Nightmares(titan tree)

Corgi bent over the helpless halfling, a robotic servnt laden with 'tools' edged in blessed steel and dipped in holy water hovering beside him.the sadistic madman grins, leaning in close. "Let's see how much you can take, hmm?" Toji screamed, suddenly sitting straight up, holding out a hand crackling with energy."NOOOOOOOOOO!" A a lightning bolt shoots out, burning his bedroom wall. He blinks, looking around."J-just a dream..." he let's out a shuddering breath. Then gets up, running to the practice room. The poor kid wasn't getting anymore sleep tonight, not till he reassured himself that he could defend himself against his exmaster. Standing still, he crafts Corgis's main base, a massive room, with a throne like chair on the far end. between it nd Toji, were a massive army of robotic soldiers. Toji growled as they started marching foward, the young halfling blurred towards his enemies.....
Toji battled the robots for what seemed like hours, ripping them apart with his bare hands, coating himself with thick oil that spurted out of ruptured pipes. Finally, he staggers back, throwing the last peice of metal on a huge pile of robotic body parts. Sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall, he stares at his work, tear tracks working their way through the 'grease' coating his face as Toji becomes lost in memories....

-BUMP-

((OOC: Kishi's not at all right for this. But you have been waiting long. >.< ))

What did it mean to sleep for four people? Theoretically the Kishi brothers in tandem need never all sleep at the same time. One or two inhabitants of the main body could snooze while the remaining Kishi go about their business. But that was only the best case scenario. Like anyone the brothers found it hard to sleep in broad daylight. So if the main body was running around outside then there would be no rest for any of them. Furthermore - the inside of Onyekachi's head was built like a frat boy house. Just because one of them had the time and potential to sleep, that didn't mean the others would let them. And so it transpired that the brothers predominantly slept all at once.

However, miracles do occur. On this occasion three of the brothers were asleep, back in bed. The fourth had separated from the tribe and was busy watching some television. Some of the other Titans had hooked up a line to a distant lamp-post. So now they were illegally siphoning electricity from the power company. Go heroes.

This solitary Kishi, Geraldo, had been trying like crazy to ignore the crashing from upstairs. But eventually he was compelled to investigate. No one else should have been awake. Geraldo walked into the training hall just as Toji was finishing his last batch of combatants. The demon frowned and voiced his first thought, "The heck did we get all these robots from?"

Toji, lost in the memory of yet another horrific 'experiment' flinches as he hears Kishis voice, then looks at him.'W-what? ou haven't used the practice room yet? It's j-just illussion..." He gets up, wiping the tears from his eyes as he pushes past the demon. He really didnt feel like being teased and tormented at the moment...As he walks out, the room transforms back into it's normal state."Good night. J-just leave me 'lone, aight?" His face, clean now except for the lingering wetness form the tears, was averted, so the demon wouldn't see the pain in his eyes.

For the first time in what seemed like forever, Kristen had been attempting sleep. Back when she was with her people, a very long time ago, she was taught that the demonic in nature are often cursed without sleep, so therefore it was the duty of the divine to also go without sleep. This forced amnesia kept Kristen up despite her best efforts, so as it happened, she was merely counting the numerous branches that interlaced themselves with the concrete walls of her dorm.

Kristen had sensed and heard everything.

A spike in the semi-demonic energy that belonged to Toji Okami shot through the building along with a scream that could probably wake up everyone else in the tower, but seemingly did not. The steps of the other halfling as he lumbered out of the dorm portion of the tower and into the training room. The motion of the also still awake Onyekashi's demonic presence as he went to see what the noise was about. With a sigh, Kristen exited her room in cyan fleece pajamas, figuring that a demon would not be the best counsel for nightmares.

When Kristen arrived where the Kishi Geraldo and Toji were by the entrance to the training room, she noticed his eyes were wet, as if he had been crying. 'You better not have made it worse, demon.' she thought with contained annoyance as she shot a momentary glance at the Kishi.

Returning a calm look to her face, she gently put a hand on Toji's shoulder. "Hey, Toji. You okay?" Kristen was under the impression Toji had a horrid past - some evidence pointed towards this as the Greater they both faced about a week ago had been able to use his memories as a way to attack him. She wondered if his nightmare had anything to do with it as well.

Sometimes truth is weirder than fiction. That someone had built combat bots in their spare time was believable. But Geraldo couldn't begin to comprehend how this practice room had been set up. Probably with more 'magic'. Like how the television used to work without electricity. Magic. Or how Manic could always be late anywhere. Muchos magic.

The absurdity of it all caused the Kishi to miss Toji's tell-tale signs of distress. When the Halfling left, Geraldo was still staring at the room in wonder, "The heck did we get illusions from...? Seriously, Tree, you couldn't a used that on Cheshire?" A life and death battle and all their kick-butt tower contributed was sap. The tree had used less birch twig smacks than a sophomore initiation ceremony.

The potential of this revelation did intrigue the Kishi, however. If Toji fought robots, maybe he could smack around an illusionary Toji. Why stop at Toji? The practice room could gift him and his brothers a cornucopia of team-mates and allies to violently disembowel to his bloodlust's content. This was the Holy Grail of repressed demonic urges.

Geraldo looked for a control panel or an on switch and found nothing. Maybe the creampuff could tell him how it worked. He exited the room and walked swiftly to find Toji. He found him in conversation with Kristen. Geraldo hung back and loomed menacingly, grinning at the girl for no reason but in hope it would unsettle her.

Toji, feeling a touch on his shoulder, flinches, stepping back and instinctfully bringing his hands into a defensive position. He looks up, seeing Kristen, and drudges up a obviously fake smile."Erm....yah, yah...J-just bad dreams is all....um......I think Corpse eater back there's wanting to know how to use the practice room.... I'll just go check on Storm Talon, make sure he has enough food for the night..." Toji blurs away, going to the Nest. His packsister would probally come after him, but that was alright. He just didn't want to talk about it in front of Kishi. he was still too raw to joke about it. Walking over to his eagle, he whistles, smilling sadly as his loyal companion raises her head, looking at him curiously."hey, Stormy...Just checking up on yah. how you like the fish? It's good, right?"

Kristen merely rolled her eyes at the Kishi's expression. It appeared that he was pretty clueless about Toji's current state and was only reacting to her glare with sarcasm.

At Toji's response and sudden disappearance, it was clear that Toji wasn't comfortable talking about it. Whether it was because Onyekashi was looming just beyond them or whether he just didn't like talking about it, Kristen wasn't sure. She wanted to find out though, and she left the Kishi to track Toji's demon presence up to his eagle's nest.

When she arrived at the nest, she saw Toji talking to his pet. She walked up to them, nodding at the bird on prey slightly to indicate she was friendly. "I wouldn't want to talk about my nightmares around a full demon either, if I was in your position." she said, "Especially since a lot of them are the cause of some nightmares." she glanced over to see how he was doing, and his face was one of sorrow. He was trying to hide it, but Kristen could tell he was hurting. It was a feat, hiding your issues effectively.

"You can talk to me though. I'm willing to listen." Kristen waited for his reply.

Toji looks at kris, then blinks."Packsister, meet Storm Talon, my loyal freind and ride when we need to take to the air. Stormy, Kristen, Packsister and Nephilim....hehehehh...." He grins weakly, then slides to the floor, wrapping his arms around his legs as the halfling sighs."Packsister, if you don't mind, I'd like to tell you a story.....'he breathes in, then lets it out with a whooph....


"Long long ago, a great and powerful demon was sent to torment the world, alongside his fellow warriors. They completed the mission, and they headed home. this demon lagged behind, and spotted a human woman, a fellow warrior. He prepared to destroy her, but he felt something different from what he ussually feels. This thing was love. As time went on, he courted her, and eventually they married, the demon giving up his powers. Together, they had a baby boy, but tragedy struck...The clan, angered at the demons temerity, struck, torturing the mother to death. The father and his son escaped, running to a hidden realm.....The boy grew, strong and powerful, and as curious as a monkey....One day, he found a gap, leading to the outside world. Walking through, he fell, and fell, landing in a place as white and cold as a ice demons heart.....A man found this child, and 'took' him in. Instead of raising him with kindness, this man enslaved the boy, making him into a weapon, and engaging in constant, sadistic experiments.....For five years, this boy suffered...."

Toji raises his shirt, revealing a torso layered in scars. He points to one,"The first experiment..Corgi took a scalpel of blessed steel, and sliced me..." He points to another, thick and ropy." This one was from a powered saw. It took five minutes, but it busted through.....it really stung..." Then he points to one last one, a burn scar."this one was from acid mixed with holy water......" The halfling lowers his shirt, pulling down his collar and revealing marks circling his neck."This is from the Collar. For five years, I wore it constantly, it coming off only when Corgi wished to experiment, and measuring my reactions.." Toji starts to shiver."I-I'm terrified of him, sister.... A human, and I'm more scared of him then the devil...... He's still out there...what if he gets ahold of all of you? Oh Forger, if he does......I don't want even Kishi to suffer like that..." He lets out a laugh mixed with a sob."I-I-I-I guess your fellow angels would look on all I have suffered and say so what, right? A-after all, I'm half demon..." He seems to shrink, tears pouring down his face." Scared....I'm so scared.....Guess I'm a coward...."

Kristen listened to Toji's tale. It was really heartbreaking, and Kristen's thoughts about the topic of his nightmare had been confirmed. When Toji showed Kristen his scars, her eyes widened. He had been through so much agony... it was people like Corgi that made her brother want to destroy humanity.

When Kristen saw Toji start to cry again, compassion overrode her ability to think about what she was doing and she sat down beside him and hugged him. When she realized what she was doing, she willed her humanity to override her divinity and hoped that physical contact with him wasn't hurting him. Compassion was a trait of humanity after all... for the first time in a really long time, Kristen's humanity was beginning to show.

"I can't speak for angels," she started, "Since angels will have their ways and I will have mine. In that sense, I don't always think like them either..." she trailed off, not knowing how to finish her thought. "Toji... you're not a coward. No one blames you for feeling this way; you've been through a lot. Crying isn't a sign of weakness. It's a sign of having tried too hard to be strong for too long."

Toji, tears still falling, freezes as Kristen gives him a compassionate hug. He winces, expecting to feel the itching and burning sensation that happened whenever he came into contact with something holy, but nothing happened. He wipes his eyes, smiling sadly."th-thank you, sister....It makes me so happy that you think that way....Maybe you're right, maybe I'm not a coward....Still...I can't stop being scared of him...I don't think I'll ever recover.." he sighs, giving her a quick hug back, then leans back, looking at the stars."You know....when Kale, the old leader, gave me my room, I couldn't beleive it. After all, I had just been ordered to destroy them a few hours ago, and yet they nearly instantly accepted me...For so long, I had been a weapon, destroying villages and homes, sending people running......I'm glad I hang on...glad I didn't give in." he grins, wiping one last tear from his face."Now, I don't need to be so strong...I have a family again...hahahaha, even Kishi!" Toji turns his head, smiling."Thanks for being a great sister, Kristen."

Kristen smiled, content that Toji was feeling better. Kale certainly sounded like he was a great leader of a great team. It was a great thing that Toji could be saved. "It's no problem. I'm glad you're feeling better. We're always gonna be here for you, Toji..." she chuckled, "But you know that already." she sighed, moving to get up again. "So, you feel like trying to get some sleep again? I can walk you to your room, if you like."

Toji shakes his head."N-no, I'll be fine. Sorry for waking you up..." He stands up, starting to walk towards the exit, then pauses, turning around and giving Kristen a sudden, hard hug.""Really.....thank you." THe halfling smiles sheepishkly, releasing her, then exits, humming a calming tune that his dad used to sing to him.

Kristen smiled at Toji's final hug, glad he was feeling better. As Toji walked away humming his tune, she went her own way back to her room.

Back in her room, Kristen found herself at peace enough to find sleep as well. This sleep was nearly dreamless, save for whispered words in a familiar voice:

"Shake hands with the enemy... and your blood becomes water."