The three Enforcers eventually fell asleep in Talen's living room.
Then, they were awakened as Eros's foot slammed onto the ground. Uriel removed his head from a pillow, rubbing the gunk out the corner of his eye.
Tal groaned, throwing Alora off him. "Dad…? What's wrong? Isn't it… Friday?" he asked.
The old man nodded. "Truth be told, I'd much rather let you all rest for today and the weekend, but it looks like duty calls. Uriel, Talen, and Alora, freshen up and return here in ten minutes for a mission debriefing with my wife. The Displacement you three intercepted yesterday has returned. And this time… it's incarnated."
10 minutes later.
Talen, Uriel, and Alora sat on the two couches before the coffee table settled in the middle. Valentina stood with Eros, arms locked behind her back.
"Last night, in Barronia's neighboring kingdom, a slaughter occurred. Without explanation, three whole city blocks of the kingdom of Arronsburg suddenly imploded. The destruction was random and widespread. While the explosions were instant, the victims didn't instantly disintegrate and instead suffered until their inevitable demise from the burns they sustained. When all was said and done, the perpetrator was identified by the supposed vessel for Malum Monstrum: Anthony Whitlock. Your mission is to locate the boy… and eliminate him."
Alora shot from her seat. "Eliminate him? Hold on a second! Are we certain this young man deserves to be killed? Maybe he has… some sort of control over this Monstrum dude." She turned to her comrades. "Right, guys?"
The duo of Talen and Uriel looked at each other only once before shrugging.
The Prince sniffled. "Well, it's not like we know this kid. If killing him brings about the end of the Monstrum threat as a whole, I see no other choice but extermination."
Tal yawned, head leaned back. "Who cares? We have a job to do and we might as well do it right. Plus, depending on the mission's danger level, we get paid accordingly, right? So, what is it anyway? How dangerous is this Monstrum guy?"
Eros scratched his chin with closed eyes. "Well, it's hard to say. Back when Ava and Samael fought him, I believe he'd only consumed one of his arms. That puts him at High-Rank 1. And now, thanks to eyewitness reports, we can confirm he's consumed another. That puts him at… another Rank 0," determined the man.
Uriel's head instantly raised, Alora's eyes quickly widening. Sitting up from his slouch, the Unconquerable boy widely grinned.
'Finally,' he thought. 'A challenge…'
Sometime later…
The register dinged open once the cash was thrown onto the counter. Mechanical doors automatically opened as Alora left the store first with the boys lagging behind her. Uriel reluctantly carried the bags while Talen cracked open a Coke with one finger.
The girl groaned. "This is unbelievable! I thought the Syndicate was supposed to be better than the Enforcers! Instead, we're forced to adhere to the same regulations and are ordered around by the same people. Ugh, it's just so irritating…"
Uriel relinquished the bags. "Complaining isn't going to solve anything. If you want to get over this quickly, focus your attention on the mission and not how irritating it is. If all you do is complain, I pity what type of adult you'll become," said the Prince.
"That's easy for you to say. Someone like you who has their future already set as the 'Prince of Barronia' can talk all they want. The rest of us have to try our hardest to match your standards…" Alora said.
Uri sighed. "Wait, I… I didn't mean to be rude—"
"It's fine. I get it. We're all a little stressed. This summer has been more chaotic than most, I reckon."
"I guess we can both agree on that. Then again, with someone like him—" Uri and Alora stared at Talen. "—things always get settled rather quickly, don't they?"
He diverted his gaze toward them both. "What?" asked Talen.
"Well, I've been meaning to tell you this for a while. Talen, you should be more mindful of how you treat other people. Mocking allies who've fallen during battle is a good way to get them to dislike you. And if you're the reason the legendary Amit family loses its acclaim, even I won't be able to stop Eros for you," Uriel said.
Tal rolled his eyes. "What a pain…"
Soon, they approached the gate to leave the kingdom. Flashing their badges at the stationed guards granted them access to the world beyond the walls of confined Barronia. A dirt trail led them straight ahead; two grass fields laid flat beside them for miles.
But while the destination was very clearly before them, the trek there was still miles long. So, the trio stopped in their tracks and set up camp. As the boys set up the tent, Alora was set to keep watch for any other Enforcers or civilians.
Uriel stood beside her. "Anything?" he asked, hands pocketed.
"Not from where I'm standing." Alora lowered her hand from over her eyes. "Then again, maybe you're more suited for this. Can't you use those Angels of yours to keep watch?"
"I could. But I can't share the vision with them like Lily. Speaking of which, where is she?" Uri scratched his chin.
"Dunno." She shrugged. "You'd have to ask Tal 'bout that one."
The Prince turned around, beginning to strife toward Talen. "Hey, where's Lil, man? Last I heard, your mom assigned her outside the kingdom."
The young man sat in front of the completed fireplace. "Beats me. She texted last week but she's starting to get dry… might just dump her."
"Again?" Uri scoffed. "How many girls are you gonna dump before you find a wife?"
"Who said I wanted one? S'long as I get my pick of the litter, I'm satisfied," Tal said.
"Oh, how I wish I could've recorded you saying that," Alora said, sitting across from Tal.
Uriel rummaged around the bags, eventually locating what he sought with one hand and crawling out of the tent. Plopping into the space between Tal and Alora, he revealed a brownie-filled plastic bag that caught the duos' attention.
"Woah!" Tal exclaimed. "Is that…?"
"Yup!" he grinned, "I baked them after we went on that mission yesterday, then we got so high I forgot. Luckily, Miss Amit took them out of the oven. So, how about it? Want one?"
"No!" Alora snatched the brownie bag. "This is for off-duty! We can't eat these on missions!"
"C'mon! Live a little, dumbass! We might as well be heading into our deaths with this assignment so why don't we take a load off by… getting high?" Amit suggested.
The girl slowly nodded. "You make some good points."
Under the curtain of night, the moonlight shone on all beings equally. While the trio spent one last night together as normal people, a supernatural debacle occurred within the Monster's mind.
Arronsburg.
Following his merciless attack on Barronia's neighboring kingdom, Monstrum limped through the city's abandoned streets until he found himself too weakened to move.
'Shit.'
His injured form utterly collapsed. Even attempting to stand up was fruitless once sharpened pain pierced into his every corner, withholding him from rising at all. The shadow of a man towered over the beaten Monster.
"C'mon. You're supposed to be much stronger than that, right?"
Monstrum couldn't help but snicker. 'Well, that's new. I suppressed him yet… there's something about this kid. Didn't I destroy his brain when overtaking his body? I suppose not. Is this another part of your scheme, Moloch?' He looked up.
The human casting a shadow over the pitiful creature was none other than his vessel: Anthony Whitlock.
"Oh, so you finally had the balls to look me in the eye," Tony smirked. "You seem puzzled. Honestly, I am too. I felt the sensation of death yet I remain. Maybe my newfound purpose is to bother you as a ghost for all of eternity," the boy said.
'This brat. He has an unnatural brazenness to him. I don't understand. How is he able to co-exist with me…?'
"Brat. Do you… know why I'm hurting so much?" asked Monstrum.
Anthony nodded. "Of course. I dunno why but you spending too much time in the driver's seat is overwhelming the human vessel. If your abnormal strength continues directing it, you'll perish. So—"
"You must take control. So be it."
Tony simply opened his eyes and regained control of his body. No more wounds plagued his form. Now, he was sitting on the sidewalk, awing at his palms shaking before his eyes.
"I'm surprised that worked," he said.
'Well. I always believed in the supernatural but I didn't know the forces at work beneath the surface of my home were so blatantly sinister. First Moloch and now Monstrum? What the hell's even happening? Am I just some Guinea pig or something?'
Tony sighed and rose from the curb, checking his surroundings before resuming his walk.
"Where are we headed? Somewhere useful?" asked Monstrum behind him.
'Right. I forgot this guy can do the same thing I did. What a pain.'
"Not for you. Ya know, there's a reason I'm not freaking out about this situation. My family is somewhat supernatural. They'll probably be able to help me," Tony said, continuously trekking down the road.
"HAH! Do you think I'd let you meet with them? The second we near them, I'll butcher and torture every last one!"
Anthony groaned. "You're seriously annoying, y'know that?"
As the vessel marched toward his relatives, Apollo watched it play out from above.
"It looks like things are proceeding as planned. Still—" Moloch diverted his gaze to face his ally. "—are we sure this is how things should go?"
"I understand your hesitation. Monstrum isn't exactly the most predictable person. Luckily, that's our advantage. His chaos works in tandem with what we desire."
Apollo nodded. "Right. So then, all we can do is wait for now?"
"Yes. Rely on the will of causality leading us. How ironic. Then again, I suppose that is the way of Fate."
Trivia: Apollo Moloch is a young man with curly brown hair and green eyes. He has two moles under both eyes, also sporting a brown bandage across his nose. Most people know he's an enemy Displacement so even if anyone were to find him attractive, it'd be pointless. He usually wears a black suit jacket and a white turtleneck underneath.