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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Apr 7, 2020 0:58:52 GMT
Yang and Axel had found out quite a bit from Cruella, and they needed to get Adeline an update. But there was still one unanswered question they needed to figure out: What could they offer this parasite so it would leave Pitch? What did it hunger for? For that, there was only one other demon Yang knew, and trusted, and that was Shadow. So, she arranged a little get-together at Tony's Pizza. Normally, Yang felt at ease at the place, as she had lunch dates with her friends here plenty of times. She couldn't muster up any happy feelings though as she parked her motorcycle. Times were grim, and they needed to figure this puzzle out. As she walked up to the entrance, she saw Adeline already there, with her usual worried and anxious look in her eyes. Her face had been pretty much stuck like that since she and Yang had last confronted Pitch, and odds were, it would stay like that until they fixed him.
"Been waiting long?" Yang asked.
Adeline shook her head. "There's a bus route that has a stop not too far from here. I got dropped off a few minutes ago."
Yang just gave a little nod. "Let's get a booth. Axel and Shadow should be getting here soon."
She headed inside, Adeline following her as they chose a booth near the back. She figured it would be private enough for them to discuss their business. After ordering sodas without much enthusiasm, Adeline looked back across the table at Yang.
"So, this Shadow guy...he's on the Others Unit with you?" she asked. She hadn't exactly met Shadow before, and while Pitch had mentioned his name once or twice, he didn't say much about the guy. And it felt like all kinds of rumors circulated about him. Some said he was good at his job, others said he was a loose cannon. Some said he was a monster, to others he was a hero. It was hard to tell, if Adeline had to be honest.
Yang nodded. "I'm known him for a few years now. He's had experience with other demons, and Disparion himself. If anyone can help us figure out a plan to get Pitch back to normal, it's him."
Adeline felt a little comforted by Yang's confidence in that. She just hoped her friend was right.
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Post by Zuyuri on Apr 7, 2020 5:38:34 GMT
Shadow walked into Tony's and despite the pleasant associations he had with the place, he knew it wasn't here for a lunch break or a social putting like he had done with Yang and Sunshine prior. This was a business meeting. Yang said that she had a lead on whatever was ailing Pitch. The homonuculus ma not have been a fan of the demon, but he could let a personal bias go for the sake of focusing on saving the city. He scanned the booths with his red eyes, pausing at the familiar blonde head sitting at the booth, Across from her was a raven-haired girl. The stranger looked as if she had seen a ghost, or worse, someone getting possessed.
"Is this the person you're trying to help, Yang?" he asked.
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Post by skyeknight on Apr 16, 2020 15:30:00 GMT
Axel had been running late. Of course things had happened in the bar last minute and he had been in a rush to get done what he needed to get done. However, he was finally at the pizza place where the others were waiting. He felt bad for keeping them waiting, especially when the stakes were so dire. Things were pretty serious. Pitch's life was on the line and while it was no skin off his back the demon was important to Adeline and Adeline was important to Axel. So he would do what he can.
"Sorry I'm late."
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Apr 17, 2020 0:01:48 GMT
Shadow soon showed up, and Axel did the same not too long after. Yang gave a nod at Shadow's question. "Yup. Adeline, this is Shadow. Shadow, Adeline."
"Nice to meet you," Adeline said, trying to be polite. When Yang described Shadow as kind of looking like a hedgehog, she hadn't been quite sure how to picture it. But he did kind of look like he had quills like a hedgehog. She looked up when Axel came in, and she gave a little smile. She'd known it was hard for Axel to go back to his former boss for help, and she appreciated it.
"Okay, we're all here, let's get down to business," Yang said. "To summarize here Shadow, Axel's a friend of Adeline's here. He has a...former acquaintance, that had some info on what's caused Pitch to lose it." She glanced at Adeline, who was hanging on her every word. The witch had been wracking her brain ever since Pitch had attacked her, trying to figure out what had made him go back to his old ways. At least Yang could answer some of her questions now, even if the answers themselves weren't pretty. "To put it bluntly, Pitch has something like a...demonic parasite. That's the best way of putting it. We think Disparion planted it when he had Pitch with him during the Apocalypse. It's been controlling him, slowly chipping away at his good side until he finally snapped."
Adeline's eyes widened in horror as her stomach churned. Pitch had been dealing with this ever since he'd gotten back from the Apocalypse? How could he have just suffered in silence like that, slowly losing his grip? How could she not have noticed? Well, technically, she had noticed. But it had been too late by then.
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Post by Zuyuri on Apr 17, 2020 0:45:34 GMT
"Pleasure," Shadow answered to Adeline. Someone came up from behind, and he turned around. The newcomer was Axel, who appeared to be in the loop about whatever it was Yang was investigating. The mission she was going on involved studying whatever happened with Pitch. Axel was here because of some things that happened in the past. In a nutshell, the two of them had discovered from an acquaintance that pitch was dealing with a demon parasite. Shadow cringed. Having been to hell and seeing the gray, red and black slugs crawling on the ground, he couldn't imagine how they acted within anyone. And a demon for that matter. When the time was announced, almost every traceable color on his face drained. "He's been dealing with since the apocalypse? And he didn't go to anyone before? I knew he was stubborn, but..." He exhaled. Keep a professional level. Yang was doing that just as he taught her. Better practiced what he preached. "So the bad news is we're dealing with a dangerous parasite that will suck him dry, and we may or may not be too late. What's the good news?"
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Post by skyeknight on Apr 17, 2020 2:13:47 GMT
"We might be able to get rid of it..."
Axel didn't want to make promises. He knew it would reassure Adeline if he did, but he had to be realistic here. Their chances weren't great. It wasn't as simple as just making an antidote or sending him to the doctor's with some chicken noodle soup and soap operas to keep him company. They had to be prepared for a fight on their hands.
"Cruella wants it if we can get it out of him."
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Apr 17, 2020 22:34:13 GMT
Shadow pretty much voiced what Adeline was thinking. When Axel spoke, her head swiveled towards him. Surely there had to be some good news, right? This couldn't be a lost cause. There had to be some way to save Pitch. But Axel pretty much said that even if they did get this parasite out of Pitch, Cruella wanted it. "Oh God," she said, her mind instantly conjuring horrible possibilities of what could happen if she got her hands on that. "You didn't promise her she could have it, right?" She looked at Yang, and she was horrified to see her friend not instantly deny it.
"Yang?"
"Look, it wasn't exactly a promise," Yang said, not liking the judgmental look Adeline was giving her. "Getting this parasite out of Pitch in the first place is going to be difficult. She's being patient, for now." She sighed. "It was what she wanted for the info she gave us. She said this parasite is feeding on...something, something in Pitch. We get that in...abundance, and this parasite will leave Pitch and go for us. That's when we nab it." The only problem was, this parasite could be feeding on any number of things. If it was literally sucking Pitch dry of his humanity or his magic power or his life energy, how could they find a way to bribe the parasite with more?
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Post by Zuyuri on Apr 18, 2020 0:12:17 GMT
"You talked to Cruella D'Enfer?!"
Shadow's red eyes widened in absolute terror and rage. Cruella D'Enfer was perhaps one of the worst people in Bellerouge. The police had been called to her establishment, the Mina, for many reasons. Accusations of murder. Trails of missing people having gone cold in the area. Complaints of a stink coming from the basement. Yet the Others Unit missed her by that much, or so investigating cops said. She was good at covering her tracks, and Shadow was curious why she wasn't behind bars. Yang was lucky to have gotten out of there alive. She was even luckier to have gotten Cruella D'Enfer to cooperate and give information about this mysterious parasite.
"She's not wrong about luring it out. Here's where it gets tricky; Luring it. It's not like we can pull any demon bum off the street and hope for the best."
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Post by skyeknight on Apr 26, 2020 3:36:20 GMT
"Listen, you guys needed information and I used to work for the old hag."
He had been an in for information. All in the sake of helping Adeline. Sure, it was like picking which poison tasted better but they needed this quick and easy. Axel was just willing to get his hands dirty if he had to. Granted, he honestly couldn't care less if Pitch died, but Adeline did. That's why Axel let himself get drawn into this. She needed help and he could give it.
"Then we don't get just any demon bum," Axel said. "I'm a demon. Would it work if I lure it out?"
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Apr 26, 2020 14:37:07 GMT
Shadow, of course, was shocked to hear that they went to Cruella, of all people. Yang did still feel a little guilty about not telling him, or anyone else on the force for that matter. But this parasite was kind of a rare thing, it wasn't widely known. And if there was someone out there who specialized in trading stuff demon-related, then Yang felt like they had to see them, whether they were a criminal under lord or not. But Shadow's solution seemed simple: get another demon to lure this parasite out. Yang wondered how she hadn't thought of that before. But, the catch was that they couldn't just get any Joe-Schmoe demon to do it. "Shadow's right. We'll probably only get one shot at this. If we fail, Pitch won't fall for it a second time."
Adeline's stomach twisted uncomfortably. Who could they ask to be the bait in this operation? Of course, Axel immediately offered himself up, and Adeline paled at the idea. "Axel, no. You've already stuck your neck out once in solving this mystery. I can't ask you to do that again." If this parasite hurt Axel, or worse, got in control of him, Adeline would never be able to forgive herself.
"It might be our only shot though," Yang said gently. She knew Adeline didn't like the idea of putting her friends in danger, but if they wanted to get Pitch back, it was inevitable. The only question was, did Axel have whatever this parasite wanted? Would it go for him? "But there's still a lot if if's. And I don't like that." If they were going to go through with this idea, Yang wanted to be sure that they were positive that whoever they got to use as bait would work.
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Post by Zuyuri on Apr 28, 2020 0:08:27 GMT
Shadow massaged his temples. They were running out of both options and time. The longer they argued about who would be the sacrificial lamb for this parasite, the faster Pitch would be killed. Shadow couldn't offer himself up to it. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't. It wouldn't do anyone good. It would be another apocalypse and this time, there would be no return for him. He shivered, remembering the gray and black world of purgatory. He was silently agreeing with Yang. The number of 'ifs' were outweighing any good news about the event. A part of him wanted to ask how long the parasite had been on Pitch, but deep down, he already knew the answer. Besides, Adeline seemed distressed enough as it was.
"Confronting him as a group might be our best bet. Since we don't know which one of us it would like, why not give him a sampler platter."
He said this with confidence, but deep down, he didn't like it. The others would call him crazy, ask what the hell was wrong with him, but right now, it was their only hope.
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Post by skyeknight on May 5, 2020 4:29:09 GMT
Axel snorted. He didn't like being on the menu, but felt safer offering himself than say letting Adeline run off on her own. Or the little firebird that was Yang. She kept her cool back during their 'talks' with Cruella, but Axel knew another hothead when he met one. So two hotheads, one emotionally distraught witch and a cool cop. It sounded like a set up for a bad joke. At least they weren't in a bar.
"So how do we find Pitch?"
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on May 5, 2020 22:10:20 GMT
The waitress brought out Yang and Adeline's sodas at that point, but one look at everyone's faces told her that now was not the time to give her usual "Welcome to Tony's" spiel. "I'll come back later," she said awkwardly before making a hasty exit.
Adeline pushed her soda away from her. Her stomach was all up in knots at Axel's choice of the words "sampler platter." But she knew him, Yang, and Shadow were trying to think logically here, and it did make sense. Odds were, Pitch was bound to go for one of them.
"If that works, then I can nab this damn parasite before it gets into any of you," Yang said. "Since I won't be part of the 'sampler platter.'" Being the only non-demon member of this little party, she could catch this thing before it did any damage without it trying to feed on her. She noticed the look on Adeline's face though, and wondered if maybe this was starting to be too much for her. She was in love with Pitch, and that would make this all the more difficult. "Adeline, maybe we can have you on the back-burner," she suggested. "Let Shadow and Axel do the heavy lifting."
"No." Despite everything Adeline was feeling, she objected to that instantly. "I can't just sit by and do nothing, not after everything Pitch and I have been through."
Yang sighed. She figured Adeline would say as much. And honestly, she couldn't blame her. If something like this happened to Adrien and Yang had a chance of helping him by putting herself onto the chopping block, she'd do it in a heartbeat. Of course, even if the plan was air tight, none of it mattered if they couldn't find Pitch, which Axel wisely brought up. And honestly, that was another problem. "Not sure," she replied. "Ever since he ran off, he's only been spotted here and there. Odds are though, he's sticking with the Garcon Perdu area. He knows it well."
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Post by skyeknight on May 14, 2020 3:44:25 GMT
"What type of demon is Pitch? It'll help to know if we're trying to lure him out. When I'm... feral. I've always been drawn to flames." Axel explained.
He hated admitting that sort of thing, but he felt like he had no choice but to explain that. Besides, no two demons were the same. There were different breeds of demons just as there were different humans. They had to be careful about how they were luring out Pitch. He was a dangerous demon. Granted they all were, but Pitch had a reputation before he became a cop. A history.
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Post by Zuyuri on May 14, 2020 5:46:40 GMT
Shadow clenched his fist in frustration. His fist's movement made the ice in his side clink slightly and some condensation began dropping onto the napkin. "He specializes in memories. The good news was they had some ideal locations. Garcon Perdu was a tangle of back alleys and seedy criminal hangouts, but it was the perfect place for a demon parasite to want the host to go. This was also the demon that took his memories. Confronting him was like settling an old score. He tried to so hard to do the method of 'forgive and forget'. Yet this demon parasite was confirming what he already knew from the get go. Adeline was adamant she stay with them. Axel asked what kind of Demon that Pitch was. Shadow had the answer.
"He plays with people's heads. Exploits people's worst fears, twists them into nightmares. Or, if he wanted to, make those nightmares go away." He tapped the side of his temple. "He did it to me ten years ago, after I started the whole 'red sky thing."
Truth be told, Shadow wasn't sure what demon Pitch was. He just knew the shapeshifting and the mind manipulation. Even his time in purgatory didn't exactly help. Then again, his focus was not getting to know the locals.
"As for the sample platter, both of having volatile powers may make this ambush tricky. We have to consider collateral damage. Yes, we may kill the parasite, but I don't feel like cleaning up fried demon should we accidentally get Pitch, or even some innocent bystanders." He looked at Adeline. 'This thing might go for me and Axel since we're a bit more...er...delectable in terms of demon blood. Are you sure you won't be in the line of literal fire?"
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