Welcome to Gaia! ::

Beneath the mad moon, Death City sat planted in the dirt for once, rather than wandering about upon its enormous mechanical legs. The denizens of this place were rather content to not always be on the move; though it had its benefits when Lord Death felt the need to deal with situations personally. Otherwise, they wouldn't have bothered going to the trouble of installing Brew.

Times had been peaceful for awhile, but peace is a fragile thing. Like a whisper, it shatters in the next passing moment. This held true even now; and the end of their era of contentment was heralded by the murder of one exceedingly obnoxious child, his weapon Tsubaki barely surviving the whole ordeal and escaping in one piece. She had no choice, and was forced to live with the crushing weight of her shame. Tsubaki hasn't been seen in a long time, having not chosen a meister since that unspeakably gruesome day.

See, the witches have become rather brazen as of late. With Asura, Arachne and Medusa supposedly gone and no ringleaders to follow, most witches went into hiding, that they might seek out an alternative source of strength and leadership. At first none knew that both Arachne and Medusa actually survived, through no short amount of trickery. Both escaped as a minuscule snake and spider, barely managing to live on as weak as they'd become.

But then something changed.

The witches apparently cast around long enough to discover a solution to their powerlessness in the form of Demonology. Demons are beings of great power which can appear in any shape and form, whom exist in a dimension parallel to this one. Typically some type of binding contract is forged with the more civil minded individuals, though not without summoning them first. Still others certainly could not be handled without first subjugating them, and most witches and warlocks failed to enslave those...often becoming enthralled for awhile before being devoured, body and soul. The spellcasters who succeed in transacting an oath with a demon gain tremendous power, more so than they ever had access to before. It always comes with a hefty price, but nearly all were willing to pay it, believing they could potentially circumvent needing to give what is due later on.

Though even the demons answer to someone, and every last one, great and small, answers to the current Overlord; an archdemon in possession of such vast power that none of the others could hope to overtake them. Or at least, that is to say, there aren't any who have succeeded at such a seemingly insurmountable task yet. To them, that would be like saying you can cheat death, and live forevermore as an invulnerable entity.

Now, Death has taken notice that the witches have suddenly become riled up. That they no longer fear him, his students, his death scythes, or his reapers. He could hardly allow that to continue on, as it was impeding the process of developing new Death Scythes so the current ones could slowly retire as they saw fit. Eventually something would have to give, this cannot last; so it's time to make a move.

Standing in the Death Room, the masked man stared into his mirror, hardly noticing when his son approached from behind through the row of guillotine gates, flanked by Liz and Patty. Another trailed along behind them, though she was unnoticed by the three ahead of her.

"You bellowed?"

Before Kid could speak, a voice rang out behind him and he turned to see a vaguely familiar woman...that is to say, the only thing familiar about her, is that her appearance continually shifts. Her eyes, hair and skin never stay the same tone for long, and sometimes her features even alter, though usually kept the same structure throughout the years. It rarely detracted from her beauty for most people, apart from how her hair and eyes were presently in flux from green and blue to red and orange, and she was entirely too asymmetrical for his Kid's taste.

Death turned on the spot and stuck a blocky white hand up in greeting. "Yo yo yo, whazzaaaap!?"

There was a minute where the woman walked right beyond Kid, Liz and Patty as if they didn't exist, halted, and planted a hand on her hip. "We've talked about this. Don't do that anymore, it's embarrassing." Before he could 'REAPERRRRR CHOP!' the dragoness, she sidestepped and let Death's hand crack against Liz's skull, who yelped and fell on her butt, a tear crowding the corner of each eye. "OW OW OW!!! Hey, what was that for!?"

Ignoring this, the woman crossed her arms and looked up at Death with slit-pupiled orange eyes. "So, what did you need?" While Death didn't appreciate her attitude, he also didn't think too much of it. She had every right to keep her pride about her; she's the last of her kind as far as anyone knows after all. And she's proven her loyalty many times over, so he occasionally let the snark slide.

"Well, you see Sanathael, we have a witch problem and someone needs to get to the bottom of if. I'd like you and Kid to team up and see what you can learn together. And there's one more thing, before you both go..." He trailed off, watching Liz collect herself off the ground, with a hand rubbing the side of her head. Kid had summoned his usual chair, and was now sitting down as cool and collected as could be, watching his father. "Father, why exactly do we need to work together for this? I am more than capable of carrying out any task on my own."

Death tilted his mask to the side, and held both huge white hands up almost defensively. "My brother Thanatos might be involve; I don't want to leave anything to chance. This is not an ordinary mission and requires more than our ordinary attention. He's dangerous even when he's not trying to be."

Sanathael dropped her arms to her sides. "Any leads?" Death nodded, and filled them in on the details before the group headed out. They also had been told that they could take anyone else with them they deemed necessary, as this mission is of high importance, but it is also sensitive. This is a family matter lumped in together with the witch situation. Sana couldn't care less about that, but it's been awhile since she saw this particular person they had to catch. Though Death's last words rang clear.

'If you find Thanatos, do not attempt to engage him. You will fail. Report your location, and I will arrive as soon as possible with backup in case he refuses to return peacefully.'

He said this more to Kid than to Sana. Right now they stood outside of the Academy, Kid with his hoverboard out and Sana with her wings and tail out, both of which were cobalt and purple scaled at the moment. As long black horns swept backwards from her skull through her hair, Sanathael turned and looked at Death the Kid, arching an eyebrow. "Going this alone might be ideal. We both can fly, but not so many of the others can."

Kid thought of pulling Maka and Soul into it, hesitating. They had their own ways of getting around, and both proved that they are excellent allies to have at your back. He wasn't sure he wanted to try this without them. But he knew Sana was right, and it didn't make sense to linger here for now. So they'd take off into the sky, heading towards the most likely seeming of the locations Death mentioned. Kid had the sisters in their pistol forms, and on the way there, he couldn't help but notice that Sanathael was able to easily keep up with his super fast hoverboard while flying with her own wings, even carrying her partner Drake in bladestaff form.

"There, up ahead!" Kid yelled over the wind, pointing with his left pistol.

Sanathael nodded, eyes on the location down below. She could tell he was there, without question...Sana knew well before they crossed past the outermost edge of his soul sphere a ways back behind them.

He's definitely down there.

Outside, the 'intruders' had drawn to a halt at a presumably safe distance, and were now watching the exterior from as hidden a location as they could find. Sanathael didn't mind this cloak and dagger crap so much, but she always knew it was pointless. The second she was able to detect this aura, the dragoness knew better. "There's no sense in trying to keep concealed. He'll have known we were here since a ways back in that direction." She said, pointing the ever-silent Drake due south behind her winged back for emphasis.

"Though it looks deserted to me. We should step inside and have a look around, see what we're dealing with."

"Kid, what...? Are you joking?! This is your uncle we're talking about, and you wanna go waltzing in against orders, just like that? We're supposed to send word back when we got here!" Liz's disembodied voice protested, her translucent reflection shimmering up at him from one of her highly-polished metallic sides.

"No, we need to confirm it. We have to go inside, though it disgusts me because this place is a foul asymmetrical mess which should have been knocked down ages ago. If something is this asymmetrical, how dangerous can it be?"

"Atta' boy, Kid. So OCD that it's practically a disability." Sana muttered under her breath, then ventured forward. Times like this would be perfect for her true form. As a dragon, she could blend in to the point of invisibility, even while moving at top speed. Perfect for recon missions, really, especially if they needed an aerial view. But as she was now, she didn't even have access to so little as one tenth of her power. A pity, since they're about to bump into a god...it'd be useful to have a being of practically godlike power to counter him, if need be.

Alas, Kid hasn't grown into his real power either, since gods tend to develop slowly. He wasn't even really able to be considered a 'god' yet, though he could use some abilities which run in the family. Those would barely buy him the time he needs to do much of anything, really.
So while Kid argued with his pistols, Sanathael sighed and arose, broke cover, and approached the front without the godling's notice. There was a slight eagerness fluttering down her spine, a shiver she couldn't help. She knew this energy far too well from the good old days....back in the dark ages, anyone who could sense energy knew and feared this presence, though for reasons known only to herself, the dragoness never could bring herself to be afraid of him. If anything, she admired him for his boldness, how he could do whatever he wanted against Death's wishes.

Despite lack of actual fear, Sana realized awhile ago that she ought to have discouraged Kid from getting any closer. The one they sought was certainly here, and Death was likely to tighten the dreaded leash if she let so little as a hair on his son's head be harmed. Her presence in this little operation meant that she was solely accountable for anything that happened to the boy, his one and only heir. Since the fight with Asura; Kid's development had heightened, and Death's mask cracked. But the boy wasn't ready yet then, and he surely wasn't ready now.

"Don't lead him astray, Sanathael. You know what'll happen if you do." Drake the Bladestaff said quietly in his deep voice, and the dragoness tried her best to put those words from her mind. He was right. Crossing Death could finally turn deadly for her after eons of enduring his abuses. She'd only recently been allowed out on field duty, but Death always chose her weapon partners for her. Each one was as loyal to the academy as the next. Each of them have ratted her out for anything that seemed even vaguely suspicious. Sometimes Sana forgot how uneasy her presence made Death; he wanted to exterminate her with the rest of her kind, but she played her cards right and survived. Her entire existence, all her actions, everything she did lately turned on that axis: maintaining the status quo so she could live, and one day carry out her vengeance. Though never so naive as to think she could escape her leash and cage, Sana hoped she might one day break the seal on her power and, before being killed, could strike that b*****d where it hurts most.

Kid, upon realizing she started off without him, hurried to catch up and admonish her for leaving him behind. But he went silent and realized how close they were to the asymmetrical monstrosity. A sickened feeling furled tightly in his gut, as if invisible chopsticks were twirling his intestines up like noodles. Intuitively, he understood: this was about to get bad. Somehow, he just knew. Every last instinct shrieked at him to turn back, but he didn't. The Son of Death cannot be so callow. Right as he took a breath, squared his shoulders, raised his pistols and nudged the hoverboard forth, Sana caught his shoulder and held him back. Ringed golden eyes glared back at her and he prepared to respond crossly, but was cut off.

"This is your uncle we are after, Kid. I knew him once, while I doubt you've seen much of him if at all. Before we go in there, you had best realize he is nothing like Death or Asura. He is not insane, and he is far from kind. Don't think for a minute you can appeal to his conscience to back down. You would be wasting your breath. Now might be an appropriate time to call your father, rather than venturing further in."

Now intensely suspicious, Kid shrugged her hand off. "I need to see him with my own two eyes. Let's go." And he jetted forward, leaving a frustrated dragoness in his wake. He was smarter than she gave him credit for, but he was always prone to vividly foolish mistakes. Sana didn't want to be responsible for his wellbeing, but Drake wasn't going to let her forsake her duties as Death Junior's bodyguard. And judging from the look he gave her, Kid obviously didn't intend to listen. Death warned him about this woman. She might be the equivalent of a helpless, mewling kitten compared to what she once was, but her current power was more than sufficient to accomplish the tasks required of her, such as today. Kid understood that a person like Sana would do anything she could to reclaim her freedom, and that he shouldn't believe a word she says. Though if he stopped and thought this through, he'd realize that he was being ridiculous and this time around, she was acting as the voice of reason.

So she took off after him, thankful the crumbling corridors were wide enough for her wings to extend to their full breadth. This had once been a tremendous fortress, now eroded to ruin via the ravages of time after a horrific war in the Dark Ages. If she so little as sneezed in dragon form, this place would go tumbling down the mountainside in an avalanche of debris. How she yearned to burst out of this wretched human shape she'd been thrust into. The first time Death cast a series of spells that shoved her body into this smaller one, it was basically equivalent to rape. She had never felt so violated as she did then...everything she was, stripped bare before many sets of eyes, only for what was left to be crammed unceremoniously into such a tiny body by comparison.

'But then,' She mused grimly, following Kid. 'I should stop thinking about it, because that's an unobtainable dream.'

They were getting closer.

Kid shifted his weight to the side and his hoverboard was pulled to an immediate stop, while Sana landed a few feet to his right, angular wings tucking behind her back. Even as she did so, her nose wrinkled and those wings and that tail morphed colors from violet to green, and her eyes turned gold. "Ugh, how vile. Wet dog and dead deer combined." She nearly hissed. On the other hand Kid managed to keep a straight face, despite also being offended by the odor. His nose wasn't nearly as sensitive as hers. "It's been awhile, uncle." Kid greeted stiffly, grip tightening on both pistols. The sisters were silent as of now even with the strangle hold. Both could sense his sudden anxiety. Sana looked at him out the corner of one slit-pupiled eye, then propped Drake up and leaned against him. She was feeling especially weak right now; Death always tightened up her seals when he had to send her on field work. His reasoning behind it right now was solely that she didn't need to fight anyone today; she was only making certain that his beloved brat didn't get into any trouble.

See how well that was working right now?

"I think you know why I'm here, uncle. Father wants you to come back. Alone."

At this, Sana looked over at Kid again, then shook her head very slowly, her long tail swishing from side to side irritably. "Well then, since we're throwing subtlety out the window...it's been awhile, Thanatos. You look well. Up to no good as usual, I trust?"

"Watch yourself, Sanathael. I already have much to report when we retur---OWW!!" Before Drake could finish reprimanding her loud and clear so the whole room could hear him, she thwacked the middle of the unsuspecting bladestaff against a stony corner just within reach. "Silence. If I want your opinion, I'll give it to you."

"'Sanathael', is it? So we have Death's only son here, and the disgraced Queen of...well, nothing anymore, really." Came a silken female voice from a dark corner, and out stepped none other than Arachne herself. If Kid wasn't tense enough, this certainly bunched every muscle tight as bowstrings. She was dead. Everyone knew that Asura killed Arachne, so how is she here? Kid gritted his teeth and instinctively pointed both pistols right ahead. "What the hell have you been doing, bringing them back? You have no right!" He growled. Sana rolled her eyes and used Drake as a leaning post again, though the bladestaff whined a little when she did so. At this point, she was doing it purposefully to hurt him, intentionally shifting what weight she could upon his aching middle and exploit his current weakness. This was one of the few tiny things she could do in defiance, was make it well known that she disapproved of the partners Death chose for her. Sad that this is what she'd been reduced to in order to snap back at her captor, but she'd do whatever was necessary to defy him. Sana wasn't fully broken yet. He never did succeed at that one task. "Arachne, I really ought to have stepped on you when I had the chance. Except I didn't fancy cleaning spider guts out from between my claws. I spared your life out of pure laziness, and you repay my kindness with snark, hmm? I'll have to remember that." The spider remained silent at this, narrowing her web-patterned eyes. Towards the end of her remark, Sana's voice darkened and decreased in volume from affable to a menacing, nearly becoming a growl almost too coarse to be feminine. Her fangs were visible for a second, and for a split second she appeared nearly murderous. Dragons aren't well known for their temperance. Particularly ones which are backed into a corner. Sana's been stuck in a tiny little corner for who-knows-how-long, during which Arachne had been kind enough to send her little spiders with messages to taunt and mock her while caged.

Death the Kid stared at his uncle, no less prepared to flee than he was to fight. At this point, he wasn't sure what he'd do if Thanatos reacted now that he was at gunpoint. This flew in the face of the orders they received, but Kid hoped that his uncle wouldn't want to harm him. He had to hope that things weren't quite as bad as all that just yet. But then, Death always shielded him from knowing his uncle too well. Kid had no way of knowing what could come of this, but he had to make an effort and hope that Sanathael would back him up if it came to that.

Sanathael's eyebrows twitched slightly when Thanatos said his bit about Death tightening the leash, but she didn't have to respond. He knew the answer, and didn't really need her confirmation on the subject. She kept her mouth shut, even when Kid gritted his teeth and thumbed back his pistol hammers, spinning them so they were faced upside-down, as is his trademark attack stance. "Don't you dare talk about her!!!" He pulled the triggers, firing off a barrage more recklessly than is normal.

Sana sighed, continuing to lean upon Drake, who was beginning to panic a little bit. "Hey--! We really should step in, before he--"

"--Learns a valuable lesson? Oh, we wouldn't want that, now would we..." She yawned, tail flicking casually from side to side. But she didn't budge in his direction. Not yet.

"How about NOW?!" Drake snarled, furious with Sana for letting it get this far. She watched as Kid unleashed a hail of energy bullets, but all at nothing except an innocent patch of floor. In his rage he failed to notice that his uncle was leaning on his shoulder, watching. Now, as a result, Patty is dead.

Dead. Gone. Never would she laugh in his ear again.

Kid gulped, trying to swallow down the lump lodged in his throat, formed there from grief. He hung limp in Thanatos' grasp, and Liz screamed at him to hurry and get out. But he didn't hear. His golden eyes were glazed over with tears, and for the moment, the boy felt nothing but despair.

Sana straightened up and hefted Drake, bolted forward and brought the flame-like blade up, lunging in time to slip the edge between Kid's bared throat and Thanatos' sword arm right as he was about to slice into exposed flesh, instead severing the boy's shirt so he was freed. Drake cringed in her hands at the contact, even as she spun a half-revolution in place and used the crescent-shaped blade at the end like a shepherd's crook scooped around Kid's middle mid-turn, safely flinging him out of the way; with the winglike projection inside the crescent flattened down so as not to harm him.
"Take his hoverboard and get Kid out of here, Liz. I'll cover you." The lone pistol transformed back and raced forward, grabbing Kid and pulling him away. Tears shimmered upon her cheeks when she glanced over her shoulder to the detritus that is now Patty, but she couldn't falter now. She placed one foot on the hoverboard, hauled Kid up onto it, and jetted away out of sight down the hall while Sanathael put herself between them and Thanatos, Drake raised to deflect against any other attack that might come.

Sanathael was wary of him, and not without cause. He is proven countless times over to be a dangerous man. Which is an understatement, actually. She has never eaten a soul before, but now one was offered. The Academy would have anyone believe that consumption of souls such as this one is the fast track to becoming a monster. But in Sana's case, she was born as one. She lived a monstrous life. She would likely die a monstrous death, too.

What harm could it do, really?

"It's really that obvious? Whether the seal is weak or not, only those of Death's bloodline can interact with it. He tightens this collar whenever I am to go on field work. I've been trapped in this form since...well...you were there. Since then, seemingly eons ago."

"Don't you DARE!" Drake shouted. "Lord Death will kill you for certain if---hey, what do you think you're doing?!" The second he said the words 'Lord Death', Sana turned her head away and she extended her arm, offering the bladestaff to Thanatos as suggested. Her free hand reached towards the pink soul, which currently floated buoyantly almost a yard off the ground without touching anything. It was now propelled to her palm, and she cradled it with her fingers almost gently, as if it were an egg in danger of cracking. "Never tasted a soul before, ironically enough. So, not sure if I'll eat it or just kill it, but either way, I don't want Drake reporting to Death about me. Especially now. But that is quite an offer you're making...my question is, why? What do you want of me in turn, Thanatos?"

Sana found herself stymied; of all the things he said, what was most unexpected is the compliment. She certainly didn't feel beautiful. Basically no one thought of her as a woman since her late consort. The father of her children was the first to be butchered by Death before her eyes, but he didn't die without a fight. In the end his soul had been handed over to one of the death scythes, and that person hadn't been very comfortable devouring the soul. She couldn't remember who it was, because Sana had been flattened by an avalanche of rage. Her eyes saw nothing but blood and steel, and a being hiding behind a white mask. She stared at her consort's slack body, and watched as blood poured through channels in the stone. Because she knew her little ones would be next. They were newborns, just hatched the week prior. They couldn't defend themselves. So what if they would grow up to be bigger than houses, and be able to parch the land with their breath?

Now there is someone making an offer. A tremendous offer, to get back at Death. Who better to do so than Death's own brother?

Having little else to say, Sana nodded to him once, and turned to look back the way Kid and Liz fled. "Yes. I should." His utter confidence that she would come back was a bit striking. Was she that transparent in her hatred of Death? "Until then." She flew off, clutching Patty's pink soul. It almost wriggled impatiently to be free from her grasp, and she looked at it when hooking a corner, having forgotten all about it until now. She wanted to rub it in Kid's face, and his father's face too. But then she realized she couldn't, and skipped breakfast this morning. So the dragoness raised the soul to her mouth, and tasted before biting deep like an apple, then swallowed the remainder whole. She almost blushed a little bit at the sensation if gave on the way down. Now Sana understood why weapons enjoyed consuming these so much.

She would catch up as fast as possible to Kid and Liz, whom didn't pause outside. Liz was holding Kid up, and the boy slumped against her as if he were spineless. His eyes were still glazed over, and he stared at the horizon without actually seeing. Liz blinked when she realized they weren't alone, and took in Sanathael's appearance. She noticed that the other was empty handed. "Hey, where's Drake?"

Sana looked her in the eye, and then turned her gaze ahead. "When I covered your exit...Thanatos got him. He devoured Drake's soul before my eyes and said it tasted like crap." Her tone was flat and devoid of emotion. Liz watched her for a minute, then paid more attention to flying.

Neither of them would speak for the duration of the journey back.

--

Back in the throne room, Free finished his preparation. He looked up at Thanatos.

"Ready when you are, boss."

Arachne and Medusa exchanged glances, and moved out of harms way. Arachne was sour and quiet. She was annoyed that Thanatos would think Sanathael is beautiful, when she is a big scaly beast, so she was silent. Medusa on the other hand was amused. "I think we'll be seeing them again very soon."

While Arachne grimaced in the shadows, Free nodded and struck off into the spell. He had to repeat several incantations in a low voice, all of them abnormally complex and spoken in a language long lost to mankind...it sounded ancient, and he had only the spellbooks and lexicons nearby to rely on for translations. After the witches tricked him into slaughtering a deer and using its blood for ink, he opted to leave nothing more to chance. It was sad how gullible he could be.

As he mumbled his mantras, there were no notable changes within the throne chamber at first. Outside however, a guard called and said the sky was turning pure black, and the sun itself stopped smiling and laughing at all beneath it. The change of atmosphere crept into the chamber in fits and starts, until abruptly tendrils of energy popped and snapped, mini currents of black lightning striking and following the outer perimeter of Free's ritual circle. He continued whispering incomprehensible phrases, concentration unbroken, but most anyone else nearby was alerted to an incredibly ominous sensation pressing down upon them all. The ceiling blistered. The walls bowed outward, and the floor cracked and quivered, as if straining to bear an immense weight.

As this happened, it felt as though gravity increased a hundred fold, and the mere act of breathing became a near impossibility. Weaklings would crumple and perish of a faint heart. Others--the frog witch and her mousy friends, Arachne and Medusa and a whole host of others gathered here--found that the atmosphere became far too overwhelming for them. Even Medusa dropped to one knee, a hand to her throat as she labored for breath and struggled not to be wiped out so easily like the others. Her sight, while now blurred, let her catch snippets of the ritual in progress. A field of energy now wavered around Free, and when he finished one more verse and plunged a dagger through his hand to offer some of his own blood, the energy abruptly condensed and flared like black fire.

Free's screams were nearly lost in the roar, the crackle and snap of power. Blood cascaded out in bands, splashing and spraying against the walls and floor, until his corporeal form was completely dissolved in the torrent and the mass of energy stabilized. A portal was now open and stable, and from it stepped a woman, with one hand clutching the edge of the portal as if to make certain it stayed open, though it;d be impossible for anyone to see through it and witness where she originated from.

While possessed of a decidedly regal bearing, the woman herself wasn't very tall at all...perhaps just under 5 feet, clad in dark clothing flattering to her womanly figure, and she appeared to be entirely unarmed. Her off hand held Free's allegedly immortal soul, which squirmed to escape from her delicate-seeming fingers. No...apart from that soul in hand, she didn't look demonic or threatening at all. Medusa and Arachne were the first to collect themselves off the floor, exchanging confused glances.

What the hell? After all that, Free brought in the RUNT of the litter?

And yet, though they couldn't sense whether or not she had any power at all, there was the same ominous pressure from just moments ago, and it was emanating from her. The bite-sized runt.

"Immortals...fools that they all are, ever assuming that 'immortality' equates to 'invulnerability'. I can sense the lack of intellect in this one." Her exquisitely cultured voice was soft at first, but resonated without effort, carrying to every set of ears. Now taking her time in looking around the room from one side to another, the demon turned to peer up the crumbling steps to the throne, and the man lazing upon it. "So, then. Whose brilliantly insulting idea was it to use a dead deer as ink?"

Arachne struck dust and flecks of stone from her gown with the flats of her palms, though she remained silent. If she couldn't sense much in the way of energy from this woman, then what was this indisputably murderous sensation she detected? It felt as though a blade was pressed to her throat, and she dare not swallow lest she cut herself.

Who is this woman?