The Black Order ( base / faction thread, Open )

[Yu Kanda]

Several months later….

A cold yet gentle wind carried a handful of leaves passed the portal in the Moors. Months had passed since Klaud set out with Lau Jimi to find the source of the sos message she received. Even with the brilliant Reever’s help it was a futile search. Mentally defeated the commander returned to where it all began. It was here they set up the black order Base in order to fight evil. It was however quite a while since she had radio contact with anyone from the order. Not even Kanda replied, so she gave up a while back. She was dreading what she would find once she got there. Passing through the shadows covering the town of Darkshire, Klaud felt as if she was being watched. It didn’t matter, if there was someone stupid enough to make a move against her, that person would pay dearly. On her shoulder Lau Jimin chirped as he pressed his fur against her cheek. Something had him spooked. It was unlike the creature to express fear, as an innocence weapon it fought many strong akuma in the past. However, the presence of this specific dark aura wasn't anything like the presence of an akuma. Is was like Death itself was stroking her skin with his cold fingers. The duo was nearing the border of the town, towards the dirt path,which passes by for a road around these parts, towards the tower of the Black Order.

The first step outside the town border send a chill down her spine, almost as if whatever was protecting the folks in the town was no longer there to look after her. Lau jimin felt the same sensation overtaking him and visibly shook his entire body. “Sshh its ok. Whatever it is, it will have to show itself if it intends to harm us. We will be ready.” Lau chirped and nodded. For a capuchin he was remarkably smart, the innocence that binds him to Klaud definitely had an influence towards his intelligence.

Steadfast the duo continued their journey home, it wasn’t until hours of walking through the deadlike forest that they both felt the aura once more. They were close to the tower, did it come from there? This time however, the aura came paired with a shadowy figure up the road. The hair of the white capuchin all went upwards as it showed his fangs towards the unknown entity. Klaud’s exterior stayed calm, “ Who goes there? Show yourself.” Something resembling fear snuck into her, which hadn’t happened since her journey with Christa, Jan and the others.  The shim moved towards them, unreluctantly Klaud took a step back. From the dark shadows of the moors a skinny old man appeared leaning on his stick. He had a long ungroomed grey beard reaching down to his stomach, and his hair to match it. His left eye had several scars where the eyeball should have been. Covered in rags and walking with a limp he came closer. “Do not fear me child.” The cracking old voice said, “This old man means you no harm.” The sentence was followed by several unhealthy coughs. If it was death Klaud was sensing it would be here to claim this poor man’s soul. Appearing to be more dead than living he stumbles forward, his soul had clearly glimpsed the other side. And yet even after seeing the state this man was in, Klaud couldn't shake the feeling something was off about him. “What brings you all the way out here mister?” She carefully inquired. The man continued to struggle his way forward, “Oh, everyone needs to stretch their legs every now and then. Hehehe”  Even his chuckle was creepy. Klaud didn’t want to be known as the woman that beat down a helpless old man, for that reason alone she simply remained on guard.

“Your fancy uniform, you wouldn't happen to be one of them exorcist boys would you?” With his cane he pointed directly at the black order symbol on her jacket. With a sense of pride in her voice she answered, “Yes i am, i am Commander Klaud Nine of the black order, who might you be?” The old man coughed what sounded like a man’s final exhale ever a few more times before ignoring the question entirely.
“A shame what happened to those black order folks, a real shame.”

“Why? What happened?” Klaud’s curiosity got the better of her. “What happened to the Black order?”

“You haven't heard?” The old man continued “They were attacked a while back. The person in charge was overwhelmed by the number of enemies storming the tower. After a few screams the tower became quiet. Those things took over and it has been haunted by those monsters ever since. Those men that called themselves exorcists scattered throughout the Omniverse. You can imagine my surprise when i saw a single exorcist all the way out here in her lonesome.” the last part of his sentence felt more sinister than Klaud liked. Lau Jimin on her shoulder felt the same and showed it by letting out a growl.

“Feisty little fella ain't ya?” He extended his hand to pet the capuchin, yet had to quickly retract once the animal snapped towards him. Even the old man did not expect this reaction, and for part of a second a skeleton shim with shiny blue eyes appeared over the man’s face. Klaud instinctively reached for her weapon strapped to her belt. Before she was able to draw the even faster reflexes of the old man grabbed her wrist, making sure the weapon stayed where it was. “He doesn’t like being touched by strangers, and neither do i” Klaud explained in a threatening tone whilst attempting to break free from what appeared to be a beastly strong grip. The stranger released his grip, “ Oh ho, excuse me there miss. Seems this old body still has some juice left in it. I meant nothing by it.” Klaud did not buy the man’s act and took a few steps back before drawing out her whip nonetheless. The long leather weapon was activated and coated the brown exterior with a layer of pure innocence energy. The air was filled with the electricity like crackling sound of the weapon, “Enough of these games, who are you? And what do you want from us?”  The man responded as calm as ever, taking a step back and reaching his one hand to the air while the other was still leaning on the crooked kane, “ Oh Hoo, now that is quite the spectacle, you clearly are one of those exorcist folks.” Klaud responded with a loud and vicious crack of her whip,” Don’t dodge the question old man, i want answers.” A very soft untrustworthy grin appeared across the stranger’s wrinkled lips, “I think you have other things to worry about miss.” He nudged towards her right hand. On her hand Klaud felt a burning sensation, it started off as mildly annoying though it started to become more painful as time passed. As strong as the commander was she did not take her eyes of the real threat. It was as if her hand caught flame, even with all her determination and strength Klaud was unable to hold on to her weapon. The uncontrollable shaking in her hand made it impossible to do anything with it but cradle it with her unaffected one. The exorcist winced in pain, falling to her knees she bend over forward, pressing the affected limb against her stomach. The hand itself was cold to the touch, her senses were telling her otherwise. The agonising sensation started to move, from her hand to her wrist, to her lower part of the arm arm, across her elbow, all the way to her upper arm. Klaud’s scream scared away any wildlife that was in the vicinity. Finally it started to subdue, breathing heavily, Klaud was on the ground, her face so red it looked like it could explode at any time. “What did you do to me sorcerer?” she panted. Her stare was shooting daggers at the unaffected stranger who seemed to casually clean his ear with his boney finger. Before answering the beat down prime’s question he flicked whatever filth he extracted from his ears against a tree. “Just a little something to make sure you listen to what i have to say. Have a look, i’m quite the master artist don’t you think?” With a slight sense of panic in her movement Klaud pulled down the exorcist coat over her shoulder, revealing a mark on the side of her bicep. From what she could make out it appeared to be several drops of black liquid sliding off of her arm, if one were to look close enough they might see the image of half a skull. “What is that?” She asked with desperation clearly noticeable in her tone. “That dear child, is my speciality known as ‘the death curse’. I know what you are thinking, ‘whatever gave it that colorful name’. Well i'm not telling yet, it's a surprise i save for later.” Even though he, technically speaking, had Klaud in a corner personality remained unchanged. With a bit of effort she managed to get back on her feet, Lau Jimin was obviously worried, his baby doll eyes looked at Klaud as if he wanted to say ‘everything will be alright’. It had a calm effect on the exorcist. She stroked through his white hair and offered him a smile before returning her attention to the sorcerer that was here to ruin her day. “It seems you got a bit of strength back. We should get moving.” He said while the bones inside his body sounded like a haunted house as he was stretching. “Where are you taking me?” Her question received a questioning look,”Why, the black order tower of course. Isn’t that where you were heading?” Klaud nodded to confirm his question, this whole encounter was a setup. She just didn’t know why, yet.

The old traveller was leading the way, yet his pace of walking was so unbearably slow it started to get to Klaud. “If you’re so powerful how come you don’t move faster? Or summon a vehicle, are you even a prime?” The man did not respond until he managed to get over the branch that was blocking their path. “You have many questions child. None of which answers concern you at this point.” Klaud sighed,”Can i atleast know your name so i know what to call you?”

“ You can call me,... Macda.” As the name left his lips a cold breeze appeared out of nowhere, offering both Lau and Klaud a chill down their spine. The rest of their journey was mostly silent, every now and then Lau jimin chirped as the woods provided some strange noises in the distance. Klaud was mostly occupied with her own thoughts, ‘This is bad, who or whatever this thing is, it got the drop on us. Did i let my guard down or was he truly this strong?’ she rubbed the mark on her arm, ‘And this thing, i can still feel its presence. I will get rid of it even if i have to cut off my own arm.’ Her thoughts got interrupted when she noticed the tall dark tower appearing through the mists. No torches were lit which gave the view quite a ‘haunted house’ vibe. Sadness overcame Klaud to see her beloved home in this state. This was not how she left this place. “Come now my dear, it’s not going to come to you, you know?” the sorcerer was already a bit ahead while Klaud was feeling sorry for herself. She continued to follow her unwanted guide until they finally reached the gate. A big hole in the stone was, were used to be a big wooden door, the gatekeeper of the order was no more. Splinters of wood were still to be found all around. Something forced their way through here, something powerful. The black burn marks on the surrounding stones indicated it was a single strong blast which send the gatekeeper to the afterlife. ‘May god watch over his soul.’ Klaud stepped inside, she felt the cold gaze of the man burning in her back, she could even feel the creepy deadlike grin which he had on his face. Almost as if he was enjoying it. The front door, located but a few meters behind, was a metal one. -was- being a keyword, the portal was all but blown out of his hinges. A few bits and pieces were scattered across the small courtyard. The same black marks appeared on the pieces of debris. With a single glance over her shoulder Klaud noticed -him- still leaning on his kane. His wild beard covering the almost dead face made it difficult to read the man. The exorcist thought she saw a glimmer of satisfaction in his one good eye. Not a good sign for what is to come. The commander took a step inside the main hall and froze in place. Blood splatters coloured the hall red, banners ripped from the ceiling, holes in the ground, however not a single corpse was to be found. Horror overcame Klaud, this scene was straight out of a nightmare. Her companion pressed close to her, she could feel the poor creature trembling. “Hello?! Is anyone alive?!” a desperate cry. Her voice echoed through the empty halls of the order, it was met with a soft chuckle from her guide. The mocking noise continued until he was throwing full blown laughing fit. “What the hell do you think you are doing?! This is funny to you?” Klaud’s arms motioned around her. Pointing out the horrific scene which unfolded here, there was nothing but dead to be found here. “It is funny to me you think there is anyone left here to answer you. We are all alone here little exorcist, just you, me and that little monkey of yours. Oh and that tiny little demon which is lingering outside. Not to worry, he won't come anywhere near us.” The commander's eyes looked at him, then passed him towards the door, the only way in and out. “oh ho. No child, you won’t be leaving through there.” Just as she thought, whoever this man was he was either responsible or at least partly responsible for what happened in these halls. And for whatever reason, Klaud was brought here to finish whatever job there was to finish. She had to stall, think of a plan to get out of this. Finally she uttered a few words which didn't seem snarky. “What happened here?”

“Finally she asks the right question.” The sorcerer said as he limped towards her. Both Klaud and Lau remained on guard but allowed him to come closer. Klaud noticed the mark on her arm becoming more clearly visible as the man came closer. ‘Is he activating it again? No...i don’t feel anything yet. It seems there is a range on this curse thing or at least i hope so.’ breathing heavily the unknown entity stood before her. “These old bones aren't what they used to be, hehe. Here let me show you.” Before Klaud could respond a dark ball of energy formed in the drifter’s hand and pressed it against the exorcist’s forehead. She gasped for air, opened her eyes and there she was, standing in the middle of the black order hall, fully in tact.

Around her exorcists were rushing to the door, behind her she heard Barry screaming out orders, “ We hold this door! We are not letting this thing come into -OUR- home! We are exorcist!! This is what we do, we vanquish evil. Well then lads….let us vanquish some evil!” Klaud rushed towards him,”Barry what’s going on?” He looked straight passed her, completely ignoring her existence. “Barry!” She said in her most authoritative tone. The replacement commander walked down the stairs, straight through Klaud as if she was a ghost. That was it, she wasn't really there. He was showing her what was happening. A loud pouncing sounded upon the metallic door. The blonde turned her attention to the door, where there are several warriors ready to fight to protect their home. She saw bravery yet fear in their eyes. A second pounce was heard, shaking the entire tower. It was like a small earthquake was knocking on the door. “Steady men! Activate your weapons!” Barry shouted to the men. Around her weapons were activating, lighting up the room. Even though she knew where this ended up she felt pride. Proud that these men stood their ground against an unknown evil. A third loud bang was heard and with it the door was shattered in every direction? Hot metal flew in every direction. From the dust a new horror appeared. A skull with crystal blue eyes surrounded by a dark grey cloud flew inside the room. From the clouds dozens of cloth strips shot into every direction, grabbing exorcists and throwing them through the room, some got ripped into bloody pieces, others choked. One of her comrades burst into flames when he got wrapped in the creatures cloth. Within mere seconds half of the forces gathered got slaughtered, they didn't stand a chance.”Run!” shouted Klaud in desperation, she knew she was a mere spectator to the horrorshow but couldn't contain herself. She saw barry shooting off his weapon towards the foe, like throwing a ball of yarn against a rock it bounced off. The screech the undeadlike monster produced was unlike anything she ever heard before, as if she heard the agonising helpless screams from the doomed souls of hell. More and more brave exorcist lost their lives in this futile fight. It ached her seeing her comrades lose their lives like this. Only a few more left, she looked at Barry, he clearly lost hope. Finally he gave the order she was waiting for, “ Retreat! Every exorcist retreat and relocate to the safe houses. Pull back now!!!!” He kicked his ball towards the wall and blew a hole in it. The young commander pulled one of the warriors out with him. ‘At Least some made it.’ She thought as the image was fading, she found herself back where she began. Looking at the now old hole in the wall she realised there wasn't anything they could have done. A chirp of Lau jimin reminded her that they weren't alone. “So how was it? Enjoyed the view?” He mocked. “How dare you sully their sacrifice with your mockery?!” Her anger only seemed to amuse him as if he was savouring a fine meal. “ It's time for you to tell me what this is all about. Why are you here, here with me?” “You haven't figured it out by now? Its to finish what i started.” it was the awnser Klaud was expecting and fearing. Lau Jimin made his way towards her whip, a simple and gentle touch was enough to activate it, and with it surge the innocence power through hee companions body, allowing him to enter his battle mode. It took the sorcerer by surprise, that fraction of a moment was enough for the huge fist of Lau Jimin’s battle mode to connect with the broken old face of the traveller. A loud bang sounded as the old body flew all the way back to the entrance. Klaud rushed towards the other side of the chamber, creating as much distance as she possibly could. With a crack of her whip she kept Lau fed with innocence, allowing him to stay in his form. From outside the door she heard the creepy laugh, the entrance started to fill with a dark grey cloud, with in the centre two crystal blue lights. It was him after all. “Why did you attack us?” Klaud shouted while she was standing in defence position. The undead creature screeched with a high pitched voice, “Because your kind doesn't belong here exorcist! Parading around claiming you hunt demons. Summon all these weak secondaries to hunt your so called akuma. Those things aren't demons, they don't even come close to the real deal. I've shown them a demon a proper one, and it shall be the end of your order. The black order has died, the exorcists have died and with it the Moors have become what it always was, my playground of the undead. Now die and join the other of your kind!” He started his charge. The exorcist duo replied in kind, a firm crack of the whip sen lau Jimin forward, the agile creature rushed towards the undead. Combined with a chilling battlecry the skeleton send several of it’s enchanted cloth strings forward. The combination of the ape’s agility and Klaud’s whip commands guided Lau through the minefield of magic. Klaud noticed the mark becoming more clear during the charge, she needed more distance between them. Lau jumped forward and pushed his right foot between the perfect blue gems of eyes. Pushing the creature back once more, the energy charged punch that followed won them a few more meters. Her mark started to burn, she needed to act quickly before he could work his magic. Wrapping around Lau’s foot one of the cloth pieces started to get a hold. With a single fluent move the undead send the primeape flying towards Klaud,”Insolent creature!”.

The exorcist turned around, “Lau! Long range mode!” She fed the beast a large surge of innocence as it struggled through the debris. He stood upright and prepared to execute the command. The energy was surging inside him. They had to hurry, Klaud started to feel the burn in her arm becoming more and more painful. “Anytime now Lau! Fire!” Another surge of the divine energy was enough, Lau was locked and loaded.” The hall started to fill with the ashen undead smoke, no longer was it a singular cloud of despair, it was growing. It’s eyes nowhere to be seen. “Hold Lau! We only got one shot at this. “ Struggling to keep the energy contained Lau held on to whatever he could. He was clearly in pain. His long range mode was never intended to store energy. Klaud dropped to her knees, the mark was doing it’s dirty work. The ever expanding toxicity of undead mist filled the entire hall. On top of the stair the duo was holding out, both dealing with their own ordeal of pain. Klaud had trouble keeping her eyes open, the pressure of the burning sensation was near unbearable. “Welcome to inferno.” Macda proclaimed loudly. A shimmer of blue was all that Klaud needed. With her shaking hand she pointed towards the Klaud, “Over there! Fire!!” With every drop of innocence power in his body Lau released the divine beam towards where his master pointed. The fading screech indicated it was a direct hit, even the fire that was felt on her arm became bearable again. Lau returned to his normal capuchin form and jumped upon her shoulders,”You're right, let's get the hell out of this place!”

Rushing through the hole in the wall that Barry left for them the duo found their way outside. Klaud bit through the pain and started sprinting. As fast as her legs could carry her she ran as far away from the sorcerer. From behind her a final message echoed through the air, “Run my little exorcist. You will be back, remember, you carry my gift!” Even though she was glad they got away, those last words had her worried. What exactly was this thing she was branded with? Better run now and worry later.

Klaud didn't stop running for over an hour. She was exhausted but fear is a strong motivator. The capuchin fell asleep in her hands, he really gave his all back there. Klaud looked at him with pride, without her comrade she would have never gotten out of there alive. Another glance at the mark she noticed that is was barely visible yet still there. Her knowledge of demonic magic was very limited, she knew how to fight akuma, though magic curses and hellfire demons was an entirely different thing. Her running turned into walking, for a while she was wondering where she would go. The order has always been her home, in and out of the omniverse. Thinking about what she had seen Klaud remembered Barry getting out, together with a few others. She tried to contact base and Kanda, but she hadn’t tried contacting Barry. It was going to be the next step once they reached a safe space. There was but one place left in the moors where they would be even remotely safe, Darkshire.