Elfen High 2 (OOC 9, Closed, Hodor)

[Constaniana]

"Residents are bracing for worse after a split between rural and urban Taliban factions in February."

Because if the Taliban - the bastard lovechild of the Mafia and al-Qaeda - wasn't mad enough, what it really needs is internal conflict.

I don't think this urban-rural divide is enough. Both factions of the Taliban need to divide in three as well, arguing over which original starter Pokemon is the best.

[Nationstatelandsville]

"Residents are bracing for worse after a split between rural and urban Taliban factions in February."

Because if the Taliban - the bastard lovechild of the Mafia and al-Qaeda - wasn't mad enough, what it really needs is internal conflict.

I don't think this urban-rural divide is enough. Both factions of the Taliban need to divide in three as well, arguing over which original starter Pokemon is the best.

The Charmen are real bastards, but they're nothing compared to the Bulbites.

You can do a lot of fucked-up shit with a vine.

[Constaniana]

I don't think this urban-rural divide is enough. Both factions of the Taliban need to divide in three as well, arguing over which original starter Pokemon is the best.

The Charmen are real bastards, but they're nothing compared to the Bulbites.

You can do a lot of fucked-up shit with a vine.

It can't be worse than trying to stab rocket launchers into the backs of old tortoises.

[Nationstatelandsville]

The Charmen are real bastards, but they're nothing compared to the Bulbites.

You can do a lot of fucked-up shit with a vine.

It can't be worse than trying to stab rocket launchers into the backs of old tortoises.

Luckily, that problem has a habit of sorting itself.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-08/karachi-joins-chaos-with-commerce-in-taliban-urban-front.html

On another Pakistan note.

"“You never know what you will face: bomb attack, strike, roadblocks for a VIP motorcade, mobile-phone service switched off to prevent a bomb being detonated,” said Ahmed, playing a game on his iPad and puffing on his sheesha. “We’ve found a solution for all the odd things that happen here: Life goes on.""

This is something we and Pakistan share.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01959.html

Race is highly important.

" As much as 20 percent of Karachi is controlled by the Taliban, who run courts and extort money from people and businesses, says Amanullah Mehsud, a member of the Awami National Party, which comprises mainly Pashtuns, the insurgency’s main ethnic group."

It's worth noting Karachi is the largest city in the Muslim world.

[Nationstatelandsville]

http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-08/karachi-joins-chaos-with-commerce-in-taliban-urban-front.html

On another Pakistan note.

"“You never know what you will face: bomb attack, strike, roadblocks for a VIP motorcade, mobile-phone service switched off to prevent a bomb being detonated,” said Ahmed, playing a game on his iPad and puffing on his sheesha. “We’ve found a solution for all the odd things that happen here: Life goes on.""

This is something we and Pakistan share.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01959.html

Race is highly important.

" As much as 20 percent of Karachi is controlled by the Taliban, who run courts and extort money from people and businesses, says Amanullah Mehsud, a member of the Awami National Party, which comprises mainly Pashtuns, the insurgency’s main ethnic group."

It's worth noting Karachi is the largest city in the Muslim world.

One thing the West and the East can agree on - we love us some corruption.

[Agritum]

" As much as 20 percent of Karachi is controlled by the Taliban, who run courts and extort money from people and businesses, says Amanullah Mehsud, a member of the Awami National Party, which comprises mainly Pashtuns, the insurgency’s main ethnic group."

It's worth noting Karachi is the largest city in the Muslim world.

One thing the West and the East can agree on - we love us some corruption.

The East utterly owns the West when it comes to crippling corruption, except for Italy.

Seriously, the US is one of the most honest countries when it comes to politicians.

And that's saying a lot.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Does South Africa count as East or West?

[Rupudska]

Does South Africa count as East or West?

I would say West, but really Africa is more of a third section.

[Agritum]

Does South Africa count as East or West?

It's South Africa.

It's a Legendary Country, to put it in Pokemon terms.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Post IC.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

http://www.deadline.com/2014/05/cannes- ... road-deal/

Can't wait to see it.

[Agritum]

I'm kinda annoyed by aspiring wordbuilders spending more words on how the Order of Battle of the world's nations is composed rather than, well, what the world is like outside of military wank.

/rant

[Nude East Ireland]

I can drive now.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

I think I should have an update on Jornada Del Muerto in around one day or so.

No promises, but it's going quite well.

[Constaniana]

[Nightkill the Emperor]

(Image)

[Nightkill the Emperor]

http://www.theonion.com/articles/un-rep ... -in,35985/

Oh magical realism.

[Constaniana]

http://www.theonion.com/articles/un-report-on-magical-realism-warns-of-increased-in,35985/

Oh magical realism.

“Mexico is among the world’s chief contributors to the ongoing magical realist crisis, as it remains the country with the highest number of deceiving uncles whose visits to their extended families are presaged by strong, icy north winds in the middle of summer, which can damage infrastructure and sharply disrupt transcontinental weather patterns,”

Darn you Mexico.

[Nude East Ireland]

Shitty internet, warm weather...

Did I teleport to Bombay?

[Constaniana]

Shitty internet, warm weather...

Did I teleport to Bombay?

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Shitty internet, warm weather...

Did I teleport to Bombay?

Is there an elephant outside?

http://www.theonion.com/articles/un-report-on-magical-realism-warns-of-increased-in,35985/

Oh magical realism.

“Mexico is among the world’s chief contributors to the ongoing magical realist crisis, as it remains the country with the highest number of deceiving uncles whose visits to their extended families are presaged by strong, icy north winds in the middle of summer, which can damage infrastructure and sharply disrupt transcontinental weather patterns,”

Darn you Mexico.

[Nude East Ireland]

Shitty internet, warm weather...

Did I teleport to Bombay?

Is there an elephant outside?

The elephant is inside, actually.

Outside there's a curry shop and railroad tracks.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

They heard his voice now, on the phone. "Anna?" Danny's voice said. "Thank fucking God you're alright." There was the sound of a tight hug, and static briefly overcoming the phone's audio again.

"What are you doing here?" asked Anna's voice.

Danny chuckled. "No time to ask that sort of thing." he explained. "I've been wandering through here for a while now. It's been a bit difficult, but I have somewhere that can be considered shelter in this city."

"I'm confused, Danny." pleaded Anna. "What's this city? Why the Russian?"

"Anna." said Danny on the tape slowly. "You're in Moscow."

"Moscow?"

"Moscow?" asked Minh, Danny and Jose together. They tried to listen, but distortion hit the tape again, static sounds heard now, obscuring dialogue.

Danny rested his head in his hands. "I have no idea what's going on." he admitted. "She's in Russia? Then why isn't anyone there?"

"It is a curious question." Minh acknowledged. "Moscow's always a busy city. Things are always going on there. I can't imagine it being empty. What the hell is with the distortion?" he said, sounding irate, looking at the phone.

Suddenly, a voice was heard on the phone, that same gender neutral voice Danny had heard before. "THIS HAS BEEN A GAME TO US. NO MORE. WE ARE COMING FOR YOU. AND YOU WILL LEAD US TO THE ARK."

The phone stopped making noise, the file having ended. Danny looked shaken. "I had disappeared?" he said in astonishment. "How did I not know?"

Minh shrugged. "Stranger things have happened. The voice, however..." he pointed at the phone. "That concerns me. Who was that?" he took a breath. "Alright, here's what we're doing. You, rest for a while. We're going to the desert, to the spot previously listed, and then we'll look aro-"

"Not without me you won't." interrupted Danny. "That's my friend. I need to be a part of this."

Minh looked down at Danny. "You're extremely wounded." he noted, his harsh face changing to a more considerate one. "What you need, my friend, is some rest. Not more stress."

"I don't give a damn." said Danny stubbornly. "Then delay it. I need to come with you. It's something I need to do." he pleaded. "It started with me. Let me be a part of this."

"He's got a point." Jose said reluctantly. Minh shot a glance at him. "Look," Jose continued. "He started this story. He may as well be a part of it, you know?"

That argument broke through to Minh, who blinked. "A bloody story." he muttered. "Fine." he cleared his throat. "I'll get you healed up and ready to go." He reached into his pocket, pulling out a green bean. "This is something that has an actual, complicated Greek name, since a Greek explorer discovered it in what is now Turkey. But I just call it a Senzu bean, as I discovered it in my teens, when Dragonball Z was quite watched."

"You mean that'll heal me?" asked a surprised Danny.

"Effectively." replied Minh. "If you take it, you'll be largely healed. Not entirely, but enough to function. You'll need bedrest after, however." he ordered sternly, placing the bean in Danny's hand.

Danny took a bite on it, surprised at the sudden burst of energy he received. He felt his wounds begin to slowly close shut, his body restoring back to full power. "Excellent." he said with astonishment. "Why don't you guys just release this to everyone?"

"Expensive as hell to grow." muttered Minh. "And Elfen High is one of the only environments they can be grown. And we aren't yet sure how to introduce them without putting quite a few doctors out of work. But that's dull stuff. The important thing is that you're back to normal. Now, you." Minh snapped his fingers at Jose. "Call some of your police friends. We have to get their backup instead of going alone. Tell them it's related to the Diaz girl."

Jose nodded, hurrying away with his phone to do just that. The Diaz case was still open, after all, and relatively a big deal. Danny had felt somewhat relieved Anna was a pretty white girl, rather than a darker Hispanic, as that ensured people and networks would be interested. That did make things a bit easier.

Minh looked at Danny expectantly. Danny swung his legs off the bed, standing up. "Alright." he said. "Let's go."

---

Sitting in one of the police cars heading to the scene, Danny reflected on how absurd this was, really. One minute he was searching for his friend, and then the next minute he was travelling with this Japanese British professor and a brigade of police officers, discovering he had travelled to a different world and gotten quite dangerously wounded.

And now he was here. But it was generally what appeared to be his life. The American was used to just going along with events propelling him forward suddenly, with little input coming in from him.

As they drove along, Danny's thoughts went back to his past.

"I'll be the wizard." declared Danny in his group with the other kids, standing in a circle and choosing roles. "Will, you can be a knight. John, you can be the evil wizard."

"Heck yeah!" proclaimed the other seven year old, quite thrilled to be an evil wizard. Evil guys always got the cool stuff, like awesome beards, pet dragons and better superpowers than the heroes.

"Jeffrey, you can be another knight."

"I don't want to be a knight, I want to be Batman."

"You can't be Batman, Jeffrey, we're in an ancient kingdom." Anna said, trying to talk sense into her friend.

"An ancient kingdom with Batman." said Jeffrey, as though this argument was completely logical and should stop all discussion.

Anna paused. "That's a good point." she admitted. "I guess he can be Batman. What about me?"

"You can be the princess that John kidnapped." said Danny, pointing at John. John looked surprised.

"Why would I do that?" he asked, sounding miffed. "I don't want to kidnap anyone."

"You're the evil wizard, John." Will patiently explained.

"Oh yeah." John said, grabbing Anna's arm. "I have you now, princess!" he said with a surprisingly good evil laugh for a six year old.

Anna shook him off. "I don't want to be the princess, Danny. I'm always the darn princess. I want to be..." a pause as she thought. "A soldier!" she said, having hit on it. "My dad's one, I'll be one. I'll be a soldier for the king."

"We don't have a king. And girls can't be soldiers." Jeffrey said.

"We can make Danny a wizard king." Anna pointed out. "He's already giving us the mission. Just make him a magic king. And the king decides the law, right?"

Jeffrey nodded. "The king decides the law, and the king would never let a girl be a soldier."

Anna looked at Danny pleadingly. Danny paused, his seven year old struggling with this moral dilemma. It was quite a lot to consider, especially since recess would end in fifteen minutes. "Girls can be soldiers in this world. If Batman exists, then girl soldiers can exist."

"Girls can't be soldiers!" insisted Jeffrey, stomping his feet. "Guys are soldiers, girls are princesses and stuff."

"But Jeffrey, you're Chinese. Chinese people can't be Batman then?" asked Will reasonably. Jeffrey paused, disoriented.

"...I guess girls can be soldiers." he admitted.

"Awesome." Danny said, relieved. "Alright, everyone. John, go stand over there, we're plotting against you." he said. John scampered off as Danny began giving directions. "OK, a great evil threatens the land. I have brought you, a warrior, a soldier and Batman, to help combat it..."

---

Years later, Danny and Anna laughed, remembering that memory over glasses of wine. "How did that end, anyway?" asked Anna, her accent now influenced by England, rather than the very Texan accent of her youth.

"Oh, you know. We had an epic adventure that lasted most of the school year, and we got six more kids into it. We ended up fighting dragons. Batman had a heroic sacrifice when he saved the world and Jeffrey had to move to California. John became a good wizard when we told him that an evil wizard would have to spill coffee on Mrs. Brown's desk." This launched them off into more laughter.

"Oh Christ, I remember Mrs. Brown. Is she still alive?"

"I see her at the supermarket sometimes, and I just stare. That woman has got to be at least three hundred years old now, right? Nobody can be that old looking." he shook his head. He turned to Anna, quiet now. "I missed you when you were at school, Anna." he admitted.

Anna held his hand. "Well, I missed home too." she admitted. "But...I admit I liked Elfen High."

"Is it true what they say about the headmaster?"

"Probably." Anna chuckled. "A lot of things there are mad. But...I met a lot of people. I learned a lot about myself, how to use my abilities. I don't regret leaving." she said, looking at her friend. "I know you don't want to hear that, but it is true, Danny. Sorry."

Danny sighed and smiled. "It's fine. I understand. I do admit that I was a bit torn up when you left when I was thirteen."

"You tried to follow me to the airport." remembered Anna, laughing.

"Well, I had a bit of a crush on you then." admitted Danny. "And-"

"You did?" asked Anna, sounding surprised. "I didn't really know that." They looked at each other, and the whole conversation could have become intensely awkward and strange if three more words had not been said. "Do you still?"

Then there was an affirmation, more drinks of wine, laughter, secrets being spilled, memories exchanged and hug that became much more.

---

Danny was jolted out of his memories by feeling the cars begin to stop. "Hmm?" he asked, looking around.

"We're here." explained Minh shortly, opening the door of the police car. Around four other cars were also there, each with police officers in them. "I managed to get their attention by showing them that I was from Elfen High. Upon seeing that discovery, they were inclined to take this much more seriously."

"I think we should still inform the federal government." commented one of the officers, a middle aged Hispanic woman. "It's worth telling them."

"And I think that's not necessarily." noted Jose. "We can get the credit for this case ourselves. And if we bring in the federales, we won't. And we also might end up causing this case to backfire."

Minh nodded. "Too much government attention...I don't like the idea. You know how Americans are, always ready to shoot at something." commented the man to the group of Americans, who glanced at each other with amusement.

"Alright, what are we searching for?" asked a white skinned, blue eyed man, shivering. It was getting colder now. "We were just told to come to this spot because the girl sent a text?"

"Did you try to look through the records, see where it came from?" asked Jose.

The blue eyed man nodded. "We got nothing. Found absolutely nothing." he said, as further elaboration. "No idea who sent it, where it came from. That number is not listed in anything we could find, which is extremely bizarre."

A pause, then Danny spoke. "Why is it cold?" he asked.

They were in the Nevada desert.

And it was cold.

Glancing up, they saw the blue sky was no more. It was grey with clouds. Then snow began to fall down slowly.

"Dorothy, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." muttered Jose in astonishment, moving toward his car, placing a hand on it as though to make sure it stayed there. They looked down at the ground, which was now covered with a white soft blanket. Around them now, trees had appeared, covered in white powder.

"The place where Anna was, it was also covered in snow." remarked Danny slowly, thinking. "I think that's where we are now. Maybe when Anna first disappeared, she entered this world from the desert."

"That's very good, but how do we get out?" demanded the middle aged woman. Alicia, that was her name, Danny recalled. He'd remember that now. "I don't want to be trapped here."

"We did inform the people back at headquarters that we were searching here." said the blue eyed man, Ricardo. "If we go missing, more people may look for us and end up here." he pulled out his mobile phone, then growled. "No bars."

"Yes, that isn't too much of a stunner..." Danny muttered. "Though that brings up how Anna was able to contact us."

BWOOOOOOORRRRRNNNGH. A mechanical ear-splitting tone was heard as a bright light suddenly flashed in the sky, blinding them all for a moment. Low-pitched, loud sounds (like the growls and roars of many animals) tell a human brain, "Predator! Run away!" Meanwhile, jarring, irregular sounds (like a scream) incite the same fight-or-flight reaction. This noise had combined both qualities.

"The fuck was that?" muttered Jose, rubbing his eyes as the colours began to fade.

"It's quite obvious something else is here." Minh said quietly. "Let's walk carefully, alright? Everyone, stick together. Let's see if we can find Anna here, perhaps she can give us answers..."

Ricardo took a deep breath. "Listen, chino." the blue eyed man said."We're currently been teleported into a new world, and there's some weird monster evidently here. I think we should focus on that temporarily, alright? Get our bearings."

"That won't help." Minh said flatly. "You can choose to believe me or not, but trust me when I say the best way to do this is to just keep going. Stick to our original goal. I think I know where we are." he said, looking at the snow. "I think I know who's causing us this trouble as well."

Danny glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "Alright then, who?" he asked.

"I don't wish to state the exact name, not here." he muttered. "I'm willing to utter it elsewhere, but perhaps not in their home. They have a lot of other euphemisms though. The Gentry, the Dark Ones, the Lords and Ladies..."

"The Lords and Ladies..." Danny frowned. "I remember something here..." he muttered, the phrase niggling at his mind.

"Well, remember it faster." Jose said, his hand on his handgun. "I'm not feeling good here. Let's see what's out there..."

They walked along, Danny trying to remember what that phrase meant.

---

They used to go to Dublin, where his grandparents lived and worked. But upon the death of his uncle, they retired and moved back into the countryside, to their family home. Danny recalled when he was eight, he went to visit that countryside home for the first time in his life, shortly after attending the funeral of his uncle.

They gathered around the fireplace. At first, things had been quiet, remorseful. Then Danny mentioned how his uncle had always been fond of having candies and sweets, which gathered some laughs. His father followed up with a fun tale of his uncle, as a child, being known to be a puppy in the hand of anyone who had a candy to offer him.

As the drinks were passed among the adults, laughter began, and fond memory took the place of grief. The children played games and told stories.

"I got a scary story for you lads." pipped up his cousin Patton, who lived in London. Young Danny was never very fond of his cousin, who considered himself much smarter than everyone else because he was twelve years old, and because he thought Americans like Danny were stupid. "Alright, there was once a doll-"

"Is this that story where she ends up going up the steps and saying 'I'm on the first step, I'm on the second step' and that?" asked Aoife, Danny's seven year old cousin, her Irish accent incredibly thick and contrasting to Patton's English and Danny's American.

"Yes." Patton said, sounding irritated. "You didn't to say that, Aoife. You girls ruin everything." he sulked.

"You're telling scary stories then?" came the old but happy tones of their grandmother, sitting next to them. Kyla McKinnley was a comforting figure for a young child, lines of age and laughter on her face and her eyes bright, though currently tinged with sadness at the recent passing of her eldest son.

"Yeah, but Aoife ruined it." said the still angry Patton.

"I have a story for you all." said their grandmother, looking around. "Would you like to hear it?" Here, even Patton shut up. Everyone was interested in their grandmother's scary stories. All the children looked at her with great interest as Kyla McKinnley leaned back. "Oh, this is a story from long, long ago. Before there were any countries at all, or as we know them. Back then, ancient kings, kings of magic power, ruled on Earth. And things were peaceful enough, in their own way. Music ruled on Earth, as singing would cause the sun to rise and set, the Earth to spin, the tide to move." she said, crafting the scene.

"But in this perfect world, not everything was as it seemed. There were warriors, invaders, tricksters, enemies who wanted to destroy and reshape the world. Dangerous foes." she said to the listening children. "Fairies."

"Fairies?" asked Patton with a scoff, pushing his glasses back on his face. "Fairies don't fight. Fairies are weak and girly." It's worth noting that twelve year olds are a terrible group of people.

"Oh no." said his amused grandmother. "Fairies, my child, are warriors. They went through the world, bringing a winter in their wake, a winter that lasted a generation. Dozens of years." she said, seeing Aoife's face attempting to figure out just how long a generation was. "The winter froze all the food of the world, and froze many of the men and women too. As the snow landed, it was assured that the Lords and Ladies would land with it. The sun left, unwilling to stay to watch the blood that was spilled no matter how many songs were sung for it. The Lords and Ladies moved through the world, toppling empires and kingdoms...but there was something that happened. There was a soldier who fought, but then came to love the planet he fought. But he was loyal to his family as well, to his people. He couldn't abandon them, but he couldn't stand to hurt this screaming world anymore. So he split himself apart."

A pause, the laughter of the adults from elsewhere and the crackling of the fireplaces heard. Danny frowned. "Sorry?"

"He split himself into two." repeated their grandmother patiently. "Instead of one man, there were now two. The evil was put away into a separate being, while the good man walked through Earth's forests and joined the resistance there. They defeated the fairies, and they lived happily for a very long time. But then, the man's evil half returned, ruling the fairies now and proclaiming himself as The Faery King, and causing destruction on the world. The forests that the good king loved so much were burning around him, and the Earth was screaming more than it ever had."

Their grandmother was about to continue on, but there was a knock on the door. Their grandfather got off the couch, going to open the door. Then, once he did, he just stared outside at the man standing there. Danny saw a man in a leather jacket, staring back at them, his eyes and expression tired and worn. "Hello." he said, his American accent evident.

"Leave." growled his grandfather, his accent contrasting with the American man. "Leave now, Carry." he spat out the name with venom. "Never come back here. Your games have done enough damage. Was my son's death not enough?"

"I'm here to offer my condolences." said a steadfast Carry, refusing to move. Then Danny's grandfather, a man who stood at six foot six and towered over the shorter Carry, proceeded to punch the shorter man with his right hand on the cheek, causing the American to fall down to the ground, stunned.

"Get the hell out." commanded Kevan McKinnley, glaring down at Carry, who gave a nod, got up and began to walk away.

Patton watched this scene with amazement, as Kyla turned to the children. "Perhaps now is not the best time for this story." she told them quietly, moving them into the kitchen as Kevan stared at his fists and was immersed in his thoughts and memories.

---

BWOOOOOOORRRRRNNNGH.

Again, that noise. Again, that pain as Danny cupped his ears. "Fucking shit." he muttered, seeing everyone else also wince out loud at that noise.

"Where the hell is that coming from?" demanded Alicia, pulling out her handgun.

"Hold on, you lot." Minh said, gesturing with his hand for them to quiet down. "I see something."

They looked ahead. Nothing but snow, obscuring everything. Minh was walking forward...and suddenly seemed to vanish.

Looking at each other, with an expression saying that they would regret this, they ran forward. Then they stared.

"What the hell..." Ricardo said, looking forward. Ahead of them, towering over all of the other buildings, stood a massive castle of glass. Intricate in design, with the snow covering it, and the castle glowing magnificently blue.

"A castle of glass." Danny muttered. "I think we found it..."

---

There was more than one person out in this world. There was someone who was being searched for, but didn't yet know it. Someone who felt more alone than she had ever been in her whole life. Anna staggered along, hand on her stomach as the blood began to spill.

"I need to tell him." she muttered, grasping her mobile phone, her hand shaking, her hand cold, her hand shivering, her hand bleeding blue.

Anna coughed, getting down on her knees, doubled over. "I need to tell him..."

"Perhaps it is time to give up, my child." whispered a voice behind her. She knew who it was. She knew it completely.

With her other hand, also bleeding blue, she grabbed her dagger. Her body shook. "Get away from me." she ordered. "Get away now."

The masked man merely moved closer, unafraid. He looked at her with amusement. "Oh, you sad little human." he mocked. He grabbed the dagger out of her bloody hand, throwing it aside. "What can you possibly do, hmm?" he walked closer, Anna desperately walking away. With her other hand, looking only briefly at her phone, she managed to select the audio file she wanted Danny to hear. He needed to hear this one.

He had to.

"My little child, do not be afraid." said Set soothingly. "It is not painful at all. It won't hurt a bit." he assured her. "Please, do listen. Or else I'll have to take it up with higher authority."

"Fuck you." Anna growled, sending a text to Daniel. "Fuck you and fuck this world and fuck your servants and fuck your masters."

Set made a sighing noise. "Oh well. I hate that it has to come to this." he said, sounding regretful. "It truly didn't need to, Anna. It truly didn't."

Anna glared back at Set. Then she noticed the floor was glowing. No. Not all of it. Just some, lines being made. She looked down and around, seeing the outline of a glowing clock, set at 12.

"I do apologise." said Set, but no longer addressing her. He addressed someone standing behind her, a tall man wearing black armour, looking quite severe, but also pleased. A crown sat atop his head. "She was being a bit resistant, and even after I injected her with the blood. Stubborn as hell."

"It is forgiven." replied Oberon, the Faery King. He looked at Anna with amusement. "Silly girl." he muttered.

"I know you." said Anna, backing away. "I know who you are."

Oberon nodded and smiled. "Yes. You do."

He grabbed her head in one hand, his hand glowing a bright blue. Anna's eyes, which she had tried to close, snapped open against her will. Her eyes became completely glowing blue, with no pupils. Her wounds began to slowly heal, the wounds on her palms as well as the wounds on her stomach. There were now different wounds, of course, but nothing that could be seen on the body. Wounds that can be seen are generally the weaker ones.

The noise pounded into Anna's head, like the noise heard by Danny and company, but this time far louder, far more intense and far more times.

BWOOOOOOORRRRRNNNGH. BWOOOOOOORRRRRNNNGH. BWOOOOOOORRRRRNNNGH.

Anna screamed as her world began to crack, the madness entering, like a blizzard coming through shattered glass.

As she began to lose herself, she heard Oberon's voice, chuckling. "Go forth now, brave soldier."

Her last sight was looking at her phone, now lying on the ground, with a message that said merely and uncaringly "Message to Danny McKinnley failed to send."

Then Anna Diaz was out of the building. Someone else had taken up residency.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

I fully admit I got a bit of a sadistic kick writing the final two lines of that.

Again, give feedback.