Now that his appetite was stimulated, having forcefully swallowed the fingers, Orion turned back to the suited man and launched forward at great speed, ignoring a shout from Tsitua. He pounced on the air to tackle the suited man when everything went black.

Tsitua caught sight of Orion darting forward, "No! Stay back!" He barked, but the frenzied ghoul didn't hear him. The crazed humanoid leapt in the air, but just before making contact, the class one demon swatted him aside. There was a sickening crunch as the demon's hand impacted Orion's skull. Tsitua guessed there were multiple fractures from this, but saw that he was still breathing after hitting the ground and skipping about twenty feet.

Tsitua took hold of his sword, removing it from the ground and holding it at his side, but it was the demon that broke the ice. His voice was mainly smooth, charismatic even, but there was a delayed echo of his true voice faintly sounding with every word. "I though this was neutral ground. I never expected you to actually /be here/." It said with a cackle.

"Death comes no matter what ground you stand on, Kabuto. I departed you once, I can do it again." Tsitua said with venom, remembering the last time they met. He flicked his sword out to the side and took a ready stance. Blue fire was just barely visible licking up off his shoulders as his chakras grew with focus.

The devil cackled again, "Where is your abomination this time? He stands not behind you." It prodded. The last time they had encountered, Ketsuoana was still alive.

"I'm my own abomination now." The hybrid replied coldly. He watched as red, smoke-like energy began to emanate from the devil's body. Turning back to look at his companions, Tsitua growled, "Run."

"You better answer him." Shiva warned as she took another swig of whiskey. She nearly choked on it when Victor updated her. A high class devil here in Sybil? It was unheard of. It made no sense. And her leader was alone out there. "Kreos, leave him. Tsitua needs us." She commanded, vaulting over the bar and darting out the door of the saloon.

((YAAAAS. I've been waiting for you to be on. Is Ketsuoana the flame aura thing? I need to post before I can for Amune. She's mildly irked that Shiva thinks her leader is "alone". But here's Jareth's!))

Jareth didn't hesitate before going after Shiva. "Hey, what's up?" he asked as he fell in beside her. He looked too thin to have much in the way of muscle, but though he wasn't strong he had a decent amount of endurance. "What's the rush? Is something wrong?" Her tone, and the fact that she'd done a double-take immediately before her announcement made him think it was more than Tsitua wondering why they'd not yet shown up. It sounded more like trouble. He wondered why he was deciding to go running headlong into trouble, but Amune had always said he didn't always think before doing.

Amune. She was with Tsitua. "Hey, what about Amune? Are she and the others alright?" He hoped they -- particularly her -- were all okay. It would really suck if something happened right after they arrived.

Kreos tapped to eight by the time Shiva spoke up, telling him to leave the Irishman. He gave her a look that said "Honestly" as he sheathed his scythe again. He looked at Shiva, then to Ruarc, however when he went to look back at Shiva, there was just thin air, along with a couple swinging saloon doors. In all this encounter he hasn't been allowed to kill a single thing, except maybe like, two bugs that he stepped on. He quickly caught up to the other two that had ran out of the saloon, not really questioning where they were going or why. As long as he had the chance to possibly kill something would be alright with him. He wanted to please his father, and he knew that his father enjoyed his job, so he would try his hardest to send as many wicked souls his father's way.

As he ran, a curious sight unraveled before him. Jack, standing there stunned, Amuné, who was missing two fingers for some reason, Titsua, sword drawn, Orion, who was crippled on the ground, and a strange man. Wait, that was no man. He didn't exactly have an air of death around him as Orion or swordsman did... no... Kreos could smell the souls trapped by the being, souls that were not yet reaped by his father. This was his chance. "Hey, Tsitua. You think I can kill that thing?" Kreos said, coming to a stop just behind Tsitua.

With a deep breath, a silent asking for this to work right, Jack put her hand over Amune's hand. Once again, her finger tips had turned a deep icy blue, fading into a bluish gray before her normal skin color. She had kept quiet focusing strongly on their hands, so not to over freeze, just get a light barrier. Once pulling her hand away, a light crystalline frost had formed on her hand. "Put the shirt back on it, that'll still help" She said softly leaving her hand hovering wanting to cool the fabric as well to keep the cold barrier up for her.

She looked up hearing the start of the scuffle watching Orion fly off to the side, and hearing Tsitua’s command. It didn’t sit with her well, her feet weren’t moving. Her mind conflicting, though she didn’t know how she’d be of help, but knew that if there was anything, she wanted to be close.

(((My appologies, I was at a baseball game tonight. )))

[ I'll wait for 's second half, and ]

(( You're fine, dear))

Amune took a deep breath as the pain receded a bit, her shoulders moving to a more relaxed position, though she was still quite tense. "Thanks." The woman wrapped another portion of her shirt, one less blood-soaked, around the injury, holding it in place with what was left of her hand. "I hope he's okay. Is this...normal? Or did that guy do something to him?" Her free hand went back to hovering by her knife, but Tsitua said they should run. And by the look on his face, there was a good reason.

She didn't hesitate. She grabbed Jack's warm hand with her free one, and took off at an angle. "Come on. We need to find cover," she told the other woman. She wasn't going to abandon Tsitua entirely, but neither was she going to be stupid. And then Kreos, Jareth, and Shiva arrived. "Find cover!" she told them. "This is going to be bad. Be careful with Orion if you try to help him, I don't know what's the matter but he sort of attacked me. Jareth, with me." Her friend obeyed, still trying to process what he was seeing. The strange man. Orion in a heap. Tsitua and her sword. And Amune, with her bloodied hand.

"Wh-what?" he gasped, "are you okay?! Why would--" "I misjudged something," the Seer replied. "Here, this should do for now." She moved behind a stack of crates a few yards from where the confrontation was occurring.

[I]"You think this is the first time someone has had a weapon at my back? "[/I] He asked, looking over his shoulder. But as he turned, the woman vaulted the bar and ran out the door, followed by the man with the sythe. He was flabberghasted for a moment, then shot off the stool in pursuit, drawing his pistol.

He followed them to the docks, peeking around the corner at the odd scene unfolding. Some dude who looked like he just jumped out of a Castlevania game was squaring off against a group, thr group he was tasked to follow around. Some ran for cover, and one stayed behind, a sword appearing from nowhere. He scratched his head and watched, switching the magazine he had loaded for another, filled with armor piercing incendiary rounds, loaded extra hot.

This shit was about to get interesting.

“That’s, uh… sort of normal. It might be hard to explain right at this moment” Jack said softly her head turned towards Amune a bit so she could hear her but her eyes still focused on Tsitua and the dapper, shoeless man.

She stumbled slightly with the other girls tug, she and Bruce stumbled after her, both eventually gaining their footing. Crouching down once undercover she kept an eye out. Jack might not be all there with her abilities, but clearly when the moment came something would work. She was going to be ready if needed. Still a very cold air hung about her, so much her hair started to fade again in a reverse ombre blueish gray to her blonde tips.

"All of you except Kreos are going to get on that boat." Tsitua ordered. As soon as it passed his lips, Shiva felt a sting. She shot a look of outrage and surprise at him, but quickly retracted it out of respect.

She acted immediately, darting back to Amuné, Jack, and Jareth. The seeress was hurt, but she'd be fine. "Jack, keep the cold on that. You're doing great." She said, tearing off part of the bottom of her shirt and wrapping it tightly around the bleeding wound. She scanned the area. There was a lot of open space. Her leader was likely going to start the fight and get the devil away from their transport. That would open a window for them to make a break for it. Thankfully, they had an advantage. "Amuné, I need you to focus. You need to use your sight for me of the next five minutes. When the time comes, I need the exact time for us to run to that boat." She said.

Hearing the metallic clicking, she scanned again, seeing Raurc exchanging magazines. Had the CIA learned how to kill demons so quickly? She doubted it, but the man was a liability. And if her intuition was right, the only reason Tsitua allowed him to hear what they were talking about was some intent on coming out of secrecy, at least to some. Right then, she decided to make a move that she would probably regret, but the need to preserve human life was overwhelming.

"Raurc!" She called urgently, "if you want to live through this, get your two-pack over here!"

The only thing she hadn't figured out was Orion.

Tsitua trusted no one else around him at the time more than Shiva, which was why he needed her to get the others out. Kreos, although raw and arrogant, would prove useful. The power of a demigod wasn't exactly enough to rival a devil, but it was enough to take the pressure off the hybrid. "Lesson one, Kreos, demons are eternal. They cannot be killed, but they can be departed back to Hell. That being said," he smirked playfully, "you can have the first shot." Tsitua would need the time to focus enough chakra to fight the demon on its own level. "Buy me exactly twelve seconds, then switch." He added

The watched as the devil opened his arms as if you welcome the fight. A smokey, black halo materialized over its head, and it's smile got even wider, showing every single tooth.

Kreos raised an eyebrow at the people shuffling behind him, acting quickly to get behind cover. He watched as Amuné pulled Jack behind a few crates, Jareth soon joining them in a scurried pace. Kreos soon saw the soldier appear from behind a corner over his shoulder, just in his peripheral vision. He was about to say something, but Titsua spoke first, telling everyone but Kreos to get behind cover. The young man nodded, and stayed where he was, just behind Titsua to his right. He hear Shiva call out to Ruarc behind him, but Kreos didn't really care to take his eyes off of the smoking shoeless goth in front of him.

Kreos listened carefully to Titsua as he spoke, slightly saddened by the fact that he couldn't truly kill the demon. "Well, I'd be lying if I said that doesn't disappoint me a bit, but I guess I can still free a few of the souls under his command." The Demigod slowly pulled down his mask as he once again unsheathed his scythe, a faint purple aura glowing off the blade of the scythe and from his eyes. He stood there a moment, scythe in both hands, before he simply threw it. The entire scythe both became a dark purple and slightly translucent. The devil soon came to find out that the scythe simply passed through him, however as the scythe passed through the other side, so did multiple screaming souls, which came to fade into the air, as well as his scythe, which then immediately re-materialized back into Kreos' hands, who now had launched himself at the devil, scythe both put offensively and defensively in front of himself.

Amuné got the rather disparate group to cover, and gave Shiva a tight smile as the woman tied a strip of her shirt around Amuné's injured hand. "I'm looking forward to the explanation," she told Jack dryly, "but it will need to wait till later." Shiva wanted her to use her Sight to help them get out? "Right, I can do that. I'll warn you now, though, all this water, it interferes with my Sight. Too many echoes. Still, doesn't hurt to try." The young lady bent her head, and her half-lidded eyes flickered opal.

Jareth bit his lip. He was just this side of completely freaking out, and it was taking everything he had not to melt down right there. He was worried about Amuné, and the whole situation, and about whether he'd really be any use -- and if that usefulness would outweigh how much of a liability he was in a fight. The only reason he wasn't panicking outright was that he trusted his friend, and to him she seemed able to do just about anything she needed to to make things turn out okay. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. They'd be alright. They had to be.

[I]"My arse is staying over here, thanks!"[/i] He shouted back, assessing the situation some more, then a plan formed.

He needed to get information on them, right? The best way to do that would be to infiltrate them. Join them. And he couldn't do that if they were all dead, although no one mentioned them being alive when he was done, if it came down to it, if he absolutely had to.

He looked around, apparently the situation was pretty bad, and he needed a way to help them. The docks yielded no results, until his eyes settled on some rather large tanks, shaped like oxygen tanks, but much, much bigger. He peeked back around the corner.

[I]"I have an idea! Get ready to run."[/i] He shouted, then disappeared around the corner.

He ran behind the stacks of tanks, and grabbed a fire axe that was stuck on a wall, and swung it at the banding holding the tanks together. He gave the stack a shove. The pile fell, accompanied with loud banging noises, and they began to roll towards the three men.

He followed behind them, entering a firing stance as they neared.

[I]"Better move quickly."[/i]

“Thanks” Jack said softly running her finger along the new piece of fabric, it quickly frosting. “Just let me know when it starts to get warm or melt” She told the girl nodding. “Hopefully I or he get’s to explain it” Jack said softly, her gaze going out to Orion who was still motionless where he landed. Was to hard for her at the current moment not to get emotionally attached. Their first task was over, but it still ran though her head that the pair needed to learn to work as a team, and that wasn’t going to help if he wasn’t around.

Hearing all the talk about needing to move quickly, Jack finally got a good handle on her pup and scooped him up, he for some reasons was immune to her cold touch and didn’t freeze.

All the yelling going about possibly wasn’t going to help in any situation, but that’s what happens when an unknown shows up. “Oh yea… that I feel was not the right idea” Jack said her eyes going wide hearing the tanks start to roll and clang before their eventual entrance into her field of vision.

Tsitua's interest sparked when Kreos launched his first attack. Reducing a demon's power was never a possible approach for his team. He felt he presence of Thanatos there with them, meaning there was going to be death. The hybrid only hoped it was the souls trapped in Kabuto's chakras, and not any of his team mates. When the sound of the tanks hitting the ground echoed through the area, Tsitua looked that way briefly. The soldier was there, gun at the ready. What was he planning? A mortal against a lieutenant of Lucifer? This man was either hiding something, or didn't fully understand what was going on. Still, he had to admire the courage.

His attention snapped back to the fight at hand, watching as Kabuto snatched Kreos out of the air by his neck. "Faster." It demanded, throwing him at the human soldier. That was his chance. He launched forward hard enough to crush the concrete and push up a slab into a small ramp behind him. His unparalleled speed was enough, but Kabuto was slower. Those souls lost had taken a larger toll on the devil than he had anticipated. Tsitua charged his chakras into his arm and sword, thrusting it through the devil's chest, "Kreos! Again!" He shouted throwing Kabuto up off the blade and into the air.

Orion began to come to. Before opening his eyes, felt his face and skull bones shifting and locking back in place. Once the pain subsided and the broken skin repaired itself, he picked himself up slightly, seeing that a fight was unfolding before him. His hunger had reduced significantly. It was like a trance had been lifted from him. Seeing a demigod hurtling toward the soldier, he darted forward, scooping up the human and setting him down just far enough to the side that they wouldn't collide. Standing next to the succulent specimen, his attention managed to be on Jack, who was hiding with the others. He couldn't let her get hurt. He simply couldn't. In just that few hours, he had very strong feelings for her. Which was new to him. "Are you good here?" He asked the man, trying not to look at his delicious meat.

Kreos narrowly missed Ruarc while Orion pulled the human man out of the way as the demigod flew by. Kreos regained his bearings and righted himself mid-air, braking himself with the balls of his feet and his off-hand, keeping a tight grip on his scythe. For the most part he was alright, only a few cuts and scrapes on his fingers, but thankfully no splinters. Kreos hated splinters to tartarus and back. He took a quick check for said splinters to find there, in fact, were no ungodly splinters to be found. Kreos quietly thanked the gods for that, and stood up, back to a combat position. "You want fast you little piece of unholy crap? I'll give you fast!" Kreos shouted, his speed boosting quite a bit.

Kreos ran to Titsua's aid, giving a quick nod to the man's order. He launched himself upwards, just above where Kabuto stayed for a moment, before he brought the scythe down on the devil, catching him between the blade and snath of the scythe, using the gravity to send them both rocketing downwards, but as they approached the ground, Kreos broke off, his scythe becoming ethreal-like again, passing through the devil's body, whilst pulling even more souls out of Kabuto, and finished with a bicycle kick, launching the devil towards Titsua.

As he was about to shoot, someone picked him up like a small child and set him to the side. It would have ruined his timing if it weren't for the fact that 20+ tanks were rolling towards them.

[I]"Yeah, thanks."[/I] He said flatly. He saw the demigod flying towards him. He had time. But it was the thought that counts, he guessed.

He re-zeroed his aim, and began emptying the clip towards the mass of metal. All he needed was one tank to get a nice, square hit on it. Bullets hummed and whirred away as they ricocheted off the curved surface if the tanks. Until finally there was a solid TINK!

The tank in the center hissed for a second, spinning as the gas escaped, then the incendiary aspect kicked in.

The tank closest to the center of the group exploded, with a few of the tanks nearest it also detonating. It rocked the ground beneath their feet, smashing windows nearby. Some tanks near it flew away harmlessly, others rocketed off randomly, ignited by the explosion. Ruarc rolled behind the corner of a building as a tank shot by, leaving a smoke trail as it bounced off the ground and into the air. He grinned as he came up. Explosions were fun.

[I]"Get to the boat now!"[/i]He shouted over the echo, as the small mushroom cloud Rose into the air, rocks and bits of metal raining down.

As he was about to shoot, someone picked him up like a small child and set him to the side. It would have ruined his timing if it weren't for the fact that 20+ tanks were rolling towards them.

[I]"Yeah, thanks."[/I] He said flatly. He saw the demigod flying towards him. He had time. But it was the thought that counts, he guessed.

He re-zeroed his aim, and began emptying the clip towards the mass of metal. All he needed was one tank to get a nice, square hit on it. Bullets hummed and whirred away as they ricocheted off the curved surface if the tanks. Until finally there was a solid TINK!

The tank in the center hissed for a second, spinning as the gas escaped, then the incendiary aspect kicked in.

The tank closest to the center of the group exploded, with a few of the tanks nearest it also detonating. It rocked the ground beneath their feet, smashing windows nearby. Some tanks near it flew away harmlessly, others rocketed off randomly, ignited by the explosion. Ruarc rolled behind the corner of a building as a tank shot by, leaving a smoke trail as it bounced off the ground and into the air. He grinned as he came up. Explosions were fun.

[I]"Get to the boat now!"[/He shouted over the echo, as the small mushroom cloud Rose into the air, rocks and bits of metal raining down.

Amuné watched the several dozen future paths before them merge and split with each moment. It had been dizzying at first, but after almost nineteen years she was used to it. When the majority of them were favorable, she spoke. "Now!" she told them, tapping Jareth to get his straying attention. "Follow me!" And with that she left the cover and headed around the fighting trio towards the boat. Moments later Ruarc set off the tanks. Amuné was still drawing on her Sight, to catch any attacks, stray or deliberate, than might come their way -- or any of the explosive tanks that might spin in their direction.

Jareth hurried after her, trailing a few feet behind. He'd been distracted by the fighting and so slow on the mark, but Amuné had given him a poke to refocus him. Shiva was closest to him, with Jack up ahead near Amuné. He hoped they'd make it, but he trusted his friend. The Seer was reasonably reliable, and certainly better than going by one's best judgement alone. And his danger sense wasn't any help right now, because it was screaming at him to run run run and not look back.

((EDIT: shakefist at Rous I didn't see your post when making my post.))

A small smile in the middle of the chaos made it’s way across Jack’s face seeing movement come from Orion, that made her feel good. Her attention was however easily focused back on the commotion ahead of them, the fight had elevated at a rapid pace but in the groups favor.

The tinks starting filling the air along with the clanging of the metal already from the same source. made it almost to distracting to hear everyone’s call to run. The explosion caused Bruce to bark in surprise, Jack holding on tighter so he wouldn’t jump out of her arms.

Ducking her head holding the pup close she ran on Amune’s word following the other girl closely as they dashed to the waiting vessel. She tried glancing over her shoulder to see who was following, though looking forward again feeling herself begin to stumble. Note to self, can’t run and look back. Though that was possibly a good life lesson.

She got a chance to look back once they managed to make it to their destination, keeping Bruce close she waited for the few behind them to catch up, and hopefully the other 4 would join them shortly. Jack’s hands were still rather blue, lighter now than before, but her hair seemed to stick blue and blonde this time. Standing off to the side, in a bit of cover just enough view outside of the others.

Orion darted to Jack's side, releasing his Kagune to deflect one or two tanks that were rocketing toward them. It was strange how Amuné led the group to him, as if she knew he was coming to protect them. Then, maybe she did, but the others weren't his concern. Jack was. He caught a couple pieces of shrapnel, but he ripped them out and allowed them to regenerate as they moved. It was painful, but he couldn't stop. He had to get her to the boat safely.

Tsitua was ready to depart Kabuto when the three were engulfed in fire and smoke. The devil was gone. Tsitua sent a pulse of chakras to find the demon, but nothing registered. Kabuto was what was known as a trickster devil. His favorite trick was to disappear in smoke and reappear at your weakness. The hybrid's heart dropped. He whirled around to face the group of recruits, mainly Jack, all running for the boat... With Kabuto leaping over them to land on The icy girl. He shouted her name as he launched again. Everything felt like slow motion as he flew horizontally through the air, charging a ridiculous amount of energy into his right hand. The energy was unstable, and if handled incorrectly, could have killed him. As he came between Jack's head and the pouncing devil. He channeled and released the energy, firing a directed explosion of flame and pure heat. Bolts of electricity shot out from the high friction of the hot and cold air that was simultaneously creating a low scale vortex of air due to the sudden drastic temperature change. In a small area. The hybrid managed to contain the blast in a twelve-foot sphere with Kabuto at the epicenter. There was one downfall, however. Although Kabuto's body was destroyed, his true self, the actual demon simply vanished in a cackling puff of thick, black smoke. Tsitua landed on the other side of Jack similar to how Kreos had landed before, on the balls of his feet and one hand (his prosthetic one). He felt a strange emptiness on his right. The weight of his arm was wrong somehow. He looked at his right arm and let out a sigh. He had vaporized his forearm at the elbow. It was gone, and the stump at the base of his bicep was cauterized and numb. "F@&%." He said without much inflection at all, other than a clear annoyed feeling toward having to replace yet another portion of his body. He then reached out and pulled Jack to him, hugging her tightly for a moment. He didn't speak a word, but he was so happy. That had frightened him to death, but she was okay. That's what mattered. He released her and hugged Shiva too, "I knew you had that." He said before releasing her as well. He smiled at them all, "Well done, Amuné. " he announced, "You passed your test. Not that I planned that, but I think it was a good enough test, don't you?"

The sting of jealousy ran through Shiva's chest as her leader hugged the new girl. He never did that. He never favored anyone. Not until her. What made her so special. She could control ice? Shiva could do that and more. Shiva had pulled humidity out of the air, blood from a man's body, she could make it so cold that it would rain nitrogen. This Jack with her smooth voice and unscathed skin. And they were going to be in the same quarters together. When she got her own hug and compliment, it didn't feel genuine. She felt like he was obligated to acknowledge her and the others simply to be fair and that hurt, but she hid her anger. She hugged him back and pretended.

[AT LAST!!!]