Ashton groans, feeling his head swarm and his hands feel numb as he flinches, hearing voices surround him, feeling his ears and causing his head to pound even more.
"...can't believe you-." A voice said, causing Ashton to flinch at the high noise penetrating his ears.
"Well-how wasI-he was just there-." Another said, causing Ashton to grumble and try to force his eyes open.
"...demon inside-?" A third adds, causing Ashton to burrow his eyebrows and breath, focusing on his nerves and body and he shakes, frowning heavily as he tries to force himself to open his eyes to see the word in front of him, but he fails yet again.
"...is he like you-?" It's this voice that suddenly awakes Ashton out of whatever trance he is, causing Ashton to snap his eyes open and come face to face with a tall man--he's wearing thick black glasses on his pale face, and his black eyes are wide in surprise He has a beauty mark on his chin, short jet black hair that touches the bottoms of his ears, a slim nose, soft moles across his face--he's handsome, crazily so, and tall, crazily so--that part makes Ashton a bit annoyed and jealous.
"Ah..." The tall man said, shoving one hand in his all black suit's pocket, the other shoving a thumb at Ashton. "He's awake...fun."
Ashton blinks, squinting his eyes, looking down at the floor at an odd angle, than back at the handsome man standing beside him. Ashton raises an eyebrow, realizing that he's looking at the mysterious man upside down, and now that Ashton is fully awake, he realizes that he's upside, and that his hands are chained to his chest, his legs roped together and hanging from a very concerningly old ceiling as Ashton looks at the group of people surrounding him.
"Huh...?" Ashton said, raising an eyebrow, his eyes adjusting to the bright headlights. "Where the fuck am I...?"
"Ah, quite a good question." There's a soft voice from behind the tall man. A short girl peeks out, her hair chopped in a bob and forehead covered in bangs. She has deep hazel eyes, thin eyebrows, and a facial expression that already tells how amused she is by this ordeal. "You were caught by Mad Dog. You beat his ass, and we had to save him-."
"He didn't beat my ass." The tall man—Mad Dog said, scowling. "Can it, Killer Brigade. This was suppose to be your mission anyway."
"I was needed elsewhere." The short girl, Killer Brigade said. "Plus I got to see you get wretched, so I'm happy."
"That's quite mean, Brigade!" A taller girl from besides Killer Brigade pouts, and she's pretty--very pretty--with aqua blue curly hair and matching aqua eyes, and a soft, pretty smile adorns her face as she speaks. "Mad Dog was just having a bad day, is all-!"
"I don't need this..." The taller man huffs, rolling his eyes. He turns his head, peaking over his shoulder to stare through a glass wall. A short woman with brown hair slicked in a bun, wearing a blue, white, and pink kimono stares back at Mad Dog.
Seconds later, another tall man with light golden brownish hair and dull brown eyes wearing an all black suit next to her whispers something in her ear before blankly staring forward.
"Am I done or what?" Mad Dog asked. "I've worked overtime for a week now. I want a freaking break, or a raise, or I quit."
The woman behind the glass sighs, waving him off.
"You aren't done yet, Mad Dog." The woman said, her voice soft, light, matching her feminine beauty. "Be a good employee and finish your tasks."
Mad Dog grits his teeth; his eye twitches as he balls his hands into fist. He huffs, shoving a finger at Ashton as he lazily hangs from the ceiling.
"You heard what I said, right?! This wasn't even suppose to me my freaking mission! Why do I have to still be here?!" Mad Dog said, irritation in his voice. "I want to go freaking home! Jesus Christ-!"
"While Mad Dog pouts like a bitch," The short, stoic woman said through the window, beckoning the two girls next to him to her. "Killer Brigade and First Shooter, please come out and join me here."
The two girls share a look before Killer Brigade shrugs and First Shooter offers a strained smile. Killer Brigade offers
Mad Dog a lazy wave while First Shooter offers him a pitying look as they head to where the woman sits with her entourage. Jin shoots the woman a glare through the glass, crossing his arms against his chest as he and the woman begin to have a staring match.
"I want to go home." Mad Dog said. "This shot is stupid. The fuck am I here for?"
The small woman's eyes roam over to where Ashton lazily hangs, a glint of interest reflecting through the window—it powerful enough to cause Ashton to sweat.
"You captured it." The woman said, nodding her head to Ashton. "That means you are a witness-."
"As well as the victim!" Mad Dog roars, pointing towards Ashton and then his face, where his glasses reside. "I have to order a new pair of glasses, get stitches, and deal with a soar back for the next to weeks because he-him-whoever the fuck he is decided to throw me into three buildings-!"
"I did what-?" Ashton asked, raising an eyebrow. "I don't remember doing that. That's…are you okay…?"
"Can it-you-!" Mad Dog said, his voice elevated. "I can't fucking believe I had to be abused just for you to drag me here and-!"
"You." The woman said, her eyes on Ashton. "What is your name?"
Ashton blinks, his eyes wondering up as he watches his feet sway. He suddenly becomes dizzy, fighting the urge to use all of his strength to hold his head.
"Ashton." Ashton curtly responds. "And the fuck are you guys?"
The woman raises an eyebrow, meeting eyes with the tall man beside her. She softly shrugs.
"You and Mad Dog will get along nicely, great." The woman said, her eyes sharpened as she looks to Ashton again. "You-do you know you destroyed half a city and defeated a demon?"
Ashton raises an eyebrow, confusion obvious on his face as the woman silently stares at him.
"No I-wait-what?" Ashton said, swallowing heavily as he meets eyes with the strange woman. "I don't remember-."
But than Ashton stills, his eyes becoming wide, his heart hammering as he does that—remember—he remembers the large orange demon. He remembers his friends dying before his eyes. He remembers the little girl who's hand was so close to his before she was killed in the crossfire. He remembers crying. He remembers a hot feeling of despair and rage fill him so deep it burries into his lungs. He remembers the pain in his mouth, his ears, his backside burning, his forehead spilling like it was meant to be cut in half-.
Ashton blinks, breathing heavy, swaying as his big eyes shake, his fears rise, and his uncertainty about everything grows.
"It looks like you remember something." The woman said, pointing to the middle of her forehead. "Now do you know that you have an ancient devil inside of you, Ashton?"