The Warehouse (Sparda/open)

[DC Comics]

The Waking Nightmare was a prized tactic of the rebels but Bane knew it wouldn't last forever. As such he had tasked Scarecrow with the responsibility of making a suitable replacement. A drug which would create strong hallucinations to the victim, subtle enough when being used so you never see it coming and a wider range on how it can be deployed. The chaos in Hallowton had presented an opportunity. With everyone focused on riots, the plague and now the death of a legend coupled with freak ambushes not many were going to be focused on an old broken down warehouse or expect anyone to be using it. Scarecrow folded his arms and watched the work in progress, dressed in a dark gray suit as the brown mask concealed his face from the others.

Everything was right on schedule.

[Sparda]

Credit where it was due; even after Sparda had explained his invasive plan to them, the guards who had been interrogated regarding this enigmatic Scarecrow were fully cooperative. One by one, the devil had sojourned through their minds with his command of the Nightmare and his vampiric power, scouring their memories for everything they had seen or done in relation to his target. Three middle men had been identified, working for the Scarecrow around the city.

That very night, Sparda had hunted them all down, isolated them and ripped their souls from their miserable bodies. Their memories were a bounty of valuable information - so much so that the devil had been able to figure out where the Scarecrow was operating from. It was thus that he now stood atop the warehouse where his target was at work.

His schedule was about to come to a bloody halt.

CRASH! Glass rained upon the worktables and old machinery as a violet-clad figure burst in through the skylight above. In the midst of a deft somersault, he pulled a pair of large handguns from their holsters and announced himself with a volley of expertly-placed shots at the thugs around the room, seeking to injure their legs and weapon hands beyond use to keep them from fighting or escaping. A final flip, and he crashed to his feet on a table that collapsed under the force.

Slowly, Sparda rose to his full height.

"Evening, gents."

[Cazador]

A mysterious figure stood behind Scarecrow in the shadows. His body was covered in darkness, but it was very obvious that someone was there. He kept his arms crossed as he waited patiently for their company to arrive. The man knew someone was coming somehow. The way his posture was showed a sign of impatience and at the same time excitement. He let his arms drop to his waist as he made his way up to stand next to Scarecrow. As he came into the light, his face was finally revealed, but was it really his true face?

Jean had been hired by Bane to help protect the warehouse and ensure that Scarecrow's new drug be mass produced, but he never revealed his true form to him. He always made it a habit not to show his face to employers. Instead he took the extra effort to take on a form that both Bane and Scarecrow might of been familiar with. It was none other than the Red Hood.



"How soon until its ready? It looks like we'll be having company tonight."

Jean had total control of the shadows. He could sense something heading their way as whatever it was moved through the darkness. The moment Jean said that. The glass above the warehouse shattered to pieces as fire began to reign down upon everyone. The ones that weren't smart enough to take cover were instantly dropped and handicapped thanks to the attacker. Jean smiled under his mask though. He knew that some big shot from the castle would eventually find them, but he never thought that they'd send Sparda in. It was perfect. He made his presence known from across the warehouse as started talking to the demon.

"It would appear our guest of honor has finally arrived!"

Jean slowly made his way down to Sparda. He was quite eager to meet the demon in person.

"The Legendary Dark Knight himself... I'm flattered that they sent an S-class such as yourself."

[Ayen]

Sparda wasn't alone. Outside the warehouse Sazan approached the front door dressed in her usual attire of a sleeveless black shirt, matching pants, shoes and belt with a blue jacket over it. The 11mm Blessing in her inside jacket's pocket while the 6ft tall black Death Scythe was strapped to her back. Immediately she was greeted by rioters who raised their rifles and aimed at her. Faster than they had raised their weapons had Sazan showed hers firing off three shots, one for each man as they went down clean. The gunshots being the only warning of her coming as she walked right through the front door as Sparda had already made his entrance.

"The Legendary Dark Knight himself... I'm flattered that they sent an S-class such as yourself."

“Oh. A talker. This outta be fun.”

Sazan said sarcastically before looking over at Sparda.

“You go after the lead freak.”

Sazan cracked her knuckles.

“I'll take care of Little Red Riding Hood.”

[DC Comics]

"Why must they always drop from the skylight?" asked Scarecrow.

Sparda made quick work of his men they never stood a chance due to lack of training and the Legendary Dark Knight were miles out of their leagues, and of course he had the advantage of surprise. But Scarecrow had a few surprises of his own, Jean being one of them. Seeing Sazan enter the fray Scarecrow made a run for it straight down the room and up the ramp into the next room while yelling, "Hold them off!" back to Jean.

[Cazador]

Jean turned his attention to the new arrival. Another of the Queen's powerhouses wanted in on the action that would take place.

"And now a lovely lady has graced our presence. You must be Sazan. I'd take this mask off to be polite, but business comes first."

As Scarecrow made a run for it, Jean would stay to hold off Sparda and Sazan. It seemed insane for one man to do it, but he had a couple of aces hidden up his sleeve that would ruin the night of their raiders. He listened as Sazan motioned for Sparda to go after scarecrow, but Jean raised his hand up as if politely asking him to stop.

"1 on 1 isn't very fun. If you both were to take me on, it would make things much more interesting."

Jean smiled under his disguise. Sparda and Sazan had no idea of what they had just walked into, but they would soon realize just how far ahead he had planned for the night.

"If you two are as good as I've heard you should have no problem getting through someone like me."

[Sparda]

Aside from the figure who could only be Scarecrow, the first thing to draw Sparda's eye was his companion who emerged from the darkness, his face in a red mask. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he was about to inquire about this mystery accomplice before his backup arrived.

The moment that passed saw no words from his lips, and only a brief smile to acknowledge Sazan's order of pursuit. He stopped, though, when this Jean requested that the two of them face him at once. Who did this fool think he was to stare down the Queen's bodyguard and Grand Duchess so nonchalantly?

His eyes narrowed further. Smirking, he holstered his guns and snapped his fingers, and behind Jean, Sparda's second accomplice gave chase. Six gold-scaled serpents erupted from the shadows, elongated maws snapping and snarling, glowing amber eyes staring down the fleeing Scarecrow - and mighty jolts of lightning arcing from their bodies and carving great scars through the floor and walls as they rocketed down the corridor after their master's mark.

At the end of the hallway from which Scarecrow was running, a lithe, armoured figure lurked in the dark. From beneath his birdlike helm, Sakhayl, the third of Sparda's Devil Arm familiars, watched his pets chase down their quarry.

[Ayen]

"Hold them off!"

Hold them off? Sazan looked at Jean.

“He must not like you much.”

Sazan gave another glance to Sparda who already summoned one of his familiars to give chase to Scarecrow while he stayed behind with Sazan to accept the challenge of the second masked man to confront them.

“Right. I keep forgetting you can do that.”

Sazan drew her scythe and went into the Sslig'ne stance. Her scythe held to her right, one hand sliding up while the other slid down the polearm, the blade pointed at the ground as her feet were two feet apart from each other. Jean had done the honor of calling them both out as such he gets the honor of making the first move.

[Cazador]

Jean gave a small smirk of a amusement under his mask at Sazan's comment.

"Probably not."

As he cracked his knuckles, Jean could feel the presence of something coming from the shadows. Sparda had brought some pets to the party. At first it looked like the battle was going to be 8 vs 1, but instead of attacking they followed after Scarecrow. Jean was being payed a lot of money to help him and wasn't going let anything go wrong.

"Lets make things more dramatic!"


Jean quickly pulled out his .45 and shot out a few of the lights in the warehouse to darken it.

"Now that's better."

His powers worked much better in the dark. Jean slowly started to sink into the ground as darkness began to grow around the warehouse. His presence could be felt anywhere there was darkness in the building. It was like the saying, he had eyes and ears everywhere. As Scarecrow was running to his destination, darkness would surround him before he could run into the dead end waiting for him at the end of the hall. The shadows pulled him into their world before allowing him reemerge on the other side of Sakhayl to continue running.

Where Sazan and Sparda were, they would start to hear footsteps moving through the darkness. Jean had doubts that the noises would scare hardened veterans such as them, but he was merely trying to distract them. He slowly and quietly reemerged from the top of the ceiling. The shadows held him in place as he began to form two spears from darkness. With excellent precision, he threw the two at his opponents as he attempted to impale them.

[Ayen]

"Lets make things more dramatic!"

Sazan cocked an eyebrow as Jean took out the lights. Being half vampire she could see in the dark as clear as day and with her lineage going up to Alucard through her mother the manipulation of shadows weren't far from the Hybrid's reach. Sazan couldn't help but laugh at the man's attempt to distract them.

“You think darkness is your ally?”

By the time Sazan had finished her sentence she was standing on the ceiling with Jean, walking across it as if it was the floor itself. The spears of darkness separating and dispersing at the call of the Hybrid's power as she stared the masked man down.

“I was born in it. Molded by it. And by the time I was brought into the light...”

With an arm as fast as lightning Sazan drew the Blessing in her other hand and fired off several shots at Jean's main body producing a flash of light from the shots fired.

“It was nothing to me but blinding.”

[Cazador]

Jean quickly took note to Sazan's reaction speed. She was fast at getting up to the ceiling along with him. Things would become a bit of a problem once he realized she too held the power of manipulating the darkness. The spears he shot out at his opponents shattered like glass and fell back into the shadows. He could of just as quickly reformed it, but as he saw her reach for her weapon, his attentions would have to be turned back to Sazan. The speed at which she drew further impressed Jean. He put his hands in front of his face and chest to make it look like he had been caught completely off guard.

It was far from it though. Something began to quietly move behind Sazan the second her first bullet left the chamber of her gun. It was Jean, but if he was behind her then what was in her crosshairs? As her bullets passed through their target, the shadowy figure would vanish. It was nothing, but shadow clone and a cheap trick. While behind her, Jean would deliver a spinning roundhouse kick to Sazan's back in an attempt to knock her back down to the ground on top of Sparda.

"You almost had me there. I barely had enough time to think up that maneuver."

Jean was unusually calm despite facing off in a two versus one situation. The key to his confidence would be revealed soon to his guests.

[Sparda]

Jean would find his commentary interrupted; as he lowered the leg he'd used to kick Sazan, a large portal of swirling violet energy opened in the ceiling beneath his feet. If he wasn't careful, he'd fall straight through and back to the floor, where Sparda would be waiting with a wide, lightning-quick swing of Force Edge to cleave the man in two.

Over in the distant hallway, Scarecrow was able to keep running. Sakhayl turned, seemingly unperturbed, as his six serpents continued hunting their prey down. The familiar raised its left arm, idly pointing at the far wall - the dead end through which Scarecrow's guard had borne him - and simply blasted it open with a searing bolt of lightning from his outstretched fingers. Through the breach, the serpents continued their chase, hissing and snapping as they bore down on the fleeing Scarecrow, gaining on him with every passing moment.

[Cazador]

As Jean's feet touched the ceiling after his spinning roundhouse kick, he found himself falling up to Sparda's portal. He gracefully landed on the ground, crouched on one knee. The sight of Sparda being infront of him immediately got his attention since he was about to be cut in half. A sword of darkness quickly form in his hand to defend himself from the strike. A large 'clang' could be heard from the swords meeting. The moment they made contact, Jean would use Sparda's body to push himself away with his right foot and to create some distance. The sword vanished from his hands and back into the darkness, as he casually placed his hands inside his pockets.

"Hmm... I think we're all past the exposition. Let's get to the rising action!"

A large golden energy like fence began to surround the warehouse and lit up like a tree on christmas. It surrounded the building in the 360 degree angle, but Jean must of been insane to encase himself and Scarecrow along with Sazan and Sparda. As Sparda's familiars continued chasing after Scarecrow, they would notice that they could not go past the barrier while Scarecrow on the other hand could pass through like nothing was even there.

"The kakai barrier. It keeps your kind's power and presence locked away in a certain location. As for trying to find the power source... i would highly recommend that you don't do anything to it. After all, I'd hate to see a castle that beautiful turn into ruins."

Somehow the hired gun had gotten his hands on barrier originally designed to keep freaks from escaping hell. Did he learn how to build it on his own or was the person who hired him just that well connected? There were still a few tricks left up his sleeve in case they weren't going to be cooperative. Jean reached into his jacket to pull out a radio.

"Scarecrow. It's Hood. Orders?"

[DC Comics]

Scarecrow turned around to see the familiar trapped on the other side of the barrier and shook his head.

"And people call me a freak."

Scarecrow made his way to the shipping room, seeing that his men had already stored up the drugs and it was ready for deployment. Good.

"We have a situation. Get all of this loaded in the van now!"

[Alex]

Both the scythe and pistol dematerialized in Sazan's hands as she spun around and met the kick originally meant for her back with her knuckles towards the pressure points, numbing the leg Jean used to launch the kick with and would later try to crouch on the ground with after falling through Sparda's portal. Her eyes going over to the barrier that now encased them inside the warehouse before looking back down towards Jean.

"You have a lot to learn about vampires."

The darkness devoured Sazan at her position on the ceiling and she would bypass the barrier by traveling through it stepping out of the wall behind Scarecrow and sneaking up on him, wrapping her arm around his neck tightly and bringing the Blessing up to his head holding him as hostage.

"Tell your men to stand down or they'll be mopping your brains off the floor."