The Red Lion Hotel, Sacramento.

"I hear a lot of things."

"Thanks for the information. I really only have one other question that has been bothering me, and I apologize for it being intrusive. It has been bothering me, and I figured it was worth asking, even if you didn't want to answer. What exactly are you?"

Praetorious paused. He had been expecting the question. And he supposed it was within Argyle's rights to ask. After all, Argyle had seen him get up after being shot in the head. And the fact that one of his hands was nothing but bone. And that his eyes were black. He sighed.

"It's a fair question. And I will answer it. But you have to answer something for me first, Argyle, and you have to answer truthfully. I hate to sound like a Holder, but I'll know if you're lying."

He leaned forward, black eyes locking with Argyle's.

"Why do you Seek? And don't give me something about bringing Them together. What caused you to start Seeking? Why do you continue to do it?"

"Why do I Seek?" He thought over the question. He had expected questions, but that one was low on the list. Praetorius' black eyes locked with his, and he knew that he told the truth about detecting lies.

He thought back to the moment Bayle died. When he found out, that was when he decided to start Seeking. He found his answer there. He didn't know whether or not Praetorius would like the answer, but he would tell it anyway.

"Get comfortable," he started. "I'll be as detailed as I can.

"I lost control of my life when a man named Jack Empty murdered my wife. That was when I discovered the Objects and the Holders, too. Everything went downhill from there. I lost everything. The only thing I have left is a smear of Bayle's blood on her old rifle. At first, I went after the Objects looking for some way to get control back. But, it would lead me nowhere. I was overwhelmed with rage. I wanted to kill Jack Empty, and any other smug son-of-a-bitches like him that go around bringing people into this damn world. But, I've thought about it real hard over the past few years, and I think I've got myself a goal.

"I want to find a way to stop all of this. I don't know if it's really possible, but it's the only thing I can think about doing. This Holding and Seeking nonsense. Jack Empty. It's all a big excuse to kill each other and go insane over nothing but magical collector's items. I was brought into this world against my will, and I want my revenge against the entire damn system. I don't know what I have to do. If I can kill Jack Empty, I'll do it. If I have to kill Holders and Seekers alike, I'll do it. If I can destroy the Objects themselves, I'll do it. Every day I'm around Holders and Objects, I feel like I'm wading in a pool of everything perverted and corrupted about human nature. Even me--someone who has lived off of others' corruption as a weapons trader--am disgusted by it all.

"I don't have the power to stop it as I am. This is even clearer these past few days when I'm confronted by people like you, and those monsters, and a man that can hypnotize you with only his words. And the Hollow Man. I'm just a regular human, no powers, no immortality, no nothing. So, as much as it disgusts me, the only power I can seek to put an end to all of this is Objects. I'll gladly discard the Cane; it's useless to me. The Rifle I am hanging onto. I want to use its power against its own kind. I want to use it to put a hole in the people running this circus show.

"That's my reason for Seeking, to end Seeking itself. It's paradoxical, but I'm fairly sure you have no problem understanding it. Call me foolish if you will, but I have nothing else. I'm just a guy looking for revenge."

He sat back and crossed his arms, having never broken eye contact with the man. He was winded, yet he felt relaxed. It was very cathartic; he wouldn't put any bets on the next time he would be able to fully explain something like this to someone else, and not have them immediately institutionalize him.

Praetorious sat silently as Argyle told his story, processing it. When he finished, leaning back, seeming winded but as if somehow relieved, Praetorious knew that there was no way he could kill him. In a sense, Argyle wanted exactly what Praetorious wanted. He shook his head.

"Foolish? Paradoxical? No, I know exactly what you mean. Any idiot could see that you were telling the truth."

Praetorious sighed, catching his breath. It was time to fulfill his end of the bargain.

"In a way, I'm a lot like you. But after all I've seen, saying that the Reunion is anything but inevitable is wishful thinking. You see-"

He paused, thinking of how to proceed.

"What am I? The truth is, I don't know too well, either. I was human, once but that was a long time ago. I can't say when exactly, because I don't remember, but that must have been at least two thousand years ago. As you can see, I've changed a lot since then, and believe it or not, this is the least disturbing form I've ever been in. I became a Seeker after..."

Praetorious paused. No matter how much he trusted Argyle, there were some things he would never talk about.

"After Edo Edi Essum destroyed my life. Eventually, over the span of a few hundred years, I managed to get more than a thousand Objects. I almost became the Holder of Legion, actually, but the current Legion had the Hollow Man's help. I lost, and ended up creating a new body after my old one was destroyed. I'd forgot everything that happened to me, except that I was beaten by Legion, so I sought revenge on him, enlisting the help of Edo Edi Essum. I almost killed Legion, but the Balance intervened, and stopped me. Essum promised me power, and like an idiot I took it. Eventually, I became a vessel for his power, a host body for him. His servants cut a hole in my chest to house him."

Praetorious poked himself in the chest, his finger pushing the fabric of his shirt through the hole to demonstrate.

"Eventually, I forced him out by tearing him out of the hole in my chest. As you can see," he held up his left hand, "that was not without its consequences. Balance managed to somehow send him back in time, but that's about all I know about what happened to him. That was..." he paused for a moment, "six months, three weeks, four days, five hours, and eight minutes ago. Now, I return Seekers' Objects to the Holders they belong to. It isn't much, and it won't by any means stop the Reunion, but at least it's something, and it's a way to control myself. Essum's presence left in my mind left me with certain... scars."

If he had thought his own story had been dizzying, Praetorius' was a whirlwind. Edo Edi Essum? The Balance? He knew nothing of these names, bringing to light even more how ignorant he was of the entire situation. Legion he knew somewhat. The rumors he'd been able to find talked about him as the oldest and most powerful Holder, except the Holder of the End.

"You've obviously had a far rougher life than me," he said. "Though I must confess that I don't know about any of the people you've mentioned except a little about Legion. I don't have any information about the Objects and Holders but what I've gathered from online sources.

"Furthermore, I didn't expect you to be so old. Except for the fact that your name sounds a bit... Roman. "

He paused and thought over his last words.

"You return Seekers' Objects to Holders... And you seem to have had a bad experience with Empty as well. That's a comforting fact. Our goals are not too different."

Praetorious could see that it was a lot for Argyle to take in. Of course, it would be a lot for anyone to take in, he supposed.

"They're insects, like the rest of us, except they feel as if their nigh-omnipotence came to them along with some kind of purpose. Some manifest destiny. It was Essum who reduced Manhattan to ash, and Balance who left Essum's legions unattended. Both are fools."

"Furthermore, I didn't expect you to be so old. Except for the fact that your name sounds a bit... Roman. "

He smirked ever so slightly. "I've aged well, depending on your opinion. And technically, it's not Roman- as far as I remember, Aeneas hadn't even been born yet."

"You return Seekers' Objects to Holders... And you seem to have had a bad experience with Empty as well. That's a comforting fact. Our goals are not too different."

"No, they're not. You're a far different Seeker than most I've encountered. I'm not going to take your Objects. You see... well, I'm sure you've heard of the killer who slices holes in his victims' chests. But I digress."

He paused for a moment. After thinking it over, Praetorious thought it was a decent decision.

"The fact is, I have a proposition for you. Being a former weapons dealer, you must have plenty of connections throughout the world. I don't know anyone. However, I do have a fair amount of knowledge, and certain other skills. If we worked together, I'm sure we could get to the heart of this Muramasa mystery."

((Ugh, I'm stupid.))

" It was Essum who reduced Manhattan to ash."

"Ha, I knew it wasn't an overseas attack. It all smelled way too fishy. I would be glad to work with you. I do have a few remaining connections, the biggest being..." He paused, frowning slightly. "A quite powerful individual in the underworld. He is a bit off in the head, I think, but I don't know that much about his private life. He lets me borrow loans, and we trade information as well. I'm not entirely sure if he knows about the Objects, but I can't know for sure.

He held out his hand politely. "It'll be nice working with you, serial killer." He allowed himself to smirk ever so slightly.

Praetorious felt something odd, an emotion he couldn't quite place. Was it excitement? Anticipation? Whatever the case, he knew that a step had been taken. With Argyle as an ally, Praetorious felt confident that they could find Muramasa, and defeat it if need be. With Argyle's connections and his abilities, they could probably even track down the Artificier, if that's what it was called.

He smirked back, taking Argyle's hand and shaking it firmly. "Likewise, weapons dealer."

Having all but forgotten about the presence he felt, Praetorious leaned back. "So, tell me about this connection. What does he have control of? And, for that matter, how 'off in the head' is he?"

Excitement or anticipation? It was both. For the first time since he could remember, Praetorious had an ally he could trust.

Argyle felt a little disdain at having to rely on Bello more often than usual. But, if it was for this, he would live.

"He's connected to just about anyone or any organization that's seedy. Night clubs, brothels, prostitution rings, mafias, black markets, you name it. He's gotten a hold of tons of top secrets and valuable information. As for his character, he's renowned as a ruthless person. Possibly a killer, but not like you. He enjoys hurting people to an extreme extent. The more pain he can cause someone, the happier he is. That's why he was able to climb to power so easily."

A killer, but not like you.

Praetorious was intrigued by how nonchalant Argyle was. It wasn't every day that someone was in the presence of a serial killer. Especially a two-thousand-year-old serial killer that survived gunshot wounds to the head and had a hole in his chest. But, Argyle seemed to be as hard to faze as Praetorious himself. That, or he'd simply given up any reality he might have previously known. Whichever.

"Interesting. Are you able to c-"

The door opened, and the annoying girl, Elata, burst through. Seeing that they were in the middle of a conversation, she made a quick apology before racing around the room, packing away her things. She hummed and sang the whole way, the sound irritating Praetorious. He shot Argyle a look, doing his best to roll his eyes. It wasn't a gesture he used often.

Argyle groaned silently as Elata rushed around the room. He matched Praetorius' expression. He dearly hoped this girl wouldn't stay long. He didn't want to have to use his gun. Actually, that was a slight lie; he would certainly love to use his gun on Elata, but would just rather avoid it for convenience's sake.

Luckily, she seemed to be in a hurry, and didn't look like she was going to stay and talk. He waited impatiently.

Elata packed her belongings quite quickly. When she was done she stood straight and waved. "Adios amigos!" she bade excitedly and then rushed back out the door.She skipped down the hall to inform Ciaran she was leaving. She stuck her head in and announced her departure indefinitely, closing the door as his angry "WHAT?!" echoed down the hallway, cutting it off just at the end. She cackled mischeviously wodn the hallway and ran down the stairs back to Michael who had decided to wait in the lobby, sliding down the last half of the banister. "Let's get to L.A.! I love road trips!" she clasped her hands in front of her and waited for him to lead the way. She realized she was being a bit abbraisive with her energy at the moment and tried to contain her excitement as she followed him to her new life. She did hum though, just a little bit.

Argyle sighed in relief as she dashed out the door.

"Thank goodness," he sighed. "What were you asking?"

---

Marnin peered around the corner, watching as Elata bounded down the stairs. Now there was only a few people left in the room. Praetorius, and two insignificant humans. He strode calmly down the hall and leaned against the wall.

He closed his eyes and opened his other senses. He could clearly feel Praetorius inside, and the faint forces of the male and female. All he was interested in was the former, though. He studied his energy carefully, undisturbed in the hallway just outside the door.

Elata had entered the room like a whirlwind, picking up everything in her path, moving at an intense speed, before leaving as suddenly as she'd come in. As far as Praetorious could tell, Ingrid was still outside, still occupied with whatever it was that troubled her so. It was just as well; it gave him and Argyle some privacy in which to talk.

"As I was saying," Praetorious finally spoke, "Is there any way you can contact this man? You'll forgive my prying and meddling- I haven't survived for two thousand years by leaving gaps in plans."

He was aware, suddenly, of the presence. He couldn't tell if it had changed in proximity to him, or even what it was, but it was suddenly very apparent to him. What could it be? If it resonated with him so, it should have been something familiar, but Praetorious had never felt anything like this. If he had, he would most certainly have remembered. Had Essum? He knew that there were still remnants of the Devourer buried inside of him, thoughts and memories and emotions not his own. Could this be one of them? And if so, was it dangerous?

(OoC- Sorry for taking so long. I was busy all day. D:)

Argyle nodded. "I have his number. I can reach him at any time." He pulled out his cell phone. "Regrettably, I often have to ask him for loans, so he's practically on speed dial."

Then he noticed that Praetorius looked distracted. The man's black eyes looked around the room suspiciously, as if he felt like someone was watching them. Knowing that Ingrid was of not much concern, he began to worry.

"Is something wrong? You look a little worried."

"I see," Praetorious said. It would probably be a good idea to get in touch with this contact personally, just to see who he was. Of course, that would be assuming the presence didn't get to them first. He was still perturbed by it. What was it? The question was beginning to annoy him. And what did it want? If Essum knew about it, there was a good probability it was coming for him. Would it kill Argyle or Ingrid? He wasn't particularly worried about Ingrid dying, but Argyle was too valuable to lose at the moment.

Argyle seemed to notice Praetorious' unease, following his eye movements. "Is something wrong? You look a little worried."

Praetorious blinked. "It could be nothing," he said, "but I can sort of... sense something. A presence of some sort. I have no idea how close it is to us, but I think it's in the hotel. And it seems familiar. Not to me, per se, but maybe to Essum. And anything associated Edo Edi Essum is probably none too happy with me. I'd advocate being on guard."

He frowned and his eyes slid to the door. He wouldn't so easily dismiss Praetorius' feelings. He didn't have a good feeling about the hotel, but he never really had good things about anything. And the fact that his Cane disappeared in this building only made him feel more on edge.

"I'm always on my guard. But I'll be more so. This Edo Edi Essum of course sounds like demon at best, so anything having to do with him can't be good. I'll keep my eyes out for anything. I also slightly suspect it might have to do with my Cane being taken as well..."

Praetorious gave a grim smirk. "'Demon' doesn't really go far enough. Imagine the end of everything, condensed into a tall humanoid shape. Everyone around him died, except for the ones he spared. Their eyes turned to ash and ran out of their sockets, and they became mindless servants. Needless to say, sharing a body with such an entity, if it's even classifiable as an entity, was less than pleasant. But yes, it is highly possible that this presence is linked to the Cane being stolen."

He looked at the door, as if staring at it long enough would allow him to see through it. In fact, it would probably take him several weeks to be able to do such a thing.

"Of course, it could be on the other side of the hotel. Or on a floor far above us. The problem is that I really have no idea."

"That sounds terrifying..." groaned Argyle. Demon doesn't go far enough? Is he like the Devil himself, or even worse? A creature that was able to kill anyone around it without even touching them...

"Should we do anything about it?" he asked. "Or should we just stay and wait?"

Then he thought... It couldn't be Edo Edi Essum itself could it?

"When you say Balance sent him back in time... If he's so powerful, was he still not able to escape from that? And furthermore... if he got sent back in time, couldn't he just wait around until the present rolled back around again?"

Praetorious considered the question. "Could Essum break the time seal? I can't say I know exactly how it works. From what I understand, he's occupied fighting Balance's predecessor. Essum killed him the first time, so I can't imagine him being held for long. Or maybe they're trapped in some kind of loop. Either way, the seal can't possibly be permanent."

He got up, walking to the door. Just stay and wait? He wasn't sure he wanted to. The presence wasn't leaving. And was it even coming for them? It obviously wasn't Essum himself. He'd probably have been dead or dying already.

Praetorious spoke in a hushed tone. "Let's take a walk, and see if it's in the immediate area. If it isn't, then we'll have time to prepare. If it is, it's probably waiting for us, and we might be able to surprise it. What do you say?"

"That sounds preferable than waiting for it to ambush us instead." He sat up and drew out Bayle's Springfield rifle. "I don't know if this is okay to use, but I have no other weapons right now. And after the circus, I don't think I'm worried too much about being seen with guns."

---

Marnin opened his eyes slightly, coming out of his meditation. Praetorius was coming toward the door. He had managed to analyze him from afar, a fair amount, but he wasn't satisfied quite yet. He needed more information about the vessel still. He needed to encounter him like this.

His right hand tightened around the Cane, and his left tightened around an empty syringe in his pocket.

Offhandedly, Praetorious felt his pocket. Nothing. He crossed to the bedside table, moving things aside, rummaging through drawers. Finally he came across what he was looking for: one of his syringes had survived the battle. It was even still half full of his toxic solution. Not much, but it was all he had as a weapon. Walking back over to Argyle, he flicked the barrel twice, trying to rid it of air bubbles. If the creature was even vaguely human, the solution might allow him to subdue it.

Closing his skeletal left hand around the doorknob, he turned it slowly and fluidly so that it scarcely made a sound. He stopped for a moment, waiting to hear some kind of reaction. If the presence was nearby, it might react to them exiting the room.

He motioned to Argyle, gesturing toward the right side of the door.

Argyle nodded and moved up to the right side of the door, holding his rifle up close. He was also very silent as well, and his heart rate increased. His pupils dilated, sliding back into "battle mode." His hands closed tightly around his gun. He instinctively felt that what they sought was very nearby. If not... he wasn't taking any chances anyway.

---

On the other side of the door, a heart rate was decreasing. Marnin's "battle mode" was precisely the opposite. He drew in a long, silent breath, filling his lungs more and more and more. Several seconds passed as he breathed in, and his lungs swelled to well as full as they could get. His heart rate continued to slow... 60 bpm... 50... 35... 20... 10... He should be dead. His heart rate slowed to such a degree that he should have been in a deep coma. But yet, he stood. His skin tingled and his hair stood on end, as his muscles reverted to using more magical energy than oxygen from his blood.

His grip tightened around the Cane, which he now gripped with both hands. After several decades, this ritual was what he had settled on to defend himself in dangerous circumstances. It had not failed him yet.

He watched the doorknob turn very, very slowly.

Praetorious could see Argyle's pupils dilating, could know instinctively that his heart rate was rising. And yet, Argyle was far from nervous. If anything, he was entirely the opposite- he seemed to slide almost readily into the state he was now in. Obviously, he'd been in combat before. Hardly surprising, considering the fact that the man was once a weapons dealer.

Praetorious' own pupils remained the same, and indeed he showed no outward sign of anticipating a struggle. His emotions could be called dead, or flat, as they always were, but there was also the knowledge that something completely unknown lay beyond the door. And it was related to Essum. These facts came to him as cold, sterile ideas, things that were studied and analyzed dispassionately and at a distance.

There was no movement on the other side of the door, as far as he could tell. He let go of the knob, letting it return to its original position. Transferring the syringe to his left hand, Praetorious extended two fingers of his right, gesturing toward Argyle.

Go right.

Then he made a fist, swinging at the door but stopping just before he hit it. He assumed Argyle understood what he meant. Bracing his left arm against the door, he placed one palm under it, also against the door. He drew his arm back.

Although thin and lanky, Praetorious was deceptively powerful. He could crush bones with his hands, and lift around two and a half times his own weight. So when his palm crashed into the door, it tore free from the hinges, slamming into the door to the room across the hall. A loud bang was heard from the door's impact, and in the split-second window Praetorious saw a man standing there near the doorway.

He had blonde hair, and pink eyes.

Ingrid started as she heard a bang from inside the room. She looked back through the glass balcony doors in surpise, her mouth in a perfect 'o' and her eyes wide. The golden eyed man had busted the door down! What on earth had he done that for?! Argyle was with him too. She opened the door of the balcony. "What are you doing?!" she couldn't help but ask. Ingrid was not a soldier in any way, she didn't take into account that she might be a distraction, or get in the way, or that whatever was outside the door might be dangerous. All that she could think was that these odd men who had been in such odd dealings had broken the door to the hotel, and that Ciaran wouldn't be happy about it. At just that moment she heard the elevator door open and Ciaran's voice, "WHAT THE FUCK?! I swear to god all i do for you guys and you-GAH!" She saw a flash of metal as Ciaran threw a knife towards Praetorius' shoulder. God things were happening again. Had God cursed her for something? These men weren't to be trifled with though, she hoped Ciaran had been drunk enough to miss.

Marnin didn't flinch as the door slammed next to him, just inches away. His eyes met Praetorius' and he understood something instantly. This man was emotionless, was just as analytical as he was. He was Edo Edi Essum's former vessel.

Argyle exited to door, preparing to head down the hall to the right, but instead drew his rifle up to Marnin's forehead. At the same time, there was the silver glint of a dagger soaring in Praetorius' direction, thrown by a man that had just emerged from the elevator. Yet also at the same time, a woman from inside the room screamed at them.

Marnin didn't hesitate. Praetorius would be slightly distracted by the dagger, even if infintesimally. His Cane shot out in front of him, tapping the bottom of the rifle's barrel just enough to cause the aim to drift 5 inches to the top-left of his head, and shot it out further to strike Argyle just below where his jaw met his neck. Argyle gasped slightly as his trigger arm went numb and dropped limply to the side. It was all over in less than one second, and Marnin turned his attention to the vessel.