Here out on the Herbery desert strip, laying between Cobblestone and Zannidue; stands the remains of an abandoned rocket launch sight. Its old headquarters are said to hold trucks stripped down to their wheels for scraps, as well as patched work roads that led to the nearby ocean.

Though it's a gamble my gut keeps telling me that the two of them are heading there. There's just something about the Golden Dragon Empire that reads as off when you compile their lack of action around these kidnappings. 

I try to speak of the matter as objectively as possible. But even if we of the Blue Phoenix and the Golden Dragon Empire were on good terms, they'd still be the first people I would suspect of doing such horrid things. - Sophie, July 13th, 2764

Andrew

Having traveled over a number of slopes he and Natalie were now not so far from where the village was said to be. A trail of black smoke that rose over and beyond the horizon were certain signs that they were just a light climb away from reaching Lucas. Pacing himself up the hill he watched Natalie's sudden halt as her eyes likely met with their destination.

Being just five paces behind her and seeing the gobsmacked reaction to what lay ahead, however, his chest tightened.

"What is it?" he asked in a breath of suspicion, his pace picked up to cover the last distance.

Summoning her dark wings a sudden gust forced him to shield his face from the burst of feathers dancing on the winds around him. Kicking off the ground she launched herself off into flight. Blinking the black petals away from his face he begins to pick up the pace soon after, a foreboding dread growing in his gut.

"Wait!!" he called out before cursing under his breath soon after.

Reaching the top of the slope himself he bears witness to the sight that had set Natalie off. The village was ravaged.

Huts burnt and broken. Dirt roads ripped to shreds as if a giant blade had cleaved through them. Some houses still glowed with dread, there silent burning made for the trail of smoke they had been following since this morning.

They were too late.

Still taking it all he in just stood there at the top of the slope. He knew that these people were monsters going from how Natalie spoke of them. They had been chasing them down for years, witnessing horrid things in the process.

He knew things were bad, but this?

They're getting bolder...

Regaining his bearings he runs down the hill towards the village to meet back up with Natalie. The smell of burning straw, wood, and rock-filled his lungs as he got closer forcing him to shield his nose with his arm, not that it helped any. The smell of flesh was also present among the cents he was picking up. Steeling himself for what he might witness he drops his useless nose shield bearing the pungent scent of burnt flesh as he bursts on through the forsaken streets.

Quickly sweeping around gave him the sight of deceased bodies lying dormant on the shredded road their faces buried in the dirt giving him the hint that the scars on the road were the cause of their demise, and perhaps the thing that did this is still around. Walking deeper into the village he called out Natalie's name but to no avail.

~#~

Natalie

She lands deeper into the village center when the heat and smell were too much to bear rising directly towards her. With her dark wings fading away she walked on further into the village passing through a narrow path leading to a "T" junction. At the end of its head was a house that caught her attention. The door was broken a-jar by long claw marks that reached from it to the walls beyond, unmistakable signs that a demon attack had taken place.

Finding her legs pulled her towards the haunted house she walked in and took a look around the room. The insides were in no better shape, with holes plastered through the walls and a great gaping pit lay smack in the middle of the living room floor, an ominous updraft of wind steadily whistles its way from within its ink-black well which sent a slight chill down her spine.

As her gaze was focused on it, however, she stepped on something soft and round. A homemade doll lay ruffled and abandoned under her feet. Its stitched-on smile and black buttoned eyes created a conflicting stir within her chest. Its ragged state reminding her of the day her village was attacked by them also, how the sky turned red and rained down spores of light that unleashed demons wherever they landed.

Before she could get lost in thought she heard Andrew's voice calling to her out in the distance. Turning back to the house entrance she activates her purple eyes enabling her to see through the walls and highlight anyone who is living with a bright glow around them.

She sees Andrew making his way towards her but along with something else under his feet. Something fierce with thins and razor-sharp teeth. Swimming below the earth as if it were water. Darting out of the house she makes her way towards him.

Andrew

Standing opposite the same road he spots her sprinting around a 'T' junction corner. With a look of relief he picked up his pace, however, that quickly came to a halt when he sees her summon her wings to quickly make her way towards him. Tipped off by her actions he pulled out his sword before turning around to face the intruders. He was met with three fins lurking out of the road like sharks at sea. The closest one speeds up before leaping into the open.

Its two-foot-long sharp row of teeth and twelve feet sharp spread of rock-like scales forced him to swerve to one side on the ball of his feet whilst cutting through its open jaw clean through with his sword as it passed on by. His blade left a blackened arc of dark energy as it traveled through it, its body crashed on the ground before sinking through the earth like quicksand.

The other two came in unison but he reading their point of attack stepped just out of range before cutting them along the middle letting them crash into the road behind him. The demons were swallowed back into the ground much like the first.

Recovering from his long arcing swing he puts his sword away before looking back to Natalie. He had trained hard in the ways of the -Pentagon knight- in the hopes that he will not get in the way of her quest by being a burden. He won't claim that he was the best by any stretch but at the very least he was able to handle any demon that this world would throw at him on a day-to-day basis.

His trail of thought was broken however by Natalie still desperate advance. With a narrow brow, he looked around him to see if there was one he might have possibly missed but came up blank.

Just when his confusion reached its peak darkness overcame his sight from both sides. A gap off jagged ends ascends in front of him. By the time his eyes caught up with the moving parts and the growing darkness he was too late.

He was within a pink fleshy wall with a tongue to his right as teeth begin to close in on him. Before he could act the jaws of the demon were closing, he would not make it. However, before darkness overcame him Natalie busted in through whilst fly kicking him out the other end. Tumbling to his feet he looks up to see a giant alligator snapping close its sixteen feet long mouth with Natalie still inside.

It's unsettling growls and foreboding size drowned out the silence and blocked out the sun

"Natalie!!" his lungs shout in shock.

As shock evolved into anger Andrew clutches onto his blade passing a great amount of dark energy into it. But before he could act however a huge bolt of lightning rips down on through the giant alligator-like demon with such force that its mouth was obliterated wide open. Teeth and flesh are tossed in all directions one of which he deflected with his blade. With parts of alligator plastered everywhere and a large jawline charade and sinking back into the earth Natalie walks onwards with sparks of purple electricity still glowing off her.

He watched as the dark angel stepped over the remains of the demon as if she was not just standing in the gullet of a demon. He wanted to apologize for his negligence but the words were stuck in this throat.

"Landers, active ones at that," he finally huffed out whilst looking at the remains as they sink into the road. Soon after that, he twitched his nose to the unwelcome smell of man-made bacon entering his nose once again. "I don't think anybody is here."

"Then let's look for clues and head out, find the people responsible for this," Natalie said as she walked onwards. Her eyes burning with anger.

He sighs before looking around. Putting his sword back he begins to follow her.

"But going by the state of this place we've just missed them by at least a day," He said.

"This is the closest we have ever been on their tail," Natalie said turning around. "Nothing's changed, we just got more time."

Looking into Natalie's eyes he knew that there was no changing her mind. Folding his arms he nods his head.

Natalie's purple eyes scan the surroundings with intense poise before she lets out a calming breath.

"That should be all of them," she mumbled before turning her head back to him. "We will meet in the center of the village once we are done searching,"

"Ok," he sighed, he watched Natalie walk further away from their place of battle before turning around to search the opposite direction.

~#~

Some time had passed before the two meet up in the center of the village. Finding nobody around he stocked up on what little food that was left in the village before planning their next move. Sitting on a trunk he helped himself to a hard loaf of bread and a skin of water that he found whilst Natalie put together events that took place in the village.

"They would have fled the village to escape the demons," She started, her eyes darken somewhat.

He slowed down his chewing to look at her for a moment before swallowing. Natalie seeing that she got his attention continues.

"After a day or two demons that appear in this world normally go back to the ones they came from. It's common knowledge."

"Well it is in Null at least," he said taking another swig of water.

Seeing how his response earned him a mean look from Natalie he paused in guilt before nodding in an apologetic fashion for her to continue. Looking onwards almost indifferently Natalie obliges.

"The people and children who escape alive would start making their way back home on the second or third day since it when most demons even actives tend to hope back to there realm. But even so, not all of them will make it," she shook her head lightly.

"And you reckon that they are the ones that get taken away?" he asked leaning forward to get a better listen.

"Not all of them no," She replied. "Some are just... unlucky. The others, however... they were-"

Sitting down Natalie began to clench tightly onto her knees. Having too much trouble trying to finish the sentence she paused as she began losing herself in horrid memories. Her eyes water and heart-racing she began to spiral to a dark place. he noticed this when the clouds overhead began to suddenly fold in on above them at an unnatural pace.

"Natalie?"

No use, she looked onwards still spaced out. Getting up he moved over to her, grabbing her shoulders he shook her in firm short bursts.

"Natalie," He said, a tone of concern broke out of his otherwise stern voice.

She snaps out of it meeting her purple eyes with his brown ones. Her eyes turning back to brown she glanced away suddenly making him self-aware of the invasion of space. He lets go and steps back a little. The forming of storm clouds began to dissipate almost as fast as they formed allowing the blood-red sunlight to touch them once again.

"You ok now?" he asked.

Natalie looks at him before standing up and walking off towards the exit of the village.

"We need to find the people who did this," She picked up as if nothing happened.

Scratching his forehead he quickly grabbed his stuff and made hast to walk beside her.

"To stop them from kidnapping children? So the usual plan?" He said catching up.

"No, this time, we are going to follow them to their base... find the stem of this problem and cut it from its roots!" She said, her tone charged with ice.

Andrew watched her silently from one side. Her anger was to be expected. It was nothing new to him. Still, there was something different to it this time. Something more level, more personal. Perhaps it was because of how much this village resembled the one back at home that tipped her so.

Regardless of the reasons he felt bad vibes seeping off of all this. The travelers getting wind of this when they were so far south from the village itself still stuck with him. Shaking it out of his head he tried to get himself back to the old question.

"What's wrong with the old plan?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Stopping them is not enough. So, this time, I'm going to do what I should have done from the start," she said.

She stopped walking on to bow her head before looking back up at him. "I know it's risky," she mumbled.

He wanted to blindly agree, he wanted to say that this was a bad idea but her troubled eyes stilled his mouth.

"I understand. If you feel that strongly about it then I can't let you go alone," he said.

"Ok... thank you..." she said, the makings of a grateful grin could be seen on her face before walking onward.

This reaction made him straighten up in surprise. 'Thank you' and a half-smile? It was rare that she'd ever give out one of those let alone both in unison.

"No need to thank me," He mumbled almost to himself.

He felt humbled and even somewhat happy. But seeing it as a sign that this was bringing back all the horrid memories of her kidnap stole the smile that would have been on his face.

~#~

That night the two of them began to comb the forests on the outskirts of the village for any leads. Thanks to Natalie's eyes however it was not long before they spotted damning evidence of a kidnapping taking place. A forest planted with speakers every mile or so from each other all linking up like a kind of bowl around the outskirts of the village itself. As the night drew on sounds of demons cries began to echo out of them.

He and Natalie knowing that they were onto something began to search any paths that led to roads. With that search, they found it. A sinister black-looking tailor van parked out in the middle of the road in the neck of the woods. Given the rarity of motor running engines after the great collapse hundreds of years ago this was not just suspicious but damn right suspect.

Poached in hiding they watched as the fake demons sounded lured in child after child. Gathering them up into a group before letting off a sleeping gas knocking them out. He watched on at Natalie whose mouth was left ajar with disbelief at what was happening. Seeing as he does not have the same sight as her he had to rely on her eyes for the events that were transpiring beyond the black van. Using her reactions as a compass he watched on.

"How many?" he asked. Trying to get a better picture.

Calming herself she releases a breath she did not realize she was holding.

"Twelve," She answered in almost a whisper. "Four being their parents or guardians."

"Four grown up's huh?" he whispered to himself as if to translate it. "Are they all knocked out?"

"Yes."

"It's a first seeing them use speakers. Bastards are getting creative as well as bold. You can't just find stuff like that lying around anywhere, so where are they getting them from?"

Natalie looks on in silence. Not getting an answer he remains quiet also, glaring at her with narrowing eyes before he continues.

"You said that they captured four adults right? But they don't normally take in grown up's."

"No..." She said. But it was not in response to him but more in a dazed shock. A moment later she stands up a little covering her open mouth.

He leans up also whilst looking at her with equally widened eyes.

"Natalie, what's wrong?! Tell me what's happening!"

Suddenly a loud bang of gunfire echoed through the darkened night making Natalie flinch as the sound passed through her. The slapping of a flock of birds desperately flapping their wings to take flight washed over the silent moonlight sky.

He latched onto his trusty sword looked towards the direction the deafening bang came from. It was from the same place Natalie has been looking towards for the past hour. Then came another shot... followed by two more... then silence.

Four shots... his eyes darkened.

Shaking his head in disgust Andrew forced his enraged grip off his sword. He did not need Natalie's insight to know what just happened.

To know who they shot... who they killed.

Natalie summoning her wings suddenly jumps out of hiding and was about to head towards the group but he stopped her by grabbing her wrist.

"Remember the plan!" he shouted.

The sound of thunder ran through the air as he held onto her.

"You said it yourself! It's not enough to catch the falling leaves or branches. We need to go in there and cut the problem from its roots and I agree. So let's go in there grab the kids and then go crazy! But first, we need to know where to cut before we start chopping away."

Natalie remaining still said nothing for a moment before falling back behind cover. He exhaled deeply also begins to return to his station. What he said may have been true but it came easily to him. If he was the one that could see the deed being done would he have done the same thing?

Men wearing gas masks began to unload the children into the black van before jumping in themselves and setting off.

"It's moving," Natalie said looking back to the location it was last at.

She looks back towards him only then relisted that he had yet to let go of her wrist. By doing so Natalie Imminently slid down the slope and leaped up on a tree branch to jump onto another.

"Alright," said rolling his neck for a long night's chase.