Post by Zuyuri on Jul 8, 2018 6:40:53 GMT
Dawn arose in Bellerouge and the red sky was alight with the first rays of dawn hitting the town. Everyone was getting ready for their morning errands and shifts. The beings of the night were hunkering down for a good rest. But for some of them that needed to get to work, acting like a creature of the night without a dose of the caffeine was a challenge. The Nevermore Cafe was bustling, especially with so many people getting over the exhaustion of 4th of July. The smell and residue of fireworks and sparklers littered Riverfront. A few days ago it had been a day of celebration.
And maybe that celebration was still continuing.
After dismissing herself to get o the police station, Sunshine blinked in surprise. The other officers were crowded around huge boxes stuffed to the brim with bagels. She recognized the box. They came from a ritzy bakery in Lieu Sanglate. They were pricier than Nevermore and for good reason; the bakers were legitimate French.
"Sun, you've got to help yourself to some of these!" Riku said around a mouthful.
"Okay..." She hesitantly picked out the ones she liked. "So...who brought these?"
"Well, it wasn't us," Jim shrugged.
"Nope," Yang shook her head.
"I'm surprised it wasn't you," Pitch said. "You hardly stray from your family's business when you pick days to shower us with kindness."
"Was that supposed to be a compliment?" Dimitri asked.
Sunshine shook her head. She could drown out the bickering with getting onto work. She and Shadow had been assigned to look more into Elsa Crispin's kidnapping. She opened the file and began reading the notes. There were voicemails from the bayou patrol saying there had been no sign of the mysterious woman known as Lilith. Sunshine clicked on her files referencing 'Lilith'. As she read it, her heart pounded. Demonic cults referred to her as a "mother figure". One painting depicted a woman cradling a serpent. Yet in the background of the painting, clear as day, she saw a red eye. A red eye...like the one Shadow shot in Laveau Cemetery.
She skimmed more notes and research. Demons...omens...rebirth...a hatred of children...her weakness was her own vanity. But oh, that red eye...it shook her. She wrote down the weakness and went back to reading depictions of this 'Lilith'. Sunshine glanced over to the empty desk across from her. Shadow hadn't come in. Or if he had, he was back out or doing something. Her mouth was still savoring the fresh blueberries from her bagel. That taste turned into metal when she felt a slight poke on her side,
'Surprise."
"Shadow! You scared me to death!"
"Well, I hope I didn't. I hoped putting you in a bagel coma would do that."
Sunshine arched a brow at him. "Wait, these came from you?"
"Well, of course! We're on the clock and with 4th of July over, we can finally crack down on catching some of these guys."
He was hiding something. And he was lying about the occasion of the bagels. She clicked onto the link Shadow sent her, a link about psychology and demonology, smiling to look in his direction. "So..." she began, partially reading it, "how much did they cost?"
"What, the bagels?" he asked, "I'd say more or less an extra ten percent of what Nevermore sells them for."
"And..."
"Sunshine, I just wanted to do something nice. Is that a crime?"
"Well...no...what is a crime is that this Lilith lady got away with harrassing four people. One of whom was my sister in law!"
She hadn't meant for it to be shouted and get so loud. But it did. Her frustration was starting to show. Riku looked up from his computer at hearing her voice, only to be ushered back to work by Aqua. Sunshine stood, staring her partner down. "I saw that eye in pictures of her. It means she's a demon. A demon who's been alive for I don't know how long."
"Did you read the article I sent you?" Shadow asked.
"That's not-"
"Actually, it does pertain to Lilith. Her mission was to target the four core negative emotions in humanity. Disgust, anger, fear and sadness." He looked at her long and hard. "Look, you don't think I'm upset by her targets, either? Jane LaRue became the Vessel of Disgust."
Jane LaRue. There was a name she was beginning to hear more of. The way he even talked about Jane being targetted. She had heard him be on edge, but he sounded...protective. The last time he spoke this way had been when Yang lost her arm. Or when she was continuing to have bad dreams about Jasmine and some vampire cops wouldn't leave her alone. Jane LaRue was becoming important to him. His red eyes reflected most of the questions to her answers. He had feelings for her, but he couldn't confess them. He looked away, back at the screen that held a map of Bellerouge and colored dots highlighted.
"This is where all her victims were targetted," he explained. "They're forming some kind of shield..."
"But what are they shielding?"
Shadow looked away. "Me."
__________________________________
After finalizing the report, Shadow had made preparations for the end of the world. He had charted the map of the victims of Lilith. They had set it to the center of Bellerouge. The exact center. He was to go there now the beacons had been set in place. When he had arrived exactly at noon, he would return to the darkness he had been born from. Disparion would emerge and take humanity as his own. The world would be his.
He had put on his Sapien laced rings and gone to the Bourbon. One final drink. It was appropriate for his last. He sat by himself at the bar, staring into a glass. A waitress set down what appeared to be a very expensive scotch. He hadn't ordered it. He looked at her with curiosity, and the woman pointed to a table in the far corner. Sitting there was a woman with red eyes and dark hair and pale skin. Shadow thanked the waitress and approached her.
"I hear you've been looking for me, Detective," she said coyly.
"Lilith," he said calmly, sitting across from her. "Care you tell me why you haven't turned yourself in?"
"Funny. I was going to ask you the same thing. You think masquerading as a human will deceive Disparion? It won't. I've been doing it for years and he still knows who I am. The end is coming and you will bring it. You may have hidden from us, you may have been trying to hunt me down to try and get me to tell the truth about my motives. But we both know the truth. You are going to destroy humanity, Shadow."
"And what if say no?"
"I think you know the answer. I'll keep tormenting humans. Hmm...who could I go for? I already took care of your girlfriend...that is what Jane LaRue is to you, yes?"
Shadow's eyes widened. Jane wasn't his girlfriend. Well...kind of? Maybe. He couldn't deny anymore that he did care for her. Yet Lilith was saying she would target others. Disparion made the same threat. His hand tightened on the glass. No. No more. He couldn't watch other people fall into the hands of demons. There had been too much suffering in this town. It was ironic that he would end the suffering with damnation of humanity...but he couldn't let the town fall one by one.
"Don't be late for our date, Shadow."
It was the last thing she said before walking away with Shadow glaring at her retreating back
_________________________
Shadow approached the run down shack. This was it. This was the place that the exact center was. He held the parcel under his arm, knowing he was being followed here. He had given up his inhibitor rings and had left them at the station. He left specific instructions on how to get the town safe. A few people were in the loop of what to do. He knew they would listen to him, but there was no stopping what was promised. Before he could knock on the door, he heard a voice.
"SHADOW!"
Sunshine was sprinting up to him. Much to his surprise, she was alone. She panted and knelt before him. Her head was up to the patch of white fur on his chest. Her green eyes betrayed so much sadness. He partially understood. Much like her biological father Joaquin, he was leaving her. Someone she trusted and understood. Emotion wavered in her voice.
"Shadow, please, whatever you're doing, you don't need to..."
"Sunshine...I knew this day would come."
"Bullshit! You don't owe Disparion anything!"
"If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be alive!" Shadow finally spat it out. He had kept this secret from her for so long. He had only told a select few the horrible burden. It was now hurting him that he had not let her in as deeply as he had wanted. At first, he had been doing it to protect her. To protect her from Disparion. It was useless. He had shut her out, his partner, his best friend. In so doing, he had caused more turmoil in himself.
"What? I...I don't understand."
He handed her the parcel. "Read this and you will understand. You'll understand everything. I also left something for you and Riku in there. Pitch and Yang have the matching one."
"Shadow..." she sighed. "Shadow no one really knows their destiny. All my life, I thought I was going to be a baker. But then I got picked up by Jasmine...and I met you...and," she shook her head, "do you know how many lives you changed? Changed for the better?"
She was making this harder than it needed to be. Shadow placed both hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him. For the briefest moment, he saw her face mingle with that of a young girl. The very girl he had tried to protect but had watched die. The girl he promised he'd keep the world safe for. Maria and Sunshine both had the same wish. They wanted him to save the world. Despite his best efforts, Shadow knew this was a promise he had tried in vain to keep, but was forced to break because he had no choice.
'Sunshine...I'll miss you the most."
He swept a golden hair from her forehead. She was married to someone she loved deeply. He had confessed and they both had worked out maybe a romantic path wasn't in the cards for them. But one small display of affection would be enough. He kissed her on the forehead. Just a small one. But it poured out everything he had felt for her. So much so that she made a sobbing breath and looked away. That was his cue.
He entered the abandoned shack. Inside, the room was a bright purple. Seven small jewels sat on a pedestal. Lilith emerged, lighting blood red candles and in her traditional pale form. Her gown seemed to melt with the lit floor. Shadow ignored her and made a beeline to the gems. He held them in his hands, and they began to glow intensely. Red runes appeared below him. Te rocks eventually became too hot to handle and he threw them skyward. They crumbled into blackened ash and the runes swirled, ensnaring him. Humanity's negativity was their power, fencing him inside and pulling him below. The light was fading.
The last thing he remembered was Sunshine's radiant smile.
___________________________________
An explosion of venom green energy shook the entire city of Bellerouge, blacking out all electricity. The red sky no longer was hit by some traces of sunlight obscured by clouds. Instead, it was completely obscured. Creatures of the night were stirring, no longer bothered by sun again. They flew from their resting places and swarmed the towns. People ran and scattered. Humans that had come to visit Bellerouge were in for a much bigger treat. The Others Unit was being dispatched, misguided on where to go. Their sirens and their vehicles were the only police unit sent to go after the monsters. The rest of the police were sent on evacuation duty, ushering innocents to nearby cities such as Baton Rouge and Lafayette. It wouldn't matter where would go, though, for a new ruler was rising, laughing in triumph as he emerged to shade the entirely of the city.
"Embrace the dawn of demise. Embrace the reign of Disparion."
And maybe that celebration was still continuing.
After dismissing herself to get o the police station, Sunshine blinked in surprise. The other officers were crowded around huge boxes stuffed to the brim with bagels. She recognized the box. They came from a ritzy bakery in Lieu Sanglate. They were pricier than Nevermore and for good reason; the bakers were legitimate French.
"Sun, you've got to help yourself to some of these!" Riku said around a mouthful.
"Okay..." She hesitantly picked out the ones she liked. "So...who brought these?"
"Well, it wasn't us," Jim shrugged.
"Nope," Yang shook her head.
"I'm surprised it wasn't you," Pitch said. "You hardly stray from your family's business when you pick days to shower us with kindness."
"Was that supposed to be a compliment?" Dimitri asked.
Sunshine shook her head. She could drown out the bickering with getting onto work. She and Shadow had been assigned to look more into Elsa Crispin's kidnapping. She opened the file and began reading the notes. There were voicemails from the bayou patrol saying there had been no sign of the mysterious woman known as Lilith. Sunshine clicked on her files referencing 'Lilith'. As she read it, her heart pounded. Demonic cults referred to her as a "mother figure". One painting depicted a woman cradling a serpent. Yet in the background of the painting, clear as day, she saw a red eye. A red eye...like the one Shadow shot in Laveau Cemetery.
She skimmed more notes and research. Demons...omens...rebirth...a hatred of children...her weakness was her own vanity. But oh, that red eye...it shook her. She wrote down the weakness and went back to reading depictions of this 'Lilith'. Sunshine glanced over to the empty desk across from her. Shadow hadn't come in. Or if he had, he was back out or doing something. Her mouth was still savoring the fresh blueberries from her bagel. That taste turned into metal when she felt a slight poke on her side,
'Surprise."
"Shadow! You scared me to death!"
"Well, I hope I didn't. I hoped putting you in a bagel coma would do that."
Sunshine arched a brow at him. "Wait, these came from you?"
"Well, of course! We're on the clock and with 4th of July over, we can finally crack down on catching some of these guys."
He was hiding something. And he was lying about the occasion of the bagels. She clicked onto the link Shadow sent her, a link about psychology and demonology, smiling to look in his direction. "So..." she began, partially reading it, "how much did they cost?"
"What, the bagels?" he asked, "I'd say more or less an extra ten percent of what Nevermore sells them for."
"And..."
"Sunshine, I just wanted to do something nice. Is that a crime?"
"Well...no...what is a crime is that this Lilith lady got away with harrassing four people. One of whom was my sister in law!"
She hadn't meant for it to be shouted and get so loud. But it did. Her frustration was starting to show. Riku looked up from his computer at hearing her voice, only to be ushered back to work by Aqua. Sunshine stood, staring her partner down. "I saw that eye in pictures of her. It means she's a demon. A demon who's been alive for I don't know how long."
"Did you read the article I sent you?" Shadow asked.
"That's not-"
"Actually, it does pertain to Lilith. Her mission was to target the four core negative emotions in humanity. Disgust, anger, fear and sadness." He looked at her long and hard. "Look, you don't think I'm upset by her targets, either? Jane LaRue became the Vessel of Disgust."
Jane LaRue. There was a name she was beginning to hear more of. The way he even talked about Jane being targetted. She had heard him be on edge, but he sounded...protective. The last time he spoke this way had been when Yang lost her arm. Or when she was continuing to have bad dreams about Jasmine and some vampire cops wouldn't leave her alone. Jane LaRue was becoming important to him. His red eyes reflected most of the questions to her answers. He had feelings for her, but he couldn't confess them. He looked away, back at the screen that held a map of Bellerouge and colored dots highlighted.
"This is where all her victims were targetted," he explained. "They're forming some kind of shield..."
"But what are they shielding?"
Shadow looked away. "Me."
__________________________________
After finalizing the report, Shadow had made preparations for the end of the world. He had charted the map of the victims of Lilith. They had set it to the center of Bellerouge. The exact center. He was to go there now the beacons had been set in place. When he had arrived exactly at noon, he would return to the darkness he had been born from. Disparion would emerge and take humanity as his own. The world would be his.
He had put on his Sapien laced rings and gone to the Bourbon. One final drink. It was appropriate for his last. He sat by himself at the bar, staring into a glass. A waitress set down what appeared to be a very expensive scotch. He hadn't ordered it. He looked at her with curiosity, and the woman pointed to a table in the far corner. Sitting there was a woman with red eyes and dark hair and pale skin. Shadow thanked the waitress and approached her.
"I hear you've been looking for me, Detective," she said coyly.
"Lilith," he said calmly, sitting across from her. "Care you tell me why you haven't turned yourself in?"
"Funny. I was going to ask you the same thing. You think masquerading as a human will deceive Disparion? It won't. I've been doing it for years and he still knows who I am. The end is coming and you will bring it. You may have hidden from us, you may have been trying to hunt me down to try and get me to tell the truth about my motives. But we both know the truth. You are going to destroy humanity, Shadow."
"And what if say no?"
"I think you know the answer. I'll keep tormenting humans. Hmm...who could I go for? I already took care of your girlfriend...that is what Jane LaRue is to you, yes?"
Shadow's eyes widened. Jane wasn't his girlfriend. Well...kind of? Maybe. He couldn't deny anymore that he did care for her. Yet Lilith was saying she would target others. Disparion made the same threat. His hand tightened on the glass. No. No more. He couldn't watch other people fall into the hands of demons. There had been too much suffering in this town. It was ironic that he would end the suffering with damnation of humanity...but he couldn't let the town fall one by one.
"Don't be late for our date, Shadow."
It was the last thing she said before walking away with Shadow glaring at her retreating back
_________________________
Shadow approached the run down shack. This was it. This was the place that the exact center was. He held the parcel under his arm, knowing he was being followed here. He had given up his inhibitor rings and had left them at the station. He left specific instructions on how to get the town safe. A few people were in the loop of what to do. He knew they would listen to him, but there was no stopping what was promised. Before he could knock on the door, he heard a voice.
"SHADOW!"
Sunshine was sprinting up to him. Much to his surprise, she was alone. She panted and knelt before him. Her head was up to the patch of white fur on his chest. Her green eyes betrayed so much sadness. He partially understood. Much like her biological father Joaquin, he was leaving her. Someone she trusted and understood. Emotion wavered in her voice.
"Shadow, please, whatever you're doing, you don't need to..."
"Sunshine...I knew this day would come."
"Bullshit! You don't owe Disparion anything!"
"If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be alive!" Shadow finally spat it out. He had kept this secret from her for so long. He had only told a select few the horrible burden. It was now hurting him that he had not let her in as deeply as he had wanted. At first, he had been doing it to protect her. To protect her from Disparion. It was useless. He had shut her out, his partner, his best friend. In so doing, he had caused more turmoil in himself.
"What? I...I don't understand."
He handed her the parcel. "Read this and you will understand. You'll understand everything. I also left something for you and Riku in there. Pitch and Yang have the matching one."
"Shadow..." she sighed. "Shadow no one really knows their destiny. All my life, I thought I was going to be a baker. But then I got picked up by Jasmine...and I met you...and," she shook her head, "do you know how many lives you changed? Changed for the better?"
She was making this harder than it needed to be. Shadow placed both hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him. For the briefest moment, he saw her face mingle with that of a young girl. The very girl he had tried to protect but had watched die. The girl he promised he'd keep the world safe for. Maria and Sunshine both had the same wish. They wanted him to save the world. Despite his best efforts, Shadow knew this was a promise he had tried in vain to keep, but was forced to break because he had no choice.
'Sunshine...I'll miss you the most."
He swept a golden hair from her forehead. She was married to someone she loved deeply. He had confessed and they both had worked out maybe a romantic path wasn't in the cards for them. But one small display of affection would be enough. He kissed her on the forehead. Just a small one. But it poured out everything he had felt for her. So much so that she made a sobbing breath and looked away. That was his cue.
He entered the abandoned shack. Inside, the room was a bright purple. Seven small jewels sat on a pedestal. Lilith emerged, lighting blood red candles and in her traditional pale form. Her gown seemed to melt with the lit floor. Shadow ignored her and made a beeline to the gems. He held them in his hands, and they began to glow intensely. Red runes appeared below him. Te rocks eventually became too hot to handle and he threw them skyward. They crumbled into blackened ash and the runes swirled, ensnaring him. Humanity's negativity was their power, fencing him inside and pulling him below. The light was fading.
The last thing he remembered was Sunshine's radiant smile.
___________________________________
An explosion of venom green energy shook the entire city of Bellerouge, blacking out all electricity. The red sky no longer was hit by some traces of sunlight obscured by clouds. Instead, it was completely obscured. Creatures of the night were stirring, no longer bothered by sun again. They flew from their resting places and swarmed the towns. People ran and scattered. Humans that had come to visit Bellerouge were in for a much bigger treat. The Others Unit was being dispatched, misguided on where to go. Their sirens and their vehicles were the only police unit sent to go after the monsters. The rest of the police were sent on evacuation duty, ushering innocents to nearby cities such as Baton Rouge and Lafayette. It wouldn't matter where would go, though, for a new ruler was rising, laughing in triumph as he emerged to shade the entirely of the city.
"Embrace the dawn of demise. Embrace the reign of Disparion."
