As predicted, the left street was the safest of the three. When Dominic and Ayana took it, there were hardly any demons roaming the streets, with a couple dozen people crowded around each other looking up at the portal.

"Hey, should we do something about this?" Dominic asked.

Ayana looked around, noticing a demon on the rooftop. "Yeah, we should."

She yelled something in Japanese aggressively pointing at an apartment building. The crowd slowly moved, but ran once the demon dropped down Dominic took out his axe, with him and Ayana slowing walking away from the building. Around six more demons dropped down and swiped forward, and Ayana barely dodged the attack. She kept stepping back, desperately trying not to get hit.

"Hey, can you not drink some blood, or whatever?" Dominic yelled, trying to back away from the demons.

"Cooldown!" Ayana screamed. "My blood will get really messed up if I don't wait ten minutes!"

"Well, how many minutes are left, dammit?" Dominic screamed, barely dodging a demon's claw.

Ayana flipped her right sleeve, showing a stopwatch.

"Two minutes!" She yelled. "Don't die until then!"

Dominic kept dodging claws like they were blades, making sure his axe doesn't touch anything. Gotta avoid whatever they're made of. But when a demon was about to attack Ayana he tried slashing it, and ended up stuck in the demon goo. Dominic started panicking, trashing about in an attempt to at least break free from what was attacking him. He heard Ayana yell "Duck!" behind him, and followed, leaving his stuck hand in the air.

He felt the weight of the demon leave his hand, and when he looked up, he noticed Ayana standing over him, her left leg raised in a fighting stance.

"You okay?" She asked.

"U-uh, yeah." Dominic stammered, standing up straight. He noticed Ayana, who was about Ulrich's height, coolly say "Rabbit blood." Before looking at the other demons. They leapt towards her and Dominic, and she flashed her legs a couple of times, before they all went flying into the wall. None of them seemed to be taking damage, however. Just not sticking to her legs. Eventually, those six demons leapt back into action, alongside another two that showed up. Ayana kicked one of them away, but before she could keep it up, one leapt onto her head, clawing at her face, while another grabbed her arms. A couple tried to attack Dominic, who quickly stepped back, hoping he wouldn't trip. He put the axe in his holster, trying not to create a bigger target for himself. And when he put the axe in, he felt a lump.

The gemstone.

This was some kind of artifact with power, right? Like Lewis gem. Not knowing how it worked, he grabbed it, flashing it in front of the demons.

Nothing.

He tried rubbing it, hoping the power worked like a genie's lamp or something, flashing it to the demons beating Ayana.

And still, nothing.

With nothing left, he just threw it. In a final act of desperation, he just threw the ancient artifact at the demons. And it worked.

The electric sparks exploded on the pile of demons, melting them back into particles, which went back into the portal. Ayana slowly got up, scratched to high hell.

"Was that…you?" She asked, slumping over, and caught by Dominic.

"It was…the gem." He replied, looking up at the half dozen demons in front of him. He readied the golden gemstone for another throw, when the demons were hit by beams coming from above the buildings the demons jumped out. And while Dominic was stuck in place, just like the demons, a man in a grey hoodie jumped down from the same buildings as the demons slashing them into pieces frozen in the air, before they all dispersed back into the portal.

Dominic hoisted Ayana on his shoulder, before approaching this person.

"Hey! You this Akira guy?"

The man took down his hood, revealing himself to be Gene.

"Who's Akira?" He asked.

"Oh, it's nothing." Dominic replied, pleased at who actually showed up. "Nice save, by the way."

"Oh, no problem." Gene smiled. "So, that a new guy?"

"New girl, yeah. What brings you here?"

"The gemstone we need. Got my powers sorted out, and we're back."

"So, where's Bart?" Dominic demanded. If we needed anything, it was to know he could beat that guy in a fight.

"Well, I'm assuming we did the same as you."

"Splitting up? Sound strategy, all things considered. So, we walking back?"

Ayana moaned something from Dominic's shoulder, and Dominic let her down. When he finally got a decent look at her, he noticed the scar on her right eye, going from her forehead to her nose.

"Anyone see a contact lens?" She asked calmly, before running her hand down her face and feeling the blood.

"Relax, you still look…fine." Dominic tried preventing the panic that could happen from this. "Right, Geno?"

"Yes. You look great, miss…person." Gene agreed. "Now, are we going to go to the hideout or…?"

Lainey made her way through the right street, casually observing the dead bodies already piled up. She had a pretty miniscule breakfast, but the scent of blood made her want to get rid of it. There were still demons patrolling the town, around twenty or so, but she was safely ignored thanks to her demon. She thought about naming her demon. She was in Japan, so maybe something Japanese. Oni, maybe. Or Akuma. She decided on Oni, it rolled of the tongue better. While a lot of demons were just standing around, almost like they were around some kind of demonic water cooler, she noticed two leaving a small looking building, alongside some kind of noise inside of it.

She crept her way in, and the couple of dead bodies caused her to vomit almost immediately, leaving her to puke outside the building. Inside were some light green walls, a wooden desk, an elevator, and a small wooden table and chair, which seemed to be where the noise was coming from. She checked underneath, and there was a small girl, silently weeping. The girl looked up at her, and immediately started screaming. Lainey checked over her shoulder and sprinkled some granola on the inside of her guitar, making Oni retreat. She tried to find her again, but she was still crying. Her parents were definitely dead, so she weighed her options. If she didn't show up to the building, then Sapphire would look for her, delaying the attack. So, she tried being nice to the child.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Uh, hey. Are you okay?" She asked softly. The child was still crying, so she tried getting past the obvious language barrier.

"I'm…gonna take care of you now." She said, she slowly picked her up, hugging her. She buried her head into Lainey's chest, and Lainey carried her out, looking out for any demons.

But luckily, someone else was taking care of the demons. A man in a tuxedo was punching the demons, waiting for openings before uppercutting them in the head, clearing them into particles. And on closer inspection, he had some kind of white energy coating his hands. Once the man was finished, he approached Lainey.

"Ah, good to see you." The reassuring tone getting through despite the neutral face. He looked down at the child hanging on to her. "Is that…a child with you?"

"Uh, yeah. I found her in a building." Lainey sighed. "Sorry, Bart."

"Bartholomew." He sighed in return, reaching into his tuxedo. "Anyway, I prepared for this."

He took out a square of chocolate, giving it to the girl. She hesitated for a second but took it.

"Good one, boss." Lainey said calmly.

"Chocolate makes you feel better, scientifically speaking. So in spite of my veganism, I make sure to carry some in areas like this."

"Not bad, guy." Lainey smiled. "We gonna get going?"

"With the child?" Bartholomew asked.

Lainey paused for a second. "The demon can hide me. I'll leave her with it when we get to the bottom."

"Well, if a plan is made." And with those words, they headed to the building.

On the way, Bartholomew threw a few glances at Lainey holding the child.

"You're quite skilled at that." He said, nodding in approval.

"Thanks?" Lainey replied, raising an eyebrow at him in confusion.

"Have you ever considered motherhood?" He asked. Lainey scanned the question in her head again, trying to find a change in his tone to indicate it was a joke, but found nothing.

"Not really. Why?"

"Well, as somebody who has…inherited the throne of England, I need to take the hand of a woman to continue my legacy. Would you be interested in-"

"I'm gay, dude." Lainey interrupted. "I banged Sapphire on the way here."

Bartholomew coughed loudly at the news. "Ah! Of course! Not that…you know, that really isn't a problem with that sort of thing. I just need a wife, is all! Any recommendations?!"

"Uh…Bjork? She's pretty hot. She made me realize a few things."

"Right, right! Her! I'll keep an eye out!" He yelled, stepping away from her while blushing.

Lainey just made her way to the building, thinking about whether Bjork was in a relationship or not.

Along the middle of the street, Ulrich and Sapphire were dispatching demons at a dashing pace. Sapphire would round up around fifteen demons at a time, and Ulrich took the energy out from two fingers, and fired them out of his glove. Or palm. Whatever it was, it took out the demons. During the operation, he and Sapphire were full business. They were quickly making their way up the street, where they could practically see Komo in the distance. He made his way up the street, containing all the energy in his right hand for the fight. As he made his way up, killing any demons in his path, he felt a crunching sensation on his feet. Sapphire seemed to have heard it too, as she immediately killed the demon she was fighting and went over.

"What was that?"

Ulrich looked down, noticing some ice below his feet. He knew what it was already, good old Vivian. The two went down, noticing the blonde woman rapidly freezing demons around her and then shattering them with a single uninterested kick. She looked around and saw that there was nothing left and quickly took some water out of a small baby blue rucksack, gulping it down. When she was finished, she gracefully wiped her face, beckoning the other two.

"You made it. Good."

"Hey. How's it going?" Ulrich asked.

"Any news on the gem?" Sapphire asked.

"Nope. Been here for about a day and haven't found anything." She crossed her arms in annoyance, blowing a stray hair out of her left eye.

"You know what colour it is?" Ulrich asked. "Yours is black, Sapphire's is golden, and the one here is…"

"Pure white." Vivian replied. "I'm guessing you didn't find it either?"

"Nope, nothing." Ulrich sighed. "Found a colony of blood mages, though."

"Oh yes. I heard that Japan has some mage heritage. Are they here?"

"One is. The other quit, or something."

"But still, I don't think I ever met a blood mage." Vivian said, giving what seemed to be a genuine smile, but it still had some kind of wicked energy around it. "My place was all elementals and enhancers."

"Wait, enhancers?" Ulrich asked.

"I'll explain on the way." The three started walking, and Vivian gave her explanation.

"The three of us are elementals, having control of a basic element. Your friend is a blood mage, being able to make some changes to blood in some capacity. Gene is an inflictor, being able to weaken people. On the other end are enhancers, being able to strengthen themselves or others. And Bart…sorry, Bartholomew, is an astral type, being able to summon weapons out of his body. And those messes of parentage who don't fit into any group, are anomolies."

"So if Ulrich had kids with a blood mage…" Sapphire started.

"Really?" Ulrich sighed.

"Well, I don't know too much about blood mages, but if I were to guess…having their blood be set on fire when exposed? I can't help you there, exactly."

Vivian's voice lowered barely noticing the three demons Sapphire and Ulrich had to take out.

"But still, an elemental and an inflictor…"

"A what?" Ulrich asked, getting back into the conversation. "Inflictor? Like…Gene."

Vivian gave a panicked look, before regaining her composure. "Ulrich. You…know Gene, correct?"

"Since I was like…six. Why?"

"Well it's just…I love him."

"Oh my god." Sapphire beamed at this.

"But if you know Gene, and what he likes, then please, help me."

"Sure." Ulrich replied. At this point, he wasn't even sure what his relationship to him was. Friends? Enemies? Rivals? Maybe just getting him in a relationship and shipped to Iceland would be best for all of them.

"Well, Gene likes Star Trudge, and that band Breezer. You know those?"

"Well, it's something to go on, at least." Vivian smiled to herself. It felt warm, without anything behind it. But before she could say anything, she found herself at the door to the building, alongside the other five in front of her.

"Alright, you made it!" Dominic yelled. So, ready to go?"

Yeah, one second." Lainey cautiously pried the door open slightly, turning to Bartholomew to do the rest of it. He obliged, and saw there weren't any traces of demons, so the others followed. Lainey calmly set Oni at the front of the door, leaving the child there.

"Is that…a child? You just found a child?" Ayana asked.

"Look, her parents died, and I can afford to take care of her, I'll work it out."

"Sure?" Ayana sighed. "I'll try teach her some English before you go."

"So what, you're fighting alone?" Dominic asked, sounding worried.

"Seems I am." Lainey replied nonchalantly.

"Nope, take this." Dominic calmly put the golden gem in her hands. "I got Hullabaloo." Dominic pointing to his trusty axe.

"I'd say you take it. You seem nice, and all it does is lower his chance of survival." Bartholomew added." Dominic flipped him off.

"Bart!" Gene yelled. "What was that for?"

"It's a fight between men. Tall men. You wouldn't get it." Dominic boasted.

"Lay off him, Bart. Look, I know you've been through a lot, and you had…a lot of anger growing up. But come on, man. Really?"

"You wouldn't get it." Was all Bartholomew said.

"Look, I know I don't. But you felt better after leaving some stuff with me, right? All I'm saying, problem shared, problem halved. And a lot of potential halves here."

Bartholomew sighed and looked towards the stairs. "Can we…go?"

Ayana instructed the child, now clinging to her, to stay where she was, with Bartholomew giving her the rest of the chocolate. The eight of them calmly went up the stairs, Lainey trying to subdue her breath.

"You doing okay?" Sapphire asked, concern strung across her face.

"No, I'm ready." Lainey sighed. "I either save my band or get revenge for the asshole that killed them."

"Attagirl." Sapphire nodded. If Lainey was worried for herself, then Sapphire was probably twice as worried for her.

"So…we're here." Gene announced quietly. The eight of them were at the door, the muffled yells of Komo to nobody in particular.

"You ready?" Ulrich asked.

"You know it." Dominic replied, trying to mask his anger.

"Yes." Gene finished, taking out his sword.

And opening the door.