Cleaning House[Shadow Fall Mission][FINISHED]

Mission Specs:

Styn scowled at the the bustling humans and demons alike in the city of Paris. Somehow he had come up first again to run yet another mission. The demon had felt sure that his recent performance would have earned him a welcome respite. However, it would seem that in Shadow Fall, work well done was rewarded with more work. Idly Styn wondered if he was going to have to climb all the way to Archduke before he caught a break. He sure hoped not.

Still, nothing for it now but to get it done quickly, and be finished. There did remain infernally anointed days in between missions to look forward to after all. Especially if he snuck away to the demon training realm, a trick that worked just as well as it had when he was a child. Even if those days were beginning to seem like some transparent imagining. Had it been less then a month? Styn was sure he wasn't getting enough sleep.

Reports from the Sixth Circle stated that a demon hate group had been located, operating out of The City of Light. That was a hate group comprised of demons, not one against them. The Second Circle had their hands full trying to keep a lid on the mess, and deal with damage control. The Seventh Circle was adamant that they would have discovered such a gathering, and refused to take the allegations seriously. The Eight Circle had found a few contacts, but with a world at war, albeit a cold one, they had better things to do with their time and were adamant that this was a Seventh Circle problem.

Perhaps that was how Styn found himself glaring down anyone who would meet his gaze. Someone must have had the bright idea that First Circle had an oversight over all things extra dimensional. Technically it was true, although Styn hardly felt neutral at the moment. The demon wasn't normally prone to violence, but he had foolishly purchased a temporary experience increasing boost, in a new game he had just picked up. Even now the bonus experience was ticking away, completely wasted while he was on his current endeavor. He couldn't be done fast enough.

Before politics had sidelined the whole Circle, an enterprising young Knight of the Eighth had passed along a name, Yoka Tylan. Styn was utterly unsurprised to find that she was a low ranking member of the Seventh Circle. There had been something foul about their refusal to investigate in the first place. That was what brought him to his current position. The blessed woman was still shopping! Like Styn had nothing better to do then follow her from store to store. Her two goons were also Knights as far as he could tell, although at the moment they were playing pack mule.

It was almost a full hour before the three of them suddenly took a left into a back alley. Things were suddenly much more interesting. Styn waited a few moments, carefully poking his head into the shadows to make sure that the path was relatively straight. Satisfied that they weren't going to pull a disappearing act on him, the demon was able to spend those few moments relatively assured that things were going well. As he made his own way down the alley he heard a voice up ahead.

"Your kind isn't welcome in Paris freak. We don't want or need corrupted and jumped up humans in our army. So scurry on out of here arrancar," the last was said with particular scorn. Really the entire message was nothing more then a spit in the face. Styn wasn't sure how long this particular session had been in play, but that was all the evidence he was going to need. The Ninth Circle could find the truth, he just needed a reasonable suspicion.

Rounding the corner Styn saw four figures boxing in a fifth. Yoka was looking on at the proceedings with a cruel and vindictive smile. One of her goons was watching the alley and quickly stepped in front of Styn, blocking his line of sight even further, as the goon was substantially larger then him. Another of Yoka's sidekicks was helping with intimidation by proxy. Off in the corner were a small pile of the woman's purchases. The last demon was in the face of what Styn presumed to be the target of their combined hate.

Well, Styn hoped the aarancar could fight, because Yoka was easily near the peak of tier four. Her goons were only a bit weaker, and the fourth one with the loud mouth actually seemed as strong as Styn himself. If things were about to get rough then they would hardly go quickly. With seconds counting down the Knight of the First Circle decided that it would save time to make his position obvious. "What? Why wasn't I invited to the hate crime? Seriously guys, not cool." The words were mocking, it would be obvious that Styn disapproved of the actions and words of his fellow demons. "Well if that's how its going to be, then I guess I'm going to have to just crash the party," he finished in a much more deadpan tone.

Why was he here? That question echoed through his head as he grumbled down the twisting streets of the City of Love. Love? Hah! That emotion personified Highwayman Bordeaux the least in this place. Old scars from a life he couldn't -and didn't care to- remember blazed inside him from the first moment he'd stepped into this nation. A hatred for this country, a hatred for its people, and a hatred of...

His thought process was interrupted by the glint of something silvery sitting in the window of a store. He rushed to the new focus of his mind, almost pressing his face against the glass. A jewelry shop was displaying several interesting pieces of intricately crafted silver, gold, and precious gems. The images of finery consumed Bordeaux in childish obsession. His hands trembled against the glass in both the excitement he felt in seeing the treasures and the anger that they were not his yet. Without thinking, he brought back a fist as the hammer to break the wall that separated him from his desires.

"Look there. A filthy mongrel hollow coveting above its station."

The arrancar was brought out from greed-induced state in time to stop himself from committing a crime, but this end didn't justify the means. His lips curled into a snarl as he turned around to view his critics. A single solitary demon stood on the corner of the street laughing at him; mocking him! When the abyssal creature saw his rage-filled face, he took off down the street, continuing the insults.

"Ha! Is the mindless beast angry? Aw. Don't be mad, hollow. Just try to get even!"

A greater man might have just let the demon go; dismissing it as harmlessly ignorant, but Highwayman Bordeaux was a creature of anger and vengeance and was not about to let anyone or anything get away with trying to damage his ego. The arrancar gave chase through the massive city until he thought he had cornered the offender in an alleyway. In the back of his mind, the memory of being told of the Shadow Fall who controlled this area began to echo, and what constituted as a conscience advised against actually killing the infernal being to keep good relations.

With this thoughts divided like they were, the Highwayman was not ready for the brick headed straight for his head when he rounded the corner into the alley. To his credit, the brick broke into pieces upon impact with his skull and knocked the hollow on his back. The pain and humiliation only proved to increase his rage. As he got back onto his feet, three more people joined in the insults from behind him after they set down their bags.

"Your kind isn't welcome in Paris freak. We don't want or need corrupted and jumped up humans in our army. So scurry on out of here, arrancar,"

A low growl betrayed Bordeaux's bestial rage. The four had managed to box him in and leave him no room. It seemed he would have no choice, but fight his way past them. A malicious grin crawled its way across his face.

"< This trip suddenly became exciting. >" He muttered to himself in French as his uncovered arm gripped the saber at his side. He was ready for this fight. He was ready to let their corpses decorate the City if Lights and bathe in their blood. The downside was one of them seemed to be at least closely matched to him, so fight would be a little harder than a walk in the park. Or so the thought.

Suddenly, from behind the quartet blocking out the street, a person in a dark suit began chastising the demons for their actions. Another echo of his pesky conscience rang through again reminding him of his position. In a moment of uncharacteristic nonviolence, he chose to call out to his impromptu ally.

"You! Can you tell these plébéien demons that they should back off before tear out their throats and feast upon their remains?" It would seems like an obvious empty threat, but the more savage side of the Highwayman had no qualms devouring his enemies in such a fashion.

Styn didn't actually speak french, although he was pretty sure the other demon's did. Whatever the arrancar had muttered to himself had them looking less confident then they were a moment before. Then again Styn's own arrival might have something to do with that too. "Back off, this is Seventh Circle business," One of the goons declared reaching forward and shoving the smaller demon back.

At least that was his attempt. The goon was clearly a strength focused demon, but so had Styn been a few weeks ago, before his life began to be one endless quest of bottom feeder details for Shadow Fall. In this case, the smaller demon chose not to moved and was not. Pushing with a single hand from a stop without momentum and weight was just a contest of strength after all, an attribute that was not lacking in Styn. "All four of you Seventh Circle then? Well that explains alot." The First Circle Knight taunted into the surprised face of Yoko's goon.

"Shut up you moron," Yoko hissed, eyes darting between Styn and Bordeaux.

At Bordeaux's words Styn cocked his head to the side. "Sorry to impose on you friend, but I think its best for everyone involved if we fight this one out. I only ask you try to keep civilian casualties to a minimum, although Shadow Fall is just going to blame these four clowns if that's not possible." Styn paused a moment as if something had just occurred to him. "Oh yeah and it would be great if you could keep this slime alive as well, I can assure you that Shadow Fall interrogators are standing by anxiously even now, to practice their art."

"What, you think your word trumps four Seventh Circle Knights upstart?" Yoko challenged.

"It does actually. Someone thought I might need a writ of authority in this manner. The Sixth Circle has empowered me to act as a Grand Duke for incidents that involve my mission." Styn drew himself up to his full height. "I pronounce you traitors to Shadow Fall," he announced grandiosely.

"You just signed your own death certificate," Yoko promised with menace. "Kill them, kill them both!"

Styn's first step was to divide their forces. Once projectiles and Za Koa started flying it was anyone's guess what what sort of collateral damage would be on the field. In addition, this was a cohesive unit. It was impossible for Styn to fight with a stranger he had just met with any sort of real coordination. The First Circle Knight just hoped that Bordeaux would be able to manage his two.

Reaching backward to a distant shadow, Styn pulled, disappearing in a smoky haze. With a curse Yoko and one of her goon's followed. At the junction of another set of back alleys he located another distant point and shadow stepped again. At about a block away from his initial point Styn stopped. The other two were hot on his heels, but had not been able to cut him off or outmaneuver him. Clearly neither were mobility focused demons then.

One of the most important aspects of fighting multiple unknown opponents was identifying their strengths. At least Styn had always felt this to be true. Most young demons were innately gifted in the manipulation of Za Koa, it was the lifeblood of their other abilities. It was only a matter of determining physical make up after that. The goon was strong, with the difference in tier it just wasn't possible for him to have exerted almost enough power to move Styn earlier, and yet he had.

If Styn had to venture a guess he's say that Yoko was some sort of ranged attacker. She was letting the weaker demon take the lead. A sign of cowardliness to be sure, but if Yoko had been equipped to better handle a blow Shadow Fall would have trained her to take point. You didn't make Knight by being stupid or unskilled. While ruling out speed and strength, that just left some sort of weaponry.

When the evasive dance was done, Styn stood facing off against the goon who was already shifting into his true form. In a single second the First Circle Knight was suddenly facing a green ogre class demon, who took up about half the alleyway by himself. Goon roared as some sort of distractionary measure or intimidation attempt, but Styn knew he had a moment to defend himself. His eyes were scanning higher up and that's where he found Yoko. She clung to the side of a building with six repulsive arachnid style legs, her upper body was still pretty cute though.

More importantly she was pointing her hands toward Styn with a look of concentration on her face. He barely had time to dash forward as white milky web shot from Yoko's curled appendages. Even as he closed the distance toward the ogre demon Styn was shifting into his own true form. With an effort of will he was suddenly surging with Za Koa, every cell vibrating with the intoxication of chaos chained. In a city as large as Paris, with a heavy demon population, the act of shifting and embracing demonic energy would not be enough to flag attention. At not until people starting dying.

Styn could count on his foes for their discretion he was sure. The ogre demon was perfectly sized to be in reach of nearly the whole alley without being hampered by the smaller space. No doubt Goon could actually reach a much larger state that he was choosing not to utilize. That suited Styn just fine. The smaller demon leapt to the side narrowly avoiding the first fist, which had punched straight forward. At the same time he lashed out with his clawed hand, cutting deeply into Goon's leathery flesh.

From above Yoku cursed and Styn heard her scuttling for advantage. Meanwhile Goon's left fist rushed toward his right side in a tight hook. The blow was surprisingly crisp and a dodge wasn't going to be possible. Reaching out his right hand Styn moved to intercept the attack with his own right arm. Abruptly, Styn was thousands of miles away on the outskirts of Denver in his own mind. The flash of memory was brief, but he had experienced an attack like this before. Despite the similarities in strength, he wouldn't have the weight to stop the strike.

Of course knowing that was half the battle. Demon's could shift shapes at an incredible speed. It was a simple matter to increase his density. Flexibility went markedly down for that brief instant, but he only needed it to last for a moment. Goon's fist was stopped in its tracks. The strength and momentum of the strike played out as if he had landed a blow against a building. Styn's elbow flexed, further dampening the force of the punch. the In addition the sharp edges of Styn's claws bit deeply into the larger demon's flesh again, causing a roar of rage as he stumbled off balance.

Capitalizing on the sudden opening proved impossible though. A flicker of motion from the corner of his eye had him backing outside of his own effective range. A spear of hardened web struck the ground where he was mere moments before. This was followed by more of the ensnaring variety, forcing him further from Goon. With a resigned sigh Styn gave up on the quick victory. It was going to be a longer fight after all.

Demons. Bordeaux was really starting to hate demons. But, at least there was that one in the suit who was on his side at the moment. The arrancar's eyebrows arched in mild surprise as all five demons retrieved their weapons. It was actually the first time he'd seen this. He'd lived most of his hollow life in the 'safety' of Hueco Mundo.

His grin widened into a wicked, fanged smile as the drew his own weapon. While he would do as he was told and NOT kill these four fiends, that didn't mean he couldn't have fun with them before turning them over. Besides, they attacked him. In his eyes, their lives were forfeited the instant that brick was thrown.

"Heh... heh... heh..." He laughed slow and deep as he launched a upward slash at the peon who had lured him into this predicament. The blow knocked the creature back, shrieking in pain from the wound reaching from hip to shoulder. Another of the she-demon's minions went to aid its injured comrade.

"You fools are lucky to have such a merciful superiors." His own, more bestial nature began to surface as the bloodshed began. "I might not be allowed to kill you, but I'm make sure you wish were dead!"

He lashed out again, this time at the uninjured creature. The Highwayman's strike was sloppy and easily avoided, but the stature he took while delivering was intimidating enough to unnerve the lesser being. His friend picked himself off the ground despite the wound, only to be met with a swift pommel strike from Bordeaux, knocking the grunt right back down. If it was smart, the demon would stay down then.

Trying to fight against two opponents wasn't working out as well as Styn had hopped. While it was true that he was stronger then each of them individually, it was beginning to look like he wasn't strong enough to match them together. At least that would remain true if he kept the current status quo. The clawed demon rushed forward again, trying to keep Goon between him and Yoko. A particularly nice combo, with Yoko Shadow Stepping, and launching another of her hardened web spears at Styn's blind spot, forced him to take a nasty punch to his right side from Goon. A quick shift of his density allowed him to avoid being thrown back out of the ogre demon's range, but it was a close thing, and Styn found himself sliding toward the alley wall despite his best efforts. Bruised ribs would have to wait though.

It was time to play a wild card and change the flow of the match. An instant of will triggered every sigil on his body to flood his core with power. The Za Koa he held was pushed into overdrive as each symbol on the demon's body began to glow into the visible spectrum. Even the bone white gauntlets and suit pant covered leggins that appeared in his true form had a spattering of infernal red tattoos. The glow was hardly steady. Instead, it was the wild fluctuation of Shadow Burst, symbols pulsing rapidly. Styn suddenly seemed twice his strength. In reflex both of the other demons triggered their Shadow Burst as well.

The surge of energy was not directed at increasing his physical attributes though, Styn was not actually any faster or stronger then before. Something that was not readily detectable fortunately. Instead, every ounce of the gathered energy was channeled into his next incantation. Styn's mind raced as he sought out a familiar shape. His favored go to summoning was that of a modified soldier demon. It was a structure he saw and dealt with on a regular basis. Of course this time he planned on a few interesting changes to capitalize on the current battle field. "Awaken the shadow within me, mend them new flesh and unleash them upon the world, Za Koa!" Styn shouted. Power spiked and then left the clawed demon in a rush. Shadows began to form between him and Goon, the new vessels for the flood of Za Koa. Where once there was nothing, there was suddenly an undeniable set of solidity.

The creatures were squat and ugly beasts, barely four feet tall, with pale yellow hide. They were hairy things, with black coarse bristles poking out of their heads, across their naked chests, and on their arms. They were completely unclothed, their entire lower body was like Yoko's own, arachnid in design. However, where she had six limbs these creatures only had four spider like appendages. Long pointed ears sloped backward against their wrinkled faces. The minions had sharp teeth and their noses were little more then reptile slits. Their eyes were likewise short gashes, and shone with infernal red glimmers. Instead of forearms and hands, the creatures' arms ended in long curved blades.

There were four of them in total. Normally it wouldn't be possible to create shadows with any real combat ability at his current level of Demon Magic Skill. However, Shadow Burst made up the difference in skill with raw, barely focused power. As such he was only able to summon a fourth of his total amount, and he was only able to make them at the very bottom of tier four. Styn was fairly certain they wouldn't last as long as a more skilled summoning, but hoped they wouldn't be needed for such a duration.

Any moment of inattention on the battle was a moment too long. Yoko had used her Shadow Burst to launch a web spear with a strength and speed that Styn just wasn't able to keep up with. The tip pierced straight through the demon, embedding itself an inch into the ground, effectively trapping Styn for the moment. As it had been shot from above, it entered through the clawed demon's shoulder blade and through the top of his right lung, which immediately filled with blood.

The pain was incredible and was the first thing that Styn shifted, in a rapid restructuring of his internal composition, once pain had been registered it didn't serve a real purpose anymore. Even as three of his summoned creations rushed toward Goon and the fourth scaled the alley wall to close with Yoko, Styn was in motion. With pain no longer a factor he reached out and pulled himself to a shadow on the roof of a nearby building. The spear shaft made the move rough going, but the clawed demon managed to leave the weapon buried in the cobblestones below.

The second shape altering priority was to turn his right lung into two lungs. The top third and the bottom two thirds which split in a fraction of a second. The injured lung was then taken out of his circulatory system. Spots danced across Styn's vision momentarily, but his body quickly adjusted to the new, slightly lower level of oxygen intake. Blood continued to pump from the wound, weakening the clawed demon one second at at time. Shape shifting was hardly healing after all, but Styn was in remarkable shape for a guy how had just had a spear shoved through his body.

He was also in a great position to watch Goon rend one of his summons to pieces with both meaty hands as the last of the ogre demon's Shadow Burst expended itself. Well, that still left Styn with two of them on Goon and one of them keeping Yoko occupied. With a moment to catch his breath, the demon contemplated the end game to this short lived competition. A moment of thought was all he could spare Bordeaux, who to Styn's blunted spirit sense, still seemed alive and well. The rest of the clawed demon's focus was on ending the battle before he sustained any more injuries.

Change in power levels in his new ally's fight broke the Highwayman's battle trance. He stared as the demons' forms changed to display their own levels. For a second, he thought the ones he was fighting would do the same, but they seemed too cowed or single-mindedly focused on him to worry about their friends. That or they were too weak to even be a threat in that state. The temptation to follow suit and release his true power upon his enemies was there, but the condition that they remain alive. Plus, his size alone would destroy a hefty portion of this block.

While he was thinking, his foes took advantage of their momentary reprieve. The injured one started to pull himself up and focus on his wound, while the second demon shook off his fear and launched an assault of his own. This one's weapons was a pair of butterfly swords. Bordeaux's refocused on his own battle just in time to step out of the lethal range of the blades, but not without a few souvenirs. His poor coat received a nice cut along the front of his chest, exposing the dapper vest and silk cravat beneath. A faint trickle of blood seeped out from a cut one of the swords placed across the middle of his face and across his nose.

With his free hand, the arrancar felt the cut and the damage to his clothing, just to make sure he'd not actually sustained any bad damage. Nothing too terrible, but now Highwayman Bordeaux was angry. With an inarticulate roar, the hollow raised his bade against the demon attempting to strike at him with a heavy, downward slash. But it had the momentum of battle on its side, and easily deflected the blow off to one side, leaving him open for a counter attack. The demon went for a simple stab his back, but luckily for Bordeaux, Hierro was able to stop the blade from piercing through his flesh, though it would be a nasty bruise later.

Bordeaux staggered forward with the stabbing and turned back to face his active opponent. The hollow gave a low, guttural growl and focused his rage. He pointed at the demon with his free hand, charging spiritual energy.

" < Bastard! Eat shit and die! >" It wasn't the most eloquent of lines to shout before attacking, but at least saying it in french made it sound cooler for the non-french speaking demon on his side. From his fingertip, a small, thin shot of something was fired like a gun. "Bala!" He shouted out as the solid mass of energy made contact with the dual wielding demon's lower torso. It shouted in pain and dropped to a single knee. It wasn't a fatal shot, but hopefully it and its friend would realize they were outmatched and give up.

The arrancar looked back to see how well his ally was faring in his fight.

For the first time since combat broke out Styn had a moment to check on his impromptu ally. The arrancar seemed to be giving a good accounting. At the moment of his quick glance, Bordeaux had just launched a bala, driving his opponent back, and creating some space. Styn was too far to gauge the remaining strength of the two demons, but he wouldn't be surprised if the fight was all a but over at this point.

Yoko was his first target. The summon was only a few tiers below her, but that would make a significant difference in speed and power. So far the beast had been lucky enough to avoid her shots of sticky web, because the female demon kept glancing upward at Styn to make sure he wasn't moving. She didn't seem used to dealing with multiple opponents when her side didn't outnumber her foes. At the most recently hate filled darting of eyes, Styn waved with a good natured smile.

As soon as her eyes flickered back to the summon, which she was leading on a merry chase along the side of the alley wall, Styn channeled Zo Koa. The First Circle Knight directed the flow through an incantation, but didn't voice it immediately. In his mind the familiar conduits were filled and ready to be discharged, waiting only his whispered command. At the same time however, Styn gathered Za Koa in a crimson wave through his left palm. The degree and concentration of force bled into the visual spectrum as a rapidly expanding point of dark red luminance. At his current level of skill in Za Koa, Styn could gather this attack in a far faster manner then Yoko could possibly be expecting.

This drawing of strength caught Yoko's attention again, but when she looked up Styn was already gone, having pulled himself to a nearby shadow. The spider demon looked behind her, fearing a surprise strike, only to find the construct, thrusting forward with both bladed arms. In an instant she was wielding the hardened web as a spear to parry and finally pierce the construct through the chest. However, Styn was actually very close indeed. Instead of behind the demon he had shadow stepped right in front of Yoko, her own paranoia would be her downfall.

The Knight of the First Circle flicked out his right hand chanting. "Zao Koa says: 'GET OVER HERE," Styn growled with supreme satisfaction. The primary effect would barely be enough to make the six legged spider demon lose her footing, but the secondary effect quickly paralyzed Yoko for the brief instant of time that Styn needed. Coming in low and pointing upward Styn discharged a Black Inferno Blast from point blank range. Yoko was propelled upwards to skid across the towering wall of a nearby derelict building.

She didn't quite make the top however and instead plummeted to the alley below. At her tier it was possible for her to recover at this point so Styn acted fast. He had been given some equipment to help with capture. As Yoko was still reeling in a dazed shock, the Knight of the First circle fasted both her hands behind her back in slim silver bracelets. The handcuffs would significantly impair her ability to gather demonic energy, the lifeblood of demon might.

During this time, Goon had managed to grab hold of another summon. With a mighty yell he managed to rip an arm off before it scurried out of his grip. The entire time he was being laid into by the second construct. Akuma Kyodo would only take you so far under such a relentless assault of strikes. The larger demon had already taken several injuries from Styn in their exchange. The subsequent seconds had not been kind either. The ogre demon was panting, clearly exhausted, and dizzy from blood loss.

Come to think of it, Styn was a bit peaked himself. His critical chest piercing was at least on a similar level to Goon's own injuries, albeit concentrated in one spot instead of divided over an entire body. At his side was his third construct, still stabbed through the chest with Yoko's web spear. Styn pulled out the spear, a look of speculation on his face. Directing the beast to join its brethren in keeping Goon busy, Styn dashed to the spear that had punched through his chest earlier.

Picking the thing up he threw it at Goon's head. Some sort of survival instinct alerted the ogre demon to his impending demise and he was able to duck out of the way. Still it didn't help his balance at all, especially with three minions slicing at tendons in his legs. The larger demon stumbled under the assault and Styn was in motion again. This time his target was the first spear that had been launched in the battle. Picking it up, the Knight of the First Circle once again pulled himself to a nearby shadow.

This time there was less of a need for tricks. As he shadow stepped behind Good he jumped into the air. This allowed Styn an added height, so that he was looking down at the ogre demon's broad back. Holding a web spear at the midpoint of the shaft in both hands, the clawed demon fell upon his prey. Styn landed on Goon's back while driving both lances into the joints of the larger demon's shoulders. At the same time he vastly increased his density so that the weight was more then enough to drive Goon into the cobblestones.

Fortunately, the larger demon's long arms were more then flexible enough for Styn to affix another set of cuffs to his wrists. Even with his upper body nailed to the ground. With his own business seen to Styn would make his way over toward Bordeaux. If the arrancar looked to be wrapping things up he would wait for him to finish and toss him another pair of the demon suppression manacles. "If you could kindly restrain your new friend?" Styn would joke. He would then take a fourth set and secure whichever rogue demon that the arrancar was furthest from, if for no other reason then to save time.

Well, it seemed that the two had the same idea. Bordeaux wasn't sure if his new 'friend' was checking in him for his own well being or gauging his abilities. He might be fighting along side him at the moment, but that might change at any moment. Demons were new foes to him, so he was going to consider all of them as potential enemies unless they proved otherwise. Constantly.

The demon he'd shot in the stomach with Bala was not getting up. He wasn't dead, as he was gasping and whimpering from the pain of having a new hole put in him. His friend- the one who had hit the arrancar in the face with a brick, had staggered to his feet and summoned a weapon that looked like a stylish cane. It was ornate in that the obsidian center was covered in what looked like a web of ivory, gold, and some sort of ruby red material. It looked very, very pretty.

The Highwayman's eyes widened in fascination with the weapon. A familiar urge started to grip his mind as he glanced between the object and its owner. The demon was only confused for a moment but launched into his attack. It was... Pathetic. Whether it was because of his injuries or some other reason, the abyssal creature just missed hitting the arrancar over the head with the cane. Unfortunately for him, this broke his fascination with the thing and brought forth his anger again.

With an inhuman roar, Highwayman Bordeaux grabbed the lesser demon by its wrist and gave it a savage headbutt right into its face, most likely breaking its pretty, pretty face. The action made the arrancar both angrier and more pleased with himself. As his enemy reeled back, dropping his weapon and holding his face in pain. Bordeaux wanted to just take the opportunity to stab the whelp through his heart and twist the blade. He wanted to kill this impertinent soul for even thinking of striking him. He wanted to feast on his power and add it to his own, no matter how little there actually was. But he held back. It took an immense amount of self-control, but he did not do as he wanted.

Instead, the Highwayman just shoved the injured demon down. At that time, his sudden ally spoke to him, gesturing for him to take the handcuff he offered. Cautiously, the arrancar took the bracelets and placed them on the demon who wielded the cane.

"I don't know who you are or why you chose to help me, but you have my gratitude." He sounded gruff and angry, but Bordeaux was trying his best to be civil. "They should be even more grateful than I, though, as if you had not appeared, they would have been shown no mercy. Their lives were forfeit when they through that brick at me." He circled the defeated like a vulture eying a carcass. His eyes were like those of a starving beast. He closed his eyes and cracked his neck.

"But that would have meant having to use more power. These four aren't worth the destruction of a city block." His justifications were more to himself than to his new friend. Bordeaux looked off to one side in a thoughtful gaze. He was forgetting something important here... OH! He snapped his fingers as he thought of what was missing.

"Forgive my manners, monsieur! I am Highwayman Bordeaux. An Arrancar of the Kurikku." He gave a formal and apologetic bow to his ally. "And who do I have the honor of addressing?"

Styn nodded at the arrancar's words, a glance toward the demons in question showed them in pretty bad shape. If this was holding back, I hardly want to see him serious. At least not unless he's on my side. Bordeaux could have easily decided to finish off the incapacitated aggressors though. Styn didn't actually know much about arrancar outside of a few briefings and archived reports, at least not as a culture or race. They were certainly more civilized then their cannibal brethren, the hollows that they evolved from.

This was actually only Styn's second time meeting an arrancar. However, his first experience still gave him cold chills. No there was little that Bordeaux and Uliquorra Cifer had in common. Where the legendary former espada had been calm and calculating, the arrancar before him was much more passionate. It would seem at least that arrancar came in as many shapes and sizes as any other enlightened race. I escaped death that day and again today, maybe I'll end up living through this gig yet.

The comment about the city block was interesting though. Styn wondered what kind of power that Bordeaux could exhibit to create such an effect. It was possible that it was some sort of energy release, or elemental infusion, or even something as simple as a massive increase in size. We'll have to do this again sometime, in a more open area so I can see for himself. From the records, it was almost impossible to determine what an Arrancar Resereccion would look like. Though now that Styn was getting a good chance to look at the man, he was huge! At seven feet tall it didn't matter if Bordeaux wasn't layered in heavy muscle, even an averagely solid build at that height almost doubled Styn's own proportions.

At Bordeaux's introduction Styn shrugged wryly. "We weren't exactly in the best place to be exchanging personal information, think nothing of it good sir. You have the honor, privilege, and distinct discomfort of addressing Styn of Shadow Fall," the demon joked. "As far as to why, its Shadow Fall business. However, I feel just fine letting you know that their actions here today are not supported by the organization as a whole, hence my interference. You seem no worse for wear, and hopefully you at least enjoyed the workout."

"Kurikku?" Styn tasted the world and thought back through any of his previous missions or briefings. "Is that a city? Forgive my curiosity and please feel free to ask me something in turn."I had thought he was a Knight of our own organization. Too bad, he's proved more then competent in a fight, and I've hardly had time to build any alliances yet.

Even as the two were speaking the sliding grinding shuffles of two bodies being clumsily dragged through the alley was heard. Styn was listening patiently to whatever answer the arrancar decided to give though, and paid the noise no mind. His gaze remained fixed in Bordeaux's general direction, although the arrancar would note that the demon never made direct eye contact. Instead the smaller demon's eyes would rest at a point just beyond the larger figures right shoulder. Ah good they were able to remove those damn spears I jammed in Goon's shoulders, I was a bit worried about that.

The noise was Styn's summonings, which were dragging the two demon bodies across the cobblestones. Lacking hands, the industrious minions had pierced less vital areas with their blade arms. Two were moving the larger frame of Goon and one was moving the slimmer Yoko. The demon shackles had finally rendered both forms to their shifter shapes, making the process some what easier. The female demon was shouting obscenities and insults pretty much at the top of her lung, in addition to a healthy level of complaints and entitled demands.

If at this time Bordeaux was speaking Styn would nod toward the summon who would promptly stab the woman in the throat, hardly a mortal injury to a demon capable of shifting around such things. However she would be unable to regenerate her voice box, at best the female could pinch the severed blood vessels, to stem the tide of her own death. Styn would then wait for a moment where it was polite to move, hefting the demon at his feet as he walked over and dropped the man near the others.

After tossing the demon easily to the ground, Styn's vision blurred and he stumbled a bit. Blinking the world back into focus he glanced down at his chest injury, still leaking a large amount of blood. "Damn it, I forgot about that," the demon muttered. Such were the flaws of disconnecting an area from the nervous system. Not feeling pain? Check. Not realizing you're still bleeding to death? Crap. If Bordeaux expressed any sort of concern in either face or with spoken words Styn would wave away his worry. "It's nothing I just forgot to close off the blood flow, I wanted to clean the wound properly in case that bitch was using poison."

Suiting actions to words, Styn pinched down on the blood vessels. It was very similar in the demon's mind to clenching his fist and was yet another perk to being born a demon. The arrancar might notice that no new blood dripped down from the injury. Perhaps Bordeaux might think this similar to a hollow regeneration, though it was not. A wave of exhaustion rolled over Styn and the demon leaned forward with his palms just above his knees. "Damn fine day this has shaped up to be," the Knight of the First Circle said with a sunny smile.

"Vous avez raison. You are correct." He nodded as he looked down at the shorter being. Sometimes, when he sees people as a small distance away, he forgets exactly how tall he really is compared to others. It really makes conversations a tad more difficult; among other things.

The demon introduced himself as Styn of Shadow Fall. Bordeaux had figured that the man was from that organization, but it was better to be sure. When he explained his actions and the reason why the arrancar was attacked, the anger boiled in him again. He heard the leader of this group of ruffians shouting obscenities and insults. He broke off their conversation briefly to walk over to her, stopping his ally's minion from ruining the small thing's voice. He picked her up by her throat, fairly easily with his strength and her petit form.

"You think us lesser, yet you stoop to such lowly actions? I should kill you now and feast on your remains." He growled at the frightened demon. He squeezed her neck, momentarily choking her, but he regained himself and let her drop to the ground, wheezing too much to be shouting or demanding anything. He turned back to his Styn.

"Ah, forgive me, monsieur. I sometimes have... trouble controlling my anger. These arrogant knaves test my self-control." He leered back at the four. A low growl reverberated from within his throat like a wild dog. But he quickly snapped back and apologized again.

The demon asked what Kurikku was. "Kurikku is a group not unlike your Shadow Fall. Though we consist mostly of individuals with powers like mine." A rather vague description, but Bordeaux wasn't sure if he was even authorized to talk about Kurikku to outsiders. He might have just made a rather big faux pas. Though it wouldn't surprise him if both groups' leaders were aware of each other and already in communication.

When the demon fell to the ground, Bordeaux would only then notice his chest wound. He was concerned, but the arrancar had no way to actually do anything about it. Though it would seem he wouldn't need to as Styn resolved his problem quickly.

"That is a rather handy ability to have. I guess that is one reason why you demons are so durable." The Highwayman complimented as he leaned down to get a better look. With his size, it was a little too far away to study it better.