A Game of Shades - (More will be added to the plot as we go along)

Part 1 - Trey Kings and Klaus


Blood dripping from his jaw and a look of glee on his face, Scar walked down an alley way in Vibora bay, just after a successful hunt. As always after a large meal, he was off to a local bar to wash down his all he had consumed with a nice warm glass of brandy, the taste of Nephilim still lingering on his tongue and his armour covered in blood and gore. Scarlet would often relish the events prior by taking a long walk through the many alley ways of Vibora before reaching his destination. As he took a different route to normal, he found himself staring at a dead end. He leaped over the wall and landed nimbly on the other side. As Scar looked up, a group of Trey Kings stood watching him. The leader of the group, a tall man, at least a foot taller than one of their normal grunts, was the first thing to catch Shade’s eye. A slim build with hunched shoulders and an elegant face, he did not appear as many others of the Trey Kings, in fact, he was the exact opposite of the norm for them. He stood there in front of Scarlet, hands held behind his back, his black round spectacles hiding his eyes from sight. A slim curve appeared on his thin, wiry lips as the others of his group began to surround Shade. When he spoke it was with a German accent, but his voice was as smooth as woven silk.

“Lord Shade I presume?”

Scarlet raised a brow, a common tell of his where he is either interested or debating how to kill someone. “Aye, that would be me”

“Well it is an honour to meet you My Lord” the figure bowing at the waist, that slimy smile still on his face.

“I’m sure it is. Usually when I come to Vibora, I don’t receive a welcoming party…or a large snack… depending on how you look at it. Either someone REALLY likes me, or this is going to get a little…messy”

“Oh we have no intention of fighting you My Lord. In fact, we wish to work with you on a little project. We have heard many things about your…Prowess” The last word seemed to trickle from the man’s lips like honey from a bee hive. Sweet yet sickly.

“And why would I want to work with the Trey Kings? Last time I checked you served a “Higher power”. And he isn’t one of my favourite people, in fact, he’s on my list…”

The group surrounding Scarlet laughed and grunted, obviously amused by his ignorance. They jeered and laughed until oh of them let out a blood curdling cry and dropped to the floor, dead. The laughing stopped and they all looked at Scarlet, who had not moved an inch.

“Like I said, He’s on my list.” He grins at them, his eyes flashing Scarlet. “You boys should have done your homework, F- for all of you”. Scar slowly raised a hand, the Trey Kings surrounding him dying all together, their souls and essence falling to the void. All except the man stood in front of Scar, that grim smile still on his face.

“Impressive. Anti-magicka I assume?”

The man chuckled a little, finally removing his glasses “Yes, but not the traditional kind”

Again, Scarlet raised his brow “Chaos, Voidic, Shadow, Celestial?”.

The man just looked at Scarlet with a look that suggested he should have known better “Blood magic Lord Shade. Blood is life, Blood is power. You of all beings should know that at least”

Watching him closely, Shade looks the man up and down as his appearance shimmers and changes to a uniform. Scarlet sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose “What is it you want from me?”

The Blood mage looked at him with a cold grin. “Power. You’re a Lord of the Void and can grant such a gift. Connect me to the Mother and let me….ascend”

A bark of a laugh emanated from behind the Blood mage, who turned to see who it was.

Emerging from the shadows clapping comes another demon, his skin purple and his hair dark, a charming smile but clad in armour and a scythe in his hand, which giggled away. The 2nd demon stopped and looked at the mage “Demanding power from a demon lord when you have not earned it? For shame Blood Mage, for shame”

Scarlet grinned at the new comer, his eyes flashing scarlet once more before speaking up “Hello brother, what a pleasant surprise to find you here, of all places. How faired your day? Not too much trouble I hope?”

Violet Shade chuckled as the two often did in unison “No trouble, or though im surprised you allowed yourself to be caught by those that proclaim to be “Kings” and this runt of a mage”. Violet would point to the strange blood mage, a mocking look on his face.

The blood mage simply smiled and looked back to Scarlet “We will be seeing each other very soon My Lord, especially if you wish help disposing of Ebon. Oh, and the name, is Klaus”

Scarlet looks at him, mouth ajar. But before he could even ask the mage a question, he was gone.



Part Two - UNTILS Mole


As per usual, the sun was shining in Millennium City, not a cloud to be seen and it was deemed….awful weather. The birds where singing in the trees and civilians walked about the plateau of the Ren Centre, laughing and talking like always. Scar watched all of this happen, sitting and drinking something called a “Mocha Caffé”. People watching was something that Scarlet did on a day to day basis, and he always came to the same conclusion. The Humans are like animals he thought to himself. You have those, like Defender that strut around like a peacock, some that wandered around like dodo birds – thick and dull and then you have the majority – The Sheep – the ones who just follow the peacocks round and around and around. Pathetic. Truly. As Scar glanced around, he could not fathom why people enjoy the heat and light of the sun, it was bright and uncomfortable. Even in his human form, the demon beneath squirmed in the day light.

He squints at the sun, muttering to himself “who their right mind considers this a beautiful day?”

“Those that aren’t creatures of the dark would consider it beautiful, light gave life. But of course you remember that don’t you Mr Shade?”

As Scarlet glances to his right, a UNTIL officer with a group of soldiers was stood close by, to which he let out a long sigh “And what exactly can a simple Business man do for UNTIL? Do you need a donation? Your equipment is looking a little… worn”

The officer rolled his eyes “Don’t play dumb Mr Shade, we know exactly who you are and WHAT you are, so can we talk like civilised sentient beings?”

Scar gave him a smile, the illusion of him being human fading, appearing as he most commonly did among friends. Local Civ’s see scar change either walked away quickly while others ran for the hills. Scar sips his coffee and crosses his legs “Ok, so you’ve caught me. What could UNTIL possible want with little old me?”

“My name is Cosson, Officer Cosson, UNTIL Supernatural Division. We’ve come to you because currently, you’re the only one who knows anything about Ebon.

The rest of your group are reluctant to talk with me”
Scarlet would perk his brow “And you wonder why. You and yours are nothing but trouble”

“We feel very much the same about you and YOURS Mr Shade. However, this is by the by, we should work together on stopping Ebon”

Letting out a long sigh and placing his coffee cup down, Scar looked Cosson right in the eye, a flash of crimson in his own “Why is everyone so interested In him all of a sudden? It makes no sense. First the blood mage and now UNTIL. If any of you had really been bothered in the first place then I MAY have been more inclined to help you. But no, you all decided to ignore the problem and let us deal with it”

Cosson looked at Scar, emotionless and professional, exactly as UNTIL likes their grunts. Cosson looked to the soldiers that accompanied him “Boys, give me a few minutes with Mr Shade” To which many looks of uncertainty were exchanged, but the soldiers all saluted and walked off back towards Headquarters.

Once the soldiers were out of ear shot and sight, Scar unfolded a newspaper and sipped his coffee “I thought they’d never leave Cosson. Mother wept why did you bring them with you?”

Cosson slumped in his seat a little and rubbed his brow “It’s not easy being a Mole you know. UNTIL are very tight, security’s been increased ever since Maelstrom wiped our systems, personnel checks, it’s been a god damn nightmare Shade”  

Without even looking up, scar sighed and turned the page of his paper “Is that not what I pay you for? Is that not what I pay you VERY WELL for?”

Cosson obviously hated dealing with the demon but never the less he did “Yes you do…sir” the words seeming to stick in his throat “We’ve detected several anomalies matching the one in London that Ebon opened. The one that’s giving off the most energy so far is at Burnside…”

At this point, Scarlet looks up at the Officer, his brow furrowed “Burnside? Really? Seems a strange place to open a rift wouldn’t you say?”

Cosson raised his hands a little “I don’t know, this is all new to me Shade. Its not dangerous yet but  will keep you posted.” He pauses before getting up “Scarlet…this Ebon Guy, is he as bad as reports say?”

Scar just glanced at Cosson, not saying a word but his face would have said it all. And with that, Cosson stood, turned on his heel and went back to UNTIL.


Part 3 - The Price

“MC in the dead of night is still one of the liveliest places on Earth, very few people seem to sleep in this city. Even when the night is so dark you can’t see two foot in front of yourself, it is never quiet and there’s always something happening, whether it’s in Club Caprice, Downtown or the alleyways of Westside. Now, there are people, then there are creatures….”

A dank dark alley filled with bins, rats, mattresses and all the things you would expect housed a meeting for a few of the New Purple Gang. All had pulled there hats down over their faces, the jackets done up and every now and then, they would glance around to see if anyone was there, almost as if they didn’t trust the space they were in…or each other for that matter. The biggest member, the 7.5 foot tall enforcer Tommy “The Boot” Salvonni, was stood with his back to one of the alley walls. The discussion was over the way Kevin Poe had been acting strangely, asking members to dress in all black instead of purple, taking trips with large groups of NPG members to places like Vibora and the Desert, how if someone displeased him, they were gone without a trace. Even for the NPG, this was a little too strange.

Tommy spoke up as the bickering had gotten loud enough for a passer by to hear “Keep ya’ voices down will ya’? Jesus Christ. Look the fact of th’ matter is, Poe has us doin’ things that Red Banner are into, ya’ know, the magic and stuff, that’s their territory. It ain’t natural”

The smallest member Ziggy piped up “You know what he asked me for the other day? Blood of a virgin. I mean, is it me or is that a little odd”

Tommy rolled his eyes “Of course that’s odd, as if that is in any way normal”

Ziggy looked up, his face turning red at being talked down to “listen you big fat ape, I….”

A sudden noise from behind the group alerted them all, the gang pulling their guns and knives from holsters and pockets, turning to see who it was. Low and behold, Night Hawk had landed to deliver his unique brand of Justice. “Evening Gentlemen. Bit late for a shady meeting in a dark dank alley wouldn’t you say?”

Tommy grunted at the hero “Aye, and ain’t it a bit late to be poking your nose in Night Hawk" The gag stowed their weapons away “Look we was just talkin’ a’right? We ain’t doin’ nothin’ illegal”

Night Hawk looked to each and every one of them “I’ll believe you this time. But I have a few questions that you WILL answer. Its about your boss…”

Ziggy scoffs “see?! We’re not the only ones thinking something’s wrong with poe” and with that all the NPG members were trying to tell Night hawk all at once what they thought, had been ordered to do and the like before a new voice cut through the other voices like a knife through butter.

“That’s because he isn’t Kevin Poe you simple minded, idiotic, pathetic excuse’s for life forms. Anyone with intelligence beyond that of a glass of water could see that”

As they all turned to see the source of the voice, they look upon a single figure donned in armour and a long cape. Tommy stepped forward, angry he had been called simple, though the truth of that is far greater than anyone had previously expected. “Who th’ ‘ell do ya’ think ya’ are?! I’m gonna come over there and…….”  

The sudden silence that fell on the alley way would have been eerie and gave off a cold feeling as Tommy the boot dropped to the floor and exploded into dust. Night Hawk stepped up and screamed at the NPG “Run! Now!” as he turned back to the assailant, his eyes grew wider and his mouth ajar as from the shadows stepped Scarlet Shade, covered in blood and gore, breathing heavy. But something wasn’t right. Yes he was a demon but he had never caused problems that needed any attention from Hero’s before, but this Shade looked different, sounded different, felt different. His skin was cracked and leaking pure Voidic energy, radiating it almost. He looked terrible.

Night Hawk held up a hand “Do not come any closer Shade. You just killed a man, your going to pay, even if he was a scumbag, he didn’t deserve to die”

A cruel and cold smile appeared on Scarlet’s lips “I thought I was doing you a favour. After all, you’ve done so much for this city, I thought I’d give something back”

Night Hawk  gritted his death “Death is no Gift”

Scarlet let out a laugh as harsh as the arctic winds “sorry, you mistake me for someone who cares. You hero’s. always assuming your better than the rest of us. Well I have some news for you, you’re not. Just like all the other little humans, you are naught but worms, cowering beneath the power of other races”

This is when Night Hawk snapped and unleashed a flurry of punches, kicks and small bomb pellets, sending Shade flying into a wall, a concave of bricks falling on him. As Night Hawk caught his breathe, smirking to himself at his apparent success, the bricks and rubble exploded and there Scarlet Stood, rolling his neck and shoulders, the cold grin still on his face. “My Turn?”

Scar lifted a hand and released a energy blast that sent Nigh Hawk rocketing of into several buildings, finally landing close to the Champions jet. As the Dark hero lay there, injured and alone, Scarlet appeared from nowhere and knelt next to him, leaning down to whisper “You and the other Champions get in my way, I will kill you all” and with that, the demon faded to nothing, leaving Nighthawk to drag himself away to lick his wounds and pass of Shade’s Dark message.