Afternoon, July 23rd..

He woke up inhaling deeply, trying to move only to realize one of his arms was still asleep. He was warm..hugging someone.. Oh..

He grinned, rolling slowly onto his back..rubbing at his face with his good hand. Sunlight streamed in through the open curtains, fading when little clouds must have passed in front of it. He pushed up from the bed to sit up, swing his legs over its edge. His stomach felt hollow..

He turned to look over his shoulder. Her face..was still a little splotchy.. He had been trying to imagine, lately, what it would be like to live his entire life with the feeling..of having no parents.. It wouldn't be that bad if he didn't know what happened to them..if they were just not there.. If they weren't, he wouldn't have to think about them..

But having them, and then have them being taken away.. It was sort of different.. He rubbed at his left shoulder as he stood. Families..were kind of overrated anyway.. He wasn't a kid anymore.. He sort of..didn't need one.. He could live his own life..

He gathered the edges of the fuzzy blanket, draping it back over Katt's sleeping form. He brushed some of it softly over cheek to dry it, leaving a kiss on her forehead before straightening.

He needed to eat something..

******

He stumbled down the stairs to the main level of the condo, yawning..shaking his head. He was halfway through a turn into the kitchen when he heard rapid, urgent knocking on the front door. He blinked..staring at it.

It happened again.

He stepped in that direction instead, frowning softly as he undid the locks as quietly as he could.

"Special delivery for a..a Katt and Toby?" the voice called from the other side of the door. He blinked, drawing it open. The figure on the other side was dressed like a traveler; lots of dark brown leather underneath a cloak that was the color of tree bark. Their face was shadowed with a hood, save for their mouth and jaw. It wasn't a girl..

"Special..delivery..? Uh, okay.."

"Yup~ Real special, if you'd just step outside, please?" The figure moved aside, gesturing out to the front stoop. Toby stepped forward slowly, a frown already hardening his mouth.

This..wasn't how it was supposed to work.. He'd delivered enough things to have an idea.. The person wasn't even carrying anything..

There was crushing pressure on his throat a moment later..something hard against his back. The person.. He choked, prying at the vice grip on his neck with one hand, shoving his other elbow back..up into the ribs of the man holding him.

He'd been wrong.. It wasn't leather..it was hard, hurt like and sounded like metal.

"Aaall these months and you've barely changed, eh, Toby..? No..no, you like being called Tobias now, don't you?" the man snickered against his ear. He lurched against the feeling, despite the pain his neck..squirming in irritation. He curled his left hand, swung it around at the face he could still feel hovering over his shoulder..grunting in satisfaction at the contact. It wasn't much of a punch.. He had to do it harder..or get loose..

How did he know that..? Katt..wouldn't tell anybody..

He sputtered feeling the man's fingers shove the scarf out of the way, dig into his skin..into tendons and muscle. His mouth dropped open, tried to release a strangled yell.

"If you try anything like that again, anything at all..I will forget you and go upstairs..and disembowel my dog faced woman. We wouldn't want that now, would we..? No~" The man..giggled..

He sagged in his grip. His chest felt full of ice, it was spreading through him. He stared straight ahead, through the narrowing dark tunnel of encroaching unconsciousness.

Tylor..

"That's a good boy. Of course we wouldn't want that..not until the opportune moment. Fortunately, or unfortunately for you, that moment isn't going to be for a while. Let's go."

"MMPH!!" His eyes rolled back in his head..as something smashed into the back of his skull. He thought he heard a crack.. He hoped he was wrong..

Darkness took out the world in front of him.

Early morning, June 24th..

"I'm not going anywhere.. Something would have to make me..and I mean really make me..

"I won't leave you forever.. When I do, I'll tell you where I'm going.. You'll always be able to find me.. I promise..

"Nothing will happen.. And if it does..I'll find a way to wait, and stay alive..until you can find me.. Like I did for you.."

He coughed, twitching against the shackles. The smallest movements sent pain exploding through him, dragging his throbbing head out of a shallow sleep.

He felt..like he was by himself. The air always felt different when that was the case.. He didn't feel anything either, no nausea.. It had taken several, agonizing grunts of effort to even get a subtle burn of yoki started. He sighed heavily, leaning his weight against the shackles as, little by little, the pain began to fade.

He had to fight.. He had to get out of here, or..if he couldn't..just stay alive.. Live..until she figured it out..

He sniffed, growling..swinging his hands back against the hard wall behind him. The shackles banged into the bricks, sent shock waves up the nerves in his arms.

He could do it himself. He would do it himself.. He had to keep Tylor's attention focused on him..if he switched it. If that had already happened..

Panic seized his chest, freezing his lungs. Had this..all been just to get him out of the way..? So he wouldn't be able to do anything to stop..

He yanked on the shackles, grunting..not caring that the movement was counteracting his healing. He felt the hole in his gut tear, the score marks down his torso stung. New blood flowed, warm, staining what was left of his clothes a dark, but vivid, red.

"Mmph.." It started hurting too much..he couldn't keep it up.. He sunk down to his knees, his arms stretched to their limit above his head. Moisture spilled over onto his face, rinsing pale tracks into the crimson smears already there.

He shouldn't be crying.. He should be..focusing.. But it wasn't that bad when you were scared, right..? He didn't want that to be the last time he ever saw her..or his friends.. He hadn't even seen his friends in a while..

He didn't want them to get hurt too..

At least..he'd said those four little words before things got too bad..

.: July 23rd - Late Evening :.

The usual spots were searched and some not so usual. She asked people. Noone saw him. She told herself not to worry. He could take care of himself..

...right...?

Crossing the steps of the porch she stopped at the window, fingers curling helplessly to the edge as she peered in. She hoped he had been there but amongst the small crowd she did not see that vibrant ginger.

Her stomach dropped..

He was..not there. Now..She was worried.

"Toby...Where are you.." She murmured to the night air as she turned and leaned onto the railing of the inn. She waited there, like she did every single place she had visited. At least for a number of minutes. Then she pulled away and stepped into the pouring rain.

He had to be somewhere..

He promised...

Promised he wouldn't leave...


.: July 24rth - Early morning :.

Sluggishly she stepped up to the condo, tears mingled with rain streamed steadily down her cheeks. She didn't like being worried. She went in to check if he came while she was away.

Nothing.

She retreated back outside and sat on the front steps, knees drawn to her chest. She didn't care it was raining.

She was going to wait right there. He was going to come back..he was..

He promised!

Mayu Tsuzuki's and Tylor's player. Thanks!! ]

.: July 24th - Late Evening :.

The search was starting to worry her. The rain had died down and eventually ended. She waited it out. It was okay. It was a warm rain but she was still soaked. Where was he?

She entered the condo to change and leave note just in case he returned while she was out searching for him. She wasn't going to return till she found him. She refused to return without him...

Walking the streets she trailed back through many of the hot spots that they normally visited. Some of the not so normal. The church. The bridge. Even to Mayu's apartment. Maybe he was just..hanging out. Maybe she was just fretting herself silly.

It had only been a day..

How long had it been since they had been apart for that long?

It was chanced luck that she found Mayu at the inn. Alone but ever cheerful. A little light of happiness in a state of sadness. It always amazed her how Mayu's attitude swayed her own. Even in her worry Mayu managed to get her to smile without even trying.

Mayu brought up a valued point. One that Katt found herself very unproud of. Maybe she had bitten Toby in her sleep. But if she had..she must of really hurt him to spill that much blood. No ..wonder why he fled from her. There was an ache of dread that filled her. She could only hope..that wasn't the case.

The inn grew too crowded for the likes of them and at a suggestion she stole Mayu into the evening air for a drink at Ichi's. She paid of course. The least she could do for the sisterly figure! As they chitchatted Katt found out that Mayu had a new friend. That made her happy to hear. Mayu needed more good friends and from what Mayu spoke of this new friend, it was someone she would 'approve of'. Which meant it was someone who wasn't going to maim or take advantage of Mayu. That made her even more happier.

It came apparent to her, by Mayu's words, that she was not hiding her worry for Toby's absence as well as she thought she was. She was a bit surprised where the conversation lead again. She didn't think that Mayu really remembered that she was part vampire and that she drank, oft enough, from Toby.

Did it pain her? Yes. But it was a pain she was most familiar with. One she was use to and able to handle. It was almost welcomed in a certain way. It meant being able to be close to him. In a way...connected...

Some time after both of them had gotten their drink, the serving girl reappeared and set a slender, shiny box down hard on the counter between them. "This was left for you by someone in a cloak, and I'll have you know that I'm not a member of the postal service, so if this happens again, ohhh..." She bustled away without another word.

"I wouldn't hurt Toby. Not from that. I mean we've done it so many times." She frowned a bit and sat back. "He even made me take a lot one time. He was really sleepy afterwards. It's not..like something new. I-" She blinked and looked at the box then over after the serving girl. Someone in a cloak.. She glanced down to the box again then looked over to Mayu. "Uh.."

Hardly a beat was missed between her and that lemon soda, gulping down the liquid to the point that the ice collapsed inward on itself; no longer suspended in the saucy sweetness. A meek glance was given to Katt, then the box. She had to swallow before she could manage to say much of anything at all. "...I really d-don't know anybody in this c-city... gotta be for you."

"I guess.." Nudging the smoothie away she curled her arm to the shiny box. It was shiny. She liked shiny. Maybe it was left by Toby and he was just having a really silly streak? "Oh so what am I?" She playfully peeked her tongue out between her lips at Mayu for that comment, fingers working to pry open the box.

Nestled on crumpled, black satin, the mythril dagger..stained in crimson that appeared half dried..glittered in the light of the drink shop. The vial and chain were wrapped delicately around it from hilt to tip, the former empty of its usual bright blue glow.

Mayu lurched backward on her stool as she began to stretch, unawares that the stool itself didn't come with any kind of support. She nearly toppled over backward, catching herself at the bare last second with a reflexive grab of the counter itself. She pretended as though the whole scheme didn't take place.

Katt's eyes slowly grew wide and she stared at the dagger. Well if that didn't just send her alarms into full swing. Her stomach tightened and she forced herself to touch the dagger then gently work the chain from the blade. There was absolutely no color to her skin save for the red forming to her eyes. "Hhh.." She glanced quickly to Mayu due to the movement. She waited till she was sure Mayu was not going to fall...Even if the world felt very slow at the moment.

The girl's attention idly fixated on the offered box, unable to connect the various dots that littered the page she was currently on. The dagger was given a moment's worth of a glance, then up to Katt. Her reaction wasn't so unsettling that the lemon soda could be returned to in peace. "W-What's up w-with the box?" she queried.

Katt clenched the vial tightly as it was once freed. "Th..This is..Toby's blood. Toby's vial..T..Toby's.." Her eyes went back to the dagger, her lips sealing to stop them from quivering. "Mayu...Toby's in danger.."

The glass was nudged away to request a refill; providing a sidelong glance to her friend. "W-What makes y-you sa-say he's in d-danger...?" No, Katt's response didn't immediately have her screaming bloody murder. In fact, it only enhanced Mayu's level of confusion.

"This is the dagger that I made for him. It..and his other dagger...He rarely goes anywhere without them. And it's covered in his blood." Then Katt held out the vial, staring at the empty thing. That just sent her mind whirling. "His vial of elixir...these..things never really leave his person. And they are ..covered in his blood.."

Mayu shied away a touch when the vial was offered out for her to either claim, or merely look at. The mentioning of essence was bad enough, let alone seeing it or getting it smeared all over her polished hands. A grim flattening of her lips conveyed her disapproval. "...and how w-would so-somebody know to send you th-these things? Or kn-know you're here?" She rose to her feet, sliding effortlessly through the drapes to return to the common ground. That mail lady was sought after without hesitation. "...where'd that woman go? Who delivers a package and doesn't ask for a signature, or som-something like that... such a primitive place..."

Mayu Tsuzuki's and Tylor's player. Thanks!! ]

The prone girl hadn't an opportunity to react; susceptible to what desired to have its way with her. Eyes lowered, closing tight which spilt the amassing tears like waterfalls. Was that it? Intense pressure overwhelmed her when she felt a build-up of foreign sources tear through her figure as though she were being split in half. However...

A reaction was underway; and not one that was involving claws or rupturing of Mayu's flesh. A swelling of fragmented energies expelled from her like a nuclear reaction, flaring outward. The surge of energies wholly consumed her person, and came with enough of a burst that it could theoretically propell any nearby forces away from the focal point like it were ragdolls in a turbine. In the wake of such a supernatural phenomenon stood a rush of cardinal rubies and glistening ocean greens. Unscathed by the hardships of an evening that intended to remain peaceful. Undisturbed by the threats of evildoers and angst. Stern argent lamps that mirrored the flowing attire regarded that which intended to impale it and become another notch on the ol' belt. "Just what in the #$%^&* you think you're doing, you idiot?" Imbecile.

Blown from his kneeling position, hand ripped free of young flesh.. The figure sneered as it rolled, end over end across the cobblestones..expertly rising to its full height a great distance from where it originally started. Its crimson stained hand lifted to his now unmasked face. Brown hair fluttered around boyish features, silver eyes regarding the changed figure before him as his tongue lovingly cleaned his hand.

Gloved digits were taut along Phantasneko's star rod, joints popping with the intensity of her frustration over the incidents unfolding before her, previously, veiled eyes. Unnatural ears of a feral origin swieveled as if spying Katt for the first time; tail unraveling from her waist to wriggle behind her in feigned excitement. "It would seem another threatens the stability of Truth and Love along these parts, wouldn't you say?!" Her attention fell onto those boyish good looks, bountiful energy in her garden of mirth renewed at the release of tempered spiritual energies. The star rod was passed between tense hands, brandishing it at the charmer. She awaited his reactions.

"I would say you're a lot tastier than I'd realized, Mayu." He giggled, his tongue working around his mouth like an animal's would. "This will do very nicely~ Still here, still able to feed..guess that protection didn't last too long."

The rod angled downward toward the cobblestone that supported her light frame, lips creasing into disdain. It contorted an otherwise attractive visage. "Don't compare me to that dimwitted five year old, man-thing. I advise you to leave these premises willingly and quietly. I don't like resorting to violence!"

"That's too bad.." His voice was soft, almost too much so..like silk. "Because I do so *love* resorting to violence. You wear red nicely, I'd like to see you bleed it this time. We'll put on a great show~ Isn't that right, Katt..?" He aimed another sickeningly gentle smile in her direction. "Wouldn't you think so? I know someone else who bleeds beautifully.."

Phantasneko tutted audibly, the rod arching from side to side in a scolding manner. "How I despise your kind. Since you have this thing for love, allow me to introduce you to the ground. It'll be your living quarters!" The rod was expelled from her hands purposefully, lobbing it skyward. In the time it took for the blunt, decorative weapon to do a full rotation and manage to be caught within the same hand, several layers of thin, pinpointed rectangles of an illuminative golden hue spanned about her body, encompassing the most of her figure as though she were being swarmed by their presence. Lashing the air with the star end of her weapon, she angled it the boyish one's way, unleashing several waves of those golden squares. Their trajectory was precise and without trickery; intent on finding their source hastily and certainly.

Katt was stunned, she wasn't sure by Phanta or by the fact...She suddenly felt rather sick all of a sudden. "(vsw) Y-You.." Her jaw twitchd, dancing with an arrangement of emotions. He had Toby..He hurt..Toby..hurt Mayu. She twitched heavily and tears began to crawl down her cheeks. He was suppose to be dead. She watched Phantas' attack and immediately sprung forward, bidding the shadows to her in order to spring herself faster towards Mayu. She needed to get her out of there! Away from that....bastard!

Tylor stepped forward, calmly, his boots echoing loudly..joining the sounds of several loud, metallic screeches. The little golden papers landed and sank into the leather looking armor he coated himself with..burning like fires in his torso. By the way he was moving, it would seem that the intended marks hadn't been reached.

Phantasneko eyes flickered the briefest shade of ocean the second he drank in her attack as though it were nothing more than a splashing of water. Swirls of golden increased in their cyclone of motion about her figure; reacting heavily to her emotions as though it was their source of existence. "...the hell kind of creature are you? You're nothing like that boy-toy of this woman's!"

Katt bolted away from Tylor and that golden papers. She blinked finding Mayu..gone? "Hahhh.." She skidded and turned on her heels, the shadows melting for her. Glaring at Tylor she hissed. "Where is-" Choke. Blink. Stares over at Phantas. "Toby is not my boy toy!" She snapped and glanced back to Tylor. Shit. Both she didn't give a damn for but Phantas was..in a way..helping. "Where is Toby Tylor?! And what did you do with Mayu?!"

"Creature. I rather like the sound of that. You ruined my armor, by the way." His chin lifted, light glinting in silver eyes as he smiled at the both of them. At Katt's question, he lifted his right hand..sliding the flat of his tongue along his palm, catching crimson that he'd missed. He couldn't resist.. "I ate her. And she was delicious..I can see why you tried to protect her from me. But, as you can see, all that you did is worthless now." He hadn't ceased his forward movements, still striding calmly toward them like he had all the time in the world. "Just like you, isn't that funny~?"

Phantasneko went along with Tylor's claim. The business of the girl was none of hers, save the fact that it would mean her demise. Swirling the rod in a complete rotation, she plucked a swirly golden card from the massive lineup that created a blurry shielding. As though the air eveloping her was as dense as a desk, she slammed it before her with an audible slap. Spell Card: Flower Fields of Paradise, the secondary voice announced for the magical girl, aiming the starry end of her rod toward Tylor, the intended of her attack. Pinpointing from his immediate vicinity, as though it were the focal point of eruption, spiritual essences began to spring from beneath the cobblestone, as though they were now caught within a lapse of time, seeing Spring blossom in full swing. Those flowers, however, shared what their master expected of them. Ethereal petals shed from their stems like razors, becoming deadly projectile weapons in the blink of an eye. And like bullets from a rifle, lashed out with the intent to maim.

"Hha..." Twitch. Ate her? Dread began to crawl up her spine and she stared at Tylor like she didn't quite believe him. He killed..Mayu. No..Her hands clenched. No. Clenching her teeth she snarled and she started forward, stopping only because she wasnt in the mood to be skewered by the attack upon Tylor. The shadows began to ink up, crawling and overtaking her. Shelling. Stepping forward she quickly sped forward. She wanted to..kill...so badly.

Tylor visibly shuddered, darting back a few steps. Metal screamed along his arms as it was poked through by what appeared to be stone scales. He lifted his hands as if in a welcome gesture, tiny, crafted knives firing forward to meet the flower petals on their way to him. His eyes narrowed as he watched the little explosions of stone and bright color..missing several, but hitting several more. Those knives that hadn't been stopped continued on their path toward the teal haired girl who'd began the attack. Through it all, he smiled, even as abrasions appeared and leaked on his face and hands. Eyes flickering gold, they sewed themselves back together immediately afterward. His cloak rippled behind him in tatters, falling away to his heels.

It was almost deranged; the way that Phantasneko could summon the power to wisk leaves from trees, or tear down the walls of reality and invite the spiritual realm access to this part of existence. Yet, in the same breath, she was entirely helpless against something so simple and plain as a knife. She hadn't a moment's worth of time to consider direction before it plunged into the flesh of a shoulder, and out the opposing end. Skin shred like paper, crimson like her dress projecting from either end of the rupture like vomit. She recoiled from the impact, dropping down from her proud posture to soak in the physical assault that she was nigh prepared for. Other than that tearing sound that followed the impact, none other were made. Thankfully, it was the first one that allowed her ease of passage from the tunneling of many others that could have very easily bore through her like she were a dart board.

He was distracted. Fine enough. Katt came blurring out from the shadows behind him, wickedly curved sword in her left hand. Just like the black coating that framed her this sword was also black, pulsing along lines of crimson as if life was within it. The blade sliced through the air, attempting for the side of Tylor.

"I forgot.. I was going to trickle these to you over a few days, but since I'm here, I figure..what the hell?" Once more, metal screeched and Katt's blow got a grunt that sounded more satisfied than pained. The fingers of his right hand grew and formed black skewers around two small objects that he held tightly. His left hand attempted to wrap about the blade and rip it from his body..as his right flew toward the murky figure that was Katt, fingers curled..to test just what that black stuff was.

Sickly greens consumed Phantasneko's able hand, digits seeping into the hole along her shoulder that left her more like a doughnut than a spiritual maiden. So long as another would deter attention, so soon could she mend the pouring of blood like she were a representation of Niagara Falls. When tissue was entirely reconstructed, and bloodflow found itself back on track, she pulled herself up to her feet. The sticky aroma of bronze and iron wasn't so easily washed away; but it was pieced from her mind until more pressing matters were accounted for. At her distance, and with Katt so close, nothing immediate could be formulated. But it allowed her to prepare and calculate a more direct, obliterating technique. The golden swarm of cards eased from their flow, their essences pulled from and returned to her person so as to not allow their powers to be wasted. She became still and calm; allowing herself to not be interrupted or to drown her focus in mindless dribble.

Katt grinned when he gripped the blade and she quickly shifted her wrist, the blade's structure changing, branching out as if alive. The living shadowy 'metal' attempted to curl itself around and up his arm, piecing inward like a pin cushion. Hard. The structure of whatever it was just that armored her was just that. As if he had just struck a her in her altian form with armor. She tried to tear through his hand and possibly his arm before pulling back. "Why. Why couldn't you of just stayed dead?!"

"Ah, someone seems to have picked up a few new tricks. Maybe I was too quick to judge..we should have played more~ " Pain registered as nothing more than a narrowing of silver eyes. His fist drawn back, he spun into the direction she was cutting out of his arm, seemingly ruined fingers of that hand shooting out at the speed she was exhibiting..one for each limb, and one for her throat..to try and wrap around, swing her up into the air..and then back down for a crash landing.

Mayu Tsuzuki's and Tylor's player. Thanks!! ]

...and following one sharp, unmistakable impact, that which channeled her own supernatural energies, a mere headband that were decorated with a pair of kitten-like ears, were thrown from her person. Teeming spiritual energies expired; leaving her as much a mortal as the commoners from which she originated from. Even one brash impact left Mayu bleeding profusely, spilling crimson pools beneath her in thick, sticky puddles.

Since someone was preoccupied Katt eagerly took the chance to cut ground separating her from Tylor. Silent and swiftly she swept up behind him, leaping up with intentions to jump his back and send the wickedly curved talons into his shoulders, just close enough to his neck not to kill him. She needed him alive to find where Toby was!

"That was a lot more fun than I thought! You held out on me, Katt." His voice only slightly strained from the claws in his shoulders. He sneered at the satisfying feeling of each skewer being pulled from Mayu's slight body..shrinking back through the ground that they'd dug through and settle as toes of taloned feet that almost resembled goat legs. For a moment. "You're all very, very lucky that I already have a target in mind..who wanted you to have these." He held out his right hand and dropped the smokey ring, and golden hoop earring to the dirt beneath him. Both were stained with blood, the latter with flesh suggesting it was torn free of an ear.

Canines peeked past her lips when Katt saw the two precious items and she growled inhumanly. "Where is he!" Claws curved in, attempting to yank at the muscle structure. She was so wanting to just yank her hardest. Her motions stopped seeing. Mayu. She was..Blink. Phantas was Mayu? That explained the likeness.

"You should attend..to your fallen friend there." A strategic pause, or the chance to catch breath that was already short in coming. He frowned darkly, locking his knees..attempting to not rely on the hold that he was now stuck in to keep himself on his feet. His single arm hung limp at his side, the tries to lift it for an even remote shove at getting free registering as contractions of muscle and soft twitches. He took advantage of the fact that he was standing still, working his mind and pulse back down to a calm that matched his expression. It was not an ordinary altercation by a long shot, and one that he had not prepared for in the slightest.

Katt snarled and yanked, hard, on the muscles she was currently attached to. "Where is he?! He better damn well be alive or so help me..." She dislodged the claws and kicked off of him hard, shifting in the air to land gracefully in front of the falling Mayu. Her hands shot aside, shaking off the coating of purple blood from her claws. She glared at him, hatred never flared so wildly in those eyes. "Why? Why did you take him? Why not just come after me again?"

Tylor grunted forcefully, and again when he was kicked, falling like a wad of meat ready for the butcher's slab. His balance was off. He rolled onto his front, pushing at the ground with his only arm and it shook with the effort of lifting his weight. Through it all, he was able to giggle. "Because..he was the only one left out..of the pact. But now..that is clearly not the case. The pact is no longer..in existence. And even so, he is the one that means the most to you. It'd be..a shame to waste the opputunity.."

Katt's jaw twitched at his words and she dipped low. He was weak. She could kill him now! But..Toby..Her head jerked and she looked away from him. "Tch. Coward.." She stepped forward, calmly claiming up the earring and ring from the ground. As she raised she glared pointedly at him. "Why..Why hurt those I care for? You realize doing that will not make me return to you."

He got his feet under him, slowly rose for the second time..though it didn't seem as graceful as the first. His body belied the cheerful expression he gave Katt. "Whoever said I wanted you to come back..of your own free will? Then I would lose the joy..of taking you from those you've just gained. And don't worry..I'll make sure your face..is the last thing he sees." Giggling. Black, torn up wings shot out from his back and swung down, propeling him like a bullet up into the sky. He flew in the opposite direction of where he had stationed his captured mistake..a quick, but clumsy bird. His right hand closed over the open socket of his shoulder as it no doubt looked like he fled the scene. If asked, he would claim the other parties' luck.

Katt's fingers curled to the two items, fisting them tightly against her chest. She watched the direction he fled but slowly a look of dread began to escape across her features. She ..could think about it later. She needed to get Mayu taken care of. After all...Toby would never forgive her. Tucking the two items away she turned towards the fallen Mayu. Tears began to work down her cheeks as she knelt down and collected her gently into her arms. "I swear.." She sniffed quietly and drew up. Shadows melted away from her, leaving her tired. She started towards the condos, a few steps ceased and she looked towards the direction of the church. Nodding meekly to herself she turned and started that way instead. Tylor..couldn't..stand on holy grounds..right? She could take care of Mayu better there...right?

Evening, June 24th..

Dingy yellow light turned the backs of his eyelids orange..like old lightbulbs.. The smell of blood was something that he'd gotten used to, but now it was mixed with garbage..sounds of tearing flesh and snapping bone.

Dried blood and tears had formed a crust on his eyes..he groaned as he forced them open.

It was the first time he'd actually been able to see where he was.. A huge warehouse.. It was bigger than any he had ever seen. The lights were high up in the ceiling, flickering.

He wasn't the only one here..

He felt cold fear crawl all over him for the umpteenth time. Goosebumps rose under all the blood. There were Yoma..here.. One sat on its haunches, its hands and face half buried in the gut of the decapitated woman several feet in front of him. The ground was streaked with red. She'd been..dragged.. Toby shuddered, jerking his eyes away.

Pairs of shackles lined the walls..everywhere..the cement floor in front of each was stained and streaked with crimson, some rustier than others. Some shackles were filled.. Naked, dead Humans..being fed from and clawed at. Some only had pieces left..an arm here, half of a leg there.

The center of the vast floor was filled with corpses. He could see white bones and several tufts of colored hair. It was..a dump..

There was no safe place to look..

What the hell was this..? They..were acting like he wasn't there..wasn't alive.. Or wasn't food..

He should just be thankful for that..

A..feeding ground.. Or somewhere for them to stay..? Was this where all the Yoma were coming to..? That meant it was Tylor doing it.. He'd been here for this long..?

He shook his head sharply, grunting..pulling himself roughly to his feet. The chains rattled, pressure taken off of his wrists and arms.

How much time had he lost..? How long had he been in here.. It felt like a week..

He stared down at the ground as he started steadily forcing yoki into his system..beyond feeling the burn in his eyes and throat. The small, feeding Yoma in front of him paused, looking up..entrails sewn between its yellow teeth, dripping gore and still attached to the body on the ground.

"I'm not food. Back off." He shuddered as the wounds in his ribs filled themselves in, the latent ones down his face, neck and torso..and his half broken jaw numbing. The sores on his wrists closed..the shackles didn't sting anymore.

He could just ignore the rest of it. He'd done enough panicking and crying.

The Yoma in front of him reached up, grabbing the ropes of guts and yanking them free of its teeth with a disgusting rip. It laughed..its mouth hung open, stained in fresh blood that dripped down its chin and throat.

He couldn't see his own skin go white. He stared the Yoma right in the face, pulling at the shackles..making them clank. The muscles of his arms bulged. He relaxed..tried yanking again. He could have mistaken that slight give..

"If you touch me, I'll f*cking kill you." He kicked his legs, pulling the chains taught there, leaning his weight against them. The Yoma stumbled forward, cackling. Its breath smelled like trash.

"DON'T!!" He pitched to his left as the Yoma's bestial hands gripped his face and side. "DON'T!!" The one word exploded from his throat. He tried to ignore the fact that he was getting more queasy by the second. The other Yoma in the room..they were getting closer..

He screamed as teeth buried into the crook of his right shoulder, locking together..pulling. His hands curled into fists, he wrenched at the chains on his arms with all his might. His right arm came free first..he wasted no time in finding the dagger still at his back and sinking it into the thick, muscled neck that was near him. The Yoma screeched..its head reeled back, taking flesh and muscle with it. Pain shuddered down into his fingertips, making it hard to keep a grip on the knife.

He twisted the blade like a screw, slicing through as much meat as he could..before hauling back and burying his freed fist straight into the wound. The Yoma flew backward, landing with wet, slapping thumps.

Toby breathed heavily, pawing at the chain on his left arm. The bolts holding it in the wall whined as they were forced out. He fell to his hands and knees, his chest heaving..new blood staining his already dirty white skin.

It wasn't over yet.. The room was filled with the angry roars of the Yoma that were left.

He fought to lift his head..as one charged straight for him.

Early morning, July 25th..

Tylor crashed down onto the roof of a building a mere stone's throw from the city's limits, growling in frustration at the weakness of his own body. It seemed he couldn't even make it to safe ground. The journey had wasted what little breath he had managed to hold onto. As his battered wings folded in and flattened onto his bloody back, he vomited piles of purple gore..spitting, hacking, cursing.

He had fed before he'd gone to meet the two of them, and had been purposefully saving his captured mistake from any prolonged exposure to his wrath just so that he would be fully prepared.

From all of his observation, even he did not know that the magical girl attacking that mistake not even a month ago was, in fact, the same as the small Mayu.

The balmy night air did nothing for him. His chest heaving, he dragged his only hand down his face, swiping it clean. He snarled, finding it shaky. He was loathe to admit that he had feared for his life.. And he wouldn't, not aloud..and not ever again.

The mistakes of the past were not going to be repeated. He was finished underestimating this small group of seemingly powerless nothings. Clearly, they had more up their sleeves than they were letting on. A tactic he could let himself admire, for a moment.

He crawled to the edge of the roof, pitching over to his back and slumping against it. He felt the hard stone in every open wound and broken bone..his face twisting through a pained expression that he would force to look annoyed.

He needed time. Time to calm himself, time to heal. He coaxed the flow of his yoki down to the slightest burn needed to begin a slow and steady mending process. Remaining cloaked was first on his priority list.

He did not feel any relief by the time his chin dropped onto his empty shoulder and he fell into an uneasy sleep.

Early morning, July 26th..

He jerked awake at the sound of doors slamming open..feeling it through the wall he was half tucked up against.

"All of you. Get out. Now." The last word reverberated all the way up to the ceiling. It sounded like two voices at once.. There were hungry, annoyed growls..claws scratching on the cement floor, squeak bangs of other doors opening and closing.

They were alone..

"Sh-sh*t.."

"And you. You and I are going to have a little chat."

"Hungh..!" Fingers curled around the back of his neck, gripping..hauling him away from the wall and dropping him onto the ground into a mixture of his own blood and the woman's.

"Get up."

Tylor couldn't be..serious.. A growl began in the base of his throat. His legs shifted around. His chains were being yanked.. They gave, coming free of the wall with great, loud squeals.

"I said, get up."

The hard toe of a boot in his spine.. He yelled, skidding forward..coming to a sloppy halt a number of feet away.

"I've come to a realization~ And I've gotta say, I don't think it should've taken me this long.."

"GUH!!" Another kick, this time to his ribs. He felt two give right away, a third pinching..squeezing under the pressure like it wanted to break too..but didn't.. He rolled over too many times, landing on his arm..his side, his arm.. A relentless pattern that left him breathless and unable to do anything but hiss agonizing breaths.

"That girl who's been taunting you.." He heard Tylor's footsteps..closing in. He was..supposed to be getting up, right..? If he did..he might not be kicked again..

He grunted, flopping onto his front. His left arm hung like dead weight, straining his shoulder. Trying to push himself up..made everything in his body scream in protest. His right hand curled into a fist, then flattened on the ground.

Get up.. He willed his body to do it..move, little by little..

"The little one who spouts all of of that crap about love and truth. The one who just about forced you to awaken, I know you remember her~"

"M-mmph.." He'd gotten his elbow under him..was leaning his weight on it. His body shook, wanting to collapse back down. What the hell was he talking about this for..

And so randomly.. It wasn't like he was complaining, but..it felt like Tylor had been gone longer..this time.

"I had the opportunity of meeting her face to face~ And it gave me an idea."

He felt cold. His head slowly turned to Tylor..who had stopped by his side, hooked his foot beneath Toby's right arm and shoved. He was flipped onto his left side, his ruined shoulder crushed beneath the force of his own weight.

And he screamed. The sound ripped out of his throat, filled his ears and made his head ache more. He wanted to stop, but couldn't. It was the only thing his body knew how to do.

He couldn't even think about getting up anymore..and didn't hear what Tylor said next..

"I'm going to force you to awaken."

Evening, July 26th..

"Stand him up."

Pain rocketed down his left arm, consciousness came screaming back to him with a vengeance. His head jerked back..the moment he opened his mouth, something was shoved into it, held there by a slimy hand. It smelled like garbage, tasted like blood. He tried to turn his head away, spit it out. His face was grabbed..forced back into place. His knees buckled under the tightening of whatever had his arms.

He didn't really fight to open his eyes. He figured whatever was happening..wasn't something he wanted to see.

"There we go~ Come on, boy..eat up, there's plenty to go around."

His yell was muffled against the hand on his mouth. He had to swallow. His groggy brain recognized that taste..

Guts..

He didn't want it.. He didn't want to eat this.. He shuddered in the hold he was in, screaming protests against Tylor's hand after the mouthful had slid down his throat. He hated..that it helped ease his empty stomach.

"No? Really. And here I thought I was being generous and allowing you to relieve some of your pain. Don't say I never did anything for you. Hold him."

His head flopped forward, chin on his collarbones. The grips on his arms tightened, pinching..squeezing already battered muscle. He drooped, only held up by the two Yoma he couldn't see.

"HUNGH!!"

A knife..burying into his chest. Tylor was too far away to stab him.. Was this how it felt when he threw them into people..?

"Since you can't run.. Or perhaps you can. Make sure he can't."

What..?

"AAAHHH!! GUH!!"

Help me..

His left leg bent in awkwardly, crunching under the pressure of a hard, sideways kick. He saw white..brighter than the sun, burning. He couldn't do this.. He couldn't get through this..

He couldn't..run..now..

And he hadn't..even when he could..

His screams died off into weak, helpless mewls..something that should have come out of a wounded animal. Tears streamed down his face. His mouth gaped, breath scraping into his lungs. His busted ribs kept it from doing much good.

"Now, since you can't run~" Tylor giggled and stretched out his arm. Bone knives formed instead of claws at the end of his fingertips..they shot forward, skewer tipped vines, sinking into flesh one by one with meaty thunks. "You're taking this rather well. Who knew? You scream better than most, I would have never thought that..

"That's all you're good for, isn't it?"

He felt like he was being gripped..he didn't know that Tylor actually had a hold of his chest. The knives pinched, digging in..cutting through muscle and forcing new blood to flow.

"Ngh.."

"Oh, you can do better than that.. I want you to be unable to even draw breath when she sees you."

Tylor tore them free. He lurched in the hold, crying out shortly as pain wrenched at his ruined arm and leg. He wished..they would just be cut off already.. Make it stop.. Crimson spurted in streams from the new holes in his chest, hitting the floor in wet slaps.

"You know what will make it stop, don't you? You know."

He was straining his shoulder, hanging in the Yoma's hands, but he didn't care. Each second felt like a year. How many years had he lived through..?

"Release it. Let your body mend itself, don't stop until you are whole. Don't that sound nice? No more pain, no more blood.."

Nice..

Could he even do it now..? That would take effort.. What he really wanted to do was..

"Guh.." He twitched, feeling another knife sink into his chest. He didn't think he could even react..anymore..

"Oh come on, Toby! Where is all that anger, all that spirit? That spunk you showed last time!"

"Hungh.." He coughed, the motion wracking his body. His mouth hung open, guts, blood and saliva spilling freely. He didn't have the energy to spit..

How many knives was that now..?

"You know that yoki burn I'm talking about, once you release it, all of this will be over~"

"O-ov.." he huffed. Talking..was too much too..

Healing..myself..

That's right.. He could do that.. Just..try..

"GUH!!" He'd been thrown aside..landing on a pile that stunk of copper, fish and garbage. The knives in his chest were thrust in further..he felt them with each attempt to breathe. Spots dotted his vision. Dizzy.. He felt arms and legs..faces that weren't his own and that weren't attached to bodies.

He whined. He had to..get up.. If only to get away from here..

I can't.. I can't..do it alone.. Please..

"That's too bad. Lucky for you, Tobias, we still have lots of time.. You'll be here for as long as it takes..until you awaken."

"...mmph.."

His body was howling. All it wanted to do was sleep. But if he did, that would just mean..the next time he woke up, something else would be happening to him..

He should..try to save these moments.. And just be thankful..that he hadn't broken any promises..

Not yet..

Afternoon, July 27th..

He didn't know how long it had been going on.. He couldn't remember all the things that Tylor was saying to him.

It was sort of funny.. If he wanted him to awaken so bad, why did he make him so weak..? Why was he doing this..

"Get up." Tylor didn't even sound out of breath. Why should he.. Though, Toby had the feeling that if he whipped somebody..he'd get tired..

He crashed down onto his stomach, his body howling. He stared blankly forward, his mouth open..but not breath passed in or out of his lips. He didn't want to see what he looked like.. Probably terrible..with bones jutting, poking at the underside of his skin, cuts and bruises, knives in his chest..pieces missing..stained with a half dried red and purple, bloody muck.

His eyelids fluttered, feeling the sting of the whips curl around him..the bone tips at their ends sinking and tearing at flesh that was remarkably still hanging on.

"Come on now, Toby, this is boring." Again. "What ever happened to that brat, the one that was screaming at me not to touch my mutt?" Again..

"...ah.." Mutt.. He knew who Tylor meant..

"I could tell you stories, Tobias. Of how much she screamed, and wailed. Blood is a lovely color on her skin, don't you think?" Again.. Toby's eyes squeezed shut, then drifted open. He'd seen something.. Something that he recognized.. "She wears her hair that color now. I don't think I like it. I'd rather stain her myself.

"I kissed her, you know. And she enjoyed it." There were giggles. "You should have seen her face, flushed and elated."

"Mmph.." It felt like there was an explosion of fire in his chest and eyes.

"HA!! There it is, there it is~ So that's your trigger, is it? Well.."

"Hungh.." He shuddered under the sting of the whips, his mouth opening wider, gagging.. Air rushed into his lungs, he sobbed it back out. "U-ungh.. O-ow.."

"I kept her naked, smeared only with the color of her own blood," Tylor sounded like he was..smiling.. Toby's eyes narrowed, his face tightening up in anticipation of what was going to come. It hit later than he expected, the whip tips sunk into his back and held on. He tried to close his hands, only his right would obey him. His left stayed open, his ruined arm stretched out in a way that it shouldn't be. He saw a glimmer of red smeared on white around his wrist..

What was that..

"In fact, the only time she really wore any clothes was when I brought her to you. Out of the goodness of my heart, I might add."

"GEH!!" His back stung. He could feel his skin..giving way, torn open. He remembered this..

Images blinked into his head. A courtyard..a man, white hair..maybe silver. A small girl..

His eyes widened.

"You interrupted us before I could finish with her." Again. Pain lanced across him, but it was the girl in his head that screamed. "She was rather pitiful toward the end, but she put up a good fight.

"Even when I tore from her." The whips ate at him, but he wasn't..paying attention. He was staring into nothing. He knew..what was going on.. "When I ate from her." They were the dreams.. "Ripped her, rent her, broke her.

"And that's not all.. You should have seen her face..when I tore into your little friend." There were giggles again, but this time they sounded crazy. "To know that you're completely worthless and not more important than the spit on the dirt on the ground isn't enough. But to actually see it!"

The rose brooch.. That's what it was.. The bracelet..she had given him.. Tylor had missed it, or forgotten it. He was still..connected..

"AH!!" The small girl he saw in his mind's eye shrieked and went still as the whips circled around her and tore free..the same thing that happened to him.

Prismatic colors shot up toward the dark ceiling of the warehouse. Beneath the blood stains and countless wounds, his skin bleached itself to a bone white.

He didn't feel like he was healing..but the pain was going away.. He had energy..

It wasn't hard to push up from the ground, to his hands and knees. His left arm and leg didn't work, but that was fine.. He could just lean all his weight on one side. His head slowly turned in Tylor's direction. He was..laughing, drawing his arm back. His fingers..looked like they were being sucked back into his hand, covered in red. He flicked it off.

They were the whips..

"You.. You hurt them.. You touched..them.." He fought to get his right foot under him, failing..snarling like a wild animal in frustration and rage. Blood and saliva ran from the corners of his mouth. He glared murder at Tylor with mad golden eyes that didn't blink..even when the features of his face began to morph and change. His teeth were too big for his mouth..claws scoring the cement and the bodies he was laying on top of. They screeched as he wheeled around, facing the smile that he didn't feel all that scared of anymore..

He wanted to kill it..wanted to feel himself do it.. He would soak in someone else's blood of his own choice this time..

He lunged forward at breakneck speed.

"There, that's better! Now, the real show begins!"

Evening, July 27th..

"Is he alive?"

"Does it look like it?"

"What are we supposed to do with him, we can't keep working like this!"

"Dunno, he looks sort of like that kid who.."

Was he dreaming again..? Who was around him.. Why did he feel wind..sunshine..?

Was he outside..?

Outside..

"UNGH!!"

There was a collective gasp from around him.

"He's alive!"

"Holy sh*t."

"Someone get him some water or something!"

Water.. Water sounded..so nice.. Where the hell was he..? Was it over..? Where was Tylor..

He couldn't get up.. His fingers twitched, sending pain waves zooming up his arms, down his spine..to his toes. His face scrunched up, but he relaxed..trying to force his eyes open. Yellow orange light stabbed at his eyelids. He saw several pairs of legs in that two second look.

Ordinary..people..

Someone was touching him, rolling him over.. He groaned..wanting to smack them away.. He didn't have enough energy.

'Don't..don't touch me..'

He felt hands on his mouth, forcing it open..water trickling back across his tongue at a slow enough pace that he could drink without choking. He coughed anyway, turning his head..spitting a mixture of water, blood and spit out onto the ground. His stomach howled in hunger.

"Come on, we'll take him back to the boss. He'll know what to do."

"Shouldn't we clean him up first..? I mean, look at him!"

"Hell no, we've got a schedule to keep! Strongest of you lot, come forward..carefully now."

Hands..all over him, under him. They were murmuring in disgust, pity. He felt callused fingers on his skin..and muscle where there was no covering.

Hoisted up..carried. It was so nice..to relax against something that didn't hurt..

"Where do you think he came from?"

"My guess is over there, lookit all that blood and mess. Geez, we're going to have our work cut out for us.."

The squeal and groan of a door, merciful darkness on his face.

"Boss!"

"Hey boss, you here?"

"We found this guy outside, looks like he ruined lots of stuff. What should we do with him?"

"Ah~ There he is!"

He went cold.. Did he have strength to struggle..? He tried trashing in the holds that were on him. They tightened, he couldn't break free..

These people..were stronger than he thought..

"I didn't think you'd make it back by yourself, so I thought I'd send some nice people to come fetch you," Tylor giggled as he stepped into Toby's line of sight. Familiar fingers latched around his throat and yanked him from the grasp of..heckling Yoma..

All of them..

"You're an idiot..you should have ran while you had the chance. But instead you laid there like a corpse.

"Too bad you won't be able to get that release just yet."

Early morning, July 28th..

"Ungh.."

Was he dreaming.. It felt too real to be a dream.. Skewers jamming into his shoulders, hips..the sides of his knees. He cried out as his busted leg was smacked.

Things wrapping around him..his neck..arms.. Down around his chest and torso..circling each leg.

It felt like knives, sounded like chains.

The bindings tightened..cutting into his skin. He felt it tear and slice..itch and burn as blood flowed.

His limbs spread out..they were being pulled. The chains were being tightened still.

He couldn't breathe. He felt the bladed links in his throat, constricting his chest when he tried to inhale.

His feet left the ground.

His groggy eyes opened..he stared at the garbage dump of bodies beneath him. Too far away..

He was..hanging..

He threw his head back suddenly..links cutting into the back of his neck. But they were cutting everywhere else too.. They were still tightening.. His hands clenched..he let out a strangled yell that only resulted in more of the same chains whipping across his back..torn free. Blood flew free from him, splattering the mess beneath his dangling feet.

"Oh. And one more thing~ I don't want to see his skin when I come back. He shouldn't have any left. Do whatever you want to him. Just don't kill him. I still want him alive when she returns. And she will~"

He knew that voice. Tylor.. The heckles of Yoma around him.. He swung as the chains were yanked..hot pain surging throughout him.

"Have fun, Tobias~"

Hard footsteps echoing as they retreated.

"Do whatever we want, huh?"

"Such an unlucky bastard. You'll wish you were dead after this!"

He had to be dreaming.. It was..just a nightmare..or something..

Really..

Early morning, July 30th..

"Is that so~?"

"Yessir. They met earlier..that teal haired b*tch and a cloaked figure."

"Two guesses who that is.." Tylor giggled, sighing happily as he surveyed the hanging, bleeding body in front of him. Normally unruly ginger hair was weighed down and matted with purple and red muck. He dripped like a leaky faucet. "Very well. Get everyone prepared. We should be ready when they come visit us~

"No need to tidy up.. If anything, he's still too clean."

He turned and strode for the door to the warehouse as Toby started to scream.

Phantasneko and Katt's players. Thanks! ]

"Really, now.." His head tilted, boyish features finally relaxing from the scowl they had been twisted in. He didn't think much of the request, save that her new title sounded like a ramble of nonsense. His eyebrows rose, he shifted on his feet..stomping his right heel down into the roof to create a resounding, metallic bang. "What do you think you have to add to what I already possess? What could *possibly* be in it for you?" He put a pause on the wheels that were turning in his mind.

Katt's face flattened under the hood at hearing Phantas' words. So everything had been a lie? Figures. She'd trust someone to help her and she'd get stabbed in the back. Fingers coiled against her hips but otherwise there was absolutely no movement from her place. As much as she wanted to be positive.. This sorta really made it hard to be.

"What would not be in it for me, having you as my Master?" She stepped from the grotesque littering of strewn limbs and the sauce of violets that mingled with concrete so that she could more properly take to an exposed knee, head lowered. "I have many a talent that you may find beneficial. While you are great, your enemies may make your life difficult. I, myself, would see to it that they do not quarrel with your magnificance. You should not sully your hands with their nonsense." She had not been made aware of Katt's presence. That prickling of presence in her mind currently drowned by the overwhelming source of crackling spiritual energy she was channeling.

Something clunked around in Toby's head..a sound..? Who banged..something.. His head lifted, then dropped. He coughed at the things he felt slicing into his neck. The chains around him rattled, they were cutting into him too.. What happened..? He heard noises, growls.

"He's waking up. That's the signal!"

"Hungh.." The chains were moving..tightening, cutting. The breath wheezed out of his body, he sucked it back in. His busted ribs pinched, the rest of his broken bones strained.

"Tighter."

"Geh..!" His hands clenched, pain rocketed up his left arm, down his leg. He would only have one chance to do it.. He took as deep a breath as he could..and screamed.

"Hmm." A grin split his face at the sound evoked by the simple stomp of his foot. It hadn't been hard, and required little energy. To have to do nothing, and let someone else do dirty work. The idea was intriguing. "What's changed your mind, Mayu? From all that nonsense you were spouting the last time we met~ I do admit though..you're not as useless as I first thought you were. What would you give me to pursuade me?"

The scream was wholeheartedly ignored, as though she hadn't been made aware of its existence. "An heirloom from my sacred family's rich history," a stretched arm shifted into the hem of her bottoms, pulling from the confines an amulet that was dressed in dazzling rubies and countless, shimmering diamonds. "History has made mentioning that it will award the wearer with the gifts of a God. I will part this, as well as my unwavering devotion to your cause."

Katt's eyes flicked up towards the building that she heard the scream come from. He was alive. Eyes flicked back down to Phantas just before she turned. Tylor was distracted. Maybe..just maybe she could sneak in without too much hassle. The shadows were traced as she began to work around the building. There had to be means of entry. She tried hard to bite back the anger of what she witnessed, instead focusing herself more on her task.

"I see.." He could think of a better way to have this girl prove herself later. He would not let her dispatch of Katt herself, and she seemed to already have no care for the chained mistake beneath him. For now, he had only her word to rely on. His fingers tapped against his chin as he pondered..then stretched out his arm. Digits extended like vines, curious snakes, slithering down toward the kneeling girl's face. Their intent didn't seem to be malicious.

Phantasneko rose her attention, her austere gaze displaying her hardness to the moment. She herself showed no means of defending herself; the crackles of spiritual energies diminishing to the point that the riptide that carried itself in her wake dissolved. She awaited what would be requested, if anything, from her person following her admission.

The scream cut off abruptly. Toby sucked in as much breath as he could, chest twitching shallowly. That was all he had.. The chains around him, the links..they weren't normal.. They felt like blades.. How much blood did he even have left..? The screaming.. He felt tired.. But relaxing against the binds..hurt too much too..

He carressed the young flesh of her face, sneering darkly at her warmth. Blood red was indeed a good color on her. The ends of his lengthened fingers drifted down to whatever she was holding. Nothing had happened. She'd had ample time to launch an attack.. "Stand down." One simple step later, he had dropped to the cobblestones with a resounding thud. He didn't know what was going on in the back of the building, he was assuming that Phan had traveled here on her own. "An amulet with the powers of a God, you say.. Are you implying that I need something like that?" Giggling.

She had assumed the caressing was a sign of good faith; that he would be agreeing to be her Master. She refrained from moving as he met the ground, other than to lower her head once again. "No, Master. I only wish to bestow a sign of ultimate good faith." Studded gems, serene and pure, clinked together as the amulet tumbled with a limping hand, an eel's swimming motion as it coiled about several of her fingers for dear life. "As I have mentioned, you are great. Magnificent. Superficial items such as these are merely instruments to your greatness, Master."

Coming around the building she found there to be a backdoor guarded over by two Yoma. For some reason this..didn't quite seem right to her. Even still.. The cloaked figure dipped low then sprung forward. Leaping up she tossed the cloak over shoulder, a pair of daggers held firm in her grasp. A single foot land sprung her even closer to her intended target. The first Yoma received a vicious cross slash to the head. The first slash removing the face while the second removed the head. Climbing up the body as it started ground-ward she sprung off towards the second Yoma, silencing it before it could call out. Two powerful thrusts at it's throat penetrated all the way to the spine, spraying blood all over the place. As the second body landed she found her landing atop the back. Head tilting she peered from the fold of the hood towards any nooks, daggers shaken free of the filthy blood before arms slid back into the shadowy folds. The cloak willingly swallowed her back up as she turned as she turned and nudged the door open a crack.

"Merely instruments to my greatness, hmm?" That made him giggle all the more. It was good that he didn't need another mutt for his collection, he already had one. And he knew she would be there soon as well. She couldn't stay away. But this one.. "So you had this epiphany, did you.. Master..I rather like the sound of that." He stepped forward, closing the distance between he and the kneeling girl. Although cautious..he hadn't missed what happened to those that came close last time.

She was without the supernatural crackles of what composed her strengths, nothing more than a mere girl kneeling before the one she sought to impress. Steely eyes fixated on the cracks and weaving paths of cracked stone beneath her, speaking only when spoken to in polite, inferior-than-he manners. "That I have. To have seen your grace on the field of this war, I know now where my loyalties lie. And I will do nothing but prove myself to you. To wholly pledge myself and do anything that you may ask of me."

"It's a shame that we can't eat him."

"Bet he tastes like sh*t anyway."

"You know what happened to the last ones."

"Sure, but he won't miss a leg, this one's f*cking useless anyway."

Chains rattled, groaned and squealed as the coils around his left leg tightened. Toby's fists clenched, tears squeezed out of his eyes. Pained grunts rumbled in his throat, half cut off by the coils there. Blood dripped from him like a leaky faucet. His back, facing the door, was an absolute mess..slick with red. "Mmph..!"

"Haha, see? Useless. How hard would I have to pull to get it off?"

Phantasneko and Katt's players. Thanks! ]

There was a low hiss that escaped from between her lips as she lunged forward towards the larger being. She tried very hard not to concentrate on the hanging Toby. As much as she wanted to get him down, getting rid of his guards was more important. Lashing the metal wire in the air she flipped over the head of the larger Yoma, catching the wire between it's lips while it cursed away. Her free hand quickly grabbed the tail end of the wire while one foot settled to the Yoma's back and the other to it's skull. Turning her hands in she yanked up with enough strength that the wire sliced through flesh and skull as if it was a hot knife through butter. There was mountain fulls of rage behind that yank. Dismounting from the body she landed as it thudded next to her, the wire released with the top half of the skull to the ground. Daggers were once more pulled from their place under the cloak as she swept around the left of the hanging figure and towards the one who was her dagger pin cushion. It was killed by..well..brain hemorrhage? A dagger was shoved right up it's nose. One hell of a nosebleed! Two down..Two to go.

The detached, flared sleeves bound to her arms shifted back in carried motion when her arms lifted, reaching to take the amulet from him, delicate like her fragile figure suggested. Rising up to her feet with little effort, she motioned for him to lower so that she could more easily access his neckline, and clasp the unbound chain to his person.

Someone was here.. Tylor.. But he..would have said something.. Was it like last time..the Yoma being killed because they wanted to eat him.. He'd not said anything then.. Without the Yoma to hold onto the chains, they loosened..Toby's body sagging half a foot down toward the ground, swaying. His fingers twitched. He tried to control his breathing. It still hurt.. He had to calm down.. He'd..panicked enough already.. Wet eyes drifted open, drops of moisture joining the crimson leaking from him. What would he do now.. Maybe he was really going to lose something..

Tylor obliged with a gentle bow..he could have been showing respect. But it put his face close to hers. He didn't hide the inhale that he took, or the fact that his tongue was sweeping hungrily across his mouth. Silver eyes fixed on her cheek, the hanging drops on her jaw. "You smell delicious.."

A delectable smile crossed her lips, her meager frame dipping closer to him so that her aroma could be fully digested by his sense of smell. Dressed arms coiled about his neck, fingers adeptly working the clasp into place. She was more like a trophy than a girl by the time that the process had been finished, remaining close to him to the point that a slightly pronounced chest bumped into him, and the sensation of an inner thigh running salaciously at an outer leg. "...really, Master? Would you... like more?"

Ah so that was why they were not moving. They were holding Toby up. This played to her advantage. As the second went down she didn't give herself time to rest. Speeding across the way she quickly leaned back as the third Yoma reached out to slash her. It missed only because she bent nearly into a complete backbend. Once it past she sprung forward and slammed a dagger into the center of it's throat. A yank downward to groin had flesh tearing and bones cracking under the force of the sharpened blade. Even as the innards spilled she was already into her next course of action. Reaching up she grasped onto the chain so that Toby didn't go plunging to the ground. Even if for a moment she was at a disadvantage she was quickly working on fixing that. The last Yoma was stared at from under the hood with a look colder then ice.

His eyebrows rose. This was, most definitely, a change of events.. He had always known that beating was the best way to get a point across..even if he hadn't been trying to showcase his own strength. His head leaned to the side..he pressed the flat of his tongue against her cheek, taking blood with it. He followed the outline of her young face to her jaw, hissing breath in through his teeth at the pleasurable taste.

Air left his lungs in a rush as he started falling, his arms stretching higher above his shoulders..links of chain losing themselves in muscle and flesh, hiding. His head lolled, the links around his throat roughly cutting in a pain that he'd felt not too long ago. "Hungh.. D-do..ngh..don't.."

"Some b*tch is trying to rescuse him!"

He flinched at the loud yell..whining through a clenched jaw. But..if they said that..that meant it wasn't Tylor..

Sliding the mith dagger into it's hiding place she flicked out a hand sharply, tossing a volley of daggers into said mouth. Choke on that big mouth! Less effective then the other killings she had done so far but it would serve it's purpose. Working the chain carefully she attempted to lower Toby enough that he wasn't jarred around. Once low enough she attempted to move forward and slide an arm around his waist. Yep. The violence of the chains biting into Toby screamed Tylor. "Sorry took me so long.."

His actions left her following up with a lecherous pulse of sound that pierced through parting, drying lips. Phantasneko writhed beneath his touch, twists contorting her lithe figure; leaving him closer to her without so much as a lapse. Snake-like arms tightened their hold about his neck, canines bared momentarily as she heaved against him entirely, a lobe of an ear her intended target. Teeth clamped without delay, taking the lobe sharply and pulling on it eagerly. She was desirable, and desiring all within the same breath.

"Ngh.." His feet were on the floor.. The chains wrapping around him were..loose.. But he was still stuck.. He huffed a breath, then another..leaning further to the right than his left, a yell grating out of his throat. The bindings were the only thing keeping him upright..they cut in further, chain links disappearing among flesh as they sliced. His awkwardly bent left leg hung limp..he felt the arm around him on every cut and skinless spot on his back. His head dropped forward at the voice. He didn't care about his adam's apple anymore..it'd been slashed several times already.. He couldn't answer.

"Mmph." Tylor's single arm snaked around the small figure, fingers to her back, curling and scraping down across her clothing as she pressed against him. Even through it all, the pleasure he felt, the seemingly genuine need of the girl clinging to him, silver eyes cut across to the warehouse they stood in front of..narrowing to slits at the yells he was hearing. There were four less presences. He had gotten distracted. Lengthened claws fisted in the clothes, and possibly flesh, of the girl and yanked at her to separate them. "Enough. Something's not right. Mayu, you've just gotten your first duty. Go inside and check on our little mistake, will you~?"

Tylor..you bastard. Once he was lowered enough she released the chain, attempting to ease Toby against her. There was no painless way. She knew. There was no elixir. The alternative was one he didn't like but was there really a choice in the matter? First things first. Two fingers coiled to one of the main blinks around his neck and she attempted to loosen them from his neck and up over his head so they were no more a bother. She paused seeing that the chain was biting into certain places in his flesh and a frown thinned her lips. "Just..hang on a little longer..."

Hang on.. Hang.. Heh..that was funny.. Toby choked a chuckle, even more as each link, one by one, slid from the front and back of his throat. Blood and saliva leaked from his open mouth..eyelids fluttering in relief. His eyebrows twitched. The more he leaned, the more he was being cut.. But he couldn't stand up.. Who cares..he was cut all over..

She halted her actions on a dime, careful attention over a shoulder of the one she latched onto prior to being tugged from him entirely. "Yes, Master," agreeing without delay. Stepping off, a miasma of spiritual residue billowed from her figure; crackles of supernatural essences snapping to life, reverting her to that tesla coil of spiritual mass that she showcased upon arrival. Mundane methods would have been to simply open the warehouse door that obstructed view to the innards, but given the supernatural auras that were like massive greatswords at her beck and call, she considered a surgical entry, bifurcating the alloy of metals of the large dock door with a well-placed thrust of a singular essence.

Like a chemical reaction, the door responded explosively, sending shrapnel like a frag grenade every which direction. Heavy fog, like the girl's direction in life, shrouded the cause for brief instants before she stepped through her makeshift doorway, clad arms over her midriff in a tight squeeze. Not what was strewn about the ground, but the "mistake" and its lover is what took up the pair of hell's walls set of eyes. "I do not believe Master has given permission for entry..." she called out callously, nigh angrily.

Phantasneko and Katt's players. Thanks! ]

She growled out as she was pulled on. She heard a sickening crack under flesh and there was no doubt in her mind that if he kept pulling and twisting the bone was going to break. Despite the pain she was still clenching her hardest onto the dagger. Her other hand danced, fingers drawing out a thin dagger from it's hiding place and it was tossed for Tylor's foot. It missed if only because her head jerked to the side, greens wide at the wail coming from Toby. "T-Toby!"

"Ohhh~" Tylor giggled, eyeing the new hole in the wall with something that could be mistaken for a child's Christmas day glee. He clawed at Katt's back, trying to affirm another hold of hair and clothing to make sure she wouldn't go anywhere. "That was a lovely display, Mayu.. Don't you think~? Come on..so simple, and yet so..effective.. Although, he screams at anything.."

Vibrant greatswords swam the air like a windstorm, twisting over and through one another as they danced in victory. The girl who controlled them never paid it any mind, nor the wall that Toby was slammed through, mindful of her Master's praise. She bowed to him graciously, hands folded at her lap as she did so.

"Things can't always go according to plan, though.." He sighed dejectedly. "At first, I'd hoped that the pitiful brat would have an all new face and form the first time you laid eyes on him. Naked and skinless just isn't enough~ Though now I'm caught. Awakening, or death..which one would you like to see the most..?"

While he was clawing she was attempting to get away. In fact she even struggled against the grasp once it had been settled. She attempted to spy Toby through the dust. Hearing Tylor her head shifted faintly, her eyes rounded under the shadows of the hood. "Toby won't awaken. No matter what you do. He promised!" She leaned back, attempting to throw Tylor off his footing. No matter how much the still impaled sword bit into her.

"Let me stick her, Master! She talks too much!" Phan pleaded to her master, clasped hands rising upward toward the one that claimed her.

"Mayu, am I right that the--" He blinked, momentarily frowning..but the blind loyalty the girl displayed was just.. He sighed, stumbling back with his caught mutt in tow..taking his time to regain his footing. He pressed up against her back, muscles of his stomach tightening..trying to shove the blade all the way through Katt's gut to the hilt. "You've already stuck her, though. I'm sure that if I tell you to go and kill that mistake, she'll shut up. Won't you?" The last two words meant for the curve of Katt's hidden ear.

Clenching her teeth at the slow pressure her head rocked back as pain roared through her. Slowly the tip pressed from the other end of her though still hidden within the folds. Brows furrowed as she choked back on a scream which was more easier to do when she heard Tylor's threat.

She didn't respond to the question, knowing she was not the intended. A tilt of a ribbon-topped head of red and teal followed, watching Katt momentarily. As she hadn't spoken a response, a decided frown lined her features.

"And here I was, thinking that you'd appreciate my generosity. I even wrapped him all up for you, all he was missing was a bow." Giggling. "A nice homecoming gift. I'm not that angry with you that you decided to take your time..I can't really say that much for Toby, though.. I bet he was furious. You saw the way he didn't look once at you. Do you really think he wanted to see you..?" His voice dropped to a whisper. "You're the whole reason he was here.." Silver eyes flicked up to Mayu and he smiled brightly.

A girlish giggle filled the slightly dismembered expanse of the room, a hand lifting up immediately to stifle the noise before it grew out of control like some kind of dastardly mold.

He...He was full of it. Her lips parted to even tell him so but..she couldn't. If she did.. Her eyes dipped down, closing. He..was wrong. He had to be. Toby..was expecting her to save him. But it seemed.. Remain..positive. How was she suppose to? How was she suppose to..

"That's my girl.. Now, wasn't that easy? As a reward, I think I'll give the both of you a lovely gift.." Teeth gnashed at the outside of Katt's hidden ear. "Mayu. You may have your first and only stick." He shoved at Katt's back, lifting his foot to aim the sole of his boot against the hilt of the sword in her middle. "This first one was an accident. Make this next one count. You'll never get another chance~"

The swirl of swords in the sky slowed their motions, drifting into splits that were made in their wake as they traipsed between the two planes of existence that she was a part of. Their heavenly glow that filled the air diminished, leaving the room as dank and gloomy as it had been prior to their arrival on the scene. Nothing but the fluttery glow of the very sword that had hit Katt's back was left, and it too slowly began to diminish, although, for entirely different reasons.

Although it couldn't be judged to outside eyes that, in actuality, nothing was going on, the sword's light tapered off as it began to sink further and further into her, tremoring as if it were being nudged by a pair of hands that sought to inflict the most internal damage. Katt, herself, would not feel this; as the sword's descent into her person was actually being done in the spiritual plane. A location that was physically impossible to hurt her person. The surgical precision of Phan's control over the aura of the greatsword showed face as it began to ease from Katt's stomach, emitted a faint, flakey, liquidy glow of pure crimson, like it were blood. It oozed pools of essence, completing the facade that it had, in fact, impaled Katt through and through. There was ample resistance as though it were lodged in her person. Phan's expression remained lifeless as she "impaled" the one her Master requested of her to.

She gurgled out a sound as if she wanted to say something. Cry. She wasn't sure. She hated the fact that he got that close to her. Gift..Pff. She tensed up at the comment and her eyes clenched tightly. Jaw flexed tightly as if she was attempting to swallow back something.

"Oh, and she's doing such a good job of being silent.. Ah, she really doesn't want him to die, does she..? I think I should have gone with that.." Giggling as he tapped his fingers against his chin. He didn't seem to mind the darkness they were suddenly engulfed in. He trusted that what he ordered was what he was getting.

As if to complete what was being asked of her, Phan shifted forward with due haste, throwing herself up into the air in a spin. An exposed leg was brought toward the midsection of the one taking the brunt of Phan's assault, intent on kicking her. Were it not for the hazy misama of a purple and green aura encasing her leg, it'd be a normal, less than frightful strike. But she was backed with ageless power, and it would be enough to knock somebody clear off of their feet. And possibly carry the length of a bowling alley lane. The intended direction was where Toby had been thrown. Were it, of course, to meet it's mark.

Since her eyes were closed she was hardly expecting it. She was too busy thinking of all sorts of things she'd tell Tylor if she was able. The contact was enough that her breath left her in a rush and she suddenly felt herself flying. Not in the fun way. There was no way she couldn't stop herself from crying out. The same spot that had been impaled had brutally been kicked! What breath she had went into that scream even as she cracked that hole a bit larger. Landing..wasn't going to be fun.

Phantasneko and Katt's players. Thanks! ]

"Shuddup. I'm not leaving you here so don't even..." His words coming back to haunt him. She tested a step forward. In his condition it would be hard to really move fast. Shadow stepping would be hard also. "Come on. You can do it. Lean into me. A-And we will go home." The torn cloak rippled as if something moved under it. And it wasn't her arms. "I'll carry you if I have to."

"Mmph.." He snorted, coughing on chuckles. That hadn't been..really what he meant.. But it was funny.. Lean into her.. If he did, he'd fall over. He had to at least try to hold himself up. He'd been doing it for a while, what was five more minutes..? His left leg dragged awkwardly. He hated that he had to hold onto her. He just..wanted to sit in a corner.. Or something.. He followed her step with a hop of his own. It rattled through his entire body, stinging..pinching, jarring. Was just staying there so bad..?

"Killing yourself for something this trivial? Ha!" He couldn't see it, but Tylor could feel the power amassing behind him. Like he could through the amulet with whatever she had done to it. Whatever she was gathering, or preparing to do..it would be on a grander scale than her last attack. And that had left him weak and enraged all by itself. He tried to shift and shove against the hold he was in..resulting in nothing more than straining muscles, and another howl of frustration.

Her jaw twitched violently at the swell of anger that rose up through her. Tylor really did a number on him. She could heal him. She would if he wouldn't take her blood. But that was a fight for later. Dipping down her free, and now white, arm dipped to collect his legs. Picking him up strained her body and she felt the vital speed it's course down her flesh. Two minutes..wasn't a lot of time. And how much was left? She wasn't sure what Phantas was up to but whatever it was..well..Knowing Phantas it was going to be big..and bright. Pressing her feet into the ground she took into a sprint, carrying him even if it was a chore. Nothing she would argue against even if asked. Both eyes focused forward she dared not look down. "Sorry.."

"It would seem nothing less than everything this pitiful girl is attached to on a spiritual level will suffice. And considering that she has nothing left to live for, I am most certain she'll be grateful to have done something worthwhile as put an end to you." Touching fingers separated, spindles of residue from the bountiful well of power like strings. She was leaking to the point that it was nearly unhealthy. But that was the whole intention, after all. The ground beneath her, as the foundation of the entire warehouse, began to quake in reaction as she sew the planes of existence together, herself as the conductor. Continued snaps and pops, crackling like a fried computer terminal, continued to sound. They were intense, and enough to force her from her feet to bare knees. "...besides," she added, albeit weakly. She could feel herself being pulled in half at the summoned wells as the purple splotches continued to amass. "I always enjoyed a light show."

He couldn't argue..or protest, only tense up as much as he could to keep all the jarring movements from doing any further damage. Further.. Heh..that was funny too.. Safe.. Was he..? He wasn't sure.. He didn't care.. But she was..Tylor didn't take her, that girl didn't hurt her too much.. A soft smile cracked onto his dried lips, beneath all the blood. His head leaned back, he let tension drain from his body until he was nothing more than dead weight.

Tylor's eyes dropped down to the floor beneath him..feeling the tremors through clawed feet that had ripped through boots. His tail would have lashed had it not been caught in the spell of the girl..as would the rest of him. Clearly, he had not left as much of an impression as he was supposed to have. "Your last act, huh? Useless..pathetic.." Sneering in the face of certain defeat. It was one of his talents.

"You'll have plenty of time to tell me that in the next life." Pillars of hazy violet energy crushed the floor all around her, climbing toward the Heavens after rupturing the ceiling of the warehouse. The airflow was consistant enough that it forced bound hair free, towering above her like a blood-crazed shark in the water. "...Sayonara," was all she said before she allowed the amassed energies circulating about the room to go free from her clutches, fingers arching outward and downward to act as the catalyst. Splotches of lively violets shriked like released banshees as they sliced through the air like a flashlight's beam toward their intended victim, pillars that could not be contained no matter the vessel splitting the skies as they pivoted on their endless ascension to instead tumble worthlessly toward the earth and on a direct course with whom she intended to strike down, like a heated missile that knew nothing outside of its locked target.

Katt managed past several buildings before bounding up several crates to land them atop of a building some ways off. Heaving she glanced over shoulder. That..should be far enough..Right? Her eyes turned to Toby to find him..sort of smiling. Slacked. If there had been color it would of drained from her face. Kneeling down she carefully settled him half against the ground while his upper body was supported by her lap and shoulder. Freeing her hand from under his knees she reached to press her palm against his chest. He was still breathing, right? He had to be. There had to be a beat. "Toby?" She croaked out worriedly. The sudden bright light made her eyes turn back to the direction they had left. Yep. Bright and shiny! She would ask about that at a later date when they caught up.

There was an inhuman howl as the first of several violet jets sunk into his frame, through wings..into his torso. His snarling, violently angry frame was eaten up by them, nothing more than a tree in a lightning storm..powerless to stop the onslaught because of the roots tying it to the earth. Pain that he did not know set his nerves on fire and wouldn't relent. His cry of rage, pain and, perhaps, fear, was also drowned out by the sounds of what Phan had unleashed.

He didn't respond at first, and even waited a few seconds..trying to get the stabbing light to go away. Something was bright and shiny..a huge distance away.. He grunted finally, his head leaning far over..onto his swollen left shoulder. "Ngh.. O-ow.."

She had expected what would come of the released energies, and had accounted for them ahead of time to the point that it was almost spooky. Golden hues outlined the innards of the warehouse the very moment that the pillars of energy slithered back within the confines of the building that was moments from crumbling into a hopeless wreck. Crashing into the earth, they splashed outwards like waters would a deck of a ship, immediately sloshing outward and across the concrete beneath them, extirpating every piece of physical fiber that the raw, returning spiritual energies came in contact with. It were no different from a shockwave from a supposedly nuclear blast, leveling nothing but every source in the immediate vicinity.

Were it not in thanks to those golden barriers that were a safeguard erected and called on the very moment those pillars made reentry, there was no telling what kind of devestation would follow. And strangely, oh so strangely, the moment that the innards of that warehouse became flooded with the violent royal purple haze, it tapered off, wisked away as though it were funneled like only a black hole could muster; disappearing entirely.