Houseguest (Hazama)

[echidna]

Eliza was exhausted.

Truly. After the creation of the Aranomb firstborn, she'd gotten at least ten hours of sleep - silently, she blessed her lucky stars that Slade wasn't around to kick her out of bed and continue her training. God that man had a knack... four to six hours after going to bed, or rather, falling into bed, he'd be there with either a heavy stick or just the old fashioned boot sending her flying out of the bedclothes and into a wall.

She groaned unconciously as the recollection of... gods, too many days of that. But... she was stronger now. She wanted him to, point in fact, entirely because she saw the point and purpose of it all. In the darkness of her room, her eyes slid open slowly. She'd fallen to sleep in her clothes, and her bookbag was on her legs... but other than that, the absolute darkness so-prevalent in The Maw gripped her like a silent fist. It was... oh, it had to be early, early in the morning, the secret little hours known only to the night birds and the creatures native to the black.

[Hazama]

The air amids Eliza's private chambers suddenly became thin and still for a brief moment, as if the flow of oxygen had been halted or ceased in someway. There was a stillness, noticible for just long enough to be relevant, the atmosphere of the room seeming chocked by some invisble grip, breaths becoming somewhat harder to take in, and the entirty of the space seeming...emptier-- like something was being taken away, or rather, replaced. And soon, this stillness was broken, akin to a mallet crashing down on a thin glass window. A burst of purple and blue light shined through the illusive Broodmother's room, conceiling everything with a blinding flash. The stillness had been obliterated, replaced with a stunning display of...something.

"Ah, so we finally meet. I admit, I've been waiting to chat with you for some time...Eliza."

A calm and chilling voice echoed throughout the Broodmother's chambers, it's owner obscured by the light and it's aftereffects and unable to be seen. Then, the chill once aganist resurfaced, only to be broken by a sharp and high pitched metallic noise. The source of it was not obsecured as is had been the last time though: in plain sight, pitch black chains pulsating a blood red wrapped themselves around each and every possible exit in the room. As they finished their screetching, they stayed in place, barring and blocking any escape or interference that could have torn the owner of the blood-red chains from his self-appointed task. Soon, the purple and blue light subsided, the man within it become apparent and visible. He was tall, well dressed in a suit which could only be called corrosive in it's shade of black, with striking green hair and piercing, devilish golden slit eyes the stared right at Eliza's own pair of pupils for a split second before disappearing behind seemingly shut eyelids. The figure leaned back on a wall, his legs crossed comfortably and his arms crossed. In one of the arms was a single brown claw-like bone, one with a family appearence. Quickly, the man tossed the spike to Eliza and spoke once again in his smooth and tranquil tone.

"You know, I really must thank your pet. That little projectile may have seemed a bit troublesome at the time, but it's really given me such a hand. I mean, without it, I would have never been able to make quite so spectacular an enterence or, perhaps on the more relevant side, been able to crack into the secrets of your...what do you refer to it as again? Geneseed? Anyway, my sincerest thanks to you and your little dog."

[echidna]

Eliza's blood stilled when the room did - something... was wrong. Very, very wrong. She was upright and standing before Hazama even appeared - she'd been messing with the dimensional fold, after all, and it wouldn't do to let something come through. That's what she thought happened, anyhow. Then it came.

One doesn't use magic without a bit of foresight - the way the sound was sucked away, the way the room recoiled in the metaphysical, leaving empty space, it was like a creaking rope holding up a piano, or a droplet of explosive goo beading and readying to fall onto the stone floor and kill everyone. She had the time to cover her face - that was it.

There was a voice. She heard it plain and clear - her heart sank, and a creeping sensation of doom gripped her. She knew that voice. She'd heard it several times now across new york, through the cipher of her children that had become so prevalent in the city and surrounding environments. this man was bad news, and rode the lightning - he was worse than demons. And he was here.

She looked at him then, seeing the acidic black jacket and bright green hair, that cocksure expression and closed eyes. She knew she was no real threat to him - not now, not in this room. He didn't need to see her to know she wouldn't be able to do much. The worst part? He knew she knew that, she guessed. She caught the bone and recognized it immediately, clutching the object, still sharp, like a dagger automatically.

Eliza was already reaching across the lines of her soul, the searing, personal connections she had to her children. They knew what was here now - they almost knew the moment she'd opened her eyes, but most of all, the Brood gave her comfort. She listened to Hazama - the important thing now, her own little shoulder-slade said into her ear, was to sort the bluffs and the truths.

"You know, I really must thank your pet. That little projectile may have seemed a bit troublesome at the time, but it's really given me such a hand. I mean, without it, I would have never been able to make quite so spectacular an enterence" he began. Truth. He was here in her home now - what could she do about it? But that meant he had followed the bit of string - that tiny, teenie bit of string that connected her to her son, Bitingston. This man was clever - more than a little supernatural, and, as if she didn't already know, worthy of caution.

"-perhaps on the more relevant side, been able to crack into the secrets of your...what do you refer to it as again? Geneseed? Anyway, my sincerest thanks to you and your little dog." He must have thought she was a child - he really must have. If he had everything he needed, why would he come here? Just to screw with her? To scare her? And what could he learn from a discarded piece of bone, anyhow? He could learn about her power that he could glean from one stable genetic structure? But, then, she was standing right here.

Check.

"Congratulations. You've followed the yellow brick road, and found... me. " she said, putting her head on one side. "But you don't know anything - just that I'm here, and I'm not alone." she smiled at him sweetly - not all that sweet, when it comes right down to it. "So what do you think you're here to do, hmmmm?" The spike dissapeared somewhere as she spoke, watching him intently.

There was another presence in the room - something behind her, something that seemed to be coming through the wall, blacker than the shadows with motes of blackest rage in its eyes and altogether too many teeth. With a step in shadow, Bitingston appeared directly behind Eliza, quite soundlessly.

[Hazama]

The mysterious and enigmatic stanger laughed a condesecending and amused laugh, his serpentince smile expanding wider across his pale and slender face. Truth be told, he didn't know the specifics of this girl's personality. And frankly, he didn't care enough to learn the little quirks and details. But he could guess the jist of it from training reports and regiments that Slade Wilson had oh-so unwillingly left for him an his cohorts, and also from her supposed supernatural connection. Arrogant, sly, cunning, and a general tea sipping manipulator. And that was really all he cared to learn. She was a tool as far as he was considered, not even a plaything. And now was his time to use her.

"Oh, you silly little girl. Why is it that people like you always assume I'm here to assassinate them? It must be such a terror, viewing every visitor as a potential dagger in the back. Can't be good for such a young woman like yourself's complextion. But anywho, relax. I'm not here to kill you, or your pets. I'm just here to have a little chat. Is that so bad?"

Hazama coyly adjusted his tie. Her slight paranoia somewhat amused him, as did he consistant use of bodyguard: it showed a bit more into her abilties. If Hazama had to guess, he would say that she relied on her brutish guardians to do all the heavy lifting, or at the very least, she had just preformed some sort of strenious activity...perhaps, she had recently given birth and this was just a side effect? Who knew. Guesses, all of them of course. His grin gave way to words once more as his maw opened to discussion once again.

"So then, Eliza- can I call you Liz? So then, Liz. How are you today? Everything fine on your end? I heard Mr. Wilson can be quite hard on his training regiment. Not working you too hard, hm?"

[/b][/size][/center]

[echidna]

It dawned upon Eliza that Hazama wasn't attacking her. He was a snake - she knew for a fact that his apparent ease was about as safe as a sleeping tiger. Things were peaceful now, but if any time, somebody could lose an arm. He was grinning in his way - she'd seen the grin before, and it made her skin crawl. She didn't like the man from just what she'd SEEN, let alone the fact he'd so-rudely entered her domicile. Course, if he'd tried the front door, he wouldn't have gotten far - that was the wrong entrance by a long way... but then again, this was Hazama.

She sagged onto her bed, her sinister air puffing away like spores from a mushroom. She relaxed - other eyes watched Hazama, and he had no real way to know that. Bitingston sat beside her on the bed, and she leaned against him a little. The platinum-haired teen looked... well, she looked weak. Exhausted, run ragged, indeed. It was, in her spirit, false as hell however and as much a ruse as it was a fact. Truth was, she was exhausted - she just let it show.

"No... I suppose not..." she admitted quietly, sounding sheepish, almost apolagetic. Hazama didn't know anything about her - better to seem like something she wasn't - better to keep them in the dark. A tiny part of her pitied her situation, so she used it - she almost convinced herself it was so. Bitingston's expression, likely unreadable to Hazama anyhow, was stony and unreadable even to somebody who knew his face... but she knew him too well.

She couldn't be certain what Hazama knew about her, and this was a novel opprotunity to learn some things about the man, and make herself look like a weakling to a dangerous foe. Make them think that, and you had them well and truly by the balls. Eliza stared at Hazama as he began to ask his questions, eyes half-open as she rested against her brutish guardian, who contrived to look as menacingly at Hazama as he could - that was honest. The dog comment hit home.

"Err... Liz works... I'm fine, yes. Wils-" she paused, blinking. "-His name is Wilson? Heck yes he's a tough trainer - I mean..." she looked into the corners as if expecting the man to sidle out of the shadows and cuff her, fear flashing in her eyes.

[Hazama]

"Oh, do relax Liz. Trust me, I'm a bit sneaker than your teacher is or ever will be. To be honest, you and your spawn are about the only things nearby that are even aware that I'm here-- your master hasn't the faintest clue. Besides, even if he did, I've sealed this place up nice and tight, both entrance and exit- no one is leaving or moseying on in till I decide to head off. So please, feel free to speak candidly, by all means!"

Hazama didn't move an inch whilst he spoke to the Broodmother, but did let off a chuckle after he had finished speaking, his eyes gazing in a mocking manner at Eliza. He saw right through he faux-nervous complexion, having seen her only moments ago in a mocking and 'oh so sweet' tone, and scoffed at the attempt to fool him in all but action. Her default, or at least, what Hazama took as her default demeanor, was that of a manipulator like himself, be it a younger and far less experienced one. Obviously, she was attempting to make it seem as though Hazama held the advantage so he could trip up and reveal something to her advantage-- one of the oldest and most effective tricks in the book. Hazama, however, was not one to fall so easily for such novice tricks: he was the master of them, afterall. In retort, his response was a sentiment of false reassurance that her 'fears' were unfounded-- and instead, she should be more afraid of what Hazama could do. However, it was delivered in such a way, one would take both the gravity of the comment as well as perhaps view it as a serious response. It was just his little way of toying with his prey.

"Ah, speaking of candor, I think it is time I ask for some right now. Dearest Liz, why did your darling child find it necessary to both infringe on my official business, and better yet, attack me?"

[echidna]

Bugger.

He wasn't buying it a bit. Not a blessed bit. This man wasn't as clever as Slade, she picked up on that straight away - he was here, and he was talking to her rather than hacking the computer right behind her or doing a pint of research before he found her here. He came here with no appearant plan but to pick her brain and get information from her. He was watching, but he was no Slade. At least, he wasn't the same as him.

She was clever enough to pick up on the fact that he didn't know much about her, aside her first reaction. Blast, if only she'd reacted properly when he'd first appeared. She dropped the act and returned to default setting - it was easier. Be true to your self, right? She smirked nastily at Hazama.

"Sealed the exits have you? Hmph, if you say so - when it comes to Slade or my children, a door, or a wall for that matter, is about as much an impediment as a wet paper bag, mister... but if you take some comfort, by all means." she said, and didn't change position in the least, seemingly at complete ease.

She sat up demurely, and leaned back on her hands, putting her head on one side as she smirked at Hazama. "You want candor, do you? Well. You were going to be a bit rough with the merchandise, if you get my meaning - Ms. Charlie and her furry friend weren't yours to use and lose. I see your leg recovered nicely? Oh... That's not really YOUR body, is it... Tsk tsk tsk..." she giggled sweetly, and shook her head, looking at the ceiling as she sighed.

"Besides, you are a deranged little beansprout, aren't you? You probably enjoyed it." she crooned sweetly to the ceiling, as if speaking to a precious little child. It was probably pushing her luck, but Hazama was getting on her nerves.
You test me, I test you - let's see what you're made of, mister beansprout...

[Hazama]

This little girl was a bit arrogant, eh? Her haphazard bluff dissipated quicker than a snowflake in Pompeii, but her self-confident deamenor shined through all the brighter-- to put it lightly. Hazama smirked. She reminded him a bit of that damn vampire. But, of course, she wasn't nearly as aged nor as, as much as loathed to compliment her, as competent as one Rachel Alucard. Of course, she had a seven hundred year advantage so it was hardly a fair comparison. Quickly swiping the images of that damn bloodsucker out of his head, he responded to her 'explaination' with that same snake-like smile on his face and lighthearted faux-holier-than-thou tone.

"Tsk tsk tsk. I see. I would never thought a person so, ah, 'intricate' as you to be so concerned with such meager things. Especially when you've sold yourself off to someone like our dearest master Slade. Ah well, no matter. You're still young. I'm sure he'll purge you of these 'foolish limitations' soon enough. But on that note, I wonder how much keeping tabs on such high-tech biological weaponry projects differs from the continual stalking of a monstrous and infernal demonic power or, better yet, literally bugging the entire city of New York? A bit of a double standard there, don't you think?"

The man known as Hazama didn't falter in his tone or voice one bit, and actually began to move as he spoke. His long and slender legs moved gracefully upon the hard and dark floor, as he approached a perhaps uncomfortable and almost threatening distance to her. He was less than a yard away from her and her dog, covering more ground than one could think at the rate he walked. Adjusting his tie, he smiled-- insignificant as she was, her next action could well speed up his plans by a month or so at the best case-scenario. He hoped she made the right one.

[echidna]

Eliza lifted her head to look at him down her cheeks, grinning at him as he spoke to her, her teeth gleaming as a pale-fleshed hand reached up to cradle Bitingston's cheek, petting delicately as the creature rumbled in pleasure at his mother's gentle touch. Hazama was getting on his nerves - he was too cocksure, and he didn't like the idea of him knowing where his mother slept at night. It made something from before the dawn in his soul itch and squirm, begging for release. His mother knew that... all too well. Her touch calmed him, let him watch the snake with a calm mind. The black rage, the terrible, dreadful thing that tore at his spirit calmed a bit. He grinned at Hazama too - oh such a grin could a Devourer manage. Nothing grins quite like a devourer.

Eliza gave a sort of single shrug, as if to indicate she could do what she wanted - peoples' expectations of her, especially Hazama's, could go and hang for all she cared. As he approached her a little on that bed, Eliza chuckled - a dark, hearty little chuckle - there was no tension in her... but the tension skipped her - and flooded the room, despite her grin and Bitingston's. It was like.. approaching the edge of a volcano, with lava bubbling not a foot below. She skipped anxiety and threats of violence and went straight for pure, simple danger.

"Oh, Hazama... you're just making friends left and right, aren't you? Hmhmhm... at least you've got subtlety... wish you had manners, as well... See, that's the difference between you and I - I don't slither about - don't need to... but I do have manners. Bit of a polarity there, I fancy." she asked sweetly, not moving an inch, sighing casually. Outside the room, Raveners were taking positions, moving with practiced silence as they readied for Eliza's signal. She loved being able to give orders without speaking - it saved so much trouble... her eyes were only glowing a little bit.

"Between you and I, though... I think I've got it better. What do you think, Beansprout?" she crooned, and held her signal back. Wait for it. Her hand on Bitingston kept him relaxed - not a muscle tensed on either of them. They knew what a threat Hazama was... But Eliza had seen him in action a couple times now. She had a pretty good idea what to expect from him if it came down to it.. but as Slade always beat into her - be ready for anything, because it could happen at any time.

[Hazama]

"Oh...I'd say me."

In that instant, there was that fog once more, that feeling of breath being drained away from the room. Hazama's grin had reached an apex. He smiled down at hear, walking forward a bit, little more than an arm's reach away. He took off his hat, and there was a dull twinkle in his left eye. The air felt suffocating as suddenly, his face...began to crumble away.

"The way you try and squeeze it, you'd almost think you were the one that dropped in on me. You'd almost think that you had a chance of enriching or enhancing your position from this little get together. You'd almost think that you could do something about whats been going on out in the world, or at the least, this very conversation, you'd almost think that your friends on the inside and outside could protect you. But-- that's wrong on all accounts, isn't it? Because when push comes to shove, little girl, you're a tiny little trout swimming in a sea of sharks. And me? Why, I'm the Great White. And when I really feel inclined to take a bite, little girl, you won't be able to do anything to stop me. Like...around now, per say."

Hazama's face swirled in the air, like a cloud of dust. As it eerily dissipated into nothingness, along came his suit and the rest of his body, swirling around all those inside the room before turning to nothingness. For, you see, Hazama had never arrived in his body to begin with, nor had he even teleported here. An illusion was cast over him, the illusion of Kazuma Kval, the illusion of the body which he had no doubt the Broodmother knew perhaps a bit better than he would have preferred. And now that he had dissipated it, there was nothing but a black, barely humanoid silhouette staring at Eliza and her pet. It possessed one beady green eye on the right side of what could only lossly be described as a 'face'. Below it was an errie and almost disturbing smile, this time made of red light. On what appeared to be the 'torso', great clusters of green vein-like structures dominated, complemented by two unnaturally long and slender arms, and two equally bizarre legs. Each feature pulsated with a dark and terrifying energy, unknown to all, even Hazama himself. The face plainly smiled, as if it would do anything else, at Eliza, and tilted and gawked at her. The face was did not belong to Captain Hazama of the Intelligence Department. It was the face of Terumi Yuuki, of the perhaps inappropriately named 'Six Heroes'. He spoke in a corrupt and somewhat distorted manner.

"Checkmate, dearest Liz."

And with unnatural speed, it zoomed directly next to the Broodmother, staring back at her with it's face-- a face that, as horrifying as it was, belied the true evil that stood in front of her.

[echidna]

Eliza listened to him patiently - her little smile never faded, even as Hazama's face and body melted away. She controlled her breathing - Slade's training was good for controlling your breathing, among other things like 'tank this, bitch'. He taught her how to endure water torture - the stuffy, heavy room really was nothing but an exercise in this. She knew Hazama was a ghost. She knew that better than he knew it, and he didn't even know she knew. Most people wouldn't have been able to see what he'd done to Charlie, after all... Eliza had. Not only was he a ghost - he was a wraith, a foul thing that fed on hatred and despair for its power.

Eliza wanted to sing. She wanted to skip up and down, sing a little song, and hug Bitingston. He really didn't know... anything about her, did he? He really did think that she was a helpless little girl with no real power of her own. She couldn't have hoped for a better situation! She wanted to keep this moment, to press it into a large book so that she could remember it at Hazama's expense later.

The energy came when she called, when she dipped her living bucket into the font of the white fire in her mind, which grew all the brighter when she asked for it. Anger helped - and oh dear was she ANGRY right then. The time spent learning the magic portion of the Sympathete life matrix was well worth it now - if she ever invented a time machine, she'd have to go back and give Ezekiel Tom-Whitman a big freaking hug and a sloppy kiss, complete with chocolates.

Lovingly, with no fear in her voice at all, she spoke two ancient words. Two simple words as her hands twitched a little, little motions that belied no hope of understanding what she was doing, and.. then...

"φως φιλία."

Without warning, the room went white with living white fire in the ten feet immediately surrounding Eliza. It was an aura - there was nothing to go around - it WAS the around. Eliza went spare, filling the room with white fire that seared and crackled from her very soul.

[Hazama]

The area filled with a bright and all consuming light, illuminated the entire room. It was majestic, holy, and with it's source's constant yelling, more than a bit loud. A sight of majestic power and awesome light, it truly bedazzled the mind and perhaps partially blinded the eyes. Terumi Yuuki was the only dark thing left in the room, next to the red chains that still shined with a crimson hue in the corner. But how dark he was, as he stood there, towering over the girl who was so eager to believe, to hope she had laid her trump card right out onto the room. There was a silence that befell the room. Then Hazama spoke.

"...are you done with your crap?"

Hazama stood, his smile now somehow even broader than before, it's errieness increased tenfold. He laughed a bit, infact, laughed quite alot. It was a cool and chilling laugh, but loud and consuming just the same. It was the sound of Hazama doing what he loved most of all-- breaking someone's spirit and destroying someone's arrogance. How delightful! Without a moments hesitation, he swayed quickly at Eliza-- or rather, into Eliza, now litterally inside of her-- inside of her head.

"You honestly thought you could take me down with that? THAT?! GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! WAKE UP! You don't know anything about who your fighting, what your doing and how meager and small you are in the grand scheme of things, do you? Ah well, no matter...I'll give you a bit of an education, that alright? Eliza Gaia of Armia?! Afterall, if you don't know yourself or your enemies...your gonna' lose every single fight, right? RIGHT?! GAHAHAHA!"

Hazama gazed through all of the memories in Eliza's mind-- how she gave birth, how her powers truely worked and their source, where she truly came from, how she fit into the scheme of things, how things were originally supposed to play out...and most importantly, beyond and the trivial shit, how Slade's organization really worked, his training regiment, general 'goals', his fighting style...really, he took a gander at everything, storing it in his own head. He broke through the panels of her mind, into the memories, the thoughts, the automatic and the conscious. He could see it, all of it, and he observed it, all of it, just as he had many many many times before. But all these memories...it made him hungry. He decided, why not treat himself to a little feast? Zeroing down the memories on him, he devoured them, his face, his name, his fighting style, everything-- except for his true face, except for the fact this had happened, that he let stay-- a reminder, and perhaps a chance for Slade himself to start taking a look-- right where he wanted. She was now left with but his ghostlike face, and the gist that events had transpired just a few moments ago that lead to this intrusion. Once he had taken and seen all he cared for, he floated out, with a smile draped even further on his face.

"I'm done. I'll see you in your dreams, Eliza Gaia. And, if your really unlucky...elsewhere, eh? Keeheeheeheehee."

The man, no, the thing named Terumi Yuuki flew quitely from the girl's body, content with what he had gained. He left no traces, no nasty residue, and had quite the full stomach on him. The chains enveloping the room disappeared into nothing but a chocking fog. And from this fog, Terumi suddenly disappeared, phasing through the ground, off to some location that no man or beast in that room would ever know. To the Realm of Takamakahara-- to make a simple and concise report, on the true and original nature of this universe.

[echidna]

If it were possible for Eliza to pale even further than her already darkness-paled skin already was, she would have as her trump card washed like the tides over Hazama's body. And did nothing to him. It should have worked! It should have worked! He was a ghost wasn't he?! He was a ghost! She was sure of it! She recoiled from him, backing onto the bed with her blazing red eyes wide.

His name is Hazama! That is his name! This man with me is Hazama!

She pleaded across the link to her children, wailing - she knew what was coming. She'd seen him do it to Charlie once before - seen what she was like afterward! She didn't want to be like that - she didn't want to forget!! So... she paid some insurance while he asked her if she was done with her crap. Truly... the link with her children was more than just... surface. She shook like a leaf as he flowed into her, locking away the thought of what she did down deep... down in the bone. She shrieked as he spoke in her mind, squirmed on the bed and coughed at the feel of such vileness, such evil inside her... but he could not know what she did not know. He could just know what she THOUGHT she knew. She tried to fight him - her mind was strong, it was, but he... was ancient, terrible... powerful. She was helpless against that kind of power!

He saw a little teenager, a fire of ambition, and a sea of endless white flames in her mind. She knew he was there - she was trying to hide herself from him, trying to conceal truths - the names of her children, her plans to make the Raveners into a species and give them the ability to reproduce - these were her dreams, not likely what he'd expected them to be. She did not dream about conquering the world. She did not dream about her mother... she'd never even seen her mother's face. All she knew was that she was Eliza Gaia of Amria, daughter of Echidna, the mother of all monsters. There was a core there... something older than time itself, something inhuman she could not touch inside her - something from before time was born, before silence existed.

Suddenly, Hazama knew that she was kin of the old ones - the old gods of time, of the earth itself, of the sun, the moon, the primal things that created... everything. She was their kin - she was part Titan. She had no idea the size of the field of white fire that was in her head - she was a little girl sitting on the tip of a great iceburg. She knew that Slade had taken her in - she remembered the crisp, cool evening in the Warehouse, remembered how he said she had such potential in the darkest recesses of her despair. He reached further into her and opened old wounds.

Pain. Blackest despair, and overwhelming... hunger. Bitingston looked back at him there - Old Helljaws. Suddenly, Hazama knew what Bitingston really was - what he contained, or rather, what Eliza helped him contain. He was something primal... something eldritch and black as the void. Eliza was connected to... to that, to something that was entropy... incarnate. That was her greatest secret - what she kept from Slade and never spoke about. She wept as he learned what her son truly was. He was a Black Beast, shaped by her spirit and blackest despair. He was a nightmarish fever dream... elevated... and his whole species... his whole species was born of that abyss, and sealed by her love for them - pure, potent, and beautiful. She was the white - she was love to seal their black in, but that hate had come through once before - a superhero, Shadowshard, was devoured, fed to the Abyss that Bitingston represented... and she'd watched him. He'd eaten her mother... her father... and did more than eat their bodies alone. He consumed them utterly, and her love had let him be satisfied. She felt no regret.

That horrifying little black pearl of knowledge would have killed her - should have killed her, driven her mad to contain it... but it hadn't. She was a part of it - the flipside of it. Then it came.

Hazama glimpsed then of the Echidna's face - saw her in white chains, and behind her... a portal, bound in black chains forged in Hades itself... in the realm of Amria. This... was where Eliza was born. This was the prison-dimension beneath the mountain that contained her mother... and there was bound... something. This was her unconcious mind - this was what was in store for Eliza... whatever it meant. She didn't know that - But Hazama, Terumi, did.

This little girl who could give birth to monsters, this pathetic creature... she was the key to that blackest of gateways... in which the Titans were sealed.

Eliza puked.

As Hazama left her body she was left exhausted and weak as a kitten, with Bitingston trying to claw him apart, to bite him in half even as he left her body, she heard his words, and did not know his name. She could remember him though, delving into her mind and soul, she could remember the... the foulness of him, the sickening feeling like a plague beneath her skin. She wept, and puked again, wretching at the feeling... the horrible foul feeling.

Mr. Bitingston scooped up his shaking, convulsing mother and wept. He'd seen it happen to Charlie... but he suddenly understood what his mother was doing... he hadn't understood at first.

[glow=red,2,300]Insurance.[/glow]

HE knew Hazama's name. He knew his face... and he knew what he'd done. He smiled grimly... and thanked the stars that his mother was alive. He'd seen what had happened to Charlie... she was a wreck for days... but his mother was a clever one. He knew what he had to do.

[glow=red,2,300]His name...[/glow]

His voice came to her in the depths of her pain and her despair. The memory of his face, tinged with the terrible black of his rage-flooded mind washed through the link.

[glow=red,2,300]His name... is Hazama...[/glow]

The others repeated it, echoed it across the link - the one thing Hazama could not touch in their mother's mind. There were a thousand minds - some big, some small, out there - most of them were her Opal beetles, admittedly, but the fact remained.

His name is Hazama, Mother... and we know his colors now.

All the voices came at once, and Eliza's eyes slid open a bit. The love of her children washed over her, and drowned her despair, washed away the vileness... leaving...

Rage.

The door was opened for Bitingston as he carried his mother through the halls of their home, through the realm, the kingdom his mother had built for them, his mind awash with his mother's rage. She was so pale, so pure, so fragile - and this little thing had given him life. She was beautiful to him, precious to all of them. She was their mother! And some bloody fool monster had had the... the GALL to do this to her!

Vengeance. There would be vengeance for this terrible crime. Bitingston, and all of her children who could wrap their heads around the idea of it, screamed this in a cacaphonous roar.

Claws tore through her clothing, the filthy garnments - now a memory of Hazama's deed. They would burn, just as he would when their vengeance was complete. He stood before her youngest child, clutching her pure, bare form in his arms. The Aranomb opened up, and tendrils slid from its petals, she was grasped, and Bitingston reverentially reliquished his mother to her fist daughter. She needed to rest now - but there was work to do.

Eliza was pulled into the Aranomb's body, and she shut her eyes, let it happen - the warmth of it as the petals sealed into a bud was overwhelming - and she felt her body's systems go into a sort of... power conservation mode, while her mind was left free, allowed to remain conscious. She was sleeping... but her mind was not!

Her daughter's first mind was a simple thing - a precious little bud in her mind's grasp. She smiled... and held it against her. The Aranomb rose, and Eliza saw through its eyes, controlled its body from within as her body slept inside it. It was a strange sensation... But she could feel its appendages, and feel herself inside it, too - kind of a ticklish sensation! But, she'd had multiple minds connected to her for a long time! This was nothing.

My children... my Sons.. we have work to do.