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Samuel raised his eyebrows and looked back at the newly awakened Erik.
"We were outmatched in our battle against the Hunters. They had some artifacts that could take out a class seven demon, so we ran away. Leviathan returned to Crossover, and Kayla appears to be either an assumed casualty or a turncoat to the Hunters. Both you and Joe were knocked out by a shockwave from the blocking of once of Leviathan's attacks, and I dragged you guys into the subway to bring you back to HQ. I got directions from Kayla. We should be arriving soon, I sense it nearby." Samuel was nonchalant as he put Erik down and stopped walking for a moment to look at him and see if he was moving.

Pain. That was what embraced him as he entered the world of the conscious. Pain, and lots of it. But he didn't care as he had learned to embrace it back, knowing that if he felt pain, then he was alive. Pain again, this time more of a shock than the dull pain he was used to. Slowly his eyes opened, once again having to relive the whole existence he was living at the moment. That of him being nothing more than a puppet for his captors, a toy to be played with whenever they fancied a game.

Again, the shock came, forcing his eyes wide open, to gaze at one of the worst sights he could ever see: his wife and daughter both chained up against the opposite wall. His started to panic, then slowly passed it off as nothing more than a simple hallucination, nothing more than a mind trick the others wanted him to experience, just so he could suffer some more. But that theory was blown out of the water when his wife called to him. "Ted, Ted honey. Are you alright? Speak to me." He wanted to, oh how he wanted to. But he couldn't, not with how dry his throat was after the screaming.

A side door opened, and a man entered, carrying a stick. He smiled, but not in any pleasing way. He struck Ted, but after receiving nothing more than a grunt, decided for something better. He waltzed over to Ted's wife, and smacked her in the face. He got the cry he wanted, and was even more pleased when Ted started to struggle. The man struck her again, pleased at the reaction as Ted struggled even more, then struck Ted's daughter. Ted flew into a rage after his daughter started to cry, but he couldn't do anything. He wished he had power to solve this, but none seemed to come to him. The man just smiled his predatory smile, and exited the room, leaving a trail of laughter. Ted just closed his eyes, tears streaming down them, unable to do anything except listen to his wife's and daughter's cries.

Paul sat down on the hard floor. The shockwave had messed with his inner ear; his balance was still a little off, though it was barely perceptable, mostly noticed as a slightly shaky stomach. "Alright guys, we nabbed someone. Not who we intended, but someone. What's our next move?" he asked, adressing no one in particular.

((damn it! scream this is SOOOOO frustrating! it's so hard to keep up with you guys when I have minimal access to internet. gahh!))

Joe awoke slowly, opening his eyes just a fraction and surveying the scene through his eyelashes.
Roland...?

Ahh. Got it.
Joe struggled to sit up, leaning his back against a wall.
"Where...are we? What's going on?" He clutched his stomach and groaned. "God, it feels like I'm gonna spilt open...stupid magic shockwave thing." He shook his head and looked up at his companions, waiting to be filled in.

"To be honest... we don't know either," Alan answered from where he relaxed face-down on his bed. "The demon was putting a lot of pressure on us. Josh - that's the Fist of the Titan guy - could've taken it down, put it would've taken a lot out of him. Sam - the Oathkeeper's wielder - was trying to fight while maintaining a visual barrier against those outside but letting us see. And as you found out, in the presence of that demon, my control was slipping away rapidly."

He sighed. "You really consider them your friends, huh?"

((Errr... Devath/Samuel, they're in a Mansion.))

Legion was already sitting in the entrance hall, was was already looking quite infuriated.

"You lost two for your gain of one. Explain. Now," he demanded.

Alan snorted and sat up.

"Point-by-point. First, do you have any idea how much suffering a Forsaken exists in? We are perpetually being taken apart and put back together, locked in a miserable state as the soulless shock troops of any powerful enough to convert a human into one of us. I've died thousands of times since Legion came to power originally. Millions, even. And trust me, you mean little more to him than I do.

"My mission is not to save the world, or you. My mission is to kill Legion. Saving the world is more like Josh or Sam and their idealism. I just want Legion dead. If you had any idea what he and his followers have put me through, you'd understand why I hate him so much. One of the few things I have in my favor is that I try not to be as hateful towards those who follow him.

"Even as one who is literally soulless, a Forsaken, I have more of a soul than most of the Warlocks did. I was horrified by the realization of that I had stabbed you, do you hear me?!" He was building up to a feverish pitch. "I have to exercise constant control to even be able to approximate humanity! Can you even conceive how easily I could've ended you all?! I am unbound by the constraints of matter! I can fully intersect myself with the realm of crossover. I could end all life on this planet if I so chose, but for my efforts to be a better person than Legion and his followers. How many Forsaken did you kill in your first exercise under Legion? Five? Ten? Fifteen? Twenty? I have been fed my own organs more than once. If you've ever killed a Forsaken, do not talk to me about having a soul."

He paused, breathing heavily. He held still for a moment and exhaled slowly. The light seemed to be brighter than before - he had been pulling it into himself as he ranted.

"As for the Oathkeeper," he sighed, visibly calmer, "It is an artifact unlike most. There are maybe sixteen, seventeen of them in the world - sentient magical artifacts. I say 'he wields the Oathkeeper' with reverence because it does not wield him."

"Of course I know Legion," Alan answered bitterly. "He took my soul about a thousand years ago. And what resurrection are you talking about?" He seemed legitimately clueless.