Daybreak
After the battle, Sonja and Cassidy had helped Blaine over to a nearby coffee shop. Here, there was only a small chance that they would be overheard, and even less chance that they would be taken seriously. All things considered, Blaine was holding up pretty well. Instead of having a loud, enraged frenzy or a sudden, weeping breakdown, Blaine just tagged along meekly, as though he were waiting for a hidden camera crew to pop out and tell him that everything had been one elaborate joke. This was ideal for keeping things under wraps, although it also meant that if they didn't get Blaine some information soon, his sanity was going to nosedive fast.
Sonja sat upright, with her hands folded together, coffee untouched, wanting to say something but not knowing how to begin. Cassidy, with one arm thrown over the back of the seat, tapped her other hand against the table while trying to avoid eye contact. Blaine sat hunched over, gripping desperately onto his cup like it was a piece of flotsam in the ocean of confusion which threatened to drown him.
It was Blaine who broke the silence.
"So what just happened?"
"Well, Blaine, it you see " said Sonja, looking to Cassidy for help as she trailed off.
"Nothing doing," replied Cassidy, looking at Sonja straight in the eye. "I'm just the hired help. You people are the ones with rules and regulations in this sort of scenario. I don't want to have to kill him just because I let slip prime directive number three."
"You know full well that's not fine," said Sonja, with a sigh. "I suppose you have a point buried under all that rudeness.
"It's like this, Blaine. You were possessed by a demoninja, right? Well, they're really evil. Like, so evil that I can't even really tell you the full scope of their plans, because you just can't comprehend it. Just know they like to possess important people, and that they're not afraid to use innocent people as temporary hosts for a slight tactical advantage. That's why they possessed you- they tried to use you to kill us. Usually, though, they just stick to secretaries and owners of social gathering places.
"Anyway, we exist to stop them. Angels and demons have always been at war. Demons using ninjutsu is a pretty recent development, though. They thought nothing could possibly defeat a ninja. They were wrong. The obvious mortal enemy to a ninja is a samurai. Hence, my training. I am a samurangel."
"Everybody knows that pirates are better than ninjas," interrupted Cassidy, "but angels are too goody-goody to actually make for good pirates. No sense of plunder or vengeance. At least they recognize that. So, they hire us, the vampires. Or vampirates, as it were. In exchange for service, they overlook our other more questionable qualities when judgment day comes. We do good, and they overlook the whole undead evil soul thing. It's win-win all around."
"Well, I guess that's okay " said Blaine, scratching the back of his neck. "I mean this is all so absurd, I think that's about as good of an explanation as I'm going to get. But what about the whole eyesight thing? Ever since the possession, I have two new sets of vision. I think I'm triggering them by accident, and it's a bit nauseating."
"Wait, you still have the demoninja's eyesight?" said Sonja, slamming her cup down in excitement. "Blaine, that's great! You could join us! This mission would wrap up a lot quicker if you were around to help!"
"Yeah, she's right," agreed Cassidy. "I mean, I was just gonna suck out your blood or maybe enthrall you to keep your silence, but having another partner sounds way better!"
"Cassie!" yelled Sonja, kicking her in the shin. "No evil!"
"Relax, I was just joking " she said, rolling her eyes. " probably," she added, under her breath.
"So, Blaine " said Sonja. "Will you join us?"
Sonja sat upright, with her hands folded together, coffee untouched, wanting to say something but not knowing how to begin. Cassidy, with one arm thrown over the back of the seat, tapped her other hand against the table while trying to avoid eye contact. Blaine sat hunched over, gripping desperately onto his cup like it was a piece of flotsam in the ocean of confusion which threatened to drown him.
It was Blaine who broke the silence.
"So what just happened?"
"Well, Blaine, it you see " said Sonja, looking to Cassidy for help as she trailed off.
"Nothing doing," replied Cassidy, looking at Sonja straight in the eye. "I'm just the hired help. You people are the ones with rules and regulations in this sort of scenario. I don't want to have to kill him just because I let slip prime directive number three."
"You know full well that's not fine," said Sonja, with a sigh. "I suppose you have a point buried under all that rudeness.
"It's like this, Blaine. You were possessed by a demoninja, right? Well, they're really evil. Like, so evil that I can't even really tell you the full scope of their plans, because you just can't comprehend it. Just know they like to possess important people, and that they're not afraid to use innocent people as temporary hosts for a slight tactical advantage. That's why they possessed you- they tried to use you to kill us. Usually, though, they just stick to secretaries and owners of social gathering places.
"Anyway, we exist to stop them. Angels and demons have always been at war. Demons using ninjutsu is a pretty recent development, though. They thought nothing could possibly defeat a ninja. They were wrong. The obvious mortal enemy to a ninja is a samurai. Hence, my training. I am a samurangel."
"Everybody knows that pirates are better than ninjas," interrupted Cassidy, "but angels are too goody-goody to actually make for good pirates. No sense of plunder or vengeance. At least they recognize that. So, they hire us, the vampires. Or vampirates, as it were. In exchange for service, they overlook our other more questionable qualities when judgment day comes. We do good, and they overlook the whole undead evil soul thing. It's win-win all around."
"Well, I guess that's okay " said Blaine, scratching the back of his neck. "I mean this is all so absurd, I think that's about as good of an explanation as I'm going to get. But what about the whole eyesight thing? Ever since the possession, I have two new sets of vision. I think I'm triggering them by accident, and it's a bit nauseating."
"Wait, you still have the demoninja's eyesight?" said Sonja, slamming her cup down in excitement. "Blaine, that's great! You could join us! This mission would wrap up a lot quicker if you were around to help!"
"Yeah, she's right," agreed Cassidy. "I mean, I was just gonna suck out your blood or maybe enthrall you to keep your silence, but having another partner sounds way better!"
"Cassie!" yelled Sonja, kicking her in the shin. "No evil!"
"Relax, I was just joking " she said, rolling her eyes. " probably," she added, under her breath.
"So, Blaine " said Sonja. "Will you join us?"