Elfen High 2 (OOC 9, Closed, Hodor)

[Nationstatelandsville]

Another item to add to Lewis's list of accomplishments; "Broke my hand punching Satan".

[Nightkill the Emperor]

But slightly tanner.

He's an Asian Russian.

I will tell you flat out how I arrived at this point of making a Japanese Russian character.

I wanted a honourable, samurai-like character. Japanese.

I wanted an alcoholic. Russian.

Originally, Minh was going to just be Indian (as that covers both stereotypes), but I decided against doing that.

[Nationstatelandsville]

He's an Asian Russian.

I will tell you flat out how I arrived at this point of making a Japanese Russian character.

I wanted a honourable, samurai-like character. Japanese.

I wanted an alcoholic. Russian.

Originally, Minh was going to just be Indian (as that covers both stereotypes), but I decided against doing that.

I'll tell you how I made Lewis.

Crazy.

[Nationstatelandsville]

The creation of characters is actually a quite interesting process.

Like, for example, Walter White; how the fuck did that happen?

[Nightkill the Emperor]

"Demons?" wondered Danny. "I worked in the ISSR a while. And they did attack Washington, that's how we learnt all about the magical world-"

Minh shook his head. "No, no. Not demons. They live in a shitty state, but it wouldn't be them causing this trouble. Not their style. Azazel is not a subtle man. I also sincerely hope he isn't crazy enough to really risk attacking our world. An all out war would be horrible for him. Us as well, but he would not last well."

An excerpt from my oneshot, set in 2017.

Oh, Minh, you poor wrong bastard. Azazel is that crazy.

[Nationstatelandsville]

"Demons?" wondered Danny. "I worked in the ISSR a while. And they did attack Washington, that's how we learnt all about the magical world-"

Minh shook his head. "No, no. Not demons. They live in a shitty state, but it wouldn't be them causing this trouble. Not their style. Azazel is not a subtle man. I also sincerely hope he isn't crazy enough to really risk attacking our world. An all out war would be horrible for him. Us as well, but he would not last well."

An excerpt from my oneshot, set in 2017.

Oh, Minh, you poor wrong bastard. Azazel is that crazy.

"I'll take that as a challenge." - Azazel

[Nightkill the Emperor]

An excerpt from my oneshot, set in 2017.

Oh, Minh, you poor wrong bastard. Azazel is that crazy.

"I'll take that as a challenge." - Azazel

And then proceeded to shoot Minh.

I'm also aware that the ISSR started off a small base in Hell.

To which I say "That was written by someone who retroactively decided he had a better idea", and now instead the ISSR was launched almost immediately after the discovery of magic and has bases all across Earth. The one in Hell we saw was just the most important one in Hell at the time, 2020.

[Nationstatelandsville]

"I'll take that as a challenge." - Azazel

And then proceeded to shoot Minh.

I'm also aware that the ISSR started off a small base in Hell.

To which I say "That was written by someone who retroactively decided he had a better idea", and now instead the ISSR was launched almost immediately after the discovery of magic and has bases all across Earth. The one in Hell we saw was just the most important one in Hell at the time, 2020.

It's entirely possible the original base was just a coverup.

Would explain how Sanchez jumped ranks so quickly.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

And then proceeded to shoot Minh.

I'm also aware that the ISSR started off a small base in Hell.

To which I say "That was written by someone who retroactively decided he had a better idea", and now instead the ISSR was launched almost immediately after the discovery of magic and has bases all across Earth. The one in Hell we saw was just the most important one in Hell at the time, 2020.

It's entirely possible the original base was just a coverup.

Would explain how Sanchez jumped ranks so quickly.

Sanchez was fully intended as a very minor character who would shoot angels and demons in F-22s. I even named him, in jest, after a roommate I had in California.

Then we made him and Megan Facebook friends.

I don't think my former roommate knows what his namesake is doing.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

It's entirely possible the original base was just a coverup.

Would explain how Sanchez jumped ranks so quickly.

Sanchez was fully intended as a very minor character who would shoot angels and demons in F-22s. I even named him, in jest, after a roommate I had in California.

Then we made him and Megan Facebook friends.

I don't think my former roommate knows what his namesake is doing.

Oh he does, Nightkill, he does.

And he plots every night.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Minh chuckled. "Moscow's survived a lot." he said, taking a swig of his drink. "Don't worry. Nothing can fuck up Moscow beyond repair."

Minh should stop talking, since people keep taking him up on his challenges.

Sanchez was fully intended as a very minor character who would shoot angels and demons in F-22s. I even named him, in jest, after a roommate I had in California.

Then we made him and Megan Facebook friends.

I don't think my former roommate knows what his namesake is doing.

Oh he does, Nightkill, he does.

And he plots every night.

I think he'd be more offended that I made Sanchez Puerto Rican.

The real Sanchez is Mexican.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Minh chuckled. "Moscow's survived a lot." he said, taking a swig of his drink. "Don't worry. Nothing can fuck up Moscow beyond repair."

Minh should stop talking, since people keep taking him up on his challenges.

Well, it's being repaired, isn't it?

Besides, wasn't only the people that disappeared? The city's there. .

[Nightkill the Emperor]

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/T ... reakingBad

"In the DVD extras, all the actors talk about their characters in the third person except for Bryan Cranston, who refers to Walt's thoughts and actions as "I'm thinking that..." and "I'm going to..."."

This is fucking terrifying.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Trivia/BreakingBad

"In the DVD extras, all the actors talk about their characters in the third person except for Bryan Cranston, who refers to Walt's thoughts and actions as "I'm thinking that..." and "I'm going to..."."

This is fucking terrifying.

I think that, deep down, we all knew it.

Walter lives.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Minh should stop talking, since people keep taking him up on his challenges.

Well, it's being repaired, isn't it?

Besides, wasn't only the people that disappeared? The city's there. .

Alright, Minh was right on a technicality.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

“We’re filming, now.” spoke out a voice. Anna took a breath and nodded, adjusting her hair. There was some static here in the video, to the annoyance of those watching.

“Hello, and welcome to today’s episode of Silver State News. I’m your host, Anna Diaz. This week is the five year anniversary of the horrific event that devastated the city of Las Vegas with the multiple attacks carried out in our great city.” More static in the video. She cleared her throat, brushing her hair again. “Today, we…we…” she paused. “I’m sorry, I’m just-“ she was looking past them, staring at something out of the way. “I need to go now.”

“What?” asked the startled cameraman. “You can’t just leave. You have to stay here. That’s the whole point-“ he began, but Anna had already run off the screen, static sounds very loud now before the video ended.

---

“And that’s the last sighting of her.” said detective Jose Martinez, looking at the man sitting across from him. “We’ve been searching everywhere, but haven’t found her at all. Not a peep. So we were wondering if you could help.”

“When was this last sighting?” asked the Texan man, his Southern drawl coming through, cigarette in his mouth. "And what was with the static?"

“December 22th.” Jose said. “I remember because it was going to be their last episode before the break, and because my husband took me to this wonderful new Indian restaurant that day. As for the static...I don't even know, ese. The cameraman swears his equipment worked perfectly. He has no idea why the static happened then, but he's replaced his recording devices just in case."

Danny took the cigarette out of his mouth, looking at the case file that Jose had handed him. He examined it carefully, looking at the picture of the girl. “Alright.” He stood up. “I’ll help you out, buddy. On the house.”

Jose looked surprised. “Are you sure? We can pay substantially-“ But Danny already was shaking his head.

“No, no.” he said. “This is a case of personal interest to me, actually. I’ll take it for free.” He pointed to Diaz’s picture. “I know this girl. I’m very interested in finding her again as well. I’ll call you on my progress.” He said, shaking his friend’s hand. “Thanks for calling me, Jose. I won’t let you down.”

---

Danny sat alone at home, quiet and contemplative. He didn't give the full story to Jose when taking the case, though he likely should have. But Anna hadn't entirely disappeared. Anna Diaz. Danny remembered her, and missed her. They had grown up together in Dallas, and had gone to the same school for some time. But Anna had gone to Elfen High as they had been dating, and Danny felt almost betrayed by that, though he understood why she had to go. Anna had always held some powers, powers she suppressed, but she had had them. She always had been able to see things others hadn't, so Danny wasn't too surprised that she had run off stage looking at something that nobody could see, or something that didn't appear on the camera footage.

But then she came back to America eventually, having gotten a degree in journalism from Elfen High, as well as some control of her abilities. Danny and Anna had met once again, in Portland. Danny had gone into the ISSR for some time, and Portland had a small ISSR base. Anna had been reporting on a news story about the base, and Danny was surprised at the new person he had met. A much more confident woman, beautiful and assertive, in contrast to the cute, timid and shy girl he knew as a boy in Dallas.

They had become very close for a night - but then separated again, with Danny only remembering the phantom of an embrace, the feel of her soft skin on his own, and the smell of her perfume. He regretted that he hadn't tried to keep contact with her, but they had some contact information. Facebook, email, phone numbers...they hadn't kept contact, but they had the means.

And now, two years after they had met in Portland, and nearly three months after she had vanished off the face of the Earth, an email from her sat in his inbox. He had hid this fact from Jose. He didn't know why. But he had. He had a gut feeling that he shouldn't say anything, not yet.

"Entry One" was the name of the email. Inside it was an audio file. He hadn't been able to watch it on his phone, when he had first discovered he had gotten the email, but now he had the time. And he was in his hotel, on a laptop. He took a breath, inserting the headphones into the laptop's audio jack.

"This is Anna Diaz." spoke Anna's voice into his ears, and Danny closed his eyes. He missed that voice all too much. That sweet girl trying to hide her Southern accent and adopting a more standard pronunciation, because she got that was the only way to find a job. Danny had always found that endearing and hilarious, in its own way. His eyes startled open and his smile disappeared upon hearing her next words. "And I'm no longer on Earth, or anywhere recognisable to it. I'm in a world of snow right now, fucking cold. I'm not sure where I am, or how I got here, not entirely. I'm wearing a recording wire right now, it'll record the words I'm saying. Hopefully I'll be able to send them out..."

"Snow." muttered Danny, focusing on the sound in the tapes. He heard wind gusts blowing as Anna's voice spoke, and he paused the audio file briefly. How he wished he could just see her face, instead of these audio files. There was some snow right now on the East Coast, probably in Canada. Maybe even Washington? Was it snowing up there right now in Seattle? He pressed play again, listening to Anna's feet crunch in the snow.

Suddenly, a noise was heard. Or, rather, distortion of noise. The audio began to distort, Anna's footsteps becoming drowned out by a buzzing sound. Danny slapped his computer in annoyance. Then the audio played again, Anna's voice cutting in. "There's something behind me." she whispered, a trace of her Texan roots now in her voice. "There's something behind me." she repeated, genuine fear in her voice.

Distortion again, even worse than before. It blurred the voice that came through next, making it deep and almost unintelligible (Danny couldn't make out whether it was a male voice or a female), but it was definitely a second voice. A second person. "You are afraid. I am not." said the voice.

The audio finished. Danny was left staring at his computer, checking the email again. Was there any text? Any message that Anna sent him? He had nothing more than questions now. How did she send him this audio file? How did she get to a situation where she could do that? Who had been that voice?

Questions. And no answers. His hand went to his mouse, ready to replay the video, but he was interrupted by a sudden text. He looked at his phone in surprise, as though it were alien to him. His mind had gone away, and the phone had rudely yanked it back. He picked up his phone, looking at the text. An unknown number. It was also an encrypted number - Danny had no way of seeing even the digits of the person who had texted him.

The text was simple. "Danny." it read. "i need u to go outside of Vegas, to the spot marked X."

Spot marked X...a second text came. A map. And a message that said simply "Love, Anna." Danny stared at the computer in sudden shock and confusion.

He stood up, getting ready to change. He looked outside, seeing that night was just setting. The location that Anna - if it were Anna - asked him to go to was in the desert. For maximum comfort, it was best for him to leave now so that the oppressive heat of morning wouldn't get him.

He paused, and realised that heading out alone into the desert without telling anyone where he was going was a bad idea. He picked up his phone and began to write up a text toward Jose. "Hola, cabron." he wrote, his affectionate term for his friend. "I have a lead of sorts. I'm going out into the desert-" he copied the map that Anna had sent him, and pasted it into his text at Jose. He pressed the "send" button and began to write up another text. "I'll go out by myself to examine this. But I figure it might be good to tell you in case I end up dying out there." he joked.

Send.

He looked down at his jeans and T-shirt. Yes, this attire would do out there. He grabbed a flashlight - or torch, as Anna had called it, and which he mocked her for - and took a pack of e-cigarettes. He took a breath, walking out of his hotel door and closing the light. It flickered before it finally shut, and Danny could have sworn he saw something in the darkness.

He turned on the light again - again a bloody flicker- and started looking around the room quickly with his eyes. Nothing. Nothing at all, aside from his crap scattered across. Frowning, he shut the door again, but kept the light on. Just in case.

---

As he walked toward his car, he felt his phone buzz. He picked it up, seeing a text again. Anna, or someone claiming to be her. An audio file was in the text. He also had received a text from Jose, which said “OK, puta. Just be careful out there, alright? Text me if your lead works out."

Danny looked at his phone, sending "OK". He took a breath, sitting down in his car. He pulled out the phone, and plugged a wire that connected the phone into the car speakers. He started up the engine, and began to drive through the busy streets of Las Vegas.

"I'm still here, where here is." Anna's voice said softly. "I'm not sure yet. But it's less cold now. I'm wearing a fur coat now, a brown fur coat. Not sure where I got it from...Not sure where I got this knife from either." she said, as though she had noticed something for the first time. "The last few minutes are a blur. I can't remember a thing." she confessed.

She walked through the snow again, Danny driving slowly through the Las Vegas traffic. Where was Anna? Where could she possibly be? He was so focused that he was suddenly thrown by the sound of massive distortion and static, like a thunderclap being picked up by a microphone. He quickly turned the volume down on his speakers, so cars outside didn't hear, and confirmed his windows were shut.

After twenty seconds of this sound, Anna's voice came back, panicked. "I don't - I don't know what that was. All I know is there was a sound in the sky, and a bright flash of light. I had to shut my - I had to - I had to sh-shut my eyes because of it." she said, trying to keep her breath and also keep her shit together. "I'm looking up now. There's a moon there now. I don't know if it was there before, I thought it was a no moon night, you know? But there's a moon up there." she took a breath. "Not like our moon though. This one...it's green. Green and blue. More blue than green. A planet then? Small planet?" her Texan accent had come out now, in full force.

Danny leaned back, thinking. Was this a magic issue now? If so, things had just gotten very, very difficult. But Danny would keep trying to pursue this, as much as he could. He listened closely, as Anna seemed to get herself together. "Alright. Let's ignore that. One thing at a time, Diaz." she muttered, her feet crunching in the snowy earth. "I see a man now. He's a tall man." she said after two minutes of silence and crunching. "He's not doing anything, he's just standing there in the field...he's just quiet. He's turned away from me, he can't see me."

She paused, and all Danny could hear was her breathing. "I'm going to go talk to him." she declared. "Maybe he can give me some advice."

"No, no, no, Anna. Come on." Danny begged and prayed to the tape. "Don't do that." he had a feeling, a sense of impending dread as he breathed Anna's soft breaths and the wind blowing around her. His car moved slowly through Las Vegas traffic, but not as slowly as it may have. It was relatively clear today, considering what Vegas was generally like.

"Excuse me, sir." Anna's voice said, presumably to the tall man. "Can you-" Then distortion suddenly hit the tape, static buzzing as Anna suddenly let out a bloodcurdling scream, the volume of which seemed like it simply couldn't have come from her tiny form. Danny's blood froze as the scream suddenly transformed into hysterical laughter and giggling. "It's fucking you!" she laughed. "You!" But it wasn't a happy laugh or outburst. No, Anna was terrified.

"Turn left in point five miles." his GPS intoned, its metallic voice contrasting with the cacophony of static laughter and screaming.

The distortion on the tape became intense, lasting now for two minutes, eleven seconds of pure static with the occasional sound of Anna's laugh. Danny sat in his car, feeling helpless. He had no way of telling what was going on. All he could do was count the seconds until Anna's voice came back. And come back it did.

It was quiet now, calm. "There's blood on the knife." she said quietly. "I don't know how. I don't know what just happened. I'll play back the tapes and I'll see later. But I need to keep moving now. Maybe I can find someone to help. I see something in the distance, a castle of sorts. There's some daylight left right now, so I'll keep walking and try to get to the castle before nightfall, whenever night falls."

Danny noticed that he was sweating profusely, and turned up the air conditioning, though he was perfectly aware that it would have no effect. The sweat wasn't being caused by heat at all. What was happening right now? Where was Anna?

He paused, wiping some sweat off his brow, one hand firmly on the wheel. He took a breath in and out of his nose deeply, noticing that the tape had been silent for some time now, after Anna's decision to look for shelter. The car had nearly made it out of Las Vegas traffic as well. Suddenly, Danny's attention had been caught again by the sudden distortion that had reappeared in the tape. It was the same gender neutral voice he had heard in the last audio clip, and the reappearance of it now nearly caused Danny to drive his car off the road. "Stories never end. They merely LAYER and DECAY. Skin to bone, steel to rust."

Then the clip ended. Danny shuddered, unsure what had just happened. "What the fuck..." he muttered quietly to himself, shaken. He kept driving now, without any incident, aside from his own paranoia. He looked behind him, seeing a car driving along behind him, bright white headlights shining. But it passed in a different direction, and Danny relaxed. "You're too worried, Danny." he muttered. He stopped his car as his GPS helpfully told him he had reached his destination.

"You have arrived."

Danny slowly opened his car door. He took a deep breath, setting his feet down on the sandy ground of the desert. He coughed, despite the oppressive heat. Shivering - shivering, in this weather? - he looked around. "Anna? Somebody?" he asked, his voice echoing. "Anybody there?"

Anna had to have sent that text, right? She had to have. Who else would have? And the texter had his phone number, as well as an audio clip of Anna. So it had to have been her...

Suddenly, Danny saw a tall man standing in the distance. He wore a black jacket, and he stood in the desert. He wore on his face a mask that disguised his face and facial expressions. Danny ran toward him, full with questions. For example, why the mask? Why was he here? "Hey, you!" he barked. "Who the hell are you?" The most worthy question of all.

The man slowly turned his head toward Danny, his hand reaching toward his mask and slowly removing it as Danny's mouth formed in a scream. Suddenly, from behind him, he felt something hit the back of his head.

---

Danny opened his eyes, feeling dazed. "What the hell..."

"That's what I was going to ask you." said a distant voice, coming closer as Danny came to. He was...in a hospital? Is that where he was? He recognised Jose as his vision came back, shapes aligning.

"Martinez? What happened?" he asked, groggy. "I remember being hit on the back of the head-"

"Hit on the back of the head?" asked Jose incredulously. "Is that all?"

"Yeah...I..." he paused. The memories were already foggy. "I was hit on the head. I had gone to a spot in the desert, somewhere Anna had sent me the text for-"

"Anna?" Jose repeated. "Anna? She texted you? You didn't tell me? What the fuck, Danny?" he said, sounding astounded. "We're looking for that girl, and you won't tell me anything? How am I supposed to rely on anything if you don't help me out-" he took a breath. "Alright. When did you go out to do that? The sixth?"

"Yeah." Danny frowned. "Yesterday, I'd assume. Why are you asking me the date?" Jose's face was a picture of amazement.

"Danny," he said quietly. "It's now the eleventh. We found you on the ninth, four miles in the desert from where you told me you'd be. Your car was completely destroyed, but left as a flaming wreck at the spot you told me to meet you. When we saw you in the desert in the night, you were...covered in snow."

Danny's eyes were wide open, staring at Jose. "Snow." he repeated. "I was covered in snow? In the desert?"

"You were bleeding from the left side of your body, a stab wound, and you had nearly drowned, though doctors have no idea how you managed to pull that feat off. You're still in recovery, so don't even consider going anywhere." Jose warned. "But what the hell happened to you? Who hit you on the head?"

Danny closed his eyes. Keeping them open for too long was causing him a severe headache. "Alright. I was in the desert, when I saw...I think I saw this man. A masked man. I can barely even remember him, just that he was masked and tall." he struggled to explain. "Jose. My phone has a video file on it. Anna sent it, or someone claiming to be her. I'll forward you my email from her - yes, I had gotten an email too, should have told you about that, I'm sorry. Then we can try and piece this together. It'll take you maybe twenty, twenty five minutes to hear it. A lot is dead space, but it's all big."

Jose sighed, standing up. "Danny?"

"Si?"

"You're a shithead." he said frankly, taking his phone. "Are you logged into your Gmail?" After Danny's affirmative nod, Jose plugged his headphones in, sat down at the side of the bed and listened as Danny's eyes closed and carried him away to sleep.

---

Danny dreamt.

There was a gloved hand holding a dagger. Snow fell around them, the white ground contrasting with the red blood across it, from the leaking and scattered corpses.

Danny then found himself walking through the snow, freezing and cold. Anna's taut and olive face looked at him with concern, handing a brown fur coat as Danny doubled over, vomiting blood.

A voice spoke warmly in his head, the words falling like a soft shower on a hot day. "You are who you are." the voice said smoothly. "You are you." The voice began to grow louder, to snarl, like a waterfall landing full force on you on a cold night. "Who are you? Who are you? WHO ARE YOU?"

---

He suddenly found himself awake, staring. "What the-" he muttered. "I just had the most awful dream..."

Jose was just staring out into space with a blank expression. "I heard the two tapes you mentioned." he said. He took a breath. "Alright. So this is a magical issue now, pretty much. I mean, where the hell else could she be right now?" A rhetorical question. Then he looked up. "Actually...I do know a guy..."

---

A rather tired looking Asian man sat across from Danny two hours later, booze on his breath. Danny raised an eyebrow at the man, who was opening up a bottle cheerfully labelled "Mother of All Storms". He looked at Danny. "So, what's your name? My own is Minh Taka." he said in an educated British accent that vaguely reminded Danny of Richard Dawkins. He opened the bottle, not even pouring the drink into a glass despite it being on a table.

"I'm Danny." replied the Texan in a wary voice. "Jose, who is this?"

"I can speak for myself, gracias." Minh snapped back. He took a breath, and placed on a forced smile. "Apologies. Just going through some stuff right now. You didn't need that lip from me. I should add that my full title is Professor Minh Taka, biology teacher at Elfen High." he said, extending a hand for a shake. Danny obliged him. "Jose and I know each other because he used to live in New York, and I have family there. He lived next to my wife and son in our apartment, when I was around in America."

Jose nodded. "I figured, after hearing all this information, it would be best to contact a guy who might know a fair bit about it. You're the closest thing to an expert I know." he addressed Minh.

Minh shrugged. "I suppose you're right. I'm an expert of sorts. Sounds to me that you're dealing with something dangerous."

A beat. "Well, like what?" asked Jose.

"Fuck if I know." sighed Minh. "Look, I listened to the tapes in my car on the way. I looked at the details that you gave me, about going out into the desert and such." Here he looked at Danny. "Dumbass. Never do that alone. What are you, an idiot?"

Danny bristled, but Minh facepalmed. "Shit, I am doing it again. I'm genuinely sorry. I don't intend to be a prick here, I'm just very much tired. My ex-wife was being a bitch, and Aleister Crowley- Never mind, you don't give a shit and I fully get that. Now, on this. Could be a bunch of things. The snow is interesting. Jotun?" he wondered out loud.

"Jotun?" asked Jose.

"Ice Giants, you know." Minh said. "You've seen Thor, I'd bet. Could be them? But this doesn't seem their style. They'd rather just do things and get it done, rather than play these mind games. I do have another idea, but that's far too terrible for me to imagine. Hope it isn't that."

"Demons?" wondered Danny. "I worked in the ISSR a while. And they did attack Washington, that's how we learned all about the magical world-"

Minh shook his head. "No, no. Not demons. They live in a shitty state, but it wouldn't be them causing this trouble. Not their style. Azazel is not a subtle man. I also sincerely hope he isn't crazy enough to really risk attacking our world. An all out war would be horrible for him. Us as well, but he would not last well."

Danny nodded. "So what do you think this is? I want to make sure Anna isn't in any danger-"

Minh interrupted again. "Relax. I had Anna as a student. She's resourceful enough. She's very clearly in danger, as you usually don't safely go missing. But she can handle herself." It was plain his attitude was to reassure and relax Danny - how much he believed was evidently less.

Danny opened his mouth to respond, but his phone buzzed. Minh, Danny and Jose all looked at one another, exchanging glances. Danny picked the phone off the side table. He checked. "Audio file." he said.

Jose took the phone. "Alright." he said. "Are we all ready to listen?"

Minh and Danny nodded. Jose turned on the audio.

"Hello?" came out Anna's voice from the phone. "This is Anna Diaz. I've made it to the city. I don't see anyone else here. I saw a man not too far away once, watching from a distance. But when I looked again, he had vanished." She took a few breaths. "The city is empty. It feels familiar though." she mused. "Churches. A fair bit of them. It's bizarre. Signs in some language I can't read. Russian, maybe? Cyrillic script, that's certain."

"Russian?" Minh chuckled. "I did tell her to take that language. She didn't listen. Took Spanish instead for the easy grade."

"Shut up." muttered Danny, engrossed.

"I see..." A pause. "I'm not sure. There's someone standing there. A knight? He or she has the armour." A pause. "Yeah, yeah, si. Definitely a knight." She said, confident now. "I'm going to go up, see what's going on. Wait, he's turning his head, taking off the helmet." Then a pause. "Danny?" said Anna, sounding blown away, distortion affecting her voicing of his name.

Danny looked up, himself stunned. "What the hell?"

Minh looked at Danny. "You went missing." he noted. "Maybe here's where you went. A knight in shining armour after all."

Danny stared at the phone, as though it could help him. Suddenly, it buzzed again.

A picture was sent now. A picture of a man wearing a medieval knight armour, a sword in one hand, lying flat on the ground as the rest of the man's body also did. His face, lacking helmet, was pale. And his chest had the armour torn open, a hole visible on the left side, blood leaking out.

The man's face was undoubtedly Danny. Danny felt his left side. Where the stab wound had been.

This is part one of the oneshot. I'm around two thousand words beyond this, but I figured I'd show you what was going on. It's a rough draft, but whatever. Since I'm so far ahead, I figured you could read this.

This will be in several parts, likely. It's going to be quite long and whammy, covering a lot of things. This section is somewhat like the warm up. Soon, things get interesting.

This part is 4536 words.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

The fuck is Journado?

[Nightkill the Emperor]

The fuck is Journado?

A typo.

It should have been "Jornada".

[Nightkill the Emperor]

I fixed that error.

[Nude East Ireland]

I made Damien because I read Dracula and liked Batman.

Malakh was because I researched Angels.

And everyone else because I thought of something cool.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

I made Damien because I read Dracula and liked Batman.

Malakh was because I researched Angels.

And everyone else because I thought of something cool.

Seems right.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

http://m.bbc.com/news/world-asia-27169405

CNN will immediately wonder if Obama has found the plane.

[Agritum]

http://m.bbc.com/news/world-asia-27169405

CNN will immediately wonder if Obama has found the plane.

However, some Malay Muslims claim that the US-led trade deal will reduce their economic privileges over other ethnic groups in the country.

How horrible!

[Nightkill the Emperor]

“We’re filming, now.” spoke out a voice. Anna took a breath and nodded, adjusting her hair. There was some static here in the video, to the annoyance of those watching.

“Hello, and welcome to today’s episode of Silver State News. I’m your host, Anna Diaz. This week is the five year anniversary of the horrific event that devastated the city of Las Vegas with the multiple attacks carried out in our great city.” More static in the video. She cleared her throat, brushing her hair again. “Today, we…we…” she paused. “I’m sorry, I’m just-“ she was looking past them, staring at something out of the way. “I need to go now.”

“What?” asked the startled cameraman. “You can’t just leave. You have to stay here. That’s the whole point-“ he began, but Anna had already run off the screen, static sounds very loud now before the video ended.

---

“And that’s the last sighting of her.” said detective Jose Martinez, looking at the man sitting across from him. “We’ve been searching everywhere, but haven’t found her at all. Not a peep. So we were wondering if you could help.”

“When was this last sighting?” asked the Texan man, his Southern drawl coming through, cigarette in his mouth. "And what was with the static?"

“December 22th.” Jose said. “I remember because it was going to be their last episode before the break, and because my husband took me to this wonderful new Indian restaurant that day. As for the static...I don't even know, ese. The cameraman swears his equipment worked perfectly. He has no idea why the static happened then, but he's replaced his recording devices just in case."

Danny took the cigarette out of his mouth, looking at the case file that Jose had handed him. He examined it carefully, looking at the picture of the girl. “Alright.” He stood up. “I’ll help you out, buddy. On the house.”

Jose looked surprised. “Are you sure? We can pay substantially-“ But Danny already was shaking his head.

“No, no.” he said. “This is a case of personal interest to me, actually. I’ll take it for free.” He pointed to Diaz’s picture. “I know this girl. I’m very interested in finding her again as well. I’ll call you on my progress.” He said, shaking his friend’s hand. “Thanks for calling me, Jose. I won’t let you down.”

---

Danny sat alone at home, quiet and contemplative. He didn't give the full story to Jose when taking the case, though he likely should have. But Anna hadn't entirely disappeared. Anna Diaz. Danny remembered her, and missed her. They had grown up together in Dallas, and had gone to the same school for some time. But Anna had gone to Elfen High as they had been dating, and Danny felt almost betrayed by that, though he understood why she had to go. Anna had always held some powers, powers she suppressed, but she had had them. She always had been able to see things others hadn't, so Danny wasn't too surprised that she had run off stage looking at something that nobody could see, or something that didn't appear on the camera footage.

But then she came back to America eventually, having gotten a degree in journalism from Elfen High, as well as some control of her abilities. Danny and Anna had met once again, in Portland. Danny had gone into the ISSR for some time, and Portland had a small ISSR base. Anna had been reporting on a news story about the base, and Danny was surprised at the new person he had met. A much more confident woman, beautiful and assertive, in contrast to the cute, timid and shy girl he knew as a boy in Dallas.

They had become very close for a night - but then separated again, with Danny only remembering the phantom of an embrace, the feel of her soft skin on his own, and the smell of her perfume. He regretted that he hadn't tried to keep contact with her, but they had some contact information. Facebook, email, phone numbers...they hadn't kept contact, but they had the means.

And now, two years after they had met in Portland, and nearly three months after she had vanished off the face of the Earth, an email from her sat in his inbox. He had hid this fact from Jose. He didn't know why. But he had. He had a gut feeling that he shouldn't say anything, not yet.

"Entry One" was the name of the email. Inside it was an audio file. He hadn't been able to watch it on his phone, when he had first discovered he had gotten the email, but now he had the time. And he was in his hotel, on a laptop. He took a breath, inserting the headphones into the laptop's audio jack.

"This is Anna Diaz." spoke Anna's voice into his ears, and Danny closed his eyes. He missed that voice all too much. That sweet girl trying to hide her Southern accent and adopting a more standard pronunciation, because she got that was the only way to find a job. Danny had always found that endearing and hilarious, in its own way. His eyes startled open and his smile disappeared upon hearing her next words. "And I'm no longer on Earth, or anywhere recognisable to it. I'm in a world of snow right now, fucking cold. I'm not sure where I am, or how I got here, not entirely. I'm wearing a recording wire right now, it'll record the words I'm saying. Hopefully I'll be able to send them out..."

"Snow." muttered Danny, focusing on the sound in the tapes. He heard wind gusts blowing as Anna's voice spoke, and he paused the audio file briefly. How he wished he could just see her face, instead of these audio files. There was some snow right now on the East Coast, probably in Canada. Maybe even Washington? Was it snowing up there right now in Seattle? He pressed play again, listening to Anna's feet crunch in the snow.

Suddenly, a noise was heard. Or, rather, distortion of noise. The audio began to distort, Anna's footsteps becoming drowned out by a buzzing sound. Danny slapped his computer in annoyance. Then the audio played again, Anna's voice cutting in. "There's something behind me." she whispered, a trace of her Texan roots now in her voice. "There's something behind me." she repeated, genuine fear in her voice.

Distortion again, even worse than before. It blurred the voice that came through next, making it deep and almost unintelligible (Danny couldn't make out whether it was a male voice or a female), but it was definitely a second voice. A second person. "You are afraid. I am not." said the voice.

The audio finished. Danny was left staring at his computer, checking the email again. Was there any text? Any message that Anna sent him? He had nothing more than questions now. How did she send him this audio file? How did she get to a situation where she could do that? Who had been that voice?

Questions. And no answers. His hand went to his mouse, ready to replay the video, but he was interrupted by a sudden text. He looked at his phone in surprise, as though it were alien to him. His mind had gone away, and the phone had rudely yanked it back. He picked up his phone, looking at the text. An unknown number. It was also an encrypted number - Danny had no way of seeing even the digits of the person who had texted him.

The text was simple. "Danny." it read. "i need u to go outside of Vegas, to the spot marked X."

Spot marked X...a second text came. A map. And a message that said simply "Love, Anna." Danny stared at the computer in sudden shock and confusion.

He stood up, getting ready to change. He looked outside, seeing that night was just setting. The location that Anna - if it were Anna - asked him to go to was in the desert. For maximum comfort, it was best for him to leave now so that the oppressive heat of morning wouldn't get him.

He paused, and realised that heading out alone into the desert without telling anyone where he was going was a bad idea. He picked up his phone and began to write up a text toward Jose. "Hola, cabron." he wrote, his affectionate term for his friend. "I have a lead of sorts. I'm going out into the desert-" he copied the map that Anna had sent him, and pasted it into his text at Jose. He pressed the "send" button and began to write up another text. "I'll go out by myself to examine this. But I figure it might be good to tell you in case I end up dying out there." he joked.

Send.

He looked down at his jeans and T-shirt. Yes, this attire would do out there. He grabbed a flashlight - or torch, as Anna had called it, and which he mocked her for - and took a pack of e-cigarettes. He took a breath, walking out of his hotel door and closing the light. It flickered before it finally shut, and Danny could have sworn he saw something in the darkness.

He turned on the light again - again a bloody flicker- and started looking around the room quickly with his eyes. Nothing. Nothing at all, aside from his crap scattered across. Frowning, he shut the door again, but kept the light on. Just in case.

---

As he walked toward his car, he felt his phone buzz. He picked it up, seeing a text again. Anna, or someone claiming to be her. An audio file was in the text. He also had received a text from Jose, which said “OK, puta. Just be careful out there, alright? Text me if your lead works out."

Danny looked at his phone, sending "OK". He took a breath, sitting down in his car. He pulled out the phone, and plugged a wire that connected the phone into the car speakers. He started up the engine, and began to drive through the busy streets of Las Vegas.

"I'm still here, where here is." Anna's voice said softly. "I'm not sure yet. But it's less cold now. I'm wearing a fur coat now, a brown fur coat. Not sure where I got it from...Not sure where I got this knife from either." she said, as though she had noticed something for the first time. "The last few minutes are a blur. I can't remember a thing." she confessed.

She walked through the snow again, Danny driving slowly through the Las Vegas traffic. Where was Anna? Where could she possibly be? He was so focused that he was suddenly thrown by the sound of massive distortion and static, like a thunderclap being picked up by a microphone. He quickly turned the volume down on his speakers, so cars outside didn't hear, and confirmed his windows were shut.

After twenty seconds of this sound, Anna's voice came back, panicked. "I don't - I don't know what that was. All I know is there was a sound in the sky, and a bright flash of light. I had to shut my - I had to - I had to sh-shut my eyes because of it." she said, trying to keep her breath and also keep her shit together. "I'm looking up now. There's a moon there now. I don't know if it was there before, I thought it was a no moon night, you know? But there's a moon up there." she took a breath. "Not like our moon though. This one...it's green. Green and blue. More blue than green. A planet then? Small planet?" her Texan accent had come out now, in full force.

Danny leaned back, thinking. Was this a magic issue now? If so, things had just gotten very, very difficult. But Danny would keep trying to pursue this, as much as he could. He listened closely, as Anna seemed to get herself together. "Alright. Let's ignore that. One thing at a time, Diaz." she muttered, her feet crunching in the snowy earth. "I see a man now. He's a tall man." she said after two minutes of silence and crunching. "He's not doing anything, he's just standing there in the field...he's just quiet. He's turned away from me, he can't see me."

She paused, and all Danny could hear was her breathing. "I'm going to go talk to him." she declared. "Maybe he can give me some advice."

"No, no, no, Anna. Come on." Danny begged and prayed to the tape. "Don't do that." he had a feeling, a sense of impending dread as he breathed Anna's soft breaths and the wind blowing around her. His car moved slowly through Las Vegas traffic, but not as slowly as it may have. It was relatively clear today, considering what Vegas was generally like.

"Excuse me, sir." Anna's voice said, presumably to the tall man. "Can you-" Then distortion suddenly hit the tape, static buzzing as Anna suddenly let out a bloodcurdling scream, the volume of which seemed like it simply couldn't have come from her tiny form. Danny's blood froze as the scream suddenly transformed into hysterical laughter and giggling. "It's fucking you!" she laughed. "You!" But it wasn't a happy laugh or outburst. No, Anna was terrified.

"Turn left in point five miles." his GPS intoned, its metallic voice contrasting with the cacophony of static laughter and screaming.

The distortion on the tape became intense, lasting now for two minutes, eleven seconds of pure static with the occasional sound of Anna's laugh. Danny sat in his car, feeling helpless. He had no way of telling what was going on. All he could do was count the seconds until Anna's voice came back. And come back it did.

It was quiet now, calm. "There's blood on the knife." she said quietly. "I don't know how. I don't know what just happened. I'll play back the tapes and I'll see later. But I need to keep moving now. Maybe I can find someone to help. I see something in the distance, a castle of sorts. There's some daylight left right now, so I'll keep walking and try to get to the castle before nightfall, whenever night falls."

Danny noticed that he was sweating profusely, and turned up the air conditioning, though he was perfectly aware that it would have no effect. The sweat wasn't being caused by heat at all. What was happening right now? Where was Anna?

He paused, wiping some sweat off his brow, one hand firmly on the wheel. He took a breath in and out of his nose deeply, noticing that the tape had been silent for some time now, after Anna's decision to look for shelter. The car had nearly made it out of Las Vegas traffic as well. Suddenly, Danny's attention had been caught again by the sudden distortion that had reappeared in the tape. It was the same gender neutral voice he had heard in the last audio clip, and the reappearance of it now nearly caused Danny to drive his car off the road. "Stories never end. They merely LAYER and DECAY. Skin to bone, steel to rust."

Then the clip ended. Danny shuddered, unsure what had just happened. "What the fuck..." he muttered quietly to himself, shaken. He kept driving now, without any incident, aside from his own paranoia. He looked behind him, seeing a car driving along behind him, bright white headlights shining. But it passed in a different direction, and Danny relaxed. "You're too worried, Danny." he muttered. He stopped his car as his GPS helpfully told him he had reached his destination.

"You have arrived."

Danny slowly opened his car door. He took a deep breath, setting his feet down on the sandy ground of the desert. He coughed, despite the oppressive heat. Shivering - shivering, in this weather? - he looked around. "Anna? Somebody?" he asked, his voice echoing. "Anybody there?"

Anna had to have sent that text, right? She had to have. Who else would have? And the texter had his phone number, as well as an audio clip of Anna. So it had to have been her...

Suddenly, Danny saw a tall man standing in the distance. He wore a black jacket, and he stood in the desert. He wore on his face a mask that disguised his face and facial expressions. Danny ran toward him, full with questions. For example, why the mask? Why was he here? "Hey, you!" he barked. "Who the hell are you?" The most worthy question of all.

The man slowly turned his head toward Danny, his hand reaching toward his mask and slowly removing it as Danny's mouth formed in a scream. Suddenly, from behind him, he felt something hit the back of his head.

---

Danny opened his eyes, feeling dazed. "What the hell..."

"That's what I was going to ask you." said a distant voice, coming closer as Danny came to. He was...in a hospital? Is that where he was? He recognised Jose as his vision came back, shapes aligning.

"Martinez? What happened?" he asked, groggy. "I remember being hit on the back of the head-"

"Hit on the back of the head?" asked Jose incredulously. "Is that all?"

"Yeah...I..." he paused. The memories were already foggy. "I was hit on the head. I had gone to a spot in the desert, somewhere Anna had sent me the text for-"

"Anna?" Jose repeated. "Anna? She texted you? You didn't tell me? What the fuck, Danny?" he said, sounding astounded. "We're looking for that girl, and you won't tell me anything? How am I supposed to rely on anything if you don't help me out-" he took a breath. "Alright. When did you go out to do that? The sixth?"

"Yeah." Danny frowned. "Yesterday, I'd assume. Why are you asking me the date?" Jose's face was a picture of amazement.

"Danny," he said quietly. "It's now the eleventh. We found you on the ninth, four miles in the desert from where you told me you'd be. Your car was completely destroyed, but left as a flaming wreck at the spot you told me to meet you. When we saw you in the desert in the night, you were...covered in snow."

Danny's eyes were wide open, staring at Jose. "Snow." he repeated. "I was covered in snow? In the desert?"

"You were bleeding from the left side of your body, a stab wound, and you had nearly drowned, though doctors have no idea how you managed to pull that feat off. You're still in recovery, so don't even consider going anywhere." Jose warned. "But what the hell happened to you? Who hit you on the head?"

Danny closed his eyes. Keeping them open for too long was causing him a severe headache. "Alright. I was in the desert, when I saw...I think I saw this man. A masked man. I can barely even remember him, just that he was masked and tall." he struggled to explain. "Jose. My phone has a video file on it. Anna sent it, or someone claiming to be her. I'll forward you my email from her - yes, I had gotten an email too, should have told you about that, I'm sorry. Then we can try and piece this together. It'll take you maybe twenty, twenty five minutes to hear it. A lot is dead space, but it's all big."

Jose sighed, standing up. "Danny?"

"Si?"

"You're a shithead." he said frankly, taking his phone. "Are you logged into your Gmail?" After Danny's affirmative nod, Jose plugged his headphones in, sat down at the side of the bed and listened as Danny's eyes closed and carried him away to sleep.

---

Danny dreamt.

There was a gloved hand holding a dagger. Snow fell around them, the white ground contrasting with the red blood across it, from the leaking and scattered corpses.

Danny then found himself walking through the snow, freezing and cold. Anna's taut and olive face looked at him with concern, handing a brown fur coat as Danny doubled over, vomiting blood.

A voice spoke warmly in his head, the words falling like a soft shower on a hot day. "You are who you are." the voice said smoothly. "You are you." The voice began to grow louder, to snarl, like a waterfall landing full force on you on a cold night. "Who are you? Who are you? WHO ARE YOU?"

---

He suddenly found himself awake, staring. "What the-" he muttered. "I just had the most awful dream..."

Jose was just staring out into space with a blank expression. "I heard the two tapes you mentioned." he said. He took a breath. "Alright. So this is a magical issue now, pretty much. I mean, where the hell else could she be right now?" A rhetorical question. Then he looked up. "Actually...I do know a guy..."

---

A rather tired looking Asian man sat across from Danny two hours later, booze on his breath. Danny raised an eyebrow at the man, who was opening up a bottle cheerfully labelled "Mother of All Storms". He looked at Danny. "So, what's your name? My own is Minh Taka." he said in an educated British accent that vaguely reminded Danny of Richard Dawkins. He opened the bottle, not even pouring the drink into a glass despite it being on a table.

"I'm Danny." replied the Texan in a wary voice. "Jose, who is this?"

"I can speak for myself, gracias." Minh snapped back. He took a breath, and placed on a forced smile. "Apologies. Just going through some stuff right now. You didn't need that lip from me. I should add that my full title is Professor Minh Taka, biology teacher at Elfen High." he said, extending a hand for a shake. Danny obliged him. "Jose and I know each other because he used to live in New York, and I have family there. He lived next to my wife and son in our apartment, when I was around in America."

Jose nodded. "I figured, after hearing all this information, it would be best to contact a guy who might know a fair bit about it. You're the closest thing to an expert I know." he addressed Minh.

Minh shrugged. "I suppose you're right. I'm an expert of sorts. Sounds to me that you're dealing with something dangerous."

A beat. "Well, like what?" asked Jose.

"Fuck if I know." sighed Minh. "Look, I listened to the tapes in my car on the way. I looked at the details that you gave me, about going out into the desert and such." Here he looked at Danny. "Dumbass. Never do that alone. What are you, an idiot?"

Danny bristled, but Minh facepalmed. "Shit, I am doing it again. I'm genuinely sorry. I don't intend to be a prick here, I'm just very much tired. My ex-wife was being a bitch, and Aleister Crowley- Never mind, you don't give a shit and I fully get that. Now, on this. Could be a bunch of things. The snow is interesting. Jotun?" he wondered out loud.

"Jotun?" asked Jose.

"Ice Giants, you know." Minh said. "You've seen Thor, I'd bet. Could be them? But this doesn't seem their style. They'd rather just do things and get it done, rather than play these mind games. I do have another idea, but that's far too terrible for me to imagine. Hope it isn't that."

"Demons?" wondered Danny. "I worked in the ISSR a while. And they did attack Washington, that's how we learned all about the magical world-"

Minh shook his head. "No, no. Not demons. They live in a shitty state, but it wouldn't be them causing this trouble. Not their style. Azazel is not a subtle man. I also sincerely hope he isn't crazy enough to really risk attacking our world. An all out war would be horrible for him. Us as well, but he would not last well."

Danny nodded. "So what do you think this is? I want to make sure Anna isn't in any danger-"

Minh interrupted again. "Relax. I had Anna as a student. She's resourceful enough. She's very clearly in danger, as you usually don't safely go missing. But she can handle herself." It was plain his attitude was to reassure and relax Danny - how much he believed was evidently less.

Danny opened his mouth to respond, but his phone buzzed. Minh, Danny and Jose all looked at one another, exchanging glances. Danny picked the phone off the side table. He checked. "Audio file." he said.

Jose took the phone. "Alright." he said. "Are we all ready to listen?"

Minh and Danny nodded. Jose turned on the audio.

"Hello?" came out Anna's voice from the phone. "This is Anna Diaz. I've made it to the city. I don't see anyone else here. I saw a man not too far away once, watching from a distance. But when I looked again, he had vanished." She took a few breaths. "The city is empty. It feels familiar though." she mused. "Churches. A fair bit of them. It's bizarre. Signs in some language I can't read. Russian, maybe? Cyrillic script, that's certain."

"Russian?" Minh chuckled. "I did tell her to take that language. She didn't listen. Took Spanish instead for the easy grade."

"Shut up." muttered Danny, engrossed.

"I see..." A pause. "I'm not sure. There's someone standing there. A knight? He or she has the armour." A pause. "Yeah, yeah, si. Definitely a knight." She said, confident now. "I'm going to go up, see what's going on. Wait, he's turning his head, taking off the helmet." Then a pause. "Danny?" said Anna, sounding blown away, distortion affecting her voicing of his name.

Danny looked up, himself stunned. "What the hell?"

Minh looked at Danny. "You went missing." he noted. "Maybe here's where you went. A knight in shining armour after all."

Danny stared at the phone, as though it could help him. Suddenly, it buzzed again.

A picture was sent now. A picture of a man wearing a medieval knight armour, a sword in one hand, lying flat on the ground as the rest of the man's body also did. His face, lacking helmet, was pale. And his chest had the armour torn open, a hole visible on the left side, blood leaking out.

The man's face was undoubtedly Danny. Danny felt his left side. Where the stab wound had been.

This is part one of the oneshot. I'm around two thousand words beyond this, but I figured I'd show you what was going on. It's a rough draft, but whatever. Since I'm so far ahead, I figured you could read this.

This will be in several parts, likely. It's going to be quite long and whammy, covering a lot of things. This section is somewhat like the warm up. Soon, things get interesting.

This part is 4536 words.

Seriously, please read.

I put work in, and could use feedback.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

http://m.bbc.com/news/world-asia-27169405

CNN will immediately wonder if Obama has found the plane.

However, some Malay Muslims claim that the US-led trade deal will reduce their economic privileges over other ethnic groups in the country.

How horrible!

It's a markedly complex issue, actually.