Lies in Deceptive Shadows

[skyacezero]

"I see," Darryl said. 'Maybe it's nothing to worry about,' Darryl thought as he ate. Something nearby was spying on Darryl and Kaori, slinking quickly and quietly under a bush just meters away.

"We didn't try to get rid of the evidence, merely the human responsible," the 'master' explained. "We made sure that the evidence you just heard remained," it finished. Lillith opened her eyes and smiled. "Master, it's found him," she said.

((Dark Hunter Bestiary: Stalkers
Stalkers act as scouts or seekers for the Seven Demon Lords. They are expert trackers and masters of stealth. They are capable of mimicing the color and texture of any surface they attach to in order to camouflage themselves. Despite being no stronger than a goon, they make up for it with incredible speed and reflexes.))

[Amara<3]

"Yeah, I can't really say too much about it," she said shrugging. "I don't even really know much more to be honest. They aren't nice people though." She began another steak on the fire, but froze for a moment. She looked as if something had crawled on her, and she was trying not to freak out and still search for it.

"Makes sense, I guess. Well, look. Can you not bother me at work unless you really need to? I'm sort of busy and don't want to seem like I'm ignoring you, when I have to." Keera looked up when Lilith said 'it' found him. "Found who?" But in the back of her mind and into the area where Kaori was...

~Kaori, you need to get out of here, take him with you.~

"You know what? We should go..." Kaori said quickly, got up and knocked over the fire, killing it with sand and grabbed Darryl, pulling him up, not caring if the steak fell on the ground. "Quickly." She said looking around. "Where should we go?" she seemed to ask no one.

[skyacezero]

"Oh, I sent one of my pets to find a certain someone who's been a thorn in my side for quite a while now, even more so after finding ut he's still alive," Lilith said. "Not to worry, though. Anything that Lilith sent after him also answers to me. If your sister is caught in the crossfire, no harm will come to her," the Master said.

"Kaori. what's going on?" Darryl said. Right on cue, whatever was lurking nearby lept from th bushes and stopped in front of them and let out a snarl. It was a quadpedal beats with long jaws and smooth skin. "Wait, only Lilith and Maltheius can control the dark hunters...." something clicked in Darryl's head again. "Kaori, does the name Lilith ring any bells?" he asked.

[Amara<3]

"Good to know," Keera said with a small smile. "However, she's with him to keep you away from them both. She won't just let you take him, not without doing her best to keep him with her." She flipped through a few papers and se them down at the corner of her desk, finally standing back up and facing them. "How rude of me, I have hospitality issues. Please, Lilith, sit down." She said as she walked out, to return a few moments later with a folder. "Don't suppose you're involved in a drug operation?" she asked with a little laugh. "I figure I'd ask instead of running around like a fool for a week trying to figure out who's the main source."

"Ew," Kaori said with another tug on Darryl's arm. "What's that supposed to be?" she asked as she turned to it. "It doesn't look that strong," she said and swallowed. She dropped the bag, deciding that running away wouldn't be so easy as to fight. "Keera, if you can hear me, I think we have to kill it. It's pretty fast." She glanced at Darryl for a minute. "Yeah I think Keera called her that, I'm not sure though."

[skyacezero]

"Keera, be realistic. Time is precious, do you really think we'd waste it on something as petty as drug running? Besides," Lilith held up a pack of cigarettes and shook it. "I have all I need right here," She said as she took out another one and lit it. "We did, however have connections to someone in the States who did that sort of thing, but, he's been disposed of," Lilith said.

"We'll talk about that when I meet your sister but first..." Darryl said, looking at the Stalker. It snarled and lept forward, taking Kaori and pinned her against a tree. It was faster than either could keep up with. "Hang on!" Darryl said and tried to get to Kaori but an unseen force made him stop. Some thing seemed to be flying around at blinding speeds. "Found you..." an eerie voice echoed. Something dropped from the trees and stopped to hover. It was laughing manically. "An avatar?!" he said. "Oh, you're very astute, aren't you?" the avatar said, still laughing. Se was holding 2 puppets in her hands. "Oh? Where are my manners today? My name is Marionette," she said ith a bow in mid-air.

[Amara<3]

"If time is so precious, what do you do with it? Keep is locked in a box?" she asked, joking. She did want to know what they did though. She knew keeping them here had nothing to do with what was happening to her sister and that boy. "Well, I have nothing to do with the States, I prefer to stick with my own country's matters." She raised the folder at Lilith. "Like the dealers here, specifically. I don't want or need to deal with things outside Japan just yet. I was sort of hoping to keep it that way." She knew this small talk wasn't going to happen much longer, but it was alright for now.

"Woah, faster than my sister," Kaori commented against the tree. "Not smarter though, I don't think," she said and turned her right hand towards the Stalker's mid section. A green mist just magically shot from her hand and started melting the Stalker's skin like acid on a human's face. When this started, Kaori dug her knee into the whole the acidic liquid was making, just to make it hurt and spread faster. "Oh. Well, Marionette, nice to meet you. Do you know who my sister is? If either of us are hurt, she'll probably kill you for it, whether she gets punished or not. Hope you like death in your future. She's usually nice about it though, and kills you quick. She doesn't like to waste her time."

[skyacezero]

"On the matter of time, we've wasted enough as it is," the Master said. "We merely came to tell you to meet us at the warehouses when you're done here, we have to show you you're new... home away from home..." he said and sank into a vortex in the floor with Lilith.

"Hahahahaha! I'm well aware of who your sister is, we all are," Marionette said. "Mistress Lilith instructed me not to lay a hand on you but.." Marionette suddenly appeared behind Kaori. "She never said anything about this...." she said and plucked one of Kaori's hairs out and went back into the air and tied the hair around the doll. "Oh this is going to be soooo muuuuch fuuun...hahahahaha...." Marionette moved the puppet's left foot forward, Kaori did the same, folloed by her right foot. "Hahahahahaha! Go on! Laugh yourself to death! Hahahahahaha!" Marionette laughed and vanished into the trees. There was a snarl and another dark hunter appeared, this one was much larger than the stalker and had blades extending from it's forearms. "This... isn't good..." Darryl said.

(Note: If Marionette ties someone's hair to the string puppet she carries around, she has complete control over their movements. This new Dark hunter is called a slicer, they pretty much fall into the shocktrooper category and their armblades can cleave through even the plating on tanks)

[Amara<3]

"The warehouses?" Keera asked before the disappeared and shook her head. She looked back at her papers and then at the clock on her desk. She could take her lunch break now and get over there if she wanted to. She got up and walked over to her friend's office, to see what they were up to. She had to go alone, obviously. She could have them tagging along and running back because she did something stupid. She'd land up wanted and jobless, which would minus her apartment.

"Hey guys," Keera smiled as she lightly knocked on the door. "Going for my lunch break a little early, I'll be back early too. Lunch date, see you," she hummed as she went down the hall and once outside, she walked fast past their window and disappeared into an alley. She got to the warehouses in a few seconds and waited. "Could have just went with you, you know. Also I think i'll appologize ahead of time. Sorry."

"Ow! Hey!" Kaori said as she kicked the stalker away from her. She moved forward, trying to stop herself but found herself unable to.

"Now now now," Keera said, smiling as she walked past Darryl. "That's not very nice, deary. Get rid of it and leave my sister alone." Walking over to the Dark Hunter, her eyes flashed a deadly red and encircled it once before walking over to Darryl. "You look weaker like this," she commented and turned to where Marionette had disappeared to. "Stop fooling around and do something worth you time. Let's have a little fun, atleast this way I know my sister isn't really getting hurt. Burn that thing."

[skyacezero]

"Oh we WILL have fun....." Marionette's voice seemed to come from all directions. "But Kaori won't be getting hurt..hahahaha...SHE'LL be the one doing the hurting!" Marionette raised the puppet's arm and Kaori did the same, only she was holding a steak knife near Darryl. Marionette brought the puppet's arm down and Darryl dove out of the way. "So what will you do now, die by Kaori's hand? Or the slicer's hand? Hahahahahaha! Decisions, decisions...." Marionette taunted. "Where are you?!" Darryl demanded.

[Amara<3]

"Coward," Keera spoke at the warehouses, and the second form of herself did the same. "Let my sister go," she growled, now looking around for Lilith. "Or I will go and I'll kill your stupid little avatar."

"Coward," Keera spoke, looking through the trees. "The only ones dying will be the slicer as you call it, and if you're not careful, maybe yourself. Come out from hiding, are you scared? Is that why you are trying to use my sister, because your afraid that she might beat you?" Her taunting words came from a smirking mouth, and amused eyes.

"No, Darryl I'm sorry!" Kaori yelled as she moved with the knife, relieved that at least Darryl had moved out of the way. "I can't stop it," she whispered, again her body hesitated, trying to stand normally without being told so by Marionette. "I'm trying..."

[skyacezero]

"Keera, Keera, Keera...." a voice seemed to come from somewhere near Keera. "Do you truely think that what you're so desperately trying to protect is actually worth fight for?" it sounded errily like her voice.

"Afraid of her? No, but she does make a fun plaything.....HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Marionette's voice said. "I don't care at this point...." Darryl said and he was enveloped by a tattered cloak and emerged as Necrolon, "I'm putting a stop to this NOW!" Necrolon's voice roared. "Hahahahahaha! I was waiting for you to do that!" Marionette laughed and the slicer started leveling trees, the only source of shade available and started exposng Necrolon the the sun's rays. Necrolon kept darting to a dark spot, only to have it's source cut down. "Hahahahaaa! I never knew this could be so fun!" Marionette laughed.

[Amara<3]

"Yes," both Keeras said at once. "I do." Neither seemed very scared. If anything, they were both getting annoyed.

"Keera forget about where you are, please come here!" Kaori pleaded and Keera almost thought to do it. She needed to talk to Lilith, to make Marionette stop her game. Aside from destroying her, Lilith was the only one who could stop her with barely any force. "Please," Kaori whispered, looking at the second Keera.

"Don't underestimate my family, Marionette. We're a lot stronger than we look," Keera said as a fire blazed, shining brightly, revealed in her eyes. "Kaori, since when has anyone been able to control you, by your mind, body or otherwise? You are pure, nothing can control you."

~Flashback~
"You are so pure, that no evil can harm you. You belong with gods my darling, Kaori. You are truly wonderful. Born from two evils, to be so pure after something like this, you are untouchable by those that do not belong with a being like you."

"Mommy, why am I pure?" Kaori said as a five year old child, and Keera standing at the door, a glare on her face at their mother. Both Kaori and Keera had loved her dearly, but Keera had a deep, hidden hatred for their mother loving Kaori more than her. The hate had not been put on Kaori after their mother was gone. Keera never spoke ill of Kaori or treated her horribly in all the days that they'd spent together. Kaori remembered that much.

"I remember," Kaori whispered and relaxed herself. "My mother said that too, years before you killed her. We were kids." This would be the day of truth, whether their mother had spoken true words, or whether it was Keera that had kept Kaori safe all these years. "They can not dwell... with me... they can not harm me... in any way," Kaori whispered as she closed her eyes.

[skyacezero]

"You're here early," an all-too-familiar voice said. "So, are you ready to go?" Lillith asked.

Necrolon was finally driven into the open where he was writhing on the ground in agony, small streams of smoke seemed to come off his body. "Hahahahaha! Look at you squirm! It's absolutely hilarious! Oh, Kaooooriii...." Marionette said. "Let's finish the job!" Marionette moved the puppet, but Kaori did nothing. "What's this?!" she said and the puppet burst into splinters. "What?!" Marionette yelled in shock. Beams of light that resembled strings appeared attatched to Kaori were revealed, then faded.

[Amara<3]

"That's it Marionette, looks like you'll have to figure this out on your own," Keera said and it was her turn to laugh. The real Keera smiled and looked over to where Lilith was speaking from. "As ready as I'll ever be. Let's go."

Kaori opened her eyes and looked around for a second. She saw the one she called Darryl writhing on the forest floor as the light shone on him. She ran to him in an instant, and knelt down by him. She was silent for a moment, noticing her shadow was keeping him from burning but the rest that her shadow didn't cover burned and smoked. "Just hang on for a moment," she whispered to him and grabbed a large tree branch, broke it off a fallen tree, and dragged it over to him as fast as she could. She lay it over him and it covered his entire body. "Pays to be strong," she whispered and swallowed. She looked around for the Slicer, but it seemed to have disappeared. She circled around looking for it, prepared at a moment's notice to blast into high heaven.

[skyacezero]

"Well then, shall we?" Lilith extended her hand as a dark vortex appeared behind her.

The slicer dropped down behind Kaori and raised it's armblade, but Necrolon burst from under the branch and managed to drag it under the shade. The slcer managed to get a few stabs in until Necrolon managed to get his claw around it's throat and crushed it. The slicer was dead and Necrolon proped himself against the base of a tree. There was a glowing, lime-green substance coming from his wounds.