One's Disappearance ~ (PLOT WITH YUUKI, AIKO, ARIK, SLY AND NIGHT)

One ran forward, his blades drawn. He yelled in anger and leaped up into the air, plunging them into the head of a large pig-wolf creature, mouth foaming and suffering from severe mange. The savage creature let out a gut-wrenching squeal and tumbled backwards, collapsing in the mud. The ground shook as the creature's massive build collided with the earth, disturbing the birds in the trees around them. One huffed and stood back to admire his work; A pile of stinking fur caked with blood and grime. It was hard to believe this was once a domesticated creature. The ferociousness in it's unblinking, glassy eyes portrayed the life of a feral beast rather than that of a house-pet. He tore his gaze away from the carcass and looked up to the sky, watching as a flock of ravens, black as night, retreated from their haven in the foliage. He wished he could be a bird; so carefree and weightless, free of any worries. They didn't have the capacity to worry. Many would despise the thought of being unable to comprehend human emotions.. but to One it sounded nice. No more being afraid.. no more being angry.. no more being sad.. Animals were always pleased with the most simple of things. As long as they were alive and healthy, they were happy. He sighed. He couldn't afford to dawdle. He needed to collect the bounty before dark otherwise he'd be stuck in the cold of night. He swiftly sliced off the beast's head and stuffed it into a burlap sack. He swung it over his shoulder and was on his way.

The dreary grey sky had brought rain to The Beyond and now it was pouring non-stop. One headed down the slick cobblestone road, on his way to a nearby village to collect his bounty. For a moment he had almost forgotten he had left Dragon Storm. It pained him to think about their reaction when they woke up to see he had left. He didn't want to leave.. But he also didn't want to hurt them. He hadn't realize he had made it to the village and he was almost ran over by a horse-drawn cart. He jumped to the side, swiftly dodging the cart. That was a close one.. He looked for the distinct sign that marked the shop where he would find his bounty. Aha! The Iron Hammer. A small wooden sign, worn and weathered, hanging lopsidedly on a single hinge, displayed the shop's name in faded wood letters. He pushed through the crowd over to the windowless door and knocked. After a few seconds the door opened to reveal a short, stocky man with a large, scruffy ginger beard, standing behind it. The man's round, red nose twitched slightly and he stepped to the side. "Come on in.."

One did just that. He walked forward without hesitation into the dusty room inside. He stopped and stood in the center of the room, taking in the new environment around him. The wood walls were splintered and distressed, cobwebs draped the display cases behind the counter that housed a variety of different weapons and the stone floor was dirty and unkempt. He looked around, unsure that the man had the money to pay him. The dwarf-life man walked in front of One and waited expectantly. One dropped the bag on the ground between them and watched as the head rolled out. The man scratched his beard and nodded. "You did well.." He put his hands on his plump beer-belly and rocked on his heels. "But I'm afraid I don't have the coin to pay you at the moment.." One, as if a snake striking it's prey, lunge forward with a dagger in hand and grabbed the man by the shirt and put the dagger to his neck. "Say again?" The man gasped in surprise, squirming in his grip, his eyes wide in terror. "I-I-I LOST MY MONEY IN A GAMBLE!! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!" He whimpered. One slit the man's neck cleanly, blood spraying onto his visor.

He tilted his head to the side and dropped the man onto the ground. "Sorry.. Didn't catch that.." Blood pooled around his feet. "Looks like it's time for some spring cleaning.." He turned around and left the house, slipping on his hood and cloak and disappearing into the crowd.

Sly made a formal bow before the door closed to Night's bedroom.

He slowly walked away and towards the stairs, the distant conversation of Yuuki to Arik fading behind him. Vixen gave him a silver ring, and Sly studied it on his palm. It really did look like a plain ring, but could he really speak to anyone telepathically with this? He could try it on One now, but then wondered if it would work on someone who was not really...living.

By the time he finished pondering to himself, Sly was at the lounge room. A pretty big and luxurious room this was. He sat on the stool, leaning on the bench towards the bar and kitchen. One's words still haunted him. Sly was tired after a restless sleep, contemplating about everything he said. Dragonstorm was only a guild? Yuuki disagreed on that. But Sly had to admit a lot of the members here had no purpose prior to forming Dragonstorm. And now that One came to this realisation, Sly feared that the end of Dragonstorm would be when they tear themselves apart.

One. Where could he be at this time? A part of him wanted him to walk back in through those doors, but another part feared that he would do so and draw his blade to Sly. Did One really mean what he said? He would even turn against his own family? Sly knew there was something in him, capable of remorse or compassion. He would have yelled at One and asked if he felt anything at all about his family. Perhaps it was best he didn't.

Sly squeezed onto the silver ring and closed his eyes, thinking of One. There was the sound of a sudden gust, but that was it. One. Can you hear me? One! This is Sly. Please. Talk to me. He reopened his eyes and looked at the ring. There didn't seem to be any changes. Sly could test it on Yuuki first, but decided not to, before she started asking questions again.

Sly continued to wait in the lounge for Yuuki. Every second they waste in here is another second One is further away from them.

One heard the scream of a woman behind him. That's my cue.. He shoved his way through the crowd, trying to get as far as possible away. He climbed up onto the roof of a building and started jumping from roof to roof. Although he risked being seen, it was much more efficient and quicker. The sudden voice of Sly startled him. He hopped down into an alleyway and hid behind a few wooden crates. "God dammit I thought I destroyed my com. What do you want? Now's not exactly the best time for talking so you better make it quick."

They were taking their time it seemed. Sly figured that, since he would be going away for a while, he should let everyone else in HQ know of their disappearance. Before he could get up, a voice echoed in his head.

It was One.

Sly squeezed at the ring again. One! Wait, what? What's...nevermind. Where are you? Why did you leave HQ? He thought the message so loud in his head that he was involuntarily mouthing it. If anyone walked in at that moment, they would think Sly was praying.

Yuuki nodded Arik, and disappeared, with a quick comment of "hurry up". She trudged grudgingly to her room, and opened it. The faint fruity scent that seemed to always linger tended to calm her down, so she took a deep breath, feeling so much more relaxed than before. She studied her old team pictyre with her sensei, and two partners, and gazed at them wistfully, before tunring to the more newer one with the rest of Dragon Storm. Alyssa had practically forced everyone to take it. "It's for the memories!" she had argued furiously. And so they did it. Good times... with a start, she snapped out of her thoughts. Enough, she thought. We need to find One. With a sigh, she got up, and vegan exiting. But before fully leaving, she turned around and gazed at her bedroom. A strange feeling told her that she woulsnt be seeing this place for quite a bit.

The brown haired leader descended the iron-clad staurwell, and walked towards the living room. She appeared in the large doorless doorway. She spotted Sly in the middle, clutching onto something desperately, and mouthing words urgently. "Sly?" She asked, walking forward. "What are you doing?"

One peeked over the top of the crates at the guards that scrambled back and forth, yelling at each other to keep a look out. He pulled his head back down and sighed, annoyed. I already told you.. He slid out his katana's and charged at the guards. He jumped into the air and stabbed two guards that were standing next to each other in the back. A guard yelled. "ASSASSIN!" Guards ran at him, swords drawn. One grabbed a guard by the arm and flipped him onto the ground then slit open the stomach of a guard who tried to counter attack him. After killing a few more guards they stopped coming. Either they had run out or were too afraid. He huffed. As he tried to walk away, a hand grabbed his ankle. He looked down to see an armless guard bleeding out on the ground, spitting curses at him. One drove his katana into the mans face and walked away.

The room spun when he heard One’s words echo in his head. Just as he feared. One left because of the incident yesterday. Sly put his fist to his head. That was the opportunity for Sly to make things right and bring One back to his senses, and he screwed it up. Now One was on the run, and who knows what he was doing. One, please, you don’t have do this. Come back to HQ and we’ll talk this through.

Sly looked up to the side when he heard Yuuki’s voice. It’s One. He destroyed his coms by I was able to talk to him through this. Sly showed her the ring. He then clutched the ring again and spoke to One. Where are you now? We will-

“I’m afraid I won’t let that happen,” another voice interrupted. It was rather low and raspy.

What? Who…

“You see, the drone which you all so named One no longer wishes to be part of… Dragonstorm.”

Who are you? What have you done to One?

The voice sniggered, the low laugh sending chills across Sly’s body. “He… is simply coming home. Let me give you a valuable piece of advice, Dragonstorm. Let him go. You may pride yourself as the strongest of clans in The Beyond, but to us…you have no idea the devastation we cause behind closed gates. I know every single one of you. Your leader is Yuuki, who possessed a five-tailed demon inside her, you own and live in an underwater headquarters and…judging by your voice, I am speaking to the Wandering Apothecary, Sly.”

Sly could feel his grip trembling. How? How did he know this much about Dragonstorm? He wanted to ask another question, but a sudden realisation struck him that it would be a waste of time. It would be meaningless. He just sat there, unmoving, at mercy to this mere voice.

“From your silence, I take it you understand. Don’t think you can speak to One again with that magic of yours. He is ours. And there is nothing you can do about it…”

Sly’s mind flashed and he jumped up from his seat and fell back, and onto the floor. The ring dropped next to him, slightly red with how hot it had become. Sly looked up to Yuuki and, before she could ask anything, said quickly. They know everything about us. We have been compromised!

I gave Yuuki a nod before going back into my room making sure I had everything I needed. Passing by my mirror I stopped, turning and looking at myself. "No... Not this..." I complained with a sigh, looking as my eyes turned yellow for a second before turning back to green. I just shook my head and went back through the piles of stuff, grabbing out clothes needed for a trip. After throwing them on I quickly combed through my hair, just making sure it wasn't going insane. I walked towards my door, grabbing my laptop on the way, and heading to where I heard voices. "We have been compromised." I accelerated my pace, standing in the doorway before asking, "By who, what do they know?" A slight shiver went up my spine. One's gone, now this? Had he told someone about us, or did they force it out of him? It wouldn't be to hard to, considering he's a robot, but he'd still resist. A million thoughts ran threw my head but I pushed them to the side, wondering if Sly even know who it was.

One stopped when Sly's voice abruptly cut off mid sentence. He waited for something to happen. Perhaps the signal had temporarily been lost? After a long pause he heard Sly's voice once again. This time, he sounded confused and scared. Sly? What's happening? Another long pause. People walking down the road bumped into his sides, making him stumble back a bit. The silence ate away at him, each passing second seeming longer than before. Sly? One grew frustrated. Finally Sly's voice blared in his head once more. Who was Sly talking to? One was just fine! Sly! What the hell's happening?! More silence but this time.. for good. He looked around. People started to clear from the streets, making their way home for the night. One figured he should as well.

For a while he searched for an inn. By the time he found one the sun was already sitting on the horizon. The inn was rundown and didn't look very well kept, but it'd have to do. With small pouch of coin in hand, he pushed through the squealing doors of the inn and walked inside. Contrast to the calm and quiet atmosphere outside, the inn was crowded with hardly any room to breathe. The room was filled with the clanking of tankards, hearty laughs, playing of instruments and any other noises that would be found in a tavern like such. One got a few uncertain stares, but he forced himself to brush it off.

Picking his way through to the counter at the back of the room wasn't easy as he was constantly being leaned on by some drunks. He made it though.. eventually, and slammed the bag of coin onto the counter. One room please. The man behind the counter turned to him, eyeing the coin. "That thars a lotta coin.." The man popped a cigar in his mouth and lighted it. The man leaned over the counter, puffing out a cloud of smoke into One's face. His breath reeked of alcohol and tobacco. "Wher'd ya git it?" He grinned slyly between the cigar. "Did yah steal et?" One said nothing. "Yur that robot guy aren't you? You 'blong to that guild Dragon Storm." The man tapped a meaty finger on the wood of the counter. "Yah know theres a big ol' bounty fur the man that catches ye." He pointed to the wanted poster on the wall. "I could reaally use that there money, don't ya know?" One continued to stare at him blankly. "I could turn yoo in right now.."

One put his knife to the mans neck, blood still fresh on it's blade. I'm not in the mood for games old man. You know, there's a reason why my bounty's so high.. The man froze, putting his hands up, "Woah woah woah! Don't git yurself all tied up inta a knot. I ain't gon' tunr yoo in." One pressed the knife closer to the man's throat. And why should I believe you? The man rolled his eyes. "Becuz I don't care.. I'll give yah yer room just don't freak out, kay?" One lifted the knife from the mans throat and flipped it back into it's sheathe.

(So, One said I can join. Imma try and be on a bit more. Trust me, I'm not inactive. It's just that so many test and quizzes in high school >.<)

Alyssa tossed on way on her bed and then the other. She couldn't sleep at all. After One's random disappearence she was trying hard to keep her emotions in place. She was angry for him not telling the members of the team, sad that he even left, and worried if he was fine and alone at the moment. Finally, she bolted out of bed, knowing that she never get her beauty sleep this way. Wearing a t-shirt and a soft pj bottom she went out of her room and into the living room where she met with Yuuki and Sly. "Any news from him?"

Yuuki just raised her eyebrow at the ring, but said nothing. After a few more minutes, she noticed that Sly's posture had tensed even further, and was still, and unmoving. Yuuki reached forward, and opened her mouth to call for him, before he suddenly jumped back and dropped the ring, causing Yuuki to backtrack in shock. Just as she was about to say something else, he had said those words.

Those very words caused the young woman to freeze in her place. They knew? How was that possible? If this was One... No, she couldn't think about that. It couldn't be him, at least, not willingly. "Everything?" she said softly. "That's not..." she trailed off, but stopped and took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Ok. We'll track down this man as we track down One as well. We cannot let him get away. Let's go."

One watched as the man stepped out from behind the counter and took a gold ring of keys from his belt, twirling it on his finger. One followed up the rickety wooden stairs up to a second floor. The floor was a hallway, the two walls lining the hallway each had 2 doors. At the end of the hallway was a single door. The man walked up to the door at the end of the hallway and flipped through his keys in order to find the right one. When he did, he stuck the key into the keyhole and opened it. It slid open,  moaning eerily. The room was dimly lit by a single whale-oil lamp that sat upon a large trunk at the foot of the bed. The second One stepped onto the red floral carpet on the floor, dust filled the air. He fanned it away. When he turned around he saw that the man had already gone, leaving the door wide open, warm light spilling into the room. One sighed and walked over to the door, pushing it shut. He turned around and slid off his cloak, letting it float to the ground before making his way to the bed. However, before he had the chance to sit down, something sticking out of the side of the chest caught his eye.

He crouched down by it, inspecting the heavy-duty lock that forced it shut. Whatever it was, the man definitely didn't want anyone stealing it. Unfortunately for the man, One wasn't just anyone. He grabbed the lock and ripped it of the chest, breaking it. He picked up the lamp and set it aside before opening the chest. Once again, a cloud of dust shot up into his face. When it cleared all he saw was a single black and white photo of a man that had settled at the bottom of the chest. He picked it up and examined it. The man looked.. ominously familiar. "That there's the founder'a Oak Hollow 'imself."

One jumped, whipping around to see the man standing there. He reached to slide out his knife but realized it and his katanas were by his cloak. "No need fur violence. Consider me a friend." One was still uncertain, but stood up calmly anyway. This is the founder of Oak Hollow? H.. how do you know? The man stroked his mustache and sighed. "I worked with 'im." One was shocked. "Until he started a'usin his creations fur 'is own twisted desires." The man spat, disgustedly. One thought deeply about this for a moment. So this was his creator? This was the man who started it all? Is he still alive? The man snarled. "You'd better believe it. But don't go a'runnin' back there. He's a cruel man. 'd take you in and duplicate ya. Make an army of ya. He'd us'em to force us all into his damned city and make us his slaves." The man popped another cigar into his mouth and lit it.

Sly took another breath. The last statement he made almost came out on its own accord. He was so caught up in the ring that he didn't notice both Arik and Alyssa walking in. The many eyes pointed to him, as if he was intoxicated and had fallen over sober. Sly listened to their questions and answered Arik's first.

I...don't know. I was talking to One when suddenly this...new voice came in... Sly threw his arm in the air, lost for words. He wasn't even sure who he was talking to, or what was going on. Something about One coming home. I'm not sure how much he knows, but he at least knows of...your... Sly stopped here when he turned to Yuuki. He figured Yuuki wasn't too comfortable with knowing what was inside her and such.

Now to Alyssa. I just spoke with One. He...I don't know what he was doing but...I tried asking him to tell me where he is, but the voice cut him before he could.

Sly got back on his feet, just as Yuuki finished her call to set out and find One. This made him frown a little bit. Yuuki, I appreciate your enthusiasm to get him back but, we have no lead. We don't know how long ago he left, or where he is even n- A memory lit up. The voice. He said something about One coming home. Home. The devastation we cause behind closed gates. Closed gates. Yuuki, where did you first meet One? Maybe that will tell us where he is.

((I sound like Nicholas Cage in Treasure Planet, or Leonardo DiCaprio in Angels and Demons ))

Yuuki narrowed her eyes when Sly reported that the mysterious voice apparently knew just about everything there was to know about Dragon Storm, including her tailed beast which shouldn't have been possible, as she had kept this a closely guarded secret throughout her lifetime. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Sly was right, they couldn't rush into this situation blindfolded, with nowhere to begin. They had to take this one step at a time. She furrowed her eyebrows at Sly's last question. "Where I met One.." she murmured, crossing her arms. "It was in a forest pretty near Oak Hollow, I believe," she finally said. "I was exploring around, and trying to figure some details out when I discovered One there."


~Crappy post cuz I can't think right now~