From the bottom Up

He entered the room at the appointed hour, wearing the same white lab coat as everyone else. Careful digits of blonde, well kept hair hung casually across the edges in the back as he picked up a clipboard from a member of the team. Casually checking her out as was normal for him, he would look over the file that had been assessed. As expected, the young technician was sitting in her usual white lab coat, waiting for him. She nodded in greeting. "Good morning, Director."
"Good morning, Angela," he responded. "Common test case, number eighteen. Is she ready?"
"Yes. She's all ready."
The case was lying on the bed in her too-perfect body. The hospital gown left her lightly tanned arms and legs exposed. The bed's back was raised, giving him a good view of the now familiar face. Right now there was nothing behind that slightly demonic beauty, not even dreaming. And there would not be anything, not until he gave the word. Most of the team was frustrated at the prospect of collecting the dead for experiments. They all did the same thing. Since it was illegal to test their products on humans, they would bring a recently deceased one back before testing, and disposing of them again.
All they knew was that this one had been picked up in a raid on a private residence over in the Northern Heights. They had caught nobody who could give them even a hint at her background. The scans had not shown any known pattern; about all they could tell was that she was female. Hence the body she had been given. She could be any one of a hundred people. One of his first jobs was to find out who she was.
The director sat down next to the bed. With experience they had found that having a senior officer in uniform interview the subject right away led to fewer problems later on. There was a greater chance of building trust. The design of the room also helped. The trappings of a medical clinic were more or less redundant, but it tended to reassure the subjects that they were being taken care of. "Okay, let's proceed."
The technician touched a button at her terminal. The woman in her synthetic body stirred. The big, dark eyes opened up. She looked first at him and at the technician. She was surprised and wary, but not utterly bewildered. She raised her hands and glanced at them only briefly. There was not the look of utter horror you usually saw on first-timers, and her motor control was good. She had been through this before. "Good morning," I could hear the words in my head…"Don't worry, you're safe now. Can you tell me your name?"
Her new face was the best they could make out of the incident that had happened, but it expressed her anger and hatred vividly. "Safe? I'm dead! I'm supposed to be dead! I died days ago! “
"Never again, if that is what you wish," I remembered saying to her, casually, yet chaotically.
She still regarded me warily. "Are you really a doctor of medical science?
He raised an eyebrow. "You want to stay around longer to find out??"
"I have a son and brother in law who are doctors.. I know this cant be legal.. are you a doc tor or not?."
Bingo. She hit it right on the head and I enjoyed her direct tone. Finally, after days of testing, we were getting somewhere. "Yes, I am Doctor Loki of the Venturion Academy."
She still eyed him suspiciously. "Where am I?"
"In the Academy of course."
She shook her head, making her long black hair sway to the sides. "I've never heard of it."
"Few people have, we aren’t officially open to the public yet."
I would stand and move to the side, allowing the technicians to begin their work. Cray, a gentle young blonde, looked at her before asking a simple question. . “Is your name Madison Garfield?”” She looked at the technician with astonishment. "Nobody's ever asked me my name before," she said very softly, more to her it seemed.
That would suggest to us that her past experiences had been of the worst possible kind. If that were true it was amazing how lucid and calm she actually was. "Madison, it appears you understand what has been done to you," I said to her. "We have done the same, and for that I ask your pardon. You can be euthanized again if that is your wish. It is entirely up to you. But before you make up your mind, I want to talk with you about a project we would like your help with."
The lady frowned, and it almost made me feel sorry for her. "A project? What are you talking about?"
And so I smiled. "It is a very special, very secret project. Let me tell you about it..."

end flashback…
“I’ll tell you all about it..” I said, dropping the clip board with her files onto the dirty floor. I had so much paperwork to go through, and to attempt to even find a place. There were very few things that I hated more than dealing with all of these reports. I ran my hands through them, wondering what if it was possible to find all of the people who had been here. So much talent inside the students, and the ability that one of them had which could bring people back, restoring their vital systems into a working shape, was beyond anything I had recently seen.
It was absolutely astounding. I had, to be honest, no true words for how much research had been lost while dealing with all of this. Years of work had been lost. The cultivation of spiritual energy, placed inside energy drinks and solicited to humans, had been the best product we had, and had made us a rather small fortune to operate and open our academy with. Add that to the support of the large organization which secretly sponsored our activities, and we were set to operate indefinitely without worry.
I would shake my head, running a hand through it as one of the humans opened a large bag. The center of the room had all of the old files that would do me no good, piled there. Anything that was not of use was to be destroyed, burned in the front courtyard as my own personal memorial to the work which I had previously accomplished.

1183

Hurry up and wait. That was the motto of every army since before the old days.
The outer area of the academy was quiet. Only half the built security points were manned, making the mildly cramped area around the walls seem a bit more open. Jin-ra had started his shift doing a bit of miscellaneous inventory work. But he only managed to drag that out so long. Right now there literally was nothing to do. A strange sound would hit his ears as he gazed out across the courtyard. The raised, sandstone walls were a great security method to protect against assailants, but the main gate had been broken and was unable to work. For that, security guards were posted in a rotational shift that would keep those inside safe. The sound was that of a small animal, known as a cat. It meowed lightly at the bottom of the tower until he came down to pick it up, and carry it to the top. Looking over to the platform that held the current entrance to the Venturion academy which happened to be the director’s old office, he thought about an incident that had happened earlier in the day before he assumed his position at the gate. A light would come over, revealing another young woman as she walked up and relieved him from duty with but a single word. Keeping his head low, he smiled, kissed her, and moved out of the tower before heading to the ladder that led up to the platform above.
Inside, he would run into me, who happened to be in a decently foul mood. I had a stack of paperwork in hand that I wanted to keep, but my safe had gone missing. My filing cabinet was broken, and right now, I had no method of properly storing these files. Sitting down, the young man would stop and look over to me. I was highly observatory, and knew something was up. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to control myself tonight. That was especially not the case now that he asked me a simple question, which should have been returned with a simple “no.”, and not what was about to occur.
“Director, would you like something to drink while working? I’m heading down to the gym now..”
“I would like to have some rolled white leaf tea.”
"Oh. I'm quite sure we don't have any .. whatever that is we.. only have water and milk, and other non-perishables we have gained from the area."
"I did not say I expected you to get me a rolled white leaf tea, I merely said that is what I would like to have had."
It was odd how every conversation that he had with me could technically be considered a cross-examination. "I'll be sure to find some tea leaves when we find the traders next week. In the meantime was there anything else I could get you?"
"No." would be the only answer I would return to him as I sat down in frustration.
“Okay.” The boy replied. As he turned to leave, I asked a simple question to him "Have you done something to upset the woman?"
The young human man froze and looked at me, taken aback. I was not one to ever spontaneously asked questions. "What makes you think Miranda is upset?" He asked carefully.
"After leaving the medical bay she has been unusually melancholic. You are her house guest so I presume she spent her day off with you."
"Well, yes."
"What did you do?"
"We just went swimming."
"Swimming? You mean you took a bath together?"
"No, of course not!" His raised voice got a head to pop in through the door "It's not bathing, it's swimming" he continued in a more modulated voice. "We do it for fun on my down here. Miranda and I went to a proper place, where we could spend time together and not have to worry about the Oni coming."
"I'm not your chaperon, you don't need to spell it out."
"We had an enjoyable day, so I don't know what she would have to be depressed about." But now I had him worried. He had seen little of Miranda in the past couple of days other than at staff meetings. The rest of the organization was being built and everyone was working hard to renovate the inside of the academy into some semblance of order that would allow them a place to live comfortably.
"I see. Nothing else?"
"Well..." the young man sensed a trap but saw no way out.
I would return his carefully placed word with a slimly raised eyebrow. "Yes?"
"We were talking a bit about how the conflict with the demons was going. I said that I wonder how many of us are going to live long enough to be parents at this rate."
Absolutely nothing moved in the room. But the level of tension spiked. It looked like this time he had really done it.
I would learn my chin on my arm and give him a cold response.. "I would have thought you have lived in the world down here long enough to know how insensitive that was."
"I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing to me?"
"Because I feel sorry and you're here."
"A very convenient answer, typical human..”
Jin-ra took a deep breath to calm himself before snapping to attention. "I will take responsibility for my error and will rectify it at the earliest opportunity Director" he said formally.
"Very well. Carry on."
"Yes, Director."
The young man dismissed himself, moving right by another young lady who entered the office. The faint glow of her skin, courtesy of her kami blood, accented her pastel yellow dress. Her upper body was wrapped with a black sweater that gave contrast to her glow.
“Don’t you think that was a bit harsh?”
“No.. the kid needs to learn. Otherwise, a short lifetime of heavy heartbreak is all that will await him.”
“like you know anything about women…”
“You’re right.. I don’t, nor do I have any inclination to want to either. I have more important things to deal with.”

1110 / 2293

The young kami looked out at the main gate as several torches appeared to enter. The fact that they made it past the guard tower was rather disturbing. Either they were enemies, or the search party had returned. The worst case would occur, however, when a scream emanated across the courtyard. I would perk up at the sound, flying over to the edge with my fellow spirit so that we could take a look at the ground below.
“Hurry! We don’t have much time!”
“Get Angela and prepare the medical bay.”
“Yes Sir!”
The young spirit turned and flew back into the academy. As for myself, I would fly down to see what the damage was. The group, a trade part of the small gathering here, had been ambushed. The man in charge, Charles, had taken two arrows. One was through his leg, and one was directly into his side. It would take us nearly twenty minutes to get him up the ladder, into the academy, down to the medical bay, and in a bed while Angela stayed with him the entire way.
Sweat rolled down Angela’s face as she struggled to save the man on the bed in front of her. Blood stained her hands, her white lab coat, and the once white sheets beneath him. She had given the man a potent sleeping powder when he'd first arrived, knocking him unconscious so that she could more easily dig the arrow from his side and clean the wound. She had already removed the other one that had lodged itself in his thigh, barely missing the major femoral artery that lay there.
Still, despite her efforts, the man was in bad shape.
He was also very foolish.. She thought as she frowned down at him.
Lately, there had been an increase in bandits and oni gangs using different kinds of weapons that had never been seen before These gangs had been wrecking havoc on small villages around the city and had recently begun to do the same even down here in the old lower commons. Although the man before her was a very skilled warrior and privy to many hard-won battles, he'd been careless and gotten injured for his trouble.
Martial arts were no match for projectile weapons, though often times her partner, the Director, often seemed to prove otherwise. Still, even lightning tiger knew when to fight with fists and when to rely on other means.
Angela knew that fact better than anyone did. Her profession proved to her every day the frailty of the human body, the many ways it could be injured and destroyed. She was constantly a witness to just how often the strength of the mind and spirit exceeded the strength of the body. This human was no exception. He had pulled miracles out of his ass in order to save his comrades, but this time he had paid for it dearly. A quick snap from the wood would give her the room she needed to continue operating. Two other humans were present, assisting as they could, but neither of them had the medical expertise that this one had. It was a miracle that she was able to find the Director after they had been restored to life. She was a priority of his, and now that she was here, she devoted all of her time and efforts to his cause. Reach for her forceps, she pried open the wound, sending a stream of red liquid draining across the bed and down onto the floor. It would have to be carefully cleaned later before anyone else was let in here. Using the medical tool, she carefully removed the tip of the arrowhead from his side ad leg before each of the assistants held cotton cloth onto them, applying pressure to attempt to stop the bleeding.
Standing up, she went over to a nearby cabinet and removed a small box. She returned to her place at his side and opened it, pulling out a long, slightly curved needle and some thread. After taking precious time replacing the blood-soaked cotton, she threaded a length of silk thread through the eye of her needle.
Within minutes, she was ready to begin the task of sewing up the arrow wounds.
The moments passed in tense silence as Angela concentrated on her task. What had once been a clock on the wall had ceased to operate. Unfortunately, just the sight of it left a steady, even beat in her head. Each tick of that beat was a swerve of the needle, and a new piece of his body sewn shut. Once or twice she would wipe her forehead with a piece of cloth off the table next to her before continuing her work. Soon though, she was finished. Quietly, with a critical eye, she surveyed her work and found it satisfactory.
The door would swing open, and I walked in with urgency. “Angela, status update.”
“He is stable for now Sanzon. He will definitely be in pain for a few weeks, but he should pull through it. If we had the facilities that this place was capable of before everything happened, this injury would be nothing to patch up and he would be good to go tomorrow.”
“I will relay that to his loved ones, there are many concerned with what happened today. I was given the full story, and will take immediate action. The demons that did this will not go without consequence.”
“I knew you would say something like that.. promise me you will be careful, I know you are not at your full strength..”
“Trust me, I give you my word.”
Outside the room, his wife and two daughters sat in a small huddle, concerned for the health of their sole provider. I would step outside, giving them the news that he would be fine, but had to recover. As soon as Angela cleared it, he would be able to take visitors, but for now, she had to monitor his health due to the arrow which pierced his side. Trying to keep a smile and hide my anger at the demons which did this, I moved past them and headed directly for my office. I didn’t have a full military force, nor did I have the supplies I used to. The section of the lower academy facilities which housed the armory had not been excavated yet, so a full on attack was not a smart idea.
Once I reached my office, the head of security, a stern human man by the name of Nate, would be called to begin preparations for movement. We only had about eight people, so four would stay and four would be accompanying me on this little adventure.



1210 / 3503

In a building across the street, a single figure stood with a long, conical item next to his face. Staring through it, a voice came from behind him. “the spirit that attacked our men when we were pursuing the girl is still there. The human we shot was wounded, and their supplies were taken. It looks like they managed to get him to their compound safely. I don’t know anything else.”
“is he dead?”
“I am unsure.. he was bleeding pretty bad, and I know I got him at least once in the body. He’s going to need one hell of a medicine man to make it through that. “
“Shit.. the boss will kill us if we don’t make sure that one is dead, and the spirit is punished for what he did. We were lucky to get a second chance, we can’t look past that.
The human looked at his comrade in the darkness. “We have got to get rid of these guys...and the last thing I want to do is face that spirit after he's gotten a heads-up from someone who's overheard us."
Tyler only laughed. He reached into his tattered clothing and pulled out a very sharp knife. Even in the shadows, the blade gleamed. An ugly smile came over his face as he fingered the knife's edge, cutting himself a little.
"Trust me, my friend," the shorter man assured him, "I can take care of anybody who wants to mess up our plans..."
“don’t do anything foolish, we can’t risk it.. otherwise we will lose our heads.”
“I’ve got this. We will attack in one hour. Get the rest of the group ready,”
“Will do.”
With that, he would disappear out into the shadows of the building. It wouldn’t take much for him to get back to an area where demons and low life humans were in full control of the streets. It was almost the exact same as it had been before the dawn, when gang warfare was a daily occurrence. That was, before the lightning tiger moved into town and cleaned things up.



366 / 3869

With nightfall rapidly approaching, the call for return to the academy would be given. The towers were abandoned, and the ladders to the second story platform, the new entrance, would be pulled up. The warrior had been laid in bed, and his screams silenced with deep slumber. The patrols were given inside the academy, and the gym doors were closed. Inside the former student council office, far underground, a bed was setup. While I laid there, I felt something odd. Slowly, deliberately, my eyes opened and I stared up at the ceiling above without so much as breathing for several seconds. I would spend the time in silence, while listening to the sounds of the building around me, and the subtle breathing of the young human girl who occupied the room as well. I would take my time, listening for anything out of the ordinary.
Nothing stirred. The building was silent. Absolute silence, in an almost stagnant form.
I couldn't really put a finger on it, but something had disturbed my sleep. Even in sleep, I had felt a familiar uneasiness that could be assumed was my spiritual sense of danger alerting him to something that was yet unseen and unheard. Without hesitating, I pushed back the blanket that covered my gently clad body and rose, hastily grabbing my robe and tying them around my waist absently. Grabbing my belt, I slid open the door of my room and stepped out into the dark, stuffy corridor, being careful to not wake up the young lady.
Making little noise, I walked down the length of the corridor and ended up in what I considered a reception room of sorts. All was still silent down here. Returning back to my office, I would gently raise off the ground, heading up to the old office above. Sliding the door open, I stepped out into the open room. It was still quiet, even up here. Moving out to the balcony area, my attention would move up to the sky. Outside, instead of the chirping of nocturnal insects, I heard nothingness, it was an empty, still air filled with nothing but silence.
Turning myself around, I would move inside to patrol the inside of the academy’s main floor. There were currently two humans who were on duty, and they would nod as they passed me. I had tightness in my chest that had never been felt before, even in the heat of battle. All of it was something new to me. Taking a few steps forward, I would halt. There it was. Moving quickly to the side of the hall, the twinge of an arrow string resonated, and the buzz of its product moved past my body.
“Guards!”
The faint glow from my body would make me a target in the darkness. The guards would light the torches on the wall, casting out the darkness and leaving the hall open. The main door to the gym would be pulled shut, protecting the women and children who were currently residing inside of the large hall. Another twinge of the bow would be heard. At an instant, my body would react, flipping upside down in flight before my feet planted themselves on the roof of the large foyer. The first thought in my mind was protecting the humans here. Had I been in my former state, I would have already been next to the assailants, and would have them subdued. Not wanting to dwell on my current weakness, my right arm would raise as a light chant was given. It was quick and simple, with a result that was to be expected. The blue flash would flicker down the hallway, removing the shadows from the hall as lightning moved towards its target. Upon missing its target, light would reflect off of the several bodies which had infiltrated the academy. It was far too much of a risk to let this drag on further.
Taking a step forward on the roof, I would fly directly at them. The sound of swords being drawn by the two guards would follow behind me. For now, I could count four enemies. I had no idea if there were more, but that would be a concern that we could follow up after we dealt with the issue at hand. Rotating off the roof my body would take flight directly at the humans. Normally, a policy of protecting the humans would be in effect. Or at least forced upon me by the nanomachines that the division had installed to track and monitor my actions. Without them holding me back I would be able to actively protect not only my academy, but the people who currently depended on me for protection. Landing, the first of the ground would charge forward towards me. Both guards would move up the sides, taking on their own combat.
I wish that it had been possible to keep things quiet and not disturb those who were currently sleeping. Unfortunately, that would not be possible as the first of the enemies fell to the blade of one of my guards. My focus would snap back to my own issue, while the archer moved backwards away from the current combat. Drawing my right arm upwards at the time he threw his own punch, lightning would sizzle from my fist into his forearm. The exchange of energy would send his body to the side, only to have a follow up left hook. The second punch, also imbued with the electrical force inside me, was enough to send the human flying to the side. Turning my attention to the archer, who was now firing pretty much blindly, I would choose to ignore him momentarily and assist the remaining guard in his combat. Thankfully, his partner was thinking the exact same thing and jumped into the fray. Blood would spray across the once white floors of the academy foyer, tinting the white marble with a beautiful shade of red. Screams would echo down the halls before a head fell to the side, and more blood was left staining my floor. With only one final opponent, my left arm would rise slightly before two words were released. The non-chalant tone would release a lightning bolt, once again, that would scream towards the opponent. Hearing his body hit the ground at a distance I’d turn to the guards with a simple order.
“retrieve him, bind him, and make him comfortable. I have questions.”
They would salute casually before moving towards the fallen archer. Walking over to the first human I had fought, a sense of distaste filled my mouth. How dare they enter my home, my academy, and cause a scene. Let alone any damage that could have been potentially accrued to this facility would have greatly irritated me. Slowly, a single finger would expand forward towards the face of the human.
“lightning bolt.”
The white and blue sizzle would strike the man directly in his face. The smell of burnt flesh permeated the air before I did the same thing four more times, until his life was no more.

1306 / 5,175

Daylight would carefully emerge through the cracks in the roof. The gym, repaired with slabs of wood and a thick, tar like material, was now fully enclosed in as close to its original form as possible. The white grounds of the academy, had been cleared around the building, and the humans who were now under my protection were assisting with the slow restoration of this place. It wasn’t like they were required to assist, but it gave them something to work on and take their mind off of the harsh living conditions that they currently held. It was their ticket out of the eternal despair which they were currently stuck as part of.
Meanwhile, down underneath the academy grounds in a large, concrete room nearly eighty feet wide, and a hundred feet long, a single chair was stationed. The room, designed to withstand my abilities as I tested and honed them; and students engaging in combat against one another to progress their own art styles, was going to be used as a room for interrogation. The attack mere hours before had left a bad taste in my mouth, and I intended on getting to the bottom of this entire ordeal. Four of the human guards escorted our friend in before forcing him to sit in the metal chair. I would stand there, watching as he was tied down by his arms, feet, and torso before they pulled the bag off of his head.
The man looked confused, wondering why we let him live. Several obscenities would be given to me while I ignored them. The door would slide open behind me, revealing Angela. She came in, followed by two of her assistants. The escorted a tray carrying something of special design and request by myself. Using copper wire, they had outfitted a needle that was threaded with the wire. For many of the humans in the room, they would have absolutely no idea what it was for or what I was planning on doing.
“Angela, does it work?”
“It should.. I’ll apply it.”
Walking over to the captive prisoner, she would turn his arm over. Feeling around the middle of it, the human would shake a bit, causing two of the guards to hold him still while his bindings were tightened. As soon as she found what she was looking for, she inserted the needle directly into his arm, straight down into the bone. The copper wiring would be draped over to the cart, and the other end handed to me. Generating a small bit of electricity was simple, but that was not the intention here. The intent was to get answers, and that was something I was not willing to waste time with .
“let’s keep this simple. Last night you and your comrades made a rather poor life decision. You invaded my facility and assaulted humans who are under my protection. I’ll ask questions, and you answer. Got it?”
“why would I ever –“
Before he could finished, a glimpse of anger would flare up, causing the electricity to move into my fist. The charge would move across the wire, and down into his body where it would pulse into the bone. Bone marrow was hard, and damaging it was extremely painful, especially when you couldn’t move. The feeling would be worse than having his arm cut off.
“that’s why. Every time I think you are lying, or you waste my time, I will give you another shot. Got it?
“What if I don’t know the –“
Again, the charge would move over the copper wire before entering his arm. The human would tilt his head back, screaming in pain before I stopped. I didn’t enjoy the sound of his voice in pain, but I would have to bear it for now while I got the information that I needed. Smiling at him, I would take a seat about four feet in front of him. My right leg would lift and cross my other one, allowing me to sit there casually and proceed with the interrogation.
“now, lets get back to business.. Other than why you thought this was a good idea, who sent you?”
“I don’t know.. we work for the boss, and he gets his orders from the big man”
“who is this big man?”
“I don’t know, I’m just a member, I don’t get big time info like that.”
“Where is your boss located?”
“I can’t tell you th-“

The electricity would hit his body before he could finish his sentence. Holding it there, everyone in the room would listen to him scream for at least thirty seconds. The time wasn’t too long, but for this human it would feel like forever. Even Angela had to turn away from the borderline torture that I was inflicting. She was a doctor, and close friend of mine. Seeing me in this mood was greatly displeasing to her, to the point of leaving the room. I would take notice of it before releasing the shock on the human.
“you were saying?”
“really. I can’t.. He will kill –“
Again, the electricity would flow, this time stronger and for longer. It was no longer a light charge, but now a large current moving directly into his bone. The pain would feel like his arm was melting from the inside out. Halting it, I would be able to see the steam from his arm, and smell the burnt hair from around the area of the needle’s incision. The method was barbaric, but successful.
“about six blocks over, there’s an old place with a circle sign. It has red circles and a yellow rim.”
“The pizza shop?”
“the wha?”
My free hand would rub my head in disappointment. No one in here had the joy of pizza, or any other modern accommodation of fantastic food.
“nevermind.. it’s a kind of food that we used to eat before the end of all things. Let me explain the severity of your mistake. Currently, your friends are dead. I want you to take me to your boss. If he is lucky, I will allow him to work for me. If not, everyone will perish. You now have a choice to make, make it carefully.”
“whatever you say Boss… I have a family to provide for. We made a mistake, I’ll take you there.. just don’t shock me anymore.”
“glad to hear you decided to cooperate.”


1,150 / 6,325

The day would be spent preparing for what would become my first major offensive since returning to this life. I had reclaimed the immediate area around my academy, and begun preparation for expansion. The first key, was a new target. This being, a human, was a mob boss which controlled a small portion of the immediate area. With the word of my return, being an ancient one, now out, it wouldn’t be long before I could expect him to make a formal assault against my home. Leaning back at my desk, far underground in what was my former office; I would glance at a large sheet of paper which had been locked in a filing cabinet. Across the paper was a map of the surrounding area, a draft of the original building plans. One of them, a map of the lower commons, had several places marked out that had been intended for expansion. Using small pebbles from the old fountain, I would place them carefully, strategically across the paper. I knew where the enemy stronghold was located, what their current manpower was, and their patrol routes.
“six blocks.. easy to cover..”
The time would be near, and the beginning of our planning would halt. The men of this small settlement, all now loyal to me, were prepared for the job that was ahead of them. I only had two archers and three swordsmen at my disposal. The women and children would remain here, underground in a protected area which would be difficult for anyone to reach should we somehow fail. That, however, was not something I was worried about. The key to this plan was a formalized method of taking down as many people as possible, as early as possible. They outnumbered us, so we had to play smart on all fronts.
Floating up to the main floor, my feet would set gently on the ground while I looked over the five men who were coming with me. The sixth, the former member of the enemy group, had volunteered to join us on this venture. I accepted, but told him to stay out of the way and observe why we were a superior force, even with only 5. Taking a good look to make sure they were all ready to go, we would turn to depart the main floor. Once we reached the platform where my main office once stood I would take the first archer, and lift off the ground with him. Six blocks was not that far to go, what mattered was that we were given every advantage we could get. The three swordsmen, along with the second archer would begin their movement to the main gate.
Once crossed, they would split into two groups. The first two and the betrayer from the enemy would head directly towards the buildings across the street. Diving into an alleyway, they would move in a clockwise arc directly south. This would get them underneath the patrol route which was currently occurring, and bring them close to the target. As for myself, I would bring the first archer to the rooftop across the street, and drop straight down before landing him gently on it. Both of us would dive to the ground before anyone would have a chance to see us. Flying across rooftops had given us the cover we needed to successfully move here. Watched the building on the next block over, I could see one of our men on the bottom level, with the second archer three stories up. He had gone inside and moved upwards. Cranag, the warrior below had done a fine job of taking out the sentry watched that alleyway. On the other side of the old pizza drive in, the soldiers had ducked into the shadows behind what was left of abandoned cars.
On cue, just as the human had informed me, the rooftop access to the pizza place opened, and two men came out onto it. The first would walk to the center, giving me time to signal for the archer, Acros, who was laying next to me, to ready his bow. I would watch carefully as the second enemy moved to the left side of the building, nearly looked straight at our second archer. Thankfully, he was back in the office building, sitting in the shadows with his bow already drawn. As much as I wanted to throw a lightning bolt over there, it was much more efficient to let the arrows do the talking. As if they had heard my thoughts, my arm would raise, then drop. A twinge of rope, tightly wound, would sound off next to me as the arrow was released. A moment later, two yells would emerge from the rooftop before fading away. Moments would pass before the entrance to the pizza joint opened and six larger men poured out. The patrolmen that had been on the front of the roof fell forward, falling into the middle of the sidewalk, alerting them. The second they turned their eyes off of the outer areas, we would begin out strike.
Two more arrows came from the shadows, striking their targets. Neither would kill, but do enough damage to be effective. The archer next to me would do the same, unloading every arrow he had. His body would move across the rooftop, shooting from different angles. With a loud war cry, the three remaining humans, of which two were injured with arrows, would be surrounded by the four men. With swords drawn on their end, they would lower their weapons, tossing them to the ground and putting their arms up. At this point, I could easily make a solid entrance. We had been victorious in eliminating the enemy force at the entrance, and taken not only their patrols down but also their rooftop sentry. So far, everything was going right on plan, right on par. Standing, I would take a step off the rook while looking to the archer.
“don’t take your eyes off the main doorway.”
A blue light would glow from my body, fading in and out of white light as I descended down to the street below, much like an angel descending from the heavens. I was positive that the humans knew who was I, and seeing their face was just another confirmation of that simple fact.

1,150 / 7,475

Planting my feet on the ground in front of the group of humans, I would watch their faces. It was a simple expression, one of surprise at us being here, and disgust at how easily their defenses had been defeated. It must have been really easy to operate a program with only a dozen or so men. I knew that was twice what we had, but it was also about to become an addition to my own private military. This was the beginning stage, a stage that could not be overlooked.
“You will recognize my newest addition, a former member of your team. Join us, or die. That is the only solution you have remaining. Answer quickly, for my time is shorter than my benevolence.”
It was absolute truth, a truth which not even I could deny. While I was far more benevolent than my demonic counterpart Domen, even I had limits to the amount of patience I was willing to spend on any given issue. They would remain silently hesitant, leaving me with no other choice. I didn’t want to waste human life, but I needed this territory under my control and fast. It was a vital component of what allowed me to operate in a secure manner. After all, with this much expansion I could easily make room for more humans to come into a safe haven.
“Well, that fixes that… I assume your boss is inside.. I’ll go have a chat with him about you working for me now..”
Their heads would lower, save for one who laughed. His voice would carry through the empty streets, startling my men. They were not prepared for something like that. With a sigh, I would walk straight past them, and into the front of the restaurant. It had been an interesting place, and was a two story building. On the bottom, where there used to be dining tables there were tents and bedding material. There were women over along the side wall who shied away from me as I moved through the room. The darkness was spread by torches. I could assume that the boss of this area lived upstairs. I could hear a creaking, rocking noise coming from above me.
With wonder, I moved towards the back, only to find more human women and children. Unlike before, these women were mostly younger, not exactly children, but around the age of what I would see in my academy. The disheartening part was that they were tied up, each to one another. The first thing that crossed my mind was the past realm, where I would buy slaves and give them a home to work towards. With absolute anger and disgust, I would walk past them towards the stairs. As I neared it, I heard the crying of a female voice from above, and the laughing of two others. The creaking would get louder as I floated up the stairs, never planting my feet to avoid making any noise at all. The top of the stairs would lead into a hallway that had four doors on each side, and a single one at the end of the hall. The first doors were opened, allowing me to look inside. The sight was something that made me sick. It was a physical sickness, the sight of a woman, barely covered, tied to a bed. There was blood everywhere, and from what I could tell she was not breathing. Turning my head, the same thing on the right side.
Continuing down to the end of the hallway, I listened to the cries of the woman inside. It would only take a moment of waiting before my resolution was clearly in place. Placing a finger on the old, wooden door, I would take in a deep breath before exhaling. On the exhale, two words would be silently spoken.. “lightning bolt.” The flash of light would erupt into the door, shattering it into a spray of splinters as I flew into the room at full speed. The door’s explosion would cause the two men inside to dive to the ground behind the bed. The first one to stand, the primary guard of the boss, would be dispatched as I planted my foot on his chest, with my other leg on the bed, and thrust him backwards through the window. From there it would be a short fall down to where his friends were waiting.
That left me here, with the boss. He was an older, fat man who was clearly enjoying the finer parts of life. Lowering myself to the ground, I would take a slow step forward while he crawled on all fours, like a dog, around the bed to avoid me. The woman on the bed cried loudly, yelling for help. Nearing the door, the human would attempt to run, scampering to his feet in a futile attempt to get away from me. Before he could reach the door a crack of lightning would reach his back, sending him back to the floor. He rolled over, leaning against the wall as I drew a knife from the table next to the bed. Using it to slice through the rope bindings on the woman, I would assure her that everything was going to be okay.
“go release the others, room by room, and downstairs. Have them move outside, we will take care of you from now on.. you are safe.”
Without missing a beat she was gone, disappearing through the door and heading to the first room. I could hear the door open, and cries of relief come from inside it. There had to be at least fifteen women between both floors. Now that I had some one on one time with the boss, it was time to really get down to business. Unfortunately for him this wasn’t the kind of business that you could get out of easily. Taking a seat at the table, he watched me carefully, wondering who I was and what I was doing here.
“My name is Sanzon Loki, and I am the owner of the Venturion Academy. You sent your men to attack those who are loyal to me. Half of your force is dead, the other half now serves me. You will not get that choice.”
“what gives you the right to decide any of this.”
He crawled to his feet, showing his larger, more statured size. He was boastful, proud, just like a human mob boss. I had dealt with his kind before, long before e was even born. It was a shame, really, that things would not be able to go more smoothly. After all, I was not in a good mood after what I had seen and there was no way he was getting out of here alive. Sitting there, my right leg would cross my left as he charged across the room in anger. Drawing his right arm backwards, it would fly forward towards me. Simply raising my palm, I would plant it on the end of his as he struck. The result would be a crackle of lightning that recoiled into his arm. His muscles would spasm backwards before he was forced a few steps back.
“you must realize it by now, you will not win.”
With an angry scowl, he attempted the same thing again, clenching his fist even tighter. Again, my left hand would backhand it out of the way, releasing a crackle of lightning as I struck him. Not giving him time, I would hop to my feet and move forward. A single punch, lighter than what he was throwing, would tap his side. His size was larger than most humans, and that did not give him an advantage. If anything, it gave me more targets to hit. Coming out of my pocket, my left hand would tap his arm while my right moved up to his chest. Each strike would come with a crack of lightning that moved into his body, sending his muscles into spasms and disrupting the way his body moved. I would not waste any time as I continued the strikes, each one for one of the women that I had counted. By the time I had finished, his smoking body fell to knees before me.
“I had given you the chance to serve me, but your indiscretion led you down the wrong road. Now, for your mistakes, you will perish.”
Under normal circumstances, I would have put him on the corner and let the police pick him up. On this case, that was not an option at all. His eyes widened as my right arm came forward, fingers curling into the shape of a gun. Planting my index finger between his eyes, it would press deeply into his fat, sweaty skin. The stench of his body was repulsive, and it was my duty to rid the world of this waste of human mass.
“lightning bolt.”

1,555 / 9,030

The blood mixed with the rain and fell, wet and heavy, to the ground, seeping between the cracks in cement that had been kicked and pummeled by the winds of time. The wind screamed. Heavy droplets began to blanket the lower commons as the storm moved in, casting darkness even heavier along the horizon. I could see the shatter of glass around his plump body as he fell backwards. The spray of blood from the rear of his skull failed to put a smile on my face. The only satisfaction would come at the sight of his end. The blue stream of electricity would continue forward, dissipating into nothing as it struck the building across the street. A single bolt was all it took to end this humans life. That, and a dozen or so electric filled punches. Slowly, my arm would lower, and I would turn, gliding forward towards the doorway. There were four women there, each wide eyed with disbelief at what they had witnessed. Their bodies would move backwards as I passed by them, giving me room to depart the darkness of what was left.
“follow me if you seek sanctuary.”
Sanctuary. Was that what I wanted to build with Domen? I had no doubt that the demon could build a place where humans and spirits alike could live in peace. The only opposition to that was the idea that they would serve him unconditionally. Was there ever going to be a guarantee of sanctuary for the humans? Would he provide them with faith, hope, and direction to better their lives or would they all live as slaves to his will? I knew that I would have to work alongside him, so that I could work to unite our people and protect those who seek refuge from the darkness of this world. That was my purpose in coming back, a second chance to succeed where I had initially failed. The world and everything we knew had ended. That was my goal, my future, my truth.
As I moved down the steps, the women would slowly begin to follow me. The ones at the base of the stairs, previously bound, were free and waiting to see the result. Whether it was me as their savior, or their owner coming to punish them, they were stuck in paradox at the state of their futures. Stopping, I looked over them once more. They were lacking food, and proper clothing. They looked sick, and needing care. It was my responsibility to assist them with this, and do what I could to protect them.
“You have been given your freedom.. you may return to your homes, or find sanctuary within my walls.”
There would be no hesitation with wanting to depart. The rain sounded like it was becoming a pain, and I wanted our men to return to their loved ones before the weather got any worse. I already knew Angela would be waiting vigilantly at the entrance to the academy, waiting for sign of my return. Just that on its own was more than enough for me to want to return, and to work harder to protect those close to me. As the doors to the old pizza joint swung open, there would be men hanging their heads in silence. Across the pavement was the body of the human I had sent to his death. In the middle was the now four warriors who had survived this ordeal.
“you have no boss to control you. You may leave if you wish, or join our ranks.”
They looked at each other curiously, wondering why someone would offer them freedom so easily, especially after attacking their property, and personnel. It boggled their minds, and let them perplexed. Turning my head, I noticed the group of women following me. I wish I were able to transport all of them back with me instantly, but for now we would have to walk through the rain. The objective had been reached, our purpose for coming here had been completed. The enemy was gone, and this territory was now mine.
“To all who can hear my voice, this territory now belongs to the Angels of Venturion, you may live freely within this territory.”
There would be raised swords and cheers from the soldiers who had accompanied me here. They had taken a risk, not knowing whether or not I had the strength to support the words I had given them. From here, all that we had to do was return to the academy, dry off, and celebrate. With my soldiers now moving forward, they would offer assistance openly to the four whom were attacked in the initial assault. Accepting it, where six had left, ten would return along with fourteen women who had been abused and boarded up. As we came through the academy entrance, Angela would signal the fires. Inside the wooden addition on the roof where glass had once been, torches would be lit and ladders lowered. I would have to think about excavating the main entrance and rebuilding it at this rate. I really wanted my office back, and the humans were not going to be able to use it as their front doorstep much longer.
Loved ones would be waiting as we entered the facility. One of the young human girls, probably of college age, approached me in wonder at the size of the facility. A light conversation would begin before Angela would take her with the others, and lead them into the darkness of the hallway. Flames would dance across the walls, lightning the main hall, the cafeteria, the gym, and the auditorium. The gym, the place where most people lived, was filled with hospital beds from the previous war. They had been rusted and unused until people began to move here for refuge. Now, this place truly was a place of refuge. We had gained four new soldiers to assist in protecting this area, and tomorrow I would allow them to make an oath of service to this academy, just as every teacher and employee of mine had done before them. A towel would come across my shoulders from behind while familiar hands pulled the suit jacket from across my body.
“you’re wet, mister director.”
“and tired…”
Angela would simply chuckle at the thought of me, who normally had more energy than what it took to power the spirit net, running on empty. It had been a rather stressful situation and until I discovered a way to regain my full power I would have to be just as careful. One thing was for sure, this was just the beginning. We had gained a small radius surrounding the academy, and now it was up to us to protect it and the people inside the academy.
“make sure everyone gets situated, and finds a place to sleep. From now on, they are all under our protection. After that, you can come join me.”
Her eyes would light up for a moment. I had never asked that of her, or anyone else for that matter. I had known of her infatuation for me, but had never gone with it due to our professional relationship. Things, however, had changed drastically and now we could make those moves forward, step by step. She would turn and rush off while I descended down to my old office. Once there, a change of clothes into a blue and black robe would begin. Next door, in the former student council room, was a line of torches, two desks, and a large bed that I had brought over from one of the high rise condo’s that had yet to be touched. There was still a portion of the buildings that had yet to be touched, and it made it rather easy to live at least a little bit comfortable in this hectic time.
And speaking of time, it was time for sleep.

1,438 / 10,,468
:: end rp
all WC to path, leader of men