Of Humans, Demons and Magic

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GarthNixZozo

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Original poster
Ashkara had been a young little thing, only two years old, when her parents gave her away to Them, the scientists and magic users who would blend the DNA of an able bodied human who could conjure a substance -be it Darkness, Electricity, the Dead, Water, etc.- and bend it to their will, along with that of a Demon. There were many possible outcomes to such a defiance to the natural way, normally ending in death or incurable madness, or other less notable variants that would still remain equally dangerous. Just beneath the surface. Her case was no different and, although she has lived all the way up to her early adulthood so far, her mind was forever cut into a state of omnipresent fragility. Despite this, They found her abilities reaching all expectations and with much psychiatric help, they found ways of bending her will into becoming their own, using nothing less than brainwashing and classical conditioning.

A young woman of nearly twenty sat alone within a white room, atop a pristine, white swivel chair with one leg folded, resting over the other, staring up at a blank screen. One of her feet tapped against the air to some unheard tune that the cameras and recorders could not pick up on, black, knee high boots occasionally changing rhythm as the sounds either picked up the tempo or slowed down to being almost non-existent.

They were watching her, she knew, they were always watching her when they thought she wasn't listening, her only times of privacy being during her assignments where the cameras couldn't venture without the demonic energies bursting them into balls of metal fire or spontaneously imploding. That was why she needed to be Their eyes and, more recently, Their weapon. Humans, other magic users, demons, hybrids and even the rare Organization run-away, had begun to, for unknown reasons, take up residence in the forbidden lands of Africa, away from their lives of 'safety'. The more ludacris beings would even head off to the Daemon Realm, a place she could not recall having ever been to, but which They would assure her that she had been to many times before in her youth.

A male face finally appeared on the screen, staring back at her until she looked away defeatedly, a lock of thick green hair shielding one of her eyes from his gaze. Satisfied with the recognition of his authority, the male informed her of their most recently needed task, the elimination of a certain other male. A liability. For what reasons were not stated, but she was used to limited amounts of information being leaked to her. She was a liability in herself, and they all knew it, just so long as she could prove her worth though, others like herself would not be sent out to end her life. After a nod of understanding at his orders, the screen again went blank and Ashkara stood from her chair, the dull thud of her flat heels against the solid floor the only sound in the room as she walked through a newly opened door in the wall.

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Xenel sat on the ground, his blonde hair hung a little over his face, he cracked his neck a little bit and opened his pure red eyes, his skin tone was rather pale in the light of the fire, roasting a wolf over it, he looked up, having thought he heard something, they had been after him for several day's, he shook his head, no, they couldn't have found him, not yet anyway's, as a precaution he pulled his black weapon up, it sparkled with electricity, he smirked a little, even though he knew this would probably attract more attention, he heard a growl from behind, another man sat there, "Who are you?" He asked, the man chuckled and charged.
 
A handful of Their finest had been sent out to find and either capture or, more preferably, kill this man, but to no avail, only to be discovered some hours later by Their next hunter, as dead. It quickly became a reaccuring problem. He was extremely well practiced, smart as a whip and possibly one of Their hardest to catch within the decade. Someone had to be though, so this mattered to Them little so long as he was eventually taken care of. At least, that was what Ashkara gathered from her post-briefing summary, meaning that she should not be surprised to see a fallen peer, nor underestimate this man.

She was ushered out of the building through a maze of tunnels, hallways and elevators until arriving above ground inside of a shack on a beautiful beach of white sand and clear waters. One of Their hidden exits for quick access to the boats in the event of an evacuation, meaning that there were bound to be more somewhere along the beach, but if there were, then she did not see them in the time it took her to walk to the edge of the shore's salty waters and climb into the motor boat. A man pulled on a string several times until the generator roared to life and sent them across the sea, away from the island that the girl had mysteriously appeared on, his only instructions being to drop her off at one of the surviving docks in Africa, and then he could keep his life if he could make the journey back on his own.
 
Xenel's dodged as the man's blade came next to his heart, barely missing his chest, he grunted, and brought his sword up to the man's, there blade's collided with a clang, electricity crackling, and he backed away, staring at his attacker, something not good, tugging at his gut, more of them would probably be on the way soon, he cursed.

The man looked at him, utter shock on his face, "Electricity ... Damn ..." His eye's closed and he looked at him, "My brother died because of someone with electrical power's." he charged again, their blade's once again meeting each other, him cursing at Xenel, "I'll kill you."
 
The boat hit the shore with a muffled thud that went unheard beneath the lapping of the waves against the shore, the waters relatively calm for this time of year. The lone passenger rose from where she had been sitting, perfectly still throughout the journey but shaken loose from her thoughts as land came into view. She stepped over the boarder of the small vessel and onto the soft, wet sand of the beach, possibly saying something that one might categorize as a 'thank you' to her bewildered driver. Surely that was the first he had heard from any of these peculiar young people, but, remembering his manners, he replied with a quick, "You're welcome," watching the girl's retreating backside and she ventured into the dense greenery of the jungle.

The girl stopped only once, just after his call of thanks, in order to raise a finger to her lips in a beckoning of silence, to which he quickly obliged, starting up the motor again and zipping off into the seemingly infinite expanse of blue. Ashkara sighed softly, then took off at a light jog with the goal of distance in mind, not speed.
 
Xenel and the man's weapon's clashed and clanged, each getting several nick's on their body's, Xenel finnally though brought his blade to the man's throat, slicing his head off, the spark of electricity sealing the wound and cauterizing it almost immediately. He sighed a bit and sat down by the fire, he would have to leave soon, but he was tired, and weakened from pursuit, he needed to rest and eat, but could he? Such thought's would get him killed, either way, he seemed doomed.
 
Seeing a figure through the trees made the Ashkara stop, drawing her sword slowly from the scabbard that rested firmly on backside before approaching closer. It was still and hard to make out with the vines and shrubs blocking her view. She sliced through them easily enough in order to get closer to the body. Something within her screamed to stay away from it if she valued her current life, which only confused and tempted her to come closer, yet when she saw what it was clearly, she ran towards the shadow. It was a girl. A girl whom she used to train with, who hadn't been spiteful towards her, even if she hadn't declared the two of them as being friends, and now she was dead. Stabbed through the stomach in such a way that left a majority of her insides on the ground around her. Don't... the same feeling warned her. This time obeying, she bit harshly on her bottom lip, feeling herself slip away to that place of darkness where she never knew what kind of situation she would be in when she awoke. Bending gravity to her will, she ran up the nearest tree, using her legs to push herself off to the next plant of bark and so on. She needed to keep moving. Keep moving and find this boy before she lost control.
 
He stood up after several minutes of rest, finishing the meal and putting his sword behind his back, ready to leave now. He looked to his left, and shook his head, hearing a rustling and backing away, "Damn."
 
It wasn't long before she came upon the small clearing, following the billows of black smoke that curled into the sky from a burning fire. She allowed herself to fall to the ground silently, boots landing as softly as he they were made of cotton with all the pressure they put on the long blades of grass. Ashkara reached over her shoulder and slid her sword from its scabbard, raising it above her head, at the ready. She pressed forward into the opening.
 
He charged away from the noise he had heard, wanting to get as far away as possible, cursing in rapid wave's of, f bombing, as he almost ran into a tree, nearly dodging it, knowing his hunter, was possibly close behind.
 
The tidal waves of curses were a sure sign that this was the male she had been sent to find, and it even more so definite when she spotted the decapitated head and body of another peer. He had never been nice to anyone aside from his brother but she still felt a pang for the dead man as she jumped an easy four feet over his still body, chasing after the sound of curses. A large tree suddenly pulled up in front of her and a small profanity of her own escaped her lips at the obstacle, realising what the man must have been complaining about. "Give yourself up and your death may be swift!" she called out loudly, running up the side of the tree with her feet running around it that way. "I emphasise the word 'may'," she added after a moment's thought, a beautiful smile briefly flitting across her face.
 
He looked back, still running, obviously it was a woman, based on the voice, he shook his head, did she really think he would let her kill him? She would have to be a fool, he continued running, notcing something he hadn't expected in the dark, a landmine, he smirked and jumped over it, continuing his run, hoping she may hit it, but still unsure.
 
Ashkara swiftly descended down the other side of the tree, following the man solely based on the rustling sound of the bushes and low slung branches that were impatiently pushed from his past and he ran. Meaning, the more noise, the easier it became for her to track him down. She rounded a sharp bend that began a gentle decline, before returning upwards again in order to continue to otherwise even, grassy to terrain, when something caught her eye at the very lip of the incline, nearly invisible amongst the shadows. Sliding to a cautious top only a few yards away, she edged closer to the round, black device, eyes wary. Upon realization of what the innocent appearing contraption was, she backtracked several paces. Had the male planted this here while he was running?! If he had, then he truly was as clever as the information suggested. Yet luck had been on her side this night and she was willing to take all that she could from it. A small, glittering look came to her as an idea formed. A rather foolish idea that was completely reckless and pointless if it were to go wrong, but if it would to go right...

The girl's sharp, green eyes that matched her surroundings darted around the area, searching for something, until they came to rest upon a large stone that was pressed up snugly against an aged palm tree. She hurried over and lifted it into the crook of her arms, allowing it to suddenly become much lighter than it truly was, which would have been at least half her body weight. With a nervous intake of breath, she heaved the rock through the air and ran, simply running as fast and as far as she could. An anticipated explosion shook the ground beneath her feet, sending her tumbling to her hands and knees while she waited for the aftershock ripples to fade. A high pitched sound like a lifeline going flat in a hospital sounded all around her, temporarily numbing her hearing from the blast. It would wear off she knew, but for now she would have to rely on her eyes and, in the growing twilight, that may prove to be of some difficulty. Shaking the thoughts of doubt from her mind, she ran onwards in silence more suitable for the dead, hoping to catch the boy in the unawares, having successfully faked her own death.
 
He smirked when he heard the explosion, and stopped running from the girl, now jogging at a slow even pace to conserve his energy, for some reason, he was slightly happy, and at the same time upset, of not having the chance to encounter the new threat, but he shrugged it off, if his chaser had been destroyed that easilly, they truly were not worth his time.
 
Ashkara pressed on through the undergrowth, stopping every now and again in order to assure herself that she was still following the boy's trail. She paused momentarily at a small sapling that was missing several of its small, week branches, the white, sticky sap still fresh and undried as it stuck to the bark in order to preserve the young tree. Looking down and a little to the right showed her the these limbs- identifying that he must have just come through here, heading westwards. She brushed her hand over the tree affectionately and again begin to run, knowing that she would be upon him soon enough. Darkness ebbed at the edges of her vision making her momentarily sway as her mind fought an internal battle, her physical body and conscious thoughts acting as the mediator. Currently, she was unsure of which side to support, the pacifist or the activist, only knowing that she wanted to remain who she was right here, in the now.
 
He walked jogged at a slow pace, morely wishing to cover distance rather than speed, he smirked a tiny bit, as soon as he found another cleraing he would wait, at the moment however he urned, deciding to head toward the Sahara, where no one would chase after him.
 
Ashkara had been following him successfully for some fifteen minutes now and was beginning to believe it was high time that she make her presence known, and his life over, so that she could get back to the laboratory that she called home. They would be missing her, or at least, that's what she believed after all the years of Them telling her as much. It never once crossed her mind that she may only be a tool in Their hands, doing whatever was asked of her in the hopes of appraisal from Them. She bent down at her knees and took a deep breath, focusing on the pull of the Earth, then kick off against the ground, launching herself a good twenty feet into the air before allowing herself to drop like a stone, sword drawn and aiming at the young man's skull.
 
He sensed her as she launched herself into the ground, he pulled out his sword quickly and jumped out of the way, eager to move away from his attacker, "Damn." He had fallen for her trick, he moved away farther from the girl, looking at her, his blade glimmering in the moonlight. His lip's twitched slightly.
 
The boy had somehow sensed her and sidestepped fast enough that she completely missed her target, blade smacking against the tightly packed dirt of the ground hard enough to send waves of pain upper arms. Her body landed lightly on the ground at the last second, even if she had been too late to stop her sword. In a single, swift motion, she wretched her weapon free and lunged at the boy in a series of parries and blows. "It's nothing personal," she managed to grind out at the pressure of metal striking metal, or missing completely, in which case it was said in frustration. A part of her screamed in fury that it was very personal, causing memories of the dead peers to flash at the back of her mind, while another, quieter side argued pathetically in the boy's defense, pointing out that he didn't have much say in the matter. She ignored both of them before she could be sucked away to the place of darkness beside one of them as the other took over her body. For now, she would fight against not only the male, but herself as well, for fear that she become too emotionally involved in a matter of his death.
 
He blocked her blow's, not wanting to deliver attack's at the time being, on the defense, as he has been before, disliking idea's of killing, however did, when it was truly nesecarry, he swiped his sword toward her, to cause her to either, back up, or be felled by his blade.
 
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