ZOMBIE FORUMS

"Urusai!" Inu-Ezelek snarled out, cradling Miao in his arms. She was his imouto, protecting her was everything to him, there was no other reason to exist... exist...? The headaches started again, not slowly like they had the other times, but a sudden jack-hammering, a pounding within his skull that nothing could quell, hot-white spikes of light, stabbing through and...

--

Your time is up.

"Urusai..."

You had your chance. Your efforts were admirable, otouto, but the game is over. You lost.

"Urusai..."

There's no blame here... You just couldn't do what needed to be done. Because you're flawed. I'll take back over, and finish it off.

"Urusai..."

Is that all you can do? Tell me to shut up? How is that going to help. Heh. As I said, your turn is over... now it's my...

"Urusai..."

What... are... this is... it can't be... Why...

"URUSAI! I'll rescue her, and you can just stay the fuck in here where you belong. You had your time. This is my time. And I'm never giving up. Not to you. Not to them. Not to anyone, understand!? I'll kill you..."

--

Inu-Ez's eyes snapped open, and he spoke aloud.

"I'll kill you all."

Ezelek didn't know it, and neither did Kit, but their sentiments were exactly the same despite the distance between them.

"I'm going to kill you all." Kit's fists clenched as he stared at the empty prison cell. OldKit whistled appreciatively.

"Damn, they pulled a hoodwink on us all, didn't they? Slipped MM somewhere even YOU couldn't find her."

Kitsune paid him no attention. "Do you hear me, Anubis? Osiris? Odin? Kyrie? Zeus? Do you UNDERSTAND me? How DARE you do this to me. To ME, one of your own. You're all going to die very slow and painful deaths for what you've done. You toook MiaoMing away from me, and now you're taking her soul too. You're trying to make her an Unseen, aren't you? Or are you trying something . . . else? What in the nine hells are you planning?"

OldKit snickered. "If you're done with the soliloquy, lil bro, we have a JOB to do. One that involves less talking and more shooting."

Kitsune's eyes narrowed. "If you weren't my 'brother,' I'd kill you too."

"Hey, pissing you off is my claim to fame. It's nothing new to me. Take life less seriously, lil bro. Enjoy it while it lasts. 'Cause you and I both know how it ends."

"True."

"Now, you wanna do something about the Unseen that're currently chomping at the bit to get a taste of us, but have kindly waited till we finished our fraternal spat?"

". . ."

Kitsune looked around, and noted the shadows lining the walls. "Why aren't they attacking?"

"I'll give ya two guesses: They aren't attacking 'cause we haven't left yet. We try to leave, they'lll attack. This was all a setup. It's what I would've done. They want something from your dear MiaoMing, you said as much yourself. So, they're keeping the biggest threat to their goals from stopping them. Duh."

Kitsune's eyes narrowed even further. "Well, then . . . time to fuck those plans over royally, ne?" he asked, grinning.

"I was waiting for that."

Loki turned to Fenrir. "Scrap the distraction, it's already been provided. The catgirl isn't where Kit thought she was. Who still wants to blow up Anubis and Odin's castle?"

The others raised their hands. "Okay then," Loki said. "Let's bring Asgard down around Odin's head. Been waiting for a reason to start the Ragnarok."

Loki's hands lit up in flames, and he grinned. Fenrir unslung his trident swords, focused on the task at hand. Skuld muttered something under her breath.

"Boys will be boys . . ."

*Indigo looked at Ezelek, after his little spout, not batting an eyelid, Indigo pondered what his next move would be...*

~inside Indigo's head~

OH SHIT! OH MY FUCKING GOD!!! THIS CREEPY DOG THING IS GOING TO EAT MY SPLEEN!!! SHIT SHIT SHIT! WHAT AM I GOING TO DO, I WAS SO CLOSE, SO CLOSE TO ACHIVING MY GOAL!

~end of Indigo's head bit~

"ahem, i would suggest that you curb that line of talk if i were you"

E: not you fuck wit

"uhm, then who were you talking to?"

said Ezelek, looking away: not you...

"ok, thats fine, err, is she, supposed to do that?"

*looking at the limp figure in his arms Ezelek was suddenly taken back by the fact that MiaoMing was turning black, as if her contrast was fading away*

E: no! she's not supposed to do that! what kind of stupid question...!

*closing in on Ezelek and Miao, Indigo furrrowed his brow and fell to his knees with a sharp expulsion of air*

"ho!..shit...this is tougher than i thought"

*a bubble had formed around the trio, rippling along the sides and all around them were streaks of pure black, almost seeming to be attacking this new entity that had formed between them and their goal*

E:wha..waht have you done?

"it's ugh, easy enough to, do. Although, very dependant on the type of, eurgh, magic........It woun't hold forever, but will buy us some time, for you, to speak to her. nnngh. although i would prefer to move off this plane in all honesty, as i'm not as strong here...."

E:...

*just then a large explosion was heard far off in the distance, and flames could be seen*

"heh, sounds like our friends are enjoying themselves..."

Clay had been following Indigo for a while discreetly, not wanting to spark further animosity between himself and the little sonovabitch. He watched from a hidden vantage point, until he saw Indigo's actions and understood the danger to MiaoMing, then he acted.

Clay's hand came to rest on the bubble, at first the blackflowed away from it, then it reversed and flowed onto his hand and up his arm. As the last of it drained off the bubble's surface, he fell to the ground, clutching his arm, his hand pitch blck were it left his coat.

"It...will not touch her...again...I..."

And then the Spectyr could say no more, absorbed in his battle with the shadowstuff that had attempted to take Miaoming.

Shin sat silently, his scythe resting on his shoulder. The few others still in his company went unacknowledged, Shin just sat silently, thinking to himself.

"You know you should go help him. What if Ezelek gets hurt, or worse...God, she'd be crushed, and if she found out that you just sat back and let her otouto die she'd..."

Shin raised his head quite suddenly, drawing the attention of those nearby.

"Miao?..." the death god said almost inaudibly as he jumped to his feet.

The overwhelming joy he felt was short lived. Something was definitely wrong. Worry became apparent on Shin's face as he raced off toward the others. The putrid void that Shin recognized as the shadow demons' presence seemed to slowly taint the pure and innocent aura that Miao seemed to emit with her very existence. As Shin continued his sprint towards the others, a spectacular explosion rocked the sky.

"Yeah," Shin said to himself, "something is most definitely wrong."

New thing new thing newthing newthingnewthingnewthingnewthing... The heavy darkness slowly lightened as the whispers faded away into an indistinguishable murmur of sound. Miao lay spread-eagled in the depths of her consciousness, eyes staring after the receding shadows.

It... will not touch her... again... I...

Clay... what...

Suddenly her mind exploded in a swirl of color, a kaleidoscope of shattered glass and fractal shapes. She screamed as her sanity bent... stretched...

Miao's body flickered slightly in Ezelek's arms, fading in and out of sight. Her breathing accelerated, each breath hitching in her chest, jerking her body slightly. Her eyes suddenly snapped open.

"KIT!!" she screamed.

OOC: My idea was that the Shadowthings made Miao a little dependent on them... *shrug* Yeah.

Kitsune's eyes rocked wide open, the tortured scream of the one person in life he could honestly say he cared about whipping through his mind like a freight train. He staggered back a bit.

" . . . no . . ."

His mouth curled into a snarl, and his eyes glowed white. "NO!!!"

OldKit had just enough time to shield his eyes, and then white light sprang up to combat the shadows the Unseen hid in.

Kitsune growled. "Take your hands off her, you bastards . . . her soul is HERS alone, not some toy to be played with."

He drew the glaive out of its (scabbard? sheath?) container on his back, and leveled it at the Unseen. "She will be freed, or you will all die."

The Unseen merely cackled at him.

"So be it."

Oldkit went to say something, thought better of it, and pulled out both his .500 Magnum and his Boomstick (TM) and began laying into the demons with hot magic-empowered lead.

Kitsune swung the glaive, sending the middle section of the wall into powdered particles and the Unseen on it flying.

"Don't worry, MiaoMing. I WILL get back to you. I promise. I will NOT lose you . . ."

He closed his eyes. "Never again. Never, ever, NEVER AGAIN!"

Clay pulled the last of the shadowstuff in the area into himself, then collaped completely for a moment, then the blackness drained from his face and hands as it seemed to go deeper inside him. Then the look of pain on his face changed...to one of triumph. His eyes went from their usual empty darkness to glowing a red so intense thatno human could meet his gaze.

He stood, finally, turned and vomited. Black liquid spewed from his mouth as he purged himself of the now entirely inert shadowstuff. Clay spat, and the very last hit the ground and soaked in.

Clay then pulled a knife and sliced open his palm, allowing the blood to well up in it, then he stepped inside the circle and bent over MiaoMing. At first he allowed a few drops to spill over te edge of his hand onto her forehead. hthen he dippted his finger in the blood and drew runes with it on her forehead, cheeks, neck and arms.

"There, now the stuff that tried topossess you will fear you. We will benifit from the final warning that the shadow I killed sent the other shadows. You now carry my blood, and to them, you "smell" like me."

Clay opened his hand all the way and let the rest of the blood flow into MM's hair, then watched as the flow turned into a trickle and the wound healed before his eyes.

He laid his hand on Miaoming's shoulder.

"Good to have you back girl. I failed you before. I hope I will not fail you again."

*Riuku stood and picked up his sword.* cant let them have all the fun now can i?
*riuku runs until he reaches clay and the others. he sees the last of the ritual.* oook i really have no idea what the hell you just did, but it looks like she's recovering.

There was something about this land that seemed familiar to Icy. Perhaps it was a vestigial memory of the ice mage that shared his body, or perhaps it was something else. Whatever it was, Icy experienced a profound sense of deja vu.

Icy's reverie was interrupted when he heard shouts coming from an area where the others had gathered. Running to meet them, he found MiaoMing laying lifelessly on the cold ground. Beside her stood Clay, vomiting up a disgusting-looking black liquid. After he was finished with this, he performed some strange ritual on MiaoMing that revived her.

"Miao! Glad you're finally safe."

"Hey Icy, haven't seen you for a while."

"Well, I've been busy messing around and working on a few of my creations... And I guess you've been busy too. Anyway, what are we planning on doing now? I don't want to stay here longer than I have to. We going to find Kit and get the fuck out of here, or what?"

"...."


"...."


"...I think i'm gonna be sick"

*sitting down with a thump, the air around them seemed to thin out*

"but at least thats over, for a while at least"

Clay: they wount find her

"I trust you, but they'll be mighty pissed off that they can't"

Clay: hmm, 'spose

*smiling and standing up, Indigo turns to MM*

"finding Kit woun't be a problem"

MM: how so?

BA-DOOM

"..."

MM: oh...

"yeah..."

As Clay's scent slowly melted over Miao, Inu-Ezelek turned away, stumbling a few steps before falling into his knees, and heaving. Through all his life, Ezelek had (or at least to his memory) heightened senses. As a Inu, he sense of smell was especially sensetive, and he could easily identify someone by their scent alone... And now... It was like reality had rippled. His eyes told him that Miao was laying there, but his nose told him it was Clay. It made his stomach flip.

Ugh... That disgusting stink... all over her... I think I'm going to throw up again...

Un-noticed to the Inu, and to everyone else, since they were currently crowding around Miao, the dog-boy's shadow dis-attached itself, snaking away into the distance. Dizzy... he felt... light-headed... The world was stretching out, everything was getting bigger...

-I told you that you were pushing yourself too hard...-

Inu-Ezelek opened his eyes, and looked down at his now chibi body. His little frame shook, and carefully, a phrase rolled off his tongue, coming out in a high-pitched squeaky voice.

"... Fuck. Wife hates me. I hate you, w...w.. life." Where the hell has this lisp come from!?

*H-Kat opens his eyes.*

Oooo... headache.....

Hey... somebody turn on a light!

'I'd rather not.'

*H-Kat focuses his sences.. and finds nothing.

He tries to move his arms.*

Can't. Damn... rope. Kinda flimsy, though..

'You might as well quit strugling. I have.'

*Without a tone of fear, as blank as the look on his shade glazed face..*

Who are you?

*Silence.*

'I am one who should be your better, by all rights.'

A Genken?

*A slight breaze passes by H-Kat. A familiar scent passes.*

Ama.

*Her shiloueted form apears in front of him.*

'Indeed.'

*H-Kat's claws strat

What's with the shadow play?...

And the bondage, for that matter?

'I wasn't sure you'd co-operate.'

And you're in such a better position now.

'I have you bound.'

I've been tied up before.

'Not by a friend.'

*H-Kat just smirks.*

What's your point. You've got me, for whatever it is you want me for...

*He feels a slight amount of slack in the rope... not enough...*

I needed to talk to you, without them. I--

Wait, how did

*A flash appears before his eyes.*

Running away from darkness, following the group...

Falling to the ground... tripped? or was I tripped?...others fail to see it..

Being lifted... moving further from the shadows...

You did it.

'What?'

You saved me. From... it.

'Yes.'

Why? Dammit, enough of the Cloak and Dagger shit! Why did you save me?!

'Because I had no choice!'

....

What the hell is that supposed to mean?!

'Because you are purer bred than I am.'

I thought breading meant nothing to Gen-breeds.

*In almost a flash, her claws appear near his throught.*

'I am no creation.'

There's only th...

....

Two Pure Neko remaining.

'There are more. Myself. The Guard Elite. The Maneshi. A few Blessed.'

Why haven't you come forward?

'We're too busy staying alive. We ran by order of the Mistress before the war when we heard of the... well... Gen-Humans. When we found the first gate, we dec--'

*The rope falls. In a heartbeat, H-Kat ponces upon Ama, claws extended.

Caught off guard, she falls on her back, with H-Kat landing on the base of her ribs. He holds his claws high, ready to slash.*

I said, no more Cloak and Dagger. No shadows, no stories.

I want to know everything. Now.

-H-Kat

She'd been mistaken, this was rather a different realm than Wren had thought it was... Which meant she really wasn't sure what she was doing, and now had no real choice but to follow around this strange bunch. And follow was all the shifter had been doing, watching, trying to understand what's going on.

But just before Clay had... Done whatever he'd done... There was something there. Her sense of smell in human form was barely above average, but she wasn't entirely going on scent alone. And the voice, she knew a cry for help wherever she might hear it...

Dropping forward onto all fours, Wren's paws hit the ground running and a yellow and black spotted blur sped forward. She caught up with the group gathering around someone still lying on the ground as she skip-hop-stepped back up to proper human height, jogging the last few steps.

"Hello? What's the disaster now?"

Finally reaching the small group, Shin slowed his pace to a gentle walk. Not saying a word, Shinigami maneuvered his way around the others, stopping only momentarily to look down on the now tiny Ezelek before shoving him out of the way. A genuine smile swept across the death god's face as he found himself looking on the center of attention.

"Thank god!" Shin said as he wrapped the catgirl in his arms. Within moments the Shin released his grip on Miao.

"Decided to join us after all, I see...Sure took you a while," Indigo said with a grin.

Shin turned to Indigo.

"Oh..." Indigo said quietly, realizing that the death god stood covered in demon blood.

With a sudden tap on the back, Shin spun back around to see little Ez standing before him.

"Yes?" Shin said, annoyance in his voice.

(BAM!)

Ezelek's swift kick to the shin caught the death god off guard.

"What the hell!?" Shin exclaimed while rubbing his leg.

"That's what you get for pushing me!" Ezelek responded, anger audible in his high-pitched voice.

"Oh, like you didn't deserve it you little..."

Shin was cut off as another spectacular explosion caused the sky to quake.

"I think that's are cue to go help Kit..."

OOC: It seems inu-Ez kinda got on Shin's nerves. Don't worry, I never hold a grudge long. Anyways, I don't really want to be messin' with little Ez (considering how his punches are almost perfectly level with my…um, nevermind)^^ /OOC

"..."

"wh..."

"ho..."

"...what the fuck?!"

*Indigo is currently staring at the now miniture Ezelek*

Ez: ou gawt a fukin' pwobwem?

"... ... ... not at all"

*wanting to get moving a deathly explosion filled the air*

Shinigami: I think that's are cue to go help Kit...

"he needs help? heh, i wanna see this"

*with a sidways grin on his face, the sheer metal knuckles on his gloves glinted*

"heh, i thought you'd like that...hey, arn't we missing people?"

*The sound of an honerable death can be heard on the wind*

"...Hey, aren’t we missing people?"

Indigo's statement went without reply.

"Hey, I said aren't we missin..."

Indigo was cut short by a familiar noise. Barely audible at first, but becoming vivid as it drew nearer. The laughter...Psychotic to say the least.

The group turned to see nothing, but soon a legion of shadows jumped over the horizon. More demons...Their evil laughter causing the group's collective stomachs to churn.

"I thought you said that they wouldn't be able to detect Miao..." Riuku said, questioning the specter that stood next to him.

"You see, they can't...They know are scent, and they know we wont let them take her again...They want us dead," Clay said raising his 1911.

Shin gave Clay an awkward look.

"...Deader," Shin said, smiling slightly at the specter.

"Funny death god," Clay said, shaking his head.

The black wave of demons continued, drawing closer to the expatriates.

“Well, I’m more than willing to slaughter these annoying bastards…How ‘bout you guys?” Shin said before turning his attention to MiaoMing. “You just stay back, we’ve got this covered…unless you want some payback,” The death god said to the wide-eyed catgirl.

Moments later, yet another explosion quaked the heavens, and the battle began…

OOC: Wasn’t quite sure if Miao was in the condition for a battle or not. She’s been through hell, and just returned to consciousness after all. Hope everyone’s up for some violence^^ /OOC

Clay's handgun was replaced once again by the BAR and he fired it into the occoming rush of enemies. He stood protectively by MiaoMing, measuring his bursts to keep them back. Since he stood close to her, his spell was more effective, the demons could not even tell she was there... then he was struck with an idea.

"Cover me!" He shouted to Shinigami.

"I have a plan!"

Will do
*riuku gets into a fighting stance and calls out* ARURA ARMOR *the small riuku is coveres in his suite. he charges two energy balls in his hand. he then smashes them together and rips them appart shooting an energy wave at the oncomeing deamons destroying a bunch in the front. but more take their place.*

well crap.
*he aims his palms at the creatures and just starts blasting away with his energy that is slowly weakining because of his first attack*

Clay can ya' hurry it up?

Shin nodded to Clay.

Within seconds, the death god's body began to glow with supernatural energy. Smiling, Shin raised his scythe, the weapon now shimmering with the same intensity as its owner. With a forceful swing, the scythe emitted an arch of vivid energy, mowing down countless nearby demons.

The fallen demons' cries could barely be heard as they were trampled by their brethren.

"Such compassion," Shin said drawing his .45 caliber.

More demons found themselves slain in a hail of gunfire.

"Let's hurry and see this plan of yours, specter..."