The Dark Collector (Solo)

Demix had tried to rest after his fight at with that strange tongue creature within the theater however, no matter how he tried he just could not keep away the high energy that had come to him thanks to being awaken once more. He was curious of the world and hungered for death. He wanted to go out on a killing spree, but before he could a rather annoying thing occurred. That short cakes he used as a body...His consciousness began to push through and began to resist him. He tried to push back, but in the end the smaller demon won and in turn forced Demix to submit. Or rather mostly submit, the demon’s body was still that creature’s. An inky mess and a reminder of why Devi hated to fight so much. Even so the demon suppose he should get used to it. Now that this awakening thing had occurred the demon knew that as soon as the sunset, this creature would take over. It was something that made him shiver, but for now he would just have to deal with it....and pray he could stay him in the end.

Devi would observe his new look with a frown in the broken mirror before shaking his head and scanning the room. He would find a bag and after equipping and prettty much watching his body absorb it, the demon would move from his location near the back of the theater and retrace his steps back to the bedroom. At the edge of the hall, he would pause listening to the area. He didn’t hear a sound, so perhaps that thing was the only that had come in. Good considering this whole plan he had brewing in his mind was going to be a bit risky. What was he going to do, you ask? Collect some data that is what. He would start with his home and then branch out just a bit. He wanted to see what happened to the Festival Grounds and also the Forest Dome to get a sample of just how far whatever this that had come with the Jump had gone. As for the other areas? Well, he’d have to tackle those in time too. Right now he would start with the areas that came to mind tonight. Right. Taking a breath to steady himself, the demon would move forward once more and approach the bedroom. Upon reaching the entrance, he immediately took notice that the creature from before remained there. Great...so he would have to do some clean up after all, but before that…

The demon would take a step in the room, every fiber in his body on edge and ready for anything. He would approach the corpse taking in the strange form before him wondering what it was that created such a horrifying, yet fascinating creature. As much as it repulsed him, he was highly curious of the thing and so after ensuring it was absolutely dead, the demon would come even closer to the mess and began to examine it, looking for anything it could collect for later research.

The demon would look at what he found from digging around in the creature. Despite how disgusting this could seem, the demon was unphased as he examined the stuff he found. It was nothing he could use really. It was just some cloth and a wallet, but all were so far gone that the only thing the demon could get from this was the fact that this creature might've been a person at one point. So what was it that turned people into this thing? Was it something in this place called Junction? Something for outside that came with the Jump? And what about that journal from earlier? Did that connect to all this too?

The demon would let out a soft hum of thought as he dropped the useless items to the ground and stood up. His plan was to clean up the corpse, but as the demon moved, he would hear a sound from the creature...It had said something? Narrowing his eyes, dark orbs would look down at the creature. “What? I am not sure I understand what mean.” The demon would purr wondering if the thing even understood him.

He would wait for a few seconds to see if he got a response, but when he didn’t get one, the demon would shake his head and shift his weight to move the corpse from the bedroom to the back door and finally with a grunt and a nice bump with his hip out the back door and into the side alley where other trash was gathered. Closing the door, to the theater and making sure it was secure, the demon would take a moment to stretch his back as his dark eyes took in the scenery. The scent of death was still around, but it seemed he had some time before morning to do some more exploring. Racking his brain a bit to recall where he had seen a terminal for information the demon would eventually drift out into the streets cautiously keeping an eye out for danger as he approached the location. He needed some information on the Forest Sphere he wanted to check out and besides if he was going to continue to do research he would need as much information about the layout of this place as possible. It would make it that much more easier to teleport about.

Finding the terminal he wanted the demon eyes would take in the controls in front of of him before a bloodied and ink stained glove rose up and clicked on a command that he hoped would get him in touch with something that could get him the information he wanted.

Cwis appeared almost instantly, not bothering with her normal greeting. Had it been possible, the being that now was projected from the terminal looked positively terrified and frazzled by the current state of affairs, though as an AI that most likely was not possible. "The-The nearest fallout shelter is three floors down i-in the Core level 342B Sub corridor MM. I-I can print you a map if you so choose!...Wait..." The Projection would tilt it's head slightly as it regarded the being in front of her.

"I... Don't think I recognize you... W-What have you done with ID#DDD1257390!? W-Where is Devi? A-Are you one of those things?...."

To the demon was startled just a bit as the being known as CWIS appeared, his body instinctively jerking a bit as he leaned back slightly blinking at this new thing. Well it was certainly odd, but seemed panicked and trying to get him to safety? The demon would raise an eyebrow at this as he slowly relaxed and settled before the terminal once more. When he was questioned, he would wince slightly at what he heard.

"I am not..." the demon trailed off and looked off to the side, trying to figure out how to explain this one as he heard the dark creature within snickering at him and the trouble it was causing thanks to the form he was forced to be in. Agitating, but the demon would pull himself together as he faced the AI once more. "You are looking at him. I wish I had time to explain, but right now, I need some information from you. Can you please help me?" the demon would ask his usual voice slipping through instead of the mad one of Demix. At least for now Devi was in control.

The AI paused for a moment as if to mull this over. It regarded the being before it from several angles and peered closely into the ink demons eyes. Like all citizens of Junction Devi would have, at one point or another, directly interacted with CWIS. She knew the citizens of Junction by name, each and every one of them, yet she had never seen this being's face... Though... It's eyes...

"I... I trust you De- er... ID#DDD1257390. How may I be of service to you this evening?... Please do hurry, this location is not safe"

The demon did not flinch at having his space invaded. He let the AI examine him, his eyes moving to meet hers when she decided to look into his own. He wasn't exactly pleased by having her see him like this, but there was no alternative in the end. In any case, he would visibly relax when she said she trusted him. That was good. The last thing he wanted was trouble.

He would give her a small smile. "Thank you, CWIS. And please, call me by my name." He much preferred that over a number. In any case, the demon would snap back to business shortly as he focused on what he wanted to do. "This will be brief. The first thing I need to know is can you trace how many of those creatures are in Junction and what is causing them to come? The other thing is a map of Junction...like the whole place. I would like to have one to study if you don't mind."

"I am able to guess at the current number of... Anomalies currently within Junction. However there is currently no way of knowing an exact number, I apologize." Cwis would bow slightly as she relayed this information. Though Cwis was arguably the most complex and advance system on Junction, she was not omniscient. She could only relay information that was connected to her systems. After a few moments of thought a small screen appeared before Devi displaying a simplified graphic of Junction. Several areas were colored a deep red, with the largest concentration of these red splotches being at the top of the tower, The Skys."These red locations depict where the largest concentration of the anomalous  beings are located... It seems they become less prevalent as you ascend the tower, however the bio-domes seem to have the lowest concentration overall."

A small flash drive would eject itself from the base of the terminal. "This Flashdrive contains the most current map of Junction including Slums estimants for the changes due to Abara's local structures. Is there anything else I can do to aid you? If not please, make your way to the nearest shelter..."

The demon would hear what the AI said as he shook his head slightly with a faint smile. "It is fine," he would say before becoming quiet to examine the screen before him and listen to the information that CWIS did give. So these creatures were thinly spread out on the lower levels and gathered in thicker at the top levels. Was that due to the amount people gathered for the festival up there...or did these things literally fall from sky? It was a strange event, but perhaps some further investigating up there would some shed light; however, he was going to do that later. It would perhaps be easier to tackle the forest first. At least with the general map shown he knew which way to go to get where he needed to go, but before that....

The demon would shift slightly as something came from the base of the terminal he stood at. He would look down and see a flash drive there. A gloved hand would move to take it as the AI told him what it was.  He would nod as he put the flash drive away, the thing sinking into his body and shifting to some place safe within him for the time being. Once that was done, the demon would look up at the AI as he shook his head slightly. “No. You have been wonderful tonight. Thank you for your assistance. I will be able to handle things from here,” he would say with a faint smile. He would then give a bow to the AI, lingering for a short time before the terminal before shifting his weight and moving down the street.

He would make sure he was out of the AI’s or anyone else's sight as he paused in an empty alley. Looking up at the night sky, he would watch the clouds above before closing his eyes as he melted into ink and vanished from the Commercial District.


A few seconds, a dark spot would form on the ground of the Forest Biodome. The spot would stretch out as a black form rose from it and soon reshaped itself into the demon. Inky black eyes would snap open and take in the area. The place was quiet, but the air tense. The area was dangerous for sure, but for now nothing came out to attack the demon. Keeping himself on high alert, the demon would drift further into the forest observing the trees and the area around him, his footsteps soft on the forest floor. This place was beautiful...until he came upon quite the scene. He saw the corpses of three strange bugs small in comparison to the fourth not to far away that was giving off a horrible smell. From the way some of the corpse twitched, the demon could tell they were a fresh kill meaning he just missed a fight. How disappointing and yet intriguing as well. His eyes would see paw prints and some other marking on the ground he couldn't make out and even saw a mixture of strange dark fur, pink fluff and maybe some scrapping off something hard. Perhaps the latter was from the tree or these foul smelling bugs? It was hard to say, but that only held his eye for a few moments before something glittery caught his eye. He would move in closer to the scene finding a spilling of what looked like money amongst the carnage. He supposed whoever it belonged to was in a hurry. Well no use and letting good money go to waste. Let's see here...

Fishing it out of the mess, the demon found himself with a small amount of change in his hand. Not bad. Perhaps he could use it for something down the road. Storing the money away, the demon would look from the large corpse to smaller ones debating which to examine first. Hmm...Perhaps the smaller ones since they didn't smell too bad ad were closer. Alright then.

Actions:

Strength Info :

The demon would dig around the mess that would turn anyone’s stomach, searching for anything of use. While he didn’t find any information, he did find some strange fragments within the corpses that looked more valuable than the rest of the guts and what not he had seen. Adding what he found to his collection of stuff he already had. He would turn his attention to the last corpse in the area that he had to check before he left. This one was a bit harder to approach, the smelling wafting off the dead thing enough to make even this rather solid stomach demon gag a bit as he got closer. He wasn’t sure what the hell was up with this one, but he would be careful as he began to examine it nonetheless to see if he could find anything useful on it.  

Action:

Items Collected:

The demon would linger around the area gathering what he could gather before exiting the area and making his way towards the last spot on his list tonight - the Top Ward. However, before he could think to teleport there, he would get an urge to go to Aquatic Dome and so teleporting away from the forest, he would go to the next spot.

On the beaches of the Aquatic Dome, he would meet a pale man and a small pink fluff ball. Together they would form an odd team as a creature formed from the ocean waves. They would come out victorious, but unlike others he had found tonight, the watery lizard did not leave a corpse. Instead leaving behind nothing as it turned back into the sea water. A bit disappointed with that one, he would take his leave of the place when everyone else left, teleporting to the Top Ward where the Festival had been.

As he stepped out of the ink portal and looked around, he could smell fear, death, and blood in the air. This once happy place full of fun was now the festering grounds for whatever had been unleashed here with the jump. Staying on the look out for danger, the demon would drift over to the fungeon attraction something oddly attractive about the sickly smell of flesh coming from it. As he got closer, he would pause for a moment as he saw something in the grass to his left. Drifting over to it, he would find that it was a rather nice size pouch, the rope that had attached it too something had been frayed and snapped causing whatever had it before to lose it. Hmm.

The demon would shift his tail and wrap it around the pouch. He’d pick up it and take notice that it had some weight to it. Curious, he would bring the bag closer and open it examining the contents. Some more money; a strange drink he had no clue what it was for, but from the label had something to do with healing; and finally a letter of some importance. Huh with such a collection here one would think the owner would look for it, buuut…

The demon would look around the area. There was no one in sight. Welp. He guess it was his now. So like with all the rest of the things he had collected, he would place the pouch within the strange space that was his inky body. He would have to sort through things later on, but for now it was time to explore the last place before the night ended.

Moving into the hallways of the disturbing, yet for him comfortable fungeons gone wrong, the demon would travel through the rooms until he came across a twisted corpse. Unlike those bugs this one looked way different and a bit human to boot. Narrowing his eyes, the demon would get closer to begin his process of examining the creature that seemed to have been taken down by a larger group than the bugs.  

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Alas as much as the demon looked forward to finding more information or treasure it would seem that his search this time around turned up nothing. With a light frown the demon would finish poking around before standing up and leaving the area. He would head home for now to put away what he had, clean up and rest.

As for Tycho and Siku, as soon as the barrier went down the next day, the bug and the traveler would leave the place known as Junction perhaps never to be seen again as they began a new journey in a new world.