[center][h3][b]Upheaval[/b] [i]Loom - Old Safehouse -> New Safehouse Night[/i][/h3] [i]Collab: [@Fallenreaper], [@Lucius Cypher], [@Wind Wild], and [@yoshua171].[/i][hr][/center] His eyes closed, body in chair, Kasain was at peace. His patient hadn't moved, and so he had not had to act during the absence of his allies. He sensed their return, his placed needles notifying him that their essences had crossed the boundary. Then senses he barely had noted something else, further away, far outside of what he was normally able to sense. Eyes snapping open he made a call to one of Crow's men, and then rose to his feet, hiding his phone. Whether Juan liked it or not, they needed to leave this hideout in favor of a safer locale. Walking towards the door, Kasain waited a moment for their final approach then opened it. "Welcome back, get packed up, we're not staying long," there was a fierce look in the demon's eyes, his fingers twitching at a feverish pace so it looked like waves rippled through his body as the twitching spread. This wasn't good. Juan was the first to exit the car. His hand reached out and clicked the handle, releasing the thick door before pulling out with the bag in his other. He pulled out and let it slam behind him carelessly, unworried about the sound. The main reason why was because he was pretty sure Kasain would've noted their arrival by now. Either by the sounds of the car pulling up, the loud slam or totally different methods altogether, he couldn't be completely sure. The doc was a mystery to him for the most part after all. Juan didn't bother waiting to see if the other two would follow him when he casually walked his way to the door. In the back of his mind, he was coming up with excuses to why he allowed the stray kitten to tag along. Each step he was rehearsing his words, replaying the possible scenarios and finally bracing for the worst outcome. It only took a few minutes until his figure halted at the safehouse's door, his hand readily reached out only to spot the door already open before he touched it. Immediately, his hand jerked back and his eyes met with the doctor currently in the frame. His eyebrow arched at the demon's state, questioning if Kasain hadn't gone insane. His eyes looked past the wiggling flesh mass, spying Emmet still motionless on the bed and seemingly alright. Though he couldn't know for sure without inspecting him briefly. For now, he blinked at the words uttered, unexpected by the doctor. The hairs on Juan's neck rose in alarm, the words echoing in his head. Something wasn't right. That much Juan could tell as he cautiously padded in, watching the demon's eyes like a hyena watched a lion. The deeper he went into the safehouse, the whiter his knuckles had gotten when it tightened on his bag. It turned them ashy gray practically while his mind turned back to their uninvited guest. His eyes twisted back to glimpse Zi, noting her location, and likely getting into a rush to Emmet's side if she hadn't already. His head turned back to reply directed to the doctor. “You look terrible Doc, didn't rest well I take it? Maybe I should've tucked you in before I left. ” He left little time for an answer and moved onto the next one, taking a step inside. His thumb gestured toward Zi, his tone casual and pleasant, while he attempted to lessen the damage his recklessness started. “We have an uninvited guest. She goes by the name of Zi and before you ask we didn't have much of a choice as disposing of her would've been attention getting and telling her no was impossible.” He strolled over to Emmet, adding another question he knew only the doc could answer fully. “Considering how much trouble we went through to stabilize him the first time, is it wise to move him?” Zi was still standing at the door and in front of the doctor. Her mouth was dry with worry and her shoulders had started a slight tremble the moment the door had opened and her senses had caught glimpse of Emmet. She couldn't tell without concentrating what his exact condition was, and she didn't want to risk putting her abilities on display so she let go of her control over the silvery mist of essence that had entered the room before her, letting it blend in with the surrounding air and willing herself to stop prying. She didn't know who this demon was, but Juan had made it clear he was in charge of Emmet's condition and while she didn't respect Juan, she was wise enough to listen to his words. She saw Juan snake past the demon and approach Emmet, but let him talk and didn't follow. She had been quiet the whole while, her eyes darting between the bizarre doctor and the place where she could see Emmet lay. All she wanted was to dash past him and to Emmet's side, wrap her arms around him and make sure nothing bad could befall him anymore. Her heart was struggling to keep a steady beat as she spotted the blood and her trembling became more visible. She'd forgotten all about Damon and how he tried to assault her earlier, none of it holding any meaning at the current time, neither his threat, nor her exposed back. “I'm his friend. Can I please approach him?” She croаked, her throat full of glass that her voice caught on. Her eyes were pleading on the doctors', willpower barely keeping her from collapsing into a miserable weeping heap. [b]"Hold yourself together Zi. We already have one guy laid out, we don't need two."[/b] Damon said jokingly. The moment he came inside after consuming the car, he could feel the tension in the air as thick as cement. He guessed that Kasain said something that made Juan's natural paranoia go up, not helped by the fact Zi's here. Damon still wasn't sure what Zi's relationship with either Emmet or Juan is, aside from "Very close and very beligerant" respectively. He returned to his true form walking inside the hide out, taking note of anything out of the ordinary. Well, more so anyways. [b]"What's going on, doc? Base been compromised already?"[/b] As far as Damon knew, their base was safe enough as it is. Perhaps not exactly the best hide out, but as long as no one knew they were here they should be fine... Unless someone's figured out their location. [b]"If it's about equipment, me and Juan took care of that. If we're moving Emmet anywhere, it'll only be when he's ready to start walking on his own. Can't have him keel over just because we disregarded our own orders for him to get some rest."[/b] Kasain's jaw tightened as Juan strode past him to survey his patient. His teeth ground together and his eyes only briefly noted Zi's presence. Even as she asked him a question he turned away, ignoring her. However, he did move out of the doorway, allowing her entry. "His state is fragile, but if we don't move him, I suspect that within the next two hours all of us will be dead," the doctor said, his voice filled with the kind of tension only brought forth by a form of panic. Luckily, Kasain wasn't normal and panic only drove him to action. It was not debilitating like it was to some, but that didn't mean there wasn't a feeling of absolute dread coursing through his body. "I'm surprised you didn't notice it on your way in, but then again...I noticed it only just now. We're lucky, because whomever somehow managed to track us here and start towards us is currently being interrupted by someone else. I don't know who they are, who they work for anymore than any of you, but this place isn't safe." The doctor's hands were grasping at air, clenching and unclenching almost reflexively, desperately wanting to do [I]something[/I]. Then he got an idea. All his movements stopped as he closed his eyes. All the vermin in the area, including homeless people, demons, humans, and any angels that had somehow found themselves on the streets, were suddenly assailed by his essence. Telekinetically dozens of needles moved from his labcoat and flew out the still open door, disappearing into the night air. They began to strike out at choice targets, primarily humans. Once he'd gathered at least eight his essence was pulled to the anchored needles and sent through the bodies they had pierced. He began commanding the individuals to gather nearby. He was the FleshShaper's protege, one of the oh so few who had not only survived, but had picked up enough of the former lord's skills that if he put his mind to it he would be considered equally a threat. He would assemble something from the raw materials of the humans he had just gathered, turning their bodies into a support structure for Emmet. The others wouldn't like it. It would certainly be disgusting, that was for sure, and he got the feeling that the woman, Zi, would find it absolutely horrible. He intended to return the people back to normal later. He didn't want to get on the radar of the Peacekeepers. "Don't move him, I'll take care of that, just pack up whatever we need from this place, make it look like we were never here. Clean off any blood, remove any trace of our essence you can, Juan...Damon. We need to leave as soon as possible. The longer the wait, the more likely we are to be tracked again." He couldn't believe he'd been so foolish as to think he had gotten off scott free. With his old friend there was [I]always[/I] a catch.... Juan didn't like how fidgety Kasain was becoming the longer he talked. Even less when his needles suddenly began to float in mid-air then shoot towards the open door, vanishing into several directions from his sight. Wondering what had made the demon say what he did, he let himself relax and spread his senses over the place. A chill, dark and familar essence, shook his very core when he came to realize why Kasain was so terrified. Immediately all color drained from his face as he snapped his head toward the doctor, there was stress within it and his earlier flirting escaped his tone. "Fine, but you have some questions to answer later." He turned to Damon. "You absorb the sheets, equipment attached to Emmet, and the bloodied needles. Leave nothing behind that's been into direct contact with Emmet, me or yourself. If it can't be moved without looking out of place, just wipe it down with chemicals found in the safehouse. That includes the counters, sinks, toilet, and more. Make it look like we never arrived else we'll be seeing a old friend from this morning." His body turned to Zi next, his eyes studying her for a moment, then turned to the fridge. "Zi, there's several blood bags in the fridge filled with Emmet's blood. I need you to take the cooler in the bottom drawer and fill it with the plasma, blood and more then wipe it down. Then take it outside with my bag." As he said that, he pushed the bag into her hand and turned her about toward the fridge. Meanwhile he went about his own task and that was to wipe down any enchantments placed. Easy since he knew exactly where each was placed and to most demons, very few would draw attention to them. Sadly, he believed the demon from this morning was much different. His hand retrieved a rag and bleach, something to easily destroy and wipe away the essence, pouring the liqud into the rag's surface before doing a hasty wipe over the fridge's surface. His body rushed to the door next, repeating his earlier gesture. Several times over the walls, doors, and even the table, he wiped them all down leaving no trace. Finally he wiped down his hands with pure bleach as it peeled off any possible remains from his hands. It stung like hell but he didn't seem to be phased by it in the least. Zi had sank next to Emmet, not knowing how she got there. Her hand reached out gingerly to stroke his cheek, the skin underneath feeling cold as stone. The feeling scared her and she pulled back. Her eyes were running over his beaten body but her mind refusing to process what she saw. Perhaps it was the only way she could keep herself from breaking down completely. Relief and dread were raging inside her in a whirlwind that was confusing and brain-numbing. She didn't care about anything that was said, not even when she vaguely noticed the urgency with which the men began moving. All that mattered were Emmet's closed eyes and the fact he was breathing. She was done. All the energy that was driving her here, the energy that threatened demons or killed or evaded them evaporated and left her a hollow shell. Hearing her name snapped her out of the trance but didn't return the feeling to her numb fingers. She gave Juan a blank stare before getting to her feet and doing as instructed. She took the bag and went to the fridge. The sight of all the blood, the blood of her Emmet, upset her stomach and almost made her vomit but she feebly managed to retain some control. She reached out and got a blood bank which made a weird sound as it slipped right in between her fingers and hit the floor. Luckily it was strong enough not to burst so Zi apologised under her breath and continued working on her task. She was resigned to whatever would happen from now on. All she wished was for all this to be over soon. It had to be. Sighing, Damon got to work. Covering his tracks was something he learned to do; had to otherwise he'd constantly be pestered by musicians and vigilantes. His body stretched out and started to absorb or clean various objects and surfaces. If he had to guess, whoever was on their tail could track them through Essence. [b]"Always essence. Why couldn't they just use DNA or something?"[/b] If he didn't think it would leave him evidence of himself, he would have simply consumed the entire room (Sans the inhabitants of course) and recreate everything to leave no evidence. But that was time consuming and he needed to finish this ASAP. At least his amorphous body allowed him to work on everything at once. Cleaning up after Emmet was going to be a bit of the hard part, seeing that he was still attatched to most of his equipment. But if Juan said to do it, Damon assumed it would be safe to do so. So he started to consume the various equipment Emmet was attached to, and once he was moved Damon would also consume the bed and replace it with a different one. Damon did the same with the needles, but also took note of the blood samples he was absorbing. Not quite the same as absorbing a whole person, but if there wasn't anything left in the stains Damon would get an idea of what it was. If they were going to meet Mr. Shadow man from earlier today, Damon wasn't about to face him down with the same set of skills he had before. As for the cleaning Damon wiped the place down, but he also added a layer of dust. It was there when Damon first arrived, so putting it back would make it seem like no one disturbed it in quite some time. He didn't just get rid of evidence; Damon was practically reversing time, or at least something similar. Once he was finished getting rid of any evidence that they were here Damon returned to Juan. He spoke softly so that only Juan could hear him. [b]"Don't you think it's a bit odd for Kasain to just now notice that we've been followed? I understand that we should always be on the move, but something tells me Kasain knows more than you about who's following us, how they're doing so, and why he hasn't told us if you haven't figured it out already."[/b] Damon didn't quite share Juan's rampant paranoia, but he still doesn't like walking into traps. As far as Damon cared Kasain was supposed to be helping Juan, but that could easily be used against his friend if his "Help" required them to be at his mercy. To be powerless against his suggestions, and that's not how Damon operated. Juan sensed, more than saw, as Damon settled down to 'help' him. Listening to the shapeshifter, he peeked behind his shoulder briefly to see where Zi was. The white haired woman seemed to be running on fumes compared to her earlier spark, namely when she tried to choke him, and looked like a pitiful shadow of herself. In the past, it never occurred to him if she was a threat... At least until recently. Now he wasn't so sure. Any more thoughts were put on pause as he returned his attention to Damon, catching the concern. "I don't doubt that, Damon. I figured that since the incident at Darius but I'm not interested in history's details. My worry is more about how much danger being around Kasain will mean for us. After all, he didn't have to warn us and easily taken Emmet and left. For now, getting out of here ASAP should be our main focus because if that [i]thing[/i] catches up with us, it likely won't matter anymore." Juan had finished up marring the essence before Damon absorbed the remains, he stood upright and gestured kindly for the shapeshifter to get rid of the rest. "Now to get our friend's ass in gear." Bearing in mind they all needed to focus on surviving, Juan casually walked over to Zi. His figure standing over her as he spoke. "You know, moping won't keep him alive." His eyes closed, Kasain could [I]clearly[/I] hear Juan and Damon's conversation. Had they not had a deadline he would have had words for the two, but for now there were more important things, which desired his attention. Namely the flesh-construct he was creating out of sight outside. He finished around the time that Juan had done his work over of the room. The Doctor's eyes shot open and he strode to the door, placing all four of his arms on either side of the frame and then promptly, and unceremoniously, [I]pushing[/I] the wall straight off of the building. There was a loud creaking sound, accompanied by a sloshing and churning of flesh as [I]something[/I] stopped the wall's descent, laying it [I]gently[/I] onto the ground. The monstrosity then walked to the edge of where the house's floor met the sidewalk. Kasain turned, his mass back to normal, and strode over to Emmet's bed. Unlike Juan, his voice was not gentle when he spoke to Zi, "Rise, make yourself useful. You can grieve when we're all alive and assured we will be living for the next few days, rather than just the next few minutes." If she rose and moved aside he would bother her no further, but if she did not, then his arms would [I]pull her[/I] to her feet, and shove her away, likely into Juan. Either way he would get to Emmet, use his four arms to lift him from his bed, as gently, and fluidly as one might the most fragile of infants, before he totted him towards the massive hole he had rent in the house. Anyone who attempted to get in his way would not merely be shoved aside, but incapacitated with one of his needles in a deft movement that would make one think their eyes were betraying them. One did not simply get in the way of the Doctor and his patient. Unmolested or not, Kasain would reach the monstrosity. Not even flinching as it almost [I]lunged[/I] forwards, Kasain lifted Emmet, allowing the construct's mass to melt and churn over him, before solidifying. His eyes turned to Juan in the next moment, the beast having retracted from over and around him--leaving more bloody stains on his labcoat. "Juan, two bags of Emmet's blood, now." He reached his hand out, "Too slow and I'll use a needle to [I]make[/I] you get them." There was an intensity in the demonic Doctor's eyes that refused to be ignored. It was not insanity, and it was not delight like the others had seen when he was [I]working[/I] before. No, it was intense, unyielding will, and it was not something to protest against. Zi's eyes snapped at Juan as he spoke to her. She hadn't even realised she'd returned back to Emmet's side and the man's words did little to clear her glazed-over eyes. It was clear she found it hard to care about anything right now but as the walls were pushed aside the noise of the building's protests made her return to her senses somewhat. She stared in disbelief and as the doctor approached her, she stumbled over her feet to get out of his way. She did trust him, after all, and the words he spoke made it clear enough that it wasn't a good idea to just stand around. She took a better grip of Emmet's resources, trying to ignore the ghostly cold his blood exhumed, trying not to think about how soon it could be the only living thing left of him. As Kasain took hold of Emmet and carried him to the door, she quickly followed. Then as she reached the door, her breath caught. On instinct, as soon as she saw the construct, her magic snatched at the essence around and pulled it towards her and Emmet. To a very perceptive demon or human, it would seem like the air in the room froze for a second before rushing towards her and condensing in a tough, if make-shift shield. It stood between Emmet and the construct in an attempt to protect her beloved. Of course, it wasn't strong enough to stop the whole thing and it was quick to crumble. The woman let out a tiny squeak as it did, but before she knew it, the thing was melting away, absorbed by the doctor and the patient. [i]This doesn't make sense.[/i] Zi stared as she slowly straightened her back, shock clear on her face. Then realization snapped back and she imagined how odd her behaviour might seem to those who did [i]not[/i] perceive essence well. Hopefully everyone in this room. Getting her wits back, she quickly, tried to cover what she'd just done by turning to Juan. “Did you mention someone's after us? Who?” She had to know. She remembered now that they'd said something about “covering their tracks” and there was nobody better fitted for the job. Of course, that would mean risking revealing her secret to at least one dangerous demon and if the threat wasn't big enough, she'd rather not. It was bad enough that her rash behaviour would seem to the more gifted like an explosion of essence for no apparent reason and while they were working together right now and seemed to have a reason to keep Emmet alive, she was sure they could turn on her just as easily. Eyes darting to Zi while he waited for Juan to hand him the blood, Kasain's voice rang out before the other demon could think to reply, "I will inform you when we are safe. If there is anything else you'd like to contribute, please do so. We have to treat this as if we're dealing with someone who is a near [I]perfect[/I] tracker, essence and otherwise things considered." His eyes snapped back to Juan, insistent. [b]"Swell. So now you tell us that we're being chased down by a guy with pratical omniscience."[/b] Damon sighed. His body began to churl and bubble, revealing two bags of Emmet's blood. [b]"Fuck it. Let's just get out of here, since obviously we don't need to worry about cover if you're blowing holes into walls. And I'm certain you know what's after us, doctor. I'm guessing it's that shadow guy from before, or one of his lackies?"[/b] Damon tossed the blood bags down to Kasain as the amorphous demon took on a vaguely human form. [b]"And since you seem so scared, I'm hoping you have a good idea to get away from this guy that's better than 'leave it to me' or something like that. Seems like letting you keep your secrets gets us into more surprises than we'd ask for."[/b] Catching the bag he punctured a small hole in the top then fed it into the fleshy monstrosity that now housed Emmet. His fingers twitched and flickered with movement and the beast began to shrink somewhat. As if on cue, a large truck and a car arrived on scene, pulling up in front of the house. Kasain glanced back at the shifter, "I can elaborate later. Our safety is more important than knowing who it is, trust me on that account." The doctor began leading the beast to the back of the large truck, which looked like something someone might hire for moving furniture into a new house. The ramp extended down as the back opened and the beast began crawling up it, the metal creaking with its weight. "This is my plan, I had already called Crow, and he's quite resourceful. I'll pay the difference and for the new safehouse, Juan. I'd not want you getting the wrong idea about me," he glanced over the other three, "If you'd please get in the car, I'd like to be out of here immediately." Kasain watched as the back of the truck was closed and the ramp retracted. He commanded the flesh construct to extend sticky limbs and protrusions inside the back of the truck, effectively making it immovable, but also allowing it to compensate for the movement's of the truck. Emmet wouldn't even know he was in motion. Kasain walked over to the truck and got into the passenger seat. Zi scanned the room but she wasn't really looking for anything in particular. Sure, she could see the essence in the room clearly and had heard what the doctor said, but didn't make a move to do anything about the essence particles the men's auras were exuding as they breathed. It was clear enough that whoever was onto them meant trouble but the doctor had refused to explain just how much trouble and thus she couldn't risk exposing herself. The demons were doing a well enough job at covering their tracks and few creatures ever could see essence in such detail that Zi could. Likelihood was, whoever was after them wouldn't notice the traces left behind. And what if he did? She was warring with herself for minutes while her body moved around mechanically, gathering and replacing items around the room. The screeching of the van made her glance back over her shoulder but she didn't show her unease, nor her desire to join Emmet in the back and keep him safe. She knew rationally that she should consider those men a part of her team. They were all risking their well-being for Emmet, that was clear enough. However [i]why[/i] remained unanswered. The way that Damon changed forms, the way that Kasain played with death and the way Juan had consumed the sniper earlier today, all gave her very, [i]very[/i] good reasons to be weary. Few things could unnerve her at her age, but those demons remained one of them. Even if the one coming after them was scarier than all of them combined, it didn't mean she was ready to let her guard down in front of them. She was far from ready to strike an alliance, no matter how shaky. Still, Emmet mattered. More than them, perhaps even more than her own life. Him she [i]had[/i] to keep safe. So she wouldn't just stand there and do nothing. But she would wait for the men to leave. Only once they were all a few meters away would she make a net of essence around the building and literally enclose it within. It would take some energy but provided with a seat it shouldn't show much on her face. She wouldn't just carelessly pull the essence out and disperse it, experience had taught her that the best hunters could still sniff you out, even if the traces of you are but a thin cloud drifting away. She wouldn't return the residual essence to the people it belonged to, either, that would only strengthen them and make them unnaturally bright compared to usual. Instead, she would slowly break [i]down[/i] their essence. The net would be specially constructed to put pressure on everything within and with a short but powerful blast of energy she would break down the particles, making them blend in with the age-old essence torrents that littered the world. It was lucky that there were no angels among them, though Zi's own essence bore the trace remains of one. Human and demonic essence were easy enough to break if you knew what you were doing and within a few seconds would blend in like sand on a beach. It did require some precision, especially since the initial explosion of energy could be caught if one put too much energy into it or acted too rashly. Nothing screams suspicious than a blast of energy that obliterates essence but leaves the physical objects intact. Of course, no less suspicious was a slow-working acid-like essence slowly breaking down the one in a radius. So it had to be just right. Just the right timing for Damon, Juan and Kasain not to notice and just the right amount of force for their pursuer not to notice. Hoping that the men would just let her get into a car and not distract her once she started, Zi let out a small sigh and waited for her chance to get to work. Juan had nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Kasain tear apart the wall, his attention taken from the moment Zi had started to stir. His natural reaction was aggression, something he had learned was best over the years, and his hand flickered out to summon his blade into his hand. The moment the sulfuric scent filled the air and smoke erupted from his palm, he noted exactly who had caused the commotion. He immediately relaxed. For a terrible instant, his worse fears had filled his mind and he jumped to conclusion the one hunting them had caught up sooner than expected. It didn't help he wasn't counting on the sudden scene the doc had created on entering, followed by the construct that edged behind. At first Juan thought it would hustle completely in until it stopped at the sidewalk's edge. Engrossed in the thing's shape, mass and how unnatural it looked, Juan missed Zi and Kasain's brief interaction with one another. When Kasain managed to submerge Emmet into the abomination he had created, Juan paled slightly at watching it. He wasn't worried for the damage the thing might do to his subject but rather, what Emmet might end up doing to the thing. After all, the human rejected both demon and angelic infections so it was hard to determine the reaction with a human taint. Absorbed in making sure Emmet didn't react, he almost didn't catch Kasain's words at first. As if an instinctive sense went off in his brain, Juan's attention shifted to the doctor. He gave Kasain a look of complete confusion before walking toward the cooler. He had started to bend down when Damon saved him the trouble. The shape shifter already had produced two large bags and tossed them over by the time Juan started to get one, making his efforts pointless. Shrugging off the interruption, Juan stood back upright. He was quiet as Damon's and Kasain's interaction played out. He felt Kasain's eyes upon him causing the man to turn and face his last “Sadly, you said we're on a time limit. I only have one way I can eliminate our essence trail without a trace and that requires at least several hours preparation which we don't have. Else, any sloppiness would result in spreading our essence from here to over half the city if done incorrectly. Something that wouldn't be helpful at all.” Juan stating the obvious as he crossed over his arms in front of him. His face meeting Kasain's intense stare with one of his own, not backing down one bit, and watched doctor feed the monstrosity. On hearing the truck, any further conversation was delayed when Doctor answered Damon. Juan watched the demon start to puppet the beast into the truck back, putting him at ease for the first time as Kasain mentioned Crow's cost for the move and new safe house was on him. The last thing Juan wanted was more debt to a bastard he had yet to meet face to face. It was bad enough he was already on Darius' shit list now. Giving one last glance at the closing truck doors, he hopped into the back seat and waited for the other two, taking his bags and anything else he felt was needed to eliminate his essence from the area. He was hoping it was enough. Even more, he also hoped Emmet wouldn't awaken from his slumber. There would no telling what damage the man might cause if he was a witness to the gruesome sight within that truck and with no one he trusted about, it wasn't likely to be pleasant. [b]"Bleh. No time for questions? Talking is a free action anyways!"[/b] Damon complained, though only to himself. While he found the entire situation shady he still did as Kasain said and went to the car Juan sat in. Though instead of sitting in the car, Damon hopped onto the roof of the car and consumed a small nickle sized hole at the center of the roof. He than changed his shape into said nickle-sized peice of car roof, allowing him to stay somewhere where he could both converse with Juan inside the car, as well as deal with outside threats should they come. Feeling slightly calmer now that everyone was moving into the vehicles, Kasain closed his eyes once more, focusing on the few remaining needles he'd utilized as a perimeter around the building. However, as he did so he noted the movements of the essence within. As he had surmised, this Zi was not normal. He'd bright it up later. With a [I]twitch[/I] of his influence the needles began slowly removing themselves from the ground. When the girl had finished and found her way into a vehicle, he would pull ahead of the car, driving towards the new safehouse in a round about fashion. Just as the group got out of sight of their old safehouse his needles would fully extract themselves and it was in that moment that the gradual process of pulling any and all essence within 1/4th of a block's radius occurred, being absorbed into the needles. It was filtered and then released, weaving it outwards into the surroundings. Oddly, what he'd done did not tamper with Zi's work. What it did do was extract the entirety of his and Emmet's essence from the area. Yes, in his way, he had lied to the others. He was fully capable of expunging their presences. The thing was, he hadn't survived as long as he had by telling everyone his secrets. No, he had survived by being cautious, secretive, and making others think him more than just a [I]little[/I] insane. He had fooled people by making it seem like his skills centered entirely on medical work, that he was capable only of mending or altering biological structures. The truth was far more daunting. Kasain was powerful, but not in the way that people like their pursuer, Szayeis, were. No, Kasain was powerful because he was versatile, perhaps more versatile than a great many demons. It was one of his best guarded secrets. Even Szayeis didn't know. Kasain picked up his phone, using one of his free arms to do so, and dialed Juan. He needed to communicate with the man, and doing so when the others couldn't overhear his own speech was optimal. Juan's responses could be tempered...he only needed ask. [I]Ring...ring...ring[/I] the phone droned in his ear. He waited. Juan wasn't expecting a call, from Darius or anyone. So when his cell vibrated within his pocket, he was more than a little surprised to notice its movement for his attention and gingerly pulled it free. Glimpsing the label, he turned it about while he pressed it to his ear. This call was odd and knowing what little he did of the Doctor, he felt there had to be a deeper reason for the unusual way to gain his attention without the others. "Hello dear, you realize you picked a very terrible time to gain my attention. Currently in a bit of trouble so unless it's a life or death emergency, couldn't it wait until later?." Kasain almost grinned, the man was clever, he admitted with a form of relief. "You and Damon are right to assume it was the nightwalker from earlier tracking us. I did not think he would come after us, but he's unpredictable. I'll make sure to lay down proper concealing measures at our next safehouse. Apologies on that matter," the Doctor paused a moment as the driver turned a corner. "The construct I've made around Emmet will keep him stable...and unconscious. I'm using the hormones of the bodies that make it up to produce something similar to anesthesia. Oh, and I'll be reassembling the [I]people[/I] I used to make the construct. No one will be the wiser, it'll make sure that the Academy doesn't get wind of us. I'll need to talk to you, and eventually Zi, further...and seperate from the others. Later though. I don't think our...pursuer is following us now. Someone seems to have occupied him. We're lucky, in a sense." Kasain then stopped, waiting for Juan's response, if any. Juan listened, closely, his ears soaking up the conversation like a sponge. In the back of his mind, his words were being chosen in the same caution as when he was dealing with Crow or one of Darius’ informant. It was clear Kasain didn’t want Damon to know about this which made him wonder if the demon had heard their earlier conversation. “Luck isn’t something I would call it to be honest. More like annoyance. Well since you put it that way, this seems to be a life or death matter. I was hoping your ex-boy would’ve stayed away after he caught us during one little one nighter. “ Juan said, referring to Szayeis in a discreet manner without alerting Damon. He leaned deeper into the window, his eyes peering out it to seem like his paranoid nature had heightened tenfold. “It’s never nice when a ghost from the past comes knocking. Namely one that nasty, dearie, which makes me think you might be a bit of a curse hun. One that could be rather troublesome to continue keeping in contact with. Though you’ve shown you’ve got your uses in keeping your recent catch in check, a matter I’m glad as he would’ve made the situation worse without realizing it.” He let the demon put together what he was hinting at and a chance to defend himself. Including the bit about Emmet, inwardly hoping that Kasain might be willing to aid him somewhat in. Not being able to leave, a matter he assumed would be the case from here on out, would make it rather hard to gather any missing items he would need to examine Emmet’s essence further. He was hoping the demon’s skills might make it easier to cover the missing tools and figure out how his project had come to fruition so he could repeat it. It was a risk no doubt but one he was willing to take in the long run. “So, before you get your little redhead in a tizzy Charlotte, tell me what you had in mind for your next steps when you reach your next destination. Running and hiding from him isn’t exactly going to solve it forever, is it? You wouldn’t have called if you believed so.” While he talked, his thumb moved across the screen to text a message that would pop up shortly after the call concluded. ‘When we get there, I need you help to examine Emmet beyond the necessities. It will give you your chance to talk as I’ve got something in mind to get Damon distracted.’ “When you finish, I'll talk and then I need to go my dear. I’ve got my own problems to deal with as it is.” Listening intently and swiftly decoding the man's hidden messages, Kasain nodded, despite knowing the other demon could not see it. "A curse, hardly. I'll be making sure that there is no chance he can find us a second time, guaranteed. If not, well...presuming I survive you can have my livers," he chuckled slightly the laugh sounding more nervous than amused. "As to the patient, I'd be delighted to assist, especially given the danger this recent...occurrence has put us through." The Doctor made no further attempts to defend himself, he knew how compromising a situation he had put Juan in, but he also knew that the man couldn't keep Emmet stable or in control like he could--like [I]only[/I] he could. "Upon return the first steps that must be taken are of stealth. We need to establish measures to hide our essences if we leave the safehouse, and to make the safe house effectively invisible to [I]his[/I] senses. Also, I will inform you that our little...[I]guest,[/I] is more than she appears, if you didn't catch that already. Don't scare her off, I get the feeling that she'd rather no one know, but we do need to address it at some point. I'm not sure about you, but I prefer to keep unknown elements away from my patients if at all possible." “Ummm, very well and I will keep that in mind. Though I already figured that out years ago but couldn’t puzzle it out. As for your concern, easier said than done but I don’t think it would hurt him. She’s been helping to patch your little friend since before I met him. He tends to like to get damaged often. In fact keeping them apart might be rather ill advised from what I’ve seen. He gets rather rebellious as you know, and she gets rather aggressive when he’s being pushed around. So cross that bridge when you come to it but I suggest to be sensitive about it.” Juan revealed as he looked at his watch, seeing the time tick away. “Think it’s time I get going hun, so good luck with your trouble. Apologies I couldn’t be helpful to you right now. So I hope things work out. I'll talk to you later." With that, Juan clicked the phone then turned to look at Damon, observing the demon should he have been listening into the coversation. It wasn't something he would've been surprised at though he would've found it rather annoying. On the other end Kasain nodded, closing the phone and pocketing it before he turned to his driver and in a movement faster than the eye could see, stabbed him through the skull with a needle. It didn't kill him, the man barely faltered in his driving of the vehicle. A moment passed and then he extracted the needle, the damage not even manifesting. The man continued driving, totally unaware of what had just transpired. Kasain had erased his memories of the entire conversation and altered them so there was no evidence of tampering. How he'd done it? Well, [I]that[/I] was a trade secret now wasn't it. Damon didn't say much during the ride, even as Juan spoke to whoever over the phone. He guessed Kasain, and it annoyed him that the demon didn't bother to explain things to him either. So when Juan hung up Damon was quick to get briefed on what he discovered. [b]"That was the doctor, wasn't it? I knew that bastard had something to do with this. I should have shook him down for information on that shadowy monster when we first got back to base. But whatever. What the hell is on our tail Juan? And what are we going to do about it? Cause I swear, if it involves some bait-and-switch shanigan where the doctor pretends to turn us in with this shadowy guy, I'm going to eat him alive."[/b] Damon's voice came from above Juan, speaking rather clearly. He was aware of the other driver and intended to eat him later, if no one else could wipe his memories. "He's an interesting fellow, that is for sure." Juan answered, smoothly sidestepping the conversation's dangerous grounds. He didn't deny or feed his friend's paranoid. "Though you're jumping to conclusion, Damon, without proof. Do you recall the last time you assumed every little thing and it ended with me being eaten? And not in the fun way, it wasn’t fun slowly being digested by a [url=https://www.pinterest.com/pin/423408802444704098/]Grootslang[/url] demon.” Juan shuddered involuntarily, recalling the incident while he put away his phone. His eyes darted behind him and spotted the black fox, the very they managed to swipe from Darius, sleeping in the back seat obvious to the danger coming. For the moment, he wondered if the creature coming would sense Darius’ essence within the safe house. It was logical thought since the shadow fox was made from their master’s power and being, but Juan casted away the thought. He didn’t dare risk that during his clean up to test his theory. Even if it tossed this being off their trail, it wasn’t worth the risk. He was already in deep enough mess as it was and no point in making it worse. He turned back to Damon on the roof. “As for your worries, I don’t think he would want do a bait-and-switch. This whole evac attempt takes too much energy, effort and more to bother with. If he was going to simply turn us over then why bother getting us out of the hot zone? Besides, I get the feeling it’s not us that is in deep trouble.” The more Juan thought about Kasain words to his actions, the less he believed it was Damon and him that was in deep trouble. The pieces, so spread and transparent once now started to solidify then with a little effort, they started to fit into place. Though there was still many gaps. It pulled at Juan’s curiosity and made his mind tick the longer he was trying to solve this rather dangerous mystery. “Either way, we stil need more information and with Emmet in his current condition, eliminating Kasain from the thick of things will do more harm than good. Who is to say this creature won’t come after us. We were seen with him and hoping to gain information to where he’s at, and do much worse? If I recall, we didn’t fair too well against it the last time.” He was bitter at easily they were made helpless within the creature's gasp. They couldn't defend each other let alone themselves, making any attempts to fight back pointless. All they could hope to do was run and fun until they either gain a plan to defeat it or purge its interest altogether. The latter was something Juan felt was likely the hardest with recent interactions. [b]"Hey! At least we found a Groot Demon! You have to admit I was at least right in that we'd find one. And how was I suppose to know they were capable of swallowing you whole? I thought it'll at least need to spend some thing chewing you up first!"[/b] He chuckled at the memory. Just one of many that Juan had him tag along with. Damon then listened to Juan's reasoning, still feeling uneasy about all of this. Truth be told Damon doesn't deal with demons a lot. Most of the time he worked with largely powerless humans. Being Dark Matter gave him an edge over the powerless humans. If Damon had a human form he would have shrugged at Juan's words. [b]"Frankly, if whatever this thing is is after Kasain, I don't care about it. My priority is getting you to safety, and by extension Emmet. I suppose if we need to stick with Kasain I won't make too much arguements... But the longer we stay with him, the longer we are indebted to Crow by proxy. I feel more comfortable getting dropped off the radar than running it with those fellas."[/b] "I won't argue with you on that. Though honestly there's much more fun ways to be eaten, do you agree?" He sighed, his head turned back to the window but still talking. "Sadly, do you really see a clean way of getting out of this? As for Crow, his deal was with me and I made sure the bargain was for Emmet's rescue. Beyond that, it isn't my concern because I didn't pay for it and if he seems to press the issue, I'll just 'die'. He can't get money from a corpse after all." Juan said, though he was discreetly reaching into his pocket for a vile. It had a murky, white color that seemed to be like curdled milk. In side the aging glass, there was the essence of Emmet, himself and their little fox friend in back already mixed within it. All it needed was to be delivered by smashing it onto flesh to activate. His eyes shifted from the item in his relaxed palm to Damon, hinting for the shapeshifter to take and absorb it. When Damon did, he would learn the contents were used for eliminating memories of those individuals who were within the vile. He only hoped Damon would realized he only needed to add a piece of himself into the vile to completely. "I suggest you only use it should we actually need it first." Juan stated gently, a gesture for Damon to trust him. "I've dealt with Demons before, my friend else I wouldn't be sticking around as long as I did." Damon picked up the subtle note and snatched the bottle from Juan's hands. He absorbed it, getting an idea of its creation and purpose. And how to improve on it, namely adding himself to the original recipe. Damon said nothing and couldn't even nod at Juan's suggestion and chose to change subjects. [b]"You know sometimes I wish the simpler life. Just roaming the world, looking for conflicts, arming both sides, watching them kill each other... It was calming."[/b] A joke on Damon's part. Replacing the hole in the roof with an identical replica Damon took on the form of a white cat and landed in Juan's lap. [b]"This has all really been a wild day. So business as usual. Maybe something weirder would happen, like doing our laundry or go out for italian food, eh?"[/b] Damon rubbed himself against Juan, meowing lightly as he laided on top of Juan's lap. He felt his fingers brush against Damon's back, through his bristly and fur. [b]"Nyaaaaa~"[/b] Damon laid streched out as Juan rubbed him gently at first, but then firm and fast.