Neo Chronicles
Episode 7: Return of the King
Table of Contents
((Man, Nexus. Remember when we first wrote up this episode. Yeah, so many things that didn't make sense, amateur stuff fo' real. Think we got any better at this story tellin' thing? I'd hope so. I'd like to think so. At the very least, I like the direction of this better than the last one. Me too man. Think anyone's still readin'? Absolutely not. That's what I thought too. Ah well. It's all good. Opening Theme))
Police sirens are a common occurrence in Next City. Like all cities, it has its own healthy dosage of crime in its pockets. They come in all shapes and in all sizes. The poor districts have their gangs, the rich districts have their burglaries. Everywhere else has everything else. As a whole, the city may not be that exciting. Despite it being known for riding on the forefront of technological innovation, it's just like any other city in the southern parts of the United States. No one would have thought that today—a day like any other day—the dawn of something so fantastic, of something so farfetched would happen here.
“I'm sorry, but the fate of the world is at stake.”
Those are the officer's words. However this day turns out, those will be the words he will return to when asked. It is because of those words—because of the idea those words represent that give him reason to turn a five minute drive to the police station into a one way high speed chase across town.
Now, he's here, where he believes he needs to be. The cruiser is parked out in front. He can hear the kids banging on the doors, trying desperately to get out, trying desperately to gain some sense of semblance on the situation. He pities them because there is no hope. Not unless he does something about this. Not unless he does something to save the world.
But he can't leave them there locked in a cage. They're outside the city. The only things passing through here are the cars flying miles overhead. They have to find safety. If he should fail in his endeavor, the least he could do is give them the opportunity to spend their last days with their family and loved ones. However, if he should fail in his endeavor, all of that won't matter anyway, and yet he still opens the door. He still lets them go.
He can almost feel the freedom that they feel, to see daylight without it being hampered by a plexiglass window, to see the distant sun being blocked only by a partially cloudy sky. How great and wonderful their reaction will be! He has set them free, if only for a moment.
None of the kids are too thrilled with their recent expedition. Chris is the first one out, leaping forward, expressing his unbridled ire. Even restrained, even with his speed nullified, he's still good enough to tackle the officer to the ground, and from there he just wails on him in whatever way he can. In many ways, this is payback—payback for interrupting the fun he was having before, payback for that crazy joyride, but most importantly, it's payback for the severe thrashing he received. Jamal is quick to jump in on the action, too. From kicking and stomping to ramming their cuffed hands against their downed foe to even headbutting, they don't stop. They don't even care to stop.
Noah finds it best to use the madness as a means to an end. The only active officer is currently getting his head battered in, but what about the other one? Knocked out cold. Their arm cuffs are locked by a password. Neither he, nor Lynn can even begin to think of the what it is, but there is another way out. That way involves a key, and that key is currently in the hands of the motionless officer in the passenger's seat.
It doesn't take much to acquire said key, and with a little assistance from each other, both Noah and Lynn free themselves. No more power inhibitors, no more uncomfortable cuffs around their arms, and if they play their cards right, no jail time at all. They just might be able to get through the day in one piece.
Jamal and Chris continue hammering on the other officer, so caught up in the warriors' madness that they fail to realize the futility of their blows. Most of their hits aren't doing much in the way of actually damaging the guy. He is, after all, still encased in his powered exoskeleton suit. It alone is forged to withstand the force of a ten story building crumbling on it and keep its wearer in tact. The only thing the boy's outrage has succeeded in is given the officer a bloody nose, which is only due to the absence of his helmet.
And maybe they know that. Maybe, that's exactly why they're hitting him so hard. Maybe just knowing that they're not actually hurting the person gives them free reign to hit as hard as they can for as long as they can. Maybe they just need something to unleash their pent up aggression on. Maybe they're just angry.
But how could they be so angry with him? Is he not trying to save their lives? Is he not trying to save the lives of all creatures on this planet? What's wrong with them? What's wrong with this picture? Can't they see it? Can't they sense the true, clear and present threat? Surely they are confused. Surely they are afraid. Surely they are....
“Enough!”
The officer has finally taken all that he can bear. With a forceful concussive blast of what's assumed to be telekinetic energy, the officer pushes off his aggressors.
“Look, I know you're confused, but you have to stop and listen to me!” the officer exclaims. Whatever the he is doing, he's causing the wind to kick up quite a bit around him.
Having unfastened both his and Lynn's arm cuffs, Noah tosses the keys to Jamal for him to do the same, and he passes them to Chris when he's done.
“There is a great and powerful dark force about to be unleashed on the world, and if it goes unchecked for a second, the world—that's right, the whole damn world is going to go on a one way trip to Hell. So get your things, and head home now, and let me take care of this.”
A lot of blank stares and strange looks are exchanged between the kids. Then all eyes fall back on the man. Silence is, in itself, a very awkward social interaction. How does one even respond to something like that? Laughter, confusion, rage, sympathy?
Noah can't contain himself. After everything that's happened to him today, this takes the cake. No, this is the icing on that cake. It's too rich for words, too looney for toons. This guy must have really knocked something loose up in the attic, and all Noah can do about it is laugh in his face about it.
Jamal just doesn't know what to think. He's just left out in the blue about it all. He can't tell if the guy is joking or if he is seriously, clinically insane. He wants to understand—he really does—if not for any other reason than to figure out what he should do.
Chris, on the other hand, knows exactly what to do, and that's lash out. “WHAT THE CRUD ARE YOU TALKIN' ABOUT!? Dude, where in the world is your head right now? Is this seriously, the typa guy they let in on the police force? I ain't never had no love for you guys b'fore, but now—now after gettin' beat up, pent up, tossed up all around...!”
But Lynn just can't help but feel sorry for the guy. He's lost. That's not fire she sees in his eyes; it's muddiness, it's disarray. How can she fault him for his actions. The man needs help on a serious level and fast.
“I understand that you all are confused. The man you see before you is dead. I would have liked to have found an empty vessel, but this was the only one I could get to in time. My name is Jabari, and I am the spirit of a shaman that has long since passed. Once again, I'm here to stop the coming of a great evil. The barrier between the living world and the spirit world has become severely weakened, and if I don't get to it in time, something terrible is going to break through. Now please, step aside.”
The officer walks his way over to the entrance of the warehouse. The sound of his armored feet clacking against the gravel pavement of the lot. The kids, taken aback by his conduct allow him passage. All save for one that is.
“I'm sorry, 'Jabari,' but it don't go just like that,” Chris says as he places his hand on Jabari's shoulder.
“Okay, let me rephrase that. You'd best step aside before I leave you incapacitated.”
“Inca-what? My dawg, you crazy. Out of yo' mind. I don't mean t'break it to you like this, but you need t'be fired from the police an' put in a mental—”
Jabari now sees these children not as innocents caught between the line of fire, but as hindrances to his divinely appointed mission, hindrances that need to be dealt with swiftly. He wishes there were another way, but knows in his heart of hearts that there isn't. This is too big to be thwarted by the likes of those who do not comprehend the magnitude of the situation. He mentally calls upon the divine forces of the spirit realm to disable these youths, but before anything is set forth, he finds himself pinned against the door to the warehouse with Chris pulling at his collar.
“Oh, don't think that TK crud's gonna work again. Now that I got my speed back, you can't touch me, so don't even try,” Chris states. He shoves the man's back against the door, as baleful and menacing as a stirred bee's hive. His brown eyes fiercely laid upon the threat.
The officer slaps the boys hands away. He's made a mistake and he now knows it. He shouldn't have involved these kids in his affairs to begin with. The gravity of the situation is too much for them to bear, much less comprehend. The blue haired one is ready for a fight. The others look ready to back him up if he does. Something has to be done, and it has to be done now.
Once again, Jabari calls upon the divine forces of the spirit realm to do his bidding. He can see that Chris is quick to react, but this time he's not quick enough. With a thought, the boy is flung back by what he perceives as an invisible brick wall. It feels like he got hit by a car moving at sixty miles per hour. Yes it hurt, yes he's mad, and to Jabari's surprise, he's back up and ready for more.
This is the conflict Jabari wished to avoid. All four of the children seek to wage war against him. They come at him hard and heavy, all attacking as one. Chris throws a speedy jab. The officer instinctively raises his arm in defense. A fury of icy winds blasts towards his side in the next instant, and he responds by pulling Chris in and throwing him at the source. The officer doesn't have the luxury of being pleased with the result, for as soon as Chris crashes into Noah, a stream of fire hurls its way towards him. He raises a mystical barrier as the flames shoot forth from Jamal's outstretched hands.
The fire doesn't cease. Jamal refuses to let up in his assault, after all the wrong he's been through today, the only thing left on his plate is anger, and with that anger, his flames grow hotter and burn brighter. He's so caught up in the heat of the moment, he fails to spot the bolt of energy the officer hurls at him, that is until it hits him square in the front of his head. The force of the blast—like a freight train—knocks him right off his feet.
Jabari turns to once again try and speak his peace to the boys, but he is instantly greeted by the wild and raging punches of Chris yet again. The boy comes in like a tornado, and at that exact same moment, he can feel a cold and powerful force of wind rise against him, and soon after a surge of boiling heat fill the area. He doesn't need a quick glance to his left and his right to confirm that both Noah and Jamal have recovered as well.
Chris's speed is so great that Jabari hasn't the reflexes to adequately block against the numerous hits. With each step he takes back, that's two steps—two jabs—two cross punches forward Chris makes in his advance. The boy definitely packs a wallop, too. The officer can feel each sharp impact through his armor. In fact, if it wasn't for the armor he's wearing, his bones might very well be broken.
Yes, if not for the armor he's wearing, the spirit's vessel might have given out to Chris's speedy strikes or Noah's shards and blocks and other constructs of ice ramming against him or Jamal's raging tempest of fire or Lynn's—oh, well at least one person is smart enough to not engage in this senseless battle.
Lynn has learned her lesson. It was senseless violence that got them into this fiasco to begin with. No one knows what anyone's doing or why they're doing it to begin with. They're just hitting something because something is there to be hit. She's known Chris for quite some time, and she knows this is exactly how his mind operates. It's how he operates. He needs no rhyme or reason. Just as long as there's something there to hit when he's sad, to hit when he's mad, to hit when he's happy, he'll do it. He'll fight, and he'll inspire others to fight with him, just as is doing now.
This has gone too far.
This has gone too far.
“Chris!” she cries out. There's been too much drama this day. Lynn'll be the first to admit that it started out fun, but that ship has long since sailed. Now, she's just sick of it. It's lost its edge to her. It's become boring. “Chris, come on, that's enough! Let's go!” Her call yields no response from any of them. Her cheeks flush to a violent red as her brows furrow from the frustration of being ignored. “Nexus!” she yelps as she witnesses the three boys once again being toppled over by whatever unforeseeable occult construct Jabari conjures into existence.
And like a child who's heard the call of his mother, Chris snaps towards the sound, right as he is forced to the ground. And as he stares upward at the source, he knows that it's time to go. Based on how the others look, that's something they can all agree on. They're all pretty battered up. Jamal barely standing himself. Noah covered in cuts and scratches. Aches and sores all around and abound, but through it all a smile escapes Chris's lips.
“What's so funny?” Jamal asks as he helps Chris to his feet.
“Nothin' man. That was just fun,” Chris replies.
“Fun? That was fun to you?” Noah asks.
“You imbecilic, self righteous!” Jabari exclaims. “Thanks to you, this whole world is doomed!” He had tried to warn them. He tried to put them down. He tried to get them out of the way, but all it served to do was prevent him from accomplishing his mission. His senses are attacked on every level. He sees, hears, smells, and feels the outcries of beasts far too evil and corrupt to exist on this earth. He turns to stare at the forefront of the warehouse, his stomach reeling at the inevitable darkness that shall soon be set forth from beyond the door.
The sky above slowly darkens as blacker and blacker clouds block out its light, and within a matter of moments, it's as if night has taken over day. Spawning from nowhere a mighty gust of the harshest of gales rushes through. The children have no clue as to what's going on. To them, this is no more than a hiccup in the weather that shall soon pass. Jabari both pities and longs for their blissful ignorance.
The ground suddenly quakes as the front doors to the warehouse fling themselves wide open and from it a vortex of swirling dark energies of red, violet, and black, crackling like lightning. The piercing shrieks and moans of whatever man, beast, woman, or child on the other side of the doors causes the all the children to shudder, if only for a brief moment. To them this is even worse than the USW's they suffered through earlier, a thousand times worse. They can't even bear to stand. The sound is so great. All four of them lie sprawled out about the ground, gripping their heads in agony. Even the mighty Jabari is forced to take a knee. Birds in mid flight fall to their demise. The entire structure of the warehouse crumbles over itself. Only the open doors remain erect.
And finally, after all madness has been wrought, after all forms of sanity have been shattered like broken glass, finally some semblance of peace is given as a figure steps through. Lynn, being the only one well enough to see straight is the first to distinguish from the rest of the chaos. It is a man, a tall man, dark in complexion and rugged in appearance. He is covered in armor as dark as the night that surrounds them from the neck down. It's archaic, much more archaic than the police armor Jabari is found wearing.
Upon regaining his senses, Jabari, being the closest to the figure, instantly recognizes the creature for what it truly is. He sees what no one else can even make out. His senses perceive the true monster's form, and it terrifies him. With gritted teeth and a furrowed brow, he fights against the wave of pressure still emanating from the opened doors and rises to his feet.
The man that just walked through is no man at all. He's not human. He's not one of the so called Anthro's that walk among the earth. He's not even mortal. This man—this creature—is a devil, tried and true.
“Asmodeus,” the possessed officer utters under his breath. He could kill himself at the failed prospect of preventing this. He has no one to blame but himself. He should have been more forceful, more precise. He let himself get too worked up. He only prays that he is capable of somehow sending the devil back into the pit before all of reality comes crashing down on him.
“Jabari,” the devil responds. “You're looking well.”'
((Yeah, like I said, I'm lovin' this direction we're goin' with the story. Cool, cool. Ending Theme Song.))
Episode 7: Return of the King
Table of Contents
((Man, Nexus. Remember when we first wrote up this episode. Yeah, so many things that didn't make sense, amateur stuff fo' real. Think we got any better at this story tellin' thing? I'd hope so. I'd like to think so. At the very least, I like the direction of this better than the last one. Me too man. Think anyone's still readin'? Absolutely not. That's what I thought too. Ah well. It's all good. Opening Theme))
Police sirens are a common occurrence in Next City. Like all cities, it has its own healthy dosage of crime in its pockets. They come in all shapes and in all sizes. The poor districts have their gangs, the rich districts have their burglaries. Everywhere else has everything else. As a whole, the city may not be that exciting. Despite it being known for riding on the forefront of technological innovation, it's just like any other city in the southern parts of the United States. No one would have thought that today—a day like any other day—the dawn of something so fantastic, of something so farfetched would happen here.
“I'm sorry, but the fate of the world is at stake.”
Those are the officer's words. However this day turns out, those will be the words he will return to when asked. It is because of those words—because of the idea those words represent that give him reason to turn a five minute drive to the police station into a one way high speed chase across town.
Now, he's here, where he believes he needs to be. The cruiser is parked out in front. He can hear the kids banging on the doors, trying desperately to get out, trying desperately to gain some sense of semblance on the situation. He pities them because there is no hope. Not unless he does something about this. Not unless he does something to save the world.
But he can't leave them there locked in a cage. They're outside the city. The only things passing through here are the cars flying miles overhead. They have to find safety. If he should fail in his endeavor, the least he could do is give them the opportunity to spend their last days with their family and loved ones. However, if he should fail in his endeavor, all of that won't matter anyway, and yet he still opens the door. He still lets them go.
He can almost feel the freedom that they feel, to see daylight without it being hampered by a plexiglass window, to see the distant sun being blocked only by a partially cloudy sky. How great and wonderful their reaction will be! He has set them free, if only for a moment.
None of the kids are too thrilled with their recent expedition. Chris is the first one out, leaping forward, expressing his unbridled ire. Even restrained, even with his speed nullified, he's still good enough to tackle the officer to the ground, and from there he just wails on him in whatever way he can. In many ways, this is payback—payback for interrupting the fun he was having before, payback for that crazy joyride, but most importantly, it's payback for the severe thrashing he received. Jamal is quick to jump in on the action, too. From kicking and stomping to ramming their cuffed hands against their downed foe to even headbutting, they don't stop. They don't even care to stop.
Noah finds it best to use the madness as a means to an end. The only active officer is currently getting his head battered in, but what about the other one? Knocked out cold. Their arm cuffs are locked by a password. Neither he, nor Lynn can even begin to think of the what it is, but there is another way out. That way involves a key, and that key is currently in the hands of the motionless officer in the passenger's seat.
It doesn't take much to acquire said key, and with a little assistance from each other, both Noah and Lynn free themselves. No more power inhibitors, no more uncomfortable cuffs around their arms, and if they play their cards right, no jail time at all. They just might be able to get through the day in one piece.
Jamal and Chris continue hammering on the other officer, so caught up in the warriors' madness that they fail to realize the futility of their blows. Most of their hits aren't doing much in the way of actually damaging the guy. He is, after all, still encased in his powered exoskeleton suit. It alone is forged to withstand the force of a ten story building crumbling on it and keep its wearer in tact. The only thing the boy's outrage has succeeded in is given the officer a bloody nose, which is only due to the absence of his helmet.
And maybe they know that. Maybe, that's exactly why they're hitting him so hard. Maybe just knowing that they're not actually hurting the person gives them free reign to hit as hard as they can for as long as they can. Maybe they just need something to unleash their pent up aggression on. Maybe they're just angry.
But how could they be so angry with him? Is he not trying to save their lives? Is he not trying to save the lives of all creatures on this planet? What's wrong with them? What's wrong with this picture? Can't they see it? Can't they sense the true, clear and present threat? Surely they are confused. Surely they are afraid. Surely they are....
“Enough!”
The officer has finally taken all that he can bear. With a forceful concussive blast of what's assumed to be telekinetic energy, the officer pushes off his aggressors.
“Look, I know you're confused, but you have to stop and listen to me!” the officer exclaims. Whatever the he is doing, he's causing the wind to kick up quite a bit around him.
Having unfastened both his and Lynn's arm cuffs, Noah tosses the keys to Jamal for him to do the same, and he passes them to Chris when he's done.
“There is a great and powerful dark force about to be unleashed on the world, and if it goes unchecked for a second, the world—that's right, the whole damn world is going to go on a one way trip to Hell. So get your things, and head home now, and let me take care of this.”
A lot of blank stares and strange looks are exchanged between the kids. Then all eyes fall back on the man. Silence is, in itself, a very awkward social interaction. How does one even respond to something like that? Laughter, confusion, rage, sympathy?
Noah can't contain himself. After everything that's happened to him today, this takes the cake. No, this is the icing on that cake. It's too rich for words, too looney for toons. This guy must have really knocked something loose up in the attic, and all Noah can do about it is laugh in his face about it.
Jamal just doesn't know what to think. He's just left out in the blue about it all. He can't tell if the guy is joking or if he is seriously, clinically insane. He wants to understand—he really does—if not for any other reason than to figure out what he should do.
Chris, on the other hand, knows exactly what to do, and that's lash out. “WHAT THE CRUD ARE YOU TALKIN' ABOUT!? Dude, where in the world is your head right now? Is this seriously, the typa guy they let in on the police force? I ain't never had no love for you guys b'fore, but now—now after gettin' beat up, pent up, tossed up all around...!”
But Lynn just can't help but feel sorry for the guy. He's lost. That's not fire she sees in his eyes; it's muddiness, it's disarray. How can she fault him for his actions. The man needs help on a serious level and fast.
“I understand that you all are confused. The man you see before you is dead. I would have liked to have found an empty vessel, but this was the only one I could get to in time. My name is Jabari, and I am the spirit of a shaman that has long since passed. Once again, I'm here to stop the coming of a great evil. The barrier between the living world and the spirit world has become severely weakened, and if I don't get to it in time, something terrible is going to break through. Now please, step aside.”
The officer walks his way over to the entrance of the warehouse. The sound of his armored feet clacking against the gravel pavement of the lot. The kids, taken aback by his conduct allow him passage. All save for one that is.
“I'm sorry, 'Jabari,' but it don't go just like that,” Chris says as he places his hand on Jabari's shoulder.
“Okay, let me rephrase that. You'd best step aside before I leave you incapacitated.”
“Inca-what? My dawg, you crazy. Out of yo' mind. I don't mean t'break it to you like this, but you need t'be fired from the police an' put in a mental—”
Jabari now sees these children not as innocents caught between the line of fire, but as hindrances to his divinely appointed mission, hindrances that need to be dealt with swiftly. He wishes there were another way, but knows in his heart of hearts that there isn't. This is too big to be thwarted by the likes of those who do not comprehend the magnitude of the situation. He mentally calls upon the divine forces of the spirit realm to disable these youths, but before anything is set forth, he finds himself pinned against the door to the warehouse with Chris pulling at his collar.
“Oh, don't think that TK crud's gonna work again. Now that I got my speed back, you can't touch me, so don't even try,” Chris states. He shoves the man's back against the door, as baleful and menacing as a stirred bee's hive. His brown eyes fiercely laid upon the threat.
The officer slaps the boys hands away. He's made a mistake and he now knows it. He shouldn't have involved these kids in his affairs to begin with. The gravity of the situation is too much for them to bear, much less comprehend. The blue haired one is ready for a fight. The others look ready to back him up if he does. Something has to be done, and it has to be done now.
Once again, Jabari calls upon the divine forces of the spirit realm to do his bidding. He can see that Chris is quick to react, but this time he's not quick enough. With a thought, the boy is flung back by what he perceives as an invisible brick wall. It feels like he got hit by a car moving at sixty miles per hour. Yes it hurt, yes he's mad, and to Jabari's surprise, he's back up and ready for more.
This is the conflict Jabari wished to avoid. All four of the children seek to wage war against him. They come at him hard and heavy, all attacking as one. Chris throws a speedy jab. The officer instinctively raises his arm in defense. A fury of icy winds blasts towards his side in the next instant, and he responds by pulling Chris in and throwing him at the source. The officer doesn't have the luxury of being pleased with the result, for as soon as Chris crashes into Noah, a stream of fire hurls its way towards him. He raises a mystical barrier as the flames shoot forth from Jamal's outstretched hands.
The fire doesn't cease. Jamal refuses to let up in his assault, after all the wrong he's been through today, the only thing left on his plate is anger, and with that anger, his flames grow hotter and burn brighter. He's so caught up in the heat of the moment, he fails to spot the bolt of energy the officer hurls at him, that is until it hits him square in the front of his head. The force of the blast—like a freight train—knocks him right off his feet.
Jabari turns to once again try and speak his peace to the boys, but he is instantly greeted by the wild and raging punches of Chris yet again. The boy comes in like a tornado, and at that exact same moment, he can feel a cold and powerful force of wind rise against him, and soon after a surge of boiling heat fill the area. He doesn't need a quick glance to his left and his right to confirm that both Noah and Jamal have recovered as well.
Chris's speed is so great that Jabari hasn't the reflexes to adequately block against the numerous hits. With each step he takes back, that's two steps—two jabs—two cross punches forward Chris makes in his advance. The boy definitely packs a wallop, too. The officer can feel each sharp impact through his armor. In fact, if it wasn't for the armor he's wearing, his bones might very well be broken.
Yes, if not for the armor he's wearing, the spirit's vessel might have given out to Chris's speedy strikes or Noah's shards and blocks and other constructs of ice ramming against him or Jamal's raging tempest of fire or Lynn's—oh, well at least one person is smart enough to not engage in this senseless battle.
Lynn has learned her lesson. It was senseless violence that got them into this fiasco to begin with. No one knows what anyone's doing or why they're doing it to begin with. They're just hitting something because something is there to be hit. She's known Chris for quite some time, and she knows this is exactly how his mind operates. It's how he operates. He needs no rhyme or reason. Just as long as there's something there to hit when he's sad, to hit when he's mad, to hit when he's happy, he'll do it. He'll fight, and he'll inspire others to fight with him, just as is doing now.
This has gone too far.
This has gone too far.
“Chris!” she cries out. There's been too much drama this day. Lynn'll be the first to admit that it started out fun, but that ship has long since sailed. Now, she's just sick of it. It's lost its edge to her. It's become boring. “Chris, come on, that's enough! Let's go!” Her call yields no response from any of them. Her cheeks flush to a violent red as her brows furrow from the frustration of being ignored. “Nexus!” she yelps as she witnesses the three boys once again being toppled over by whatever unforeseeable occult construct Jabari conjures into existence.
And like a child who's heard the call of his mother, Chris snaps towards the sound, right as he is forced to the ground. And as he stares upward at the source, he knows that it's time to go. Based on how the others look, that's something they can all agree on. They're all pretty battered up. Jamal barely standing himself. Noah covered in cuts and scratches. Aches and sores all around and abound, but through it all a smile escapes Chris's lips.
“What's so funny?” Jamal asks as he helps Chris to his feet.
“Nothin' man. That was just fun,” Chris replies.
“Fun? That was fun to you?” Noah asks.
“You imbecilic, self righteous!” Jabari exclaims. “Thanks to you, this whole world is doomed!” He had tried to warn them. He tried to put them down. He tried to get them out of the way, but all it served to do was prevent him from accomplishing his mission. His senses are attacked on every level. He sees, hears, smells, and feels the outcries of beasts far too evil and corrupt to exist on this earth. He turns to stare at the forefront of the warehouse, his stomach reeling at the inevitable darkness that shall soon be set forth from beyond the door.
The sky above slowly darkens as blacker and blacker clouds block out its light, and within a matter of moments, it's as if night has taken over day. Spawning from nowhere a mighty gust of the harshest of gales rushes through. The children have no clue as to what's going on. To them, this is no more than a hiccup in the weather that shall soon pass. Jabari both pities and longs for their blissful ignorance.
The ground suddenly quakes as the front doors to the warehouse fling themselves wide open and from it a vortex of swirling dark energies of red, violet, and black, crackling like lightning. The piercing shrieks and moans of whatever man, beast, woman, or child on the other side of the doors causes the all the children to shudder, if only for a brief moment. To them this is even worse than the USW's they suffered through earlier, a thousand times worse. They can't even bear to stand. The sound is so great. All four of them lie sprawled out about the ground, gripping their heads in agony. Even the mighty Jabari is forced to take a knee. Birds in mid flight fall to their demise. The entire structure of the warehouse crumbles over itself. Only the open doors remain erect.
And finally, after all madness has been wrought, after all forms of sanity have been shattered like broken glass, finally some semblance of peace is given as a figure steps through. Lynn, being the only one well enough to see straight is the first to distinguish from the rest of the chaos. It is a man, a tall man, dark in complexion and rugged in appearance. He is covered in armor as dark as the night that surrounds them from the neck down. It's archaic, much more archaic than the police armor Jabari is found wearing.
Upon regaining his senses, Jabari, being the closest to the figure, instantly recognizes the creature for what it truly is. He sees what no one else can even make out. His senses perceive the true monster's form, and it terrifies him. With gritted teeth and a furrowed brow, he fights against the wave of pressure still emanating from the opened doors and rises to his feet.
The man that just walked through is no man at all. He's not human. He's not one of the so called Anthro's that walk among the earth. He's not even mortal. This man—this creature—is a devil, tried and true.
“Asmodeus,” the possessed officer utters under his breath. He could kill himself at the failed prospect of preventing this. He has no one to blame but himself. He should have been more forceful, more precise. He let himself get too worked up. He only prays that he is capable of somehow sending the devil back into the pit before all of reality comes crashing down on him.
“Jabari,” the devil responds. “You're looking well.”'
((Yeah, like I said, I'm lovin' this direction we're goin' with the story. Cool, cool. Ending Theme Song.))
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