Life and Its Lessons [Flashback]

Greece, 1 year after the fall of The Order

The time of day was 10 am, a typical time for Dante to be up and about doing things. He had been living in Greece for some time now and was basking in the enjoyment of his own freedom. He was wearing some black cargo shorts, a white v-neck t-shirt, along with some black and white sneakers. Casual wear for a casual day. However this does not mean he was not equipped, for he had a hunting knife hoisted at his side along with a 10mm pistol he had lifted from some thug, a few days ago. An assassin did well to be prepared.

Dante was sitting in a coffee shop, or rather outside it. He was at a small circular green table which had a umbrella attached to block the sun over him. He was wearing black sunglasses for that occasion however and his hair was cut to a buzz because of the heat lately. Why was he drinking coffee on this warm morning? It was ice coffee, made no sense to be drinking warm coffee. Dante was simply relaxing for now, though an assassin was never truly relaxed. He was always on guard.

During a meeting of the gods on Mount Olympus Damocles sat quietly watching his mother talk about how the Olympians should do a better job at protecting earth and he watched his fathers Hades and Ares detest these ideas as they wanted to see what the humans could do if they were left alone.. Damocles looked at his brother Heracles who seemed to find this discussion pointless. To be honest all the younger gods found this topic to be stupid. Humans were dumb enough to make their own mistakes and fix their own mistakes too... With that said Damocles knew when it was his time to speak and he would aim to stand up but looked at his father Zeus who gave him a stern look which made Damocles quickly fall back into his seat. From here he would just let out a sigh as he would continue to listen to the bickering of his 3 parents and the silent laughter of his siblings and others.

Damocles couldn't deal with this ignorance anymore. He stood up and slammed his hand on the table... Gathering the attention of all his family and making his father Zeus furious... "THAT IS ENOUGH... FROM THE THREE OF YOU. I HAVE HAD ENOUGH WITH YOUR BICKERING AND FOOLISHNESS.... Sorry for the tone of voice my parents but I must say this discussion is pointless. My fathers Hades and Ares embody everything that invokes violence. You think they will honestly agree with you mother? Maybe father Hermes or Mother Her-" A giant slam was heard. It was a foot being slammed on the floor. It was the almighty mother... It was Hera. She stopped her son and decided she had to speak. "Heracles your younger brother has showed once again why he has no need to be on Mount Olympus... I banish him until I see fit." Damocles would look at his mother Hera with a confused face.. He would then charge at her screaming "HOW DARE YOU MOTHER" As Damocles charged his mother he was stopped and grabbed by his brother Heracles who would push him through the wall directly backwards from him. He would then scream at Damocles.

"BROTHER YOU NEED TO STOP YOUR ACTIONS. MOTHER WILL NEVER LET YOU BACK" Damocles then put a grin on his face as he would then charge Heracles with a lowtoned voice he spoke "Brother... Get out of my way" As he charged he was pushed back by his mother Hera's natural power.... She knocked him off of Mount Olympus and his size would drastically increase. As he started falling he would try and use his powers... But he couldn't. BOOM Not till about a second or two before he landed on earth were his powers activated making the fall lighter. As Damocles awoke to people screaming all around him he was angry.. His mothers voice echoed over his head "If you want to come back home my son learn your place among your people." Damocles would bang his hand on the floor after standing up. He would then let a huge scream out into the sky "HERAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

Dante was mid sip off his iced coffee when a loud crash could be heard from within the shop. A shockwave of air from the collision would shatter all the windows sending glass every where. Several bits would cut the side of Dante's face and his arm, tearing through his white shirt. Yet no serious injuries were sustained. Instantly Dante's eyes would spark with red energy as his body would gain an ambient glow from the energy flowing through it. He stood and turned to look inside through the broken window. He saw one man giving off a glow of red shouting to the sky, a mutant he instantly assumed. People were screaming and running out of the coffee shop like bats out of hell. Yet Dante maintained composure. As this mutant here to challenge him? To avenge a fallen comrade he possibly had murdered while with The Order? Dante did not know, however he did not particularly like this man's entrance

"I thought I put down enough of you mutants for you to understand you can't be coming around me fucking up shit." he would say harshly in a cold tone. As he did he would shoot two energy blasts from his hands at the man inside the coffee shop that had just crashed down. One aimed for the chest, the other off to the man's left for the ground. Either way two explosions would occur as a result of impact. Most of the people within the coffee shop had cleared out and now it would just be these two. Meanwhile however, there would be a few people distant from the shop with their cellphones out filming this encounter.

He was angry.. He got sick of being horribly treated by his parents.. Mainly his mother Hera. She was a demon as times. She was just angry because Damocles wasn't born of her pure blood.. Dumb broad should have thought of that before she created Damocles with the others. People were running and screaming in real time but Damocles didn't actually hear that.. He was still focused on his mother banishing him in Exile.. Once again he was gone from his parents. And this time around he hadn't felt any different. After last time he felt as if he had all his energy drained from him.. The floor around him would start caving in going deeper down into the ground.. He was glowing yellow and releasing alot of energy. His eyes glowed with him and people around him were pulling out these weird devices... His first time back to earth in centuries and this is how he is greeted? They don't know a god when they see one? Damocles felt disrespected.. He felt the urge to hurt these people. He felt the need to right his wrongs still to this day.

Some words were heard and they sounded angry.. Damocles would turn to face a shop which would house the man who had said those words.. He was wearing all dark attire and he looked like a mortall.. He even smelled like one. As the man would raise his hands he fired two energy blast and they seemed to be very powerful. One shot fired, Two shot fired.. Swift and cool. He jumped high up and started flying. He started glowing even more. Damocles looked down at the man with a look of confusion on his face... During his time on earth all those centuries ago he met a few mutants.. They were a tribe who had evolved powers and considered themselves higher beings than most. This man was probably a modern day copy of one of those.. Damocles would continue his confused look as he spoke "Mortal.. How dare you challenge me? Im Damocles... God of Loath and Neutralism..." With those words said Damocles would fire off two beams from his eyes.. Each going at their maximum 20MPH.

((OOC: Hit 1 Oh yeah I'm outside the shop, you're in it.))

The energy blasts released by the swift hands of Genesis would be quick and mighty. The assumed mutant had taken notice of his attack however seemed slow in movement. As Damocles started to jump, the blasts' explosions would send him soaring forward through the window which Genesis was standing outside of. Seeing the body coming toward him, Genesis would leap forward on a table and from the table toward airborne Damocles with a rising knee that in time would hit under the man's chin and if connected would send him back where his head would hit the upper part of the window he was blasted out of.

If all went as planned, Genesis would stand over the downed Damocles, charging a beam between his hands as his eyes sparked with their red energy. It would be a look of final judgement for Genesis would be preparing for the final blow. Yet of course for someone of his nature, a speech was in order. "One by one I have had to put you beings down like animals but that was by The Order. Now there is no more of that and it's just me. It would not have to be like this but you are disturbing my peace of mind, so I feel I should just kill yours." he would say as if he were a god himself. If seen to this point of action, it would be clear that Genesis had a growing god-complex.

Hmmm... This would be interesting... He was being blasted away.. The radius of the beams weren't accounted for and caused Damocles to spiral out of control causing him to fly towards the window of the place he had landed in.. He was going to hit it and hit it hard. During his time flying towards the window Damocles looked up to the skies and wondered why his parents weren't helping him. He had wondered if they had forgotten about their child and really exiled him. What hurt him most was his half brother Herales attacking him and knocking him out The Patheon room.

Back real time had finally kicked in and Damocles was flying towards a window. As he approached it he noticed the man he was facing was moving and gearing towards something... But what? BOOM. A knee met the face of Damocles and he hit the top of the glass window and fell down hard. He had glass all over his face but he felt none of it.. He just felt no pain... Atleast some of his godly powers weren't gone. No laser beams no strength. He was officially stripped of who he was. Slowly walking up would be the man known in the all dark. He would start glowing red and charging a beam of energy over Damocles.. He gave a speech. Damocles would just look at the man in confusion before asking "You beings? You hunt us gods you mortal?"

To Dante's surprise the mutant had responded back....well then again maybe it was not that surprising. His words however were the surprising factor. They were not words begging for his life to be spared, but words questioning Dante's actions as if they were immoral. Did this man really think himself a god? Dante's eyes widened a little bit behind his sunglasses and his brow raised as he continued to charge the energy. Cocking his head to the side a little and placing a firm sneaker on the chest of the assumed mutant, Dante would lean a little closer to the downed Damocles, holding the energy closer to his face between them so he could understand what would happen if he dared move.

"Let me tell you something....it's a little secret of mine okay, so you can't tell anyone in the afterlife.....but sometimes....when I'm all alone in my room....I pretend to be a god too. You really have let your mutant powers go to your head if you really think you are a god." he would say chuckling then his laughing would cease in an instant and he would speak in a chilling tone. "But that's only make believe. The reality is, you're beneath me and are looking into the glow of death. But you know what, I'm in a good mood. Let's replay this: I'm gonna back up and you're gonna go back into that coffee shop there, I'm gonna blast you with this beam and you're gonna die okay?" he would say laughing toward the end with a sarcastic smile

Dante would back off Damocles, holding the beam charging between his hands in case the guy decided to be brave. "Come on, get a move on because I don't have all day." he would say urging the man to hurry up.

As Damocles laid on the floor preparing for his death the look on his face was that of someone who gave up hope. He had stopped believing his parents weer going to help him.. He felt as if he was at his weakest. Maybe this was his punishment for angering his mother? Maybe she was going to put him through hell for him to restore his powers? Maybe one of his fathers would help him.. Maybe they understood his anger and decided he had suffered enough during this little scuffle he was having.. Was this fate that he found someone who was willing to take his life? Maybe this was the world working things out in its own special way.

A shoe would great the chest of Damocles and the red energy glared in his face.. The look of disgust and lack of faith was shown. As the man would come down and lean over Damocles figured this was it. He knew he was going to die. He had no regrets and decided if he was banished from earth he would serve his father Hades for the rest of his life. Words escaped the mouth of the man in black.. He told Damocles he loved to pretend as if he were a god when he is alone and this caused Damocles to chuckle. He actually enjoyed people who pretended to be like him.. OR in this case what he was. He kept saying something that bothered Damocles tho. He called him a mutant over and over.. Did he really think Damocles was one of them? He obviously had to prove him wrong before dying.

Hmm the man laughed for a bit before speaking some more.. He said that is only make believe. This man went his entire life not knowing the truth about the gods? He had never heard stories of his parents and how they came to be? Oh hell no. He said Damocles was beneath him.. For some reason this gave Damocles new reason to fight. He now had the urge to fight this man once again. The man said the fight was going to start over and Damocles enjoyed this. Most likely he was going to fight him and win.. He would start backing up and he had a beam charging between his hands. He would rush Damocles up and he did the man one better. He kipped up and then looked to the skies to wonder if they were going to help him.. But no. .. Nothing. Damocles then looked at the man ahead before he felt something on his legs..

"Son.. You seem weak.. Shall i lend you a hand?.. For a price?" Damocles looked confused as around him was now nothing but smoke and fire..., Red eyes came through the shadows and Damocles knew who it was. His father Hades.. Damocles would look shocked as he screams "FATHER HOW COULD YOU LET THEM BANISH ME LIKE THAT?" a laugh would come from the shadows as Hades spoke "Hush hush my son.. It was all apart of my plan. To get you off that mountain.. See if they had no control over you I could give you your powers back and no one could dictate you besides me.." Damocles looked confused as he wondered what his father was talking about,,, He then tried to speak "But Fath-" his words were cut short by Hades "Don't talk.. Just take your powers.. We will talk later" Damocles was incased in flames and the shadows vanished.. He was now back infront of his opponent. Damocles would smile.. "From the powers of Hades I shall banish you" His eyes began to glow and he would zip around the man he was facing and came up behind him.. With his eyes glowing preparing to release a beam of light yellow energy

So after Dante had backed off a bit and instructed the man to go back in the coffee shop, something quite intriguing would occur. There would be smoke and flames coming out of no where. A voice was heard that was neither the man's nor Dante's from the sound of it. A conversation within the smoke was heard and Dante sat idle, still charging the beam however. Using his energy perception Dante was able to see two beings within the cloud of smoke. Dante would make the conscious decision to split the beam he was charging in exhange for blasts when the time came.

The smoke would fade and emerging from it would be Damocles with some new found courage/strength or whatever. Dante was not impressed by the change of attitude and was rather disappointed that the man was not simply taking his offer of surrender. Now things would have to get really messy and Dante would have a knack of leaving big messes. The man's eyes would glow and he would attempt to run quickly to zip around Dante's left. This was two easy to see from the start of the run, Dante would fire one blast in the path of the of Damocles. A blast was fired behind him quickly preceding it. Dante would form two knives made of energy in hand right after each blast left it, blades 6 inches long. He would watch for Damocle's next move carefully yet already having a plan of action in mind. Following the initial energy blast a knife blast would be thrown toward the chest of Damocles with precision that would rise above the circumstance, another knife would replace it in hand. This would repeat after the other blast with the aim this time being his stomach.

Dante would distance himself by jumping in the air backwards after his blasts. His footing would land on the railing that surrounded the coffee shop's outer table area, where he had been sitting prior to this entire event. He would be roughly seven meters from Damocles with a clear view, waiting for the next move.

OOC: Rushed got something else to do

This was obviously getting interesting. Damocles was going to enjoy this battle with this fellow he was facing. as he shot out around his foe the man caught on and decided to shoot a wave of energy in the direction of Damocles which caused him to stumble a bit before getting back on and also watched as the man in black shot some energy directly behind wher Damocles intended to stop. Damocles luckily stumbled moments ago and missed the blast but still missed the radius but jumped into the sky zooming away just in the nick of time.

Now in the sky Damocles was showing sign of being damaged but that wouldn't stop him. His opponent did make two blades of energy and that seemed to interest him to no end.. Wait no they were knives and two energy rays would come from them.. Each being about 6 inches in length. Damocles would quickly fly past the two as he went higher up firing off a beam of energy from his eyes which met a knife blast. Damocles would simultaneously release a beam from his mouth which would meat the the other blast and now Damocles had cleared the air. He would then stand waiting for his opponents next move.

((OOC: Hit 2; Your timing is all off thus cancelling your actions do to improper response. The blast behind you preceded the one in front of you and a blade followed each blast, one after the other.))

Dante's assault strike was fully success and here was how things had played out. As Damocles attempted to zip around Dante's left he failed to move quick enough to escape the blast radius of the energy attack Dante had fired behind him. The blast of concussive force would expand two meters, hitting the concrete ground they stood upon, sending debris flying dangerous. Debris consisting of various shaped and sized pieces of concrete that would hit Democles in the back at speeds of about 60mph consideirng their weight and the force launching them. Several pieces of large rock would penetrate the skin and impale the back of Damocles, even his spine, lodging themselves firmly inside. The man would be paralyzed completely from the waist down resulting in both the release of his bowls and urine. A energy blade had already been sent toward the target with precision despite the circumstance following the initial blast. The blade would hit Damocles in the chest and being constructed of energy would find it very easily to penetrate and move inward, incinerating the flesh with its heat and grazing the heart every time as it would beat to the point that it would be unable to pump blood effectively anymore. The second blast had come swiftly afterwards, practically in time with the first blade, landing right in front of Damocles who would have been blasted forward into its destructive radius after the first blast. This blast would produce similar results as the first blast, sending concrete debris into the face and chest of Damocles at the same speed. Two small bits of rock would unfortunately, for Damocles, shoot their way into both his eye sockets resulting in both extreme pain and blindness. Other pieces of rock would embed themselves into the chest adding to the pain already being received. The second blade had been sent following the blast with equal precision as the first blade, finding it's way into the man's stomach. The blade would burn through flesh via energy and would even pierce the stomach organ itself, which would cause acid to exit the safety of the stomach lining and cause extended damage internally. Not to mention on top of this the blunt concussive force received by both blasts that would easily fracture bones. The blast from the front considering how Damocles had been sent diving toward it, would easily do damage to the brain, and overall send the man flying up like a rag doll in his condition. One would wonder where Dante was during all of this? How was he not affected by the blasts and debris? Well following the first blast, Dante had already jumped backwards toward the railing where he would stand in the end and all of the other actions would occur during the jump, increasing his distance from Damocles from five meters to seven. He would be seen holding two more energy knives, which were created following the throw of the others as previously stated in the other post. The body off Damocles would fall to the ground from a height of four meters on his already injured head. Dante would assume the man dead, which he should have been if he was not, and would feel no need to continue after this. If the man was somehow alive, Dante would let this memory of how close to death he had been. Afterall these were no ordinary attacks he just took on and Dante was no ordinary individual. Dante would leave after he saw the body hit the ground, his destination unknown.

[Exit]
-Posting for Prestige-