Dark Deceptions

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Hi yall, sorry for late update, I've been busy bc school and moving to another country. I hope you all like this chapter! :D

Also I might do a QNA later)

About a month later, Striker sat down with Anti and Strafe, discussing their current plan of action.

They had found the sorcerer, had they? Leary, and his zombie magic. His two associates had the power to charge objects and throw them at a high velocity, the other seemed to not have magic but relied entirely on a strange weapon that turned its victims into ash and powder.

He added two more things, and then the conversation was over. He went outside to smoke. Erik would have to die. Erik and that kid Brandon. Erik was already showing a high energy reading similar to back then and all that would do is attract more sorcerers.

Brandon had the knife and was being reckless with it. Not only that but Strafe would most likely attack him on-site. Now the only thing left to do was bring Kazimir, the engineer and weapons supplier. He was classed as a werecreature officially but he didn't have the same tendencies. That still didn't change how dangerous the eccentric creature could be when he chose to interfere.

Kazimir would have to go too. He always hated the Phantoms and Ghosts and was very selective about if he would give them weapons. Claiming that both their causes was "evil" and "that of insane people." Lots of talk coming from an abomination like him.  Espically with how well the gear he supplied the Ghosts was.

He would be a decent challenge for Phantom, Striker liked that. It was a great idea indeed to pair the two up to fight, all he had to do was get Kazimir over here. Now getting rid of Erik would be easily, he trusts Striker, it wouldn't be hard to literally backstab him. With Brandon he could threaten to kill somebody or something he loves. It always works that way for the weaker men.
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Brandon today hadn't been feeling too well and he couldn't figure out why. His entire body felt like it was in pain and on fire It had started with a pain similar to a mosquito bite on his hand but somehow it got worse.

Whatever, time to get ready for his date with Lienna. Well, not a date, more like an outing, now that neither of them were in danger of landing in the hospital again.

Brandon pulled on a grey hoodie with some strange logo on the back, a circle with a spear going through it at a 45° angle. It would have to do, in an attempt to seem more "natural." To get away from being identified by Strafe as well.

It didn't matter, really. He thought to himself as he combed his hair, as usual, there were two tufts that stood up like horns, no matter how he tried to flatten them.

After putting a belt around his cargo pants and attatching the knife to his back in a safe manner, it was time to leave, Lienna was probably already waiting for him, so he grabbed his keys, wallet, and Webley before leaving.
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Lienna waited patiently at the park, she quietly hummed to herself as she scrolled through instagram. Just a few pictures of her friends and their escapades, her attention was caught by one posted by a monster of black and white, Kazimir.

She hadn't seen Kazimir since her junior year in high school when he suddenly dropped out and dissapeared from the earth. He was back now, and he had grown to be handsome and neatly groomed, a stark contrast to his scruffy high school self.

In the photo, he was posing with a minigun, Luenna recognized it as the minigun Erik uses from time to time, or a replica of it.

She liked the photo and looked up, Brandon was walking towards her. He looked strange without his normal jacket and ushanka, Lienna liked it, it fit him.

She turned off her phone and slipped it in her back pocket before standing up and walking to him as well. They met each other real quickly and Lienna had tackled Brandon in a hug, she noticed that he slightly winced before hugging her back.

He was warm and smelled like pine, she felt safe with him. Something she never really felt with her ex. It's a shame that they were just friends but Lienna was scared as well.

"What if he doesn't like me that way?" "Does he even like being my friend?" "Am I even good enough for him?"

All thoughts that played within her head at random. She shuddered slightly and hugged Brandon a bit tighter.

After about a minute in each other's embrace, they let each other go. They had been through so much together, Lienna knew it. She began to wonder if he had his own skeletons in the closet.

Nevermind that, today was supposed to be a great day. the two had silently agreed to walk down one of the trails in the forest, the two had an equal intrest in nature, it was perfect.

They walked along until Brandon stopped, he looked around until he had found something. Without making a sound, he crouched down qnd Lienna did the same, he then pointed at a couple of young foxes playing with each other.

Overhead, a bird sang its song as a wind gently blew across the forest. Lienna's tail wagged a bit at the sight and she leaned on Brandon a bit, resting her head on his shoulders as the two remained in a sort of slav squat as they observed the foxes.

They both were smiling, Brandon gently draped a hand over her as he put a knee down for extra support. It was perfect, those few minutes of bliss that lasted up until the foxes ran away. The two then stood up and resumed their walk, talking idly about life and other things, making jokes.

Eventually, the two had found themselves sitting on a bench overlooking the pond, holding hands without realizing.

Lienna rested her head on Brandon's shoulder as he leaned back on the bench, the two staring at some wild ducks. There was no worry for them, no Arsenal, their past far away. Pure, uninterrupted bliss.

Brandon sighed a contentful sigh as he watched the ducks, he wondered about love. He was 18, never really went to school for long, an ex-mercenary. He never really had any female friends apart from Anti and he never saw her the same way he saw Lienna.

"So this is what love is... I like it."

Brandon smiled to himself, he felt warm, happy. Nothing could take the feeling away. For the first time in a while, the wrongness he felt in him was replaced with happiness.
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Along the cold, desolate warzone, as swift as the wind, a black blur rushed past. Free, happy.

Landing on the ground and skidding to a stop, a quick stretch before folding his wings, Kazimir surveyed the land of the Ghosts, he found a base and shuffled in, shaking the snow off him as soon as he entered.

Cracking open a metal tin and grabbing a cigarette, he lit it by creating a small flame on a fingertip as he looked around.

The Ghosts weren't here, they were heading towards Texas where the National Arsenal championships were held, that fuck-ass poser bullshit in his opinion.

He scoffed at the thought and sifted through the locker room, changing from the business suit he was wearing into the Ghost militia uniform.

The Ghosts had the better armor, uniforms, and gear. He liked them way more than the Phantoms and it showed. He'd be able to go on for hours about how it was superior but he didn't have the time.

Kazimir looked around for some food and found somethinf interesting, a document, unattended, for the Overseer of the militia. He opened it and read the contents, it spoke of a Shadow Monster, a 2-ton magnificent dragon-wolf beast with fur blacker than night. A real heart-stopper

"The stuff of nightmares. Just like me."

It certainly caught his attention and so it was settled, he would fly over to Arsenal as well. Just to meet this monster.

He took a long drag off his cigarette before stamping it under his boot, using his tail to flick it under a table. He took a Pulse Rifle before running outside and taking off, soaring through the skies once again.

Such a shame that he wasn't invited but so be it, he'd invite himself. He needed to set things straight with operatives on both sides anyway.

It was taking off and colliding, becoming something bigger. And Kazimir? He wouldn't dare miss it. Everything's going to change.