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It had been awhile since he had been told by his head doctor Aden about the lost artifact. The halo that had been in his grasp once before and then foolishly lost a long time ago. Of course he had been informed it wasn't lost...but 'belonged' to a young spawn who had come from his own facility.

He had thought long and hard and only came to a conclusion after discussing with Mr. Zyane about the possibility of making a summoning circle with the halo as the center to be able to summon angels instead of demons... It was a very promising project and the halo was a very powerful talisman.

Sitting in his office he waited for the good doctor to arrive as well the spawn he had summoned to this meeting. Aludra. A greed and humility spawn which would explain how he ended up with the halo in the first place.

"Annoying greed children.." he grumbled to himself as he shuffled through his papers.

"I don't know, I sort of like them." Came the cheery voice of Aden as he came into the office with a smile on his lips. He walked over to take up the seat in front of his Boss that he often found himself seated in these days, he was a go to guy for Vampy of late, seeming to have replaced many others that came before him, and he smiled, "How are you doing today, Boss?" He gave Vampy his best grin, ever finding the desire to flirt with the grouchy man.

The boss of the facility didn't look up as he was addressed instead rifling through his papers as if trying to glean more information about this Aludra and what he was like. Given that he was pretty sure that spawn wasn't just going to hand that blasted halo over.
"Well Aden if this meeting goes well I will be very ...pleased." He stated slowly as he then shuffled his papers to the side.
"The boy was contacted yes? And he is coming?" He asked his gold eyes locking on the doctor.

Aden gave a sound a bit like a laugh, lifted a hand up, and stilled the laugh with a cough, "Mmm, yes. I am sure he will." He assured the man, looking over at the file, "Looking for something?" He asked, curiously. He would love to get his hands on the hard copy files that Vampy had in his office, they must be rather interesting since he kept them so close to himself.

"Only your pink slip if your going to continue to annoy me.." He snapped as he leaned back in his chair tapping the tips of his fingers together. Eyes narrowed as he thought over the possible scenarios that could play out when Aludra arrived.
"I want you here to be a witness nothing more...you are to not talk with the boy or influence his decisions you understand me?" He growled.

"Annoy you? You wound me, Boss. I try and I try... this must be what its like to be a wife." He said with a feigned pout, then tilted his head to the side seeming to become a little more serious. He shifted, sitting up in his seat before he shook his head, "No promises there, I am not going to just ignore my little Alulu." He told his Boss, "But I can assure you I am not going to tell him to do something or not do something, I have no agendas when it comes to this place."

The room seemed to grow chilly as the man stared or rather bored into the good doctor.
"Don't remind me of your...'actions'. I have let you get away with enough...don't give me a very good excuse to des..dismiss you." He growled looking very very pissed at the moment. "This is a professional business transaction..if I must make you leave I will." He stated firmly.

"I've never done anything that would warrant dismissal, I have done everything that was asked of me from mixing special drugs to stitching people up after your exciting adventure in field trips." Aden told him, starring right back at him, "As for your transaction I see no reason to interfere." Unless the guy was prepared to do something that would put Aludra at risk, perhaps he was to attached to the kid but given the situation between them it was hard not to be. He slouched back in his seat, "Your to up tight, you need to consider your heart. To much stress is going to kill you."

The man grinned. "What makes you think I have one?"

Aden starred at him, eyes wide before he started to laugh in a delighted manner, "That was good." He didn't think his Boss had a sense of humor and yet here it was, he'd showed that he had it in him somewhere.

To say that Aludra was nervous was... well, pretty damned accurate. The red of his tri-colored eyes was seeping into the green and receding almost constantly as his comfort levels dropped and his anxiety levels raised. And make no mistake about it: Aludra did also regret not taking the bus. Since he'd started getting better in the not-stressing area he hadn't had many problems with anxiety, given they went hand-in-hand. That was what had inspired him to choose his motorcycle over the bus. At that point, he'd only been a little shaky - now, he felt kind of like being sick.

He swallowed thickly, sure that he had a white-knuckle grip on the handlebars under the black leather of his gloves, speed awkward and inconsistent as he pulled into the Facility's parking lot. Taking up an entire parking spot like the greed brat spawn he was, he turned the bike off and dismounted. The young man opened the saddle bag and put his gloves in, flexing his freed fingers and retrieving a folder from among the other pointlessly gathered objects stashed with his bike. It was until he removed his helmet that he realized he had nowhere on the cycle itself to put it and so was forced to carry it in with him.

With a bit of direction, he found himself at Vampy's office and only stared at it a moment before finally willing himself to knock. He practically held his breath as he waited for some kind of response and hesitantly opened the door when it came, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. Catching sight of Aden only made his stomach drop down even closer to oozing out of his feet. In the bad way, for once. It took all of his long-practiced self control to stay calm in the face of the man he'd hated for a long time despite having never even met him. Instinct also wasn't to be trusted at this point regardless, as it was telling him to do one in hundreds of things from snarling like a feral dog to curling up on Aden's lap and hiding until the bad man was gone.

So, taking all of that into consideration, he smiled curtly and took a seat in front of the man's desk. He was still shaking, but if he realized it, he wasn't letting it show.

"Mr. Vampy," he said in what he hoped was a calm tone, feeling like a child in this room of adults, too small to be playing Mr. Business Man. Not that he was dressed the part: Leather jacket, no shirt, jeans, custom-fit helmet on the floor and [most of] his hair in its usual braid. Oh yeah, he was the epitome of business man alright. "I hear that you are interested in a trade.

"First of all, allow me to apologize for my delay in contacting you regarding our meeting. When I initially proposed the idea of trading away an item with such value to myself -and obviously to you as well- I did not believe that my request was going to be taken seriously as well as taking in the idea that I would never again see this item most precious to me once it had been traded away. As a result, I was taken quite off-guard when Aden contacted me regarding the trade and was required to take a period of time to recover from separation anxiety," he joked slightly, though it was in all seriousness; you don't usually get a tattoo of something on your back if it doesn't mean just about the world to you. His length tail flicked across the floor to play with Aden's foot. He's been rehearsing this speech for at least the past three days and prayed that fact wasn't too obvious. It probably was.

"However, I have finally made my ultimate decision. Know now that I am not carrying m- the halo with me at this exact moment in time, as I did not trust myself to resist caving in for a high enough bribe; not having it in my possession makes the chance of such a thing happening drop significantly. Also know that if in any case I feel that the trade is not equivalent or matching to what my initial proposal entailed, I will never again carry it with me in or near this building. I do, however, have the photographic proof of its existence and to assure that it is most certainly real."

Speech finally finished, he tossed the folder onto the desk in front of him and flopped back into the chair. That was more speaking that he usually intended to express in an entire week and one could tell that he wouldn't mind not saying another thing for the rest of the day. In the folder were just a couple pictures of the halo coupled with his formal, written proposal regarding the trade.

Aludra wondered if, on top of everything, throwing up would really make him feel any worse.

The white haired man had looked up when Aludra had entered had remained silent whilst the greed spawn explained his side of the bargain. He continued to eye the boy, who's pink hair reminded him too much of the demon he had been spawned from. Though he had the urge to point out to the lad that the halo was...originally property of the facility he knew being that the kid being part greed it was a fruitless endeavor. He may as well try and convince the spawn that the sky was actually purple and that you could survive underwater indefinitely just by using positive thinking.

When it was apparent that Aludra was quite done he leaned back into his chair his fingers lightly tapping against each other as if he was in deep contemplation. Though he was merely picturing the numerous ways he could instantly be rid of this pest in front of him he only smiled slowly after a while. Smart boy bringing just the photograph, though at the same time his annoyance was tripled.

"I see then boy," He stated as he leaned forward finally to rest his elbows on the oak counter top of his desk. "You have made yourself perfectly clear, you want to be compensated for something of equal value of the artifact you have in your possession." He started off slowly, wishing he had tea as meetings like this general called for it. His gaze flicked to Aden before returning to look at Aludra.

"Perhaps now would be a good time to tell me what you want in exchange for it?" He ventured lowely.


Aden seemed a bit impressed by the fact that Aludra had arrived so prepared for this meeting even if he looked a bit on the exhausted side by the end of his speech, he gave him a bit of a smile as though to reassure him before glancing over at Vampy to try to make a guess at the man. He'd go with none to happy but at least the room wasn't filling with the overpowering scent of cinnamon that came along with the man wanting to murder someone... yet at least. That was a good sign that that he wasn't going to have to patch anyone else up or at least he sure hoped not.

Aludra hated this. Oh, Aludra hated this very, very, very, very much, and even that wasn’t enough to express how uncomfortable he was, being considered as an equal and being scrutinized under that golden-eyed gaze. Sure, there were other golden-eyed gazes he didn’t mind being scrutinized under, but Aludra severely doubted there was anyone who would enjoy being under Vampy’s gaze ever, and if there was anyone who would… well, good for them. He wished that they could switch places right about now.

Aludra’s tail that had already been outstretched toward Aden’s leg now wrapped loosely around his ankle. He still wanted desperately to be able to curl up in Aden’s lap; it would make this stupid meeting so much easier in a weird way. He would actually feel comforted and, y’know, safe in that man’s arms. But no, no, that could wait until after the meeting was over, or at least he hoped that it could. He was pretty sure that he would need to have a cigarette, too, within the next ten minutes or he might actually spontaneously combust.

Unintentionally, as Vampy leaned forward, Aludra pressed himself a little bit further into the back of his chair, only further proving how hard it was for him to keep from being ready to give into anything that Vampy wanted to trade the halo for. But no, he was here for a reason, and he was going to damn-well get what he came here for. His tail flicked a bit before latching back onto Aden’s ankle and he took a deep breath as he sat up straight again, trying to get back into the swing of talking, clearing his throat quietly.

“As I have been led to believe and do believe myself that this halo is of a very high price, I am going to willingly ask for something that is also… valuable to you. That would be…” he paused, this entire speech having been told to the table as Vampy’s gaze felt as though it was boring holes into the back of his skull. Finally, he looked up and meekly met Vampy’s gaze. “The greed demon, Drake’s, freedom.”

There was something about the way that the boy pressed himself against the back of his hair, it was satisfying to know that he still was intimidating though he tried not to show the flicker of surprise and annoyance when the child...(yes he considered all the spawn at the facility children..no matter HOW old they were) stated that the halo was of great value. And indeed it was...though he had to wonder who it was that led the kid to know such knowledge. Perhaps the sheer fact Vampy wanted it was enough of a give the brat a hint.

He let out a low whistle as if impressed by the drastic amount the other was asking in exchange for the halo. He didn't lean back into his chair as it would of shown how annoyed he was by the child's remark.

"You are asking for a rather dear price Aludra..." He stated as he went through his thought process slowly. No need to rush this, finding demons was literally hell of a lot easier than angels...though that could change with the halo in his possession. "I will...agree to the trade under a couple of conditions..." he replied his eyes looking rather hungry at the boy,

"First condition, the demon you Drake the demon of greed will have his memory erased of this place. I cannot risk him running around telling others about the goings on here on the inside." He thoughts went back to the sloth that had just moved in. Though convenient he'd rather not attract the attention of stronger things.

"Second, he will be returned to his true home....hell," he waved a hand over his desk a small pentagram forming or rather burning into the desk, "Third you are to accompany me in finding and retrieving a demon to replace Drake. Do you understand boy? You are only granting freedom to one to imprison another." The man's white hair seemed to glow faintly lifting slightly due to the magic he was using. There was a scent of cinnamon aloft in the air.

Aden was quietly watching, a part of him wanted to sooth Aludra and assure the boy that it was going to be alright but as it was with Vampy involved he couldn't exactly make any promises, could he? He tilted his head to one side, looking between the pair for a long moment before he shifted in his seat to get a better look. He listened to Vampy's words, to what he was adding to the deal. It seemed a little extreme, "Do you think it safe to send a child after a demon?" He asked curiously of the white haired man, the mere fact that one could smell cinnamon in the air was testament to the fact that man was excited, be it bad or good was debatable... being that it was Vampy he was leaning toward bad.

Vampy turned his face casting the man a glare and then a rather large smile. Did his teeth always look so sharp before?

"When I ask for you to speak I will," He growled though he only ended up laughing a bit, "And did I say he was to go alone? I said he was going to accompany me. So be silent you useless sack of flesh, before I decide that I decide to send YOU instead..." There was no mistaking the scent was growing sharper now...pungent to the nose like someone had accidentally burst a bag of ground cinnamon in the room.

Aden gave him a long glare and then snorted, "Yes, because it went so well the last time you accompanied anyone anywhere." He spat out, not pleased with being called useless when he worked his a** off to keep his Boss happy, going as far as creating serums for him to keep wrath demons in check, stitching up people he got hurt on his silly field trips, and distracting his little Fallen to keep him from getting underfoot in Vampy's plots. He crossed his arms over his chest, and seemed to be sulking, stupid Boss... he was so unappreciated despite his being quite useful. Really, it was no surprise why that man had no friends...

Yes, Vampy was certainly playing all of this up very well. Aludra was practically biting his tongue in fear that he wasn't going to be able to set Drake free after all and that this was all just a useless endeavor. But no, he wasn't going to think like that. The boy took a slow breath, setting his jaw and setting his mind as straight as he knew how to make it, telling himself again and again and again, his own personal mantra for this stupid little meeting: 'I will not settle for any less, I will not settle for any less, I will not settle for any less...'

As such, it made his heart soar when he heard Vampy say that he would agree to the trade, his entire body perking up visibly, though he regretted seeming so happy about it and instead donned what he hoped was a more serious demeanor, nodding a few times for Vampy to continue while he had a mental happy dance in honor of feeling as though he'd won the lottery - which was saying something, considering he was losing more in material goods than he was gaining. And that was when the first condition hit the air.

Alright, that was fine. He wouldn't mind having his own memories of that place erased, in all honesty - at least, if it weren't for the memories that he'd made there with Aden. The second condition was also one that he agreed to, though the male froze on the spot when the third condition was stated, and he cleared his throat into his hand, as though feeling as though he hadn't quite heard the man right. But... well, there wasn't a lot else that could have been misconstrued into that.

Aludra smiled shakily at Vampy. Oh, he understood that; he just hadn't understood that he would be the one helping to go and get that new greed demon. At the very, very least, there was the fact that Drake, the one who was his 'father' or at least somewhat of one, was going to be free. He had no connection to this new demon, or he would tell himself that. He would just pretend that this other one was in no way like him... he just knew that something like that wouldn't work for long.

The smell in the air, at least to Aludra, was a rather sickening one at the level that it was. Not knowing much about Vampy, or really anything about the man at all, he didn't really know the origin of the scent, and covered his mouth and nose with one cupped hand, watching the exchange between his boyfriend and the man's boss with a wary eye, not quite trusting a lack of civility to mean anything good in the long run.

A few moments after wishing the cinnamon-scented air away [and failing, mind you], he finally came out from behind his hand, taking a deep and shaky breath as he felt himself slipping into a place where he could very easily just be signing his life away to this man, and he didn't like that thought. He didn't like that thought at all. But it was for Drake, for his 'father', or whatever the donor was to him.

"I agree to all of your conditions, then," he stated, shaking a little in his chair and sitting up a bit more. "On a predetermined date, I will bring you the halo and transfer it to your possession, after which will ensure that you release the greed demon, Drake, and I accompany you to find a replacement for your..." he trembled softly. "Facility." It was more for his benefit, the restatement. But it was useful nonetheless.

Dream was located in Isle De Gambino, it was a rather glamorous place on the inside but from the outside it looked like any other building, as though it weren't trying to attract just any attention. The place was for certain clientele and only specific people, the sorts that were 'right' for the place were even allowed passed the front door. There used to be two bodyguards that stood guard at the doors but today there was just one... though even though there was just one man there it wasn't as though he was just anyone, no the one standing there was a rather dangerous individual if he were crossed. It was in his genes to fight and his job allowed him to do just that, it allowed him to be himself and while being himself he was allowed to release his pent up frustrations in the name of protecting the women of Dream. On top of that it wasn't as though they had anything to worry about when it came to him since he had absolutely no interest in them. Rosalind, the woman in charge, found him to be the perfect guardian to her establishment.

The large double doors that led into Dream were closed at the moment, it was open at the moment but only to those with appointments, the day times hours consisted of a few men here and there showing up and and the rare woman, who were coming to meet with the girls that worked there. It was at night when things got interesting, when the music started and the girls started to dance. For now though it was leaning more toward hostess bar then strip club, the two faces of Dream.

Duncan lifted a hand up to cover a yawn, finding the day time shift to be a bit dull but he had been called upon to take on the shift due to needing the extra cash. He had his lover at home as well as his two children so a few extra hours here and there were well loved. It was just... uneventful was all, left him so bored and on occasion two of his eyes could be seen sinking closed but the third eye, the yellow one in the middle of his forehead, was never closed. It was all seeing and each time someone came even somewhat close to the doors the rest of his eyes would pop open to stare at the one getting close. He could always tell by the look of them, the scent of them, if they were allowed inside. People with dangerous intentions always had a foul scent to them which made his hackles rise and that scent always caused him to chase that person off.

Normally during daylight hours though nobody happened by with that scent, they were just normal pedestrians that were just walking by or those customers with appointments. He had a clipboard with their names on it so were someone to try to lie and sneak in he would know it and have the wonderful option of pummeling said person.

*****

A distance away, standing outside of the car that Vampy had just parked was the Fallen Angel Almas, under the protection of the demonic perfume given to him by Vampy, the Humility and Greed Spawn Aludra, and the big boss himself Vampy. The Fallen was starring toward the establishment called Dream and he gave a bit of a sighing sound, "This was... unexpected." He murmured, finding Duncan standing outside of the very place that they were wanting to get into wasn't a very good sign that this retrieval job was going to be all that easy.

"I don't suppose you have a better relationship with that particular spawn then Vampy does?" Almas asked of Aludra, sounding hopeful. He knew full well that Duncan trusted Vampy as far as the wrath spawn could throw him.

Almas winced ever so slightly at the idea that Duncan knew how old Aludra was, it wasn't going to make this any easier would it? He chewed on his lower lip as he watched the way that the red skinned spawn was glaring at the various passersby as though he meant to maul any one of them that was about to bother the ones behind the door he was leaning against. They had come all this way only to find that they weren't going to be able to get all that easily.

"So, what do you think we should do now, Vampy?" Almas asked as he turned to look over at his Boss, his good eyes focusing on the tall man that was standing there next to them, "Do you think that we should come back another time?" He was all for it, maybe it would make it so that he could get out of going anywhere closer to a strip club then he was at this very moment. That sort of place, he didn't want to even get as close as he was at this very moment.

Almas didn't look to terribly sure but he gave a slow nod when Vampy seemed to be pretty well positive that they would be alright. The idea of Duncan being helpful when it came to Vampy though, he did his best not to show that he didn't believe it would happen any time soon. Vampy was pretty confident so he would do his best to follow suit. He looked around as they walked forward, seeming to take in all the details around them, it had been some time since he'd been out and about and he was sure that this was a short respite from the Labs.

"Aside from the destination this is a nice trip." He murmured, mostly to himself.

As they started to approach Duncan jerked his head up and his teeth barred, a low growl erupting from his throat as he caught the scent in his nostrils of someone he wanted absolutely nothing to do with. He turned in the direction the scent was the coming from and instantly his hackles were up. Vampy! His claws curled against the door and he pushed forward so that he was standing straight upright, arms coming to cross over his chest. Vampy was here, not only him but his blond shadow as well. His trio of eyes turned to looking at Aludra and he gave another growling sound in this throat seeing him, was he working with Vampy?!

Instantly his mind was whirling, wondering if this was a new thing or if he'd been following him for awhile... Did that mean that he was working with him when he allowed that guy to look after Iah? The idea didn't settle well with him at all.

Almas watched the manner in which Aludra moved to hide behind and he couldn't help but to move a step closer to Vampy in turn. He didn't like this one bit, while he was sure that the absolute worse thing to do was show fear of any sort to a wrath blooded spawn, especially one of them that belonged to Shar's blood, he couldn't help but to huddle closer to his Boss.

Duncan's trio of eyes seemed to take in each of them in turn before he shifted his stance to one that was a touch more aggressive, his teeth barred, and he held his arms out from side to side in a manner that clearly said, 'Do Not Pass'. He then gave a rumbling growl in his throat, "No." He said, a single word that held a lot of emotion as he looked through trio of them. He then lifted a clawed hand to point at them in turn, at Almas first, "No, you don't even look like you want to be in there." Aludra was next, "No, your far to young." And finally to Vampy, "No. Just no. Not as though I need any sort of explanation for the reason I wouldn't allow you in here." He said, his voice neutral leaning toward hostile while speaking to Almas and Aludra while it was more then hostile when he looked at Vampy.

"I don't know what sort of sick field trip this one is but we here at Dream aren't interested. So turn around and find a less high class establishment to fool around in."

Duncan's lips turned up into a bit of a smirk, "I am sure that you would love to have... business with one of the girls inside but I think not. Last thing I want is you messing with them like you mess with everything else you touch." He said, waving at the trio in a dismissing manner. It wasn't as though he wanted these three even lingering at the door let alone actually going inside.

He crossed his arms over his chest, "Apparently you have never been in there before or a place like it? It hard to smell anything over all the overwhelming scents in the air." He hated the scent inside because there were so many scents that someone with a good nose ended up getting a bit overwhelmed. He leaned against the door and seemed to just stand his ground, not about to back off in any manner that would show even the slightest hint of weakness or backing down. Nobody got passed him that was unwanted and these three were just that.

"Do have a nice day." He said in a manner that was so falsely friendly that it made Almas tremble slightly.

Almas looked up at the half demon who looked far to much like Shar for his own good before looking over at Aludra, giving a half shrug of one shoulder, "You really shouldn't be wandering around with him Aludra, else people are going to start to think very little of you." And by people he meant himself as well as the other spawn that disliked Vampy.

"I could care less what type of places you want to... infiltrate, Vampy. I am not letting you in here, its my job to keep certain members of the public out and your entire group consists of nothing but those sorts of people." He said, not moving, remaining stubborn and steadfast in standing in front of the door to keep the group out.

"Now, now, Duncan. You really should but a little nicer to potential customers." Came a voice behind the wrath demon as a short woman with white hair, purple eyes, and a unicorn's horn stepped forth, letting the door close behind her as she looked at the group that was pinned under the rather hostile glare of Duncan's three eyes. She lifted a hand to rest it against the wrath spawn's arm in a rather daring manner before she turned to look at Vampy as he appeared to be the leader of the group in question, "My name is Rosalind Arianrhod, I am the madame in charge of Dream. I heard you say that your trying to help our establishment avoid trouble? Would you explain this to me?"

She didn't completely trust the man, she could sense an aura about him that she didn't find to her taste, then again all of them seemed to have auras that were tainted in one way or another didn't they? She gave a thoughtful sound before motioning with one small hand, "Please, speak."

She seemed to grow thoughtful at his words, "I see, you don't have the aura of any police officer I have run across in my time so I must ask what your interest in this woman might be." She asked.

Duncan gave a rumbling growl, "You can't trust him Miss Arianrhod." He said, getting his hackles up when he saw the way that Vampy was trying to trick his Boss, having no idea that she wasn't as trusting as she appeared to be when it came to the man standing before her.

Rosa gave his arm a gentle patting, "Duncan, can you go inside and check on the girls for me? I know that I can trust you with this since you have a mate at home and won't be tempted." She said, waving him on his way. The fact that she paid him, and paid him well, had him grumbling and growling as he set off to go inside to check on the girls real fast, he'd make it quick not wanting to risk Rosa getting in over her head. Once he was gone she turned to look at Vampy again, "I have come to trust him you know, hes quite good at his job and can do the work of two human muscle heads. His senses are keen as well so I must ask why he dislikes you so much as well and if your a danger for the rest of those who are here aside from the one you are showing interest in."