My name is Malcolm Baker, and I am 32 years old. I just recently had a falling out with my wife.

I found out last night that she has been cheating on me with some local newspaper reporter/editor I can't remember and don't care which. I've seen him before but can't remember his name, but they were both in my bed fucking each others guts out. I was disgusted to say the least, and forcibly removed them both from the house. I then took their stuff out to the backyard into my fire pit, and tossed it in there. After this I took all of her worldly possessions, and tossed them into the fire pit. I lit a fire with some lighter fluid and 90 proof alcohols that I found in the mans now searing backpack. I stood there next to the flames into I was covered in soot. Next thing I know my wife is coming back here trying to talk to me. I tell her I dont want to hear what she has to say. She walks away still naked, because I didnt give them a chance to put clothes on and gets back into the mans car. The man himself comes out and tries to yell at me. I keep this routine of walking away going. The next thing I know the man swings out wildly at me, trying to hit me in the head. I spun with what seemed to be an inhuman quickness nearly getting my jaw knocked clean off by this guy. I lashed out with a kick to his stomach. Then I dropped into a low defensive stance if this guy comes to me like I think he will, he will be dropped with the swiftness. I readied myself for the impending attack; it came as a low swift kick to what was supposed to be my side. I slipped out of the way and slid my hand around the back curve of his skull. Gotcha motherfucker! I said as I slammed his head into the plastic trash barrel our fight took us near. He hit that thing pretty hard because he has an angry looking bruise on his forehead. I tried to kick him and he caught my foot. I know how to reverse this, and then I swung around in a quick spin bringing my right foot up and around into the side of his skull. I fell to the ground with an oomph! The dude is now on the ground breathing sharply because of how bruised his skull is. I stomped on his side. Do not ever try to fuck with me again! I screamed at him as he lied there cradling himself from the abuse. Do not I swing back for another kick to the stomach, and release. Fuck with me again. Ill kill you if do. Thats a promise. I walked away from him back to the flames were my wife was standing angrily going for her cell phone. Baby the cell phone is in the fire. I walked back to where I was standing in front of the fire. I am tired of her cheating on me. She has done so three times before that I know of. I am taking back control with my knuckles. I said under the roar of the flames. My wife Charon turns to face me, she says something but I am too lost in my thoughts to hear her. Fuck off! I screamed back at her as she tried to plead her false love for me. Go away! I screamed again. I dont want anything to do with you. I turned for the briefest second and saw her walking towards the black guy. She helps him get up and head to his car. I turned back to the flames and sat there watching them rage fire is the purification. I am fucking tired of this shit. She has to die, but when is the question. I am interrupted from my thoughts one last time. Ill see you in fucking court! I smiled inwardly. Fire is purification. She shall burn. A foreign voice that was not my own whispered in my head; it sounded like a million teeth gnashing together all at once to form words. It was terrible cacophony in my head, I could hear it but not hear it. Am I going crazy? The voice came back this time and said that was the voice of something great and eternal. Something to be feared but yet respected; this made me think that I was surely crazy. That was until I saw the owner of the voice standing across from me floating in the

flames. He did not seem bothered by this at all. You will have to kill her. Do you understand that? he asks me. Yeah I do, but the question is this Will I get away with it? I asked him back. Yes and you will get so much more in return he says knowingly. I shrugged this off and then decided to sit down in front of him. I think we are going to be here a long time. Just who exactly are you? I asked him cautiously. I am a man with many tastes. He says obviously quoting an old song by a rock group called The Rolling Stones. I am Lu. Whats your name? The man asks me, and this is the point where I notice that his eyes are glowing blood red now. Oh shit Youre Lucifer; the scourge of the Christian Bible to name one of the most known texts of the world. I say in a mildly surprised tone as he watches me pull out a cigarette and a lighter. Yeah I am, and that means you are Malcolm Baker. He says smiling at me as I start smoking my cigarette. I could not help but seeing you and your argument with that adulterer. I am going to give you a power. With this power you will be able to have complete and total control of time. You can do what you want when you want. However if you do selfish deeds, there will be equal consequences. If you do virtuous deeds then you will be rewarded. However you cannot use this ability to take Me or Him, He gestures upward towards the Heavens. Down. OK. Let me have this power. In due time first you need to take care of someone. Just as a way to commit attrition before I give you this power. I did not need to ask him who this person was, because lo and behold I already knew exactly who it was to be. I nodded, and then like He was nothing just vanished into thin air. He wants me to kill Charon Baker (her married name) who is my now exwife. I went back into the house and let the flames continue to burn. I will tell the cops that its a bonfire for religious reasons; well it is after a sort of speaking. I mean it did bring the Devil to my house for a brief bit. The cops wont believe it, but all I need to do is kill Charon to get it all taken care of for good. I tossed the used cigarette butt off to the side and then headed into the house. Might as well rest up, because I am worn the fuck out. I went into the kitchen and opened up the refrigerator and took out a 24 oz Faygo Rock N Rye. I twisted off the cap and then took a mighty drink off the bottle. Being a Juggalo like me, means you get to hit Faygo like an alcoholic hits the drink. If you catch my meaning that is. I headed up to the master bedroom and looked through the dresser for some clothes to change into after I take a shower. I headed into the bathroom and then slid back the curtain, and then as I sat down I turned the tap to moderately warm. I let it run for about two minutes while I stripped down and got in the slightly steaming water. I stood there and washed off all the soot and debris from the fire, and let my thoughts slip back into planning this great murder. I could always bring her out to Hickory and feed her to the pigs, after I slice her up real nice. This seemed like an appealing idea until this thought hit me; You could do it, but then what about all the cops that live out there? You would be found out immediately. I hit the wall in my frustration, and noticed that not only did I make my knuckle bleed, but I put a knuckle shaped crack/indentation into the tiled wall. With that being said I turned off the water and watched the run off slip down the drain. There was a circle of ashes around the drain still. Thats all she fucking is to me. I spit out a wad of phlegm down the drain. I walked out back to my bed room ass naked and took a pair of black Tripp pants and a Mindless Self Indulgence shirt out of the dresser. I took out some boxers

and a pair of socks out too. I threw on my clothes and headed back down stairs. Stopping only long enough in the room to notice that something was out of place. My collection Nine Inch Nails and Mindless Self Indulgence cds were kind of scrambled. Sitting on top of Youll Rebel To Anything and under With Teeth, was a business card. On it was a phone number and a name, and both of those belonged to that black fellow who I fought earlier. I could not believe the sight before my eyes. She must have left it there for me to find. She had to have - why else would it be there in the first place?! I threw my clothes on quickly and then headed downstairs, tossing the card into one of the many pockets on these pants. I sat down on the couch and opened up my computer. I hit the power button and took a cigarette out of the pack that was next to the computer. I snaked my hand around a glass full of soda and took the lighter. I lit my smoke and then logged myself into my computer. I am going to Google search this motherfucker and see what comes up. If nothing really important comes up then he can be taken down with the whore. The only result that was relevant to my search that came up was the fact that he was small time underground pulp fiction publisher. His office number was 14a and it was behind the Virginian Pilot Building on Virginia Beach Blvd. I know exactly where that building is so finding him will be a piece of cake. The next thing I know is that there is a knock on the front door of the house. Howre you doing officer? I ask the police officer conversationally as he hands me a thick manila envelope. It is addressed to me through the Virginia State Court system; from Charon herself, stupid bitch. Thank you officer, when am I being summoned to court? I could not help but to ask him this before he started to walk away. Ten on the dot tomorrow morning and I will be there, so make sure you show up. With that he begins to walk back to his squad car. Thank you very fuckin much officer, Ill be sure to wave and say hello! I said sarcastically under my breath. Was I supposed to give a shit about whether or not he was going to personally attend the court trial where I was going to shoot Charon? You know I find it mildly amusing that my ex-wifes name is Charon. Charon is the Boat Keeper who guides the souls of the dead across the River Styx. Kind of interesting to note isnt it when someone is named Charon, and then they are going to be His passenger in about twenty-four hours? I went back into the house and sat the envelope next to the computer. I reached over to the cup of soda and took a swig of it. I opened the envelope and then set the contents of it on the well worn coffee table. I looked at the first packet and saw that it reads Mr. Baker you are being summoned to court by the plaintiff whose name is being with held due to a safety concern at ten oclock tomorrow morning. There was a bunch of other shit there but I didnt bother to read it because I dont give much of a shit about it. I came to a sheet that is something similar to a rap sheet. It has a bunch of things on which point that I am a potential felon. Several accounts of alleged assault, however those were just my encounters with a local gang called CIK-21. Cast Iron Kings and the designation number 21 refer to the lot in the old industrial park on Independence Blvd. I was a member of the gang until I decided to leave because I felt that the gang was getting a bit out of hand. I was the founder and the ones under me thought it would be prudent to start in on attacking the innocent. The stupidest part is that Dane my second in command decided to start attacking innocents. One day during a routine heist from a local well to do caf, he brought out his gun and shot the manager in the face. It was a terrible thing to do and it was also at this point that I

decided it was time to leave the gang. The thought was to leave it to fester and rot, because it was going to self destruct anyway. It was during this time that I picked up a lot of the assault charges that I have, or should have anyway. The charges were listed on my record simply because I am the most likely target, and nobody could say otherwise. I mean I was after the founder of this gang. I turned to the next page of the packet. The summons themselves, ah this should be an interesting read. I scanned it quickly I feel kind of let down because its not. Just the same recycled tired and bullshit court summons. Basically Malcolm you are being summoned to court tomorrow at 10:30 A.M. I pulled out another cigarette and started to smoke it, I think to myself that this is all bullshit anyway. I might as well just show up for this bullshit. I am going to be bringing my gun with me anyway. Its a custom made poly fiber gun, it looks and feels like metal but its not. I am going to put one shot in between Charons eyes. I have killed before, but nobody can pin anything I have done to me until now. This will be the only killing they can pin to me. I am not going to kill anyone else in there but her. The next day came slightly overcast and looking kind of sullen. I must say that I am sure this is the sky that sinners looked out upon before their final judgments. It is a good sky to kill someone under. I put on a decent looking three piece suit and put the gun in a pocket that was inside the dress coat itself. I walked out to my cherry red Ford ZX-2 and opened up the door, time to commit a murder. I sat down in the drivers seat and put the keys in the ignition. I plugged in my mp3 player and turned up the volume on the cars internal sound system. The song that was playing is Tilt a Whirl by Insane Clown Posse. Yes I am a Juggalo, what the fuck do you have to say about it? I drove out of my neighborhood and turned onto Virginia Beach Blvd. I drove for about twenty minutes and then came to the Virginia Beach Municipal Center. I pulled into the courts parking lot. I chose an empty spot and then parked there, opting to be really close to the doors. As I got out of the car I pulled a smoke from my pocket. I lit it and closed the door with my hip. My keys are in my pocket and the gun is in the jacket. I took a puff of the smoke and then headed towards the doors of the court building. I threw away the last little bit of the thing and then walked through the doors. In the cool dimness of the courts antechambers I could see a fat security guard sitting behind his little desk with a steaming cup of coffee, sitting forlornly next to a big ancient key board and an even older monitor. The computer was sitting on the floor out of sight, out of mind. I walked through the metal detector and hoped that he wouldnt skiff me. He didnt even bother with getting up to check me. I walked confidently to court room 3-A. My docket was at 10:00 AM like the papers I received last night read. I noticed a young man wearing a Slipknot shirt and a pair of Tripp pants. He was standing there next to the door waiting for something. He looked mildly distracted as he glanced up at me. You might want to do what youre here to do. He says kind of cryptically as I headed into the court. I walked into the room and noticed that Charon was now wearing an arm brace, and trying unsuccessfully to look victimized. It seemed the judge believed this act, and as did everyone else. Well I am about to be seen as a big asshole. I sat down next to my lawyer and he looked at me kind of angrily. Where the hell have you been? You were supposed to be here at nine forty-five. He says quite madly as I sit there and wait for the trial to begin. I looked at my watch quickly and I noticed that it was now right now on the hour. Dont worry man. Ive got everything under control. Henrik my lawyer

should have been a little concerned about this remark, but he wasnt; which was a major plus for me and the way I have with people I have been told that I am quite charismatic. It seemed like forever, but I am sure that it was only like five or ten more minutes but the judge finally came out. The trial to decide whether or I was going to jail because of this blatant lair that is my ex-wife is ready to begin. The initial proceedings seemed like a bunch of dick sucking, with her trying to plead her bullshit case to the judge. The judge then motioned for me to begin my part. There were no witnesses called during her testimony. She is trying to rely on the fact that she is a woman, and I have a man as the judge. I hate to get sexist but I am fucking happy that the judge is a man. This would make it slightly easier to deal with him. Not that what he or any one has to say is important to me. I dont give a fuck about what they have to say actually. I decided that this was the point where I should stand up. The judge looks at me curiously; apparently he doesnt think that I will do anything. I reached inside my jacket and pulled out the gun, and all in the same movement I put a hole in her head. Blood and heavier things sprayed across the wall as cops and court officials swarmed towards me, trying to protect what they thought would be another victim of this incident. Suddenly time stops and the kid I saw earlier come forward from the back area of the court. I must say that looked like something out of the movies. He stops in front of me and looks to his left at a rather well endowed court official. You dont seem bothered by what I just did. He says quietly implying that I should be bothered by this. I am to a minute degree; for the most part though I am not. Thats good because what you are about to see is worth shitting yourself over. He said as a blinding flash went off like a nuclear bomb in the small court room. There was a figure standing there in a black suit with a white tie and a fedora. He was standing there with his arms crossed kind of smirking at me. Howre you doing Lu? I asked him with a rather calm tone in my voice. Pretty good actually, I am going to be giving you a gift that I think will come in handy for you. I looked to the kid and he just looked back at me and shrugged. This gift is a family thing and since you two are brothers, I think its only fitting that you two get it. I could not help but looking at this kid, my brother, questioningly now. Yeah man, we are brothers. Mom died broken and battered at the hands of our dad. Im surprised that you dont remember this, it happened when you were five and I was four. I started towards the Devil with a certainty that I was going to attempt to banish him from this plane of existence. Ah-ah-ah you cant follow through with this you know. He says and raises his right hand palm facing me with his fingers outstretched. Next thing I know everything flashes a blinding white, kind of like what the flash must look like from a thousand exploding suns. I thought that my eyes would be burned into little crispy pieces of matter inside my head. Next thing every hair on my body was on end and I felt like a god or some kind of really powerful demon. After the rush was over Lu was standing there looking at me like something was amusing him. I looked at his palm which was still facing me. I thought of blowing his hand off and it was so. An old adage came to mind which is popular in a lot of stories about AI or artificial intelligence. I think therefore I am. I just thought of it in the sense that if I think something it can be done, then it is so. There was a spray of blood (I guess just for dramatic effect) and his hand was gone.

Nice trick Malcolm its a pity that I am not a human, or I would say that I am bleeding to death. However I reckon that to be the first strike. After three your soul comes down to Hell, where I will torment you for all of eternity until the Apocalypse takes you. There was a moment of silence to let this sink in as well as the implications that it holds. Now for the final bit of information which is valuable to your survival; there will be Angels and other Holy beings coming after you. The reason being is that they will see you as threats to the Earth. You are now considered Hounds of Hell. This is the designation reserved only for those whom I have given this power. The Devil left us right there in the middle of the court room. From there the next most obvious thing to do was get the hell out of the court. Find somewhere to lay low and chill while the cops looked frantically for someone to blame for this. I figure that we can go back to my brothers (yes I have a brother!) place, or maybe even mine and lay low. I used the gift to bring us to my house which is near Larkspur Middle School. It was almost instantaneous that we appeared in my house. That was fucking close. At least we werent arrested. Yeah they would have gotten me too. My brother says to me; however I do not give him any mind because I am still trying to get over the fact that I went from one side of the city to the other with a mental light flicking of the wrist. What the fuck was that about?! So do you remember my name? He asks me as I am cleaning off and disassembling the gun. I shake my head no and then stop for a second. Thinking about my answer pondering all those years ago when Mom died. She was a hooker something I am not proud of and I dont think my brother is either. Your name is I trail off into silence recalling those memories of living in the ratty apartments with my father and her. My parents were never married and I think that her pimp was my father. Then it hit me almost physically in the face, his name is Alonzo! I remember everything now. I muttered under my breath. As I turned around to face him I noticed that he was on his cell phone and talking quite hurriedly to whoever was on the other end of the line. Suddenly he hangs up and says that we need to pay a visit to someone he knows. He grabs my wrist and teleports us to the neighborhood behind the Virginia Beach Public Library, you know the one on Virginia Beach Blvd? I looked at him and could not help but asking, Al what the fuck we are doing here? He looks back at me, and says Well we are going to kick some ass. A local bully at Princess Anne High is fucking with this girl I like and am kind of dating. He starts walking deeper into the neighborhood. I kept an even stride about four feet behind him, trying to keep him more or less in front of me. Are you sure you want to carry this out? I asked him as we walked towards the house in front of us. Yes. He says very calmly almost stoically. He sounds like a professional hit man asked if he wants to carry out the contract that he has been given. We stop at the front door to the house. A ragged young man who had to be all of eighteen opens the door. Its about fucking time. We are hungry. Wheres the fucking pizza? Alonzo and I just looked very coldly at this guy. Where the fuck is Jonah?! He screams at the young man in the door way. The young man makes a move to close the door, and I swing in with a good old SWAT style kick to the door.

Theres our entry, so lets get to work brother. I noticed some body passing a bong around. I snatched the bong up out of their hands. I smashed it against the wall and kept walking after Alonzo. Alonzo, do you know where this guy is? I called after him as we headed up the stairs. Yeah I do, and hes going to wish that he was really in Hell. We came to the first room and heard the sounds of some loud fucking going on. Its him. Alonzo whispers softly to me. I kicked the door in and stepped into the room with Alonzo close behind me. He steps forward and looks at Jonah. Jonah says something to the naked young lady on top of him. She scurries away and he sets up and faces us. What the fuck do you want Alonzo? He says quite angrily. I want your soul. He says back very calmly and it was kind of scary to see the grimly determined look on his face. Next thing I know he is straddling Jonahs stomach and punching him repeatedly. Several severe shots to the stomach and chest; each punch was making him spurt blood from his mouth. He was trying to beg for forgiveness. Did you ever give me a chance when you beat me? Did you give Shannon a chance when you beat her?! I caught sight of Alonzos eyes in the mirror, and pulled him off Jonah. I damn near threw him across the room. Look at your eyes in the mirror and then let me deal with this fuck. I got on the bed and stood there looking down at him. This is going to be the last time you ever fuck with him. I said very coldly and very matter of factly. If you do then I swear on Existence itself, that I will track you down and crucify you. I mean like Jesus dying on the cross style, but with a gruesome twist. I dropped down one hell of a good stomp to his pelvic area. There was some cracking sounds. Alonzo lets go, we are done here. Once we were in the car again we sit there in the silence that hardened criminals must enjoy after they carry out their acts. I took out a cigarette and lit it, while I slid the keys into the ignition. "Alonzo what the fuck was up with your eyes back there?" I asked with a hard edge of concern in my voice. "Well..." he takes out a smoke of his own and lights it up. "The Devil, Lu that is, told me that the one thing with the gift we need to watch out for is it reacts strongly to anger, like someone when they are having sex and about to hit their orgasm. Meaning it joins itself to the anger and then begins to manifest itself outwardly for all to see. Basically we become something worse than Lu. Which is why he said we can't take him or God down if we were to get too carried away with the gift. Oh by the way since we used the gift for a purpose that wasn't for our own gain, maybe just maybe Shannon will be the same if not better than she was when I last saw her." he explained as he continuously puffed off his smoke. When we got back to the apartment saw Shannon sitting on the edge of the roof with Alonzo's beaten up boom box next to her blasting a song from a popular movie franchise about a very gruesome sense of justice and rehabilitation. I look at Alonzo and ask him about what the hell could she be doing up there like that... I use the gift to levitate up to her and float idly in front of her. I lean toward her "Shannon why are you up here like this?" I look down at Alonzo and motion for him to come up next to me. The moment he stops shoulder to shoulder with me she looks at him serenely "Hun it's over. It's my time now. The deed was done for your own benefit as well as mine. Therefore it counts as bad. Your anger escaped you. I have to go now. I love you." Having said that she sidles herself off the edge of the roof, it was a motion too quick for Alonzo to react, because he was about 4 feet away from

the edge and she just kind of slipped herself off and down. In those dreadful moments of shock we hear a wet thump like freshly made brick mortar being thrown against a wall, kind of a wet sound with a crunch in it. We looked down at her with wide eyes and surprise apparent in our eyes. She's dead in a pool of her own blood and body fluids nine stories below us. "Oh shit what the fuck?" Alonzo practically yells once the shock has kind of worn off. "Alonzo, she's gone. There's nothing we can do to save her. Turning back time won't do shit, because it will just turn out the same, because the only way for her to live is to just ignore Jonah. That's what this is all about brother, he's the answer to this problem, but ignoring him is the only way to go. I don't think you have it in you to just ignore him though." "You're perfectly right I don't because I fucking want him dead. There's nothing you can do or even fucking Lucifer can do to stop me from wreaking havoc on him if he does anything to do me." he says in a deadly calm that makes me wonder just how far can he go with his anger and also just how much he can really do when he is mad. I figure that there has to be some way to either talk him down or at least prevent him from doing something stupid. "Look Alonzo there's nothing you can about it right now. We have to find some way to move on. The only thing we can really hope for at this point is that she's in a better place." I used some of the power to keep him from breaking free and doing something that we both might end up hating. "Alonzo! We can't fucking do anything about that! We just need to move on and figure out what to do with this gift. You know we need to find a way to exact vengeance on Lucifer and everyone who has wronged us. Then again we need to figure out what the other two strikes are. One of them is trying to take down Lu and the second strike is trying to take down God. So what's the third one?" I asked him trying to swerve his mind off thinking about Shannon. The song "Hello Zepp" is still playing on repeat next to us, I then decided that it's time for us to get out of the air and on to the roof. I glided forward and landed lightly next to the boom box. I used my hold on Alonzo to bring him forward to the roof next to me. My only fear is that he is going to try and do something, and since something tells me that our gifts cancel each other out there's nothing I can do to him short of killing him that will work out favorably. "How do we use the third strike brother?" Alonzo asks me in that same deadly calm, but equally lethal voice that makes me think of a hardened killer. "I'm not sure and I don't think I want to find out because the third strike is usually more trouble than can be handled." he looks sidelong at me "What do you mean?" "Just think about it brother. I don't know what we would have to do to use that strike, but I think we have to run something along the lines of making ourselves immortal or something greater than God or Lu." I explained to him some more as he sit there despairingly and kept looking at the corpse below us in front of the apartment complex. "Well why don't we do that? What is to stop us?" he asks me in that same chilling tone which reminds me of any serial killer out there who is calm and composed in the face of death. Suddenly there was a flash of light and Lu himself was again standing there with us. To do that good sirs would bring upon the Apocalypse. Complete with the great serpent rising from the oceans, and all of the horrors any religion out there has talked about. So total Apocalypse on top of being my undying servants, slaves to my very will for all intents and purposes. Of course I can't actually force you into being my slaves, that's a choice you have to make for yourselves. What Lu wasn't telling them is that he is not going to relinquish the throne should they become beings more powerful than him or God. You see in the beginning of time when God

created everything He made the Devil to be his brother and polar opposite. So killing one inadvertently brings down the other. Which is why the Apocalypse is meant just clear the slate so the two of them can have at each other again. You see the trick is this - whoever kills God automatically take His throne. Whoever kills the Devil takes his throne. Thus the cycle just keeps on repeating. "So what you mean to tell us is that we can be immortal but we have to remain forever in your service?" I suddenly pipe in after Lu goes silent upon completing his explanation of the third strike. "Exactly. You see what if we were to take immortality and then wage war on you and God?" Alonzo says in a slightly surprised tone of voice. Well that would be something new and it would undo the balance of Existence as it is known now. The Devil says in his silent but much laid back manner of speech if you could call it that. I begin to pace back and forth as I contemplate the meaning of all this. So by Lu's reasoning we could take over but it would rend the very balance of Existence into an incomprehensible wreck. So how in the name of Hell pardon the idiom can we still take over for ourselves but keep the balance? That is with out falling into the order that Lu has seemed to explain to us... "Are you done Lu?" I ask The Devil as he stands there arms across his chest, for all the word looking like a patient businessman dealing with an unruly client. "You know who you remind me of Lu?" Alonzo said, and since he's my identical (literal identical, the only thing you can tell us apart by is my close shaved head and long beard) twin I think I know what he is going to say. Who is that? I look at him and start to laugh like it was the funniest joke in the world. "Don Vito Corleone, The Godfather himself." the look on Lu's face is priceless, it's one part confused and one part amused. Thanks for that little tid bit of information. With that he vanishes back to whatever dark hole that he has crawled out of to talk to us. "Well that was kind of amusing. I should have asked him where Shannon is." "The information wouldn't have done you any good bro." "Sure it would've. It's called peace of fuckin' mind." I turned back from the ledge so I would not have to see the grisly sight of Shannon's shattered body. It has been about three minutes since she jumped from the ledge. The cops will be coming some time very soon, that's' a dead given, because the cop station is about 5 minutes away from here. So figure in a delay for whatever unit is in the area, coupled with questioning of the people on site. Meaning residents who live here and us, The Brothers Baker. Fuckin' great, we've gotta deal with cops. I thought grimly to myself as I started to grab another smoke from my pocket. "I know. It's goin' to suck bro." he said as if he had read my thoughts some how. "Yeah I know. So what can we tell them?" he asks me in a level voice as he looked over the edge. I think he is just trying to cope with the fact that she killed herself, and now is most likely with Lu, or off some other ethereal plane. Five minutes later instead of cops, there is a young Middle Eastern lady standing at the door - the woman from the court that Alonzo looked at before joining the Devil and I on the main part of the court room. "I am Michelle. I need to speak to Malcolm Baker and Alonzo Baker." she says very curtly, I detect the trace of an accent - hard to place what origin, but there's one for sure. "I'm Malcolm, and Alonzo is right here in the main room of the apartment." I stepped aside to let her in the apartment. Her raven black dropped way low down her back, and she looked quite good in her dress blouse and modern looking dress pants. She carries a worn leather messenger bag (you know those old courier cases) and looks very stoic, well more

impassive than anything. "Hello Malcolm Baker and Alonzo Baker. I am Michelle Abdul-Amir. I believe I have a way to get rid of the body that is in front of the complex. Have no worry the cops have been called off and all the proper measures have been taken to ensure that it vanishes with out a trace." she explains in a calm almost friendly voice as if we were all buddies here. I looked to Alonzo with a glint in my eye that communicated what we should be feeling towards her. Distrust and suspicion. "How exactly do you intend to do that?" I couldn't help but to ask the young woman standing there before us. I moved over to the couch and then motioned for her to sit down across from us on the smaller couch. "With the help of something you both know how to use. The only thing is that I'm going to have to vaporize the body and then use a little bit of help from you two to wipe the minds of anybody except us who might have witnessed this act." She gets up and goes to the door, motioning for us to come with her - heading downstairs I figure to do something finally about this body. On the steps though came something unexpected from Michelle Abdul-Amir "You know what I am don't you?" I looked questioningly at the back of her head and willed a tendril of my power at her and started to probe her. The sensation I experienced can only be described like this - a radiant burst of white seeming energy, not like Lu's flash bang appearances but different, it felt pure and clean. The power in me recoiled hard enough to make me stagger slightly and almost fall against Alonzo. "You're one of those Holy beings that are to come after us..." I freeze time and then will a form of energy into a blade like appendage over top and a whole part of my hand, as if my hand was now a spike of some kind. I drive the spike-energy quickly forward in a measured strike at the base of her skull, to which she reacts by slowing down time enough to safely prance out of the way. I then made both hands into these spike-energy weapons. I drove in with two of these in a lunge making them hook-like spikes at the last possible second. Suddenly a spot just above each of her collarbones erupts into a gout of radiant red blood. She tries unsuccessfully to back away and fails, I lunge again and actually physically land on her. Pinning all of her demure frame to the ground, I have to outweigh her by at least 80 pounds - I know that's not a terrible amount but it's enough when it's all muscle and no fat. I pulled down sternly ripping the two bones from her flesh. She screams in pain as Alonzo descends the steps behind me. "Brother... Your turn." I say as I keep her pinned, I shift my weight so I am actually sitting down on her, legs bent feet on her hands. I will spikes into her hands as I sit there. So I am basically nailing her to the ground. He raises his right hand and moves so that he is standing just in front of us. He lowers his right hand and quite effectively pulls off her head with a heavier gout of blood. I will all of my energy to dissipate and I stand up and back away. There are a couple of things that happen next - one, I will all blood that was physically here to vanish. Two, from her body emerges in all white with a golden halo and hard cold empty eyes an angel. It ascends up into Heaven, having been ripped from it's body. I extend another coil of energy and rip it from it's ascent. I pull it into my right hand and then clench the fist until my knuckles are white. I uncoil my hand after a brief but intense pain radiants from that spot. I feel that rush from the court come back but with a heat behind it instead of just a calm nothing. In my head I hear Lucifer from Hell say Thank you Malcolm for that soul. I will the body to vanish leaving no trace of the fight. We head downstairs and then do the same Shannon's body and all the blood and any evidence from her suicide.

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"Bro we've got find a way to get her back." Alonzo says in a choked voice, trying to keep from unleashing his emotions - trying to keep them from me. "There's nothing we can do, and I know that you don't want to hear that right now, but there's not a fucking thing we can do for her. Sorry." I started to explain myself further repeating what Lu had told us about the gift. "You don't know a motherfucking thing about love you fucking asshole! You killed your wife..." he says in a deadly calm voice, seething with what I think is grief induced anger. "I know that. However I don't think we can do much of anything right now to change the fucking fact that she's dead. Sorry bro. I really am. I wish there was something we could do for her." I was now trying to calm him down, and keep him from doing anything too rash. "Well how can we at least find out where she went when she died?" he asked me now trying to calm himself down, I could tell by the look on his face that this was working out to be hard for him, because of all the stress from her death. "Alonzo you know as well as I do, she's in Hell - she was a devout Catholic and you know as well as I do that they end up in Hell when they commit a sin, especially a mortal sin such as suicide." Suddenly a look comes over his face as if he finally realizes what's going on here. Fine. There are other matters that we need to take care of right? I looked at my brother curiously kind of surprised at this change in pace, going from angry to methodical in about ten seconds. How can we protect ourselves against more of those. he indicates my right arm where a very small burn has etched itself into the flesh of my wrist just under where my palm begins, just above that joint actually. The main post of the cross faces down to my middle finger. I wonder if these are going to keep popping up? I thought to myself as I contemplated the burn. Yes those bloody creatures are going to keep showing up. Lu chirped out from his dark pits down there in Hell, using a British expletive rather a curse I believe, I'm not too good with British. I shuddered because when his voice penetrates your head you get a sense of vertigo and the vague sense that you are hearing thousands of teeth gnashing together in a grisly cacophony of unimaginable proportions, I'd liken this to hearing a wood chipper talking to you whilst munching on a corpse. The voice is enough to drive you insane, but when he's actually here on Earth as much as he can be anyway he uses a Russian lilt, kind of like that actor from Armageddon and that TV show that Charon and I used to watch. Alonzo there's been an update from Lu. More of those things are going to keep showing up. He didn't give us anything more than that, just said that we get to deal with more of them. I explained to my brother who was now looking at me curiously. So where do we go from here? he asked me trying with all his might to keep calm and refrain from exploding again. We should begin figuring out everything we can, and setting it down on paper. Building a database of sorts that we can reference. I took a cigarette from the pack in my pocket and lit it, taking a drag from it as I held my lighter to it. Letting it in a sigh Bro look we gotta do something, because if there is to be some kind of war or something, then I don't wanna be caught with our asses in the wind. So where to begin? I said to Alonzo as he took out his Sidekick cell and typed up something rapidly. A short time later we were standing in front of an average two story apartment building on Neville Island in the township of Moon, Pennsylvania. The apartment had a small white

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sedan in the parking strip just to left of it. The front of the apartment was a screened in porch and there looked to enough furniture in there to make it seem homey and well lived in. I could see a young white woman sitting in there on a swing drinking what appeared to be some kind of vodka, she was talking a man who was sitting just in front of the swing, his back to the street. I inched closer to stand on the drive with Alonzo standing next to me. I leaned my head back to him Bro what are we doin' at this random house? he tapped me on the shoulder and pointed at the young lady that was sitting there. We're here to see her, that's Shannon's cousin. She would know what's going on. She's always claimed to have known what Lu and various other deities are up to, I never actually believed any of this was real until Lu showed up. She became vital to me as a source of information as did her husband, the guy sitting there with his back to us. he said softly as we began walking to the house slowly, trying to appear normal. The young man jerks and spins to face us Stop! Who are you? he calls out to us, having felt the gift spike when we teleported in. Visitors, here to see Kelly; have to talk to her about what she knows about Lu and everything that he might or might not be up to right now. Alonzo chimes up again, letting the young man size him up after a second the man relents in his raptor gazed appraisal of Alonzo. Hey wait a sec, you're Alonzo Baker! How's it goin' man? he lights up like a light bulb, as if someone had flipped a switch, going from potentially hostile to cheery in just a split second. How's it goin' Jack? he said saluting the man informally with his fingers/hand. It's goin'. I was just sitting out here talking to Kelly about you. She was explaining how you two met, you went to school at the high school not too far from here? Yeah that's right, but we really need to talk to her about Lu if it's not a problem for you that is. he said as I stepped up next to him looking at this man, Jack. Jack stands about five foot ten inches and roughly 180 or 190 pounds. He has a shaved head and dark blue eyes, they held a deep wealth of intelligence an intelligence and sense of knowledge that only a god (which surely exist because Lu does...) can possess. I also got a sense of darkness coming off him like a billowing cloud, especially in the vague shapes of wings and a goat skull shape around his head. The darkness came off him like a robe and there was also one other sense of something else that I couldn't explain it was like a sword and radiating with negativity. You must be Malcolm, Alonzo's brother. Jack said breaking me out of my reverie on what Jack could be the gift is telling me that he is a god of some kind or origin. Yeah I am. What are you? I asked quite suddenly out of the blue, letting my tongue get the better of me. I'm a god. My origin is Sumeria I'm the only surviving god, next to my sister that is, of that pantheon. he explained letting those impressions I got a minute ago come into a better definition. What you are seeing is my true form. Along the goat skull, his head, is an oddly familiar kind of scroll-working it looked familiar from that book, The Necronomicon. Azog hrythnia garetnogra khazag ghrateh hrythet. I mumbled reading the scroll-working which ran from the left side of the skull just above the left eye, to the right side just above the right eye. There was some kind of glyph or glyphs set into the spaces that didn't have the scrollwork. Actually what the English translation would be is God Emperor of The Tigris. Meaning that I'm the Ruler of Tigris the general region where Humanity is rumored to have come from. Sumeria sprung up in that valley as well. I followed Alonzo as he walked up the steps at Jack's beckoning. What I don't know though is what you are. he says quite pointedly to me. I don't even know what I am. I said to him as I joined him with Alonzo in the screened in porch. Hey Kelly. Long time no see.

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Alonzo says giving the young lady a hug. The young lady stood at maybe 5'11 and a hundred pounds or so. 105 at the most. She had shoulder length brown hair, that could appear black in dim light. Her eyes are a vibrant lively brown and she is wearing glasses. She's slender and seems quite at ease and relaxed in her current environment. I used the gift to poke around this area trying to establish what I could about it. However that was like trying to swim through molasses. I gave up when Jack started to laugh quietly at me and my efforts. I have this place warded and locked down against anything that isn't me, Kelly, or two other friends of mine. That's a pretty sound plan, keeps everything hostile from trying to spy on them... Unless those hostile forces try to break in, which could happen if they are strong enough. Yeah and there's nobody that can get in past those barriers that I don't want in. You can't carry an eleven thousand plus year existence with out being very protective of your private life. Especially when you're the ruler of a still existing Empire. Try me if you think I'm bullshit. he finishes up with a small smirk, as if he was challenging me to try his word. I shrugged and then took a deep breath as I cracked my back and then my neck. Jack could you excuse us for a minute? Kelly asked her husband with a small smile. They are in need of some help with Lu. Jack throws us a glance and then bursts out laughing as he walks back in the house, apparently he knows Lu like we do. Now about the issue at hand... Alonzo begins taking a deep breath. Start at the beginning? she asks curiously as we take a seat on the bucket seat designed wicker chairs that face the swing Kelly is sitting on. One is close to the house and facing (what would be her) right arm rest, and the other is facing (what would be her) left armrest, the one she is currently leaning her elbow on. I took the one that is facing the right armrest closest to the screen surrounding the porch. The left is closest to her and just touching the wall of the house. I first got this power... he says freezing time for what might have been two minutes for us. During this time though he cracks his back and pulls out a cigarette and lights it, unfreezing time as he flicks his wrist to close his Zippo. He takes a puff of the smoke and then looks at her with a smile on his face. There's also a few other things that we've learned how to do, most of it is focusing the energy into weapons similar to what that machine had in T2. You know like liquid, but it's sharper than a Swiss Army knife... he makes this happen and then swings his fingers (opting for a knife like concentration it would seem) across the lower half inch of one of his dread locks. The hair drops to the floor with a soft thunk. Continue on please. she says curiously. Anyway since then, Mal got the power earlier today around ten in the morning. We've been pretty much figuring out what to do since then. So roughly for the last twelve hours, we've been testing the waters. he concluded shaking his head to hide the now slightly shorter dreadlock. So what do you need me for? she asks of us curiously looking first to Alonzo and then me. Well we were wondering if we could work for Jack, because he does claim to be a god. I said putting emphasis on the word god. She looks at me with an odd look on her face, one that says I should know of him being a god because I couldn't poke into his head to see what he is. Well I could talk to him for you, if that's what you're asking me to do. This is what you want right?

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Yeah it is. Well I think I can talk to him for you. Or better yet I can have him come back outside for you. Would he have work for us which would require this gift? I think he could find something. Just depends on what's going on with The Empire. One of the stipulations that Lucifer made for us is that we can't use this gift to take over Hell, and possibly kill him in the process. Just like we can't take over Heaven, that would destabilize Existence or so he claims. I think that even we would bow before Chaos should She decide to rear Her head. I took a deep breath and looked at the cigarette that burned out, since it's a firesafe I should be able to re-light it and continue smoking it. I relit and it then looked back to the door curiously, only to see that as if on cue Jack step back out. I forgot that the windows were open and I could hear your conversation. There are some things that I need done, and since contrary to popular belief about most gods out there, not all of us are omnipotent you can do for me. Time to find out what he might have for us to do... I thought to myself, taking care not to broadcast that to everyone around. Back in Virginia Beach near where I attended high school there's a young woman conspiring with her patron deity to usurp me and take over The Empire for her own gain, under this deity's name and blessing. he started off sitting down next to his wife, draping an arm around her shoulder idly. Her name is Celine Bronson and she is the commander of a vast legion, one that makes Lucifer's armies and God's armies look tiny. The troops are all compacted and stationed in the area around a road called Elbow, which is rumored correctly to be haunted. I used to control this area, until it was taken over by her, thanks to some clever scheming using my now dead nephew. I'm sorry about your loss Jack. Alonzo said to the man he leaned back in the chair that he's been sitting in. Thanks and I've been trying to figure out how I can go about taking her down. She needs to be removed because that is a fairly strategic place for my troops when they mass and drill in Virginia. Think of it as a landing strip that needs to be taken so we can land our troops and gather them... Excuse me my troops, because I still don't know what to consider you two. No offense guys. None taken, but how will this free us from whatever Lu might have going for us? What do you mean? Well we were just kind of slapped with this power, because Alonzo wanted to seek revenge on some punk ass that was harassing his girlfriend. Shannon... How's she doing? I haven't seen her in a while... I pointedly went silent for a moment to buy myself some time to think think privately, meaning I don't want him to hear or sense what I'm thinking. How am I going to break it to him of all people, and more so Kelly that Shannon is dead? Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. FUCK! Well um Jack, she um... She killed herself earlier today. Break it to Kelly is easily as you can, because I'm sure they were close Alonzo never told me if they were. He just knows Kelly from high school or something... He looks down at the ground and mutters something I couldn't understand what he said but I got the feeling that it was some kind of a strong curse or spell I couldn't be sure. He looks

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back at me and then says quietly With the spell I just muttered, she will be restored back to her own life and when you guys head back to Virginia Beach you will find her asleep in bed as if she had never been disturbed. She'll wake up and think that she was just dreaming, and she won't have any memories of what happened. Alonzo was zoning out until he heard me break the news to Jack. He perked up and was listening very closely to what Jack was saying about being able to bring her back from the dead. Well Jack this is all very good and handy, but what's the catch? There's surely a catch here, isn't there? he asked the bald man with the scruffy beard and rugged looking blue eyes, which are kind of sunken into his rustic face. The catch is that she is permanently under my allegiance, I don't control her, but her patron God will be me... Does that make sense? Yeah it does, but is there anything else that has to be done? Nope, she comes back and then everything is back to normal more or less. Under your 'allegiance' as you so put it. I still don't understand what you mean by that. I mean that she would become a handmaiden for my sister, and under my protection. Until I know that I can trust you two, you're both still under Lu's dominion. She would be safe from the gift right? What do you mean? Well when we use the gift for negative means then we suffer some kind of equal reaction. For beating up a local rapist that everyone kind of pushed onto her not me or Mal, in fact he didn't even know her until this morning through peer pressure... Well she um... he trails off starting to choke up. I interjected with She killed herself in front of us. With out any word or visible reason for doing this. Alonzo sunk further into the chair that he was still sitting on. Well Alonzo you know that she's not dead right now, in fact she's at your apartment. From what my scouts are saying she's quite hungry and really missing you. he explained to my brother who is sitting there looking kind of hopeful now. Are you sure? he asked of the man who was sitting in front of us. Yeah I'm sure. Also do not speak a word of any of this to Kelly, she's not s'posed to know about this. A short time later I find myself standing there next to Alonzo who is helping Shannon cook a meal up. Hey Mal, you hungry? Shannon asks me curiously We're making waffles, bacon, and eggs. Breakfast for dinner. I head over to the couch and sit down on the couch and then smile Sure thing Shan, that sounds really good. I leaned back against the couch and began to idly doze trying to relax, my intent is to have some sleep before we get going again. I'm sure there's going to be something going on that will wear me out some more. Oh one other thing, what would you like to drink? she asks me curiously trying to be a good host... I chuckle inwardly and tell her that whatever they're having would be fine. Hey Mal I need to talk to you when we're done with dinner. Alonzo said as he continued cooking whatever it is that Shannon had him on. About what? I asked him curiously, suddenly he walks over and whispers in my ear It's about the work we've got to begin that Jack gave us. You know tracking down Celine Bronson... he walked away and headed over to Shannon to continue helping her cook dinner. All Jack told us was where to find

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her troops, not her. Which makes me think that she keeps herself well hidden... So she probably hides in plain sight, posing as a human or something... Though what would be the easiest way to hide like that? I was interrupted from my thoughts by Shannon saying that dinner was ready. I got up and headed over to the kitchen island to make myself up a plate of the food. I went over to a cabinet and opened it up, taking plates out for myself, Alonzo and Shannon. I set them down on the counter and then asked Alonzo where the glasses are, so that I could get those too. He pointed over his shoulder, from where he was standing next to the fridge. I take out three glasses and set those on the counter next to the plates. Alonzo grabs forks and knives, while Shannon grabs napkins and then syrup. A few minutes later we are all sitting in the living room and enjoying dinner. I wonder what else is going to be coming this way... I thought while I munched on a piece of the crispy bacon that Alonzo had cooked. The next thing that my mind turned to while I was eating was how we are going to handle Celine Bronson. Hey Alonzo let's head up to the roof when we are done, that way we can have a smoke or two while we talk. Sound good? I asked my younger brother as he sat there and ate his dinner. Sure. Shannon looked at him curiously What do you guys have to go up to the roof and talk about? she asked while eating her scrambled eggs. Well did you hear the news? Goddamn he's going to tell her. Well I s'pose that she has a right to know. I thought to myself as he began to explain that we are brothers long lost but all the same you know what I'm getting at? She looks in turn to me now So which of you two is the eldest brother? I looked to her calmly I am. We were orphaned by our mom she died when we little, not more than babies. She died of complications during birth... We were born on the street in an alleyway... We got picked up by two guys that knew her, I ended up living here in Virginia Beach with a man named I trailed into silence trying to remember our biological mother, and for that matter our father. Mom. Why can't I recall what you looked like? I thought to myself as I sat there, eating and trying hard to remember. I don't remember what she looks like. Alonzo said wistfully trying to remember her himself it seems. She hugged him with one arm sympathetically and whispered her condolences to him. Do you remember our dad? I asked my brother curiously. I was drawing blanks myself on this one, so it's hit or miss here. He shakes his head no and then continues eating in silence. I was taken in by a man named Cavil Robertson, a construction contractor. It was through him that I met my now ex-wife, and then came to take over his business when he passed away I think cancer got him... Not to sure, he and I didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things, but he left me in charge of his business Olympus Builders all the same. Something in the will about being his only heir. Now it wasn't a super rich organization but it was well to do... What about you Alonzo? You don't talk about your past much never have come to think of it in the last few years; is something that you want to hide or is it just too painful for you to remember? Shannon asks a bit too forwardly of her fiance. It's not that I'm trying to hide it, you've just never asked. he says quietly to the young lady sitting next to him. Do you want to tell us about it? Since your brother doesn't even know much himself? Yeah I s'pose that I can. I was taken out to California by a man named Chris Baker. He was a no good bum. Spent all of his life and money drinking and doing drugs. Decided that as a

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'fuck you' to me that he would head out this way when I was like thirteen or fourteen with me in tow. He said it would do me good to die in the same area that my mom did. He took me back to an alleyway in front of Princess Anne High and said this is where he found me and some runt that would be you he nods his head at me and continues speaking Who looked like he was going to die of starvation anyway. Alonzo trails off into silence right here and then takes a big drink from the cup of orange juice that he has had on the table all night. So what happened next? Shannon asks curiously, she must be interested in our story that we're recounting for her. Well I remember him leaving me there in that alleyway. Then I remember something about him going back to California. I spent the next few months trying to make myself grow up. There's a lot of things that I didn't get to experience. I got my GED and then decided that I would let life take me wherever it pleases. Which leads me up to about a year ago I was making plans to head to Los Angeles to see him, to try and reconcile with him everything that has happened. See if I couldn't face this guy as my adopted dad. The next thing to happen was I get out there and find him on his death bed, hooked up to a dialysis machine. I think you both know what those are for... he leans back against the couch and slumps over so that his head is on Shannon's lap. Anyway I got my hands on a syringe and pulled the stopper back enough to let the vial fill with air. I plugged into the insert on his IV and then pumped an air bubble into his bloodstream. He was dead a few moments later. I never told me that hon. she says to him I couldn't place the tone of her voice but it sounded concerned, I hope she doesn't turn him in... Not like any cops can stop us though... Not any more. I thought to myself quietly as she looked at him in that weird manner. Don't worry babe I'm not going to turn you in. Not like the cops would look into some old dude who was scum of the Earth anyway. Alonzo nods understandably and then straightens up sliding an arm around her waist. Anyway I finally decided to come back to Virginia Beach, figured if it's where my mom lived her life and died that the least I could do was experience the city for myself. I ended up frequenting a lot of popular hang out spots, and met Shannon one night at Barnes and Noble while I was looking through some books on The War of 2012. Alonzo pauses now to reflect on where he was that day when that news was realized the only news to be heard, the bombing of Israel that is. Which brings us here right now 2016, we've been together since May 7th 2013; the one year anniversary of the bombing of Israel. We're engaged and going to be married at the end of this year. Shannon piped up suddenly, before Alonzo could speak up. However I think I need to have my word with Mal now babe. Alonzo says as he sets his plate down on the coffee and tops off his orange juice. He gets up and walks past me and heads for the roof, avoiding usage of the gift in front of Shannon. I got up and followed him curiously out onto the roof to see what he could want to talk to me about. Once we were outside he tells me that he might have an idea of who we can talk to - he says that this person typically only deals with those who have some kind of a payment. He also warns me that this person is black and has a case of anger towards anybody that isn't Babylonian - in which case he's about 3000 years too late, or just like Jack, in which case we're fucked. Don't even ask how that works out for this person... I think to myself with a smile as we teleport ourselves into the neighborhood that's on the Centerville/Lynnhaven intersection, right across the street from that elementary school. "We are wanting to find..." Alonzo mutters as we walk "This house.." he says a bit louder pointing to a house with a red Mustang in front of it.

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"This is where your friend or 'contact' lives?" "Yeah, and he's home - so we should be able to just walk up and knock on the door. I have a medallion reputedly from Ancient Babylon with me, and I think that he'll be plenty enough interested in it to help us out... So here goes nothing eh?" "Yeah, let's find out what this dude wants or has to tell us." We stop at his front door and Alonzo knocks on the door with his right hand, the medallion clenched tightly in his left hand. "Rod! It's Alonzo! I've got payment, if you want to give me some information..." The lock clicks and then the door opens up about six inches as a young light skinned black guy pokes his head out slightly. "What do ya want Al? Who's this?" he gestures to me with an inclination of his chin at me, as he drops a hand down to take something out of his pocket; a pack of smokes. I reach instinctively for my black Zippo in my pocket, extending it out to him as he crooks the smoke in the corner of his lip to just hang there. He takes the lighter and lights up his smoke, while he does that I reach back into my own pocket for my smokes. "Y'all wanna come in?" he asks us as he backs out of the way some what, enabling us to come in - should we want to. "If you don't care." Alonzo says as he steps in the house with me in step behind him. "What do you want Alonzo?" he asks my younger brother as we stand there in the small hallway with the sitting room to our left, and the dining room to our right. Straight led into a great room that on the left was the living room and on the right a smallish kitchen. We all headed into the living room and sat down around it. "We need information. We've got payment..." Alonzo extends his hand to show the medallion. "However, you don't get it until we have our information. Nothing personal, you understand?" "Yeah I do. What do you need information on?" "We need information on The Tigris Emperor's enemies." "There are a lot of those, which one or which group?" "All of them, and their leaders and if they are living on this plane. Specifically all of his enemies here in Virginia Beach. I want names and addresses - he wants me and my brother to ghost a few of them." "How can I be sure?" The dude must be fucking daft or something... I thought to myself as I took a drag off my smoke and relaxed against the couch. "The medallion. Jack gave it to me, it bares his mark surely you can feel it - and he said it's about 12,000 or so years old. Looks like it represents Marduk, in his Babylonian incarnation. What say you?" Alonzo says extending the face of the medallion to Rod, who is now peering at it with an interested look on his face. "Yeah it is, and I've got the information on my computer, upstairs. Come up with me, I'll show you, if you want to see and know what's going on..." he trails off as he gets up from his seat on the arm of the couch, heading upstairs. I don't like this - this guy is going along with us too easily. I can understand his rapport with Alonzo, but he doesn't know me, or what I could be capable of. I thought to myself, somewhat ominously considering that I don't even know the full extent of these powers. Thats how you can be sure we mean what we say we mean. Think of it as proof of

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identification, since this is the only real way you can trust us. Well I did fight with The Emperor in his campaigns to take over Ur and assemble the nameless tribes into the groundwork for The Empire I would know this specific medallion anywhere. It was a gift from his now ex-wife Deritonia; the question is this though why would he give it to me? Something to prove that we are his envoys in a manner of speaking, not to put words in his mouth or what have you. Makes sense all things considered. So what kind of a deal or offer did he make you for you to so readily join The Empire? Not so much me, but my brother Alonzo here suffered a traumatic loss at his apartment in Town Center last night." I looked to Alonzo for permission Hey bro this isnt my call to make, so I can just tell him what happened? Alonzo simply nodded and then relaxed against the wall next to the window in Rods living room. You sure? He nodded once more and then looked out the window with what seemed like a sad look on his face. Last night we used our gift for what seemed like a noble purpose we put a would be rapist who was always trying to force himself on my girlfriend in his place. Somebody whoever is keeping score here must have said that was considered to be a selfish act, and then set in motion whatever would cause her to kill herself. God, more than likely, since the two of them God and Lu are always running some kind of twisted checks and balances system with souls, decided that she should die. Why He would damn her soul like that is beyond me, but His believers will always say that He acts in mysterious ways Well he does have a sick sense of humor in that department, so he could have damned her for the shits and giggles. I dont think he counted on her being more or less rescued from Hell by an outside force, the Tigris Emperor no less. So what does that mean for us then? It could mean anybody from Gods forces The Seraphim Legion could come down and attack you pretty much whenever they got around to lifting the finger. However since youre already members of the unholy armies which will march on Heaven, they will attack you pretty much on sight. I stretched out my arms and then cracked my back both nervous tics that I picked up somewhere along the way. I dont know what we can make of all this, since its obviously gone above and beyond coming to this dude for information. I thought to myself as we all sat here in silence letting that sink into our heads. What does this have to do with Celine? my younger brother asked the man sitting near to us. I mean its all very interesting but really kind of irrelevant We already figured that most of that would happen. Now since we kind of spat in Lus face what could he do to us? I mean whats your opinion on the matter? Rod leans back in the black office chair that he was sitting on and looks at us with a slightly pre-occupied look on his face. Well I think you oughta find some way to thwart both Heaven and Hell, since Lu doesnt take too kindly to people leaving his service; I mean if you were trying to summon him to you right now, like you have before then he would likely send his son Mammon, to take care of you since you are now what he would consider oath breakers. I frowned at this because it was pretty much the truth plain spoken and put out there for

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all to understand. Wait a minute though, isnt Jack an ally of Lu? Alonzo asked yet again, much to Rods credit he managed to not smack him or give a look that said Youre fucking stupid dude. Rod took a deep breath and appeared to count to ten Yeah theya re allies more friends than anything you should be thankful that Jack stuck his neck out to rescue your woman like that, hes a bit unpredictable so you shouldnt take the time you have with her for granted anymore. Are you trying to imply that I do take every moment with her for granted? No Im just trying to illustrate the fact that since you fought to free her in a manner of speaking from Jonah, that you were taking her for granted. The lesson you should have gotten from that is this you should have known the gift would have done this; because the act of fighting him and eventually beating him like you did would result in this kind of action. So why did she kill herself if we were trying to rid the world of a scum bag and do something good? She killed herself Rod trails trails off he seems like hes trying to choose his words carefully. She killed herself because she was beginning to suspect that you two are what you are. She was being fed whispered half truths and sweet lies by Lu, in an effort to drive the both of you away from all connections you have in this world; the better to make you part of his army he has only done this once before and he recruited those two into his army now why he chose you two is beyond me. I leaned back and looked thoughtfully on him this was kind of a revelation because we never really suspected that there was some kind of Unholy Plan just like theres a Divine Plan. I mean we all know the stories about how in the end times Christ will square off against The Devil and so on theres no point in trying to start one of those debates because this is where we stand with some possibly lunatic pagan who proclaims himself the Empire of a dead nation. Hold up a second, and this is kind of random but heres what I want to know why would Lu give us this power, and then tell us we cant use it to become gods in our own right? I mean theres nothing to stop us from it and he even said so his own damn self. Alonzo asked a bit impatiently I dont know where this sudden bust of impatience is coming from, but Im going to at least listen to whatever Rod might have to say, since hes shaping up to the authority on all of this. Well if you would have showed some intelligence, you would understand that he was looking for two people to replace Mammon; his Son where God has a Son, so does Lu. Everything has a balance A few minutes pace in the silence that is left by Rod saying that suddenly an idea hit me If I chose to become a god then the balance would be up-heaved and both Yahweh God and Lucifer would die I would become Yahweh, and Alonzo would become Lucifer As if on cue thats when Alonzo seemed to be able to read my mind So you mean to say that we would take the spots that suddenly become vacated by us killing God, and Lu? At this point Rod shakes his head and hands us the papers on Celine You might as well take these and go, since I dont want either The Nephilim or The Seraphim to come down on my head in fact it would be best for you never to come here again. Parting token of information The Nephilim are Lus personal assassins, which he was grooming you two for top spots in, and The Seraphim are His Rod points skyward personal assassins; theyll come after you for nothing other than you used to be a part of Hells Army. A moment later he pushed us out of the door and bade us a

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good day, which we replied should go pretty good. So either way we cut it, were fucked arent we? Alonzo asked me in a slightly irritated voice. I shook my head in irritation Pretty much, however I think we should make it known that we are allied with The Tigris Emperor and then launch our own campaign against Yahweh and Lucifer its a bit ungrateful of us, but hey, weve got this gift to use as we see fit, so why not? True, but what of either of those two retaliating against us? Well were going to have to cross that bridge when we come to it. We used the gift to teleport us to an old warehouse in downtown (Towne Center) Virginia Beach near the newspaper HQ. It was a place that used to be responsible for crating and shipping cast iron, we are taking a small detour looking for an old friend of mine, maybe he can help us I dont know how its going to turn out though. For all I know, he could turn us out like Rod did. Dude what the fuck is this place? Its an old cast iron depot You might know it for being CIKs home base. What the fuck are we doing here? I can hear the irritation in his voice now. Were going to talk to their leader, Mitch Carson. Otherwise known as Gecko, for the gecko he sometimes carries around on his shoulder I explained trying to keep my brother from flipping out and trying to leave need him for this, since one person wont have the same effect as two. We walk calmly up to the main entrance of Warehouse 21 and bang three times on the door. The fuck is there?! yells a voice full of hostility from the other side of the door. Certainly not fucking room service muddafucka! another voice yells back to the one who is yelling at us. Two friends of Gecko! Alonzo calls back in after looking at me curiously Why are we doing this like we are? I smile and then tell him that its for appearance and subtly is going to be the strong point of getting into this building. What do you need to see him for? We need to have a word about some stuff The irritable gang-banger opened up the door and looked at us curiously; two modernly dressed black guys standing here and waiting for them to admit us. One us is dressed more in the style of todays youth and the other is dressed in black dress shoes, dress pants and a black dress shirt with a white hair tie around his lower back length dread locks. The other is dressed in baggy heavy denim and a Slipknot tee shirt, looking around like he was going to get very twitchy with anything that he might have on him which I know is just the power that Lucifer gave us a few days ago. After a moments consideration the gang banger decides to let us after frisking us down to make sure that were not carrying any kind of a weapon. Its a pity that he cant remove our brains, because thats where the real danger lies I thought to myself with a slight smirk on my face as we walked into the rundown warehouse. Wheres Gecko? Alonzo asked as we walked into the gloomy building.

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Hes in the fuckin back in the office. We start walking towards the back of the warehouse into the spacious office and then stop at the door as another gang banger tries to frisk us down one more time. Let them in muddafucka! Gecko says from the office to the dude standing in front of the door. He steps aside and lets us in Dont fuckin try anything. He mutters at us angrily do these guys constantly stay pissed off? Gecko himself was sitting behind the desk that must have occupied this thing in its hey day and was making notes in a shoddy notebook which was sitting next to an even more run down computer. What do you two want? he asks without ever breaking his concentration from the computer screen or his note taking. We need to talk to you about starting a war with Scratch and Itch. Scratch being Lu, and Itch being Yahweh (for those of you which havent been reading closely, God and The De vil).. I might know something about doing that, but whats it worth to you? he asks us in a calm tone, as if he doesnt really give a shit about us being here. As if hes got all the time in the world to answer us and possibly play a few games with us as he did so. Alonzo shifted his weight uneasily and then crossed his arms over his chest Well? he asks us again, maybe hes trying to goad us or urge us to make a rash decision. What do you want? Alonzo asks him rash move because he could list off something that we dont want to give up. I think to myself as we stand there watching the man and his pet gecko which is crawling around on his shoulders in the gloom of the back office. I would like the power Ive been extensively researching it and Ive found out that only a select few get this ability and theres almost always a case where three beings have it. I want to be that third one; with no strings attached and only for my personal gain. He explained to us with a smile playing crookedly across his lips as he sat there, now the notebook is pushed off the side and the computer is on a stand by mode or something. I dont think thats something we can easily give to you, if at all. In fact we would have to talk to Scratch. No. You dont talk to Scratch and you give the power to me. Its as simple as that. It doesnt work that way Gecko, and judging by the fact that youre a gangster, or rather some kind of dopestar I cant even begin to explain or think of what the fuck you would need it for Alonzo lists off a few more stereotypical remarks regarding people that live this lifestyle which Gecko is immersed in. I cut him off with a firm but subtle punch on the shoulder. Look Gecko, it doesnt quite work like that, my idiot brother here has explained that quite profusely, but over all if you want then youre going to have to talk to Scratch. I explained to him as reasonably as I could. No. Im talking to you two because I know what you guys were sposed to do for him. He replies with a lot of emphasis on that last part, I guess hes trying to make a point about this or something. How did you find that out? I asked him in a calm level toned voice, trying to now start prying him for information. I have my own ways and lets just say that hes not too pleased with you guys. I can understand that, but what has caused you to take an interest when we just

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randomly, or so it seemed, showed up to you for something different? You were meant to come here regarding this conversation, and you were meant to give me the power. I was told as much through my sources. I dont see how a lowly gangsta that I trained and brought up through the ranks could be worth this power. Alonzo says quite suddenly and with a very even tone of deadly seriousness and reserved anger in his voice. Shit muddafucka, I was made ready for this by you. Once you left like a bitch, I knew in the blackest part of my heart that I was going to be the one who led these fine young muddafuckas around us to their salvation. So youve found religion somehow, some way in your research on this power? I mean what made you think that we even fuckin have it? Several factors the Russian seeming motherfucker that you saw on your way to school, when Patrick beat you up over that bitch Shannon, and then your appearance at your brothers court trial The list goes on and on Those events dont mean that I got any kind of a power, and that Russian seeming motherfucker I saw doesnt necessarily mean I was visited by some kind of unholy creature or demon It could have been a hallucination of some kind Now youre bullshitting me bitch, either you have a gift, which you could use to save you He raises his right hand and points it at us calmly, as if to mark us for all of the people in the warehouse. Somebody puh-lease shoot this dipshit in his melon. At that very instant, several Glock .45 caliber handguns were all raised and pointed at us in varying angles, mostly upside down or crooked to the side You motherfuckers Do you not know how to hold a fucking gun?! Alonzo mutters under his breath as all of the gangstas start tensing their fingers on the triggers and taking aim however the fuck they were going to do that. At the very nanosecond the bullets started flying, Alonzo stopped time freezing even Gecko in place. We calmly walk around and snapped every neck that wasnt Geckos. Alonzo seemed to get some kind of a sick satisfaction from this, and couldnt resist the apparent temptation to shove that damn gecko down its owners throat as hard as he can. Just as they were at Patricks house, his eyes have gone that eerie black again. Dude your fucking eyes! You gotta watch that shit! I willed the gift to take me back his apartment, Ive gotta check up on Shannon and make sure that she hasnt attempted suicide or something. As soon as I got to the roof I was confronted by Lucifer Are you trying to double cross me Malcolm? he asks me in a reserved voice, trying to keep the anger from exploding outward and at me. What would I gain by telling you if we were planning that? He stared me, anger coursing harshly through out his entire being probably trying to contain himself from going ballistic on me. You would be using up the one strike that I wont stand for, so if you then you better move fast. Oh we plan on it, but then again you could shoot me down right here. Why havent you done that?

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Gods interference free will and all. Youre making the conscientious choice to go after me like this, so I cant do anything openly to thwart you. I can and will raise legions of demons to come after you, but I cant personally do anything other than influence your soul and grant you little gifts. So what can we expect from you and Him? I say mimicking the gesture that he first showed to me when making out the boundAres of this whole thing. You can count on me throwing things at you that are vastly superior and unending. You can count on my enemy well you can count on Him, throwing things at you that are eternally the opposite of you. Where you are strong, when facing them you will be weak. To say that they are going to kill you with kindness is a far cry from anything. They will do things to you so much more brutal than they did to me; they will actually wage war against you too, if they deem it needed. This is all fine and dandy, but you see Ive found someone new to fight for and hes given me no set directive on who and what to kill. As far as I know, Im going to be free of your conditions if Alonzo and I kill you and your enemy. Whos this new figure? The Tigris Emperor; we found him quite by accident really, but since we did well its going to be one helluva fight when we start in on you and God. Lu seems to cringe upon hearing that one g-word and then scowls at me before he teleports himself back to whatever dank hole that he was crawling out of to come see me. The first my killers is in the apartment now. A disembodied voice says in my head as if it was meant for me and me only. A few moments later I was standing just inside the front door of the apartment and looking around frantically Shannon, are you here? I asked in a low voice trying to establish if she was indeed here. There was a rasping sound from the bed room and a horrible stench, as if it was some kind of sulfur or brimstone. The smells of hell if I might make some kind of shitty rhyme and I smirk briefly before I walk into the apartment. What I see in there is rather disturbing but erotic in a very twisted way the creature that Lu was talking about has tied Shannon to the bed and shes completely naked. She is writhing on the bed and trying to claw her way out of her bonds, but she cant get free. Her luscious breasts are heaving in ire whether it be a pleasurable ire or in anger, I honestly cant tell. The demon for lack of a better wording is between her legs and it appears to be eating her out and clenching on her hips, leaving bloody imprints where it has been clenching down. The demon shifts a little bit and then bites at the inside of her thighs and drags his claws down her legs. It seems to be acting all gentle and what not with her, but yet she looks like she is NOT enjoying this I dont know the whole thing is actually kind of disturbing. Eventually she begins to moan and make amorous sounds as the blood begins flowing in ever increasing quantities the demons tongue is now deep inside of her while its claws or talons whatever they are are tracing around her nipples and her pubic mound; which appears to be shaved better than even the most professional porn models I remember something about Alonzo mentioning that her body was as smooth as a babys ass and that it would put most if not all porn stars to shame.

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Eventually the demon takes its face off her long enough to notice that theres a new being in the room it turns on me with a snarl and then clenches its right claw, growling angrily at me; it must mean business. It locks eyes with me and tries to get as menacing as it possibly can and I must admit the whole thing is kind of appalling but Im not going to flinch. If I do, then theres a chance that means Im dead and she could die too chances are this rape of sorts would probably damage her mentally anyway so its going to be something that I deal with when that time comes along. I focus the energy that was Hell-given to me on the creatures head and begin to picture said appendage imploding in on itself. The creature shakes its head, spittle flecking its snout and causing the tongue to wave around in a jaw that cant close all the way due to the serrated teeth in its mouth. In a voice that I can only hear in my head it says Pitiful human, thats all you can do nothing more than a headache for me it appears to shake its head and then it manifests a crimson blade that runs about three and a half feet from the middle of its arm and down pass its hand. I conjure up some of the most potent energy I can and then throw it at the creatures face. Trying the hardest I can to wound it all the while nimbly dodging its attacks, which are coming at an inhuman speed. I slip and then take a nice long gash across my right shoulder. I decide to try something I read about in an old science fiction book that I had read a few years ago I surround myself with a thick shield of this energy and then manifest on both of my hands spikes of killing energy. I swing at the creature, knocking aside his attacks and then coming in strong with my own this thing is going to die and Im going to make sure of that. I swing with a grim concentration, tracking each of his moves with my eyes and making sure that he doesnt get another hit. I begin recalling the old fight training I got from various people on the street when I was a youngin and stomping around in the down town area of Virginia Beach. After a few more minutes of hard fighting I finally manage to kill it both hands brought across its head at eye level, instantly decapitating it; once the spikes/blades were passed completely through its skull, I jammed one of them completely through him and then ripped out the slowly dying heart going to rip it to shreds when Ive got it in my hands. Doing this should make the thing disappear back to Hell and break whatever illusion it was holding over Shannon. The bond it had over Shannon was broken once it disintegrated and got sent back to Hell. She had no memory of what happened, because she was clearly so ecstatic with the pleasure and after effects of the demonic illusion that she didnt know that she was profusely bleeding. I used the power to heal her mind and everything so that when she wakes up she thinks that Alonzo just gave her godly head or even better it was just a fantasy that she had while she was sleeping and nothing more. Alonzo showed up about two hours later and told me that everyone down in Geckos compound was thoroughly dealt with and the threat of CIK-21 was forever stopped he apparently used the gift to bring Gecko back from the dead this sparked the two of them to have a big discussion about everything once it was concluded, Alonzo killed the guy; thus Alonzo ended up here where he knew I would be I guess? He looked at Shannon sleeping peacefully What was going on here that made you teleport back here?

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It was just a bad feeling about something that might have happened. For instance? Well for one Lu showed up and was threatening me and I think in a way he was planning to kill Shannon or at least influence her in some way to do something bad. He can only do that much or so he says anyway just like he claims that God can only do the same. Something about influencing peoples souls. Well why do I sense the afterglow or something of some kind of evil presence here? There was a demon here; I caught it before it could do anything to Shannon. Lu left it here as kind of a fuck you to us. Stupid cunt Alonzo mutters to himself as he walks to the living room angrily. Why would he would he do that? Brother thats a very easy question to answer. Much like any gang out there, he doesnt want us to switch sides on his ass, and use whatever he gave us against him. You make it sound so fucking simple But it is that simple right? Yeah it really is. Oh, what can we do to relax he heads over to the fridge and pulls out a Coca Cola, tossing me a Sprite which he knows Ill drink if I cant get a Redpop or Rock N Rye. Oh I know! he continues as he opens up the soda hes holding in his hand. You could call up my friend Anita Shes fuckin gorgeous and fuckin single She asked me about three days if I had a brother that she could hook up with, since I didnt know of you at the time, I told her I didnt. Since youre around now, you can go meet her. Her number is 757-853-2391, she lives across the street I take out my cell phone and dial her number she answers on the first ring. Hi this is Anita Sears, may I ask whos calling? Hi Im Alonzos brother, Malcolm, he said that you were looking to hook up with his brother if he had one, which he does, me, but he didnt know about that until about a day and a half ago. She laughs and then says that shes on her way over she wants to actually meet me here face to face to make sure that Im really Alonzos brother. Dude shes on her way over here, how can we dig up an old family photo or something to prove that we are who were saying we are? Quite easily He vanishes momentarily I think he may have teleported himself somewhere and then comes back as if he had never left. He hands me an old photo of us and our mom, a pretty light skinned lady with clear blue eyes and a lithe body that could have indicated that she was into some kind of sports or something. However the sad reality is that after our dead beat father if he was a deadbeat left us, she was forced to live in a shoddy rundown slum building and whore herself out to whoever would take her. By the time we were two or three she died of AIDS/HIV and we were taken in by two of her most gentlemanly like clients I went to a guy named Jacob Bellicose and Alonzo went to someone named Chris Baker who looks a little too much like us

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for comfort maybe hes the dead beat that left Mom? He hands me the picture and says that this should do the trick and we are good to go now. About five minutes later she shows up and sits down on the couch, clearly she knows Alonzo pretty well to be this familiar with him; time to get cracking on this one and see if something can come out of out. I clasp my hands behind my back in what the military calls parade rest and slide off my ring I forgot that I had it on just another pitiful reminder of that stupid whore named Charon So whats your name cutie? she asks me in a happy voice, completely oblivious to all of the violence and adrenaline of the last day and a half or so. Malcolm Baker. You must be Anita she smiles and nods in a real bubbly manner Yeah thats me, do you want to come over to my place later? I mean if youre not busy we could actually go over there now Yeah Alonzo could use a break and some time alone with Shannon. I say calmly with a knowing glance at him. He nods and then grins like an idiot beckoning me to head over to her place and destroy that sweetness which she surely holds in between her legs. I can just tell by looking at her that she has sex on the mind, and surely she would be ready to spread her legs if I asked or looked at her just right Alright man have fun with Shannon, Ill be back whenever I can walk again. I turn to Anita and ask her for a light as I hold a Skyline to my lips. She lights it up and then asks if she can bum one from me I pull out the pack and let her take one and just like that we are heading over to her apartment. About five minutes later were at her apartment which is a roof suite like Alonzos. Theres a couch by the roof entrance and a moderately sized flat screen TV by the door that leads into the building. Theres a worn coffee table between the TV and couch, and on it is a Mac Book Pro and a small scattering of papers and a notebook or two. Forgive the mess I spend so much time working that I dont know when I can ever get out to have a life she says hurriedly taking my attention off it all quite nicely. She smiles seductively at me and reaches to tie her hair up in a quick ponytail, pulling off her shirt and bra in one motion and tossing them on the couch. Her eyes were glittering seductively and her body was as smooth as an angels face. She was standing there with her hands clasped loosely behind her neck, showing off her breasts and the tight curves that her hourglass body presented to the world. She was clearly proud of her figure, it was an athletic body more or less leaning towards nice big tits if I had to guess I would say they were 36C with little mauve nipples and definitely her overall build made her look like she was sixteen or seventeen. How old did you say you were? I asked her smoothly well as smoothly as I could. Im nineteen; if you want to see my ID you can take a look. She points to a card lying on the coffee table. In fact, why dont you go do that while I slip into something more comfortable? she walks towards her bedroom and then everything goes momentarily silent. I bend over slightly to make sure that she is indeed 19 like she says better to be safe than sorry especially since Im 32 years old. I scanned the card for her age and found it after a moment she is nineteen so Im safe. I decided then that I would humor her and what I saw when I stepped into her room, still

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smoking the last little bit of the Skyline surprised the fuck out of me. She was lying there on her back and letting some chick that was lying next to her gently massage her clit in a clockwise motion she didnt tell me that there was going to be someone else here no its not performance anxiety or something, its just a very epic surprise wonder if the other chick would be down for whatever Anita has in mind? I stood there in the door way and waited to see what would happen next; the other chick now pulled her black hair away from her face and gave me a devilish look as if to ask if I planned to stand there all night long and just gawk. I smiled and then pulled off my shirt dropping it just inside the door frame. They parted away from each other just long enough to let me get in between them, back against t4he wall so that I can watch them. The black haired chick says her name is Alice and that shes Anitas girlfriend. After that little introduction she leans down and begins to toy with Anitas tits; this causes Anita in turn to reach down for my package which is at about half mast a semi more or less. Do you want us to tag team sucking you off? Alice asked as she twirled the pads of her fingers over my dick. She leans over to Anita and kisses her as she begins to my jerk me off, Anitas hand drops down to her pussy and begins massaging her clit Alice writhes in spite of herself and then mentions to me that shes very very very sensitive and the slightest movements down there can get her off. So I decide to drop my hand down and probe in curiously time to see just how sensitive she is down there; she moans loudly and gropes her own luscious 34C or 36B tits, focusing on squeezing her nipples as her left hand strokes me smoothly. Anita reaches over to the nightstand by the bed and grabs an eight inch long and three inch thick dildo, which she ties around her waist over her pubic bone, so that she can pound away on Alice as I pound away on her doggy style. She lowers herself slowly into Alice, and then waits for me to do the same to her. As I go in she pushes against Alice who moans so loud about being ready for the pounding that is about to be exacted on her. I start in slow and deep which causes Anita to move rhythmically in and out of Alice. The girls are moaning and groaning pleasurably, and I feel like Im senseless from knowing in the end that Im going to be reason that they both have some pretty extreme orgasms. After a few moments of going tortuously deep into Anita, Alice shifts her weight and rolls onto her back so that shes in a missionary position with Anita. I speed some more, trying to stay as deep as I am inside my blond haired mount. I reach up and pull on her quickly made ponytail, riding her hard and slow. She screams and urges Alice keep pushing against her, while I speed up a little bit and stay this deep inside of her. About an hour or two later I finally orgasm all over Anitas face she decided that it would be interesting to have me do that, instead of the risk that might come from just doing it inside of her. I collapse down next to them and then stretch out on the bed, quite unsure of what they were going to have me do next whether it would be kicking me out as nothing more than a quick screw, or would it be more of a Oh yeah you can crash here for the night and then leave in the morning kind of a deal. The demon rose from the depths of the fiery pit; his body was various shades of dark brown, blacks and grays he has the kind of horns that you would see on a LaVeyian minotaur and his eyes were sunken, hollowed out pits where eyes resided that were as coldly blue and

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very out of place on an otherwise dark colored creature. His wings were as long as a man is tall and they seemed battle scarred and pitted leathery and sinewy, like some great membrane of some great creature that ruled the air long before Humanity first crawled out of the caves which they took up in shelter. His mouth cant fully close because of the inch and a half long serrated razor sharp teeth and black diseased tongue that occupy that cavity. The demons name is Maluk and he is the leader of a race his kin that call themselves The Bloodied, as they were the only creatures who actually fought during The Fall of The Morningstar now you see this isnt such a bad thing for Maluk and his kin, because it promised them a spot in the grand picture that is Hells Army just under The Morningstar and his Unholy son Mammon. The demon hovered above the fiery pit and looked around it was searching for its master The Morningstar, Lucifer, The Devil, oh he goes by so many names and so many faces The demon had always called him by his true name Lucifer and his title The Morningstar it vAres on the demons mood. To be honest right now the demon is pretty ticked off that he wasnt given the position for a power that he already holds in his hold existence. It plans to make its way to The Morningstar and talk to him about what the deal is. Hopefully it can be set straight or at least set on the right course to figuring out why the fuck it wasnt gifted with something that should rightfully belong to it both in name and power. The power that these two upstart on Earth The Brothers Baker have been given is the ability to change, manipulate and wield as needed the very fabric of existence the power to both create and destroy as they deem fit. This power was originally found in Maluks race, which caused them to be elevated in Hells standing making Maluk a prince in the court of Hell, to which Lucifer was king. Maluk is The 7th Prince, out of nine for each level of Hell the 8th is Mammon and of course the 9th is Ol Scratch himself. This power grants them the ability to become (if they so choose) stronger than Lucifer or Yahweh Maluk spits out a corrosive blizzard of acidic saliva and poisonous fumes, killing a few of the lesser and rather unimportant demons that were now standing in its way in front of The Unholy Grotto which is the seat of Lucifers power, his palace and his home. He starts on a steady path towards the main entrance to the palace and heads through without any sign of hesitation. Within a short breadth of time he found himself inside the main chamber of the demon lords estate, and unsurprisingly enough The Morningstar was pacing around trying to conjure up a way to get out of his prison the prophecies all stated that it was supposed to be 2000 years, and its been almost 2020 years, hes overdue; a very long time overdue. Master Might I have a word with you? Maluk asked The Master reverently and rather calmly. What do you need 7th Prince? Lucifer asked back in a collected and reserved tone. Why was the power that rightfully should be among my kind only given to mortals? This causes Lucifer to turn on Maluk with open hostility The reasons are my own! I can tell you this much though, humans are the chess pieces which we move back and forth every moment of every day to achieve our goals. He Lucifer gestures upwards vulgarly And I are stuck playing this pathetic game every fucking moment of every fucking day. Giving those two upstarts the power to manipulate the fabric of existence was a carefully planned move; answer me this if you would How many of your forsaken kind still exist to use it? How many survived the tribulations that it brought down on us?

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Maluk shudders at remembering those dark times a time when most of his race was killed or exterminated because they had become horrors that Heaven didnt want to contain or pacify; it was because of them that Lucifer was cast out of Heaven, it was because he alone dared to defend them against their Holy adversAres. Maluk didnt come to him embittered and asking for a way to fight Heaven, his plight to just co-exist struck a nerve somehow and Lucifer thought to himself that he could better thus The Fall. Now you see my point demon lord; I must admit though I did not see them switching sides on us though I was expecting them to come under heel and then do our bidding in the mortal world, on Earth, as needed and where needed. I had to lie to them about the conditions of that power since they would not have been able to comprehend that they can do anything they please and not have any consequences. Now you see I did trick their minds into making the power their master. Every time they do something bad, a bad thing in their life happens. For instance, not too long ago, the youngers woman committed suicide because he scratched the surface of the demonic nature this power originates from. What was the negative reaction Master? Her soul was sent here to our domain to relieve its final moments over and over again, like so many countless suicides we have already down here. Where is this soul now? Escaped and put back into its original body by The Tigris Emperor. He did this as way to prove that he was telling the truth when he explained to the brothers that fighting for him was a better deal than fighting for us and aiding our cause to takeover existence. Might I ask just what is going to happen to them? You can, and you will decide that if you succeed in either re-enslaving them and breaking them completely to Hells will to my own will for that matter then you can make them your slaves and do whatever you please with them. Since they are of Hellish origin, tainted as it were by my own power the same which birthed you and Mammon, then Heaven wont go anywhere near them. Right now both us and Heaven are gunning for them; you come in here, because you get to see that objective. Frankly with how much trouble theyve caused me, you would do well to just kill them outright. The Master made a good but slightly redundant point which Maluk felt was rather improper to point out the point is that they are better off dead than in any other allegiance. They are better off dead because once their souls come back to Hell, then they can truly be crafted into weapons of The Armageddon; made into finely tuned machinations of the Hellish army which stands ever ready to storm and then burn the blasted gates of Heaven to nothing more than a pile of cinders to be scattered in the winds The gears were already turning in Maluks mind when The Morningstar brought out the next piece of his plan to the demon lord. Maluk, Im going to grant you an ability which The Bloodied have never had before, an ability usually given only to the chosen few I deem needed for it before you make any comments though I must also add that lesser demons have found this ability by absolute chance and pure accident possession. Its not all that it seems convulsions and gibberish is what the modern world makes it out it would be more like their video games, where you control a person and make them a slave to your will. The upside in your favor is that when you take somebody their mind is forced from them, and they are totally and completely yours Its the source of true freedom, however you run your own risks of having

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Heavens own divine hunters come out for you too. This gave Maluk a slight pause because the demon wasnt counting on this however it was a detail that had entered his mind, but not in the scope that The Morningstar was presenting it as a very real and plausible danger. As if reading the demon lords thoughts The Morningstar says Hell will do what it can to distract them for the duration of time that youre on Earth just make sure that you stay on their trail at all times. The time for deviation and giving into your carnal nature will come later. Maluk smiled as best as it could and then asked The Master when he would get the power to possess people as strong as he can. This was done before Maluk even knew what happened he also found that he had the required information on its targets. Maluk was already deciding that taking the woman the oldest brother was having sex with would be perfect, since shes kind of close to the youngest brother and his woman she would serve as the perfect way to spy on the brothers. With in five minutes of making that decision Maluk found himself in the body of a very attractive white woman with a very luscious body lying naked in a bed with an equally gorgeous black haired chick. He let the body do what it would consider natural he plans to let only the natural things of this body do what it has to do and nothing more. Its not even a rudimentary sense of self control, more impulse and self preservation; its more of do enough to blend in and not raise any questions about its true nature. As the demon prince laid there next to this black haired young woman and looked just over her shoulder and found the older of the two brothers; Maluk smiled and tried to contain an evil laugh, he ended up with a smile that could easily be mistaken for a by product of the lust these three just gave into. Maluk probes this bodys memories and finds out this brother is named Malcolm Bake and the younger brother is across the street with his woman, she was the same one which The Morningstar had dispatched a low ranking member of his army to deal with her except that demon failed and was killed brutally by this man next the higher ranking demon. Maluk takes a breath and then slides carefully out of the bed, its going to bide its time until Malcolm wakes up once he does, then Maluk will stick around as unobtrusively as he can just to make sure he can find a way to kill The Brothers Baker and end turn them completely over to Hells control. Maluk probes stealthily into Malcolms mind and finds out that they are working for The Tigris Emperor just like The Morningstar had said its not like he doubted his Master, but still it doesnt hurt to actually check out any information that you are given; basically so that you know what the playing field looks like when you get there. Maluk looks down at the body hes occupying and decides that when he gets to experience all of the carnal things that he has been promised as a reward, this is going to be the body he uses for those tasks and the raven haired one next to him and in between him and the Baker. The demon decides to start in on doing its own thing and shadowing the brothers as best as it can; since its going to act like a member of the pagan faiths its going to use a smattering of its demonic intelligence to figure out where all these two stand in their dealings with The Tigris Empire. I woke up feeling warm and fuzzy more so than Id ever felt with Charon after we had

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sex. I took a breath and kissed both women on their lips why not? Figure I can get away with it, and might as well do it. I wonder what Alonzo is up to right now Eh Im not going to text him, hes probably y fucking or something I sat up a little straighter and cracked my knuckles I cant exactly use the power to just flash myself out of here so Im going to have to leave normally. I slid myself from this tangle of bodies and headed over to the door, where my clothes were still in a big pile from when I pretty much just pulled them all off in a hurry. I grabbed my pair of heavy denim jeans and slid them on, heading for the kitchen as I tucked my semi erect organ back inside my pants, and closed the clasp that holds them shut. Once I was in the kitchen I reached into my pocket and pulled out my pack of Marlboro Skylines and my Zippo. Taking one out of the packet I slide it lazily between my lips and flick open the lighter and make it spark up a radiant little flame. Holding the flame up to the end of the smoke I take a draw from it and then let that out languidly. Ah nothing like a smoke after pretty godly sex I mutter to myself as I lean against the sink and enjoy this wonderful concoction of menthol and tobacco. Feeling kind of curious I poked out some of the power to see if there was any harmful presences out there or at least around. I chose to look for Hellish influence since that was more or less the origin of our power and all I could find was Alonzo and his gift and my own between us and these two buildings that was enough (in my eyes) to make an inky haze form between the two buildings. I decided to branch out a little more and look closer to see just what all I could sense with this gift. I found that if I just focused my mind and focused the energy with it I could sense power in general for instance I decided that I would look for anything identical to me and I found Alonzo which isnt that surprising but still, this could turn out to be a very useful trick to have should I ever want to sniff out Hells assassins. I stopped searching like this and then headed back into the bedroom to see what the chicks were doing if anything other than sleeping, I swear Im going to not be able to walk from how much fucking Ill have been doing. I took another drag from the Skyline and walked into the bedroom listening for sounds of sex from the two women I was instead (and not surprisingly) greeted by the sounds of soft snoring from the both of them. They were still sleeping, snoring peacefully away and lost in their own dreams; where I should be too at this early hour, but Im not Im up figuring out new ways to use my powers. I wonder if Alonzo has done the same? Ill keep that in mind to ask him whenever I head back into his apartment. I lay back down on the bed in between the two of them and reach over to the nightstand for the small ashtray that Anita keeps near by. I take a drag and exhale it straight up away from the girls as best I could. I rubbed Anitas breastbone and then leaned over to kiss the tip of her nose; she shifted slightly in her sleep and muttered something about wanting to go for a swim. Alice rolls over onto her stomach and snuggles herself down into the pillows even more mumbling gibberish lost in whatever dream she was having. I turned my gaze back to Anita and watched the rise and fall of her breasts idly as I considered making something sort of serious with Anita there wouldnt be much of anything but a lot of sex, and unless she says otherwise thats all wed be doing so a casual sex buddy or something? I dont know, I think Im going to focus more on the power for right now.

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She has really smooth, supple, luscious breasts; they beg to be touched and nibbled. Those rosy pink nipples and tight little areolas perfection if I have ever seen it. I leaned over and tested them for their sensitivity with the tip of my tongue just to see how much it takes to make her squirm. I swirled the tip of my tongue across her right nipple and then drag the pad of one of my fingers across her left nipple she twitches in her sleep and slides a hand down to her clit which she begins working in a clockwise motion apparently this is a gesture that Alice must use a lot, because she hasnt grabbed after my organ yet. I feel myself jerk in response and so I push back her part of the blanket so that I can go down on her a little bit. I leaned down and noticed that her pubic was as smooth as a babys ass and definitely worth some attention I figure that I can give it to her. I nudge her hands out of the way and clench my teeth gently down on the hood of her clit; I push the index finger on my right hand inside of her very slowly feeling around for her G-Spot. I flick my tongue around her clits hood and pushing under it a lot as I continue pushing around looking for that magic spot. Anita moans softly and plays with her breasts as she continues sleeping apparently this blends into whatever dreams she is having right now. She tangles her hands up in my hair and lets me continue at what Im doing to her. I spread open her innie and look at the succulent pink that composes the inner most part of her; I can clearly tell that she is already quite wet and waiting for me to do what she so desperately wants me to do I undo my pants and nestle my organ onto of her clit which I gently rub with the shaft I think Im going to trail it upwards to her mouth and see what happens if I get it to her pink and very kissable lips. After a minute or two with my nuts resting against her chin, I push myself a little of the way into her mouth and then enjoy the sensation of her tongue swirling around the tip and head of my organ. Eventually she begins to draw it deeper into her mouth, if she manages to take all seven and three quarter inches Ill be impressed. She doesnt but manages not to not gag, so basically shes got a strong gag reflex. She begins pushing me down back towards that moist fruit a pomegranate such as it were, to be kind of poetic about it. I give into this urge and then work my way into her slowly inch for inch and then steadily rock back and forth inside of her. I keep doing this for a few minutes until she rolls on top of me and starts massaging Alices moist triangle in between her legs. Alice sits up tiredly and then begins to tiredly nibble on Anitas breasts and the hollow of neck and collarbone. Anita bounces on me up and down slow and steady instead going super fast and trying to instantly orgasm I take it that shes more of the type that needs it slow and deep to truly experience an earth shattering explosion of an orgasm. Alice begins massaging Anitas clit and upper thighs with her hands as Anita moans and begs us both for more and I oblige with giving her as much as I know I can and Alice does the same after quickly rubbing the sleep from her eyes. I watch Anitas breasts bounce up and down and finally I cant take it any more I begin pushing into her as fast as I can, Alice beings to masturbate herself now, and finally we all explosively orgasm. I orgasm so hard that I feel like Im dead and Anita rolls off me and then lies there as my hot seed runs out of her mixed in with her own. For what seemed like an eternity we laid there completely exhausted and spent I need to make a phone call, but then again I dont really feel like trying to go after my phone which is on the floor somewhere by the bed I think. I dont know, Im way to out of it to move. Goodness if I knew she fucked like that I would have asked Alonzo earlier if he had any friends who were good in bed like this.

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Shit! How could I forget? I muttered to myself as I laid there with the two women. Hey Anita where are my pants? I asked the sexy blond with beautiful blue eyes next to me, after a second of running her hands through her tousled hair she reaches over and grabs my jeans pulling them up into the bed with us. I reach into the pocket and pull out my AT&T Avail, so that I can rummage through my contacts and find Alonzo. Ladies I need to head out to the roof and make a phone call really quick. I say as I slide my way out of the bed and pull on my pants heading out towards the roof exit. As I stand at the door I hit the send button on Alonzos name, it just occurred to me while I was lying with the women that I need to talk to him about how to deal with Celine and then issues that Jack, The Tigris Emperor wanted us to deal with for him as way to prove our worth to him. Alonzo answered on the first ring Whats up bro? I need to talk to you about how to deal with Celine. How do you propose that we do that? Well we still havent figured out where exactly she is, because Rod couldnt help us that much well rather he didnt want to anyway. Well I sent out some scouts to look for her and I found her last night while you were fucking your brains out. Shes in Lake Christopher, right behind Tallwood High School. She lives on the side facing Tallwood right on Smokers Corner. Yes, before you can say anything Im positive its her. She canceled out the power right when it got into her presence. Shes strong I dont know how strong probably as strong as we are or might be. Sounds interesting So is there a way that we can recruit some help from The Emperors demons or armies? I spose, how would we go about asking him though? I thought about this for a moment before saying that we could just ask him, but one of us would need to make a quick trip up to Pennsylvania to ask him about that. He says that he will if I make my way over to Celines and keep an eye on her not to make any moves until he gets back with the help. I agree and then tell him that Im going to normally walk over to his place, so that I dont raise any alarm with the girls over here. Without missing a beat he suggests that I just slip into the bathroom or something and then teleport out, right back to his place. I hang up the phone and walk into the bathroom, grabbing my shirt as I head into the bathroom. Time now to head over to Alonzos, grab a drink or something and then teleport myself to Two Story Hill and then walk over to Celines house normally, like I was some random person heading up to the high school for whatever reason. Once inside the bathroom I teleport myself into Alonzos apartment across the street; so that I can shower and change (hopefully). I focused on teleporting to Alonzos living room we really should talk to Shannon and try to explain that were not exactly human anymore. A few minutes after arriving in the apartment I headed over to Alonzos bedroom and knocked on his door figuring that hed be in there instead of elsewhere. He answered after a few seconds and then asked what was going on with and the girl he basically hooked me up with. Everything went good with the two of them. Had a threesome, well did that twice. Yeah it was worlds better than anything you got from Charon wasnt it?

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Certainly I dont regret what happened to her either. Speaking of which, were going to have to get cracking on what Jack wants us to do. I know that bro, Ill heading up to his place in a bit Ive gotta get changed and everything first. You going to shadow Celine to make sure that she doesnt do anything? Yeah man, Ill get on that and do what has to be done. I told him that I was going to teleport myself to Tallwood and then go about doing what I have to do. The first thing to do is figure out what makes her so damn strong. I decided to test one more thing with this power while I was standing there on the highest point of Two Story Hill. I decided that I was going to use some of the power to summon up a watcher which I had read about in a book called The Necronomicon without a doubt the same book that came out of The Tigris Emperor, at least according to some research that I had done on it a few years ago. After a few moments, a figure materialized before me it was about six feet two inches tall and skinny, built like I am. What is your name Watcher? I asked it curiously just to guess on the depth of its intelligence. My name it began in a low gravelly voice is Tryptice. Nothing more and nothing less. Just Tryptice. You are to guard my back at all times and keep an eye out for this woman. I visualized a picture of Celine Bronson and imagined myself handing The Watcher that picture. You make sure no harm to comes to me from her or anything that she might have in her presence. She is to die, you must aide me with that too on top of being my guard. Can you manage all of that? Yes Master. I started walking to Celines house, it wasnt hard to miss because it has a big black Ford F150 pick up truck in front of it and the grounds were pretty well maintained. The Watcher was just behind me and a little to the right, it was keeping a parallel path at my back. I stopped at the edge of the driveway and decided on a course of action she no doubt knows that Im here, so theres no going back. I began to mask my power as best as I can and then walk casually up to her door from there, I think Im going to play it of that Im looking for some one the best thing that can be done is that she points me in the right direction, would be a fat fucking chance right? Once I was at the front door I knocked on it three sharp times and then waited for an answer of some kind. Whos there? a casual sounding female voice answered from inside the house. According to the file, she has a boyfriend in the U.S. Army he is still alive as of that records creation; which was about a week ago and he was stationed somewhere in Baghdad or Fallujah. I figured that the best way to deal with this would be to tell her that I was a member of his unit on leave and I was there to deliver a death notice to her. A messenger sent from the Army to tell her that she lost a loved one. Sergeant Jackson maam. Im here to deliver a message about your boyfriend Ethan Carson I trailed this off into the silence to see how she would react. The reaction was what I expected a sudden burst of emotion; probably a lot of adrenaline What about him?!

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He was killed in combat action just outside of Baghdad, his commanding officer wouldnt allow the corporal that in their unit to rescue him. When the corporal finally told their C.O. to fuck off, it was too late. Ethan died bravely and managed to save the two civilians with him enough time to escape. He gave his life for a pregnant woman and her firstborn child. Well thats good, when can I expect the body to show up? The letter that explains everything will be here in your mailbox shortly. Do you want to come in and have a cup of coffee before you head back to your base? I tried to contain a smirk and then walk into the house to find out how much of a threat she is to The Tigris Empire and even The Emperor himself. Sergeant do you believe in God? this was an odd question coming from her, since I know for a fact that shes something more than human Yes maam and I absolutely hate the fucker. I couldnt resist tossing in a quote from my favorite movie Pitch Black. Well what other beliefs do you have aside from that? Im a pagan I havent been able to find it in me to believe in a higher power or something like that. I mean its more of a if I can see it, taste it and touch it kind of a thing. If I might ask, why do you ask? I was just wondering I ask because Im a pagan too. Ive seen some interesting things in my time, and I figured that I wasnt crazy for having seen them. What kind of things? Well I know for a fact that you were bullshitting me and that you are not in the army, if you were then you could have at least had the letter on you; not just a flashy suit and common place knowledge on my boyfriend. She let this hang in the air as if it would bother me some how, it doesnt because the game that Im playing here is far from over. OK so you caught me in a lie. Big fucking deal. Well who the fuck are you really? How badly do you want to know? Enough to torture you extensively until I get it Before she had a split second to react I swung my right hand out as quick as I could and threw out a scythe of energy decapitating her in one fell motion. By the time her body had hit the ground Alonzo teleported in with a small contingent of demons at his side. You killed her? he asks me in a state of shock as I smiled at him craftily. No I merely gave her a paper cut. He shakes his head and then gives me a serious look How did you do it? I posed as a soldier back from combat. We had a conversation which basically involved her calling my bluff, as soon as she did that I beheaded her I also managed to summon one of The Watchers from The Necronomicon I thought it would come in handy. I pointed to Tryptice Its name is Tryptice and seems to be enslaved to my will. I suggest that you get a hold of one of these things. Ill show you the proper spell for it when we get back to your place. That works. Now about this mess he points at Celines emasculated corpse Weve gotta figure out how to dispose of it. I snap my fingers and then flick my wrist in a circle just

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like we did with that Angel I killed and sent to Hell for Lucifer right after Shannon had committed suicide. I put my hand on his shoulder and then teleported us back to Pennsylvania with Tryptice following automatically hes bound to me some how so he goes wherever I go. Once we were standing in front of Jacks house, I told him that was the beginning of the rest of our lives under a new flag and that were going to do whatever we can to stay out of Lucifers grasp. Brother answer me this then, what do you think hes going to have us do next? Alonzo asked me curiously as we walked up to the porch. I dont know man, I guess were going to have to just wait it out and see what he says. Hey fellas did you get the job done? Jack asks with a smile playing across his scruffy and well kept features, those slightly sunken blue eyes hiding some kind of unfathomable intelligence and mirth that we werent in on just yet. Those are the eyes of a ruthless shark, somebody who has to do whatever he has to do by any and all means possible. I nodded as he let us into the screened in porch and offered us seats on the two comfortable wicker chairs that are in the corner farthest from the door, about two feet away from the swing, which is right against what would be the street facing wall of the house. Yeah we did Alonzo here thought it would more of a pain ass than what it ended up being. How do you mean? He thought that we would have needed a small contingent of your demons to bring into that house with us and we didnt so in short shes dead. Good. Ive got another job for you theres another woman that lives a lot closer to you guys than Celine, may the gods damn her soul, her name is Anita Sears. She is one of Lucifers favored pupils on this plane and has recently taken a demon into her. The demons name is Maluk The 7th Prince of Hell, and hes the first of The Bloodied The actual group of Angels that were part of the Archangels that fell with Lucifer from Heaven. What are we to do about this demon prince? There is nothing you can do about him right now, but he is the source of your powers Im not entirely sure that you guys can even do anything about him because of how much stronger he is than you. When the time comes for it, its something that Ill have to help you out with in my full force. What does this have to do with us though? Aside from the power coming from him Everything. You see While you might be free of Lucifer, he can still track you guys a lot more effectively than Ole Scratch can. Im willing to bet that he gave full forced possession to Maluk in order for him to possess her and then keep an eye on you two. Do you think that it was pure accident that she happened to move in across the street from Alonzo? I didnt think about it really, I just had sex with her a few times because Alonzo figured that I could use a break even if it was just a temporary one at that. Well the next person for you guys to kill is Anita Sears; doing this will actually open up grounds for Lucifer to wage war against me but hes never going to be strong enough to fully take me on. He never will be because of his wars with Heaven, which are always going on. Ill be able to walk in and clean house with him like there was nothing even there. Ill be able to

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storm the gates of Hell itself and wipe everything out of course you two at that point in time should be the commanders of all of my legions answering only to me. I nodded at this because it all made perfect sense more or less, but I still had questions. Always questions a thirst for knowledge that might ultimately kill me who knows? What are we going to do about Maluk himself though after we kill Anita? Leave that to me for right now in the mean time Im going to give you each an old Tigris charm that will protect you from Maluks influence. Its older than him or his master and shouldnt let you two be effected by him or his wiles. He sneered Master and then spit a wad of phlegm into the coffee can he must use for cigarette butts. He then gets up and goes into his house for a few minutes coming back to us after about ten or fifteen minutes. Alonzo and I sat there in silence to see what he was going to be bringing us. Here these should help you two in your plight to kill Anita. Dont worry the next task will be to kill Maluk thus why you need the amulets Ive given you and why youre going to need me and a small army. Watch yourselves when you go to deal with them because they might make you believe that youre slaves to Lucifer. He put his hands on my shoulders and Alonzos and then teleported us back to Alonzos apartment. I tucked the amulet under my shirt and then told Alonzo that we both should go over to Anitas apartment and deal with her together. Shit man that means she was so anxious to sleep with me because there was a demon out to kill me in her body and that would have been the easiest way to do it. I said as we stood on the roof of his apartment. How do you want to do this? Alonzo asked me curiously Well for starters we figure out if Alice thats the black haired beauty that shes been hanging out with lately or at least fucking I started explaining to my younger brother every which way from the bed until Turkey is an ally or Maluks and conversely of Lucifers. Howre we going to figure out that much? By watching them as closely as Maluk must be watching us now. In what seemed like a vain attempt to taunt the demon I turned towards the front window which looks out across the street at Anitas apartment and flipped whoever was over there off with both my fingers. So if they are indeed watching us, then youre betting that they saw that bit of foolishness? Pretty much, but hey it is what it fucking is you know? Yeah man I do but how are we going to watch them? Well if Anita sees these amulets then were fucked, because Maluk would know they are older and much more dangerous to him than we are. Since they are from Tigris and not of Christian origin like most things that hes used to dealing with are.

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Basically when you go back in there, youre going to have to hide your amulet arent you? Unfortunately, so either I leave it here, or I just conceal it up in my dreads. You know like weave in some how that it wouldnt be noticed. I took the necklace off and then held it out to Alonzo to see if he could help me out with this, since I couldnt do it that well by myself. He took it with a nod and then began working it up under the main coils of the dreads. and just about an inch away from the base of my skull, hopefully it wont be noticed thats the best thing that I can hope for right now. Now, when do you think it would be a good time to head over there? he asked me curiously. How else do you think dumb ass? I call her and find out what would work out. I said with a smile playing across my lips at his obvious dumbassery. I took out my AT&T Avail and went to the dialed numbers section and clicked on Anitas name. She picked up on the second ring Hey cutie Hows it going? I said still smiling. Good. Alice and I have been missing you do you want to come over tonight? Around what time? Whenever is good for you we were thinking about bumming around Towne Center and trying to find some where to bullshit around for a while before Alice has to leave and head back to Richmond. Theres nothing to do in Towne Center except Pembroke and The Funny Bone Comedy club. Shes already been to both of those places we went her first night here. It was pretty fun, but Im trying to find something that we could do instead. Hm we could always bum around Lynnhaven Mall or something, theres always something to do up there. I would know since I used to live up there once upon a time. Sounds like a good idea. Where should we meet you then? You guys could meet me in the pavilion that has the movie theater on one side and the actual mall on the other. How about you meet us up there in about an hour? Sounds good, Ill see you then girls. I hung up and then headed for the door, I wanted to be outside so that I could have a quick smoke before trying to decide on what my next move would be. I know for sure that Im going to have to make this date but still I dont know what I could do about killing Anita sneakily enough fuck. Alonzo followed me out the door after giving Shannon a kiss on her forehead as she sat there on the couch and read a book. Whats the plan bro? Well I keep dating her like I apparently have been and then all the while build up enough evidence for my own sanity to prove that shes actually being possessed by a demon. Sounds like its going to be fucking tough Well I found that if you focus the power on itself and then sweep it around like a metal

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detector you can find other paranormal entities and what not around if theyre not disguised or simply hidden some where. Sounds like a really useful skill to have dude. Ill use it when you guys arent in the area just to make sure I know what it looks or feels like when youre in the area. Good. Ill be in touch dude. I flashed myself to Lynnhaven Mall and then headed for Barnes and Nobles I think Im going to bum around there for another forty-five minutes or so and then go meet Anita and Alice in that pavilion by the AMC movie theater. I headed for the paranormal fiction section I want to see if they have anything new by Sherrilyn Kenyon one of my favorite authors, Ive been reading her books since circa 2001. They are some of the most interesting paranormal romance/action books Ive read in a long time. My favorites would have to be book fifteen and then the companion trilogy which details the exbest friend of the character from book fifteen; even though those three books are targeted more towards young adults than anything else they make perfect sense when you have read everything else that comes before it (the series she mainly writes) because they are all tied together. For instance everything starts (in modern times) during the events of books two and three for instance book five is the exact same week or so that book three runs. Anyway this author has been writing them for about fifteen years now, and still doesnt show any signs of slowing down. I wonder what the newest book is going to be, since Barnes and Nobles doesnt seem to have it which means its not out just yet. I took out my cell phone and run a quick search on Google to see what else might be out thats worth reading. The search turned up nothing that has my interest I shrugged and headed for Hot Topic time to see how much they are wanting for some zipper laden BDSM Tripp pants, I need a new pair or two. Ive got about a half an hour before they show up so Im good. About five minutes later I finally arrived in Hot Topic and was greeted by a Goth chick who looked like she should be working in Hooters or posing for Suicide Girls instead working in this dump. I told her that I wouldnt need any assistance and then headed for the racks where they keep the Tripp pants and stuff. I didnt see anything worth picking up so I headed back out of the store, sending the Suicide Girls potential an image of what her life would be like if she was working for them, and then I reached my hands into my pockets and snapped my fingers softly, materializing an envelope from them inside its a job application complete with the information on how to send in pictures and what not. As I walked up to the counter I subtly dropped it next to the register. She should know what to do with it hopefully anyway. Maybe shell end up thinking that Im a representative for them or something I dont know. I dont care, she just looks like somebody that needs to get out of this shit hole. As I walked out of the store I took my cell phone out and dialed up Anita might as well call and see where she is or when about they are going to be getting here. Her voice mail came on and so I left something short and to the point might as well, and not waste time with useless bullshittery.

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Hey Anita, its Malcolm, I was just wondering when youre going to be getting here. I hung up the phone and dropped the phone back into my pocket; I think Im going to head to that pavilion now and see where they are. If they are even out there and if not then Im going to have a smoke or two and wait for them. A short time later while I was sitting out there having a smoke a thought occurred to me, what if Maluk has been inside Anita this whole time? What if he has been wait and watching to make sure that Alonzo found me in the court and set off the events of the last couple of days? I shook my head and then went back to smoking its definitely something that Im going to have to talk to Alonzo about later tonight or something. I think that he should know whats going on there no doubt hes thought of this too and so we should just keep this game going to see what happens and who makes the first move After about ten more minutes I saw the girls come up from the parking lot hand in hand. Hey Mal! Anita called amicably What do you want to do with the night? Alice smiled and waved at me as they came closer. I havent thought about that just yet. What do you want to do Alice? I said to them as stood there in front of me having their own smokes before we headed inside. I figured that we could go out to dinner or something, since its like five or six. She said as she flicked her cigarette butt away with two fingers. It sailed off through the air arcing at an impressive and surprisingly straight angle kind of like she threw it as if it was a ball. I felt some kind of ripple of power as if she used some kind of telekinesis to launch it farther than it should have gone. I see that youve noticed my minor ability to throw things and move them how I please. Yeah I never thought that I would meet someone who could do that Its pretty impressive. Whats the biggest thing that youve moved? My cell phone; although I can manage to drag clothes if they are like bras, panties, jeans or shirts Nothing much else, because I havent gotten around to trying with anything heavier. Oh my god, you should it when I use this trick to get naked before I go swimming Anita here has seen me do that. Must be quite the sight really, I cant imagine that Id get to see it any time soon, since youre going back to Richmond and all. Maybe some day if youre lucky enough. By the way guys, Im leaving sooner than I thought I have to be back up there by tonight. We walked in silence for a moment until we got to the entrance to the mall I opened up the doors for the ladies so that they could go through before me. Once they were inside and waiting for me to get the other door, I walked up a little ahead of them and opened up the next one holding it so that they could go through. So any idea where you want to go for dinner Alice? Anita asked as we threaded through

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the throngs of people in the mall its a Friday so its going to be really busy since this is the day that most people come out to do random shopping and have dates. Basically the night life is going to at its peak right now so were going to have an interesting time, just the three of us doing whatever we can to Alice a good time before she leaves. Hey Mal, how would you feel about dating Anita? Alice asks me suddenly as we were walking around the mall while she thought about dinner plans we are going to let her decide and then Ill cover the bill since its going to be some nice, since this is the mall and there are nice places to grab a bite to eat. The question caught me by surprise and I was at a loss for a few moments as we walked. Maluk was doing a great job of hiding and trying to blend in with humanity. Id do it once we got to know each other better. Doesnt that sound like a plan Anita? I asked the young blond curiously. Yeah it does. She smiles at me broadly. We walked in silence some more and then when we finally came to Spencers they practically bolted in there figures since they are going to be probably planning their next get together complete with all the naughtiness that will come from weekend or however long it will be. While they were in there I pulled out my cell and texted Alonzo about us having a way to spy back on the Anita. He almost laughed at me and then said that this should work, if we can fit it into the fact that we havent done anything but fuck and what not since we met. The next message that I got was from Anita it was a picture message of her standing in one of the fitting stalls of the store wearing a very skimpy corset and shorter still miniskirt. The whole outfit was just barely inside the minimum requirements for being considered dressed by what most stores consider no shirt, no shoes, no service. It was sexy as hell and fitted with her luscious tits beautifully Goddamn I muttered shes hot as fuck I walked into the store and found them in the stall still Alice walked out and then grabbed the same outfit we went back into the stall and then she tried it on too, allowing me to take a picture of them standing there seductively in these skimpy and classily slutty clothes. Do you want to see more? Alice and Anita asked me at the same time in a curious voice. As they separated ever so slightly Anita pulled down one side of the corset showing off one of her boobs. Ni-Ce I smile, and as she does that she reaches a hand just under Alices skirt and begins to run her fingers over that fascinating cleft. Depending on how the night goes, you might get more than that says Alice as she pulls away and begins changing into her regular clothes a pair of denim jeans and a baggy tee-shirt. I smiled and then stepped out of the stall careful to close the door so that nobody would see whats going on in there never know if the staff might try to kick them out or something; though thats probably not the worst thing to be done in one of their changing stalls I shook my head and let the thought go at that no need to concern myself with needless bullshit like that. Dating Anita would help me spy on Maluk and plot out what my next move should be however to combat his spying on us were going to have to start being shady with how we deal

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things no more dealing in front of Shannon, since she might unknowingly pass along information that could end up being used against us for whatever motive Maluk might have in mind. A few minutes later we were heading to the Chinese diner that was in the mall its a buffet and that would work out pretty well, since Ive not been to a buffet in a long damn time. Come to think of it I dont know the last time I was in this particular place; Ive been here before but I dont remember the last time it was. Its kind of sickening in a way to realize that Maluk and I are basically spying on each other and Alice might just be collateral damage in our sick game of spy versus spy. I was distracted with these thoughts when the waitress came over and cheerfully asked us what we wanted to drink Id like a Coke please. I said automatically without thinking about it since they would ask about only a few kinds of drinks. I waited for the women to get up before I got up myself. I went up to the serving table where they kept the pork fried rice and grabbed a small heaping plate for some reason Ive got a craving for pork fried rice. I also went over to the soup table and grabbed some wanton soup and the little green onions that they serve with it. I took my food back to our table and then sat down with the girls as they sat there eating and giggling about random girl topics. Hey girls The food good? Alice looked up at me with a cute smile on her face and nodded as she munched on a fried wanton. Anita half smiled at she ate an egg roll they seemed to be enjoying themselves. I sat down next to Alice, across from Anita and started eating the wanton soup slowly and rather carefully because its fucking hot, it always seems to be steaming hot, as in acidically hot enough to destroy somebodys face if thrown on them. After eating one of them I switch over to eating some of the rice and thinking over the possible plans that Maluk might be cooking in that head hes wearing. The most plausible thought is that hes aiming to spy on me for a while and then kill Alonzo and I sending our souls back to Hell, so that they can suffer eternally while he and Lucifer get some kind of sick gratification from that. I keep on eating and acting like nothing is wrong; figure that if Anita/Maluk notices then Im in deep shit and then faced with taking care of a really pissed off demon Did you hear me Mal? Alice asks breaking me off my little reverie. I looked at and shook my head confusedly No sorry I was thinking about work. I lied it was a small lie sure, but it worked to avoid any awkward moments. Did you get everything thought through? I nodded What did you want to ask me Alice? Oh I was just going to ask if you want to go see a movie or something after this? Dont you have to leave tonight?

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Yeah but its not until midnight or so silly. Well I spose that we can see whats playing if you want to go see something we can. She smiles like a little girl who has just gotten her dad to buy her something really expensive Really? What can we go see? I looked to Anita for help on this, since her friend was being exuberant about this whole thing. I dont know she mouthed at me and then gave me a sympathetic look. Well what do you want to see Alice? I asked her curiously; might as well figure out what her tastes in movies are. Well I was thinking about checking to see if the new Resident Evil was playing Isnt it supposed to be called Damnation or something like that? Yeah I think so Isnt it the one where it should begin on The Arcadia and Umbrellas people are coming in on all those wicked looking choppers? Where Chriss partner is the one leading those enemy forces? You mean the sequel to Afterlife? Yeah thats right. Then yes thats the very same movie. She smiles bubbly dear god what have we gotten ourselves into? Well wait what have I gotten myself into here? I sit there and continue eating Ive got to avoid giving Maluk/Anita any hint of whats on my mind of course if that damnable creature can read minds, then Im really fucked arent I? I need to talk to Jack about that one We decided to call it quits after one sitting and then headed to the AMC movie theater. Time to go see when that movie is playing if its even out yet. As we walked I pulled out my phone and jumped on the mobile Internet to see if it was going to be playing at all. Once the page was loaded which lists out the times of whatever is showing I scanned through for Resident Evil: Damnation and saw that it wasnt playing at all. Sorry Alice no such luck there. Anything else you want to do with your last night here? Well we could all go back to the apartment and play strip Scrabble I laughed at this and then said that could work since Ive not played Scrabble in a long time; and it would be a pretty amusing way to spend the next few hours. I looked at the time and saw that it was only 3:38 PM and we still have like seven or eight hours before she has to leave one game and then a massive orgy right smack in the middle of the apartment. Sounds like a good fucking plan Twenty minutes later we were at the apartment again and sitting in the middle of the living room, Alice had suggested that we set up Anitas Blu-Ray HD cam in the corner to catch the nudity thats going to be coming out when people start losing. Basically if you score lower than somebody you lose an item of clothing the idea is to see who gets naked first. I kind of figured that the girls would do everything they can to get buck ass naked first, but I was

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surprised to see that they werent. I tell them that instead of playing Im going to be the cam-guy for this adventure and let them play. I sat there on the couch with the camera pointed in their direction admiring how crystal clear everything looked in the view finder. I relaxed and got into a position that would let me see them both with no issue. The first person to lose her clothing was Alice and I spent the whole time staring at her tits, they are perfect the nipples are to die for and how could you not think that you would suck on them? Seriously they are as pink as a chorus girls nipples, and probably just as a fun to play with; Ill find out in a bit once the game is over. I sat there and then just waited for them to start making out its only a matter of time, since Anita seems to be doing pretty good. I sat there and kept the camera on them while I scanned the board it read The loser has to give Malcolm a blow job. Thats pretty clever of them and I think Anita was trying to say that she wants Alice to blow me. What could they be cooking up? Alice blows me while Anita eats her out? This would be pretty fucking amazing, especially if I could film it and then keep the DVD that comes out of it I smiled and then sat up and put my legs up on either side of the board, careful not to spill the pieces all over the floor might as well see where this takes us The first thing they do is both strip down the rest of the way until they are in nothing but their thongs Alice was wearing a black one and Anita was wearing a white one go figure its kind of like a sexier version of those two chicks in the first of those horrible Batman movies from the mid 90s early 2000s, where Two-Face has one like super Gothic chick and another who was all prim and proper This is going to be very interesting I muttered to myself as I sat there and waited to see what they would do. Alice crawls seductively over to me and then runs her hands up and down my crotch, taking time to massage a certain organ. She begins to run her hands down the insides of my thighs hitting these little spots which can instantly make any guy hard the sweet spots Anyway once Im hard enough to be quite uncomfortable for even me she presses her breasts against it and then begins very slowly undoing my pants; I think shes ready to have fun now. I leaned back some more against the couch and stretched out a bit more, finding an angle with the camera that would let this action be on the camera while Anita had her fun going down on Alice. Are you ready to have your world rocked Mal? Alice asks before taking me mostly into her mouth she must not have a gag reflex. Gods her mouth feels good and her tongue feels even better trailing around the shaft and tracing curly lines up and down the entire length. Anita gets on her back and shimmies up so that shes just under Alices pussy; she begins nibbling Alice which causes the black haired chick to slightly speed up with her sucking, licking and devilishly delightful twisting. She begins pulsating her hands up and down gently as she continues to suck me off this is unbelievable and I leaned my head back and let the feelings of her hands and mouth play around on my organ. Anita was now licking and teasing Alices clit and just inside the lips with her tongue Alice was all but trying to gag herself with my dick now; she was either very close to orgasm or she was trying to get me off as fast as she could.

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After about ten more minutes of this I finally exploded in her mouth Alice came all over Anita too, and the only one of us who didnt cum was Anita, but she was quickly fingering herself to make herself orgasm as quickly as she could trying to catch I think. I dont know the whole thing is pretty intense and would make one killer video if I was to post it on line which I might do once I get recorded consent from her and Alice. I leaned back and continued filming for a few more minutes as I asked for the consent of these two beautiful young women. Do you two beautiful women care if I post this to my Word Press account at some point when I get on line next through a computer? No. I dont. I want people to see me do my thing, it should be known that I give the best damn blow job ever. Isnt that right Mal? Alice asked me as she okd this little situation. Yeah you fucking do. What about you Anita? Do you care if I post this to my Word Press account? She looked at me and giggled in a little girls way No, not really as long as you make it known that youre mine and nobody else can have you. I stopped recording figuring that was all I needed for this soon to be posted video I would have to just move it to the front of the video so it goes from this permission giving right into the good stuff. God how I wished I could be like Nah were just two people who are mortal enemies doing nothing but fucking and spying on each other Alas it wouldnt have been in that much good taste to say that and I couldnt just be upfront about it. Since Maluk no doubt thinks that Im just here for Anita, and not to spy on him. Where do I fit into all of this you two? Alice asks us curiously as we were sharing a moment or something. You fit in as the girl that we both bang the fuck out of from time to time. I sat the camera down on the table and then smiled lost in the blaze of feelings that compromise a bloody good blow job surely its a state of being high Its gotta be A short time later I was asleep stretched out on Anitas couch, lost in dreams about the different ways I could deal with this situation. A lot of them went by too quickly for me to decipher but the over all theme is that I should get this over as quickly as possible that way I dont have to deal with these after effects of Maluk and whatever shit storm that might cause. It was a fitful sleep and I woke up about an hour or two after I had this nap. I sat up and then looked at tiredly Fuck I need a cigarette I reached into my pocket and pull out my pack of Skylines and Zippo. Lighting one I sat there in the refreshing darkness and thought about teleporting out and heading over to Alonzos apartment; I would but then again I dont want to risk it because Maluk might catch it and that would be a pain in the ass to deal with. I sat there, smoked and dumped the ashes in the small cup that Anita uses for an ash tray. As I sat there and had a smoke I noticed that there was a piece of paper sitting under the ashtray cup. It was Alices phone number and a CD envelope the paper read Hey sexy, this is

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the CD you made last night and written across it is my phone number, hope too see ya soon. I sat there and then punched her number into my phone. I texted her and asked her whats up and if shed like to actually fuck the next time she comes down here. She texted back asking if I knew that she was a virgin and the most shed ever done with a guy (Im the first dick that shes ever touched) was that BJ she gave me. I decided to just say Fuck it. And I called her, might as well; since Im not going to have any real way to pass this night along. Hey sexy she says happily, if a little bit tiredly. Hows it going? Good, I just got in about twenty minutes ago. Did you seriously say that youre a virgin? Yeah and I really want to fuck you. Damn girl, have you really been thinking about that since earlier? She laughs and then theres a pause for a few moments. So whats up? she asks curiously. Nothing much really. Couldnt sleep, so I decided to have a smoke. Found your number and the DVD thanks for giving me the original copy. No problem I figured it would be easier for you to work with you know? Yeah it would. So whatre you planning for today or tomorrow? Nothing much. Probably school I mean Id really like to see you; if you could find a way up here. I think I could work something out, do you want to see me? If you want come up here some how, but what would Anita say about that? You know, were too soon in our relationship and besides that we havent even formally decided that we are going to date. Thats true too, so what do you say? I thought about this for a moment and then told her that I could try to arrange something, but I couldnt make any promises one way or the other. So I told her that if I see her I see, if not then maybe some other time. She also went ahead and texted me her address, so that I would have it when I decide to go ahead visit, although I can probably use the power to track her down, right to her house if needed. Alice, Im going to get off here because Im tired as hell and I think I want to get some sleep now. I said this sleepily even though I wasnt that sleepy I just had to say something to get her off the phone, I feel bad for kind of lying to her, but I think once I get to know her a bit better than I might move on to her instead because you see all Anita wants is to fuck Alonzo; and since she cant have him shes going to settle for someone that looks like him. She bid me a good night and then said shed text me until she fell asleep or -I just plain got bored with talking to her. I chuckled and told her that was perfectly fine with me. While I was sitting there having another smoke, I texted Alonzo and asked him about any strange tremors of the power popping up be it from Maluk or even me; since it wouldnt hurt to know whats

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going on with that front. He replied back that he didnt know of anything and Maluk just seems to be the object of their wild goose chase right now. I frowned and then replied back that we have to find some way to flush him out. I set my phone down on my knee and then uncoiled the amulet Jack gave me from my dreads. Im going to do this like that one guy in the movie about fighting demons and sending them back to Hell. It would be kind of fitting since Im about to do the same damn thing in a way of thinking about it. I wrapped the necklace up on the palm of my right hand so that the amulet itself was in my palm. Time to see what happens here, and hope like Hell it works out I mutter as softly as an errant breeze; I hope this works if it doesnt then its my ass and who knows what could happen. Using a small iota of the power I told Alonzo to teleport himself as quietly as he could over here to the living with the amulet in his right hand so that we could try to tag team this pesky demon and send him on his way back to Hell. A minute later Alonzo was standing in the living room next to me. I took out my phone and tapped out a message that read The demon is in the bedroom. Going through the motions of being human sleeping right now. He nodded once in the gloom and then we both walked quietly over to the bedroom, I went in first pushing open the door. The one thing I do know is that they are limited only the body they are in. We should be able to send him back to Hell from this body fairly easy-peasy. I said quietly as I tiptoed into the room. To be sure that nothing would happen I shot out a bolt of the power to knock her out. I sat on her chest and pushed the amulet against her heart, while I told Alonzo to push his against her forehead so that we could start muttering the spell required to banish him from the body that hes in. The first thing that happened was Anitas face contorted and a long almost iguana like snout started pushing its way from under her skin, like her bones were reshaping into something that was definitely not human. Her eyes opened and in the sockets were gleaming ice cold but shiny eyes like a Siberian Huskys they seemed to have a Hellish intelligence in them and there was something that we couldnt immediately recognize as we kept chanting the spell; it was a very certain sense of recognition. We kept going with the spell nearing the end it was Alonzo who caught the weird look on the demons face. He shook his head and we kept going the spell was quickly drawing to a close were going about this completely different from how Jack suggested, and the best thing that we can hope for is that it doesnt go completely to shit. Ah finally You can see me in my true form a guttural voice seemed to rasp from everywhere and nowhere it was the cacophony of a thousand gnashing teeth and the sounds of bone being ground together. You will suffer for this transgression, Ill be back Youre going to lose everything that either of you care about Having said that, the demon kills Anita on its way out. It made her bleed out of every opening in her head eyes, ears, nose, mouth you name it and she bled out. Alonzo focused some of the energy and made this gory mess disappear as I deleted her from my phone and everything else no point in keeping her as a contact in my phone, since I just watched her die. I scrolled up to Alices number and texted her saying that we should

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certainly hang out tonight. We can deal with any ramifications of people that knew Anita looking for her whenever that comes along. Until then were going to have to deal with anything else that Maluk might bring to bare on us. Bro you do realize that we just did that completely opposite of how Jack said we should right? Yeah, but we did what he was going to probably do anyway. So what does it matter? It makes all of the difference. Dont you see? Now Jack is going to have that much more of a bitch doing this than we could ever dream of. So lets watch out for Jack and not ourselves? I wasnt trying to imply that dude, I was merely saying hes going to have one bitch of a time with that demon now. I completely believe that we should be watching out for us, and not some supposed god from the cradle of civilization. Fuck it. I walked away a short distance and paced in the living room theres too many different things that could happen now, since we pretty much fucked up our shots of dealing with this Seventh Prince cleanly and with no extra mess. So what do you propose that we do? he asks me as I continue to pace around. The only thing we can do is let him know what happened and then find out what happens from there. I crooked my finger at him until he was standing next to me and then we teleported to Jacks house. This isnt going to be very fun The thought trailed across my head unbound and unbidden. As we walked up the driveway and to his apartment we noticed that he was sitting on the other side of the small walkway that faces the other apartments. He was talking to someone on his cellphone The AT&T Avail it looks like. We waited in the middle of the intersection that to our right leads to his apartment building, and to the right leads to his neighbors and then straight out from us leads to him and the other street. I shot Alonzo a look that said we should stay as calm as possible when getting ready to deal with him being potentially pissed off with us. You know that he had to clean up our mistake right? I said in an irritated tone to my brother who was standing there watching Jack curiously to see what hes going to do next. Yeah man I know that, but you see we had to do what we had to do. Theres nothing we could do about how things turned out. He replied back to me distractedly as he continued watching the alleged god in front of us. You know, Jack doesnt look like much but he claims to be the leader of an unimaginably huge empire that was founded during the Primus Bellum which was the war between all of the light goods for instance the pantheons we know of now and the forces of evil which is pretty much evil as its known what the Sumerians knew as The Outside. The Outside was driven back and sealed away; the light was then left to fend for itself and try to find balance in

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existence. Jack claims to have then taken this empire and founded what we know as Sumeria. From there he warred and wenched like the best of them. At some point in his rule he decided that he construct a group of the perfect assassins. If they could fool him and his paranoia then they are worth keeping around. The first generation of these assassins cannibalized themselves and then left one female alive and one male. These two were to produce the second generation and hopefully they were smarter and able to do what Jack and his mechanizations wanted of them. Again they did the same thing as their previous generation their ancestors eating each other and then leaving a female and male alive so that they could produce and repeat this whole process again. The second generation was a little bit smarter, but yet all they could do was eat each other and molest each other; however when it came time for them to bring about the next generation all that came out was one solitary female. She killed her parents even as they were eating each other; she ravaged them terribly and then was given to the royal family of Atlantis to be raised as a queen. About twenty years later, the king and queen of Atlantis proposed that she take The Tigris Emperors hand in marriage. The Emperor took her hand and then joined the two great empires together in union; he joined them together forging a beast made of Atlantean wealth and power with the fiercely unrelenting savagery of the desert. Under his rule 250 years culminating in a three day war waged with in the Palace of The Maskim Xul; The God-Emperors home in Sumeria the seat of all his power. You see it was brought down by his wife at the time, the perfect assassin that he set out to create. She had come across orders for his death in those times so that the world would follow its natural course, she stabbed him and took their daughter a demigoddess away from him. This caused him to brutally possess his top general and then lead a manhunt that spanned the known world, it was brought to an abrupt end because The Emperors personal attendant a Maskim named Panic captured the would be assailant and turned her over to The Emperor. Jack, The Emperor, tortured her relentlessly for three days while his armies staved off hordes of people that were fanatically devoted to her and everything she represented as his wife which was nothing worth now remembering. Once he had his fill of torture, rape and maiming her the order came through Panic to have her crucified and then left to rot under the scorching hot sun in the middle of the desert among the Kingu and Marduk. His daughter was no where to be found and so he went about observing the demise of his once great Empire however his last contribution was go against his pantheon of advisors The Sumerian and Atlantean gods to sink Didymos and Atlantis into the Aegean Sea for all of the troubles that would have followed in the wake of their physical demise. In retaliation his sister Apollymis husband Archon at the behest of The Fates his bastard daughters decreed that the son she was carrying needs to die, all because Jack, or as he was known in those days Gorgorath The Tigris Emperor decided that once he was dethroned he was going to shake up the known world with a war that even all of the known gods couldnt have seen coming. The Egyptians didnt care for the war and decided to stay amongst their own and just waited for The Emperor to finish up his campaign. Instead of a war there was just a vast assassination mission Jack went on a suicidal mission to kill everything that was tied back to the death of his nephew think Taken but instead of kidnapping it was murder. However he ended up getting in a 2000 year long war with The

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Greek gods, it just ended up coming to an uneasy peace in 2009 when he met Rod. I was snapped out of this reverie by Jack coming over to me and saying Celine was only the beginning you know. I shook my head and looked at him curiously What do you mean Jack? She was working for a demon a dark god really like me named Maluk, youve seen him already. In fact hes on this plane right now in Virginia Beach in the apartment across the street from Alonzos. If the aura around you is to believed youve had sex with the body hes possessing, and hes been spying on you this whole time. You can expect a big fight from all sides when you get back if they havent already followed you here. So you mean to tell me that theres going to be some kind of shit storm waiting for us from The Nephilim and Seraphim as well Maluk and whatever hes got with him? Exactly so youve got nothing else to do but either side with me and have a fighting chance, or just lay down and die in the face of these odds. I hope youre not trying to threaten me here just understand that Im not going to threaten you which would be suicide. Im not threatening you, Im just calling the facts out like I see them so youre in good hands if you side with me as I think if you do me a few more favors you could raise yourself pretty high in the ranks if you work your asses off. Hear that Alonzo? he calls over my shoulder to my brother whos now sitting on the curb having a smoke and looking off into space. Yeah I hear ya man. He replies back as he continues staring off into space and smoking. Alright well if Celine was the tip of the iceberg whats the next step Jack? Well you need to deal with Maluk first and since you have had relations with his host if you will then youre pretty well suited to take him out. The tricky part is going to be actually confronting him; hes the last known Assyrian and theyre not a very pleasant or fun race, they were the savages that my kind The Sumerians used to be. We evolved from the same cesspool that they were from, anyway you could think of them like those cannibals from Firefly. Maluk was the only one who completely evolved to their highest form godhood, pretty much the same way you can become enlightened. Hes not immortal but hes really fucking strong you can kill him but its going to be tough. Is there a catch or hitch? Yeah youre going to have to go into his realm to do it youre going to have learn how to teleport, flash as its been commonly called and you better learn quick. Flashing from say here to your brothers is one thing, but flashing across dimensions is another completely you run the risk of dying and getting stuck in whatever realm youre trying to enter; but you dont just live there until you die, your body physically stays where it is and your energies just get absorbed into that realm. How can we practice this? You can practice by going from your apartment to my realm, youre going to come to a gate with anywhere from six to twelve Charonte demons theyre going to ask for a password, youre going to want to say Shub Niggaruth Golgotha. Its a place of bones, built under The Holy Cross which Jesus was strung up on by the mad-idiot god Shub Niggaruth as a figurative to his raving insanity and as a means of blasphemy against Christ.

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Why would you use a location that countless people pass through as part of some kind of religious tourist stop? People havent figured out that its part of my Empire as a bastion of my war against Christianity the final battle of the last millennium was fought during the Ides of March and I won temporarily the next battle is due up on 21 December 2012 yeah Apocalypse how typical? There was some silence and finally I broke the silence with another question What happens when we take down Maluk? Jack looks at me curiously I dont know man, anything could happen I dont know what. A short time later we were back at Alonzos apartment and he was in his bedroom having sex with Shannon I shook my head at this and then walked up to the roof and sat on the edge over hanging the busy street its Constitution, just across the street from California Pizza it costs a pretty penny to live here; how Alonzo has been pulling it off is beyond me and right now I dont really care about how its being done. I sit here and watch people coming and going; about their daily routine on a busy weekend in the summer in Town Center Virginia Beach. I flashed myself into the bathroom inside California Pizza, might as well go hook up with a chick and then take her back to my place which means that Im going to need either a taxi or a car. Shit I think Im going to have to cross the street to get out of sight, and then flash myself to my car which is two parking levels below the apartment building but on the same structure the parking lot is essentially the basement of the building. I stepped out of an empty stall and stopped off at the sink to wash and dry my hands might as well make it look like I went to the bathroom or something. I stepped out and then headed over to the bar where there was a sexy and well stacked Asian chick sitting there idly drinking a beer as if she was waiting for some one she kind of looks like Grace Park; a looka-like contest contestant maybe? Excuse me maam. I said as I reached for the chair where her messenger bag was sitting theres no other open seats May I have a seat? I asked she looked up at me with attractive brown almond shaped eyes. Yeah, sorry I was trying to keep random creeps from sitting down and trying to get my number. Im not too sure what to say here so Im going to smile politely and then order myself a beer hopefully Carl is in, hes the manager and wont card me because he owes me a couple of major favors (one of them including keeping his infidelities secret from his wife of 23 years). Say I dont think Ive seen you here before she says to me curiously. I gave her a polite smile and then said very smooth naturally more or less I live up in the apartments right across the street, usually traveling too much to stop in here I have a few times but not too many. So youre a traveler eh? I guess you could say that, mostly business though. Wait! Weve gotta start this conversation the right way.

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She giggles and then extends her hand Im Natasha. I take it gently and shake it politely Im Malcolm. She has a faint Canadian or British accent, hard to place but interesting to hear all the same. So what kind of business are you into Malcolm? If its not rude or prying to ask. Freelance stuff for the government it depends on job to job really. May I have an example? I suppose I could give you one. Im a spy. Dont worry folks, its a joke Im cracking the oldest and kind of dumbest one in the book. Get out! Youre right, Im just a freelancer for the government federal that is. Seriously? Yeah but they dont like people hearing about the details thanks to that fuckwad and his asshole buddies bombing New York and what not. Sounds sexy she mutters to herself and then takes a hasty sip of her beer So are you available? she asks rather forwardly. Yeah I am is there something you would like to do? Lunch? Dinner? She laughs and then drinks some more of her beer I was thinking something a bit more primal I exerted some of the gift and took a peek into her head shes horny and looking for a revenge fuck against her ex-boyfriend; she figures why not the attractive caramel colored black guy sitting next to her. I used the gift next to slightly enhance my sense of smell and noticed that she smelled of vanilla and some kind of pleasing flowery lotion and wax Legs, arms, everywhere shes put money on looking her best. She begins stroking at my arm and glancing down at my lap. I had some other activities in mind She takes me by the hand and leads me out to her car You dont mind going back to my place do you? she asks as we walk out of the store. No, but only if its in the city I have to stay in Virginia Beach because my brother is coming into town and Im going to be meeting him at IHOP around eight or nine oclock. Sounds like youre trying to cut up a night of fun and sex like youve never before experienced. We get into a sleek looking newer model sedan your typical generic black four door. I didnt say we couldnt do anything, Im just saying that Ive gotta be back here around nine my brother doesnt know his way around. Of course this is all a sham of sorts because I want to get laid and in fact my brother is in his apartment but I need time away from Maluk he expects me -to be sticking around so what better way to throw him off than to just leave the area? Of course he cant know which of us is the shot caller and to be honest we never really thought of it much, but who knows what the night could bring us?

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I turned my attention now to the chick who apparently wants to have sex with me. She stands about 54 and thin but with a body thats to die for she ultimately reminds of a sporty girl next door type. Shes wearing a loose tee shirt but its tight enough to show that shes pretty endowed in the way of boobs shes got an hourglass shape and almond shaped eyes with little flecks of green in them. She unlocks the car door and keeps moving for the driver side, as I open up the passenger seat and slide in to the seat. She slides in and puts the keys in the ignition, once the car is on she puts on her seat belt and then pulls away from the curb. She works her way through traffic slowly she must close by in the Columbus apartments or something because shes pulling into the cluster of buildings nearest the movie theater. Once in front of the first building she turns off the car and gets out waiting for me it would seem. I get out and then close the door she locks it and heads to the door closest to the car. Welcome to my humble apartment. Youll have to forgive the mess. Would you like something to drink? We step inside and she offers me a seat on the fake leather couch that looks like it is well maintained. The living room and adjoining kitchen look like they are well kept up what mess could she have been talking about? Could she be referring to the plate and glass next to the sink? It doesnt really matter I take a seat and then wait for her to start talking again. I have Bacardi Silver and Captain Morgan, which would you prefer? she asks curiously. I honestly think that this is a good question, I dont really care Im not picky when it comes to a choice between those two. Ill have whatever youre having. After a few moments she comes back with glasses with about three fingers of Silver in them with three ice cubes inside. She hands me the drink and sits down on the other ends of the couch Lets drink to this occasion and then fuck each other like champs. She giggles as if this thought was funny, but to be honest it was fairly amusing. She takes a couple more sips of her drink and then pulls off her shirt Ive never done this before with a stranger youre not into any strange shit are you? I almost laughed at this question What kind of strange shit could I be into? I asked curiously trying to appear curious and not mocking, which is what she might mistake me for being. I dont know, you could be into like BDSM or something, dont get me wrong being rough can be fun but not that rough if you catch my meaning. Shes wearing a bikini top that leaves very little to imagination, she must have just come back from the beach or something. Nah I just like to fuck, maybe a threesome if the chick is down for it, but if not then straight up sex. She smiles and then scoots closer Well youre going to enjoy this She comes closer and then leans against my face with her boobs inviting me to take off the micro bikini it would seem. I put my face right smack in the middle and then nibble around for a few moments, dragging my hands along her back. We dont need to use condoms, unless you want one I reach into my pocket and manifest one there a Trojan UT, brand of choice and then take it out of my pocket. Yeah I would no offense - dont want to end up with a kid. She scoots down and opens up my jeans pulling me out with one fluid movement. She opens up the condom and slides it down on me slowly, teasingly I would almost say. Ready for this? She stands up and pulls off her pants and delicates, looking at me all the while. She comes over to me and then gets up on her hands and knees, face down ass up. I slide in slowly dont want to hurt her if at all possible. She moans as I enter her completely and then begins grinding against me slowly. I push against her slowly picking up speed and enjoying the feeling

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of this chick. She gropes at her boobs and then continues moaning amorously as I clench her hips and squeeze her ass. She starts moaning and groaning louder as I pick up speed Oh god! Im getting ready to explode! Oh god! Yes! Right there! Faster! I go as fast as I can and then enjoy the feeling of our orgasm exploding with enough force to leave us both sated and spent completely. We collapse on the couch and she lies there against me Well its not every day that you meet a complete stranger, fuck his brains out and then tell him youre married. She raises her hand to show the indentation of a wedding ring You see? She asks with a giggle bubbling behind her lips Ive been married for eight years. I stood up and then grabbed my jeans, throwing the used condom down on her pretty glass table with a heavy splat I cant believe this just happened. I frowned and then slid my hand into my pocket again to materialize a box of king size Newport's and a stainless steel plain looking Zippo lighter that wont ever run out of fluid or anything else that might come from the use of such a lighter. I took out the cigarettes and lit one up Thanks for your time, but no thanks. I walked out of the apartment and headed down the street towards the Barnes And Noble stepping into a small copse of trees to materialize one of those new Androids that you keep seeing the in Best Buy ads scattered across TV. I then exerted enough of the gift to automatically activate and then sync everything to it now I dont have to deal with any bullshit fees and activation surcharges. I dialed Alonzo and told him that he should come pick me up so that we can discuss combating Maluk. Bro we need to discuss how best to handle that situation. I said to my brother as soon as he picked up. Yeah that would be worthy of talking about, but hes already made his move. Hes got Shannon and I; hes wanting you to tell him how we got the power and who gave it to us. I told him Lucifer gave it to us and that were not on speaking terms with him right now. Should I come back so that we could figure out how to deal with him? There was a sound and then some yelling on Alonzos end, suddenly a new voice answered it was like the cacophony of a million gnashing teeth Ello Malcolm, you already know who this is. I shook my head and kept walking along the side walk Yeah I do, what do you want? I asked trying to keep a calm head I want you to come to me and tell me exactly how you got those remarkable powers. Why does it matter? I want them. Well theres nothing I can do about that. Yes there is, you can give them to me I know they are Hellish in origin, but they would greatly assist my goals. Let me guess annihilation and or enslavement of the human race? Domination of existence? Those kinds of things? There was the sound of demonic laughter on Alonzos end, sounds like Maluk is laughing at me. I figured it had to be something like that or else he wouldnt be laughing with what seemed like smugness at me. Yeah something like that what else could I possibly want? I couldnt help but to shrug at what the creature was saying. I hung up and then ran for some place out of sight so that I could flash myself to the apartment. Im going to be walking into the hornets nest, but it is what it is Ive got nothing else better to do with my time and we

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might as well try to fight this damned bastard. A short time later I was standing on the roof and walking slowly towards the roof entrance to the apartment. I wasnt expecting to see Maluk standing there in his true form with Alonzo and Shannon caught in some kind of ethereal webbing. Bro we gotta do something about this nut case Alonzo says to me while he keeps his gaze locked on the creature. Shannon has passed out fainted really probably from seeing this thing that shouldnt exist but does in her living room. I stood there face to face with this dark god and wondered just how something like myself could stand a chance at beating him. Suddenly there was a voice in my head, it was Jack telling me to mutter some ancient Sumerian curse and so I did, and then felt the heat of the raging desert sun beating down on me as Maluks body was enveloped in shimmering ethereal flames that were so hot they appeared blue Stupid mortal! A petty binding like that wont work on me! Maluk just shimmered back to existence with the snap of his fingers. Im a dark god! Much like your new savior! Hes got no hold over me! Having said that Maluk extends his palms outward to me as his sinister jaws ooze foul smelling saliva and other excretions. His eyes were glowing blood red and he was growling some kind of unnatural language at me, and then the next thing I know before I can ever begin a new line of Sumerian the curse wasnt completed yet he waggles his fingers at me and Im overtaken with extreme pain in my back and neck. Im pulling out your spinal column, cant you feel the exquisite pain of it? I fought back urging the pain to recede trying to fix what he was doing as it was happening. Once I beat that attack I then exerted some of the power and radiated it outwards back to him in punishing waves each one crashing against him and only him with enough force equaled to about three Hiroshima bombs. He takes a few moments of this brutal attack and then falters, his control is beginning to waver over Shannon shes not going to last two seconds if she gets caught in the fight between us. I manifested the power as two swords encasing from my wrists and outwards for about two and a half feet. I rushed the dark god with a fierceness that would even the god Ares himself cower in fear, I was that vengeful with this blasted creature. Now Im going to kill you! I started in with fierce swings and lunges everything was becoming a blur. The dark god raised his right arm as a shield and then swung down with his left hand there was a pillar of energy that was equal to a long sword in length. I parried his blows and then made my right hand sword into a bastard sword of my own Your efforts are failing mortal. He swung in a motion to try and decapitate me. I dodged it and then faked him out by first lunging after his wing, and then quickly went into a stab for his heart or where I could figure it out to be. The hit landed and which knocked him back a good distance. He was covered in a lot of superficial wounds and that one deep wound. His control drops and then Alonzo uses his few moments to teleport Shannon to the roof, as he then joins the fray to help beat back Maluk. During some minute lull in the fight there was a blinding light and then Jack was standing there. Maluk, what the fuck are you doing?! he screams at the dark god If youre not careful The Watchers will come and then were both going to be in a world of shit. Do you think I give a good fuck about those pesky airheads? Or even these two who are trying to fight with me? He uses this moment of distraction to teleport himself to the roof

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where Shannon was we joined him and happened to be a little slow. He took Shannon back to whatever shit hole that he calls home. Holy shit! He took her! Alonzo yelled frantically. We have to follow him! I looked to Jack curiously Is there some way that we could enlist some of your soldiers to lead an assault on him? Jack paced around and then looked at us both seriously. I usually dont let my armies out that freely, but I did promise you guys promotions through out my armies until you guys ended up on my personal retinue of guards. With respect, but this all and fucking good, but what the fuck are we going to do about the damn dark god who just kidnapped my girlfriend? Jack turned to Alonzo and then said Well Im going to send Khulzared and his legion of minotaurs. With that he snapped his fingers and then muttered something in a guttural language that wasnt Sumerian. After a few moments of silence there was a bestial figure that had a mountain goats coat for the lower half of its body and a bronzed Macedonian figure for its top half. The head was shaved bald and its teeth were razor sharp and bleached white, its eyes were radiant green and it was smirking at us. You summoned me my friend? Youre going to lead a contingent of your best fighters The Myrmidons preferably with Achilles as your second in command down to The Tortured Pit and fight your way through with The Brothers here until you have reached The Desecrated Throne. Once there youre going to help Alonzo here he points to my brother Find his girlfriend Shannon. Do whatever you must in order to make sure this turns out in favor for us. If she dies in the attempt though, then youre going to be killed in recompense for it because her soul will not be retrievable at that point. The minotaur nodded and then joined us in teleporting to The Pit I wasnt expecting it look like it was twice the size of a large scale diamond mine in fact some of the millions of denizens looked like they were mining something; we cant tell what and it doesnt really matter but it is what it is. Wheres The Throne? I asked the minotaur, Khalzured, as he begins to purposefully lead us along a path that allowed only one person to walk abreast with the others following behind him. He pointed up and a little ahead of us right there but thats only the main access gateway, a portal really, that takes us to there. He points to this abysmally black crater in the middle of this greater crater Inside that dismal black is where Maluk resides its his domain this is truly a mine and yeah that portal up there is lightly guarded it leads into his throne room directly. Its a secret escape that not many know about because nobody comes up this far out of the crater. How many sentries can we be looking to face? Alonzo asked as we crept up to it keeping in the shadows. We could be looking at face anywhere between one and three. I do not know for sure, but were almost there He whispered gesturing up and silently drawing a sword from the scabbard strapped across his back. In turn I manifested a bastard sword and tight fitting but highly mobile Kevlar SWAT gear actually, I dont know why but it seems like it would stop a blade or something similar. How many can you see up there? I asked the creature that was leading us up this perilous incline. Three. However I can dispatch of them easily enough, unless you want to get your hands bloody. Before we could even speak the creature was set loose upon them with out hesitation he was impaling each of them quickly and expertly. We followed slowly to make sure there was nothing else. I was quite surprised to see that these creatures were in fact humans - now whether or not they were possessed by some darker

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entity is a mystery only known to Maluk and maybe Jack but I dont think he would be the type to give a damn either way. Through here. He pushes his massive hand against a tablet that was built into the arch way that frames the portal. I can not follow here, Minotaurs are not tolerated in this realm the last one of our kind who got caught here ended up working in the Doththeri which is the most hellish part of this place. Youre not going to pass through it, youre heading right into the heart of the beast. If you come out of it alive, Jack has told me to make you both ranking officers in his Imperial army and part of his personal retinue. We nodded and then stepped forward into the portal there was blackness for a moment as we teleported to The Throne. I wasnt expecting it to be all light up and filled with almost (if you didnt know differently) heavenly light. At the far end against the back wall about half way between us and the main entrance was The Throne it appeared to be made out of wrought iron or maybe even cast iron its a bit hard to tell. On The Throne there is a man shaped figure Maluk lazily reading a book he clearly hasnt heard us enter. I manifested a Shaolin spade and tight but flexible leather armor so that we could move silently. While we were creeping up on The Throne I noticed that to his right Shannon was strung up by her wrists extended to either side completely naked and crying uncontrollably muttering about a seizure of some kind, I only gave her a quick glance and then turned my gaze back to Maluk on The Throne, he was oblivious to our entry. Surprise might be on our side... We kept to the shadows and then waited until we were almost on top of him before summoning every ounce of energy that we could, blasting him with enough force to probably give Jack a shudder. The Demon Lord spasmed and then shook furiously, as if in the throes of death, bleeding from every orifice in his body. The next thing that happened is he turned into a generic everyman looking human figure with black pits for eyes and mouthful of blood, that was leaking down his chest and exposed neck. There was a sound from outside the doors of The Throne room, and suddenly the minotaur that Jack sent with us walks in victoriously. Alonzo runs to Shannon and checks her quickly for any wounds or scarring, signs of torture. He didn't see anything but clearly was alarmed about the seizure. Motherfucker... he mumbled and then says We need to get her out of here quickly. She needs to go the hospital... We focused what remaining energy we had on getting back to Earth. A short time later we were standing inside Jack's living room Fuck, that was intense dude... Alonzo says to The Emperor as he stands there waiting with a patient smile on his face However, we need to get Shannon to the hospital, she's had a grand mal seizure... Kelly immediately heads over to her and begins comforting her, trying to calm her down and checking to see if she remembers the fact that she had left this mortal plane for a considerable time. Alonzo moves closer to the girls and checks on Shannon, upon hearing that she just remembers cleaning up her bedroom and then blacking out; coming to here in Jack's apartment she shrugs and wipes at her eyes idly. Jack nods and then pulls out his cellphone, dialing the cops as he sat down against the wall next to his TV. Ten minutes later the cops were there and taking an initial report Jack told the officer that we were all sitting here and talking. When he asked about Shannon Jack told her that she missed

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a dosage of her epilepsy medicine, and just came out this seizure, she'd been in it for about three minutes; according to Kelly piping in anything over five minutes is fatal. The cop called the EMTs and then told us that they would be here in 10 minutes. He went outside to his squad car, leaving us here to take care of Shannon. Alonzo... Mal... Could I talk to you guys outside? Jack asks us calmly as he looks to Kelly I'm going to leave her with you, is that OK? We're only going to be gone a few minutes... In the other room... She looks at him and nods as we walk into their spare room which was a few steps from his bedroom. Once we were in the room, Jack shuts the door behind us. Is Maluk dead? he asks us succinctly. Yeah man we killed him, we blasted him with as much power as we could muster between us while your minotaur kept the guards away from us. Good... The next thing that you're going to do is pay a visit to Lu, as a formality... He knows that you guys are coming for a parley to lay down terms and make it known that you're parting ways with him, however he might not too keen on the idea that two of his 'top generals' leaving his ranks for another being... Especially a god that he's never really trusted but tolerated... Which reminds me, what exactly do we get from 'working' from you? Good question and I'm glad you asked, you get immortality, which Lu wasn't going to give you and you're going to get to be as strong as Lu, and in the end you're going to make him look like a peep squeak. What do you want in return for these godlike powers and strength to rival Lu? He said that we were never going to be able to displace him or God... Yet you're telling us we're going to get as strong as either of them in the long run... So what's the catch? Well the catch is that you guys give up your souls in exchange for godhood; which is the only way I do things. So the question you're going to have to ask yourself is this is it going to be worth it? Well can we take our time to think it over? No, this is something that requires quick thinking. You're either in or out. I shrugged and then said Why not? while we both looked to Alonzo You in bro? I asked my younger brother as he stood there and debated this in his head. What happens to Shannon? he asked curiously and then shrugged I'll take it but on the condition she gets it too, or something similar. Jack smiles and then says that Kelly can help with that one, something which is out of his bounds. Alright, I'll take it then so lets have at it... Jack flashes us to a desolated desert city with a grand palatial temple built in the center with a looming female figure garbed in desert garb with runes etched into her skin that looked vaguely like a mixture of Atlantean and Sumerian glyphs. In your honor my dear sister. he mutters cryptically as he keeps walking into the darkened depths of the palatial temple. We follow him into the structure and then stop in the main gallery where there's about 10 or 12 statues that look a little too life like to really be statues. What are these? I asked him as we walked deeper into the room heading for the throne constructed of bones and skulls. Those were my Sumerian family, I turned them into statues, effectively killing them because they swore a blood oath on my sister The Great Destroyer, and pray that you don't meet her until you're

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completely a part of my pantheon. Alonzo shivered and then stood next to me in front of the throne. Guess we should just avoid her? he said under his breath as Jack materialized from a leanly muscled human with a shaved head and neatly kept beard into a massive and very imposing figure with flowing robes, a goat skull and a bastard sword strapped to his back, complete with the Sumerian glyphs etched into the skull, the marking of his royalty. When he spoke, his voice was enough to make us cringe because it was in Sumerian. Sumerian isn't a very pretty language and it was guttural. It was the sound of gnashing teeth coupled with something underneath that sounded like the horrible black pit of total death. Enough gawking gentlemen, we've got work to do. He sweeps past us and heads into a hallway that seemed shrink and get crowded from his imposing presence, we followed behind him at a respectful pace until he was in a courtyard that was completely sand just as barren as the desert that composes the nations of this desolate region. He stops in the middle of the pavilion and draws out his fearsome bastard sword, which would be a great-sword when put in proportion to a normal man. This is my sword, Hate, it was the original Sword In The Stone. It was stuck in a block of black and red marble in the middle of Atlantis. Driven there when Thalia, Kelly as you know her, showed me there was more to life than death. This was where Alonzo couldn't help but being a smart-ass; which might prove to be his death against something like The Emperor. So why do you have it then? I mean since you're in a state of retirement like the other gods... I frowned at my sarcastic younger brother Now's not the time dipshit... I said under my breath, as Alonzo turned to me with a curious look on his face not realizing that he made a dumb ass remark. There was a sound like laughter from the god and he swung the sword around in a few lazy circles. Gentlemen there is one other thing that I think I should let you know, my name designation among The Maskim Xul is Kharneth; you're never going to know my true name because that might give you power over me. I nodded and then waited to see what else he might have to explain to us about our purpose for being here in this recreation of Sumeria. You're here to learn how to fight like Sumerians. First I'm going to show you how to fight like a typical soldier first, and then you're going to see how to fight like a Maskim Xul, firstly though drills on Sumerian conduct. The god mutters something and then suddenly there was a flash of light and from that glow stepped a young man who stood about six feet tall. He had a small Jewfro and was wearing dress pants and an unbuttoned dress shirt. Hey Lorenz... Wanna help me drill in some fresh meat? The newcomer looks to the god Sure, I don't have shit else to do right now. There was another flash as The Emperor resumes his human form, his sword shrinks down to the size of a bastard sword keeping that eerie bloody tinted glow to it. Well first things first, let's go over basic drills. Lorenz snaps his fingers and a katana materializes in his hands, he draws it lovingly from it's scabbard and then stands there with us. You're going to need armor... he mutters something under his breath and suddenly we're enveloped in black well fitting chain mail as per our build. Where I'm muscular and in good shape to be a runner, Alonzo is skinny and stacked like a reed. So the chain mail fits us accordingly, and it's enough for the moment or so I was thinking. For now you guys have been outfitted with chain mail until you earn the privilege of crafting your own plate mail, which can

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be either heavy or light. Jack explained to us as he hefted his blade and looked to Lorenz. Do you want to have uh what's his name? Hephaestus craft them swords? Lorenz chuckled and then said he would see what he could do. Meanwhile you're going to practice with these. he snapped his fingers and two Kingu demons appeared carrying long swords in plain black scabbards. Uh, Jack, we know how to use swords, we've been using the power like that... Jack smirks and shakes his head The first thing you have yet to learn about being a god is that anything can be used to augment your gift. I prefer my bastard sword, and Lorenz prefers his katana which he calls 'Mr. Slicey'. I took a long sword from the nearest Kingu and shuddered as it licked it's lips and then smiled evilly when I took the sword You look tasty human, I wonder if we could eat you when His Majesty is done with you... it trailed off into a snarl. Jack said something in passable Sumerian to it and then it backed away very quickly, as if it was in fear. Never mind the Kingu, they have a tendency to get pissy with strangers into my domain... Suddenly seemingly out of nowhere Jack yelled Defend yourself! as he came towards me with swing meant to split my head open like a melon. I brought my sword up to stop the blade and stepped quickly to the left keeping my blade parallel to my head as I pushed against his blade with my own. I drew back as quick as a cobra and lashed out for his leg, he jumped back and pushed sword away. He swung now my sword arm, my right arm, and which I barely parried as I circled around him. I kept circling and nimbly dodged a stab meant for my chest. I timed my next move quick, which was to grab his cross guard and pull him to me swinging the sword in arc starting at my knee, which should have ended up decapitating him. He kicked me solidly in the gut with his boot. On my way down I swung for his knee and made a nice long slice in the fabric of his thick denim jeans. He looks down briefly at the opening and then launches another attack, coming in level with my shoulder. I smashed the sword away and then summoned up enough energy to freeze the blade in it's trajectory towards my right shoulder. I lunged forward and then stomped on his left knee, smashing him again in the face with my elbows and then once more with my knee as I used his momentum to carry myself away in a kind of tackle. Remember that moment... Jack says under his breath as he gets up and approaches me slowly, sword held point down to the ground. He roars something and then I find myself in the same kind of neon green bond that Alonzo and I were stuck in when we fought Maluk in The Pit. This is the end of the lesson for you, Alonzo is working with Lorenz, but you and I are done for today because of this sudden Mexican stand off... he says as he smiles amusedly at the look of fearful recognition on my face, initially I figured that this bond was lethal the more the person inside moved, and when I struggled against Maluk's it closed in more on us. This is a protective circle, commonly used by mortal practitioners to contain whatever they had summoned. It can be effectively used in combat as a wrangling net. The more you struggle the tighter it gets causing you or whatever is held inside to eventually have it's soul or essence sucked out of it and given to the caster of the circle.

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Jack walks slowly around me However among the other Sumerians it was frowned upon in regular combat between our gods and goddesses. He snaps his fingers sharply and the circle dissolved away. Tomorrow we cover spells and different techniques that can used against Nephilim, which are my pantheon's enemies naturally. Outside of Lu's control they are inferior to the Kingu and don't even match up to the Maskim Xul. He mutters something and raises his right hand which is pointing at the doorway. It changes into a portal back to what appeared to be Earth. When you step back through that gateway you're going to notice that we've only been gone for about ten minutes, Kelly thinks we're in another room. Also while she's Thalia, she doesn't remember and can't for the moment that she's got a history with me. She's going to have everything unlocked by her twenty-first birthday, which is when her parents deemed her ready for it. I stepped through and then found myself standing in Jack's office. I walked out of the room just as he stepped through and headed back into the living room. Hey girls... What're y'all doing? I asked them as I sat down on the floor under the window. Nothing, trying to take Shannon's mind off of the seizure that she had... She's asleep so try to stay quiet. I nodded and looked down at myself, I was back in normal clothes with no chain mail and no bruises or marks from the fighting; which meant that it was just a training exercise. Why does your power feel different Malcolm? I don't know, I'll have to talk to Jack about that. Meanwhile back in Virginia Beach a young lady named Ariana was talking to her mom about her absentee dad and how much she'd like to at least meet him if anything. Her mom is blond haired and blue eyed, but as viscous as a cornered tiger and yet at times as tender as the most caring mother. Mom, why can't I meet him? All I know about him is that he lives in Pittsburgh, near Uncle Paul... Jennifer looks at her daughter and sighs I told you, he's an asshole and no good will ever come from it. You should be content that I let you keep that picture of him... At this statement Ariana looks at that picture and smiles looking at the happiness in her dad's eyes as he holds her, when she was but a swaddling babe. Mom, I want to meet him. I'm eighteen, I think I can make the decision on my own about whether or not he's an asshole. Jennifer goes silent for a moment and then shrugs heavily Alright, well when I say I told you so, that's the end of it. She pulls out her cellphone and dials Jack's number handing the phone over as soon as he says Hello? Ariana takes it nervously and stammers D-D-Daddy? Is that you? There's silence on Jack's end of the phone for a moment Who is this? Ariana looks a little crestfallen for a second and then realizes that he doesn't have her mom's cellphone number. It's Ari... Don't you remember me daddy? she says in an almost childlike voice because this man on the other sounds a lot more rugged and to the point than any of her childhood hopes could have ever predicted. Suddenly there was warm loving laughter on the other end of the line Yes baby I do... silence again for a moment and then somewhere in the background somebody laughs and says Congratulations.

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She finally let you talk to me eh? With this Ariana politely excuses herself from the kitchen where her mom is sitting and reading, to head up to her nice neatly maintained room. Yeah she wasn't too happy about it, but she finally understood that I'm a down to Earth kinda girl. Well kiddo, how have you been? Good. Which is always a plus, what about school? Grades? Things like that. Just graduated, with good marks and waiting for a college application to go through. For um Robert Morris University. I wanna go there for graphic design. What did your mom say about that? She was happy, and I could tell that she knew I was going to look for you while I was there. Smart lady... Anyway I live on Neville Island, are you familiar with Moon Township? Yeah, sort of, I went into Coraopolis one night while I was up there touring the school. The hotel I stayed at was on Neville Island, past all of those apartments. Well did you see a white car parked near the second building on the farthest row back? I think so... Why? It's mine... Ariana smiles and then says that if she had known that then she would have gone to see him. However I have to go now sweetie, you can reach me at this number or through Facebook, if you have one... Just type in my name, OK? Ariana smiles excitedly and then says that she's going to just use her phone to call him from now on or at the very least text him if she can. Jack says that's fine and says his goodbyes leaving Ariana there standing in the middle of the room staring at the stuffed cat toy that came from her dad when she was little. She walks over to the plush animal and gives it a big hug Hopefully I can come see Daddy soon Kitty. I looked at Malcolm and then back to my own cellphone which was in my hand, I was checking my text messages to see if there was anything new. There was something new, a message from Henrik I'm going to provide you with an entrance to Hell. Be at your old house by 9 PM sharp. I frowned and then said to Jack I've gotta be back at my house by 9 PM. Jack nods knowingly and then tells Kelly and Shannon that we're going to be leaving soon, going into Pittsburgh which we're not, but we can't tell that to these two fine young ladies now can we? He gets up and we head into the other room, his office, and he opens up a portal Henrik is the only remaining demi-god among the Sumerians and Atlanteans, but he can handle his own against Lucifer, don't worry about that, it shouldn't come to blows though. A minute later Alonzo and I were standing in the middle of my great room, which is just an open space with the kitchen on one side and my living room on the other. So this is your place? I've walked past this place and always wondered who lives here... Alonzo mutters under

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his breath as we stand there. I beckon to the couch You can sit down if you want to, I don't know when Henrik will actually show up. He looks at me curiously How do you know Henrik? he asks curiously as he makes himself comfortable on the couch. He was my lawyer before all of this started, and he was allegedly the lawyer for an old mobster that used to live in this area. I sat down on the arm chair next to my brother and reached into my pocket, grabbing my cellphone so that I could give Henrik a call. I clicked Contacts and then quickly scrolled to his name while Alonzo flipped channels on my DVR. I clicked Henrik's name and then headed into my garage which was completely empty, the car was left at Alonzo's apartment. The Eastern European answered on the first ring, so he must have been expecting me. Hey Mal, are you back in town? Yeah H, I am. When are you coming over to set up our access to Hell? Very soon. It's going to be... he trails off into silence How do you say, a pain in the ass? Yeah, it could be but neither of us know how to do that... Which is why I'm coming over... What time is it now comrade? I checked my watch and then said Six thirty. Good, I'll be over there at eight forty-five. Alright, see ya then. There was silence, he hung up. Henrik's never been good on goodbyes. Hey Malcolm, who's this guy? Alonzo says pointing over my shoulder at the thin white dude standing in the small foyer. Good question. Do I know you fella? I said loud enough for him to hear me. The young man shrugged and materialized short swords in his hands charging at me quickly. I quickly stepped out his way and focused on materializing a long sword, it worked. I swung in hurry to counter act his hasty swing. He lunged for a stab and got hamstrung by Alonzo's power, dropping to the ground heavily he looked up at us. Muttering to himself in what sounded like either Latin or some other dead language. Hey motherfucker... Do... We... Know... You? Alonzo said enunciating each word of the angry question. Finally the man gave a very simple answer I am a Seraphim. Kill me you blasphemous filth. I backed away from the man just enough so that he was still in range of my sword but not enough so that I could be hit by his short swords. Alonzo do you think it will do any good to explain that we're not part of The Morningstar's army anymore? I kept my eyes on the man and waited for my brother's answer. No, not really. I nodded and then swung in a diagonal arc to take off the man's head. The body and head fell to the ground with no fluids or anything just a severed head and a body. I willed the body to disappeared and winced ever so slightly as another cross was burned into my right wrist next to the one from that chick we killed at Alonzo's apartment. Suddenly there was some kind of concussion and then a black hole opened up in the

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room, it wasn't one of those stellar space/time eaters that are randomly around space like giant vacuum cleaners sucking up the 'verse. It was just a circular matte black hole which seemed to suck in light and small coins which we found out by stupidly tossing a spare penny in it's general direction. There could be a couple of different things that come out of that void, one is Hell itself in some form or another. Next thing that it could be is Cthulu, the one who sleeps in the depths. It could be anything from Jack's dream realm or even Kalosis itself; we won't know a thrice damned thing until something comes out of it. Alonzo what the fuck do you think that is? Not a clue bro... We stand with our god powers surging through us, almost brimming over the edge and manifesting into full on aggression; this void for lack of a better term doesn't sit well, and it could be anything. We stood there and waited to see what could happen, there's no activity from the opening as of yet. After a few moments, a man dressed in chain mail steps through looking all degrees of pissed and ready to fight anything. Identify yourselves! the man yells at us hefting a wickedly sharp long sword as he looks anticlimactically first at me and then at Alonzo. We're gods... Who or what the fuck are you? my younger brother snaps as his eyes get as black as that hole. I'm the true Prince of Hell, Mammon. I'm here to take you to my father... Everything goes pitch black and completely silent. A short time later we find ourselves in a dull gray room made entirely of what appeared to be stone, with rafters and sideboards composed of skulls and bones. Mammon stood at the far end of the room and smiled cruelly He's not going to be happy that you two have backed out of what he's given you... I kept a calm demeanor and stood there, waiting for Lucifer himself to come out of whatever hole he's in. We're not here to fight, but we might have to do just that if pushed by these creatures. Finally a hairline crack appears in the wall and then slides open, revealing that it was in fact a door. Lucifer steps out wearing nothing but a black bath robe. He was in a human form, flesh and blood like us. Ah brothers, how good it is to see you. I kept a stony gaze on my face, my eyes however were probably radiating the same black nothingness that denotes extreme anger or aggression. I kept silent as the disgraced Angel materialized a chair made of bones and skulls draped with a covering made of human skins, held together with hair and teeth. I never thought that you would do this, please tell what caused you to convert to that bullshit? Lucifer asked in his typical calm tone, unreadable as stone and as clean as a white sheet. As if he was anything but clean... Better pay. Alonzo said sarcastically as I was about to open my mouth and give the disgraced Angel a better answer. The Devil chuckled and then said Such a smart-ass... Why don't we ask your brother what he thinks?

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Well Lu, we were offered better terms than working for a second rate creature like yourself. There was silence for a long time, where The Devil sat there watching us. Finally he speaks up Well brothers, since there's nothing I do at this point, I guess I'm going to have to consider the notion that we're at war now. He throws out his hand and teleports us back to my house, where Henrik was sitting on the couch and looking baffled. How the fuck did you guys manage to get to Hell with out my assistance? A black void of some kind opened up and some short sword wielding asshole jumped out. We killed him and then some how got sucked through the opening. When we came to, we were standing in a room meeting room in Hell, where Mammon introduced his dad. From there we talked to him, and says we're now at war with him... Henrik sighs and mutters Fuck. as he stands up and looks at us Well gentlemen we've gotta get into with Jack to let him know that we're going to be at war... I reach into my pocket for my cellphone Might as well give him a call then and let him know... I said to nobody in particular, since we were all thinking the same thing. Jack answered on the second ring I'm on the other line, make it quick. I took a breath and then said as calmly as I could Kharneth, I think Lucifer is going to attack you since we're now allied with you. There was silence on the other end of the line, I think he might have switched back to his other call. Finally he spoke up Well it sounds like it has begun. Meet me in my dream realm. Tonight you get to meet my sister... Then there was an audible click as he goes back to his other call. Shit... I looked at Alonzo and Henrik Might as well head to Pittsburgh or wherever in Pennsylvania Jack is... Meanwhile Ariana is talking to her father when the brothers call him. Sweetie I've gotta take another call, I'll be back as soon as I can. After he says that Ariana finds herself sitting on the edge of her bed elbows resting on her knees. She looks up at herself sitting there wearing basketball shorts and a sports bra I wonder when I finally come see him... her minds turns to the weird dream that she had last night about somebody who looked like her dad, wielding a bastard sword and fighting with two black guys in the desert while a ring of demons circled them. The whole scene made no sense to her and kind of made her nervous for some reason that she couldn't fathom. She shook her head and pulled off the bra, it felt it was constricting her as she thought about the implications of the dream; what could her dad be up to? She decided that she would tell him about the dream and see how he reacts to it, no harm there right? She continued sitting there with her hands on her knees and waited for dad to call her back. She pulls her hair up into a ponytail and then looks at her brand new laptop, which she hasn't even used yet. It was a Mac Book Pro tweaked so that it dual booted Ubuntu 20 which was the most current release of the Ubuntu distribution. She walks over to it and sits down in the

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comfy office chair that her mom bought her when her former boyfriend Alex built the desk for her. She turns on the computer and clicks Ubuntu 20.0. A few short seconds later she was looking at the generic loading screen which reads Ubuntu and under that has four white dots that pulsate until the computer is done booting, they were gone almost as quickly as she looked at them. She clicks on Firefox and then logs into her Facebook, after a few seconds that loaded too, it's amazing how quickly this thing loads.. Sensing an itch on her collarbone where her Charonte demon tattoo usually is, she scratches at gently; it wasn't a bad itch. This sensation only came about when that demon was in it's human form and bored. In her mind she said What do you want Xena? There was nothing but silence for a few moments and then an audible reply which she would have sworn was just behind her right ear. Nothing, I'm just really bored mistress... Can I go hunting? Do you promise only to eat wildlife? As in absolutely NO FARM ANIMALS? Yes mistress... the reply made it sound like Xena was tired of hearing this question, she had been hearing it ever since Ariana was ten years in Sumeria almost 10 thousand years later she still had to reiterate this to her demon. Then you're free to hunt. Dispose of the body when you're done and then come home, we've gotta talk... The truth of the matter is that Xena had become friends with Ariana and was allowed to stay on behalf of her mom, since this demon was inseparable from Ariana; it's just the way things worked with them. Ariana figured that they were more sisterly than Master and Servant which worked well for the demon, since it's only true Master was The Destroyer, and she was more or less totally hated on Ariana's side of the family; which makes sense because by blood Ariana is half Babylonian and they never got along with Sumeria OR Atlantis, but in fact just tolerated Atlantis and straight out hated Sumeria. Mm... Ariana mused with pursed lips as she clicked on her new notifications; one was a wall post from her friend Carrie talking about some kind of function at school that is going to be happening before the seniors leave for college. It was neither graduation that already happened, it and wasn't prom either, which Ariana actually has no real interest in attending. She doesn't like semi-formal events like that, never has. She closed the window and then sat there staring at the picture of her mom and dad at their wedding. It was the only other picture of them where they were happy that she had; in this life, her mom and dad just didn't gel with each other, they never really had but stayed together in an open relationship because of her, until she was seventeen when they finally called it quits. Ariana doesn't remember her dad because he was never home, and at one point he was in The One Year War; but that wasn't anything particularly glorious. He was in some dead city, well ruin, called Megiddo what he was doing there she never knew but she just knew that it must have been important. She opens up the solitary folder on her empty desktop and opens up the massive document journal. We were standing in front of Jack's apartment, the night air is cool and refreshing, eerily calm as if a great storm was coming and ready to ravage everything in it's path. There was

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something stirring just over the metaphorical horizon, I couldn't the exact nature of this storm but something said that it was going to be cataclysmic if left unchecked and definitely hellish (pardon the bad pun) as we worked to stop it if we could even do that. The true end of the world might happen soon... Malcolm... Jack... Let's head up there now and see what's going on. Henrik said breaking the stillness of the air as we headed for his apartment. The short walk up the stairs was made in relative silence, at the door we knocked and then waited to see if someone would answer. There was no answer, but from what we figured the back of the apartment, we could hear amorous sex, Kelly sounds a screamer makes me wonder where Shannon is right now. Probably sleeping or something, speaks volumes about her sleeping because while I'm a heavy sleeper, I don't think even I could have slept through that... I looked at Henrik We're faced with two choices here comrade... We could try the door and walk in or we could head to Jack's Realm and wait this out... I shook my head and then just opened the door, might as well take a shot at seeing what's going on. What we found in there was actually a major leap because it was an episode of Dexter, from the fifth season I think. Either way Shannon's asleep on the couch and Jack's in his office; Kelly's nowhere to be seen right now. We stood there in complete silence and then decided that we would try a little experiment to communicate with him via our mind. I decided that I would try first by projecting Hey Jack, can we join you in the office? And after a few moments he looks back and waves us into the room with him. What's up fellas? Sorry about the TV, I think Shannon forgot to set the sleep setting before she fell asleep. Once he said that he muttered something and then the TV shut off as if he actually used the remote to turn it off. Lu says we're at war. Alonzo says with a deadly calm that I've never seen in him before. Jack looked equally as serious Well it sounds like we need to pay a visit to my sister. Fortunately I can come and go, it's her sons that can't. He raises his hands miming out some arcane diagram that's probably Sumerian in origin, it would make sense for it to be one of the gateways yeah I've read The Necronomicon once several years ago. In what used to be the door way leading to the living room was now a shimmering mercurial portal, Jack beckons us to follow him through as he calmly passes through it. I followed behind him with an unearthly steadiness, as if I knew nothing was going to happen to me; it's liable to get me killed down there but might as well keep it up. I didn't have to look behind me to know that Alonzo had followed as well. We were in a magnificent marble room, where a gilded throne sat vacant with a bouquet (tip?) of black roses on it. They were lashed together with a red ribbon and had an amulet that represented Jack's Empire attached. Three lightning bolts intersecting and piercing a sun; the past, present, and future and the sun, representing the power and justice of the Atlantean gods and their dominion over time itself. The dominion is actually held by the Sumerians and the Atlanteans have it just for show really. There was a courtyard garden to our left and right. It was full of plenty of colorful plants,

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and the right touch of black roses to make everything seem surreal and vibrant. In this courtyard a young lady, appearing in her late 20s or early 30s was standing talking to a shade or specter of some kind. She whipped around suddenly when she felt the presence of three gods standing there in the middle of her great throne room. Her eyes were what grabbed my attention; they were a swirling ice blue and seemed like they were really murky or cloudy. The same kind of look you'd see in a blind person's eyes, however these eyes in particular have a nasty intelligence behind them. Certainly not the kind that you want to have on your bad side by any stretch of the word, because with intelligence like what she must possess, clearly she's a danger to anything she comes into contact with. Foolish creature! You dare to make eye contact with The Great Destroyer?! she shrieks in a terrible voice, involuntarily making my bones twitch and my skin crawl all of my hairs getting prickly. She raises her hands to Alonzo and I, full of rage that we probably don't deserve. Jack steps in between us and lowers the goddess's hands They're not here to fight dear sister. They're with me, in fact they're newly made gods; try not to scare them too badly. The Great Destroyer makes a Hmph! sound in our general direction as she turns her attention to her older brother. What's got you in a mood sister? he asks her gently, as if he too was walking on eggshells. Corvin... He listened to every bad thing that Jennifer could ever dream of telling him... She throws her hands towards a bust of some famous Atlantean figure, a human figure, probably this Jennifer person. The bust explodes into a fine grained powder at the intensity of the goddess's blast She turned him against you, and for what? A sense of superiority? the bust rematerialized only to explode once more in a fiercer explosion. Let me take her soul for a few centuries and show her true agony! Jack shook his head Sorry sis, The Agents have told me that you will be free shortly, but probably by the hands of these two... The Destroyer's gaze turns now to Alonzo and I, she starts coming towards us maliciously and quite eagerly. So you mean to tell me that when I'm free, I can finally annihilate those three bitches and torture that whorish cunt Jennifer? she says now with the gears turning in her mind, that deadly intelligence working. The light in those swirling blue eyes makes me want to leave this godforsaken place immediately. Yes, but that's not what we're here to discuss. Well out with it then! We're going to need every available Charonte demon and Hellbeast that is down here. Kalosis will be emptied and then mobilized under my flags to protect this place and my Empire against the coming threat; something that even The Agents are going to have to help with. If they can. The pure unfettered rage that played across The Destroyer's otherwise statuesque marble skinned face was tangible and very potent. You're going to empty my domain of my soldiers?! The rage exploded and made everything that could cringe do so, out of that primal fear that she's going to self destruct and everything that's around will go up in flames. The irritation on Jack's face was tangible, The Destroyer must be on her period... I thankfully held in the smirk over this thought as I turned my attention to Alonzo, who was staring off into the gardens away from this conversation. What would you have me do then? Jack asks his sister irritably as she paces around,

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fire lighting in those swirling blue eyes. I would have you go to The Olympians, or even your precious Sumerian demons... Not to mention those from The Outside... Or whatever it is that you consider everything that's not part of Earth... Dear sister, everything like that from my Empire is dead, over the conspiracies that went into your unborn son, need I say his name, being killed. Well under Imperial law, I'm conscripting them. Thank you for pointing out that I could go the Olympians and ask them for troops. Having said that Jack flashes us out of Kalosis and back to his place. Guys I'm going to head to Olympus and talk to the Olympians myself; you guys get a day off in a manner of speaking. If anything comes after you, kill it. Bring it's head or some identifying memento back to me. Yes Malcolm, those crosses count... I looked shocked and then looked at my right wrist where there was bleached white scar tissue, in the shape of perfect crosses. Alonzo and I looked at each other Fuck it, might as well head back to Virginia Beach... A short time later I found myself lying on Alonzo's couch while he sat in the small kitchen munching on a hot dog and some Doritos. The living room was otherwise dark, except for that solitary dim light where he was sitting and eating; we were silent me lost in the thought of becoming a god about four days after finding Charon cheating on me again, and three days after shooting her and getting away with murder; thanks in part to our one time benefactor. I cleared my throat and then sat up to look at my brother in the kitchen, where he was occasionally typing something on his tablet computer Android of some flavor I would guess, since his phone is an Android as well. He must have sensed me staring at him What is it Mal? he asked me curiously. I sighed and then held up a pack of cigarettes First, do you mind if I light one in here? He shook his head and beckoned me to light them with his hand as he turned his attention back to the tablet, which has said Transmission incoming... Interesting notification tone, if you to ask me. What's the other thing bro? he asks in between bites of the hot dog, which I notice is almost gone. I was just thinking' that all of this seems like it was connected... I mean from Lu giving you the power, and then to me the next day. Not to mention that Henrik is actually some kind of immortal warrior working for the last remaining god of a long dead pantheon, of which we're now 'gods'. I mean why did we get chosen? What's the purpose of that and where do we stand with apparently going to war? I mean I know it's officially against Yahweh and now Lucifer, but what do we gain? Why has this suddenly become our fight?

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Meanwhile Ariana has finished the lengthy journal entry in that massive document. She shivers and realizes that her mom must have turned the air conditioning on; leaning for her bed she grabs her thick Roxy hoodie and throws it on, not really caring that she wasn't wearing a shirt or bra. She turns to face her door, wondering idly if her mom was up and about. She looked at the time and decided that she wouldn't find out; she slumps into her bed and lies there looking at the picture of her mom and dad sitting there with her as a baby in their arms. She wishes that she could have seen what it was like when they were happy with each other, before everything fell apart; she doesn't know what caused them to split she just knows they did. Reaching for her phone she texts her dad one simple message I'm old enough to know, why did you and Mom break up?" She tosses the phone over her shoulder at her pillow, it bounces off and lands next to her knee. She wasn't expecting to see a specter of her dad's true form standing in the middle of her room. Without thinking she went for her butterfly knives muttering blasphemes under her breath. Sweetie those won't do much good against me. Do you remember this form? The terrible Sumerian voice sounded in her head, like the gnashing of millions of teeth with some underlying crunching or grinding underneath. She looks at the beastly figure with eyes as big as saucers. Then how about this... The voice again and then suddenly a black mist with her dad's human form standing there in front of her. Remember this one better? She nods her head and says softly, just in case her mom is asleep How do I know you're my dad? This... he pulls out his cellphone and shows her the text message. And this as well... he reaches behind her right ear There's a fingernail tip indentation there, from where your doctore erm combat teacher sheered off your hair to go no lower than the tips of your ears. She rubbed the peculiar birthmark and nods Only mom and you know that. He smiles sadly My oh my, how much you look like her. I want answers Dad. Can you give them to me? Yeah sweetie I s'pose that I can. She scoots back so that she's resting against the mound of pillows facing her father, awaiting his explanations. Jennifer scowled when she detected Jack's presence in her house, however she's not going to kick him out; he's here merely as a specter and not worthy of the headache that comes from banishing specters. She silently summons her attendant demon Golgotha and tells it that she's ready to undertake the great war which will secure her dominion over the world. Using her generous gift of future sight she has seen that the very key to her downfall will be Jack, just like it was every other time that he crucified her; ever since Sumeria and those times in Uruk. Not to mention that final showdown will take place in Uruk, in the dream realm where the laws of Existence have been known to get a bit wacky when bent just right. She was snapped out of her reverie by the demon growling nervously Mistress, is there anything else that you need? She turned that scowl on the demon Yes... she purses her lips in thought I think we need to deal with Apollymi and these two new recruits... First them, and then The Destroyer; that bitch and I have a score to settle. The demon cocks its head like a canine would and looks at her curiously, as if a skull can appear curious. I want you to send your two best after The Destroyer and those recruits.

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They're freshly made gods and should be easy for your kind to dispatch. Golgotha and the eight others like him were originally a serious attempt by the Babylonians to eradicate the Sumerians; it failed because these things were created from Jack's blood but given free will. Six of them stayed with Jack and The Destroyer and the other two went with Jennifer; she somehow managed to convince two of them. The demon nodded and then vanished as if it was never there, Jennifer could still feel Jack's presence in the house; probably filling Ariana's head with lies and bullshit. She's going to realize in due time what kind of person Jack is and when she does Jennifer won't be there to pick up the pieces it's her time to learn. She walks into the living room and sits down on the couch, picking up the book she was reading earlier and resumes where she left off. Ariana shifted so that nobody could see down her hoodie and then leaned forward interested in what he father was telling her. So let me get this straight, you're now at war Lucifer, Yahweh, and whatever is coming to shift the balance of Chaos and Order? Jack nodded and then patted her knee You're going to be fine, you have protection, I've made sure of that.

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I looked around the darkened apartment, everything was quiet except for the soft almost unnoticeable sound of Shannon's snoring. There was a rustling of sheets from Alonzo's room and then footsteps padding out here to the living room. I could see two blue eyes reflecting light from the roof's outside light, there was a tangle of dirty blond hair, tousled by sleep and probably sex, which is the only thing these two have done together since the rescue from Maluk's Pit. She walks over to the couch and sits down on the arm Level with me Malcolm, what really happened last night? she must be referring to the conflict with Maluk, and the gap of time we wiped out from her memory with Jack's help; insinuating only that she had a seizure while talking to Kelly on the phone. I took a breath and then noticed that she was shivering Would you like my hoodie? I lift up my black NIN hoodie that I had grabbed while we were at my place. Thanks. she takes it and pulls it on, as I avert my gaze so that I don't appear lecherous. It's on now, you can look. I nodded and then asked her what she remembers from last night. She looks unsettled Well I remember something being in here with me, while you and Alonzo were out. It wasn't human, but appeared that way. It took Alonzo's form, and I was fooled completely by how it played him. It started having sex with me, oh god, and then I remember you guys coming in guns blazing. I shook my head That wasn't last night. She looks confused for a second and then shakes her head No, last night... Well before the seizure I went to sleep and when I woke up I was chained to a wall in what I kept thinking must be Hell. Some green eyed demon was laughing at me; and then I had the seizure, next thing I remember is 'waking' up at Kelly's apartment which was really strange because she lives in Pittsburgh. Holy shit! She remembers! I stood up in alarm I'll be right back. I walked outside and then materialized jeans and a loose fitting tee shirt on as I projected to Alonzo We need to fucking talk Alonzo! I couldn't stress this fact enough as I heard some say Fuck! quite loudly as they got up and stumbled outside where I was standing. It was Alonzo and Shannon was standing behind him curiously. Shan, I'm going to have to ask you to go back inside... Alonzo said comfortingly as he gave me a hard ass stare. He kept his gaze on me What do we need to talk about Mal? he asked me sleep permeating his voice. I took a breath and collected my thoughts She um remembers everything, some how against all odds she remembers. Alonzo looks at me curiously What do you mean she fuckin' remembers? I took out a cigarette and lit it She remembers what happened in The Pit. I took a drag and then returned the look that Alonzo was giving me. What the fuck do you mean she remembers what happened down there? he asks with an edge of concern in his voice. I finished smoking the cigarette and then threw it over the edge of the building, walking now to sit down against the doorway. I shook my head Brother, believe me when I say I don't know how she knows, but she does. I took a deep breath and then looked off into the distance, frowning at the concern on Alonzo's face. I don't have an explanation for why she can remember everything but she does, and maybe we should take it to Jack or worse yet even The Destroyer, if she could provide some insight.

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Well let's take it to The Destroyer. he says breaking the silence. I nodded grimly and then headed inside I'm going to tell her that we need to take a walk down to the shopping center near Princess Anne... he says as I stand there thinking about the best way to find The Great Destroyer. All we know about her is that she's Atlantean and constantly pissed off about something. A few minutes later he was standing in front of me Let's go. I focused on a mental picture of the room where we found ourselves with Jack. Next thing I knew we're standing in that same garden of stark beauty. The Destroyer was playing with some small human appearing little girls, they were bustling about and speaking a weird language that we couldn't pick up on. The Destroyer looked up at our presence in the great room. Children, return to your parents... she says in a motherly tone, her expression shifting from amusement to stony indifference like it was nothing. What in the name of the seven Hells are you two doing here? she says in a blank tone. I shifted my weight Ma'am we're here for advice from you... Alonzo says calmly looking at The Destroyer levelly. Her swirling blue eyes looked heated, with some kind of unknown ire in them. First off the name's Apollymi, to you recently made gods, you can call me Mistress. I am no lowly madame or ma'am whatever. she made a hmph sound and then sat down on the black marble throne rigidly. What brings you to Kalosis? she stroked the skull that marked the end of the arm rest idly. Advice... I've done some research and found that you're a goddess of many things Mistress Apollymi... Everything from death to life... Could you help us wipe some memories from my girlfriend? Alonzo speaks up with some dignity, it was on Shannon's behalf that we're even here. You two are gods, why can't you do it yourselves? Well Mistress we don't know how to. Fair enough, what would you like me to do? I then stepped in and gave her an efficient explanation how we need to have her think she had a seizure while she was on the telephone with her cousin Kelly. The Destroyer looked at us curiously Well what do I get in return? Alonzo and I looked at each other curiously and then back to the goddess. We could work something out with Jack... I said quite calmly as I returned her blank stare. There was a tingly sensation permeating the room now as we stood there. Maybe it was her power coming to bare. No, I'm asking you. What can you do for me? she asks again, the tingly sensation growing into something more, probably actual goose flesh. I don't know what we could do for you Mistress. Alonzo says calmly, there was a nervous light in his eyes. The sensation grew stronger, it was almost unbearable. The Destroyer's not having any patience with us What can you give me puny gods? This irked the venom in Alonzo and he was all but bleeding it from his eyes Ain't a ---- I needed to shut him up, so I punched him in the jaw. Sorry Mistress, we can act as your personal representatives during the coming war. My champion has already been selected, it's an unborn child named Asher. Who's

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namesake was my dead son Acheron, Romanized to Asheron. Alonzo looked at me angrily and then back to The Destroyer Mistress what about something a little more with in reach? The Destroyer shifts her gaze to me What did you have in mind? I thought hard and quick running through a checklist of mythological events and people; mostly gods and other superhuman/nonhuman beings. Since we're now part of Jack's Empire, I was thinking that we can appeal to Chaos or her agents, if we can find one, about letting you use a human as an avatar, granting you some freedom; limited only by being in a mortal's body. The goddess smirked Do you know why I'm locked here in Kalosis? I paused for a moment to think about that one. It was because of Jack. I had him kill everything that was involved in my son's death. Everybody and everything, it was a vast conspiracy until he laid it to waste. Should I ever get more than a specter's form outside of this realm, I would end the world. Due to those damnable bitches, The Fates, and their sniveling prophecies regarding my son and The Apocalypse. It was narrowly avoided because during what you Humans call The One Year War, Jack killed the first sniveling puke in thousands of years who tried to free me. There was silence as she let this sink in. He had created a faith based on the Sumerian holiday Gehenna Nacht and deemed that it's final act, it's Revelation, would be to set me free to kill everything and anything that wasn't allied with him. Now I don't support him bastardizing a Sumerian holiday, but, fuck, I was this she makes an inch measurement with her fingers Close to killing The Fates. Which is why they set up this prophecy. To keep me locked up here, so that I wouldn't end the world as they know it. She looked at Alonzo and I calmly, this was all old hat and fact as she saw it, she doesn't hold it against her brother in the least bit. So I'm going to charge you two with one task, since you can't find anything, set me free to exact my bloody vengeance on those bitches when the time comes. The next morning I somehow found myself laying on Alonzo's couch; there was complete silence in the apartment. I listened for a second, keeping my eyes closed and my breathing as level as I could. There was soft footsteps coming out of Alonzo's room, I would have to lean my head over the top of the couch to check this. I didn't move, I kept listening. There was another sound, like bone crunching as if somebody was breaking lobster carapaces and sucking out the fleshy insides. The footfalls stop and there's muttering and then something hits the counter with a heavy splay and some rattling. I used whatever powers we've got now to freeze time and roll off the couch crouching against the front of it for cover. I leaned over and caught a glimpse of a blood splattered woman, maybe this Jennifer person that Jack was talking about? Eating what appeared to be either a human arm or leg. I stood up and manifested a bastard sword, coming at the attacker as quick as I could; just as I was about to swing time returned to it's normal flow and then turned into a blur as things sped up and the adrenaline kicked in. The female figure whirls out of my way and throws her left hand out at me while my back was facing her. I could feel a long bloody gouge there, as if she had sliced me with something. I manifested a protective film of this power to block any

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physical attacks and then renewed my assault. I swung low at about her thigh/hip only to have that dodged, snarling I turned and faked her out, swinging left and getting her to block. Quickly I reversed the swing and went for her exposed side, making a nice bloody gouge just under her breast. She swung at me again and made a nice long thin cut from my right eyebrow down to the bottom of the eye socket. I dissolved the sword and instead manifested the energy spikes; since those are a bit more useful anyway. I swung in a furious dance of swings and parries; intending that every parry I made was two more hits, meaning I'm trying to make sure that my hits are superbly aimed and faster than hers. She hits me again with a grazing slice right down my chest, from my throat to my navel. I scowled and then focused on literally making her pop like a balloon that's been over inflated. I was parrying her and focusing on raising the air pressure in her skull, finally after about five minutes there was an audible pop and her skull exploded painting the walls with brain matter, bits of skull and whatever else was in there. On my left wrist there was a burning sensation and a small dot etched itself exactly where the first cross is on my right wrist. I dissolved the energy spikes and headed for Alonzo's bedroom; what I saw there wasn't too pretty. Alonzo's guts and entrails had been pulled out and strewn about the room. His penis had viscously cut off and shoved into Shannon's eye. She suffered something similar except her guts were stacked neatly near the bed. Her ovAres and womanly bits looked like they had been gnawed on, savagely to say the absolute least; which is all I can stomach right now. Her face had been torn off and stabbed in the left eye socket with Alonzo's penis, in a gruesome tableau of the insult skullfucking. The face itself was nailed to the wall in between and slightly above them. I gritted my teeth and headed back to the living room. I need to get outside. I just need to get away from this carnage; before it consumes me and drives me insane. A few minutes later after violently heaving my guts out and heaving some more I finally get a hold of Jack on the phone. They're dead. Something killed them... I said breathlessly since I was still kind of heaving. There was a sound of rustling sheets and then him muttering I'll be right back babe. A moment later once he was away from Kelly Say what? Alonzo and Shannon... They're dead. What or who killed them? I don't know, the bodies looked like they were being eaten. Did you kill the attacker? Yeah after it got a few hits on me, but those don't feel or look too serious. I'll be there in a moment, I think I know what did this. Not to mention you got lucky in killing it. I shuddered. What could be strong enough to make Jack think I was lucky in killing it? I thought to myself as I went over to the body and nudged the head nearer to it's former owner. I stood there looking at it and then noticed more movement from the corner of my eye, it was Jack heading inside from the roof.

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I know what this is, and I thought they were all dead. he says as he lets himself inside. He kneels and examines the body This was a Golgothan demon. There were only eight of them created; I control six and I think Jennifer controls the other two. While he was kneeling by the corpse he rifled through it's pockets to see if it had anything on it. Really? Checking' for fuckin' cash? I couldn't help but say in a blaise (sp?) tone. He looked up at me and smirked No, I was looking for this... he pulls out a small cigarette case looking box and opens it. There was a stack of business cards or so I thought at first. The first one is a small dossier on you. he flips the card down on the corpse's chest. The next one was your brother. The card drops to the corpse. The next one was me. again this card lazily falls to the body. The final one was a sort of contact card, which lists Jennifer and the other demon. The other demon is actually controlled by one Densil Roberts, and it says that Densil can be found here in downtown Virginia Beach. He hands me this card and then says that he's going to make this body disappear as if it was never there. He said that he was also going to clean up and then says to meet him at his apartment. I flashed myself to the building behind the Virginian Pilot, where Densil works. Seeing as it's almost 2 in the afternoon he should be there. I flashed myself into some new clothes, a pair of white Bondage Tripps with the leggings off and a baggy white tee shirt, with a well worn brown leather messenger bag. The bag was the one I used to carry when I was still acting as a construction contractor, and this time there was nothing in it so I could just reach inside and materialize whatever I happened to need at the moment. I walked into the building and asked the clerk where Densil was at that moment, making some bullshit up about how I needed to have a word with him. The clerk or attendant, whatever she was let me go without any farther comment. I stopped when I was about six feet away from her desk I forgot where his office is... I said trying to be sheepish, even offering up what I thought was a sheepish smile. To the right and three doors down, his name is on the door. I nodded and then walked down the hall that she indicated. A minute later I was standing in front of his door. I knocked twice and then waited for him to answer. He opened the door with a smile until he saw my face, at which point he almost shit himself. I shoved against the door and was inside before he could move to get me out. I summoned up my power and let it leak out of me in tightly controlled waves of anger. The violence that I was preparing to unleash was almost tangible and it looks like he was beginning to notice that. W-W-What're you doin' here? he stammers in a state of shock. I've come for your head, but first I need to know something. The look on the man's face was almost incredulous What could you possibly want to know? Who started the affair that I caught you and Charon in? She did because she knew what you were going to become, and here you are. I needed answers for my master, and she wanted me to get in good with Charon to keep an eye on you. So this entire affair that lasted ten years was to spy on me until I became a Sumerian god?

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No, the idea was to kill you the day you beat the shit out of me. At least he owned up to the fact that I beat the shit out of him, which was only about a week ago; damn hard to believe it's only been a week. I shook my head and cleared that thought from my head, getting back to what I'm here for. So what's your plan now? You can't run, and Jack's killing your demon right now. I was bluffing with this last part, and praying that he was in fact killing it. Densil looked skittish and vainly made an attempt to get past me, due to the immense amount of power cascading through the room he couldn't get anywhere near me. I gave him a menacing smile and then threw my open right hand in his general direction. There was a sickening crunch and his entire torso split open like a ripe melon, leaving me standing there in a blood splattered room. I made everything go away, leaving no trace of him ever being there with no gore and no sign of what just happened. I decided that I would head back to my house and try to unwind before getting into contact with Henrik or Jack. Standing on the porch I looked at the blackened hole where one phase of my life had ended and another had begun. It felt alien to be standing here and looking at the ashes and smoldered remains of my normal life, and yet it felt strangely right; as if I was coming full circle from a metaphorical point A. I guess it could be argued that I finished my life as a mortal here and decided (for what reason?) to come back here as an immortal. I frowned and took out a cigarette, checking the mail slot next to the door. There was a pamphlet from the local Jehovah's Witness, ick, and something from the police. I opened that up and read through it quickly, it was a notice about possibly coming in to talk about Charon's murder something that I don't have time for, best thing to do there is just leave it be and see what comes of it. Worst comes to worst I have to actually go and talk to some detective about what might have happened there. I reached into the bag and materialized the house keys, opening up the door using the power to disable any of my security devices; motion detectors, door trips that might have been activated when I opened up the door. I came into find a light on the den, which was a first because I didn't think anybody had left them on. Hey! Who's in here? I called out into the lit room. There was something making a clicking noise; fingers on a keyboard and then a chick's voice saying something and giggling. I used the power to make myself completely invisible, clothes and everything. I crept slowly towards the light, sticking to the shadows. What I ended up seeing when I got in there was actually a shock, the young lady sitting in there was Jack's daughter! She was on what appeared to be Skype with another chick, they were talking and I couldn't tell what they were saying. I mentally called out to Jack and let him know that his daughter was here, and apparently chilling out in my living room. This could be bad, because for all I know, she's a youngster not much more than fourteen or sixteen just sitting here in a 32 year old man's house relaxing like she didn't have a care in the world. I padded carefully into my bedroom and then made myself visible again, might as well see what I can about either getting her out of here, or getting Jack

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here himself to deal with her. Uhm excuse me, what're you doing in my living room? I said as delicately as I could, to avoid scaring her. She turned around and looked at me with a charming smile on her face Well my name is Ariana and you would know me as Jack's daughter. I nodded and remembered that when Alonzo and I had been around him we had heard him talking to her on the phone a day or two prior. I'm sorry to come off like a dick but why the Hell are you here? Figured that you could use some answers as to what has been going on this week, I'm sure that you have a lot of questions. Coincedentally I'm in the best position to answer those questions. Why was I supposed to die last Friday when I caught Densil and Charon having sex? Densil told me that he was there to spy on me and apparently kill me before I was recruited either by Lucifer or Jack. He wasn't to clear on that part. Just that I had to die before something like that happened. Ariana stands and rearranges her hoodie and whatever she was wearing underneath. You and Alonzo were supposed to my dad's key to cementing his hold on this plane of Existence. However due to the unforeseen circumstance regarding my mom's demon killing Alonzo this could almost unbalance him and forever see The Empire not in charge. So you mean to tell me that this was all just fucking politics? I snapped. There was a headache starting angrily in my temples; probably a migrane for all I know. No, it's war. If my dad and his armies don't place dominion on this plane, then there's going to be all of that death and darkness which has been foretold for thousands of years. You're involved because you're a direct human descendant of his second wife, not Kelly before her there was a mortal in Babylon that he settled with after losing in the campaign that was the foundation of Alexander The Great's legacy she fathered him a son, who's line went from Babylon all the way here over the years. The line is so polluted there's no way we're related and even he'll tell you the same thing. This was just to much and frankly I don't see what a lot of Jack's history has to do with me. What does this have to do with me though? Ariana looked at me with a blank calm on her face, and a calmness in her voice that seemed almost clinical. The final son who's generation would see The Apocalypse would be the first in the new generation of Sumerian Gods who would be destined to take over the world. Dad would finally get world domination; you're going to help him. There's also the whole thing regarding why I was supposed die last week. Oh that was supposed to be a means to stop Jack from ever recruiting you. Lu recruiting you was the means to get Jack's attention; he was banking on you seeking out Shannon to find answers, once he found you then that set the path you're starting on now. First godhood, and then the war followed by world domination. However nothing is actually set in stone, so Jack's gotta keep a tight hand on everything to make sure it works in his favor.

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I reached into my pocket and took out my cellphone, I'm going to call Jack and see what he has to say about this. He answered on the second ring What's up Malcolm? I took a deep breath and then explained everything to him leaving no detail unsaid. There was silence on his end for a few moments and then finally Let me talk to Ariana for a second. I handed the phone to his daughter and walked into the kitchen, to see if there was anything to drink. I haven't been in this fridge for a week and so everything should be left untouched; I mean everything left on my coffee table was still there, so there's the old Faygo if I can't find anything else. I opened up the fridge and saw that there still was a six pack of Bed Light and a still hot pizza, which I didn't order. I heard Ariana come up behind me and say That was me who ordered that pizza... Figured you might be hungry... I turned and said thanks as I grabbed a plate from the cabinet Would you like a piece? I asked Arianna curiously. No thanks. she politely declines my offer. I take out a beer and the pizza, moving to the counter next to the sink where my plate is sitting. Opening up the box, I savor the smell of the pepperoni and cheese which is still steaming and hot. I take out two slices and set them on the plate, opening up the beer can while I stood there. I closed the pizza box and slid it back onto the shelf I found it. What else brought you here? Surely there was something else... I trailed off into silence, probably sounding a little more harsh than I realized. Recent events have been really shitty, my brother was killled and weve been through several different strange but dangerous scenarios. I need some down time or something, just to get my head screwed back on straight. As I stood there at the counter and ate I looked at my guest blankly, trying to keep a calm and passive face. I wanted to gauge for myself how strong you are. Dont worry Im not here to fight, quite the opposite really. So what do you want to do then? I ask in between bites of the pizza crust, which was kind of garlic tasting. I want to fuck; there was a prophecy handed down from The Destroyer which said that her neice - me - would mate with the eldest of the third0 generation of Sumerian gods. Which in this case is you. However Im not some whore whos out to just fuck and then be done with it. I think the prophecy actually meant that I would end up in a relationship with said god, but I was here looking for Alonzo because I thought he was the eldest god. she explained as she sat there at my kitchen table sipping some of the Faygo that I had left in the living room. My brow crinkles in thought. Why would she want to get into this with a guy whos old enough to be her dad? Not to mention whats her angle on this? Surely its not to just fuck me a few times... I stood there and just watched to see what she was going to say or do in reaction to this. She rearranges herself a little more, fidgetting with things until something happened. What would your dad say about this? I asked in a level tone, voice low and belying the fact that I was weighing these options in my head. He would... He would be annoyed but thats because Im his daughter; however he knows about the prophecy so theres not too much that he can do. She stands up gracefully and walks slowly over to me and stands so that her breasts are just barely against me. She stands at about 53 and has to look up at me So what do you say big boy? She says with a chuckle just starting to form under her breath. I looked down at her Well I think I want to think on this for the night, so if you want to stay the night you can sleep in the guest room or right there on the couch. When we get up in the morning we can discuss this further. However since Ive got some thinking to do, Im heading

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up to my room over the garage, my office, Ill get your pillows and things if you want to sleep out here. I said to her as I rinsed off my plate and downed the beer in two big gulps. I think Ill sleep in the guest room. Not to mention since Densil, his demon, and my moms demon have been dealt with, I think were safe for a while. Something like a calm before the storm. She gives me a hug and a small kiss on the cheek Do you mind if I use your shower? I took a deep breath and said No, go ahead. If you need something I'll be in the room over, working on some stuff. She nods and bouncily walks into the hallway, into the bathroom. Oh by the way, that room at the end of the hall is the guest room. I turn on my heel and walk towards my office, taking the steps two at a time, might as well go sit up there and just watch the paint dry, seriously it's been such a long week I don't even know where to begin with this sense of peace that heralds the oncoming storm. I turned on my actual desktop running Ubuntu 12.10 and loaded up my webcam application, I think I'm going to start keeping a video blog through the blog that I have running through a server under the desk. Once the application was loaded and I was staring at my face, I hit record. I started explaining the events of the last week, I think that should be enough for now. Tomorrow I think I'm going to come back with another entry. About ten minutes after I was done, I heard footsteps on the stairs coming towards the office. I looked up and saw Ariana standing there, she was wearing an over size tee shirt, her hair was a mess from tossing and turning in bed and she was rubbing sleep or the beginnings of sleep out of her eyes. "I couldn't sleep, do you mind if I keep you company?" she asks stifling a yawn with her fist. I smiled and shook my head "I lead a very boring personal life..." as I turned back to the computer, might as well check my email and see if anything has gone amiss with my contracting company. She yawned and then cracked her back, arching her back showing the delectable curves that she naturally has. "Damn..." I mutter very softfly under my breath. She scratches at her ribs just under her left breast and smiles "On the upside you've got a really comfortable bed in there." "Thanks." I turned my attention back to my emails and saw there was a message from my shop foreman, he was just filling in me on the doings of the last week, which was nothing new, business as usual although there was one small hitch, the business owner we're working on says that he'd like to personally see him; something to do with proposing an add-on to our initial plans. Which I'm half tempted to tell the foreman, Geoff, to handle, since he's been a good friend of mine since high school and happens to be the co-owner of the company, he sold his part to me so that if he when he finally succumbs to the blood mutations that he was diagnosed with in high school. I looked at the status bar at the top of the screen to see what time it is, currently its 1852 hours, which means Geoff is probably at his house right now. I grabbed my Droid from my pocket and dialed Geoff's number. He answered on the second ring, he guttural British accent, a Yorkshire accent if I remember correctly. "What's up Malcolm?" "I'm going to be busy for the foreseeable future. Do you think you could run things in my stead?"

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There was silence on the other end for a second. "Sure, I could do that for you. What else do you need done boss?" "Nothing else, well I mean you could also keep half of our usual price for jobs like what Mr. Graham has us working on right now. Just give me the other half." "So I'm getting your job until otherwise noted at half price?" "No, you're getting my job full price, but I'd like to have you pay whoever is directly under you half that number." Silence again and a soft chuckle. "Oh, I understand what you mean now." "Exactly." "Anything else my friend?" I scanned through the email he had sent me this morning. There was something about having to fire somebody, there was no further notation on that remark. "Yeah about this person that needs to be fired. What did they do?" I looked at Ariana and rolled my eyes, to which she responds by shrugging and mouthing "What?" silently at me. I hold up one finger and mouth "I'll explain in a moment." "Alright Geoff, sounds like you've got your work cut out for you. I'll be dropping in when and how I can." "Have a good night boss." "You too." Silence on the phone, he's hung up and now I'm stuck sitting here. "What was that about?" Ariana asked me curiously as I sat there and stared at my email account. "Just work stuff, I was a construction worker before all of this began." She looks around "Well from what I've seen of this house, you're doing pretty well." she chuckles nervously "I mean that's just my opinion of course." I smiled and then nodded "It's mine too..." She gets up and moves closer to me The Fates gave me flask with a potent tonic in it. They said it was for you if you want to drink it, and appear younger and at the prime of your youth for eternity you were welcome to drink it. I looked at her curiously Why would they give it to me? She smiles and reaches into her pocket for this flask. They're giving it to you because the Sumerian gods hit their godhood at 21 and stayed forever looking 21 should they choose. Why doesn't your dad look like he's 21 then? I figured that this was a smart question because he was apparently the head honcho of the Sumerians, and looks like he's in his late thirties maybe even early fourties.

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His choice. Now I'm going to stay forever 18 because youthfulness has it's usages. However you'll be able to choose, Dad stays 'old' because he's curious to see if through age he can circumvent death and ride on the curttails of one body for at least a century. She hands me the flask, it's clear liquid but it smells of cinamon and the desert's purest oasis. Now if you would drink up, there's somebody you're gonna be shocked to meet. She's been working with Dad for years, occasionally helps him provide a front to his Old World wealth from the past fourteen or fifteen thousand years. You're going to be shocked to meet her because she has been Dad's eyes and ears in tracking you down, and you know her. I took the flask and opened it, might as well drink I highly doubt that Jack would try to screw me over by giving me something poisonous; lets see where being slightly trusting of the ancient god gets me. I took it down in one shot and blacked out about ten seconds later. About three hours later when I finally woke up I was lying on the floor looking up at a young lady with slightly curly black hair and mocha colored skin, she was wearing a pair of dog tags that had the name Ike Lewis on them. Lewis... Holy shit! I jumped as I tried to sit up and express my surprise. What's Karinda doing here?! I sat up with her help and looked at her in shock. She giggles and says You look younger than I remember. I point groggily to the phial that Ariana had given me. While she reaches for the phial I help myself into one of the chairs at my kitchen table. What... I trailed off trying to find my voice What're you doing here? I asked still in surprise. Didn't Ariana explain to you what's going on? I tried to think back to what happened before I blacked out, strangely the only thing that I could remember was the conversation I had with her regarding Karinda. Sort of. I'm too confused right now to think about much of anything else. Well the short version is that I'm Kelly's girlfriend and the banker for The Empire, basically sitting on all of Jack's money which is a lot until I die or he makes me immortal, to make sure nothing happens to it. Well how're you working for my contracting company too? As our accountant? Does that really matter? I s'pose not, but still Ariana said something about you being Jack's eyes and ears when it came down to tracking me down... Shit did you hear about Alonzo? Karinda looks sad for a second Well not directly, but yeah I know what happened. Did you give that sick fuck whatever they deserved? I can't shake the thought of a p---... she stops talking and rushes over to the trash can, vomitting I guess from the thought of the brutality and gore that permeated the last time I would ever go into that apartment. I got up and helped her keep her hair out of the way. Yes, I gave the killer every ounce of justice that was due. Jack made everything go away, saying that Alonzo was going to get a Sumerian's burial. Whatever that means. She straightens up, reaching for a roll of paper towels to clean up. So where does this leave us? I asked her curiously.

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Well your first assignment is to execute a traitor to The Empire. Jack wants you at this address by six tonight. She hands me a business card with a name, Jennifer Roth and an address in Baltimore. Wait a minute Jack's last name is Roth as is Ariana. What the fuck? I muttered as I looked back to Karinda Could I talk to you outside for a moment? She nods and then follows me into the backyard Isn't this Ariana's mother? I mean if it's not then no big deal but if it is why don't we say something? Karinda pulls out a Vanilla Cheyenne from her pocket Well that is her mom, and those are the rules. You see Jack is trying to thin the herd of potential enemies, real and imagined. Part and parcel to being an ancient god who makes Caligula look like a bitch. Side note Caligula developed a god complex after meeting Jack in battle. Well that's interesting, but doesn't do me any good. What does is that Jack might be insane. So what happens when he decides I'm an enemy? He won't. I know that for certain. In all the long years that my family has worked with him, we've only seen his pantheon become suspect once. Which is why he recruited you this time around. Fresh blood for an ancient pantheon? Something like that. He says that he wants you to basically arrest this traitor and then teleport her and yourself to his realm. Once there you're going to assist him in whatever he's going to be doing. I nodded and then looked at my watch, it's 5:45 PM, fifteen minutes until go time. I headed into my bedroom shakily, whatever that flask did to me it's initial shock to my system hasn't worn off yet. Stepping into the room I notice that the man looking at me in mirror that used to be Charon's vanity mirror is not old and grizzled, as if he's seen enough shit to drive someone insane. Quite opposite, I look like I'm at the peak of my physical youth. Smooth face, corn rows, eyes that are gleaming with the intelligence of a youth who's on his personal rise. The lines from years of stress are gone, and I could pass off for a young college student really. Shit I'm even lighter of skin, more of a mocha color what the fuck? The flask not only made me younger but a little more Middle Eastern. Which is interesting but still quite strange; not enough to make me have some kind of personal crisis but still weird enough to give a moment's pause. I found myself sitting on my bed and found that I couldn't do anything but stare at my watch, it's now 5:50 PM, ten minutes until it's time to make an arrest and assist in what could be either the downfall of The Empire, or a securing of it's power. Either way I'm stuck in this until the end, who knows what way it's going to go? Suddenly I felt my cellphone go off, I took it out of my pocket and looked at it; there was a text message from Jack, it read Nevermind, she was brought in by Khul. I nodded and then replied back Alright, what should I do for now? I sat there on my bed watching the time regardless of what Jack had initially said. It's 5:53 PM. Either I'm still thinking about carrying

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on with something, or I'm just stuck in the rush of what was going to be happening. The reply came right after my glance drifted over the small time readout on the phone. Meet me in my Realm. I nodded and then willed myself there. I found myself standing in the middle of the desert with those same ancient buildings surrounding me, I was facing the statue of Apollymi The Destroyer and just not breathing maybe I'm awe of what's going on? Maybe the rush has knocked me into a state of that freeze that comes over some people. I don't know what I would freeze when every other time I was able to get moving and get things done. I shook my head and headed to the main temple, which was also the seat of Imperial power I walked with measured steps and an even rhythm breathing pattern going on. I stood on the top step and looked into the shadowy depths, waiting for something or anything to come out the whole scene makes me kind of nervous for some unknown reason but I think I'm going to just head in, completely disregarding the sense of foreboding that has come over me. I resumed my measured pace and then stopped when I was in the throne room Where the fuck is Jack? I muttered to myself and just there in the center of the room. After a few minutes later Jack's voice was in my head Move, we're going to be setting up shop right there. I stepped out of the way in surprise, running for the throne on it's podium. There was a flash of light and then there was a manacled figure cowering on the floor, Jack was standing off to the right facing the manacled figure. The figure was a female and she was trying to cower in her chains away from The Emperor. He leans down and forcefully jerks her up Get the fuck up cunt! he shouts in the figure's ear. The lady stands there and quakes as Jack stares at her angrily. Jack, I take it this is Jennifer? I said calmly, trying to diffuse the situation or at least get a handle on what's going on here. The Emperor looks at me, with the anger blazing in his eyes giving them an unholy light Yes this is Jennifer, and yes I mean to kill her. Do not tell Ariana, she doesn't need to know right now. He turns his attention now to the cowering woman. You've got a lot to answer for! he snaps his fingers and a crudely made cross appears behind him, with a mallet and several thick black iron nails and barbed wire not to mention there was also a set of wickedly sharp knives. There was also a thong with several fetuses attached, all linked together to form a grotesque crown with spikes every which way. I tried to repress the urge to vomit and paced from one side of the room to the other. Jack... What's my involvement in all of this? I found myself asking. I knew this was going to be some kind of torture, and I wasn't sure whether or not I was going to be party to it, but then something clicked in my head. Jack's my boss now, I'm a God in his pantheon he has a say in what I do. I took a deep breath When do we begin? I asked him in a surprisingly calm voice, which belies the fact that I might end up being sick to my stomach. We begin very soon. Today is the day that you're going to gain your name. he said cryptically what could he possibly mean by my name? I looked at the scene unfolding before me and saw that Jack was tying Jennifer to the

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cross and setting the crown of miniature or premature (at the least) fetuses on her head. Once he was done tying her to the tableau, he took two spoons that were caked over with brown crusty blood and jammed one in each of her eye sockets, the bowl of the spoon facing down. He took two bigger scoop objects and put them so that their outside curves were against each other I want you to see everything that I'm going to be doing to you. He shifts to his true form and bellows evilly at her as he gives a mighty pull and stretches out her lady bits to an extreme so great that they'll never reheal and shrink that inside muscle that expands and contracts is torn. Next he reaches for the mallet, slamming it titanically against her arms and legs. You've got many sins to atone for. he said through me as the Sumerian ran through my head. She was screaming, crying and begging for her life, she was pleading on Ariana's live that she would never try to do any harm to Jack or The Empire. The Emperor in all of his fearsome might reached his power into her mouth and pulled out her tongue, brutally tearing out the offending appendage Do not beg with something that you don't possess. Came the Sumerian in my mind, out of my mouth English for the despicable, cowering, woman. Jack raises his head in a roar and then throws the tongue out onto the temple's main stair case landing. Now I'm going to let my associate step forward, to avenge his dead brother. He won't be as nice as I have been. came the words that Jack was speaking through me, finally there a sense of alone-ness when he was away from my mind. I walked calmly towards the god and his victim. Keeping my face as passive as possible, I grabbed the biggest meat cleaver I could find and buried in the wood between her neck upper arm. She screamed and sobbed harder. I reached down and grabbed the smallest filet knife I could find, pulling off her pants and shirt no panties or bra, either she's a whore or she was legit trying to get laid I reached down between her legs, cutting off her vaginal lips and clit as much as I could get out. I took these gruesome trophies and shoved them in Jennifer's mouth. I next used this knife to remove her nipples and areola, she's going to suffer the same brutal, sadistic fate that my brother and Shannon had felt before they passed. Then I started to remove her toe nails, working along each toe with a slow and methodical pacing to this grisly task. Once I was done, I moved to remove each of her well kept finger nails. About five minutes later I stepped back and surveyed my work. She was bleeding everywhere and she was sobbing uncontrollably begging us for everything from mercy down to just killing her outright. There was nothing that we were going to grant her, except more pain and maybe even death if Jack's feeling that generous. I picked up a long slender knife now and then looked at Jack How much damage can we do before it kills her? As he stands there in his true form he just starts laughing manically Don't worry about death, in this realm she's alive as long as I permit. Such a high boast, but if he can hold himself to it then power to him. I jammed the knife in deep by her right hip and pulled it slowly across and pointing upwards to her left hip. The effect being or so I hope that it disembowels her. Sure enough that worked and her guts are spilling out and she's screaming at the amount of agony that she's already in; it's only going to get worse before the end, if there was to be an end in sight. Next I moved to skinning her starting at the toes and then working my way slowly around her leg and up to the bloody remains of her pussy. I stopped at her plump round ass and then moved over to her other leg, taking the skin off just as slowly. Taking my time and working

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slowly, partly to enjoy what I'm doing and partly to make sure that I don't fuck up. About ten minutes later I was done with the skinning of her legs. I stood back and again surveyed my work How does it look survey? I asked the god standing off to my side without looking at him. Perfect. Keep going, you deserve it. I reached down and grabbed the wickedest looking knife and cut off her breasts, tossing them off to the side. They landed near her tongue which Jack had brutally cut out. The next thing I did was to start skinning her arms, stopping about three inches short of her elbows. I was piling up all of the skin and flesh right here at the bottom of the cross, might have a use for it whenever we're running out of ideas. Once this was done, I jammed the knife into the middle of her breast bone and pulled visciously to the right and left to break that bone and open up a small crevice I stuck my hands in and pulled with everything I've got so that her chest cavity opened up. I could see her heart beating and her lungs inflate and deflate with every breath she was taking in agonizing gulps judging from the look of pain on her face. The next thing that I did was grab the knife that I had skinned her with and cut off her lips and nose. Once those two were completely removed, I took the spoons out her eyes and cleanly cut off her eye lids. I'm surprised you haven't started begging for your life yet. I heard Jack say in a surprised tone. She looked at him and screamed wordlessly, the lack of a tongue made it extremely hard to talk. I found myself smiling grimly and hefting that knife like I was ready to do more damage. I cut away some of the flesh from her left side and held it up to her wordlessly. She knew, I think, what was getting ready to happen. It's Sumerian custom or so Jack has told me for newly made Sumerian gods and goddesses to eat their first victim, probably why Jack has wanted me to do this. I looked to Jack, as I was still holding the flesh in front of Jennifer. Do it. he says with a dangerous edge in his voice Eat and be reborn as a Sumerian god. The edge in his voice was sharp enough to cut through steel like butter, and there was something else there too. It sounded like victory or triumph. I opened my mouth and started to devour the flesh still dripping blood and fresh from her body. As I chewed I watched the expression on Jennifer's face change from agony to some kind of agonized horror as I was eating her flesh. Mmm that was tasty. I couldn't help but say with a demented chuckle, a sinister one really seriously its kind of disturbing how easily this is all coming to me. I cut more flesh and continued eating, as Jack moves to stand next to me We'll let her body die after you consume the heart. Once the soul leaves the body however, I'll be taking that. I continued stripping flesh away and eating it, once I was done I reached into her chest and violently yanked out her heart. I held it up to her she was barely alive at this point For my brother. I spent the next two minutes eating her beating heart like it was an apple. I blacked out immediately after I finished the heart and woke up to find myself back in my bedroom, Karinda was standing next to the bed with Ariana. So I take that you finished what had to be done with Jack? Karinda asked with a smile on her face. Yeah I did, it was...

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Brutal... I said, my throat was extremely dry and I felt cripplingly thirsty. She smiles and leans down close Hun, he defined the word 'brutal'. I took a breath and then tried to stretch out I need something to drink too, I'm insanely thirsty. Ariana nodded and headed into the kitchen, I just laid there and looked at Karinda. So you really did spy on me, until Jack felt it was time to recruit me? I wouldn't say 'spy' but I certainly watched you and kept some tabs. she says with a little grin on her face. So you see what I'm getting at this, I'm typically the banker for The Empire. When you get paid, you come see me for your funds. Just like I was doing before all of this. In fact I can keep your account open and spare you all of the paper work and trouble... I nodded as Ariana came back in with some Redpop in a small glass. Here ya go man... she says with a pleasant smile. I take the soda and drink it down in a couple of gulps. I sat up and looked around the room How the Hell did I end up here though? I asked the two young ladies who were standing in the room with me. Well judging by the fact that you came in covered in blood, and raving about how easy to stomach human flesh is I'd say that you fed on whatever Jack was having you do. Karinda says in a bemused tone, while Ariana looked at this interaction curiously. Who did he feed on? she asked Karinda curiously as she watched us with an unreadable expression on her face. Karinda looked at Ariana and shook her head Hun, you know that you should take those kinds of matters up with your dad... Damnit, I'm old enough to know what goes on with The Empire, regardless of what the situation is. I was promised by The Maskim Xul complete transparency. The Maskim Xul have no authority to do that! Karinda said, it looked like this was an old argument and she was tired of having it. Yes they do! No! They don't have any authority where The Imperial Princess is concerned. With that Ariana scowled and walked away, heading into some other part of the house. There was a sound of surprise and then Ariana saying Oh hey Dad! Are you here to see Malcolm? Yeah where is he? Also what're you doing here? She started to explain but stopped short, because he could be heard saying something in Sumerian about the prophecy and that only comes into effect when she's 21; not 18 like she is now she must want some dick, it's the only reason I can think of her showing up and giving me the flask with the stuff from The Fates. Where's Malcolm then? He's in his bedroom, down the hall you can't miss the door. There was footsteps and then Jack was standing in the door, there was an angry light to his eyes Did you and Ariana do anything? Something told me that he would know the answer regardless what I was going to say; in other words he would smell a lie. No we haven't done

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anything, we won't until you're OK with it. He looked approving Good because if anything is done before she's 21, the entire prophecy goes to shit and I lose everything. The future of The Empire rides on the fulfilling of that prophecy. I tossed the blanket off of my legs and swung my feet to the floor. Did everything go according to plan? No, wait hold that thought... How did I end up back here? I remember eating and then blacking out... Your powers were unlocked like you've heard about and then they decided that you would be better off resting here. Unless you get a handle on them quickly, your powers might end up controlling you, and not the other way around. I took a deep breath and then said How do I learn how to use them then? Jack looked at me with some kind of unreadable glint in his eyes By working with me, I'll teach you everything that you need to know. The first lesson was unlocking your powers, next is working on some essence of control. Are we going to be training in your Realm? Yes, and so you don't appear to be stupid among The Imperial Army, The Realm is called Uruk... Alright, when do I meet you in Uruk? Tonight when you go to sleep. Also tell Karinda I've got some work for her. Alright I can do that. He flashed himself out of the house and off to wherever it is that he goes. Probably back to Kelly for all I know. I wandered around the house until I found Karinda and Ariana sitting out back on the porch talking and trading gossip with each other.

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Karinda listened to what Malcolm had to say and then ran her fingers through her moderately curly black hair. Shit I'm gonna need to talk to Jack... she mutters to herself, pulling out her cellphone and dialing the ancient Sumerian's number. She walked through the house to the front door and then stepped outside after slipping on her well traveled flip-flops. Jack answered on the third ring What's up K? he asked in a sort of distracted tone, she looked over her shoulder to make sure that nobody was coming outside. Well boss we need to talk. About what? The 'mission' that you have waiting for me. What exactly is it? Well you know how Ariana is there with you right now? Yeah... What of it? Well that's not Ariana... You see she's actually at her college already. She started last week. Who the fuck is it or what the fuck is it? A superb faker, a chameleon [author insert (sp?) not in dialogue] demon... What am I supposed to do about it boss? Well you can either shoot it in the face or behead it. Are you still carrying the gun that I got you a permit to carry concealed? Yeah and I've got a M4 which is still in working order... Which one is actually on you? My 1911 .45 ACP with a clip of H.P.s and a clip of FMJs in my pocket. Karinda took out the handgun and then waited to see what he would say, flicking off the safety with a lone finger, which returned back to it's initial position behind the trigger against the handle of the gun. Good. Make it quick. There never was any prophecy. No future but your own kind of thing? You mean like that one movie? Yeah. Exactly. Karinda hung up once she heard silence on the other end of the line. She slid the phone back into her pocket and assumed the position that would let her move and aim fluidly, a combat stance really from when she was in the army during The War. The first and last time that women were allowed to fight, coincidentally the same place where she met Jack in Meggido. She walked back into the house, carefully checking everywhere for the chameleon demon, looking to blow it's damn brains out. She never noticed that it was literally standing in front of her until it changed shape and stood there in front of her with a grotesque parody of her own body facing her. She retched but managed to get the gun up in time for a grazing shot along the side of the head. Running from the outter edge of the eye socket and to the back of the skull. The demon swung a clawed hand for her neck, she jumped back nimbly and then raised the gun again. Firing another round, this time removing most of the already shredded ear. Damnit... she muttered to herself, catching a grazing slice across the lovehandle (which she doesn't have, being slim and at the height of her young adult life) which ran down and across to

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her bellybutton. As she jumped back, she gritted her teeth and then brought the gun to bare again, firing off three shots in rapid succession. They were all solid hits the demon's head exploded into a mist of blood, skull and brain matter. Splattering all over the wall which forms the door frame leading into the kitchen. She slumps over about four feet from the body, tears of pain finally leaking out now that the threat's gone. Malcolm! she called out through the house, hoping that he didn't go back to sleep which would suck because she knows that he would be in Uruk and completely oblivious to her bleeding all over his foyer/entrance way. She sat there trying to keep the bleeding to a minimum while she waited and listened for Malcolm. Thankfully after another few minutes of shouting she heard footsteps and saw Malcolm coming towards her. What the Hell happened in here? What happened to Ariana? he asked in shock, as he surveyed her wound which judging from the looks of it would leave a neat but long scar along that side of her body. Let me see what I can about this... he mutters something in what smattering of Sumerian that he's picked up since he started working with Jack and then smiled when the body and all of the blood disappeared, the cuts were neatly cauterized and didn't sting anywhere near as much as Karinda thought that they would. She gingerly lifts up her shirt until it's just barely covering up her breasts and looks as best as she can at the still kind of aching wounds. Bitch got me kind of good... she muttered under her breath as she straightened back up and leaned against the wall, not bothering to fix her shirt there's nothing here that Malcolm hasn't seen before boobs, rain drop tattoos on her right breast over her heart, and delectably perky pink nipples. All set off by that constantly sought after hourglass shape. She tries to stand and manages to with some help from Malcolm, he helps her into the gues room What you thought was Ariana, was actually a demon sent here by Lu, the goal was probably to assassinate you. Invalidating any claims that Jack might have on the modern world. However since it failed, that stopped the power vacuum that could have happened if Jack had been pushed out of what power he has over things right now. she explains as she grits her teeth, letting the pain subside. Malcolm looked at her with concern Firstly since you're dealing with an andrenaline rush, is there anything else that hurts and needs patching up? Karinda shakes her head Aside from thinking that a nice long shower would help get the blood off? Not really... Would you like me to help you get to the bathroom? Karinda chuckles in spite of the pain I wouldn't mind that... she says, concluding under her breath that she thought chivalry was dead. He helps her stand, slinging her arm carefully over his shoulder. He started leading her towards the bathroom I'm sure you're not planning on spending the day naked are you? he asked her with an amused half smile on his face. Psh you wish... she says giving him as good of a smile as she can manage right now. Is this still supposed to be hurting? He looked down at the scar tissue I think so, because its still healing under the scars, working inwards until it's completely healed.

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I'm just going to need some clothes you know. Do you have any in your car, or should we should we teleport to your house so that you can get some? We can do that, since its something that I've never actually done.

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I looked at Karinda and asked her Are you sure that you want to do this? She gave me the best smile she could manage Sure. Let's do this... she wraps herself tightly against me. She must be nervous that she's going to end up in one place and I'm going to end up in another... I thought to myself with a smile on my face. Oh there is one other thing... I need you to visualize your house in your mind... That's going to make it super easy, instead of trying to guess... She closed her eyes and started concentrating, I decided that now would be as good a time as any to make the teleportation. Just like that, barely a few seconds later we were standing in her living room. See there was nothing to it... I said with a laugh. She stepped away from me and collapsed on the couch. Damn that felt weird... She rubs her arms I feel like I was just microwaved, cold inside but burning up inside... This causes a giggle between us, as she was referencing a remark made in the movie Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. I don't notice a thing... Must be just with... I went silent for a moment, looking for a good word. Humans... she says with a giggle, I nodded sheepishly. Don't worry, even though you're a member of Jack's pantheon never lose your humanity. He did as the legend - that's kept among my family and the few associates that have been around him since the beginning said... Well he wasn't born human, so how could he lose something that he never really had? Good point, but it's just allegory that you could lose touch and become distanced. I nodded and then stood there in silence, helping her back up Where am I taking you? she points behind her and to the left Into my bedroom. We walked there in silence, I left her leaning against her door frame. I'll be in the living room if you need something... I said as I turned to start walking back into the other room. Ok, there's a couple of beers in the fridge if you want one. I stopped in the kitchen as I heard the door shut and opened the door. Sure enough there was a couple of bottles of Corona and some Mike's Hard Lemonade, which has always been rather bland to me. I took a beer from the shelf and then opened it, nudging the door shut with my hip, tossing the beer cap in the trash as I walked back into the living room. I sat down on the couch and sipped the beer. I can't believe Alonzo is gone, I never even got the chance to get to know him. I took another long sip from the beer and sat there wondering what the future could hold for me. Until I saw Alonzo sitting there next to me in all white, he's dead though! What is this? Is my mind trying to cope with his death? First off don't worry bro, I'm in Paradise. I'm with our mom... We're safe and taken care of... he said as if he was perfectly at peace with everything. Alonzo... What the --- I trailed off into silence as I stared at the apparition in surprise. Mom sends her regards, she wishes that she could be there right now... a brief look of sadness comes over his face, but it's gone really quick. Damn dude you look young... he says to me in a mild surprise. Yeah it was a tonic that was given to me.

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My thoughts blacken, if that tonic wasn't really from The Fates, then what's it going to do me? Don't worry, it was really from them. Lu was the one tricked into thinking that it was a poison. It's poisonous to humans and anything that isn't Sumerian though... I looked at him in surprise, is he really reading my mind? Dude, I wish I could have gotten to know you better, and the same for Mom... I know. Mom says that she'll have a word with Jack to see if she can show up as a Shade the next time you're in Jack's Realm. Look I've gotta go now. We love you brother. He embraces me in a brotherly hug and is gone just as quickly as he was here. There were footsteps in Karinda's bedroom, and then movement in the narrow hallway that bridges her room the rest of the house. You ok in there? she asks me curiously. I took a swig of the beer and then replied that everything was fine. She comes into the living room wrapped up in a towel, her hair was still damp and straight until it's tips where it was curled up slightly. After I get changed, we can go back to your place unless you want to stay here. There was a mischevious grin on her face. What's she getting at here? I smiled Well I think a change of scenery might do some good, but then I've gotta be concerned about Lu... Don't worry... This house from the outside is a mirage, we're in Jack's Realm while behind those doors. she says pointing at the front door with a smile on her face. Finally a chance to relax and unwind before getting back into the world? Yeah something like that if you want to stay here long enough to do so. I think I do, I mean there's just so much going on and the last week, nine days whatever, has been extremely wild and totally uncontrollable. She sits down next to me, completely disregarding the fact that she's wearing an oversized robe. So you just need someone to talk to? For the moment, yeah because everything has just been so... Insane? Pretty much. I mean first my wife was caught red handed cheating with me, and then I set fire to all of her belongings during that bonfire I have a conversation with the fucking devil! From there I go to the court and murder my wife; not only sparking my involvement in this conflict but finding out that I have a brother who has literally lived all of his recent years just outside of my neighborhood. Not to mention that Henrik and you have been more or less spying on me I use that term because I can't think of anything else with the intent of probably dragging me into this conflict. A few days later, I have sex with a married chick it was fun but not worth persuing any further. Then I meet a demon who apparently was the source of the power that Lucifer had given us. He was spying on Alonzo and I through these two chicks that Alonzo thought I'd enjoy having sex with. That didn't end well, it ended with Alonzo and I

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killing that demon. There was also Alonzo and his girlfriend's brutal deaths just the other night. Overall I think I could use a break right about now. There was silence between us as I sipped the beer and noticed that it was now empty. I sat the bottle down on her coffee table and stayed there with my elbows on my knees, looking down at her nice soft smooth off white carpet. She moved a little closer to me and then rested her head on my shoulder, everything was still quiet, except for the rustling of the towel as she moved closer and wrapped herself around me, she's quite warm. I'd say inviting but after years of being used I don't think that I'd blindly say that she's inviting with this. Maybe she's got her own ulterior motives, maybe she doesn't. Everybody's in this game for themselves. I think there is something that could help calm you down if you want to give it a shot. she says as she drops the towel and climbs into my lap. I ran my tongue along the inside of my lips and eyed her up and down, checking her out and appreciating what she has to work with. She pressed herself against me and nibbled on my earlobe, teasing it's edges with her tongue doing this slowly, as if she was sure that I was going to bolt at any moment for whatever reason. Instead I let my hands roam around freely, up and down her back along her sides and hips. I finally let them tangle up in her hair as she kisses me passionately, her hands gripping the sides of my face and running along my head which was nothing more than two weeks of growth, still kind of long bristles at this point. The feeling of her hands running across my scalp, dancing around made me shiver as I sat there and nibbled at her lower lip. She made a sound low in her throat and dropped a hand to get me free of my pants as quickly as she could. I decided that I might as drop a hand myself to do what I could for her, until she deemed it time to get on top of me.

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Meanwhile on another plane of existence, we find ourselves in a rich, lush and very vibrant city that seems mostly composed of airy views and lush gardens. We are standing just behind and to the right of the only dark spot, a rather large figure, who is marching grimly towards the biggest structure here which is about a football's field distance away. The figure we soon realize is Jack, The Tigris Emperor and he's determined to make a point with whatever he's doing right now. He is beyond angry, we can this much but we can't tell what exactly is going on under that goat skull face we just ocassionally (sp?) see faint blood red embers in those eye sockets. An old quote, half remembered comes back to us ... is (sic) to know Madness. or something to that effect. The Emperor does not snap or lash out at any of the beings and dieties that pass him as he continues this march. He doesn't even register them as being there, he just keeps walking. What could have him so ticked off that he's here in the one form that was forbidden to him among these creatures? We don't know, and that's why we're following him. He comes to a marvelous white marble gate which rings this impressive marble structure a temple like The Pantheon on Earth we notice at about the same The Emperor does. A man dressed in Spartan armor complete with the flowing red cape and full faced horse mane helmet extends his right hand to The Emperor which is really not a smart move if you're looking to remain alive stopping him is almost always a death sentence. I'm sorry My Lord, you can't pass. Your comrades don't want you in there right now. They're discussing how to break the news to The Sumerian about The Muse. She's been murdered. The Emperor drew his bastard sword and shouted a vengeful Sumerian war cry, this thing is lying and he'd have it's head for the trouble. Just as that hideous war cry left the skull a figure in black armor that even The Emperor could appreciate, with closely shaved black hair and a beard leaning a little to grey stepped out. The old warrior looked at The Emperor brandishing that bastard sword and smiled a warrior's smile that was full of the determination to win and the knowledge that death is inevitable. Greymarch you can put that beast away. You don't need it. Right before he did, he beheaded the Spartan warrior who had stopped him and had the nerve to think he was Hades, The God of The Underworld. The god standng in front of The Emperor, barring his path, gave the dark god a half smile before making some remark about that particular Spartan being his top warrior apparently that was Leonidas, of The 300. The Emperor dismissively waved a heavily armored hand solid steel plate and some kind of arcane black and deep red metal and turned his dark gaze back to the other god. We can't let you in there right now. the god tries to be consoling but fails because it's not in his nature as a god of war. Greymarch, The Emperor, snarls and shoves past The God of War. He steps into the vast meeting hall where The Olympians were holding a meeting regarding the current events. He stood there and listened to the proceedings, basically it regarded Zues reporting to the other gods that were gathered here Thalia Greymarch, The Muse of Comedy, has been murdered. We don't know by who or what but we have to contain The Emperor and keep him from opening up old wounds from our ages long and recently settled conflict. The Emperor teleports himself to his podium directly across from Zues, on said King's tier over looking everything else around them in the meeting hall. When he spoke, it was enough

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to make even the most hardened nerves quiver. Zues! What in the name of The Empire is going on here?! The voice was obviously disembodied but certainly in Sumerian a langauge they all could understand but loathed as much say The Jews loathed hearing German during World War II. Zues turned his gaze to his dark equal, or it could be argued superior and took a deep breath to steady himself. Havires, Thalia has been killed she's dead. She was killed with a poison that's strong enough to kill Chaos Agents, or one of The Watchers as they are some times known. The Emperor looked at each of the gods and goddesses, scanning them for any indication that they had something to do with it. He caught an impression from two of Zues's daughters and his eldest son three people he's had actual dealing with back on Earth. The eldest daughter was his squeeze before he met Kelly, he scowled and shouted fiercely at her in her own langauge You! The three stood up quickly and made a move to run, they were found out. Zues! These were the ones who led the attempt, I had to read their minds but it's them. Zues concentrated on each of them in turn and then nodded his head. Do what you please with them Sumerian he started However I would recommend that you have Lorenz pass judgement on them first. It was in that moment we see the first sign of feelings in Havires Greymarch, The Supreme God-Emperor of The Tigris River Valley. The feelings he felt were grief, anger, sorrow and loss. Those three traitors would never again see the light of day they had a lot that they needed to atone for and it's not going to be fun for them. Lord Havires might however end up taking a Sumerian's glee in butchering them. Havires shifts into his human form, which was garbed in black robes with red Sumerian glyphs and workings tooled into it. He lifts the deep cowl and solemnly walks back to the quarters he was sharing with Thalia when she was alive. This is the time for a funeral and then preparations to launch the biggest torture spree since he was captured by the Olympian personification of Justice. Lord Havires Greymarch smiles grimly as he finds these three already in those quarters hog tied from the ceiling. He shifts back into his true form and summons Lorenz from his dealings with whatever chick he was trying to fuck at the moment. The son of Ares stands there with a scowl on his face What could they possibly want with me now? Lonrenz mutters sardonically to himself. Havires Greymarch, The Emperor of The Tigris manifests a sheet of thick parchment with the names and all of the pertinent information regarding those three kinslayers that he's been tasked with taking care of in anyway he deems fit. Zues wants you to pass judgement really quick on these three and then let me at then. They killed Thalia. That's all it took, and Lorenz was certainly pissed enough to make even Havires step back incline his head a sign of mutual respect between two brutal killers.

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Six months later... I sat up where I ended up falling asleep on my couch and tried to think past the massive headache I had thumping through my head I think I was drinking last night, I mean that would explain the liqour bottles on the table here, but then where's Kari? Isn't she supposed to be around somewhere? I reached into my pocket and thankfully found my cell phone might as well give her a call and see what she has to say. As I sat there staring at the phone I decided to instead text her, since my throat feels as though I had been eating sand paper for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I walked shakily through the house, trying to check all of the major rooms to see if she was there. I headed first into the back hallway where the guest room and attached bathroom are she might be in either of those. Once I saw nothing I muttered as best I can No joy... and headed for the kitchen might as well see if she's there. I padded my way there slowly wishly that I had a pair of sunglasses. I didn't feel like using the power to manifest some either, it's just one of those days. We all have them, but all the same might as well just go with the flow. This was the same moment that I noticed someone sitting there on the couch. This man was sitting there wearing a white suit and a white fedora. His eyes were black pits and he was barefoot as if he never wore shoes or anything else. He looked up at me and smiled, he looked like he belonged in an upscale club somewhere like New York. Surprised to see me? It was Lu, he's finally decided to make an appearance after six months. What do you want? I asked him in a dangerously calm tone. Oh nothing really... I thought it would be prudant to inform you that your little squeeze is a spy she's been sent to infiltrate this cataclysmic shadow world that operates right under the normal world's 'nose'. Who's she spying for? You? I'm almost insulted that you would think it's me. Sorry but it's not. For some undeterminable reason there was and always has been a Swedish accent flitting through his voice, it's not very hard to make the leap to Russian. Then who's handling her? Now if I told you that it would spoil all of the fun. Why don't we ask her together? What could he want by showing up here and now wanting to help question Karinda? I don't see how you could be of use to me in this process. I said in that same deadly tone. Well she's been spying on me too, I'd like answers just as much as you would. Not to mention that she's already killed my son, and that whore-son up above. he sneered this last part derisively. So she's helped The Empire indirectly... Good to know... I sneered back at The Devil, the Prince of Hell oh he has so many names these days. Lu sat forward resting his elbows on his knees, taking care not to wrinkle or decrease the sharpness of that suit which he's wearing.

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Ah would that I could tell you so... Actually she's killed Jack's soulmate, with the help of three little pests that are unfortunately enough to call his father in law 'Daddy'. She also might or might not be going after the one whom is called The Great Destroyer, and she's greatly feared. Sounds like Lu is trying to pool together ideas and information, since he would have me believe that she's the mutual enemy one little mortal, nothing more and probably nothing less. I'm not going to underestimate or assume, so I might ask him about some form of verification on this and see what he says. How can you prove these things you're saying? Simply by producing the distinctive skull of Mammon and the chance to use a phone. So that I can get in contact with Havires Greymarch, The Emperor of The Tigris. Jack as you know him and as we've been talking about him. Why can't you use whatever means are usually at your disposal? We're not in Hell now are we? I shrugged The Devil had a good point and I wasn't about to say Let's go to Hell then. that would have possibly given him an edge that I didn't want him to have. I reached into my pocket and brought up the contacts at the top (ordered by most contacted) was Karinda and Jack. I clicked on Jack's name and said Click 'Dial' when you're ready. He took the phone with his right hand and clicked Dial, manifesting Mammon's skull in his left hand, which he held out to me with the air of someone who was providing the proof that their life was riding on. I looked at the skull and noticed the three sixes all touching at the very bottom, they were arranged so that there was one at '12:00', one more at '4:00' and one final one at about '7:00' on the clock face. One of the alleged Marks of The Beast this one is probably only limited to the higher echelon of Hell, but since I'm no longer affliated to Hell I don't see why it would concern me. I noticed there was a scar under the right eye socket that runs all the way down where the upper lip would have been. After a moment or two more of silence as I inspected the skull, Lucifer turned off the phone and handed it to me. Your boss will be here in about an hour, he's busy working with these three people that I mentioned earlier. For now, I propose a truce between Hell and The Empire. Is that too much to ask? I can't really say one way or the other, so its worth talking to Jack about. However as a man who is or was being hunted by your kind I felt my upper lip twitch as if I was about to snarl at him like an animal. Lu was watching me with a blank face, he was waiting to see if I had something to say about this. I personally accept a truce, but as far as The Empire is concerned you should talk to Jack. What about the fact that we're at war, you and me? I wouldn't call it war, but again since I inadvertently dragged The Empire into that, you should take it up with Jack. You seem to be pawning a lot of things off on The Emperor... Well I dragged him into war, and so he should be the one to settle... I'm not going to stop hunting you. You know that right? I figured as much, since I basically went renegade on you...

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So you're acknowledging this? I might as well. What do you propose we do then? I stood there and looked at The Devil with half hooded eyes, wondering what exactly we could do. I took a deep breath and sat down on the coffee table, my knees were almost touching Lu's we were about eight inches apart. I dropped my voice low and said We should wait for Jack. I heard the front door open and used the power to poke into the mind the of the recent person to pass through that door. It was Karinda I could see through her eyes that she was looking around at that part of the house for me. Hey babe I'm back! she calls into the house. I took a silent breath and looked into the eyes of The Devil What do you propose we do? I mouthed silently at him as we sat there. She was moving off towards our bedroom which was opposite of where we are. She won't have to see into this room unless she comes anywhere near the kitchen. I think we should question her. Lu mouthed back as I silently stood up and crept into the kitchen. I looked back at Lu and mouthed Turn yourself invisible or something. The Devil shook his head and added a bit more of his Swedish why Swedish by the way? - accent into his voice How's business goin' Malcolm? he says as I stand there in the kitchen. Kari comes in and smiles, giving me a big hug Who's that in the living room sweetie? she whispered into my ear. I pulled back a little bit and said Oh! Nikolas Kasavaar, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend Kari Lewis. I said stepping away from her so The Devil could get a good look at her. Oh and to answer your question Nikolas, business is goin' good. Hoping that your company can come through on the recent contract... Kari looked at him curiously and then looked at me Sounds like you boys have business to discuss... she reaches into a drawer and grabs a spoon I'm goin' to be watching TV in the room while you boys talk. she turns to the fridge and opens it up, grabbing the Tupperware container full of rice piilaf and brocoli. I think we should be able to come through on that contract. When? As soon as possible. I kissed Kari and then turned to face Lu calmly, keeping this conversation flowing. Well the boys at the shop wouldn't mind. I know, that's why I came by so that we could get to work on finalizing that deal. She was off into the bedroom I could tell this much just from using this new probe like aspect of the power. From just listening it sounded like she was also face deep in that show she's been a die hard fan of. You know the one, something about history being a big frakkin' loop. A few minutes later Lu and I were outside in the drive way, opting to step outside to get away from Kari, just in case what Lu was saying is true.

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Alright lets drop all the pretense and what ifs. Can you prove that she's a spy? I asked quite pointedly. Might as well get this conversation on the way and see if he's got a point or is just bullshitting me... I thought to myself as a frown played across my face. Fair enough and I would think that the death of my son would be enough. The Devil said with just as much of a scowl on his face he clearly wasn't liking the turn of events and tone in this conversation. I took a deep breath For all I know, you could have butchered him yourself and brought the skull here to 'try' and sway me. After all you can't do anything more than influence and bestow gifts and tricks. Watch it Malcolm, you forget that I was the one who allowed to you to enter this 'underworld' as you put it. I shrugged dismissively since I was part of what Simon's The Necronomicon called The Zoneii the human name for Jack's pantheon. Fine. Lets say for argument's sake that he was in fact killed by Kari first question. How the fuck is that even remotely possible? at this point I decided that I needed a cigarette fuck going outside to smoke it. I materialized a pack of Newports in my hand and opened them up, taking one out as I realized a bit absently that I needed a lighter as well. Some how Lu was a step ahead and his fingers, causing his pointer/index finger to do the Johnny Blaze thumb thing where a small gout of flame is just hanging out. I lean forward and light the cigarette when he extends his hand to me. To answer your question, she's got help or she's seriously stronger than we thought and obviously not human. I take a long drag and fill my lungs up with smoke, holding it in for a second to think about what he could be implying here in regards to Kari. As I let out the plume of mentholated smoke I said Wouldn't that go against whoever's handling her though? No. Not in the least. Care to explain how? She's working for an organization that's been around since the era which that show Xena's set in... They basically hunt down and capture supernatural beings and experiment on them trying to harness that power for their own usage and their own ends. Again, if she's not human why is she working for this organization? Are you stupid? They figured that she's ideal for the job since her family has been working for Jack in some form or another since her ancestors left the Tigris River Valley. Also I never said one way or the other. However since she killed my only son, I'm willing to bet that she's in fact something more than a human. Given that she could enter and exit Hell at her leisure, I'd go as far as saying that she's a demon. However this would be a bit far fetched because gods and demons are the top goal for that organization. Dude, what the fuck ever, I mean is there any real reason for me to stick around and listen to conjecture? I was growing steadily impatient with Lu, a creature whom I would have at one time feared retaliation from. I noticed the cigarette was an ember and the filter was on fire, so I dropped it into the small cup of coffee that I think I left here this morning. No, that's beauty of free will, you don't have to do anything. I'm just rambling and trying to think... I propose that we get her now... Having said that Lucifer stands up and comes to stand next to me Its going to be a fight more than likely, and we can bring her to a neutral ground of Jack's choosing since she's an unbiased offender.

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I let the ebb and flow of the power that Lu was surrounding himself with wash over me, it felt good warm but finely focused, precise he knows what he wants. I let my own power join it, finding that Lu shuddered slightly Your power seems different. he says with a hesitant voice. He's unsure about something What do you mean? He stops short as we had started walking, the current of power carrying us to Karinda. You're a Zoneii now aren't you? I turned my back and kept walking, The Devil didn't deserve an answer I've got other plans in mind for him. The Devil sped up his pace to stay even with me, so that we can get to work with Kari. A few seconds later we're standing in front of my bedroom door. I extended a small tendril of power into the room and found that she was still sitting there watching that TV show I mentioned earlier, she's oblivious to what's about to happen. Good... I mutter under my breath taking a moment to bulk up the already high level of power that was so thick you could cut it with a knife. I looked at Lu and he nodded knowingly. I opened the door gently and stepped inside, the power was suffocating. Kari, your game is up. We know what you are and what you're doing. I said quite coldly, she's not going to worm her way out of this. She just turned and looked at us in what most people would consider shock What? What're you talkin' about hun? I manifested a wickedly sharp Bowie into my right hand and used some of the power to root her to the spot. Treason. You're going to be brought back to The Empire for judgement and summary execution. I pushed the tip of the knife against the spot where her neck meets her collarbone. She reaches into her pocket or tries to, if Lu hadn't stopped her with a sudden shove, knocking her into the bed. She looked surprised I don't understand what you want! she shrieks. I could feel my face harden, a scowl creasing my face Yes. You. Do. I enanuciated each word slowly. Lu looked at me Why is she being taken back to The Empire? I punched her in the temple and teleported her to Uruk as it exists in what The Zoneii Jack's pantheon call The Outside. I didn't answer him and chose to teleport myself out of the house. I just need to take a walk and clear my head. Shit... Today I found out that my long term girlfriend was, in fact, a spy for something called The SRU The Supernatural Research Unit who are I guess to make a comparision to Dr. Who, something like Torchwood... About a minute later I found myself standing in front of a rundown, and most likely abandoned red brick store front by the municipal center, where something or somebody was peering out at me with what seemed like a great deal of interest. I stood there facing that pair of gleaming eyes and extended some of the power, to see if I could tell what this creature is or might be. I walked over to the door, which was about twenty feet away and noticed now that the eyes were following me intently. I stopped in front of the door with a bubble of the power surrounding me and checked my left and right to make sure that nobody was walking down the street or coming towards me. There was mild traffic, such is the norm for this time of day post lunch rush for this area. I pushed open the door and walked in slowly trying to find those eyes in the gloom. There was silence and everything was utterly still. It was as silent and unmoving as the grave

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here, those eyes were now about ten feet away from me facing me head on. There was no fear, in fact it was hard to read anything from those unnaturally glowing eyes. The owner of those eyes was breathing in hoarse rasps and now shuffling around in a circle never taking its eyes off this new presence me in the building. I took a deep and said in a calm, but as soft of a voice as I can manage What are you? suddenly the shuffling stopped, just as soon as it began. The thing looked at me with obvious interest So you're the one The Emperor is grooming for his pantheon... The first of the eight, to become his eyes, voice and ears in the mortal world... the thing was speaking in retching gasps, as if the words were hard to form in its mouth which might be distended and filled with teeth, like most other demons or beings like demons... I'm going to ask you once more. What are you? What am I? This isn't important right now. What is important is your life. I brought you here to this darkness. I scanned the darkened interior of the building and shrugged This is nothing more than an abandoned shop, what importance could it possibly have? Asking about things that aren't important... it said, as if it was speaking to other things, things which I couldn't hear or detect. Maybe it's insane and talking to itself maybe babbling for all I know. The Kingu is curious... it muttered once more to itself, keeping to the darkest corners or patches of the darkness. I've been sent here to carry a message Kingu... A very important message... Something has come to pass which will most likely annihilate world... The great Apophis deems it so... I stood there in silence, watching those eyes with a blank face but sincere curiousity behind my eyes, best to keep up some kind of poker face so that this thing doesn't pick up on my thoughts. Why is this thing calling me Kingu? I know its a Sumerian word but what does it mean? What event came to pass that could result in Doomsday and why does your 'Apophis' deem it so? I'm surprised that you didn't know what caused it... It was the murder of your woman. She was never my 'woman' I thought she was but she wasn't once I realized what was going on. You're drifting from the point Kingu. It was that very moment which started a chain of events culminating with the utter destruction of Existence. How do you figure that? She was Apophis's woman, until you killed her. So he wants nothing more than revenge? The creature made a horrid sound that an insane man would have pegged for laughter. You short sighted bastard, her death gave him reason to mobilize his armies. In the last conflict he had with The Emperor, The Chaos Agents made them both choose one mortal to end their conflicts in think of them like killswitches. Should one of these people die, the other side can launch an attack. In short your ignorance provoked war... I crossed my arms over my chest and stood there for a moment Really? I took a deep breath and let it out steadily. Yes Kingu, you have chosen your side. came the reply from the

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creature who was still smiling or leering I couldn't tell which maybe it was both. I had a few other questions for this thing and I wondered if it would stick around to listen to me. What side do you think that is? I replied back in the same mocking tone that it had taken on with me. The creature seemed to make that horrible laughing sound again The winning side, I'm surprised you didn't recognize me Kingu... This thing keeps calling me Kingu - whatever the hell that is... Well what are you then? I asked it curiously might as well figure this out now and get it out of the way. The thing moved forward as silent as death I am Maskim B'Ghul, The Eater of Children scourge of the newborne babe... In fact I hear that they did a movie on me... Funny... When the thing stepped into the light I noticed that it did indeed look like the creature from that movie but not quite seeing it in the flesh was a far step from seeing a movie's SFX monster creator's take. B'Ghul stood at roughly 6'3 and was fairly skinny, lanky really and had shoulder length greasy black hair. It's mouth was a black pit and it's teeth were razor sharp but not obvious I bet that it passes for human when it closes it's eyes I couldn't help but to shudder at that thought alone in regards to the amount of children that legend tells it consumed. Well if you're a Maskim, what does the term Maskim Xul mean? I asked curiously looking it dead in the eye might as well keep eye contact since I'm apparently a Kingu still don't understand what or who that is. Does that really matter in the grand scheme of things? How is that relevant to you? B'Ghuul is really turning out to be quite the asshole... I thought to myself with an inward sigh. Fine. What exactly is a Kingu? Better yet, why do you keep calling me that? I kept an eye on this creature, like most of the generally accepted mythology it's probably deserving of constant surveillance. Kingu is your rank, an honorific really... Look I don't really have time to sit around and mentor you in things that you already know... I will say this, you're in danger. You might want to watch your back from here on in... Having said that rather ominously B'Ghuul disappeared back into the shadows.

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The mastermind of the murder, Lord Greymarch's second wife long since divorced tried to maintain some sense of dignity as she remained strapped to the chair which was forcing her legs apart. He found that if he inserted two inverted scoops inside of her and stretched that shr was inexorably stretched and torn, she kept a look of grim determination on her face the whole time he did this and he was mildly surprised that she could the others all broke down once the tearing and ripping started. He made sure that her torture her being this bitch in front of him this disgrace to both his name and her Olympian family -was especially gruesome. First he broke her mind, which proved to be quite enjoyable and now he's going to break her body. He turned the crank some more, further damaging the muscle and flesh of her most tender of places. She looked at him with a glare of such intent hate that he almost smiled and said something about it. What do you stand to gain from this?! she shrieked at him as the cranks turned and the gears worked. He ignored her and kept going with the turning for a few more agonizing minutes, before grabbing a small wickedly sharp knife from the small work table he had set up in the corner. Satisfaction. came his calm and rather disconnected reply, as if he was more attentive to his gruesome work than talking to her something that he's found can be quite tedious as he deems her chattering and inane babbling to be nothing more than static in the background of his work. He looked at her and grinned maliciously as he turned the crank up another notch, leaving the whole apparatus about half open which was is the highest he's gone with out having to work any of his dark magic to keep her from escaping through dying that would be a mercy he won't grant her at any stretch of the word. Greymarch hefted the knife and looked at her hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room. I'm going to need information now that only your flesh can give me. The look of fear that was plastered on her face was so great that he smiled and summoned an artistic sprite to paint a picture of her hanging there before he commenced his gruesome masterpiece a kind of sadistic before and after piece.

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I was still standing there in the middle of the room where I met and talked to Maskim B'Ghuul, I need to have a word with Jack so that he can explain to me what exactly comes with this title that demon kept using. Hopefully he can shed some light on it before I end up blundering into something that I don't understand or worse, something that ultimately triggers an explosion. I teleported myself to Jack's apartment in Pittsburgh, on Neville Island and headed inside, making for the steps that would take my up to his apartment. As I stood there on the landing I heard voices from inside his apartment, it sounded like there was a discussion about warfare or preparing for it. I knocked one time, solid and sure somebody opened the door, it looked like they were sitting on his couch which was against the same wall as the door. I stepped inside and slid the door shut behind me as I looked around the apartment. There were a lot of unfamiliar faces in here... There was a skinny, blonde and rather shaggy fellow sitting next to the TV in one of those video game chairs that you can buy from Wal-Mart and next to him on the floor was a chick who was obviously his sister. On the couch was Jack and some other dude with medium length black hair and a rather professional demeanor if he looked it, today wasn't one of those days. These people all went silent as I stood there, Jack looked up at me Hey Malcolm, I'd like you to meet he points to the guy next to him Terry Lawson. He points next to the brother and sister Rob and Cassie Paulson. I noddded respectively at them and then inclined my head to Terry. They are the other members of The Empire, well the Council of Ancients as they've taken to calling themselves these days. You're the newest member of this Council... I was just explaining the plans for war against Apophis and your role within The Council and on a bigger scale The Empire. I stood there and waited for the discussion to continue, there was still silence. Did I interrupt you guys? I asked curiously as the room remained silent I hadn't noticed the blonde woman standing in the kitchen in front of the fridge. She was looking at me with total surprise So you're Malcolm? there was a smile now on that face she looks like Ari, but she was blonde... Yeah... Ariana right? I asked still in a state of mild surprise. Yeah, Dad filled me in on what that thing was... She didn't hurt you did she? Now I was completely surprised No she didn't not a scratch. She did however accidentally expose a spy within The Empire though... I started to say before I got a sharp look from Jack. There was a growl of Sumerian in my head - She doesn't know about Karinda. I'll tell her later tonight. I sucked in a breath and nodded, when he does that it makes you have a slight throb in the temples kind of irritating, but when you're a god and basically reprimanding one of your underlings what else are you going to do? Well I do know that the prophecy and 'potion' for lack of a better wording were supposed to be from me... she said kind of distantly, she was staring off into space. I looked to Jack now and tried to psychically say She knows about that but doesn't know about what Karinda did or what she really is? I had to force myself to not facepalm over this since it seems there are some things that she does know and some things that she doesn't know like Karinda being a spy for this organization the Supernatural Research Unit - SRU for short - I might as well go with it and see where things end up. The thing that has me confused how am I able to look and feel like a twenty-something when I'm really going on thirty-three? Not complaining about it, but it's just a weird feeling to know that I'm going to forever appear twenty-something but in reality I'm not. Immortality if that's what this is is a helluva of

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thing. I was still standing there when Jack beckoned me to take a seat on a stool just outside of the kitchen might as well take a seat and see what is going on with this conversation. Alright to catch you up, an old enemy has resurfaced named Apophis he's the same thing as me, a god of chaos and insanity but 'evil' you see there are light gods and dark gods, classically speaking good and evil two sides of the same coin. One counteracts the other and if left to duke it out they cancel each other out. Within every light pantheon there's a dark god, conversely within every dark pantheon there's a light god. Well not really 'light' as in the classical good, but neutral for another lack of a good word god. Think Hades in the Olympian pantheon, Apollymi in ours. Jack explained as I took the seat he indicated for me. I guess what he's trying to say is that it's all a bunch of wibbly wobbly stuff maybe based on perception? I thought to myself as I noticed Ari checking me out. I could almost hear her say as she was thinking that hard Damn he's a fine lookin' dude... I had to clear my throat and shake my head. The first order of business is to figure out what Apophis's first move is going to be. Jack said to everyone as he looked around the room at each and every one of us. You see, if we don't figure that out, we're scrwed coz then he'll have the upper hand... He likes to hit people when they're not looking... Some would call this cowardice but it's always been his greatest strength. He wants you to think that he is a coward, so that when he strikes, you're never going to see it coming. However since I was at one point his greatest ally in the wars that ultimately made things the way they are I know how he fights and I know what he can and will do to fight. Jack took a deep breath and let that sink in for a moment. Terry chose that moment to speak up and I couldn't help but notice that he had a slight Cajun accent, it wasn't intense but you knew for sure he was a Cajun by it first time I've ever actually heard that twang outside of movies and what not. So who are we sending in on the suicide mission? I think he was trying to imply that somebody was going into this balls out and ready to die for The Empire. It was at that moment Rob decided to raise his hand I'd volunteer myself boss, but then again we'd have to assume that Apophis knows about every single one of us. he gives me a rather pointed stare is he trying to imply something here? If so what could that be? I don't know who we could use. You're right Rob he does know about every single one of us and we don't anything about his current situation. Terry, you could go ahead and uhm contact the Egyptians see if they know anything about they dirty little war criminal... Terry nodded and then bowed his head as if he was in prayer, after a few seconds sitting there like that he disappeared. Guess he teleported to a position that would allow him to carry out his mission. Rob and Cassie, you're going to report to The Chaos Agency and ask them for any more solid evidence regarding Apophis's movements here on Earth if there are any. They nodded and got up heading for the door, going back to wherever it is that they came from. Now finally Ari... The three of us need to talk... he says kind of distantly, as if this wasn't a conversation that he was looking to have right now. She comes into the living room and sits down on the couch next to her dad What's going on? she asked curiously sensing that her dad was about to tell her something that she probably didn't want to know or be made aware of. Karinda was a spy for the SRU... There was a conflict of emotions playing across her face.

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So she was responsible for killing Derrik? I noticed that tears were beginning to prick her eyes as sadness finally fell on her face like a load of bricks. Not directly but she certainly had a hand in it. I think she might have been the one who turned him over to B'Ghuul... So it was Mr. Boogie acting on the SRU's orders?! I think so, which means he has to be dealt with... I chose this moment to pipe up and interject that I had a conversation with Mr. Boogie as Jack called him. Well something that called itself B'Ghuul talked to me earlier today about my role in the grand scheme of things if he isa villian, how much of what he told me is worth listening to? It was at this moment that Jack looked at me with a raptor gaze What did he explain to you? Tell me exactly what it said. So I told him every single detail of that encounter, didn't leave any of the seemingly insane details either. Well that was certainly B'Ghuul and to answer the question you kept asking him, it's a title Kingu means King which means you're my second in command on the food chain. I nodded and kind of figured that it meant something along those lines. Why did he keep saying that I just started some kind of apocalyptic chain of events? I sighed and cracked my knuckles as Jack sat there and thought about that for a moment. Well it's true that Charon was Apophis's woman after a fashion but what remains to be seen was her standing in the grand line up. I stretched out my legs and sat there waiting to see what would come next. After a few minutes spent sitting there in silence there was a knock on the door. Ari walked over to the door and said loud enough to be heard Who is it? There was a shuffling sound and then a low pitched, gravelly voice It doesn't matter who I am. What matters is that you open up this door. Ari looked at her dad with concern, which caused Jack to get up and urge his daughter into his bedroom IN THE NAME OF THE FORSAKEN! OPEN UP THE DOOR! came a hoarse shout and then a heavy handed slam against the door, which made it rattle. Jack looked like he was going to brutally murder someone as he shouted something in the closest utterances of Sumerian to come out of a human throat. There was a roar or scream from the other side and then nothing at all. Jack peeked through the eye hole and still looked like he was going to murder something in a horrendous manner. Open up this door! By the will of The Forsaken I will get in there... came another hoarse utterance from that voice on the other side of the door. If you do not, you will have the full weight of The First Damned to deal with. Jack's face went blank for a second and then he started laughing almost manically, as if he was having a mental break down of some kind You mean to tell me that you're going to openly bring Apophis's weight down on The Empire? Go back to your master whelp and tell your 'master' he put a really sarcastic emphasis on master He has no power over me! The door rattled again and finally broke into a bunch of splinters and heavier chunks of

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wood and metal. Why would I do that when I'm here in my full power? a rather handsomely dressed Middle Eastern looking fellow said maliciously to The Emperor. I'm surprised that my servant had to actually bring me up here. I was fine waiting for you downstairs, on your poor excuse of a patio. The man was radiating an awful lot of negative energy and I don't mean the kind of horror that Jack wields with as much ease as he breathes. You were always a fool Apophis... Jack muttered as he stared down at the considerably shorter Middle Eastern looking fellow who is apparently Apophis. You don't need to have spies infiltrate my ranks Havires. I'm here to tell you that your bitch is suffering and I'm going to make you suffer more than she. Jack's anger spiked up into deathly heights and he actually manifested into the goat skulled and robed figure that is his true metaphysical form. There was a glowing dull red bastard sword in his right hand, the point of which was resting against the floor. Apophis The First Damned, you've made a mistake showing up here. You're going to pay for that in time. came a voice that was both uttered aloud and in our heads I could feel the typical and accompanying headache coming on. So are you declaring war on me? he asked in that evilly calm voice. Apophis cocked his head to the side and stroked his chin thoughtfully What if I am? he almost sounded cheerful which means he was counting on Jack to lose his temper, this isn't good. It looked like Jack took a deep breath and let it out slowly he repeated this a couple more times. Finally he spoke up again I'll see you on the field then... having said that we watched Apophis sneer and then vanish with out a trace. What the actual blue howling thunderfuck was that about? Ariana exclaimed from the kitchen, sounding just as ruffled as her father looked. Jack turned to his daughter with a cross look It was Apophis, he's decided to turn on me... he turned his gaze to me now From now on, you don't fucking kill anybody that I haven't already cleared. he was still cross but then since I'm the one who apparently ticked off this god I probably deserved to deal with this little outburst. For that, you're going to be on the front lines... he said pretty damned calmly given the situation he was probably turning that anger on me now. You mean when the fighting starts? I said in a blank calm, I accept this fate it's probably not the worst that he's ever done to someone. Yes. When the fighting starts. You're not going to puss out on me are you? he was still using that deadly calm tone. I took a deep breath and didn't bother trying to hide my thoughts he was a god after all, he could probably tell me everything that I already know about the current workload that I've got with Olympus Construction I don't want to push him there, so I decided to say No. You chose me and I'm going to make sure that my gains are in your name. For the honor of The Empire. You chose me as a top assassin and soldier, so I'm going to make sure that you're not disappointed. I don't want to know what you do those unfortunate sods... I've heard enough second hand rumors... Those are brave words Malcolm. Lets see if you can back them up and live up to the title Maskim Kingu Emissary of The Destroyer in case you were wondering. I nodded my head and awaited his next words if any were to be said. My first task for you is going to be

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mobilizing the troops. Report to Uruk and tell the war council that we're going to war. Tell them to start planning for conquest. Report back to me when you're done. I'll have more work for you. Having said that he put his hand on my shoulder and teleported me back to my house in Virginia Beach. I found myself standing there in my kitchen feeling kind of disoriented and out of sorts. Well that was a rush, time to get to work on what he's told me to do. I shook my head and then focused on getting myself to Uruk. I concentrated on flashing myself to the desolate temple that we conducted our torture of Ariana's mom in figuring that to be his base of operations. I found myself standing the middle of a dusty pavillion in front of the desolate temple which now seemed to be a dark, forboding, grim, and desolate but not barren place, as if there was something inside which did not want me to be there. There was a group of those same eerie golden eyes peering out at me they looked like B'Ghuul's eyes, but couldn't be, could they? He was probably deemed a traitor and blasphemer in Jack's eyes funny how those two seem to be the same thing in Jack's eyes... Then again I suppose that you wouldn't live as long as he has with out some very rigid black and white world views... The eyes seemed closer, but staying well within the confines of the black pools of shadows deeper inside the temple. What brings you here Maskim Kingu? came a collective raspy cacophany of voices, the sound of which makes me think of flesh being rended from the very bones which too are being gnashed and crunched. It was an all together wet and well crunchy sound, not very pleasant since they probably dine on flesh and blood all together. I come on The Emeperor's orders. I have a messge for the war council... You can pass the message on to us, we'll see that they get them in our own time... came the reply with a challenging tone. No. I was told to report to the council and then deliver my message. Jack won't settle for anything else. At this point I had already figured these things to the guards or servants of that council these blasted creatures sure do love their hiarchies. As you wish, but you'll have to come inside... I had a wild thought flash through my head about Lovecraft's Necronomicon the very same book that Jack claimed once to have penned through The Mad Arab. The same book was bound in human skin and then destroyed in Alexandria during the razings, which was the original that he first wrote himself. I summoned up an Arra Star and hung it around my neck. Demons... You will let me pass... By the name of your emperor, I demand entry. The demons howled and started a ruckus after a few minutes of clamoring one of the great and terrible to behold generals came out, the sight of which is undescribable because of the amount of sheer primal terror that it invoked it oozed negativity and I could feel my mind shriveling or attempting to do so in fear. I took a deep breath and then focused on remaining on this spot until I could muster the will to face this creature. There was a bright flash, brighter than the light of the sun and then there was a Middle Eastern man standing in front of me with those same eerie eyes. You'll have to forgive them, they don't let many things close to us. Sometimes they're too damn protective. Don't worry Maskim Kingu, I'm not going to harm you.

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I take it then, that you're one of the generals? The demon inclined his head respectively to me, as if he was acknowledging some rank higher than him, probably Maskim Kingu maybe that makes me his commanding officer? Yes... I am Bu'tarn Loghar, I'm not technically a Sumerian demon one of the fabled creatures who fought against Tiamat and ushered in a golden age for the nation Sumer. If nobody has told you yet, I'm your second in command, you're the leader of the war council. Responsible for setting up plans and routines that The Imperial Army of Sumer will carry out on the field. I'm here to introduce you to the other generals and get you acclimated to our ways. I stood my ground and nodded In that case... I faltered looking for a respectful title to use when referring to this creature. You may call me Bu'tarn sir... It is I who has to be respectful to you. he says calmly, as if he was trying to make the best possible impression on his new boss, whom he's never met before. I've run into the same tone and manner when I'm seeing new hires into my company Olympus Builders. Well in that case Bu'tarn, lets head into the temple and meet the rest of the generals. Sir, the generals are in their respective domains right now this is mine, the desert because the oasis just past the sand dunes to the north east is The Emperor's non-physical domain, his main area being wherever his 'mortal' body is at that moment. He follows the flesh and I don't understand why, come to think of it sir, I can't help but notice that you're primarily a creature of the flesh too. Yes I am, but let's keep that quiet for now. At your command. We headed into the temple and I had one more question Why are you in a temple that's dedicated to The Emperor? Suddenly Bu'tarn started laughing softly as if I had asked him about the color of my skin. Forgive me Maskim, this isn't The Golgotha in the oasis there's a huge underground complex made entire of bone and skulls which is Maskim Kharneth's pantheonic 'temple', but that's a long distance away. This is one of the old structures dedicated to either Marduk or his two attendants... What would be the difference between The Golgotha and this temple? The absence of a statue in honor of The Atlantean Destroyer for one thing, she had always been interpreted to represent water here in this barren wasteland. Anything else? Yes Maskim, this temple's entrance and premises is all above ground. There's no basement area to this one. Whereas The Emperor's temple is entirely underground with a simple entrance that one would mistake for the entrance into the caves on your realm they would be called The Hindu-Kush mountains. Any reason for them to be designed like that? Not really, these grounds used to be The Emperor's temple, until he had The Destroyer's statue built above the entrance to his underground labyrinth which is really what The Golgotha is. Enough of the history lesson, I'll find something later that can give me a more complete

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history on The Emperor's Realm. As you wish Maskim Kingu. We stood there in silence for a moment Send word that the other generals should be here within the next ten minutes. By your command Maskim Kingu. Bu'tarn inclined his head respectively at me and then summoned up a group of those petty demons that were attempting to harass me. Here in the darkness though, they seemed more afraid of me as if they could actually see whatever aura or true form I was exuding... Maybe I'm more powerful in the dark... I filed this thought away for later and stood there next to my second in command confidently. Bu'tarn, what exactly is your station within The Empire? I'm the liason between the Maskim Kingu and the rest of The Empire... I pass your wishes along to The Empire, when and however you want. The last Maskim Kingu used me as a glorified message boy... He was... he trailed off, as if he was unsure about what to say, since he was in the presence of his commanding officer. You can speak your mind Bu'tarn. I said calmly, might as well encourage this so that I can better understand this creature. He was overconfident and belligerent he never did anything that The Emperor asked of him, so The Emperor gathered together all of the armies and soldiers one night and emasculated him publically saying that this Maskim Kingu was worthless saying that we would answer only to him until he found someone or something else suitable to be the next Maskim Kingu. Which in this case is you. Suddenly there was a black nothingness of some kind opened up in front of us the nearest comparision would be to that black hole thing that you see open up at the end of the movie Event Horizon that's what it kind of looked like. From that black empty void stepped out a group of six men dressed in black armor with smoke grey capes they were clean cut and seemed to be wearing their best regalia. There was a common symbol, but it was stylized or designed just a bit different as if it was it was the lowest common denominator among them probably a sign of The Empire, of some kind or another. The first of the six men stepped forward and inclined his head respectfully. Maskim Kingu, I am Rybald, second in command to Bu'tarn. he backed away as if I was some kind of royalty. The next one came up Maskim Kingu, I am Herzeild, a renowned warrior with in The Imperial Army. he too backed away respectively. The creatures gave their names or near title one by one Dyglo, Gryth, Rifta, and Therion. I felt my brow crease Wait, Therion... You're a lycanthrope aren't you? Therion is Greek for beast it was the name given to the constellation Lupus (wolf). Therion grinned wolfishly Yes Maskim Kingu, I am a lycanthrope I can remove myself from the ranks if it displeases you. I cocked my head to the side in a confused moment of What? I took a deep a breath and finally cleared my throat No, that's fine. It's just that I never would have thought about seeing a werewolf in this army. Therion started to laugh as he backed up so that he was rank and file with the others. Kingu, would that be so hard to believe? Bu'tarn asked me curiously.

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No, it's just that... I don't know... I took a deep breath If I had just been dropped into this a year ago, I would have probably killed myself because of how crazy this is. I see... Bu'tarn went completely silent as the demons all stood there silently. What's the first thing that we have to discuss? I addressed all seven creatures calmly trying to stifle and quell any uneasyness (sp?). My apparent second in command I'm still getting used to this concept looked at me calmly We have to discuss the coming war with Apophis and going over tactics. As he said that he turned back to the other creatures most certainly not men, but probably demons at least Maskim of some variety You're all dismissed until I call on you again. There was a sudden concussion as if some great sub woofer started blasting thumping bass and a black nothing opened up, the creatures stepped back through the portal and were gone as if they were never here. Alright first things first. I don't know anything about anything right now so maybe you could help me as best as you can... As you wish Maskim Kingu. What would you like to know? I turned and headed back towards the entrance to the temple, Bu'tarn kept a pace with me. First off what does being a Maskim Kingu entail for me? Well you're a member of The Emperor's personal circle of advisers... he trailed off as I held up my hand, indicating a pause for a moment. I thought those were the Maskim Xul? Bu'tarn smiled sadly and then said at length No they are the nameless masses that compose The Empire of Sumer think of them as the masses, the life and blood of The Empire. Alright, well continue on if you have more to explain. Bu'tarn looked thoughtfully out at the vast sandy wastelands ahead of us The Maskim Kingu were once a proud group of warrior-demons, widely reknowned for helping The Emperor slay Tiamat, thus creating the great wastelands of Sumer. They were wiped out by The Olympians during their expansion out of Greece the famed Titanomachia, the battle in which The Olympians wiped out their parents... Kronos was residing in Sumer, because The Emperor was not only his right hand attendant but he was also his nephew. I leaned against the entrance threshold to the temple So what does this have to do with me? Well... Bu'tarn began, getting cut short as The Emperor strolled up in his true form with a beautiful young lady with skin the color of lightly creamed coffee, a rich light brown and curly shoulder length curly black hair. First off, this is Karinda that thing you killed wasn't her, it was a doppleganger thank you for that and secondly I'll let her explain, since it's a story that she loves to tell. The god stopped short in front of us and tapped her lightly on the head, there was a silent concussion of some kind and he was gone, just as suddenly as he appeared. Hi

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Malcolm... Thought I was dead didn't you? I thought so, but then again I know now that thing wasn't you... Exactly. Where did Bu'tarn leave off? The Maskim Kingu and our involvement in Titanomachia. Karinda smiled and then told the other demon that he could be on his way. The demon inclined his head respectfully and then teleported away. Your kind was told that they could be executed for defending The Emperor and by extension Kronos. They were also told that they could excommunicate themselves and live in exile. They got into a short, but extremely bloody skirmish with victorious Olympians led by Zues but in proxy via his chief diety of justice and fairness. I cracked my knuckles and then stretched out, sliding down to the ground because I knew this was going to be a long tale one that is probably going to explain everything and answer most of my questions. The Maskim Kingu decided to fight and as a result were cut down with out mercy. The Emperor swore that he would recruit more Kingu and raise a much bigger army in the future. Well that diety, Justice, wasn't having any of that. She took him captive and brought him into the deepest depths of Tartarus holding him there for centuries, if not longer. She tortured him and blasphemed him at every shot she got. She was relentless. Eventually Jack got free and brutally killed everyone that was involved in his torture he spared other gods because they weren't literally there torturing him, their time as he vowed during those black times, would come on his escape up through the depths and down the gentle slopes of Olympus's feet, he met The Muse of Comedy and fell madly in love with her. For the next 15,000 years they carried on their relationship, until one night about 4000 or so years ago they realized these two were having this as they put it sordid affair. Jack came forward about a year ago and summoned them all to physical form, holding a wedding somewhere in Pittsburgh at one of the state parks I think... I licked my lips, the dry heat was bearable but not really comfortable as compared to the cool interior of the forboding temple behind me. So what ended up happening from there? Well Jack and that muse, Thalia as she was known, were living happily until an associate of Apophis's Jennifer, Ari's mom, had her killed. Her true form though is alive and well back on Olympus and The Olympians aren't too pleased, come to think of it neither is Lorenz her cousin. I sat there and listened to what Kari had to say, the tale has become quite interesting now that it has reached present day. Well that explains what I've been doing for him these last couple of days so what about you and how you've been involved? Kari looked haunted, as if she didn't want to remember what was done to her during her apparent imprisonment with whoever held her captive. I can tell you only what I remember which isn't much... I'm sure there's more but I'm not going to subject my mind to the horrors of an Imperial torture chamber to find out... Or a shrink for that matter... I nodded and then said Before you begin, do you want to find somewhere cooler to relax? It's hot here... She nodded and then walked towards me, sitting down next to me and wrapping her arm around me, I think

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she means to tag along with a teleport but where could we go? We can go to The Emperor's oasis, it's the only place he wants me to be for right now. I focused on where Bu'tarn said it was and flashed us there. A few seconds later, I noticed that we were sitting on the shore of a beautiful crystal clear lake, surrounded by all kinds of lush vegitation and shady trees. Now you can continue your tale, if you want to. I said calmly, as she stood up and walked around idly. Alright as for what I remember I was in an crude cell of sorts, I would compare it to a small warehouse or storage unit really. I was hung from the ceiling by my wrists and I had a small diamond of candles under me, I was high enough from them for it not to bug me as much as it would had I been right on them. My captor came in right after I was hung up and told me that I had better pray that the candles don't go out. I screwed my face up in confusion Why's that? The thing told me that there were other less savory things than humans in this structure and the only thing that was holding them back were the candles. Eventually they all burned out, except for one, and it was there that I dealt with my worst fear. I sat there in silence and waited for her to continue her tale. What was the fear? If I might ask... she took a deep breath and composed herself My biggest fear is being surrounded by fuckin' dead carcasses, but not fresh carcasses just husks of nothing and not being able to get away from it. I narrowed my gaze at her and then finally said So that was what was in the dark with you? Bloated, descicated rotting corpses? she nodded and hugged herself B-b-but they were talking and telling me terrible, terrible things... Things that I wish I didn't know, things that I wish I could un-know (sic). Such as? They told me of the slavery and horrors that await my husband Dennis and his two kids my stepkids Tom and Roger... If Apophis, or something like that took over. They said that they would constantly beg for death, but for every word spilled from their lips would increase their suffering and once their time was up, they'd suffer and languish in the lowest parts of those realms that even Jack doesn't speak about but keeps populated with the worst of the worst. Stuff that even he can't control or keep watched. I think it's like a mutual supernatural dumping ground, an Alacatraz for the immortals I guess. I don't know anything about those realms, I guess I'll have to ask him. More important things going on right now, I need to talk to Kari and see what's going on with her and this recent trauma. This might uhm sound... Insensitive, but what was so scary 'bout this? The bodies man... They were... Rotted and falling apart... Not to mention, the smell I think it's going to make me sick just thinking about it... On top of that, there was the sound their 'voices' made... It was just one collection of 'voices'... A dreadful cacaphony of millions of teeth gnashing and bones cracking, it was equally as sickening. I don't know I was able to stand up to it with out some kind of help. I know us mortals weren't meant to be around this...

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I am, or was, a mortal myself not too long ago... I know, but now you're a god one of Jack's chosen few... Maskim Kingu... Exactly. Is there anything else that I should know? Not that I can think of do you want to catch me up on what was going on with the apparent doppleganger of me that was running around? Sure...

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Meanwhile Jack, in his true form, was attending a function on Olympus to decide how to handle the situation regarding the declaration of war by Apophis. He was treated to a revelation on his way to this meeting Thalia's mortal body killed, however she's alive and well there on Mount Olympus. He was ecstatic to see her, and they were gloriously rejoined along with his daughter and son. They were happy to see him and glad that their mother wasn't killed by a god-killer - one of the dreaded weapons that only Jack and Apollymi along with her two sons utilize. Jack continued on his way to The Hall of The Gods, where the congregation was being held to discuss the coming war effort and everything that would go into it. He wasn'tlooking forward to dealing with the politics that were probably going to come out of him taking the possession formerly held by his captor, Justice. It's an honorific held by whoever is occupying that spot. Nobody else knew that he had killed the previous Justice and taken her position. He stopped short of the entrance to The Hall of The Gods he scowled at the gaurds standing there. Are we really going to go through this again? he growled at them with an irritating tone, edging his voice and making him sound quite malicious. Quite possibly Lord Havires we still consider you a guest and The Big Boss hasn't gotten around to considering you a legal member of the pantheon yet... Well I'm ordering you to let me in by the authority of The Justice. The guard looked equally irritated, not the best move to make when dealing with a dark god among the light gods he was a destroyer, where they were creator gods. You don't have that authority Lord Havires. There was a sound coming up behind Havires, another god coming up to deal with these rude gaurds, whom Jack would have killed personally if this was Sumeria or any other holding of his Empire. He turned to see who was coming up behind him, he didn't consider this peon of a soldier any threat he was surprised to see that it's his long lost blood brother Sin, whom he long believed dead, he must have been in some kind of hibernation. Let us pass soldier. He's The Justice now... said Ares, the God of War Lorenz's dad who was striding confidently torwards the doors with that swagger which comes from spending his entire existence embroiled in combat. Sin smiled with his closest approximation of happiness and extended his right hand to Jack. Brother... How are you? Sin asked in their native Sumerian, an unholy language that none have uttered in Olympus since Jack's attempted conquest when he fought against The Watcher who calls himself Omarion... Jack finds himself momentarily distracted, wondering about whatever became of that damnable being. Jack smiled and took his brother in an embrace It's been a long time, where have you been? He asked in return as his brother pulled himself away. Sin shook his head, and extended his hand once more to the doors, We can speak on that at length later, for now we have to decide how to handle Apophis... He draped his arm across his older brother's shoulders and then walked them both to the doors Ares, my friend, can we head in now? Jack asked the other god who was scowling at the soldiers. Yes... I'll handle these guys, again. Jack and Sin headed into the great chambers and found themselves standing where every other member of the assembled congregation was standing waiting for Zues to come out of his ante chamber behind and off to the right of the main chair The Throne of Olympus.

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The other Olympians didn't look pleased about the two Sumerian destroyer-gods standing there in the great well lit and light chamber among them. Most of them considered this blasphemy they tolerated Jack because he was married to The Muse of Comedy and had been for as long as most of them could remember, but Sin was a newcomer and they gave him nothing but dirty looks and muttered insults. Sin either didn't catch them or wasn't paying attention, he was a guest of Ares and didn't have any room or right to say anything openly he'd leave that Ares whenever he got around to talking to Sin about his family's hospitality. A dignitary probably one of Hermes' attendants came fluttering up to the two dark gods and bade them welcome and offered drinks or refreshments. Jack asked that a cask of his Sumerian ale be brought in, so that he and Sin could take their nourishments while the other gods ate of Ambroisia they were rather picky about these things, and chose to stick to their own sustenince which was smart because Sumerian pickings were certainly poisonous if not out right fatal to them. About an hour later... Zues finally came out his chambers, with Hera his wife, The Queen of The Gods quite a pretentious title when there was at one point more gods and goddesses than nations of men. Jack had always scoffed at her self proclaimed title, when there were more powerful beings than her out there. Currently there are seven Jack, Sin, Apollymi and her two sons, plus Jack's two kids Asher and Juno not to be confused with Artemis the name was taken in honor of Artemis, who was the only goddess to show Jack pity and companionship during his captivity he's never figured out how to best repay her kindness... I bid you welcome Sin Therzeld Hrutzar, God of The Moon Lord of The Dead and Keeper of Secrets. Zues inclined his head to Jack's brother and counterpoint to Hades of Tartarus those two had always held a healthy jealousy of one another for reasons that Jack never bothered to figure out. Sin inclined his head Thank you King of Kings, God-King of Olympus. Are we ready to undertake this meeting now brother? the god Poseidon asked his brother, Zues. The aforementioned nodded his head and then said We are all gathered here to discuss the matters regarding Apophis and his recent declaration of war on Existence. The congregated gods, goddesses and their respective dignitAres all looked apalled the only one who didn't was Jack Lord Havires Greymarch the Lord of The Scorched Wastes which was the Old World name for his dominion. Instead he stood patiently on the dias that was directly across from Zues, but off the left a little ways about ten feet from the door which is facing what would be considered the floor, but is instead a transparent pane of some unknown material that would be considered the ozone layer looking down on Earth, when in fact it's just the entrance for these beings to use to get into Earth. Well it's just the main one, they all can teleport themselves, but when they need to come to Earth in force they drop themselves down through this floor. This is also the very same room which Zues hurls down lightening bolts on the occasion.

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Lord Havires has already explained to me what's going on here and we are here to discuss what we are going to do about this new threat. Zues said in a matter of fact tone, while Hera shot a devilish glance at Lord Havires he was responsible for halting a threat she used Aphrodite's daughter to execute that was to take out The Empire using whatever means necessary all it did was usher in a new age for it. An age composed of death, destruction and much reworking of everything that was once taken for granted among it's denizens. Much to her chagrin The Empire entered into a golden age of its prime on 21 December 2012 of course this was also the pavement that ultimately led to Apophis coming back and setting the events in motion which would ultimately dictate what happens to Existence. My Lord, what has been said thus far by The Scorched One has little salt among us. How do we know if he's telling the truth? Have you seen any evidence to support him? the treacherous wife of Zues spoke up suddenly, as if this idea had just occurred to her and greatly amazed her. Yes wife, now please be quiet. Hera looked even more apalled as if she was a petulant child who couldn't get her way. Anyway we got a report from Hermes about a week ago that said something was stirring with in the confines of The Land of The Pharohs... Something evil... More terrible than ever before seen... Second only to the horrors we faced when we waged war against The Titans... There was a collective gasp from the assembled gods the firey hellfire in Jack's eye sockets gleamed with a passing glow of interest any other time he would be revelling in this fear and derision, but right now he was concerned about the state of Existence. How could this be?! demanded Athena as she stood sharply, rattling her shield and spear that were next to her. I s'pose that it could be owed to my dear mother trying to bring down Emperor Greymarch's dominion by proxy of course. Come to think of it, I thought we were all in a state of retirement... Athena looked to Lorenz and shrugged she knew he had a point and being her nephew she also knew that he was by extension speaking the same thing she's been harboring since she first heard of this situation which was from her emissary to The Empire, Bu'tarn The Forsaken One a reject from the blackest pits of the dead from the wars she waged when Havires tried to add Olympus to his dominion. It has been many years since there were stirring from that desolate land. Why would he choose now to act? she continued briskly. At this point Jack was kind of ignoring the whole thing because The Olympians were turning this conversation into a debate among themselves, as if he had any place to talk among them. There was nobody to judge or pass judgement on so he doesn't have a place here. He was there as a formality, since Ares asked him to attend. Jack extended his wings and clenched his fists, he was getting restless he has never had any patience for these kinds of things and they all know it.

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He would probably choose now to act because he feels strong enough to do it. I mean he's probably trying to come out of his exile much like I did after my 'vacation' with your folk. Havires snorted derisively. I mean look far I've come in the last few thousand years, would it be so hard to imagine that a new entity is trying to join the fun? As if on cue, something burst the doors to The Hall of The Gods and started blasting everything in sight with god-bolts, bursts of energy that most gods can use at a whim as a weapon. The attacker managed to hit Hermes, Poisedon, Thalia who had shown up as moral support for Havires, Lorenz and a few others. A lot of the dignitaries were killed, leaving their respective gods and goddesses in a state of shock and confusion. Havires whipped out his sword, Hate, and parried an equally sudden slash from the attacker who was wielding a broadsword that was as undadorned as a human Viking's. He clashed with it as Zues and the others quickly sprung to action, hurling their own bursts of power outwards at the attacker not really paying attention to Havires, whom would heal human slow from their attacks. He dodged and weaved his through their attacks and grabbed the attacker by the throat, hauling him outside as he shouted to The Olympians Leave him! He's mine! Ares followed him outside, as did Lorenz and Athena. Once outside, Havires cut off the attacker's sword arm and dropped quickly to bring a savage slash across the assailant's knees and upper legs. The body fell with a wet thump and leaked black blood all over the white tiles and marble. There was the sound of that horrible speech, that cursed evil tongue that nobody has ever spoken on that great peak Sumerian to be exact in a few thousand years. The assailant's soul was now seen standing on it's former body, looking like it wanted to ravage and brutalize everything around it it still wanted to fight. Identify yourself and maybe I'll spare you from a horrible fate... The soul looked at Jack with a blazing hatred in its eyes and sneered, the answer it gave was incomprehensible Jack switched the sword into his free hand and raised his other one pointing at the soul all fingers to it and palm outwards. He had a Sumerian binding spell playing around in his head This is your last chance... Identify yourself now... he said once more, in a firm voice. The other gods had finally come outside and stood in complete horror at the forbidden magic which was about to wrought in this most sacred of places Jack never really gave a damn about the rules regarding his art here, which is why he's going to start uttering the words to get this damnable thing sent straight to a place that he's almost one hundred percent sure it doesn't want to go...

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Meanwhile in another part of Virginia Beach, another small group of people who are descendants of The Empire... Jamie slides herself so that she can straddle her sleeping friend and check her out with something more than boredom, something more than she wants to have her first lesbian experience. She looks down at Kami and watches her firmly supple breasts rise and fall with a sense of urging, as if those breasts and their succulent pink nipples were beckoning her down to take them in her mouth and tease them with her tongue and teeth, which almost ache with their own kind of lust, she reaches down to see why she feels odd, loose some how but extremely tight at the same time. She slips her under down into her pants, and down her pubic mound and then realizes she's getting wet from thinking like this. She withdraws her hand and sucks on her fingers idly while she props herself up above her friend, debating her next move. Kami suddenly moves and slides her hand down under her panties and begins to rub herself gently. She takes a few shallow breaths and moans ever so softly into the pillow, turning her head slightly and looking extremely pleased. She keeps massaging her clit as Jamie suddenly decides to run her fingers along the under sides of Kami's breasts, letting her fingers splay out teasingly. She has never done this, so she's a bit curious to see what happens when she's doing what she does to herself when she's fingering herself or using a dildo - her eyes suddenly dart over to her small wooden dresser's bottom drawer to someone else. There's a false bottom that Justin put in for her when they were still seeing each other, he did it so she can store condoms and any other things in there. When they stopped seeing each other she used that false bottom to hide her dildo and cigarettes - her parents don't like her smoking, but don't stop her - something about plausible deniability. "Whatever." she mutters to herself going back to experimenting with Kami's body. She is moaning softly, and taking deeper breaths as she begins to insert her fingers deep into her core - Jamie takes this as a cue to begin experimenting with her mouth on Kami's smoothly tantalizing nipples, taking each one into her mouth and making them very erect and stiff. She knows from Kami talking about them that they are extremely sensitive to this kind of interaction and make her super horny. Jamie clenches her fingers on Kami's supple but equally sensitive breasts as Kami's other hand darts under the leg opening of Jamie's boxers to massage her clit. Jamie moans into her friend's breasts as she bites on them teasingly to see how Kami reacts to the feeling of her warm moist mouth on her chest. Kami moans and then reaches up to insistently push down on Jamie's shoulders, begging her with nothing more than erotic looks of agony and moans to get completely naked and indulge herself in whatever Kami is dreaming about, or at least hinting at quite obviously - Kami might or might not be asleep right now. Jamie gets up shakily noting that she is kind of soaking through her boxers and then shuts her door, and then locks it. She comes back over to Kami and teasingly pulls off her white panties and then strips out of her boxers and loose over size tee shirt, showing off her own delectably succulent breasts, and tantalizing - though very perky (at the moment) nipples. Her vagina was tender to the touch and should Jamie move the wrong way; she would have what she felt was a fearsome orgasm, because she is so horny and worked up that if her clit was to brush Kami's leg the orgasm would be like an explosion, and then she very likely would not be to get up from the bed, because of how good it feels.

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Suddenly there was a knock on the door, just Jamie went to go back to be her position straddling Kami - which causes Kami's leg moves across her clit as her friend sits up somewhat on her elbows to look around tired this causes her to have the furious explosion of a squirt. She buries her face next in the mattress next to the pillow Kami was using and then moans like this was apocalypse sex (sex at the end of the world), and she has the most intense orgasm she's ever experienced. Kami wakes up to notice that her legs are now drenched as is most of the blanket and probably the sheets under the blanket. The knocking at the door keeps going - whoever is out there must want in the room, for whatever reason. Kami has the presence of mind to ask who it is and then the reply was "It's Jamie's mom; are you two hungry?" Jamie nuzzles herself against Kami, heaving out the rest of her ire into the pillow as she lets Kami explain everything. "Not right now Mom." came Jamie's reply when she was able mask the fact that she just pretty much exploded on her bed and best friend. The sound of her mom's footsteps can be heard leaving the area to head back downstairs from Jamie's room which was the R.O.G. (room over the garage) and one room with a bathroom in it, a walk in closet, a small kitchen area (apparently when this addition was made it was deemed a guest apartment), and one medium sized futon against the wall next to the door, facing the main picture window which looks into the dense woods that surround her parent's house. There are no neighbors in a three mile radius so she has no reason to have blinds up on the windows, and so it's pretty much that the family is isolated. This works out for them because of what they are - vampires - yes vampires, but they don't blast into a pile of ashes in the sun, nor do they sparkle like those faggots from that series of books which nobody likes but at the same time seem to love as movies. She stands up from her position straddling Kami and blushes madly, running into her bathroom to clean up and change and let her reddened state go down a little bit. Kami would be without a doubt wondering what her short haired friend was doing, and whether or not it was "reality" and not just an erotic dream with which she relive over and over again in her head providing no end of "amusement" as Jason was referring to it earlier tonight when she mentioned that they should act like they are having sex to make Jamie jealous. Kami rubs her temples and then stands up to stretch out and find out why Jamie just took off like a bat of Hell for the bathroom. She walks over still in her unabashed state of undress and knocks on the door. "Jamie are you ok?" she asks through the door to her friend, who is blushing madly again from what she was just doing while her friend Kami was asleep, or so she thought anyway. That would have made all this a bit easier to deal with. "Damn my luck." she mutters as she turns on the shower and cautiously opens the door, standing there behind the door completely nude - with the lights off so that Kami can't see her face. "Yeah I'm ok Kami. What do you need?" she asks steadily - surprising herself at how well she can hide the fact that she should be nervous as hell with uncertainty at how her friend would react to this. "I just wanted to talk to you about something." Kami says there with her arms crossed under her supple breasts, which Jamie had just been exploring a few minutes ago - to Jamie it seemed like mere seconds ago. Everything was moving too fast for her it would seem, she needs to get a grip on things before this turns into a night that she will look back on blankly.

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"What do you want to talk to me about?" asks Jamie still hiding behind the door in the relative darkness of the bathroom. "Well earlier tonight was just a joke, to make you jealous that I could get laid. I didn't do anything with Jason - I just acted like it. I know it was a bitchy thing to do, but the fact is that I'm a lesbian. It took me about two years of shitty relationships, and the fact that I realized I'm also not into guys - to decide this. The truth is I fell in love with you about a month or two back, and I've been trying to figure out what exactly this will mean for our friendship. You see I'm stuck between telling what my heart says, and then risking the outcome of losing you, or not telling you exactly what my heart says, and then having everything be weird you know what I mean?" Kami explains this while clasping her fingers together on either side of her neck, kind of framing the tops of her breasts - elbows parallel to her nipples. She shifts her weight uncomfortably and clears her throat anxiously, fearing that Jamie is ignoring her or worse yet, hating her for this outburst - though Kami can't logically think of a reason for Jamie to hate her... It's still working its way through her mind unbidden. Jamie pulls the door open and then quickly steps into the shower, closing the frosted glass door effectively putting her into a little room with the showerhead in it. "Thank the Gods I'm not afraid of enclosed spaces..." she mutters as she turns on the shower to a moderately warm temperature. The bathroom door opens up and then in walks Kami, looking hotter than sin wearing nothing but thin white panties which are almost transparent, and show off her very tight and extremely sexy camel toe to perfection. Kami sits down on the toilet lid and taps gently on the glass, letting Jamie know that she's inside the bathroom with her. "Jamie hunny, I'm sorry if I shocked you or something with telling you how I feel. I really do feel this way for you, and I can't change that. It's a bit easier to deal with because we are immortal, but still I don't want to be rejected, or even think about it. I guess that's the thing here, I don't want to be rejected by you." Jamie stands under the water and pulls her fingers through her hair and then sits it down on her shoulder. "I..." Jamie begins reaching for her body wash "I need a while to think - can I talk to you about this when I get out of the shower?" She finishes as she pours some soap into her fluffy blue body poof. She begins soaping up her shoulders and neck, lifting her hair up and kind of twirling it around her head in a small wet pile. She runs the poof down her chest and stomach, making sure she's completely covered in soapy lather. Then she spins carefully around rinsing herself off and then stands there soaking and enjoying the warmth of the water "Kami you still out there?" she asks curiously to her friend who might or might not still be outside. Kami looks up from the book she was reading that she found next to the toilet and tapped on the glass of the shower door again. "I was just thinking that we can stay the best of friends until I figure out exactly how I feel. Ok?" Jamie says as she washes out her hair and then turns off the water once she was done a minute later. "Ye-ah that's fine hun." Kami says with a sigh, which seemed to get Jamie thinking that maybe Kami is fearing the worst and preparing for a sugar covered rejection. "Babe please don't start thinking that I'm going to reject you, I'm not but I'm not accepting yet... I have to think out everything and weigh my options." Kami takes note of what page she left off on and set the book down on her right knee. Jamie realizes that this run into the shower was ill planned, as she doesn't have any clothes. "Fuck." she mutters to herself as she shakes from the sudden shock of cool air. She opens the door to the shower and then runs quickly into her room, to slide herself under her covers and wrap up securely in them. She pokes her dripping head out from under the blankets and asks Kami if she could get her a pair of her sweat pants, she likes them baggy and loose (but tight enough to stay on comfortably) and a tee shirt. She wraps herself up well enough to be able to sit there with her

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head poking out of the blankets, so she can conceal her nudity under the blankets should anybody walk in or try to come in again - like her mom did. How am I to face her now? The thought came rumbling through Jamie's head, which made her face heat up until she was sure it was as red as a tomato. Kami sets the clothes on the bed and then sits down in the computer chair that Jamie has in corner of the room - she uses it for times when she wants to think or read a book. Kami doesn't show any signs of moving one inch, she seems intent of watching Jamie dress, and then go about her routine. "Would you like me to turn my back or just sit here?" Kami asks calmly of her friend who is still under the blankets and one pillow held to her chest. "You're fine, since you have all the same equipment I do." Jamie says with pointed glare at her breasts, which are C's and then to her friend's which are B's. She envies Kami sometimes because of the slightly decreased strain it must put on her back. She lets the blankets slide from around her and then reaches for the over sized Nine Inch Nails shirt that Kami left at the foot of the bed in such a way that makes her stretch for the shirt. Damn it Kami you did this intentionally! she thinks to herself reaching for the shirt; having no choice but to give Kami a nice view of her ample cleavage. Kami reclines back in the chair and watches her friend pull the shirt on as quick as she can. She looks like she wants to blush and Kami could not explain why she found the look on her friends face so beautiful. Jamies black hair frames her face in what could only be referred to as angelic, but with Joan Jetts styling. Gone flat looking from being in the shower and mildly frizzy with residual traces of water. Once the shirt was on Jamie keeps herself under the blankets long enough to pull the pants on just right, and then she slides out from under the blankets and stands up. Youre gorgeous you know that? Says Kami to her, which causes Jamie to baseball slide back under the sheets, wrapping herself up in them. Youre just out to make me blush tonight arent you? Jamie practically cries out in embarrassment from under the sheets. No Im just stating the facts as I see them, is that a problem? Kami explained to her friend as she rolled herself up in the blankets. No! Its not a problem, its just that since your out pouring in the bathroom, you seem to know what buttons to push to make me feel like a little girl! She calls out from her cocoon of blankets and pillows. Kami comes over to the bed and sits down next to Jamie, who is still hiding under the blankets like a ten year old talking about the new feelings towards guys. Typical pre-teen crap for lack of a better phrasing. Speaking of which Kay, I she trails off into silence for a moment I do love you, and I hope that the fact that Im bi-sexual wont hinder anything I mean if you want to go out with me, or date we can, but lets take it slow in terms of the whole I love you part. Ok? Kami looked at the mass of blankets and pillows which Jamie was hiding under and then felt a smile work its way along her face. She pulls her hair into a tightly made neat pony tail. So is this your way of saying I love you too? she asks of her friend who is still under the blankets, but kind of peeking her way out. Jamie peeps her face out of the blankets and in a very charming way charming maybe only to Kami. Yes you bitch again with the ever present smile and good cheery mood. With that Kami spoons up against her friend and slides her arm around Jamie comfortably. Is this too much or are we good for right now? as soon as Kami said that she felt Jamie's tummy rumble. Firstly we need to eat, or I do anyway I'm fuckin' starving. Jamie says pulling herself from Kami and then sliding over to the edge of the bed. She stands up and walks towards the bedroom door You coming with? she asks Kami who is still sitting on the bed. Kami gets up and heads downstairs with her girlfriend; she's

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going to have to get used to calling Jamie that from here on in, isn't she? Yeah I am, I wonder if Jamie is as happy as I am? Kami thought to herself as she walked behind Jamie, staring at her firm little ass that was rounded off quite nice, good enough to bounce and sway but not enough to be ugly or unattractive. It's very touchable... mused Kami under her breath as they rounded the corner into the kitchen which was really a great room meaning on one side there was the living room, and then on the other was the kitchen. Jamie's dad Carson was sitting at his usual place at the table reading some text with a weird name on it. Hey Mr Tame what're you reading? Kami says to him as she continues following Jamie to the stove where two boxes of piping hot pizza were. One was pepperoni and the other was cheese, and from the looks of it between Jason and Carson, they have destroyed the pepperoni more or less. When's the next feeding cycle? Jamie transmitted this to everyone in the house with out even realizing it, blushing furiously when her dad looked her with a cross between amusement and fatherly love on his face. This Sunday darling. Same as always. Jamie blushed furiously and then went out the back door to sit on the deck that looks out into the picturesque woods they live in, and have since Carson's first life his true age is somewhere around 253 years old he was originally from England, and came over this shore about ten years after Jamestown. He built this house when he was living his first life, and then tried to stay out of the way of history. Over the years this house hasn't really changed much, aside from staying with the times and always looking like it's brand spanking new. This family knows their business when it comes to appearances, and that's probably why they can keep up such good ones in a moderate size town, where he's the deputy of police a fair one at that, not some back waters prick that has to drunk stop and felony bust everyone for no reason at all aside from the fact he has some kind of personal quota to fill up. He doesn't so those you passing through might take caution upon reading this. Kami takes a slice of cheese pizza and heads out back into the warm summer night to see what's up with Jamie, and why on Earth she could be sitting out here. Jamie hunny? Kami says to her new girlfriend best friend completely and totally. What? she replies with a scowl at how many times she has been embarassed tonight, over the last two hours for that matter. Nice night isn't it? Kami says sitting down on the wicker chair next to Jamie, taking a small bite of her pizza savoring it's greasy but delightful flavor. Yeah I s'pose so. Jamie says munching idly at her peice of pepperoni pizza. There's an awkward silence for a while until they hear somebody step outside with them, Jamie turned to look and saw that it's Alex Riggs a classmate of theirs' in the local high school, and Jamie's child hood crush. It wasn't until nineth grade that she realized she found something incredibly sexy about him a kind of magnestism which wants to pull her in and let her explore of inch of his smooth white skin, to look into his eyes when they are joined together hotly. Jamie banned this thought before he picked up on it and then said something to her, in front her friend Kami. This wasn't like him though, and that's something she respected about him. Hey Alex! spoke up Kami breaking the silence, Jamie watched the muscles in his body ripple like the water he spent so much of his time in. How's it goin' Kami? he replies back with a smile either completely unaware of what's going on with these two girls or not caring. He himself has a thing for Jamie, but he doesn't want her to know because her mom doesn't like him, but her dad seems to see him as an adopted son. What in the name of Hell could that be for? He

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thought to himself as Kami got up to give him a hug as she headed inside intending to leave these two alone. They are the best of friends and both are hiding the fact that they are falling in love from eachother It sucks to be telepathic and not be able to tell you are in love with some one. The thought ran across Jamie's mind, thankfully she is hiding it from her friend, else she would be madly blushing right now. Alex hops up onto the railing and it sits himself easily on it, perching there comfortably as if that railing was made for an ass which Jamie found completely cute and tight, no doubt from all the swimming that he does. You look like you've got something on your mind Jamie... I'm not going to pry and just answer my own question. What's wrong? he speaks up after looking up at the ripe fully good natured seeming moon. It was remarkably huge seeming, but it's understandable because of the elevation this city has. It's picturesque, deserving to be immortalized by someone like Micheal Whelan or any other artist out there who paints such landscapes. Yeah it's Kami; she just proclaimed her love for me. I'm not too sure how I should react, so I told her that I was not going to reject her or accept her. I left her in a 'middle ground' of sorts. What do you think? she says as she looks into his intelligent, warm, clear brown eyes. I think you handled that quite well. Also why do I detect very faint traces of sex in the air? he says the first part of this question calmly, keeping his odd sense of quiet composure not holding back the curiousity in the second part of this question. With that Jamie couldn't help but to begin blushing, silently she thanked the Gods for making this part of the yard so damn dark. Well that's from... Well Kami and I were fooling around... Mostly it was an accident... I did something too soon, and we got interupted by my mom knocking on the door. Jamie takes another bite of her pizza, savoring the taste of the greaseball pepperoni. I see... Well uh Jamie... I know you can seeinto my mind, and I can see into your's... I don't know if you need the extra shock on your system, but I like you. Riggs explained to the girl sitting front of him, who was munching on her pizza. You mean to say that you want to go out with me? Riggs nods and then smiles as he scratches his knee and then extends his hand out to Jamie invitingly. Do you want to know a secret? he asks her in a happy tone as she slips her arms around him warmly. Sure what's up? she asks him curiously. Well first it's probably too early in what this might become, but I've loved you since we were little kids. he explains and this is alot coming from him because he's not a man of many words. She nuzzles at his flat toned stomach and delights in the shiver that trembles through his body, like the ripple of a wave. I... Jamie trails off into silence trying think of a way to explain herself, either through actions or words. The silence was thick enough to hack apart with a chainsaw it was that tangible. This is going to be hard to do since my mom doesn't like him. I don't care. I love him. This thought shocked Jamie as it ran screaming from the back of her mind to the front, quicker than she realized it herself, Riggs spoke up by saying quite understandingly - I'm only concerned about what your dad thinks about me, and I love you too. Jamie tightened her grip on him knowingly and then sighed, the next thing on her mind is how is she to deal with Kami and her revelation. Alex ran his fingers through Jamie's hair comfortingly and then laid his cheek against the top of her head. I'm always going to be here for you hun, you can count on that. he says making a corruption of a theme song from a show his parents used to watch when he was little. She rests her head against that smooth chest which she would like to see heaving under her as she rode him until he passed out from complete exertion. She banished these thoughts

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quickly too, so as not to clue every telepathic on this property into what she's thinking trying to moderate her thoughts like this is taking some practice, meaning she's still learning how to shield herself from doing this, maybe only with Alex here, but that's OK because he should know full well these thoughts; he's sure got them in mind... She thinks idly as she feels what she thinks must be a very attractive male package under her ample breasts. Come to think of it, it is quite hard and he must really be thinking something about how we can have oral sex like this... She thinks not bothering to shield this thought from him at least. Without realizing it she had reached slowly under her breasts, straightening up some allow her access to his cock, which was quite hard and probably aching - I know of a way I can please you... she says in a low husky tone, as he looks down at her wishing that she was wearing one of her skimpy (but attractive or so he thinks) wife beaters, and no bra. He tentatively reaches a hand down to cup her left breast with his left hand, fingers stroking and dancing across her nipple. I'm not wearing a bra, and we can do this... Right here... she whispers softly to him. I'll swallow too, so there's no mess or anything. She steps away from him a little bit and pulls his throbbing cock out, it was hot to the touch and certainly ready for what it was about to experience. She hitches her shirt up above her breasts, more or less so it was resting on her collarbone. She slides her breasts so that his very appealing dick can rest against her chestbone. She arches against him feeling the heat of him. She puts her hands the sides of her breasts and then begins moving them up and down, masturbating him with them, as she opens her mouth and then let it rest on his rock hard tip. She secures it firmly and pumps him for a few moments relishing in the feeling of his pleasure that is racking through his body from the warm moist mouth on the tip of his dick and the soft warmth of her breasts on him. Unnnhhh.... he begins which then turns into him tangling his fingers in her hair and then pushing down slightly, forcing more of him into her mouth which she doesn't think that she can take; surprisingly enough she takes most of him in, touching places on his dick that she didn't realize she could with her tongue and teeth he seemed to find this extremely enjoyable so she trailed her teeth, from a little more than half down his cock and back up to the head where she swirled her tongue around like she was licking a lolipop. After a few moments of doing this he slumps down against her and whispers in her ear Hun I'm very close to exploding. she makes a sound of acknowledgement with him still in her mouth, and then pushes all the way down taking him entirely inside, they both were amazed by this and it let them know that she has no gag reflex. He orgasms with enough force to make him totter on the railing which she is helping to support him on, if not for her instinct to pull back and his first to push off forwards onto the floor of the deck, he surely would have taken a fall that would have seriously injured him broken bones for sure. She opens her mouth wide showing him his load and then tilts her head back and swallows it in one shot like it was an expensive hard liqour meant for drinking by the shot smooth and warm, she noticed that he smiled in that way guys do when they find this out about the girl they are with. Disregarding the fact that she just swallowed his load and has had her dick in his mouth, he pulls her shirt back down and gives her a passionate heated kiss as she zipped him back up and gave him a big hug. Did you enjoy that Al? she asks her head swimming from the heat and passion of that kiss, slightly dazed from exertion coupled with how odd her night has been. She tried to have sex with her best friend who is a lesbian and madly in love with her, she gave a blowjob to her childhood sweetheart, and on top of all this her damnable powers flared up,

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despite how much she has been trying to control them. Could this night get any more embarassing? she thought to herself, keeping said thoughtaway from Riggs, before he took it the wrong way. Carson came outside when they calmed down he knew what they were doing, and since Alex didn't stick it in everybody would have known because Jamie is a screamer this is something that he absolutely didn't want to know but found out one day she was pleasuring herself while doing some stuff with her ex boyfriend, that asshole Justin. As with every normal father in the world he flipped out and beat Justin senseless for this, what father wouldn't go thermal upon finding his daughter engaged lewd acts you see in a porn film? This was the reason they broke up, and he's no longer allowed near this house. The other reason he didn't do anything to Riggs is because back in the Old World (Asia is known as the Old World among the New World [continental U.S.] Vampires) this young man's family has very close ties to the ruling body over the vampires, and if they lose favor with their Queen Lilithaena then they would be in severe shit, and that just will not do, especially if The Queen calls upon her patron god and his pantheon, let me tell you those poor bastards would decimate every vampire in world for one trespass against their esteemed Queen. The reason the Riggs family is in high regard is because the eldest Riggs is married to the daughter of Havires The Conqueror - The Conqueror is, according to legend, came from Sumeria and at one point controlled more of the known world than any Roman, Greek, or Macedonian. Of course like every major empire his crumbled very quickly, rife with betrayal, extreme corruption and issues that he couldn't just annihilate through force of will. He is a fair god, but something suffice to say just don't fucking work. This is all happened in quite the same way they say the Chaos Theory works a butterfly flaps it's wings in Virginia, and then in Japan they have a major typhoon hit. The butterfly in this incident was The Conqueror's now ex-wife, Shanara` a demi goddess herself, stabbing him and leaving him for dead. The legends all agree that she was carrying out orders and considering it all just business. The marriage and everything it entails that was until he got her pregnant with the daughter the eldest Riggs is involved with now. Once that daughter Serahniklaus (Serah in these modern times) came along he realized that he did in fact love the child's mother and naturally his daughter. The way Carson sees things is that he can just let the two of them do what they please, so as long there is and always will be protection; without it things are going to get very hairy because he would need to talk to Alex's parents about setting the two of them up in an arranged marriage. He pushes these thoughts away and then walks over to stand next to the junior Riggs. "How's the night treating you Alex?" he asks the young man standing next to him. "It's treating me good so far Mr. Tames. How about for you?" he asked Jamie's father, who was now gazing off into the dark forest idly checking for anything that might be in the forest - threat or otherwise. "My night" he begins slowly trying to choose his words carefully "has been good so far, I can't complain in terms of it being a shitty day, but it's pretty much been this - same shit different day." Riggs nodded and then followed Carson's gaze out into the woods, there was nothing worth seeing but it kept him from watching the vampire closely to see if he was going to do anything unpredictable - the reason Riggs was at this level of ease is because he would be able to read Carson's thoughts with out him knowing - but again because he and Carson share the same vampiric powers it would be a pain in the ass. Riggs grimaced, it could be worse - he himself could consider what it would be like to be

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with out this power which was initially granted to his family and spread through the top vampire families which are - The Riggs, The Tames, The Featherdowns, and The Jacksons. From these families everything was spread around to other vampires, and their servants - should they choose to take one in some form or another. "Well Riggs I heard her doing whatever it was that you seemed to be enjoying so much, and almost caught you two in the act. If I didn't think of you as practically family, you would be done." Having spoke his peice Carson turned on his heel and headed back into the house, at the request of Carson, Tina will be civil and polite - but always on the watch to make sure he makes a mistake or offends somebody. He can pick this up from her like it was nothing, and to him really, it wasn't much of anything to pick up on things that are being transmitted around the house like this. He decided to go find Kami and Jamie to see what they were up to, when he got to Jamie's room a short time later - the door was closed but with heightened hearing that's natural to all vampires he could tell that they were having a serious discussion. "Look I love you - really I do - but I want you to find someone who will treasure you, and who will be happy with you. As well as being completely devoted to you, that's just not me.. I'm sorry." Riggs leans against the wall and stares blankly through the gloom of the stair case and back down into the main room of the house, where Carson and Tina are talking about some personal stuff, judging from the subtle whispering they are conducting. He keeps listening to them and can hear what he thinks is Kami crying, and then Jamie says something else about wanting her friend to get some rest and relax, because it's close to 3 AM or 3:30 AM. The room goes quiet except for the sound of sheets rustling as somebody lays down. There is a sound that makes Riggs jump, he looks to his side to see the bedroom door open - it was Jamie wearing a pair of thin pajama bottoms and a thin tee shirt, her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and the door creaked like it does ever so randomly, something else that lazy-no-good asshole Justin was supposed to fix with Carson and Jason helping him. This is what made him jump, the damnable door and it's godforsaken creak. She stood there looking for all the world like the most adorable young lady she can be. She stood there looking surprised because she didn't know Alex was going to show up and stand here. He must be here for sex... Whatever let's give in... I'm not in the mood to now... She thinks to herself trying to keep most of it from Alex, because those might or might not be his intentions for showing up right here outside her door. Instead all did was pull her close to him and held her close standing there on the landing of the stairs. Eventually she sat down between his legs with her back against him, but for the moment they were OK, just standing there in the shadows each pondering their own issues just seeking out mutual physical contact. They sat there in silence just enjoying the physical contact more than anything. They have had relations/contacts in the past which have been physical but now of all times Jamie has realized that she fell for him back in nineth grade. Of course over the last 4 years they have had their ups and downs, but they have been in love like you hear about in the stories childhood sweeties. Jamie felt Riggs shift behind him and the next thing she knows is that his lips are close enough for her to turn her a head a little bit and give him a kiss, she does so figuring thats why he is right there. He smiles at this unexpected kiss, originally intending to just see if she was asleep or that lost in being calm. Her mouth was warm and inviting on his, but he was sated from their eariler experience Jamie has found out that it doesn't take much to fully satisfy him, but then again he's never asked a great deal of her sexually. In fact he's never actually stuck it in this thought

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coursed through both their heads at the same time more or less, but they both shrugged. Not now, they are both too tired to do anything or want to do anything. Once she was done giving him the most amazing but yet exploring kiss she got up and helped him up to hsi feet. C'mon we're goin' down to the media room. The media room is what it sounds like but it was converted into a media room by Carson about two years ago. Along the walls is one long plush leather chair and a decent sized unfinished wooden table, which is rumored to be about three hundred years old at least. The room has every electronic game device imaginable and a DVD player. The shelf case on the right hand of the flat screen HD TV has a bunch of movies, both blu-ray and non blu-ray DVDs. There was a small closet which has some blankets and pillows it, sometimes they have to use this room as a guest room. She sets the pillows down on the couch and lets him arrange them like so, beckoning for him to lay down. He does and moves a little to let her lie down with him, the couches can hold them like this, they used to spend hours down here chilling out and doing whatever. The first time Jamie had ever given anyone a blowjob was actually to Riggs about four feet from where he is lying down. She wraps the blanket around herself a little and then drapes it over him from his feet up to his shoulders where he took her into his strong embrace, she rested her head against his chest and listened to his strong rhythmic heartbeat as he went from being a little surprised at such an intimate moment between the love of his life and him he is now thinking this dream, because he had always thought Jamie wasn't that into him. She proved that wrong about an hour or so ago. He kisses her forehead and hugs her tight to him. She looks up at him and gives him the most beautiful smile that his heart actually swelled in happiness, and then missed a beat a truly wonderous feeling to feel for some one. He returns this smile and then leans his head down for a kiss which he plans to happily daze her or something with. She gives into this sure enough a few seconds later her head is swimming and she's kind of dazed from how much good emotion was in this kiss. She snuggles up close against him and drifts off into happy sleep, listening to this steady resonating drum of a heart, beating away normally in Rigg's chest the very organ that she believes beats only for her; she believes this because of how sincere Alex has been with her over the last couple of years like any couple they've had their moments, but over all it's worked out fairly well. The next morning they were woken up by the sounds of Jason sitting down there about six feet away from them watching TV, he was watching something about vampires on the History Channel remarking to his laptop's webcam how much bullshit was involved with a lot of these stories. Thankfully he plays himself off as a geek for anything to do with vampires, something of a fetish but only when it comes to that one movie with Kate Beckinsdale in it. He can't get enough of her it seems as a vampire. Riggs was the first up, but he let Jamie continue to sleep, she deserves it after how off the wall yesterday was. He sent a thought out to Jason Dude shut up or at least talk softer, your sister is trying to sleep! Shortly there after Jason got up and left after turning up the volume to the television a bit louder than what is polite in this kind of situation. Riggs growled softly at Jamie's older brother, he's a punk Riggs has had his issues with him over the years. The reason is for their issues is Jamie herself Jason probably sees it like this; since his father won't defend her from somone who appears threatening, but really isn't (however Jason doesn't want to see this) well it's just one sided blind hate/ignorance. However Jason takes the cue from his mom, watching incessantly to make sure that Riggs could fuck it all up. Once he did, then they would jump and then rip him apart like hungry caged sharks with a fresh meal

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dropped into their tank. Unlike his father Jason isn't afraid to begin a possibly nasty situation with The Riggs collectively. Vampire dating requires that they (the daughter/son and the prospective girlfriend/boyfriend) come to the parents. It's always the dad's decision and the mother has no say. If there is no dad another male of sound mind and not of the same generation as the prospective couple comes forth and makes a decision. If there isn't then it comes down to the mother making a decision. Jason is just hot headed and always up to no good, he's way to protective over Jamie, almost to the point of smothering her she's eighteen now and free to do her own thing, and see who she wants. Alex shook the thought from his head and slid his way carefully off the couch so as to not disturb Jamie from her sleep. Thank The Fair One she's not a heavy sleeper. He thought openly as he shut off the TV and then turned to back to the couch, to lay back down and relax with Jamie. His thoughts then turned to what was going on with his long time friend Kami, and why she was crying earlier did something happen between the two of them yesterday? He has a general idea of what happened but he's not completely sure what's going on so he's going to find out at some point by talking to Kami herself. For the time being though he's going to relax and enjoy himself after all why not? He understands that his family is held in esteem, but he doesn't see himself like that and he wasn't raised to be haughty and flaunting with the station his family held, after all that would bring them no end of bullshit to deal with. Meanwhile upstairs Kami is sitting on Jamie's bed cradling the pillow that Jamie always uses when she sleeps. It had her scent on it, and Kami could swear that cradling it to herself like this that it could pass off for Jamie herself. The scent near as Kami can comprehend it in words is well worn leather Axe bodyspray, some cinammonish bodywash and the pleasantly faint odor of cigarette smoke; you wouldn't be able to detect the smoke though, if you weren't looking for it. A tear makes it way down her cheek and then turns into a drizzle of sorts over the realization that she was just let down, because Jamie is more interested in guys and doesn't think she can make Kami happy. What the fuck! You didn't even give me a chance to explain! she screamed into the thick fluffy pillow. She hit it once with her fist slamming it down one quick angry time. Why?! she defeatedly curls back up on it and then cries as she hears footsteps approaching the door. She slides under the blankets and curls up on the pillow as she waits to see who it could be the door is unlocked so the person out there can come in if he or she wants to. She throws a book that was on the nightstand at the door, Come in! she calls her voice thick with tears as the door opens slowly to show Riggs standing there looking at her curiously. I heard you crying Kami... You ok? Riggs asks his long time friend as she curled herself up on the bed. No I uhm came out to Jamie last night and she turned me down. she said slowly trying to contain her tears. I thought she would be accepting of me, she said she would think it over and then we'd be 'dating' and taking it all normally. She came to her decision in five minutes. I don't get it... she trails off into a fit of muttering and tears. Riggs frowned at his long time friend's pain and anguish. Don't worry I'll make sure my love for her is remembered... she trails off vaguely for no particular reason she must be shielding pretty hard to not to betray any thoughts at all to Riggs or anyother telepath in this house; What could she be planning? Riggs thought to himself silently, just standing there in the door way. He steps in and then closes the

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door behind him, leaning against it he watches her curiously to see if she's going to do anything. She gets up and walks into the shower, compeletely nude. Riggs knows that he shouldn't be trailing her into the shower with his eyes, but he can't help but appreciate what a fine body she has. Well formed curves that seductively beckon a person to trail his hands over them, savoring every inch of flesh, down to the triangle of flesh between her legs where it's warm and moist; something truly inviting. A means to set her ablaze without causing any bodily harm just the most pleasure someone could ever give through that part of the body. The way her breasts bounce, steadily but playfully even though she's in a foul mood. He sees her bend over to grab something from her duffel bag that she has sitting next to the bathroom. He sees that she's an innie and can practically smell her scent from here, vanilla with a heady hint of something else just pussy itself? He smiles and wishes that he could take her right here on the bed, with out repercussions from Jamie or Ashley, his stage 5 clinger ex girlfriend, who was supposed to be coming over to hang all over Jamie's brother Jason at some point or another. She turns to him as she closes the door I'll be out shortly. the door clicks shut and he goes over to the bed with a boner. The woman sure does know when she's being checked out. A few seconds later he hears the shower come to life. He turns his back and walks out of the room to go back down to the basement/media room to see how Jamie is doing. A few short seconds later, after stopping to tell Mrs. Tames why he was upstairs he heads down into the basement and stops short of the couch which faces the stairs the same couch Jamie was sleeping on. He felt an unnatural presence in here not like a vampire's though, that is too easy to find. This felt so much more sinister malicious would be the word he'd use if he deemed it necessary. A moment's more inspection made him notice that it was Havires The Conqueror's presence he froze and bowed respectfully Master... I didn't know that you were here... he says respectfully. It's OK Riggs, you didn't know until just now. We need to talk. Riggs never got used to hearing that voice in his head it was said that to hear it drives you insane, to know The Conqueror's face is to know the deepest sense of madness beyond anything that anybody could ever dream up or think about in their worst nightmares. This thing was the stuff of many nightmares and legends to those he chose as his own that is if you were an enemy, nevermind you're done. That's all there is to it. What do we need to talk about Lord Greymarch? he asked now straightened up from his sign of respect. The oncoming storm, so help your poor soul if you make a joke about Doctor Who... Alex felt a smile tug at his lips and quickly banished it. What storm is coming Master? The god stood before his subject and remained motionless, statuesque if you didn't know any

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better. The one known as Apophis has mobilized an army. He's going to be waging war on Existence. I'm spreading the word, along with an associate my avatar in this realm about the coming fight. Surely you didn't think that 21 Decemeber 2012 was the first, last and only battle did you? No Master, that thought had never occurred to me what do you want me to do? I want you to track down Malcolm Baker, Kari Lewis and my daughter Arianna... They are working on another side of this city on spreading the word. You're to join them and aide them in anyway necessary... Watch out though, Kami's family is going to be moving against me they've always sided with Apophis more anyway or used at one point or another... As you wish Master... Is there anything else? The Conqueror stood there for a moment and then rolled his shoulders his armor clinking and shifting with the rumble of distant grinding sound. The shadows deepened and out stepped his old friend Jack who would have guessed? Alex Riggs in all of his years never thought that Jack was The Conqueror and feels like his entire existence has been rocked to the core, this is one of those big moments where a very loud HOLY FUCKING SHIT! is warranted but he's not going to do that since Jamie is right there on the couch. What the fuck? he gaped at the young man in the corner, who has now stepped forward to place a small kiss on Jamie's forehead as if she was a younger daughter or family member. Jack stood up and cracked his knuckles Surprised Alex? he starts to chuckle and then comes around the couch to face his friend This doesn't change anything you know, I've been keeping my eye on you and I think I'm going to recruit you in the same way I recruited Bu'tarn and before him B'Ghuul... Jack tapped on Alex's shoulder as he moved around him to head the upstairs Don't worry, she doesn't think anything is different she just thinks that I teleported in. he said with a smile as he headed up the stairs. Some vampires could teleport around but at the loss of feeding from psychic soruces like most others did, however the ones that could teleport were the same ones which had been glamorized by Hollywood they were bloodsuckers who could only move around at night they were in reality, few and far in between. Alex followed the seemingly young man upstairs and back into the main room everybody was surprised to see Jack standing there sans Kelly, the first one to speak up on this was Carson Where's Kels at? he asked using the nickname he had given Kelly when he first met her which to the regular person was when she was a kid, around eight or nine. Jack looked first sad and then really angry but not at anybody in the room, more angry with something else that none of them know about. Well Mr. Tames, she was murdered. I came back here to get my head on straight before going back to the 'Burgh... everybody got really quiet at that one, even though he didn't speak loudly, it was just the sheer amount of deadened acceptance in his voice it was as simply to say

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that she's dead and there's nothing to be done about it. Carson looked sad at this flat statement of fact and then crinkled his brow in thought for a second You didn't drain her did you? You know as well as any of us that the blood of a loved one especially a mortal loved one is the sweetest nectar of any kind... he trailed off knowing that the younger man would get the implications here. No I didn't feed off her she was always against that since she knew what I was and understood that my feeding from her would have been fatal... What killed her then? Well I think it was a rival family or even so help their worthless souls humans. he snorted the word 'humans' derisively as if it left a sour taste in his mouth. Well if it was humans we would have to leave it to human authorities to take care of... However it was a rival family we could take it to The Conqueror and see if he could do something about it. You see, I found the body first and when I did, the aura or after taste was more demonic as if it was something that was demonkin or from another pantheon surely you understand that there are other factions of gods and goddesses out there... If only they knew the truth, if only they knew the young man standing before them was in fact The Conqueror sometimes it was hard to not tell them the truth. The only reason Alex knows the truth is because he's been a close friend on this plane, so it was kind of within his boundaries to know... Not to mention, due to his exponentially greater powers and the vampires' natural sensitivity to the gods, they would have known if he had openly teleported in, as opposed to flashing in with all of his powers masked. Yes I know that, but you'd have to bring in the Maskim Xul and you know as well as I do that they don't like to be bothered with our trivial to them anyway endeavors. Absolutely, I could just call The Queen and have her bring in an enforcer or one of her entourage of which I think you're a part of but then again you'd have to go through the proper channels right? So you're asking me for help in this matter? Jack sighed inwardly and then shook his head Fuck this, Carson I think it's time I revealed my only secret to you and your family... he focused on finding every single member of the Tames family and as he verbally said I think we should step outside, I've got something to tell you. he repeated the same thing psychically to everyone else he couldn't actually see. Every Tames in the house followed him outside, the rest were told to stay inside. This is something that he wants them to know. A few seconds later when they were all outside he looked every single one of them in the eyes and decided that they wouldn't laugh or make jokes he's never been to be overtly social, he's always been a loner and not very talkitive and in a situation like this they all knew he was going to be plain spoken. Carson and his wife stepped forward once again and looked at him

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calmly expecting some flat declaration of war on his family's (an allegedly minor one from the western United States) behalf. It was only natural in ths sitaution interfamily fights were kind of like the old human gang rumbles or turf wars. What's going on Jack? Jack closed his eyes and took a deep breath focusing on transforming into his true form, which was a seven foot tall behemoth swathed in black robes and with a head or as some thought a helmet made of a goat's skull with wickedly curved horns. Across his back was slung a bastard sword that he's always called Hate. Once he was sure that he had transformed, he flexed out his wings and clenched his fists a few times, to be sure that he was changed. I think you know who I really am now... Shouldn't this form give it away? Mrs. Tames and Jamie fainted and the rest of the family took a collective gasp and then all at once What the fuck? Jack folded his wings back against himself Yeah, it's a mind fuck isn't it? He asked them in a surprised tone of voice - such as it was. Carson and Jason nodded Holy shit! I mean... Milord we had no idea that was you... How did you hide yourself? If we might ask... they dropped into a respectful bow and waited for his go ahead to raise themselves back up. Please don't prostate yourselves before me, I'm too close to you guys. I should bow to YOU for your hospitality when I first came to you. They straightened up and Carson said (after a great moment of silence) Why would you ask ME for help in solving the murder of Kels? Respect my friend, I've known you for too long. It was true, Carson was the one who helped to give birth to Lily when she was born to Lilith. T-t-thank you Milord, I'm grateful for that. Jack inclined his head and then flashed himself back into his human form, simply so that they could converse normally and make up a lie to explain the sudden surge in power that might have come about when he teleported in. As I was saying Carson, I'd like you to start looking at the other families and have a word with The Queen on my behalf I know that it wasn't Shannara, she was dealt with by the newest Maskim Kingu. I have a suspicision that it might have been Apophis acting through one of the other families so you might want to look into that. Alex and Jamie stepped forward with Jason behind them What would you like us to do about this situation? Jack looked at his friend and smiled I'd like you three to track down the Kingu and begin hunting Apophis and his soldiers down. I don't think it should be that hard, considering his blatant declaration of war. I'll have The Olympians handling their front on their turf the dream realm and other non-physical realms included. We're going to be handling the up in your face down and dirty fight.

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Kari looked at me with utter horror when I told her what was going on I had even included the tid bit about the elixir or phial of whatever that stuff was. So far as I can tell, that was Ariana acting on the prophecy the one that Jack was kind of irritated about. So we're dealing with fucking dopplegangers now?! I nodded and then slid my arm around her waist We're going to head to back to my house you're welcome to stay the night and freshen up if you need to. I teleported us back to my house and focused a little bit of energy to unlock the doors and disable the security systems. I opened up the door for her and waited as she stepped inside. I stepped in and closed the door behind my back If you need anything from your house later on I can teleport you there too... Kari headed into the living room and paused Why does it feel like Lu was just here? she called out ot me I was still standing in the foyer/entrance hall. He was, a while back when we found the doppleganger of you the double thought that he was just a business associate from Olympus Builders, but of course if it was you which it wasn't you would have I known that's not from work. She nodded and I headed in there to join her, it kind of makes sense if you were going to infiltrate an organization why not make one of its members disappear and then send in a perfect or near perfect copy to steal the secrets? I mean that's how I would do it, if I was the one who set up this kind of move... After a few moments of standing there in silence, there was knock on the door. I manifested some energy in the form of a small blade around my right hand and walked to the front door, calling through it Who's there? I peeked through the semi-thin privacy drape on the right side of the door on each side of the door there are two windows which run the length of the door beats the hell out of a peep hole... Alex Riggs, I'm here on behalf of The Emperor. there was a six foot even guy with a shaved head and a lean swimmer's body standing out there. Something didn't feel right about him I couldn't put my finger on what it was exactly, but something felt off about him what could it be? How do I know that you're on Imperial business? I asked him curiously might as well try to be diplomatic and see if I can talk first before swinging into action. I know you're a Maskim Kingu in fact you're the only one currently in Existence. However I thought there was supposed to be two of you... A brother if I'm not mistaken... Alonzo Baker was his name right? What's it to you? C'mon man, I really don't want to play games with you. Well this isn't going that smoothly so we might as well see what happens if I open up the door. I opened up the door a crack and peered out as I focused some energy on the guy to see if I could get into his head might as well try to use some of this power as a lie detector and see if he was telling the truth. When is this dude going to let me in? Why can't he just accept the fact that Jack has other allies, all over the world and even right here in Virginia Beach? I sighed and then opened up the door all the way to let him in.

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I'm sorry that I was acting paranoid you can't be too careful. Especially since there's a war coming who knows where and when the conflict is going to happen... I said conversationally, might as well start talking and seeing what he has to say. Yeah, and for proof that I mean no harm, here's my girlfriend... he pointed behind him, to an old friend of mine Jamie Tames who was coming up the steps from his black generic four door sedan. I smiled and then said Holy shit! I haven't seen you in a long damn time, not since the about a month before Daniel left... I grinned ear from to ear Daniel was my cousin, somebody she was seeing over the summer, that is until he decided to go over seas. I don't remember where he went, he was working for the government so it's not like he could just say where he was going. Yeah I know, the bastard skipped out on me and left for Europe... she didn't seem too happy about that, but then again I would imagine that I wouldn't be either. There was something more in her voice but I couldn't tell what it was beyond that. About five minutes later past all of the pleasantries we were out back on my deck talking about the state of The Empire and trying to figure out how things are and what we are going to do about them. Forgive me for asking, but something didn't seem right about you... Like you're not human or something... I said to Alex as he sat there sipping on a Coke that I had given him a few minutes ago. I'm not human, in fact none of us here are. Kari looked shocked as if she either didn't want to reveal her secret or we weren't supposed to know about it which ever it might be. How in the blazing Hell did you know I'm not human? she practically shrieked at him she must feel pretty strongly about this matter. I turned to face her as did Jamie and Alex who was already looking at her. Well among being a vampire not like the Hollywood breed, which are insanely rare, and not like those sparkling faggots which most women seem to be pre-occupied with these day, puh-lease don't get me started on those I am one of those few creatures who has the unnatural to other supernaturals that is ability to sniff out and identify different creatures. Except fully fledged gods and goddesses. However I can sniff them out when they're ascending, he turns his eyes to me now Yeah you didn't know that did you? You're making the ascension into Sumerian godhood... As did your brother, he made it before you... He's just in another realm right now learning his full powers... I openly gaped at him this was insane, but in the last year or so, who am I to judge? Well what am I then? Kari asked him still as surprised as ever. You... he trailed off, probably trying to figure out how to phrase this next part. You

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are a Watcher what the gods in all of Existence would call a Cthonian, tasked with policing the gods and enforcing them. The balance to their check does that make sense? she nodded at him and then stood up, heading over to the railing to peer off into the treeline. Alright so what does that mean for us? I asked Alex and look that said he better start talking I want answers and I'm going to get them however I can, at whatever the means. A smile played across his lips as he looked thoughtfully at us. Well for you being a fledging god, this means you're going to have to learn the rules regarding the flow of time and all of the powers you get as a god. Did you really think that was Lucifer who gave you that power? Did you really think Lucifer was the one who has been paying you a visit all these times? It has been and always was Jack he wasn't too pleased about your little trip to Hell fucked up there, but he's smoothed it over. He showed up that once to deal with the doppleganger, but that was it, which is why he just played off all of the bullshit. I sat there in a stunned silence Why the fuck didn't he just show himself and be done with it? Why did he play this big convuloted (sp?) game?! I just about yelled at the vampire who was sitting there calmly looking at me with dead eyes something has changed in this thing, he's probably not himself, but then again he might be just giving me the business side of what being a vampire is like... I was stunned to say the least, how could he play this kind of game? How do I even know that I'm on the right side of this fight now? What's going on? How do I know who I can trust now? What if I'm on the wrong side and should be fighting for Apophis or whatever his fucking name is, well I guess I'm entrenched now might as well just ride it out and see what happens next... I want to speak to him, I don't give a fuck about where he is. I want to talk to him. I cast out a burst of energy trying to find the god, hopefully I find him and can have a word about what's going on here. I want some fucking answers... About twenty minutes later in the silence there was a concussion of some kind and then Jack was standing there. What the fuck do you want Kingu? he looked pissed, I think I interupted him from something. Shit happens. I want answers Jack. I would like to know what the fuck has been going over the last year. Why was I lied to? Why has there been so much death and destruction, when you could have just fucking recruited me? As far as the death and destruction I needed recruits and I needed you to kill your ex-wife, she was a threat to The Empire. Most of all you and Alonzo were prophisized to become Kingu this was my way of testing you. Everything that you have dealt with up until this moment has been a test of your skill and wits. Well did we pass your fucking test? Jack smiled sinisterly Yes, you passed it completely and now you're in the deep end. This is now the beginning of the war that will determine the fate of Existence... I was furious to say the least, and there wasn't a goddamn thing that anybody could say to

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me right now that would have me see things right. I think I need to sleep on this and see what happens in the morning. Well who the fuck can I trust now that I've been lied to for the last year? You can trust me, Kari, and Alex... Why? He was the messenger for these convoluted truths... The Sumerian god shrugged Don't trust us then, nobody says you have to. You're going to be in for one hell of a time by yourself. Come back to Uruk if you'reand then teleported out, Alex did the same and that left me there with Kari. She was frowning and looked concerned about the well being of my sanity which was probably understandable. What do you have to say about this matter? I asked her shooting daggers with my eyes and spitting ice with my words. I was about as cold as you could get regarding these matters. A tear rolled down her right cheek Uhm... I don't know... I was hoping that you'd go along with this... So you expected me to blindly follow and carry out with whatever orders he'd fucking give me? I'm not a blind fucking soldier in some fucking war that I don't know anything about. Why was I chosen?! You were chosen because of your heritage did you really think that you were just some average Joe construction contractor? What about all of the weird shit you saw when you were growing up? People that weren't there, demons the things you called The 'Mons, and other spectral entities? Did you think that was the product of an over active mind? What about the memories of different life times spread out all across Existence? Especially where Sumeria and Atlantis were concerned? Did you dismiss this as your imagination? Actually I think you did, because the last year has been that unnerving for you... I guess I can't change your mind, only you can do that... The tears were still kind of coming and she sat down on a chair next to the railing. I'm probably going to have leave, I might need to over see Alonzo's transistion back into the world and grooming for the spot that you've turned down. Come to think of it, he's probably more equipped for it because he's actually been killed in plain English, you have to die to be reborn and this is going to be his rebirth... she reached into her pocket and pulled out her small Android smartphone punching in a code and then another set of numbers - I turned my back to her and stared at the wall. He's turned it down, I need a pick up now. I have way too many questions and they are all in need of some serious answers, I might have to just go track down everything for myself and see what's going on. I was snapped out of my reverie by Kari coming up to me and giving me a small kiss For luck... You're damn sure going to need a lot of it. I have to go now. she cut through the house and left something on the arm of the couch, I didn't care enough to go back in there doing so might enable me to gush out and tell her that I would take up the mantle. I tried to use the power to retrieve my lighter and cigarettes nothing happened. I tried to psychically prod Kari and see what happens there, nothing did, just a dull ache the beginnings of a headache I'm sure. I tried to summon B'tarn and there was nothing, as I walked to the small

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table where my cigarettes are I even tried to summon B'Ghuul and again nothing. Looks like they stripped me of my powers, it's understandable I would have done the same thing to myself if I was in their position. Well if this is the end, I might as well grab the poly fiber handgun and bring it down to the police station on Providence Road. No I'm not going to kill any cops, I'm going to turn myself in and tell them I'm the one they were looking for in that court-homicide. I reached into my pocket after the cigarette was lit and called my brother's phone I don't think he's going to answer but if he does, then I'm going to say good bye and give him my best regards. There was two rings and then he answered with a bemused Hey bro, what's up? I've been made human again. I'm turning myself in for the murder of Charon. I thought that I would call and say goodbye. So here it is brother, good bye. I'm sorry that we didn't have more time together. Give Mom my best regards. I hung up the phone and dialed the non emergency police number they answered on the first ring, which was a first even for them. Hello, I'd like to give up a tip on that court-homicide from a year ago. I was transferred over to a detective who identified herself as Espanoza. What do you have for me? I'm the one who shot and killed Charon Baker in the court last year and then vanished with out a trace. I'm also the one responsible for the viscious attempted homicide against some guy named Patrick who goes to Princess Anne High School I believe he lives in Thalia Elementary's neighborhood somewhere. Before I was even aware of what's going on, there was a cop car coming up I could see it coming from down the street. I walked out there and then got down on my knees and put my hands on my head I answered all of the routine questions and then let him cuff me as he tossed me in the back of the black and white. About twenty minutes later I was in a holding cell in the police station on Providence. There were other people in the cells next to me drunks, fuck ups, prostitutes and other assorted two bit jackasses were milling around idly waiting for their time. I sat there on the bench and waited for my time to come.

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