Twelve people. He'd killed twelve people when he got out. Well no, that's not accurate. He hadn't 'gotten out'. Instead he'd been released. All signs pointed to someone opening the door from the outside after knocking out Admiral Fluffy Paws. But that changed nothing. The Prince had awoken, his full Incubus self had gotten out and began killing. He'd drained the life energy from several people before growing bored and simply cutting others down. He also hated to admit it but he felt great. All that extra life force had given him an incredible level of energy. He'd finally been stopped and had stayed in the Tower ever since then. He hadn't come out of his room for days. Admiral Fluffy Paws had been bringing him bags of blood and trying to get him to come out. SOme had tried getting him out only to find a blood seal on the door keeping everyone out.

Three days had passed and now Sebastian was in one of the training rooms. Admiral Fluffy Paws was watching him, and pacing back and forth.

'You can't go alone you fool. I understand you feel bad...'

"Feel bad!? I murdered 12 innocent people. This isn't like when I killed the Church members who were likely trying to kill me."

'At least bring someone with. Gabe, Arthur, Lilith, anyone!'

"This is my mission. I can't expect them to put their lives on the line for me. I'm surprised they didn't just turn me over to SHIELD for what I did. I deserve it."

He said before pulling out an old thick book and began to flip through the pages. He grabbed a small dagger and and sliced down his arm. He used his own blood and began to draw complex symbols on the floor in a circle. He then began to chant and Admiral Fluffy Paws sat down and sighed. In the middle a large flaming portal opened. Sebastian adjusted his suit. Basically his normal version with sleeves and full gloves. He threw a large bag over his shoulder and sighed.

"Let's do this. Ready Admiral Fluffy Paws?"

'No.'

"Well, here we go."

About the same time Sebastian's portal opened, another one did as well. Or, a second portal opened if one likes to use the rather archaic 'portal' term for while referring to doors. Either way, on the other side of that entrance stood one of the Titans' newest members. Adam strode into the room with all the confidence of someone who expects to be alone in the gym for the foreseeable future, dressed in a loose fitting shirt and shorts as he paused at the threshold.

"...Did I miss something?" He asked after a few moments of gaping at the open hole in space. "Because I didn't know the tower was zoned for 'giant rings of fire in the middle of exercise rooms'." Adam remarked, managing to regain enough of his baring to offer a semi-sarcastic quip. He justified his momentary lapse in thought by reminding himself that only a few weeks ago he'd been out there throwing thugs at the street. Magic was still a whole new thing for him.

"Are you about to wander into another dimension?" Adam asked idly, trotting over to the previously discussed 'flaming hole in space' trying to look at it from any angle he could locate. "Can I come?" He finally asked. "It looks fun."

Sebastian hadn't even heard the door open. He'd been so focused on the portal and mentally preparing himself for the horrors he'd likely encounter he had been oblivious to the world. Of course in the back of his mind he was reliving the faces of those he'd killed. They never left him anymore. Their names had even worked their way into his tattoos. So he'd never forget those lives he'd brutally cut short for no reason other then he wanted to do it. Then Adam's voice permeated his thoughts.

"The things this Tower has seen Adam, a giant flaming portal is actually kind of normal."

He said with a shrug. He knew a decent amount of odd things had happened in this tower. So while a giant flaming portal was likely frowned upon by the higher ups, whoever they were now, it wasn't all bad. At worst the room would have a few singe marks for a few days and smell like brimstone. Not at all odd either. Between himself, Red Devil and the countless other past Titans with fire powers it happened.

"Well not so much dimension as it is another realm. But no..."

'Sebastian you can't do this alone. It's dangerous and you'll need help. Sure Tiger Boy here isn't an obvious first choice but he can make a decent distraction. Several sorcerers and warriors more powerful than you have done this same quest. Most didn't make it to the second item.'

"I won't get someone else killed Admiral Fluffy Paws. That's too dangerous. I'm going alone."

'Bring others or you really do go alone, I won't come.'

"You wouldn't."

Sebastian said staring down at the cat. He was shocked Admiral Fluffy Paws would actually purposely abandon him. They were in this together, always had been since he was a kid.

'Tiger Lad. If you want to come get some supplies and protection of some sort. Water, food, medicine, your costume, provided it has armor. Also, see if you can find someone else to talk some sense into him, or at least accompany him. Look for Lydia, he usually listens to her.'

"No, no one else..."

Admiral Fluffy Paws said something in Latin and a fuzzy red aura surrounded Sebastian. He seemed stuck in place and silent, but was clearly yelling things.

'That should hold him in place for awhile. But hurry up. Get ready and find some others.'

words • Adam Sato and @sebastian • Hope this isn't overstepping
anything. Just let me know if it is, and I'll fix it. • outfit

Lilith very nearly skipped as she approached the Titan Tower. She’d been here before, kinda. She wasn’t a hero or a Teen Titan, so she wasn’t exactly welcome, but Seb had never said no before. She still hadn’t completely forgiven him for getting her all caught up with this Dark Commandos thing, but she’d always liked Admiral Fluffy Paws, and she felt like he liked her well enough. It also just so happened to be fun to watch @sebastian squirm in awkwardness. It had been very awkward since that night in the diner when she was ”recruited” to join the DCs. She always made sure she had her pheromones turned on full when she was around him, and every now and again, turned up as a blonde.

The demon has a love/hate relationship with the DCs. On one hand, she liked the new people she’d met, even if most of them were heroes of some sort, and one for sure would have been hunting her down and killing her otherwise. Yet, on the other hand, Lilith knew she wasn’t cut out for what the Commandos did. She wasn’t a fighter like Celeste or Andrew, or even Sebastian. She wasn’t really sure what the other boy did, not like any of them ever talked about themselves. She couldn’t do all the spells and tricks that Leif and Sebastian could do. She always felt utterly useless in the group when they did anything, and yet, they just had to have her, for some reason.

Lilith stopped at the front entrance of the tower and raised her dainty little hand to knock, but she never got the chance. The door was pulled open by someone (Adam Sato ) she'd never met before. She smiled sweetly at him anyway, brushing a few of her currently blonde locks behind her shoulders.

”Hello. I was just wondering if Sebastian was home. I haven’t seen him and Admiral Fluffy Paws in so long. Could you please let me in?” She probably didn’t need the extra eyelash bat, or the pheromone surge, but what harm could it cause. She reached out with her sensing power, searching for his desires. She swiveled her shoulders slightly as she smiled at him. The red jewel in her snake arm band glinted a bit as she did so.

Lyrics from Turning Tables by Adele. Picture by Aurora. Table by (( Aurora !! of Caution 2.0.

"Dimension, realm... really what's the difference?" Adam asked curiously, continuing his walk around the opened portal as if expecting something to jump out of it at any moment. Which, upon reflection, was probably a fairly prudent concern. "Is it just a 'science terminology vs magic terminology' thing? Because if they're interchangeable, I don't-" But, he trailed off once again before realizing that the discussion had moved from talking with him and instead had gone on to a debate between the Admiral and Sebastian. Eventually, though, he cleared his throat to try and get their attention.

"You know, if I'm offering my assistance than YOU aren't responsible for whatever happens to me. We have an ominous floating hole in the fabric of nothing, I'd have to be pretty stupid NOT to realize there would be danger involved, so a little credit would be nice." He added, folding his arms over his chest. He wasn't sure if it was his little speech, or the fact that the Admiral just seemed adamant about Sebastian not going alone, but either way he was eventually, and no doubt grudgingly, 'invited' to come alone.

"Be with you in five!" He shouted, rushing through the door and heading towards his room...

...Or that was the plan, but the proximity alarms were already going off, along with Adam being in the middle of his sprint to his room he diverted himself a bit, rushing towards the tower entrance. If whatever was coming was going to be hostile, he might as well be the first to engage. The logic he ran on was simple: if he could take the threat, there was nothing to worry about. If he couldn't he might at least learn something useful to pass on to the other Titans.

So, with all the bravado of a minor, newbie superhero, he pushed the door open to find no army of Samurai Frogs waiting to invade the tower but a young woman, who looked to be about his age. Actually... a bit familiar, although he couldn't exactly place the face. Just an odd sense of familiarity. Well, that was one of the senses that was coming up. He almost missed her question entirely even, before shaking his head to clear it enough to respond.

"Sebastian? Ah... right. Right! The wizard guy." He remarked, stroking his chin a few times. "I'd be more than happy to show you to my room-SEBASTIAN... show you to Sebastian." He corrected himself quickly, shaking his head again.

"Why don't you just come on in..." Adam added, backing away to allow the new arrival to enter the Tower.

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This male was far too easy. Perhaps he wasn’t a mutant or alien or whatever else they had here, and just one of those boring normal humans with lots of money...Oooo, money. Then again, he didn’t really look like the type to have all that much money, but he was kind of cute. That tiny dose of pheromones she’d put out seemed to almost flatten the poor boy. Lilith decided to stop putting out the pheromones all together, mostly to see what would happen.

The succubus wasted no time in accepting his offer and stepping into the tower. She moved beside him, and slipped her arm around his. ”Shall we be off then?” Oh he was so adorable with his stuttering about taking her to his room. Under normal circumstances, she would have happily skipped off with him to what would probably have been a painfully obvious bachelor pad for a night of fun, but she was on a mission today.

”So, you call him a wizard huh? Why’s that?’ Lili stayed quiet until they got to the training room. Her face lit up when she caught sight of Admiral Fluffy Paws.

Lyrics from Turning Tables by Adele. Picture by Aurora. Table by (( Aurora !! of Caution 2.0.

Sebastian was frozen in place but continued to swear at Admiral Fluffy Paws. The red veil was beginning to fade as the magic spell faded and Sebastian's own magic began to cause it to dissipate. He knew the portal would remain open until he either went through it or closed it himself. Luckily Admiral Fluffy Paws was incapable of closing the portal and no one else in the Tower had the skills to do it. The veil was suddenly gone and Sebastian was looking down at the cat still yelling.

"...stupid arrogant annoying..."

His rants went on as he flipped through random languages and he was initially unaware of Lilith and Adam coming up behind him. He then glanced over as his rant was finished.

"Fine, he's right, I can't do it alone. Adam you...Lilly?"

It wasn't uncommon for him to see Lilly strolling around the tower. Between her looks, shape shifting, pheromones and just simple teenage pheromones she managed to come and go. Hell she was likely a few steps away from being considered an honorary Titan.

'Hello Lilith. Sebastian needs your help. He's going off on a foolish quest, likely to get himself killed. He needs help. Will you and Adam accompany him?'

"I've told you, I can do it on my own. I don't need anyone's help. Besides, this is my own mission, I need to pay for what I did."

"Oh, right-!" Adam practically jumped as he nodded his head at the suggestion that he finally take her to Sebastian. "Right, you ah- came here for a reason." He nodded his head, reaching back to grab her hand and lead the girl through the Tower. "Have you been through here before? It can get kind of confusing if you aren't familiar with the layout." Which was something he knew from experience, given that he himself was the 'new guy' in the Tower and still occasionally had trouble finding anything beyond his own room and the gym. Well, the kitchen and living area was also fairly easy to find. So he knew where to go the important places.

"Why do I call him a 'wizard'?" Adam asked, craning his neck to look towards Lilith as he spoke, closing one eye briefly in thought. It was a slow effort, but his head was getting clearer. "Well, he does magic stuff. And who wouldn't wanna be called a wizard? Getting to throw lightning, and summon gold." He remarked with a sudden grin.

By the time the duo had actually made their way to the same workout station that held Sebastian, it seemed he'd finally made up his mind to accept the Admiral's advice. At the mention of his name the newbie Titan raised a hand in the air in greeting towards the Incupire. But, as soon as Sebastian had realized who'd come with him, Adam was well and forgotten... or hopefully only until he cleared his throat.

"I'm pretty sure when we came in here you were just admitting you CAN'T do it alone." He pointed out, tapping his foot impatiently. "And I've already told you, we're on a team. Hence, we ARE a team. So, that means if you need help, then your mission is also MY mission." Adam asserted with all the firmness he could manage.

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Lilith disengaged her hand from Adam’s, instead looping her arm around his, and leaning against him slightly as they looked on at @sebastian yelling at poor Admiral Fluffy Paws. She pouted. ”Oh do stop yelling at the poor thing. He only cares about you...or something close to that.” She walked over and sat down by the white haired cat and began to pet him. ”Why is Sebastian yelling at you now.” Her voice still sounded a bit like she was talking to a baby. Sometimes she half forgot that AFP wasn’t just a talking cat.

”He needs my help. And here he is, pretending that he doesn’t need anyone, ever. Well I guess that was cleared up.” Sebastian tried to arguing, again, that he didn’t need any help, and he could do it. ”Pay? What did you do?” She stopped petting AFP and walked towards Sebastian, her heels clicking on the ground. What had he done that he felt like he needed to pay for. It must have been really horrible, but probably also really fun, well fun to her.

Great, an adventure...and she wasn’t dressed for it, like usual. Why did no one ever think to inform her when heels were not the best option in footwear. Lilith slowly glanced back over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow at Adam Sato. Well without her clouding his mind, that boy could muster up some balls. She found herself appropriately impressed.

”Soo. I guess that means we are going. Anyone have shoes I can borrow?”

Lyrics from Turning Tables by Adele. Picture by Aurora. Table by (( Aurora !! of Caution 2.0.

The poor lad in question felt some color come to his face when the new girl looped her arm around his once they were in the room. Sure, he should probably have assumed there was something going on but, frankly, this was still the least strange part of his day. Probably one of the most normal parts of his week for that matter. Going from 'minor street pounding costume' to 'legitimately carded superhero' meant a lot of changes to his average week. And so, instead of trying to puzzle things out, he simply allowed Lilith to get her own cracks in while he watched her pet the Admiral.

"What kind of shoe IS appropriate when one is going through Hell? I suppose we should avoid anything with rubber soles?" Adam piped up, tapping his chin in thought. "Either way, given the collection the Tower plays host to, I'm sure we can find shoes in your size and preferred fashion SOMEWHERE." He offered up with a grin, happy to provide some sort of assistance to what was going on.

"Think I should also get a backpack, maybe bring water? What's the weather like in 'terrible ominous portal city'?" He inquired, trying to focus on the task at hand rather than keep watching Lilith from the corner of his eye.

"Sebastian is yelling because he insists on going on an extremely dangerous mission, one that had killed countless mages more powerful than he, alone. I insisted he ask someone to come with him. That's where you two come in."

Admiral Fluffy paws said before turning his attention back to Sebastian. Sure Lilith and Adam weren't the best in a situation like this but it was better than Sebastian going on his own and likely to die in the process. Admiral knew Sebastian most likely wouldn't succeed on his own.

"We most likely won't be going to Hell Adam. Just a few other realms. But go quick."

He said waiting before looking to Lilith. He was worried she'd judge him harshly for what he did, which is still complicated. He couldn't prove that she was going to judge him though.

"I killed 12 people the other night. Someone let me out when I went full Incubus. Besides, I assumed that like a lot of shape shifters all of your clothes were fake and you were basically nude. Ok, technically I was hoping you were always nude."

He said with a light laugh. It was the side of him that made it impossible to lie. No matter what he had no choice but to tell the truth. Sure he was good at bending it but he was also starting to enjoy it. He had a better excuse to say whatever he wanted.

"But fine, if the two of you are coming then hurry up. The portal won't stay open much longer."

words • tagged • status • outfit

Lilith giggled at Adam’s joke about not wearing rubber soles in Hell. Lili gave him a smile and wink of appreciation for offering to find her some shoes, and she did agree about the knapsack or whatever.

Lilith slowly turned back to Sebastian as he asner her question about what he’d done. She had no idea or explanation as to why it felt like her stomach dropped five feet or more. Sebastian, the black sheep prince had killed people. Someone had let him out? While she hated him for how he’d lied to her and gotten her on the Dark Commandos, she’d, for some reason, always liked his efforts at being a hero. Not to mention, even she’ wasn’t much for straight up killing people. Causing the chaos that led to them killing each other was one thing, but getting her hands dirty was...EW!!

”12!” She half whispered. Her stunned feeling didn’t last long as Sebastian went on to say that he just assumed she was always naked just because she could make illusion clothes.

”I am not. I happen to like the feeling of silk and cotton against my skin. Also my illusions only work on one person at a time,” she said, giving him a lukewarm shoulder. She hoped Adam would be back soon, at least then she’d have someone to talk to who wasn’t annoying.

Lyrics from Turning Tables by Adele. Picture by Aurora. Table by (( Aurora !! of Caution 2.0.

Adam gave his best imitation of a military salute to the Admiral before turning on his heel to rush out of the room. Getting to his quarters was easy enough, dumping out the backpack from school and stuffing it with what he considered his essentials. (Water, a few snacks, some energy drinks and a sizable first aid kit) After which he focused on obtaining the proper gear (including putting on his 'Tiger' mask. Which he DID put on.)

A quick search for open doors in the Tower allowed him to scavenge some additional shoes for Lilith herself, which he carried in a sack made from a pillow case before sprinting through the rest of the Tower and back to the room with the 'horrible ominous portal' and skidding to a stop with a sudden grin. "I wasn't sure what you'd prefer, so I just gathered up a bunch of things." He shrugged, dumping out the pillow case sack on the floor between all three of them.

"I honestly wouldn't be surprised if a few of them are hard soled enough to be used as a thrown weapon if we need them." He added, completely ignoring the mask he was currently wearing, waiting moreso to see if anyone planned to call him on wearing it. He wasn't completely sure if this was a 'superhero' thing or a 'ghost hunter' thing.

Her surprise at the number he'd racked up was noticeable. He didn't blame her. It was surprising, even for him. Sure he'd gone overboard fighting the Church before and killed a few more than he'd wanted, but this was different. This was killing for the sake of killing. Most of those people posed no threat to him and if anything were unaware of what was happening entirely.

"Well Lilly, not sure cotton and silk will be enough protection to what we're going after."

'There is no current material that would be enough protection to what you'll be dealing with. Dragons, giants, cyclops, insane wizards, and that's just the beginning.'

"You're a giant fluffy ball of confidence."

He said before turning his attention to Adam. He sighed and rolled his eyes as she mentioned all the shoes. Sebastian walked to stand between the two, looking back and forth to them. He stopped on Adam and shook his head.

"You, lose the mask, I can't take you serious and this is no time for dress up. Also, stop babying her, she's the future Queen of Hell and could probably rip you in half if she felt like it."

Then he turned his attention back to Lilith. He looked at her carefully, trying to focus through the natural lust an incubus felt towards a succubus. He'd worked hard to control his natural instincts but she didn't make it easy on him.

"You, knock it off with the pheromones and release him. You won't use him as a human shield when we're over there. Now the two of you, hurry, up, the portal is closing and it took me awhile to get enough blood for this."

He said before drawing his sword and running, jumping through the portal. It rippled as if he had just jumped into water. On the other side the portal would spit them out about 10 feet in the air. Sebastian landed calmly on his feet and surveyed the area. It looked like your generic fantasy setting, so vaguely English countryside. Only difference was the red clouds and the fact there seemed to be no buildings or people, for now. The sun was out but it didn't seem to be harming Sebastian, for now.