Welcome to Gaia! ::

*Enki grabs onto Juuni as she jumps and cling to his neck. He holds her close to him, a blue aura seeming to envelop them both as he does. He gently runs his fingers through her hair and pets her gently before whispering into her ear*

Thank Gaia you're all right... I was so worried...

*He then lets her slip from his arms and back to the ground, watching her totter back to Tomorrow and the other person he disn't know. He then looks down at the ground, then walks up to them. He looks up at Tomorrow, then kneels down in front of Juunish. He reaches behind his neck and unlatches his saphire necklace, then reaches behind Juuni and clasps it around her neck*

Here. Keep this with you always, don't ever loose it... it is directly tied to the energy that keeps me alive. With this on, I'll always know where you are. And if you are ever in distress, I'll feel it and come find you, alright, hunny?

*Enki smiles at her and ruffles her hair, then blinks as she takes his hand and places something in it*

What is it, Juunish...?

*He examined the beautiful opal, lined in runes*

*Enki smiles and looks at Juunish. He holds out his other hand and mist begins forming around around it in a circlular shape. The mist slowly condenses to form a small chain made of water, which then feezes. He holds up the opal and mist begins forming around that as well before condensing and freezing in the shape of a Leviathan coiled around the stone. He holds them together and the two link to form a necklace. He reaches behind him and puts it on, the opal staying right next to his heart*

I'll keep it safe for you

Tomorrow had turned away, unable to watch. It was Juuni and Enki's time...John wasn't part of their equation.

John had taken a back seat as Tomorrow strolled over to a small shop, walking in...

...Before coming out clutching a small pair of black shades.

He flicked them open as he approached the two men and small child, sliding them on to sheild them all from his icy gaze as he spoke. "Good question." He growled, looking down at Mere. "I need to go to base - i mean, home - and pick up my equipment." He looked up at Enki and Juuni. "Enki, if you're coming, get kitted up. Make sure Juuni is dressed properly and prepared for travel. She has twin scars on her back - i put a healing poultice to stop the bleeding, but it still has to heal. She wont be able to wear any sort of pack until then."

He turned back to Mere, his finger reaching out to poke him in the chest again - hard. "Buzz me when you're ready. When we meet again I want full details - where we're going, what we're getting, and who we're giving it to. Until then..."

He backed off slowly, not really giving any of them a chance to answer - before turning around, his back to them. "...Take care."

Then the crowd swallowed him up, the bustling throbbing pulse of the massive city adding one more random face to the myriad already siphoning itself. It had been like he had suddenly turned into a different person...the kind and caring John stepping back to allow someone much darker to take charge.

If any of them had been present in Durem half a year ago...they might have recognised him.

"Okay what kind of freak are you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't even get stitches for that!"

"Yeah?"

"All you got was a bandaid!"

"Yeah?"

".. Forget it."

Reiko and Rose exited the hospital, Rose, with an annoyed look on her face, and Reiko , with one bandaid on the back of his hand. Then Reiko turned one way and Rose the other. Turning back to look at eachother, it was Rose who got the first word.

"Where are you going?"

"I need new clothes."

"Aren't you going to buy me a new bike?"

"Buy you a ne-- ... Okay, I'll get some clothes and meet you there."

And thus, Juuni was left quite alone. With the stranger that had arrived with Tomorrow. With a nervous pout she watched her father leave before turning around and blinking up at the strange man, tapping her fingers together.

"Er... Isa Juunish..." she cocked her head to the side slightly, "Who ish chu and where ish we goings?"

Juuni blinked at the hand and then up at the smiling face of Mere before cocking her head to the side slightly with a smile.

"Ima help Papa and Oniisama for sure!" she smiled back, taking his hand in acceptance.

...

Within the confines of the tiny neko's mind Juunikyuu stirred, watching Mere carefully, arms folded over her chest as her eyes narrowed.

_______The Half-Silvered Mirror fell and Vincent rushed forward, uttering a single command to urge his comrades forward. His eyes looked over the edge of the building and spotted a sizeable crowd gathering in one place. He leapt over the edge, manipulating his inertia to fall swiftly. He swung his sword as he landed diagonally from his upper right to lower left and felt little resistance as his blade tore through the bodies of three people and struck the ground. The screams rose and Vincent smiled a sickly grimace and even let out a small chuckle.
_______Drucilla shoved her finger into a hole just below the head of the metallic stick in her hands. Her finger touched the contact point inside and a beam of energy blazed forth from the end. One after another, a few screams fell silent, a fist-sized hole blazed through the head or chest of each victim. A smile crossed her face as well as she took her left hand off her weapon to throw a single silver coin down into the crowd. "Kuradga," she muttered and from the clear, almost cloudless sky, a bolt of lightning struck at the coin, slaying several more people and leaving a small crater in the ground.
_______Konstantine rushed to the edge of the building and peered down at her targets, the innocent citizens of Latent Town. She thrust her arms forward and exerted the energy which would form her synthesis. Several feet in front of her, at the same height, two dozen spikes, three feet long, formed seemingly out of thin air. As they gained physical form, they struck downward with instant momentum, slaying many more of the fleeing townspeople...