Finding Aurora

[Nox]

The world spun so out of control. There was little Nox could to do control anything. Ever since his mother had died, the world just kept through shitty events at him. She died. Their father died. They found out they were godlings. They crashed in a plane. Lost their memories. Now when things started looking up, they'd found their memories, each other, a home. Now things started going poorly again. This fucking roller coaster was making Nox sick.

Everyone wanted to help but Nox didn't know where to start. Aria could only track the car so much. It would become too difficult. Hunting monsters that way was easiest. It would take too long and it might already be too late. That thought sent Nox's mind reeling again back into despair. He'd lost his sister because he had been too busy with someone else - too busy in his new life. Now she might be hurt or worse - dead.

Aria's arms were wrapped around him, he could feel hear her heart beating in her chest. She had her own issues and she was fighting her own self just to help him. He had to get it together.

Nox pulled away from his friend and looked down at her. She frowned and he gave her a weak smile. It was going to be a tough ride the whole way through this. He pulled himself up and out of the arms of his friend. He could do this. He had to.

"Aria can talk to our new friend here."
He pointed at the man sitting on the holoscreen with a smile that was not very nice.


Edited by Nox, Sep 8 2015, 12:04 PM.

[Aria]

Nox pushed on. Aria could feel the resolve strengthening. He wasn't above being weak, but he had a job to do now no matter what he felt. And she had agreed to help him. It was part of their friendship more than being partners. He was family, which made Aurora family.

Nox had said she would talk with this man - Deigo De La Cruz. It wasn't exactly something she was good at, nor was it something she really wanted to do. The last man that was a criminal had nearly overwhelmed her. Fear struck a chord inside Aria and she shuddered at the memories. She rubbed her wrists as the chains bit into her arms as she struggled.

Aria nodded. "If you really believe he is behind it then he's a good place to start. I can easily tell if Aurora has been in his residence."
Aria looked to Connor and Ayden. She wasn't sure this was going to go well. Connor was not exactly the type of guy that she wanted to see the darkest parts of her, he had already glimpsed too much. But he was a friend of Nox's. But the fiery red head she had to go.

Aria looked at her and frowned. "She can't come with us. She shouldn't even be here. Nox or I get caught with a known godling and she isn't dead. WE are dead."
She looked at Connor. "You maybe. But even you are in the database - known associate and all. We can't have you two here. We'll help you when we can, but you get us killed and I'll haunt you till the day you die. I appreciate all your help. I know Nox does too. But he's out of his mind for bringing you here. If you want to help. We will meet you outside that address in an hour. It's not going to be pretty. We'll understand if you don't show up."

[Connor Kent]

The tension seemed to dissipate and for that Connor was grateful. Not enough to erase the sense of guilt he felt as he looked at Ayden and saw the anger on her face. She had done nothing wrong. It was Aria. And it was him. He was honest enough to admit it. She might have enflamed things, but he knew he had been attracted to her from the start. The memory of her walking out of the bathroom in nothing but a very short shirt flashed across his mind. No, the seed was already there. Which meant he bore part of the blame. He had wanted to kiss Aria. And more. Maybe not as much blame as Aria had with her abilities, but it was still there.

And likely Aria didn't want to be around Ayden. She said as much. And she didn't want him around either, which he didn't quite understand. She was just going to question the guy...ok. Yeah. Now he got it. He narrowed his eyes. Maybe this guy had Nox's sister and maybe he didn't. That didn't give them the right to torture him for info.

But then something he just thought of circled back and "bit" him. The seed was already there in him. Aria just accentuated it. She hadn't put anything alien there. If she pressed this guy with her abilities and he was innocent, it would be obvious. It had to be. She couldn't make him think he was guilty, to remember things that hadn't happened. At least, he didn't think so. She hadn't even changed him. He'd broken away from her despite what she had done.

If the guy was innocent, it would be no big deal. He'd want to answer her. Guilty and..."Ok. We can meet you there. Just....don't hurt him. If he did something to her, just find out what and where she is. But we can't just go around killing..."
His voice trailed off as another memory came to him. A certain apartment complex. A certain door. A man and a little girl. And the endless stomping. A crushed in skull. He still didn't feel guilty. He felt nothing at it. Except that he suddenly wasn't able to say anymore. He just nodded to them, accepting whatever happened.

What is happening to me? It was the first time he realized he was changing.

[Ayden]

How dare she? Ayden was here first she was helping Nox first, this girl just waltzes in and takes over and no one seems to mind. He would be no where without her. Well without Connor. And now she was being sent away? What the fuck!

But Connor went with it like there was nothing to it. Like this little shit of a girl could tell them what to do. But Ayden kept her temper in check, she wouldn't go after her again. Not after things just calmed down. Besides Nox looked like if she tried anything he'd take her down in an instant.

Why the hell was she helping an Atharim anyway - two of them. And then she remembered, the nagging feeling inside - the girl needed help. Ayden took a deep breath and agree, "We'll meet you there."
Ayden grabbed the coordinates and took Connor by the hand possessively and started for the door. Ayden rolled her eyes the moment her back was the the pair of fucking Atharim.

The name rolled over her stomach like a bulldozer and she just wanted to take her gun out and shoot them on principle, but she was here to help the lost girl. God forbid something happened to another woman because of these two shits.

[Nox]

Ayden looked less than pleased. Aria was standing with her back to the other woman and Ayden couldn't see the smirk splaying on Aria's face. To feel what someone else did when they were so valiantly trying to hide it must be something else. But Ayden hadn't listened to what Aria had said and explained THEY would meet them there.

Aria had rolled her eyes but she let them walk out of the warehouse. The little pup was all a chitter as they left. He lept and bound and barked his own farewell. Nox shook his head, he wasn't feeling much better after his little display of weakness. Aria pushed on, and he could too. Life was full of bullshit, today was no different.

Ayden and Connor left and Aria stood staring at the man on the screen. "You gonna be okay doing this?"


Aria turned and looked at him with a nod. "I'll survive."


She didn't look like she would. The darkness was just behind those emerald pools of her eyes. Nox could see it shifting endlessly - wanting an out.

Aria nodded. "Let's go."


Nox grabbed his leather coat and and a hand gun from his things in his room and carefully hide it in a shoulder holster. Aria grabbed her swords. It felt odd carrying a gun with Aria. But this was not a time to be showing off. With Bas out there and others announcing themselves as god it wasn't safe to rely on his own power anymore. Shit! The world just kept tumbling down the can.

Nox didn't have to ask, he already knew Aria intended to be inside the building before Connor and Ayden met them at their coordinates. So they couldn't stop her. And it was a sad realization that Nox was okay with that - with letting Aria do whatever Aria would do to get the information from the man. He wanted to kill him if he was and Aria wouldn't let him near the man for his own sake. She'd made it abundantly clear when she told him to stay across the street and watch.

As they stood against the building Aria removed the pony tail from her raven hair and let her hair lie across her shoulders and back. Everything she did revealed a little bit more seduction about her. But it was subtle, not like the whores down the street from the warehouse. She was just not the warrior that she usually was. And all the .... Nox pushed the thoughts from his mind as Aria turned with a smirk and and soft laugh. "Hopefully he thinks the same."
Aria needed to get close and she knew exactly how a man would react - he'd only proved that.

Nox watched as Aria crossed the street and went into the building. Nox made himself look busy and uninterested in the world around him staring at his wallet and pretending that he was doing nothing out of the ordinary. They were using the comm system they always did, it was habit and this wasn't even a real mission. So Nox waited...

[Aria]

[[Aria's part is continued in another thread so confusion is lessened as it's a lot longer than I had anticipated. Of Assassination and Murder - part 2]]


Edited by Aria, Sep 8 2015, 02:02 PM.

[Nox]

Nox listened as Aria sweet talked her way past the door. He grinned as he could imagine her hand sliding across the guards hand, or gently touching his cheek. She was not the greatest seductress but that gift of hers was worth a thousand women who knew their way around a man.

Nox flipped through the news feeds around Moscow and he didn't find anything of note on his sister, this location or the man they were after. He did a search on his name and he was some local musician - cello. It would of course be something like that, that would draw his sister in. She was always trying to be something she was not - normal. She wanted a prom. She wanted to go to college. Like they lived normal lives. They were hunters.

Nox sighed and looked up at the building where Aria was flirting with the man inside. Nox prayed she was not drinking the pro-offered drink. But it was his sister who was on his mind. Where the fuck are you Aurora?

Aria made an excuse to use the bathroom. Good woman! Nox flipped his wallet like he was answering it for real and put his hand to the ear peice for the comms device. It was hooked through his wallet, but it didn't need to be answered.

"I'm going to need help. I won't be able to hear you but I know you are listening."
Aria sounded distant, she was not wrapped in that bubble of hers, she was just - what? He couldn't say, but Aria was feeling something. That scared Nox.

"Be careful Aria. I'm here if you need me. If you need me in an emergency, tell him who's haunting your darkness and I'll come no matter what's in my way."
There was going tob be issues. Getting past the door man alone without causing a scene would be hard.

"Thank you."
Aria went dark again. He hated this. Waiting always sucked!

She was back with the man flirting again. Come on Aria find out what's really going on...

[Connor Kent]

Connor could tell Ayden was upset. He felt torn. He just didn't see a way out. He wanted to help. He had to help. And he knew Ayden felt the same way but not for the same reasons. He remembered the many times she woke up from her nightmare, the same one, of her holding a bloody heart; of him dying. Something ate at her, some fear and she felt helpless.

How many things do we do because we feel helpless? Because we want to show that we have power, are not afraid? He laughed bitterly at the memory of him in the subway tunnels, jumping the tracks to rush at a man with a gun. God, what was he thinking?

He wasn't, that was the problem. He was feeling and acting was a way to deal with- or ignore- those emotions. Ayden had been silent as she walked beside him on the way home. She might as well have been Fort Knox.

"Listen, you don't have to do this. It's..."
he began. He trailed off under her gaze. Those fiery red contacts made her look other-worldly to people. She was fiesty. But that was one of the reasons he loved her. "Well....do you want to get some coffee or something while we wait for those two?"

[Ayden]

Connor left with her, she was brooding and she knew it. He kindly left her to her own thoughts. He tried to tell her she didn't have to do this. But really she did, for that poor girl's sake. The two Atharim could take a flying leap for all she cared, but this girl was missing...It didn't matter than she was probably Atharim too.

Connor asked after coffee. "Yeah, sure."


They stopped at a coffee shop and grabbed their usual and sat down and chatted about nothing in particular. Ayden couldn't help but thinking that this was going to go badly. It was a gut feeling.

"We have to catch the train to get there in time."


It was a quick hope and they'd likely get there a few minutes after they said to meet. Ayden saw the lanky kid standing against the wall without his little friend and she started to seethe. Ayden tried to keep her anger in check but she rushed up to Nox and pushed him against the wall with one hand, "Where is she?"


He laughed. He had the audacity to laugh at her. The fury rose and Ayden wanted to hit his cocky little mouth - wipe that smile off his face.

She felt Connor pull her back. "Ayden!!! Stop!"
The look of frustration on his face was plain. "We can't do this like this. I mean..."
he looked confused. "How are we supposed to save this girl if we can't be in the same room without one of us hitting the other?"


He was standing in between them now.


Edited by Ayden, Sep 14 2015, 12:16 PM.

[Nox]

Nox was still flipping through things about this man. He was just a nobody performer - a rich nobody but still a nobody. Aurora would like him. She was always into that sort of thing.

Nox heard Aria say, "You shouldn't have done that."
And then he found himself up against the wall with the feisty little red head hold him there with just her hand. Nox laughed at her. What did she think she was doing? Did she have that much courage to take him on? He wasn't just the skinny kid after all, she knew what he was. He'd demonstrated exactly what he could do.

Thankfully her soon-to-be husband pulled her away and stood between them. Like he'd hit a girl... Nox grinned at her, "Well hi to you too. Aria's already inside."


Nox straighten his rumpled jacket and pulled two ear pieces out of his pocket. "Here. You can't talk to her, but we can hear her."


Things had gone quiet. But he could hear breathing. Ayden interrupted his listening. "Why didn't you wait for us? I thought you wanted our help."


Nox gave Ayden a fake smile. "Wasn't my call. Aria's the leader in this game. Besides she's just getting information. What did you plan on doing, Duckling? Rushing up there and hitting him until he talks?
His voice dripped with sarcasm. It was probably a bad idea to taunt this fiery goddess.


Edited by Nox, Sep 14 2015, 01:00 PM.