Greyhound Bus, USA/Canada Border

The hooded man's journey was significantly shorter than it should have been. Almost magically short, he was sure that the bus driver must have been speeding, and that it was a more than lucky coincidince that the traffic was almost zero. They had traveled the country, from Kansas to the Canadian border, just before sunrise.

Alright so he may have sped things up a little, but could you blame him?

His lover was missing, for three days now, and if she wasnt at her brother's house in B.C. he was finding her magically. It wasnt like her to just run off, especially not on him, something must be getting to her. If the cloaked man knew what it was he mihgt ahve been able to fix it.

But now with her just up and leaving he had no idea what to do. He made a promise to not use his magic, which he hadn't broken. Much. Therefore he coudltn just show up, he justified his posessive attitude toward her by telling himself that as long as he didn't use his powers, he was jsut the average boyfriend looking for the average girlfriend.
Of course if this boyfriend did not find this girlfriend it could mean she is being tortured by all unknown methods of grotesque punishment by beings never heard of by the mortal realm.

the thought had crossed his mind only once that she was in danger, and for that brief moment in time, the hooded man had a panic attack. Quickly he felt the robe hidden beneath his jacket wave as his mood changed. He faught back the emotion and settled himself. If something had happened to her he would heve felt it.

He grumbled to himself.
One way or another, Shelby, I find you tomarrow.


=====
OoC: i thought it would be coincidentialy ironic or humerous or interesting if another character was on the same bus as balance unaware (or aware O.o) of his presence.
===

Another man sat on the bus just a mere few feet away, stretching and yawning as if he had just been awakened from a very long sleep.

In a way, he really had.

But, now he had contacts inn his eyes which hid their true appearance, and he stared tiredly straight ahead. He had woken up unsure of what to do, and now he was entirely certain...he had no idea where to go. He had woken in this body shortly after the man had suffered a stroke in his sleep, here on the bus.

He needed help.

He needed an ally.

There was no turning back at this point, Hellhounds would be on his ass sooner than he could blink after the outburst of emotion he had had while fighting Elata and Michael. The man sat, drumming his fingers annoyingly against the seat in front of him, staring at the passengers ahead for anyone who could be of help.

A blond-haired man.

An old, mumbling senior citizen with a hat.

A brown-haired woman with cold and calculating eyes darting around.

A hooded man with a lean build and a paranoid stare.

Dammit!

None of these people seem they would do him any good, and the man was running out of time. His fingers appeared like spiders, dangling down overt he empty seat before him. He was nervous, he was paranoid, and for the first time, he was scared. He pulled out a cell phone and flipped through his list of contacts, adding in numbers he had memorized from friends long past.

Perhaps Praetorious would elp?

Maybe Harley?

Corin?

Jude grumbled to himself, entirely unaware that perhaps the most powerful potential ally of all time sat directly ahead of him by a few seats.

The hooded man sensed fear. It was a coy fear, something trying to be hidden but indeed The man felt it as if the fear itself was his. He looked around at the passangers, Nothing out of the ordinary, just regulat mortals with no magics in them, no special powers, jsut a slight notion of unease. The more the hooded man consontrated, the more he realized that it wasn't just a fear, but a paranoia, a fear of something and that something wasn't what normal men feared. It was a fear only a Seeker could have.

Damnit, he had been so used to feeling the Object and Seeker imbalances and pressences that he had grown accustomed to them. The hooded man stood from his seat and survayed the passengers on the bus, one of them was familliar with the objects and at the very least he could give the hooded man some company.

Strange that he felt he could only be kept amused by thoes of the Objects and Seekers. He made a mental note that he'd try and converse and interact with human beings without any offiliation.

The man that stood out the most was a man in the middle of the bus, he was hunched voer and somewhat muttering to himself.

The hooded man got up and stode gracefully toward the seat, he sat down next to the man and the man turned to face him. The Hooded figure exteneded his hand,
"Hello," he said, "My name is Dallas."

Within Jude, a slight tension built as the man in the hood stood up, walked over, and sat down beside him. He turned to face the figure, a look of wild, imaginative paranoia in his eyes. What trickery was this? Had the Objects sent some new force out to capture him? Who was this man?

"Hello." The hooded man spoke with a very pretentious, verbose elegance to him. "My name is Dallas." It contradicted the way Jude spoke in every way, very regal and precise, was this man with his words.

Was this a Demon?

A disguise for Hellhounds?

A...regular human?

Or perhaps...perhaps this was a friend. Jude mulled over the thought of meeting an ally right within this bus, cracking a grin at the coincidence of it. His grin was long and sickly, showing his disfigured, yellow teeth. "The name's Jude, how are ya'?"

His eyes flashed a little with excitement. Had he stumbled upon some new friend, one whom could help him in his race to escape the Objects' wrath?

'I always seem to get the reall winners, don't I?'

The thought was not entirely untrue.

Dallas was taken back by jude's apperance, but thought nothing of it. It was wrong of him to judge someone on how they looked. after all, he was wearing a cloak with its own soul wherever he went, it wasnt exactly normal.

But still...

"Im sure I have no idea, Jude, that was your name wasnt it?"

"Yes... how'd you-"

"Know? I'm sure you must have told me," Dallas lied.

"Yeah? ok. Where ya goin'?"

"Canada, my friend."

"Yeah no shit I mean where."

"hahaha, indeed you did Jude. Indeed you did. I am going to my Girlfriend's brother's place of residence, British Columbia. How about you?"

"Ah, I'm just..." Jude glanced out the window for a moment, "Going."

"Running?" Prompted Dallas.

"No," Jude lied.

Dallas could sense that he was lying through his teeth, maybe it was time to earn this mans trust. Dallas could also sense within the fear the primal urge to consume sustainance. Jude felt as if he hadnt eaten in days.

"You are hungry?" Said Dallas, more of a statement than a question.

"Y-Yeah, I ate the last of my granola bars 'bout an hour ago. But other than that... nothing but tid bits of shit food for three days."

Dallas smiled, "What about the pizza in your difflebag, Jude?"

"Theres no pizza in my difflebag."

Dallas smiled a bit more; "Check."

What?

Jude was confused and disturbed by this man's attitude; so friendly, so knowing. Like he had known Jude his whole life, and would help with anything the Forsaken One asked. You did not often come across people such as this 'Dallas' on travels like Jude's.

But pizza in his duffelbag?

Maybe 'Dallas' was just plain crazy and wanted to axe Jude. Of course if that were true, Jude would have the upper hand; as far as he knew, 'Dallas' was simply a human and he was a being of disturbia-style powers.

'What the Hell? I'll humor the guy for a bit.'

Jude chuckled to himself as he reached down for his duffelbag, pulling the item up onto his lap and undoing the zipper.

"See, there ain't pizza in here, I didn't pack....any....pizza?"

There within his backpack was a perfectly good pizza, wrapped in ceran wrap, comfortably resting on top of Jude's pillow. Not only that...when Jude reached in and felt it, it was warm!

Real food!

A real meal!

Was this guy magic?

Jude's head swiveled, his thin neck causing it to bob a little. He had wild hair which framed his face, and all in all, was not a good looking man in his present state. But for now, he gaped in utter friendly shock, astonished tht this 'Dallas' had given him anything at all, let alone that he could.

"What's your angle, buddy? I ain't looking for charity, or trouble..." Jude's eyebrows raised up and down, up and down.

He was suspicious, but in a way, his paranoia had dwindled down to mere curiosity about this man.

He wanted to know more about 'Dallas'.

"No angle, I can very well assure you that, Jude. I am simply a bit of a traveller myself, you see. And I only wished to aid you in your escape, Jude."

(OoC: I fucking love the line "Ah, I'm just....Going." You nailed Jude.)

Dallas guessed he would be blunt; "No angle, I can very well assure you that, Jude. I am simply a bit of a traveller myself, you see. And I only wished to aid you in your escape, Jude." He reached into his picket and produced a bottle of water, handing that to Jude as well. He reached in the other and took one for himself.

Dallas began to fill the area with the emotion of awareness, he hadn't used this skill in a while and it took a lot longer than it sould have. Jude probably didnt feel it much, after all, there wasnt a lot of emotion being emitted and he was oo busy diving into the pizza.

"you even got my favorite kind!" said Jude gleefully with his mouth full, spitting crumbs on Dallas's jacket. Dallas wiped them off.
"Sorry."

"Do not fret about the crumbs, Jude, it happens to the best of us," Dallas was trying to sound as comforting as possible.

Jude finished eight sclices before he started slowing down enough to talk comprehensably. The first question was the most obvious question.

"Who are you?" asked Jude.

"I am Dallas, like I believe I have mentioned before."

"Nonono not what Mean. I mean-" Jude started.

"What am I?" finished Dallas.

"And how do you-"

"Know what you're going to say next?" Dallas smiled.

"Stop that."

"I have a certain set of powers that make me a good friend to have, Jude. However if you do not mind, I would like to converse about your situation, Is that acceptable?"

Jude must have been feeling some awareness, because he nodded in replace of giving verbal concent.

"What is after, you, Jude?"

Jude looked puzzled at Dallas, "Why dont ya just read my mind and find out."

"Finding specific things or thoughts in peoples minds is harder than it comes across. Your brain processes about five hundred thousand thoughts a second, to find but a handful in that jumbled maze, especially in your mind, Jude, is not such an easy task. I could do it, but it would be easier for me, not to mention you, to simply tell me."

Jude nodded again, feeling that Dallas wasn't lying to him.

"I'm running from Hellhounds."

Dallas looked almost taken back, almost. "The demon Helldounds, Jude? What kind of event could make it come for you?"

'Finding things in my mind is harder than most?'

Well, in all actuallity that wasn't horrendously surprising to Jude. His mind worked like a computer system, housing all the memories, thoughts, and feelings of his past and present hosts. Jude could choose to tap into one host's 'folder' of thought, and remember something they had known about or felt during their time alive.

But doing so required Jude to flip back through past 'folders', and the process was too tedious; that, and it render him catatonic, which wasn;t to great when you're on the lam.

"The demon, Hellhounds, Jude? What kind of event could make it come for you?"

Despite the feeling of calmness that had settled in on him,(and he could guess the feeling came from Dallas), Jude was beginning to grow annoyed with the constant persistence of the hooded man into his business. Jude, afterall, was a bad man, and bad men have much to hide.

"Aah, shit. Not really an event, ya' could say I'm a 'fugitive from the law.' 'Cept, the law happens to be the Objects, and they want ME as part of...well, Them." His word choicing was sloppy, and he knew it must have been ahrd to understand him; he rather liked things that way.

Jude turned and eyed the people around, as the bus came to a stop. Anyone of them could betray him; and they didn't even know him! His paranoia was beginning to resurface.

Could it be the woman? No, too shifty as it is.

The blond? Perhaps.

The 'innocent' old man with the hat? Very likely. Hellhounds always chose disguises liek that, they were pathetically useless on Jude by now.

Craning his neck back to Dallas, he peered out the open window at te bus stop.

"You gettin' off here? Or got a ways to go? It ain't like I've really got much choise but to accept a buddy on this, and ou seem nice enough." He grinned his sarcastic, gnarled grin once more. His hand extended, bony fingers and all, for a shake.

"How's 'bout it? Buddies?"

Near the back.

He and another.

Who is the other? Human.

The Objects fury shall be unleashed upon this-

And then we stood atop the cliff and looked down, down at the souls in Hell and howled at the-

We must attack. Soon, the Forsaken of the Objects shall leave.

We must dispose of he and his human ally.

It was Hellhounds, sitting within the bus, up front of it, He was the driver. A protective seal around him kept his prescence hidden from any who might be trying to interfere with his duties.

And his duties were quite clear. The Objects commanded it; Hellhounds was to dispose of any and all beings related to the Forsaken One. For his betrayal would not be tolerated, and any who chose to aid him were commiting treason. Treason of the highest order.

Treason to the Law of the Objects.

That was the ultimate Law and Order which Hellhounds was bound by. It would not rest until every being conformed to those Laws, or was eliminated. That was the ultimate glory which it could muster in it's head...s.

Black, gooey shadow trickled from the bus drver's mouth.

His true form was read yt oreveal itself, and break the seal.

"Indeed buddy" said Dallas, trying to sound more modern.

"You sound like a lameass dad trying to sound hip; you know that?"

"My attempt failed then?"

"Like a cat swimming. Why d'ya talk like that?"

"Ever since my ordeal and experiance while gaining my powers, My vocabulary expanded with my wealth of knowledge. it is more a side effect of my gifts than an actual choice, however if this type of language puts you at unease, I shall try to speak more unproper... Yo."

"hahahahaha, Dallas, you're alright. Talk however you wanna."

"Thank y-" Dallas felt it then, something approaching, or rather, it was already there. It had a demented feel to it, a condemed presence. Mindless, almsot too Evil. Dallas's eyes narrowed, he drew a breath in, the next bus stop was a mere twelve kilometers, at the border itself. However the Objects had no pollitcal lines to be wary of.

Everything seemed to happen at once, in less than five minutes he had gone from one soul purpose to find his lover to discovering that he was in danger. If he went to her now, she would in turn be in danger also. That was unnacceptable, threaten him, fine, he could take anyone who crossed his way. But threaten her?

No.

"Jude, He's here," warned Dallas, tearing off his over coat and allowing his Cloak of Sould Serving to flow freely in the windless bus. The passangers in it stood up also, including the driver. Dallas tok the wheel magically and held it straight.

In the hallway of the bus, Dallas faced the driver, the old man was behind him, Jude was beside him and the blonde woman was in between the Driver and him but to the right, surrounded by three demons in a tight space.

Sucks to be them.

"Jude, Drive, and keep driving no matter what happens, do you understand? I will catch up with you."

"What?"

"When I say go, you move to the driver's seat, and you Drive. Do you understand?

"Yeah, okay."

For a moment, nobody moved. The Driver was obviously the Demon itself, his jaw was elongated, rows of sharp pointed needleteeth lined his jaw, his arms and hands and fingers were long and grossly improportioned. His fingernails looked like black steel and were jagged, his right arm was far too muscular, obviously the mad was far too possessed for recovery.

Damn, that means he'd have to die. the others might be able to be saved.

Then Hellhounds lunged for Jude.

Dallas shouted "Now Jude!" before he stepped between them.

No fear could have been greater than what Jude was experiencing now.

Save, of course, the first time he was caught by Hellhounds and brought to the torture chambers.

But still, he snapped forward on command, the powerful voice of the Balance overcoming him. He twisted his body in an almost inhuman way, and grinned madly as he dove past Hellhounds. Now, Jude's odd qualities began to emerge.

His rolling, pointed tongue lolled out of his mouth and licked at the body of Hellhounds in mocking. His contacts popped out, revealing the eyes of Jude. Those, too, were not human. They had yellow scelera where they should have been white, and his pupils were a bright red. They made his eyes glow, like the beams of a car, or flashlights.

Hellhounds was taken aback.

The Forsaken has gained a wise ally; his methods are not ever so crafty as they are now.

Hellhounds deep, poetic and policeman-like voice echod in the minds of all within the bus. Jude shuddered and took the wheel, for he had never grown used to hearing his adversary speak. He peered over his shoulder.

"I'm floorin' it, Dally! Do your mystic thing and kick his ass!"

Finally, the transformation of Hellhounds into hs itrue form was complete. Only a few scraps of the bus driver's flesh remained, swwiming in a pool of black which served as the torso of the Demon.

And the Demon itself stood tall, many writhing, wolf-like heads analyzing it's surroundings, red eyes sizing it's opponent up. The Hellhounds knew the enemy.

You are no mere mortal. You are the Balance. Surely, you wish to serve Justice, do you now?

It's voice was loud and bold within Dallas's mind, not truly horrific, but with such fierce command, the most arrogant of beings shold have fallen to their knees.

Jude's teeth chattered in fear.

The Law of the Objects must be served. Do you not serve the purpose of Balance in this universe. The Forsaken of the Objects...

hellhounds pointed at Jude with a long, slithering black talon.

...is an imbalance. An imperfection in Their grand design. Will you not step aside and allow him his punishment, oh Balance?

Dallas looked at Jude, then at Hellhounds. his identity as The Balance had been outed, meaning there was no need to not flaunt his power. His robe began to grow White, not jsut light gray, white. The Evil in the vacinity gave Balance more good in his aura, he was ready for a fight.

"The Law of the Objects must be served. Do you not serve the purpose of Balance in this universe. The Forsaken of the Objects..."

hellhounds pointed at Jude with a long, slithering black talon.

"...is an imbalance. An imperfection in Their grand design. Will you not step aside and allow him his punishment, oh Balance?"

"I sense disturbance in him, I sense Hate and Fear, but nothing imbalanced, Not like you."

"You dont know what he is, Do you?"

"Enough Talk, Hellhounds!" Said Jude as he swirved vioelntly and hellhounds lost his footing.

Dallas took the oppertunity to Grab Hellhound's arm. Which, without magic, wouldnt have been possible. The old man reached for him, and Dallas used his other hand to wrap around the old man's throat.

Hellhounds Used his claws to dig into Dallas' robe, they didn't penetrate the fabric, however it did cause Dallas some physical pain.

"Prathimianlith," spoke Balance, Intangible

Dallas, Hellhounds and the Old man stayed still as the bus travled ahead of them, they went through the metal and plasic that it was made of and ended up rolling on the pavement as the bus sped away into the night.

Let it be known...Henceforth, the Balance whose name is Dallas will forever be an enemy to Him, and to the Objects!

This statement was delivered in the regal air of a Judge deivering a verdict, as Hellhounds righted himself and stood, proudly for a Demon, on his four shadowy limbs. It glared at Dallas, and directed the Old Man from it's subconsciousness, growling a deep and gutteral growl.

This being, the Balance, was unaware of what Jude was. But he clearly had no intention of listening. Hellhounds was not on eto be negotiated with; you were either with him or against him.

And to him, it mattered not if you were the Balance.

Several of his heads lashed out at Dallas, snapping their jaws and flinging sticky saliva in all directions. The thousands of red eyes which decorated it's body, which constantly changed in size and placement, gleamed angrily for the Balance's flesh. They wished to end him, and bring about his eternal torture.

The Old Man came from behind, lurching at Dallas in an attempt to wrap his arms around the Balance. This did not fool the young man, as he spun around andjumped into the air, a solid kick connecting with the Old Man's face. Hellhounds was displeased, and lunged as well.

His sharp claws dug into the Cloak of Souls Serving, and he could feel it slip through his grasp. This would require a different form of magic. Hellhounds turned his claw etheral, attempting to fuse it with the Cloak and grasp it through this method.

"Be gone, you Demon! There is no need for your prescence here, now leave!" The Balance let loose a blast at the claw whihch was bound to him, an it broke and splattered in black-ish, blue-ish blood.

Hellhounds shrieked.

You do not know whom you protect, yet you forsake yourself for him?! This will not be tolerated, Balance Dallas. The Objects will have you for it. Mark my words."

-----

Jude didn't know how he did it.

In fact, from what he gathered, it should have been impossible.

But he smirked to himself, because somehow, he had done it.

He looked at the piece of fabric in his hands.

It was pure white, beautiful even. He clutched it to his chest.

And Jude, holding a torn piece of the Cloak of Souls Serving, drove off with his bus into the night.

Dallas conjured the spirit bomb in his hands, and sent it into the Old man, hoping to push the spirit or the corruption that was posessing him harmessly out.
Instead the old man reeled back and started vomiting.
Dallas was taken back, that meant that the spirit bomb harmed some of the soul, and furthermore, that it had an affect on the body and not the posession. Meaning that the Old man wasnt posessed at all.

"hahahaha" Hellhounds laughed. "You thought he was posessed, didn't you? No, Dallas Balance, They're seekers, they want the object I do. and they're willing to do anything to get it."

Dallas knew what that was like, he also knew what it meant hed have to do in order to stop them.

The Demon attacked again, Dallas dodged to the left, the monster's wolf head bit air. Dallas grabbed the Beast's snout with one hand and slammed his other open palm into the Wolf's neck. The neck snapped, Dallas then brought it over his shoulder, and the entire demon rolled over his body and onto the concrete. Hellhounds Swiped at his foe with his claw, Dallas caught it at the wrist and bent it backward, he heard the bone snap out of place at the elbow; he then grabbed the Demon's bicep and tore it out of his arm, Hellhounds howled in rage, and another jaw snapped at Dallas's hand.
The teeth sank into Dallas's Flesh, it was excrutiatingly painful. Red streaks started shooting up his arm, the Wound itself oozed with black liquid.

Hellhounds eyed Dallas's face, eager to see the pain he was inflicting. Instead, He saw the face of not pain, but of contempt. A cocky smirk spread across Dallas's face.

"Do you not fear the power of the Objects? Do you not feel their pain in my bite?"

"I fear nothing."

"You shall."

"Do you know who I am, Hellhounds?"

"Yes, you are The Balance-"

"No, I'm a boyfriend looking for his lover."

With that, Balance tore off the snout that bit him. Hellhounds reeled back, Blue and black ichor spattered the air and ground. The old man turned and fled, fear overcoming his Obsession for the Objects. Hellhounds roared in pain, flailing his arms around, dispite his many eyes, he was blind with agony. Dallas thew him against a pine tree, which toppled over, crushing Hellhounds further.

"Back to whence you came, Demon."

Dallas looked toward the direction of the bus, he felt a breeze. Strange, the Cloak of Souls Serving usually kept him a regulated tempature. He loked down.

"Jude, you bastard," said Balance.

He closed his eyes-
and when he opened them, he was in the back of the bus.

The Forsaken of the Objects had not expected his 'friend's' return, and as such whipped his head around in shock when he saw Dallas's head in the mirror. The bus, as a result, lurched back and forth to one side, and Jude almost smacked his head onto the dashboard.

"Shit!"

A quick foot was applied to the brake, and in several seconds, the vehicle had screeched to a halt. Jude panted heavily, then fell flat on all fours out of the driver's seat. Trying to scramble away desperately.

"Heeeey, heeeey...Dallas, buuuudddy....I-I-I...how's it goin', man?" His voice was shaky, and nervous. He didn't know whether the Balance was aware of his stolen item or not. He guessed, byt Dallas's face, tht he was.

"Uh-uhh...got anymore pizza?" His phony grin was nervous, cowering. The man was clearly on edge and worrying for his life.

Balance was calm, unlike Jude, who was cowering before him.

"D-Dallas! I-I'm glad you're back! Give H-Hell-Hellhounds the Ol' Ma-Magic One T-Two?"

"I tore his snout off. Jude."

Jude swallowed, as his ignorance of the floor of the bus resulted in him tubeling out of the exit and on to the concrete. Jude moaned, and squirmed, he must have hurt his back. Scrambling to his feet, he put both hands in front of him to stay his potential assailent.

"Now, hey, Dallas, look, i was going to come back and pick you u-"

"Are you in pain from your fall?" inturrupted Dallas.

"N-No man, I'll be f-"

"Allow me to end your pain."

Juse swallowed again, this time it hurt.

"N-no nono n-n-n-nononono, Please, Dallas, I-"

Dallas reached down and touched Jude's Cheek, "Himrogoth."

Jude's pain stopped, and so did his begging.

"Now, Jude, where is it?"

"Wheres wh-"

"My robe peice."

"I don't kn-"

"It's in your dufflebag? How obvious, Jude."

"I thought you said you couldn't-"

"I said it was harder to read your mind, not impossible."

Dallas walked back onto the bus, opened Jude's Bag and took the Peice of the Cloak of Souls Serving, he streched it and pressed it into the garmet. The robe waved in approval, Dallas exited the bus, and started walking down the road into the darkness.

"Hey, Hey you can't Just leave me! what if Hellhounds comes back?" shouted Jude after him.

Dallas Stopped and turned back.

"Jude, you have three avalible choices: The first of which includes going back on the bus and driving whever you want to go. Secondly, you can come with me, and Never cross me again. Or thirdly, I can kill you rihgt now, and we can spare us both the inconvienience and the misury. Choose, you doubble crossing Pig."

"Um.. er.. uhh.. G-going, going with you."

"Good choice. Jude," Dallas turned around and began walking.

Jude looked around for a second, and ran to catch up. Once he did he slowed down and walked beside him.

"So... buddies again?"

"No."

"Alright, well do you at least have any more pizza?"

"In your pocket."

"That's imp- no fuckin way..."

They Walked toward the border...