A Ghostly Teacher Indeed...

Grecion quickly flew out of the way of the fire. Unfortunately, his tail still got hit and he yelped in pain. Sanguis scowled. He was wondering how intense this training would get. He realized he wouldn't be able to ever get a chance to strike back against his teacher, but he had to try. He started trying to come up with something that he could use, some weakness in her fighting. He couldn't think of any. "Oh flingflong it!" He had Grecion fly full speed, full force at Faolan. While he charged, he also launched random blasts of smoke around the size of Faolan's head.

Meanwhile, Undertaker and Shinohime both turned their heads, to the side looking of in the distance, the prior chuckling as always. Things would soon get interesting, of that, he was sure.

Off in the distance, there were enormous creatures flying fast. People in all-black suits and large semi-automatic guns rode on the back of Aneiyajuu who'se species could not be identified in the slightest. Every body-part was of a different animal. A fire was shot.

Faolan hissed and flew upwards, trying to get away from the smog and charging Aneiyajuu.

Etoielle's head snapped towards the scource of the gunshot. Her eyes widened and she swore. "Kronox..." She mumbled.

Grecion halted his charge and both he and Sanguis looked in the same direction. They heard the shot and saw the smoke the surrounded the demons. "Oh peetinkle.... " He hoped that Etoielle and Undertaker were considered strong among Kronox, seeing as he could barely hold his own in training against them. "How many do you think there are?"

Undertaker shrugged, "Seems about fifteen to twenty. Doesn't help that they have guns and we only have one Aneiyajuu that can fight at a distance. We'll have be using Grecion's smoke a lot. If we're lucky, they won't be as trusting of their Aneiyajuu as we are and will panic more in the smog. What do you think Etoielle?"

Etoielle bit her lip, a scowl painted on her face. Faolan was alright at far-range fighting, but definately not excellent. She knew that they were already outmatched. "Sanguis, I hope that you're up for a figh, because these guys aren't going to be easy to fight."

Faolan hissed as a bullet whizzed past his head. Another one grazed Etoielle's shoulder. She cursed profanity that neither Sanguis nor Undertaker had ever heard of before and re-summoned her DeathScythe.

Sanguis smiled. There was no way this could possibly end well. Still, he had Grecion blast a massive amount of smoke that engulfed both sides completely. This would at least stop their guns. He left navigation up to Grecion just as Undertaker did with Shinohime.

Shinohime flew at one of the enemy's Aneiyajuu and started pecking at it relentlessly. It was all the latter could do to avoid getting it in vital areas.

The enemy Aneiyajuu screetched in fury and bit back blindly. There was something odd about the way that it was attacking.

Faolan roared and sent a blast of fire at the three Aneiyajuu that were heading towards him. Etoielle jumped off of Faolan's back and landed on the back of one of the enemy Aneiyajuu. She swung at the man on it's back quickly, sending him spiraling downwards his cinematic record flowing from his neck. Based on the rules and protocol, she wasn't really supposed to kill fellow Shinigami, or anyone for that matter, who wasn't on her deathlist. But then again, Etoielle wasn't always a stickler for rules although she inwardly groaned as she knew that a swift lecture from William was going to be coming her way soon.

The Aneiyajuu that Etoielle was on reared back and swung it's bear-like head around to face her. Etoielle's eyes widened in sheer shock and unease as she stared into it's skull. She cursed under her breath. These Aneiyajuu weren't like Undertaker, Sanguis, and her's. They were mindless, sightless. A jumble of the bones from different species of once living Aneiyajuu that had died. That meant that not only was Kronox already dangerous, but they had someone working for them who could use Resurmancy (LOL! Just made that word up), the next level from Necromancy. Which also meant that they wouldn't disappear without shattering the skull completely. But there was a weakness to them that Etoielle was grateful for. Without their rider, the Aneiyajuu wouldn't know what to do because they were technecally blind. Once the rider was gone, then it would be easy to kill the Aneiyajuu itself.

"Undertaker! Sanguis! These aren't ordinaty Aneiyajuu! Take out the rider and go for the skull and shatter it!" Etoielle screamed as loud as she could. She prayed to whatever divine beings there were that Sanguis could hold his own. She disn't want to have to save his sorry butt while also trying to crush these resurrected demon-spawn.

Undertaker, of course, already knew what Resurmancy (even though the name for the concept was just invented) was and the counter to it. Shinohime rapidly flapped her massive wings blowing away all Grecion's smoke, but it also managed to succeed in dismounting three of Kronox's riders while her rider laughed like a mad man. All three hit the ground with a sickening crunch that did not reach the ears of the group above.

Sanguis, luckily, heard what Etoielle had shouted. He saw Shinohime knock three riders to the ground and watched as their bodies hit the ground and stopped moving. The thought of the coming slaughter excited him and he charged towards the confused and riderless Aneiyajuu. Grecion grabbed the first one's head in his two claws and crushed the skull effortlessly. The other two started flailing around randomly. Sanguis's mount formed a fist with his left claw and punched the second of the enemies' skull, creating a giant hole where he struck. Those two fell to the ground and disintegrated into smoke. The last one kept flailing and hit Grecion just hard enough to dismount Sanguis.

Grecion flew down and caught Sanguis on his back just as Shinohime crushed the enemy's Anieyajuu's skull with her talon.

Four of the Resurmanic (Again, not a real word. XD) Aneiyajuu spiraled to hit Faolan from all sides. Etoielle hissed through her teeth and smashed the skull of the Aneiyajuu that she was on, falling downward until Faolan caught her with his tail, flinging her up so that she landed at the base where his head and neck joined.

Faolan let out a screaming jet of fire all around him, knocking two of the four riders off their Aneiyajuu. Suddenly bullets whizzed past her like a storm of metal and she swore. "Undertaker! What the hell are you doing! Don't blow the smog away! They can shoot at- ngggh!" A bullet pierced right through Etoielle's right shoulder, causing her to let go of her DeathScythe. Thankfully Faolan caught it, but damage was already done. Etoielle was right handed, not left. And she needed two hands to wield her scythe. She let out a frustrated breath of air as the scythe disappeared. Ignoring the gaping hole on her shoulder, she hunched down behind one of Faolan's horns where there was a small crevice that she could shield herself in. Bullets did nothing to an Aneiyajuu's bones, but that was one of the problems. Aneiyajuu were only skeletons and offered barely any shelter from bullets.

Faolan whipped his tail around behind him, shattering the skulls of two of the Aneiyajuu. He let out another burst of flame at the other two who still had riders. They fell to the ground instantly from the impact of the flames, shattering their skulls.

Undertaker flew up next to Faolan, "Sorry, I felt the benefit of Shinohime's wind was worth losing the smoke cover. We can only have one or the other unless we break them into groups and isolate a select few in the smog. Otherwise" Shinohime barrel-rolled as a bullet flew by, Undertaker resumed speaking as if nothing had happened, "just keep dodging and hiding while Faolan takes care of the enemy." He summoned his own scythe and used the blade to block another incoming bullet.

Etoielle scowled at her senior, but agreed with his reasoning. She paused. "Then why don't we isolate them?" She called.

Faolan bit at another incoming Aneiyajuu breaking it's spine before he pierced it's skull with his tail. The rider fell and hit the ground with what could have been a sickening crunch, but Etoielle was too far up to be able to hear it. He roared as something latched into his tail.

An Aneiyajuu was biting his tail with an unforgicing grip as he tried to shake off the resurrected, undead creature.

Grecion flew at the beast biting Faolan's tail and smashed it's skull to pieces. Sanguis grinned. Now his master owed him one.

Just as this moment of pride came to him, one of the Resurmanics flew full force into Grecion, breaking three of his right side ribs clean off. Grecion howled in agony and lashed with his tail, dismounting the rider and Shinohime came finished it off. But that didn't solve the problem of Grecion flailing in pain. Sanguis was just barely hanging on.

Etoielle glared at her student, but proceeded to tell Faolan to retrieve the ribs before they hit the ground. (Dunno how on earth he would do that, but let's just say he did. XDDD) She saw no other Kronox members and scowled. There was no way that they had been sent here without a leader directing them, and she doubted that either Undertaker or Sanguis had run into whomever it was. She turned her attention to Sanguis, however because of the fact that he was flailing about on Grecion like a fish on a hook, though she kept half her attention on the surroundings as she looked for the leader of the squad that attacked them. "Grecion, be calm." She said. "Faolan has your ribs." (Again, don't know how on earth Faolan got them, but I'm going to break the rules of realism and act like a total idiot. 8D )

"Undertaker." She said, hoping that he would understand her meaning. Faolan still seemed restless even after they fought off all the underlings. There had to be a more powerful being somewhere. Likely the resurmancer himself because all of the people she had worked with when she had been stationed there knew nothing of Aneiyajuu and definately not resurmancy.

(well, in all fairness, Shinohime did manage to ninja behind them despite being larger than even Faolan. Unrealistic creatures can do unrealistic things cause they're awesome like that XDD)

At hearing that his missing bones had been recovered he had gained some sense. Etoielle's commanding tone when she told him to calm down also had an effect. Like Sanguis he picked up quick not to disobey her. He still twitched a little at the pain but nothing major. Sanguis himself was still a little shaken from the experience, but he soon walked it off.


Undertaker nodded to Etoielle. He figured the leader would hold back and leave his underlings to them. But it was about time for him to show himself and he wouldn't be nearly as easy to beat as these minions were. He and Shinohime looked around for any telltale sign of a Resurmantric and his rider.

Everything was silent for a while and Etoielle glared at everything and anything. Her nerves were on fire and her shoulder was searing with pain. If they had to fight a resurmancer, she would be in serious trouble.

Faolan sniffed the air and his head swung to the right. A low growl emitted from his nonexistant throat.

Etoielle frowned and spoke to Faolan in a low tone. In one sudden movement, Faolan shot a blast of fire in the direction he was facing.

A blaring screech was heard from behind a mountain and an enormous creature of unknown species reared up. It screetched and that very screech sent a shockwave, blasting Faolan and Etoielle backwards, straight into the mountain. The creature screeched again and disappeared off into the distance, but not before a man in a white suit shot a few bullets at the party of three from on the back of the gruesome mass of bones and flesh.

Faolan laid motionless and Etoielle couldn't be seen.

Grecion twisted in the air to protect Sanguis from the incoming bullets while Shinohime stayed still as Undertaker followed the rider with his eyes calmly as he flew away, his eternal smile faded from his face for a moment. It returned again as he watched Grecion fly towards Faolan's still body. It amused him that Grecion had become attached to Faolan, like an younger sibling might attach to his elder brother. Sanguis was glaring in the direction of the resurmancer, with his typical insane blood lust, but Undertaker had a feeling that he was at least a little concerned for the well-being of his master. He wouldn't admit it of course, he might not even be aware of it himself because of his insanity. That made it all the more amusing. He chuckled and then proceeded to wonder if Faolan was faking or not, even for him, that was no small hit they took.


Sanguis's hair flew around his face as Grecion rushed towards Faolan. He didn't like how easy he took down Etoielle when she was already on a level too far above his. He wanted to tear that man and his demented mount to pieces and watch them bleed... but he knew was impossible. That only infuriated him further.

A/N: WOW.... long time no post. XD Gonna start it back up again, though. :3 For the LOLZ!

Etoielle lay still for a few minutes. Her whole body ached all over from being thrown into the base of the mountain. For her, these minutes felt like hours. Her head hurt and she was sure that she had blood running down her face. Not only that but her right leg was also bleeding profusely.

Finally the older shinigami moved, struggling into a sitting position. She tried to focus, but found that it was very difficult. She moved to take her glasses off, but she found that those were missing. She sighed. That explained it. In the distance she could barely make out the siloutte of Grecion in the sky. She noted rather dumbly that the silouete was getting larger which probably meant that he was coming closer. Of course, all of this took about two minutes to deduce because of her blow to the head. A minor concussion was probably possible. "Faolan...?" She called. She could make out the form of her Aneiyajuu around her. But what she didn't see was that there was no smoke. Not even the slightest trace of it which would normally have been there when an Aneiyajuu faked a vacation(s). "Faolan?" Etoielle's heart froze. As out of it as she may have been, she knew that Faolan had broken her fall. Also, as clueless as she looked in that moment she knew something was wrong. Something was terribly, terribly wrong.

YUSH, the LOLZ is gud!! XD

Grecion stopped in the air about 100 feet above the ground where Faolan lay surronding Etoielle, and circled the air, not wanting to proceed further. He sensed that there was something wrong with his superior and refused to touch ground despite how much Sanguis coaxed him to. In the end Sanguis gave up and simply jumped off, landing on the ground with a thud but mostly unharmed (because that's how shinigami logic XP) some distance off from what remained of Faolan and started walking towards where his master was.

Undertaker on the other hand had gotten Shinohime to land awhile ago and had silently approached Etoielle and placed a comforting hand on her back and held out one of his bone cookies with the other, ear to ear grin still plastered on his face. "Don't worry my apprentice, Faolan will be fine." He said in his crackly voice. He was quite sure he would be, impacting with a mountain should only momentarily KO a beast such as him. However, with the force of that shockwave...

Etoielle numbly stared at the cookie for a long time before lightly pushing Undertaker's hand aside. She didn't want a cookie. Not now anyways.

Etoielle was always a cold and semi-heartless master. Her subordinate knew that first hand. What not many knew was that she also had a sensitive side to her. One that rarely showed but was still somehow there. This side of her was threatening to come out now. She reached out and lightly ran her fingers down one of Faolan's horns. "Faolan. Wake up." She tried to keep her voice even but failed miserably as the sound of panic was evident in her tone. Her eyes were once again focusing better than they had. Well enough for her to see that the smoke had indeed dissipated.

There was a long pause yet the Aneiyajuu still did not stir.

"...Faolan... please... wake up..." Her voice shook with a harsh crack at the end. She knew why Faolan was not stirring. She knew the harsh truth which slapped her in the face as tears leaked from her eyes without her permission. This time Faolan wouldn't wake up. This time Faolan was dead.

(A/N: Aneiyajuu still can disappear. I can't remember how the other Aneiyajuu-things were killed so lets just say that Faolan's skull was cracked which killed him because the skull is the most vital part of an Aneiyajuu)

Sanguis approached them while Etoielle was on the verge of tears discovering the fate of her trusted friend. He titled his head with his mouth slightly open than looked at the ground awkwardly. He was a cold blooded killer and that's all he'd ever been, he hadn't an inkling how comfort anyone in mourning. In the end he decided to sit down looking at the ground with his back to Etoielle, allowing his teacher to show her emotions and keep her dignity, something he knew was usually very important to her.

From far above, Grecion let out a loud wail at the loss of his respected elder and friend. He landed on the ground and curled up around the lifeless bones that were Faolan. He let out another and wail and was then silent.

Undertaker had figured his words were meaningless, he had tried to believe that Faolan would pull through but it was all for naught. He pulled his hand back smoothly as Etoielle pushed it away and put his hands together in his usual pose however, his smile lost in light of what had transpired. Meanwhile Shinohime stayed in the background, she had seen enough vacation(s) and suffering for this to not phase her, so she lingered away from the group, allowing them their moment of sadness.

(WARNING: There are swears in this post. Read at your own risk. XD)

"They killed him... They killed my Faolan..." Etoielle wailed into her hands. Her childhood friend. The one she had grown up with and fought with. He was gone. It was a good five to ten minutes before she balled her fists as her head whipped in the direction of where the last Resurmancer had disappeared to. Tears were still streaming down her cheeks as her calm demeanor shattered in an instant. She would kill them. She would make them pay for what they had done. Her shoulders ceased shaking and she bared her teeth. She was seething. Seething with an anger that she had not shown for hundreds of years. The only one to have previously seen this type of anger was her master and it was never good to be on the receiving end. (A/N: I am writing a side-story of Etoielle during her apprenticeship, so you'll get to know how that happened later. XD)

"FIRST MY BROTHER AND THEN THIS?! FILTHY BASTARDS!" She screamed. "MARK MY WORDS, YOU WILL FEAR THE DAY I FIND YOU!" The female Shinigami's voice carried for miles, resounding on every rock, every crevice in those far off mountains. She stood up, anger rolling of her shoulders in waves as she willed her scythe back into it's compact form. "When I get my hands on them they will regret the day they chose to kill a Shinigami's Aneiyajuu."

(Awesome, that would actually be useful since I'm controlling her master in this roleplay. And now I have to go back and read to figure some stuff out)

Miles away a figure in a black cloak stood atop a mountain, he watched the fight with glee. Everything was going according to plan. At hearing Etoielle's yell he knew the beast was dead and it's owner was in despair. "Those resumancers are something else. Kogouer will be pleased at this." A gust of wind and he turned to smoke and vanished now that the target was eliminated.

(boom, mysterious cameo! I wonder who it could be <.< >.>)

Undertaker wasn't sure they would, in fact, he almost saw this outcome the moment he realized her brother's cinematic records were stolen. Kronox wasn't aiming to kill Etoielle, but they were singling her out in their mind games. They've been mucking with her brain from the start in every possible way. They were pushing her buttons hard. He wanted to say something to her, but didn't think they would be so bold as to attack so soon, he was wrong. Retirement has not been good for me, it seems I'm off my game...

Sanguis stood up now. He pulled out his sword and shoved into the ground with no purpose other than to be dramatic. "Master... is the time approaching to when their blood will shed?"

(YAY! PLOT TWIST!!! :3)

Etoielle huffed. Oh how she wanted to see their blood rolling in waves across the rocks. She wanted to hear their pleads for mercy. But she was powerless against the Resurmancers. They had their creatures and not even the most skilled Shinigami could fend them off. Even Etoielle Gaelton, the apprentice of the Undertaker would be able to stop them. Her head was spinning as she remembered the letter Kronox had sent her. Three days... it had already been two... tomorrow would be her last day before something happened to her brother's soul. And she knew for a fact that the CEO's would keep to their word. She had to act fast. But how... She growled. It was all overwhelming. The transfer, the letter, her brother, the attack, and now her Faolan. All for the information she carried and had not given to them. There was nothing she could do unless...

"Shalbiri..." She whispered as all her anger dissipated and a type of excited anxiety settled in. Yes, she could ask her... But it would be riskier than anything Etoielle had ever tried before. The thing she had been hiding from Kronox, the power scource they were looking for; Etoielle knew where it was and what to do. The only problem was that she would be displaying the very thing that she was trying to hide. If it got into Kronox's hands, then all would be lost and possibly the whole Shinigami population would be wiped out. But it was either that or letting her brother disappear and Kronox finding her and extracting the information forcefully. Either way Kronox could prevail.

(YAY, , even cooler and suspenseful plot twist!!)

Sanguis pulled his sword out of the ground and walked over to Etoielle and kneeled with his head bowed like a loyal knight. "What's our next move, master?" Because now that Etoielle seemed to be calmer Sanguis was affected and became surprisingly calm as well. The calmest he had been throughout this entire ordeal. He was ready to find out what came next and Etoielle seemed to know.

Undertaker chuckled at this scene. He, in truth, also had a curiosity for what she had planned, she seemed to have something planning in her mind. "Hehe, now what's the Shalbiri?" he asked about the word she had muttered before becoming lost in thought.

Etoielle frowned. Oh, for God's sake, Undertaker, have you been living under a rock?! "She's the Aneiyajuu Queen." She explained. "An extremely powerful being which Kronox wants to use to power their machine, if they can get to it. They could use Shinigami souls, but it would be easier to just use Shalbiri as the power source and annihilate the rest of the Shinigami population. Follow?"

Undertaker laughed, "Of course I knew that. I was asking for young Sanguis's benefit, since he didn't hear obviously I felt it would be best if I asked, thus sparring him the need to ask." this was obviously all a load of bull peetinkle, Undertaker was just covering for his bunghole. He knew all about the Queen, just not her name.

Etoielle gave Undertaker the I don't believe you look and rolled her eyes. "Of course you did..." She glanced at Sanguis. "Faolan was her hundredth son. Most Aneiyajuu are created by necromancers, but the Queen has the ability to create them herself." Which meant that she would naturally want to help Etoielle.

(Oh, god. I'm starting to get a writer's block! Ryan! Help me! D:> )

(alright, I shall see what i can do!)

Undertaker chuckled and turned to Sanguis, "You see Sanguis, despite the astronomical risk in bringing the Queen so close to Kronox, she is powerful enough to help us stop them. Like in a chess game, sometimes it becomes necessary to put the queen in harms way for a strategic checkmate."

Sanguis frowned, "So we'll really be able to just go and speak to the queen of Aneiyajuu at the drop of a hat? Speaking of, where does she live, with the Aeirkrouks?" Sanguis, of course, sincerely underestimated, as always, his master's influence and how deeply connected with the demon-tamers Etoielle was.

(I still have no idea where this is going, but it's been too long and I'm bored. XDD)

Etoielle snorted at Sanguis' question. "Not exactly 'at the drop of a hat.'" Her face darkened. "Actually, she does not like with the Aeikrouks as one may believe. It would too close to Kronox. It will take at least a month to contact her and get a response, and I doubt she will be able to get back to us in that small amount of time. Especially when the messenger birds take forever and a day to travel to where she lives..." (I totally just paved the way for some serious filler action! XD) Etoielle actually did not know how to get to Shalbiri herself. The Aneiyajuu queen was far, far away, possibly in another dimension all together. The only person who would know the actual location of said queen would be the caretaker of the messenger birds. Her face twisted with disgust. "Oh god, why?" The caretaker was a perverted man with a serious hygiene problem as well. She was not looking forward to visiting him to send her message to Shalbiri...

(Pffft, because screw structured plot, makin' it all up as we go along is so much more fun XDDD)

Sanguis tilted his head,"Why what, how do we contact the Queen?" His confusion was increased as Undertaker broke out laughing. "Oh my, this should be fun. You probably dislike him, don't you Elly. He is always a bit...forward with the ladies, isn't he?" Undertaker happened to be close personal friends with the Caretaker, because obviously, if a person is creepy and/or weird in any way, Undertaker has some involvement. Sanguis,with a 'wtf are you talking about' look piped in, "Huh, who are you talking about and where do we have to go?"


(whoo, all the random filler crap to come XDDD)

The scowl on Etoielle's face did not fade. If anything, it got worse. (Think the Excalibur face from Soul Eater) "The Caretaker. He works with messenger birds who can send a message to The Queen. He's... an interesting character... to say the least..." She glared at Undertaker. She hated going there and it didn't help that whenever she did, Undertaker would just fall on the floor to giggle and drool incessantly while she tried to pry the Caretaker off of her.