The Longest War: Shards of Power

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GM POST

Apocrypha!B's head snapped back, his eyes exploding in a blistering pain. His muscles split and cracked, his body swelling until he looked like he had overdosed on elephant steroids. He doubled over on the pavement, slamming his fists down and causing a shock wave to ripple out from him. A crack spread down his body like a seam; once it reached the base of his tail, he began to split along the crack, starting at his head. He couldn't help but let out a massive growl, both in anger and pain.

Once the two halves were separated. they quickly regrew their missing halves, the act leaving him weakened. Of course, it was at this moment that a bottle smashed against the ground between them. The air around them quickly morphed into a roaring, towering inferno. As the skin melted from his bones, one of the new clones let out a pathetic roar of pain; the other merely collapsed to the ground. Soon, the clones would be dead.

Apocrypha!A felt the death of his clones, and let out a sorrowful howl as their deaths hit him. His survival instincts kicked in, and he began to flee. He had already been severely weakened by the splits. If he continued to stay here, they would likely kill him; better to run now and pick them off once he'd regained his power. Apocrypha dug his claws into a nearby building, climbing the walls and hurling himself into the distance, trying to avoid any more attacks.

GM POST END

"Good job, Bloody, you got him square on. Remind me never to piss you off!" Edgar hollered over to him from his rooftop. He could get used to working with a team, if they made the job this easy...
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Clone Edgar laughed at Jotham's astonishment. "You have your flash step, Ol' Bloody up there turns his body fluids into weapons, I create various kinds of hooch." he said, shaking his head a bit to clear it. Making alcohol, even by converting something else into it, took an astounding amount of energy from him. It was because of that that Clone Edgar used it to a greater extent than the original one. "It's actually not my scarf," he said with a sheepish laugh. "I nicked it from the girl up on the roof with the real me. She wasn't exactly happy about it, from what I gather." He looked over the burning heaps of Apocrypha clones; noting that they were still. "Good to put a name to the man. The name's Edgar, and it's good to have someone reliable to work with. After we're done cleaning up here, let's go have a drink. I've got a bar about a block away with a fully stocked wine cellar with your name on it." As the flames began to die down and the burnt husks of the clones lay there, smoldering, his muscles began to twitch, preparing for action.

"I hate to do this, but I need to take care of my progenitor. Listen, the corpses should be showing themselves soon. If you want one, grab it soon, because those fucking things are gonna come back to life in about an hour. It wouldn't be the first time..." he said ominously. "Just don't be too greedy. Greedy Awakened turn into something like that. Oh, and try to make sure the dude hiding over there," he cocked a thumb over in Griffin's general direction, "gets something. We're gonna need all the help we can get in the future. Shit's only going to get harder from here."

With that said, Edgar sprinted into the flames, quickly tearing two of the shards from the nearest clone. When an awakened died, their shards began to manifest on their body, easily stolen by their killer. Being an artificial being, he couldn't absorb the shards, but others would when they touched them. He began sprinting up the building where Raelin and Edgar waited. His clothes had caught on fire in the process, burning off as he climbed up. As he stood in front of the pair, he bowed, placing a shard at Raelin's feet. "My apologies for taking your scarf, but it was instrumental in killing our foe. Or, at least a few of them. I hope this is proper compensation for it. If not, I can show you some of my...secret skills." He smiled lasciviously before turning to the real Edgar. "Brother, hope this is handy. Don't call me for a bit, it's gonna take a while to repair myself." He tossed the other shard into Edgar's hand before dropping to the ground and returning to his shadow form.

Edgar squeezed the shard in his hand. A flash of crimson light burst through his hands as the shard became a part of him. When he opened his palm again, there was a small geometric pattern in his palm. He didn't know what it would do just yet, but he knew that he'd just gotten a little more powerful. He laid his head back and closed his eyes, letting out a sigh of pleasure as that incredible rush flowed through him. It had been so long since he'd been able to feel this high...

@conman2163 @Red Rabbit @KatherinWinter @Jakers
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Johnathan

Johnathan watched in silence as the pair of monstrosities burnt to crisps. The other one seemed to be running, and as much as Johnathan had a desire to follow it, he certainly didn't think he could actually kill it even if he did. Besides, a set of the shards had manifested whilst Johnathan's attention had shifted, and the man who had kept calling him "Bloody" had picked up two of the shards that had disappeared from sight, leaving behind five more shards to grab.

He studied the other awakened for a moment, calculating his next move before he jumped down and rolled, then grabbed one of the shards and ran past the burnt corpses. While he could have taken the others, it wouldn't have been smart. He had felt what the other two he had taken had done to him, and it hadn't been for the better.

Johnathan continued moving past the shards and the bodies when he felt a searing pain on his right hand, and he realized that it probably signaled him gaining yet another ability to add to his two others. After moving two rooftops away from the corpses, he stopped and stared at a shield burnt into the back of his left hand, leaving him to wonder what it meant.
 
Squinting as he looked into the flames for a long while, Jotham's face lit up with relief when the beast was presumed dead.
"So... a little dicing and cooking was all it needed! We didn't even need to drown the poor bastard." Jotham mumbled under his breath, chuckling with joy. Thank God that was over. At first, he was sure a foe as powerful as that would be impossible to plan against - even for Jotham - but thanks to the help of some others, they'd got the job done. As cliché as it was, things were so much better when you worked as a team.

Jotham just chuckled in response to the so-called Edgar when he mentioned he'd stolen the scarf from some girl.
"Well then, Edgar. It'd be a delight to drink to you - and in your very own bar, too? You certainly are full of surprises. I'll take any wine you have when we arrive - preferably red - and certainly not Rosé." Jotham laughed, holding the brim of his top hat and shaking his head.

When Edgar turned his back to sprint over and grab a shard, Jotham quickly and deftly summoned and slipped one of his knives delicately into Edgar's back pocket in a single, swift motion, before the booze-summoner went off into the fire to grab his shard. It would make sense why later. After a few deep breaths, and doing his best to clear his mind, Jotham sprinted off towards the corpses of the demon - supposedly where the shards would be. When Jotham's eyes saw 5 shards in total, his eyes visibly lit up. He tried to hold himself back, but the voices entered his head almost instantly.

Yours. They kept hissing in his ear. All yours. Take them all. They're all yours. Nobody else needs them. Why would you leave them? Don't you want to complete the collection? You'll be very weak without them. Take them all. Yours, yours, yours! Jotham's eyes lit up, and glinted under the brim of his top hat.
"Yes. They're mine." He growled. Uncontrollably, he reached forward and snatched one with his left hand, feeling the euphoric sensation as it sunk inside. He felt the gain of some sort of ability, but he wasn't sure what is was yet.

Again, again! More! However, just as Jotham looked like he was about to pounce on another, his body teleported away from the shards before he grabbed all of the rest, and the next thing he knew - he was standing nearby Edgar. He'd timed his Spirit Flash so he wouldn't uncontrollably grab the rest. Thank God it had worked. With the shards out of sight, Jotham seemed relieved as he felt the voices leave.

~ ~ ~

Looking around himself in a dizzy manner, Jotham groaned as tipped up the brim of his hat, looking around himself to see where he was. For some reason, he wasn't right behind Edgar where he should've been, but at the edge of his shadow on some sort of balcony. If he placed it in Edgar's pocket, why hadn't he appeared right next to him? Jotham didn't think to long on it, however.

"Uh... surprise...? Sorry. I sort of sneaked one of my teleporty knife things into your pocket, Edgar. I can explain why in a bit if you want." Jotham said with a dizzy grin, before getting a hold of himself. Accompanying him was a woman - likely the the girl who'd had her scarf nicked. And as Jotham's eyes settled on her - it wasn't hard to see why she'd been wearing a scarf on a not particularly cold night. Her jaws were red and contorted, bulged in inhuman ways. It was... it was just like with his hands. Whoever she was, she'd been deformed somehow as part of the 'corruption'.

Jotham's eyes looked into hers briefly. It wasn't a look of lust, fear, or hate - but one of sympathy and understanding. He looked away, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets in a quick manner. Pain was starting to tingle in his hands, meaning his gloves would start to get bloodstained soon. That second knife and teleport did it.

"Oh, hello there. I suppose you're the young miss who had her scarf snatched by this troublemaker? Don't worry, I'm not here to attack, so please don't waste my time by trying to kill me." Jotham said, tipping his head in greeting with a small smile, although his eyes looked uncomfortable and distracted with something. "Anyhow, I'm here to report that your scarf 's sacrifice wasn't in vain. We made a Molotov cocktail out of it and blasted away that foul beast! Isn't that wonderful? Hahahaha... ha... ha... *ahem*." Jotham buried his hands even deeper inside his pockets, wincing. "Anyway, nice to meet you, blah blah blah, insert me saying stuff you don't care about here, right? Heheh... o-ow... heh." The woman's appearance and general atmosphere about her was clearly making him uncomfortable, along with the burning sensation in his hands.
 
Maybe you shouldn't come back. She thought while silently glaring at the very talkative man who continued to make realistic standpoints on the situation. "Yeah, that'd be a real shame for the world to see you go." Her tone was stale, leaving the statement hanging somewhere between being serious or sarcastic.

Raelin caught where his eyes lingered and she scoffed at him, adjusting her hoodie to hide most of the marks lining her throat. "I do more than breathe fire," she said, her voice emanating the lie from behind the chimney he was settled against. "I might be able to make clones too." Another lie came from a place in the shadows just off to their left, but her mouth never moved and her eyes remained locked on him for an immeasurable amount of time. Why should she tell him anything about her abilities?

The shock wave that erupted from the pained monster's tantrum below finally tore her eyes away from him in order to assess the situation. She watched as an explosion of flames engulfed two smaller versions of the first half she witnessed earlier. Hmph. Missed out on all the fun. Her head shook once as the howl of the original half of Apocrypha tore through the air, catching the sight of his tail disappearing over the ledge of a now cracked brick building.

The woman wasn't surprised to see Edgar's Clone come back to the rooftop, but she was in awe at the fact he could simply hold a shard, but giving her one? Wow. Her brows were raised as she watched him, the head of the hatchet resting against the top of her foot in a non-threatening position. She was silent during the exchange, she didn't even make a move to pick up the shard, instead observing how the clone disappeared and how Edgar reacted to his own piece of the prize. He's probably getting off to it. And at that thought she giggled, crouching down to pick up the shard that vanished between her fingertips. She did absolutely nothing and was able to obtain more power... Perhaps sticking around this one would be beneficial for her.

Once she assumed he was through with whatever orgasm he was having, she stepped over, extending her hand towards him. "Ra-" She paused, a suddenly glassy gaze focused on the stranger who appeared behind her new companion's shoulder. Her lips remained somewhat parted, the digits on her halfway outstretched hand slowly curling downward as if being withdrawn, though it was entirely involuntary. She felt stuck, utterly frozen while staring at the expression in the eyes of the entity who simply showed up on the roof with them. That look... It pissed her off, except her face was only capable of showing her being at a total loss while listening to the man talk; Unfocused or possibly confused.

Raelin suddenly found herself sitting on her knees beside her fallen weapon, hunched over and screaming from the pain that ripped through her at a molecular level while clutching at her abdomen that felt like it was on fire. Her teeth embedded themselves into the inside of her cheek to muffle herself down to loud, agonized groans, her free knuckles scraping against cement. It couldn't have lasted longer than half of a minute, yet it still left her physically weak and mentally drained.

@Gateman @Jakers
 
Griffin flinched when there was a huge explosion. What the hell were they doing now. When he could see again he saw that there was only one of the creatures. He was relieved that the others hadn't created another of the beasts. He was surprised when the beast took off. The others had weakened the beast but they hadn't killed him which meant it could be back. He didn't doubt that it would be when they least expected it. He listened to the other man say something about making sure that he got something. Griffin frowned. What did the man mean. He went over to what was left of the creatures. He frowned. He had a feeling that they should do more but he wasn't sure what. He saw another of the odd rocks. He frowned as he went over to it. He debated whether to pick it up or not. The first one had had a weird affect on him. But on the other hand he felt stronger then he had before he had found the rock. He slowly reached out and picked up the second rock.
 
GM POST
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Edgar raised his head and opened his eyes to find Jotham standing in front of him. "Good to see you again, man. Or rather, for the first time." He was still a little high from his new shard, and wasn't exactly aware of how much or little sense he made. He didn't know what it would do to him yet, but it had to be something good. Nothing bad could feel that fucking good...

"Now," he said, rising slowly to his feet, "we need to set up base somewhere and figure out the next course of action." He started walking toward the edge of the building, scanning the skyline for the squat, flower covered roof of his bar. "I believe I offered you a wine cellar, Jo? Might as well start there. Pretty lady whose name I still don't know, you're welcome to come. I've got plenty of good food and drink to fill that voracious mouth of yours." He chuckled a little bit, until a sudden gust of wind caused him to lose his balance and tip over the edge of the rooftop.

Edgar fell like a stone, headfirst, toward the pavement. Suddenly, his shadow inflated and created a hand, gripping the wall and bringing him to a stop with inches to spare. He kept laughing as Jotham and Raelin ran to the edge to make sure their new benefactor hadn't made like humpty dumpty. "That could have been reeeallly bad..." He said, looking over to the wall. "I don't remember being able to do that. Neat." He looked over to the corpses left in the smoldering wreck and noticed Griffin grabbing a shard. "Oy, don't be taking those. It's dangerous to take too many at once. It's also dangerous to go alone, might as well come with us. I'm sure I can give you something you want, whoever you are." Edgar got to his feet and started walking toward the corpses, noting that there were still a couple shards left.

Using his newfound ability, he grabbed the remaining two shards from the corpses with his shadow arm, gripping them tightly in the dark form. He'd figure out what to do with them later, for now, he just wanted to make sure that no one else nicked them. "Come on guys, it's only a short walk to my place." With that, he began walking toward his bar, the others following suit for their own reasons.

Within a few minutes, they'd made it the couple blocks to The Downward Spiral. He mused to himself that if that name were ever appropriate, it was now. He turned his key in the lock, the sign on the door flipping from "CLOSED" to "Fuck Off" as he walked in, beckoning for the others to follow. He flipped the breaker by the door and the room lit up, revealing a warm pub atmosphere. A second later, "Throat Full of Glass," by Combichrist started player over the speakers.

While the others got situated, Edgar went behind the bar and opened the mini-fridge, pulling out a can of Cocaine, chugging it almost as soon as it was open. He'd learned by now that if he wasn't caffeinated, the comedown from the shards would be catastrophic. "Okay, first thing's first." he said, turning to the others. "You're here because, for whatever reason, you picked up what I've started calling Demon Shards. What you're able to do isn't natural, and I've got no idea whatsoever what the long term effects will be. We could become superheroes, well, if you can call fucked up individuals like us good, or we could all be dead in two months from super-cancer. So, I guess, try to enjoy them while you can." He hopped up onto the bar, laying out and closing his eyes, the shadow arm still clutching the shards tightly.

"In the meantime, we've become part of a really fucked up food chain. The thing we just fought called itself Apocrypha, and it used to be one of us. It got greedy and fell under the influence of the shards. I'm sure you guys have noticed it, right? How you're not like you used to be?" He paused for a moment while the others considered his words. "From what I've learned, he came to be like that because he died and nobody got the shards out afterward. Big mistake on my part, I was kinda hunting him when he was still human. Anyway, after he died, the shards decided to hijack his body and pilot it like a meat robot, trying to collect more. We're going to be fighting a lot more of those, I think. Especially since the original managed to get away." He reached clumsily under the bar, grabbing and shotgunning another can of Cocaine. "At the same time, we're going to be trying to gain shards ourselves, if for no other reason than to make survival that little bit easier. By that logic, I propose we work together. No clue what's gonna be coming at us in the future, and a team can cover our individual weakness. Case in point, we did more damage to that fuck-ugly bastard tonight than I have in 2 weeks."

He let his shadow arm open, dropping the two remaining shards on the bar top by his head. "Now, why don't we play nice and introduce ourselves? It's good to know what you're gonna be working with. Give us an idea of your powers, your name, and how many shards you've collected so far." He sighed and rubbed his eyes absently. "I'll begin. I'm Edgar, the owner of this lovely little bar. Most of you have already met my power, my shadow clone, or as I call him, my better half. He's stronger and more durable than I am, and we share information through a psychic link." He decided to leave out that if his clone died, he'd be incapacitated for a few hours. No need to give them ideas. "So far, I've collected 5 shards." He looked over to the rest of them. "Whoever has the least amount of shards will get these two to make things fair, so be honest on your count. You've seen what happens when you get greedy..."
 
Jotham honestly had no idea what to say or do when the girl in front of him broke down and started to uncontrollably scream with pain.
"M... madam...? Why... why are you..." He mumbled in shock. His mouth half-open, each wail of this women's voice was sending shivers of grief and empathy down Jotham's spine. ...Those screams of pain... those were ones he knew. His hands could make him scream just like that. It was good to know he still had a heart and could feel sorry for others after the shards... but... how long would that last? Jotham swallowed, privately changing his gloves to clean, non-bloodied ones within his jacket pocket, and just laughed when Edgar messed around with his new power. The man may have had a few screws loose - but so did Jotham - and that's why he'd already grown somewhat attached to the man.

After that ordeal was over, Jotham proceeded to follow Edgar to this bar of his. Usually he might've said something or chatted on the way, but for some reason, Jotham was silent on the journey. Looking around with his light brown eyes, Jotham seemed to spot something, run over and grab it with the sound of a window clicking open, before returning to follow Edgar. Turning to the lady with the deformed mouth, Jotham placed something in her hands. A simple, red knit scarf. Something about giving something to someone else made Jotham's expression seem uncontrollably bitter for a moment.
"Here, just take it. No, I'm not giving you this because I'm desperate to get inside your panties or anything. I just... I can see why you'd want a scarf... I have some things I prefer to cover up, too." Jotham paused, before chuckling with a bitter tone to himself. "Not that I expect you to care. ...Heh..."

Chuckling with amusement at Edgar's civilised sign at the front of his bar, Jotham opened the door, holding it for everyone else before he walked in. The music playing inside made Jotham wince a little in pain, but it least it wasn't as bad as those darn kids and their 'dubstep'. A bit of Mozart would be much preferred - but hey - Jotham knew those were just the tastes of a posh twat. Taking a seat and folding his legs, Jotham brushed his hair and adjusted his hat with the help of a hand mirror, before listening to Edgar.

Jotham seemed to be happy listening to Edgar, until he withdrew the shards. Bursting out of his chair instinctively, Jotham managed to control himself and turn away before the voices started screaming, quickly tying his hands together with some sort of cordage, just in case.

"E-Edgar. Please... never bring those into my sight again." Jotham whispered gravely, his face dark under the shadow of his hat. Taking a deep breath, Jotham regained his usual stance to introduce himself, though he still didn't face the bar.

"*Ahem*. Anyway, a pleasure to meet the most of you. Please refer to me as Jo. I can't say I wholeheartedly trust everyone in this room yet, so I won't go in full detail about what I can do with my Demon Shards. But in short, I specialise in trickery and sleight of hand, as well as throwing blades like bullets." Jotham began. "Currently, I have three shards. It would be nice to keep it that way, but... I have a bit of a problem. And that problem, in short, is greed. Whenever shards come into my view, I've discovered that I'll uncontrollably grab as many as I can. I barely managed to stop myself from taking all of Apocrypha's shards with a well-timed teleport." Jotham gave a half-hearted laugh, before looking at the floor somewhat sadly.

"So... please. If any of you see me lunging for more shards than I can handle, know it's not me doing that. Stop me in any way you can, because..." Jotham paused. "...I... ...I don't want every part of me to fade away. Even with this burden... I want to stay true to who I am." He whispered. At that moment, it wasn't hard to see Jotham had lost his usual cool. His eyes looked frightened and nervous under his top hat, like a scared and guilty child.

"...And also, Edgar, if you have any valuable items that are close to you in this bar, hide them, or knock me out if I try to pilfer one. I... have an issue with valuable objects."

Jotham paused, before clapping his hands together and smiling with his usual composure again. "Anyway. Sorry to bring that sob story onto all of you. If you're all willing to co-operate like our dear host Edgar, I'm delighted to make your acquaintance. Whether you like it or not, we need to work together - because nobody here would've been able to handle that monster alone. And if there are things out there worse than that thing? You do the math. I beg of you all, for your safety and dignity, do not go out there alone from this point. Not only will they absorb your shards and become stronger, but... these shards have already caused enough death, of who I can imagine were once decent people. Just... don't do it."

With that, Jotham returned to his seat, untying his hands, before relaxing in his chair, looking at the ceiling with a sigh.

"Bartender? Any glass... fuck it, bottle... of red will do. For once, I need it." Jotham said jokingly to Edgar with a grin, before leaning over in thought, to listen to anyone else who cared to introduce themself.
 
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It took a moment for her to get back to her feet, but when she did she was thankful no one had made much of a fuss over her reaction to the shard. Even the stranger who had shown up stumbled over his words and possible realization of what had happened. Maybe she just scared the hell out of him. Who knew? "Pretty lady whose name I still don't know, you're welcome to come. I've got plenty of good food and drink to fill that voracious mouth of yours." For once she had no remark to make. Raelin picked the hatchet up and tossed it on to her shoulder just in time to see the Drunk get shoved off the rooftop by nothing other than wind. That's what he gets for teasing her about her mouth.

Of course he was okay, cradled by a shadow she assumed he purposely created. She'd made her decision earlier that night to stick around with Edgar and a few extra people weren't going to change that so she tagged along, keeping to herself and staying out of reach of any light that shown from lampposts. She did watch the rest though, simply observing the way they walked and dressed themselves, attempting to guess at any personality traits they may or may not have simply based off of those things. Her eyes cut to the sides when she was approached, doing nothing to physically hide her throat or even fully give her attention until she noticed she was being offered something.

She slowed her pace and finally gave a half turn of her head to almost properly look at him while thumbing the fabric in her hands, taking note of the expression that flitted over his features. Rae still hadn't said a word as she pushed the hood on her head back to tie the scarf around herself, exposing more of the short, white dyed hair she sported. After giving it a few adjustments she faced the man who had given her a way to cover herself up again. "Thank you." She murmured through the knitted scarf, turning away from him once more and adding on in a deadpan tone, "I don't wear panties."

Again there were no harsh responses made though she could come up with plenty on the spot, she simply wasn't feeling up to getting on anyone's bad side at the moment. She was too tired to make the effort. However, if she had to guess, perhaps he was balding and that's why he decided to wear such a silly hat.

The quaint little bar was oddly nice, and the sign she saw held her type of humor on it even if she couldn't display something like that on her own business' door. She slipped in with the rest and took a seat, occupying the space next to her with the hatchet as she listened to Edgar and the man who she now knew should be addressed as Jo. Between the two of them they both seemed like decent humans, Devil Shards aside, and that said a lot. At the very least one of them was honest.

With listless orbs she stood up and lowered the scarf below her chin, internally cursing at the entire situation as she crossed over to the bar Edgar laid upon to take up one of the empty cans and lift it to her mouth. Her lips parted and in went half of the can with ease, teeth severing it in two with a single bite. She swallowed after a few simple chews then popped the other half in after it, busying herself by eyeing the inside of the building while repeating the process. "I simply eat the impossible." Her shoulders lifted then fell in a shrug. "Nothing impressive like you blokes," she muttered to herself, turning her back to them to procure the entirety of the can back out from her throat then place it down by Edgar's feet, the metal lightly coated here and there in her saliva. If anything she had a neat parlor trick, but she was unaware if the newest shard had really done anything at all for her.

She walked back to the chair she claimed and propped herself up there, sliding the red fabric back up over her mouth. "Like Jo there I only have three shards, and my name's Raelin." Her ankles crossed under the table as she went back to watching the others, waiting to hear what else anyone had to say.
 
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Edgar smiled and laughed a bit at jotham's plea. "Jo, does this look like the kind of place where there will be any valuables?" He asked, gesturing listlessly at the surroundings. It seemed like your typical corner pub; a few nice tables and chair scattered around the room, a central oak bar that took up about a third of the room, and booths lining two walls. "There's the stereo system and the wine cellar. I don't care much about the wine; nobody drinks it anyway. But if you can make it out of here without me realizing you nicked my sound system, fuck, you earned it." When he asked for a bottle of red, Edgar cocked a thumb behind the bar. "Cellar door is over here, grab yourself a bottle or eight. I figure you earned it."

As he watched Rae, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Well damn, maybe I should have sent you down to fight after all." A mouth like that and she might have been able to bite off his limbs and make him easier to kill. "But then again, if I did that, I wouldn't have gotten to spend so much time admiring that body of yours." He said with a chuckle. Acting and talking like a jackass was a great way to pretend he didn't worry about what was going on. "Alright, who's next?"
 
Dangerous? Griffin thought questionly. How could a rock be dangerous. He ignored the man and picked the odd rock. Of course the minute he did the thing vanished. He frowned at his hand. That made no sense. Where had it gone? It couldn't have disappear? He snorted when the man said the streets where dangerous and offered him something he wanted. "I practically grew up on the street. I think I can handle myself. As for giving me something I want you know nothing about me or who I am. You couldn't possibly know anything about what I want." He wasn't sure if he wanted to join the group but keeping an eye on them would probably be a good idea. He decided to follow them foe now. Knowledge was power and this man seemed to know more about the situation then he did. He hated the small crowded space. It probably wasn't as small as it felt to him. Demon Shards? That made the rocks sound a lot more dangerous. The things they could do? So they could do things too? That made him feel alittle less awkward about the thing he could do. He hadn't even thought about long term effects. He listened to the man explain what he knew and introduce himself. "Well my name is Griffin. I had no idea what your talking about. I picked up two of those odd rocks. I believe I can manipulate shadows. Although honestly I haven't used it much." ​
 
Johanthan

Johnathan watched from the rooftops as the small party spoke for a bit, the girl whom he hadn't seen earlier and another male both interacting with the two who he had fought with against the monster from before. After an exchange of words, the group all seemed to move off, and Johnathan shadowed their movements, sneaking through town and following them by rooftop. When the lot of them disappeared inside what looked to be a bar, Johnathan stayed on the rooftop for a moment, before climbing his way down and walking to the door.

He didn't have a place to sleep after all, and he did help to kill the beast anyway. Besides, another thing he needed was food. Walking over to the door, Johnathan went to open it, before realizing he remembered his manners, or at least what was left of them after nigh on four years of not using them, and he knocked on the door.
 
"You're half right," Edgar said to Griffin, "I don't know anything about you, but I know your type." Edgar sat up and hopped down from the bar. "You're convinced that no one has had it as bad as you, and that we're just gonna hold you back. If you feel that way, you're free to leave. Someone who's unwilling to work with others for the greater good is nothing but a liability." He was becoming more agitated as the night grew longer, and Griffin's attitude wasn't helping matters. "However, you go out on your own, you're gonna have to figure out your own way to get stronger. Think you can do what four of us couldn't?" He waited for a moment to see if Griffin would respond. "I take it you're gonna stay then? Well then, grab a shard and see what happens. Ms. Raelin, if he tries to leave after getting one, eat him. I've heard Long Pork is very nutritious." Normally he'd have used his powers to enforce his rules, but between using Clone Edgar to fight and using his new shadow powers constantly on the way here, he was damn near about to pass out, and the caffeine could only do so much.

As he was talking to Griffin, the song on the jukebox faded out. As silence fell over the bar, he could hear a quiet knocking on the door. He looked around and noticed the bloody jackass hadn't joined them yet. Typical loner type. Can't even follow simple directions well...Well, hopefully he'll improve over time... he thought to himself. Edgar took a step toward the door, stumbled, and fell against a nearby chair. Shit, worse than I thought. Don't let them know, you don't know if you can trust them yet. He thought. "Guess I'm still a little high and out of it." Edgar said with a laugh, hoping they would take the lie at face value. Focusing on his shadow and ignoring the sharp pain that arced across his brain like lightning, he manifested the shadow arm once more, using it to pull open the door. "Bout time you showed up, Bloody." He said, jovially. "We're all getting to know each other, and you're the last one." He sat down in the chair haphazardly, and put his feet up on the table next to him. "To recap, the Gentlemanly bastard back we fought with is named Jo, and his power is creating knives from energy. Oh, and stealing anything not nailed down. The lovely thing propping up the bar is Raelin, who can eat anything and everything. I think her real power though is keeping such an amazing physique while doing so. Griffin, the emo looking chap reaching for one of the shards on the bar can make things from his shadow."

As he finished talking about the others, the next song, The Devil, by Blue Stahli, started on the jukebox. That's ominous...he couldn't help but think. "As for me, I create alcohol from ambient matter, I've got a shadow clone, and apparently I can make ghostly appendages from my shadow as well. Go figure. Name, powers, and shard count, please? If you've got the lowest count, you'll get the remaining one." He closed his eyes, hoping that when he opened them, the room would stop spinning. "I'll give you the whole "We're fucked, but not as much as we could be" speech later."

@KatherinWinter @conman2163

Current Song
 
Coming back from the wine cellar with a full bottle, Jotham sighed as he fell into his chair, just in time to see the 'introduction' - if you could even call it that - of this new fellow, Griffin, who looked like he could use both a shave and a haircut. Jotham hadn't even seen the man in the whole fight, meaning he'd been staying back and watching the whole thing from afar. As interesting and potentially useful 'Shadow Manipulation' sounded, Griffin just seemed like another one of those quiet fellows who probably couldn't be trusted. Edgar likely shared the same opinion too, and Jotham agreed with most of the things he was saying.

Unscrewing the top of the bottle of red wine, Jotham took a delicate sip, before putting it on the table next to him.
"Well met, Griffin. What I'll say is that these aren't 'odd rocks'. By the sounds of things, you've had only mild side effects unless you're hiding something from us. But these rocks have the potential to ruin lives in more ways you can imagine, and you know what? I think the whole world might be in danger because of this bloody catastrophe. So let's start treating this thing seriously and get on the job." Jotham said, taking another sip from his wine bottle, before pressing his hands together in thought, sitting in an upright position.

Jotham raised an eyebrow when Edgar described Raelin being able to 'eat everything and anything'. He must've missed that whilst he went to collect himself a bottle, but that certainly explained the deformed mouth. Watching Edgar stumble around and flirt about with Raelin was somewhat amusing, but Jotham couldn't help but feel sorry for the man.
"Edgar, everyone: the ever-so-subtle ladies' man." Jotham said with a light chuckle, but he was in fact quite concerned. Being able to produce alcohol from nowhere must've lead to an inevitable drinking problem for the man. Was he going to be alright?

And then there was Raelin, too. Did he feel bad for the woman? Yes. But still - Jotham didn't fully trust her yet. She seemed okay - a type that would slowly open up as time passed - but Jotham knew better than to trust a woman off the bat. As much as he felt sorry for her and sympathised with her pain, but he'd known too many women that took advantage of men in the past.

Looking up at the knock on the door, Jotham's sitting pose seemed a little bit more uncomfortable when the so-called 'Bloody' decided to join them. Of all the people, 'Bloody' was the one Jotham trusted the least. He hadn't said anything at all when Jotham first tried to talk to him, and looked like he would've attacked if things didn't turn out the way he did.
"Ah, welcome." He said quietly to the silver-haired boy. A certain bitterness seemed to be in the underlayer of Jotham's voice, but he hid the most of it. "You're just in time for the big union of shard-bearers. Let's not fall out and attack anyone, shall we? Though, I will credit you for your fantastic shot on that demon back there, and for knocking before entering. There's more of a gentleman in you than I thought."

Sighing, Jotham polished off his bottle in a sudden, huge chug, before wiping the red substance from his mouth. He looked a bit drunk, though it wasn't clear if that was altering his actions.
"I suppose we're all a bit screwed in a way. But I guess that's just 'fate' - yes - go on, laugh... I believe in fate. There's no use moping about what we've become, we just need to adapt and get used to each other from this point." He said with a half-hearted smile, "It just makes me wonder what everyone who picked up a shard used to be. The chance of finding one is so slim, so obscure... it's like we've won some sort of twisted lottery. A lottery that's screwed our usual lives, but I suppose that's fate, too." Jotham mumbled, pulling out a handkerchief, and folding it deftly into an oragami model of a swan as he talked, placing it on the table next to the empty wine bottle.

"Anyway, soppy shite aside, something's been bugging me - and now that we've got five people here... it can't be forgotten the other half of that demon is still out there somewhere. Do you think we could plan to go and slay that as our next course of action, or would it have fled the scene already? It just bothers me that our little half-demon might be ripping innocent beings' guts out as we speak." Jotham mumbled.
 
Griffin snorted. He listened to Edgar describe his 'type'. He rolled his eyes. The man had it wrong. He didn't care how bad they had it. Nor did he thing that they were going to hold him back. "I see that your abilities don't included mind reading. You really shouldn't try it because you aren't very good at it. I don't care how bad you had it. I really don't want to compare woes me stories. I am willing to work. I've been doing it for years. The question is are any of you going to be more help then a hindrance. I am willing to do my share."Provided that they could prove they weren't as irrational and stupid as he thought they were. He knew he was being unfairly judgemental but it was the only way to protect himself. He was his top priority. "I don't know what they four of you can do other then cause more chaos. Yes you managed to drive the beast. What did you call it? Apocalypse. But I also know that you created more of the beast before you chased it off. And I know that you didn't destroy the beast which means that it will probably be back sometime in the future. I am not really worried about getting stronger. I am more focused on surviving. I am not sure I want another rock...shard...whatever you call them. Especially after your speech about greed and long term effects."
 
Johnathan

Johnathan nodded to the man whom opened the door and let him in, listening to him as he explained just who they all were and what each of them could do. After all was said and done, he was asked for his name, powers, and his shard count. In a gruff voice sounding worn down from disuse, Johnathan replied.

"My name is Johnathan, last name doesn't matter. I create needles from blood, and a sword so hot it can melt steel. Last I checked I've taken four shards, don't know 'bout the rest of you, but i'm not gonna take any shards, regardless of whether or not I got the lowest. I've seen what that shit does to you, taking too many at once I mean. All the same though, they need to be split up soon, so many of us in one location, it's not gonna be pretty if anyone not human locates us, and all of us together probably generate enough attention as it is."

Johnathan walked through the door, and took off his patchwork cloak. He looked at Jotham curiously for a moment. He decided to reply to Jotham's question before anyone else, even though he just got here.

"We have to formulate a plan before all of that. Attacking straight off is a bad idea, we'll attract more attention that way, hell i'm surprised we haven't attracted attention as is, best for not only us but humanity as a whole for us to just lay low for now.... If you've seen just what the "factions" in this little war were involved in would do for just one you'd understand....."[/B]

Johnathan had also been listening to the man's little wonderings about what they had all been before this had happened.

To think, I used to be a father, husband, and banker, and now i'm out slaying demons and monsters in hope of becoming some kind of god.....

Johnathan stayed silent, and said nothing when the man named Griffin spoke, he simply found a place to sit up at the bar.
 
"Subtlety is lost on commoners, Jojo." Edgar responded to the good natured ribbing with a chuckle. "It's also not nearly as fun. If I'm gonna act like an asshat, I'll act like a Proper Asshat." As he listened to Griffin speak, his eyebrow twitched a bit in annoyance. "Jojo, Johnathan, and myself took down together a monster I've been hunting for weeks, while you hid in the shadows. If anyone would be a hindrance, I think it'd be the coward who wouldn't even attempt to stop him getting away!" The high from the shard was gone completely, now, and he was becoming much more aggressive and angry as he began to crash. "And his name was Apocrypha; Apocalypse is a shitty X-Men villain, not something that almost gutted me like a fish a week ago." He shut up for a minute to try and make himself a bit more calm.

He listened to Jotham's musing, and reflected on himself. "I don't think anything really changed in me, personality-wise." he shrugged. "I was a bar-running junkie before the change, and I'm still one after. Although my client base is a little...nonexistent at the moment, so I can't say that I'm a successful one at the time being. Other than that, all that's changed is my drug of choice." He said, running a hand through his hair absentmindedly. He listened to Johnathan's explanation of his powers and motivation with a bit of deference. It was true that Apocrypha had gotten away, but they'd managed to weaken him quite a bit in the process. With any luck, the next time they fight, he'd be finished. "You're right, Johnathan, those shards are making this place a target. it'd be best if they get claimed sooner rather than later." Edgar stood up on unsteady legs and started moving toward the bar again. "Determine amongst yourselves who's getting what, I'll claim whatever is left come morning. In the meantime, I'll be heading to bed." He pulled a bottle of liquor - labeled "Uncle Edgar's Paint Thinner" - forward. A click could be heard, and a 4 ft section of the bar swung forward, revealing a set of stairs. "There's 3 bedrooms up here, for when regulars get a little over-served. I suggest you sleep while you can." With that said, he walked up the stairs as the "door" swung closed.

He walked up to his apartment and looked over it. The main room was a somewhat crowded living room, with overstuffed chairs around a huge plasma TV with a couple game systems hooked into it. On the three walls around him were comfortably furnished bedrooms. He went through the door on the far wall, climbing out the window onto a fire escape. He climbed wrought iron stairs to the roof and stumbled over to his hammock, falling into it with a muted thwump. He got comfortable and finally allowed himself to crash, rocked into unconsciousness from the swaying of the hammock.
 
"But then again, if I did that, I wouldn't have gotten to spend so much time admiring that body of yours." Raelin was only half-listening to the conversations around her, but she made an effort if only for a few short seconds at a time. "Wanna try kissing me again now?" She halfheartedly dared him, a blank gaze drifting over the liquor on the back wall. A drink sounded good though it wasn't on her list of priorities, especially with three men hanging around. In a worst case scenario she'd end up trying to take a bite out of someone's, or even all of their jugulars after too much tequila.

She listened to Griffin give his little speech and start a squabble with Edgar who again caught her attention among the drab commotion. "Ms. Raelin, if he tries to leave after getting one, eat him." Her mouth salivated at the idea, a malicious and longing glint lighting up the eyes that slowly found their way to the aforementioned male. The right corner of her mouth lifted into a smirk as she watched him like a hawk, silently pleading that he would try to run off even despite his protest.

It was only after Johnathan's introduction and Edgar's claim of departure that tore her gaze tear away from Griffin, her throat still burning at the chance to consume his flesh. Three bedrooms and four people- she immediately ruled herself out of that option and somewhat snapped back from her own mind. "I got calls to make if I'm going to be hanging out with you freaks." Freaks included her too so she assumed none of them would get too hurt over it. "You heard him. There are three bedrooms upstairs so get out of my sight." Rae dug out a cellphone from her pocket and began to punch in a few numbers, waiting until they had left before putting the phone up to her ear.
 
Griffin had no intention of sleeping here. He didn't trust these people. Especially after Edgar's little speech about greed. He was willing to watch and help. But trust wasn't happening. He had been lied too many times for him to trust easily. These people might be like him but the shards made them more unpredictable. He would stay close though. The more he watched them the more he would learn. And he had a feeling that he was going to need to learn a lot. He slipped out of the bar. He wasn't letting his guard down around these people. He looked for a place close enough that he could watch them but so close that he wouldn't be able to let his guard down enough to sleep. He was a light sleeper but he didn't know what these people were capable of. He had a feeling it was more then the things they had admitted to in the meeting were only just the beginning of the things they could do. He found an empty building not far from the bar with a good line of sight. He would have to find some food soon but for now he was contain to try to get some sleep. He made himself as comfortable on the floor as he could and closed his eyes. It would be some time before he fell asleep.
 
Johnathan

Johnathan silently watched and listened to the interactions between the others in the bar, taking note of how irritated Edgar was. Perhaps it would be best for Johnathan to avoid him in the evenings in the future if he was like this, all the same however, he needed to have a place to sleep, and for now that place seemed to be here. Not really listening to what the girl said, his eyes followed Griffin as he left. If the man was determined to go it alone, he shouldn't have walked with this group to the bar, that was a mistake on his part, and now that he had left, perhaps the girl was going to go after him.

"Looks like Griffin felt out of place here."

With that small comment, mostly to himself then to anyone in the room, Johnathan walked over to the bottle on the bar, pulled it forward, reopening the passage way that had shut behind their host, and walked upstairs to one of the unoccupied bedrooms, shutting the door behind him and locking it before climbing onto the bed, resting his back against the wall, and letting his head fall forward onto his chest and closing his eyes. Johnathan was a light sleeper, so opening the door would wake him up, and he certainly didn't plan to even lay down, doing that would take him out of a position he could be ready in. Sighing in content, Johnathan nodded off to sleep.
 
Giving a sigh, Jotham adjusted his top hat as he got to his feet, unfolding the handkerchief placed on the table and putting it back inside his front pocket. It wasn't a surprise that Griffin went off to do his own thing. To be honest, Raelin's nightmare-inducing expression probably didn't help Griffin's mood for sleeping in the same building as her. Was she only joking, or was she literally a cannibal? Jotham didn't even know if he cared at this point, but it was still nice to know the levels of sanity he'd be dealing with.

Listening to Johnathan's comment, Jotham chuckled.
"I can't say I blame him. Our dear fellow Griffin seems the most 'normal' out of all of us - and if I were still normal, I'd run as far as I can from you bunch of bastards." Jotham added jokingly with a slightly drunken laugh. "...Anyway. You all have a pleasant night's rest; I'm sure we have a lot to do and discuss tomorrow." Jotham mumbled, putting his hands in his pockets. "I'd take up a bedroom myself, but I doubt I'll be getting much sleep tonight; I think I'll just wander outside. And no. I'm not leaving because I'm worried I'll get stabbed in my sleep by one of you - you'd be more than welcome to try, haha. I... I just feel like going for a little walk."

Watching as Johnathan left the room, Jotham looked like he was about to say something to Raelin, before turning to the door.
"Welp... good night, young lady. I'll return to see you in the morning... with the others too, I hope."

With that, Jotham pushed through the doors of the bar, wincing and groaning from the pain in his hands as soon as he left the area. He knew the pains would come. And the best way he could forget about them was a nice walk in the night air, rather than pointlessly trying to sleep. He'd be sure to return first thing in the morning. And hey... perhaps he could scavenge some useful materials in the middle of his walk, too.
 
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