You should have killed me when you had the chance. (Invite)

It was funny how in the middle of the night everything you know in this world could change. How the mistakes of your past could come to haunt you. How your demons catch up to you, and there's nothing you can do to get away. Helpless. Powerless. Every ounce of your being fighting and trying but ultimately it is all in futility. Chicago, Illinois was where this all began. A horrific monster of a being, the primordial of evil, Sin itself began it's primary phases to overthrowing the world and sending the world into a tailspin that would increase his own power and his own interests in mankind. It was in Chicago that our fearless protagonists defeated Sin, and forced him from the vessel of Yamm to seek out a new host. From there, Sin inhabited a realm-walker known as "Zakaken", a man whom was once the most pious man in his realm, a man who lost everything and so took in the blood of dragons to grow his power and forsake his vows as he worked to utterly destroy the entity that he dedicated all his life to.

   Zakaken was in this world to look for a cure. His pious belief did him nothing but lose him both of his daughters and his beautiful wife. He was on the verge of losing his son, and had it not been for his dark transformation of his brother then he'd have lost his own brother as well to the wrath of dragons, prior to Zakaken's massacre of them. It was in this world that he lost his son. No he literally misplaced his own kid. Father of the year right there. Having lost everything Zakaken decided to take his endgame one step farther than simply destroying the faith he wasted his life on... now he would do something even more amazing. Something more awful. In order to do this he needed power. He used his occult knowledge and summoned forth the Primordial of Evil, looking into the face of Sin itself Zakaken heard out the primordial's deal. The Primordial would inhabit him as a vessel and together they would accomplish their goal. Sin even went as far as to reveal that Zakaken's child was still alive, in this very world. Zakaken, in response to this "deal" chose...another path.

 He devoured the primordial of evil....

  Zakaken, taking the station of Sin, took upon a new name for himself as well. He called himself "Hellshrike" and that name alone would come to cause fear in many places to a great many people. Alas, this place knew little of him as he continually kept things upon a more "civil" level. Zakaken continued to walk the differend plains and traverse distances no mere man could, until he ultimately collected enough souls to establish his own body, his own consciousness as an afterlife of eternal torment and suffering as he continually bled souls for power that he used in turn to collect even more souls and increase his powers ever higher. He would have been virtually unstoppable, had he not been shut down early.

  Hellshrike was dealt with by a cunning ploy created by Alexander Clarke, Sin's Apprentice, and executed by The Existential One. Hellshrike, having made a deal with Silus for his soul, returned his beloved friend Castiel to him. Fortunately the ritual involving the return of Castiel was a ritual that trapped Silus' soul within the veil between life and death. It was a place so vast that even Hellshrike would not easily locate it. Following the events that caused Castiel to wish that Silus had never made the deal, The Existential one traversed many realms with an ally in order to find someone who could help them trap Hellshrike. This person was known only as "Samhain".

   Upon meeting Samhain, Zell made a deal with the creature. Samhain would return to their realm (as he belonged there anyway) and would trap Hellshrike in this realm, where his soul collection would eventually deteriorate and he would eventually be consumed and overpowered by the primordial he devoured oh so long ago. The plan was genius, Samhain accepted the deal and turned around to make a deal with Hellshrike. A binding contract was made with Hellshrike that Samhain would go back to Zell's realm and find his son, then beacon him forth. Alas the deal, in the fine print, stated that Hellshrike was not to leave that world until they found his son. Samhain had scored a victory for the heroes, but he then turned around and revealed that the contract he made with Zell stated that as long as Hellshrike remained in this realm, so must The Existential One. Ultimately Samhain trapped not only Hellshrike, but Archon as well. With that he left for the world he belonged to, eager and oh so happy that the only two people who knew anything about him had been removed from the equation and now he could seek out the means to his end.

     Samhain's contract was not as air-tight as he believed as The Existential One sent another of himself from a realm who did not need him to the same verse to play the role of a father and to run his business, but ultimately was without any form of power. Samhain saw no threat in this and allowed him to linger on. This was the state of things for a good while now. Unfortunately as Sin liked to say.

 

  Silus woke up sweating buckets as he looked around. His violet eyes dimly glowing in the darkness as he peered around. As he settled so did the harshness of the glow. He was calm, and collected, alebit scared. In that moment a wave of dread washed over him and he could feel it. Something wasn't right, and he knew it. It was the feeling you only felt if you knew exactly what you were feeling. He heard a loud crash and fired up before walking out into the kitchen and growing wide-eyed as a battered and beaten and bloody Archon rolled over and placed his back against the dishwasher. His masque was broken, the armor shattered in places and the smell of burning flesh made Silus want to throw up. The other version of Zell, the one that had been living with them, vanished as he saw Silus.

  "Go. NOW!" Zell snapped, which was entirely unlike him, but Silus knew that it was EXACTLY that bad of a situation. Silus knew there was no way possible that Sin did that to his father, but if his father were back that means that Sin was no longer bound to that realm where hey ditched him. Silus didn't know all the details, but he did know that this was bad and that Sin was back. If Sin were back he was only certain of two things. First, he needed to get ahold of Alexander and Yamm. Second, he needed to get as far away from his family and friends as he could. Sin wanted him, and none of them were safe. The only reason he could go to friends like Alex and Yamm were because...well.... Sin wanted them too. Silus grabbed a coat and in an instant he void walked right into Alexader's room and began shaking him fiercely. He knew that if Alex weren't up Alex wouldn't need to ask why he woke him as soon as he was awake... Alex would feel it. Sin was back.


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    The building burned around him as he stepped down from the black void he materialized from. He cracked his neck as he took in a breathe of fresh air. It had been some time since he had breathed this air, this polluted, grimy air. It was refreshing, you could practically taste the pollution, the residual of humanity and their selfish, uncaring nature to the entire world around them. It almost brought a tear to his eye. Then he remembered he was a sarcastic bastard, lazy too. That aside, Zakaken...Hellshrike was on the prowl for one reason, and one reason only.

  He was here to kill Silus. Though it would be a lie to say he weren't surprised to feel...aggression towards his same target. Someone, or something seemed to have a gripe with the little Light Bringer. Zakaken was elated at the opportunities that had arrived in just sheer moments of his return. The poor humans of this world complained and groaned about not having jobs when all it took was a little intuition to watch and see literally thousands of opportunities evolve right in front of you. Right now being a perfect example. Zakaken closed his eyes and waved his hand with a little smile as he would reach out and usurp the mind of Hector. No, it was not hacking, Zakaken had no access to what Hector knew...he simply had... replaced Hector temorarily.

"I've intercepted a message regarding the child in Prodigy. The one with the strange light bending protector. It seems as though someone else is looking to teach the child, and all of prodigy a lesson. It also seems as though they have a great plan in place, and they have information on the group we do not. If it pleases you we could investigate and perhaps see what this small group intends to do." Zakaken said, unfortunately for Lucius, when he heard this he would hear it exactly as if it were Hector, and he would hear it the exact way hector would say it. Hector himself would be none the wiser either. Hector itself would believe that it truly intercepted the file and suggested this, as well has have the "file" on hand to lure Lucius to Sears tower, sub basement 2.

  Zakaken smiled and turned as he walked away, headed for Dears tower to prepare of his guest, and hopefully his future "partner" in the destruction of the Light Bringer.

The day was a sort of long one, or rather it felt long to Alexander anyway. It started off as it usually did, with drunk father passed out on the couch, likely from the prior night of heavy drinking. Sneaking through the silent home, he would get ready for school and that was what he did. Sure, after the incident with the unknown woman Matt had sort of disappeared from school entirely, but then again if he knew anything about his mother that was not too much of a surprise. The idea itself was enough to make him feel sick, at least he did not like the idea anyway. The day had went by quickly after that, Alexander getting out as soon as he was able and then following a small lead about a cult he had been investigating.

So far they had not been doing anything majorly dangerous, but something told him that they would eventually move to bloody sacrifices, because if he knew anything about cults like them, they always did that sort of thing. So much information moving into his network, including an unknown individual who had appeared in the city not so long ago. Golden armor and a strange hair color, all of which just screamed paranormal to him, granted to the average person they would only see a metahuman. However, that lead only leas him nowhere and so he ended up back home, which was now vacant, despite how late it was. Not that Alexander would complain, because he would have wanted too get himself some sleep soon.

Going through the motions, he would change into his sleeping clothes, and then sort of fell into bed, to his dreams.

Dreams, how much could they really protect someone? Even within the supposed serenity of sleep he could feel it,a sort of dread that creeped just out of reach, yet in a manner that made him more than aware of the coming darkness. However, dreams were strange I the fact that they were dreams, in a way untrustworthy and so all he could do was assume it was some manner of nightmare. That was of course until something happened, though being violently shook from your sleep is indeed a something. His eyes opened wide, only to realize what this shaking was for, and the violet eyed male standing over him only made this more dire. There was a sense of urgency, one that only took him a second to truly understand the gravity of, and something that shook him to the very core. A feeling of dread would begin to settle in, but he had no time for dread, not at a time for this.

He knew what this sensation was, and what it meant for him as a whole. If Silus had appeared to him in his room of all places, then he knew this was something serious, not that it wasn't, oh man it was. Only one thought had ran through his mind, over and over until it hurt just to think. Sin was back, and with him the possibility of everything just crumbling down. Not only was he in trouble, but so was...well everyone he loved, which meant something had to be done before they were put into any kind of danger. Something told him he had little time to prepare, unless of course he had plenty of time, because that bastard wanted them to think they had little time. It was always tricky with Sin, and his apprentice of all people should know that.

So now he had so much to do and likely little time to do so in, meaning he would have to be careful with how he handled himself. ”Okay, i'm up.” Alexander said simply, reaching for his glasses, and fixing them upon his nose. With that the entire world seemed to come better into focus, luckily he was for the most part dressed, to avoid any sort of awkwardness. Yet so many questions continued to badger him while the attempted to orient himself, such as how he had managed to get out of the realm he had been held. ”Looks like we have ourselves a real problem.” Alex noted with a tinge of an accent, likely stating the obvious more than anything. Sure, he was far more worried than he let on, but then again he could not get frenzied, because that would lead to him making mistakes. Getting completely ready within a few seconds, he turned to Silus.

”We need to find Matt, I have something to do before anything else.” Time was of the important, and they did not have much of it.

For the past few weeks a man could be seen tirelessly working in his lab. There was no time for sleep, or even food. For anyone watching a pattern could be seen. He would fumble through various papers or mix a few liquids together, then get up and pace around the room before finally making a small change on the very large machine in the center of the messy lab. Papers and bottles, as well as various little unfinished gadgets straight out of a science fiction movie were scattered about. Since getting his fusion core fixed Lucius had been for the most part tinkering none stop, his mind always racing and theorizing. This machine of his was nearly complete, and what a game changer it would be. Its hard to understand how or why a person could stay up for three weeks straight in a dark lab, but then again if you knew Lucius then things like that were quite expected.

He felt the familiar rumble in his stomach, the tiredness in his eyes. His regenerative abilities only kept him going for so long, eventually even he succumbed to human needs. He walked up the long stairs from his lab light headed, a sleek door opening for him once he reached the top. The upper levels of Lucius' homestead were not what one would expect, it had a very up scale look to it with leather furniture and top notch appliances. It had a white and black theme throughout the modern living space. Sitting at one of the couches as Lucius was coming up was Daniel Raines, a person Lucius had come to think of as family.

"Finally decided to rejoin the world Lucius?" Daniel said looking at him with an almost amused look.

"I need a cheeseburger.." He said as he walked over to the bathroom nearby. That wasn't a statement, anyone who had spent time around Lucius knew he was telling Daniel to get him a cheeseburger and not merely stating he needed one. Daniel couldn't help but laugh at him.

"I think you need a lot more then that Red, I'll be back in a few minutes." Daniel said before disappearing from the couch with not so much as a sound. Lucius took off his lab coat and got in the shower, letting the water clean his filthy body. By the time he got out and into some clothing Daniel was back where he was with a fast food bag held up. Lucius grabbed it like a drug addict and sat down with no thank you given.

"My work is nearly complete, i assume you've also been keeping busy?" Lucius said tearing open the burgers rapper and taking a large bite.

"Yes, the exo skeleton is nearly complete as well. Everything seems to be working fine." Daniel said in response.

"That's good to hear, I'll prep Hect..." Lucius said with a mouth full of burger before being cut off by a familiar beeping sound. Said sound was coming from a holographic computer in the center of the room, it seemed Hector had an important message. Making a specific movement with his hand Lucius commanded the AI to give them the news.

"I've intercepted a message regarding Silus, the child in Prodigy. It seems as though someone else is looking to teach him, and all of Prodigy a lesson. It also seems as though they have a great plan in place, and they have information on the group we do not. If it pleases you we could investigate and perhaps see what this small group intends to do." The AI said in its usual British accent. So it seemed Silus had made enemies with more then a few people, himself included. Though he had not been thinking on it for weeks, the boy and his little group did need a lesson of some kind. Especially Silus, who Lucius knew was a major threat that needed to be taken care of.

The boy had some pretty impressive abilities and brains to boot, Lucius knew full well what he was capable of doing to his operation. The encounter was inevitable, and he had no idea how to kill someone with so much power. The kid brought back the dead, or at least in a sense. If he was going to be brought down Lucius needed allies that knew how to do so. He made a few strokes with his hand on the holographic computer, reviewing the file Hector had found. The file had a location that suggested where these people could be found, a pretty specific one at that. As always Lucius was cautious yet confident, even if Hector was the one giving it too him Lucius knew the AI could be fooled. But it didn't matter, trap or not he was going to meet with whoever was waiting.

"What do you think?" Daniel asked regarding the message that had just been given to them.

"Eventually the boy must be dealt with, this presents an opportunity to be rid of him before he becomes a problem." Lucius said munching on his greasy cheeseburger casually. Daniel knew Lucius would want to leave immediately despite his lack of sleep, he also knew he couldn't stop him.

"Alright, just keep a line open so i know if you need any help." Daniel said with a hint of concern in his voice. Finishing his burger in record time Lucius got up without another word, once again returning to his lab to get suited up. Once he was fully equipped he beamed himself to Sears Tower using his labs teleporter. Quite nifty how someone could go anywhere with nothing but a five minute charge time. He used his cloaking device to avoid garnering any kind of attention as he made his way to the elevator. It seemed that the sub basements weren't exactly public access, but it wasn't much of a problem for Hector to fix. In little time Lucius stepped out into sub basement B before slowly observing his surroundings.

Silus nodded in agreement with Alex as they both endeavored to find Matt. Silus recommended they try home, but it was most unfortunately that his older brother answered the door and informed them that Matt was thrown out, and he hadn't been seen since. So Now Matt was homeless? Apparently he was revealed to be a metahuman and his mom hates them. Who would expose Matt as a metahuman? Probably the only most devious person ever! Sin had to pay (or so Silus thought) and so he looked to Alex. "You know Matty pretty well. Where would he go if he didn't have a home?" Silus asked. Alex probably could think of a few places to check. The Black Temple was one, then of course he could literally be living in a homeless shelter, but that didn't sit right. He might be at the beach too, or maybe he could be at a church? All of these places were possible, but it was up to Alex to make the right choice.

"Did...did you know Matty was homeless now? I didn't...I feel bad." Silus said as he contemplated how fortunate he was to have parents that loved and supported him through anything. Then again two metahuman fags having five kids didn't exactly leave much room for criticism. Not that Silus would think of that. Silus also had to think that he was like...homeless person bait or something. All his friends were homeless...except for Alex. "Right, feeling bad later. Dealing with Sin now. Where we headed chief?"

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Lucius wouldn't see too much, though he would more than likely be pissed off when he realized he was literally alone and low and behold his powers didn't work, and his gear was deactivated. Granted this was for a very good reason, especially as Zakaken randomly appeared ten feet in front of him. Cane in hand, Zakaken smiled at Lucius as he appraised him. So this was the one whom wanted Silus dealt with as well? Oh how wonderful this was. The evil that radiated from within this man. Murder, theft, absolute rage. Zakaken looked at this man and he saw the same thing he saw when he looked at the Archon. A man with nothing to lose. There has never been anything more potentially dangerous than a man with nothing to lose. This was an absolute delight.

"Thank you for coming." He said a genuine pleasure in his voice leaking through his estranges accent. The accent itself settled somewhere between British and Scottish, though he was very articulate and he held himself with the best posture and the most formal smile. "My name is Hellshrike and I do believe that you and I have a particular pest that has been... a mututal problem for both you and I." Zakaken said. With a wave of his hand a table appeared and two fine chairs. Both chairs were George IV Regency arm chairs, atthe ends of the arm rests were litle lion heads where one might grasp with their hainds if they were so inclines. The frame of the chair was gold, the cushions were a very soft material, navy blue with golden lace embrodary. The table between them was just as extraordinary. Once again, Regency in design, bu the circulat top was supported by a single pillar in the middle, this pillar was actually two angels arched outwards, their feet touching the base and their wings holding up the table. The table top's sides were hand-carved and gold pieces melted into it. The top of the table had a "ripple" effect from the center, though the survace was still flat enough to be used in an efficient manner.

"If it pleases you." Zakaken offered extending a hand out to Lucius' chair before pulling out his own chair and sitting himself in it. "I apologize for the sudden lack of powers. I half expected the little rat to find his way here, give me just a moment and I will promptly have your abilities restored." He added as he waved his hand. Two glassed appeared on the table as did a very familiar horn with a lid on it. Taking the lid of the once-dragon-king he poured himself a drink, red wine of course. He then offered the horn to Lucius. If you take this horn you simply think of the liquid you desire to drink and the horn fills itself with that liquid. I give this to you so you may check it to your heart's content. There are many things you can ask for in a partnership...but I believe both of us smart enough to know that trust is not one of them." Zakaken noted with a soft chuckle and so he initiated his little game with Lucius, to evaluate and understand him as best he could before deciding the promises of alliance.

Now he had to find Matt, which meant first searching his house because that felt like the obvious place to look, so that was where he went with Silus. Unfortunatly upon arriving there he was met with most unfortunate news, in thr form of him finding out that Matt was not there. In fact, he had been through out by that mother of his upon finding out that he was a metahuman, not the best of circumstances but then again it was unexpected. Had that happened all because of that half naked woman that seemed to be rather close to him? It meant now he was homeless, meaning that Alexander would have a more difficult time finding him than before. Nothing he should lament over, yet the male found himself slightly worried over that friend of his. ”I know a few possible places he could go.” Alexander said contemplatively, stroking his chin softly while considering each one and why he would or would not be there.

If he remembered correctly, Matt was a religious sort so the church he attended was always a possibility, but then again it was also not one. If he explained what he was to them, then they likely would have cast him out similarly to how his mother did. A homeless shelter just didn't seem like his style for one reason or another, so that lefgt only a few other places, one of them being The Black temple. ”It was a possibility but I wasn't so sure until now.” Alexander answered, burying his hands into his pockets and continuing to consider where his friend would have run off to. So far two locations stuck out within his mind, and he would have to check both to be sure, starting with the one that was much easier to access..the beach.”First...I think we should check the beach.” If he was wrong, then he had wasted a lot of time, but then again he wasn't perfect.

As Lucius entered the empty sub basement he felt something, something familiar. He knew this feeling was that of humanity, his powers were gone. He had experienced the removal of his abilities before, it was almost always temporary. He must have entered some kind of field that inhibited his powers, though that was only speculation. Lucius was about to leave as he really didn't want to be trapped in a skyscrapers basement with no powers, though he was stopped by the arrival of a curious looking man holding a cane. Now, he was more then likely the person that had sent for him. This was confirmed by his greeting. Was this man just cautious or was this a trap? It was hard to say at the moment, all he could do was wait and see.

Soon the man announced the reason for them both being there, which was sort of unnecessary considering they knew already. Lucius could have jumped on him with tons of questions, mostly regarding his removed powers but instead he remained completely silent. He was calm, but quite angry. Next the man somehow materialized a very upscale looking table and chairs before offering Lucius a seat. The mans power reminded Lucius of what Silus did weeks before, strange....

Lucius would reluctantly sit down, eying the strange man in front of him. The answer to his no powers problem was then answered, though whether that was truly the reason remained to be seen. Lucius was offered a drink, any drink actually. He was told he could check it to his hearts content, most likely for some kind of tampering. Lucius smirked at that, why would anyone arrange a meeting just to poison him when they clearly had the power to wipe him out? If the man thought this would garner him any kind of trust he was sorely mistaken.

"I think you would have a better time trusting me then i you considering the fact you can remove my powers on a whim. Not tampering with my drink proves nothing." Lucius said pouring from the horn a class of fine scotch. He then removed his metallic mask and pulled his hood down, revealing his face. This was more so he could drink, but it also told the man the level of trust he required went far beyond mere drinks and identities.

"So, why would you need my help? You seem like you can handle the little boy yourself." Lucius said after sipping his high quality beverage.

Alex had chosen right actually. It took a little wandering but eventually Silus just got impatient and grabbed onto Alex, telling him first, and then void walking both of them to the beach. It was pretty effective, but then they had to spend time surveying the beach. "Even when Sin is coming...the beach is nice... the warm but not hot air, the smell of sea salt, the feeling of the sand. The half naked dragon god on the rocks. Wait what? HEY DRAGON GOD!" Silus called, seeing Yamm sprawled out on a rock, his jacket cast aside with his shirt. The shirt was obviously drenched, was he...doing laundry with sea water? That was... sad almost. Matt sat up and blinked at them before falling back down and groaning.

   "Oh hi there. The guy who hates drinking and I'm drunk. Wonderful idea Silus, way to go buddy." Matt said. Silus pouted a little and whined until Matt sighed and patted Silus on the head. "I-it's fine man. Just... can't this wait for morning when my shirt is dry and I'm not so drunk?" He asked, no joke either. His breath smelled BAD. Silus was convinced that Sean could get drink off of smelling his breath, that's how bad it was.

   "Uh, nope. Alex needs you. Sin's back!" Silus said, a sense of urgency causing his eyes to shoot ope. Matt sat straight up and deadpanned them.

  "What!?"

*****
"As I said earlier, let's not play games. This isn't  matter of trust. You didn't come here to hold hands and sing Kum ba yah. You didn't come here because you were invited to a trust-fall exercise you came because you want someone gone." Hellshrike said as he took a sip of his wine before placing the glass back, perfectly where it was before he had picked it up. "I didn't give you the horn so you could trust me, I gave you the horn so you could have the security of knowing exactly what you were drinking. You're uptight enough to need a drink it seems." Hellshrike then added in about the whole trust through handing the horn over. Hellshrike was a very simple man in many regard. His will was strong, and he was ever cunning and ever clever. But still, he was so very simple.

"As a business man, I look at the bottom line quite a bit. To be fair I think, as an intelligent man, you will understand that in this bottom line of ours...neither of us could give a piss about trust. What we want are results." Hellshrike said before taking another sip of his glass and closing his eyes for a moment before clearing his throat. "As for why I need your help the answer is simple... Hellshrike said as he placed his glass back, he leaned back comfortably in his chair and looked Lucius dead in the eyes. Or well... mask. There was a strange smile that grew on his face, a smirk and a look of utter amusement for a moment before he opened hi mouth, took in a slight inhale before explaining that...

"I don't." He then just put on his best smile before holding his hands up as if he were shrugging a little. Truth be told, I could probably kill him. But I realized that I'm not the only one who does. So I said to myself "why take the burden as a lone wolf when there are others to share your cross?" That was when I realized that rather than bust my arse to enact a long and tedious plan that could take years to accomplish, I might as well double up on resources. Share my burden with someone with the same objective...and kill this little shit at fast as possible." Hellshrike's explanation was concluded and he sat back his hands folded and fingers interwoven as he looked over Lucius to see his response.

"As I said. I'm not here for trust. It's the people who ask for your trust who don't deserve it. I'll tell you right now not to trust me. You're too smart to trust someone you've just met. But if merely killing the boy isn't enough incentive...how about I give you the knowledge you want to know concerning the creator of Guilty Spark?" He asked as he moved his hands to adjust himself in his seat holding out his hand and a black book appearing from nowhere in a puff of smoke. After placing the book down he used his hand to cover it before tapping the cover of it. He then removed his hand and leaned back and resumed his regular sitting position.

It seemed that he had chosen right as far as looking for Matt went, the beach was the ideal place to look for him. True, they would have to actually search the damn thing from one end to the other, but eventually Silus decided to take the easy route that involved teleporting him to Matt's location. Luckily, he had some warning before that happened, meaning that Alex could prepare himself as they were moved through the void Silus used. He would let Silus talk while they went searching, younger male talking about how nice the beach was, though the mention of a half naked dragon god was what he was looking for. Ignore the part about him looking for the half naked dragon god portion, as he would have been fine with a fully clothed one as well. Well, whether he would have or not is something that could wait until later anyway.

Turning he found himself looking upon a rather familiar face sitting on some rocks, likely doing his laundry with saltwater, not something he would have recommended. He didn't need Matt to explain how drunk he was, because Alex could smell it...and man was it bad. His nose crinkled upon catching a whiff of it , a sickening feeling moving through his gut as he sort of looked to the person he called his friend. Normally, he would have had something to say about the matter but he had no time to really say anything beyond what was needed. First came dealing with sin, then they could get to the nagging. First however, he would atleast want to rid himself of the terrible scent that was alcohol, so forming a small rune upon his hand, he found the smell slowly fading from his notice. Now at least he would not find himself looking so balefully at Matt.

”Okay this might be the last time I see you, so I need you to listen reeeally close for this one, because i'm only saying this once.”

”Look Alex, I am like way too drunk for this right now” Matt would start.

”Iloveyou” he said it rather fast, perhaps too fast for the dragon to understand.

”What?” So it seemed he didn't get it, but then again Alex did say he was only going to say it once.

”Yeah, I have to seal you.” A single rune would appear upon Yamm's chest, glowing an oceanic blue color. So now he had that difficult part done. Well, now the even harder part had to commence.

Lucius would sit back in his chair, listening to the man talk with a grin across his face. Lucius didn't know why, but he found the man quite funny. Not in a clown sort of way, but genuinely what he said and how he said it had a certain humor to it. The male was right though, Lucius didn't care about trust. After all, he wouldn't have trusted the mysterious man even if he gave him reason to. No one usually addressed it in Lucius' line of work, but no one trusted anyone regardless of what they had done to 'prove' themselves. He was glad they could put these childish things behind them and get to business, though Lucius now knew he wasn't dealing with some meta criminal out for revenge, this went deeper.

"That's what i like to hear, you don't seem to be a man that beats around the bush. Your right, ultimately i don't care. I actually don't even care if the boy is gone or not either, but i fear he will become a pain in the future. Which leads us here." Lucius said sipping his drink. Then came the answer to the question of why he was needed, which was quite long winded but simple at the same time. He simply thought it would be much quicker if they banded together. or so the male said.

It was far to simple for Lucius to completely buy into, though they had already gone through the trust drill so he would simply keep his slight bit of suspicion to himself. Lucius at this point would have agreed just to remove Silus, but then a familiar name was mentioned yet again. A book would then appear from nothing in the males hand, which was quite amazing in itself, but Lucius knew he would probably be more interested in what was inside it.

"It is enough incentive to be completely honest, but i would be lying if i said i wasn't curious about Guilty Spark and his creator." Lucius said slowly picking up the book after the man had tapped it. Once he had gotten back from his lean in to reach the book Lucius opened it, revealing to him its contents presumably.

And on the fourth post, the Dragon God was exiled.

Silus looked to Alex with a shocked look on his face. So much had happened in just that second. Honestly he was scared. He was afraid of what just happened. Okay wait, no not afraid. Just shocked. Without skipping a beat, Silus smirked and nodded a little with a slightly arched eyebrow. "So...if you love him, what's the deal with the girl you're dating?" He asked. People were confusing sometimes. It's not rocket science. You love someone, you be with them. How is Alex the smart one? Unless it's an experience thing. If it's more complicated because of experience then Silus was clueless.

  "So Sin... we can't wait. What are we gonna do?" Silus asked, snapping the conversation back to the task at hand. He was hoping that as Sin's apprentice Alex could offer some insight or some tactics on how to address this ever looming threat.

******
"Oh good, because that's not all that's in there. I know about your little copy cat. Unfortunately it won't be anything near the original Guilty Spark until you have the "Spark" part of it down pat. Which you don't because the ability to make the spark lies within the spark itself and the mind of the man who made it...and in my book. There is also a name of a robot maker whose been chosen by the creator of Guitly Spark to continue the production of Robots. These robots pale in comparison to what Guilty Spark's creator could do...but sure enough his are robots that will very soon overthrow Guilty Spark as if he were an underdeveloped fetus. This robotics expert will put everything you know to shame, constatnly aspiring to be like his teacher. He will continue to do so until even AFTER humans and metahumans alike are nothing more than burnt out candles in the chandaleir. So, unfortunately your entire operation is for naught...unlessw of course you had his name, and where he lived." Hellshrike added the last bit. He spoke the truth, unfortunately Guilty Spark was last weeks news. Actually he was older than that. A couple months maybe. Hellshrike was even ready to take a rather bold leap of faith on this one. Well actually a leap of atheism, but that is besides the point.

"Your incentive is stopping this pest BEFORE he becomes a thorn in your side as he has so many others before you, and as he has me since as long as the little rugrat's been born." Hellshrike said as he cocked his head to the side and looked as if he were almost resigned and secure in the setting. He took another sip of his wine and then set it back down before a wave of his hand caused a rather iconic thing to appear right next to him. Like a puppet, or a mannequin, there it was. The self-proclaimed weapon that would purge humanity. The Guilty Spark, deactivated and making a loud clang as it dropped to the floor, obviously lifeless form it's previous encounter wiht Lucius. "You are up against an eleven year old who can warp the very fabric of reality is he so desires. He is perfectly able to control this power and he has enough skill in his right hand to swordplay with even the most reflexive people in this entire realm. Please don't even get me started on the powers he hasn't even touched yet." Hellshrike added as he used his foot to poke Guilty Spark's  mecha corpse.

"You get all the information in the book, you get to keep this shell to examine it, you will get the blood, tissue, spinal fluid, cerebral tissue and any other form of sample tou could want. You also get the name of the man who will be making robots that make your little project a laughing stock. Use him, kill him, whatver suits you. Finally you're getting an audiance with the man who created Guitly Spark, and taught your nefound rival everything he knows." Hellshrike said before looking to Lucius quite plainly. There was absolutely no reason that there wasn't enough to be gained by Red Tide. He was gaining information that could change the very future to save his own ass, AND he was getting information about someone ehose research he could take, use or even enslave.  "I'm not even asking for your soul, which every other person is so eager to give for a little power. You? I'm just asking you wait here for out little brat to show up and we can put an end to this. That's the deal. This...trash is all out of the kindness of my blackened heart." He said before looking at Lucius with a smile.

Alex looked to Silus who seemed to have some manner of strange look on his face, a look that he himself could not quite place readily. Honestly, he would ignore the question directed towards him, as that would only lead to headaches he would have rather not dealt with right now.  Besides, they were dealing with Sin, not his sexuality or anything like that. ”Yes...Sin.” Alex nodded, looking to the sands washed by the waves, considering what they could do in regards to the primordial. It would not be an easy task, but he was his apprentice, so that should mean that he had some glimpse into how he worked. Runes would need to be prepared, he would need to do things a certain way, so much preparation so they did not end up screwed over. Planning, he needed to do plenty of that, enough that they would not find themselves on the raw end of the deal.

First, he needed to prepare a few runes, ones that would hopefully protect them, granted that was all suggesting that Sin did his usual, not that he knew too much of that. Still, precautions taken were better than none at all. ”If we were to track him down now, I have a feeling we would be walking into a trap. No.....I know we would.” His eyebrows furrowed slightly, mind reeling over the possibilities that came with them tracking him down, if they could even find him. Sin was not something that he wanted to play around with, no, he would be dangerous indeed. ”But if we don't do anything, we'll be giving him plenty of time to prepare.” This was all one big complication, though now he was just thinking out loud more than anything else.

”He likes to take his time, so striking right now would probably be the best and perhaps only option we have.” Just a few more protective measures and he was ready. ”If you want a definitive way to defeat Sin....well prepare to be disappointed.” He added with a shrug, and then he was off.

Lucius sat back in his chair flipping threw the little black book as if it were a mere magazine. It seemed he was offered much more then what he thought. It didn't surprise Lucius the man knew about his project, a smart enough person could have figured it out by now especelly since this guy seemingly had a connection to Silus and Guilty Spark. Honestly though, Lucius had no plans for the robot as of yet. It was mostly just part of his science hobby. The whole bit about the robot creator and his teacher seemed very suspicious. After all, it was a little hard to believe someone like this man would just tell him out of kindness. Lucius flipped through all the books pages, scanning it with his photographic memory. He would basically have the book even if he somehow lost it.

"Very well then, I'll do as you ask for the time being. One more thing though, i want to know how exactly you and Silus have such power. In other words, i want to know exactly what you are. I don't think further elaboration is needed." Lucius said with a blank stare. He ultimately didn't give a shit who or what created Guilty Spark, it had no impact on his larger goals. No, he wanted information that he could use. He wanted information of the beyond. Lucius could tell what he was given was trash to the man just as he said. It was old news to him. There was more at play here then he was being told, and he hated that fact.

"Alright...so we can't ask my dad where he is, because that will get us in trouble... we need to know where he is. When we know that I can walk us into the place. Slip through the void and stuff, ya know?" Silus asked as he sat down and pulled at the little chain around his neck. There was a gold band of sorts, a ring that was settled on it. Upon this band was engraved the words "I'll always find you". He began rubbing his thumb over the ring and closing his eyes, his  tongue sticking out and lolling to the side a little as he tried to focus. He tried to concentrate and remember Yancey, and his matching band Then his mind wandered to Sin and how they were going to find him. Of course who else do you expect to show up in an hour of need?

  "Well well well. What have we here? You little lads look like you've got a problem on your hands. A problem... I think I may be able to help ya with." The Scottish, Irish crossbreed accent carrying a little. Samhain arrived, he reached into his coat and withdrew a small cylindrical object with a sapphire like gem and a dragon carved into it. It was a highly technological device, though this stick was a little different than the one Alex had in the past. The one that Sin destroyed. Pressing the button the small objext expandedinto a brilliant staff that sparked with radiant lightning. Flourishing it in proper technique and holding it in the offensive position caused the sides around the gem to turn around and reveal to be cresent blades, positoned just behind the gem, making this weapon all the more lethal. With another flourish the staff condensed and Samhain tossed it up into the air a little, arching it to hit Alex square in the chest.

  "Here. Don't try using that in the closet, not enough room." Samhain smirked before looking to Silus, who looked up at Samhain with a form of awestruck wonder and curiosity. "Closets and Dragon-senpai not noticing you aside. I hear you boys are in need of some information. Why don't you tell me what it is you need and we'll see if we can work something out?" He asked. Silus smiled really big before turning to look at Alex, as if awaiting him to take the lead on the investigation in finding Sin. This was HIS master after all. Silus was just here to make sure no one died.

**************************************
"You won't believe me...but I suppose that means all the less harm in telling you." Hellshrike said with a chuckle before his iris' turned blood red and the whites of his eyes turned black, a rather ominous feeling settled on the room. There was no explanation for it, nothing in the environment changed. One could say that it was "The revelation" to Red. "My name is Sin...and I'm the primordial of Evil." He said bowing his head and holding an arm out to the side a rather formal bow, despite his still being at the table. He leaned back and smiled as he looked over his shoulder and snapped his fingers. In that instant Lucius would find himself perfectly functioning in the area now, giving him a distinct advantage over Silus, should the worst come to pass.

  "As far as Silus... well. Unfortunately I can't put into words what he is. But what I can put into words is this...if we kill him... then even an almighty God will tremble before us." He said as he turned and began to walk away. "They'll be here in three hours. Don't be late." Hellshrike said as he snapped his fingers. Anything Lucius could have wanted in that moment, anything to keep him busy and content would be at his disposal. Anything within reason of course. If he wanted to make adaptions, now was the time.

They couldn't ask Zell, that much Alexander knew. Something told him they would not get much help from him, and Silus would be paramount to helping him deal with Sin, though how useful the actually were he would find out. ”Finding him....might be the difficult part.” Alex muttered to himself, tongue dancing over his lips while looking around. His younger friend seemed to be playing around with a ring that hung around his neck, a quirk of some kind perhaps but not his concern at the moment, when he had more important things to worry about. Yamm not getting killed by Sin was one of them, and probably not dying would have been okay too. However, his contemplation was interrupted by an unknown accent that flowed through the air, Alex's head snapping towards them cautiously. They had claimed to have a solution to their problem, yet he was unsure what he could do to help them.

What he found himself with was a staff being thrown at him, Alexander barely catching it as it struck his chest. It stung, but that was all of the damage done. It reminded him of a weapon he had before his tussle with Sin, but something about it was different, yet all the same. Examining the staff, he pressed the button that caused the staff to retract back to a more compact form, one that he could deal with much easier. His quip required a few moments of thought before he could think of anything to say in response, though all he could do was frown. Silus had a rather large smile now, as if all the answers to their problems had arrived, yet something told him the information would not be for free. ”You heard correct.” Alex stated still cautiously, his voice tinged with a slight accent, a remnant more than anything.

”We're looking for Sin, primordial of evil. Problem is, we don't exactly know where he is, but I have a feeling you do.” He would give the male a second or two to respond for continuing. ”I also have a feeling you won't give the information away for free.” The types to appear out of nowhere never gave anything away for free, but that was the nature of them.

Lucius sat in his chair unphased by what would cause most to run screaming or at least some kind of feeling of dread. The male was right, Lucius didn't entirely believe him. However, he had seen enough to know that things like that weren't completely out of the realm of possibility. Alas he got no real answers to his question, but that matter could be addressed later. Lucius was curious about the males comment about killing Silus, but exactly what he had meant was still very much unclear.

The male then left on that mysterious note, telling Lucius he had three hours. Lucius said nothing to the mysterious man, but his acceptance of his job would be known. So Lucius would get up from his chair, gulping down the last bit liquid in his glass to assess the situation. Silus probably had people with him, powerful people. Lucius needed to set up the basement to maximize his chances of success. He would play this as he always did, as if he had no allies.

He wished he had brought more equipment, equipment specifically for someone like Silus. Just at that moment, as if answering this wish droves of tech appeared in the room. Hologram projectors, High explosives, Force field generators and all manner of turrets. All probably very resistant to Silus' tricks considering they were made by Sin. Lucius smiled at the pile of traps, knowing he was about to turn this basement into a deathtrap.