The Aurian Chronicles- Chapter 9: Learning the Hard way

    Amanda Cross sighed softly as she looked out into space as she followed Mr Capryse down a busy street, she was roughly half an hour out of her jurisdiction, a solid hour away from Capryse's home, and worst of all, she was only in a pair of Jeans and a dark blue low cut tank top. Which meant nothing to really defend herself. "How I let you talk me into this little trip out in the city I will never know... in case you didn't already know, we are NOT friends, Mr. Capryse!"

"OF COURSE WE ARE! You just haven't really figured it out, my dear!" Responded Mr Capryse as he kissed the back of Amanda's hand, causing her to blush angrily. She tried to look over to the other member of their company, which happened to be Mr Capryse's wife Saryn. She stood at about almost six feet tall, and was dressed in a black leather dominatrix looking suit, with a white professional lab coat over it. To say Amanda felt intimidated by her presence was a gross understatement. Saryn's piercing blue gaze met Amanda's before she snorted. "Do try to put up with my husband's eccentricities for a bit longer. You'll come to find he's simply playing chess five steps ahead... even if he is a fool." She exclaimed in a thick Russian accent. Amanda was a bit caught off guard the rest of the trip as they stopped by an Italian bakery. 

Mr. Capryse stepped out and greeted the owner, an ageing wide Italian man with multiple briefcases. Both men chuckled and exchanged a few good jokes before the old man took his leave in a sports car. Amanda's eyes narrowed when she saw bags of powder inside one of the opened cases. "This is a DRUG deal!" she yelled as she stepped closer to the both of them. "Au contraire my dear, this is a drug EXTERMINATION!" Corrected Mr. Capryse, causing Amanda to raise a brow. "I'm listening...." She said carefully. Mr, Capryse just chuckled and sighed, "You see Ms. Cross, as this part of the city has grown, the types of people that frequent it have changed... I don't particularly like drugs and children being so close together, so I have made a deal for its distribution to be moved outside of the area." He explained with a grin, already knowing what she was going to say. "Why don't you just halt the production altogether Capryse?" She asked, but he simply laughed. "That's just not how things work... right now it's quite EASY to just condemn this area, and eradicate anything or anyone involved.... but crime vacuums are a real thing! By doing this, I don't have to make a bigger mess than I need to!" He responded. Amanda growled and went to retort before a white and gold limousine pulled up, followed by a squad of five cars. Amanda's eyebrows raised as none other than Zach Farley stepped out with a lit cigar in his mouth. "well well well, if it isn't the golden boy of the New York syndicate.... On MY turf...." He stated, sending his captains to confiscate the briefcases. Mr. Capryse smiled as he watched each member of Farley's men sample a bit of the Cocaine in each briefcase before loading them up in their cars. "You're standing your ground I see Zach... PRIDEFUL! but unfortunate nonetheless!" He admitted, but Mr. Farley just chuckled. "Hiding behind that goth fucker won't save you, once he meets MY boy, you'll have one less employee." He said with a glare. Mr. Capryse rolled his eyes. "The fact that you think Darkness is my ace in the hole shows you are too lazy to do your research... Though I will admit he IS a valuable employee. your time here is running out Farley, I suggest leaving New York soon." He warned. Zach just grinned. "I've got your drugs, I've got your highest earner under attack, and I've got you cornered here... and you've the audacity to try to bluff ME? You, your wife, and your little witness here are going to see your last days soon." He retorted. Mr. Capryse just shook his head. "Oh really?" He asked as he pulled out a cell phone and pressed it, activating the C4 inside of the drugs in the briefcases, and inside of the samples Farley's men tasted. the explosion caught almost everyone off guard, including Amanda who collapsed to her knees, watching the chunks of cars and bodies rain from the sky. "You and what army?" Asked Mr Capryse as he escorted Saryn and Amanda home, leaving Zach Farley cowering on the floor with an obvious case of shell shock.

Five hours later, Amanda was staying in a guest room of the Capryse Mansion, downing a bottle of bourbon to calm her nerves. "This.... demon! He just casually destroyed those thugs like it was nothing! it was horrifying, inhuman and.....appealing! I've always wanted to wipe scum off the streets but he's doing it literally!" She exclaimed with a blush. after a few seconds she slapped herself, "NO NO NO! he's a criminal! the most dangerous one I've met at that! I can't let him win like this.... but... I'm running out of options here... maybe I can try meeting this Darkness guy... get to find a weak spot or something" She said before turning out the lights and trying to get some sleep, but Mr. Capryse's smile remained on her mind.

A VH Crossover: Claire and Deimos

     Claire sighed softly and adjusted her blue jeans before answering the door. To her embarrassment, she saw Deimos crossing his arms at her with a raised eyebrow. "Oh.... hey." She said sheepishly while looking into his eyes. Between how she acted and then Deimos coming to her aid, she felt incredibly guilty about her childish outburst. "I am hoping you already know why I am even bothering to be here," Deimos said stiffly, he really didn't like looking at her right now. Every single word she screamed at him was playing on a loop in his mind just from the sight of her. Claire sighed and let him in, offering him a glass of water as she sat down on her couch. "I owe you... an apology." She said with a sigh. Deimos stroked his chin and looked at her. Her tone and facial features seemed genuine. "Go on." He said with a nod. Claire returned the nod and sighed. "I shouldn't have butted into your... I don't really know what it is, so I'll just call it an argument between you, Tristan, and Ivy... really all I wanted to say was to take it somewhere else... then all of that just vomited out of me."

"And why did you feel the need to butt into our argument, what all do you actually know about it anyway?" Asked Deimos. Claire just sighed, "Not as much as I acted like, I only ever really heard the gist of your grievances with each other from Blake, and even then he didn't go into too great a detail." She admitted. Deimos just glared at her. "If you only knew that little, why then did you feel the need to yell at all three of us like that? Is that something you do in your spare time?" He demanded. Claire gulped and sighed. "I deserve that... Look, I won't make an attempt to excuse or try to find a way for you to condone my actions... But I will try to explain them. I like to go to the beach to clear my head... when Blake took me... I was more under the impression it was going to be more of an opportunity to share the day with someone I love... I guess I just saw you as an obstacle to remove." she admitted. Deimos just shrugged at that. "I suppose I've been guilty a time or two of yelling at something that annoyed me... before we move on, why is the beach so... 'Sacred' to you?" He asked, causing Claire to sigh and look away. "My family and I used to go there and play all the time... after my mom died, and a falling out between my dad and I... I guess I just like to use the beach to escape from all the bullshit in my life." She said as she looked back at Deimos. Deimos had loosened up a bit since her apology, he was still VERY on the fence about her outburst and decided to press a final matter on the topic. "Do you honestly believe what you said would have helped any of us?" He asked. Claire shrugged, "Not really, if it would've done something that would have been great, but honestly I just wanted you to stop bringing negative vibes to my spot on the beach." She admitted, knowing that just made her sound like a selfish bitch. Deimos let out an annoyed sigh. He had a whole riot act he wanted to read her, but there were more important things to discuss. "Look, I don't really know you, so I'm willing to concede this was just a one-off thing you pulled. But you owe apologies to Tristan, and while I am not on speaking terms with her, you definitely owe one to Ivy as well... but that's not why I'm here." Said Deimos. Claire quirked a brow. "Then uh... why ARE you here?" She asked as she sat up. Deimos looked right at her. "I saw you swim to shore with Blake in both of your arms, that means you used only your legs to swim. NO ONE can swim that fast... so this is the one time I'm going to ask how you got EP... if you really want to apologize... start by being honest with me." Said Deimos with a light glare. Claire's eyebrows raised. "So THAT'S why Blake is fine like nothing happened... Fine, I would have told you had you asked...." Admitted Claire with a light laugh before standing up and walking to her Tattoo shop. "Now you may not be able to tell, because this area has since been renovated after a little asshole burned it to the ground... but I originally bought this place for a hefty sum of money... After my dad left, I really wanted to make a name for myself in the tattoo industry, but I had no capital." She started while fiddling with some of her ink machines. "I tried odd jobs here and there, but all that really did was keep me afloat in a small apartment... I can't really remember the man's name, but he must have overheard my dream to open up a big tattoo shop, he offered me a property in exchange for testing a new product, he even had papers ready to go! I was young and dumb so I had stars in my eyes as I signed that paper.... next thing I know I'm taking some weird drug and..... " she said as poured water on herself, allowing her to grow some white scales. "I can swim super fast, breathe underwater, I'm super strong, and can even take on a more aquatic form to boost my powers... but only when I'm in the water." She told Deimos. Deimos just nodded as she finished. "Okay Claire, do you think that also might explain your fondness of the beach?" He asked. Claire shrugged. "Maybe? I've always been fond of it, but never really thought of it like that." She told him with a shrug. Deimos nodded and sighed. "Thank you Claire, while I can't yet forgive you, I'll definitely keep an eye on you... if you want to really impress me, start with those other two apologies." he told her as he got up. Claire just nodded. "I'll do that the next time I see them, and hey! if you ever need a Tattoo, or a design, I'll definitely hook you up! you're a friend of Blake's so I GOTTA give ya the discount!" She told him. Deimos thought of his band and nodded. "I'll think about it.... take care, and say hi to Blake for me." He said as he took his Leave. Claire just sighed and looked at her tattoo. "well... that went... better than I thought it would." She said as she stripped and got in the tub, turning into a beautiful Rainbow scaled Atlantean looking woman. "I just hope when I come clean with Blake... he's as understanding." She said nervously.

A VH crossover: Claire's Confrontation and new revelations

The sun shined bright on a hot day down on Pink Top City beach. Claire had agreed to accompany Blake to a party on the beach, unfortunately, the spot they were at was by Deimos' Friend Tristan as well as Ivy, but she stayed in hopes she could at least get to know some of the people in Blake's life, and maybe even play in the water! But the negative vibes going on between a few of the people at the party had been throwing her off and souring the overall mood. Claire watched Ivy and Deimos taking turns talking to Tristan when he was alone, and Tristan seemed to be in a sour mood frome it all. Eventually Claire groaned and sat by Blake. 

"Blake.... Parties are supposed to be fun... This feels more like a prison run by the three stooges!" She whined . Blake just sighed and nodded. "I know I know Claire... To be honest I kind of guessed something like this was going to go down... I just didn't want to be on my own for this." He admitted apologetically. Claire grunted and nodded. "I just can't believe they all have the audacity to act like they don't have a hand in this... To make things worse, Ivy and Deimos are so inept they missed the point of this gathering... To have fun! Not drag your trash so everyone can see it!" She said, with enough Volume to Cause both Ivy and Deimos to glare at her. "If you don't like the atmosphere, why don't you pick a new spot Claire?" Asked Deimos with acid in his tone. Claire narrowed her eyes back at him. "Better idea, why don't I go text with some manipulative Jackass instead of talking to my partner and act like the real victim?" She snapped back. Deimos bit his lip and looked away angrily as Ivy looked at her "Stop acting like you know everything!  This has nothing to do with you or Blake!" She yelled out, causing a few heads to turn as Claire stood up. "If you stood your ground like this more instead of running away, you might not be in this bitter argument! What Deimos did was out of line, but so was running off with Tristan like that BEFORE ending things with Deimos was slimy as hell! Deimos let himself get manipulated by some jerk, it happens, and now you have the chance to patch things up! I'm not saying get back together... But it's GOTTA be better than playing tug of war with a man who frankly is the cause of a hood chunk of this mess!" Exclaimed Claire. Tristan just rose his Eyebrows. "Excuse Moi? Why are you coming at me like this?"

"Oh please Tristan, you don't need to act like you aren't playing both sides in this. I get you are good friends with both of them, but come on! You KNEW Deimos was in turmoil over Ivy, you KNOW but of them harbor something for you, but you only ever drew boundaries at having both of them... Not say, I don't know... Running around with your best friend's girl BEFORE they broke it off?" She said with a sigh. There was a brief pause before Ivy looked at her. "Look, by now we all know everything... I don't forgive Deimos' cruel behavior... If Deimos' and my relationship was truly that strong, he wouldn't have turned to someone like Dougal for advice." She said with crossed arms. Claire rolled her eyes. "I really hate those kinds of analogies. That's the same kind of rhetoric I'd expect from the people who called the Titanic Unsinkable! Any destructive jerk with the right tool can bring down any fortress he so designs... The fact is, Dougal didn't ruin your relationship! Your piss poor communication skills did!" She shouted, causing Deimos, Tristan, and Ivy to look down. But Claire put her hands on her hips, clearly not done. "And did ANY of you learn from this?! NO! You're still going behind each other's backs like we're in fucking High School! For the love of all that is sacred on Reona, just please talk this out, so you can stop making everyone around you miserable! In the mean time, I came out here to have fun on the beach, so thatcs what I'm gonna do!" She saud as she marched off. Blake just nodded at everyone before going to join Claire.

"Hey..." Said Blake as he swam out to where Claire was soaking, She simply nodded at him as she looked out at the sunset. "Blake.. I'm sorry I had that outburst at your friends.. It just... Reminded me of what caused the rift between me and my dad." She admitted. Blake sighed and nodded. "I'm not going to say I fully agree with everything you said, or even how you said it... But I can at least understand your frustration. He told her. "Look, I'm sorry we ended up in the center of this conflict... How bout we try to just enjoy the rest of the day to ourselves?" He offered. Claire smiled up at him. "I'd love that! She admitted as they swam together.

As the Sunset, Blake and Claire were getting ready to head back as a Jetski rider hit Blake from the side and knocking him out. "Blake!" Screamed Claire as she Swam to him fast and seemed to glide through the water at an alarming speed onto the Shore. "Call an Ambulance!" She screamed as loud as she could. Deimos quickly ran to Blaire while no one was watching and quickly healed him. Deimos watched Claire closely, he had seen her zoom through the water with Blake in both arms, yet she didn't even look winded! Not only that, but she wasn't even out of breath. Claire just ignored Deimos as she breathed a sigh of relief when Blake opened his eyes. "Where am I?" He asked as he looked up at Claire. "You're on the beach! You got hit by a Jetski... But you're okay... Thank god!" She said as she hugged him. Deimos just sighed and left. For now he'd let them be, but he had questions for Claire coming... And he WOULD get the truth from her.

The Aurian Chronicles - Chapter 8

 Chapter 8: Blood Moon on the Rise

Lyte sighed softly as she changed back into her regular white top and rainbow sequin white pants. It had been another great night at the club she was DJing for and she wanted to get home to watch a movie with her big brother. “God the energy was electric tonight! And the best part of the night has yet to begin!”

“I’ll say! Your big brother isn’t even here yet!” Said a man’s voice as he slowly walked in. Blood Angel smiled and straightened his blood red tie over his lighter red undershirt and straightened his white suit as he sized up the young and beautiful Lyte, who smiled politely back at him. “Oh! Hey there! You must be a friend of my big brother… if you want we can wait til he gets here.” She exclaimed with a cheerful grin, one Blood Angel just returned. “Oh….

I’m looking forward to it.” he replied as he advanced on her.

An hour later, Darkness sighed as he pulled up to the club in his Challenger, he walked in slowly to a dark empty club. “LYTE? I’M HERE!” He called out. He could already tell something was wrong, the party was over, but the club should still be getting cleaned. “Shit….” he said as he turned on the lights, there were piles of bodies in odd places, some of them on further inspection were formed into words. “Party…. On the dance floor.” Read Darkness as he stepped out into the moshpit. The lights slowly turned red as Blood Angel appeared on stage. “VOID WALKER! It’s truly great to see you… I’m… I’m such a big fan!” He said as he clapped his white gloved hands together, Darkness just pulled out one of his Colt .45s and glared up at him. “If you know who I am, and what I do, that must mean you work for another syndicate, I’m guessing Zach Farley hired you.” He said. Blood Angel merely heaved a guilty sigh. “Yes… That bastard had to be the sour note to our meeting… You see Darkness, I’ve always admired your work! I’ve flown oh so very high with all of the blood you’ve spilt! I’ve almost touched the very heavens itself! Alas… Unfortunately, Mr. Farley has summoned the very Blood Angel who loves you to be your downfall… what cruel, tragic IRONY!” He said as he slashed at Darkness with a knife. Darkness harumphed and went full Void and stepped through Blood Angel, but Blood Angel merely smirked and calmly kept the knife inside of Darkness, who panicked a bit and dove away, some of the knife still in his back as he rematerialized. Blood began flowing from his wound and into the shaved part of Blood Angel’s head, forming a bloody lock of hair. “That Void walking move you use is an awe-inspiring skill, but you can’t use it for too long because it tires you out… I know your tricks… and I am NOT just a thug” He said with a melodic laugh. Darkness just growled and fired at him, but Blood Angel used Darkness’ own blood as a shield to protect himself. “ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF, VOID WALKER! I am the BLOOD ANGEL! I can use blood to shield myself, I can make wings to fly if I so choose, or I can super coagulate it into hard blades… like so!” He said as he fired sharp blades of blood at Darkness, who took one to the leg as he ducked for cover. “Well, lotty fuckin dotty… You aren’t the only other Aura user I’ve fought, and you WON’T be the fuckin’ last… freaky little Asspuke!” Said Darkness as he pulled out a small staff, he pumped a bit of his energy into it and formed a large scythe with a purple blade. Blood Angel just chuckled. “Not even going to waste any more time playing cat and mouse, are we? Good!” he said as Darkness slashed through his wings, but Blood Angel was ready with real knives in both hands, with Darkness’ Scythe stuck in his wings, Blood Angel was free to stab at him. Darkness pulled out both of his handguns and fired at him, one gun fired real bullets, and the other fired Void bullets, which tried to lash out at Blood Angel, but he merely used Darkness’ scythe to shield them off. “AHAHAHA NOW THIS IS A REAL DANCE” He screamed out at Darkness before booting him in the face and throwing his scythe at him, missing him by a few inches. “Now then, how would you like your….everything pierced?” He asked as he threw knives into Darkness's stomach and fired more blades of blood at him until his wings were gone. Darkness just chuckled weakly as he coughed up blood. “Seems you have a limit to YOUR Powers too Angel fuck!” He exclaimed. Blood Angel just smiled. “Indeed, no blood? No powers! And sadly those corpses I used to stock up on are running low… luckily I have a battery reserved just in case!” He said as he pressed a button on the stage, causing a barely breathing Lyte to appear. Darkness’ eyes rose in horror as the usually bright and vibrant Lyte weakly crawled to him. Darkness fought threw the immense pain he was in to hold her. “Big Brother…. Help me…” She said as she coughed up blood. “Awwww isn’t that sweet?  What’s it like to have family care that much for you? I wouldn’t know, I KILLED all of mine!” Exclaimed Blood Angel with a laugh. Darkness lost focus and began to grit his teeth as hard as he could while narrowing his eyes at Blood Angel. Purple bolts of energy began to crackle as the rational part of his mind tried to remember what Mr Capryse told him when he first started, ‘Now remember Darkness, keep it PROFESSIONAL. Never let it get personal.’ But Darkness knew everything was well past that. All of his hatred began pouring into his aura, causing his body to turn fully black, except his veins which gleamed bright purple. Multiple black tendrils grew out of him, and his teeth turned into purple interlocking jaws. Blood Angel’s smile faltered a tad as the light was sucked out of the room. “My oh my Darkness, what’s happened to you?” He asked as he threw multiple knives at Darkness and Lyte, but Darkness’ Tendrils smacked them away. “YOUR NIGHTMARE!!” Responded Darkness as he latched his tendrils around Blood Angel and bashed him repeatedly against a wall. As the light faded from his eyes. Blood Angel looked at the blood flowing from his body. “Blood… Beautiful… Beautiful… Blood…” He said with a weak laugh before he passed out. Darkness grunted as the rational part of his brain returned and he slowly turned back to his normal self. His body was fully healed, but he was now far beyond exhausted. “Gotta… help… Lyte.” he said as he carried his sister to his car and drove her to the hospital. Unbeknownst to them. A pink skinned, red haired demonic woman in a red dress walked to the huddled body of Blood Angel and healed him just enough to preserve his life. “What… was that immense power… I thought YOU were my Hell knight… but that void user… that power… that seductively sinister power! Ohhhhh yesssss.” She moaned as she sucked her middle finger seductively. “Darkness…. I’ll do whatever it takes to have you for myself… no one resists the Shadow Queen!” She said as she rearranged some of the leftover corpses to spell one name. “KAYLA”

The Aurian Chronicles - Chapter 7 part 2

   Chapter 7:2 Dates Part 2

“Honestly Lyte, I offer to take you anywhere you want to go, and you choose a Mall Pizza place?” asked Darkness as he sat across from his sister, who puffed her cheeks out adorably at him “In case you forgot buster, I practically grew up here! From being a little girl doing all the dances to getting my first job at the nightclub here!” She said defensively as Darkness just chuckled “I’m kidding hun, honestly I am just glad you had something to make you not feel alone while I was overseas, you and Silver were always on my mind you know!” He said as a giant Larry the rat costume shuffled up to their table and started his dance “I’M LARRY THE RAT, I’M WHERE IT’S AT! I’M EVERYBODY’S FAVORITE LITTLE CUDDLY MALL RAT! I DO MY DANCE, FROM HERE TO FRANCE, TIL CHEESE FLOWS FROM MY GULLET TO MY UNDERPANTS! Can I take your order?!” He asked, after a bit of cringing on Darkness’ Part, they both placed their orders as Darkness forced a smile. “Well, that was….. So why did ya want to have this date Sis?” He asked quickly, Lyte sighed and shook her head with a small smile. “I  just wanted some time with my big bro! We never really get to see each other much, either I’m working, or you’re….working… I just miss your company!” She said as he shrugged and nodded uncomfortably “Yeah sorry about that, I am planning to take some time off if you want-”

“I REALLY wish you’d just stop altogether…” Said Lyte looking into his eyes, Darkness just groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I Should have known that’s what this was really about…”

“You don’t even like your job! You are way better as a musician, I could have you in the studio first thing in the morning if you ask, why do you keep fighting me on-”

“BECAUSE THIS IS ALL I KNOW ANYMORE!” Shouted Darkness, causing everyone to look up at him. “Look Lyte, I can still play instruments, but the young me you sat around and listened to died some time ago, the notes are at my fingertips, but the things I wanted to write about aren’t… that war… It took from me so many people… I just can’t bring myself to do it… let’s leave it there.” He said sadly, causing Lyte to glare at him with tears in her eyes. “That’s bullshit and you know it! Mom always said the music may change, but it’s always there! I KNOW you can get back on it if you try… But working for Mr. Capryse is just SO much easier, isn’t it?!” She said on the verge of crying, Darkness just shrugged. “Honestly? Yes, yes it is… like it or not, there are a lot of awful people here, and knowing they can’t harm anyone else makes me proud of the work I do… I KNOW that means something to you, I heard about Sophomore year, that man you blinded with your prism aura for getting too handsy?” He asked, making her breathe harder. “Please… D-don’t m-mention that again.” She begged, causing him to realize what he was saying. “Sorry Lyte, but if anything, it proves my point, some people gotta die… But I suppose….For you, I’ll at least consider other fields of work, for now, I just want to spend time with my little sister.” He said, causing her to calm down and try to resume a peaceful meal with him.

A few blocks away, Zach Farley sat in his office with a glass of wine in one hand, and a Cuban cigar in the other. “And I want that purple-haired fucker TOAST by the end of the month, I want things to be CAPICHE WITH CAPRYSE! He said, trying not to chuckle at his own stupid joke. On the other side of the table, a tall medium skinny man just rolled his eyes as he looked at the target and fixed his white suit and red tie. “So it’s Settled, ‘Darkness the void walker’ fights the Blood Angel… on one hand, I am happy to fight such a worthy opponent, on the other hand, I was always a fan of his brutality!” Said Blood Angel, causing Zach to raise a brow. “Ey! I paid damn fine money bringing you here! Don’t get cold feet cuz you wanna kneel down and suck Goth dick you little-” But he was cut off mid-sentence with a knife to his tongue.

I know your type, Mr. Farley, you demand so much death, but you’ve never actually killed anyone yourself, you aren’t HALF the man Darkness, or Mr. Capryse are! Still, I can’t turn down this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!” He said as he pulled his knife back and slid his own arm with it. Blood flowed off his arm and onto his head and back, giving the shaved side of his head Red hair, and his back wings. “So Mr. Sonata! GAME ON!” yelled Blood Angel as he laughed Maniacally through the night.  

The Aurian Chronicles - Chapter 7 part 1

  Chapter 7:2 Dates Part 1 

Mr. Capryse smiled Politely in a five-star restaurant as he sipped a glass of wine while he stretched and checked his clock. “Welp it’s almost twelve! Time for the fun!” He said with a chuckle as Amanda Cross walked in wearing a yellow tight hugging dress, she had put a lot of time into her makeup, and she seemed to draw the attention of several people while striding to his table. He quickly pulled the chair out and nodded to her, after a curtsy she sat down and he took his seat, quickly putting in orders for the both of them after she stated what she wanted. “Imagine my surprise when THE Lieutenant Cross invites lil’ ol’ me out to dinner! What brought THIS on?” he asked with a happy smile while looking her in the eyes, something about his damned crystal blue eyes took her off guard, causing her to clear her throat. “I just felt maybe I came on a bit too strong… You had to look up my information just to make me back off at first…” She said as she watched him chuckle “Oh no no no, I did that when you first transferred in, I Know everyone on the force, in the city… the state…. The whole COUNTRY! Sorry if you felt like I was singling you out.” He retorted, causing Amanda to swallow hard “So…. how much do you actually know?” she asked as he sipped more wine “If you’re worried I’m gonna leak out that time you lost a bet and streaked around your entire Campus in the nude… your secret is safe from me… as well as all the other exhibitionist stuff, hey… We ALL did crazy stuff as a kid right?” He said with a chuckle, by now the pink in her cheeks seemed to glow through all the makeup, even noticed by the server as their food arrived. She ate slowly as Mr. Capryse ate politely, but it was clear he didn’t enjoy the food as much. “A five-star restaurant not to your liking?” She asked, causing him to smile at her. “The food is quite good, but my daughter has made me a bit of a spoiled brat, food just doesn’t taste quite as good without the love she puts into it ya know?” He asked with a proud sigh. She giggled and nodded. “Yes I have heard a lot about her, and what to not say to either of you… You must really love her!” She said with a genuine smile, trying to break the ice subtly. Mr. Capryse sighed and nodded “Indeed, she was the daughter of a close associate who went missing, even I was surprised to hear she hid a daughter from me… I caught her cooking up a snack for the other orphans and just KNEW I had to adopt her… I would burn my entire home and the entire state of New York to ash if anything happened to her.” he said, slowly turning serious at the end of his sentence, making Amanda begin to fearfully sweat. After about an hour, both of them got up as Mr. Capryse escorted  Amanda to her car, though they were stopped by a bulky man in a suit smirking. “Well if it isn’t the Golden Boy of New York and our newest member of the NYPD… two birds, one stone!” he said as he pulled out a Gun. Amanda grunted in frustration as she reached for an imaginary firearm. “Shit, I forgot I’m not on duty!” she muttered, Causing Mr. Capryse to laugh “DREADFUL habit dear, what do you think good sir? Zach would get a good kick out of that one eh?”

“SHUT UP! If you know why I am here, you know you ain’t for much longer!” Responded the thug as he pointed the gun to Mr. Capryse’s head, who simply just smiled calmly “Now… listen Mac, Me and the lovely lady here were trying to enjoy a lovely dinner, you can understand that right?” He asked as he pinched the gun, causing shiny rocks to grow from it, stabbing the man in the hand, who screamed out in pain, but Mr. Capryse kept talking “And we can’t go around threatening people for just trying to have a good time… are we clear here?” he asked the man who looked at his arm in terror as the rocks began sprouting from his body. “CRYSTALS!” He screamed in terror as he tried to run, only for his body to stiffen before it turned to solid crystal, freezing him in place “Oops! Clumsy me” Said  Mr. Capryse, knocking the statue over, causing it to shatter into small pieces that rolled down a nearby storm drain. Mr. Carpyse just helped a now terrified Amanda Cross into her car. “What a fun date that was! You Drive safe now Amanda, and make sure that the next one gets cleared by my wife, she’s not as good-tempered as I am you know..” he said as he waved and whistle a happy tune while he walked off. Amanda just sat there, trying to process what happened. “You… You’re not the hound of justice at all… You’re a scared newborn puppy” She cried out into her reflection through the vanity mirror. “How can I even begin to fix this state when a man like that has it in his hands? I don’t know… but I have to at least try.” She said, getting a bit more determined at the end. After a few minutes, she started her car and sped off, not noticing Darkness Drilling a few holes in a building nearby. “For Christ's sake, I’m a MERCENARY! Not a damn construction worker… dammit Capryse!” he said as he covered up the holes. “Ah well, the pay was good, time to meet up with Lyte!” he said as he hopped in his Challenger, leaving Farley Incorporated behind.