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~~Ben~~

I let out a sigh as I dipped myself into the steaming water of the hotspring, my muscles were aching from all the training I did with Howie. It was fun and I wished Dil was here, he would have probably have enjoyed this hotspring. Plus it would be less awkward than sharing it with a giant naked bear who was splashing all around and making a ruckus, though thankfully we were in a private bath.

"This is so awesome!" Howie cried out as he back stroked through the water and it took all of my strength not to stare at the massive sheath that held the bear's naughty bits. He really wasn't shy at all, which was admirable but I really didn't want to see him that way. Dil, however...I stopped that train of thought right fast. I didn't want to spring a boner while in a hot spring bath with an extremely heterosexual bear. "Do reaper's do this everyday? This is far better than the showers in school! I can hardly fit in them and this place is huge!" I just gave a mild shrug, still pointedly looking away from the bear. I was used to taking showers with other dudes. but none of them were as blatantly and unambiguously comfortable in their own skin as Howie was.

"You'd have to ask Ed or my uncle. I didn't even know this place existed, but apparently these waters have healing properties that help stimulate the bodies' natural healing factor." I stated, burying myself deeper into the water, letting out a happy sigh. This really was nice...Howie had that right. "At least that is what Hope said." Howie sighed at the mention.

"She's really cute isn't she? Do you think she likes me?" Howie asked, stopping his swimming and hiding himself partially underwater. He looked honestly shy, which was so odd to see and it felt wrong.

"I wouldn't know. Dil might, as he's the type to talk that kind of stuff. Hope and I don't really gossip about crushes. It's just not my thing but if you like her you should tell her."

"What about you and Dil? He's head over heels for you and no way you don't know that." I blushed deeply at that and buried my own head deeper in the water. Of course I knew Dil had feelings for me, the panther was terrible at hiding his feelings and I knew for a fact whenever Dil got a new paramour I always felt jealous because I wanted to be the person Dil was snuggled up against. It was at its worst when he was dating Ray. The lion was a very cool dude and he treated Dil like gold but I always got annoyed when I saw them together and when they broke up, I was ashamed to admit that I had a sick sense of joy because I would have Dil all to myself again but I was just too afraid to even try to take things further and risk our friendship. I explained this and Howie laughed in my face which made me bristle a bit but before I said anything, the bear swam over and grabbed me in a hug. It would have been a very sweet moment if it weren't for the fact we were both naked and try as I might, I just couldn't worm myself away from the bear's iron grip.

"Howie! I'm naked! YOU'RE naked! Let me go!" I cried out as I continued to struggle against the bear's grip. Howie was always stupidly strong before gaining his powers but now his strength was insane.

"Ease up dude! I know we're men but I'm secure enough in my sexuality for this to not even phase me." Howie said with a massive goofy smile. "You and Dil couldn't be anymore perfect for each other. You guys just complete each other in the best sense possible. He keeps your temper in check and gets you to be more social while you help manage his neurotic tendencies and made him into the beautiful social butterfly he is now. He wouldn't be what he is without you and he knows that. You wouldn't be you without him and you know that. You can't let fear stop you from potential happiness Ben. Even if things don't work out, you guys are so close that it won't matter. Not even a breakup will destroy your friendship."

I stayed silent, thinking on what he said. Howie might not have been the brightest bulb in the box but he was still capable on remarkable insight. He had a point didn't he? I would probably never had made it as far as I did if I didn't have Dil to look after. He had given me a purpose in life for the first time ever. And even if things really didn't work out, would we actually end a relationship that both of us have worked so hard on?

"I...I think you might be right Howie..." I say in an almost timid manner, not believing what I was saying. But he was right. Even he seemed shocked at what I was saying as he let his grip loosen, which allowed me to get away.

"I am?" Howie asked surprised before catching himself and puffing out his chest. "Of course I'm right! I'm awesome! But when we get back you should talk to Dil, tell him how you feel and see if things work out. If he says yes, you guys are golden and if he for some reason says no, just keep on it since I know you are the last person to back down from a challenge."

"Right! Thanks, Howie. I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're pretty smart when you need to be." Suzaku popped up right next to my head, having vanished as soon as he saw Howie's pants come off and before he could say anything, I used an airblast to knock him away so he wouldn't ruin the moment with a snarky comment. "Let's get dressed and get back home. Hopefully Dil will be back at the school by now." I said while reaching towards the edge of the bath so I could get out. I managed to climb out, unintentionally giving Howie a full few of my ass, causing him to give a silly whistle. It made me flush but I found a towel to dry and cover myself since my clothes were in the locker room. Howie followed me and dried himself but he didn't bother to cover himself. I have gotten to see more of Howie then I EVER wanted to. When I made the complaint, he just laughed and rolled his eyes.

"We're going to get dressed in a few minutes so why bother covering? I got nothing to hide and neither do you. I mean, you are bigger than me down there." I flushed and looked away. I was quite proud of that but I was iffy on Howie being the one to say it. Maybe I wasn't gay after all? I mean, I still liked women and I had no attraction to Howie so maybe I was just Dilsexual? Bisexual? Either way, we both went into the locker room and got dressed in our clothes and went to find the girls who said they would be at Willie's Deli while we bathed so 'we wouldn't smell gross' as Hope stated and made our way to that location. The Sunstone was beginning to dim, indicating it was evening now which caught Howie by surprise and I explained what was going on.

"The light is from what's something called a Sunstone, a magical object that is locked up at the top of the reaper headquarters. During the day, it glows bright enough to seem like daytime." I said and pointed to the far-off fields. "The light helps the crops grow and they feed the city so it works out."

"So where exactly is the city? It looks like we are floating in a black void." Howie asked in wonder. This is another thing I knew thankfully.

"We are basically in a realm between the world of the living and the afterlife. This isn't the only city though. Each continent has its own respective city and each city has its own reaper headquarters which handles the reaping responsibilities. For example, the one we're in handles the entirety of North America." Howie just nodded along as we finally reach the deli and entered and saw the girls sitting at a table with Willy himself who seemed to be telling the girls a particularly raunchy story, given the bouts of stifling laughter. Hope's giggle I was expecting but Sunny surprised me, she actually looked really cute when she was happy. When she saw us, she gave an even larger smile. "Well look what the cat dragged in!

"Hey, Willy!" I said in a cheerful manner. I had honestly grown a bit fond of the old human, plus his food was pretty good. Howie also gave his own wave and smile since he didn't know Willy that well yet.

"You guys have a nice bath?" Hope asked us with a smile. "The baths are one of the most popular spots in the city. You're lucky that boss managed to get one reserved for you two on such short notice, so you should thank him when you see him again." Sunny was the next one to speak up.

"So are you guys ready to make it back home? It's getting late and Dillon should be home by now and is probably getting worried." We all just nodded and waved Willy goodbye with the girls paying for their order before we walked out towards the HQ. Once we reached the portal area I saw my uncle run up and give me a hug which I happily returned. It was great to be able to do this after so long! I couldn't wait to tell Dil about this when I saw him.

"I love you Ben, be a good boy alright? Don't give my sister and brother-in-law too much trouble okay?" I just rolled my eyes at that but nodded all the same and smiled.

"I love you too uncle, I'll be sure to visit here more now that I know you're here but we need to get back. Make sure Ed gets enough rest, alright? He's no use to us if he is barely awake." My uncle just nodded and when a portal opened for the real world, we walked through hoping to see Dil waiting for us.

//

Once I entered the room I found it was dark. At first I thought Dil had hit the sack early but I frowned when an unfamiliar scent crossed my nose. I didn't smell or sense Dil in here or anywhere near hear but I sensed someone was in the room with us. I summoned my weapon just as the others exited the portal with Howie immediately rushing towards the bathroom to throw up again. Poor guy, the portals really didn't seem to agree with him that much. The girls however gave me odd looks when they saw that my weapon was summoned.

"Something wrong Benedict?" I heard Sunny ask me. Normally I would have told her to not call me Benedict (not that it ever really worked in all honesty but it was a habit as I HATED being called that.)

'You really need to get over that Ben. I know you hate that you are named after your dad but Benedict is a perfectly fine name." Suzaku said in my head before getting back to the task at paw. 'Either way, where is Dil? He's not here and I can't sense him...can you?' I shook my head and my ears flickered when I saw movement on Dil's bed and I swiftly threw a fireball in that area to make sure whatever it was would stay still which resulted in the figure letting out a pathetic sounding squeak.

"Holy shit! What the fuck!?" The figure cried out, sounding distinctly male. "Where the fuck am I?" He muttered in a terrified tone and right before he could move again, I was on him and had him slammed into the wall with my paw clenched around his throat and my other one holding a fireball so I could see the mystery person. Immediately I frowned when I saw it was a completely unremarkable and unfamiliar coyote dude who I had never seen before. What was he doing here?

"Who the fuck are you and why are you in my room? Where is Dil?" I hissed, dangerously bringing the flames closer to his face to get a better look at him. He seemed normal from first glance. It appeared he wasn't a, what did Hope call it, a 'Rinato' or something? Whatever Casper was. Either way, his eyes weren't black like his and I sensed no spiritual power from him, so by all accounts, this guy was a normal fur. Hearing me say Dil's name seemed to spark something in him and he started to panic even more.

"Wait, you know Dil? You must be Ben! DIl told me all about you but that's not important right now! Some crazy cultist dudes have taken him captive! They sent me to tell you that if you don't surrender to them, they will kill him!" I dropped the coyote in pure shock at that. Abducted...? I could feel my body shake as I felt my legs give out and I fell to my knees before grabbing the coyote by the throat causing him to gag and grab at my paws, but given I had super-strength and he was a normal fur he was no match.

"WHERE IS HE? WHO ARE YOU? ARE YOU WITH THEM?" I shouted in his face and tightening my grip even further. I could tell he was starting to turn blue under his fur but I didn't care, I was too much in shock to care about anything right now. I was so inventested in strangling the coyote I didn't even hear Hope's voice cry out to let go until I felt my entire body stiffen and fall over, letting go of the coyote who began to sputter and get away from me as fast as possible. As I struggled to escape hope's binds, I saw her rush up to the coyote to make sure he was okay.

"Can you tell us your name? How do you know Dil? Where is he and who took him? Please tell us. We need to get him back." The coyote kept on sputtering until finally coming to an end. Now under control, he let out a sigh.

"My name is Jack. Dil and I... let's just say we meet up sometimes. He was with me yesterday and today, we went to one of the memorials going on. When we were going out, we were forced through a dark portal and I don't remember much after that, just some snow leopard dude who called himself Casper. He just told me to find you and tell you to go search for Dil. He said you would do anything to get him back, even willingly following into a trap. He says the spirit mafia will hurt him every day if you don't find him." Jack said shakily before grabbing onto me, bursting into tears. "You gotta save him... please." I flinched as he grabbed onto me and before I could force him off I saw Hope gently grab him and move him away from me, saying comforting words to him as he continued to cry.

"It's okay, we'll get him back." She told him before turning towards me, her face grim. "We have to take him back to HQ and get him checked out. We'll also need to make sure he doesn't have any shadow taint on him. After that, we need to talk to Boss and start up a rescue mission. Dil is far too important to let the Spirit Mafia have and if Casper is involved, it's gotten even more serious. This is a crisis situation." I just nodded and let out a sigh. As much as I wanted to fall apart, Dil needed me and I couldn't just let him go. 'I'm so sorry Dil. I wasn't there to protect you but I swear on my own life I'll save you and I'll never let you go.' I thought to myself before summoning my sword and gripping it tight. 'And I'm going to kill every single one of those bastards who laid a finger on you.'

~~Casper~~

I let out a sigh as I exited the portal I created and found myself in the same room as a familiar black feline. The housecat didn't look so good, must have gotten another beating. I fumed. I hated torture and if it wasn't for boss telling me to just observe, I would have happily slaughtered all of them. Soulless or not, most of my brethren abhorred torture. It was an unnecessarily cruel and pointless thing and any info you got from it was probably tainted by their desperation to make the pain stop. "You look like shit housecat, the mafioso creeps get pissy again?" I said, which got the panther's attention as he looked up weakly, his face bearing numerous cuts on his cheek, a few of them having started to scab over but others were still fresh. He looked exhausted and even from here I could tell he smelt like piss.

"What... are you doing here Casper?" The panther said, his voice sounding even more exhausted than he looked. "Came to beat me too?" I laughed and shook my head.

"I don't usually go after people who can't fight back, it's no fun. Just came to make sure they were keeping you healthy, we need you alive. You are our bait and Ben will do anything to save you. But you really do look like crap and no offense, you stink." I said as I plugged my nose. "I should tell them to bathe you or something." I said as another portal opened up behind me opened and I smiled as a large cloaked figure entered.

"Ah, looks like our informant has arrived. Any new information from our beloved Joshua? How is the search for Dil progressing? Have they got any leads?" The figure shook his head and spoke, his voice staticy as he was speaking through a voice changer. I didn't even know what he looked like as he never took off his hood and he wore gloves to cover his paws.

"No progress. Ben has been looking but he and the others have had no luck so far. However, I am tempted to leak the position to let this game start. Joshua has called an extermination mission when they find the Mafia." This made my eyebrows rise a bit. 'An extermination mission, huh? They must really want Dil back, I wonder why?' Breaking out of my thoughts I sighed and spoke.

"Go ahead, it's been two days so it's about time to get the ball moving. Give them a hint but keep your cover. We still need you to grab our target."

"Why do you want Ben?" I heard Dil shout out, giving me a look of pure spite which honestly impressed me to a degree. The housecat had some fire in him despite what he's been through. I just gave him a shrug. Even I didn't know why my boss wanted him so bad, none of us did really except maybe for Elywin who was by far the closest to our boss as his number 2. The rest of us peons were left in the dark, ony giving vague hints as to what Regis wanted with him.

"Couldn't tell you, my leader has kept my little group in the dark but from what I gather, he thinks using Ben could somehow allow us to regain our souls. It's nothing personal really, but we need him to complete ourselves." I said before turning back towards the mystery figure. "You can leave now. Go send little Bennie our way and let the games begin!" The figure just nodded, leaving me and the housecat alone once again.

"I won't let you touch him!" Dil shouted as electricity generated from him, only to be absorbed by the faraday cage, making his powers useless. I let out a sigh as I watched the cat struggle against his bonds but to no avail. He was too weak to put up much of a fight and I wasn't even sure if our friends were even feeding him. I'll have to check that out, Dil would be no use to us dead now would he?

"Save your strength, you aren't going to break your bonds that easily. They're made of anti-spirit metal so your powers are basically useless. Conserve yourself because your friend will be here soon." I said as I opened another portal. "Whelp. I'll be seeing you housecat!" I said as I leapt through it, leaving the cat alone.

///

As I stepped through the portal I was beset upon by a familiar looking jackal who was giving me a deep scowl, obviously not happy at the moment. "Ah, Elwyn, how goes it?" I said with a cheeky grin. I hadn't expected to see the jackal and for whatever reason he didn't look happy. "Geeze, who pissed in your cheerios?"

Elwyn let out a deep sigh before focusing on me. "You are becoming reckless Casper! You weren't supposed to talk with the bait. Regis wants Dillon to be as broken as possible to increase the fury Benedict will unleash when he finds him. Don't get too attached." I let out a laugh and rolled my eyes, which made Elwyn frown even more. "Is there something funny Casper? Care to share?"

"Listen, I know you don't want me talking to Dil but it's for a practical reason. Ben will be more compliant if Dil survives with as little injuries as possible. But is there anything else Elwyn? I know you might be the second in command but trust me, I know what I'm doing, have some faith in me!" He rolled his eyes once again and shook his head while placing a paw in his head.

"You know what, I don't care anymore. You aren't going to listen and I doubt Regis cares enough to intervene himself. Just make sure Benedict remains in one piece. I care little for the panther himself, he's just a stepping stone for our plans." As he said this, he started to walk away, leaving me by myself or so I thought. Just as I was about to head back to my room I heard another voice ring from behind me.

"You need to stop messing with Elwyn, he is not going to always be willing to humor you." I gave a smile as I turned my head to see a familiar looking bat, his wings wrapped around himself with his paws clasped in front of him. It wasn't often that my friend sought me out but it was always good to see him.

"I think he enjoys it honestly. I gave him plenty of chances to punish me but he never seems to act on it. But how are you Thamyris? It's been awhile. I've been so busy pupsitting that we haven't gotten to see you much. What do they have you doing?"

"I've been dealing with our intel, namely with our mysterious benefactor. I was the one who told him where you'd be. I'm still surprised that a reaper of some standing is willing to sell out his own kind for power, but I'm not sure I trust him." The bat said with a frown. "But either way, you need to be serious Casper, we can't afford to lose you. A war is brewing and soon enough, we will be forced to reveal ourselves. Even if we get Benedict, the reaper's will do their best to get him back and we can ill afford to lose a member of our own before the fight begins." He said, which made me smile and come up close to him and cupped his face in my paw.

"You have a point, I will try and be more serious." I said before pushing his face up and kissed him gently. He seemed to startle for a bit before he kissed me back and I held him tight. I had always had a soft spot for the greek bat and he was one of the first of our members I bonded with. "But enough of that, I have a better way to spend time." I said as I led the bat paw-in-hand to my quarters.

~~Ben~~

"It's been three days...we should have found him by now." I muttered as I paced around Boss's office. I hadn't had a moments rest since the news of the kidnapping and I was worried sick. Hope and Ed were nearby, looking at me with concern written all over their faces. Howie and Sunny were also there looking worried in their own way. Boss himself was in a meeting with his highest ranking staff. We had gotten the order that the moment we found the Mafia it would end up being an 'extermination mission' which basically meant that everything found when we raid their hideout would be slaughtered and destroyed.

"You need to rest Ben, save up your strength for the mission. We'll find him don't worry." Hope said calmly but I merely ignored her. She was probably right but I just couldn't sit still. Dil was gone, kidnapped by these psychos and I couldn't find him. What would I tell his dad? I promised that I would protect him and I failed. Unless I found Dil I would never be able to face him. Just as I was about to have a complete meltdown I heard the door open and both Boss and Father Patterson walked through with Boss gently holding onto the distressed panther's shoulder. As soon as he saw me, Father Patterson rushed towards me and I tensed, waiting for the yelling and abuse but I was surprised when I felt him hug me and cry into my chest which broke the dam and caused me to cry once again and hug him back.

"I'm so sorry Father Patterson, this is all my fault. I was supposed to protect him and I failed... I'm so sorry." The pastor just hugged me tight and even though I was taller than him, I felt so small in his arms, like I was a little kid again.

"It's not your fault Ben. Trust me, it's not your fault. This was beyond anyone's control but it's okay, we actually came to tell you something." Father Patterson said as he sat me down and placed my head in his chest and started to gently stroke my hair. "Will you do the honors Joshua?" This seemed to catch Boss off-guard but he quickly corrected himself and let out a manly 'harumph' before he spoke, looking both grave and very serious. He must have felt so guilty, it was his idea to get Dil involved in all this, not that I blamed him, it was just as much my fault since he awakened his powers to protect me.

"We received an anonymous tip indicating the location as to where the spirit mafia might be holding Dil. I sent a recon team in to make sure the tip was accurate and they did indeed found signs of activity. I'm sending a crack team of exterminators to eliminate this nuisance and I want to know if you are willing to join. I don't know your stance on killing fellow mortals but the offer stands if you wish to join. If you aren't comfortable with killing, you can stay here and that goes for all of you." The giant human said, his face looking troubled.

it was obvious to me and just about everyone else that this weighed on him deeper than he cared to admit. It was very rare that an extermination mission was called against mortals; the very beings they were charged to protect but he was still resolute and my respect for him grown even more. Father Patterson spoke up next, his voice ruthless and cold, a sharp and stark contrast to the generally affable preacher that had practically raised me.

"This isn't a task to be taken lightly. Normally I would never advocate the slaughter of others but given their actions, I've deemed them a danger to both reaper and lumiere kind. If we do not wipe them out, the conclave will take Dil into their custody. Rogue lumiere's are very rare and are usually considered a threat to the order of the world, given they have no one looking after them and we might never get him back." He said with a shake of his head. "I left my conclave over 20 years ago and I want Dil to remain free of them if I can help it. I will be one of the people leading this charge." He said as he summoned a MASSIVE bow into his paws, one that looked far more solid than any bow I have ever seen Dil conjure and he did it without entering a spirit form as well.

"Dil is very special you could say. Very important to the lumiere as a whole but if they find him, any freedom he will have will be taken from him. I can't let that happen. I can't lose my boy." Father Patterson said with a heavy sense of emotion in his voice. I understood him though, I couldn't bear to lose Dil and if the Conclave got ahold of him I would rend heaven and earth asunder to get him again and that didn't even hold a candle to the love between a parent and child. This must have been an unmitigated nightmare for the elder panther.

"Of course neither of us will force any of you to join if you have qualms about killing mortals. We are charged to protect them so it's understandable that you wouldn't feel comfortable with doing the opposite, but events like this do not happen often or are taken lightly so will any of you join us?"

I was the first up. Any qualms I would normally have of outright killing someone were quashed by the knowledge that these monsters not only had Dil and doing god only knows what to him, but they were responsible for the deaths of several children among the others that died in the bombing. They had blood on their paws and I would force them to repent and burn in hell. Plus, when I told Dil I would do anything for him I did mean ANYTHING. "I volunteer. I can't sit idly by when Dil's life is on the line. Plus if what Father Patterson said was true, I will not let the conclave get him. I don't care how important he might be to them, he's more important to me and I will not let him go." I said before turning towards Howie.

"I want you to stay out of this. I don't want your paws stained in blood. I'm willing to make this choice even if it means going to hell but I'm not going to drag you down with me. You and Sunny will stay here." Howie got up and looked like he was about to protest but I swiftly shut him down. "Listen to me!" I shouted out, my voice firm and brooking no dissent. It wasn't often I did something like this but I just couldn't allow Howie to live with the fact he killed someone no matter how justified. "You are too good for something like this, far to good. Even though you would be completely justified in killing these monsters, the guilt would tear you up inside and I can't allow that to happen." I said before turning towards Sunny.

"Listen, we might have had conflicts in the past and could hardly be considered friends but I want you to promise me you'll watch over Howie, make sure he doesn't try and sneak into this mess. Dil saw something good in you and he has never been wrong with something like this so I trust you to do this, do I make myself clear?" Sunny simply nodded, she hadn't spoken much since the abduction, probably still in shock. She had been through a lot these past few days and unlike Howie, she didn't seem to have any latent powers to defend herself, and if she did have them, they didn't seem to be in any hurry to awaken for her. After that I turned towards Hope and before I could even say anything she stopped me.

"You know I'm going. Don't even begin to try and say anything. I have more experience and I understand the risks. Dil is my friend too and I want him back as much as you do." I nodded and let out a smile.

"I wasn't going to ask you to stay, I'm not an idiot and I know I wouldn't be able to stop you even if I wanted to. But thanks Hope. Silly as it sounds, I'm glad you knocked my soul out of my body, it's been an honor." I said leaving my paw out to shake. She seemed almost stunned at my response but she swiftly beamed and grabbed my paw before grabbing me into a hug which made me let out an oomph! I kept on forgetting just how strong Hope was, given she barely reached my chest but she packed a lot of force in such a tiny body.

I let the hug last for several more moments before I managed to let myself slip away before turning towards Father Patterson himself. I couldn't imagine what he was going through but I was concerned with him being involved with this. He was such a gentle man and wouldn't hurt a fly. Would he really be able to harm someone, let alone kill them? He seemed to notice my look and let out a bitter sounding laugh, one that seemed completely out-of-character for him but it reminded me that I knew next to nothing about his past.

"It might surprise you but this wouldn't have been the first time I had taken someone's life before. I made a lot of mistakes I now regret when I was younger and was the reason I ran from what I was." He said with a calm yet regretful tone. "My desperation to forget my past and my powers made me deliberately ignore the signs of Dil's spiritual powers that almost got him killed." He said with a deep and mournful sigh. "I have learned that hiding from my past has done me or my family no good and I'm done, I'm done running and done hiding. My sins may never be fully repaid but my concern is saving my son who is the light of my world."

I didn't say anything. The fact that Father Patterson had outright confirmed that he had in fact killed before boggled my mind. Sure I did bring it up as a possibility but I didn't even think for a second that it was true. Just what were the 'sins' he kept bringing up? It wouldn't change how I felt about the man in any way, shape or form since I didn't care what he did in the past. All that mattered was what he was now. The kind, and gentle man who helped raised me and made me who I am today.

"I understand Father Patterson, it's good to have you and I promise I'll do my best to save your son." The panther let out a light laugh, far more intune with his true self that warmed my heart before he spoke up.

"Please Ben, call me Alexander. I appreciate how respectful you are towards me but I've bathed you. You are like a second son to me and I love you so please boy, for once call me by my name and not my title. We are close enough that nobody would care about you being so informal and any who would have a problem can speak to me personally." He said before letting out a goofy grin. "Plus I hope to have you as a son-in-law down the line." The tease made me burn red but the sentiment warmed my heart and I nodded.

"Very well, if you wish... Alexander. " I said before wincing. "Forgive me, it'll take a bit before I get used to calling you by your first name sir, but I'll get over it. Now, let's find Dil!"

///

Exiting the portal we found ourselves in front of a dilapidated old mansion. 'It figures the evil mafia guys would be in Jersey. Isn't that a massive stereotype?' I heard Suzaku tut from above my head. He was in his flame-form, meaning he was ready to fight as much as I was. There were about five of us here, including Hope, Alexander and myself. The other was a tigress named Lydia who was Joshua's second-in-command and another was a scruffy looking human who looked like he was eager to blow shit up. His name was Luther Finnigan and he was another high ranking member of the Force.

"So what's the game plan?" Hope asked the tigress. "How do we go about this? Surely we can't all go through the front door right?"

Lydia just smiled a toothy smile and laughed. "That is indeed what we are going to do. We will force ourselves in and fan out from there. Then begin the extermination and retrieval mission, is that clear? This could be dangerous. We don't know what they have in store for us but let's get started." She said before blasting the door open on its hinges and all of us rushed in with me putting up a barrier in front of us just in case of sniper fire or other traps. Once we poured in there was mass panic as the numerous mafioso's shot at us which all bounced off my shield without making a scratch. I then dispersed the barrier, quick-stepped next to one of the assholes and with a slash of my sword he was cut in half vertically, blood going everywhere.

"Holy shit! They are out for blood! We gotta warn the boss!" One of them shouted before I set him on fire, causing him to scream in agony as his body was turned to ash. I turned to see Hope crushing several with her 'Terra Fist' and Alexander was sniping several, their souls all collecting around him as he absorbed them with fire in his eyes. After taking out the people in the room we all went and fanned out, going on our own paths to search for Dil and make sure nobody was able to escape. On my own I checked out every room, taking out any cultist in my way, either by cutting them down, incinerating them with my flames or cutting them apart with my wind. This continued until I found myself in a massive atrium like room. I must have been in the middle of the building and I looked towards the open sky.

I was broken from my thoughts when I heard a cold laugh. Quickly looking around, I spotted a towering man in a reaper cloak. I growled. He must have been the traitor I kept on hearing about, the person who was aiding the spirit mafia and the one who provided them the bombs that killed those people.

"Ah, it's good to see you again!" The figure said, his voice sounding familiar but I just couldn't place it. I frowned and glared at the figure, my sword pointing towards him. "Ah, pointing that little stick at me huh? You are a cocky little shit aren't you? You need to pick your battles kid, you're too important to my friends but I won't hesitate to kill you if you don't cooperate. Be a good pup and stand down."

"Who are you? Why are you helping the shadows? They're supposed to be your natural enemy! Why did you give the mafia those bombs? Those killed children! Not to mention all the other innocents! Explain yourself!" I shouted in fury. This monster needed to be taken down.

"I don't give a shit about the conflict between reapers and shadows, I just want power. Regis offered me that so I went with him. As for the mortals, I give even less of a damn about them. I gave several centuries in service to protect them and THIS is all I got from it!" The figure shouted as he tore off his sleeve to show a metal arm, the same arm as that bull from the daycare. "Ah, so you recognize me?" He tore off his hood, his face twisted in a sick and twisted smile. "So wanna stand down or do i have to punish you?" He said as he summoned his weapon; a massive set of bola's, each ball being the size of a small bolder.

The power coming from him was immense but I couldn't back down, Dil needed me. If this bastard was going to be in my way, I'll make him move. "Go fuck yourself!" I said as Suzaku hovered behind me worried.

'Ben! He's far too strong! If you fight him you could get yourself killed!' Suzaku cried out in a worried tone but I merely shook my head. All that mattered was getting Dil back.

"This is going to be fun!" The bull said as he charged towards me. I braced for the impact, ready to fight. With a sigh, I ran to him.

'I'm coming Dil! Just hold on for a bit more! I'll save you and I'll never let anyone hurt you again!' Was the last thing I thought before we clashed, my sword clashing with his bola's, letting out a massive shockwave that leveled everything around us. 'Guess all that training was going to be put to the test sooner than I thought! I just hope it's enough.'