Last time on: The Darkness of Kuoh
"My name is James Valente, son of Victor Valente and leader of the New Brotherhood. The answer to your other questions is quite simple really, the New Brotherhood wants the Darkness for its destructive force to control and use it..."
"I? I am Hector De'Anthony, lieutenant to James Valente. 'As the Darkness settles I shall be the shining eternal light that cuts through it for the path of glory, with the path clear I shall reap your black souls to bloody oblivion.'"
"Oh, vergib mir, my name is Emilia. You are aquatinted with my group."
"Bonjour child, I am Clément, the one in charge of training our new recruits."
"Look Matt, a bunch of Devils." "Ya, Devils and the host Ash."
"I swear in my life I will have it! Ahhhhhhh! Stanley!" At the mention of his name the man stands up straight. "For now I'm in no condition to go out. You will be in charge on the field. I want that brat and The Darkness by any means!" Stanley nods, opening the door and walking away.
"Yes...father."
"The sender is Alonzo. I, the receiver, am Aurora."
"Send them through the portal and get ready to extract both the Darkness and the Angelus!"
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Sirzechs stood there, staring off to where the mass destruction had taken place between Rivio and Aurora. He knew something was wrong when the battle didn't continue, then his fears were increased once he got the message from Rivio. An old trick used by magicians he taught him to transfer images and sounds to another, to let them experience that memory as if they were there themselves.
What Sirzechs saw was of grave concern. The New Brotherhood finally showed up at the table to play but have yet to show their hand.
"Grayfia." Sirzechs calls for his wife. She comes over stepping past the rubble of the walls after Loki had attacked and been transported away. The leaders and anyone able were helping to see if anyone was injured, only a few were thankfully. She arrives in front of her husband and sees the serious expression on his face, one reserved for very important matters; so understandably she is wondering what is wrong and asks.
"After you finish here gather a computer and capable group of high to ultimate class devils. Tell them to meet me and be prepared to move." He says as he stars a fast paced walk to prepare the details and try to pinpoint a location that Rivio could have been taken. He showed him the other side of the portal and then the link cut off.
Grayfia followed after him quickly close behind, surprised at her husbands sudden seriousness. "I shall do as you asked but what is going on? What has happened?" She asked. He doesn't slow down till their out of earshot of the other devils. Turning to her he starts to explain.
"Rivio has been taken by the New Brotherhood. He showed me his memories just before he was forced through a portal to somewhere, possibly a base of theirs or their headquarters. I do not know exactly just yet. We must go after then before they try extracting the Darkness and kill him."
He pauses and looks her in the eye. "Issei, Rias, Koneko, the whole group must not know about this." Grayfia has even more shock rub through her, Sirzechs keeping something so important a secret from Rias and her peerage? Why?
"I don't understand; wouldn't informing them be the best course of action? They deserve to know with being friends and a brother." She says. Sirzechs nods at her statement but continues none the less.
"While yes they of all people should not be left in the dark we have no choice. If Loki continues to be a threat, which he most certainly will, they will want to be the ones to try and stop him. If they found out Rivio was in grave danger they would be demoralized and go in to battle with a clouded mind. We must keep this hidden at any cost." He sees her about to argue, clearly acting as his wife right now. But he has to act as her king. This is a matter of urgency. So he does the one thing he knows she'll follow. "As your king I order this matter to be kept secret from Rias and her peerage. At any cost." He says hating himself as he let the words come out. She widens her eyes before reluctantly nodding. Then he turns and continues his stride. "Where could you be Rivio, where did they take you?"
——————POV Change: Rivio——————
The portal closes as we are dragged through. Looking around I see plain walls with little detail at all. Hector shoves me forward with a foot and keeps the light trained on me while Aurora still attempts to fight back, thrashing about now to try and hit our captors.
"I swear to whatever gods you believe in; the second I get out you all our going to BURN!" She screams before it turns into agony as a grunt reaches forward and jabs a stick into her side; it must have been a taser or something because a jolt of electricity went through her and she fell to the floor in pain.
James takes the lead finally directing as we are shoved forward again to walk. "Oh miss Aurora please do keep your promises to something you actually can achieve. In your current state you have no to a negative chance of actually standing a chance against an entire base." James tells her as we reach a wide, metal door with a keypad next to it and a slider in it. Said pad did not only have numbers, but also a fingerprint scanner and eye scanner. High security for whatever this place is.
After James finishes imputing everything and the slider opens to see who it is the doors don't open. Instead the floor starts to descend as we go deep below. As it goes down the walls turn from basic material to metal until we stop and start walking again. We pass through multiple corridors and by many windows, in one of the rooms we pass there's a Scottish man beaten and bloody. An axe is in the same room in a box as well as three New Brotherhood grunts, but these ones have different armor; bulkier and more protective looking. Must be higher ranked grunts. The ace however is radiating with dark energy that the box is containing.
Hector notices my staring and laughs. "I see you taken notice to one of our other guests. Jimmy Wilson. A constant drunk but his powers were useful." He says as we continue past. James picks up from there chuckling a bit.
"Yes, he was a hard cookie to capture but we got him in the end. And we got his artifact, the Dark Axe, as well but he had to be beaten before he'd even let go of it. Don't worry, your treatment will be...less simplistic than his." He says looking at us with a grin that sends shivers down our spines.
After a few more minutes of walking and seeing various artifacts filled with Dark Essence, and surprisingly some others with traces of light, we take an elevator and go deeper before we arrive in a circular room with a stand in the center. On the walls were about five separate sets of shackles that have been obviously used a decent amount of times if the dark bloodstains below the spots they hang from are any evidence. Aurora, upon entering the room and seeing the chains, started to shake and in the most simplest terms freak out.
"No. Not again. I'm not going back!" She starts wailing and trying to use her powers, only for the bracelets to glow and burn her wrists. She clawed at our captors and tried jumping over one but was caught around the waist and forced into the room. They through her onto the ground in front of the shackles and locked them around her wrists below the bracelets, and locked me in as well. The slab of wall that we occupy across from one another suddenly rise up making us hang and dangle by our chains and a spotlight turns on from the ceiling pointed at me. James makes a hand jester and everyone buy himself, Stanley, and Clément leave.
There's a silence that lingers between the five of us save for the rattling of chains and heavy breathing from Aurora. James sighs and smiles. "In all my days I've sought after the moment I'd come face to face with what my father died to acquire from the Estacado family. I had dreamed of what it would be like, succeeding where he failed, but now I see... I achieved something FAR greater then he ever could! Hahahahaha! Not only do I have the Darkness but also the Angelus as well!" He yells falling into maniacal laughter to the point of coughing and clutching his chest, where I had stabbed him when I went berserk.
"Hhhhhn. Hahaha. Now, it's times to finally fulfill this duty. Double for one, this day couldn't get any better... oh wait!" James days before he steps to me and pulls out a knife, embedding it into my stomach. He twists it a bit before taking it out and grinning evilly. "That's a gift in return for the one you left me," he moves his coat to show under his shirt a giant scar across his chest as I cough and squirm in pain "you had nearly punctured a lung. Now Clément, get the artifact that Kokabiel helped us retrieve." Clément nods and moves to the side of the room where a table stands, on it is a covered cylinder like object. He removed the cloth and showed off the strange piece of metal. I don't know why but it feels familiar, like I've seen it before.
James walls over to it and holds out his cane, twisting the top like the first time he did in the church all that time ago, and removed the top to replace it with the cylinder. "You see children, this is the Siphon. Obviously I modified it to keep it close this time and to fit my needs. But it still has the same effect. The only thing that can injure and kill the Darkness' host, and hold the creature inside it. Originally it was meant for the Angelus but it can hold both. Now we'll do the extraction at the same time." He says as he puts it in the base of the circle at the center of the room and twists it. It opens and begins to glow somewhat faintly and radiate power.
Stanley comes over and channels some Dark Essence into it, causing it to glow even more. The power increases, sending a chill down my entire body. Aurora seems to finally focus now sensing the chill as well. The room suddenly started to get colder, to the point we can see our breath. "Now" James starts again "we can't just simply extract these creatures from you two. The Darkness and the Angelus are both sealed in those reached Sacred Gears, so we have to break that first; after that you give us the Darkness and Angelus willingly or we break you." He says as if it's the simplest thing in the world. They turn and start to stroll out casually. With a finale ta-ta and a hand wave from James the door slammed shut.
With them gone I let out a shaky breath. I slowly tried to will the Darkness' healing for my stab wound but nothing happened. Instead the shackles started to burn a bit in response to the attempted power flow. More light magic, lovely. Across from me Aurora started to struggle against the chains and breath heavily again, crap. Her eyes dart around frantically while she struggles; I know what this is. She's having a panic attack.
"Aurora. Aurora look at me!" I say to her through the pain in my stomach and wrists. "Aurora! Focus on me. Take deep breathes and focus only on me." I say getting a response from her in the form of her looking at me and doing as I said. Through the tears she had started shedding she took deep labored breaths and stopped struggling. A start at least but she was still trembling like a leaf.
"Ok Aurora, what's your the place you find the safest, most calming to be at. Where do you feel drawn to no matter how far away you go and always think about going back?" I ask looking her directly in the eyes. A light of thought goes through them as she processes my words fully.
"T-the Overseer bunker. I have a bed there. A room of my own. Sir Vilhelm and Master William took me in when..." she starts to choke up a bit again but otherwise she's getting a bit calmer. Alright, progress.
I keep eye contact as I start to feel colder and my wrists start to tingle. The blood hasn't stopped coming from my stomach, but I can't fully heal it yet; a small trail leads down from the wall now to a slowly growing puddle. "Ok, just picture there. Don't think of here and now but there instead. Focus and stay in that place." She starts to tremble less as she concentrates. Good, its working. Her breathing is back under control and her eyes look more clear. But everything is starting to go blurry, and a buzz starts to get loud in my ears. Maybe...just.... a little rest.
Before it all goes black I head Aurora calling my name. "Rivio! Don't close your eyes, stay awake!" She yells to me. I fight the urge and blink a bit. Damn, I need to try and stay awake. I won't die thanks to the Darkness but it sure as hell feels like I might. That's when I feel a warmth from the wound, a pleasant warmth though sort of like when Asia uses her Twilight Healing in an injury. I look over and see Aurora's left hand glowing while a trail of green magic is coming to my stab wound. After a bit it stops and I look to see the injury closed. She used magic to heal me? I really wish I learned that, but she sent the aura to me. She's advanced with magic that's for sure.
I look back to her and see her sweating and breathing hard. The shackles block any magic so she must have put up a strong fight to do just that. "Thank you." I say to her; she smiles and nods before sighing while looking at the floor.
"You know" She starts looking back up at me "I was always told after we found I had the Angelus that I had to fight a rival. Always told that if I didn't the world would be in danger. But I was never told anything about you, or why I had to fight you. Not once did I question it either; but now..." she trails off looking to the side. "Now that we might die here I kinda want to know why. You don't seem all that bad as to cause some apocalypse or something, so why you know?"
I smirk and nod a bit. "Ya, it makes sense. The only people we have and can rely on now is each other. If we want to get out of here we gotta work together and to do that we have to trust each other. So why not start over. Not as the hosts of the Angelus and the Darkness, but as Aurora and Rivio?" I ask. She gains a small smile.
"I'd like that." She says.
"Alright, well what do you want to know?"
She asks about my past. How I got to where I was when she first found me. I told her everything I could, about my parents and how they had been involved with the Brotherhood, how I fought Rizer's queen, all the way up to our first encounter and even how I had mad a real partnership with the Darkness.
"Well" She says after I finish "fair is fair. I guess it's my turn to spill my heart out to ya." She quips. Good to see she still has her joking personality. Before she could start however a group of New Brotherhood grunts come in with Emilia who has gloves on with metal studded knuckles. They also wheel in a cart that has various sharp objects and pliers lined up. There's also a crystal shard, flowing with energy. She pops her knuckles and smirks sadistically.
"Alright my little Engel und Dämon," She brings up the crystal and makes sure the tip is sharp "let's have some fun. Hmhmhmhm."
———————-With Sirzechs———————
I look around at the gathered individuals Grayfia found. Sairaorg and five other powerful devils stand in the room with me. Two Ultimate class and four High class, it'll do for this.
"Alright, now you all probably are wondering why I had you called here. We will be sending you to take part in a rescue operation, but first we need to find the location of the ones we intend to rescue."
The younger of the two ultimate class devils, Albas Silverford, speaks up after hearing this. "You mean to tell me we haven't even found where the hostages are being held? No disrespect Sirzechs but this will be far less simple with just the six of us searching." He says. The others nod and agree with him, and there is much truth to his words. That's when a tear in space opens near a wall of the room. Stepping out of the portal is a group of people dressed in cloaks and armor all adorned with an eye decoration some place or another on the outfits.
Next out came a man dressed in heavy looking armor, colored a dark iron of sorts. He had the eye decoration and a sword strapped on and across his back. His helmet was menacing to those who see it for a first time and he carried himself with an air of authority.
"Well" He starts in a deep baritone voice, "lucky your not alone then. The second the New Brotherhood captured Aurora was the second they made this a personal matter. I am Sir Vilhelm, and the Overseers will aid to get our people back. Let us work together effectively and crush this common enemy together." And so starts a partnership never thought possible with the biggest isolationist group in the world.
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And so starts an original ark of my creation. Sad to say this but don't expect such a fast update like this one compared to the last time because with this being all original it will take some time to solidify ideas and concepts to push this story. Thanks for reading and have a good day!
-Ash