Otherworldly Adventures.

by **EphPhoenix** 15th May 2017, 4:56 pm

It was a chill autumn in the large town of Emberville. A cool breeze had been sweeping through the town all week, but the chill that seemed to be settling into their bones seemed colder, deeper.

Crime, small in the town up to now, had seemed to increase exponentially in the last month. For every one that the police thwarted, two more happened in its place. Mysterious happenings were prevalent all the time, now: strange disappearances, bodiless voices, walls painted in blood smears, hideous screams, men in robes. The place seemed to be becoming a real hell on Earth.

In Emberville High, a young boy sat in class, looking out the window. His look was far off, but not in the dreamy, fun way. Quite the contrary, he seemed to have the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"Joseph? I'm sure the outside world is interesting, but perhaps--"

"'A' over sine alpha is equal to b over sine beta," Joseph said without looking away from the window. "I'm listening, Ms. Wimberly."

"Oh. Um...okay," his teacher said, surprise showing on her features as she awkwardly got back into the lesson.

"Uber-nerd..."

Joseph listened with only half a mind. Well, truth to tell, since this all started, he didn't have to listen with any mind. It was always there, downloading his surroundings. It made things easier, allowed him to his thoughts, but...eh. He never struggled with his studies, it was convenient, but kind of needless. Or was it? He didn't know.

His town was getting worse and he had no idea why. He could feel a...darkness. But it was unfocused, seemingly everywhere, but too light to pinpoint. The evidence was apparent. Why is this happening? I stopped the evil from taking root here...

He wished the Council hadn't been "disbanded." Since their silence, he was in the dark about so many things. As Airtasm, he had access to a plethora of supernatural knowledge, but there was so much to sift through, and it might as well have been useless. It was like putting in a search for something vague--so many hits to sift through. He sighed and inclined his head slightly to dodge the spitball Johnson blew at him. Okay, so maybe the enhanced presence had its uses. He heard the douchebag curse under his breath and grinned a bit. His first in days. He wished Serena was here.

Suddenly, the world seemed to slow. He sighed and got to his feet. He knew spirit time when he felt it. There, at the front of the room, an apparition. A little girl. She looked at him sadly, her mouth moving but no sound coming out, then she was gone.

"Joseph? Joseph? Are you okay?"

He sighed again. Spirit time was over. The entire class was looking at him, Ms. Wimberly with concern. He shrugged and headed toward the door. "No, I'm not," he said. "Don't feel well, yadda, yadda, yadda."

He headed out the door...and off campus. School was a joke, and he was getting a feeling.

by Ink 15th May 2017, 8:33 pm

Meanwhile, dark clouds drift in over the city, carrying the boom of thunder with them. Yet strangely enough, no lightning accompanies the loud clashes. Some pedestrians turn their noses to the sky, covering their heads with their jackets or scurrying along to beat the oncoming rain. Oddly, the forecast called for clear skies, this evening. Still, the thunder grows louder, and closer. Until it becomes wholly apparent that this is no mere lightning storm. Soon comes the loudest clash, yet. Immediately followed by a light falling from the sky, so fast that it could only be lightning... right? But no. Just above the clouds is the true source of the noise. A fight. Happening so fast as to make it impossible to trace in its entirety. Only when the heaviest blows are dealt, do the combatants become visible. Then comes a lull. Each fighter pausing and hovering just feet away from one another. On one side, some form of hellish creature with an enormous frame, ghastly wings of midnight black, and a clock-face in its chest, as well as a long, thick tail, and no face, just an infinity symbol where it would be. The other? A red-skinned girl with horns, pointed ears, and a halo floating over her head, grinning like a jackal.

The girl points dramatically at her opponent, with her other hand on her hip. "Listen up! That was a cute try, buster, but now I'm done goofin' around!" The monster across from her responds in an incomprehensible sound to mortal ears. A combination of sounds, as if all manner of animals were together run through a meat grinder whilst still alive. The girl lowers her pointing finger in disgust. "Geez. You kiss your mother with that... uh... okay, you don't have a mouth, so..." It replies again. "Okay, that was just rude." She reassumes her fighting stance with a smirk. "All right, tough guy. You're a time demon, right? So. Guess what time it is."

The time demon tilts its head down, as if to look at the clock on its chest. "Naptime, smartass!" the girl says as she charges at it like a bullet, delivering a punch to its nonexistent jawline, so hard that the sheer force clears every cloud over the city, all at once. And the demon at the event's epicenter? Reduced to a fine, black mist.

With that taken care of, the girl claps the dust from her hands and confidently crosses her arm before laughing, heartily. "Too easy! Looks like little Ako's totally on her way to a promotion."

Ako glances up to the halo over her head a voice seems to play in skull. "Not too sure about that, runt."

"What'chu talkin' 'bout, Pops?" she responds.

"Look down."

Ako turns her head down, able to see the world below, now that the clouds are gone. She arches an eyebrow and hovers down, nearer to the ground, eventually noticing the difference. "Pops. Why are the cars actually touching the ground?"

"Take a wild guess."

Ako pauses for a moment, as if rallying every cell in her brain, though she likely already knows the answer and scrunches her face as if to concentrate. Finally she squeaks out. "I crashed a reenactment of the 21st century?"

"Try again."

"Dammit!" Ako exclaims. "Well, there's gotta be a way back to the 2200s! Think, old man!"

"Me? You got yourself in this mess. I can't help you from our era. It's a wonder the halo still works."

Ako takes to hovering in place, as if sitting - Indian-style - in mid air, with her head rested against her fist. Her tail reaches up and scratches her head with its tip. "You think the goddess of time would be mad if I stopped by for a visit, and asked her to fix this?"

"Tiki? Mad? Maybe... after she finished laughing at you."

Ako's tail bends into a question mark shape. "Does the Time Tower even exist, yet?"

"Probably. Not sure when she upgraded from the Time Cave."

Ako eventually sets her feet to the pavement, her tail forming an exclamation point. "Ooh! I wonder what I'm up to at the moment!"

"Ako. No."

Ako puffs a cheek and her tail droops down as she crosses her arms, this time in a more pouty way. "Aw. You're no fun."

by **EphPhoenix** 15th May 2017, 9:13 pm

Sixth and Drexler. He stood at the intersection looking around, trying to get a feel for whatever it was he was sensing. It was definitely here. He had been thrown off by something up in the sky. It had felt...otherworldly, and concentrated.

"I'll stick to good ol' terra firma for now, if you don't mind," he growled. He could technically "run" on the air in his other form, but he wasn't going up there to sniff out trouble. It was the sky, for crying out loud. It came down here to cause trouble, he'd deal with it, then.

He surveyed his surroundings. It was in an area of old downtown. The buildings were showing their age, but a few gems lie here and there. Bill Q's barbecue to name one. The building looked like trash, but inside, the place was alive with culture, music, and a lifetime or ten of history from some famous musicians.

He couldn't help but feel a little depressed. People were dying with an increased frequency. He'd already led five souls to the hereafter before their time. It had to stop, but he didn't have a clue how.

He felt a sudden spike again and looked on down the street. "Oh...if the Council could see me now..."

Up ahead, a local gang was harassing a local shop. It was a distraction, but he'd welcome anything at this point...and he didn't want to have to lead any more souls to the beyond.

by Ink 15th May 2017, 11:02 pm

Ako glides casually through the city streets, keeping herself invisible to the mortals around her. She appears as if floating on her back down a lazy river, her hands behind her head. But she looks around, unfathomably bored, her halo playing the tune of dial-up internet in her head. "Gee, Pops, think you can get a hold of the woman any slower?" she says. No response. "Wow. That is one busy goddess." She looks around at all the people passing her by, entirely oblivious to her presence. For a moment she pouts, then one again takes to sitting Indian-style in mid air, her tail angrily swinging behind her. "Uuuugh! This is so boooring! Why do I gotta hide!? They're just gonna learn about us in a hundred years, or so, anyway. That's, like, tomorrow! In fact. Why'd we hide ourselves in the first place? Who even came up with this plot point?! It's stupid! This is stupid! I wanna do something!"

Suddenly comes a spike in malefic energy from elsewhere, and Ako comes to a hard stop, putting her feet down to the concrete and standing on her tip-toes as her tail sticks straight up. "Ooh! What's that?! Nevermind! Too bored to care! Away I go!" With that, she takes off, eventually coming to a nearby street, permeating with residual Yoki. "Whoa, trippy. There's enough malefic energy, here, to corrupt a nun. Imagine what people who already suck would get like."

A nearby ruckus catches her attention. Some gangsters. Harassing a shop. "Exhibit A," she says, casually gliding on over, whilst remaining unseen. She observes for a moment, arms crossed. "Hm... I know Pops said not to touch anything. Buuut... these poor people do look like they could use a little... divine intervention. Wouldn't you agree?" A devious little smirk curls the corners of her lips, a small fang poking through with a snicker as her tail extends up to eye level with her and nods as if a person's head, agreeing with her.

by **EphPhoenix** 16th May 2017, 9:51 am

"What's shakin', ol' man?"

There were five of them; three black guys, two white guys. Well, at least they're Affirmative Action correct, he thought. They were dressed in name brand pants and shirts--though the pants were hanging dangerously low. Joseph cringed inwardly. Why did I ever think that was cool...?

"Please," said an older man holding his hands up placatingly, "I don't want any trouble..." He had graying pepper hair and wore dressy casual clothing. You don't see the younger generation doing that for something like a store. Whatever the generation wars say, ours lost style.

"Shut up, pops, fo' I slap you like I do my bitches!" said another of the group. They all laughed.

Joseph sighed. Welp. Looks like they need to get up to date on their gender equality, though...

One of the young men pushed over one of the racks while another held up a bat and patted it in his hand in a gesture that was obviously meant to be threatening. "Open the register, pops, and Lucille won't have to get violent..."

Joseph slapped a hand to his forehead. "Nope!" he growled, picking up a doorstop and clocking Negan-wannabe in the head--he wasn't gonna call him "bat guy." That was way too close to something cool. The dude stumbled forward and fell flat on his face, temporarily dazed. Joseph, felt a pang of guilt, remembering his strength was slightly stronger than it used to be. He had the others' attention, though, so he went on.

"Non-nerds don't get to abuse our nerd references," he told them. "We have standards. Besides, c'mon, that bat doesn't even have barbed wire around it. Or nails. Or anything. It's a lame aluminum bat." He eyed them with disdain. "You're a disgrace to nerd-dom. And banging, for that matter. You're wearing designer clothes and you go with a cheap bat? No class, whatsoever."

They were all looking at him, temporarily stunned--including the shopkeeper. Well, he had caught them off guard. "The rest of you...how in the hell do you walk with your pants that damn low?!" He waddled. "You're freaking penguins, for crying out loud!"

This snapped them out of their stupor. They looked at each other. "Get this nigga!" one of them said.

"Really?" Joseph said flatly. "So, are the white guys allowed to say that, too?"

They charged at him. Joseph blinked in surprise."Hoo boy!" he exclaimed, turning and bolting out of the entrance to the store with them in hot pursuit.

by Ink 16th May 2017, 11:04 am

Before Ako can make her move, a mortal boy intervenes, standing up to them with sass to spare, after humiliating their leader. Amused, Ako kicks back, crossing her legs and placing her hands behind her head, as if watching a movie play out from the comfort of her home sofa, sitting upright in mid air. She grins as the thug collectively stand and stare in a unified stupor. "Aw. Look. They're confused. It's adorable!" she snickers. Then her eyes drift over to the kid. But aren't you an interesting one. That's some aura.

When the hoodlums snap out of it and give chase to the boy, Ako casually extends her tail across the doorway behind him, tripping the front thug, and causing the others to all fall over him. While they're all piled up, she floats over to them before touching down. Her tail retracts, pointing at them all and making a sound like the click of a computer mouse. "Hm... now what to do with you?" They all get up and scramble after the kid, entirely oblivious to Ako, who follows, her tail still pointed. "Well... he did give me one good idea." With another click of her tail, their pants drop around their ankles, once again tripping them. "Isn't Karma just the sweetest thing?"

They'd fallen in the middle of the street, and something catches Ako's eye that stretches her mouth into a devious little grin, once more. As they start to pick themselves up again, they look to one side, seeing an oncoming mac truck, bearing down on them and furiously honking its horn. Scrambling to get up as quickly as possible, they continue to stumble over themselves with their pants continually getting in the way. Collectively panicking, they all brace themselves for impact, many of them... 'leaking' out of sheer terror. Only after impact does the click of Ako's tail lead them to realize the 'truck' was simply a child of no older than five, driving a Kid Motors vehicle. Still, so terrified that they can scarcely move, they altogether pass out, the child honking the horn of the toy vehicle at them to get out of the way before his mother shows up, pulling the child from the toy vehicle, and carrying him into the nearest building.

Meanwhile, a very amused Ako laughs herself to tears, practically rolling in merriment at the pure humiliation she'd just put them through. "Oh! Oh gods! Oh, that was good! I can't! I can't believe how perfectly that worked out! That'll teach you lunks to wear a belt!" She continues laughing, and carrying on, hovering just over the street where it all happened.

by **EphPhoenix** 16th May 2017, 1:02 pm

"Huh?"

He stopped and turned around as he heard them fall over themselves. He watched, both amused and perplexed, as they got up and then--their pants fell down. He completely forgot about his attempt to lead them into the alleyway as he doubled over laughing. "If that isn't karmic...!" he breathed out, leaning against the wall for support.

His laughter stopped almost immediately when he saw them freaking out. Not because they were freaking out, but why. Some kind of supernatural energy surrounded them, causing them--he imagined--to hallucinate. Huh. Well, this hadn't been his plan, but it worked.

He suddenly heard laughter and looked upward to see..."Holy..." That...that...

Was that a demon?! Terror gripped him and he froze. He shook himself. He...he had to...do something...?

He ducked down an alley and summoned the Airtasm. Mists surrounded the area and he felt his emotions muting, blessedly, as he felt the power coursing through him. He stood, etherial eyes glowing and cloak moving in a wind that wasn't there.

He leapt up to the roof and stood at the edge of it, facing toward the demon. "You, who float like an apparition, what is your purpose? Benign or perdition...?"

by Ink 16th May 2017, 1:52 pm

Ako takes a moment to calm down, upon hearing someone address her. She wipes the joyful tears from her eyes and composes herself, still snickering a little as she tilts her head to see the figure standing on the rooftop across from her. "Oh - Hehe - That - heh - that kid from before. Hiya. Kyehehehehe," she stammers. It... takes a moment. "Wait! The kid can see me?! You can see me?! Whoa! I don't sense any Yoki on you, so you're no demon. But that aura doesn't feel like any angel I've ever met. Weeeird. Hm... that is a good question. Wonder what pops would call me."

"Ako. Careful."

"Oh. There you are. Say, would you say my purpose is benign or perdition... also, do angels still use the word perdition? Please say no. Damnation sounds soooo much cooler!"

Ako's overseer heaves a sigh of exasperation on the other end of her halo. "Your 'purpose' is to give me a headache," he grumbles.

"What?"

"Nothing. I thought I told you not to interact with anything."

"I was bored. What'd Tiki say?"

"She put me on hold. It'll be a few-"

Ako's tail morphs into an exclamation mark. "Sweet!" she chimes, darting over to analyze the weird kid. She hovers circles around him, observing the getup. "Huh... weird getup. Say, Pops, did the angels have a wonky emo phase, 200 years ago? Or maybe just a flare for the dramatic and broody?"

"I... plead the fifth."

Ako stops right in front of him, though still floating. She bends forward, look straight into his eyes. "And the glowing eyes. They're pretty and all, but a bit... try-hard-y, no?"

"Ako! You shouldn't be interacting with any of these people at all! Including angels!"

Ako drifts back a bit, hovering there and assume an Indian-style sitting position once more, arms crossed and looking up at her halo. "Yeah, whatever. Say, did angels always trust angelic powers to mortals?"

"Longer than we've been trusting them to hellspawn."

"Duh. I'm a genuine article! Also, I just wanna leave out there that the word 'hellspawn' is actually kinna racist, so..."

by **EphPhoenix** 16th May 2017, 3:05 pm

He tensed for a second when she moved toward him, almost summoning his scythe until she began circling around him making it clear she wasn't inclined to attack. He felt conflicting emotions as she spun around him making her analysis. From the center of Airtasm, he could tell there was amusement pinging the surface--but Airtasm was 200% done with her.

He analyzed what she was saying. Who was she talking to? He didn't pick up any audio, so a mental link? She talked as if looking on a history lesson. 200 years? Immediately, knowledge of demons popped in his head. A time demon would fit that. But there were...oddities.

Her aura definitely had demonic elements, but there were also...angelic? Was she some hybrid? An abomination? Or maybe one of the many demons that hunted and ate angels? Either way, her aura was powerful. If he had to fight her, this would hurt.

Wait! She'd called him a kid when first he'd met...crap. She knew who he was. He felt stabs of terror on the edges, quickly squelched by Airtasm. That was potentially trouble. But he'd get nowhere unless he addressed the situation.

"What manner of creature are thee?" he began in his otherworldly bass that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. "Your speech decries time demon, yet your aura also gives off holy.If temporal deconstruction is your aim, then death's angel shall you find to block your game..."

by Ink 16th May 2017, 3:48 pm

"Did... did you just... rhyme at me? Pops, did he just rhyme at me?"

"Ako..."

Ako pauses for a minute to process it all. "And what's this 'death's angel' stuff?"

"Here we go..."

Ako suddenly erupts into laughter once more. "BAhahahaha! Oh! Oh my gods! You really did go through a whole emo phase! Oh! Oh, that's just priceless! Hahahahaaa!"

"Ako! Focus! I swear, you're as bad as that Shio, girl."

Ako composes herself, stifling little snickers. "Huh. Shio. Wonder how she's doing. Maybe we should spar when I get back." For a moment she drifts off into an entirely unrelated train of thought before her gaze finds the so-called 'death angel' again. "Oh, yeah. You. Hmmm... nope. Not a time demon. Though I did pound one to dust when I got here, I think! That was fun. I'm a different kind of creature! A super awesome, one-of-a-kind, ultra powerful creature, to be exact! The one and only Ako! So what's your deal, Mr. Edge-Lord, sir?"

Ako's overseer sighs. "An Angel of Death is an angel tasked with guiding souls to the hereafter."

"Oooooh. Well, that's neat, I guess."

"But by all accounts, they should be disbanded, by now, though."

Ako's tail curls into a question mark at her side and she quizzically looks the angel over once again. "Weird. Hey, where's your halo, Mister Edge-Lord Angel?" she asks. Then comes a sharp gasp, followed by her taking an offensive stance. "That's it! You're totally an imposter! Villain! What'd you do with-?!"

"Ako. Death Angels didn't have halo's."

"Whaaat? Why not?! Man. You guys took this dark and gritty thing way seriously." Ako says and turns back to the angel, tilting her head to one side. "Say, Mister Edge-Lord, I'm kinna new in town, could you point me to the nearest time machine? Or maybe give me directions on how to find the Goddess of Time?"

"Ako!"

"What? If he's an angel, he'd know, right?" No response. "You're joking. Who the heck was running the ship, 200 years ago! My Hellzone was more organized that this!"

"Ako, there are reasons we angels don't like to talk about the 21st century."

"You mean like that fact that angels apparently go around rhyming at people, in this era?" Ako snickers.

"Let it go, Ako."

by **EphPhoenix** 16th May 2017, 5:14 pm

Okay, scratch that. Airtasm was 1000% done with her. Joseph knew somewhere beyond the mantle, he'd have been cracking up at this demonic creature's antics. As it stood, he...well, stood...in resolute silence as he let her have her head.

When she quieted down for five seconds, Airtasm's eyes glowed a greenish white. "If the archetype of archons brings your impish treason, then with the Progenitor should you seek your reason.

"If Deity Temporal be your quest, then human diversion Zelda seek at your behest." Joseph knew beyond the mantle he'd have been doing backflips at managing snark while like this.

His wraith-like eyes glowed like twin augurs and the area around him dimmed as if all the light was vanishing in his immediate area. He surveyed the ever present evil permeating the air, trying to discern a source, feeling frustration as he found nothing.

by Ink 16th May 2017, 8:43 pm

Ako stares wide-eyed at the other guy, then blinks. "Wha-? Pops. Decode."

"I have no idea."

Ako flutters back, gasping with her hands over her mouth and a spark in her eye. "Wait! Zelda! I know that! It's that mortal game! Oh! That one's a classic! Took a little bit of a dip, around the 2060s, but the 2120s brought it back with a bang! Oooh! It's a classic! I wonder if I have time to stop by a game store and pick up a super vintage copy to bring back with me. What's the one that came out in this era, anyway?"

"Ako..."

"I know, I know," Ako grumpily protests. She sighs and looks back to the other guys. "But if this guy doesn't know about Tiki, then who would?"

"An Archangel, for certain."

Ako brings her hand to her chin, glancing down to ponder. "What, like Lite? But didn't she spend all her time playing gatekeeper in heaven until a hundred or so years from now?"

"The universe has little need for an Archangel of War during times of relative peace, Ako. You're better off just distancing yourself from this world as much as possible, and waiting for me to get a hold of Tiki on my end."

Ako slumps over, pouting. "But she never picks up! For the goddess of time, she sure knows how to keep people waiting. Couldn't she just flick her wrist and make it so I never wind up here, in the first place?"

"You know she doesn't go tampering with the timeline unless time, itself, is in jeopardy."

"Or she has a prank she wants to pull on someone. I really need to get her to teach me that whole time-stop trick. I could so use that. Wait, do you think she's pulling a prank on me, like, right now?"

"Ako."

Ako's tail extends, reaching up and scratching her head. "I am curious about something, though. Why'd the time demon pick this era?"

"I assumed it got distracted with you punching it through historical landmarks."

"Nope! Came straight here. Hm. Maybe has something to do with all this Yoki. It does feel kinda weird."

"Ako... no..."

Ako takes on a cat-like grin, her tail waggling slyly behind her and she glances off to the side. "Hey! If a bunch of demons are going and screwing around with time, it is my sworn responsibility to deal with the issue, riiight?"

"Ako..."

"Right! So Ako is on the case!"

Her overseer sighs over the halo. "Why do I even bother?"

Ako tilts her head at the other guys as he turns out the lights, and looks around. "Um... whatcha doin'?"

by **EphPhoenix** 16th May 2017, 9:33 pm

Joseph could feel something as close to irritation from the mantle as it was capable. Amusement pinged on the outside.

"Evil walks freely, yet moves unseen," came Airtasm's reply. "Polluting this town, rendering souls unclean.

"If villain you aren't, then I tarry not. My prey lies beyond in a different lot."

Immediately, he leapt off the roof and hit the ground, disappearing in a burst of mist. When the mist cleared, he was gone.

Three blocks over, Joseph reappeared out of mist. He stumbled a bit. Returning to normal was still a bit jarring. Didn't used to be before the Council was disbanded. He pondered whether he would ever know who leveled such an attack or why his powers even remained when the seat of power that fueled it was gone. He had felt no loss of power, wasn't weaker. So...what powered his mystical side...?

He moved back in the present moment, moving forward. He hadn't meant to be rude--Airtasm wasn't concerned about such things--but he did need to move on. He grinned remembering her antics. She didn't seem evil. If she had been, Airtasm would've shown no mercy. But holy crap had he been scared. Damn good thing the mantle guarded against that.

He ducked out of the alley and back onto the street. He tried to shut down his analytical mind and let his instincts guide him. Something was out there. He could feel it.

by Ink 17th May 2017, 10:56 am

"No, but seriously? What's the deal with the rhyming?" Ako asks, casually floating just feet away from Joseph as if she'd always been there, lying on an imaginary couch in mid air, with hand behind her head as she looks at the nails of the other. She glances down at him before sitting more upright, as if sitting in a chair, crossing her arms and waving a finger at him. "Also. Kinda rude, just leavin' me hangin', like that, kid. Even dad had better manners'n that. How's it feel knowing the Lord of Hell is more polite than you? Huh?"

"Not the time, Ako."

"Duh. Nothing's the time. It's 200 years ago."

"...Fair enough."

Ako touches down, her tail extending up and pointing to the boy, over her shoulder as she stares at him with her arms crossed. "But for real, though. I have some questions for you, mister." She then lowers her tail and her expression returns to curiosity. "Hey, what's up with the wardrobe changes? One minute you've got the whole Edge-Lord thing goin' on. Then you're an ordinary, wimpy little mortal again. You're not possessed by an Angel or anything. But your aura is doing this weird little flip flop thing."

"Those are the questions you ask?"

"I'm getting to it, I'm getting to it. But I'm totally curious! My aura doesn't flip flop like that. Is he defective?"

"Ako..."

Ako sighs with a shrug, holding up her hands. "Fine, fine." She returns to her more accusatory stance, point her tail at him again. "So. What's the deal with all this residual Yoki, bub?"

by **EphPhoenix** 17th May 2017, 12:45 pm

"Holy everloving fu--dge!"

He jumped several feet forward, stumbling as he landed as he still wasn't used to his enhanced strength. He rounded on her--sitting in midair like she was on a lounge chair. He looked at her flatly. "What are you? A cartoon character...?"

At her chastising, he shifted guiltily until she mentioned her father. "Lord of hell...? Satan?" he said, taking a cautious step back. "Uh..."

He took another step or two back as she landed, not knowing what to answer--"Hey!" he protested indignantly. "I'm not wimpy!" He looked away for a second, processing that, grimacing slightly. Okay, maybe he was a bit. She didn't have to point it out...

He started moving again as she started having yet another conversation with the voice in her head. "I can go back to high school if I wanna be left out of a conversation," he grumbled. "You're not exactly the queen of manners, yourself.

by Ink 17th May 2017, 1:44 pm

Ako blinks and arches an eyebrow, then scoffs. "Satan? Kyehehe! That twerp wishes he was awesome enough to spawn me! He hasn't even been in charge of my Hellzone in, like, a hundred--" Aaand suddenly it clicks. "Ooooh. Yeah, uh, forget you heard that."

"Smooth."

Ako puffs up a cheek and leans forward, getting herself right in the boy's bubble of personal space, looking him right in the eye. "Hey, don't take it so seriously. Compared to me, all you mortals are wimpy. Nothin' to be ashamed of," she says flatly. A grin spreads across her face, bearing her mouthful of razor sharp teeth. "Also, I'm a saint, buster. Even got the halo to prove it."

"HA!"

"Nobody asked you, Pops," Ako grumbles, shifting her gaze away for a moment before returning it to Joseph. Her tail reaches out, extending behind him to prevent him from backing up any further. "So about that question. The residual Yoki. What's up with that? When did it happen? Where's it coming from?"

by **EphPhoenix** 17th May 2017, 2:55 pm

As soon as she started talking, knowledge came flooding in concerning demons and hierarchal standings and--"Gah!" he growled, putting a hand to his temple. "Close. the floodgate. please." It was all very fascinating, but demonology 101 could wait till later. Much later.

He took a couple of steps back, again, as she got up real close and personal. "Dude," he protested. "You haven't even bought me dinner yet, getting that close. I'm not that kind of girl," he said in a deadpan voice.

He hadn't needed the obvious protest he couldn't hear from her cohort to know that was a tall tail. Saint, huh? Sure, and he'd left his crown at the house and was planning on resuming his role as Queen of England.

Her attention returned to him and he processed her question. Yoki? Sounded like something out of an anime. "If Yoki means 'ethereal energy,' then that'd be my power, likely...?" Holy crap, this girl was the adhd poster child. Or a used car salesman. Maybe both.

"Uh, look, lady," he began, "but I'm kinda busy. And while I find potential discourses on revolutions in hell interesting, I really need--"

"Psst! Hey!"

He looked over to see a middle-aged man calling to him from the corner of a nearby alley. He beckoned him urgently. Joseph sighed. He sure was popular today. "Uh...excuse me..." he said, heading that way with a sigh.

by Ink 17th May 2017, 3:50 pm

As he proceeds to take steps away from her, Ako sneers and her tail rises, pointing at him as he turns his back to her. "Ako... no," her overseer says.

"Well, he's not helping!"

"They don't know what Yoki is, yet. The term didn't enter the mortal or angelic lexicons until after the treaty of-"

Ako holds the bridge of her nose and sighs. "You're killin' me, old man." She follows Joseph with her eyes and quietly floats through the air after him, hanging out with her hands behind her head and her legs crossed as if sitting in a chair until her eyes find the middle-aged man nearby. "Who's the dead guy?"

"Do I look like heaven's record keeper to you?"

Ako shrugs. "Aren't you friends with the guy?"

"He hardly has time to look for one person among the list of every soul that's ever died in our jurisdiction, Ako."

Ako stares dimly down over the conversation. Eventually she rights herself and floats off. "Whatever. That guy's no help. Next best bet is to track down the source, right?"

"Would you just hold still and wait for me to get a hold of Tiki?"

A sly grin weasels its way across Ako's face. "The fact that I'm still here at all means that Tiki isn't going to get me out of this mess, right? Otherwise she'd have just popped up from the instant I got here."

"That's... yes, but..."

"Then it must mean whenever you do get a hold of her, she decides to leave it alone until I get to the bottom of this!"

Ako's overseer grunts on his end of the call. "You've got some long arms to make that kind of reach, kid."

"Eh. It's the tail. But if time demons are involved, then maybe this wasn't supposed to happen in the first place. It'd explain why Captain Edge Lord didn't know anything about it, right? So. Now to just find the source. Two options. Get to the center of the Yoki field, or go where the Yoki's highest concentration is. Guess I'll try 'em out in that order. Away we go."

"Well, if you're not gonna take 'no' for an answer..."

"Nope!"

by **EphPhoenix** 17th May 2017, 5:42 pm

When he got down the alley, he was able to get a good look at the ghost. Whoops. He wasn't middle aged, at all. His style of dress had thrown him off. Joseph placed him early 20's, mid 20's oldest. He was rocking a pinstriped suit and fedora with a silver dress shirt and matching tie. Joseph had to give the man props. He had style.

"Sorry to interrupt you and the doll," he began. "Figured you didn't want the jive turkeys thinking you were any loopier than they already do."

"What?" he said bemusedly. "Oh. Right."

"Yeah, kid, nobody amongst the living can see her," he explained mildly. "Damn shame, too. Chick's got gams to make a man want a job with benefits!"

Joseph stared blankly. Job with benefits? And earlier, he'd used jive turkey? What era was this guy from? "Wait. You think she's hot?!" he said incredulously. "Good luck with that. You should see her teeth. Be like kissing a chainsaw -- just more sass.

"Wait," he said again as something else occurred to him. "You know you're dead?"

"Of course," the man said with pride. "And I don't need you getting me to try and move on, Death Angel, I still have unfinished business."

"You...know what I am...?"

"Of course. Been around the block a few times. That fog show you pulled just a minute ago didn't hurt, neither. 'Course, you're the first living one I've met. Sure there's an interesting story there, but we don't have time for that, now.

The man suddenly grinned. "As for her teeth, I'd take my chances."

Joseph grimaced. "Really?" he said flatly with a wry expression. "There's no time for my origin, but all the time in the world to drool over a demon...? She could be a succubus for all you know." He doubted that, though. Her aura wasn't right for it. Besides, she didn't ooze sex appeal.

There was a weird twinkle in the guy's eye. "Oh, if only," he said with a husky chuckle that somehow made Joseph want to take a shower. "Man, there's always time to admire a bunny. What's wrong with young men today?"

Joseph gave the guy a flat look. "If it wasn't for the fact that your slang is too young, I'd tell you to go back to the 50s, you Baby Boomer..."

The man laughed. "At least you can jive," he said with approval.

His expression went serious. "Truckin' on, name's Benji Thompson, ya dig, and you've got a big problem, kid. Children are getting taken. Mostly orphans and the foster types, those as won't be missed. Some powerful mojo is getting cooked up and these kids are the ingredients."

"How do you know?"

"Seen it, a'course. Damn bastards. Couldn't do a thing to save'em." He looked pained. "So I've been following, seeing where they're headed. Tried to invade the dreams of cops, but...no go. But now I've got something better: you. Angel cop. Yeah, I know what you guys moonlight on the side as. So, ya in?"

Joseph nodded. "Yeah, lead on."

by Ink 18th May 2017, 8:28 pm

Ako casually hovers over the warehouse district, hands behind her head with an eyebrow arched. "Well, nothing at the center, but this is where the highest concentration leads. What is it with bad guy and warehouse districts?" she says. "You'd think they could try something a little less... obvious. Maybe something original? The bad guy's almost never in a high rise, studio apartment or anything. Ooh! Or maybe underneath a police station. No one would think to look there!"

"Ako..."

Ako drifts closer to the ground, crossing her arms, her tail curving upright behind her and turning like a radar needle. "Yeah, yeah. They're sneaky, though. They're kinda masking their Yoki."

"That gonna be a problem?"

Ako takes a seat on the pavement and yawns as her tail continues spinning like a satellite dish. "Nah. Mom was really good at doing that kind of thing. How else do you trick a bunch of the greatest fighters around the galaxy into believing you're human? Especially with a Magi around. I can trace it, but it'd take a while."

"Not like you don't have the time."

by **EphPhoenix** 18th May 2017, 9:57 pm

"How cliche can you get...?"

Joseph stood before a dilapidated old warehouse, looking with a flat expression. Couldn't evil be a bit less obvious?

"It would be if that were the place," Benji commented. "Look behind it."

His eyes looked up to see a ritzy hotel off in the distance. His expression didn't change. "Why does evil have to have a better bank account...?"

"Sheesh. There's no pleasing you, is there?"

"We're dealing with child trafficking of the worst order. No. There is no pleasing me at this point."

"...fair point."

Cthulu Estates was the sign on the hotel as they approached it. Joseph slapped a hand to his forehead. "Really? Really?! It went from cliche to evil just not trying to hide itself, anymore!"

Benji folded his arms. "It doesn't have to," he commented wryly. "Everyone's free to worship it openly now without judgement. This modern generation and its 'political correctness.'"

"I don't write the laws nor do I do the protests, point it somewhere else."

"Where's your civil spirit, kid?"

"I walked it to the hereafter."

"Cute."

Joseph began walking forward, but Benji didn't. "Not coming?" Joseph asked with a raised eyebrow.

"As far as I can go, kid," he said. "Some kinda barrier keeps any random spirit from entering."

"...or from leaving..." Joseph's countenance became grim with that sobering thought. "Thanks for the help," he said as he turned and headed in.

"Hey, no problem! Just punch those mooks in the throat for me."

"Oh, I'll do more than that before I'm done..."

by Ink 22nd May 2017, 9:54 pm

Ako hovers over the warehouse district, half asleep as her tail continues to spin like a radar needle. She yawns before glancing down to the world below. "Bored," she says. "Hm... I kinda wish there were more demons around to fight."

"I don't think you do."

Suddenly Ako perks up. "Waitaminute! There should be more demons around, to fight!"

"Ako..."

"No. I mean there totally should be, right? That time demon was drawn here by all this residual Yoki. It had to be. Otherwise why pick this era?" Ako brings her fist to her chin and looks around, contemplatively. "I'm starting to think there's something else going on, here."

Ako's tail stops spinning, and jolts in one direction with a loud dinging, as if detecting a blip. Ako looks over her shoulder in the direction it points and arches an eyebrow. "It isn't just that the demon are being drawn to this area because of all the Yoki. The demons are coming here for something more specific. And it's probably in that absurdly conspicuous hotel." She pauses. "Wow. I don't think Cthulhu would be at all pleased with how blatant that is."

"Shame the mortals keep painting him as some sort of devil."

"I know, right? Super nice guy. Makes good lemon squares." With that, Ako takes of flying for the Lovecraftian hotel.

by **EphPhoenix** 22nd May 2017, 10:43 pm

Joseph had found a strange resistance at the entryway. A ward of some sort. Meant to repel spirits. If he'd gone in differently, he'd have likely had to exert a lot of energy to cross the barrier and alerted whatever lie inside to his presence like a bullhorn. As it was, he couldn't be sure he hadn't set their radar off, anyway.

He walked into the main lobby. It was deserted and eerily quiet. "What kind of place is this?" he said airily. "No service in the afternoon? You just lost a star."

The place was nicely furnished with expensive wood grain paneling and a large, expensive glass chandelier hanging overhead. "Insert cliche quip about questioning whether crime doesn't pay," he said ruefully.

He tried the elevators--and found they weren't responding. "Malfunctioning equipment," he commented, "I'm afraid my review is going the hurt their business." Or maybe not.

He looked to see there was a card slider. For everything. The doors, the staircase, all of it. "Two star demerit for the stairs," he commented. "What if there was a fire and they didn't have their cards? I mean, really. The Health Department will be hearing about this travesty!"

But how to get in further...? He could smash his way through, but...maybe not the best idea, right now. A certain degree of stealth and caution was in order. Besides...it was more fun that way. He grimaced at himself. Yes. Cause in the midst of kidnapped and possibly tortured children it has to be fun... He pondered on whether there was something wrong with him.

The front desk! He turned back to it. Places like this had cards lying about--or ones you could make. Let's see what he could see. He checked around again to make sure that there was no one around and ducked down, looking around behind the desk to see if he could find his quarry.

by Ink 29th May 2017, 10:23 am

Ako casually floats throughout the interior of the luxury hotel, taking note of the card sliders on everything. Her tail reaches up and taps her on the shoulder before pointing down at the floor. "Lower levels, huh?" Upon finding the stairwell, she brings her tail to the slider and slides the flat tip through it like a card. The panel beeps and Ako opens the door before her ears perk up at a rustling sound behind her. She looks over her shoulder before floating over to the front counter, hovering over the kid from before with her legs and arms crossed, and her tail waving behind her. "Whatcha doin'?" she finally says after observing for a minute or two.

by **EphPhoenix** 29th May 2017, 11:23 am

"Ow! Son of a bi--scuit!"

Caught off guard by the sudden voice, he'd jerked and slammed his head against the underside of the counter top. He balefully looked up to see--"You!" he exclaimed, then lowered his voice. "You! What are you doing here?" He peered cautiously around. Still suspiciously empty. "Are you following me? Like, is this a thing time travelers do? Go back into the past and be all voyeur or something? 'Ohh! So this is how the neanderthals lived!' or some such." He cocked an eyebrow at her.

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