A slow recovery

Ashlynn stood in the council room. To them the door and been forced open by some unseen force. But to her she knew what she had done. Black tattoos spiraled slowly across her in a series of complex spirals. She had been training for this morning, today was the day the council fell. One of the council members stood up from their chair. Ashlynn didn't give him time to let the old geezer speak. She waved her hand and the metal embroideries on his chair jumped to life and wrapped around his body, tightening by the second. At this point all the council members got out of their chairs, only to have the same happen to them. However most of them just turned into a black mist and escape the trap with ease. The fight played in her favor for a while, two of the council members where down but the other five protected them from Ashlynn, she couldn't get a final hit on them. But then the battle turned once the council became full Titans. Ashlynn got knocked around and as soon as she could made a break for it. Four of the member chased after her while the last one stayed to take care of the wounded members. Her escape was a blur. Ashlynn got close to her destination, the portal to the human world. The one place she could hide now. But right before she could made it was was struck down.

Ashlynn bolted up out of her bed only to double over in pain, her arm lying across her bandaged stomach. Sweat covered her body and she was breathing heavily. Just a dream... mumbled Ashlynn to herself, sweat dripping off the tip of her nose. It had been 3 months since her escape and she still wasn't fully healed. She forced herself painfully out of bed and she slowly walked to the nearby open window. She was dressed in nothing but a large white t-shirt which now stuck to the sweat of her body. She looked out the open window, it was early in the morning and already the sounds of the city made it through her window. Ashlynn took a deep breath in and when she let it out a thin cloud of black smoke exited her mouth. It had been 5 days since she feasted on Nether and her body was craving it badly. She never had to consume nether much but this was a new record. She walked back into her apartment and shed her t-shirt and stepped in the shower. After letting the cool water pour over her she finished up her shower and got dressed for the day.

Ashlynn was now walking the busy streets of Paris, her clothing covered up most of her body. She was wearing a tight pair of blue jean and a lose top which cut off right above her chest and was held up by two shoulder straps. Her wounds where hidden under her clothes, anyone know didn't know about them would never know they where there. Ashlynn sat down at a cafe, ordered a coffee and pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her purse. After getting her coffee she put cream and sugar in it and took one of the cigarettes out and placed it in her mouth. She produced a lighter and lit the cigarette, breathing in deeply. She hated the taste of these things but they cut her need for nether, even if only for a bit, it would have to be enough to trick her appetite for the black mist.

Sleeping was a luxury that he could most certainly could get his heart into. Granted, an Ethereal such as himself required none...but eight hours of sleep was eight hours he didn't need to put up the stupidity of the human race. It was also eight hours that the Human race didn't need to deal with the scheming antics of the Ethereal "King". Win-win situation as far as he was concerned. Though as he lay his head on his luxury suite mattress and pillows, he couldn't help but ponder one thing.

Who is the new Ethereal King I wonder. No It cannot be Silus, far too young and as far as I am concerned he would be a terrible leader. I can only imagine him taking a rather Marie Antoinette stance upon ruling. The primary thing being I can imagine him saying "Let them eat cake!" and then suddenly it was a mandated law that they ate cake for a meal a day. Michael would probably just jump for joy at the chance to inherit my throne...Shael is...'detained' so to speak...but I will surely need to address him at some point. Hiding his 'return' was certainly not very nice of him. The only other plausible option would be either Jordan....or Xarlessa. He mused as he twisted in his bed, he could feel the muscles in his back release and the blood flow going through them. With a sigh he had laid his demones to rest over this matter. It mattered not who became the Ethereal King or Queen at this rate. They would need to give it up...because he's back.

His sleep was plagued with nothing but the horrific visions of the Etherium, his punishment for his suicidal self-sacrifice to save the Hale matriarch and her wretched kin. The pain, the despair...Hell itself held no flame in comparison to the darkness everlasting. Unfortunately the Ethereal's who died through suicide or those who were slayers of their own kin were 'deposited' in this dark realm. Though his sacrifice ensured the survival of others...it was still suicide. He was obviously given the wrong end of the bargain on that one. It mattered not a grain of sand any longer though. He defied death and that was the end of that. He stirred and looked to the clock, finding that it was only six in the morning. His mind began to drift back to his family, and he wondered what had happened in his absence. He simply shrugged it off and sat up, deciding that sleeping was pointless at this point.

"Sorry Humanity, the Devil is afoot." He said with a sigh as he looked around the room. It had such an exquisite view of the Eiffel tower, which had a pale golde glow upon it from the lights at it's base. He dressed himself up for success, a buttoned suit and a nice blaiser before going to the mirror. Looking at his new black hair, he groaned slightly as he got it's natural swipe-up look. Not only did Ouroboros need to deal with his black hair, but the facial hair that he was now growing. This new body was turning out to be a big pain in the rear.

Stepping down onto the streets he took his cane and patrolled the area, hoping and praying for something to happen that would require, or at least deserve his attentions. With a slight "wooshing" of the wind, he could feel the traces of nether energy tickling his stomach, bringing a smile to his lips, though only because of the company it normally brought with it. His smile immediately faded when he remembered that the energy no longer responded to Sean, and now he could only assume one thing. They were here to destroy their fallen king. It would stand to reason as well. For all anyone in the world knew, Ouroboros had fallen and now Sean was left virtually defenseless, save for perhaps Elena Marie's extended protection in her little 'floating fortress' of supreme all-knowing bitchiness. Ouroboros smiled as he recalled the ring he gave to Silus before he was teleported to said castle. If he hadn't transferred a small portion of his consciousness to the ring before giving it to Silus...he'd never known where the castle was. But of course, Marie found his Isle...with the thanks of the Ethereal brat-prince. She saw his, so he saw hers. The difference being? Marie still wasn't certain of his resurrection...and Marie most likely did not know that Ouroboros knew of her location. Though...he had underestimate her before. He would need to proceed with the utmost of caution in all that he did.

If there was a Titan in Paris, he would most certainly need to find him...or her. The females of the race were the more powerful, if he remembered correctly. He immediately head for the source of the energy, casually but not exactly so slow that he thought it would escape. It was daylight when he finally reached the place he believed to be the source of the energy. It was a small café with a girl standing about it. Of course this young woman would just be seething the sense of Nether form the very fabric of her being. Another female Titan...how extraordinary. He walked up tot the woman and smiled.

"Bonjour, mes chères. Puis-je avoir une cigarette?" He asked as he pulled out a few Euro's. In case the woman didn't speak French he spoke again in English. "Any chance I could buy one of those off you. I don't have my I.D and they aren't selling me any." He said. This was a great way to see just how hostile and primitive this particular Titan was.

Ashlynn had grabbed her coffee, which ended up being a caramel mocha and sat down on one of the outside seats. She removed the cigarette from her mouth and took a deep sip of her coffee. She preferred this taste to the cigarette and though the two mixed together didn't taste that great the caramel was enough to over power the cigarette taste from her mouth momentarily. But once the coffee cup left her lips she replaced it with the cigarette, which only was being to lose it's effect on curbing her hunger. She wondered in the back of her mind how other 'normal' Titan could ever live in this world for long, the amount of nether here was nearly non-existent in normal areas. Ashlynn sighed as she took another deep breath of the cigarette smoke, letting it out slowly. Her dream had seemingly put her in a bad mood and she had scowl on her face. She took another sip of coffee, thinking about where she could go to sate her hunger when a man approached her.

Ashlynn looked slightly annoyed with this man as he walked up to her. She looked over this man who approached her. He seemed well dressed but something about him just seemed to annoy her slightly, but that could also be her mood or general dislike of people. "Je peux parler Français, imbécile." The sentence translated to: "I can speak French, idiot." Ashlynn rolled her eyes and pulled out her pack of cigarettes and handed the man a cigarette. Ashlynn took another puff of her cigarette, directing the smoke into the man's face. "Is there anything else you want or do you just feel the need to waste my time. I have more important things to worry about then you." said Ashlynn taking a sip of her coffee.

"Well thank you Ma'am." Ouroboros said as he placed the cigarette into his mouth. He didn't even light it up yet, he was still waiting for an opportune moment. What a horrid habbit his resurrection had given him. Smoking, of all things. How awesome. Resurrect to get lung cancer and die again, sounds absolutely fabulous. Ouroboros had ignored the rude female being, taking a moment to smile. His eyes changed ever so subtlety form pupils to Oruoboros' before swirling back into pupils, just long enough for Ouroboros himself to view the energy emitted by this woman. She was of no doubt, an entity of the Abyss. Ouroboros was immediately repulsed, wondering if that meant she was going to have the same reaction to Ethereal energy as all the other Titan's did. The last thing he needed was another Titan becoming addicted to Ethereal energy.

"For a Titan you seem rather bitchy." Ouroboros said very flatly after she scoffed at him for wasting her time. He was sure to pronounce the word as it should be... "Ti'taens" rather. That was sure to grab her attention, and he looked at her, his Ethereal eyes flashing slightly, warning her to not run unless she wanted something very terrible to happen. He sat himself down across from her and with perfect posture he sat back and smirked. Superhuman sensory kicking in, he smelled it, the distinct smell of blood...or a variant there of. It was almost masked completely behind the smoke that the young Titan woman puffed out, but Ouro made due.

"Run and I'll destroy you as easily as I could destroy your pathetic Council." He was quite passive-aggressive about his statement, almost spewing the word council. "Sheiara has some nerve sending a wounded Titan into My domain." Ouroboros said a bit of venom as he still spoke the race's name with perfect pronunciation. He watched her, observing her, taking in every single detail, from hair color to piercings to the twitches or slightest of movements, nothing would escape his observation. His eyes narrowed, but he smiled slightly warm as he looked at the girl, waiting for her answer.

That man still stood there and Ashlynn just took to ignoring him. Although there was a strange draw to him. It caused her hunger to stir in her and something else, what she wasn't sure. She took another puff from her cigarette to sate the feeling the best she could. And then Ashlynn's body froze and tightened so fast that it upset her wound. She doubled over in pain, grasping her side, her cigarette falling to the ground. Her eyes shakily looked up at the man.

"Who are you and how do you know what I am." said Ashlynn through gritted teeth. She forced herself to sit back up, trying to hide the pain from her wound. "I didn't get sent anywhere, I ran here. The council is my goal, kill them and I kill you. They are my revenge." Ashlynn entered a slightly coughing fit from the earlier wounds. At least it wasn't as bad as it was before where she would b e coughing up blood. "Who are you."

"Well now if I told you that then I'd be cheating." Ouroboros said as he chuckled. The cigarette rolled a little to the corner of his mouth, his eyes narrowed as he watched the Titan in her reactions to the wound. He took a slight sadistic pleasure in watching the inferior rabble struggle.
"Dear....I'll give you credit for Audacity, and I'll give you the credit for setting high goals, but we aren't even in the same league. It appears as though you're not a very strong Titan. When one is not strong it is ill advised to simply strike an entire GROUP of beings that outmatch you in every way....and if you can't take the group of them...then I would wager a snowball has a better chance in Hell than you do." He said, a waitress dropping off a cup of tea. Ouroboros thanked her as she returned to the interior.

"Robert Soros at your service. So tell me my...wounded...silly, silly little Titan. What drives you to such lengths as revenge?" He asked

Ashlynn was grinding her teeth. This man, who was apparently named Robert Soros, was getting on her nerves. He was just like the council and every other Titan that existing in a class higher then her. Her hands tightened in to fists and it took a lot of willpower to force them otherwise. As much as she now wanted to hurt this guy she had a knot in her stomach. She had no idea what was causing her to feel so nervous but she was getting a feeling that this guy was stronger then the entire council, which she barely escaped with to begin with. Although that was because of numbers and this man was just that, one man. Her anger boiled up inside of her. Who was this man to tell her what she could and could not do.

"Just because I have a weak connection to nether doesn't mean I am weak." said Ashlynn through gritted teeth. "I was able to handle two of the council members so don't count me out." Ashlynn left out the fact that the other 5 kept her from finishing off those two but he didn't need to know that. "And I want my revenge for the very reason for are treating me. You are considering me weak, casting me down to a lower class. But you are wrong, I am not weak and I show them all when the council's blood is decorating the ground." Ashlynn slammed her fist on the table. Metal objects on the table seemed to lag in the air for a few moments before fall back down to the ground.

A lot had happened within a matter of days, things that Michael would have never expected to happen but they did. The situation within The Isles was compromised, and being the exile that he was, and his father’s death being as close as it was, he would give his ascension to the throne some time. For now Michael would simply allow his powers to increase, and with them his chances of succeeding. Taking over The Abyss was easy enough, considering the state that the council was in when he waltzed in, most weakened by some kind of attack and unable to stop Michael from defeating them and taking his place as Abyssal One. None had the right to refuse, as he was beyond pathetic Titan, he was an ethereal wielding the power of ultima and that more than gave him the right to supplant this pathetic race.

However, after his rule was finalized, Michael found that the Titans were still reeling from one of their weaker rebelling and if he were to hunt this one down, he could make ruling them easier, or at least by the council. They wanted this rogue dead and Michael would gladly kill the bitch in question. However his younglings had different ideas upon that matter, one clinging to each leg before he could really even get anywhere. ”Do you have to dad?” Fera whined looking upto him with large silver orbs that basically gleamed, Shael taking hint and beginning his own guilt trip.

”Yeah dad, you promised you would play with us today.” Michael had forgotten how young they were, even with their appearance. That and they were his children, so the two had a way with people, especially him. Michael found himself smiling despite himself, ruffling the twins hair slightly, though that did not remove them from his legs any easier.

”No need to gang up on me you two, that’s just not fair.” He said with a slight chuckle, ducking down and wrapping both in a tight hug. ”Once I finish this small thing, I’ll be right back and we can do whatever you want, you’ll have me for three days. How does that sound?” The two thought over this carefully before nodding. ”Good.” He said kissing them both on the fore head, and standing to his feet once again.

”Kill em good dad.”

”Will do.” He said with a wink before walking through the tear within the air. Next thing he knew, he was in paris and his clothing began to shift, from the garb the Titan’s made him wear into more civilian clothing. Khaki colored cargo shorts and a simple polo shirt, a style he found that was both low maintenance and much to his liking. As much as he was inclined to try the biker style, it was just not his style really. Michael took a deep breath, feeling the small amount of lingering nether within the air begin to fade away as it blew within the wind. He could feel it, the small amount of nether that was to be the weak Titans, the one that controlled metal. An interesting ability, and part of Michael wondered why the race itself was as blind  to her potential, but then again that was perhaps just hubris.

He would have fun killing this woman, if only to prove that he was powerful enough to perhaps kill the entire council of fools. Stepping into the café where he felt the energy coming from, Michael took a deep breath and let his dark ethereal permeate the air, letting her know that he had arrived.

"I am calling you weak, but not because of your weak ties to the nether. I'm calling you weak because you are foolish, you lack discipline. You lack discipline because you are driven by hate. You are an open book my dear." He chuckled as he watched the metallic objects around him lagged in air, just to hit the ground. Ouroboros smiled, as he looked to the items. This was either telekinesis, or a ferrokinesis... He was going to assume the latter.

"Believe it or not, I know how it feels. To be laughed upon because a council of fools believes you weak. I know what it means...for a power...such as OURS....to go underestimated." Ouroboros said. He snapped his fingers, and instantly the metallic objects immediately shot into the air at attention and began twisting around. To the Titan woman, it would appear that she and he had the same power, the metals began to pick up in velocity, reaching immense speeds before he snapped his fingers again, and shot them off into the pond. "I WILL count you out. You could only fight two councilors, what of the Titan king? Was he one of them? No? Well then, I think It's safe to say the other members of the council would have been more than prepared for you. I will count you out, because while you very well be "powerful" you are not powerful enough. The only way for one to get power, is to learn from someone who has it...and know how to use it." He said. Finally he ran his hand over his stubbled beard and mustache. His black hair and green eyes focused on the Titan woman as he leaned from his post and perfect posture onto the elbows leaning in to whispering distance.

"I have no love for the Titan council. And honestly, I'd end their pathetic lives myself....but you've...inspired me I suppose." Ouroboros said as he chuckled. So this woman was not sent by the Titans for Sean. While he was inspired to make a statement to the Titan race, he would MUCH rather continue on with his low profile. The last thing he wanted was to make a grand entrance so Marie, Sean and the Hales knew of his resurrection. But maybe he could use this..."woman" as his agent. Maybe he could use her to be rid of the foolish Council of Death-drinkers who would otherwise...strike out against someone who had become rather dear to the fallen Ethereal King. He bit his lower lip with a smirk and then sighed. "You want power? You want to kill the Council. Fine. Let me help you." He said. The second the words left his mouth he felt a whisper of Dark Ethereal in the air.

Ouroboros smiled as he felt the dark energy tickle the hair on his neck. It seems as though there was a certain brat-prince running about. Something that partially excited him. In his new form he showed no signs of energy emission and was virtually masked form any detection...so long as he could avoid needing to fight Michael too roughly. There was nothing less than total suspicion, but Ouroboros was confident in his schemes, and his ruse was virtually infallible. He looked to the Titan woman, hoping for a response to his offer.

Ashlynn watched as the silverware flew in the air and shot off. He was ferrokinetic to? She sat there listen to what he said, the more she heard the more she began to like this man. However she couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this Robert Soros. But if he could help her get her revenge, what did it matter. She would use him to kill council and then end him to tie up loose ends. "So you'll help me kill the council? They aren't the only problem, the king needs to go as well." said Ashlynn, sounding serious. "If you can promise that then I can accept your help." In the back of her mind Ashlynn smiled. This man could be her ticket to changing everything and if she was lucky she could become the Titan Queen.

And then it hit her. A feeling of dread and uneasy so great she couldn't help that the color drained from her face. "W-What is that..." asked Ash, looking at the man across the table hoping he would know. She felt a fight or something coming, which didn't bode well for her. She wounds haven't healed and not to mention she was weak from hunger. She turned her head to find the source of the eerie feeling. And surprisingly it came off of a boy that looked no older then her. He looked harmless but this feeling said other wise, Ashlynn couldn't even force herself to play him off. Her hands grasps the char and she wished they weren't made of wood. Considering most of the sources of metal got sent fly away eariler.

Purple orbs danced around the diner for a second, looking for his target that he was sure already knew that she was about. As soon as the ethereal energy of his let itself out, Michael let it simply fade into the air, eyes glowing for a moment before calming once again. Looking upon the only source of nether within the place, Michael walked over to the two and sat down next to Robert Soros crossing arms over the table as he simply ignored the male next to him. ”You’ve made quite the mess.” Michael said within a strangely lilting language that only Ashlynn would have been able to understand, lips curling into a slight smirk. ”Admirable I admit, but…a little stupid. Did you think you could assault the most powerful people within The Abyss and simply walk away?”

"Is it customary where you're from to interrupt people when they are speaking?" Ouroboros asked him, his eyes wide, almost as if he expected Michael to know the difference. Ouroboros in fact had no control over his physical reaction...it came with being a father. Thankfully his words were still his own, or Michael might have been able to piece together the puzzle. Ouroboros returned his attention to Ashlynn and he cleared his throat. "I will leave you with your distasteful company. But please remember this face." "Robert" said as he stood up and dismissed himself, honestly waiting for Michael to do something stupid to stop him. Part of him wanted Michael to do something brash...just so he could use the chance to reimplament fear into his pedigree. Though...Michael knew not what he was doing. He looked over his shoulder, the Ouroboros reforming. His energy was different...he was changed...though the source of this change was lost behind a veil of Ultima ethereal. Ouroboros groaned as the Ouroboros faded and he walked down the street. What an interesting turn of events.

"So far I was doing pretty well." said Ashlynn, doing her best not to show she was in pain. And then Robert stood up and left. "Hey wait!" said Ash she got up to quickly and flinched in pain and by the time she looked back up Robert was gone. "So much for that." mumbled Ashlynn to herself. Although she couldn't help but wonder what he meant by 'remember this face.' Ashlynn sat back down and turned her attention to this strange man. He made her uneasy by is aura alone, the fact he knew what she was and what she did didn't help. "Who are you and what do you want." said Ashlynn, responding in the same language the man spoke to her in. If he was here to fight she would be in a bad spot.

”Cute.” Michael chuckled, lips curling into an amused grin as he allowed the rude male to walk away. Something about the way he talked was familiar, but at the same time different. The Abyssal King wanted to kill him where he stood, yet at the same time something within him didn’t and it controlled him within that instant. ”I’m Michael…thought you should address your liege better than that. As for the what I want, its simple really, I want you dead. You made a huge mistake, attacking The Council and in that respect I cannot allow you to live. If this were a grab for power, you truly know nothing about…anything.” His smile widened as the hand tapping against his lap formed a pistol of pure dark ethereal energy, and unleashed a bullet of the energy upwards, tearing through the table as it aimed to destroy her skull.

A young female walked along the walkway nearby, a light brown German Shepard puppy trotting beside her. It was wide eyed and inquisitive, smelling everything that was to be smelled. ”Dammit Shael, stop sniffing everything. I know you’re trying to get in character but I swear, if you start sniffing other dogs butts.” Fera hissed lowly, lip turning into a frown. They were supposed to be staying back, but then again when did they ever listen? The little puppy wagged its tail and panted, running upto a man with black hair and a cigarette hanging from his mouth. ”Dammit, can’t you ever listen to me?”

The color of the area around him faded, a burnished brass or copper paling over all other things. The world had lost it's color, he heard the words, and they echoed into the very fabric of his being. The last time he had a moment like this, God-Eater attempted to devour his sanity...and mostly succeeded. Now it was happening again...but not the same. The colors were...warmer, though still mono-toned as their nature. A dog was running up to him, a little Lab...

    "Dammit Shael!" the words still echoed, even though time itself seemed to have slowed. He took a deep breath In. It was like Deja Vu. He had been here before. Suddenly his mind replaced the little girl with a young shaggy dark haired Jordan and the puppy with a little dark haired Shael... that name. Ouroboros could honestly say that there is no way in Hell that these two weren't Ethereal in some way. Seriously, what human, in their right mind, would name their kid Shael? Ouroboros quickly thought abut it for a moment, and then suddenly recalled the naming of his own son. His excuse? He's an Ethereal...pissing on humanity and their logic was his thing. But if humans...if they named their kids that they should be publically executed and their brains devoured by jackals. Color began to bleed back into the area, now that his brain finished tormenting him. Robert chuckled as he squatted down and latched onto the puppy, scratching behind it's ear and petting it.

    "Well lookie here, what do we got? Huh? Look at you. You're such a big puppy." He said, his eyes flashed a spin revealing that this dog was either...well...not a dog...or it was some crazy meta-mutt. He chuckled as he allowed the Ouroboros eyes to stay, as he looked up to the little girl and smiled. "With a name like Shael you might want to put a leash on him. They tend to be hyperactive and not prone to listening. Isn't that right?" He asked the dog, arching an eyebrow.
* * * * *

  The Imperium shot out from under the table to defend Ashlynn, as Ouroboros had commanded it too. The blade placed itself in her hands and seemed to move upon her command, though it was merely a trick. Making it seem as if the blades selected new ownership. The item of Ouroboros was now simply "acting" under the influence of Ashlynn. The Pure Ethereal blade crackled out a holy fire, there was an unnatural glow to it...an extra enchantment of his own energy, though radiating as pure.