lil kitsune boy

Ben fell asleep for a while. But sleep just wasn't something he was going to get a lot of, he realized. Not if things kept up, like this. 'Damn...' Ben said, wincing as he sat upright. He noticed his shirt and coat were gone, but his guns and sword were next to him on the table they'd laid him out on. 'Crazy bitch.' he said, looking down to his blood-covered chest and the wound that had all but stopped bleeding. 'Don't move.' one of the men said, 'Or you'll open that wound the rest of the way, again.' 'Probably,' he said, 'You don't have a needle and thread in here, do you?' 'Yes,' the man replied, 'But, you don't intend to...' 'Yeah,' Ben said, 'I do. Just get 'em.' The man left the room, returning a few minutes later with the needle and thread. 'It would be better if you let someone else do that.' he said, handing Ben the items. 'Yeah, probably.' he said, 'Got anything with alchohol in it?' 'I can get it.' Amber said, leaving the room. Ben watched her leave, a frown on his face. 'What is her deal?' he asked, 'Actually, what's the deal with all of you guys? Why do you follow that crazy...' 'Don't.' the man said, 'We follow her because we believe in what she's doing.' Ben grinned, 'That it?' 'What do you mean?' he asked. Instead of answering, Ben turned to the half grigori. 'How's it goin', biggie?' he asked. 'Feel better,' he said, 'The pain doesn't last long.' Ben smiled in earnest, 'Good.' 'Want help?' he asked. Ben chuckled, 'No, that's alright. I can get it.' Amber returned with a bottle in hand. 'Thanks.' Ben said, unscrewing the top and tossing it across the room. He took a few deep breathes and tipped the bottle over his wound. A hiss escaped his lips as the liquid hit his exposed flesh and ran down his chest. Liquor mixed with blood, the smell filled the room. After the bottle was nearly three quarters gone, Ben brought the bottle upright, then drank the last of it in one go. Then, he threaded the needle. 'You've done this before?' 'Yeah.' Ben winced as the needle pierced his flesh. 'What happened?' 'Something pretty similar to this,' Ben said, quickly, 'Only, less with the whole 'psycho guardian' thing.' After a few minutes, Ben cut the thread and stood. 'That,' he said, 'sucked. Where's the shower?' 'Shower?' the grigori asked. 'Yeah,' Ben said, 'I'm covered in blood and scotch and it's not even Saturday.' Amber and the grigori laughed. The grigori, not so much for getting it, but it sounded like it was supposed to be a joke. 'Back there.' Jacob said, nodding to the room behind Ben. 'Cool,' he said, turning, 'Don't suppose you have any bandages?' 'We will by the time you're done.' he said to Ben's back. 'See you, then.' Ben said, 'Oh, and Amber...' 'Yes?' she asked, looking a bit excited. 'Don't get any ideas.' Her face fell, 'Spoil my fun.'

Kyoshiro sighed. He was too bored to sit in the tree, but class didn't sound too good, either. So, here he was, in the office. 'You know the teachers don't appreciate being made fools of, like that.' the principal said. 'So?' Kyoshiro asked, 'It's not my fault he was wrong.' 'That may be, but you didn't have to point it out, the way you did.' Kyoshiro laughed. 'Don't laugh,' the principal said, 'This is becoming a pattern, and it troubles me.' 'Does it, now?' 'Yes,' the principal replied, 'We never had a problem with you before. So, why start now?' Kyoshiro sat, silent. 'Fine,' the principal said, 'Go, wait outside until I call you back.' Kyoshiro stood and exited the room, he took a seat outside as a girl was entering. After a few moment's he looked up. 'So, what're you in for?'

[I]'It's only a matter of time, you know.'[/I] Eric leaned back in his chair, his head falling back. He realized that his hair had grown quite a bit, during their little vacation, as he felt it fall back from his face. [I]Could you, possibly, leave me alone for two seconds?[/I] One... two... [I]'You can only ignore me for so long, my love.'[/I] 'God, would you shut up!?' 'Well, I don't.' Jace shot at him. Eric looked over at him. 'It's not my job to babysit you, and I don't intend to.' 'I wasn't...' Eric stood, 'I need some air.' He headed for the door.

'Yeah,' Sasuke said, 'We really should.' He adjusted the case on his shoulder. 'Come back soon, hun.' Sasuke mom said, 'And bring your friends with you.' 'Sure,' he chuckled, heading out the door. After he cleared the gate, he turned to the others. 'So, Tao,' he said, smiling, 'Think you can handle the train, again?'

[B][I]'What the hell was with that guy?'[/I][/B] both Eric and the voice thought, at once. [I]Ok, that was weird.[/I] Eric thought as he began to unpack his things. [I]'Our thoughts are becoming closer.'[/I] [I]Go to hell, it was just a coincidence.[/I] he replied, angrily. [I]'You're sure about that, my love?'[/I] Eric threw his pack on the bed, giving up for a while, he decided to take a look around. 'Something wrong?' Jace asked, smugly. Eric glanced back, he'd forgotten the man was even there. 'Nothing,' he replied, 'Just thought I'd take a look around.' 'Really?' Jace asked, 'Nothing wrong at all?' Eric smiled. 'Nothing.' he said, exiting the room.

Eric sighed as the plane landed, it'd been a while since he'd been anywhere. He'd spent their break stuck inside the compound, mostly between his room and the training facilities. [I]'So, they finally let you out?'[/I] [B][I]You can't go one day, can you?[/I][/B] [I]But, my love, I am always with you.[/I] [B][I]You really need to stop calling me that.[/I][/B] As he disembarked the plane, Eric sighed, again. 'You ok?' he heard someone ask. 'Yeah,' he replied, not looking up, 'Just a little preoccupied, thinking about the mission.'

Brandon heaved a sigh of relief. [B]You say it's fun, but you were almost killed.[/B] Hecate scolded. [I]Yeah, so what?[/I] he replied, [I]We're alive, that thing ain't. What more do you want?[/I] [B]How about some answers.[/B] Brandon stopped, noticing a t.v. in a window that showed an attack just like the one he'd just endured. There were people fighting, just as he had done, as well. [I]Yeah, answers would be nice.[/I] he thought. [B]You're going, aren't you?[/B] [I]I could flip a coin.[/I] [B]We both know you're going, anyway.[/B] Brandon laughed, [I]Yeah, screw it. Let's go.[/I]

*sees the comic idea* dude, that would be kickass. lemme know if you need help. i draw decently, but i'm probly a better writer. either way... ^_^

i thought the sign up was good and pretty well thought out. so far, i'm just the guy causing trouble, but i say let 'em go for it.

'What the hell is so funny?' Kyoshiro asked, annoyed. 'Nothing,' Amber said, still laughing, 'It's just that I've never seen someone claim a tree before.' 'Whatever,' he said, angrily, as he went over and swung himself back up in the tree. 'You gonna say anything else?' she asked. 'No.' he replied, quickly. 'Oh, so you're a jerk?' He turned away, 'Just leave me alone.' 'Fine,' she said, 'Be that way.' He turned back, quickly. 'I will!' he yelled, turning back and sitting, arms crossed and 'Indian style' on the tree branch.(what kinda balance would you need to do something like that? sorry, i even find stuff wrong in my own stuff, it's fun)

Brandon yawned and stretched while he walked. He'd been walking around the city for hours, now. He was getting bored. [B]You seem tired.[/B] [I]Eh, I'm good. What're we looking for, anyway?[/I] [B]Dreams of Isis. The book store, remember?[/B] [I]Oh, yeah. You really think they'll have the book you're looking for there?[/I] When Hecate didn't answer, Brandon stopped. 'What's up?' he asked. [B]Do you feel that?[/B] she asked, [B]Something is coming.[/B] 'Huh?' Brandon asked as the wall of a nearby building blew out. Brandon tried to look through the dust. Before he could see anything, a large form crashed into him, sending him flying into a lamp post. He shook his head, trying to stand. A large hand grabbed him by the shirt, lifting him from the ground. 'You die, now.' it said. Brandon looked up in surprise, gazing into the creature's one, large eye. He smiled. 'You sure about that?' he said, 'I feel pretty healthy.' He raised one of his hands, letting it rest against the creature's chest. 'Damned!' he yelled, letting a fireball go off at the creature. It dropped him, screaming. 'It'll take more than one cyclops to take me out.' he said, chuckling. [B]Don't get over confident.[/B] Brandon watched as the creature rose from the ground, apparently unharmed. 'Shiiit...' Brandon groaned as the creature lunged for him, again. Unable to get out of the way, Brandon let out a scream as the cyclops wrapped it's arms around him and began to squeeze. Brandon could feel his ribs beginning to break as the massive limbs attempted to crush the life out of him. 'Hansai arun... gah!' he screamed again, trying to cast another spell. [B]You can't beat it like this![/B] 'No, du- agh!' 'Die, witch.' the cyclops said. [I]I refuse to die, like this.[/I] Brandon thought. 'Let me go!' he yelled, struggling. 'You wish to run, coward?' the creature asked him, 'You will die here.' Brandon's eyes snapped open, glowing white. How dare this creature call him a coward? This low-class grunt? 'No.' he said, venomously, 'I won't!' There was a bright flash of light, as Brandon began to glow, that forced the creature to drop Brandon. The creature backed away from the now glowing form of his enemy. As the glow began to fade, Brandon stood, his hair turned silver, sticking up like spikes, and his clothes replaced by black leather. 'You've got a lot of nerve.' Brandon said, his voice sounding decidedly more demonic. 'I'll kill you!' the cyclops said, 'No matter what form you take!!' Brandon smiled, 'Right, try it.' He raised his hand, uttering an incantation from a long dead language. The creature attacked, hoping to crush him before he completed the spell. He almost made it. [B]Now![/B] 'Let the fires of Hell take you... Venom!' he screamed. A hole in the fabric of reality opened beneath the cyclops and fire licked at him from below. Time seemed to stop as the fires blazed, consuming the creature in the very fire of Hell. Brandon slowly returned to normal. His hair fell and his eyes returned to their normal coloring as his clothes returned to normal. 'Well,' he said, brushing off his shirt, 'That was fun.' [B]I will [I]never[/I] understand you.[/B]

After Reoan left, Ben reflected on his choice of action. 'Oh, this was a fantastic idea.' Ben said, giving a half hearted tug on the chains as he stood from the bed. The girl came over and pushed him back down. 'Don't get any cute ideas.' she said, winking at him. Ben chuckled, 'What could I do?' he asked, playfully, 'You've already got me all chained up.' 'Ooh, somebody knows this game.' she said, crawling down on the bed, over him. He smirked, waiting for her to lean in for a kiss. When she did, he threw the chain from the shackles aroung her neck. Planting his foot in her stomach, he launched her into the air behind him. Reversing his momentum, he rolled off the bed and to his feet to face the three others that remained in the room. They all rushed at once, a wall of muscle headed his way. 'I hope you guys are ready for this.' he chuckled, jumping in the direction of the table. The one closest to him managed a get ahold of his arm, but he twisted around, breaking the grip. He went for another grab, but Ben dived backwards, his shoulder landing on the hilt of his sword, sending it flipping into the air. Ben dodged another attack, then dove to the floor. There was a loud [I]klang[/I] and Ben stood, slowly. The three started backing up as Ben raised his hand, a broken chain hanging from his wrist, and let it rest on the pommel of his sword. 'So, boys.' he said, pulling the sword from the floor and pointing it their way, 'Who's first?' The largest out of them stepped forward. 'You can't stand against Reoan,' he said, 'I'll kill you if you try.' Ben began to chuckle, but soon it grew into full throated laughter, 'I hope, for your sake, you aren't tryin' to act tough.' he said, resting the sword across his shoulder, 'But, you got guts, I like that.' The larger man rushed at him, his feet thundering on the floor as he ran. When he arrived, Ben spun to the side, out of harm's way. 'Stand still, you little worm!' the man yelled at him, taking a swing. 'Yeah, that'll happen.' Ben laughed, leaning back as the man's fist passed over him and spinning the sword like a helicopter blade in his hand. The man let out a scream as the blade cut into his arm. Ben didn't stop, he held out the blade as he went into a side spin. Blood sprayed as the sword bit into his collarbone and stuck. Ben held onto the blade and, planting his feet into the man's chest, he pulled the blade out and jumped away. He flew backwards, skidding to a stop a few feet away. 'Give up, yet?' he said, dodging to the side as one of the others tried to tackle him. Ben spun, thrusting the sword into the attacker's neck. He fell, dead. Ben pulled the sword out and swung, taking the head off the other as he attempted to rush him from behind. 'Now it's just you and me, big guy.' Ben said, sheathing the sword and leaning against the table. 'Why do you wish to get in Reoan's way?' the man said, attempting to hold the wound in his shoulder closed. Ben shrugged, 'Never said I did.' 'Then why do you fight?' the man asked. 'I thought that'd be pretty simple.' Ben replied as he kicked the table, sending everything on it flying into the air. As the table tipped over, Ben jumped, landing on it's edge as his guns fell neatly into his hands. 'So,' he said, standing on the narrow ledge, 'I'm feeling generous. Would you like to live?' The man nodded slowly. 'Cool,' Ben said, 'Here's what we're gonna do. You're gonna find the keys to these cuffs, and we're gonna hang out until your boss comes back.' 'You're going to wait?' the man asked. Across the room, Amber seemed to be waking up. Ben glanced over to Amber, 'Hey, she's ok.' he said. The large man's jaw fell a little. This human, after everything he just did, he was concrened for Amber's safety? 'Hey, biggie!' Ben said, 'Find the damn keys.'

'Oh, that's alright.' Sasuke's mom said, 'So, you two are from around here?' 'I am,' Hana said, 'Tao is from the fuedal era.' 'Really?' Sasuke's mom replied, 'I didn't think someone from the fuedal era could come here.' Sasuke poked his head around the corner of the stairs. 'Hey, mom,' he said, 'Should I take grandpa's sword?' She turned, 'I don't know, do you think you can handle it?' Sasuke shrugged, 'If all the stories you told me are true... no. No way in hell.' 'Sasuke! Watch your mouth.' 'Hehe, sorry mom.' he said. She sighed, 'Take them both.' she said. 'Both?' he asked, 'You mean grandpa's and the other one?' 'What do you think I mean?' she said, 'Just don't lose them.' Sasuke jumped over the railing and down from the stairs, running to a room in the back. When he came back, he was wearing a black laquered box over his shoulder that would easily carry two swords. 'Ooh, what's in the box?' Tao asked. Sasuke laughed, 'My grandpa and great-uncle's swords. They used to keep them over at the shrine we came here from, but they were moved here a few years ago.' 'Are you all ready, Sasuke?' his mom asked him. 'Yeah,' he replied, 'We should get back, soon. They'll be waiting.'

Eric resumed strumming his guitar, trying to figure out a progression. After almost two hours, he started to get the hang of it. [I]'You're going to keep ignoring me?'[/I] Eric gave up on the progression, instead going for one of the songs he'd actually been able to play. The sound filled the room, leaking out into the hall. It seemed like the kind of song that would calm the mind and relax the body, if it weren't so full of sadness. 'Crowded streets are cleared away, one by one... Hollow heroes separate, as they run...' he sang. [I]'What was that drivel?'[/I] the voice asked. 'You don't know?' Eric chuckled, 'I thought you were in my very mind.' [I]'That doesn't mean I know everything that goes on in there.'[/I] the voice said, '[I]You are an enigma, even to me.'[/I] 'Well, that's reassuring.' he laughed as he resumed singing, 'Wise man wonder while, strong men die... show me how it ends it's alright,' he began singing to the voice, 'show me how defenseless you really are... Satisfied and empty inside, that's alright, let's give this another try...' He continued until the voice faded away. By then, it was time to go to the meeting. He placed the guitar carefully on his bed and grabbed a shirt before heading out.

'Hey mom.' Sasuke said as the woman popped her head around the corner. 'Sasuke, where have you been, you were supposed to be home two hours ago.' she said, 'And who are your friends?' 'This is Hana,' he pointed, 'and Tao.' 'That's lovely, dear.' she said, pulling him aside, 'That one's wearing armor and a sword, what's going on here?' He chuckled, 'Well, you know those stories you used to tell me?' 'About your grandfather?' 'Yeah,' he said, 'Turns out, they're not stories.' 'Well, duh.' she said, pausing, 'You fell down the well, didn't you?' 'Yeah,' he replied, 'I thought I'd check it out, back there. We just came to pick some stuff up.' She looked at him, appraisingly. 'Ok,' she said, finally, 'I doubt I could stop you if you really want to.' She turned to the others. 'Make yourselves at home while Sasuke gets his things.' she said, kindly.

Kal sat in the car, waiting for the kids to come out of the school. [I]Bloody children...[/I] he thought. He already knew this assignment wasn't going to be pleasent. And the waiting wasn't helping. Then, he saw someone exiting the building. He pulled his sunglasses down to get a better look at them. [I]Damn it. Does the school day[/I] ever [I]end here?[/I]

The teacher looked disappointed when Kyoshiro walked in the room. 'Nice to see you, Kyoshiro.' the teacher said, 'Finally decided to atttend a class, I see.' 'Yeah,' he said, 'What did I miss?' 'We were beginning our unit on Japanese history.' Kyoshiro smiled, 'Good.' he said, walking back out. As he walked down the hall, he heard the teachers attempt to call him back interrupted by another students question. He slipped around the corner before the teacher could try again. [I]Yeah, I need to sit through that.[/I] he thought, going back to his tree. This time, however, there was someone under it. [I]Great.[/I] he thought, trying to make it around without being noticed.

'Yeah, but it'd take us an hour to walk what we just covered in five minutes on the train.' Sasuke said as the train slowed to a stop. Tao slowly lowered herself from the handrail, then bolted for the door as it opened. Hana and Sasuke found her on the platform a minute later. 'I don't like the train.' she said. Sasuke laughed, 'It's not too bad, once you get used to it. Anyway, we're almost to my place, now.' After a little walking, they found themselves outside a large house. Sasuke opened the gate and motioned for them to go inside. 'This is your house?' Hana asked, 'It's huge.' Sasuke chuckled, nervously, 'Yeah, I guess.' 'You live in a castle?' Tao asked. 'No.' Sasuke said quickly, 'It's just a house. It's used to have a whole lot more people, but now it's just me and my mom.' 'Anyway,' he continued, 'Let's hurry.' He almost ran to the door, holding it open.

Eric sat on his bed, in just a pair of pants with a guitar in his lap. He plucked the strings on the archaic instrument. He'd never been to good with the thing but, then again, he'd never really practiced. He gave the thing a strum, letting the sound fill the room. She used to love it when he played, no matter how bad it sounded. He remembered the way she used to smile, the way she smiled before that night. He sighed, his head falling a bit. [I]'Feeling down?'[/I] he heard, [I]Well, you'll get over it.[/I] He strummed the guitar again, feigning like he hadn't heard it. [I]'She did love that thing, didn't she?'[/I] the voice continued. Eric felt his hand twitch. 'You don't deserve to talk about her.' he said. [I]'Ah, so you haven't gone deaf.'[/I] the voice said, [I]'Not that it would matter, since I'm in your very mind.'[/I] 'What the hell do you want?' Eric asked, aggrevation showing in his voice. The voice didn't answer. All Eric heard was a sharp laughter. 'Damn weirdo.' The laughter stopped, [I]'I am hurt, my precious.'[/I] the voice said, [I]'But, I will forgive. We made excellent progress last time. Maybe this time, we can see you fall, eh?'[/I] 'Go to hell.' Eric said as the PA came on. [B]Attention all of the Angelic Team...you are to report to the meeting room in 2 hours where Commander Red will hand you all your evaluations to this point...and the potential mission at hand.[/B]

'Damn, those angels are persistant.' Ben said, closing his front door and dropping the guitar case into a nearby chair. He walked into the kitchen, pulling a box of cold pizza and a bottle of cola from the fridge. He threw the box on the counter and walked into the next room. On the wall, there was a rack. On the rack, there was a collection of swords. European, oriental, even the ones you only see in those futuristic 'B' movies. Near the rack on an adjoining wall, there was a cabinet filled with different handguns and ammo, some of which wasn't even legal. He lowered one of the larger swords from the wall and, moving over to the cabinet, pulled a few extra clips and some cleaning supplies. After that, he took it all into the kitchen and started cleaning the weapons while he had a snack. 'Ok,' he said, holstering the newly maintained guns and tossing the pizza box into the box he had for paper garbage that wouldn't fit into the garbage can, 'Time to check out this psycho Guardian.' He tossed the sword over his shoulder and, checking the sheath he'd specially made to make sure it drew easily, he walked out the door.

Outside the school, up in a tree outside the nurse's office, there sat a boy. His orange hair stood out against the green of the tree and the blue of the sky, even the black shirt and dark green pants he was wearing. But he still hadn't been noticed, yet. He knew he should be in class, but he couldn't stand sitting there for that long. He preferred to be alone, even though they weren't making it easy for him. Then, he heard someone talking from inside. He swung down and, hanging upside down, looked in the window. 'What the..?' he said, 'Lots of people sick, today.' He pulled himself up quickly as one of them turned towards the window. After a few moments, he jumped down from the tree and made his way back inside for the next class.

'Oh, not bad.' Ben said, smiling as he started to walk around the angel. 'You doubt my abilities?' the angel asked, following his movements. 'Nah,' Ben replied, chuckling, 'I'm just not hungry.' He spun the guitar case around his waist, flipping open the latches and pulling a katana from a space under the guitar inside. Continuing the momentum, he swung the sword, stopping not more than half an inch from the angel's throat. 'Not bad, human.' the angel said, nonchalantly. He reached up and plucked the sword out of Ben's grasp, who spun around and pulled his gun from the angel's hand. They both turned, frozen, as the angel held the sword's point against Ben's chest and Ben held both guns pointed straight at the angel's face. 'So,' Ben asked, 'What's you name, anyway?' 'Azrael.' the angel replied. 'Right,' Ben nodded, pulling his guns away, 'So, why am I so important to you guys?' Azrael stood straight, lowering the katana. 'You are a capable warrior,' Azrael said, 'You can help us defeat Reoan.' 'The psycho Guardian?' 'You know the Guardians?' Azrael asked. 'Yeah, a buddy of mine is one,' Ben told him, 'Thought I was one, too.' 'You are no Guardian.' Azrael stated. 'Yeah,' Ben said, 'That's what I...' 'You don't have the discipline.' Azrael interrupted. Ben holstered his guns and took his sword from the angel. 'Shut it.' he said, walking away. 'You are going to help us!' Azrael called after him. 'I'll think about it!' Ben shot back, before he disappeared into the night.

'Oh, wow.' Sasuke said, 'I can't believe you just...' He stopped, shaking his head. This would just be one more thing to chalk up in the 'weird shit' column. 'Anyway, we should get back, soon,' he continued, 'the others will be waiting and I still need to stop at my place.'

It was dark in the basement, but that's how this guy liked it. Ben thought it was a bit depressing, but he didn't say anything about it. For the last two hours, he'd been listening to this guy about what he thought was going on with the attack in the street earlier. 'More Guardians?' Ben asked, 'I though you guys were rare, or something.' 'There are more of us than you'd think.' the other said, 'I still think you're one, but you don't seem ready to accept it.' 'That might be, but I already told you that you should be ready to accept a beating if you brought it up again.' Ben replied, cracking his knuckles. The other raised his hands, defensively. 'That's the last time, I swear.' he said. 'So,' Ben said, 'There's a psycho with guardian powers causing this? Even if it isn't directly?' The man sighed, 'That's just what I think. There could be another reason, but it's not very likely.' 'Damn, Gabe.' Ben said. 'I know, this is some heavy shit.' Ben chuckled, 'Sounds like fun.' Gabe sighed again, 'Just like you, Ben. You hear that there's a force capable of destroying the entire human race as we know it, and you think it'd be fun to fight them.' Ben shrugged, 'Yeah, so? It's not my fault you guys aren't a challenge.' 'You're lucky you're so good at fighting,' Gabe said, 'But, eventually, you're gonna find someone better than you. What're you gonna do then?' 'Dude, calm down.' Ben said, stretching, 'It'll be ok.' Ben grabbed his coat and threw it on, walking towards the door. [I]Here's hoping.[/I] Gabe thought, [I]Because, if you're wrong, it might not just be you that gets hurt. You weren't made for this kind of thing.[/I] When Ben reached the street, he saw the sun setting behind the trees and buildings of the small town. He looked around, seeing that most people had already retreated to their homes for the night. 'Damn these small towns and their lack of anything interesting to do.' he said to the empty night as he began his walk to Jake's. When he arrived, he heard the band practicing upstairs. After inviting himself in, he headed up the stairs to the attic where they practiced. When he arrived, the others stopped what they were doing and all turned on him. 'Hey guys, sorry I missed practice the other day, had some stuff to do.' he said. 'No problem.' Daren, the drummer, said. 'Yeah, we just went over the set list, anyway.' Jake admitted as he adjusted his guitar, apparently, he couldn't stay mad at Ben for long. Alexa, the bassist and only female in the group, didn't say anything. She stared at the floor for a moment and, after a bit, laid the bass down on a spare chair and tackled Ben. 'Where have you been?' she said, 'You said you weren't doing the five dollar hitman thing anymore. If that what you were up to...' 'No!' Ben said, quickly, 'That's not what I was doing!' 'Good.' she said, crawling off him, 'Cause that's [I]way[/I] too dangerous.' Ben let out a breath as Jake and Daren started laughing. 'Figures,' Daren said, 'The only person Ben's afraid of would have to be Alex.' Ben glared at them, 'Shut up and pick up your damn instruments.' A few hours later, Ben was walking out of Jake's house with a guitar and a bass hanging off of one shoulder and Alexa hanging off the other one. 'Where are you going, now?' Alexa asked him. Ben adjusted the straps on his shoulder before answering. 'I have more stuff to do.' he said. She stopped, putting her hands on her hips. 'At quarter to twelve?' she asked, 'Just what kind of stuff do you have to do? I swear, if this is more of that...' 'It's not,' he interrupted, 'It's just something I have to do.' 'Fine,' she said, walking over and taking her bass from his shoulder, 'But, if you get hurt, don't expect me to cry over you.' She turned and walked away. Ben watched her back as she made her way towards home. 'What the hell was that?' he asked. 'That,' he heard a voice say, 'Was a missed opportunity.' Ben whirled around, but stopped short when he saw a woman standing there. She was taller than he was, with long red hair and blue eyes. She was dressed in, what looked like, a robe and sandals. She also had wings. 'Do you not see how she feels?' the woman asked. Ben stared at her for a moment, then he asked the question that burned in his mind. 'What... the fuck... are you?' 'I am a messenger.' she replied. 'I didn't ask what you were doing here, I asked what you were.' She sighed, 'I'm a seraphim.' 'An angel?' Ben asked. 'Don't miss anything, do you?' 'Shut it.' Ben replied, 'What do you want from me?' 'I bring you a message from God, himself.' she told him, 'You are to help the Guardians in defeating a being that could destroy everything.' 'Ha! Screw that.' Ben replied. 'You would deny your Lord?' she asked. 'Two things,' Ben said, 'One, he's not my 'lord'. Two, I work alone, and for my own reasons. Nobody else's.' 'You cannot, ' she was interrupted by the barrel of a 10mm pistol entering her mouth. ''Cannot' what?' he asked, 'According to you guys, we have free will, right? Fuck your 'God.' I don't work for anyone. If you got a problem with that, I'll send you straight to him, so you can bitch about it.' She shook her head and Ben pulled his gun back. 'Now, get the hell out of here,' he continued, 'Before I change my mind.' In a flash of light, the angel disappeared, replaced by the silent darkness of the night. Ben looked at the spot she'd just been and then up to the sky. [I]Could she really have been..?[/I] he thought. 'Bloody hell.'

He sat alone in the restaurant, eating a quick meal before he headed home. He brushed his brown hair from his clear blue eyes for the fifth time in the last minute. Suddenly, he looked up, hearing the door open and someone call to him. 'Dude, Ben, we missed you at band practice.' the newcomer said. He sat up in his seat, shaking the hair out of his eyes again before he spoke. 'Yeah, sorry about that, Jake.' Jake didn't look too pleased with a simple apology. 'You know we have a gig in three weeks,' he said, 'We can't afford you skipping out on us, this close.' Ben shrugged, 'Yeah, but I had something I had to do.' 'Right, what was it that was so damn important?' Jake asked. 'I heard about something I had to check out.' Ben said, simply. 'You've got to be kidding me, more of your 'five dollar hitman' bullshit?' 'No, not that,' Ben chuckled, 'Something else, I can't talk about it here, though.' Jake just stood there. This was the third time Ben had skipped out on practice for this kind of thing. He'd have been kicked out by now, but there was no way they'd find someone with as good a voice who could play, as well. 'Fine,' he said, conceding defeat, 'Just get your shit together, we have to get, at least, [I]some[/I] practice in before the show.' With that, Jake left. A few minutes later, Ben stood from his table and walked out the door. As he crossed the street, everything went dark. 'What the..?' he asked, looking around, trying to see out of the blackness. 'This one is too dangerous.' he heard an eerie voice say. 'Yes, he must be destroyed, he may interfere.' he heard another. 'What the hell am I going to interfere with, now?' he asked, sarcastically. 'He speaks. We must destroy him before he can interfere.' Then, in the darkness, two figures appeared. One was tall, and almost impossibly thin, like a skeleton with a skin merely stretched over it. The other one was short and stocky. They both carried scythes in their hands. 'We will destroy you, now.' they said, in unison. Ben looked around for a way out, but there was only darkness, all around him. 'I guess I got no choice then, huh?' he said, 'You know, you guys kinda caught me here, I don't have my sword on me.' 'We did not plan to let you fight back.' they replied, launching themselves at him. 'Hehe, morons.' Ben said, throwing his coat away from his legs, revealing two large handguns. He fell backwards, letting one of the scythes pass over him. In the same motion, he grabbed the other right below the blade and, swinging under, kicked the leg out from under the creature wielding it. He came up, his hands resting near his guns as the creature righted itself. Now, there was one on either side of him, their scythes at the ready. 'So, boys,' Ben said, 'What exactly am I supposed to be interfering with? Anything to do with the rumors I've been hearing, lately?' 'We will tell you nothing.' they said, lunging at him again. 'Now now, boys, that ain't nice.' he said, launching himself into a backflip as the first scythe passed over him, the other, under him. This time, however, they didn't stop, he dodged each of their scythes as they came, until he felt one of the blades bite into his arm. 'We will destroy you.' they said. 'Right.' he replied, kicking the shaft of the weapon that was still in his arm. As it ripped itself out, the other came in. Ben pulled one of the pistols, spinning it across the blade and deflecting the cursed thing away. He spun behind the creature, the barrel of the gun pressing against the back of it's skull. 'We will destroy...' the thing was cut off by the report of the gun and it crumbled to dust. 'I've heard it.' Ben said, bringing the gun to bear on the other creature as he drew his other one. 'You will not interfere.' the creature said, raising it's scythe. 'Persistant bastards, aren't you?' Ben asked, rheotorically, cocking both guns. 'You are the one who is not of the Order,' it said, 'You will fight for no one, nothing but your own ideals?' Ben raised his eyebrow, then smiled at the creature. 'Jackpot.' he said, firing both pistols. As the creature crumbled, the darkness around Ben dissapated, leaving him standing there in the middle of the road. HONK!! Ben, jumped out of the way as a car sped by, nearly hitting him. After a moment, he holstered both guns and began the walk home. He had questions, more now than before. He knew some people he could ask, so he'd start there. Mostly he just wondered... 'What the hell is going on?'