--------------------

He isn't sure at what point the hatred towards his people began. All he knows is that it started long ago and stuck in his heart. It courses through his veins and fills his body with thick, dark loathing. It weighs him down, makes his feet drag, his shoulders heavy. Each step takes more and more energy to complete. He can feel it slowly, surely, dragging him into the ground.

Saugus hates his home. He hates his job, his house, his friends. He hates the stale air, stained with ash and soot. He hates the way all light is made of fires. He hates how his steps sound the same no matter where he walks, because all the roads are made of solid stone. He hates being hundreds of years old.

Worst of all, he hates the devil.

There are no men down beneath the crust. Only creatures, strong, weak, small, feeble roam the enclosed darkness. The devil, Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, whatever one might want to call him--is no man. He is evil. He is greed, lust, rage, hatred, gluttony, envy. He is nothing more than a figure who sits on a throne and waits until the time is right.

For what, you might ask? For the barrier to shatter.

Between the surface where Humans wander in their daily lives and the pit Saugus and many other demons call their pathetic residence, sits a shield. A barrier the Holy One placed in order to keep the devil and his followers at proper bay. It is only enough to hold back their physical presence. Spiritually the demons can rise as much as they want, pushing fear and anguish onto those above. For many centuries this has been good enough.

Except now. They want more.

The barrier must go. When the devil decided this he began hacking away with his power at the mighty lining holding him back. All he managed to do was create a small crack, not enough to pierce, but shards fell. Those shards, parts of the barrier, were forged into a single entity able to bring down the barrier if powerful enough.

This creation sits in a temple, or tomb, whichever sounds less disgusting. The building is small, just enough to hold the tool and hardly more. Five demons sit around the single entrance, hissing and clicking to each other in low tones. Between them they all pass around a stone pipe and take long drags of what Saugus assumes is the local hobby for most. A crushed mineral powder able to give one a high so strong it would kill a human within moments.

He's crouched along the edge of a jutted cliff overlooking the left of the building. Although his bulk is large, the shadows make it easy to blend in. As the demons give another loud wave of cackling laughter, Saugus brings his hand to his hip and wraps his fingers around the hilt of a slender sword.

With a single jump he takes to the air and lands silently within the darkness. Step by step, toes first and padded shoes hardly creating any noise, he creeps forwards. Each moment closer to the guards makes their raunchy jokes and stench clearer. Saugus feels his temper rising, his disgust slowly begins to bubble and curl over the edge of the pot. These idiots... these revolting creatures... they are the reason the demons are weak. They are nothing more than a waste of precious, low oxygen. They reek, they shatter joy, they fill a void of uselessness... and for what? What does the land gain from having these pathetic things alive?

Nothing.

The first strike is easy. Saugus merely steps out from behind the edge of the temple and brings his blade over the neck of the closest demon. The guard gives a garbled groan of surprise, to which his co-worker glances over. There's hardly a moment where his red eyes lift and Saugus sees the fear in them when his sword comes down, creating a quick, clean slice through the chest. Blood spills out rapidly. The guard howls and cries. Saugus can feel his shoes, simple fabrics, beginning to soak up the crimson liquid as it pools around him.

The other three are still sitting when their comrades are taken down. Saugus lifts his left arm and the third guard yelps when he's thrown off to the side, smashing into an exposed stone hard enough to split his head open. The crack of his bones breaking is heard through the swearing and yells of the remaining demons. While one backs up a step, the other runs forwards in a blind rage. Saugus jabs his sword towards the guard and, stupidly enough, the moron runs himself through the blade, unable to register the lifting of the weapon in time to stop himself.

With a wet sound the body slides, lifeless, from the sword and onto the ground. Saugus looks up to the final guard. The demon is younger. Skinny and shaking with a uniform one size too big. The thin fabrics rustle with every whimper the guard releases.

Saugus stares the demon down until the other simply crumbles to his knees. With slow strides, the sandy haired assassin makes his way over. His sword reflects crimson in the light of the torches.

"N-no, please..." the young guard wriggles backwards, face a single emotion. Terror.

Saugus shakes his head. "You shouldn't have put yourself in a uniform if you weren't ready to die wearing it." He raises his arm. The blade comes down. A brief scream of "No!" echoes around the cavern. Then the final guard slumps over, dead.

Saugus turns to the temple entrance.

He can feel an energy rising. Power is beginning to grow within the stone building. 'The tool?' he wonders. No, how could it be living? Something else was in there. Someone. The demon grips the hilt of his sword tighter in his gloved hand.

The door to the temple is thick and heavy. Stone, of course, because isn't everything made of the same material in this lifeless place? Saugus raises his left hand again and the entrance shudders momentarily before the stone shifts and tumbles back.

Within the open archway he can see down a set of stairs a flickering glow of firelight. Weapon ready, he follows the handful of steps down.

And he stops at the bottom. His jaw loosens. A look of 'oh no' smooths his rough features.

In the darkness of the temple, a single candle creates a gentle hue of red to cast over not a tool sitting on a pedestal... but a child laying atop a stone slab.

"Oh, joy."

(( OOC: >_< I'm so sorry there is no picture! there will be one in a bit. There are just some features I found too harsh and need to soften and change. I am almost done! :'D ))

Time was impossible to tell. A year, a second, it made no sense. Such differences were impossible to tell for Vetis. For him, time was just a meaningless word. There was no need for it when he was in his own head. His mind just spent its wandering and watching the world.

His origin called to him at all times he felt the familiar pull to it. It was a soft voice that whispered in his ear, pleading him to go back home, but he could not, no matter how much he wanted to. It would feel right, and end this wrongness. Vetis was in alien territory here, where he found he could feel things.

Emotions were odd creatures to those who did not understand them, a tug at your chest. When he watched he learned to place names to things, and he learned the feelings one by one. Loneliness. That was what he felt more and more often. He learned the meaning of Sorrow, happiness, excitement, and others that go unnamed. So many things inflicted you with emotions, it was a reaction to the world, he had observed. For now he was stuck to this body he refused to acknowledge, it would be giving up in a way as he felt it.

These moments something was different, he could not place it. Was it the air, the dimness in the dark world? Something was off. The barrier screamed to him, and calmed down, then started up again. He sensed the same guards, only there was someone close. One by one the guards vanished. What was happening? All he could do was wonder and felt… anticipation? He believed that was the word. Time shattered or was finally set onto track.
Vetis felt a nudge from the barrier. He had the body there, as if in a sleep, and waiting for him. No, it was him. For the first time, he could feel what must be his surroundings, something changed in his mind. He wanted to know what was occurring around him, and this body of his was the only way. It could be a threat, something necessary. Now he had new feelings to learn, and this was much different than his mind. He could hear, a voice that wasn’t the one in his head, and his skin felt the roughness of stone. What else was there. Would there be an end to the darkness. Vetis knew what he had to do, but was scared, what would he see?

Slowly, he opened his eyes. This was something else he would need to do, refer to the body as his own, because it was, wasn’t it? He squinted, the dimness seemed so bright, it took him a bit, but there were colors. Now, he moved his hand up in front of his new eyes and studied it. He could move, everything seemed to be going right so far. There was someone there with him. He put his hand back down on the stone and used his arms to push himself up into a sitting position. Everything was so new. There it was.

The person stood in his chambers and Vetis stared at him. It was the first person he saw with his eyes, his own eyes and not from his mind. There was something wrong. Why was that person here? They did not belong here. And from what he could tell, the person did not seem friendly. He wanted to shrink away, but leaned in closer a bit to get a better look and waited to see what would happen.

[Oh, gosh your post was amazing! The way you use tempo and his confusion to detail it all... I want to squeal like a fanboy! Don't worry about the picture, I'm totally patient!]


Saugus could only stand silent and stare. This wasn't right. The tool should have been a weapon. An item of some kind he could destroy. What the hell was a boy doing here? All his information, his planning. It was useless. The devil's men would find him and they would kill him. He would die without doing anything. Only a murderer to his own kin and considered a pathetic thief.

The boy watched him with a strange expression. Not fear, not anger. Curiosity and... Saugus couldn't pin point the rest. There were traces of timidness and wonder. Something was off about this child. Mind you, if he was put within a temple for hundreds of years, sealed by a giant stone door and rested on a rock, maybe off was an understatement.

Still, the problem wasn't who the boy was. It was what he was Saugus needed to know. The chamber was empty. Void of anything except for the single candle and other male. Unless the candle was the tool, the boy had to be it. And if the boy was it... Everything was wrong.

Demons told him the tool was impossible to destroy. The barrier protected it. So long as it stood, the tool would continue to stand. Yet Saugus knew there was a weakness to the item. Destroy it with it's own kind. It had taken awhile, but with persistence and a lot of favours Saugus would never repeat, he had it. A small knife made from the barrier shards, leftovers from what the devil had used to create the tool.

The child.

What the hell was the devil thinking?

Saugus ran a gloved hand over his face and released a strained noise into the leather palm. He continued to stare at the boy, who in turn did exactly the same.

There was no way he could do it. Everything was wrong, wrong, wrong. He had to kill a boy? Guards were one thing, but this tool... this connection to the barrier...

Then, it clicked.

Saugus' hand fell from his face. "The weak point in the barrier..." Of course. Where the devil had created the fault. This child, if he was part of the barrier, could faze through it.

Hopefully.

'What if it doesn't work?' a little voice hissed in his ear. 'What if the child is unable to pass through and you will die not as a hero, but a thief and killer?'

There wasn't any time. Someone would come by to check the temple soon. They would find their slaughtered comrades, realize the door had been thrown down, and know the child was gone. Unless they believed the tool to be a candle too.

In four strides Saugus was at the pedestal's side and taking the child's arm in his large hand. He pulled rather hard, noticing the harsh jerk of the smaller one's body. If the devil built him this weak then that's his own fault. He could deal with it. "We're going. Now."

((Gah, I love your writing style. >//< You made me squeal and blush. I am so happy. :heart: :3 ))


Vetis watched the man’s face, the way his features would change, even if it was a minuscule twitch, it was something. It was how they displayed emotion. Some of the things couldn’t be controlled with thought, while others were. He watched the man as if he was the most interesting thing in the world. He had never been so close to someone like him. It was a huge change from only watching from afar. Now he could see it all perfectly laid out in front of him.

He mimicked him for a moment, putting his own hand to his mouth and then back down. He was quickly putting different gestures to things, and saw the person seemed uncomfortable or frustrated. Maybe he was lost? Vetis would have shown him the way if he had known himself. Still, he had a feeling that that just wasn’t it.

The person walked up to him and Vetis tried to back away, but his arm was grabbed before he could. He heard a sharp hiss and scared himself for a second. Did that sound come from him? His mouth made noise. No, this was not time to dwell on that. The grip was strong and he tried to pull away.

Danger! Danger! Get away! His mind was screaming at him. He let out a low growl and turned to bite at the man. He missed and his jaws clicked close. He used his other hand to try to pry the hand off of him. The person was more built than him, who had a thinner frame, although if he was a bit older he might have grown to have been as tall as the other.

The thought of screaming or making loud noises had passed through his mind, although the idea of the others finding out he was awake scared him. Vetis had no clue how they would react. Would they lock him up? If so, then he wouldn’t have the calming travel of his mind. He couldn’t stand the idea of being all alone, with a body, yet nothing to do with it, just stuck there. He would be trapped or they might do other things. He did not know, his maker would know though.

Everything was happening far too quickly. The doorway was getting closer. He tried to use his weight to pull himself back, and was refusing to walk. He was pushing back against the direction the person was dragging him in. He couldn’t go through the doorway, not when he didn’t know what he would find. At the doorway he held onto the side, clawing at it when needed to get a grip. His eyes were wide and pupils dilated. He gave up and let go of the doorway before he hurt himself.

Once outside he calmed down from that, although he was slightly shaking and looked around. He followed the man, and found him a beckon. The person was the only thing he knew and he was not about to lose it. Vetis did not want to be alone in a world that was unknown to him, at least from this perspective.

[Complimenting me like that makes me blush. Your style is just as gorgeous! You write Vetis' fear and confusion so well it's insane!]

Trying to drag the child outside was harder than Saugus had every expected. How could someone who had been down inside a rock chamber for devil knows how long, put up such a fight? Throughout the hissing and biting, which wouldn't have worked anyways since Saugus' skin was too rough for blunt teeth to pierce, and all the physical yanking, Saugus kept swearing and cursing at the child. The kid even grabbed onto the doorway, the stone doorway, to try and remain within his hole.

Outside, the conflict all but shut down. The boy, rather than taking off and running when Saugus slackened his grip on his arm, stayed put and merely gazed around, eyes flickering all over the place too quickly to hide his confusion. They'd lost so much time already trying to wrestle out of the tomb. Saugus couldn't sense the pulsing energy coming from within the temple anymore. Instead, weaker traces were approaching from the main path heading towards the open court where the devil's palace lay.

The broken barrier. It wasn't too far away. Just over the ridge and...

Wait.

The boy.

Saugus looked over his shoulder at the shivering child. The link between the barrier and the surface. The reason the devil believes he'll win. The tool Saugus was so eager to destroy, to stop the demons from taking the earth completely. He's just as useless as those guards. How could they possibly scale the ridge in time?

'Standing around pouting won't make it work any faster.' Saugus scowled at himself. What was the point in having a conscience if all it did was make smart-ass comments?

Energy pulses exploded down the main path. Shouts followed. They must have noticed the lack of energy from the five dead guards. Orange light from the torches danced down the tunnel, illuminating the dark hall, while Saugus and the boy continued to stand there, connected only by the larger's hand on the smaller's arm.

They had to move. Now.

Quickly sheathing his sword, Saugus raised his hand and grasped the temple's stone door with his mind. He held it, waiting, until down the tunnel the dark shadows of guards came into view. Then he thrusted out his arm in their direction and the door went flying. When it connected with the group two energies disappeared. Four remained.

Too many to take head on. Especially with the boy by his side. At least his action slowed them down.

Still, the ridge...

"Screw it," he muttered. He'd chance it. He had to. There was no other way. Up on higher stone he had a better advantage on the enemy anyways.

Jerking the child's arm again, Saugus led him off behind the temple and to the steep cliffs leading to the ridge. There were thin paths winding up the ledge, large enough to hold a single person along it, but not if their balance was questionable.

"Up!" he demanded. He put his hands on the boy's waist and pushed, letting the child scramble his way up on his own for a moment. Then Saugus followed, senses trained on the approaching guards and eyes watching the boy, ready to reach out and grab him if need be. Who knew what physical shape the child was in after being in that dark hole? If he fell the contact on the ground wouldn't kill him. Or so the stories say. It would only mean they'd have to start over.

And they didn't have time for that.

((Ehh?! That is a great compliment ^_^ I admire your writing a lot. And your art is amazing. I finished the picture and have gotten to the looking at it and wondering it if can be stuffed somewhere to be forgotten about... *looks around* but yes. You have the best ideas. :D That can be used for evil. Bwahaha! ))


One of the first things that Vetis noticed when he was outside was the bodies of his guards. He looked down at the bodies as the other just stood there. So that is what happened to the guards. He didn’t feel very surprised, in way he had been expecting that they had died. Now that he was outside he felt the pulse from the barrier a bit clearer.

There were people approaching them. It did not even take a reading of the energies for him to figure out that they were hostile. Vetis scooted closer to the other, having decided that this person would protect him. He doubted all of that was done, just so that he would be thrown to the demons. It did not seem that they were with him. He looked up and could practically see him thinking. They were so loud, not even bothering to hide their coming. The other put their hand out and the stone door when flying. There were yells and some sickening noises. He flinched at the sounds. More and more he was finding out exactly how deadly this guy was. He just hoped he wouldn’t be at the end of that power.

Again he was pulled along, this time he was willingly following him. He didn’t want to get left behind, not with those people after them. Home was getting closer the more they went. They arrived at the ridge and he craned his neck to see the top. Vetis let out a small gasp. Home was that way. He was shoved along and saw the trail.

If he went along, he would be back where he belonged. This man was a kind man to do such a thing. He was taking him home and saving him from these people. He scrambled over the rocks and slipped a few times, but caught his balance. He used his hands to help him along too, the sharp rocked bit his palms and bare feet. Vetis could feel his power growing the more he climbed. He would wait a bit and look back often to make sure the good person was following him. Vetis even smiled at him, proud that he had learned it from watching.

Home was so close. It called to him more than ever. He felt himself buzzing with energy and felt what he assumed was happiness. The feeling was one that he could feel in his core, like a pressure, and now his shaking was from that feeling, not from fear. Vetis got to the top and waited for the man then saw it. He was home. Nothing could ever make him leave. No, not when it was all right there.

Vetis walked forward a few paces, hand out reached to it. It screamed at him to free it, free the power, to not be trapped anymore. How could he ignore such pleas? He heard a noise behind him and looked back, before remembering the man and him were being hunted. For a second he looked at the barrier making a mental promise to free it as soon as he could. Vetis ran back to the man’s side. He couldn’t free it until those people were gone and he had the right time.

There was something else beyond the barrier that at first glance he didn’t understand. A power that came to him in irregular sudden pulses, as if a power source. It was extremely faint and could barely be felt, but still, it wasn’t bad, in a way making him feel a bit better. He had learned the name of this before, but it wasn’t coming to his mind, maybe one day he would find out, but not now. He had a promise to keep.

(Thank you and thank you for both of the compliments! And don’t stuff it away! Then it will become all dusty and wrinkled and less beautiful! Post it! Post it! :D

My thoughts are always pure! Always! I’m not a typical 19-year-old boy when it comes to certain things! I swear, I’m not! >__>)

With each scrape and wound the sharp rocks inflicted on the boy, Saugus visibly flinched. What if the child recoiled, lost his balance, and fell off? What if he smashed his head into the ground and was not killed, but knocked unconscious? Either way, Saugus would have to leap down and the whole process of climbing up the tiny path would become impossible while carrying a limp body. No matter how small the boy was compared to him. And defending himself from the incoming guards? Not a chance.

When they started their journey the boy had only a metre or so in the lead. He moved slow, cautious, and Saugus was more than ready to jump forwards and grab him if he started waning in balance. ‘I can’t start over. I have no time.’ That was all he thought. Strangely enough, about halfway over the ledge the boy, rather than lagging behind, suddenly gained speed. Soon he was two metres, three metres, four, five. Then he was gone, head disappearing over the top lip, signalling the end of the ledge.

‘Damn it, a brat who’s been in a tomb for hundreds of years can climb faster than you!’
Saugus snorted and gripped a jutted rock to help his advancement. ‘Gee, thanks, consciousness. Don’t bother pointing out the obvious or anything.’

He was almost to the lip, almost to freedom, when the guards appeared. Saugus’ brain screamed with warning bells and he ducked, covering his head, just in time to miss a blast of energy explode where his face once was. The rock shuddered and crumbled, dust and shards scattering over his soft hair and shoulders.

Saugus ran. He all but threw himself over the end of the ledge and onto the flat surface of the plateau, dodging another blast along the way. When he stood onto his feet he felt another one coming at him and he swung out his arm, deflecting it off to the side. The ground groaned as it was blasted, a dent appearing in its stone. Sharp pieces of a once solid rock scattered.

Saugus looked back for the boy. He was standing by the barrier, arm extended, dazed and wondrous.’Touch it,’ Saugus begged. ‘Touch it and disappear. Leave. Never return.’ He would stop his people from destroying more, from conquering and taking what was in no way theirs.

But the boy hesitated. Rather than doing what Saugus wished, he turned to glance back at the larger man, paused, then dropped his arm and came scuttling back.

“Oh, for...”Saugus threw his arms up in the air, frustrated. “Why can’t anything work for me?”

Another energy blast was shot at him. Saugus redirected the blow to the left and it exploded the ground barely five feet away. Rage consumed him. Oxygen was added to his internal fire. The boy’s actions, the guards, the demons, the devil, his life, his disgusting home. With a cry, Saugus launched the shards of rock from the wounded stone down at the guards. A chilling amount of crunches and whooshing silenced the air.

Then two thuds.

A scream of anger from below.

Saugus pushed the boy back with his other hand, “Get away!” he commanded. He waited until the child obeyed before raising his palms up. For a moment he was quiet, concentrating his energy into his fingers. He felt the flow, the tug, the loss in his chest. His arms jerked and he brought his hands down, fingertips facing the edge of the platform. The ground quaked, it cried out and shuddered. With a sickening crack a section of the stone was carved out into a large, pointed end.

Saugus held the rock suspended in the air, watching as the guard below merely stood there, gaping and understanding that his life was going to end.

The spike was thrown, the guard yelled. His ribs and spine broke instantly, his lungs pierced, his heart grazed. His chest took the giant fragment right through its centre.

The guard fell onto his side, dead. Saugus released a breath of air.

He turned to the boy then, eyes hard and narrowed. He wasn’t going to deal with anymore distractions. If this child wouldn’t touch the barrier, wouldn’t leave, without him being told to, then Saugus was more than happen to force it.

His hand latched onto the back of the boy’s neck and he pushed him towards the barrier, similar to a parent dragging around a difficult child. When they reached the barrier a sudden pulse of energy stun his mind. He flinched and wanted to retreat.

‘The tool.’

Right. The boy. Was the barrier reacting because the boy was close? Was it calling for its missing piece? Perhaps when he returned to the barrier it would heal itself, and nothing would be able to pass through ever again.

Saugus’ grasp slackened. He looked to the boy and scowled. “Go,” he ordered. He motioned to the barrier by jerking his head, horns pointing the way. “Go home! Go!”

(( Yea... my picture. It is the first time I've attempted digital like that... I prefer traditional. (just me and my pencil), but I could not get a good picture of it, and my scanner really just loves to hate me. *rubs head* yeah.

And pure. yeahhh, suuure they are. Like you've never thought about taking over the world. I am onto your plans! *waves fist in air*))


The blast came and almost hit them, Vetis let out an almost squealing sound as he jumped back, and watched it hit the ground. His heart was racing, and his breathing was fast and quick. What was happening? Everything was going on all at one time. First they were running and now they were being attacked. As far as he knew they had done nothing wrong. All the person was trying to do was help him. What his new friend died? There was nothing he knew that he could do, but try to stay out of the way. Which was made all the harder by his refusal to leave the taller male’s side.

With a loud cry the other killed them with parts of the rock. He could not see the product of the attack, but could definitely hear it loud and clear. Vetis had flinched at the sound, right now he was glad the anger wasn’t directed at him, he believed that he’d melt into the ground from fear if it was.

He followed the order as soon as it was barked out at him. There was no need for him to be told twice. Vetis backed away from him, watching the man from behind, the way he concentrated, the way he would wait a second, before mercilessly killing whoever was below. There was no hint of regret in those actions, not even as the sickening sound of bones cracking reached their ears. It was all laid down right in front of Vetis. The only thing he could feel was a fascination. This was one of the creatures he had watched for many years, but this one showed a side that he didn’t often get to see.

Then those cold eyes were turned to him. He sunk back a bit, but was still easily grabbed. Vetis gave a struggle, and this time did bite him, but it did nothing. It was over as soon as he was grabbed and he knew it. This time he did not struggle as much, there was no use in that.

Right in front of the barrier they stood. He was told to go.

”Go, home! Go!” were his exact words. Vetis shrunk away from him and hissed. When he stood up straight his shoulders were tense, but something caught his attention and he relaxed curiously trying to find the source.

Was it from the barrier?

No.

There was a power flowing through. Not from the barrier, no from beyond it. Something farther away. Still it found a way to reach him. He wanted that, whatever it was. Vetis beheld the barrier in front of him. He could see it for what it truly was, a veil of what seemed like smoke, ashy and dark gray, slowly swirling and moving about. What was that pulsing power from beyond and why had it stayed hidden from them?

The barrier whispered to him, and he decided he wanted to know what was over there, although he did not want to go alone. It was too dangerous and after so many years of being in his mind it was refreshing to have someone there.
He glanced back at the demon and thought. The person was more wary of an attack from behind them than Vetis attacking him. So with that Vetis made his choice. He closed his eyes and asked the barrier.

‘Please, let him through with me, let this demon come along with me.’. With that he grabbed the other’s arm and used his weight to pull them both through the barrier.

On this other side they were in a middle ground. There was a gray fog all around them, stretching in what seemed forever in every direction. It seemed impossible to navigate through. Noises came from far off, and got closer. The wailing of the lost reached their ears. Dark creatures took shape in the fog. The whispering would drift close and go away, many voices, all saying different things.

Vetis started off in a sprint. He knew the way and was determined now. If the other had said anything he was too lost in his pursuit to even bother to listen. He hoped his friend was keeping up with him, if not they would come and he might end up like the others.

The others were the ones beneath their feet. Bodies littered the ground, in various states of decomposition. He jumped over some, but kept going, not paying attention to anything around them. At time he would stop and make sure that the demon was with him. There was no way he was going to let him fall behind after everything he did for Vetis.

The end came and Vetis stopped running. They had followed the path set on the ground perfectly. It was there even though at times it might have been half hidden, but still anyone could have followed it, if they had known that it was there. Vetis naturally knew the way, and never took a chance to glance down.

He was buzzing with energy and wanted to go. Again he grabbed the person’s hand and pulled him through the darker spot in the fog.

The other side was nothing like Vetis was expecting. It was dark illuminated by harsh lights. Buildings loomed up and it looked run down where they were. The noise was a bit farther off. Finally he went back to his sheepish state and pressed against the demon’s side. He wondered where they were. He gazed up at the other his eyes asking for an explanation.

(Traditional is always the best, I totally agree! You say it's your first digital drawing? It's amazing! I adore his hair and the markings around his neck and under his eye. You did a phenomenal job!

Pfft! I... I don't know what you're talking about! I don't! I really, really, really don't!]

Saugus’ senses were ringing all over the place. The guards were dead, he knew that. But what if there were more coming? He couldn’t feel them because of the barrier releasing so much energy. People would be coming. At the rate these levels were being emitted demons would flock from all over, curious, hungry, wanting. The barrier would be a source of power for them.

And Saugus would be right there, standing in the way. They’d tear him to pieces.

Worst of all, he’d never sense them coming. His mind was waning, crippled and weak from the pounding beyond the realm. He had to get the boy through. He would end it. He had to.

Or else Saugus would fail and suffer for nothing.

For the final time, Saugus turned to look behind him and the boy. His golden eyes scanned the area, trying to see if anyone was coming. This would be it. If he only pushed the boy hard enough he could escape. Nobody had seen his face. He had a chance to survive this.

Fingers, thin yet long, wrapped around his thick arm. With his attention on his fate, Saugus was thrown off guard and had no time to react before the boy pulled. Hard.

And they were through the barrier.

Saugus felt his chest constrict. His breathing stopped completely. They were suspended in the air only momentarily before their feet made contact with nothing. A haze of shades, shifting and moving all on their own. No winds touched Saugus, no borders or walls caught his eye. He was standing above an endless amount of fog.

Then the noises. Cries and screams, moans and weeping. The hair on the back of his neck stuck straight up and if he had the ability to, his skin would bubble with goosebumps. He saw their shapes, their faceless features. The way they extended towards him, wailing in voices and tones he’d never heard before in his hundreds of years of existing. They whispered pleas, threats, hopes and prayers. So many forgotten and broken spirits. So much pain.

To put it bluntly, he was scared shitless.

Saugus’ chest ached horribly. He sharply released his breath, only to suck it in and hold it yet again. The boy’s hands were still on his arm. He wanted to shake them off, to demand where they were and what had happened; except those pale fingers were the sole reason for his sanity remaining. They kept him knowing he wasn’t dead in a terrible afterlife. He was alive.

The boy released his grip. Saugus almost whined over it. He reached out to stop the child from running off, but it was too late. He was being left alone. Behind with all the voices, the shapes, the fears. Saugus watched the boy sprint into the distance and when the raven haired male stopped to look back, realized he was supposed to follow.

So he did. Extremely fast.

The farther he pushed himself away from the nightmares the safer he felt. Each step made him scared of falling through the fog and into an abyss of nothing. He thought he was going to die. This was his punishment for slaughtering his own kin, for defying the devil. This was what he received for saving the surface and his morals.

Had he known earlier this would be his fate, he might not have bothered going through with the plan.

The ground began to shift. Saugus felt animosity rise in the thick air. Spindly arms and leathery hands made of smoke reached for him. He dodged around, trying wildly to keep up with the boy who remained a good handful of feet ahead. Saugus didn’t look down. He couldn’t. From the colours he saw beneath the boy’s bare soles in the distance there was nothing pleasant beneath his own padded shoes. He simply kept running, jumping and leaping, mimicking the boy’s actions. Still, he refused to look down.

The boy continued to glance back, stopping to wait for Saugus to meet up with him. They spoke no words between each other. There was no need. What could you possibly say in a place filled with death and grieving anger? ‘Hey, my name’s Saugus and I’m a huge ass.’ Yeah, right.

When the boy’s speed slowed to a completely standstill and Saugus finally reached his side, the child simply reached for his hand. A strange and foreign feeling, no matter the gloved material separating their palms. Saugus did not return the right grip. His fingers hung limp, itching more towards his sword hilt than anything else. He didn’t like it when the boy touched him. Typically, it meant leading him into places he didn’t enjoy.

Which, of course, was exactly what happened.

The darker smoke transformed them from the chilling fog to a clear scene. No fog, no horrible figures made of a semi-transparent material. Again, they were suspended into the air momentarily before landed on their feet.

Saugus looked up and he wanted to puke.

This was not the devil’s world. This was not a place he was familiar with. There was darkness high above them, shadows littering each edge of tall buildings. A harsh yellow light glowed above the two underworld creatures and Saugus winced from the gleam. When he breathed, the air was cool and clean.

It clicked.

“No.” Despite the boy sinking against his side, Saugus shoved him away. “No, no, no, this is not right.” He had been here before. Never in physical form, but many years ago as a spirit. Simple curiosity.

He remembered though. He remembered the sky. The night, the moon, the stars. The glittering holes in the back blanket above. Planets winking back. He remembered the structures, the strange need for beauty not only naturally, but created.

Saugus turned and his shoes shuffled dirt along a hard piece of stone. A walkway of some sort, created out of grey squares. The buildings were run down, broken walls, a large hole of what he assumed was a window. He stepped towards one of the nearest. It had a sign written in a language he did not know, yet could understand CLOSED blared in bright red.

A reflective sheet covered where a large square hole in the store would have been. Saugus walked closer and as he did he began to see exactly what had happened to him.

His horns were gone. His face a gentle curve with a strong jaw. His ears were round, his eyes dim with white sclera. His hair had darkened to a deep brown. He reached his hands up and his skin, pink with none of the natural orange pigment he was used to, felt squishy and soft. Even through his gloves.

“No,” he whispered. His teeth were blunt, the razor sharp edges gone.

He was human.

They were on the surface.

How?

Saugus whirled on the boy. Within a few strides he was right in the smaller one’s face and he pushed the boy up against the reflective material, uncaring to the quake it made from the pressure. Saugus put a hand against the boy’s throat. “What did you do?” he snarled.

(( Thank you :'D I've never done a line art or anything like that digitally, but I have colored line arts (main reason I have a tablet)

I had to look up real runes and meaning so on to make the markings. *rubs head* Yeah, I needed to make sure it was as accurate as possible. Then out of them, I chose the meanings that seemed to fit the best, plus the way they would be written on a body. ^_^" I am such a nerd like that.))


Vetis couldn’t keep back a small yelp as he was shoved away from the other. He backed up against a wall. The reddish brown stones rough against the thin brown clothing he wore. Vetis crinkled his nose and kept from sneezing as the smell got to him, he moved a bit closer to where friend was, finding the smell to fade only just.

Had he done something wrong? He did not believe so. It must have been the surprise that Vetis did something for them. After all even to him it was a huge shock.

This word was nothing like he had been expecting. He could practically smell the corruption coming not just from the atmosphere, but even its inhabitants. Everything had a shade of sickness to it. It could not only be seen, heard, and felt, but also it was just an instinct.

No, he wasn’t using the right words. He would have to expand his own vocabulary a bit to get his point across later on. He wondered which words he would use to explain to his friend, but it was a hard choice with so many to choose from.

He actually had no honest idea what would have been on the other side, but there was something. That power was there, a dull pulse, yet it would be impossible to follow. Later or maybe even eventually he would find it. His mind was set on it.

The horns were gone and that much was easy to tell from weight lifted off of his head. He shook his head, wavy hair shaking with it. This was indeed an interesting place and he hoped they would get the chance to explore it more. If he had gone through a change, he half hoped it wouldn’t be as drastic as the other demon’s. That one looked like an entirely different person. It was funny in an odd way to him.

Someone walked by and Vetis watched them. He looked a lot like what friend looked like, same skin and a softer look from what was seen of most demons. Except their clothing and posture, the whole being in fact was different. This person hunched their shoulders and kept low, hair matted, clothing dirty and layered thick. They gave a snarl at Vetis and he backed away a little. Was he dangerous? He knew that it was better to not find out.

The stranger just stopped and glared at him, like he was going over something. The stranger then muttered loud enough for Vetis to hear, “Damned runaways, ungrateful bastards,” then shook his head before walking off; dragging along some bags he had with him.

Vetis had the urge to try to get some sort of answers from him, but the man definitely looked unfriendly. It seemed better to just wait until later to find someone who seemed nicer to explain.

As far as he knew friend had no answers and seemed for once that he might know even less that Vetis did. That idea was incongruous and even scared him a bit, since he had started to get used to the idea that friend had the answers to everything. If the other did not have answers then he feared no one had any. For some reason beyond him that made sense to him.

A shine of something caught his eyes and he looked to what the other had been looking at. It showed a scene, one of them was his friend. No, it was showing them. Vetis was stunned at his own looks.

His runes carved into the skin of his neck were gone. He could still remember that, the first day he was created. It was only the first few days that he saw the court and saw his creator. After that he rejected the body before he got to ever speak or learn anything. Everything learned was done from the mind. The runes were carved by the best of the court, and then the wounds would be patted down with the black ash to darken the scar. It helped the powers of the runes to work better. In fact, this was more powerful than a tattoo of them, so thus it was decided. Luckily the cuts were clean, sharp, and healed nicely.

The runes were there to provide protection and to give strength. Some were also to help keep him hidden in case something like their current situation ever happened.

Then there was the main one, below the others. The sign that read “Man” It represented his power that he got from humanity and their sins.

His skin had lost the grayish undertones and left just the tanned brown behind, while his nails were short, although he would bet that if he tried he might have been able to at least draw blood.

He had not been expecting the changes at all, and believed any other runes on his body were also gone, along with any other abnormalities. Vetis kept putting his fingers up to the spot where the main rune should have been.

It was unexpected when he was shoved back. Then the hand curled around his neck. It left him dazed for a second and he almost missed the words the man had spoken, asking him what he had done.


Had he done something wrong?

Vetis gaped up at the man. His hands went up to try to pry the hand off of his throat, he tried to at least get his fingers under the hand in case he decided that he didn’t like the answer and might have tried to kill him. Vetis had no clue if he would die in this form or not, but he would rather not test it out. Then he couldn’t die, but he could indeed feel pain, and it was nothing good.

Yes, he had most likely done something wrong, or maybe this man was not who he thought he was. The hate in his eyes was all for Vetis, and he knew it. He tried to act stronger and keep his body from shaking. He narrowed his eyes slightly, mimicking the man again.

“I.” Vetis startled himself, he knew words, but had never used them before. It was odd to think that that voice was his. It just seemed a bit insane actually. Now he had to start over.

“I did not want to go alone. The power. It lay beyond home. I had to take you through home to get here. I thought you were a friend since you wanted to take me home. You had done a lot for me, so I thought that at least you would be safe from the dangerous people. Did I do something wrong? I asked the barrier to let you through and they complied. Now we are here.” He was quiet for a moment wondering what else he would have to add to that.

“Vetis. My name. I am sorry, friend.” Vetis stood as straight as he could, trying to make himself seem a bit bigger, and was tense, ready to fight if needed. He was sure even here he would lose, but at least here there was the higher chance of hurting the other and running away. He still called the taller male friend, even though he wasn’t sure if he was a friend anymore.

(They seemed genuine when I saw them! Impressive work! :D It's not nerdy at all! Okay, maybe a little, haha, but in the best of ways!)

The boy’s fingers dug at Saugus’ flesh, trying to tear his hand away from the thin neck of the smaller male. It did little through the thick fabrics of Saugus’ clothing, although the effort gained points. Saugus watched the darker haired one squirm and wriggle against the attack. Hopeless, useless. Weak. This was what Saugus was stuck with? This was the tool he sacrificed everything for? He would rather be dead than a human. A pathetic, feeble human.

Once again, nausea hit Saugus’ stomach. He was mortal. No longer would he live decades into the future. His powers were gone, his natural adaptations to the dark underground were non-existent. He would feel the sun, communicate with barbaric, simpering humans who complained about having such hard lives. They knew nothing. They didn’t understand what work truly meant. What power was, or hunger, or genius.

They were idiots. And they were everywhere now.

Spluttering told Saugus the boy was speaking. ”I did not want to go alone... I thought you were a friend... It least you would be safe from the dangerous people... Did I do something wrong?”

Did he do something wrong? And friend. Over and over again it repeated. Friend, friend, friend.

Saugus tightened his grip on the boy’s neck for only a second. He leaned in close, stopping hardly a hair away from their noses touching. “I am not your friend,” he hissed, his baritone voice so low it vibrated throughout his whole body.

That said, he released the boy. No, Vetis. What a name. Mind you, Saugus wasn’t exactly the most common either. He wondered if the devil gave him such a name, or if the boy had labelled himself. Perhaps the barrier even did it. Vetis did say something about asking the barrier to bring them back over.

Saugus stepped back from Vetis and glowered at him. Under the bright light from the tall pole, he saw very little through his now dark chocolate bangs. “Can you send me back?” he asked.

(( Pshh, I am like ruling nerdy. ))

Vetis tried to sink back into the wall as the other told him they were not friends. How could they not be friends after all of that?

No, well they were not. Vetis felt a bit stupid now. He had just plain out assumed the other thought of him as someone to get to know. He thought the other had been trying to save him.

Then what were his true motives if not to help him? The other, whose name Vetis still did not know, seemed more to hate him than anything. He had not wanted to believe that the stranger did not like him, but in the end even he could not deny it.

Had he done something? No, Vetis couldn’t have. He had been in his mind for such a long time, and even in his first several days of wakefulness he had done nothing, had made no move, even when his creator prodded at him to. He refused to when the barrier told him of the horrors, and that all the creator wanted to do was hurt home. In the end he chose to believe the barrier, after all that was where his loyalties lay, within the barrier, even after all of the tempting offers made by the creator. He was the barrier, a neutral element that had no opinion on the wars of demon or those of man. The barrier was there to make sure those wars never became between man and demon. Neutral.

Could he get them back to the demon world?

“I don’t know if I can or not. I will have to check with the barrier. I already asked a favor, and they may not want to make another exception.” He started walking over into the alley way and stopped in front of the darkest spot the put his hand out to touch it.

So many voices all of them talking at once, they were the lost that were trying to make contact. He had to let his mind travel past them. Vetis closed his eyes and let his mind wander until he reached the core of the barrier. Please. I made a mistake, take the other one back. I will accompany him. Do not punish that one for my mistakes.

Several minutes later he opened his eyes and turned to the demon. He looked a bit shaken up, he chewed at his lip for a moment before speaking to him.

“I spoke to the barrier. It won’t let us through. In fact it told me that we had to get away from it. It said ‘thank you’ to you also for awakening me. Danger is coming and you need to be careful, with that move you made a lot of enemies, and my creator is one of them.” Vetis went to stand under the street light and looked around.

“I was wondering… Why do you hate me so much? I have never wronged you in any way that I know of.” He turned to the taller demon, expectantly waiting an answer. Right now the barrier was not rather chatty, and said no.

“You know. I am happy in a way that we don’t have to go back. I do not want to go back to that place. I spent hundreds of years awake, just watching life, yet never getting to live what I saw. Now I can get to live it and I can learn more about the humans. I have only ever observed demon life.”

It won’t let us through.

Saugus felt sick all over again. So he was stuck as a human for who knew how long. And danger was coming? How could he possibly fight anything in this form? He had no weapons, aside from his sword and the dagger made from barrier shards. His skin was weak, his bones easy to break. He had no levitation abilities at all. He couldn’t even sense energy.

That was what bothered him the most. His senses were gone. He could ear, see, smell, taste and touch just fine. But the most important, the sixth, the mental technique to notice one’s power touching your own from far away, to detect any hostility, any motion... it was gone.

Saugus was defenseless.

And all he had with him was a boy who could speak to a barrier.

The demon--no, ex-demon--groaned and leaned his forehead against the tall metallic pole the bright light was shining from. The silver was cool, chilling his heated flesh. How he hated cold things usually. Now it felt so good. He fingered his gloves until they slipped off. Then he shoved them into his pocket and grasped the pole with both hands. The sensation was wonderful in every terrible way. He was enjoying a human feeling, damn it.

They couldn’t go anywhere. They were stuck like this. Powerless, weak... Saugus could only close his eyes and beg any being who pitied him to help. To send some kind of a sign, to throw him through the barrier again. Why him? He only wanted to help himself? Was he being blamed for his selfishness?

Vetis wandered over underneath the light with him. Too close for comfort. Saugus glared at the pole, hearing the breathing of the boy behind him. Why the hell was he stuck with this brat? Why didn’t the barrier absorb him and fix itself? How could enemies be sneaking through? That was in no way part of the plan.

Mind you, Saugus had been hoping most of it to fall into place on its own. He supposed there was nobody to blame except himself.

No. Blame the boy. It made everything feel much, much better. No matter how unreasonable it might be.

Vetis spoke. A timid voice, soft and wondering. His accent was off. Saugus wasn’t sure how he knew that, considering the language they were speaking wasn’t the one he was used to down in the stone underworld.

At the boy’s question, Saugus snorted aloud. It was the closest he came to a laugh. “Hate you?” he repeated. He didn’t bother turning to face Vetis. His sorrow and mourning kept him content against the pole. “You’re not worth the effort. What I hate is the situation.”

Vetis paused, taking in his response, then continued speaking. Saugus didn’t bother listening after he heard ”I am happy...” because he didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t want to think that while he was miserable, this... this pointless, pitiful, weak, snot nosed whelp was actually enjoying himself! Even after however long he’d been motionless, watching the world, the demons in their interactions, never able to talk to them, to touch them, to breath the stale, hardly oxygenated air.

Saugus didn’t want to hear any of it.

“Look.” He turned finally when Vetis’ voice fell silent. Under the light the boy’s raven hair shined a mild yellow. His eyes were large and watchful, shining brightly. Saugus noticed his markings were missing. Or had he ever worn markings? Saugus was pretty sure he’d seen some stuff around the pale ashen neck.

“Let’s set this straight,” he continued. “I don’t care. I hate humans. I hate demons, too, but less so. I would rather be with their slobbering disgust than these... miserable creatures on the surface. I want to go back. I would honest to Devil rather perish a slow death down there than remain up here. Especially with you.”

He pointed a far too pink and pasty finger at Vetis. “You are annoying.”

“So if you can’t help me return to the hellhole where your creator wants to rip my organs out barehanded, well, that royally sucks. I am going to find a way back on my own.” Saugus narrowed his eyes, which probably didn’t have the same effect as his natural sharp golden ones would. “Hear that? My own. Not ‘ours’. Not ‘with you’. Mine.”

He never noticed the closeness of their faces until he leaned back to his natural height. At least he’d retained his massive size. Although his shoulders were less broad. And he still used it as an intimidating technique. “I’m going this way.” He pointed to the left down a dark street where only one of the same pole-lights were lit along the way. “You can go that way.”

He pointed in the other direction. A darker street with absolutely no pole-lights. Let the kid be scared. He deserved it.

There were no words for him to say as the older male answered his questions, as he continued his moping. Vetis just guessed that the other was having a hard time adjusting, and that was an understatement. The man was most likely feeling helpless in such a situation, and maybe that was why he was acting out. Of course the idea that he was like this all the time crossed his mind, but he found it better to not get into that topic.

“I doubt the creator would do it himself. There would be a higher chance that you have personal enemies that would love to do it themselves. He would invite them to in front of the courts.” He corrected him, feeling cocky, and not happy with all of the ranting. It changed his mood into something more bitter.

For a moment Vetis thought to himself that he would even love to at the moment, but he had to put such a comment aside, this was not the time, maybe later if things continued like this. After only a couple of setbacks, he kind of hoped that they had no more for a while, if the taller male would do this after each one.

“If you are going to find your own way out, I would love to see that. I do not understand where your hate of humans stems from. They must have survived as a species for a reason. Humans have power in a way, it can be felt, at least that is what I believe I was feeling on the other side of the border. Also do you actually not believe they have an advantage that demons do not? Just like the demons have their physical attributes and powers.”

Alone?

That guy was planning on finding a way back for himself, alone. He doubted it would work, with the danger coming and whatever else there was to face it seemed like that would not happen.
Vetis realized the other guy believe he couldn’t pull his own weight. He thought that he would end up having to protect him and even care for him. Even if he had been there for that long, it did not mean he had no natural ability in anything.

“You can go that way.” he followed the direction of the other’s finger with his eyes and then looked at him. His lips pursed slightly with his disapproval of the idea of heading down that way. The dark did not bother him. What bothered him was that he first of all, did not want to be alone, and second of all, he had no idea what to expect.

“No, I am not. I am not going that way and I actually think the best option is to go along with you. So that is what I am going to do. I will follow you if I have to.” He crossed his arms and walked up to him, and hated the fact he had to tilt his head up a little to make eye contact.

Sure the other’s size was a bit intimidating, but right now there were worse things to be scared of. Although he was pretty sure the other could break his bones if he tried. Still he stood his ground. Too much of his own was resting on thins he couldn’t take this moment to back down and crawl away like a kicked dog.

“Are you ever going to tell me your name, so that I finally have something to call you?”

Saugus could only think of one thing while he glared heatedly at the little barrier creation in front of him. ‘What a smug bastard.’

Humans having an advantage? Was this kid serious? Humans surviving as a species for a reason. The only reason they were still alive was because the rest of the planet’s living organisms were even more pathetic than them! There was no other explanation. Humans were... they were...

Why was Vetis bothering to stand up for them anyways?

And what the hell did he mean, ”No, I am not.”? Was he seriously desperate enough to trail along behind Saugus like a lost mutt? A scared, weak critter who couldn’t handle the outside world on their own and needed help from a bigger, stronger protector.

“I’m not your babysitter,” Saugus snarled. He shoved Vetis in the chest towards the direction he’d pointed in before, satisfied with the way the boy stumbled back. At least his muscle mass remained proper too. “And my name is none of your concern, because we won’t be spending enough time together for it to matter.”

Saugus turned on his padded heel and strode off down the street. He didn’t care if the boy followed him. Let the idiot! He would ignore him, shun him, and then the smaller male would go away. Vetis was only important to Saugus in the sense that he might need him to go back. But there could be another way. There had to be. If enemies on the other side could make it through without Vetis, then so could Saugus.

After a few minutes of brisk walking, Saugus paused in his step. He glanced back to see if Vetis was following him. With his head turned, he didn’t notice the man within a back alley watching him. Nor did he realize the man was approaching, rags layered on in heavy amounts to keep from the cold. A lack of senses meant an ignorance of his surroundings. It was only when the human man stepped on a stone and knocked it away, did Saugus whirl around and notice their closeness.

Not for the last time, he cursed his situation. His ungloved hand flew to his sword hilt and he unsheathed his blade too fast for the human to recognize what was happening until the blade was up against his neck.

Saugus’ glare could pierce the hardest of stones. “Do you have a problem?”

The human bared a mouthful of yellow and missing teeth. “Simply wonderin’ if ye got anythin’ t’ eat, mish’ta.”

Eat? Saugus had never done that in his entire life. A demon had no need for food. He pressed his blade deeper into the other man’s neck, enjoying the squeak of fear that he recieved from the action. “You had to sneak up on me to ask a simple question?”

“Well...”

A sudden blow to the back of the head sent a shockwave of pain down Saugus’ spine. His sword slipped from his grip and clattered to the ground. His body followed not long after. He hit knees first, and the sting was unbearable. Bone smashed into stone in a way he had never felt before. “Humans,” he hissed through the pain. His hands flew to the back of his neck where he’d been hit. If only he had his senses, he would have killed both men instantly.

The first human bent down and grabbed Saugus’ sword. He examined it with a black and yellow grin. “Looks real,” he mused.

“Watch it, he’s not out!” the second human was larger than the first, but wore less amounts of clothing and had a shorter hairstyle. Although both were just as greasy and dirt covered.

The first human blinked and looked down at Saugus, who was pushing himself up onto his feet. “Ye hit ‘em too soft!”

“N-no! I was at full swing with a metal pipe!”

“Humans,” Saugus cursed to himself. “Of course. Human. It couldn’t be anything else, except for human. My luck is always humans.”

Vetis was fuming as he followed the other. What was the older male thinking? Babysitter! He had no need for a babysitter. That person treated him more and more like a child and he was infuriated with that. The guy acted as if Vetis need his hand held as they walked down the street or something.

He had to make sure he stayed a few paces back, not wanting the other to shove him away again. Every time he would just about lose his balance and if he actually did his dignity wouldn’t recover from such a thing for a while. It wasn’t that it hurt (unless his pride was counted that is), but more that it made him look even smaller compared to the broad shouldered jerk.

It was childish, but he was practically pouting and grumbling to himself, cursing out the unnamed man. At the moment it was all he could do. He was pretty sure that he already understood what would happen if he tried to talk to him. He would end up scolded, taunted, and then shoved away or there would be a display of his control of some kind. Vetis was so sure of it he would practically bet money on it.

Lost in his mental raging he had not noticed before that the other had started talking to someone. It was the man that had muttered earlier. Vetis stopped and crossed his arms. He would rather let the man take care of the stranger.

There was someone else there, he could see, but he had expected the man to react to the second stranger. When he did not and went down, Vetis stood there in shock for a second, trying to piece together exactly what had happened.

He was stubborn and stood there watching. The man had not wanted his help before, why would he give it to him now?

Vetis planned to do nothing and to not get involved in something that had nothing to do with him, but something went off in him. To watch these dirty low humans treating such a demon like that. It was wrong on so many levels, impossible to him.

It had to be stopped. They had not noticed him and were busy examining the sword. Vetis scanned the area looking for anything he could use as a weapon. No, there was no time for this. He bent down and grabbed a hand sized piece of gray stone that had broken off of the walkway. He held it in his left hand. It had a corner to it that he hoped could make some damage to them.

He continued on, not bothering to run and stopped a couple of feet away, close enough for them to see him, but not get him too quickly.

“You touch him again, and I will torture you in such ways that you would think the devil himself taught me, you filthy sad excuses for life.” He got the distraction he wanted and charged at the smaller one, while they were still digesting what he had said.

The man tumbled to the ground as Vetis hit him in a full run. The man was winded and he used this opening to straddle his midsection. The first blow from the stone was at the collar bone. The sound of cracking bone left a satisfying feeling. The man yelled out in pain and he used his other arm to try to fight off Vetis.

He didn’t stop there. Vetis pulled the rock back up and thrust it back down onto his throat.

It was all entirely so quick happening within seconds, yet to him it seemed to take minutes, he was not thinking, only acting and following through with his actions.

He stood up from there and glared at the other man, and waited, challenging him with his eyes. His heart was pounding in his chest and his breathing was hard. If he had gotten any wounds during that struggle, he did not notice then.

These humans, they made him feel… alive.

[Hey! Just letting you know quickly that my friend's having a party tonight for his birthday (he's nineteen, woo!), so I'll be gone for about 30 hours. I work all day today, then am heading to the party with my sister, then will be back in the later afternoon tomorrow. I'm really sorry :C but friendship calls! I shall reply as quickly as possible when I come home though!)

As the first human fell, the second, the one holding the metal pipe, could only shiver and cry out. Vetis was towering over the mutilated body of the human’s companion. Blood had sprayed out and dotted most of his brown clothing in rapid, uneven patterns. Saugus, now on his feet, saw the thirst in the barrier creation’s eyes. He knew the expression well. Many demons took it when they realized how much they loved to slaughter, to end lives, to feel blood between their fingers and power in their chests. To have the rush of adrenaline pumping through them because they knew they were the ones in complete and total control.

Saugus looked at Vetis and simply quirked his lips up in the one corner. Geez.

The human noticed Saugus’ almost-somewhat-not-quite-there-yet smile. He began to panic even more. “Y-you...” His eyes swung to Vetis, flickering and terrified. “Stop! D-don’t hurt me.”

“Oh? But it’s fine for you to hit me from behind, like a coward?” Saugus started towards the human, purposely making his steps slow. The more fear he could inflict, the easier the fight. “I don’t remember it working that way.”

The human was crumbling. His mind raced. Saugus could see him starting to unwind, to lose the ability to think clearly in such a situation. He was probably wondering how he could escape without losing his face, just like his friend. He probably regretted ever sneaking up behind Saugus and landing that blow. Why could he not just stay home?

Saugus stepped too close and the human, out of sheer desperation, yelled and swung his pipe. This time, Saugus could see it, although he would have most definitely preferred his full senses rather than simple sight. The ex-demon dodged the attack with a graceful ease, sidestepped, then shot out his fist into the human’s throat. A crack resounded through the air.

The human gasped and began wheezing, unable to breathe properly from a caved trachea. His fingers released the pipe and it clattered loudly on the grey ash ground. Saugus grabbed a handful of the human’s greasy hair, wrinkling his nose at the texture, and raised his knee in time to smash the human’s face into it. When the rag wearing creature withered onto the ground, gasping and clutching at his face, Saugus looked at him.

“Pathetic.”

He knelt down, took hold of man’s head on either side, and twisted. The human’s neck broke far too easily.

Weak critters. Useless, disgraceful. A waste of space.

His sword was still near the first human. Saugus stalked over to it and snatched it up off the ground, checking the blade and hilt for any damages. Vetis was standing nearby, watching him, and he turned to the boy.

He had to admit, the kid wasn’t bad looking. Just... so... human. Saugus was no better, he knew that, but he didn’t have to stare at himself all day every day. In fact, he would probably never look into a mirror again if he had the choice.

Human.

He wanted to puke all over.

Saugus sheathed his sword, resting an ungloved hand on the hilt. At the same time he shot Vetis a sharp glare. “You want to follow like a dog? Fine. Don’t talk to me, don’t ask me questions, and...” he trailed off, remembering the way the boy grasped his arm or hand before pulling Saugus through places he never wanted to see. Every time they made physical contact in a non-harmful way, it always led to something worse.

Saugus’ glare sharpened. “And don’t touch me,” he hissed. “I’m going to find a way to send me back. Then, you’re going to do it. Understand?”

((gahh, been having technical problems, my computer lovingly decided to shut down T_T now it will stay on or else it shall be threatened! ))

As the other demon took down the remaining stranger, Vetis just watched. Everything seemed far too unreal to him. He was scared that he would blink and it would be all gone, just a delusion his mind had made up in his breaking sanity.

Pain started to seep through and proved to him this was all real. At his feet there was a dead man, blood stained the gray stones and his clothing. It sprayed as the rock had made contact with the flesh of the man. Vetis took a step back away from it, not wanting to step in it.

He looked up at the man and listened to him tell him the rules that had been set for him. Follow him? At least he would not try to lose him. It had been one of his fears. The man would take off or turn a corner and Vetis would not find him. Then Vetis would end up all alone in strange place. He would have no idea on how he would survive then. These people were nothing like anything he had seen before. Vetis was sure he would have died.

There was one thing he noticed they were missing. In this place there were needs they needed to fulfill that were not needed when they were demons. He went over to the first homeless man and stuck his hand into the pocket of the jacket he had on. Vetis pulled out some paper bills and coins. He went over to the second man and did the same thing.

Even he could tell it wasn’t much, but still he handed it to the taller male, a bit proud of himself for thinking ahead. Vetis looked at the taller man and slightly tilted his head.

“Now are you going to give me your name? I will never know what to call you if you do not. It gets tiring not knowing who I am talking to.” Already the first two rules were broken, but he had to know. It getting to him that he did not know the other’s name.

Vetis looked at the cracked stones underfoot as they walked. He thought about those two humans. Were all humans like that? Were they all dirty, pitiful beings that would just live to satisfy their own needs and even abandon each other when in danger? No, they could not be it. This was the species he was protecting and if they were all like that, then why did the barrier protect them?

In a way they reminded him a lot of the lower class demons he had seen. They were the same way and just as ruthless, while intent on survival. Vetis hated that he was questioning himself in such a way. He just hoped that all people were not like the two he had seen that day.

The weight of the day brought him down. Vetis was physically and mentally tired. Everything that had happened had taken its toll on him. Now he felt the pain from the scratched he received while killing the man, the dull throb of tired muscles from all the activity he had gone through after his long state of immobility. At this rate he would reach the point where he would crawl into a corner and pass out without caring about his dignity or any other thing.

Was this what it was like to be human? It was to face the cold, hunger, and pain without knowing you can rely on stronger powers to help you. You could only rely on physical matter and never on other things. He was having trouble understanding how they lived like this. Where was their creator to guide them? Without a creator’s orders to show them how to live, were their lives just empty?

He would have asked the taller man about it, but decided that he did not want to hear his inquiries of humans. He decided the older male already had enough problems to deal with. With everything that had happened to them. One thing that got Vetis was the fact he said that he would find a way to send “me” back. He did not say anything about Vetis going back, or what would happen to him. It worried him a bit.

Vetis found that the night temperatures were dropping, meaning they had arrived early nightfall. Hopefully they would find somewhere to spend the night that was out of the bitter wind. Vetis was pretty sure some aspects of the human world were the same as the demon world, after all they had buildings, although they looked different, they were buildings none the less.

[I'm really sorry for the late reply! Some things happened and I was so exhausted from the past few days I just crashed. It was impossible to even turn the computer on. But I'm back! Hehe! Although I will be gone most of tomorrow's day, the night, then the next day (not sure about the night). It's my twin and I's birthday on Monday, and we have a few plans made for us by friends and family. After that I'll be much, much more active. I'm really sorry... I had no idea it would clutter up like this.]

His name.

What did his name matter? And why? Vetis saw him as a man, one he thought might be a friend at one point. Of course, that was only a delusion. Still, why did it even...

Saugus scowled. He shot Vetis a glare. If there was at least a single piece of information he’d learned from the boy after being around him for hardly three hours, it was the fact the barrier link was extremely stubborn. Nag, nag, nag, whine, whine, whine. Vetis backed down when pushed, yes, but if a corner hit his back, the boy would rear his head.

‘The sign of an idiot.’

And so, to save himself--not in any way to fulfil Vetis’ wishes--Saugus finally, after hours of being a mystery, admitted his name.

“It’s Saugus,” he grunted. He crossed his toned arms over his broad chest and looked off to the side, away from the male he felt had beaten him in this long, subtle battle. “Spelt with an ‘S’, not a ‘Z’, despite the sound.”

They resumed their walking. Saugus took the lead by a good metre and a half, never looking back, never asking the other how he was doing. It didn’t matter to him. He was beginning to grow cold as time ticked forwards. Deep beneath the ground where the planet’s core kept the stones mild and warm, Saugus had never felt the chill of the surface air before. Without his thick skin, the pores tight and leathery, able to contain and withstand warmth no matter the temperatures, he felt more vulnerable than ever.

Again and again he had to remind himself, he was human. Human. Weak and pathetic. Frail and easily swayed by feelings and needs no creature truly needed to be strong. Demons fed on nothing. They used death and adrenaline as a way to keep them going. Back home, things were terribly boring. But at least he never shivered, or his stomach never groaned and tightened with a horrible pain.

He felt sick again. Except he knew it had nothing to do with being out of his natural body this time.

Something was stirring inside his belly and crawling up into his throat. He wanted to be satisfied. He wanted to be filled. With what, he had no idea. His mind began to focus solely on the twisting aches.

And damn was it cold. The duo neared another corner of the street. Off to the left were dark buildings, more and more run down looking than the rest. Before them a large area of tall green and wooden seats lay across the road. Saugus squinted in the night at the giants protruding from the earth. He’d heard about those before. Plants, of some kind. The largest ones... They were... Trees.

The short green must have been grass. Saugus shuffled over, tightening his grip around his midsection, and crossed into the light-less opening. No much around. A few seats, many metallic bins with junk oozing over the edges, and a handful of men wearing rags skittering around. They eyed the two otherworldly members with sharp glares. Saugus returned the action with practiced ease and the disgusting men quickly looked the other way.

There were no proper sleeping quarters to be seen. Saugus assumed the buildings were the main form of housing. He glanced over his shoulder and scrutinized a rundown shack. The sky was clear, but the cold was harsh. He could always break down a door and...

Vetis made a noise off to the side, and it brought Saugus’ attention over to him. The larger man scowled. An expression that was becoming his natural face very quickly. Right, the brat. He still had that lost mutt trailing behind. He would have completely ignored the boy and gone off to survive on his own, but Saugus knew better. Vetis was his hope home. His only way back through the barrier and into the arms of the devil, a being who most likely wanted him dead.

‘A deceased rotting corpse is always better than a living human body,’ he mused.

Narrowing his eyes at Vetis, Saugus turned his shoulder to the boy. “Come on,” he growled. With a few strides he was at the lining of thick shrubs and trees. He bent down and felt the leaves of the plants. They were smooth and soft. A bit damp, but drying from the wind. They would have to do.

Rather ungracefully, Saugus waded into the bushes a good handful of feet, then proceeded to stomp and crush the twigs and leaves beneath his padded shoes. It took awhile, perhaps ten minutes, until he was satisfied with the radius he had made out of his actions. The brush was flattened, creating a slight cushion. Around it the trees were tight enough they stopped most of the wind from leaking through, and the shrubs were tall. A good shield, and a damn good idea, if he did say so himself.

Saugus turned sharply to Vetis and glared again. He waved his hand at the makeshift bed. “Well, don’t stand there and waste more of my time. Lie down. And don’t,” he pointed a finger at Vetis, leaning close enough their faces neared again and his nail dug into the boy’s clothed chest, “touch me.”

(( It's all totally fine! And Happy Birthday! *throws confetti* I would have said it yesterday, on your actual birhtday, but sadly *tear* the site was down. Please take this late birthday instead :'D ))


“Saugus.” Vetis muttered the name, committing it to memory. Now he had something to call the taller male, something other than the vague terms he had been forced to use earlier. It felt oddly better to know who he was travelling with, although Vetis knew that a name did not tell him the ‘who’ aspect. In the end names did mean a lot.

Vetis contented himself with looking around the place. There were so many different things he had never seen before. If only the barrier would tell him about this world, but he doubted in a way that it would know. The only things that needed to be known by the barrier were about attacks on it and beyond that nothing had ever mattered before.

Problems rarely had arisen before, but for some reason this felt like a problem. There was something wrong, something missing that he could not put his finger on. Was there something they should know about? With everything that was happening, Vetis knew that something had been set into motion. That much was obvious, the only question was: In this newly begun game, what was their roles in it?

As much as Saugus loved to deny his role in it, Vetis was sure that he was a part of it before he ever decided to do a thing. Now there were far too many variables and no one had all the information. It was a blind rush to find a quick patch. It was not certain how long that would work for. There were bigger problems than just finding a way back to the demon world.

He was only tiring himself out and thinking over everything would only take him in circles, they had only what information they had and going over it again would reveal nothing new. He did not mind at all that their bed for that night would be just a trampled down bush, but it wasn’t like he would be picky. The last bed he had was a stone slab and he had spent a long time there, this might as well have been a feather bed with silk sheets for all he cared.

Of course there was another lecture from Saugus. Again the main issue was touching. By this point Vetis had figured the taller male really did not like to be touched, maybe it went along with the personality? He did not know, but he did know that he was tired and would jump through whatever hoops the other had set up to get into that bed.

“Wasting time? I had just been admiring your craftsmanship.” In truth he had been zoned out thinking over things, but now he took that earlier invitation and lay down on the bed. He was actually surprised to find it a lot more comfortable than he had expected. He curled up and closed his eyes.

“Goodnight.” He murmured the customary saying. Even with how exhausted he was sleep would not take him over. It turned from trying to sleep and then giving up and just letting his mind wander. Vetis had no clue when he finally did drift off.

Sleep was fitful and light for him. He would keep waking up and after a while he gave up. The sky was lightening. Vetis sat back against the bushes and pulled his legs to his chest. He watched the world as it awakened.

Small animals made set off to their daily tasks and he even saw humans a bit farther off from their location.

It led him to briefly wonder if they blended in with the humans. Sure they looked like them physically, but would they be able to tell that there was someone different among them? Besides the fact they acted a bit strangely from the humans, could they tell that they were not part of them. Wouldn’t an instinct on a level higher than their conscious senses tell them that a predator of sorts was near?

There would only be one way to find out and that would come through association with the humans. It seemed that with the direction they were going they would end up answering those questions soon.

He felt a stab of hunger and kept back a small whine. Hunger was just another thing to add to the ever growing list of complications he was finding. It was so unnatural to creatures such as demons. So far he had found nothing that would suggest the humans even stood a chance against the demons.

Vetis did what he had found to do best, he observed the world around him and then stared at Saugus, examining him. It was hard to imagine that was the same demon that just hours ago took down around a dozen if not more of his creator’s soldiers. He went over the memories in his head, the power behind those moves was impressive.

Still, all of that raised questions that Vetis did not have the answers to. He hated that it seemed like every answer they got only raised more questions on its wake.