Reaper

STRIFE

I unconsciously rubbed the spot Dhara held earlier. It felt like I was burned. I looked over to Dhiji to see his exposed neck but it looked perfectly normal, maybe it's because I'm a god.

I suddenly felt warmth creep up my fingers, I looked down to see Dhiji's hand over mine. He wasn't looking at me, his eyes were concentrated on the road. I relaxed a little, smiling slightly.

"Do you know where Wejah would be?" Dhiji spoke, glancing briefly at his brother.

"Huh, no...but I think he would be where Yara took me...where we found Strife." he scratched his head.

"He doesn't seem like a foolish man to go there" I shook my head. "I am trying to catch her aura but it is very faint." I bit my lip, I really should have gone with her.

"her gods are still connected to me...I try to ask them" he suggested, sounding hopeful.

"It won't work...they wouldn't know..." I still couldn't look at him.

"any other suggestions?" he sounded testy "we have to try something, I can't imagine what he's doing to her right now!" he rested his head on his hands in frustration.

"You don't understand, she is completely cut off from them, they can't reach her" I explained, shivering a little at his cold aura.

"so what do we do?"

"Honestly, I don't know" his voice broke at the end and I felt sorry.

WEJAH

Silence.

The fox was curled up in the cage in the front seat of my car. She's been asleep since I kept her in the cage. Her white fur glowed as her body heaved along with her breathing.

"Something's not right and I'm going to find out what it is" I rattled the cage to wake her up but she only stirred and continued in her slumber.

"Wake the fuck up!" I rattled the cage with more vigor and her eyes snapped open, fear written all over her yellow eyes and the realization hit me.

"you are not Kaos, are you?" She blinked and the Brightness in her fur disappeared and she looked as ordinary. "What the hell?" I slammed my hand repeatedly on the steering wheel in frustration.

"You've handed over your powers" my eye twitched "I can work with that..." her demeanour screamed fear "I reckon your mind is still intact" a childish giggle escaped me "I have the perfect game for us to play" I parked the car and took the cage out. "it's going to be fun, I promise"

I stormed into my lab and restrained with former goddess on the examination table. I could feel the wheels in my head turning and ur suddenly came to me.

A lure.

DHARA.

"what do we do, Tsatu?" I thought, mindlinking with her "I don't know what else to do. I don't know where he took her... I don't how to find her or where to start... I've failed her"

"You have if you give up now. She's sacrificed everything to bring you back. It's wrong if you don't even try...if there's no way, then make one. Think! where would he go?" she was right.

"well, i know for one that he's got labs all over the city, just that I haven't been to any of them. Kaos destroyed one when I was captured before. If I'm to think like him, he'd go inconspicuous. His house! I don't think he'd expect us to go there" My eyes lit up. "I've been there before..."

"Good...you should let them know" she advised, shutting off the link.

"I know where he took her! Dhiji, His house, he's got a lab there."

"we should hurry then... we've got no time to waste" Strife urged and turn to me "we'd find her, I promise" and I nodded.

AUTHOR

Wejah in an excited frenzy, moved about his basement lab. From another person's point of view, he would look like an unhinged man. He mumbled to himself in glee, making plans and creating scenarios in his head.

He would occasionally glance at the fox, mouth unintelligent words and continue with his plans.

"you see what you do to me?" he smiled, nearing her and she growled in defense, her snout crinkled in pure predatory rage. "yes...yes my little fox...I love it when you resist..." he grinned from ear to ear "I am going to shatter your mind in a million fractals..." he suddenly stopped, sensing a presence behind him.

"you sure do talk a lot...almost like Inke..." Strife struck the first blow, knocking him into a nearby wall. "come to think of it...you took his essence..." she threw another punch, knocking him deeper into the wall, causing the wall to crack and chip off. she pulled him up and began hitting and throwing him around like he was a rag doll "something you do not know about taking a god's essence...it literally turns you into the exact god they were...you basically pick up from where they left off..." fire erupted from her hands as she grabbed him by the collar "Inke is already missing some screws and nuts..." her eyes flashed "...and because he's one of the most hated god...no one would hold it against me, if he was killed off" she flashed him a smile, revealing her jagged teeth. "this would be fun" she slammed him down hard into the wall.

"you talk a lot too, Strife...in fact all of you do" he deflected her grip on him and threw her into one of his cabinets. He glanced up barely catching a faint blur before something hit him in the side, sending him sprawling on the ground.

Blood pooled around him immediately; a chunk of his flesh had been bitten off. He grabbed things for support until he managed to get himself up.

"Dhara... welcome to the party!" he coughed up crimson liquid. "Did you do this?"

"No...they did" he smirked, pointing to the twin gods concealed in the shadows. "They came for their pound of flesh but I came for Kaos and also to reap your soul"

"Ah, them" he said in a monotone "and reap my soul...are you a reaper now?" he scoffed, blood staining his shirt more as he did. "Ahhh!..."

Another series of fast moving blurs and massive chunks of his flesh were bitten off.

A loud creaking noise got their attention and Strife who was briefly knocked out, got up. Her eyes flashed, causing Wejah to clutch his head in pain.

"Dhara, his soul is all yours" She intensified her hold on him. Dhara was by the screaming man in a flash, his hands buried in his chest.

"get Kaos out of here." Dhara ordered as light begins to fill the room. "I'm sorry, Wejah"

"me too, I should have planned better" blood spilling from his mouth. "You're a full on god now...that must be nice" his eyes rolled back and his body grew limp. Dhara held the soul, afraid it'd break.

"it's golden..." he muttered, mindlinking with Tsatu

"yeah, he had the essence of gods mixed with his soul. we'd have to take them out and return them to their owners" she replied "good job with the soul"

"thanks, it felt like a default action and I just went for it" he stared at his bloodied hands "it felt more like I killed him"

"First time feels like that" she chuckled "clean up and got get your goddess" she shut the link off.

"are you okay?" Strife came back down and saw Dhara wiping his hands.

"yeah, I'm good."

"Kaos is waiting. The twins are with her now." She saw the body and nodded "I will clean up"

"Thank you." He nodded and headed upstairs.

DHARA

My heart thumped hard with increased tempo. Kaos was waiting outside for me. This goddess had no business sacrificing her godhood for me, a mere mortal. But she did anyway and without a second thought went with a bad man to keep him from causing anymore damage. How much love and care does she harbor for me to do something like that.

Kaos was waiting for me.

As I neared the entrance, I felt her spectral forms leave me, going ahead of me to meet their mistress. Soon I stood in front of the still transforming goddess. I didn't need to shield my eyes from the light anymore, I could take it now.

Kaos was waited for me...she trusted me.