito]

At the end of the day, Takatori had become just another dying man. Like any other, he gurgled like a human, felt pain like a human, and severed like a human, parting way for his steel. Seeing this, Elastor felt nothing--it was nothing, and yet...it was heavy--so heavy he could barely move from where his feet were planted. A white-knuckled grip held strong to the hilt, faltering not against any feat Takatori threw at him, but slicing through his goodbyes. He competed them all. Completed? Yes, that was it. He wasn't questioning what came after, how he felt, or what the dying man's last croak would be; Ela simply felt hatred towards the world for existing in such a way to allow suffering like this to exist. That was why he was here. That was why. He existed to rid the world of this evil--to vanquish the pain from those who could not fight back--to prevent people like his sister from staining their hands a velvet color that should never be. No, never again. Never again. Ela's eyes fumed with so many pent up emotions that they were hardly able to be expressed through the sheen of an icy wilderness. Screaming blue, he held the other end of the katana which skewered that smoldering black heart reeking of tar--the faults of humanity pulled taught. Yet Ela was no better than the slain monster, a satisfied smirk gracing his lips and making him appear not as a savior, but as an avenger. He didn't care what he appeared to be anymore. Just turn the page. Darkness shrouded over his soul, masking everything is a haze of pure hatred. An ethereal glow of moonlight shifted from their blades, painting tears of reflections along their cheeks. Abated breath in each other's faces, Tatatori clutched his wound, almost coaxing the thick liquid to spill out of himself and down his legs. Ela's eyes narrowed, preparing for the belly of the iceberg to be revealed at last--the final squelch of life, stemming from deep within to be expelled for him to carry the rest of the way to hell. This was what he couldn't allow his sister to bear--what he was sure would ruin even himself in the end. Frayed needles and endless walking nightmares, constructed by the darkness of human nature. No, this wasn't the end; it was simply the beginning of the next chapter.

The faint ringings of a blade cutting air, swamped Ela's charged mind, dragging his blade to the source before his eyes had time to register the coming of jarring pain. It sent him into the swimming abyss, unable to grasp the fact that most of the blow was absorbed by his fast reflects to block. Immediately, their blood became mixed--a splash of crimson soaking both of them, sparks flying. Tatakori's sword scraped viciously against his, disappearing halfway into his abdomen, but never seeing the light of the other side. He wheeled backwards, wedging his kisaki (tip of the sword) into the intruding tsuba (hand guard) and jutting it out and away. A quick stab, but it didn't stop with that. Freed from his near-fatal blow, Takatori bounced back with a torrent of small lashes, nailing one across the redhead's neck. However, the rest that would have most certainly killed him were blindly dodged thanks to his decision not to move out of the way from the neck-jab. Panting in shock and sever nuances of pain, Ela clung desperately to the tattered fabric of consciousness, swaying albeit lightly on his feet. Out of the pits of fading men, rose a muted voice, ravaged at the edges, but still strong in his wind. Fading fast, Takatori fashioned his final display of omnipresence.

"Well done little fox. How much you've grown from the little shit that sat there crying in the flames." Matted auburn hair obscured Ela's bewildered expression as he turned to notice Takatori cleaning his blade as if everything--his entire life--had merely been a game construed by the web of this--this monster. How could he just...? But Takatori had something wrong...something entirely wrong. He hadn't been there. That day--that day...

"You are mistaken," Ela managed to growl out, shaking hair away from sticking to the blood on his cheek, "only the rain cries for me." That day, he had not shed a single tear nor one since. He didn't cry because there were more important things to do than feel sorry for himself--more important things to remedy before allowing such a selfish luxury. No, Ela did not cry.

"Ela, are you alright?!" He jolted upright, hardly realizing that he had an arm clutched around his middle to try and keep himself grounded in the pain. He blinked surprisingly at Nu as if he had almost forgotten that she was going to try and get herself involved in something she didn't nearly deserve to fall prey to, no. He hissed under his breath, vision spiking in an usual fashion, like a beehive torn to shreds. No. He stabilized his mind, squinting through the haze at Takatori. "You weren't ready for this dance then." ...Wasn't ready? Did that mean his entire life was a puppet show? Did that mean that his game was over? What was his aim? If Takatori didn't care whether he lived or died so long as he enjoyed it, then was this the finale--the final plume of fireworks in a summer night?

His sister was speaking, but it was muffled. He felt like he was under water, subjected to the maniacal laughter of a million Takatori's surrounding him with blades upon blades forged with a longing to ruin lives. What was he even living for?! He wasn't ready then, that is to say, he was ready now for the dance? Dance... Mm... He swiped his sword to the side, mindlessly smacking the metal against the rough bark of a tree beside him. Stumbling towards Takatori, his motives sprung ahead of him, baring feral fangs that would never be sealed away.

"Why us?! Why our family? Three different generations have been hurt by you..." Ela laughed, a fiery merciless laugh that reverberated through the park bathed in blood. Drunk on the kill, he stepped right within firing range of his sister's shotgun, not caring whether or not she was about to pull the trigger or fire off more questions. Instead, he got in the way as he always would in order to protect that innocence he cherished within people. Gone. Gone. Gone. No more. He shut his mouth, eyes glowing under shadows of spiky bangs: the very essence of a death glare.

"Where are they?" He steadily raised the blade of his katana, shoving it into the rings of bone at Takatori's neck. "Where are the children?"

[Guest]

"You are mistaken, only the rain cries for me."Such a brave growl from his little fox. No... not so little. His fox. Yes... thats what Elastor was now. But he was bleeding. He, the great Takatori now found himself suffering from a slight case of dying. "ELA!! Ela, are you alright?!" The scream of worry instantly brought forth cackles that caused him to sputter and cough, staggering as his strikes fell still, their mixed blood gleaming like beautiful silky ebony in the moonlight. He really was dying... Huh... Was this how his father had felt in that last day of torture? The slow, painful death he had received at the hands of his own son? The rebellious creation... He had succeeded where the beautiful had failed. He was dying. This night would be perfect if the other Ito was here. What was his name...? Oh yes, Dai... Daigoro Ito.... How happy it had made Takatori to find out of another Ito that he could have tortured, exploited... Maybe not as successfully. He wasn't quite as hot-headed as his fox. Mm... not as delicious.....

"And you,"

A shotgun barrel was suddenly in his face, raising an eyebrow as he braced himself off of his sword that stabbed into the ground. It wasn't like he would need to be pulling it out again to use. No, he had other means to make this night end in utter success. "You or your men touch my little brother or my children again and I will tear through each of them one by one personally."[/i] His eyebrows raised as he unceremoniously flopped down onto the ground, his legs splaying out straight ahead of him as he stared at the brother and sister. "Ooo I'm so scared mommy dearest. Don't worry, no soldiers will come. I've had my fun. You two are right, this needs to end now." He smirked, waving a hand as if to utterly dismiss the possibility of reinforcements. For him? None tonight. They should all be back home, unawares and unprepared for the end that would come swiftly. Just like these two, they really had no idea. "Right now... I just want to know something. WHY. Why us?! Why our family? Three different generations have been hurt by you..."

The sharp, animal laugh that erupted only brought a bigger grin to his lips, as always tinged by the wicked madness that consumed him. Ah.... the chitterings were quiet.... Finally quiet.... Damian raised his eyes as the grin lessened to an amused sort of smirk, staring expectantly at his fox as he stood in front of him. Careless, tsk tsk. He was ruining his sisters shot again. "Where are they?" His chin raised slightly as the blade came up under his neck, bending his knee's while waiting for him to finish. "Where are the children?" There it was. Now it was time.

Sighing, carefully raised a hand and pushed Elastor's blade away with two fingers, his one arm coming to rest on his one raised knee, his other hand propping him up on the grass. "One at a time children. One at a time... Santa Claus will answer all your questions. Weapons are unnecessary at this point, I'm done fighting. seriously." He coughed once as another chuckle escaped him, making sure his balance was excellent as he sat there with these two boring all their hate into him. No fucks were given of course. His grey eye turned first to Elastor above him, shrugging as much as he could manage. "Hell if I know where the children are. Wherever your dear informant Patience is I suspect. Bitch always kept me from bringing them into my sessions... Oh well, no matter. I seriously have no fucking clue my dear fox." He began, leaning slightly to one side so he could look at Anouk. Nope. He needed to stand. Holding up his hands in surrender, he slowly, if shakily, stood on his feet, bracing himself on his cane with his hand propped on it like a cane. You could tell by the way he stood he had no intention of drawing it.

"Mommy dearest... Anouk, why you ask? Well...." He stared at both of them now, his expression softening so he almost looked human. No seriously, he was looking like an old man whom was weary of the world. "First, you parents did owe us money. That was legitimate. Ela did owe me money, that was legitimate. But... ah yes... You don't know my real name..." Shaking his head at his forgetfulness, he brought up an arm and bowed to them, knowing it was now or never. He spoke as he began to rise from his bow, "I am Damian Cain. Agent of Chaos. And you Elastor," He now stood fully straight with one arm at his side, the other extended towards his adversary as a relaxed and almost warm smile spread on his lips. "You are my Abel." Before either of them could react, he pulled out a pistol from within the folds of his shadowy clothes and fired it right underneath his jaw, the bullet soaring through his mouth and into his jaw. His last thought? It's so peaceful here.... Utter freedom.......

His head snapped back as the bullet exploded out of the top of his head, his body going stiff before collapsing in a heap on the grass. The smile remained upon his lips, peace and order finally coming to him. The great Takatori had finally died. But then there was his little surprise. The ground began to rumble violently as an explosion of gargantuan magnitude shook the entire city of Philly. The Ilium Casino had erupted in fire, rocks, and smoke as the bombs he had planted weeks before went off, quite effectively killing anyone and everyone inside. They wouldn't have had any warning. After all, nobody had known about his dead-man switch. But those weren't the only explosions. Two more happened at the docks where he had landed, and the rumbling grew worse as the smoke rose from the city whose night had been shattered. More bombs went off in the vicinity of the park, sporadically going off as if triggered by the others about them. Patience was lucky in her car, she would probably only feel the edges of it all where she sat with the children. Yes... The entire city rang with sirens as the flames rose tall along with the smoke, no real pattern to the places that he had planted those lovely little surprises. If the king of this city was going down, then the city would suffer for it.

[THATS IT KIDDIES. THE KING OF CHAOS IS DEAD]

[Anouk Ueda]

Takatori was badly wounded, clutching his wound as his life spilled between his fingers and stained the ground, propping himself up with his sword like a cane. Even as Anouth seethed, Takatori just seemed so unnaturally calm, like he was almost enjoying that his end was coming. Fucking lunatic. Maybe he was. The way he kept cackling like some old witch out of a fairy story gave a pretty good hint that he honestly didn't care in the slightest, which only made her fingers grip around her gun tighter, her shoulders beginning to shake. Rage was still burning and eating at her soul, urging and almost begginer her to just shoot the bastard whether he was about to answer her or not. Just shoot him and be done with it. Shoot him and let herself feel whatever satisfaction came from such things, even though every life taken so far had brought no peace, even if it brought her one step closer to this moment.

"Don't worry, no soldiers will come. I've had my fun. You two are right, this needs to end now." Damn straight it did, and Anouk was more than happy to help him offstage if he was in a hurry, even now as he flopped onto the ground as though he were waiting for a park picnic. Fucker might have joked about that very thing if he weren't bleeding to death like an underdone roast. But he was laughing again, which only made Anouk growl louder, clenching her teeth as her body was shaking with pure, vehement rage. Takatori just didn't care about any of it, did he? Not the lives he ruined or took, not the effect he had on people, not that he was dying right now as he cackled...none of it. Anouk's finger moved to the trigger. If he didn't care, why should she? He didn't seem to need a reason, and questioning his motives only made him laugh harder.

A second laugh caught Anouk off-guard, the woman suddenly jerking her hand away from the trigger just a breath before she would have pulled it. Ela... was stopping her... again. WHY?! He had been stopping her all night, and as his sword raised to tap Takatori's throat, Anouk realized he'd been stopping her for so much longer than just tonight. Since he'd found her and she'd gone to stay with him, he'd been pushing her to stop her warpath without saying it directly until tonight. The time she'd been on her own, Anouk had gone on her little hunts, buying and selling information, being pitted against things she'd never dreamt of in order to "earn" some of the secrets and tips she'd learned. There were so many more than just the 15 associated with the MiW. Those she'd fought with singly and those who had come hunting for her in the dark when they thought she would be sleeping. She'd been hurt pretty badly by some of them, and once or twice Anouk wasn't so sure she'd live to come this far; that she'd never get to have that shot at Takatori and silence that laugh and finally have her children again. But of all the times she'd refused to lose the fight, those had mostly ended when Ela found her at the remains of the Green Dragon.

They'd go out separately, but once she got used to being there with Ela... Anouk went out on her own less. Her hunts became less frequent, even though she would share with Ela the information she still bartered for where she could. Anoukd hadn't even been aware of it, but slow Ela had been stopping her more and more until it finally came to this moment. Ela was demanding to know where the boys were... and Takatori didn't know. All he knew was Patience had them; that must have been Ms. White. Though Anouk's finger had moved away from the trigger, her body was still shaking, conflicted. Takatori's words were coming in slow waves, her eyes welling up as she watched him. His grin had become a calm smirk as Ela stood between the two, but that wasn't what Nu had seen. For just a moment, she'd seen his smile. Warm and gentle, caught in the middle of a laugh as his glasses were sliding off his nose. The image, softer than the rain, was clear and vivid as a photo on a light box.

"...Think about how Ryosuke would feel." Anouk twitched hard. She could hear his laugh now. So easygoing and light, cracking up as he did overly-dramatic samurai impressions while posing in an apron and armed with a wooden spoon, all just to make the boys laugh. Ryosuke...

"What you are doing right now... You need to stop." His arms wrapped around her as she'd lay in bed, wrapping around her stomach to pull her to his chest. She was still mad, brooding in bed after a spat brought on by a bad day. But Ryo still took a breath and crawled into bed behind her, kissing her shoulder as she huffed. Ryosuke wasn't apologizing for what he didn't do, and he knew the woman well enough to know that that would just piss her off more; she was more mad at herself for fighting at all. Anouk had huffed and tried to roll away, only to have Ryosuke nuzzle the back of her neck and make his voice sound like Donald Duck's as he reminded her that he loved her.

"Let it go."

There was a reason Nu hadn't been sleeping anymore, and she knew it. She and Ela both. This was wrong. So wrong. Anouk had been pushing herself and forcing herself to keep going, swallowing it all as best she could. Was... Was that why.... Ela kept....

"Let it go."

The rage. The hurt. The driving need to avenge her husband. Did those feeling really run as deeply as she'd been thinking they were, or did she only tell herself that in order to keep going? Ryosuke... Help me...

"Let it go."

"Anouk... It's alright. Let it go." The words she'd heard from her sweet husband so often echoed as loudly as though he were whispering them in her ear now. "You can shake the world off your shoulders... it's okay." Nu's shoulders began to shake hard, her arms trembling. She was still staring in the general direction of Takatori, but wasn't seeing him, Ela, the park, or anything right now as the black, burning rage within her was quickly beginning to crack and blow away. Anoukd could feel him, there with her, right now. One arm slipping around her waist, the other gently pushing down on her gun, making it heavy and lower slowly. "Enough."

A hard sob was choked back with great effort, her eyes shining and her lips trembling as Takatori rose back to his feet, bracing himself up to address the widow personally. The barrel of her shotgun was lowered halfway, Anouk's gaze bleary and devoid of all the rage that had been harbouring there for months. Takatori's expression, though... It wasn't a maniac's anymore. He wasn't cackling and making jokes anymore, baiting either of them just to see what either would do. He simply looked like an old man who'd had his fun and was tired now. "Mommy dearest... Anouk, why you ask? Well.... First, you parents did owe us money. That was legitimate. Ela did owe me money, that was legitimate." So calm. So honest. There was no malice in his voice or rubbing her nose in what she hadn't known. He wasn't repentant, either, but... Just something about it. Everything. She could put that final shot in now, while he was talking; he wouldn't expect it. But... Ryosuke... Anouk let out a sob that had been bursting at the doors, Mr. Blasty lowering entirely as the woman fell to her knees. She made no effort to hide the torrent of anguish that was releasing from where it had been compressed and hidden away, ot bothering to hide it from the man who caused it. For months her husband had been by her side, begging her to stop, but his wife couldn't hear him through her anger or see him through all the blood. The more she fought how mugh she regretted each death, the harder it beame to hear him. Elastor had been tempering her slowly, softening the honed edge so slowly she didn't know she was being reforged until finally it only took that last push to make her hear Ryosuke through Ela.

Sobbing, Anouk held her arms as she looked up at Takatori as he bowed to them both in a gentlemanly fashion. " But... ah yes... You don't know my real name... I am Damian Cain. Agent of Chaos. And you Elastor, you are my Abel." One last smile. No hint, no warning, no taunting. The gun drew up from the black abyss of hell, aimed, and fired, the shot echoing in the night and followed by a wet spattering. Wide-eyed, Nu stared in disbelieve. Did... did he just... Anouk was shaking as she moved to stand, her gun laying uselessly on the ground as her handslanded on Ela's shoulders, her forehead falling to the base of his neck. It was over. They could go north and get--

WHAT THE SHIT?! Like a thousand earthquakes erupting at once, the ground below them and around shook as all over Philly explosions were seen, the blackened night sky bursting into sudden light. Devil's Night came early. Somehow... Takatori had the city rigged to blow up around them. One after another, triggered by each one that came before, fires danced and blazed all around the city. The shakes were becoming more violent, a patch of park nearby exploding and bringing Anouk back to the ground, the heat from the sudden fire close enough that it could be felt from there. [color=white}"Ela, we have to get out of here,"[/color] Terror was seizing her and being pushed back down. Of all the moments to use what she'd learned about swallowing her feelings, now as the time to use them. She looked around wildly, and then back to her brother. "..North. We have to get to the north end of the park.. Are you okay to walk?"

[Elastor Ito]

Santa Clause...fighting...questions...children...it was becoming all a blur cast in shadows of infamy, coursing out of him to pool beneath the grass. Tatatori. Takatori. Was dying. Takatori didn't know--he didn't know where the children were. Elastor's katana was shifted away by two garish fingers; Ela couldn't fight it--couldn't find it in himself to stop the movement. There he stood, teetering on the edge between consciousness and the throws of darkness, gripping his life in tow for that of another, lesser human being with a psychotic laugh, waiting for him to finally...stop. A tantalizing blue gaze transferred itself from the tip of his sword and fell blankly into the slate-colored insanity staring back. Close forever. He didn't know where the children were. Useless, even in death. There was no explanation for not knowing--no possible way that he could not. Patience, a name. ...Sessions? Confusion reaped through him, digging black branches of fortune across pale skin. He would kill her too. If that is what it took to get them back, he couldn't afford hesitation at any cost. But where was she? He scanned the premises again behind Takatori, eyes searching every bare tree and bent strand of grass, but nothing was off-kilter that indicated others were nearby. His mouth curved down into a frown, his balance shifting to the side slightly. That was when he saw it. To the North. Just to the North of the park up the street a bit was a faint glint and sprawl of exhaust looping up into the moonlit sky. The frown vanished.

"First, your parents did owe us money. That was legitimate. Ela did owe me money, that was legitimate. But... ah yes... You don't know my real name..." His eyes refocused, giving nothing away but malice. Legitimate? The figures were all made up; lies to keep them paying--to keep them in debt for the rest of their lives and that of their children should they have any to subject them to that. He had to keep paying--keep passing over paychecks with exact numbers and promises for more. To keep his sister safe. To keep her safe... But had he done that at all? It was all lies--lies construed upon concrete that no one every stopped to gander at. Instead, they walked all over it and it became the backdrop no one ever saw--the disguised falsity in a world gripped by monsters. Yet he allowed this for the sake of protecting a family that grew apart from him. It was better that way--better that they didn't know. But still, still Takatori had to take that away as well. The children--the children were the only hope left in the crumbling world--the only remembrance of a man his sister loved--a man whose death turned his sister also into one of those night-dwelling beasts. No more. Slowly, he saw her eyes fill with tears, pulling apart the excuses wielded to justify the act of killing another human being. Long ago, Ela had done away with that deceit, losing himself to make Takatori happy while also trying to find a way to end his life and move on to living his own. His own?

"I am Damian Cain. Agent of Chaos. And you Elastor, you are my Abel." Cliché last words, the hand extended, no! A lasting echo deep into the laughter of children, sealing away a life--splintering revenge into white jawbones and splattered blood all over innocent trees and himself. Ela said nothing, his arm glued to his side where it would have raised to take his, now in pieces in the grass. Gone. Abel? What that what he was? What was the point? This, was this all to shape him into what he was now? "You weren't ready for this dance then." Not then, not Drachma, but now? Why now? WHY? What...what was the point of destroying his family of just dying like that. No. No, this wasn't revenge. He chose to die. Takatori wanted this--all along he desired to be taken from this world. The flames in Ela's head were dancing so fluidly in the wind that he barely noticed the explosions that followed with this man's body hitting the ground. He toppled over into a tree, still staring into his own memories. Their mother was killed first, burning like an empty carcass devoid of anything that she ever was. His father's voice still bared down on him, clenching anything that was human left inside of himself. That voice of anguish, screaming, calling, getting nowhere. Not even his son--not even Ela came to say goodbye. The closet smell of chemicals concealed by smoke. The mop gripped tightly in tiny fingers that have now since grown. He didn't even know how his own father died, but he heard it. He heard it just as he heard the distant booms of lives ending somewhere on the orange glow of horizon. His cheeks were wet when he began to feel the bark on his his fingers--feel the split in his stomach that cascaded down his shirt and over his knees that quaked with the effort to continue standing.

He jolted upright when a weight landed on both of his shoulders. He winged around, a final tear shrouding from his eyes and falling down his chin to lick feeble attempts of emotion. Why now? Why now was he-- His sister's forehead felt hot on his neck, giving him chills strong enough to wake up just enough to realize they still had to get the children. This wasn't over. "...North. We have to get to the north end of the park.. Are you okay to walk?"

"Hn," Ela answered immediately, catapolting himself from the tree and straight in the direction of the car he had seen. Stepping over Takatori's body, he let his sword drop and left it there. Scuffed and dented, the thing was now irreparable. Walking to the car was the hard part. He slowly pulled out a gun from the pocket of his trench coat, eyeing it with discomfort, yet aiming it in the direction of the driver's seat. As he approached mindfully, two small shadows appeared out of the brush, crossing pavement towards them. Ela didn't recognize them, but he knew--he knew that those were Nu's sons. He stopped, suddenly out of drive--suddenly out of something essential to keep going. He sucked in a slow, breath, forcing himself to stay focused, hands bloody. The gun slipped. Crashed to the grass, his knees were wet from a recent rain, his hands were next, holding tight to green as his breaths became labored and wetness stung his eyes. So damp. His entire being was damp, ragged, dissembling. He was laying there, trying to see more than a few feet ahead. Did they make it? Were they safe? Were they... He felt his equilibrium flip, sailing over a low sky littered with emptiness. So...so empty. And finally, there was no more.

[EXIT THREAD]

[Patience Vinrouge]

Time... time moved forward constantly. Yet within the confines of the black sedan, time seemed to stand still. Patience let the steady breathing of the small children to lull her into a trance-like state. Every so often she would press her thumb to the circle on the poppet and feel the Dragon Pulse pumping through Takatori. Then she would remove her thumb and break the chain, returning into her lull of patience. She stayed in this comfortable silence until... rolling thunder hit the car like a sledgehammer. Patience's eyes flared open to see the city of Philly going up in flames in several different locations, including different parts of the park. The children awoke and began to scream and cry. Patience herded them close to her as the rumbles of a nearby explosion rocked the car, although it remained upright. She managed to press her thumb to the poppet and felt... nothing. The Dragon's Pulse was silent. It was done.

A short burst of laughter emerged from the ruby red lips. A weight was gone from her shoulders... a weight she hadn't realized was there. She flared her eyes at the driver who nodded and turned his gaze to the park. Sure enough, he began to shortly see figures moving through the rolling smoke. Patience hushed the children, telling them they had to be quiet. She shifted them to huddle together and then made to get out of the car. Her driver reached for a gun and she shook her head. Anouk Ueda wouldn't break her deal now, nor would she let her brother risk the lives of her children. She exited the car, leaving the door mostly shut behind her. She stood there a moment, the Lady in White. The wind and smoke stirred her dark hair, movement against the stark white of her coat. She was motionless in the fire-lit chaos of Philly, silently reveling in her new found freedom. The snake's head had been chopped off, and how convenient that the rest of the snake had instantly burnt as well.

She watched them move further forward and when they stood twenty feet ahead of her, she reached behind her, moving the door further open. She turned slightly, lifting little Kenta into her arms, as his walking wasn't solid and the fires around were not quite the best environment to increase one's capabilities. She kept a tight hand on Kitaro and with the smallest of smiles, she walked them forward. It took them a short while before Kitaro recognized who they were walking towards. He let out a small scream of delight and tugged under at Patience's hand to have her let go. She gently tugged back and he stopped suddenly, looking at her fearfully. She stooped down to let Kenta onto the ground, putting the hand of one brother into the other's. “Help your brother. There's a good boy.” She watched as Kitaro dutifully, if somewhat speedily, led his younger brother to their mother. She watched Elastor collapse to the ground and sighed with a small shake of her head. As she watched the boys make contact with their mother, she turned and made her way back to the car. Her business was complete.

[Anouk Ueda]

Smoke and sirens choked the night air, rising up to blot out the stars and sully the grace of the moon as the fires that ripped across Philly cast horrific shadows in all directions. It was like Devil's Night, and the smell of smoke and fire were clawing at Anouk's soul, making her fight the images that threatened to eat her mind. No. Not now. She couldn't let her thoughts consume her right now, not when she'd already come so far. Takatori was dead. That thught overlapped itself in her mind, as though repeating it would make something happen. Well, something had happened, but Nu wasn't really expecting his death to bring up explosions. No, she was hoping his death would let her breathe a sigh of relief, or some sort of peace that came at the end of an unhappy story. But she was numb as she and Ela left the corpse of their nightmare to head to the north end of the park.

Anouk didn't glance back at his body. She didn't dare; the wet spattering of that shot, his easy smirk, the way he had laughed so often before... those would all echo in her ears for a long time. Ela only grunted as he forced himself back up and forward, leaving his sword, the body, and their past behind. She tried to not rush forward, keeping pace with Ela. Her thoughts raced ahead, screaming, flooding and threatening to swallow her whole. Her children were here, waiting for her. This Patience woman, she'd been caring for them... Anouk tried to push the fears aside, not wanting to think of if her Kenta had forgotten his mother's face these last few months. If Kitaro was angry with her for being unable to save them, or their father. The weary woman swallowed hard, Mr. Blasty tight in her hand as she moved, looking only at the shadow at the far end of the park that had to be the car, and to Ela, watching as he moved.

Elastor was covered in blood. He'd been hurt to keep her from getting hurt, and from hurting herself further. And one thought haunted and hurt nearly too much to mention; would he ever be able to forgive her? Not only for all she'd done, but the thing that was a crime she shouldn't have ever committed: leaving Ela alone. Sure he was with their parents and nobody could have guessed what would happen to them all, but it was something Anouk felt nothing but regret over. She'd run off to Aerugo to stay with their godparents, and left Ela alone to fend for himself all these years while everyone doubted his innocence. So many times she'd told herself if she'd only taken Ela with her... But... She could make amends, right? Start over? She'd made a deal with Ms. White to get her sons back when Takatori was dead, and she'd been staying with Ela and getting to know him all over again... Couldn't she start over with what was left to make a new family if she never let anyone take her away from them or anyone hurt them again?

The end of the park was in sight, and the dark shape of a car became clearer as they slowed down. About twenty feet... so close...! Ela drew his gun, aiming at the drivers window as the door opened, a woman emerging from it slowly. A small body stood there, holding her hand, another body curled around her chest, the three of them slowly walking forward. Anouk's heartbeat grew heavy in her chest, almost painful as her eyes widened. "Boys," Anouk breathed out, no longer sure if this was real or if she was dreaming again. Ms. Wite stood there watching, putting Kenta on the ground and joining their hands, as Kitaro led them forward. Ba-thump. It was really them. They were safe. They were coming toward her. Mr. Blasty dropped into the grass as Anouk lowered herself down to her knees, cheeks shining as she held her arms wide open. Kitaro's steps went as quickly as they could without letting go of Kenta, closing the distance as the gun slipped from Ela's hand into the wet grass, his body following.

The gun spilled from Ela's hand into the grass as he finally crumbled, succumbing to his body as it lost all steam. "MAMA!" If more of her thinking capacities were rendering, Anoukd might have found it funny that Cretan was the first thing Kitaro was using to call her with. But it didn't matter. As two tiny bodies collided with Anouk's chest, her arms snapped around them, touching up and down, making sure they were real. Tears and kisses showered two small faces that had grown in the time they'd been apart, Anouk not noticing that she was crying again, or how much her chest hurt. She could feel it; her heartbeat. It had returned and brought her back to life. The mother managed to tear her eyes away for a moment, looking up to the watchful figure that was Patience before she turned back to her car.

"Thank you," she half-sobbed, smiling as her face glistened, her body rocking back and forth slightly with her boys. She'd kept her word, and Patience had as well, and now Anouk never wanted to let go of her sons again. Kentaseemed uncertain at first, nearly shying away from his mother until he'd watched his brother's actions more, A tiny fist tugged at the worn leather of her jacket.

"Mama... We can stay with you now, right? We can go home?" Home. They had to get out of Philly and back to London. The world was burning down around themand the freeways would be backed up with people trying to get the hell out of Dodge. Anouk looked frantically around the park. Her car was back there... and things were burning all around. She couldn't leave the boys here with Ela to go get it, though. Ela... ELA! Rising back to her feet, legs shaking, Anouk moved over to her brother. No way he'd be able to make a sprint back to the car or hold onto the boys long enough for her to go get it and drive it around. The leather jacket slid off her body, Nu draping it on Kitaro.

"We're going home now, Kitaro. Here... Take your brother's hand, and keep the jacket covering both of you. Mama has to help Uncle Ela..." She looked at him again, swallowing the ten-thousand feelings in her stomach right now. Just focus on getting everyone to the car. Get to the car, in one piece, and we can go HOME. "Ela... You can be mad at me for this later. ....God I'm glad you're skinny." She didn't know if Ela could even hear her at this point. But he was alive. They were all alive. Thankfully Ela wasn't the first guy Anouk had had to tote to a car... just never while things were burning. Thank God they werne't under fire, too. A warm body and warm blood pressed into her back, seeping into her shirt and smearing on her skin. Her steps were as fast as her body and the conditions would allow, her hand clenched around Kitaro's across the park. their escape and salvation closer and closer. They'd make it home, though. Nu wasn't leaving any room in her resolve for the universe to test that or question her. They would make it home together, and nothing would stop them.

{EXIT THREAD}

[Patience Vinrouge]

Patience watched the reunion of mother with her children. It was almost touching and Patience felt her once-icy heart clench suddenly. It was a moment she had often thought about in the past weeks, but her ponderings were not quite so poignant as the reality. She turned her back to them, preparing to make her final departure. It was then that Anouk's two words drifted over the smoke to her ears. It stilled her steps and she felt her breath catch. She had done so many unspeakable things in her past and she really didn't feel much regret. But she never expected to be thanked for anything that she did, for good or for ill. And yet... there it was.

Patience didn't know how to respond... so she didn't. She continued on the last few steps to her car, sliding into the back seat. The door shut with a quiet click and her driver shifted the car into “drive” and put his foot to the gas. Her time in Philly was officially done. She had nothing left to keep her in the city. New York had lost its glamour and Philly was in flames. London was the new city calling her name. She hoped it would give her what she wanted... otherwise she would just have to go somewhere else. Patience rested her head back, eyes fluttering closed. She thought briefly to the package that sat outside the door of Elastor Ito's apartment. A large box, with no return address, filled with children's toys, books and movies. It was only fair; Patience had no use for the things anymore, but she had a feeling that the Ueda family did. The thought was gone as quickly as it had come. It was a short drive to the airport and then it was on to her new life. Her jet would leave on time, despite the burning city.

The Lady in White... she was no more. Patience Vinrouge now remained.

[END THREAD]

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