'Ira…" A female voice called out to the teenage boy who slept peacefully, his eyes closed as his body drifted in a vast land of darkness. "Ira…" The voice was gentle, soothing, but it had an eerie feel to it as the words vibrated into Ira's ears.
Ira's eyes twitched a bit before they opened, revealing the image of Ziva's smiling face as she floated over him. "Z…Ziva?" Ira's confused expression was noticeable as he looked up at the image that hovered above him.
"Ziva…Is that you?" His hand slowly reached out to the heart of all his worries, but it was met with a Demonic hand that grabbed his wrist. His eyes shot up in shock as Ziva's gentle warm smile changed into a sadistic smirk. "Huh? Zi…Va" Ira struggled, but it proved pointless.
"Ira." Her voice echoed again. The same gentle tone echoed throughout the space that Ira felt trapped in. His body trembled as he continued to try and pry the demon hand loose from his arm, but the more he tried the tighter the grip became.
"Ziva let go!" He pulled against her as his name continued to be repeated in his mind.
"Ira...Ira….Ira…." His head shook from left to right, as if he was trying to deny the reality that was set around him. "You let them die." A statement followed as Ira's eyes shot up again, his will to tear away from the demonic arm that held him against his will, vanished. "Ira...You let them die…Ira….You let them die." The voice lingered on, causing Ira's mind to slowly collapse as the memory flashed back in front of his eyes.
"No…No, I didn't I just…" His eyes traveled downward as if he was looking at the floor. The demonic arm released its grip as Ira placed both hands on the side of his head. He tried to shake the thoughts out of his mind, but the image was permanently implanted in his brain. "I…I…Tried…I…Didn't know what to do…I…"
"Ira…"His face shot up again as the tone of the voice changed into that of a female child. " Why did you leave us, Ira…I thought you wanted to play with us." The child's voice sounded too familiar to Ira as the young girl that approached him first appeared in front of him. She stood still, arms at her waist with her head tilted to the side. "Did you want me to die, Ira? Did you want me to go away?"
She asked him. Her voice wasn't as gentle as Ziva's, instead, monotone and deprived of life. "Why did you want them to kill me?" She asked again as Ira's mind began to crumble at the words entered his head. His mind couldn't fathom a response as the words of the young girl repeated themselves once again.
It didn't take long for other voices to join in as the bloodied bodies of the children who had joined Ira that day surrounded him. "Why did you leave us, Ira? Didn't you want to play with us?" The questions were haunting as Ira clutched his head again. He let out a death-defying scream as the haunting words of the children that were lost during the previous demon attack continued to pound on Ira's mental state.
"It wasn't my fault." He told himself. "It wasn't my fault…It wasn't my fault." His mindset began to derail as the voices continued to plague him with the images of the kids that he once knew circling around him.
"It…Wasn't…" His voice cracked as the kid's bodies drew closer to him. He failed to notice the transition as Ziva's voice resurfaced in his head.
"Ira…." Her voice whispered in his ear, gaining his attention. "Ira…." The comforting wave that her voice brought him gave him the strength to lift his head up back to the cold soulless eyes of his tormentor.
"Everything is alright Ira…" Her voice assured. It was as if someone was patting him on the back as the voice continued to speak to him. "Everything is alright…" It echoed, causing Ira to slowly lower his guard as he could have sworn he felt a pair of lips breathe against his ear.
"They were going to die anyway…" It finished, driving the nail in the coffin has the same words that Ziva told him when he found her in a half demon state. "They were going to die anyway…" The breath of the voice felt so real to him as he once again screamed as loud as he could and clutched his head again.
"No!" His voice carried in agony as the kid's body that once surrounded him, now were mere inches in front of him, unknown to him as his mind refused to take noticed of the deceased children standing within arm's reach.
Their arms outstretched as they began to reach for him. "Ira. Why did you let us die? Ira. Why did you let us a die?" They moved in as Ira's now tearful face looked up at the oncoming horror that moved towards him. The kids moved in as the little girl that stood in front of him, gripped his throat and began to strangle him. The pressure from her hands felt like nothing Ira has ever felt before. He tried to fight back by using his own hands to try and remove the phantom grip from his neck. The struggle was ongoing as the words repeated themselves time and time again.
Ira could tell his vision was fading as he tried to resist, but as his eyes began to close, he saw Ziva's half demon form standing behind the girl that was choking him. "Ira…I'm all better now." She said. The same statement she made before Ira's chilling experience. "And now let me thank you for that." The same exact words falling into place, every word, even the tone of voice that was used. The same statement that she put together with ease began to play out exactly like it did before.
His mind now realized the true dread and terror, his eyes now settling on the sadistic smirk Ziva wore on her face to his dismay. "I'm sorry." The voice whispered in his ear. Ira's mind now knew all too well what was going to happen next. "But I just need you to do one last thing for me." His eyes widen as his body continued to tremble from panic.
"Ziva…No…Don't do this!" He managed to speak as the grip of the ghost girl's hand tightened around his neck. His voice was barely able to form words as his lips moved for the last time. Her fiendish smirk only seems to broaden as she took in the look on his face, her lips preparing to form the final words that Ira last heard before she ended his tragic experience. "Die for me…" Her ruthlessness could be felt as Ira's vision completely went black and his mind gave into the darkness as it began to consume him.
(In Reality)
"Tell him to let me go!" A teenage boy who appeared to be the same age as Ira shouted at the top of his lungs. "He's choking me dammit! Tell him to let me go!" He screamed as his Cocoa Brown eyes began to roll over from the hands that gripped around his neck. "Wake him up! Dammit! Wake him up!" He continued to scream. The young teen's head full of short messy Black could be seen being strangled by an unconscious Ira's deadly grip. He wore a sleeveless Shirt with a gold design going down the middle of it with a pair of Black, white pants with golden trim on the side of it. His Black finger-less gloves that covered his hands wrapped around Ira's neck as well as he began to choke him back.
To the right side of him stood a man with short silver hair, his gold eyes finding amusement in the situation that unfolded in front of him. His attire fitted the image of a scientist as he pushed his glasses on his face as he let out a slight chuckle at the boy's pleas. "What's wrong Lysias? Is this problem proving to be a bit much for you?" The scientist smirked at Lysias's situation.
"This isn't funny Midas!" Lysias quickly responded as he shouted at him. "Can you please wake him up so he can stop choking me?" He shouted again. "Like now!" He screamed.
"But you're choking him to." Midas continued to smirk as he leaned against a desk with his arms crossed. "Wouldn't it be comical if you both managed to take each other out?" He placed his finger on his chin and thought about the situation. "How would you feel if you got killed by a boy that wasn't even awake to realize that he was choking you? Would it hurt your pride? Would it make you feel less than a man? Would you be accepted in the afterlife or be laughed out of the gates of heaven for dying such a hilarious death?" Midas mind continued to ponder the thought. "The possibilities…The possibilities." He mumbled to himself as an image of Lysias dead form appeared in his head. A small smile crept across his face at the thought.
"What the hell are you thinking?" Lysias shouted at him as Midas sighed to himself at the worthwhile thought that crossed his mind.
"I was just wondering what life would be like if you weren't around." He responded as he slowly leaned off the desk and walked towards the fidgeting Ira, who lay in the bed with his arms up and his hands around the neck of Lysias. "Too bad I won't be able to live that life right now." Midas let out a deep breath once again and placed his hand on Ira's forehead.
He concentrated for a mere moment before his hand started to glow a celestial Turquoise color, calming the flailing Ira down. Breathing heavily Lysias felt Ira's hand release his throat and fall back on the bed. Lysias replicated the notion and removed his hands as well. "Geez, the kid nearly killed me." Lysias started rubbing his throat as Midas glanced over at him.
"Too bad he didn't," Midas remarked causing a vein to pop up on Lysias's head as he raised his fist in anger at him.
"You got a problem with me Midas?" He growled angrily. "You want to take this outside?" He gestured as he glared at him, which went ignored as Midas returned his attention back towards Ira, whose eyes began to twitch.
"As much as I would love to go outside and catch a breath of fresh air while you squander around like an idiot, I don't want to be rude to our new guest." Midas gestured as Ira eyes slowly fluttered open, blinking a bit before he sat up. His hand holding his head as groaning sounds came from his lips.
"Ugh, what happened?' He asked himself not knowing that two people were in the room with him. "Where? Where am I?" He questioned as Midas took the opportunity to answer his questions.
"You're in a stable facility known as Cherubim." He began to explain. "Right now, you are under my care in the medical wing." He pointed out to him. "How do you feel?" Midas finished.
"Like crap," Ira spoke back as Midas nodded his head in approval.
"Well, I suppose you would, considering the condition you came in." He replied as Ira looked up at him. As if reading his mind, Midas continued to speak. "I am Dr. Midas," He introduced himself, but then pointed to the person that was standing next to him. "The squandering ape you see over there is Lysias."
"I can introduce myself!" Lysias yelled at him as Midas pushed his glasses on his face, ignoring his outburst.
"As you can see, he's a bit of an emotional wreck and I for one, would gladly prefer it, if the head chairman would remove him from this establishment and toss him out to the demon horde that is plaguing the earth, but that would be too nice of a gesture for a lost ape such as him," Midas spoke nonchalantly as he sent a playful smirk towards Lysias, who was now fuming at Midas's cold remark.
"Why you dirty piece of…" Lysias was about to curse.
"Demon horde?" Ira looked at Midas and then back down to the white bed sheets that covered the lower half of his body. "Oh right…" He spoke depressingly, recalling the events that happened before he lost consciousness.
Lysias looked down at him, realization hit as he saw the depressing look on Ira's face. "You know, you came here in pretty bad shape. Mind telling us what happened?" Lysias opened up the floor for him, but Ira didn't speak.
"It's ok Ira, you don't have to tell us if you don't want to," Midas stated as he turned around and began typing on the computer.
Ira slowly lifted up his head, eyeing the back of Dr. Midas head. "How did you…."
Dr. Midas spoke without facing him. His eyes still glued to the computer screen as he typed with efficiency. A glare from the screen reflected off his glasses as he decided to entertain Ira's question. "I am the head of the science research department and in charge of the medical wing that you are currently recovering in. I have records and names of just about every poor battered soul that walks in and out of my sight." He slightly turned his head towards Ira, who was slightly startled by the intense glare that the doctor had given him. "So please, do not insult my intelligence with pointless questions." Midas was clear in his statement as he turned his head back towards the computer screen.
"Wait? This is your first time seeing him, how did you…" Lysias was the next one to speak.
In the same manner, as before, Midas spoke. "I am the head of the science research department and in charge of the medical wing that you are currently squandering in. I have records and names of every lost ape that walks in and out of my sight." Turning to glare at Lysias the same way he glared at Ira. "So please, do not insult my intelligence with pointless questions." He repeated himself as Lysias and Ira gave him a deadpanned expression in return as he resumed typing on the keyboard.
"Friendly…" Ira mumbled.
"Tell me about it," Lysias replied as the two continued to look at Midas as his fingers mashed away on the keyboard without missing a single key.
"It seems that your injuries have completely healed from your previous encounter," Midas told Ira as he continued typing. "Interesting actually, considering that I thought you would be dead the moment you were brought here, but to my surprise, you actually survived." He quickly turned his head back towards him. "Your faith must be high for you to receive such an abnormal amount of blessings." Midas placed his hand on his chin, observing Ira as he gave him a confused look in return.
"Blessings?" Ira repeated, not knowing what Midas meant.
"Yes, spiritual energy from the great one herself," Midas stated as he stood up, one hand in his coat pocket as he took a few steps towards Ira's direction. "It's the only logical answer on how you made such a fast recovery." He briefly explained to him.
"How long have I been out?" Ira asked him.
"A few short days, don't worry you didn't miss anything. There's nothing going on in this decaying world that you need to see." Midas shrugged his shoulders as Lysias just grunted at his response.
"A few days…" Ira repeated. Then his eyes shot up as he realized something. "Wait? What about the others? What happened to the girls that were with me?" Ira asked out of concern.
"You mean Faythe and the others?" Lysias answered him. "They're fine, a bit bruised up, but they all made it out just in time."
Ira couldn't help but let out a breath of relief. "Yea it was Faythe that did it really, that girl is really something else," Lysias added as Ira looked up at him and thought back to the incident where he first met the girl that saved his life.
"Faythe…" Ira called out her name under his breath.
-Flashback-
"Ziva…Let me go!" He kicked and screamed as he tried his best to free himself from her grip. "Ziva…" He gritted his teeth as Ziva continued to stare at him as she leaned in closer towards him, her mouth opening as she was getting ready to sink her teeth into him. "Ziva…." He kicked again. "No…Stop! Let me go!" He hollered, but Ziva wasn't hearing it.
Her fangs came within mere inches of his neck, but her attention was quickly drawn to a loud crash as she quickly turned her head in time for a large golden gauntlet being rammed into her face, causing her to drop Ira instantly as her body flew in a straight line, crashing through a string of cars before slamming into the concrete beam that helps support the level of the parking deck.
Ira fell to the ground, attempting to gain his composure as he managed to look up at the person that saved his life. His eyes fell upon a long purple ponytail that stopped at her thighs with a black ribbon that tied different parts of her hair together. She wore a thigh high black boots with a royal blue skirt around her waist. Her top half was covered with a black top with gold trimmings and a loose white jacket with a large gap in both of her sleeves with gold bands wrapped around her shoulders. Her hands covered with black gloves and golden gauntlets laid by her side as she stood in front of him.
-Flashback ended-
Ira's light brown eyes traveled back up to Lysias. "I want to thank her," Ira told him as Lysias and Midas looked at one another and then back at him.
"I really…Don't think that such a good idea." Lysias said nervously rubbing the back of his head. "You see, Faythe is kind of…"
"I don't see the harm in it." Midas interrupted him.
"Of course you wouldn't!" Lysias yelled at him angrily.
"What's the harm in Ira showing his gratitude to the woman that gave him another chance at life? In fact when was the last time you went and had a good chat with the angels?" Midas asked him as Lysias continued to growl at the doctor.
"You know very well why I…?" Lysias screamed.
"Are you afraid?" Midas smirked.
"Afraid! Afraid of what?" Lysias fell for the bait. "I'll have you know that…"
"Then what's the problem?" Midas interrupted him, shutting him up instantly. "If you're not afraid, then you should take Ira to meet the woman that saved his life," Midas suggested as Lysias contorted his face into an annoyed and frustrated expression.
"Fine! I will!" Lysias quickly grabbed Ira by the arm. "Let's go, Ira!" He jerked him out of bed and charged out the door.
"Huh? Wha…Wait!" Ira shouted from behind Lysias as he pulled out of bed and trailing behind against his will, leaving a snickering doctor behind in the medical room.
"Hehe, Have fun." He said under his breath as he watched the site in amusement.
-Training Facility-
Faythe was sweating bullets as she glared intensely at her opponent. She didn't have on her original attire that she wore previously, instead she wore a black training suit for a woman that covered her arms and legs, chest and waist, but left parts of her body uncovered. Her long purple ponytail lay against her back as she balled her fist up, her gold eyes displaying determination as she took a few breaths and charged towards her opponent.
Her training partner was Yure. She wore the exact same training wardrobe that Faythe wore. Her short blond ponytail that stopped at the base of her neck swayed a bit as she charged at Faythe as well. The two exchanged blows, blocking and dodging as they tried to gain the upper hand against one another.
Faythe threw a barrage of punches and used her agility to try and land a few kicks, but Yure wasn't to be taken lightly as she dodged the majority of Faythe's attacks and replied with a set of her own.
"You're going to have to do better than that!" Yure shouted as she tried to pound Faythe into submission, but Faythe blocked the incoming attacks and kneed Yure in the stomach. She tried to elbow her in the back of the head, but Yure quickly maneuvered her body and used her legs to kick Faythe away from her.
Sliding back, Faythe quickly shrugged the attack off and charged again, while Yure prepared herself for her opponent. The performance from the two was magical as they both complimented each other move after move. The eternal dance from the barrage of punches and kicks that were exchanged from the two could be seen as nothing short of graceful.
"Well, it looks like their even," Nyx began as she looked on from the sidelines as Ekho only nodded her head in approval. She sat there with a pair of silver headphones on her head, listening to music as she watched the two competitors spar.
"True, but the two still have some ways to go." A wheelchair-bound girl spoke as she looked on beside Nyx and Ekho. Her light brown hair shined radiantly from the lights that lit up the room. Her Emerald Green eyes lit up with life as she watched the ongoing training regimen unfold before her eyes. "The determination is there, but their form is still lacking…Structure." She implied as Nyx nodded at the girl's observation. Her body was covered and what one would consider to be a black and white business casual suit, but the skirt was a bit long and traveled down to her ankles, down to a pair of black flats that covered her feet.
"But they are improving." She suggested with a smirk as the girl looked up at her with a smile on her face.
"Oh yes, they're definitely better than last time." She responded as she and Nyx turned their heads back to the battle at hand.
"Did you hear that you two?" Nyx called out to them, stopping their training almost instantly as they both got in their last moves before continuing. "You finally got the chairmen's approval on something. Congratulations on heading in the right direction." Nyx smiled down at the two worn out fighters that were breathing heavily as they walked towards them.
Walking towards Nyx, Faythe and Yure smiled at each other as they both retrieved a water bottle and a towel to dry off. "Cut us some slack Nyx." Faythe said as she brought her bottle to her lips.
"Yea, it's not like we're not trying to get better here." Yure wiped her face with her towel. "You could have at least been more excited about it." She looked at Ekho. "What do you think Ekho, do you think Faythe and I tore it down out there?" Yure asked with excitement.
Faythe leaned over her back, catching Ekho in her sights as well." I won, though, right Ekho?" She smiled at her as Ekho looked at both of them. Her deadpanned expression caught between the two older teens as they eyed her intently, waiting for her reply.
"Meh…" She went back and starts listening to her music again, ignoring the two girls that weighed heavily on her reply.
Both Faythe and Yure took offense to the girl's nonchalant reply, talking to her; trying to get her to answer their question.
While the three were conversing, Nyx looked up from the scene to see Lysias dragging Ira into the training facility; Lysias clearly had a frustrated look on his face, while the expression on Ira's face was one that couldn't necessarily be described. The chairmen took notice of this as well, as sure as the other three girls. All their attention placed on the two teenage boys made their way towards them.
"Well, well, what a pleasant surprised." The chairmen spoke. "It seems that our guest is finally awake." A small smirk appeared on her face as she rested her elbow on the armrest of her chair, using it to support her head as she watched them.
Here you wanted to thank her!" Lysias said stopping in front of Faythe and the other two females that stood with her. "Thank her." He let him go as Ira looked up at her. Their eyes meeting once again, since the incident.
Faythe's golden eyes narrowed into a glare as Ira stood up, slightly nervous of meeting Faythe face to face again.
On the sideline, Nyx and the chairmen eyed the situation. Nyx stared with a bit of concern on her face, but the chairmen looked amused and waited for the situation between the two to unfold.
"Um..." Ira began. "Thank you for helping me out the other day…" He started. "If it wasn't for you, I'd probably be dead," Ira said as he reached his hand out for a handshake. "So thank…"
"WHAP!"
Faythe buried her fist in the side of Ira's face, knocking him to the ground. Ira, stunned by the turn of events looked up at Faythe in shock. Faythe's angry gaze fell on Ira as her fist remained balled up as she tried her best not to hit him again. "You…" She growled as she went towards him, grabbing him by the collar of the hospital gown that he had on, raising him up to his feet.
"Faythe!" Nyx called out to her, but the chairmen raised her hand in front of Nyx, signaling her not to make another move.
"Let's just see how this plays out." She seemed intrigued as she continued to watch, clearly amused.
"You….Why are you even…" Faythe was seething at the sight of Ira as he couldn't tear his eyes away from her. His hand still rested on his cheek, covering the spot that she punched him in. "If it wasn't for me you wouldn't be alive?" She repeated. "If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have to worry about that demon running around anymore." She bared her fangs at Ira.
"She was right there, I had her. I was about to finish her off and end this nightmare completely, but then you just had to go and get in the way!" She punched Ira again, knocking him back to the ground.
"Whoa Faythe hold on!" Lysias stepped in.
"Stay out of this!" She growled at him, shutting Lysias up completely. Her eyes quickly traveled back down towards the fallen Ira. "Do you have any idea what you did?" She screamed at him.
With the second punch waking him up, Ira growled at her, standing up as he shouted back at her. "I was protecting someone I cared about!" He was met with another fist to the face, knocking him back on his backside as he looked up at the angry woman that stood before him.
"Someone you cared about?" She repeated. "She tried to kill you, stupid Idiot ! If I hadn't of showed up you would have been nothing but scraps on the side of the street!" She hissed as Ira was about to say something, but back down as Faythe continued to talk. "I was about to finish her off, but then you…You just had to ruin everything!" She stormed passed him, her anger clearly written on her face as the remaining people in the room just sighed as Faythe stormed out of the training room.
-Unknown Place-
Ziva, took a deep breath as she made her way through the dark corridors of an eerie demon structured hallway. The feeling of dread and death didn't disturb her in the slightest as she continued to make her way down the hall.
"Oh boy what a day." She said to herself as she made her way to a large room at the end of the hallway, finding a couch sitting on the side of the room. She didn't waste any time as she flopped face first down into the couch, her body sinking in its soft comforts a bit. "Sometimes I hate my job, why can't someone else do it." She complained, her voice muffled by the cushions from the couch.
"Failing at your mission again Ziva?" A dark masculine voice said from the shadows of the room as the owner of it approached the exhausted demon girl who remained face first on the couch, unaffected by his appearance.
"Go screw yourself Beor…" Ziva muffled a response. "I don't feel like dealing with your crap today."
She added as Beor slightly narrowed his eyes at the demonized girl still in human clothing.
"If only you could take that attitude towards your work, you might actually be worth keeping around." He responded with seriousness emulating from his voice. "Your task was to eliminate the cause of the large amounts of Blessings coming from your location. Did you take it out?" Beor got to the point as Ziva lazily waved him off with her left hand.
"Yea, yea, yea I took care of it. Geez, get off my back already." Her annoyance from Beor's appearance showed.
"And the human pet you dragged along?" He question her.
"Dead." She replied quickly as she sat up. Her red eyes resting on a male demon who was a bit taller than she was. His clothing resembled something from medieval times. His attire consisted of pieces of armor that were placed on his arms, legs and chest area, while his waist and thighs were covered with garments that a knight would wear. His short messy black hair was noticeable as his red eyes met hers. Around his neck, was a spiked chain and on his chest was an upside down cross that appeared to be tattooed directly in the middle of it. "Why don't you stop with the 21 questions already, it's not like you're the boss of anybody here. So stop acting all high and mighty." Ziva snorted.
Oh, Ziva, don't take it to heart. Beor is just talking out of concern, as strange as that may be." A female voice slithered into the conversation as Ziva slowly directed her eyes to another demon that sat in the room. She sat on a large demonic snake that coiled up behind her. Its large head resting on the ground as she gently rubbed it. Her fair skin body appeared to be healthy as her red eyes traveled from the snake to Ziva's as a small seductive smile appeared on her face.
Ziva's eyes fixated on the demon girl that appeared to be the same age as she was and even the same height. Her green hair was placed in twin pigtails by the black accessories that she wore in her hair. Her clothes barely covered anything. Her style of clothes was provocative, to say the least as she used a white towel to cover half of her body. "He's just making sure that he is recognized when this is all over." The snake demon giggled at her comment. "It's actually rather cute of him."
"Stheno, you do well to keep your mouth shut." Beor sent a glare her way as Stheno returned with one of her own. "Filthy snakes don't get the chance to speak. They just slither around where they're not wanted." He remarked.
"Funny, but if you don't mind your manners, I'll show you snakes can do more than just…" She licked her lips, her snake tongue sticking out slowly. "Slither." Her seductive smile remained plastered on her face as she used her hand to rub up against her body as she kept her sights on Beor." I'm sure you know how to show a girl a good time." She added as Beor gave her a disgusted look as Ziva snickered at him.
"Looks like Stheno's got your number Beor." She continued to snicker as Beor shot her another glare as well.
"Useless demons." He huffed.
"Pay no mind to their useless banter Beor." Another masculine voice spoke up, catching the attention of all three as their eyes quickly turned towards the source of the voice. "Besides, there's been a report of another source admitting plenty of Blessings for us all." A pair of red eyes narrowed as the three kept their eyes fixated on the new demon that showed himself, but his body could not be seen as he remained in the darkness that overshadowed the room. "And this time I will…Kill it." A deadly smirk slid across his face as the words echoed throughout the room.