Die Hafen

Friedrich got up with Drach's help, and managed to reply that,
"Yes Drach, I'm alright."
Friedrich was, at the moment, a bit afraid. Who would attack Die Hafen when it was full of both the divine, the undead and the Others? It just wasn't sane to do so, even when Friedrich was alone.
'This individual must be one of great power', Friedrich thought, 'Damn'.

He searched his floor for his stick, and found it lying among the wreckage where he stood. He then straightened himself and roared:
"Who the HELL do you think you are, who ever you are, to come here and wreck my club, MY club, you dumb bastard? Step forth so I can see you!"

A calm, cold voice answered him, in a gentle tone.
"Alright, Friedrich Schneider, I will. But promise not to scream, for you are going to want to."

Echoing sounds of footsteps filled Die Hafen as the unknown assilant walked towards Friedrich, and Friedrich understood that this would be a fight perhaps not won by him. He could feel this characters willpower from where he stood, and this person was determined to do... something.

"Drach...", Friedrich said, "Get out of here. Quickly."

The echoing sound stopped, and the assilant was now visible for at least Friedrich and Drach. It was a man of medium built, with a ragged brown leather coat and a pair of mended jeans. His hair was long and curly, and as black as the night. He looked up at Friedrich with his evil eyes and smiled.
"Ah, the well known Friedrich Schneider. We meet at last. You know what I want, don't you? If you give it to me, none of your Friends will get hurt. If else... You know."

Friedrich's eyes widened. His hands started shaking, and his jaw dropped.
"No... No! It can't be! YOU can't be! You're supposed to be dead! Gone! Forever! How the hell could you survive? You fought the DEVIL, for gods sake!"

"I fought and I lost, yes. But that doesn't nessecarily mean that he KILLED me, now does it, Friedrich? I mean, how can one kill one who's already dead?"
The man smirked and moved towards Friedrich, and pulled out a gun from his belt.

"So, Friedrich, how's it going to be?"

 

"It will be this way," R'Nasht says calmly, having at some point risen from her chair and discarded her jacket. The aftermath of the explosion seems to have only affected her clothing, not her spirit.

She squeezes her hands into fists and for a brief second she is as she truly is, a red and white image of hell itself. Flames rise around her but cause no damage to the club - she's not that foolish.

With deceptive grace she launches herself at the man, her movements somehow carrying her many times faster than she ought to be able to move, a sword of purest ice forming in her hands as she runs. With a truly demonic yell, she stabs at the man with all her strength.

 

Friedrich froze in panic as he saw Katarine leap out of the smoke towards the man. He hoped that he would have more mercy than to simply kill her for not knowing who he was.

"Foolish girl."
The man said and moved sideways. He grabbed N'Racht by her arm and threw her into the nearest wall, and then pointed his gun at her.
"I won't kill you now, demon, because you don't know who you're dealing with."
He shot at the wall above her, placing the bullet less than an inch away from her head. Then he turned back to Friedrich, who had gotten a grip of his fear and now stood only a few feet away from the man, motionless.
"You know that I can't reveal the location to you. It was pointless for you to come here and disturb me and my guests. This will not go unnoticed."

The man first looked suprised to find Friedrich so calm, but then he laughed and pointed at Friedrich.
"UNNOTICED? What are you? A loon? I don't return without getting noticed, and YOU know THAT. You must. You couldn't've run this place if you didn't. And you WILL reveal the location to me, because I'm going to kill each and every one in this club, slowly, until you do."

He pointed the gun at Y'selle.
"Now. Tell me."

 

After seeing how handily the newcomer dispatched R'Nasht, Drach had no problem complying with Friedrich's wishes. The gun didn't really scare him, it was the man holding it. As soon as Drach realized this, a thought struck him; since when would ANY form of man scare him?
That's when he remembered what was wrong. He had felt this presence before, but had never breen anywhere near this close to it. The gun was only a focal point for this man's power, and if anyone was in its sights...
Drach made a move. He darted for Y'selle as fast as he could go, and used the smoke still in the club to cloud his movements. There was no guarantee if it would work, but Drach was more than a little confident in his own durability should it fail.
"What do humans call this? Heroism? Chivalry? Stupid?" Drach thought, "maybe that angel was right...I don't act like a demon at all"

 

"Drach! Wait!"
Friedrich cried, and watched in fear as Drach darted for Y'selle. Why would a demon... Do such a thing? Save an angel? That was just bizzare. Drach was indeed a strange demon, thought Friedrich.

Then, he dropped his stick, closed his eyes and said, in a calm voice:
"Jack, if I do this, if I tell you where the artifact you're looking for are, will you spare my guests?"

An even broader smile than before appeared on Jacks' lips. He retracted his gun and holstered it. He moved towards Friedrich.
"Maybe," he said, "but I can't guarantee anything. They just might do something stupid."
"Good enough."
Friedrich knew that what Jack'd just said was as good as a promise. Jack would never give his word away again. He'd sealed his own fate doing so one time before, Friedrich knew, and Jack was a man who learned from his mistakes.
"Very well, Jack. It's..."
"No! Friedrich, you'll have to whisper it to me, or else these other little buggers might follow me there. So, come a little closer."

Friedrich stepped up to the man and whispered something into his ear. Jacks' face turned once again into an extremely broad smile.
"And now, I don't need you anymore, Friedrich."
Then, there was a clicking sound.

Friedrich looked down.

"Jack? You know I'm not a normal man. You can't kill me with..."
"Oh but Friedrich, please! Do you really think that a man like ME would come in here with NORMAL bullets? Oh dear. Perhaps you weren't that powerful after all."

There was a gunshot.
Friedrich fell to the ground.

 

Liz watched with interest at the drama playing before her eyes. An angel had attacked the gun wielding man, but he had easily dispathed her. He was indeed powerful. Then he had threatened the owner of the establishment, Friedrich, pointing a gun at a guest and performer. A demon made a leap to save the angel, an action which replaced Liz' interest with rage. Her rage fueled her powers, and she hid more easily, didn't have to focus so much.
She started making her way through the frozen body of people, unseen, unheard, unnoticed. She made her way right up to the two men who were the center of attention just as Friedrich whispered something to the other. Her ear brushed past them only inches away and she caught one half of the word being whispered. One half would suffice.
As she started moving away again, into the mass of divine, undead and other special people, there was a gunshot.

 

When Drach had finally reached Y'selle, he heard a gunshot, but was rather surprised that he hadn't been hurt. He turned just in time to see Friedrich hit the ground, making a dull thud. The sound was followed by the laughter of this...Jack. As he left, Drach simply stood where he was, watching, waiting for Friedrich to get up, to say something clever, like, "He hit me a little low...heh."
Drach looked back at Y'selle, who had a look of horror on her face.
"I'm...sure that he's fine..." Drach heard himself mutter. He didn't know if he was saying it for Y'selle's benefit or his own.
"Friedrich, stop fooling around. We both know it would take more than a gunshot to kill you...right?"

 

R'Nasht couldn't believe it. He'd... managed to hit her. HER! The woman directly responsible for almost every major war in human history! And he'd hit her hard enough that she'd been stunned.

She tried to push herself off the wall, and met an unexpected resistance. Part of the wall had splintered into a stake that had pierced her abdomen. She swore and tried again, getting no further than the first time.

Then the gunshot.

"Friedrich!"

With a shout of pain she yanks herself free, the stake staying with her even as she staggered towards the club owner.

"Sunnuva... don't you dare die on us... Only human who ever gave a shit... Only one who ever bothered to leave me the bottle... You don't get to die before we know how to avenge you..."

She tumbles to the floor, and lies there gasping.

"SOMEONE GET THIS FUCKING THING OUT OF ME!"

 

Friedrich laid motionless on the ground as the last of his life left his body.
'Damn. Should've done something earlier. I should've... done something. Now, the lot of this may as well go to hell, because if somebody won't find before HE does... then there's going to be some hard choices to be made.'

He tried to move, to get up, but his body wouldn't even give him the slightest of movement. He could feel his lungs geting filled with blood. It wasn't that bad, actually. The pain just flew away, and the only thing it keft was the feeling of getting a little warmer inside, particulary in the chest.
'Damn', he thought, and then he died.

Jack stopped in the wrecked entrance to Die Hafen, and turned around. People were gathering around Friedrichs lame body, and some of them really thought that he'd make it up from where he was. Jack knew that he wouldn't. These bullets was made from a splinter of the angel of deaths' schythe itself, and they could kill ANYTHING, save god and the devil, of course.

"Very well then, everybody," he began in a cold voice, "I guess that you are entitled to know who did this to your little Friedrich and his club, aren't you? Well, I'll tell you if you promise not to scream."

He paused.

"The name, my ladies and gentlemen, is Shaw. Jack Shaw.
I bid you good night."

And with that, he stepped out of the door into the cold night of Berlin.

 

Liz had to think fast. There were two options. Think fast!

She followed the man called Shaw outside. In teh background she heard someone yell "Get this fucking thing out of me!"

She caught up with Shaw.
"You know, I could--*"
Shaw spun around and fired a gun. The bullet missed Liz by half an inch.
"Who's there?" He asked. "I know there's someone."
"As I said--*"
Shaw fired a second time. Liz just barely managed to escape yet again.
"For FUCK's sake! There's NO need to SHOOT me!"
Shaw remained calm. "Oh really?"
"Yes. Now if you'd just listen to me. I could be of help. Just let me follow you, and I think I'll prove to be a loyal servant."
Shaw laughed. "Hah, a servant eh? I don't need a servant. Now run back home before you start to bore me. 'Cause then I'll shoot you. And this time I won't miss."
Shaw stood with his arm extended, in his hand a gun that pointed straight at Liz' head.
"Alright", she said. "I'll be off then."

She walked back inside while mumbling to herself, "That sonnova... I'll be the end of you, I swear. You little..."
When she came back inside, she saw two bodies lying on the floor. Friedrich and a Demon.
"Oh for cryin' out...!" Liz thought to herself.
"What's a matter with you people? This Demon is dying, and you're all just standing there staring at her? You think that'll help?"
She realized she was still in hiding. She revealed herself, and suddenly everyone was aware of this unknown person standing in their midst. She kneeled, held the demon with one hand and the stake with the other. And she pulled. It was heavier than she had thought. She pulled a second time, and managed to pull out the stake. She stood up and dropped it to the floor.

 

Drach stood in shock, staring at Friedrich's lifeless body. Then, a figure appeared out of thin air and wrested the bloodied stake from N'Rasht's abdomen. Drach hadn't even noticed it before.
"What's going to happen now? Unless anyone here can bring the dead back, I don't think this club will be as...accesible as it once was. What's this?" Drach was taken aback after examining the bullet wound. He was rarely wrong about weapons, but this was no ordinary bullet. The gun wasn't a focus. Jack was indeed powerful, but he didn't need to focus anything with this type of ammo.
"Does anyone else see this? It's made from," Drach stopped. He knew if he finished his sentence that Die Hafen would go into mass hysteria.
"Let's just say no one is immune to Mr. Shaw's wrath."

 

Y'selle, the dark haired French angel, turned to Drach with terror in her eyes. She needed a drink. Now. She had never needed a drink as she needed one this very moment. Y'selle slipped to the floor and leaned to a nearby sofa. If that man was who he said he was, then...
There was going to be trouble. She had to warn HIM about this. He had to know, and he had to know it right now. Jack Shaw was back. He had returned from the dead, and he seemed as determined as ever.

"Drach... I just have to get this straight. Did he or didn't he say that he was 'Jack Shaw'?"

She looked at him with her big, brown eyes and almost begged of him to lie. She didn't want this to be true. People would die if it was.

 

"I..." Drach paused. The look he recieved was one of desperation. It said, "This can't be real. Jack Shaw can't be here."
"I don't think if I say otherwise it'll help, Y'selle. If I say it wasn't him...damnit. Yes. That's who it was. That bastard was Jack Shaw. He wants something...and he can't get his hands on it. Y'selle, you knew Friedrich better than anyone else in this club. Friedrich must've told you something about whatever it is that's happening right now.
"I'm not sure what their past was, but, please, if you can help me get that idiot six feet under..."

 

That last thing, the promise of putting the bastard that robbed her beloved Friedrich of his life six feet under, was the thing that got Y'selles mind running. There had to be something, some clue...
She remembered something. In the very beginning of Friedrichs career, Y'selle had once walked into his office to see where he was. He had been standing at his desk with a box of some sort in his hands, and when he'd noticed her, he'd quickly put the box away in his personal locker and dragged Y'selle into the room.
"What did you see? Did you see anything"
His voice had been like thunder, and his face as hard as stone. For a moment, Y'selle hadn't recognized him as the Friedrich she knew.
"No! I saw nothing, I swear!"
She had said to him with fear in her voice, and then he'd let go of her.
"I believe you, but just because it's you. Go now, and don't tell anybody what you saw. Don't ever, EVER, mention the box to ANYONE, except in the case of my death. If it would happen, then you must contact Him. Just say 'red box', and he'll know exactly what to do."
Y'selle had promised to do so and left.

She felt that she trusted Drach enough to tell him, spite the fact that he was a demon.
"There's... a box. In his office. I can't go there, perhaps you can go there and look in stead of me?"

 

R'Nasht swore like a wounded pirate as the stake was wrenched free of her body, and curled into a ball as her innate healing ability kicked in. Soon the wound healed and she uncurled and stood up, her demonic aura flickering in and out of existance.

"I don't care if he IS Jack Shaw, I'm going to hunt him down and remove his balls."

Her voice seems hard, but there's a faint shake in it that suggests she's been affected more than she likes to admit.

She crouches and rests a hand gently on Friedrich's wound, eyes widening with something that may very well be fear. No way... how'd he get THAT?

She straightens once more and points at Liz. "You. Can you do that trick reliably?"

 

"You. Can you do that trick reliably?"
The Demon pointed at Liz.
"Keep my rage fed, and no-one will even know I exist. I'd say my hate for this Shaw-person is more than enough to fuel me until he's dead."
She paused slightly.
"Why, do you have a plan?"

 

Drach saw as order slowly began to reaffirm itself inside Die Hafen. R'nasht was speaking to the woman who appeared from nothing; it seemed like the semblance of some sort of agenda, no doubt involving Jack Shaw.
Drach walked through Die Hafen, past the stunned patrons and into Friedrich's office. Searching through Friedrich's more personal belongings in the locker Y'selle mentioned, and found the Box. It seemed very small for something so important. In fact, it looked quite harmless. However, as tempting as it was to take its outside appearance for granted and open the thing, Drach felt it more prudent to leave it as it was. He rushed out to the floor to find Y'selle (keeping the box hidden), hoping she might know what to do with this deceptively insignificant coffer.

 

Y'selle watched Drach as he entered Friedrichs office, and then he vanished from her sight. Her head then turned towards Katarine and Liz, who seemed to discuss Liz's ability to cloak herself.
Being invisible wouldn't be enough. She knew that, 'cause her love had been killed by Jack in the time of his first crusade, and his special power had been to decieve the eye. Apart from being a more than good fighter, Jack knew magic. He knew it well.
She said nothing to the women though, she was still too chocked to be able to focus on anything else than the box and what she had to do now.

Then, Drach reappeared and went back to her. Y'selle saw the little red box in his hands. She was not sure that Drach would like his next task, though. He was going to have to do it, because right now she needed to remain hidden from Jacks interest.
"Now", she said to Drach, "comes the hard bit. You need to take that to Him, your opposites father. I know this sounds extremely stupid, a demon in heaven and all, but you need to gain access to heaven. You shouldn't go alone, though. It might become dangerous, and Jack mustn't have that box. I can't do this. I must... hide."
She paused.
"Please."

 

"What? Me? Heaven? That's like telling a bar of gold not to sink in water. Then again, if that man is as dangerous as I think he is..."
Drach thought for a moment. "I'll do it...but it's not like getting into Hell, you know."
He couldn't believe himself. He, a demon, was going to Heaven. He did need help. If his opposite saw him, or vice versa, someone else might have to deliver the box.
"I've an announcement; I need to form a venturing party to go someplace very foreign to me. It doesn't matter who joins up with me, I need all the help I can get.
Drach winced at his next thought; He might have to join forces with an angel.

 

R'Nasht raises an eyebrow at Liz, then tilts her head at Drach.

"You want to enter Heaven?" She chuckles. "Dear boy, we were cast out for a REASON, you know. And yet... I suspect that entering Heaven once more would be many times easier than confronting Shaw half-cocked."

She looks at Liz again. "I suspect we will be requiring each other's aid for the revenge we seek... I am R'Nasht."

She keeps her title a secret, for the time being. Revealing herself at this point may be the last action she takes. And she'll be thrice-damned if she allows herself to die before she gains her vengeance.