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The aftermath of the battle, as epic as it was for the raptor, had taken quite a bit out of him, doing all he could to keep standing while Felicia happily fuzzled and nuzzled the white wolf. "Hehehe, you were helping Joe home again right?" The wolf seemed to understand Felicia, and nodded with a happy panting. "Hehehe, good good, well you sure showed up in the nick of time!" "Well what do you expect?" said Miss B who happily petted the radiant canine, "She IS the spirit of Clover." Gene gave only a wink and a finger point to the wolf before heading back to behind the bar. James tried to approach, wary of the holy aura that Ammy had while Miss B introduced them. Something deep within him cowered at such a powerful presence, her pure white light making his heart falter with shaky hands. "I suppose formal introductions are deserving now. James, this is Amaterasu, origin of all that is good, mother to us all, et cetera. A very dear friend of ours from far far away." "Uh...p-pleased to meet you?" The wolf growled at the scent of the raptor, teeth snarling back before she quickly adopted a fighting stance. "W-woah woah, what the hell!?" Felicia stepped in and rubbed Amaterasu gently to comfort her. "It's okay Ammy it's okay, he's a friend! Sorry, she musta sensed that curse in ya. Ammy it's okay, he's trying to find help for his curse." She calmed down and panted softly, turning her head slightly with intrigue at James, who approached once more to pet her tentatively. "Ahhh...good...girl?" She seemed to smile, or at least appear happier about the newcomer and whimpered with a little lick of the lips. "Hehe, you're kind of adorable actually." "She gotta look for a goddess after all," said Felicia, to which Miss B replied with: "As do witches, naturally." "So...okay, you're a cat girl, you're a witch, and you're a wolf goddess...what's Gene, a vampire?" "Nope, he's part-God now." "Oh, okay, just wanted to keep track of the crazy shit." "Hahaha, fair enough dear. You must think this place quite strange for gathering those like us. But that's the magic of the Makai Realm, a lot of people from all over seem to end up here, even from other dimensions such as you, me and dear Ammy here. This is...something like a gap year for me." "Aaaah haha, from what, Hogwarts?" "Whatever do you mean?" "Eh...actually I dunno...never mind. Though I wonder why a goddess is hanging out at a bar of all places." "We're not sure ourselves actually, Ammy came here sometime after cleaning up her world. She was just...drawn to this place by an instinct she cannot shake off. Not entirely sure why. But is that not life? To be drawn towards the unknown longing for a purpose?" "Hey hey, don't get all philosophical on me, I was just curious." "Well, truthfully, I don't know, but we always appreciate her for being here." "Can she help me get rid of this...thing inside me?" "Hmmm...Ammy?" The wolfess gently padded up towards FG, staring intently into his eyes. The raptor stared back, her beautiful canine gaze piercing into his soul with a heavenly warmth. His heart swelled at first, as if he was starting to fall in love again. But it was merely the goddess' influence, radiating through his very being. Some other part of him however felt a god-fearing shiver that made him balk slightly. She searched within him, tracing the source before gasping and flinching back with a snarl.

James stepped back a little hazily, his head swimming with the effects of Amaterasu's presence fading away. "What is it girl?!" asked Felicia, reading the dog's expressions. "...oooh." "Wha-what what, what she find out?" "...yep. It's a demon." "Oh-kaaay is that bad?" "Well yer not crazy so that's good. Yer just...cursed. I dunno how to fix it though." "Quite frankly," added Miss B, "none of us have any real idea on how to deal with that. You would have to find a more powerful demon who actually does understand others of his kind." "But what about you guys?!" "...weren't you listening dear? Witch, cat girl, wolf goddess, half-god. We are not demons." "But you guys must know SOMETHING about them!" "Well a LITTLE bit but not everything, and this...thing inside of you is something we have never encountered before really. Are you even from this world James?" "...no." "Then my point exactly. Listen, why don't you help us clean up, then we can work on some sort of plan to help you with this, alright?" "Alright then, guess we better get this place all sorted anyway." With little else to say, James assisted in cleaning up the rest of the bar, the debris piled up neatly to one side in order of furniture types to be dealt with at a later date. The crater was given a wide berth with a warning sign promptly placed in front of it. It was hardly satisfactory, but Gene really didn't care. After everything had been cleared away, Ammy went to work herself in cleaning up the place with a good sprucing up with her powers, namely filling in gougemarks and purifying burnt areas back to their original look. The large hole would have to be dealt with more precisely at another time. After this, they finally got down to discussing the nature of James' curse, sitting in a backroom of the bar on a sofa and two chairs. The raptor explained all he could about the mysterious red demon, the legendary demon Firebrand. At that very name, all of them sat up with surprise. "Wait wait wait," sputtered Felicia, "YOU met Firebrand!? THE Red Arremer?!" "Uh...yeah, is he that famous?" "He's like a LEGENDARY demon an-" "Yeah I get THAT part fine, does it help at all?" "It totally does! If he told you himself that he sensed darkness in ya, he MUST know about it as a demon himself! We gotta go find him!" "W-wait, seriously? You...you're seriously suggesting we go and find this guy?" "Of course dear," said Miss B. "There's nobody else who'll fit the bill quite so snugly for demon lore as him. Why, he's practically part of demon lore himself! You're very lucky to have met him...and even more lucky to have survived, so I hear." "So...what do we do?" "Well, you'll have to go find him, challenge him, and have him tell you on how to deal with your predicament. Course you'll have to fight him for it, demons do tend to be all about muscle and infernal affairs." "W-woah, no way, I can't fight him! He kicked my ass! He broke my JAW!" "Then you'll have to get better at it won't you? That's the only way." "Are you sure there's like no other way for me to like...find another demon, one who WON'T fight?" Had FG heard himself say this, he would not have believed it was him advocating a diplomatic solution. "Sorry James, that's the rules. And then there's actually finding him." "OOH OOH I know I know!" piped up Felicia, "I know where he is!" "Where?!" "He's in Europe! He always hangs out around there, I think in France usually in some ol' tower. Johnny told me about seein' him once when he was travellin', that's our best bet!" "And this...Johnny...is he reliable?" "Totally! He'd never make up stuff trust me!" "Well...alright then...god dammit, Europe? I have to go to Europe?!" "Mmhmm! And I'm comin' with ya!" "W-wait, what?!"

The table all turned towards the kitty, who smiled sweetly before giving James a fond noogie. "I can't have ya wanderin' all alone out there in big scary Europe now can't I?! Ya gotta have a guide with ya!" "B-but what about you?! What about the orphanage and stuff?" "Oh they'll understand, I'm always travellin', dontcha worry about that!" "...uh...o-okay then I...d-damn, thanks Felicia." "Heehee, no prob FG." She hugged him tightly, bouncing up and down excitably in her chair at the prospect of an adventure with a newfound friend. James however was worried. As much as he loved the fact he would not be alone with the adorable kitty, he was frightened for her safety, both from travel and from himself. Naturally he had to voice his concern. "But...what about my...demon? What if he tries to hurt you?" "Pfft, don' worry about that, I can handle a nasty boy like him." "Uh...a-a-alright, if you say so." "Well then," added Miss B, "I think you two have your plans all sorted, do you need any help arranging a flight kitty?" "Mmmmm I wouldn't mind a teeeny bit of help thanks, if ya can." "Oh please, I can get you a flight any day you like." "OOH, how about uhhhh Wednesday? Thassa good day right?" "It is indeed." She snapped her fingers in a way that made James half-expect a pair of flight tickets to magically appear in her hand. But alas, her right hand remained empty, and instead she pulled out a cellphone from an unseen pocket with her other hand. James pulled Felicia to one side while Miss B handled a technical discussion with her acquaintance. "Um, Felicia?" "Yeah?" "What's...Firebrand like? I mean, who IS he?" "He's an ol' demon from way back in the beginning wars between humans and demons, kind of a veteran but he can still kick yer butt." "Don't have to tell ME that." "But yeah, he's not a bad guy really, just some ol' demon from the past, yanno how it is." "Yeah like some kinda war veteran? Does he still hate humans or...?" "Mmmmmnah, least not like he makes a big THING out of it, he just hides away from 'em...kinda understand why." Her ears drooped very softly with a sympathetic glimmer in her eyes, before it was cast away a second later with her usual pep. "You ever been to Europe FG?" "Ahhhh not the mainland no, so this'll be pretty new for me I guess." "Hehehe, I have, I'll show ya all the places, maybe we can even go to London, OOH maybe you can meet Johnny!" "Attention darlings!"

Miss B snapped her fingers thrice to bring the two's attention to her. "Your flight shall depart from Las Vegas Airport at 14:07pm this Wednesday to London. I'll have the proper papers for you soon." "YAY, London, awesoooome!" "Aw man tha-...wait...London? And...papers?" "Well, do you have a passport for starters?" "...shit, no." "Oops. Well, no matter, I'll have one made for you, I know a few old rogues who have some fantastic artistry with those." "Hah, forgery?" "Oh now now James, that's a dirty word." The way she said that made the raptor's boxers twinge with a submissive urge. "I prefer the word...replication." "Hey, fine by me, I'll go with whatever." "Splendid...now, do you have a place to stay?" "He's stayin' at my place!" said Felicia, "an' I'll make sure no nasty demon comes outta ya FG, dontcha worry!" "You sure about that?" "Trust me!" She winked and pawed at his face cutely, making him smirk. "Alright then, I'll trust you...anything else?" "Nnnnnnope! We leave in two days, OOOH this is gonna be so FUN! I really hope we get to meet Johnny, you'd love him FG, he's so cool!" The catgirl brought her paws to her cheeks and squealed like a schoolgirl with excitement. James merely smirked at Miss B who rolled her eyes. He wasn't entirely sure how this was going to turn out. As much as he enjoyed being around Felicia, the perky fun-loving feline she was that always managed to lift his spirits, he was still rather concerned on how well she would fair with both a dangerous journey and an even more dangerous companion. All he could hope was that she was strong enough for it, stronger than she had proven herself to be in the bar brawl. Little else would occur in their last days of Las Vegas. James had somehow managed to avoid being reported about the brutal murder in his hotel room, of which no news had occurred of it that were noteworthy. Either this was something normal to the demon inhabitants, or this was something normal for Las Vegas itself. He glibly believed the latter, smirking at the idea that it was. With what little James could carry with him in his satchel, they decided to play it safe and carry everything into a backpack for luggage, including his scissors. It was bad enough carrying a normal pair on board, and while this world was far more lax concerning strange and unusual weapons being taken onto flights, they had their own precautions in place for it, namely in the form of demonic seals that suppressed them in containment.

James did not mind, he was rather relieved by such a notion and hoped the same applied to the demon inside him. There were already many of them on board alongside humans, and both him and Felicia managed to get on without a hitch. His passport, as false as it was, was a perfect copy of a British passport, complete with his name, nationality and date of birth. The only lie within its details was the year of his supposed birth being 1971. His age however was correct to avoid suspicion, and on later comparison with Felicia's genuine passport, he discovered that he was literally two years younger than Felicia. This made him worry less, the slight age gap giving her the edge in experience even if she was of this world. For the next seven hours, James slept to the sounds of the plane engines, surrounded by passive monsters and humans. Eventually they landed in London, much to James' displeasure at having returned to a parallel home, which he tried to hide until it became just simply unbearable the moment he stepped out of Heathrow. "I still can't believe we couldn't go to Paris," he grumbled. "Sorry FG," said Felicia, "but it was cheaper, and Paris is having problems right now, can't take in any flights." "Yeah, didn't you say there was an airport strike?" "Mmhmm! But! We're here in jolly ol' London!" "Ohhh blimey." "What's wrong?" "You know I came from London right? I ran away from it rather." "Yeah but this isn't YOUR London, right?" "Yeaaaah?" "So what's the problem?!" "...I dunno, it's just so weird to come...back in a way. ...since we're here, maybe we can visit some places an-" "YES, YES WE CAN, COME ON!" "Wha-AUGH HEY!" Dragged off against his will, the raptor was taken by Felicia all over London town. Despite having been to the British capital many times, she absolutely enjoyed revisiting all of the sights again. It was bizarre for the raptor to see his old home so overwhelmed by demons, with many places now completely altered from both war and foreign influences. Trafalgar Square had been decimated then rebuilt with a new statue of a Napoleonic demon general, Piccadilly was somehow smaller, and the Thames, bizarrely, was somehow cleaner. It wasn't until he saw the fishdemons swimming within it that he understood how. What better a waste management system than sea creatures who lived on filth? Felicia also enjoyed FG's own tidbits of the London from his homeworld, pointing out the differences and similarities. Big Ben always stood no matter what dimension it was in, ringing out the Greenwich Meridian Time all across the world. Even the raptor who hated his hometown could not help but smile fondly at that old reliable bell, the sound of Westminster Quarters pealing in from across the Thames. James also decided to drag Felicia around in turn, showing her some lesser sights throughout.

One place he was especially curious to learn of, were the addresses of both the orphanage he grew up in and the apartment his family lived. The Iqra-Monassi Orphanage in Barking was just another house in a rather mundane street, which pleased him somewhat in not having to relive any memory. The apartment he was born in at Savoy Row was just simply an upper-class apartment. This hurt him far more than he expected it to. Felicia gently took him away and sat him down near a cafe, sitting outside with some soothing hot chocolate for both of them to relax to. It was certainly very quaint with iron-barred windows of Tudor design, even when beneath the blood-red moon that had kept its eye upon the world. James hadn't noticed it much in the past days of being here, but the moon had always been red since he first came here. Felicia soon explained that she had arranged to meet someone with them. "I managed to get a message to a friend of mine, he'll help us out a LOT with finding Firebrand for ya." "Oh good...you sure have a lot of friends dontcha?" "Hehee, well, I try to be nice to everyone is all." "Yeah...problem with me is I make some friends but I have to leave them when I leave their worlds." "Then...why dontcha stay? I mean...you talked about yer home an' it don't SOUND great." "Because I NEED to know if Sarah's okay. ...I'll accept if she's dead but...I just need to know. I need to do this, it's all I have." "Awww...okay, I understand." She gently squeezed his hand, reassuring him with the prospect that he would, but for now he had the demon's curse to deal with. He was still rather unsure over how that even happened, struggling to remember anything that would have cursed him so. He wasn't entirely sure if Silent Hill was cruel enough to offer him a parting gift after all it had dragged him through, but he would not be surprised somehow if it did. Eventually, she sprang up out of her chair and ran towards a shadow appearing through the London's cold misty streets. "JOHNNY!" With a delightful squeal and a super-tight hug, her white kitty arms wrapped firmly around a hulking huge werewolf. Grey fur with white front, huge yellow claws at the end of ripplingly huge muscular arms, bare-chested with a pair of purple slacks and a yellow martial arts belt firmly knotted at the top. Were James in his usual carefree mood, he would have allowed himself to become quite enamoured with the handsome beast. His voice certainly gave enough reason, deep with masculinity as he wrapped a single arm around her. "You are looking well Felicia," he said sternly. "Mmhmm, so are you, you been workin' out more, maybe a different routine?!" "No. I am surprised to see you in town, I did not hear anything about a new tour." "OH, I'm not touring right now, I got a friend here who needs yer help."

She looked over towards the raptor, who felt it courteous to stand up and offer his hand to shake. "Pleased to meet you sir, I'm uh...James Campbell-" "-but you can call him FG if ya want!" "-and uh...Felicia told me you could help me hunt down a demon?" The werewolf shook his hand in turn, completely covering the raptor's claws within his powerfully firm paw. "Jon Talbain. You've been living in America for quite some time haven't you?" "Heh, you guessed the accent huh?" "Enough to know you lived here for at least...sixteen years?" "Fourteen." "Even better," added Felicia, "he's not even FROM this dimension, like, he's from some parallel London!" "Really?" Talbain's ears perked up slightly with curiosity. "Intriguing...why don't we sit down?" The three of them sat together, with Jon ordering himself a cup of tea which looked absurdly small within his huge claws. Despite such a beastly appearance, his elegance in cup-handling without a single slurp was incredible. James felt like a commoner as he slurped his hot chocolate, something he hadn't felt since he was back in his own home. He tried not to resent Jon for making him feel such. With Felicia's permission, James did his best to explain everything that had occurred to him since his arrival. Any mention of Firebrand caught the werewolf's attention as he leaned in closer with intrigue. The mentioning of darkness and potential demon possession sealed the deal for him. "It certainly sounds like a demon's curse," said Talbain gravely, "and as Felicia's friends say, only a demon would know what sort of curse it is precisely." "So...you'll help us find this Firebrand guy?" "I will do my best to find him, but it will be difficult. Even for a Darkstalker." "Wait, what the hell's a Darkstalker?" "Certain creatures who have gained a rather...infamous reputation among mankind. Even their own kind are not safe from such branding, especially within the rural areas where the church's control is strong." "Oh god, not witch-hunts...it's witch-hunts, isn't it?" Jon Talbain nodded, with Felicia looking rather sad at where this conversation was going before she quickly changed its course. "SO uh Johnny, how ya gonna be able to find Firebrand fer us?!" "I will search for any creature that befits his description. As much as humans cannot tell the difference between two shades of darkness, there are ways to discern them properly. Do not fear Felicia, I will find him. Do you have a place of address I can contact you at?" "Oh yeah, we got a reservation arranged fer us by Miss B, over at the Pavilion near Trafalgar!" "Good. What room number?" "Room 312, leave a message fer me." "Ahhh...I see. I will come and see you myself, do not worry." The ghost of a smile flickered along his grim snout. James had to wonder how deep their relationship went between the excitable kitty and the cold lone wolf. "Awwww ya just can't resist bein' away from me fer too long cantcha?" "You know I have never forgotten about you Felicia." He smiled just a tiny bit more, with James resisting the urge to smirk in turn. Damn, thought FG, maybe they're like exes or something...I can totally see them together, that'd be adorable. With the discussion having little else to go, they soon departed, with a big hug from Felicia to Talbain, and a handshake from the raptor to him in turn. They soon parted ways, the werewolf fading back into the nightly shadows of old London town as Felicia took James to the hotel. In accordance to the new dangers imposed by the Makai Realm, some more prestigious hotels were now capable of keeping demon possessions locked down during their stay. But James still realised two things, as did Felicia privately. Not every place they would stay at would have such an advantage for them, and the demon could only grow stronger in all that time. They both hoped to themselves that they would find the Red Arremer soon.

One night became a nightmare for the raptor, as his state of mind further deteriorated. He was trying not to get shaken by this cursed thing inside of him, but when it started to infect his sleep, it was impossible not to be. A distant shore as black as oil. Soundless waves of dark amethyst gently lapping at his feet. Giant gears half-sunken within the sea. The moon shined a piercing white that burned into his skull like the desert sun, hanging just above the dark violet horizon. He walked into the water, finding it to be shallow enough to only come up to his thighs. Wading further into the indigo sea, James gazed all around himself. The water made no sound, no matter how often it rippled around him. Black sharp obelisks suddenly shot up from the water all around him, impaling the sky itself which appeared to be nothing more than a now-cracked ceiling. Yet still he heard nothing, wading onwards through the thick seawater. The moon shone with temptation for him, beckoning him to come closer. Words were mouthed, yet he did not hear himself speak. As the ocean became more cluttered with black pyramid spires and unmoving gears, the moon slowly began to change its form. Something was falling off of it, a small black tear. It landed upon the water, turning larger from the distance. James soon realised it was a creature walking towards him. A tall man dressed in a black cloak, completely obscuring his face. His hands were gloves of night, his boots firm upon the water like obsidian stone. "This world has been connected." His voice was deep, yet had the slightest tremble of age. James tried to answer, but his words remained silent. "Tied to the darkness...your fate shall be consumed within darkness." The raptor turned panicked, trying to answer back on how he could save himself. "Light." The stranger turned towards the moon, his thick-gloved finger outstretched to the sky. "Go." He then walked past James without another word, leaving the raptor alone within the sea. He continued on, trying to reach the moon, to bathe himself within its blessed light. The moon's appearance soon changed, morphing and fading with a holographic resonance. Wings slowly formed from its craterous hide, unfurling themselves to flap moondust across the sea. The ocean turned blue, then to orange. Alternating both colours back and forth without stopping as the butterfly flew closer towards him, its size immense as its hazy wings blanketed James with its lunar mist. He breathed it in. He felt himself start to cough, violently. He tried to drink the water to clear his throat, but it only made things worse, screaming hoarsely which he at last was able to hear. Words spilled from his mouth like the blood that soon followed, the poisonous moondust killing him swiftly. Words that were not his own, lost within some hidden part of his mind. "J-john...son...m-mister...Johnson...I don't...want this...I don't want this...u-u-uhk..." He fell into the water, drowning silently forevermore into the darkening abyss that opened itself up beneath him. The depth of the sea was soon revealed at last, as his eyes bleary within the water soon saw that most terrible shadow. The shadow of the creature who had mocked him before. It swam towards him, its words thick with gleeful cruelty. "You've met a terrible fate...haven't you?"

When he woke up, he did everything he could to not burst into shaking tears, to not alert Felicia who slept in her own bed beside him. His mind was harrowed with fear, struggling to keep himself awake to drive the fear away. But his fear brought another feeling inside of his heart. A deepening violent pain, one he remembered experiencing before the massacre in his hostel room. At the moment of its attempted awakening, he curled up into the foetal position and whimpered, struggling not to scream as the deep wounding pain turned ever more powerful. The demon, whatever it was, was trying to reawaken once more, but it had not expected the power of the demon seal upon the hotel room. The moment it tried to burst forth, the raptor's eyes flickering to black very briefly, the seal awakened to suppress it. It appeared at the hotel room door as the twelve tenets of the Sephirot, a multi-branching multi-layered seal that while was not THE most powerful, was enough to detain most things of a possessive nature. The demon roared inside of James, but only the raptor could hear it. The sound of its frustration made him even more fearful, crying out loud enough to wake up Felicia. She hurriedly came to his side, to try and soothe him as the seal did its work. Soon, the creature had retreated back inside of him, leaving the raptor to recover from the painful experience. It felt as if his entire body was about to explode from the sheer pressure of such a supernatural force inside of him. Felicia merely held him tightly to calm him down. James, in a moment of fearful weakness, wept into her shoulder, holding her tightly in return.