July 23rd, 2019 on a night that was calm, a night that could make anyone feel secure, and safe.
Josue lies down in his bed for the first time in a long time, "It's been almost a year since I've lied down in one of these things!" Josue says in his head. He spends the majority of his time researching and investigating why monsters sporadically appear throughout the continent of Europe, from his own studies, primarily in his three cities. It's been the first time since Josue has had a moment to himself since he dedicated himself to his work, he hasn't slept in a week.
"I'm going to enjoy this rarity!" Josue told himself as he fell asleep in his soft, clean and comfortable bed.
Getting a bit of sleep goes well for Josue at first until he awakens in a dark void of vast nothingness, eye to eye with an unfamiliar man with a brown wooden cane and a smile, but Josue can't get a read on this man at all, physically, spiritually nor mentally. It all happened so suddenly, it didn't frighten Josue, of course, it merely took him for a surprise.
"I hope that nap was invigorating, JoJo." Said an unfamiliar voice "Boyoboy, you are so talked about in so many corners of Nicollet but the simple and authentic image of you is so sporadic, huh?" The man who was confronting the detested potentate, known as Advay Rishi.
Josue looked around, not paying the man any attention or so it seemed, trying to make some what a lick of sense of the place he's been warped into by the man.
"What is this place?" Josue asked more curiously about the void than who the man talking to him was instead, "Ugh, gosh Josie, it doesn't matter." Advay argued confidently "now would you pay attention here, I've got a few questions for you, answer them, Josue Detayvern!" Advay yelled out extremely vexed.
"I've got a few for you, like who the hell are you first of all?!" Josue interrupted and asked, "Okay, okay, my bad here actually, so let's get the INTRODUCTIONS out of the way first, I suppose you or this world would know me as Advay Upkarr." The ancient culture's last upholder told Josue and continued speaking, but Josue was lost in thought, after realizing who was confronting him, who he was speaking to here, he couldn't help but think about Ambroise's notes with warnings about ancient adversaries and dream demons.
"So, wait…?" Josue interrupted Advay once more, "UGH, GRANTSO'S SURPRISE, WHAT, STOP INTERRUPTING ME FOR GOODNESS SAKE!" Advay screamed out even furthering his annoyance as he exploded into bubble wrap then reappeared like it never happened, as Josue talked, Advay pushed away the bubble wrap that floated around him after it appeared.
"Did you know a man named Ambroise Detayvern?" Josue asked, unphased by what he thought of as a trick, "Yes, yes, JEEZ, that's why I worked so hard to get this talk!" Advay answered, "I noticed that you shielded your mind from nosey folks phenomenally, but still that's exactly what I helped who should be the ruler of Nicollet right now learn, which means you have something that belongs to him, which means you have something that belongs to me which belonged to him errr, yeah!" Said Advay who wasn't happy about it, but also who needed to analyze what he said.
"Does he mean? This truly can't be him." Said Josue in his thoughts. The Detested Potentate turned his sight to the man in front of him claiming to be the legendary Advay, he studied him up and down, took a moment to study him exactly how he appeared and referred back to Ambroise's notes about him which didn't add one-hundred percent up. The Advay confronting him wore a bathrobe, one that shifted colors from as black as a jet black cat in the night filling those who saw him with bad luck to a glossy dark blue you would only notice with the finest perception, "What exactly is your goal here, wasting my time, dream demon?" Josue replied, trying his hardest not to show signs of intimidation, not wanting to tell Advay anything of what he knows in case it was some form of imposter.
"Vanquished those so many times a dream demon occurrence brings unsurpassed boredom!" Advay stated and theorized, "You're unbelievably phenomenal but still lack basic experience outside of this world that even my apprentices had at their noobiest." Advay commented with a shocked tone.
"You're truly, really HIM?!" Josue asked as he was baffled, "Your goal is to investigate what happened to your last apprentice,
"My goal is to hunt down the bastard that destroyed my entire kingdom some Millennia and Millennium, and Millennia and Millennia ago, he's been in hiding but I can feel his evil and Kiya-eal on occasion." Advay enlightened the Detested Potentate while he was fearful and tried not to show it, "in the meantime I'm going to investigate Ambroise's disappearance, my question is do you have any clues about where to search first?" Advay stated confidently then asked with a curious tone.
"Check around Seyort, that's where Ambroise was last known to live. I… came in late." Josue filled him in, hoping his search in that city would buy some time.
"Wait!" Josue had yelled desperately in an attempt to stop Advay and catch his attention, "I can tell you about what happened after his death and what his wife told me concerning it!" Josue had informed him and a look of intrigue made way to Advay's face "Yeah, I don't really give two clackotoas about that... Wanna hear my impression of you?" He had replied, he suddenly started breathing heavily then he took a large gasp of air.
Josue woke up, it was morning, his reaction upon waking up matched the exact impression Advay had made but with sweat from the fear he felt when he realized he was the real deal and assuming the many stories he read about him were real as well, he felt energized enough to immediately prep for work.
With a gleam of motivation in his eye at the idea of a possible new challenger in connection with someone he desired to meet, Josue thought about what he should or can do next time they meet. He got a question he was hoping he'd know the answer to.
...
That exact day, a few hours later after he woke up and prepared for the day.
Ember squealed inside with excitement at the idea of meeting Josue for the first time, she couldn't wait to ask him questions, but the cold and trained soldier that she was transformed into from childhood restricted her from showing any of her excitement on the outside in front of her boss. That call she had received telling her to go to that building to meet Josue was something big to her.
"So, do you guys think he'll finally show up, because I don't at all." Said Lyle as he sat in a chair waiting for a meeting with Josue alongside his siblings.
"I have faith, Lyle!" Artus answered with a smile as usual, Ember stood quiet with her facial expression, but her confidence and faith in him showing up has completely dissipated, with Lyle being brighter than Artus, Ember naturally thought of some of the same reasons why he wouldn't show.
"Don't sweat it, Ember, He'll show, He'll show Lady, I'm 100% sure He's going to show!" Artus said in an attempt to calm Ember down, but it didn't work much, "What makes you so sure a man with far more important business will show up to something like this?" Ember questioned as she crossed her arms, "I can feel him coming, like how I kept feeling someone watching us some months back!" Artus answered with self-confidence.
Ember and Lyle stared at Artus after he said what he had said, he's used to the look they gave him, they gave him that look pretty frequently even before showing up to Generil.
Just as fast as eyes could speed their eyes sped on A CURIOUS NOT IDIOTIC GREEN, but violet portal that had opened up swiftly and suddenly, of course, a man walked through, catching their attention.
The man stood around six feet, looked in his early thirties and dressed as if he was a dictator. He wore a violet long coat in color and a black hat with a violet stripe on it. The Trio noticed as they were trained to have such skill, the smaller details on the man.
The first detail Lyle noticed was that the man wore violet body armor not resembling anything he has seen before, the first thing Artus had noticed was the man wore peculiar gauntlets that he could tell hid more to them, the first interesting tidbit that Ember had noticed was that this man was Josue, prompting her after all the research she has done, to assume he hid more about himself.
"Hello, noble Gen-Oath members, I'm Josue Detayvern. I'm sure you all already knew that but I don't want to be rude, I thought a formal introduction was still necessary." Was how he greeted them as soon as he had their undivided attention and presence.
Ember was stunned, astounded and flabbergasted that he kept his promise, his voice was how she imagined it to be filled with base and intrigue, and that he looked far more badass than what she saw during her research, of course, all of this was taking place in her head as she couldn't break her tough, trained and disciplined nature to show this side of her.
Ember's heart was pounding almost like she met a symbol, her admiration for him and his work, she was completely nonplussed.
Each of the Trio took to their military disciplined roots and stood up like soldiers greeting their superior, The Trio placed their hands at their hips while standing with perfect posture and they stood up straight with full eye contact towards Josue, to show respect and attention.
"I've read through all of your files, I noted how you guys were trained in a secret division in the U.S military but I didn't expect this." Josue stated as he truly wasn't expecting them to be so disciplined, "You guys are so young, yet so well-ordered!" Josue finished.
"Well, sir, Armand made the ranks very clear during our interviews." Artus replied in his most respectful tone of voice, as well as deeper than regularly.
"Well, you guys stand at a very different rank here, you don't have to worry about what they taught you in the states, all I call for is respect to your fellow comrades and loyalty and dedication to our cause, and there will be no problems from I, or anyone else here I can assure you." Josue stated very clearly and directly, "Understood, sir!" Ember responded in her most respectful tone as well while responding to Josue.
Josue decided to be straightforward and clear with the Trio of his intentions "There's an event arriving soon that might shake this city like a child shakes a jar with a lightning bug, or one shakes a puppy not aware of the consequences, when this event comes, I demand of you, with the highest alert, that you guys are ready because even more might unfold that day." Josue briefed the Trio. Ember's face became more humane "Huh?" She sounded curious and lost.
"I'm updating your badges to give you access to areas you didn't have access to before, there'll be a message out to everyone who's under my management so they will be informed as well, I'm going to inform the other teams too." Josue said before he stepped back into a portal. The portal lingered as the Trio stood in silence, checking out their new, and improved ID badges.
"Oh right, You guys got the day off from your law enforcement duties, enjoy it and rest up!" Josue said quickly as he rushed only his head outside the portal to tell them that then the portal closed immediately after he went completely back into the portal.
Ember looked up once he said that, realizing the flaw of a day off, that her enemy Livia burr will take advantage of the day off to visit Lyle, if she hasn't gotten fired or put inside an insane asylum yet, Ember thought to herself.
"In that case, I'll see you guys later!" Ember told her brothers as she tried to rush off and waving, she halted when Artus took notice of her tone and stopped her, "You don't want to hang out with ya brothers?" Artus asked but he sensed something else.
Ember sighed and thought for a moment, "I do but I don't want to lose my job because I murdered an idiotic Banshee today!" Ember answered with a violent tone inching closer as neared the end.
Artus realized what she meant and said what she meant outloud "Which is why what I have planned today, she'll never find us and it's perfect for fun and doubles as hiding, she wouldn't expect you guys to be there!" Artus said with a mischievous face and tone, like he's confident in his plan.
"If it's some sort of dance club, she'll guess which based on how much she knows you and she knows you more than you will ever know her." Said Lyle, ruining Artus' confidence in his plan.
"Oh, well how about a-" Lyle interrupted Artus before he could finish voicing his idea, "Nope, she knows Ember like that mess and will think of that eventually." Said Lyle.
"Man, I swear you like Livia more than you let on." Said Artus feeling bummed out, "..." Lyle didn't respond as he stared at the ground, imagining another girl in his head instead of Livia Burr. Artus stared at him, though he had a bit of a stoney face, Artus knew who his Brother had in his thoughts.
During the peak of their suffering from confusion and a way of eluding Livia for the day, Artus received a call on his personal communicator.
"Yo, aren't you one of the guys that work in Generil, Bro?" Asked a man known as Kiyo Chilleday to Artus, The Sanguine Sharpshooter looked at his Brother who was staring back calmly with his arms crossed, he could hear the conversation.
Artus didn't hesitate, "Yeah, I'm guessing you're one of the dudes that work Seyort then?" The Sanguine Sharpshooter asked confidently and outgoingly, "You definitely wouldn't be wrong about that." Chilleday responded back with a similar tone.
"So, what's up then, you guys need help over there or something?!" Artus asked, "Nah, my guy, I thought you already got told?" Asked Childay, "The boss gave us a day off but now I'm sitting here bored with nothing to do, So I was wondering, do you or your guys over at Generil wanna come and hang out? Get pretty acquainted with one another, you know?" He finished with a question
As Artus was about to answer his Gen-Oath comrade, he interrupted, "Or I could come over there and!" After that point Artus stopped listening and went to talk with Lyle, Artus gave Lyle the conversation, Lyle shrugged and thought it was worth a try, but also planned ahead as this was their opportunity to get to know Seyort and the other members perhaps better.
Childay stood waiting for Artus to answer for two entire minutes, "Sure buddy, me and my brother is coming to Seyort, there's no need at all come to Generil." Artus answered Chilleday, Kiyo heard the desperation in his voice, unwavering desperation to get away from something he swiftly recognized.
"Hey Uhhh, where did Ember go?" Asked Artus as he turned around and looked around the room, Lyle couldn't answer, she slipped past him too while they were distracted.
...
Arriving at the crowded and traditional city of Seyort, Lyle and Artus are greeted with a shadowy, dreary, saddening atmosphere that even folks who could call it their hometown would agree requires a bit of time to adapt to and get over. As Lyle and Artus stood outside the apartment building Chilleday sent them, the two talked about how different it is compared to Generil. The city had large and small libraries, museums and banks galore in the city's busiest district. Plenty more homes and cafes compared to the other.
"His is better!!" Said Artus as he looked at what looked like a pulchritudinous and billion dollar hotel, he realized he was exaggerating as he thought that but it was factually far fancier than Theirs could ever look.
Chilleday came out to greet them personally as he would, "Welcome to Seyort, homies!" Childay greeted them with his overwhelming excitement, "Buuut, follow me inside so I can actually get to know you guys." He finished as he calmed down.
"Lyle, he made the perfect first impression on me!" Artus whispered to his Brother as they followed him up, "Same here but let's wait for the second and third ones, Art." Lyle replied back.
The set of three walked inside, Artus and Lyle saw things they didn't have in their apartment, the place could be compared to a five star suite fit for a rich man, of course naturally, only Artus really cared about the luxuries held inside the place.
"How did you get this place, bro?" Artus asked Chilleday, Kiyo looked at Artus and asked instead, "You don't have an apartment like this back in Josue's favorite city?" He asked like it was a shocker.
"We have a regular apartment with the necessary luxuries like heating and cooling but nothing as fancy as this one." Lyle replied, barging into the conversation while Artus stood quiet thinking, "Have you guys ever thought about asking to pick your own place?" Chilleday replied with the two Brothers realizing quickly that never crossed their mind.
A long pause came between the three following Lyle and Artus noising "AH!" So quickly, you'd think they were stuttering their words. Chilleday was a bit dumbfounded by how long Lyle and Artus just stared at each other while Artus was gaping and Lyle was goggling.
"Lyle, S.I.O.M is still with us!!" Artus blurted out loudly, whilst in genuine shock by what he realized, "Yeah, their teachings have definitely been programmed into us." Lyle said far calmer than Artus, who was seemingly overreacting to the realization.
Childay still looked at the two, confused even more as they were talking about more of their own lore "Whas a…S.I.O.M guys?" Chilleday asked, Lyle and Artus' attention got grabbed by that question.
Artus informed him with a brief summation and a few extra details, "You guys sound like you've had a pretty badass childhood, I barely survived my teens." Chilleday responded as he was slightly envious but would never admit it.
"Tell us more about it, yourself and Seyort though!" Artus suggested as politely as usual, Kiyo and Artus' outgoing natures rivaled the others'.
"Hmm, I'm 23, almost 24 years old, I used to live in America until my powers kicked in, and I found out they hate us there, unfortunately I had to leave my girlfriend and two kids… behind." Childay told the two, Artus was lost.
"What do you mean by leaving your girlfriend behind?" Lyle questioned Chilleday, the one in question looked at him but looked lost, "I met my girlfriend right before we graduated school. I was never the brightest student intellectually— spiritually, I was told I could make the sun look dim. I learned how to handle myself in a fight from how many street brawls I'd get into back then in my hometown, one after another. It all caught up to me after I had my kids, trouble came to me years before from trouble from the wrong kid." He recounted with a light chuckle remembering the fun he had in those fights "To be fair, he tried to pick on me, she still had to take the kids then kept all of them very far from me because I made myself the enemy of a lot of ruthless men in those years and certain men wanted to exploit these powers of mine." Kiyo Chilleday answered with a hint of sadness in his tone. Lyle leaned back on his wall and decided to sit quiet for the remainder of the visit. He was making items float by behind them "We agreed this was the safest way, I'll set up a way most of the money I make from this job is sent to them but maybe my kids will find their way to me when they're older?" Kiyo finished in a low tone as he put his head down.
"I'm sorry to hear all of that, man." Artus responded with his most sincere tone, straight forward, "and so, what—What's your special gift?" Artus asked after clearing his throat and clearing their awkward air by changing the topic from one he noticed Kiyo didn't look interested in speaking further.
Chilleday gave him a smile while he thought of a fascinating way of showing them, "I'll show you, follow me, Boys!" He said with a smug smirk, the Brothers got up and followed Chilleday to the hallway. Once in the hallway, Kiyo had pointed to a chandelier hanging high and above them, though they weren't directly below it.
"Get prepared to witness some badassery!" Chilleday yelled out, he then pointed four fingers toward the chandelier, and in a shocking turn of events for the brothers, it came crashing down irregularly "Ah, So what do you guys think??" Chilleday asked after performing. The chandelier wasn't broken which shocked Lyle as it was floating through the air weightlessly ascending slowly.
"That was awesome, that was amazing telekinesis?" Artus yelled out, Lyle stood staring at the chandelier with his hands in his pockets as he figured out he has gravity grasp as his power.
"WHAAAAAA?!" Chilleday yelled out angrily, "That was no Telekinesis, THAT WAS gravity manipulation!" He yelled fearfully some more.
"Oh, Gravity grasp?!" Artus asked as he was genuinely lost and only knew what S.I.O.M labeled it "What's the difference between them, anyway?" Artus asked Oath's outgoing gravity.
"The difference is with telekinesis the victim feels no pain when it's active and the person can move you around freely usually." Oath's selfless gravity answered him from first hand experience "However, with gravity manipulation or grasp 'cause that sounds way cooler actually, the grasp is unbreakable and as painful as I want to make it. You can only make things ascend or descend depending on how much pressure but the movement is theirs...hm." Chilleday yelled passionately until he realized the last part, where he began to calm down.
"Well, it's still awesome, I guess..." Artus said in a low tone after giving it more thought however still uncertain.
"Well, Gravity Grasp is awesome to me, Kiyo." Lyle replied with his own honesty. Snapping out of his small moment of disappointment from the fact he didn't feel like either of them meant what they told him, he snapped his fingers.
"While the day is still young do ya boys want to go have some fun at this cool place?" Chilleday asked the brothers with another confident smirk stuck on his face.
The Brothers looked at each other and agreed without a word to the other, "Uhhh, sure!" Artus answered him with a similar smile.
Sometime later as the three wander the city of Seyort on a tour by Seyort's Gen-Oath member.
"While this city may not be as beautiful and clean as Generil, it's way more fun and I'm about to prove it brothers!" Chilleday claimed with usual confidence.
"Boys night out?" Artus asked, "BOYS NIGHT OUT!" Chilleday yelled, Lyle looked uninterested. The three first went to a restaurant nearby "The dazed purlieu" was the name of the exclusive business only found in Seyort.
Lyle refused to drink anything but water, he came up with reasons that he was taught and lived by, "Sometimes, Lyle, you're an absolute square, little soldier." Artus opined before he challenged Kiyo to a drink off.
"There's just no point in it." Lyle replied, "I've never lost a drink off, big man, are you sure?" Kiyo responded to Artus too.
The three went there and they went there, and each of the sights along the way, they shared.
"Yeah so get this, Lyle refused to give up then he got up and told the monster "My baby brother punches harder than you!" Then killed it in one teleporting swoop!" Artus jokes, the two childish men break out in laughter, tears come from Childay's eyes as the story was hilarious to him, same with Artus.
Lyle was walking with them but he stopped moving after hearing something suspicious from down the road, the two stopped once they noticed he had stopped abruptly and urged the two stop making noise for a moment.
"What's wrong, bro?" Childay asked Lyle, "I hear something happening, C'mon!" Lyle urged then rushed in a hurry in the direction he pointed, the other two followed directly after.
Rushing to what looked like an abandoned building, the three laid eyes on a weapons deal going down and the weapons looked serious. It was 20 men, 10 on each side of the deal Lyle deduced as he studied the situation. It was very small, smuggled weapons and drugs.
"Let me handle this, fellow law enforcement Gents." Said Chilleday before coming out of the shadows, the two tried to stop him but they couldn't, Lyle was wondering about his confidence.
"He definitely needs this boost, would this count as vigilante work or something?" Artus nodded before asking his question, "C'mon, let's back him up anyway." Lyle replied as they went by his side.
"Hey guys, whatcha doin?" Kiyo asked confidently and mockingly in front of the thugs, one of the thugs got heavily startled and began shooting a suppressed pistol at Chilleday, but Artus jumped in the way, tanking all the bullets.
"Thanks for the save, but this is about to end!" Said Chilleday, Oath's ebullient gravity raised his hand high with an arm of pearl river gray, all of the thugs dropped, their faces touching the dirty ground, their bodies in pain while the 20 men all felt the pressure of Kiyo's gravity pulling on them more than the human body can withstand, Lyle and Artus look away from the intense cries of the thugs, some of their bones broke from the pressure Chilleday forced on them.
Chilleday enhanced the gravity around them for 3 minutes then toned it down, the cries still went on. The three left the scene swiftly after the situation was canceled by them, the Seyort police swarmed in to take care of the men as they would after a Gen-Oath member called it in. The three stood perched above a vantage point across the street from the crime scene.
"Daaaang, I never expected that to be as brutal as it was if I can be honest, bro!" Artus yelled in amazement "I was seriously about to ask you to demonstrate on me earlier when you told us the differences, glad I never got around to that." He finished.
"Now do you guys truly respect and have confidence in my gravity grasp?" Chilleday asked, "I could learn to have greater control of it though." He admitted.
Artus honestly didn't know what to say to Chilleday, so he stood quietly, "Living beings seem to be harder to control for you." Said Lyle as an observation he wanted to confirm.
"Honestly, Manipulating the sense of gravity around a living being is harder, which is why if it came down to 40 men or 40 robots, I'd rather take on the robots." Chilleday replied with a more staid tone to his voice.
"How about any monsters?" Lyle asked abruptly "How've you been doing against those so far?" Lyle asked bona fide curiosity about how effectively he can handle himself.
"I only fought one so far with another member part of the Gen-Oath from here called Codagan— just maybe you'll meet him soon, maybe even today when he gets back from wherever he went off to this morning." Kiyo responded with .
"Ah, we need to rebrand this boys day to depressingly ditched by our roommates day, it sounds like to me." Artus joked with a dramatic tone.
"How did the battle against the monster play out?" Lyle asked with the intention of inquiring more, "Ly..." Said Artus in a lowered tone as he tapped him.
"It's fine, I've been needing to get this off of my chest for a minute." Kiyo interrupted Artus, "Codagan's the man with the heart and courage on this team, I'm adventurous sure, but before this I was a homeless grifter that lived wherever I could not too long ago. It was like he was born to do this. I was not, when I saw that I couldn't do anything against it with my Gravity grasp-- I walked away in my feelings." Kiyo confessed without any energy in his tone, only a sense of regret and reflection.
"Well--." Lyle responded with a pause for words, "Hopefully that was a one-time mistake but this Codagan guy isn't your only bud. You don't have to be perfect, give it your best fight, don't feel bad for having limits." Artus butted in as he saw his Brother overthinking a reply. Lyle gave a thumbs up as Artus spoke.
"Thanks Bro, but don't you worry 'cause that was absolutely the first and only time that'll happen!" Kiyo declared with more base in his voice and Artus felt overwhelming resolve radiating from him.
"This guy's wife and children are definitely going to be proud of him when the day they're waiting for comes by..." Artus reckoned in his mind after hearing how his tone made him sound truly sure-enough as they all watched the police at the warehouse work and setting up a Crime scene. He stood up and beamed his smile with Kiyo looking down and thinking about his family as he watched the police do their jobs wondering if they have any family they're working for.
"You guys wanna go back to roof top hopping?!" Kiyo asked with his enthusiasm in his tone and attitude returning.
"Lowkey envious and wishing you could transfer to Generil with us. I wanna leap weightlessly to every case." Artus replied as his answer, "Buttering me up isn't necessary Bro, I got you when you visit." Kiyo replied before he saluted the Brothers and took a leap of faith descending slowly.
The next hour were filled with Kiyo and the brother duo hopping weightlessly across and above the modern day Victorian city's rooftops.