Well then

Bookkeeper remained silent a moment longer. "I would need you to act as a messenger. To warn those in possible danger, those who had disappeared of the potential threat. But many of them are ones who oppose Morspallidum. And I cannot promise that whatever may be coming after them won't come after you and the Deathghoul. So, I ask you to think about it once more. If you do not wish to betray Morspallidum, and do not wish to put yourself at such a risk, I will not force you. If need be, I shall become the messenger myself." The man said and took another sip from his mug. "But I am also afraid that Morspallidum himself has been dragged into this a long time ago, whether he knows it or not. And I am fairly certain that I would not be able to warn him, without having to face him in battle."
'Koi looked down, petting Jahmzji as she thought. '​If I do this... How angry would Mr. Mors be..? Would it hurt him...?​' Koi didn't want to disappoint Mr. Mors... But... She may have to. For a short time, that is. Koi chewed on her lip, for a few tense moments, Jahmzji nuzzling close, sensing the distress she felt. Koi took a deep breath & put her hands on her knees. She squeezed her eyes shut, clenching her hands into fists, and took a few tense breaths through clenched teeth. This seemed to be very difficult for her, and Jahmzji rubbed against her arm in order to comfort her. ​'Mr. Mors... I'm sorry..​ Koi snapped her eyes open, and forced herself to relax. "...I'll do it.." Koi's voice was soft as she spoke, her eyes staring at her mug of hot chocolate as she continued to force the tense muscles she had to relax. It was done. Koi had devoted herself to this. There was no going back. Koi was needed.
The Bookkeeper nodded. "Thank you, Koi. I will do all I can to help you if things go awry." He said, taking a small stack of photographs out from under the desk. Was there a drawer there? "As I said before, back when Morspallidum disappeared, so did many others. All from a certain part of Aerilon, or, at the very least, located there at the time." He spoke as he laid the photos out on the desk, each a portrait photo of an inhabitant of the town. There were several she would recognize: John, Leonard, Hank, Mors, Gacko, and then a series of people she most likely wouldn't. Two young, long-haired women, one with red hair, the other with purple. A rugged looking man, appearing to be some kind of thug. A group of photos showing your average day-to-day killers of Aerilon, and several seeming civilians. And, finally, another group of photos depicted several of Mors' officers, back from when his army still stood in full strength. "When Morspallidum disappeared, so did all of these people. And..." Booky then moved the killers, the civilians, and most of Mors' officers but one to the side. "Only so many came back. According to the few informants I have in Aerilon, those that didn't have been appearing in the forest, either dead, or... Changed. The Deathghoul's officers returned normal at first as well, but it would seem something got to most of them as well. What I wish for you to do, is find these... survivors, and warn them."
Koi nodded, scratching at Jahmzji's side, humming softly as she saw the pictures. ​'Okay... I'll go see... Hmm... I'll go and see the ones that I know I can find, first...'​ Koi thought. ​'Unless....'​ "Whom do you recommend that I see first, Mr. Book Man?" Koi asked, relaxing herself back into her normal childish self. Jahmzji was staring at the pictures, or more specifically, Hank's picture. Koi noticed that, and became momentarily distracted. "Jahmzji. I will not have you boop any alcoholics like him. He's a disgusting person, ruining himself with alcohol. Understand?" Koi poked the space between Jahmzji's eyes, just above their mouth. Then she noticed that she'd gotten distracted, and flushed pink in embarrassment. "O...oh... Sorry about that, Mr. Booky. P..please continue." Jahmzji looked amused at Koi's embarrassment if anything.
The man watched the interaction between Koi and the fish with the faintest smile. "I would suggest you begin with those you know and can find on your own. I will have Harold try and locate the rest for you. Whether you warn Morspallidum one of the first is up to you entirely. Though, from experience I must say he's someone who hardly needs a warning to be prepared to fight." The Bookkeeper said and chuckled lightly. "Good luck, Koi. I will be doing my best to keep you and the others safe. Is there anything else you would wish to know before you go? There is still time for you to ask questions. It goes much slower here in the plains of nothingness."
Koi smiled. "Mr. Book Man, I do have a lot of questions. Why am I here, when I'm supposed to be dead, Why didn't Koikoi die when Koikoi jumped... And others, like, What's a lottery? But, you see... If you answered all of Koikoi's questions... Then what would Koikoi do? I'd... Yes, I do have questions.. But I'd prefer to answer them myself, sir." Koi shrugged, and finished sipping at her hot chocolate. Koi smiled at Booky, and gently set the cup down onto the desk. Jahmzji immediately went and stuck it's entire face into the mug, as if inspecting to make sure the cup was empty. But the fish git stuck, and Koi, giggling madly, gently pulled the fish unstuck.
Booky smiled as well and nodded. "If so, would you like to be brought back to Aerilon now? And, though you don't have to start right away, I do urge you to make haste with the warnings. Dark times may lie ahead for everyone in Aerilon." Harold appeared in between the bookcases once more, and took away the now empty mugs, taking them back to wherever it was he had gotten them from. "But I do believe there is still hope, and plenty of it." The man continued, the smile returning to his face.
Koi just smiles at Booky and hummed happily, before nodding. "Well, you know what they say, Mr. Booky. 'There's no time like the present'." Koi reached out and gently grasped Jahmzji in her arms, before holding the fish close. "Yeah. I think I should go." Koi says, nodding.
"Farewell, and good luck, Koi. Until we meet again." The Bookkeeper said and snapped his fingers. Moments later, Koi would find herself getting hurled through the plains of nothingness, just like she felt when traveling from the forest to the library. After a second of this, she would be back in the clearing in the middle of the forest. The portal to the library gone, and the only indication of anyone ever having been there being a burnt out cigarette on the ground.
When Koi finally picked herself up, she already knew where she was going. Hank's. As much as she disliked him... She knew where he lived, and that's the only reason why she was going. But, Lord, did she despise that man. He was one of those people... Who KNEW drinking was bad for them, and did it BECAUSE of that. It pissed her off. She'd much rather have people actually do something ​worthwhile​ with their lives. Truthfully, she was angry at Hank. At least ​HE​ still had a heartbeat. At least ​HE​ could grow up and get old. At least ​HE​ still had a future. At least she thought so. But, you see, Koi didn't. Koi had no heartbeat. She was dead. Koi was forever stuck looking like an 18 year-old. She was a spirit of a child with a physical form. There was no future for a dead person. And she was angry at Hank throwing away what she never got. And that was why she hated him so much. Koi poofed nearby to Hank's mansion, and knocked on the door loudly. If nobody came to the door, well, Koi would probably just poof herself inside. Jahmzji floated besides her head, and nuzzled Koi's cheek in a momentarily display of affection. She smiled softly at Jahmzji, before waiting for someone to answer the door.
From inside the mansion one would hear lots of glass clanging, shuffling and grumbling after Koi had knocked. This continued for a short while, until the clanging stopped, and the shuffling began to draw closer. Eventually, the lock clicked, and the door opened slightly, an eye peeking out. Through the small gap between the door and the wall, Koi would be able to see the iconic, white jacket and pants, as well as sense the smell of alcohol. "Who the hell are you, and what'd'you want, kid? I'm- *hic* -a busy man." Hank grumbled out, looking the girl over. He didn't recognize her at first, though she did strike him as somewhat familiar somehow. He just couldn't quite place her in his memory just yet.
Koi sneered at Hank for a moment, wrinkling her nose at the overbearing smell of alcohol on the man. "Hello again, Mr. Hank! Wasting your life again as usual, I suppose? That's just ​fine and dandy​. You probably don't remember me, but I'm Koi. I'm Morspallidum's minion and friend. And I you're too drunk to realize that this is serious, and you need to realm stop drinking so much, cuz something's coming, then it's your loss." Koi said, losing her childish nature. "​Filthy alcoholic.​" She muttered under her breath.
Hank blinked. "Oh, yeah. You're the kid that hangs out with he Deathghoul. And, wait- what? What do you mean something's coming? Kid, if some murderous fucknugget tries anything on me, well. I can take care of myself, sober or not." He squinted at her. "Wait, or is this about Mors? Is that bastard going after me again?" He asked, opening the door slightly more. The house behind him was dark, only a single light on in a room to the left. "That didn't go swimmingly for him last time, you know."
Koi smiled. She had his attention. That was good. "Not exactly." She said, giving a shrug. "You see, I just met with a man whom goes by the Bookkeeper. And..." Koi suddenly frowned, and looked around. "...May I come in? It's probably best I don't spill all of this information at your doorstep." Koi saw Jahmzji fixing to glide on over to Hank's face, about to give him a boop, and Koi gently grasped Jahmzji and held him to her chest. "Jahmzji, no. What did we ​just​ talk about?" Koi sighed, then scratched at Jahmzji's scales in a loving manner, shaking her head with a exasperated, yet happy, smile.
"Oh, Booky? Haven't seen that guy in a *hich* long time now. Should visit the library some time soon." The drunkard fighter said, taking a step back from the door and opening it wider. "Sure, you can come in. But don't try anything funny, got it? I may be drunk, but I can still kick your ass, too." He said, letting Koi in and closing the door behind her. The room to the left would be the living room, bottles of vodka, scotch, beer, whiskey, gin and vermouth strewn about the ground and furniture. To the right there was an unlit dining room, and a staircase straight ahead led both up and down, supported by marble columns. Fancy.
As Koi followed Hank, she merely hummed in response to his words, and looked into the room on the left, grimacing. ​Ew.​ Jahmzji had wriggled outta Koi's hands and sped out in front of Hank, and was currently zipping around the mansion. There was a loud '​Smack!​' sound as Jahmzji sped right into a wall, and fell to the floor in shock. Koi just blinked, and giggled at that, as she followed the alcoholic through the mansion. Jahmzji quickly recovered, though, and continued speeding around, occasionally smacking into stuff, because the fish couldn't see in the dark.
Hank lead to the living room, and plopped himself down on the couch, amidst several empty glass bottles of vodka. "Feel free to take a seat." He said, gesturing towards one of the empty armchairs set around the coffee table in the middle of the room. "So, what's going on, exactly? And why are you here warning me about something? Fairly sure your boss wouldn't care much if something were to happen to me. Matter of fact, he'd probably be joyous."
Koi's eye twitched, as she watched Hank lay around the empty bottles. She took a few breaths to try and calm herself down, before completely giving up on it. "First off, I'm sorry, but I cannot deal with this. Just... ​Eugh..​." Koi shudders, and snaps her fingers, and all of the empty bottles strewn about the room were put in a manifested bin. Once that was done, Koi seemed to visibly relax, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. "Again, I apoligize. It's an issue with me. Sorry." Koi shook her head, and sighed. "Annnywayyys, I'm actually not here on Mr. Mors's orders. You're right. Mr. Mors would love to see you get hurt. But Mr. Book Man told me I had to warn you. You see..." With that, Koi began to explain what had happened a few months ago. How he, Mr. Mors, Gacko, & Leonard went to go and retrieve The Book of the Dead, only to disappear. She explained how all these people went missing, and only some of them returned. And how some of them returned... Different. Or dead. When she finished, she blinked, and manifested a water bottle, taking a sip from it, as her throat hurt from talking so much. Then she sat, and awaited Hank's response.
"...Well, fuck." He responded. "I don't remember any of that." The drunk put a hand on his chin, leaning forward slightly. "The Book of the Dead... Huh." Hank sighed and rubbed out his eyes. A screech of some sort echoed outside, most likely that of some creature of Aerilon doing like the creatures of Aerilon do. "Right. Well, thanks, I guess. But, like I said, I'll be able to handle myself. Gacko should return soon enough, and I'll warn 'em about it then. Though Gacko can also kick a whole lot of ass." He stood up, placing his hands in his pockets. "Now, you should probably..." *Ding-Ding*. Hank stopped and turned around at the sound of the doorbell. "Probably Gacko. Listen, if that was it, you can go now. The mansion's warded to all hell, too, so I shouldn't worry about any magic attackers or something." He said, heading towards the door. "Nothing can teleport in, or out." Hank opened the door, hiccuping slightly.
Koi was curious at that and tried to poof out of the house, only to find that she couldn't. ​Huh​. She followed Hank to the door, to leave. Then she remembered Jahmzji. She stopped for a moment and turned around, whistling for the fish friend before turning back around and patiently waiting for Hank to step aside so that Koi could take her leave.
"Who the hell are you?" Hank asked in front of the door. He jumped back slightly as a bat was swung at him, just barely missing. A somewhat crazed looking man with shaggy hair, a deranged grin on his face, an odd-looking eye and scarred neck stepped in as Hank took a combat stance. He was followed by what appeared to be two shades. Koi would be able to recognize the man as the thug from Booky's photos, and the shades seemed to resemble those they encountered in the realm she and Morspallidum invaded before their disappearance. "Who am I, human?" The man asked, resting the bat over his shoulder. "I am a man chosen by the lord to rid this world of the plague which inhabits it. To cleanse the Earth of the filth called humanity." His grin widened as he pulled back his bat, Hank snorting at the display. "I am Balam, leader of the Human Eradication Army, and you are my next target." He swung ahead, only to have his weapon be deftly deflected by a short burst of white flames. Hank glanced back at Koi. "Hey, Kid. Feel free to take the back door in the kitchen to get out. Check on Gacko. He should be at the club." The man swung at Hank again, laughing. Hank blasted the attack away, and went for a jab mixed with flame, but was surprised to have his fist violently beaten aside by the man, making him wince.
Koi sneered for a moment, and appearing in her battle attire. She glared. "Allow me to take care those two in the background at least before I go. Those kind..." Koi took her gun out from her belt and put in some of her energy to charge it. "...Are what I know how to deal with." Jahmzji had sped between the two fighting men, going in and swirling around the two shades in an attempt to distract them. "Mr. Mors and I have fought many of these shadow creatures before." Koi spoke, grinning.
"Right, you do that!" Hank said, blocking another swing from the bat, having to step back. "You sure can give a good hit, asshole." He said, and went for a punch, and had it knocked away once more. Another, and another. His arms were getting sore from it by now. He smirked. "Good at blocking my shots, too." Hank jumped back as another whack went his way. Flames lit up around both his arms a smile snuck up on his lips. "Block this, motherfucker!" He shouted at him, spraying his flames over the attacker, the white fires washing over his body. Meanwhile the shadows tried to hit down the fish, successfully distracted. Koi would have a clean shot. The flames eventually stopped, dust and petals floating down from where the man was just standing. Hank grinned to himself. "That's what you get, ass-" He was unable to finish his sentence, as a hard wood bat hit him in the back of the head, making a burst of blood spurt out. He stumbled forward, barely keeping himself from falling. Balam was standing behind him, virtually unscathed. "​Pathetic.​"
Koi had shot the two shades, causing them to implode into blue ash. She thought her job was finished and was fixing to go when she saw Hank almost fall to the floor. She growled, and clipped her gun to her belt, and summoned her staff, swinging it with all the force her inhuman body could muster, slamming the staff into the back of Balam's knees. "​How about you take your Human Eradication Army ​SHIT​, AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR ASS!​" Koi snarled. Koi was ​PISSED.​
Koi's staff would beknocked by the bat with immense force, enough to knock it out of her hands if she were a regular girl. He audibly laughed, and was about to retaliate, when he was pounced upon by the drunk. Hank clasped Balam's head, releasing more flames as the man struggled to be freed, repeatedly elbowing the fighter in the side, knocking the air out of his lungs. "Fucking- Koi, get out of here!" He exclaimed, just before the man's head darted back, into Hank's jaw. A nasty *crack* came from the bone as the drunk fell on his back, while Balam stood himself up.
 Koi's breath quickened and she just now began to realize that she was in deep shit. She unclipped her gun and gulped, backing away and charging the gun up, aiming it at Balam shakily, before completely ​running​ away like a coward. She dashed through the house and slammed out of the kitchen door, immediately poofing to Gacko's club. She completely ignored the guards at the front ad dashed into the club, looking frantically for the cosplayer. "​...Find Gacko... Gotta find Gacko...​" Koi huffed, talking to herself.
The club was only half-full, since it was the middle of the day, but there was still a reasonable amount of patrons there, mostly just hanging around. Gacko's 'Don't murder anyone in the club' policy made it a sort of safe haven for the less, well, murderous inhabitants of Aerilon. The cosplayer was standing by the bar, chatting up some customers. She was dressed as Yang today. Noticing Koi, her smile widened and she waved at her. "Hiya, Koi! What's with the rush, kiddo?" She asked, tilting her head.
Koi practically ran up to Gacko, and through huff of breath, they managed to get out "Hank in trouble. Needs help." Before blinking rapidly, and Jahmzji was nowhere to be found. Koi looked utterly spooked, probably because Balam was kinda disturbing... Anyways, yeah. Koi continued to tug on Gacko's sleeve. "Gotta go now, like, right now. Needs help right now. Wasting time!" Koi was blabbering at this point, but it's actually something that she's always done when under pressure.
Gacko blinked, then nodded. "Got it! Let's go!" She said, starting to run towards the front door, pulling Koi along. "Get a team to report to Hank's mansion ASAP!" She shouted to one of the guards along the way. The suited man nodded, and pulled out a radio as the cosplayer rushed outside. An orange motorcyle was already awaiting them there, one of the guards standing by it. Upon seeing her, he tossed her the keys.
Koi shied away from the motercycle. "I'll... Just poof.. If that's alright." She backed away and summoned her staff back into her hand and poofed back in front of the mansion, shaking slightly. She whistled for Jahmzji. But... Jahmzji didn't come. She refused to go near the front door of the mansion without Gacko, so she spent the next few minutes calling for Jahmzji. Jahmzji never showed up. Koi was starting to get panicky by this point, almost hyperventilating. "​Jahmzji?! Come here, buddy!" Koi called out shakily, whistling for her companion again. Jahmzji never came.
The motorcycle arrived soon, followed by a dark sedan. Gacko hopped off the bike and ran towards the door, past Koi, while a group of guards got out of the car and began to establish a perimeter around the building. Gacko rushed inside, and stopped right after the entrance. She dropped to her knees, placing her hand down on the ground in front of her. Down on a bloodied, formerly white jacket. Her fist clenched and she looked back at Koi. "What happened here?"
Koi shakily walked over to Gacko, and began to explain everything. from why she came, what she told, Hank, all the way up the the appearance of Balam. She described how nothing seemed to bother Balam, not even Hank's fire. She explained how he said his name, and how he was a leader for an army. An army that Mr. Mors was not leading. It was then that she noticed another staff identical to the one in her hand. She dropped the staff in her hand, and fell to her knees. "​No...​" Impaled on the other side of the staff, was Jahmzji. How Koi didn't realize it earlier was beyond her. It must've happened when Balam had knocked the staff out of Koi's hands, that Jahmzji was impaled. The long-time companion of Koi was definitely dead, as the staff impaled through Jahmzji's face. "​J...J....Jahmzji....​" She said, voice shaky.
Gacko looked over at Koi and the poor, dead fish. She gulped, glancing back at the jacket for a moment, before going over to the girl, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Koi... I'm sorry..." She hugged her, shaking as well. A moment later, she continued, pulling back. "If what you just told me is all true, we need to warn the others. We need to warn everyone. Go find Morspallidum, tell him to warn his forces. Prepare them to protect Aerilon. I will get my men to do the same." Tears were forming in her eyes as she spoke. She wiped them off with her hand. "We can bring them back. We... We need to find the book. If what you said is correct, then it's probably still somewhere in Aerilon."
Koi nodded shakily and slowly slid the corpse of her friend off the staff and cradled the corpse of Jahmzji, shakily smiling at Gacko before she turned away and walked out of the mansion, poofing back over to where she'd last seen Mr. Mors. She held Jahmzji's body still. Koi refused to put them down. At least for now. "...Mr. Mors...?" She called out to the Deathghoul, voice shaking slightly. "Mr. Mors... We have... A problem.." She said. Koi was trying her hardest not to cry, so it was no surprise that her voice was slightly choked.
"I know, child. And I am about to face it head on." The Deathghoul responded, looking back at her. "I have been feeling something approaching for the past week. I have been standing on this cliff, overlooking the valley, knowing that it'd appear here..." He blinked, seeing Koi the way she was, the fish dead in her arms. "It's already sent its minions, I see." He snarled, and looked back over the cliff. Down in the valley, a spot on the ground was slowly growing darker. The vegetation around it was dying, the ground seemingly oozing and bubbling, braking up and shattering. "Koi. Inform the troops we have amassed that they are to be prepared for battle." The tentacles burst out from both his back and his arms, the lord of his realm preparing to jump down. "I have family matters to attend to."
Koi nodded at Morspallidum and watched as the Deathghoul prepared to jump. "If at all possible... Make them ​pay​." She glared, before taking a few of Jahmzji's scales and using them to pin her hair up. Her eys flashed and she kissed her friend softly, before gently setting the body of the fish on the ground. Poofing to where the troops were. "EVERYONE TO ATTENTION!" Koi shouted, "NOW LISTEN UP. YOU NEED TO GET PREPARED FOR BATTLE. I WANT ALL OF YOU PREPARED IN THREE MINUTES. GO!" Koi was usually not as harsh with the soldiers, but she was upset and angry. Of course she's gonna be a little more harsh.
The soldiers looked over at each other for a moment, before one of the officers, the one Koi had seen in the photo, stood up. "You heard her, damn it! Get ready for battle, maggots!" The soldiers scrambled up, and began arming themselves, half with conventional weapons, the other half with weapon designed after Koi's gun. Meanwhile the officer went over to the portal set up nearby. "Where are we heading to, ma'am?" He asked, beginning to power the portal up. The new designed didn't require the sacrifice of the imps which Mors could now not summon. How convenient. | Meanwhile the Deathghoul had jumped down into the valley. The ooze on the ground began to rise up, up into the shape of a person, though never leaving its shadowy form. Once fully standing, it resembled the shadows, but was noticeably taller, just over 2 meters in height. Its eyes lit up, red, glowing orbs. "We meet at last, brother." It said, as misshapen, bent appendages burst out from its elbows, shoulders and knees, as well as two from the small of its back, ending in razor sharp blades. "So we do, Umbra." Morspallidum responded, lashing out his tendrils. "But we won't meet again, will we?"
Koi grinned slightlyand almost looked around to see what Jahmzji was doing before remembering that Jahmzji was dead. She blinked back tears and clenched her jaw. "Aerilon. We're headed to Aerilon. We're protecting the town from the enemy." Koi closed her eyes and hugged herself, muttering a mantra over and over again. "​Grant me the strength to win this, One in The Sky. Give me the powers to win, to fight.​" She chanted it multiple times, but nothing happened. Nothing... Noticeable. She sighed and relaxed, her arms going back to her sides. "Alright. Let's go."
 "Aerilon. One army ticket for the biggest shithole on Earth coming up." The officer said as the portal started up. He glanced back to make sure the army was in order, though much, much smaller than Mors' former legion, it was still respectable enough. About the size one would expect a large mercenary group to be. "Alright, men, once we're in there, split into squads and secure the town! Keep it protected from oncoming forces. As always, collateral damage should be avoided if not necessary. Now move out!" He called out, before running through the portal, followed by the rest of the army. | Morspallidum charged first, growling and stabbing ahead with the tendrils on his forearms. Umbra jumped back, making an attempt at slashing Mors with his knee blades, only to have them deflected by the tentacles on Morspallidum's back. They landed back on the ground, laughing. "Yes! I've been waiting so long for this! The worlds I have destroyed, leading up to this moment!" They exclaimed, before rushing at the Deathghoul. Mors snarled and jumped in the air, spinning and sending a whirlwind of tentacles and death down at the ground. It was a show of clashing appendages, with ooze and sparks launching in all directions as tendril met blade in the air, getting deflected away. Mors landed behind Umbra, who quickly spun around. Both of them uninjured. | Mors' army appeared in the middle of Aerilon, and immediately began taking defensive positions on the edges of the town. The citizens looked on in both fear and interest as snipers set themselves up on roofs, and the assault teams began to establish defensive positions on the roads. The officer stood in the middle of all this, looking over the squads to make sure all was in order. They had to make the most of the resources they had.
Koi snapped her fingers and manifested a pager. Koi had one for herself, and gave the other to the sole officer left in Mors's army. "Page me if anything goes wrong. Only if you absolutely need me, though, do you understand?" She gripped her staff tighter, and looked over everything. "Good luck." She spun around and poofed to the top of the tallest building in the area, looking for a certain building The building that Gacko, Hank, Mr. Mors and Leonard tried to break into. "​Hope the books is still there...​" She muttered to herself, "​Or else we're in big trouble.​"
The officer had nodded, and placed the pager in his jacket. He then proceeded to make his way to the fortification that squad 13 had just set up on the edge of the forest. He looked into the forest for a moment, then raised his gun. "They're here. Give 'em all you got!" He shouted out as shadows began to rise up between the trees. The soldiers opened fire, riddling the treeline and the shades residing in it with bullets, rendering the majority to ash. | The crossing of tendrils and blades continued in the valley. Mors ducked under one of Umbra's blows, resulting in the blade slicing clean through a tree, causing it to fall. Mors tried to use this as a chance to attack from below, and jabbed all of his tentacles forward. Two of the ones on his back met their target, slicing into his sibling's shadowy form. Umbra screeched, and sliced upwards with the appendages on their knees, leaving two large, oozing cuts in Mors' chest. The lord of his realm stumbled back, grinning. The two now stood in puddles of their own enema, wounded, but neither dead, or having a distinct advantage yet. | Several shades had appeared in front of the building the book had been stored in. The whole place appeared almost entirely deserted, with eve more boarded up windows, bullet holes, burn marks and old, dried up blood covering the walls. Not a pretty sight. Among the few shades stood Balam himself. He tried to open the door once, before kicking it open and heading inside. Koi would be able to see all of this, as it was very clearly visible from the building she was on. The soldiers posted around the area opened fire on the shades, of which more were appearing. A battle soon broke out down there. It was then that something tapped Koi on the shoulder, previously unheard. "'scuse me, miss, but what's goin' on down with those folk?"
Koi was watching Balam with a sneer, hands clenched into fists, and eyes barely containing the feeling of rage and of and of malice. Koi jumped when she was tapped on the shoulder, refusing to turn around, still on the verge of poofing. "What's going on? ​W a r is going on.​ And the key to winning it is with a book. A book that can grant immeasurable power.. And it's about to fall into the hands of the enemy." Koi spoke, voice flat, pulling her gun out from her belt, charging it up, and aiming it at one of the shade's down at the building. "I have to stop them." Koi turned to look at the person briefly. "They can't get their hands on the book, or else it's all over. If The book of the Damned gets into their hands...​ I can't lose Mr. Mors, too.​" Koi said softly, before turning back to the building.
Behind Koi stood everyone's beloved cowboy, master tracker and Squirrel Public Enemy #1, Leonard Castello. "War? Well ain't that just a fancy way of saying shooty-shooty-bang-bang." He said, before pulling his revolvers out of their holsters, spinning them around his finger once, then firing down. 10 seconds, 12 shots, 12 dead shades, reload in 4 seconds flat. The marksman holstered the guns again. "And though I don't like books, can't really read much without having my head hurt, and don't know what the dark things down there are, I think I do know Mors. And I don't like his anemones! I mean enemies. No, wait, anemones was right." | Mors and Umbra were both barely standing at this point. Umbra's shadowy form was wavering, and Morspallidum was covered in deep cuts, the black goop oozing from his every orifice. The Deathghoul snarled, and launched another attack at his sibling. Umbra laughed, deflecting the tendrils and stabbing Mors in the stomach, the blades from their elbows going through his entire body. Morspallidum shivered momentarily, before grinning, enveloping Umbra's head and neck in his tendrils. "You won't win, Umbra. You're too weak. Spineless." "Spineless? Brother, you have become the filth you reside in. We do not need spines. Father never wanted you to rule." "Yet he didn't cry when they found you dead." Umbra growled in response, beginning to tear apart Mors from the inside, trying to separate his body into two, while the Deathghoul's tendrils wrapped around Umbra's neck, beginning to slowly dig into the shadows, the tips of the tentacles gouging into the red orbs they had for eyes.
Koi grinned. She always liked Leonard's insane chatter. It always tended to cheer her up. "Hey, could you watch my back while I go into that building? I'm gonna go book-hunting. Unless you wanna come with me? I could use the help." Koi had her staff poof away, leaving her hands free to hold her gun. Koi stepped up onto the ledge of the building, preparing to jump on down. Meanwhile, near to Koi's nest, a there was a shift in the earth, and a muffled cry.
"Aye, aye, partner!" Leonard exclaimed, saluting. He then an over to the side of the building and sort of just... flopped off. The marksman landed atop of several shades, as well as what appeared to be twisted, dark beings crawling on all fours, with hanging jaws full of pointy, pointy teeth. While being quite aggressive, they did serve the purpose of miraculously softening Leonard's fall. Leo proceeded to riddle all surrounding beasts with bullets, before waving up at Koi, reloading, and strutting towards the front door of the building. | Umbra's head was sliced off just before they managed to tear open Morspallidum. The Deathghoul was panting, and bleeding profusely. He pulled the blades out from his body and stumbled back, lashing his tentacles feebly at the shadow now laying on the ground, before falling down on his back. It was then he heard it. Intense bubbling, and flowing sounds. He weakly raised his head to see the ooze on the ground flow towards the shadow, taking the decapitated head along with it. The body was becoming misshapen, forming into a huge blob of ooze, tendrils, eyes and appendages. An ear-shattering shriek escaped the creature. Umbra had taken their true form.
Koi immediately pooofed down to where Leonard was at. She stood in front of the door and held her gun out as she darted into the building. Koi told Leonard about the entire situation as she did so explaining about how they came to the building before and how it was to get this book. She explained the disappearances, and how most of people didn't return alive, and how some r returned... Different. She explained how the guy inside the building was super strong, and the leader of the enemy army. She explained how Balam killed Hank, and inadvertently murdered Jahmzji as well. "Any questions?" She asked the insane marksman, charging up her gun with a little bit of her energy.
"Yes. ​What is a Jahm-​. Jahmajz- Jahamzaji? Nevermind. No further questions, your honor." The cowboy said. The halls inside were mostly empty, but they could still hear something from one of them, leading to a large concert hall area. Inside, Balam was currently fighting several men in dark suits, wielding various blades and handguns. Gacko's men. Several were already dead on the floor, and it was clear that they stood no chance against Balam. And, at the very end of the room stood a podium. And on said podium, a book. Koi would notice she couldn't teleport once again, the area warded similarly to how Hank's mansion was. Leonard took his rifle off his back and aimed at the back of Balam's head."Hold it right there, mister!" He shouted, seemingly readying to squeeze the trigger. Then looked over his weapon. "Have you seen any squirrels in here? Trust me. It's important."
Koi took advantage of Leonard distracting Balam, and practically weaved through the various guards, spinning and jumping to avoid any possible fighting. Koi had a job to do, and she was going to finish it if it was the last thing she did. When she reached the glass container, she just shot the glass with her gun, the glass almost immediately shattering and exploding into blue ash. She reached and grabbed at the book, almost instantly having ti use some skillful evasive movements to evade the guards whom had dropped everything to pursue the girl who held The Book of The Damned in her arms.
"Squirrels?!" "Yeah. Squirrels. Ever thought what those furry assholes are thinking? Oh. I know what they're thinking. And it's ​evil.​." Balam looked mildly confused for a moment, then screamed in anger and rushed at the cowboy, winging his bat. Leonar dfired a single shot, and the broken handle of a wooden bat merely whizzed by his face, Balam blinking in confusion. "I think your thingy broke." Leonard said, pointing at the rest of the bat laying on the ground behind him. The Marksman then proceeded to riddle the attacker's head and chest with the remaining 11 bullets. Balam stumbled back for a moment, the shots having actually pierced through his flesh. He shook slightly, then returned to grinning. Shades began to rise up behind the cowboy as the guru spoke. "You are nothing but a mortal. I defeated the white dragon with ease. You do not stand a chance against me, Castello." "What's a dragon?" | Meanwhile the guards had begun to concentrate on the girl. Only a handful remained, wielding red-tinted machetes. They formed a circle around Koi, and started to close in on her. "Drop the book. We need to bring it back to Ms. Flame and get Lijon back."
Koi almost immediately relaxed and grinned at the men. "Oh! You're with Gacko! Well... I can't say yes, because I don't trust you. I do, however, trust Gacko!" Koi grinned. "How about I make you a deal. Take me to Gacko, and I'll personally hand the book over to 'em! I kinda need to figure out how to use the book, anyways. I have a master to help, and a friend to resurrect, and..." Koi raised her voice so that Balam could hear. "And a ​bastard​ to fuck up. I don't have time for this." Koi hugged the book to her chest, refusing to hand the book over. "I've got things to do, and a master to serve."
Leonard reloaded his weapons in a mere three seconds, and unloaded on the shades as they rose up. Balam growled, hearing Koi's words, and turned to face her and the guards, but had a bullet hit him in his spine. He screamed and stumbled forward, Leonard taking the next shot from his rifle at the back of his neck, followed by the back of the head. Balam fell down on his face, shaking, his form shifting into shadows itself. "I think I broke him. Also, I think he was actually made out of liquidy-squishy stuff." The marksman called out as the body in front of him disappeared. The guards looked between themselves, then one of them nodded. "We'll take you to Flame. Follow us." He said, as two guards took place behind Koi. He then began to lead the way outside, towards a car, as the sounds of screams, gunfire and shrieking echoed through the air. | Morspallidum grunted as his body was flung against a tree, nearly uprooting it with the strength with which he was thrown. His brothers true form towered in front of him, even bigger than Mors' own original form. The Deathghoul too raspy breaths as the many eyes turned to him, bladed appendages pinning him to the tree he had been bashed against, the blades going through his shoulders. "This will be where we say farewell, brother." Umbra spoke in a distorted voice. "It was a pleasure to finally have a real fight, but I do not have time to drag it on any further." The appendages then began to tear into the muscle even further, severing it as Morspallidum screamed in pain. Soon, the arms were ripped off, remaining on the blades for a moment before dropping onto the floor, turning into black ooze. Morspallidum fell down on his chest, barely breathing. Umbra's tendrils began to wrap around his form, enveloping him. Morspallidum was shaking, filling with pain, fear and rage. Was this truly how the great Morspallidum falls?
Once Koi got settled into the car, she put on her seat belt, and jiggling her legs impatiently as they drove. She opened the book as the car drove on, skimming through the many, many, many pages. She marveled at the state of the the worn, ancient book she held in her grasp, stroking the spine of the book with her thumb. She couldn't even begin to grasp the value of this book. How many people would ​kill​ to get their hands on this? How many already have? How many more will?
Leonard had stayed back to continue fighting the shades, constantly claiming he was searching for squirrels or something. The book, as one would expect, was full of names. If you could think of a person, and tried to open the book, the page with their name would open up immediately. Strangely enough, it seemed rather oddly organized. Some names had causes of death next to them, others didn't. Some had dates, others didn't. A far few names were even scratched out entirely, presumably rendering their owners immortal. The car drove by a literal horde of shadows, currently being held back by a small group of Mors' soldiers, the officer in front. The man stopped the car next to the club, and rushed Koi inside, towards the back office. The club was full of people hiding from the battles raging outside, the waiters and hired help going about their business of aiding the wounded and such. Gacko was frantically going between phone calls and radio messages in her office, but dropped it all as she saw the group enter. "Koi! You got the book!" She exclaimed, beaming.
Koi grinned and skipped on over to Gacko and placed the book on the counter by her. Koi looked a bit... Worried. "Can you show me how it works? I wanna help Mr. Mors first, he's fighting someone right now, a..and he had a lot of his powers taken away from him, so I'm worried he might be in trouble. ​I don't wanna lose anyone else​, Gacko. So... Yeah!" Koi gave a meager half!-smile, it overshadowed by her blatant worry for Mors.
Gacko blinked, then smiled. "Hank wouldn't want me helping Morspallidum. But, well, we're bringing him back to life. So he won't have rights to complain." Gacko took a breath and placed her hand on the cover of the book. "The book knows what person you're looking for, and once you open it, it'll open on the page with that name. So, we're looking for Morspallidum..." She said, and opened the book. The page was near the beginning of the book, and appeared to be full of latin names, constructed similarly to Mors' and Umbra's. "There it is. It says..." Gacko read over, and blinked, her eyes widening slightly. "It says he dies... today. Defeated by 'Umbra'... Powerless." Gacko grabbed a pen off the desk and put it to the words, crossing them out and rewriting. For reference, there were already a ​lot​ of edits around Mors' name. "I can't make him immortal again. I mean, I could, but I sure as hell won't. Instead... Let's cross out this date here, and remove the powerless bit, and, well, getting killed by Umbra..." She grinned, moving her pen down to Umbra's own name. "And let's add a cause of death to this one, shall we?" | Morspallidum laid on the ground, seemingly defeated. Umbra laughed triumphantly, preparing to rip apart the rest of Mors' body, but, as their tendrils began to dig into his flesh, they were stopped as Mors' own tentacles burst out. They wrapped themselves around the appendages covering him, and his body raised up, the Deathghoul grinning. "I told you you wouldn't win, child. Let me show you what one learns by WALKING THE PLAINS OF NOTHING FOR A MILLION YEARS OF EXILE!" The lord of his realm yelled out, his body bursting open, into his true form, not too dissimilar to that of Umbra, but smaller, and lacking the many bent, bladed appendages. "You will now know why father feared to punish me, Umbra."
Koi's eyes were bright with interest, taking in what Gacko was saying. "Killed by Morspallidum?" Koi recommended, placing a hand on the book. "Can I make Jahmzji immortal, though? I don't wanna lose them again. They're a good friend." Koi then let out a whine, holding her stomach. It quickly faded as she manifested a candy bars and opened it, before starting to.
(Narrating Latvian) Gacko wrote down the words 'Killed by Morspallidum' next to Umbra, then looked at Koi, biting her lip. "Immortaliy is a big deal, you know. I..." She sighed. "Okay. Let me bring Hank back, first." She then flipped through the pages once more, stopping near the end of the book. She scanned the page for Hank, to see that his name didn't have a cause of death next to it. His name had been previously erased from the book, mind you. Gacko blinked. "That's... Odd. It tends to add the cause of death when a person dies. That way, by erasing it, you can bring someone back to life without making them immortal." Gacko blinked once more, then beamed. "So, he's still alive!" She exclaimed. It was then that a loud *BANG* echoed throughout the entire club, followed by the screaming of guards and patrons. "Oh, fuck." Gacko muttered, standing up, while at the same time flipping the book's pages to find Jahmzji. After erasing the name in its entirety from the book, thus rendering the fish immortal, the fighter ran outside of her office, to find the club in chaos, as shadows had breached in and were fighting the guards, while the civilians ran towards the back to hide.
Koi 🔸WHATS A LOTTERY?🔸 While Gacko was distracted, Koi grabbed the Book of the Damned, and thought about herself. When the book turned to the page, she found that her name had been erased, but not her cause of death. Koi was surprised by the fact that she had immortality, but decided not the question it. She closed the book, and held the book tightly to her chest as she slowly followed after Gacko. Seeing the shadows, she used her other hand to unclip the gun from her belt, charging it up. "​EVERYBODY WATCH OUT!​" She steadied her aim, and unconsciously tightened her grip on the book. She aimed for the one that was nearest to any civilians and fired, engulfing the shadow in a blue blast, leaving nothing but blue ash in its wake. She felt extremely nervous about the book, and held it even tighter to her chest.
(Narrating Latvian) The fighter joined the guards in fighting off the shadows, the creatures dying from single blasts from her ember celica, not even needing to use her natural powers. But, amidst the shadows, another figure approached, a black bat in his hands now. Balam laughed to himself, swinging at a nearby guard, knocking his head back and snapping his neck instantly. Gacko's eyes widened, recognizing the man from what Koi told her. She screamed in anger, and rushed the attacker, shoving both fists into his stomach and launching him into the back via the force of both the weapon's and her powers' flames. The shadows, meanwhile, proved to be a non-issue, as even the guards themselves could handle the creatures, having figured out that they die from mostly any hit to the head. Balam stood up, and cracked his neck, tightening his grip on the bat. "I'll be taking that book now." | Morspallidum and Umbra collided, both their appendages slashing and cutting at the others' full form. Ooze, eyes and tendrils were flying through the air, falling on the ground, turning the valley a sickly black color. "You're nothing but a weak fool!" Umbra's voice roared. The Deathghoul snarled, embedding his tentacles into his sibling's flesh, ripping further and further into it, spreading the tendrils throughout the ooze. "A weak fool who has killed you twice." He snarled, before spreading the tentacles open, bursting Umbra's entire form in a spectacular explosion, covering the entire area of the forest in the black substance. Mors' form trembled for a moment, before he turned into his humanoid form once more. Then collapsed.
Koi pretty much knew that this book was trouble, and knew that she had to take it someplace safe. But... Where? No place in Aerilon would it be safe.. '​Wait... No place IN AERILON. I have to take the book somewhere out side of Aerilon?​' Koi's thoughts ran a mile a minute as she thought of places she could hide it. And... She came up with an answer. Koi strapped the gun back into her belt, and jumped over the bar counter, before running straight out one of the bars windows, the glass shattering around her. She rolled as she landed, almost immediately popping back up and turning back to the club. "BEAT 'IM UP, GACKO!" She cheeredthe cosplayer on for a second, before poofing away, back to her tree. Meanwhile, Jahmzji had awakened, and had ventured closer to the fight between Morspallidum and Umbra. Upon seeing Mors collapse, the fish lowered themself down to the ground, and proceeded to act much like a watchdog, guarding the collapsed Deathghoul. Koi sat at the base of her tree, and opened the book once more, looking to Leonard and Gacko's names to make sure that they didn't die to that guy with the bat. She hated that man. If only she knew his name... Then she'd have this man killed in an instant. ​'No'​ Koi thought. ​'No, this is what having this book is doing. This book makes life seem so... artificial. Just erase this, and this happens. Just cross out this, and that happens..​' Koi frowned, closing the book and hugging it to her chest. ​'This book... I'll keep this book only because Mr. Mors wants it. No other reason."
Gacko surrounded the man with her guards, preparing to strike. Balam looked around, smirking. "You don't stand a chance against me, Flame. Even Lijon couldn't defeat me." He said. "Yeah, well, how about a rematch, fucker?" A voice called out from the entrance. Balam looked over in anger and surprise, as the drunk stepped in, missing his jacket and hos other clothing torn, but still alive. "What? How the hell are you still alive!?" "Oh, and old friend helped me out." Hank responded, walking over and standing next to Gacko. "But I'm sorry to say that nobody will be helping you. Just kidding, I'm not sorry at all." | Morspallidum laid there for a few minutes, before slowly rising up. His form shuddered, and he looked at the fish guarding him. He faintly smiled. "I see that Koi has acquired a long lost artifact. Wonderful." He said, and extended a tendril. He slashed at the air and, sure enough, opened a portal. The Deathghoul grinned. ​He's back, baby.​ | Leonard's and Gacko's entries remained the same in front of Koi. "I see you have found the book of the dead." A knowing voice said from behind her, the Bookkeeper standing by her tree. "I had known it was somewhere in Aerilon. Though I do still wonder who had brought it there, if not Morspallidum."
Koi jumped up and hugged the book to her chest unconsciously, nodding slightly. "Yes... Koikoi found the book." She hummed softly and blinked at the Bookkeeper, sorta shrugging at the comment about why the book was in Aerilon. Jahmzji floated up to the Deathghoul's shoulder, and gently booped his shoulder. The fish seemed to jolt violently a moment later, and shot off in an orange and white blur. Jahmzji was on the move.
Morspallidum watched the fish dart off, before stepping through the portal and winding up in the middle of Aerilon, amongst men cheering as the shadows had been defeated. He grinned, and walked off to find his last remaining officer. | Hank and Gacko looked to each other for a moment, before nodding. Hank yelled out, and charged at Balam, spraying his flames. As Balam blocked the attack with his bat and was about to dodge out, the blonde fighter jumped over the drunk, and slammed her fist into the man's face., Knocking him back, and allowing Hank's flames to wash over him. The man essentially hissed, rolling out of the way, his face now covered in black, oozing burn scars. He blinked in confusion, and pulled his hand up to his face. Upon realizing he had actually been injured, the man growled, and took a step back. Gacko smirked and gave the guards a sign to attack. Balam's body was then filled with iron and lead, as swords started to cut into him and bullets dug into his flesh. The man didn't resist, and fell to the floor, where he turned to ooze once more. And soon, nothing remained of him. Hank went to fist-bump Gacko, who instead hugged the drunk. "I was worried about you, asshole." She said. "Same. Booky saved my ass." Hank responded, before noticing his kind-of-sibling was crying. He smiled, and hugged her back. | Booky took a step closer to Koi, smiling warmly. "What do you intend to do with the book now, if I may ask?"
Koi's eyes darted away, and she swallowed. "I'm going to give it to Mr. Mors. He would want it." Koi took a breath and was about to continue when a white and orange blur rammed into her, pushing her back a few feet. Koi let out an '​Oof​' sound and dropped the book out of surprise. "​J....Jahmzji!​" Koi said, her bottom lip trembling. Jahmzji was gone for only approximately a few hours, but it still felt like forever for the childish eighteen-year-old. Koi grasped the sides of Jahmzji's head and proceeded the place kisses all over them, before crouching down and picking up the book. Jahmzji was quick to retaliate to all the affection given to them and reacted by booping all over the girls face causing an amass of giggles to erupt from Koi's throat. Koi didn't like loosing things precious to her. Heck that dislike was the drive for her death. Her parents were going to attack each other. She jumped in the was because she couldn't stand the possibility of losing them. Her parents. It wasn't so much of a sacrifice as it was a cowards attempt to fix things. Koi hugged both book and fish to her chest, nuzzling the fish in relief, tears pricking her eyes still. Koi turned back to the Bookkeeper, and smiled slightly. "Yeah... Yeah, I'm gonna give the book to Mr. Mors."
The Bookkeeper sighed. "I am afraid that might not be the best idea. Both humans and those of Morspallidum's race alike tend to strive for power too much. It happened to him, it happened to Umbra, and it happened to those who reside in Aerilon. And, while I understand your desire to please Morspallidum, I will still ask: Would you give the book to me, to be stored away where no mortal could claim it?"