The Cursed One

[Angelus]

Cursed One

OOC: All that I ask is that if you wish to take a part in this thread or if you have any thoughts about it that you go to the OOC thread.


IC:
As the moon rose over the trees it lit up the road and the young woman as she wandered aimlessly down the side of it. She looked as if she was lost, as if she needed help but there was something else to her that made people stay away. It was as if the very air around her seemed wrong, as if it was changing around her so that everyone could sense it.

She had been alone for far too long but she could not be around people as all she left was destruction. She walked as if she had no life left in her and to look into her eyes was like looking into a void; as if there was nothing there. She scared people when she was around them but she wanted to be with someone, she needed someone in her life. She had been wandering for far too long but knew that she could not stop in one place for too long in case something happened.

Her life had not always been like this and she had almost forgotten what it had been like before. All that she knew was that she had once been very happy - that she had had the idyllic childhood which had disappeared far too quickly. She hated that fact plus the life that she had now but knew more that anything that she could not change it, just live it. She knew that no matter how badly she would search for an answer to relieving herself of this curse she never would. She felt as though she was on the brink of giving up everything; she had already given up on life but she felt as though not matter how much she gave up on it she would be force to live it.

She had had too many things go wrong in her life and felt as though she was being punished for something she did not know. Something or someone must have done this to her; there was no logical reason for it but who would want to do this to an innocent young woman like herself?

She shook her head, trying to clear it and did not notice the car that was driving up slowly behind her. It stopped suddenly and the driver, an elderly man who thought she needed help got out and walked towards her. As soon as he was close enough to her he felt as though there was something different; something wrong but ignored it. He reached out to touch her shoulder but before he could the young girl turned and the man was shocked by the look in her eyes. He felt as though everything was being drained from him and wanted nothing more than to run from her but found that he could not.

“You must leave here. Please; get back into your car and leave me be.”

The man looked at the young woman as if coming out of a spell.

“I can’t leave you out here by yourself. Please; let me take you to the nearest town…..”

He reached out to touch her as he spoke but never got to finish as an invisible force struck him and threw him into the side of his car that was several feet away. As he slowly opened his eyes, trying to figure out what had hit him he saw the young woman standing there with tears in her eyes as if she was struggling against something. Before he could get to his feet he was hit with the invisible force again, only this time it was much stronger. He was thrown against his car with such a force that it shattered every bone in his body and folded his car around him, which was then thrown into the trees that exploded as if from the inside.

The young woman looked at the ruined landscape with tears in her eyes. She did not want to believe that she was capable of something like this but she knew that there was no one else around. She had caused this to happen and no matter how much she hated the fact she knew that there was no denying it as if had happened far too many times in her life. She could never get too close to anyone or anything because before she could something would happen to destroy them and she would be forced to flee, causing to have the life she had now.

She turned and began to walk away slowly - her emotional mask back over her face. She knew that there was nothing that she could do for the man or landscape that she was walking away from and continued wandering down the side of the road with one thought foremost in her head…. Please! Let me get rid of this curse and find some place where I can finally be home, where everyone around me will be safe.

 

[Wolfsister]

Kain Silver

He walked into the large shadowed office, his scar tugging his lips in a habitual half smile, and stood at his ease in the middle of the room. His stormy grey eyes surveyed his surroundings with the cool detachment of a man who knew his place in the world around him, and the place of the other two people in the room. The other side of his mouth quirked up in a quick smirk, soon gone from his features as if it had never been there in the first place. "You called?" his voice was deeply rich, a thick american drawl slurring his words slightly, giving the impression that he was slightly slow. He was far from it.

A dark skinned man in his mid fifties turned from his close scrutiny of a contemporary painting, all soft hues and slashes of deep colour, and gave him a brief nod. "Raven, we have another assignment for you. A girl,"
Kain's left eyebrow twitched upwards and the dark man placed his hands in the air in a gesture of peace, "Let me explain. WRO's been keeping an eye on this one for a while now, these orders are high up, Raven." Kain's eyebrow rose even higher and the smirk returned breifly.
"High up? What interest does an organisation more powerful than the United States Army have in a girl?" that dark rich drawl deepening as he asked.
"Let me finish, Raven," the dark skinned man returned irritably, "I have a dossier on her on the desk, you can look at the disc on route to meet her," he didn't even bother to ask if Kain would take the assignment, he knew it for a fact that WRO's best agent would take an interest in what he had to tell him. "But for now, this should give you all the information you need to take this assignment,"

Kain turned to the side to watch as the images on a large projector came to life. He narrowed his light grey eyes as he watched the images flicker in front of his vision, the dark man's droning voice almost disappearing as the disturbing pictures imprinted themselves onto his retina.

"These are images pulled from a Russian satellite. Don't even bother to ask why it was Russian," Dark Skin shrugged, "They have them things pointed everywhere, convenient really, since we can piggyback them so easily," he shrugged again, "There's a delay of about forty seconds between each frame. As you can see, the old man approaches her, reaches out and the next thing he's thrown away. There doesn't seem to be any weaponry on the girl,"

Kain grunted as he watched the man moving rapidly backwards before being crushed against his own car.... he barely blinked as the car too was blown backwards and soon exploded. Loss of innocent lives these days hardly fazed him anymore. He listened with half an ear as the sequence of photos were shown once again as Dark Skin continued his litany.

"This is only the latest of 'incidents' involving this young girl. As far as WRO thinks, she is a threat to national, and world-wide safetly. They think she may be a mutant... or something thing similar to you,"

Kain slanted a glance at Dark Skin and his smirk vanished, a deadly glint coming to his steely grey eyes. Dark Skin hurried on, "Your orders are simple. Eliminate the threat any way possible. Though her death would be regrettable, WRO is fully prepared to make the necessary arrangements," he turned to the desk and took the manilla folder from the glossy surface, offering it out to Kain, smiling thinly as the manilla folder was taken from him. "A helo will take you to her last known co-ordinates and your bike will make the journey as well, as promised,"

Kain merely nodded, knowing what would come next. "How long ago was this taken?" he indicated the projector screen, still flicking the still satellite photos over and over again.
"Two days ago," Dark Skin replied and then Kain was gone, his dark coat swirling as he turned on his heel and left the shadowed office, making his way purposely towards the Helo pad, knowing all the preparations had already been made. For once, he didnt care that he had been maneuvered into taking the assignment. For once, he didnt care about the fact that he was treated like little more than WRO's puppet and lap dog.

Dark Skin turned the the other man that had remained silent during the entire briefing. "What do you think?"
Cronos smirked and shook his head, "We'll see about your decision once he meets her,"
"Have faith, Cronos, he's our best,"
"So you say, I have yet to see anyone survive being around her,"
"She won't kill him,"
"Yes, but will he kill her?"
"We'll just have to see," Dark Skin turned to stare at the painting once again and shook his head, sighing as he heard the discreet click of the door closing as Cronos left, "Good luck Kain... you've never needed it before... but this time, you do,"

 

[Angelus]

She raised herself up off the ground with a scream then looked around, wondering what to do now. She looked at everything around her and knew that she had caused this to happen again. She had destroyed a large area during the night along with several homes and hoped more than anything that there weren't any people living in there. The tears came to her eyes as she realized what she had done yet again and wondered why she could not control whatever it was within her. She hated that she could not be around anything without destroying it and hoped that she would find a way to stop whatever it was that flowed through her.

All that she wanted was a life, a normal life without being scared of hurting people or destroying everything in her path. She felt as though she was nothing more than a walking weapon, something that could be set off without even realizing it and she hoped that she would not be around anyone that she loved at the time.

Slowly she got to her feet and looked back at the destroyed area once again, sickened by what she had done. It looked as if it had been smashed apart by a giant hand, leaving nothing more than a smear where there had once been homes and trees. She did not want to look at what she had done but she found that she could not look away. She closed her eyes and felt the tears flow down her face then turned slowly and began to walk away, her head down towards the ground because she was afraid that if she looked at something, anything at all that it would suddenly fly apart and she knew that she would be causing it.

As she walked away Cassie pulled what little food she had left out of her back and began to eat it hungrily. She knew that she had to find somewhere to get some more food soon as she was starving but she was still afraid to. She did not want to put anyone else in danger and she knew that if she was near any place that was largely populated then she more than likely would. Still her hunger screamed at it and the more than she screamed at it to stop it would not listen to her and it seemed to scream louder.

She gulped down the food without a second thought and hoped that it would take the edge off her hunger but she knew that it was a false hope as it screamed at her again.

She did not know how long she had been walking but before she realized it or wanted it to happen a roadside diner appeared as if out of nowhere and her body disobeyed her mind as she headed straight towards it.

As soon as she walked into the diner everybody turned and looked at her, not saying a word but went back to their food in the next second. In truth Cassie knew that they did not care who or what she was and that suited her fine as she wanted some place to hide, she also wanted some place to eat.

The waitress walked up to her and asked her what she wanted and after she looked at the menu Cassie told her, sitting back as the waitress walked off to get her food. Before she realized it the food was placed in front of her and as Cassie reached out to grab it she felt something hot flying through her and dropped the fork onto the plate which caused the waitress to look at her in worry.

"Are you okay my dear. You look in a bad way."

Cassie looked at her and felt the heat rising through her rapidly.

"Please..... run."

The waitress looked at Cassie as though she was mad and opened her mouth to say so but before she could Cassie shouting out.

"Run!"

The fireball blasted through the back wall of the diner.

 

[Wolfsister]

Contact?

Kain grimaced as the Helo landed in the middle of the deserted stretch of road with a bump. He sat back in his seat, choosing to remain in the cabin until the slight thumping sounds of the almost silent rotors calmed down as the huge hovering machine was finally silenced completely, the rotors going dead; still. His cold grey eyes surveyed the surroundings as he ran his eyes over the crash site. The car was no longer there, but the scorched trees and skid marks on the road remained. He raised an eyebrow at a tiny crucifix stuck into the ground, approximatley where the old man had died, decorated with pretty wreaths of red and white and blue.... wreaths for the deceased.

Shaking his head and finally opening the cabin door to extend a long leg out of the Helo, he narrowed his gaze as it lighted on two men unloading a sleek black machine from the cargo hold. He frowned distractedly and thumbed a black button on his coat. Walking towards them, his heavy set boots making hardly a sound on the tarmac. "Careful with that, she's delicate," he said, approaching the black bike with close to reverence and sliding a palm over its lines.
"Come on, Raven, we've done this before," said one.
"Get a room!" said the other.

Kain just smirked and walked towards the edge of the road. Twitching another curious eyebrow at the roadside memorial as he passed, he walked right up to the charred remains of a very dead tree. His eyes picked up the tiny metallic glints of paint slivers stuck into the blackened wood. Nodding to himself, his fingers tapping against his leg alongside a beat that only he could hear, he was well aware of the shadowy figure that made its way towards him. He smiled, "Still can't sneak up on me, Shadow,"

Shadow grimaced, "Raven... when the hell are we ever going to call eachother by our real names?"
Kain shrugged his shoulders and smiled at his old friend, "These are our real names, Shadow, unless you want to be discovered and be on the run again?" he quirked an eyebrow in question and Shadow shook his head.
"Its not that Raven," the other man paused, "We've known each other for so long, and I still only know you as 'Raven'!" his teeth gritted.
Kain shook his head, "Forget it Shadow, whoever I was before is long dead by now. Besides, you would be dead the instant I told you,"
Shadow sighed and shook his head, "And why can you never give me a straight answer? I'm the one called Shadow, not you," his grin was rueful though.
"I did give you a straight answer," came the soft reply.
"Why did you call me here?" the sudden change in conversation almost made Kain blink, almost.
"Can you feel anything here?"

Shadow glanced at Kain and sighed, shaking his head. Turning in a full circle, he closed his eyes, brow furrowed in concentration, "Should've known you'd use me," he murmured, a smile touching his lips.
"You still came, didn't you?"
Shadow popped his eyes open and faced Kain once more, his mouth twisting in a thin line of distate. "Its unlike anything I've ever felt before. Its like there's nothing here, nothing here at all. There's no resonance at all," he gave Kain a level look, "Whatever it is you're hunting Raven, I suggest you be careful,"
Kain nodded, 'she must be powerful, to get Shadow this agitated,' he thought to himself, "Is there any way you could track it?"
Shadow spread his hands helplessly and then pointed a finger behind Kain, "You could always follow that,"
Kain turned and was faced with a almost clear tunnel making a way through the forest. It was like a drill had been taken to the woods around him. Nodding to himself, he was soon wizzing past the still figure of Shadow on his black beast and into the clear tunnel.

********************​

The fireball blasted through the back wall of the diner.

He skidded to a halt just outside of the diner, witnessing a large portion of it go flying into the air. "Shit!" he cursed and jumped from the bike, hitting the ground running and quickly made his way into the diner. His hands gripped the hilts of two throwing daggers that had been thrust up his sleeves. What he found was something he had expected, but still seemed to knock the wind from his lungs.

She was crouching in the middle of the diner and all around her where small explosions of light and air. Tables being blown apart, people screaming and scrabbling for safety, napkin dispensers folding into themselves yet spewing their white contents everywhere. Salt came flying at him and he flung up a hand over his eyes to sheild his precious retinas. With the taste of salt in his mouth and lungs, he realised with a cold dread that he had just run directly into hell....

She was too powerful. He had to stop this. If only to save the remainder of people still moving. He had no hope for those that weren't.
Acting quickly, trusting to his instincts to tell him the best course of action, he ran full tilt at her, skidding to a halt as a force seemed to slam him backwards into a nearby barstool. Grunting with barely felt pain, he got to his feet and walked with an determined stride, his eyes locked onto her quivering body.

Stretching out a hand, he said softly, his voice seeming to slide under the chaotic noise and slither to her ears, his tone soothing and calm, friendly, "Calm down now, calm down. Everything is going to be okay...."

 

[Angelus]

Cassie felt the hand being placed on her shoulder and turned to look at the person with fear in her eyes. She did not want to be touched by anyone and she was scared that she would hurt whoever wanted to help her. She looked up at the man's face and was shocked when she felt that there was something different about her.

"Please go, don...."

She did not get a chance to finish the sentence before the man was thrown back, shock written clearly on his face as he was thrown through the wall behind him, close to the door to land next to the bike that he had obviously driven up on.

Cassie knew that she should check on how the man was or even if who he was but she did not want to hurt anymore people in this diner or destroy it anymore than it was and got to her feet. All that she wanted to do was run, to get away from this place and ran towards the door wish flew away from her to land in the carpark behind the man and his bike. She followed the door but stopped as soon as she saw the man laying there and wanted so much to help him but she did not know who he was and could still feel that something was strange with her. All she wanted to do was run and run fast.

She turned from the carpark and started to run down the road, all she wanted to do was get away from here to stop hurting anyone else and she hated that she was was hurting people and just wanted to keep running.

As she ran down the road everything was being destroyed around her, everything was flying apart or getting blown apart and she knew that she was the cause of it... she could not control it. All that she wanted was to get away from her so that she could calm down but she knew as soon as she heard the sirens that would be impossible.

The police car stopped in front of her and the two officers jumped out, their guns in their hands and the scared looks on their faces. One of them raised her hand but before she could say anything a ball of lightning fell from the sky and hit the car, making it explode and sending it flying through the air and onto the two officers before they could move.

Cassie just stood there in forrow and watched as the ground cracked around the car. The tears flowed freely down her face as it and the still screaming officers disappeared into the large sink hole. It exploded as soon as it hit the bottom of the hole and the officers screams shook Cassie to the core, she truly hated causing this much pain and destruction.

She turned back to look at the diner and wondered if she should just end her life but she also knew that it was the stupid thing to do and started to run even hard, the tears flowing down her face as she did. As she did the bushes and trees on either side burst into flames but still she kept running, her all consuming need to find a place to hide and calm herself making her push herself harder and harder until she found it hard to breath but still she pushed herself.

She had trouble breathing as soon as she ran off the road and dropped to the ground into the small group of bushes. She tried to raise her head but she found that she couldn't, it was as if all her energy had been ripped from her and it fell to the ground. Before she realized it she fell unconscious, there was no way that she could move if she tried.

 

[Wolfsister]

"Please go, don...."

He didn't even get a warning before he felt something grab him around his waist. He dimly felt the pain of his back slamming into the diner wall before he found himself skidding to a halt on his back on the ground outside, dust raising and then settling around him as he felt his head touch the front tyre of his bike.

Blinking and shaking his head, his ears ringing for some unknown reason, he looked up and managed to witness the diner door fly off its hinges. Sheilding his eyes against stray splinters he watched as she ran past him, coughing from the dirt being flung around him as the very air itself seemed to attack anything and everything around her.

Scrambling to his feet, he jumped on his bike, grunting with satisfaction as she roared to life under his hands, spinning the back tyre slightly as he turned her around to follow the young woman on foot. He could easily catch up to her. He cried out as his shoulder suddenly twinged and squeezed his eyes shut, "Fuck!" he growled out and impatiently ripped his shoulder back into its socket, not caring for the moment about the pain. God, his back felt like it was on fire!

His hand rested briefly on a sidearm he never actually carried and he glanced down, staring at it. Tapping his finger against it, he frowned. With a growl, he shook his head, he had seen something.... felt something when he touched her. He needed to know what.

The sounds of sirens came to his ears and he looked up watch as the two patrol cars went speeding fast, cursing under his breath as he slipped a pair of dark sunglasses from his coat pocket, placing them over his eyes as he revved up the engine.

He barely looked twice as the ball of lightning threw fits over the patrol cars and shook his head at the power he was witnessing, riding through the roaring flames that lined the road now that the bushes and trees had caught fire. He ducked as he whizzed past a falling burning branch, just barely missing it as it crashed to the ground behind him, "Shit!" he growled and lifted a hand to press a finger along side the edge of his sunglasses, "Yeah, its Raven, where the fuck are the supports?! I've got trees fucking exploding around me! And don't get me started on the casualties!" he very nearly screamed into the radio located on his glasses.

"They are on their way, Raven. Your co-ordinates were unknown. It's not my fault that -"

"I don't care whose fucking fault it is, I want this dealt with! You WRO people should be all over my ass!" he interrupted, sighting the running woman ahead.

"Raven, the supports will arrive shortly. You failed to inform us of a situation, we're running cold -"

"Fuck you too," he growled and cut off communications, wincing as his shoulder twinged from its earlier injury. "Shit," he growled again and his eyes widened when all of a sudden she stopped dead and collapsed on the ground infront of him. Overshooting her a little, he skidded his bike around and to a halt. Staring down at the young woman.

Looking up, he scanned the destruction she had wreaked. The burning cars, exploding buildings, the sky dark with anger and the forest around burning to the tree, large amounts of black smoke billowing in the breeze from the burning greeneries. Shaking his head, he glanced over his shoulder and saw the picture of serenity. The road behind him calm and peaceful, the sky clear and a brilliant blue, the green of the forest almost blinding the eye.

He growled and looked down at the young woman next to his feet. The throbbing of the engine should have been enough to wake her, but he knew that she would be out cold, for a couple of hours hopefully.

Wincing as he picked her up, he propped her up into a sitting position on his bike, throwing a leg over and sitting behind her, leaning her into his chest. Putting on a helmet of pure black he looked down and suddenly grinned, "I think I need this thing more than you,"

He looked back up the road as the sounds of more sirens and the thump thump of helo rotors in the air came to his hearing and nodded. WRO could clean up this mess, they always did.

Making sure she was secure in his arms, he revved the engine and took off down the undamaged road without looking back. He would do this mission as he saw fit. And he had questions, questions she needed to be alive to answer.

 

[Angelus]

Cassie's eyes flew open when she realized that she was moving but she was not moving under her own power. She could feel the deep rumble of the engine underneath her and wondered who had got her and where they were taking her. She felt her fear rising up in her but for some reason that was all that she felt and for once she was glad of that fact. She could not feel whatever it was that flowed through her and caused her to do everything that she did. She hated that she destroyed everything that she came near and wished more than anything that it was possible for her to get near anyone and try to live a normal life. She wanted to laugh at that thought.... she had truly forgotten what a normal life was and now that she could not feel whatever it was flowing through her anymore she was truly happy. Slowly she raised her her to see the trees flying past her and wondered where they were going and how fast.

"Where am I? Who are you and why did you bring me here?"

She knew that she would not get an answer from this person and it was then that she felt the same power flowing through him as the one that she had thrown through the wall. She hoped more than anything that he was not angry by what she had done to him and that she was being taken somewhere to be killed. She did not want to die, she truly didn't.

It was then that she felt it but before she could let out a shout one of the large trees in front of her exploded with a loud crack and fell over the road infront of the bike which caused the rider to let out a loud curse. She felt the engine stop and the rider get up off the bike which let Cassie see him see her for the first time.

He had the look of someone who could take care of himself and Cassie hoped that he wasn't taking her somewhere to be killed. She did not want to die like this, she did not want to die at all but she knew that she was helpless. She lay there, barely moving as he moved towards the tree, cursing loudly as he did then as soon as he was out of sight Cassie got up off the bike and ran into the forest.

As she ran she knew that she was being stupid, that she didn't really know where she was going but all that she knew was that she wanted to get away. She was scared but it wasn't of being taken somewhere and killed by this man, she was scared of hurting him, she did not want to hurt him.

She ran hard and fast, unable to think of anything else but getting away from the man and hoped that he would not realize that she was gone but knew that her hope was gone as soon as she heard the loud curse and the bike start again. It was then that she fell to the ground and began to crawl, hoping to find a hiding place in the bushes.

 

[Wolfsister]

His only warning was feeling her shift slightly before her voice came to his ears and he shook his head... so much for those couple of hours he had thought he had had.

"Where am I? Who are you and why did you bring me here?"

He didn't speak, trusting to let his silence keep her quiet for the moment. He wanted to talk but talking over the throaty roar of his magnificent black beast for any extended period of time was virtually impossible. Besides, he still had his helmet on.

And he was trying to calm himself down. His blood was heated to the point of boiling after that screw-up back at the diner, at least an hour behind them now. He gripped the handlebars until he knew that his knuckles were white and gritted his teeth. She was fragile, he knew that instinctively, yet she had such power flowing through her that he was blown away by it. Not much could do that these days. He could actually feel it running through her!

He suddenly felt a jarring pain in his chest and a tree exploded infront of them, falling directly onto their path. "Shit!" he cursed loudly and skidded to a halt, barely stopping from slamming directly into the resting trunk. Taking his helmet from his head to gain a better view. Knowing she was awake, he walked to the thick tree trunk now on its side. Kicking it, trying to rid the new surge of anger from his system he swore again, using much coarser language this time, his mood suited it, "Fuck! Grrr!"

Then his he caught the sound of running feet on tarmac and then on soft earth at the edge of his hearing before he turned around to find his bike seat vacated. "Damn!" he cursed again and strode to his bike. Placing the helmet on the seat, he withdrew a long blade from underneath it. He didn't know what good it would do him, but he trusted his sword. It was the only thing, other than his bike, that WRO had never touched. Nodding to himself, he turned on the engine, appreciating the sweet throaty roar, thinking that she would think he was chasing her on his bike before he set off into the forest on foot.

His movements were stealthy, growing up in a forest, he knew how to move swiftly and almost silently through the thick undergrowth. He smiled as his excellent hearing picked her frantic scrabbling through the underbrush, her inexperience in the woods showing with the amount of noise she was making. Shaking his head and pegging her for a city girl he ghosted through the trees right beside her, speeding up silently as the undergrowth opened out into a wide clearing.

Then he crouched against the trunk of a large tree, sword propped vertically up next to him, his hand on the hilt as the tip rested in the soft loamy soil. When she appeared in the clearing, he would be there waiting for her, a little smile on his lips, that odd scar tugging it up even more, making him look in the verge of laughter, his eyes twinkling with amusement. By now, after the short chase through the forest, his anger had finally dissapated.

"Having fun?"

 

[Angelus]

She raised her head with a loud shout before looking around at her surroundings. Her memories instantly went to what she had just done - how she had destroyed the police cars and ended the lives of the officers so violently. She did not want to cause anymore pain or death than she had and all that she wanted was to either end it or to disappear somewhere so that she would not hurt anyone ever again.

It was then that she was aware of the man's presence and wished that she had gotten further away from him than she had. She saw the smile that was on her face and wished that he would just leave her alone although for some reason she knew that he would not, that he was here for her. She wanted nothing more than to look at him, to strike him and make him go away but every bit of energy had left her.

She continued to look at him, feeling that strange energy around him and wonder if he was here for her or if he was nothing more than a dream, a figment of her imagination. As soon as he touched her she knew that he wasn't and that scared her. It was then that Cassie saw the sword that was leaning against the tree but close enough for him to get it and wonder if she meant to kill him. She looked up into his eyes again to see the cold look in them.

"Please - get away from me. I do not want to hurt you but I know that I will."

The man moved closer to her but as he did a tree behind him burst into flames.

"Please. Leave here now - for your own safety get away from here."

 

[Wolfsister]

"Please - get away from me. I do not want to hurt you but I know that I will."

He shook his head and took a further step towards her and had to duck with yet another curse as the tree blew up behind him. "Shit!" he rushed towards her and tackled her to the ground, his sword flying above their heads, the exploding tree having dislodged it from the ground. It could have cut off their heads!

"Careful now, I'm beginning to think you want to kill me" he chuckled with amusement as he had her pinned under him. He watched her eyes fill with horror and gritted his teeth in concentration as she began to squirm around. Then his eyes suddenly became cold and hard again and he leaned down to whisper intimately in her ear, his knuckles white from trying to keep her down beneath him.

"Calm down now, I'm not going to hurt you. I want to help you. I want you to envision a -" he pushed her further into the ground as another tree suddenly exploded around them, "- I said I wasn't going to hurt you, you must trust me," yet another tree burst into flame, and he chuckled in her ear, "Definately trying to kill me," his mouth curved into that odd half grin as another tree suddenly broke apart violently. Trees were exploding around them and he seemed to find it funny!

"Listen to me, I want you to close your eyes, imagine a sword," she stared defiantely up at him and he growled, close to losing his patience, "Just do it!" he watche with grim satisfaction as she complied, "Now imagine the sword, that is your power, that is what is inside you. It is a weapon. It is your weapon," he leaned down and whispered in her ear once again, "Now, I want you to sheath it,"

 

[Angelus]

Cassie looked at this man as if he was mad. What the hell was he talking about, what power? There were no such things as powers, just the curse that had been given to her by some person. There was no way that this could be a part of her, that everything that she did was something normal with her. She wanted to scream out if it was true but she truly knew that there was no point to it and continued to look at the man who had that stupid half smile on his face, the smile that she wanted nothing more than to wipe off his face.

Just then the ground beneath them shaked and she looked down at it and once again at the man. She was not doing this, there was no way that this was normal. She wanted to strike out at the man and clenched her hands into fists until her fingernails began to hurt the palms of her hands. She moved slowly away from him and listened to him asking her again and again to close her eyes but she wondered what would happen if she did, was he just looking for a time where he could cut her down with the sword that was still within easy reach?

She knew that there was no way that she would get away from this man though and reluctantly closed her eyes, imagining her power.... she wanted to laugh at that thought as a sword and watched as a glowing shape formed in front of her. Cassie wanted to throw her eyes open when she saw it because she wanted to believe what was wrong with her was a curse, not something that was in her and to find out that it had something to do with her made her actually want to cry.

She tried to do what the man said, she tried to sheath it but she found that her anger, her sadness at finding out she had caused all of this pain and death fed it and it started to glow even brighter.

She threw her eyes open and looked at that man.

"Why did you tell me this?!"

Her shout flew through the air with the shock of a sonic boom and the man's eyes went wide again seconds before the trees and bushes were ripped from the ground and thrown through the air. She stood there until her lungs were almost bursting then collapsed to the ground, trying to catch her breath.

 

[Wolfsister]

He watched as her eyes flew open and knew that this wasn't going to work. He suddenly felt that same searing pain in his chest and his own eyes went wide before he was blown backwards, his heels digging into ground, his arms crossed before his face to sheild himself. Trees and earth blew up into the air around him, his coat flaring up, revealing a few more blades he had been carrying underneath his coat.

When it was finally done, he stood, swaying on his feet and panted, watching her warily with those cold grey eyes. She was on the ground, a few meters from where he now stood, his knees going weak from the onslaught.

No human being alive could have stood that. None.

Yet, he had.

"Jeezus H Christ woman!" his voice was hoarse, weak. His breathing ragged and irregular, "Why didn't you do what I told you to! Do you want to kill every living thing around?! Huh?!" his tone harsh, his cold grey eyes glinted like steel and he began to make his way back towards her.

"We can do this the hard way, which means you throwing everything you've got at me and exhausting yourself again, or we can do this my way, which means that nobody else gets hurt" he stalked past her and retrieved his sword, miraculously still a littel way behind her. Turning around he looked past her at the now bleak desert before them. He shook his head, "Personally, I prefer my way,"

Then he walked back infront of her, careful to keep his sword tip down and stood, a few paces before her, "Choose," he said, his voice finally hard, his patience lost.

 

[Angelus]

She stared into the man's eyes and then looked at his sword, knowing exactly what he meant but she truly did not care. She had just found out that all the pain, death and destruction that she had caused had been her fault and she could have stopped it long before any of this had happened. She fell to her knees in front of the man and looked into his cold grey eyes and knew that there was no alternative but to do what he wanted or she would surely be killed.

She knew what he wanted of her and before he could say a word closed her eyes and pictured her power inside her but it seemed brighter than ever and she wondered how it was even possible that she could sheath this but there was nothing else that she could do. She pictured it growing dimmer and dimmer then sheathing it and found to her amazement that it was slowly disappearing. She could still feel it inside her but it wasn't as it was before, she felt it there, as if she could touch it whenever she needed it.

She slowly opened her eyes to look at the man.

"What is it you want of me now?"

 

[Wolfsister]

"What is it you want of me now?"

He chuckled and strapped his sword onto his back, "A pretty little girl like you shouldn't be asking strange men questions like that," his eyes twinkling with amusement once again. That little scar tugging his lips up into a half smile, almost a sardonic grin.

"You did like I told you? To keep the sword sheathed?" he nodded with satisfaction, not bothering to wait for her answer, "Right, now that we have the niceties over, we can start on the formalities," he chuckled darkly once again, "My name's," he paused and reached out a hand for a hand shake, "... Kain," he said, his voice warm and inviting. Nothing like the cold man he had been just a few minutes before, willing to kill if needed.

"You still want to kill me?" he arched an amused eyebrow....

 

[Angelus]

She looked at the man skeptically as he put his hand out to her invitingly. She did not know whether or not to take his hand because she truly did not know if he was out to kill her or not. There was so much that she did not know and it scared her but she was grateful of one thing, that he had shown her a way to control the destructive power that flowed through her, something she thought would always be a part of her.

She took his hand in hers, feeling a slight shock running through her as she did. She knew that there was something different about the person in front of her and she wondered what it was.

"My.... my name is Cassie. Thank you for helping me. Please, tell me how I can get rid of this thing. I do not want to destroy anything anymore."

She moved even closer to him and wondered what was going to happen next.

 

[Wolfsister]

Kain felt the shock as she did as well and kept his face smooth from expression though his mind was working furiously at what something like that could mean. Especially dealing with the creature that was in front of him, gripping onto his hand. There was no way she was human... just like him.

He scratched the back of his neck and shook his head, "I suggest we get out of here soon," he said, his excellent hearing picking up the distant whir of rotor blades on the horizon. For once WRO was right on time... not too early and he hoped they would be even later.

He knew that Cassie shouldn't die, not yet.

He shrugged, "Sorry Cass," he said, shortening her name in almost a brotherly way and grinned at her, "I should have told you sooner. Your Uncle Lewin sent me, just before he died," he frantically hoped that the information on her dossier had been correct, "I know what happened at the lake when you went to see him last. Cass, he's worried about you, well.... when he was alive," he gave her an apologetic smile and shook his head, "I'm sorry Cass... the doc's couldn't help him, not after what you -" he broke off and studiously looked anywhere but at her, " - after what happened,"

Not bad, Kain. Maybe you should tell her you're her long lost brother while you're at it, maybe then she'd believe your bogus story, he thought to himself and grimaced, it wasn't the best story but he had to gain her trust. Fast.

"I helped him a few years back... he... err.. had some... rat problems," he made himself sound vague and gave the impression that it hadnt been a rat problem, far from it. Then he rubbed his neck again and grinned at her in his lopsided way, "Erm... anyway that you wanna ride?" he asked her, seemingly suddenly goofy for some reason, like the intensity earlier had gone from him. He waved vaguely at the direction of the road to indicate his bike, her engine probably still throbbing away.

 

[Angelus]

Cassie looked at that man and wanted to do nothing more than laugh at him. He knew that he was trying to be sincere and he generally wanted to help her but he was most definitely going about it the wrong way. He could just ask that she join on the bike as she might be in trouble instead of making her feel as if she had no other choice. She looked straight at him and wanted to smile but it would tell him that she didn't quite believe him and she knew that he wanted to help her. She placed her hand in his and looked into his eyes again, seeing the strength and humour that was in them.

"I would ask how we are going to get out of here but then I remember that you have your bike. I will go with you on one condition though, that I am not thrown over your lap. I actually want to see where I am going this time."

It was then that she let out a laugh and moved away from him then turned back to see him standing there. She wanted to call out to him but it was then that she picked up the sound of a helicopter coming ever closer and wondered who was out here or whether or not they were looking for her. She wanted to go out to the road, to where Kain's bike was but she wondered if she would be seen and if she was what would happen then. She wanted to ask Kain but he was looking up at the sky and she knew that he could hear the helicopter as well.

She stopped moving and turned to look back at him, "Do you know what that helicopter is here for? Is it here for me? Kain! Answer me!"

It was then that she felt a small portion of her power fly out of her and hit Kain in the chest, just enough to push him back and get his attention.

 

[Wolfsister]

"I would ask how we are going to get out of here but then I remember that you have your bike. I will go with you on one condition though, that I am not thrown over your lap. I actually want to see where I am going this time."

He chuckled and gave her a genuine smile, then he gave her a mock salute and bowed his head, "I promise, scouts honor," Not that he had actually been a scout...

He watched as her eyes widened and inwardly cursed, it seemed he was doing alot of that lately... "Do you know what that helicopter is here for? Is it here for me? Kain! Answer me!"

He grunted as he felt the small air pocket hit him squarely in the chest. Rubbing his chest absently he reached into his coat and removed a pair of dark sunglasses. The same he had been wearing before. Tilting his head to the skies, he pulled them over his eyes and discreetly tapped the side of them, opening a comm link.

Then he shrugged, his lopsided grin soon becoming slightly forced, his eyes returning to that hard grey intensity behind the black shades, "Don't ask me, how would I know?" spreading his hands in a helpless gesture, he was soon striding back into the forest, threading his way through the trees.

Just before he disappeared from her sight, he paused and looked over his shoulder, "I wouldn't bet it being friendly though," he gave her another grin, "Coming?"

"Be careful Raven, you play a dangerous game," came a tinny voice from the link and Kain grimaced, then he murmured just under his breath, knowing the mic would pick it up, "You just follow me, make sure WRO stops breathing down my neck for a while, besides, you always did want to know my real name, didn't you?"

With his back turned to Cassie and him moving rather swiftly through the undergrowth, she wouldn't be able to see his lips moving, hopefully she wouldn't be able to hear him either.

The link was silent and then Shadow's voice whistled though the link once more, sighing, "I suppose you don't want me to record this?" Kain didn't reply, trusting his silence to be answer enough. Yet another sigh came through the link, "Fine, but you owe me, if anybody ever found out about this...."

Kain whispered back with a barely suppressed chuckle, "I'll let you take the heat this time... its your turn,"

Another sigh and then a laugh, "I knew I shouldn't have let you talk me into being your partner, Raven,"

Kain almost shrugged, almost, "You knew the consequences. Besides, you don't want WRO to own your ass, do you?"

"No, but I never thought that I would end up watching yours. Why can't I be in the open for once?"

"You're called Shadow for a reason, remember?"

The link went dead as he neared the still rumbling bike, his excellent hearing picking up Cassie's stumbling footing through the forest. He just chuckled. Turning around he raised his voice for her to better hear, "Today would be nice,"

 

[Angelus]

Cassie looked at Kain and wondered if she could trust him at all. He knew that there he was the only way that she could get away from the people in that helicopter, that he was the only way that she would be able to get away fast enough but it did not mean that she had to trust him, that she had to give away everything to him.

With a sigh she moved slowly towards him, her eyes never leaving him then got onto the back of the bike and felt the power flow into the engine. As soon as it began to move down the road she looked back at the sky and wondered where the helicopter was and what they were looking for her for but then she realized that it would be because of what happened in the diner, what she had done and what had happened to the police officers.

She inwardly cursed herself that she had done this, that she had destroyed that diner and hurt so many people. She wanted nothing more than to disappear and let the rest of the world move past her so that she wouldn't hurt anyone anymore. She turned her head and looked at the road, wanting to ask Kain where it was that they were going but she knew instantly that he would not tell her and that she was along for the ride.

She moved closer to him and watched the road ahead. All that she wanted was to get as far away from this area as fast as she possibly could, even if it meant that she would be going with a person that she did not really trust.

It was then that she realized she had not asked him a simple question that was screaming at her.

"Where are we going?"

 

[Wolfsister]

He smiled at her question and shook his head, unable to answer for the moment due to the roar of the engine and fact that he had an all encompassing helmet covering his head. He didn't particularily want to talk anyways, there was no telling if anyone was riding the signal that he was sending to Shadow. Hopefully not, but still, it couldn't harm anyone to be sure.

Soon enough, actually it was about a five hour trip, but soon enough they were turning off the black tarmac of the highway and onto a little known, dusty and riddled with potholes, dirt road. It was more of a track really... he grunted every time they hit a hole but otherwise he mananged to avoid almost all of them, due to his impressive skill with the bike.

Soon, they came to a cabin nestled in amongst a dark setting of trees, the back of the secluded cabin facing a rather large lake, the water still and and motionless, the surface glassy as it reflected its peaceful surroundings.

He cut the engine and they were instantly surrounded by the trilling of birds, various insects and the quiet rustle of the wind sighing through the leaves of the trees overhead. He nodded and slipped off his helmet, breathing in the sweet scent of pine and other unidentifiable forest scents. His hearing picked up the scrabbling of a squirrel running up a nearby tree. He smiled, that crooked little scar messing with it a little and turning it more into a scowl.

"Well, here we are," he announced, "My cabin in the woods. Cliche, no?" he asked her and grinned once again, his grey eyes twinkling with amusement, no longer hardened. He got off the bike and unlocked the front door, murmuring quietly to Shadow, "How's it going? How much longer do I have at this safehouse?"

The link cackled to life briefly just before Shadow replied, "I take about three days to be on the safe side... then I suggest you move," Kain just barely stopped himself from nodding, mindful that he had the eyes of a young woman on his back. "Only three days?" he hissed into the mic on his lapel, "I scrambled the locator, it should take them longer to unlock the code,"

"Yeah well when I invented that code I was the best they had.... now I'm second rate.... but what can you do?" he could just imagine Shadow shrugging his shoulders. He opened the door and then waved Cassie into the little cabin. Going to his bike, out of her hearing range, he said quietly, confidently, "You're still the best, Shadow. Believe me,"

Shadow snorted, " I don't hold a flicker to your flame, Raven," then the link went dead once again and Kain chuckled. Taking a few packages from underneath the bike seat, he turned and entered the cabin, smiling jovially at Cassie, "Home sweet home," for now... for now... he silently added.

 

[Angelus]

As she moved into the cabin Cassie's eyes flicked one way and then the other, wondering just what would be waiting for her in this building. She was still in a place in the middle of nowhere with a man that she did not know and did not trust. It was true that he had helped her but she could not trust him, she could not open herself up to him because everyone that she ever had ended up destroyed in the end. She looked straight at him and wondered what was going through his head, what he had planned for her, what he wanted of her.

She moved away and sat down on one of the large chairs, closing her eyes as she did and hoped that she would not dream for when she did bad things often happened, it was as though whatever was in her was controlled by her emotions and it scared her for she that were the case would she ever be free of them, would it be possible for her to lead a normal life?

She looked at Kain, wondering what was going through his head and tried to keep her eyes open as if their lives depended on it for in truth they might but before she could stop herself she fell asleep.

As soon as she did her dreams were once again dark and she feared that something would happen.

 

[Wolfsister]

Kain swung the black bag over his shoulder and moved towards the cabin door. As he entered, he watched as Cassie moved slowly through the small living area. The scar at the side of his mouth tugged his lips up into that small habitual half smile of his. He shook his head as she collapsed into a large cushy chair and chuckled to himself.

Setting the bag onto the kitchen counter, he looked up and silently stood, watching the sun sink slowly behind the moutain tops, the orange glow it cast onto the large french doors over looking the still lake making him feel, at least for this moment in time, at peace with the world. Watching the sunset, it was hard to believe that anything bad or evil existed on this earth.

Then his gaze swung to Cassie and he smirked. Almost hard to believe. Not that he believed she was evil, far from it. He had read her dossier, had seen the vid-disk... he knew that there wasn't a single evil bone in her body. Her power, however.... that was a different matter entirely. He shook his head slowly, humming to himself under his breath as he unzipped the black back and began to rummage in the contents. He looked up and shook his head again as he realised that Cassie had fallen asleep.

Looking back down, he set a small bag of salt onto the counter. No knowing when one would need salt. His mother had taught him that and it was one quirk in many that he had. He always, with out fail, carried a small bag of salt with him everywhere.

Kain was humming a little lulluby his mother had taught him when all of a sudden the salt exploded in a puff of white dust. "What the -" the managed to get out before the apples in the fruit basket on the counter began to explode. "Shit!" he growled and dropped to the floor, listening to the pop of the grapes now exploding. "Bloody hell," he growled again and took a quick look over the counter at Cassie. She was still asleep.

"Damn," he got one more curse out and then he had to duck once more as the fruit basket itself proceeded to explode. Then the link cackled to life once more,"From the amount of cursing.... I would say, trouble in paradise? " came the tinny miniturised voice of Shadow.
"Not now,"
"Its never a good time with you, is it?"
"I said, not now, Shadow,"
He heard Shadow sigh, "I've been doing some reading up on your little prize there... seems there are a few things WRO didn't think to tell you -" Shadow was abruptly cut off with a loud and particularly coarse curse from Kain, "I said not now! "

And then the link went dead. Kain having disconnected it. "Cassie! Cassie, wake up!" he screamed at her, trying to make it to her unconcious body but every time he tried, things had a habit of exploding around him. Already the toaster, microwave, stove, oven and a few kitchen utensils had either melted or tried a pretty impressive impression of a grenade.

"Fuck!" he said and tried to make a dash for it, if he could get to her, he could shake her awake and hopefully get her to sheathe that damned sword again! Shooting to the side of the counter, he got up successfully to a half crouch when all of a sudden a he got locked into a staring match with a kitchen knife. "Oh... shit..."

Kain's gaze shifted towards Cassie and he was briefly given to wonder just what her power was. Just what she was. Trying not to give into the urge to shake his head and chuckle, he kept an eye on the knife as he egded sideways. It seemed to mimick his movements and he finally had a conclusion, "It seems you don't trust me, little girl," then he did give in to the urge to chuckle maniacally.

He slowly began to back towards Cassie as soon as he had successfully circled the knife. It only let him take two steps.

With a speed that only he could have tracked with his naked eye, it shot towards him, its point centered unnervingly on the space between his eyes. With exactly the same amount of speed, Kain reached out his arm, bringing it diagonally across his body, then he whipped around, his hand coming in contact with the blade's handle as he let the actual blade slide past his hand, catching it and using the momentum of his body movement to swing around and let the kitchen knife go, throwing it behind him, sending it sailing to the cabin wall where it stuck, quivering, deep into the wood.

He panted, standing for the moment, waiting for anything else to come at him. Then he ran the three steps towards the sleeping Cassie, just an arm's length away from him before he found every single utensil in the cabin hovering in the air and all centred on him, the business ends glistening threateningly.

"Cassie! You better damn wake up NOW!" he yelled, careful not to move a muscle... who'da thunk it? In a dead lock with knives and forks.... Damn.

 

[Angelus]

As she lay there Cassie felt her power flowing uninhibited around the room, touching everything and making it float in the air then pushing it to send it flying around. It was then that she felt the other power in the room and wondered what it was. She wanted nothing more than to touch it, to find out what it was and sent everything flying at it to do so. As she did she wondered if it was Kain and wondered why he was hiding this power from her and what else he was hiding from her. She wanted nothing more than to get the answers, no matter what it took to do so.... no matter what she had to push at him.

She touched everything in the air and threw it at that power, at Kain and felt it as he moved out of the way of everything. She wanted nothing more than to touch him, to see what he was hiding from her but it felt as if she could not do that. It felt as though he did not want to be touched, as though he wanted to hide what he had inside him.

It was then that she heard the shout, his voice shouting at her and opened her eyes quickly, just to see every utensil drop to the floor. She then looked at Kain with wide eyes and wanted to say something but no words would come out of her mouth, all that she could do was breath which was coming out in ragged breaths. She just sat there and looked at him, wishing that either of them could or would say something.... anything.

 

[Wolfsister]

The second she opened her eyes, the fifty or so possible threats to his life clattered uselessly to the floor. He blinked, checked over his shoulder, took an experimental breath and then stepped closer towards Cassie. Nothing happened. He sighed. Then he looked askance at Cassie and saw the wide eyed innocence in her eyes, he shook his head. "Trying to kill me again? I thought we got over that part," he said roughly into the ensuing silence as he began to carefully pick up the utensils laying about everywhere.

While he bobbed up and down, fetching dinner forks and the like, he glanced over his shoulder, "That happen every time you sleep?" then he shot another question at her, "Why do you hate me that much?"

 

[Angelus]

She looked at him, trying hard to say anything but she could not find the right words. She hated so much that her power branched out to hurt anyone that she would get close to and thus that she was alone but it also made her wonder why she did the things that she did.

"I am so very sorry, I did not mean to do that. I tried so hard to stop myself but I couldn't."

She then looked down at all the knives, forks and spoons that were littered all over the floor then back at Kain, trying hard not to cry but then it came without warning, the tears flowing down over her cheeks without warning. She tried to blink them away so that she could talk to Kain but no words sould come out of her mouth. She sat there, trying hard to find out what she could do to stop it but as much as she wanted to her power was too unpredictable.

"I am so very sorry. All that I wanted was to reach out to you..... I did not know that would happen. I am so sorry, please forgive me."