Bonito Frate's Story

The peace quiet was rather suddenly and rudely shattered as a black haired Italian boy came exploding out of a door into the open street. He half ran, half outright sprinted down the street, only to screech to a halt to wheel back and lock the door to the apartment complex before tearing back off down the street, the back of his shirt flapping wildly where it is too big for him and he had forgotten to tuck him in. It wasn't exactly his own fault that he was in such a rush, absolutely anyone could have slept through twelve alarms after sleeping for nearly that exact same time. It was a honest mistake to make and one that was entirely blameless and utterly one that deserved him being let off on.

Of course if he really believed that then he wouldn't be running down the street to work. It was times like this that he deeply wished he could simply drive to work again and then not have to worry about things like how much his legs were on fire trying to run down a simple cobbled Vatican road. He wasn't built for all this physical exertion god damnit, nobody should have to run so fast that their face was half melting with sweat. He both looked and felt absolutely terrible as he huffed and puffed and silently swore at the stitch in his side as he barrelled down the street, narrowly missing running into a group of soldiers who were busy running the opposite direction. He cursed whoever it was that didn't let him own even a simple push bike, the ground was flat! Why did he have to bust his lungs just trying to run halfway across the small city.

Eventually and thankfully he finally managed to reach the short office building that he was supposed to report to every morning. Taking the short flight of stairs up to the door two at a time it was hardly a surprise when his foot caught on the last step, his momentum carrying him forwards and only a panicking outreached hand stopped him from crashing face first into a glass door. Instead he simply fell forwards and promptly crashed down onto his face just inside the lobby of the office, breathing though what felt like every orifice in his body.

"Oversleep again?" Came a chirpy voice from behind a counter far above where he lay sprawled on the floor. He could only illicit a pained and tired groan in response before he dragged himself to his feet, clinging onto the reception desk for both physical and emotional support.
"I.... Ah... I am not built for this.... Madre Maria." He gasped and groaned as he painfully managed to finally bring himself up onto his feet with all the difficulty of a sleeping titan. The girl behind the desk, a pretty girl not much older than he was and likely only doing the job because it paid well and because if there was ever going to be a chance to bag a hot boyfriend then surely working around a lot of muscular men wasn't too bad of an idea. It was shame, the skinny Italian boy thought, that he didn't think he was her type, she was really rather pretty and pretty funny too.

"What's this? Third time this week?" She smiled up at him as she passed a paper cup of water over the desk to him, clearly she had been expecting him to come barrelling into office with all the enthusiasm of a headless chicken. He didn't even hesitate in grabbing up the cup and practically inhaling the water, the whole cup being drained in record time and with such ferocity that half of it came back up with a stifled burp.
"Thank you for that... Fourth time actually... God in Heaven why do I keep putting myself through this? How do I look?" He smiled at her, opening his arms and flashing a charming grin.
"Like death warmed up with a side order of sweaty."
"Bene, that's the look I'm always going for." He said with a chuckle before lob shotting the paper cup towards the office bin and missing rather badly when he failed to factor in the fact that paper cups don't exactly throw very well and it quickly spiralled straight down to crash land on the desk.

With a lot more embarrassment than before he quickly quick stepped away from the laugh of the receptionist. He had been working here for months now and he still hadn't actually learned her name, he was almost always in such a hurry because of the fact he was usually still asleep when they page for him to come in. This time however, as he finally reached his bosses door he didn't really have that excuse, seeing as he had gotten an email two days ago to be here on time. He braced himself before knocking and stepping inside.

His boss was sat behind his own desk, surrounded by paperwork that seemed to be a jumbled mess even for him. He was a short and squat Greek man that had a disapproving look in his eye whenever he seemed to notice the Italian was ever around and that look certainly was not absent right now.
"Bonito Frate, late yet again." He sighed, looking up from his computer before gesturing for him to come inside. "You're over an hour late, what's the excuse this time."
"I uuuuh.... I overslept?" He tried smiling as if it would make things any better, sadly however it just seemed to annoy the man even more.
"Overslept again. You need to get another alarm clock, one with a hammer preferably so it will make sure you wake up."

Bonito kept silent as his boss began to sift through the mess of sheets and other assorted office supplies until he managed to dig out a clipboard that also seemed to be overloaded with paper. "Seeing as you finally decided to show up, here's you assignment. Seems you're being attached to a small group of students, have fun driving them all over Italy. You'll find the list of names and faces in there, plus where you're first driving them to. Stick to them like glue and for Gods sake do not fall asleep when they need you to get them somewhere."
"Si si, I am trying, honestly."
"Well try harder otherwise you'll be out of a job at this rate." There was a heavy pause as his boss gave him a withering stare before pushing a set of keys over the top of the mound of paperwork. "You're driving bus seven, try not to crash it. Now hurry up, you're just going to be more and more late."

Bonito wasted no time in snatching up the key and scurrying out of the office, taking the back way out since it came out right next to the garage. It was down two flights of stairs, a quick walk and then a card swipe through another back door and he was in. He was incredibly aware of the sound of his footsteps against the concrete floor. There was something about this place that for some reason reminded him of the opening scene of The Highlander. He picked up his pace, not exactly wanting to find out if there was an angry immortal lurking around a corner somewhere nearby.

It wasn't hard to find the coach he was looking for, it was more of a minibus really than anything, with an embarrassingly large number seven painted on the side. Thankfully it seemed, as he was busy unlocking the bus, nobody seemed to be here yet. For once he wasn't the one that was late! Perhaps today wasn't going to be as bad as he thought it would be. Hopping inside he turned on the bus for a moment, all looked pretty good, a full tank and not a single failure light was blinking up at him. He had to admit the mechanics were surprisingly good at their jobs here. Everything seemed to work like clockwork, not that he was complaining for a second.

Whilst he had a moment he decided he might as well leaf through the paperwork he had been given. It seemed he was going to be stuck driving eight students around, plus two actual staff members. Pretty standard fare, though why he was being assigned to them permanently seemed to be beyond him. It made less sense when he had been made to move to a small and cramped shared apartment so that he could get to work at a moments notice. Whoever these people were they were clearly pretty important.

Another piece of paper had the coordinates for the satnav which he quickly fished out from the glove-box. He had to frown, there must be some mistake here because instead of sending him to some compound or the usual kind of thing that he seemed to be ferrying people to and from the satnav was pointing him to some empty field in the middle of nowhere. There might be some kind of mistake there that would look bad on him for even trying to go there, but on the other hand it could very well be the case that he was supposed to go here to somewhere that was hidden from the map. Shrugging as he put the small box onto the dashboard, all would be made clear eventually he supposed.

He was distracted by a buzzing at his hip. Somehow he had forgotten his phone was still in his pocket, somehow he had managed to grab that in his mad dash out of the apartment even if he had entirely missed to grab any food. Pulling his phone out he had a message from Emilio, one of his friends he had made at some club a few weeks ago. He had to admit he had a bit of a crush on the slightly older guy, his green eyes and small brown locks just made him feel giddy, especially when they tried to have a staring contest, Bonito lost and also sadly had to buy a round a drinks.


Can't sorry, works dragging me around to the middle of nowhere

Ferrying people around I guess? It's usually something stupid like that


He couldn't help but smile to himself at the bluntness, it was no small secret that Emilio was part of the infamous hook-up community. It was actually because of this which annoyed him most, Emilio wasn't exactly too picky with the people he slept with yet it seemed that he had absolutely no interest in him. He had to wonder if he was perhaps being too subtle about it all. Flipping through the paper work he found a sheet of mugshots, some of which looked more like they had been stolen from Facebook rather than taken professionally. He had to admit to himself more than one of them were actually really rather good looking, maybe he wouldn't mind working with them either.

Why don't you come find out for yourself :p

Says the one who's going to be partying t up tonight whilst I'm stuck in the woods.

"-our.. lovely driver" Bonito jolted in his seat as he realised where he was again, he quickly peered outside of the window to see there was a small amount of people gathered outside of his bus.

Gotta dash, work calls.

He quickly pocketed his phone and pressed the button to open the bus doors. Somehow though in his panicked haste, a direct result of figuratively being caught with his pants down whilst he was busy texting Emilio, he managed to accidentally turn on the radio. Whoever had been driving the bus last must have been listening to some classic rock channel as perhaps the worst possible song came on just as the doors were starting to hiss open. Naturally the world would kick him in the gut by having the one radio station in all of Rome playing Careless Whisper have it just start as the doors opened. He must have looked like a total sleaze as that saxophone intro came blaring out of the bus as he revealed himself before he could cut it off.

With just a tiny bit more embarrassment than he had needed to deal with he quickly stepped from the bus, half bouncing down the steps, clipboard in hand.
"I... Uh.... Sorry about that, didn't mean for that to happen." His accent made his voice light and bouncy His eyes quickly darted across the gathered people, not lingering on anyone as he gave them a cursory glance to see if they were all here. Pulling a pen from a pocket a put a small cross next to the names of Caius and Vesper, who seemed to not turned up. Wasn't really his problem, people didn't turn up all the time, they would just have to find their own way to the middle of nowhere. "I'm Bonito by the way, Bonito Frate. I'll be your guys driver so I'll be around if you need me." He gave another quick glance along with a smile, though this time he only looked at the students, something about the two staff members just didn't feel right to him. He couldn't exactly put his finger on it but it was like there was something inherently inhuman about them that made him want to get as far away from them as he could.

Sadly the best he could do was get back onto his bus and hope and prey neither of them tried to sit on his dashboard and just stare at him the whole journey or something. Although that would probably be better than George Micheal.

Ashley “Ash” “Soot” Clade

Cleaning up hadn’t taken particularly long for Ash, but it was a much needed moment to collect herself. After getting back to her room and locking the door behind her, she immediately began stripping off and tossing her clothes across the room. The jeans were a lost cause – the blood was well soaked in, and cleaning them would be far more effort than it was worth. Well, for any normal person that is. Her jacket being waterproof fared better, and being her favourite she was loathe to trash it like the former article. Maybe she’d consult Rick at a later time. Finally, though her singlet had done remarkably well in remaining untouched under her jacket, it too found itself tossed into a different corner for a different reason. Even if she wasn’t that messy, a shower seemed like the ideal thing after what had happened. Clad in naught but her underwear as she looked to the mirror, Ashley hesitated for a short moment as she examined herself. Nothing outwardly about her appearance showed she was anything more than your average girl. Well, she had a bit more confidence in her figure than that, but still. Other than some slight muscle to her form, she didn’t look like she was destined for anything great. If anything, she looked like a bit of a deadbeat.

Sighing, she unceremoniously stepped out of the last of her clothes, tossing them aside as she turned on the shower, leaving it a moment to warm up before climbing in. A few simple amenities had been supplied; though Ash inwardly cursed at the fact she’d have to dry out her hair after this. Grabbing the soap and lathering up, the solitude of the bathroom had provided her plenty of opportunity to mull over the events and what she wanted out of the situation. Perhaps it was selfish to think that way, but all the talk about grandiose things and helping to protect this world… Well, was that really her? She never pictured herself as anything of the sort. I mean, no one really does, but it certainly didn’t fit how she saw herself. For as long as she’d really had a sense of self, she’d seen herself as a bit of a screw up. She didn’t fit in; she didn’t tend to be the brightest or best in anything. Sure, she liked cars and engines and could do some decent mechanic work – Heck, she wasn’t a slouch in sports either, but she’d learned to keep to herself. Dealing with her own problems, making her own way, not really relying on or doing things for others was how she’d lived her life. Things were simpler that way. At least, that’s what she always told herself. She didn’t really believe it. Why else would she even bother interacting with people? Much as she hated company, she also craved it. The hypocrisy of it always struck her as ironic.

Try as she may to maintain her distance and her cool, snide façade; she didn’t really wish harm on anyone. Well, most anyone. The actual jackasses and apparently evil demons could get stuffed for all she cared about them. Still, when she did help people, was it ever selflessly? Most of the time she wanted or expected some sort of reward, but this was… Well, different. Sighing at the complexity of it all, Ash scratched an ass cheek. She was in no way a martyr, but she wasn’t heartless either. Now that she knew she had power and responsibility, it changed things. She’d always seen herself as an observer or someone that couldn’t really impact anything important. Someone else would handle it. Besides, when things got tough or too much to handle, she could just ditch the situation and wash her hands of it. That’s how she dealt with any problem she didn’t like and didn’t know how to handle. This time however…

Reaching to turn off the tap and stepping from the shower, Ash grabbed a few towels to wrap around herself. She was done running from her responsibilities. Running away after hearing of all this had just made things worse the first time. The fact that things were more dangerous and on a larger scale didn’t change anything. This was the situation she found herself in, and she had to deal with it. Not only to protect those she cared about, but those she didn’t either. She wanted to help this world and help others, even if the world didn’t exactly seem to like her very much. When she was little, Dad had always said to be the bigger person, to be the one that made the change or broke the norm. Prove to everyone else that they’re wrong without succumbing to their tactics. She hadn’t done the best of that in the past, but maybe now she could start setting a new example.

Rummaging about her luggage for a change of clothes, Ash ended up with a puffy parka in khaki green, along with some beige fur trimmings. It wasn’t as nice as her leather one, but it would do for now. Heading back out to the others, her expression had lightened somewhat since the incident, but it was barely noticeable behind her folded arms and still slightly distant position. Maybe it was the slight cock to her stance that gave it away? Leaning her head slightly to try and keep her somewhat damp hair from sticking to her neck, she watched the eerie performance by the dual Illusions with little more than a shake of her head and an eye roll. Still, the fact she didn’t give a derisive comment was a good sign. When they finally made their way to the garage, Ash was more than a little elated to find that her bike had parked itself neatly away with the coaches.

“Perfect timing. You must have known how much I hate being driven around, huh?” Ash commented to the motorbike, striding up and leaning on it as she heard word that they were awaiting their driver. Speaking of whom, he made his entrance far sooner than she expected, accompanied by a familiar saxophone tune. A small, frail looking young boy seemed to step out, nervously laughing to himself and commenting on the music. Ash raised an eyebrow as she appraised him. He looked like he should be serving food in a fast food joint after school, not driving a bus around. Then again… Briefly looking back to Illusion before turning to the boy again, she decided she may as well ask. “You a crazy demon vampire too?” Sliding slightly as she sat side saddle on her bike, she gave him time to reply, shrugging it off. “Well, whatever. Hey, think you can tell me where we’re going pipsqueak? I don’t intend to sit stuck behind a slow ass bus when I could be there in half the time.” Patting her motorcycle lightly, she hadn’t really intended it, but the driver might’ve taken offence at the implication of his lack of driving ability. Turning slightly to the rest of her demon kin, she smirked slightly. "Have fun on the lame train guys."

Helena had followed on in silence, neglecting to offer comment on the whole thing.

She couldn't help but feel it was a bit unfair that Vesper and Caius were being granted this time off whilst the rest of them had to hurry along, but didn't really see much point in commenting upon it. It wasn't like much she'd said so far had undergone any serious consideration, and she'd rather say nothing than throw another of her feelings out into the void.

The young woman stepped up onto the bus, avoiding Ash and the driver's exchange regarding the motorcycle, and made her way to a vacant seat near the back. She dropped down in the seat next to the window, pulled her knees up, and rested her head against the glass.

Her head was pounding. Going on thirty-six hours with no sleep and it was catching up to the point that it overrode her natural anxiety. It was only really at that point that she really acknowledged the aches in her ribs and knees. Probably what happened when you fell out of a tree.

Least she could sleep on the bus. Wasn't as if the green-eyed monster could come and get her in the middle of an occupied bus.
"...guess someone would notice...probably.." she muttered, without too much concern about how talking to herself in the back of the bus might come across. The making a good impression horse had definitely bolted by this point. All she wanted to salvage from this situation by this point was at least getting some sleep before the next thing happened.

A soft chuckle left Lusy's lips as Bonito exited the bus, and she watched as he crossed off the two names on the list. She stayed mostly silent as he introduced himself, a small smile spreading across her features. "Lusy forgives you for your catchy introduction theme~" Smiling to herself, she bowed at the waist. "Bonnie here is going to be driving us to all of our important places. Boot Camp, for starters.". Hearing Ash perk up from behind her, she turned and smiled. "Wells, alls you'll needs to do is follow the bus when it leaveses, but I'm sures you'll be able to do that, Ashie-washy~!" Spinning on her heel slowly, she smiled over at Ash. "And of course he is." She had a sly smile on her face, and gave the girl a wink before hastily moving up to get onto the bus and sit down, but Helena beat her to it. Her smile dropping slightly, she sighed softly. Poor girl wasn't exactly having a good time, after all. Lusy could see her emotions flowing around her, like a faint mist. She wasn't surrounded by the happiest aura, considering her past few days.
The slightest of smiles lit up her features, but she caught it before anyone noticed.

Getting onto the bus, she sat quite close to Bonito's seat, the closest seat to him, in fact. To give directions in case he got lost, obviously.

Looking back at Helena, she gave the poor girl a reassuring smile. Well, she hoped it was reassuring, at least. It was meant to be a warm, friendly smile. She didn't know if it was one. Turning back around, she pulled out her phone and idly played with it.

---

Jojo raised an eyebrow as their driver exited the bus to one of the catchiest songs he'd ever heard. Sure was one hell of an introduction. Cracking a grin as the guy before him got off the bus, Jojo nodded. Sure, it made sense that their driver was Italian. They were in Rome, after all. The thought then occurred to him that Arthur had a British accent, which was odd, and that Illusion- Lusy, as she preferred to be called- had an accent he'd never heard before. It was European, maybe? Not German, for sure, since Eine sounded totally different. Lusy wasn't French, either. He couldn't put his finger on it.

Stuffing that thought in the back of his mind, Jojo returned to the present. Bonito Frate, huh? Interesting name. He already had his nickname- Frate Train. Jojo stifled a laugh at his terrible nicknaming skills. He wasn't exactly the best, but that wasn't his problem. As Illusion spoke, Jojo nodded. It made sense that they had the same guy taking them to every place. No point getting multiple people if you had one reliable guy. Lessened the risk of a secret being leaked and also some other stuff Jojo didn't particularly care about.

He narrowed his eyes, focusing on that last thought. What?
Shaking his head slightly, Jojo looked up as he saw Helena hop onto the bus. Quick, quiet, and with her head down. She didn't look good at all. He bit his lip.
"You said you'd protect them, right?"
Clenching his fists in his pockets, he tapped Dawn on the arm and moved forward, looking over to Ash as she mentioned sticking with her bike instead and wish them fun on the 'lame train'. He exhaled hard from his nose, grinning as he gave her a wave. "Don't go too fast, you might leave us behind." Friendly banter was allowed, right? Surely. He didn't have time to hear her retort anyways, since he'd gotten onto the bus awfully quickly. Passing Illusion, he locked eyes with her for a moment and blinked. Smiling at him, the vampire cocked her head to the side like an inquisitive bird. "Oh, um, nothing, Lusy." He moved down the bus, to near the back where Helena was, and sat down. Pausing a moment before turning back to her, he leaned over the seat and decided to man up and actually go with his promise.

"Hey, uh, are you alright, Helena..? You look kinda.. Did you sleep at all last night?". Insomnia sometimes got the best of our good friend Jojo, so he knew the look of an exhausted person when he saw one, but.. something else seemed wrong, too. It seemed to be a lot more than exhaustion, although he didn't know what. "If you need sleep, I'm sure they won't mind if you get some on our way to Boot Camp.." He thanked the stars he could remember people's names easily.
Hopefully this helped. He'd noticed Lusy turn to the girl just before, and it seemed they shared the same sentiment.
He realised he hadn't introduced himself to Bonito, and felt a pang of guilt. He might think he's a rude bastard for skipping the introduction, but Jojo had other priorities. He could introduce himself to Bonito later on, after all.

---

"Well, well, well. Seems like everything's going smoothly.." The man beside them crossed his arms, turning to them. The sharp teeth on their mask glinted in the light of the sun. "And you think this is going to work?"
A chuckle. "We'll wait and see. Bide our time. You've lost your chance now, Tengu."
"I have a name."
"Not now. Not any longer. You're a nameless, worthless trashbag. That's what they always said about you, isn't it?" The man stiffened, gritting his teeth and turning the stomp on the ground violently. "Shut up!
A mocking chuckle came from behind the mask, and the Tengu whirled around to grab them.
His hand flew and hit the ground a few meters away, and he screamed in agony. Black blood oozed from the wound, drenching the ground and hissing slightly. He breathed hard, his hair falling into his face as he clenched his arm. He screamed again, before his masked companion walked over to his missing hand and picked it up. Holding it for a moment, they carelessly tossed it over their shoulder at him. Hurriedly jamming it back into place, the Tengu eventually calmed down. Bowing his head, he looked up at the figure now back beside him. It was unearthly how silent they moved. "I'll kill you for this, after I'm done with them..!" He hissed.

Another mocking chuckle came from behind the mask. "Is that so? I can't wait to see you try." The Tengu growled loudly, obviously going to attack again. However, he felt the ice cold steel of a blade against his throat. From somewhere in the mass of cloak, an unseen hand was gripping the handle of a long, sharp blade. Or so he thought.
Slicing slightly against his throat, the blade left the Tengu and he moved backwards, putting a hand to his throat. Black blood met his fingers, and he panicked again. "Are you trying to kill me?!"
The being behind the mask didn't respond for the longest time, leaving the stunned Tengu on the edge. Slowly turning the mask to face him, his companion looked straight into his eyes. The Tengu shrank back as he saw the glaring, icy, vicious blue eyes burning through the slits in the mask. They were so.. unnatural. He felt the hairs on his neck stand up, his body freezing to the spot.
The mechanical voice that followed made his stomach sink into his sandals.
"If I wanted to kill you, waste of skin, you would already be dead again."

Rick Brackwall

He proceeded up to the bus, standing before the vehicle at the behest of Illusion when the driver emerged to unbefitting music whilst looking rather flustered.

"Well then..." He let the words hang before he approached the entrance to the bus. "Good to have you on board. Should be useful having regular transportation for this unit."

A few people had filed onto the bus already. Ash herself instead had opted to ride ahead of the bus. Rick simply continued onto the bus as everyone else had. Why stray from what was supposed to be a straight-forward trip after all?


Stepping on board he noted where some of the other passengers were located. He sat up front in the seats on the opposite side of where Illusion was sitting. He sat, taking a moment or two to configure his sword and other packaged equipment so they weren't in between him and the seat. Jojo's query's to Helena did not go unnoticed as he looked back to her as well.

"Indeed. Do tell if there are any special requests you desire answered. Just bear in mind the specific caveats that were laid out prior to now when forming a request."

With that said Rick turned back to the front of the bus, waiting for it to set out towards their destination. His expression was as calm as ever, the faint smile on his face giving the impression that he was secure and in control. A lovely facade but a facade nonetheless.

"You a crazy demon vampire too?" Bonito raised an eyebrow in a mixture of confusion and suspicion. He'd heard all the jokes about 'demons' and monsters or whatever nonsense people seemed to think was funny here. In his opinion they weren't really that funny, these attempts at jokes, just a little odd and off putting, but still he could at least try to give them a little bit of flair of his own.
"Oh si si, in fact I'm looking for some virgins blood right now if you're volunteering." He waggled his eyebrows with a grin directed to the rather grumpy girl, if his experience with such people was anything to go off of he was expecting at least an annoyed huff out of her, anything less would be something entirely expected.
"Have fun on the lame train guys." Lame?! That was just rude, he was the best damn driver in all of.... This garage... Probably. He was certainly gonna be the most fun to be around that was for sure.

He barely registered as one girl pushed past them all in her hurry to get onto his bus, she looked like crap warmed up. Though hopefully that was just because she was about to crash out and not because she always looked like that, he couldn't imagine what it must be like to not look club-worthy all the time. A shudder ran up his spine at the thought of not being his gorgeous self... Until he caught sight of himself in the side of the bus and saw he still had a cowlick rocking at the back of his head from where he hadn't even had the time to sort his hair out as he barrelled into work. Trying to be casual and subtle he managed to just about flatten it back down.

Nobody seemed to want to introduce themselves to him so all that really remained was to get going. He wasted no more time in hopping up onto the bus and getting her started. Smiling to himself slightly as he felt the thrum of the engines underneath him, there was something primal in feeling his hands grip around the steering wheel, a sense of control that sang to him as he slowly applied pressure to the pedals under his feet, feeling the revs building as he shifted gear and gently brought them out into the streets once more. He kept a close eye on the road, more to stop his challenger from slipping past him on the way to the gate, swerving gently around the road in a subtle manor to stop her from just about getting around his bus. He wasn't petty at all.

Thankfully they weren't stopped at the gates, the guards seemed to know it was a bit pointless to challenge one of their own busses as it slipped out into the open world. Thankfully it was only a short distance and two turns before they hit the open road and he could really let slip with the engine. It seemed someone had been tinkering with the engine or hell even replaced entirely because after all, since when did minibus' come with turbocharged V8 engines as standard. With his left hand he switched the radio back on and was far more pleasantly pleased to hear that whatever radio they were listening was now playing Brittany Spears- Toxic. A far better soundtrack for a road trip.

He waited until his competition had pulled up behind him again before waving flippantly out of his window at her, no doubt she was expecting the bus to be some slow beast. He was kinda excited to see just what this supped up minibus could really do so it was no small wonder a small grin as he gave it the beans. He hadn't really expected to be kicked back into his seat as the bus roared forwards, tires screeching against the tarmac. He damn near lost control of it as it quickly accelerated to sixty in just over a second and tore down the open road. He inadvertently stroked the steering wheel as he got back into the feel of things, this was what he lived for after all, the adrenaline pumped through him as his grin widened.
"Madre Maria, I'm gonna enjoy this bus." He whispered to himself as he gunned the engine, willing it to reach ever greater heights of speed.

Unfortunately this great speed meant that their journey time was cut down immensely, even if they were going just a fair amount over the speed limit... In a minibus at that. It was no small wonder then that Bonito was rather startled when the satnav barked at him to make to make a right turn... Off the road into the treeline that they had been running parallel to for some time. He had to sigh to himself as he slowed down, in part because he was slowing down but also because satnavs apparently didn't tell him the difference between fields and trees. Here he was hoping for some open air camping and instead he was going to be subjected to birds and spiders and goodness knows what else lurked in the woods, it was probably going to be wolves or something knowing his luck.

Thankfully they weren't about to plow straight into the trees as it seemed something resembling a dirt road ran into the woods themselves. That at least was something of a relief, after driving so wonderful a bus he didn't exactly want to be the one to end up ramming it straight into a tree in his need for speed. The road rumbled on a short ways, the trees ahead blocking his view of where they were actually gonna wind up at the end of it, such was the way with forest paths though that they never seemed to go in straight lines. It was frightfully disjointing form the nice and neat Roman roads. They did not have to go along this slow and bouncing road for very long however before a gate appeared from the trees ahead as if it had pulled itself up out of the ground when he blinked. If it could be called a gate at least, it seemed to be little more than a hasty made checkpoint with only a bar across the road to stop people from driving straight into it.

Luck seemed to be on their side still however as whoever was at the gate seemed to have been expecting them as the bar slid away as the approached and one of the guards was waiting inside to wave them into the car park just out of view of the woodland road. He couldn't help but give out a whimper of disappointment at having to shut down the engine to his new beloved bus so soon but needs must he supposed. He watched the doors swing open with downcast eyes, saddened that it was over so soon. "Well here you go kiddos, have fun at school. I'll be... Somewhere if you need me." That was a point where was he supposed to be reporting to exactly? Such was his suddenness to bury his nose in paper work that he didn't even realise they were being watched by crimson eyes upon golden wings.

For all the havoc that had been their past few days- their past few hours, even- the smooth, seductive saxophone riff that accompanied their driver’s appearance still had Dawn raising her own brow in question. She suppressed the urge to chuckle, however, pressing her knuckles against her lip to muffle any sound that might escape. She didn’t want to embarrass the poor man further, after all, although the hint of a smile played on her lips despite her best efforts.

“It’s nice to meet you, Bonito,” she said, once she had composed herself enough. “Thank you for driving us like this.” Dawn glanced over her shoulder to one if the more wayward of the Seven, Ash, who mounting her motorcycle in preparation to leave. From what she had seen, the woman was one who marched by her own beat. It wasn’t too shocking that she had chosen to drive herself than join the others in their carpooling. Dawn rolled her shoulders, the joints cracking with the movement, and stepped into the busline.

Four on the bus. Two staying behind for the moment, and one driving on her own. Most, for all of the time given to them to prepare, seeming exhausted beyond belief. They were all bound together by circumstances, and, as Dawn made her way to the bus’ entrance, she made the decision to try and fully extend a hand to the others. While she wasn’t exactly there for the same reasons as they, they were still, in a way, a team.

Before she could reach the others, however, the doors had whined shut in her face. Blinking in surprise, Dawn reached forward and rapped against the glass, but the bus purred away before the driver had noticed. She stood in the emptied lot, lips pursed, watching the vehicle disappear out of sight.

“I...well, then.”

She turned towards those who remained, looking somewhat taken aback.

“I’m, um, I’m not that short, am I?”

Rick Brackwall

The last couple days were largely helter skelter and this bus ride was no different. The driver's failure to pick up Jojo's tag-along hadn't gone unnoticed.

"Excuse me, Bonito, You appear to have left-" He was briefly cut off as the bus accelerated suddenly, causing him to shift a bit before steadying himself.

"You appear to have left a student behind." He informed the driver. As he was at the front of the bus he only had a cursory idea as the the conversation that was being carried out behind him. Apparently Jojo was asking to what might of been bothering Helena. It seemed appropriate since she looked well worse for wear.


The drive was far from smooth, the bus jumping with every irregularity in the road along with the swaying that followed whenever Ash looked to pass them. The choice of music that was blaring wasn't much too pleasing to the ear either. While the others seemed tossed about Rick himself was faring fairly well. The various spell papers which clung to him like a second skin, concealed well beneath his uniform, also served a secondary use. By manipulating the paper and exerting force to direct where they go it subsequently directed where he'd go too. With the number of papers currently gripped to him able to exert the sum of their strength on both his torso and limbs controlling his own body's motions was child's play.

He kept apprised of the conversations underway in general, a fairly easy task since their numbers were few. Out of the seven of them two were still back at base and one was outside riding her motorcycle in lieu of joining them on the bus. This left just four of them, three if he didn't count himself. With that and both Illusion and Eine aboard the number of ongoing conversations were few, letting him pay better attention to what was being said overall.

Among the things he noted he could hear Helena speaking just prior to each bump they went across, as if anticipating each small jump and motion the bus was making. Towards the end he couldn't hear her all too clearly all the way from the front seat but he picked up on her mentioning Dawn's name.


As he was about to lean in to hear her better the bus took a sudden right turn, sending most of it's passengers towards the left wall. Rick obviously remained comfortably in his seat but the sudden turn had interrupted his focus. What he saw out the right windows took a sudden precedent over Helena's words at that moment as he spotted something that could only be well described as... Foreboding.

A strange figure stood around the edge of the woods, not far from the corner where the dirt road starts. This unknown person was clad in the dark attire of a plague doctor's uniform, an old make at that. The figure was still, standing with his shovel in hand, the head of which was buried slightly in the dirt he stood on. Beside the man was a grave dug out of the ground, the hole quite deep from what he could see.

What more was that this figure seemed to be watching them through the windows of the bus. Who he was looking at was unclear but it was evident that he was watching them through the cold dark spaces behind the lenses of his mask.


"What the..." Words failed Rick as the moment passed and the bus left the mysterious stranger to his grim task. Even still, through the back window the man could be seen watching them depart further into the woods. Rick simply sat back into his chair, looking forward as he dwelt on the matter. He seemed lost at thought as he mulled over just what that was.

Who was he? Why was he digging a grave? Why was he looking at them for so long? Why was he dressed so strange? Why was he digging the grave right by the path to their camp? All these questions and more flooded Rick's already crammed brain. What was the most agonizing was that for how unusual it seemed there was nothing about that event that specifically defied mundane explanation. It was the simple fact that all these particular details when combined formed a scene which was worryingly uncanny.


At last they finally stopped at camp, the bus coming to a slow still.

"Well here you go kiddos, have fun at school. I'll be... Somewhere if you need me."

Rick saw little need in igniting an argument with the bus driver but his expression said enough. Rick was by and large displeased with his failure to take the whole gathering along and chose only to make this known by the manner by which he passed, leaving the driver sternly unspoken to.


Once past Rick let the matter fade from his conscious thought, his mind falling back to thoughts of the strange plague doctor they passed by not too long ago. Standing proper as he awaited the rest of their exits from the vehicle he simply stood, his mind mulling over those very thoughts as he tried his best to appear not entirely lost in his thoughts, a definite falsehood as he was anywhere but in the moment at hand.

Ashley “Ash” “Soot” Clade

Illusion's confirmation that Bonnie boy was some relative of hers was taken with a grain of salt, but Ash wasn’t going to ignore the possibility that there was something inhuman about that boy. His own response wasn’t exactly serious, but Ash restrained herself from responding about the inaccuracy of his comment regarding her sexual activity. Regardless, it was good to know that she was allowed to ride her bike along to the camp. Watching and waiting as the rest of the group clambered on board, Ash simply eye rolled Jojo’s comment about leaving them behind – It wasn’t like she could race somewhere she didn’t know.

As Dawn moved up to the bus, Ashley began to change her seating to leave. Looking up as she heard a soft hiss and thud, the door closing as it seemed that for some reason Dawn was being barred entry onto the bus. Strange. As far as Ash knew that girl was the most ‘normal’ out of everyone. The poor girl tried to knock on the door, but it seemed the boy was deaf as well as blind as the bus took off without any hesitation, leaving Ash and Dawn alone in the parking lot. Starting up her engine and slowly pulling over to Dawn, Ash gave her a somewhat reassuring smile to her question regarding her stature. “Even if you were, I can’t believe he didn’t hear that. What kind of chauffeur leaves before everyone is on board?” Ash queried as she stopped next to Dawn, looking to her and Eine.

“Well, what’s the plan? I can probably take one of you with me, but that still doesn’t exactly fix things.” Casually leaning over the handlebars, the arrival of Vesper interrupted Dawn and Eine before they could really respond, the vacant lass offering to have them join Mr. Grady (Whoever that was), and somehow be transported by Illusion. That didn’t really appeal to Ash, but unless her bike knew where this training ground was, she was way too far behind to follow after the bus now. “Why do the simple things have to become complicated..?” Ash mumbled to herself as Vesper excused herself. Stretching, she looked back to Dawn, deciding to make some idle conversation while they waited for their companions to return. "So, how come you're still here anyway? It's not like you've got any real stake in this crap, so why get involved?" Idly listening to Dawn's response, the two spoke for some time before Vesper returned with Caius, who Ash could only surmise was the Mr. Grady she referred to. "Shall we depart?" Vesper asked, Ash nodding in agreement. No sense waiting around any longer than they already had.

"Illusion!"
Illusion smiled warmly, hovering midair as Zadkiel met her halfway, obviously ecstatic to be seeing her again. It absolutely warmed her heart to hear him so happy, and she couldn't help smiling happily as he spoke. "You didn't tell me you were going to be on the bus too! It feels like only yesterday since I last had the privilege of your company, how are you? Is work going alright? They didn't give you any trouble when they arrived did they?"

In his excitement, he made sure to dump a lot of questions on her, didn't he? Although.. she didn't exactly mind. Zadkiel was one of the few who actively spoke to her, and they shared a thing in common in terms of being viewed as.. different.. by the majority of staff at the WDL. "Well, I originally wasn't going to take the bus, however.. plans changed." She chuckled softly. "Besides, aren't meetings all the sweeter when they're a surprise? And, Zadkiel, wasn't it only yesterday that we did meet?" She paused, a small smirk on her lips now, replacing her smile, although her shining eyes were still twinkling with happiness. "Work is going as well as usual, Zaddie, but you know.. All those people looking at me so meanly because I'm a little girl devil.. It truly, truly breaks my poor, innocent heart!" She turned away, pretending to wipe up some tears before turning back to the angel before her. "Some of them are, erm, rowdy. You'll figure out which ones right away, I'm sure. Poor little babies are still confused and tired.." She looked over at the children, observing another Illusion down below, listening on the phone.

In one hear, Illusion heard Vesper's calm voice leaving the phone, and the Illusion on the ground chuckled. "So half of our party was left behind? What kind of driver are we employing, exactly? I'll see to it that he gets his pay taken away for making us take this action.. Ah well." The Illusion on the ground spoke loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear, a smug smirk on her face. "Stay where you are. I'll be there in a jiffy~"

In the other ear.. "Oh I''m letting myself get distracted again, let me do the official shpeel first then we can back to catching up. I'm glad you're looking good as always though." Illusion gave him a nod, watching him float down to the ground. "The same to you, Zadkiel."

It was a simple enough matter, really. First, the Illusion on the ground created a portal a millimeter off the ground in the Boot Camp. Then, she made an identical one that spread in a cracked circle around the garage group. They would've fallen for a millisecond, yes, but that was better than falling through a crack fully, no? Then, she simply lifted the second portal up until it was clear of the garage group's heads, and it vanished into nothingness. It was an odd thing, like having a curtain raised to expose something behind it. Shazam. Who else could do something so cool as a multiple person near-instant teleport? Nobody, that's who.

Eine gave Lusy a look, who grinned sheepishly. "Miss Eine, allow me to show you to your guest room." The small vampire broke apart while she spoke, a second her leading Eine away. The doctor looked back at those gathered there and nodded politely. She made a point to look at Rick, Jojo and Dawn before moving past. Jojo himself had his phone out, ready to text Dawn back, but he quickly pocketed the device and moved over to Dawn, smiling. He looked around for Helena, too. He'd chat with her after they got.. whatever the glowing man had to say out of the way.

Illusion smirked, slowly floating down to the ground behind Zadkiel and flipping herself upside down, her smile never abating as she shrugged simply. "The answer to your question, Zaddie-waddie~".

---

---

A little while earlier, Jojo had caught sight of Zadkiel, and his jaw had dropped. It took every ounce of self control to not immediately run over and grab one of his fancy, glowing wings and gush about how awesome it was. His attention, honestly, was more fixated on those than Zadkiel himself. Looking the man over as he spoke, however, he started. "Wait, whoa, an angel?! That's awesome!" He stopped himself, coughing and looking over at the others. His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he fished it out to answer it, but.. Jojo stopped as he felt Zadkiel's gaze land on him, and he met the angel's gaze with a warm smile. Hopefully they could all get along. Even if they were demons, Zadkiel got along well enough with Illusion, so..
"And may I be the first to welcome you to the Boot Camp, I have been assigned to assist in your training and when that is complete I will be working alongside you all in the field some day as a senior field agent. Now, please do introduce yourselves and ask any questions you.... Hold on... Where's the rest of you?" Jojo looked over to Bonito, then back to Zadkiel. However, before he could answer, a certain vampire did a certain magick trick and suddenly the question was already answered. Jojo almost immediately moved over to Dawn, tossing a look over to Helena and pocketing his phone. He gave a glance to the others that'd been brought by Illusion, giving Vesper a warm smile, before turning back to Hel, then back to Zadkiel. He'd have to grab the two of them and chat sometime later on. Hel still looked like hell, but he couldn't blame her. Hopefully she'd get some quality sleep while she's here. He tapped Dawn's arm, turning his head to her but keeping his eyes on Zadkiel. "We'll chat later."

Jojo once again couldn't help but marvel at the magickal world. Illusion was exerting absolutely zero force, it was literally as if her personal gravity had been modified and she hung from the air like the air was her floor. Zadkiel, an angel, stood before them with his glowing, majestic wings.
This was definitely an anime.

---

---

"Ah, man, they're all gathered up together all nice and stuff.. That's a bit boring. Super boring, really." The maskless figure hummed to themselves as they walked down the path towards the Boot Camp, humming ever louder as they eventually passed a spot where a lone figure was digging several graves. Pausing just past them, the maskless figure spun on their heel. "Whoa! That's a lot of graves there, friendo! You must've dug those all a bit early, though.. Ah well."
No reply from the gravedigger.
"Ah.. Not a talker, are we? Jeez. You're not even gonna, like, watch?"
No response.
"What's the point of digging these graves if you're not gonna be there to- Actually, you know what, nevermind. I'll drag their corpses here myself, free of charge, masky!"
Still, no reply.
"Heh. How boring. I like it when people talk, y'know? Ah well, I'll seeya in a bit, masky! Make sure those things are still nice and ready for me! Ciao! Just don't dig too many, or I'll have to fill that one, too, mhm?"
Raising a hand in farewell, the maskless figure left the masked figure to their task. Humming loudly again as they walked, their cloak swirled with darkness as a mask appeared covering their head completely, hiding it from sight.
"Man, I must be about to get one hell of a kill streak. Sounds great!"