The Aurian Chronicles chapter 14: Flawless Fashions

 Amanda blushed nervously as she walked into the dress shop and looked around. "Flawless Fashions? odd name," she muttered while admiring the various beautiful dresses around the store. She slowly took a number as an automated voice sang out "Flawless" with her number appearing on a computer screen. While Amanda continued to look around, she saw Silver walk out in a sky-blue strapless dress and white transparent high-heeled combat boots. "Wow!" Was all Amanda could say as she drank in the sight of the beautiful Hispanic silver-skinned woman, the way her white hair cascaded in the wind from her own strut was almost hypnotic. Silver just giggled and waved, "I have that effect on people... How may I help you?" She asked politely.

Amanda yelped and blushed a bit timidly. If this were an investigation, or a crime scene, she'd be feeling a lot more at home, but here she was, ultimately out of her element with a woman whose very appearance let her know nothing about fashion, or even proper presentation of the female body. "Um... yeah, I uh... am looking for a nice dress for a dinner date." She said softly. Silver just smirked and nodded as she closed the gap between them. At first, Amanda thought she was feeling her up, but she noticed Silver seemed to pull the measuring tape out of nowhere.

"So... is there a story to this date? a casual meeting, a romantic date for your partner?" Asked Silver. "And um, why does that matter?" Asked Amanda. Silver just chuckled. "Fashion has so many purposes, with a simple request: I can have your partner hypnotized as their eyes never leave the exposed skin of your body that your dress guides their eyes, or I can have you as the star of any professional event! It's all on you, darling!" she answered.

Amanda yelped at thoughts of Mr. Capryse eying the exposed parts of her body, which she usually kept hidden. "Wow, I uh... that's so much to take in.... maybe a combination of both!" She chirped meekly. Silver nodded and grabbed what looked like fresh black Silk and velvet, as well as some shining gold fabric. In no time at all, Silver was crafting a black V-neck sleeveless Dress that cut off just above the knee. There were gold triangular fish net patterns around the outer edges of the dress, and the velvet was woven around the neck hole.

"Alright, dear! Go ahead and try this on!" Said Silver as she handed Amanda the dress. Amanda blushed at the sight of it and casually changed behind a nearby curtain. She noticed a pair of golden heels with black straps that were provided. She casually stepped into them and eyed herself in the mirror. "Who... WHO IS THAT?!" she asked before realizing it was her reflection. This was no longer Lieutenant Cross of the NYPD, this was Amanda Cross, the woman!

Silver grinned. "I take it you like it?" She asked happily. Amanda stepped out and nodded. "When I first saw the name, I thought 'Nothing is truly flawless!' But this outfit... I... HOW DO YOU DO THIS?!" She asked. Silver smiled and sat down. "Well, when I was younger, I hated how nothing truly matched my skin the way I wanted it, so I took to making my own dresses!" She explained.

It was here that Amanda noticed that Silver's skin was actually silver, not just makeup. "I hope it's not rude, but how did you get your skin like that?" She asked curiously. Silver just shook her head and waved her hair behind her head. "When I was younger, I was playing hide and seek with my now husband... There was an accident and a fire... My skin turned silver, and my body hair was burned off for some time... My hair and eyebrows grew back, but they were white as snow..." She explained slowly.

"My husband, being the adorably silly man that he is, never let me feel like a freak or that I was ugly... He told me all the time I was Flawless." She added as her cheeks turned a beautiful shade of ruby red. Amanda nodded and smiled. "Well, whoever he is, He's a lucky man! A beautiful lady who makes beautiful clothes? I'd say you're worth every penny as a fashion designer! Speaking of which... the price?"

Silver shook herself out of her reminiscing and nodded. "Right! Of course, silly me... with the dress and the shoes, that'll be four hundred and..." She started, but Amanda slapped five hundred dollars on the counter. "Keep the change! I'll definitely have to get more wardrobe here for other events!" She said with an uncharacteristically girlish giggle. Silver nodded and smiled. "Well, alright then, Ms...?" 

"Cross, Amanda Cross of the NYPD!" Answered Amanda. Silver nodded and kissed the back of Amanda's Knuckles. Causing Amanda to gulp. "Well then, Ms. Cross, I can't wait to have you back!" Said Silver as Amanda nodded and left, ready for her date with Mr. Capryse and Saryn.

Silver just put the money away and wrote Amanda's name on her customer sheet while chuckling. "So a member of the NYPD likes what I do and will be frequenting my shop... Crap." She said to herself as she thought about the bodies she and Darkness were responsible for. "Oh well, what she doesn't know won't hurt her!" She decided while getting back to sewing.

As the work day ended, Silver tried texting Lyte to see how the concert went, but there was no answer, so she tried texting Darkness next. "Oh shit..." She said as she climbed into her Jeep and started speeding home, already forgetting she had just gotten done serving a police officer.

The Aurian Chronicles Chapter 13: Bloody Void Brawl

Blood Angel whistled a happy tune as he searched the various rooms of the auditorium. "You can't hide forever, Void Walker! " he called out happily as a bullet shot one of his wings. "Wasn't trying to, " a voice in the hallway replied as the lights went out. Blood Angel sighed happily. "Now THERE's the hunter in his prime element!" He replied ecstatically.

"You hurt my sister." Said Darkness as a bullet flew by Blood Angel's cheek, causing him to lick it gently. "I need to top off my fuel... such a beautiful creature she was! HOW was she never an actress?! A scream like that? She'd be an ANGEL on the set of a horror film!" He said as he advanced toward the gunfire. "But I suppose that's for later... you're going to have to do better than those peashooters if you want to do lasting damage here, Darkness."

"Good point" replied Darkness as a void tendril looped around Blood Angel's left leg and pulled to trip him, slamming his face hard on the marble floor. Blood Angel wiped blood from his nose and grunted. "You've recovered enough for this? GOOD!" He said as he turned his own wings into blood tendrils... "If you can't beat them, BLEED them" he said as he detected the remnants of Darkness's stab wound and charged.

"You found me." Darkness said as he appeared, slashed his back with a scythe, and stepped back. Blood Angel flinched and screamed out at the deep cut. "You use blood for your attacks... Which is a very good starting tool, but both you and your opponents only have so much, so if you can't use MINE, you can only use YOURS! I hid Lyte, and you won't be getting any more of mine." He explained while admiring his scythe.

Blood Angel chuckled, "Impressive! But until one of us drops, this Battle scene isn't over... Pat yourself on the back if you live to see the end credits!" He said as he slashed at Darkness. Darkness phased through the tendrils and slashed him again, but Blood Angel instantly used the spilled blood to stab Darkness. Both of them were now bleeding intensely. Darkness panted as he wiped his spilt blood away. Blood Angel gasping raggedly and doing the same.

"It seems we both are at an impasse..." Said Blood Angel. Darkness nodded. "Indeed. I've got enough strength for one more attack, and you've only got enough strength for one more volley of blood.... who's walking away?" He responded. Both men glared at each other as Blood Angel charged up. "On three?" he asked with a grin. to which Darkness nodded.

Both men took their final stance and narrowed their eyes. "One.... Two... THREE!" They yelled. As Blood Angel caused blood spikes to rise up, while Darkness phased through the radius. He pulled out a Colt 1911 and shot him in the chest. and watched Blood Angel collapse. "Ugh... has my aura control been that bad?" he said as he limped to get Lyte.

"Not bad... Though we'll need to get your Aura more developed," Said the Composer as he appeared again. Darkness just nodded. "I don't suppose there is any way you could heal us back to normal, is there?" asked Darkness, to which the Composer laughed. "That isn't how this works, Derek... I CAN let you use some of my aura... it'll allow you to heal both you and Lisa physically... but you'll be tired afterward." He offered, to which Darkness just nodded. "Do it.." he said firmly.

The Composer channeled his aura through Darkness, who healed Lyte before healing himself. Instead of it being instantaneous like he thought, it merely closed their wounds. "Good enough for now... let's get you home before I pass out." Said Darkness as he took Lyte to his car. "Lisa... My little sister... I'm so sorry I got you involved in all of them." He said while loading her into the car. "I didn't want to have to tell her this part... but I'm left out of options." He admitted as he drove off, doing his best to fight the fatigue.

As they left. A Pink-skinned demonic woman with flowing red hair blushed as she cupped her chin while adjusting her red dress. "What's this?! I thought I had a sure thing for a Knight in Blood Angel.... but now we have another? That hatred... that delicious... DARKNESS! He's so perfect!" She said as she stepped out of her black high heels and walked barefoot into the puddle of blood. "As for you, Vincent Verikoff... Despite your loss, you've passed MY trial... Come, we have much to discuss." She said as she healed his wounds while she and Blood Angel's still unconscious body disappeared in a flash of black and red fire. spelling 'KAYLA' as they vanished.

The Aurian Chronicles chapter 12: There's a blood moon on the rise

 Lyte let out a soft sigh of exhaustion as she got into her regular white Tank top and white pants when the last car left the parking lot of her concert. She was a bit regretful that she told Silver and Darkness it was best if they just picked her up after the concert ended, but the processing of the past few days had been a bit too much for her.

As she left her room to wait for Darkness, A tall skinny man in a white Tuxedo with a red dress shirt bowed at her. "Ahhhh you must be the beautiful DJ... Lyte...Stryke... BEAUTIFUL show tonight! Derek would be proud of you!" He said with a grin, showing every single one of his shining white teeth.

Lyte felt goosebumps as he lifted her hand and kissed it like a gentleman. "Oh, thanks! Are you a friend of my brother Derek's?" She asked politely, though he was giving her an icky feeling, One that started to increase tenfold when he let out an echoing shrill laugh. "A Friend? Why young lady, I am a HUGE fan of the Void Walker Darkness!"  He said while he formed a lock of hair from a blood vial where the shaved part of his head was "What say we entertain ourselves while we wait for him?

Lyte narrowed her eyes as she formed a shining rainbow ball "I don't know who you are but you better step off right now man!" She said as he advanced on her, causing her to throw it at him, but he sidestepped and pulled her in tight, locking his fingers with hers... "Shall we dance my dear?" he asked while forming a blade of blood at the ends of his tongue while licking down her neck, leaving a deep scratch down the side of it, causing her to scream.

An hour later, Darkness Pulled his Car into the closest parking spot he could, walking in through the main entrance. "LISA?! I'M HERE!" He yelled out as he looked around. Darkness didn't like how most of the lights were already off, he usually helped her lock up the place if she was coming home.

"Lisa?" He asked as he stepped up the center stage. A spotlight shined down on him as a soft violin played. "Ahhhh Darkness! We FINALLY meet at long last!" Called out the man in the white tuxedo as he stepped into the light. Darkness narrowed his eyes as he saw the lock of blood he used for his hair. "I know that power... You must be the Blood Angel." He Said spitefully with gritted teeth.

Blood Angel covered his mouth and smiled gleefully. "YOU'VE HEARD OF ME! I'm so delighted! I Had always wished to talk about the joys of our job over a glass of wine... Unfortunately, Mr. Farley has tasked me to the vengeance of his little pig spawn! A tragedy of the highest calibre! Fortunately, your lovely little sister provided me with such... BEAUTIFUL entertainment!" He said with near orgasmic bliss.

Darkness' eyes narrowed as he quickly pulled out his Dual Colt 1911s and fired them at Blood Angel, who formed wings of blood and shielded himself while walking to Darkness. "Allow me to introduce myself properly! My name is Vincent Verikoff! I am a master of blood manipulation, I can even coagulate it to a form harder than metal! And today Derek Sonata, I Wish for a taste of yours!" He said as he charged Darkness with a knife.

Darkness quickly turned full void and stepped through the attack, but Vincent simply kept the knife in his body until he reformed, causing it to pierce through the skin of his shoulder. Darkness let out a scream of pain as Vincent called some of the blood to him. "Mmmm, so the rumors are true! You have the about to form Black forms of void on yourself, you can even become void to pass through solid objects... but you can only do so for so long, and if the matter you pass through is harder than yourself? Well.. Accidents happen!" He said with amusement.

Darkness grunted and used the hot barrel of his handguns to Cauterize his wound before fading into the surrounding Darkness. Vincent let out a loud laugh as he closed his eyes! "YES! THIS is the ultimate game! Hide and seek! FOR KEEPS!" He said while slowly looking around.

Darkness held his breath and moved in the shadows as he slowly lurked the halls. 'First things first, gotta find Lisa, then get her the hell out of here." He said while scanning the room. As he looked down, he saw a trail of red along the ground. he followed it carefully to Lisa's room where he saw Lyte with small cuts along her body. "Lisa!" He said as he lifted her. "Big brother... Help me..." She whimpered before she slowly passed out in his arms.

Darkness began to grit his teeth as void began to radiate off him. "Calm down you idiot! He's going to sense you!" Said a voice. Darkness looked around, who said that?!" He demanded. "Up here!" The voice yelled back. Darkness looked up and saw a young man in a brown suit and black tie, his face seemed hidden in a combination of shadows and his messy long black hair.

Darkness looked at him. "Who are you?!" He hissed softly. The man just shook his head. "I believe your mother referred to me as... The composer... We don't have time for that now, You're going to have to fight this man with aura... your popping toys aren't going to cut it here!" He warned. Darkness just fake laughed. "Non-violence my ass! If you were the Composer, you wouldn't be telling me to fight, Aura's my-"

"AURA IS YOUR ONLY WAY OUT OF HERE ALIVE! What was that you told Lisa earlier? It was your shield? Don't be a hypocrite or smartass with ME, boy! I'm not thrilled about this either, but if it's the only way to keep my most worthy heir alive, so be it!" Said the Composer as he lowered to the floor glaring at Darkness like a stern parent.

Darkness' eyebrows raised. "Lisa's your most worthy heir?! I'm so proud of her!" He said gleefully, causing the Composer to facepalm. "No genius, if it were her, SHE'D be the one talking to me... and god how I wish it was her! She is actually open with her musical talents! YOU gave them up and hid behind the bottle for god knows how long now! Now stand up! We'll talk about all this later!" He said with frustration in his voice.

The Composer reached into Darkness's coat pocket and pulled out a box containing a conductor's baton. "My most precious artifact... of all the things you've been through in life, you've kept this safe... Thank you, Derek." He said as he handed it to Darkness. Darkness admired it and stood up. "Why do I need this now?" he asked.

The Composer smirked and put a hand on his shoulder. "Focus your Aura, And unleash its power!" He instructed confidentially. Darkness nodded and focused his void through the Baton, causing it to grow in size. The baton turned into a black staff with a Dark purple scythe blade coming through the top. "Woah..." He said as his void tendrils erupted from it.

"A Scythe... Your professionalism, combined with your Dark demeanour... formed the Baton into a weapon most fitting for you... Nice... Unfortunately, combat is not my forte... And Time is running out, so you're going to have to go with the flow on this one... good luck my young heir." Said the composer softly, slowly disappearing in blue flames.

"Good luck? What are you going to-" He said as he looked up to see the Composer was no longer there. "Wherever you are... WHATEVER you are... Thank you... let's go get that freaky asshole." He said as he tucked Lyte into her bed and closed the door, ready to take the fight to the Blood Angel.

Aurian Chronicles Origins: Crimson

The harsh sun beat down upon the hot and humid rainforest of the Amazon as a soft breeze flowed through the trees. A five-foot-tall panther with red hair lowered her eyes as she walked to her hut. Her hands and feet had been caked in dirt, and her eyes had dark circles from lack of sleep, as well as dried tears. 'Why weren't you strong enough? Why didn't you love us enough mommy?' Echoed the thoughts in her head as she curled up and tried to put the past solstice behind her.

As her eyes finally started to close, two tall women with spears in hand walked into her home and leered down at her. "Princess Crimson! Your Sister, Queen Rose demands audience with you!" They said in unison. Crimson just laid in her makeshift bed. "I'm tired. I'll consult her during my time, not HERS!" She responded while casually waving them off. As she turned to face away from them, a seven-foot, Muscular Panther wearing a red crown with decorative jewels walked in.

"SISTER! You're back! You missed my Coronation! You missed mother leaving!" She said with distress in her voice. Crimson just grumbled. "Rose, I had more important things than you to deal with, now kindly leave my home before I get angry." She responded. The guards raised their spears angrily, but Rose simply stopped them. "Like it or not, older sister, I was chosen over you to be queen. And frankly... If THIS is how you act in your free time, the tribe is better off for it!" She said with heat in her voice, causing Crimson to sit up.

Crimson narrowed her eyes at Rose and blew a puff of hot air from her nose. "All those muscles, that HUGE frame... and you don't know the first thing about leadership! I shudder to think what you'll do if the other tribes get hostile... I could have led better, I know how to guide this tribe better! But I've more important things on my mind than your ego... Now leave me be!" She said angrily. Rose's eyes widened in both Shock and hurt. "Fine... when your attitude improves... you know where my throne is!" She said as she left with her guards. 

As the weeks passed, Crimon's attitude had only soured. No one wanted to talk to her due to her confrontation with the Queen, as well as her constant lashing out, which had made her disliked by virtually everyone. Crimson hadn't really noticed any of the resentment she'd built up, however. The voices and nightmares she'd begun to have were the only things on her mind.

One fateful day after a hunt, Crimson's pupils dilated as the thought of being pulled under a lake of blood by little panther paws flashed through her mind, causing her to accidentally swipe at a panther. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Screamed the panther as she felt scratch marks on her back. Crimson tried to apologize and run. But she found herself surrounded by other Panthers before finally her younger sister. 

"I put up with you lashing out at me for no reason, Crimson, you were always a stoic grump... But attacking innocent people is too far, even for YOU!" Said Rose. Crimson's eyes lowered tiredly before turning into a glare. "It was an accident, just a little too much fury after a hunt." She said as she tried to walk away. but the guards tried to stop her, causing her to slash at them. her claws heating up with small red flames.

Rose glared at Crimson, "And how about THAT?! Was that also an accident?" She demanded. Crimson sneered at her. "No, that was two guards who didn't know their place getting in my way... I suggest you learn from their mistake before it's too late, Rose." She said coldly. Rose tried to swallow her fear as she towered over Crimson.

"You know what Crimson? No one here likes you... We all tolerated you for the longest... I don't know what's come over you since last solstice, but it stops now or you WILL face consequences... so sayeth Queen Rose!" She said, trying to show off her dominance. Crimson stood up straight as her teeth showed. Despite the two-foot height advantage Rose had on Crimson, Rose felt like she was shrinking down to Crimson's eye level.  "You want to hold that Queen title over me? FINE! I'll show you what it's like to have everything taken from YOU! Then they'll be proud of me!" She said as she walked away. as she left, Rose could only ask, "Who?" To the absent presence of her sister.

The Next day, Crimson eagerly jumped down into a ten-foot Pit that the panthers of the tribe often fought in to settle disputes. Rose nervously got down and adjusted her top made of leaves. In spite of her Amazing natural strength, she wasn't used to fighting, much less with one of the most savage members of the entire tribe. She tried to find the right words to stop this while Crimson stretched out her arms and legs. Only for her mind to go blank when one of the spectators yelled. "FIGHT!"

Crimson charged forward and lept up to knee Rose in the face, following up with a few slashes to mark her face. Rose fell back and rubbed the slash marks as she saw Crimson charging again. Out of instinct. Rose grabbed her and threw her into the wall of the pit. Crimson coughed and nodded in approval. "Not bad little sister, seems there's some survival instinct in you yet!" She said as she got up and charged her again, this time throwing dirt in her eyes and punching repeatedly into her jaw.

Rose did her best to block all of Crimson's jabs, but her inexperience made Crimson simply too fast to fully hold up against. "Sister... why are you doing this?" She asked weakly. Crimson growled. "What do you care?!  you have EVERYTHING You could possibly need? You brought this on yourself by getting in my way!" She said with a growl. Rose just looked up at her. "I Just... Wanted to see my sister." She said through shallow breaths.

Crimson spat beside her and leered. "While You were getting a crown, I was bearing children, while you were admiring servants, I was admiring graves of my dead children, while you were looking down on me physically, I WAS LOOKING DOWN ON YOU AS A LEADER!" She yelled in her face, Tears again starting to flow from her angry eyes.

Rose's own eyes raised as they looked into hers. "You got pregnant? And you... Lost your cubs? Why did you never talk to me? Or any of the rest of the tribe for that matter?" She asked. Crimson sneered. "You think I care what you or any of those fools have to say to me? None of you care! You all only ever think of your weakling selves!" She shouted, forgetting everyone was watching.

Eventually the crowd of panthers began to insult and throw rocks at Crimson, one of them bonking the back of her head painfully. "WHO THREW THAT?! SHOW YOURSELF CRETIN! I'LL GLADLY TAKE ON ANYONE WHO CHALLENGES ME!" Screamed Crimson. Rose quickly grabbed a big rock near her while Crimson's head was turned. "Then you'll love this!" She said as she slammed it into the back of Crimson's head, knocking her out cold.

Hours had passed. And Crimson had woken up to find herself now covered in dirt and forced to look up at Rose. Who was wearing a Royal purple silk dress with her crown on her head. Any love for Crimson she once had, no longer showed in her eyes. Crimson just got up and sighed. "Whatever... enjoy yourself LITTLE sister." She said as she turned to leave. Rose cleared her throat as she watched Crimson walk. "There is still the discussion of your punishment, Crimson." She said harshly, but Crimson waved her off. "I already know it's exile, I didn't wake up in prison, and I wouldn't have woken up at all if it were death." She retorted before she left both the throne room, and the village entirely.

Rose sighed sadly as she sat back on her throne. One of the guards leaned down to her. "My Queen, are you sure it's wise to let her leave like that? What if she comes back with twice the resolve?" She asked. Rose grunted and rubbed the spots where Crimson attacked. "I don't think that's the case... I don't know if I'll ever forgive what she's done... But whether she can accept her wrongdoing or not? That'll be a journey she'll have to go on solo... For now, I think it's best if we simply have nothing to do with each other." She said firmly.

Crimson's mind was a blank slate as she walked for hours until she had arrived on the other side of a stream. There were plenty of hunting and gathering spots. and it was otherwise nice and quite. After some rest, she started building a new shelter and looked back in the direction of her old home. "I have nothing to go back to... that's fine... I never needed anybody anyway... They'll see." She said simply, trying to convince herself that she made all the right choices.

The Aurian Chronicles Chapter 11: Losing your vigilance

 Amanda smiled softly in her office, her shoes off in a Tan T-shirt and blue jeans, and she hummed and filled out paperwork. Due to it being her half day, she saw no need to get in uniform. A knock on the door, followed by her door opening. Dominic Matthews walked in with a hard look on his face. "Oh good, Officer Matthews, to what do I owe this Pleasure?" She asked as she raised a friendly eyebrow at him.

Dominic just swallowed carefully and sat in a chair in front of her desk "...You've been acting strange ever since that Dinner date with Antonio Capryse. Everything alright Ma'am?" He asked. Amanda just laughed and waved her hand. "It's all been fine, Dominic, we had some dinner, his daughter made some excellent food, and-"

"-And Zach Farley, the father of the murdered Albert Farley, left his home beforehand." Said Dominic, causing Amanda to freeze. "Yeah ya think I missed that? Mr. Capryse invested in restoring the bar that got shot up, Zach Farley goes in there to accuse Mr. Capryse, and you reported NONE of this? This was clearly someone killing someone, Albert may have been the exact opposite of a saint, but it's our job to take whoever did it into custody... I thought you were a professional, Ma'am," He stated with a leer.

Amanda took time to slide back into her shoes as her eyes darted around the room while she thought hard. "Officer Matthews... HOW did you find that out?" She asked slowly. Dominic rolled his eyes. "Officer Martinez issued Mr. Farley a ticket that afternoon, at least SOMEONE was doing their job, Am I right?"

"Watch it Matthews, I don't know where you got this kind of sassy attitude towards a superior Officer, but the only thing it'll get you is a trip to desk work for the rest of your career!" Warned Amanda as she stood up. Dominic grunted and shook his head in disbelief as he pulled out a thumb drive and put it into her personal laptop. "Just watch this..." He said as he clicked a video.

Mr. Farley was casually admiring a red briefcase on his Gawdy yet shiny golden desk as three police officers barged into his room. The one in the middle was a Young, tall, and lean man with short black hair and a thin mustache. On his left was a rookie who was an African American man with shaved hair, and was very muscular. The man to right was the Same height but with a pot belly, and a thick mustache with sunglasses. "Mr. Farley, you are under arrest for Conspiracy, Larceny, and-" Said a man that Amanda had recognized as the Lieutenant she had been assigned to replace, Francis Tibideaux. Mr. Farley casually pulled out a Silver Cigarette lighter with a dollar sign engraved on it and lit a Cuban cigar. "I'm afraid I'm a busy man. Boys, if you'd be so kind?" He asked as the two police officers shot him in the back of the head.

Dom shut the recording off. "That's the kind of man who is angry with Mr. Capryse... we tried using this as evidence to put him away.. But Mr. Farley is too deeply entrenched in New York politics... I just want you to be more careful, or you'll end up like Francis," He told Amanda as his piercing Blue eyes looked into her shocked brown ones.

"... What of the two officers?" She asked. "Officers Smith and Jones were found with suicide notes and their guns pointed at each other's heads a month later. It was ruled as a suicide pact... If you want to believe that, you're free to, but I don't! But my point is that if Mr. Capryse can scare away a guy like THAT, what's he hiding?" He asked.

Amanda huffed. "Obviously Mr. Capryse isn't the type to be intimidated by criminal scum like this Farley guy... But you might be right... I have a dinner date with him and his wife coming, if you give me the files on Farley as we know it, I'll try to ask him some questions," She said as she nodded firmly. "And You're off the hook for Shop with a cop duty!" She added for good measure.

"Fine, I'll get you everything I can... and if it's another outing, PLEASE get something better than that purple dress you wore to our last office party." She added. "Watch it or you'll get put back on that detail, Officer Matthews." She said as she puffed her cheeks out and crossed her arms. He just chuckled and went to get lunch and the Farley files.

Amanda relaxed and popped her toes with a tense curl while looking at a picture of Mr. Capryse on her phone. "Mysterious, easy on the eyes... delightfully charming... Why does he have to be married?" She asked with a sad sigh. "Though if it were an open marriage, I wouldn't say no, Saryn is cute too.... Wait, WHAT THE HELL AM I SAYING?!" She asked as she slammed her fist on the desk. "I am letting my head get clouded... I can't get distracted, I have a job to do Damn it!" She said as she put her hair into a bun. "And I do it well!"

And with that statement, Amanda got on her computer, starting her own file on Zach Farley, and any connections he might have with Tony Capryse. Though as she typed, she found herself daydreaming about helping Mr. Capryse and a shared intimate moment between the two of them.

The Aurian Chronicles Chapter 10: Past mistakes, Present Problems

After dinner, Darkness, Silver, and Lyte loaded into Silver's jeep as they got ready to leave. "Hey Silver.... put this address in the GPS" Said Darkness as Silver's eyes widened, causing her and Lyte to look at him. Darkness turned to Lyte. "Everything alright Derek?" She asked. He simply shrugged and rubbed her head. "Lisa, you opened up to me... you wanted to find out why I turned to sitting around all day drinking? Well, let's find out!" He said. Causing both women to shudder at his phrasing.

After a bit of hesitation, Silver sped off through the streets of New York. Although her care for traffic was at its usual minimal, She couldn't help but feel concerned for Darkness as they pulled into what looked like a huge mental facility, it read 'Pure Mind Solutions aftercare facility' on the front, and had a green shooting star for a logo. "Uhhhh why are we here bro?" Asked Lyte. Darkness smiled sadly and jumped out of the Jeep. "Well Lisa, we're here to visit an old friend! Why don't you head up to the reception desk, I need to have a quick chat with Silver." He requested. Lyte paused briefly before getting out of the Jeep and walking inside.

Darkness pulled out a flask and took a quick gulp of something that smelled close to rubbing alcohol. "Silver... Why was I never told about Saryn being involved in this?" He asked with his back turned away from Silver, who sat in the Driver's seat. Silver grunted and looked at the back of his head. "How in god's name was I going to tell you ANYTHING about this without talking about Lyte's Sexual Assault? You and I know you don't break promises to Lyte, Once she slams a door, it STAYS shut!"

"Look I love Lisa, I DO! But Saryn being involved in the coverup of something related to her isn't something I'm comfortable with... At this point, it's only a matter of time before the rest of the story comes out..." Said Darkness. Silver slapped his shoulder. "And whose fucking fault is that Mr. 'I shot myself in the head Lyte' dumbass? Look, I did what I had to do to keep people from investigating Lyte and possibly taking her away! Be happy I had an ace up my sleeve." She said with a huff.

Darkness just sighed and nodded. "Fine, it is what it is... now let's go" He Said as he walked into the reception area as Darkness filled out the rest of the forms. As they waited, Lyte just put her phone down to look at Darkness. "So Derek... who are we here to see?" She asked Curiously while looking at Silver, who clearly didn't want to be in the area.

Darkness hugged them both and looked down at his shoes. "Probably one of the last friends from my old unit I've got left." He admitted with a sad smile before they were given a room number. As they walked through the white hall rooms, Lyte noticed there were different kinds of patients, and none of them seemed to be fully aware of their surroundings.

"Room 777... Jackpot" said Darkness as his Hair turned black. His powers left him as the three of them stepped through. A lone patient with long, unruly black hair that reached the floor looked up at them. His eyes had a far-off look, and he let out an eery grin while crooking his neck to the side. "Hiya, First Sergeant! Long time no see!" He rasped as he stood up, revealing he was in a straitjacket.

Derek hugged the man tight and rested his chin on his shoulder. "Hey Xaldin.... how ya been buddy?" He asked in a strained voice. But he knew Xaldin could only kind of hear him. Lyte's eyebrows raised as She Saw Derek converse with Xaldin... Both men looked broken inside. "What... Happened?" Asked Lyte as she looked at Silver.

"This isn't just a Mental hospital... this is a treatment facility for patients who suffered from the effects of an officially scrapped drug that was meant to treat people afflicted with Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder... It was known as Neural Nirvana Injection or NNI... They tried to use it to Fix Xavier Aldin's Psychosis... then they tried to use it to... Fix Derek." Answered Silver.

Lyte put a hand to her mouth as she watched Derek wrap up a small conversation with Xaldin, who had barely talked. "I'll chat with you later when I can Xavier... I miss you." He said as he guided his family out of the room, his body slowly powering up as the door closed. "So yeah Lyte... That's where my mind was all these years." He said as they walked.

Lyte was about to respond. only to stop dead in her tracks as she saw a man her age with robotic eyes in nothing but a medical gown, he had brown hair and a sickly build, but a very creepy wide smile. "T-Tommy?" She asked as she struggled to breathe.

The man turned to face her and tilted his head. "Hello Lisa... I'm nice now...." He said as he looked at her. "There's beautiful positive vibes up in my brain... I don't want to do... awful things anymore... not anymore..." He told her as he began to walk away, leaving Lyte visibly shaking with fear and anxiety.

An hour later, Darkness and Silver held Lyte as she Vomited in the toilet. "This Lisa, THIS is why I Keep a lot of things to myself." Said Darkness as Lisa weakly looked up at him. "THIS PLACE IS HORRIBLE!" She said through sobs. Darkness patted her. "I Want to protect you from the ugly truths of this world, but I've come to realize that in my attempts to do that, I was also isolating you... we live in two different worlds... consider this just the softest glimpse"  he warned.

Lyte finally calmed down and hugged him. "I'm sorry you had to go through all of this, I didn't know... How can you even still be comfortable with the nickname 'Darkness' After all this?!" She demanded. Darkness just laughed. "Never forget and all that.... I'll tell you one day... Right now I'm sure this is a lot to process... I'm still trying to process the fact that my Little Sister apparently thought I'd judge her for defending herself from a rapist." He replied.

Lyte stood up and hugged him. "I'm sorry big brother... I'll try to be more open with you if you do the same." She said. Darkness looked to Silver, who winced back as they both gulped. "Deal" He lied while texting His boss before they got ready to head home.

"Awww That's sweet, little Lisa Sonata is growing up." Said Mr Capryse as he checked his phone while Dragging a concrete block to a Lime green convertible. Inside the car was a bald man in a black suit whose hands were zip-tied to the steering wheel and a gag in his mouth. The car was positioned in front of a ramp with the Statue of Liberty in sight.

"Now buddy... You don't gotta go seeking no thrills like this, I'm here to talk you out of this suicidally reckless stunt!" He said calmly as he took the man's gag off and looked inside. "ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT I'LL SING! MR. FARLEY HIRED SOME FREAK TO GO AFTER DARKNESS! HE THINKS IF THE VOID WALKER IS DEAD YOU'LL BE DEFENSELESS!" He screamed.

"Now See was that so hard?" Asked Mr. Capryse. with a smirk. "You fucking psycho! Your family is next after-" But the man was cut off by Mr. Capryse dropping the Concrete block onto the gas pedal. The sound of screams and a loud engine, as well as a car splashing into the water, filled the air while Mr Capryse sipped coffee from a thermos. "Why do they ALWAYS Have to threaten my family? Ah well... consider this Darkness' first real test... Good luck!" He said as he went for a casual nighttime stroll across New York."

The Aurian Chronicles Chapter 9: One night at Larry's

 "Oh sweet lord Jesus, Mary, and Joseph not this place again..." Muttered Darkness as Lyte made excited little mini stomps while they got a seat inside 'Larry Mallrat's Pizzeria' There were a plethora of arcade games and brightly colored jungle gyms to play on, as well as costumed characters everywhere, consisting of Larry the Rat himself, Frizzy bat, Chompy the Horse, and Studly the Sheepdog. 

Silver gave a light slap to Darkness' arm as she went to say hi to all the workers who knew her by name. "What did I say about being patient with her?" Asked Silver. Darkness just shrugged. "I'm here, aren't I? It's not even her I'm mad about, it's just this place in particular." He admitted, causing her to raise an eyebrow at him.

Darkness took a sharp breath in, and a hard breath out as he looked Silver in the eyes. "Okay, so... When I first got on with Mr. Capryse, I didn't exactly know how body disposal worked... so I grabbed one of the costumes in here, stuffed the guy in the suit, and threw him out in the ocean..." Silver glared at him as her nostrils flared. "THAT WAS YOU?! THEY ALMOST SHUT THIS PLACE DOWN!" She whispered in Spanish to avoid stares. Darkness blushed a bit and looked down as if he were a scolded child. "That could have Devastated Lyte! Oh, we WILL Talk about this later you irresponsible little-" Darkness just raised a hand. "I Know I fucked up... I'm sorry, and it won't happen again." He promised, causing silver to calm down.

After a few minutes, Lyte came back with Pizza and a pitcher of Beer for them all. To her credit, Darkness had to admit the food was decent for a kid's spot, and the addition of beer wasn't half bad either. "Honestly I'm  surprised I haven't been here earlier." He admitted. Silver crossed her arms and grunted. "Really? I'm NOT!" She said as Darkness cleared his throat. Lyte just giggled and nodded, "I used to come here a lot as a kid while Silver attended her classes! I got my first job here as Larry's cute bat girlfriend 'Frizzy Bat!' I love it when Children have a good time!" She said happily.

As Darkness went to speak, A man in a fat rat costume approached. "HIYA EVERYBODY!" He said as he pressed play on a colorful outdated radio before beginning to dance. "I'M LARRY THE RAT! I'M WHERE IT'S AT! I'M EVERYBODY'S FAVORITE LITTLE FUZZY MALLRAT! I DO MY DANCE FROM HERE TO FRANCE WHERE CHEESE FLOWS FROM THE FLOOR UP TO YOUR UNDERPANTS!" He sang before hugging Lyte and running off. Silver smiled as Darkness awkwardly waved to Lyte to try and be supportive.

After a glass of Beer, Darkness looked at Lyte. "So sis... we came here to talk?" He asked. Lyte let out a sigh at his statement and just fidgeted. "You're right... I've been putting this off long enough." She said as she looked to Silver, who nodded at her encouragingly. 'Bro, while you were gone... there was a bit of an incident." She admitted, causing Darkness to tighten his grip on his beer mug. At his reaction, she swallowed her fear and continued.

"My Junior year in High School, there was this Boy... Tommy Shackler... He'd try to talk to me and I was always happy to listen... But he would often comment on my body..." She said as she looked down, Darkness began to glare as he pieced together what happened. "One day... as I was trying to go home... He cornered me and tried to..." She started as she began to breathe in and out as her makeup began to smear, but Silver held her hand and nodded at her. Lyte took a deep breath in and looked at Darkness. "...Rape me" She finished, causing Darkness to crush the beer mug in his hand.

Lyte instantly put her hands up and stopped him. "HE DIDN'T!" She said, causing Darkness to raise a brow. "Okay, so what's wrong? I know that isn't it." He asked. Lyte just fidgeted. She was already letting her mind wonder about all the things she thought Darkness was about to tell her. "He didn't because I accidentally used my Aura to flash my light power so bright in his eyes that I... Burned his eyes out... Permanently blinding him!"She admitted, wincing in preparation, only for Darkness to shrug.

"That's it? That's what you've been afraid to tell me?" He asked. Lyte glared at him. "What do you mean?! You remember what Mom said! Aura isn't supposed to be our sword! We can't just hurt people like that!" She told him with a glare. It was Darkness' turn to sigh. "Lyte... That is NOT what she meant! You clearly weren't using aura as a sword, you were using aura as a SHIELD! Mom would not have blamed you for what you did, and if she did? She'd be a horrible fucking mother!" He told her.

There was a long silence before Lyte Breathed in relief. "I needed to hear that... Thanks, Big Brother." She said as she kissed his left cheek before running off to play some games. Darkness turned to Silver. "How come I never heard this? I get you promised not to tell me, but as her guardian, how was I Never informed?" He asked curiously. Silver kissed his right cheek and got up to join Lyte. "I asked a favor... from your boss' wife Saryn while I tailored her outfit." She said, leaving Darkness to sit and think. 

Meanwhile at a tall skyscraper with 'Farley incorporated' in gaudy yellow flashing lights going down it vertically, a tall slender man with a half-shaved head of white hair flowing down over his right blood-red colored eye in a white suit adjusted his red tie while he observed pictures Mr. Farley's pictures of Darkness. "Yes yes Sir, I'm well aware of the Voidwalker. He said in a bored tone. Mr. Farley stroked his bear. "Of course, you freaks know each other... doesn't matter, I want him DEAD! His whole family will earn you a bonus!" He said as she showed pictures of Silver and Lyte. The young man raised a brow as he saw the picture of Lyte and made a wing of solidified blood pick it up. "Well well well... who have we here?" He asked as he licked where her fishnet-clad leggings were.

Mr. Farley scoffed "Like I said, FREAKS! Do whatever you want with his whore sister, just FUCKING KILL-" But the Man shoved him with a tendril of blood. "Our conversation is over, my lovely little guest here has a date with her Bloody Angel... I'll make sure my dance with Darkness is as poetic as advertised... until then... Mr. Farley." He said as he hummed Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture, leaving a trail of blood behind him as he walked off.

The Aurian Chronicles Chapter 8: 2 misfit 2 spin this shit

 Darkness stretched and sat up in his bed while grabbing a nearby bottle of bourbon. It had been a few days since Lyte had shut herself in her room and Silver was still trying to get her to come out. As he walked down the hallway, Silver stopped him and pointed to Lyte's room. "I need you to get her out please." She finally said with concern in her voice. Darkness let out a nervous laugh. "Silver... I can't just walk through my little sister's room and force her out!" He explained.  Silver's eyes narrowed at him as she poked him in the chest with a finger. "Oh, so you'll do it to kill people, but not to help your hurting little sister?!" She demanded. "YES! Because I don't care about them, I DO care about LYTE!" He retorted.

Silver let out a defeated sigh as she took Darkness downstairs out of earshot from Lyte's room. "I didn't want to do this, but maybe it'll help explain what I'm going through... Have you ever thought about making Lyte look for her own place to live?" She asked. Darkness' aura flared up as he glared at her. "What? Who the hell do you think you are?!" He demanded. Silver just looked him in the eyes. "She's an adult, and she makes good money making music and videos online... Surely we don't NEED her here right?" She asked? Darkness twitched in hurt as he glared harder. "That doesn't matter! She's FAMILY! I love her like-"

"Like a daughter right? Me too, THAT'S why I asked you to go into her room." Said Silver. After a couple of minutes, Darkness powered down. "Why? What do you know?" He asked. Silver just looked at her feet. "When you were gone, I had no one to help me raise a child... so I took a lot of parenting classes so I could be the best parent I could for Lisa... I took even more after her Autism diagnosis... What she's doing right now is using her music to keep her thoughts from wandering too far off... as if she's afraid if she stops, she won't be able to return... I'd like if she had someone to help guide her back on track... Namely, someone close to her who doesn't have to break the door down." She explained.

Darkness grunted as he considered her words... "Christ, you really ARE a mom... Okay, Silver, I'll do it." He said as he hugged Silver tight. "Thank you, my love. Word of advice? Try to be patient with her... I Raised my voice at her once by accident and she didn't talk to me for a week." She said. He nodded and headed upstairs slowly. "I STILL don't want to do this... but I'm a good big brother, time to start acting like it." He told himself as he walked through Lyte's doorway and past her barricade of Clothes and dressers.

Darkness winced at the sight of his Sister. Instead of the brightly dressed bubbly girl Darkness was used to, Lyte was wearing a black tank top and standing there in just a purple thong, it was clear she hadn't showered or eaten properly since she found out about Darkness' attempt on his life. "Hey, Lisa... you okay?" HE asked slowly, but on further inspection, Lyte had her headphones in while she messed with her soundboard.

"Tired of feeling, like I don't fit! But that's okay, Lyte spins this shit!" She sang into her microphone. Darkness reached out to put a hand on her shoulder but Lyte simply smacked it away. "Thought my brother was my buddy, but he decided to quit! He left me all alone just to spin this shit." She said with tears in her eyes. "Lisa again, that's not what-" But he was cut off by Lyte who leaned forward. "All I want is my brother, just to admit, He left me all alone just to spin this shit!" She said harshly.

There was a bit of silence before Darkness backed out of the room, leaving a trail of void aura behind him. He ignored the worried look of silver as he pulled the ladder down out of the overhead attic. He climbed up slowly and brushed past old relics he recovered from the fire of his old home. He casually walked past a picture of a young Lyte and Darkness smiling with their parents to find a Black electric guitar resting on an amp. it was his first ever 'Flying V' that Lyte had picked out for him. "Only one way I know for sure she's gonna listen to me." He said as he dropped into her room using his void.

Darkness plugged in his Guitar and amp and let out a soft strum, Freezing Lyte in her tracks. "I wasn't the best brother, That I will admit, left my sister all alone just to spin this shit." He said as he strummed harder, matching the beat of Lyte's music. "Wanted to give up, I wanted to just quit. Ignored my sister's cry for help while she span this shit." He said while looking into her eyes and changing the song. "If I'm still able to hear my sister I'm all in, it could all be over tomorrow, slay our demons and start again, as I think about what I did tears drip down onto my skin. These demons Lyte, we got 'em by the mile! keep fighting I'll be with you the whole while, until they're slain I'll remain HOSTILE!" He said as he dropped his guitar and squeezed her tight.

Lyte gasped in surprise as She slowly wrapped her arms around her older brother. "Bro you.... should leave the singing to me..." She said with a soft giggle. after a few minutes, Darkness began to chuckle. "Yeah.... I can see why I only ever played the guitar." He agreed. there were a brief couple of seconds before they both broke out laughing as hard as they could. When they were done, they both just sighed happily and sat on her bed. "Listen Lyte... I got a lot to explain, but I'd prefer if you did it first over dinner... deal?" He asked. Lyte just nodded and grabbed a change of clothes. "It's a deal big bro." She told him as she undid the barricades so she could take a shower.

Darkness got up and headed down to Silver. "Thank you, dear... For everything." He said as Silver kissed him deeply. "Thank YOU, Derek! But we are still not out of the woods, She's going to have a lot to say tonight, and you're going to listen, please try not to look at this from just YOUR point of view, I'm literally begging you" She said while looking into his eyes deeply. "Well, now I'm terrified, but deal!" He said as he went to get ready.