Dissonant Hearts (Degusaurusrex x AndrewS)

[Degusaurusrex]

"Don't have time for thiiiiiiiis. Fuck!" Adelaide was swearing profusely as she raced around the shop trying to figure out what she needed to grab. Without the phone to contact Nikolai and see what he and the others had been able to take on their way out, she had no way of knowing if there was anything Lorelei would need to complete the task Adelaide had for her.

Some random important looking artifacts were shoved into the bag haphazardly, then scraps of metal and possible electronics on the off chance they needed to fashion something. One of Samara's watches she had previously made for Dissonants, probably devoid of magic with the spell already spreading through the city, but that could be fixed when she was far enough away to get to work on everything. Anything else could be left behind before she ran out of the option to even open a portal from here. Just being in the shop for a couple of minutes was already starting to take its toll on her, which told her that the spell was getting strong and had come through a good portion of Cresthaven already. Was Takami still alive, or had he been wiped out in the initial wave?

She stumbled making her way down the hall, caught by a sudden wave of dizziness that had her cursing and rushing to grab the first thing she could find that smelled like Lorelei's magic. The fact that it was a brush abandoned on the bed like some sort of cliche witch story didn't elude her, but she didn't have enough time to laugh or roll her eyes about it as she channeled her wavering magic into locating where Lorelei actually was.

"Crazy bitch, you'd better still be with everyone." The fact that a portal didn't immediately open when she'd located Lorelei's presence was concerning. She hadn't even been back in the city for a full five minutes and her magic was already taking a hit from Malakai's spell. Just how strong was the one he'd set off? If Roland hadn't warned her in time before... They'd have been royally fucked, and not in the way that had occurred outside of her house before leaving Isen behind...

When the portal finally pulled at the seam of existence and began to open it did so awkwardly, slowly and in awkward stretches that seemed unable to form a proper doorway or even a circle. The nausea working its way upward increased as she forced more of her magic into the air, forcing it open just enough for her to tuck the bag against her stomach and lunge through before it snapped shut behind her.

"Well, hello to you too, Ada." Nikolai's weary voice reached her as she picked herself off the floor, looking around an unfamiliar and shoddily constructed room. It lacked the comfort and warmth of the house she'd been in earlier that day, or even the shop that was now abandoned for the foreseeable future, but it seemed safe and she saw everyone she had left behind when Roland had called.

"Good, you're all here. We figured out a plan to take the spell down, but I need you--" She skipped a proper hello and stabbed a finger in the air at Lorelei, who raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing. "To recreate Project Acuity in a smaller gadget so I can get it near Maximillian and shut down the spell."

"Ada..."

"No, no, it'll work. I just need to get close enough to shut down the spell and then the cavalry can come in!" She'd missed it in her excitement the first time, but this time there was no mistaking the look that Lorelei and Nikolai were exchanging before her grandmother turned to her with a defeated expression. "Why are you two looking at each other like that? You think I can't do it?"

"Adelaide, you should sit down."

"Tell me what's going on." She crossed her arms over her chest and gave the older woman a stubborn shake of her head. "Why don't you think it will work?"

"Adelaide, it's not that I don't believe in you. The problem is that I can't recreate Project Acuity to use against Maximillian, because the demon Malakai that he has in his scepter is Project Acuity."

"What? No, I don't... I don't understand." Her legs wobbled as things started to come together in her head, as she struggled to make sense of how a demon could possible be become that monstrosity of a drone army when she knew damn well that Lorelei had been involved in it. "You made those drones."

"I did, with spells and magic that they gave me. Malakai's magic."

Adelaide's legs gave out then, sending her thudding to the floor as she let go of her bag and sank to her knees. Nikolai was at her side in moments placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, but Adelaide could hear Claudia's sigh of disgust in the background as she processed the information. Was there ever a time the woman didn't give her hell just for being involved?

"You got something to say back there, bitch?"

"Adelaide, ignore her. Claudia, that's enough. We don't have time for any of this."

"Ain't got time for her to be sitting on the floor ready to cry like a puppy at the curb, either."

"Other than killing one demon in an alleyway I don't see you fucking helping either. So either do something that actually fixes this mess we're in, or shut your goddamn mouth you stuck up bitch!"

"Adelaide, it's not worth it."

Isabella's exhausted voice drew her back to the situation at hand as she let Nikolai help her up, and she abandoned her bag to cross to the vampire and pull her into a tight hug. They held each other for several moments before Adelaide pulled back, searching Isabella's face for any good sign that Takami had come back or she knew he was okay. Isabella only shrugged her shoulders, but Adelaide could see the tears starting to well up as the vampire blinked them away.

"A problem for later, Ada. Let Lorelei explain. We only found out a bit ago, too. You haven't been gone all that long."

Yeah, just long enough to crash land in my house with a demon, argue with my boyfriend, have a quickie in the yard and then hop around Cresthaven tiring myself out.

All in all, she'd probably only been gone for an hour or two. How many things had happened in such a short time that were now finally coming to a dramatic end? It hadn't even been a full month since she'd sought out Isen and they'd begun their tentative partnership, had been even less since she'd met Isabella or her family she thought long gone. How had things changed so dramatically in such a short span, leaving her here unsure if she would even see another sunrise?

"Why don't you eat something while I explain? There's not much, but something is better than nothing." It was well into the afternoon now, and she hadn't eaten anything since that morning at the mall, so she took the pack of plain crackers offered to her and numbly took a seat in an offered chair. "I never knew the extent of Project Acuity when I was helping create it." The guilt on Lorelei's face was clear as she started to talk. "It was just supposed to track potential threats and be able to stun them long enough to be taken into custody if necessary. It was never meant to drain someone to death, just stop their magic and keep them contained."

"You just took the magic and put it in the machines." Lorelei nodded. "And you're telling me... The magic used to fuel them and that massacre they were involved in... Came from Malakai?" Another nod, and Adelaide almost exploded from the chair, gripping the half empty wrapper in her hand and speaking through clenched teeth.

"How the fuck did you not know you were playing with demon magic?"

"Adelaide, stop, that's not the point." Nikolai cut in before Adelaide turned her scathing glare on him, but he didn't back down. "What's done is done. The point is that we can't replicate the drones or Project Acuity. If we want the spell to come down, we have to figure out another way."

 

[AndrewS]

When Klaus woke up, he felt incredibly groggy. It was like every inch of energy had been sapped from his body. A weight spread through every limb, making it near impossible for him to sit up from his slumped position against a wall that felt impossibly, uncomfortably hard against his back. Nothing felt right. His first instinct was to search his surroundings, recalling what had happened just before he had fallen unconscious, but he appeared to be the only one there, frozen in place, not from paralysis, but from sheer, overwhelming fatigue.

Unable to move, his second instinct was to try and dip himself out into one of his other bodies, but when he attempted to use his magic, nothing happened at all. No spark, no feeling of energy coursing through his body, no connection to the arcane.

Nothing.

"What have you done...?" The demon groaned, lethargic.

"P-please..." Another voice seemed to reach Klaus' ears, a barely audible whisper from outside of the room he had been taken to. "H-hel-"

Klaus tried, again, to move forward. His body ached and yearned with each muscular contraction. It took everything he had in him to lurch forward enough to separate from the wall only to fall flat onto his stomach immediately after. His arms faltered to hold his weight, and the heaviness took over, leaving him flat against the tile with a groan.

"P-plea-" The voice whined, a second time, somehow even fainter than the first.

Crawling and scratching his way towards the door frame, he expended every ounce of strength he had left to move just a couple of feet forward over what must have been several, agonizing minutes. Finally, cresting the door frame, his head peeked around a corner to see the source of the noise; another body, haphazardly laying across the center of the hallway. In a similar state of distress, they struggled to even turn their own head to face him. A demon, though weak and frail, opened it's mouth to ask for help again, but only a whimper escaped. Their eyes began to fall shut, lifelessly, and that was the last time Klaus saw them move.

Footsteps echoed from a little farther away, growing closer. A pair of hands hooked underneath Klaus' arms, lifting him back up into a seated position once again. Kneeling before him, Roland leaned in to get a closer look at him, before letting his eyes drop down to the fallen demon at his feet. "God damn it..." He exhaled, underneath his breath. "Even you? Weren't you with him when it...?" He trailed off, shaking his head. "Alriiiight. Just rescuing a demon. No big deal." He continued to talk to himself, hoisting Klaus back to his feet once more. He wrapped the demon's arm around his shoulder, for support, then checked both directions of the hall, as if afraid that somebody might see him in the act. "You're heavy..."

"I can't move..." Klaus muttered. "Why can...you...?"

"Because I'm a plain, old human." Roland answered, straining to move forward, but pulling Klaus along with him. "Bet you hate that, don't you? Needing my help?" Roland smirked. The two had a working relationship, and were aware of each other at least, with both serving important roles within the DSTF before Malakai and Max decided to pull the trigger on their spell. "Gonna need a favor, so you can't die on me yet."

---

"Is it everything you hoped it would be?"

"Not yet."

"You're hard to please." Max sighed, though he didn't seem too distressed. After all, their plan had gone off without a hitch. He was looking out through a window at a city that was underneath their control and slowly, but surely, feeding all of it's magic into the scepter and the being housed within it. "I'm not used to it being so silent." He continued, noting the streets were completely barren. There weren't any cars driving, or people walking. No noise, whatsoever. "Will you write with me? One last time? Before, you know..."

"No." Malakai's voice echoed back to him. "The quiet is preferred."

"Ah, you would waste a brilliant muse, wouldn't you?" Max grumbled, eyes darting towards his organ. "A swan song for the Dissonants. It would be fitting."

"Are you having regrets?" The demon's question almost sounded like a threat more than it did a question. Max shook his head, undeterred, before correcting him.

"Not in the slightest. There's just a special kind of beauty within an ending."

"Hmph." Malakai seemed unimpressed, so Max decided it best to change the topic.

"What is the first thing you'll do once you're free from your prison?"

There was a short delay before Malakai made his indignant proclamation. "Rip out his throat."

"So violent. Always so violent." Max chastised, though unserious in tone. "You certainly know how to hold a grudge, old friend. I'm not surp-"

"Silence."

Max stopped, immediately. He could feel a shift in Malakai's presence through their bond together. Something was wrong. Something, very sudden, had disrupted their connection to the energy field they had produced.

"She is back."

Max's brow rose, his grip tightening around the scepter. "Foolish girl...let us pay her a visit before she sneaks off again."

---

A black pulse of energy began to grow in the center of the room Adelaide was in. Like a crack, forcefully pulling itself through the air, the fabric of reality itself blended into a purple and black void. A portal. Life had been sucked from the room in an instant, even more so than the spell had. Waves of overwhelming, dark magic sifted forward in all directions as, from the opening abyss, Maximilian stepped out. He looked at the people present, though he was all but ignoring most of them. Instead, his devilish eyes focused in on Adelaide and Lorelei.

"I knew we were keeping you lot alive for a reason." He jested, brow sharpening as his voice distorted through Malakai's will.

"Bait."

"Escaping death twice just wasn't enough for you? Well, you know, they say third time's the charm but, I really don't think you're going to make it out of this one..."

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"That... Might actually work."

They'd been mulling over options for the last several minutes once Adelaide had managed to get a snack down. She'd also taken the opportunity to change into clean clothes and redo her braid while they talked, fighting against the occasional waves of nausea and the ache starting to form in her head. Getting drained by Malakai quickly had been agonizing before the impromptu rescue by her family, but being drained slowly was exhausting and made it hard to focus. The locator spell and half assed portal to get herself here had taken the last large portion of her strength, and even the ring she'd acquired weeks ago couldn't keep up with the drain the spell was creating.

"I'd forgotten all about that, there were so many things Samara had me studying and learning I couldn't list them all if my life was on the line." She fidgeted with the pieces of metal she was arranging in her hands, clicking components together and sighing. "Of course, that still involves getting close enough. I don't think I have the energy to open another portal."

"Perhaps if we all pooled what was left of our magic together, we could open one to get you there."

"I still need to have magic to work it, though, so that won't work. I might just have to walk and hope that I don't get found along the way." It was only a matter of time until Maximillian and Malakai realized she was back in the city, if they hadn't already.

"He'll have humans still loyal to him, you won't be able to just walk in the front door, Adelaide."

"Great job stating the obvious, you old broad." Claudia sneered at Lorelei and earned another annoyed stare from Nikolai before they went back to discussing the different options. Adelaide was able to determine that while she was a fair bit from the shop that was no longer safe, they hadn't left the city entirely and had no intention of doing so. The DSTF would most likely have guards stationed at the edges of the city to detain or kill anyone trying to escape the reach of the spell, and even if they were able to slip by there was the likelihood that Malakai would inevitably extend the spell past Cresthaven until he was satisfied with how much power he'd acquired. How much power did he need, and what was his end goal?

"Out of time, world hero." Claudia's sarcastic tone reached Adelaide's ears as a void began to form in the middle of the room, prompting her to shove what was in her hand under her shirt and into her bra before stumbling to her feet. The sight of a demon possessed Maximillian stepping out was enough to send a mixture of dread and fear spiraling through her even as she waved an unsteady arm in Nikolai's direction.

"Get them out of here!" The ring was providing her with a small reservoir of magic that she was able to pull from, and she managed to shoot off a couple bursts of it in Max's direction despite knowing it would have no effect. Her intention was more to distract from the others in the room, the others incapable of simply portaling themselves out and to safety.

"Jesus, does no one know how to fight with anything other than magic?" Claudia rolled her eyes and stepped around where Nikolai was trying to herd everyone back from the darkness, taking advantage of Maximillian's current focus on Adelaide and Lorelei. Her movements were clunky but determined as she weaved across the room, shoulder checking Adelaide along the way before she swung the metal bar in her hand toward the embodiment of evil.

"...Is that a fireplace poker?"

 

[AndrewS]

Feeble bursts of magic crossed the room in Max's direction, and even though he saw them coming, he didn't so much as lift a hand to try and block them. The weakened magic has been drained further by the field as it traveled until it's contact with the demon-host's body failed to even make him flinch. It petered out and dissipated without causing any harm whatsoever, and it drew a chuckle to the musician's lips. This was what was left of the all powerful Lancaster mage the DSTF had been hunting? She had only been inside his spell for mere minutes, had she nothing left to even defend herself? What a waste.

Max turned his head as he noticed Claudia approaching him. He seemed amused, lifting his scepter upwards so that it's metallic staff clunked against the swing of her melee weapon, rejecting it's advance towards him. "Hm?" He mused, tilting his head slightly at his would-be attacker before swinging the scepter in one smooth, outward motion, causing the crystalline ball at it's end to make contact with Claudia's cheek, sending her spiraling down to the ground. He presumed she was unconscious, but he hardly cared to check.

"You treat your guests terribly. And I thought demons lacked manners."

With a sigh, he waved the scepter again. Streams of his own magic, the dark arcane which Malakai commanded, weaved through the air, undeterred by the spell that what otherwise crippled all of the magical beings inside of it. They wrapped around each person still in the room, save for Adelaide, curling around their bodies and engulfing them in what was, essentially, a casing of black magic. Trapping them inside, it suppressed any effort to move, and amplified the effects of the drain they were already experiencing.

"As much as I would love to crush your little friends, as well as the traitor you harbor in your midst, a broken Lancaster is hardly of use to me." Max continued, humming to himself. "You're right." He spoke to the voice inside of his head that was choosing not to present itself outward through him this time. "No, not yet. She provides an alternate path." Max's eyes focused back in on his prey, who remained the only person disentangled from Malakai's dark influence.

"Alright, Lancaster. You know the drill. Come willingly, spare your friends, the usual drib and drab. Don't make this harder than it needs to be. We like when it is."

Two more tendrils of magic began to snake through the air, one on each side of her body, closing in threateningly but, for now, keeping an appropriate distance from her until he heard her response.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

Adelaide winced as the scepter connected with Claudia's face and sent her tumbling to the ground. Other than the faint sight of blood littering the floor, she couldn't tell if it had outright knocked out the other mage or just injured her, and despite her dislike for Claudia's haughty nature, she felt bad for the woman.

"You're an intruder, not a guest." She didn't have the energy to verbally spar with him right now, not when the majority of her energy was being used just to stand upright against the dark magic filling the room. It was crawling and creeping everywhere in sight before it seemed to unfurl and weave it way around each body aside from Adelaide's, stopping any chance of escape they might have had with whatever meager magic remained in their systems. Adelaide cursed, watching as Maximillian seemed to have a conversation with himself before turning the whole of his focus on her.

What choice did she have? She could try to fight back and still lose but take out what remained of her family with her. Could she really trust Max to spare them if she went with him? It was a doubtful prospect, but the fact remained that right now he was using them as leverage against her, and he could only do that so long as they were still alive. Her legs were already shaking from the effort of trying to hold up against the overload of magic in the room, her eyes darting between Max and the others that were currently wrapped in magic tendrils.

"Fine." Her shoulders sagged and she let out a weary breath. "But you let them go, first."

 

[AndrewS]

Max stared back at her, as if trying to discern whether or not she was lying to him about actually coming peacefully. The tendrils that were approaching drew back a little further, a sign of tepid acceptance, but he didn't seem enamored with the idea of letting all of his captives go to prove some sort of point to her.

"You're making demands? You're quite brazen." He mused, as close to a compliment he'd ever spit in her direction. "Half now. Half later." He made a counter proposition, and to show that he was serious about it, several of the incased mages, including Isabella, were released from their darkened prison. "Take your vampire friend's release as a sign of good faith. Now, if you wish for the others to be free, step forward. No tricks." He warned, eyeing her still, directing her to get closer towards him, and the source of the dark magic that had enthralled her allies. The rift behind him continue to trickle into the room, sending pulse after pulse of nefarious energy outward, waiting like a vacuum to draw them both back inside.

His free hand lifted, clutching at Adelaide's wrist when she trudged close enough towards him. His touch was cold and rough, like the dark magic coursing through his veins burnt and seared against her skin from the second he made contact. With a forceful tug, he separated her entirely from the side of the room where her friends were, practically pulling her beneath his arm. Looking at her, one last time, he waved the scepter and, surprisingly, upheld his part of their bargain, sparing the remainder of the people present from his trapping and, within the same motion, stepping backwards into the portal, letting it rip them both inside and away from the shop.

It rippled to a close, vanishing as though it were never there, but taking with it the overwhelming dread it had created and leaving the inhabitants of the shop caught only within the original drain and suppression of the magic field.

---

Rykard, several drinks in, wandered outside where he found Isen on the deck, leaning against the railing. He seemed disconnected from the rest of the world around him. While demons alike shared drinks and prepared for war, he thought only of what that war stood to take from him. The longing in his chest hadn't vanished since Adelaide had left, and though it only been a short while, he could already feel like she had been taken from him entirely.

"Drink." Rykard said, walking to Isen's side and clunking the bottom of a bottle against the railing.

"Not interested."

Rykard huffed, lifting the spout of the bottle to his own lips and drinking straight from the alcohol inside, showing no sign of being stung by it's after taste. "Suit yourself. But if you ask me, if anybody here needs a drink, it's probably you."

"Why are you still here?" Isen asked him, sharply, straight and to the point.

"Don't know." Came the response in a manner that seemed to imply that Rykard wasn't actually lying about that. "Could've ran a while ago, but I'm not sure where I'd go. City's a death trap, all of the people I know inside of it are probably dead. Guess I'm just staying where the alcohol is."

"Right." Isen responded, still seeming distant and disinterested in talking with the demon.

"Look, kid, I ain't trying to be your friend." Rykard began talking again, his voice growing more stern. "And I don't care about you one way or another, but there are people here who do. World's endin', and you're choosing to stay out here, alone."

"I'm used to it."

"Being alone? Or being an asshole? Cause the first one ain't true, and the second, I can't help you with."

"What's your point?"

"Ignas. He's been with you for, what? Ten years? From when you were the Reaper up until you became a lil' bitch. Don't get me wrong, he's a fuckin' dickhead himself, but he's only hard on you because he cares about you. Should consider yourself lucky to have a demon like him not wanting to see you get torn to pieces or send you off to your death. He's not good at this whole thing, especially since he lost his sweetheart."

"Neither are you." Isen groaned, reaching for the bottle and snatching it out of Rykard's hands.

"Never claimed to be." He shrugged, releasing the bottle willingly and watching Isen take a sip from it as well. "But I got you to drink with me, didn't I?"

"Don't press your luck."

Rykard smirked, taking the bottle back again. "Gets borin' when you don't."