The Story

## In the beginning,

everything was simpler. For one, there wasn't any sin.

...At least, not until humans were cast from paradise. They had to be tested, and this was only the first trial of many that lay ahead of them. As these tests and time marched onwards, something else became apparent.

Angels were susceptible to the temptations of their human counterparts. They soon began to stray from their destined paths. Soon, their mind and soul became so tainted with ill will that they were cast down to live on the earth with the humans. Once they found their way back to the correct path, they would be allowed to return.

However, humans and the earth are both quite often cruel. These seven angels that were cast down, they were all unique. They strayed in seven unique paths, completely alone in their own quests. Humans, fearful and unfamiliar of these newcomers, greeted them with hatred, ostracizing them further. Alone, they only had their separate paths to spiral down further, engrossing themselves entirely in this...sin.

At last, they would finally stray so far that not even God could save them. They were shunned, becoming kings of a Demonic race.

## Daten City

 A city clinging to the threshold between heaven and hell. It is a city of the damned, and yet a city of the hopeful. Tormented by ill-tempered ghosts, it is here where angels prove themselves worthy of redemption, and here where demons prove themselves capable of claiming the Earth as their own. When their paths cross, which is surprisingly common in this city, mortals become caught in the crossfire, and it is then that they choose to make their stand. Would you succumb to temptation and join the ranks of the damned? Or do you rise up and better yourself for the prospect of salvation and the good of mankind?

It's been two years since the "legendary" angels that graced this city, and the father that guided them with a stern hand, had solved the crisis associated with the fabled Hellsmonkey. They have since left Daten, following this quest through, that is their calling, and their story is a different one for a different time. Nay, this is the story of Daten City! And, with every ending comes a new beginning. More angels are falling victim to temptation than ever, and now more than ever are demons trying to tighten their vicegrip on the surface. And, beyond that, trouble's been fermenting ever since the demons let the fault lines heave in two--just what, who's to know, but there's a strange feeling in the air, and it's not the pollution.

These are trying times--question is: who will rise to the occasion?

## Since then

 A group of Angels and Humans have found themselves a place in this world, protecting the city and its, evidently extremely fragile, faultline between the Ethereal realms.

Strappon, a young Templar Priest who can hear the word of God as Garterbelt could long ago, has teamed up with Ampallang, one of God's Right-hands, to bring Angels and Humans together.

Against them is a monolith of a company and Western Hell's figurehead, Hell Corp. Hell Corp was established to create workflow for demons and streamline the process of Ghost creation in the West. Originally run by the former Mayor of Daten City, Corset, it seems to have a pattern of disappearing Absolutes.

When Strappon began his rally against them, the leader was Cincher. After her disappearance, she was succeeded by Chapeau, and after her, Mantle, both disappearing mysteriously as well. Nothing is known about where they went, or who is responsible, as not even a trace of them is left to follow.

Shortly after the recent disappearance of Mantle, a new Absolute took over. Shroud, a man unknown to even the other Absolutes, took Hell Corp by storm in a matter of days, claiming to be the "Supreme Absolute." His intentions are unclear, but he and his companion Torsolette clearly have plans to take over the Earth as all previous rulers have.

The strange behavior on Earth attracted the attention of a different type of being. Inquisitors and Thrones, the origins of Demons and Angels, came to Earth to check on the species they have created and how they had advanced. The origins of Soul Threads and Soul Stones came with them. Intrigued by the behavior of their descendants, they decided to stay in order to observe and possibly help with the war between races. However, they were unfamiliar with Ghosts and sin, so they have a lot to learn.

Despite the frequency of Ghost attacks, a new type of ghost had been discovered, Lost Souls. This docile spirit only seemed to attack when provoked or during residual behavior, and as the Angels had learned from Kuchisake-Shoujo, they can be corrupted. Demons, too, had learned that at any cost they were to capture and corrupt these spirits, and when defeated they seemed to release something Shroud was collecting.

### Soul Thread Corruption

Soon after that, a hoard of zombies had been spotted in Carpen and Romero Town. Angels were asked to investigate by an old friend of Strappon's, Father Handcuffs, who had been searching for missing Ghost Hunters. The Angels made their way to the scene to find it overrun with these zombies, and after a fierce battle and a surprising amount of property damage, the Angels found their weapons had worked against the zombies (unlike the previous Daten Angels had found once before). The Angels had yet to catch a break, because afterward their leaders had been captured by the Demons. Thankfully, they were able to retrieve them once again on a bluff, but how long would that last?

Not long enough.

With celebrations of their leaders' return, Angels were back to their usual business before long and peace had been restored to Daten. Or so they had thought, before Strappon returned with terrible news that Father Handcuffs had been corrupted by Soul Threads. After defeating Father Handcuffs and his ghost dogs, the Angels were left with a feeling that the Immortal War was continuing once again. The moral had only dropped for a moment, and they spent time recovering themselves and cleaning the city of the remaining dogs.

After a long period of rest and the holidays had ended, Angels were contacted by the North to seek an Archangel named Shawl that had disappeared in the West Hollywood District investigating strange activity. During their search, they ran into a Ghost that looked quite a bit like her that seemed to be causing the mass hysteria. Following it in hot pursuit, their attacks would not damage the ghost nearly enough and Archer Gloves described her as an extremely volatile spirit that could possibly explode at any moment, causing massive damage to the city and its residents.

Demons appeared on the scene to investigate the strange activity on their terms, when all parties involved were informed the only way to repent the spirit was for a Demon weapon to destroy her. Acting quickly, Shroud ordered his ranks to destroy her, and the problem seemed to be solved. Just in time, a demon landed on her from the sky and granted her a quick end.

That is, until a strange sort of Ghost appeared and ate her Soul Stone.

Elated to see the ghost, Torsolette wished to be acquainted with it, but it attempted to devour her Soul Threaded hair. As the group had geared up to destroy the Ghost, it fled into Daten's old mayor's district, or Ground Zero as it's formally known now.

### Ground Zero and The Absolute

After heading back into Ground Zero, the Angels chased the Ghost, who had been suspected to be a Nephilim. Much to their dismay, they were roadblocked by Lethocs and The Mayor, stating the inner district to be government property. Fed up with the blockage, Strappon wagered with Shroud in a game of kickball- if Demons lost, they could pursue the Nephilim further and if Angels lost, they would stay out of the Demon's hair forever. Tempted by the offer, Shroud accepted. He seemed strangely fixed on the group of Angels.

However, barely an inning into the game, an enormous finger bust out of the ground and interrupted them. Duster quickly destroyed the finger, and it burst into dead threads and dust. Immediately after that, the Absolute suffered a mental breakdown and revealed he was a clone before running off and disappearing into the wreckage, leaving his mask and crew of demons behind.

Two weeks pass with no indication of where or what the Absolute is doing, and in the meantime there is an egregious increase in Ghost and Lost Soul activity in Daten. This causes concern from Angels and Demons alike. Torsolette, though still very much involved in gaining information for the Demons about Lost Souls, seems to spend most of her time locked in her lab, happily toying with a Nephlim's Threads. Out of nowhere, Shroud returns in the same state he left in (unhinged and obsessed with power). In an experimental act, he adds the Soul Thread of the Nephilim to his body, morphing the form of his arm.

When the Absolute returns, Hell Corp finds employees have been going missing. Shroud has taken action to finding these individuals, putting posters up in an attempt to obtain information, but his sights seem set elsewhere, regardless.

Will the Angels be able to fight the massive amount of Ghosts flooding the city, and does this have anything to do with Shroud? Where was he for two weeks, and why is he so obsessed with Soul Threads? What does this mean for our Heroes?

### Reputation Ruined

As the Angels pondered what Shroud's case was, a wealthy CEO of the most prominent company in the clothing and textile industry, the Ophir Fashion Company's Top Coat Ophir, approached them with a request- to destroy the ghost of his father that had caused a severe drought in California. Unwilling to continue suffering in the heat, the Angels took on the task the way they usually did, which unfortunately destroyed the company building.

Top Coat sent the Angels on their way, irate that his company had been ruined by the flood after the ghost's repentance. Daten City had flooded, and as a result the Angels had to suffer the consequences of flack that the media had pushed on them.

Since then, the humans of Daten City have questioned the Immortals' interference in their lives and if it was truly worth the losses they'd suffered, unable to think past the bad to what good the Angels have done for them. Many Angels who worked were facing consequences, and Strappon has found people have come to the Abbey less frequently to donate to their cause. In general, Angels now have an incredibly scrutinizing eye on them.

### Attempting Stardom

With the Angels' reputation waning, the Abbey had been faced with a problem; If their reputation was so bad, could they really go out in public?

The remedy came suddenly and unexpectedly in the form of a media war!

Fighting fire with fire, Duster began to take in the limelight of becoming a famous Angel Hero, much like the sisters had long ago. Suddenly, he became one of Daten's own celebrities, even appearing in ads. With this newfound fame, the pride fall took the lead in helping improve the Angels' reputation.

### The Absolute's Madness

Meanwhile, in the background of it all, Shroud and his force of demons made their way to a mysterious dimension where the Nephilim seem to reside. Upon entering, it was clear the beasts were much larger and more intimidating than they had originally presented themselves to be.

In addition to fighting a Nephilim, the demons found a Primal-Formed Ampallang in its depths (though he was speaking exclusively Russian and difficult to understand.)

Once the Nephilim was sealed to the ground, the Absolute finished it off and, to everyone's disturbance, took its Soul Stone into his own body, also revealing he had several more attached to him. Both the Inquisitors and his employees were left disturbed by his action.

### Daten Confidential: A Demon in Disguise

Back at the Abbey, there seemed to be some mischief afoot as several men were found murdered in its halls, sucked dry in moments of ecstasy. After an investigation lead by the Angels, the smoking gun of a phone had been found by Vampire Collar, and the killer was determined to be Gogo Boots.

Their harsh questioning revealed him to be an Incubus disguised as an Angel, and apparently he was influencing Cowlneck and the Seraph Dermal. Days later, he would reveal himself to be a demon by the name of Azazel, a demon of Hell's deep lore. Luna Circlet signed a pact with the demon to keep him in the Abbey's walls so they could keep tabs on him.

### Nothing to Appreciate

October 13th was determined to be Absolute Appreciation Day, in which Mankini organized himself. During the events of the party, a demon named Opera Gloves made an appearance after secluding himself for months to find his younger brothers' captor. After questioning several demons, Virgin Killer and Ribbon pointed out that they believed Shroud was the captor and his brother may be... Dead.

When the Absolute himself showed himself to his party, Opera Gloves question him. Shroud didn't deny having been his captor, after which Opera Gloves pulled out a human gun and shot him. The shot did nothing to Shroud, but it was enough to shake up the partygoers to rally against the Absolute after he threw Opera Gloves out the window to Hell Corp. Shroud had revealed that he would not take kindly to treason, summoning some large shadow to do his bidding- much larger than any of the demons present.

The event was enough to shake up several of Hell Corps employees. With permission from Luna Circlet, the demons were provided amnesty in the Abbey's walls until something could be done about the rogue Absolute.

### The Lord of the Flies

A few days afterward, a child was snatched by an elusive group of people calling themselves "Flies." They were revealed to be part of a group called "The Order of the Flies" who served Beelzebub, Prince of Gluttony. A meeting was held in which Azazel was revealed to actually be Asmodeus, Prince of Lust; Still bound under contract, he told them that Beelzebub was taking the form of Sash.

Two demons of lore had revealed themselves, being disguised and blending in with society. Why were these powerful demons hiding, and does this have anything to do with Shroud's behavior?

1. ↑ Referencing "...Of the Dead II: Aftermath" on deviantART
2. ↑ Father Handcuffs' corruption: http://fav.me/dbi6bl1
3. ↑ Corrupted Soul Stone Angel Ghost: http://fav.me/dbzf80n
4. ↑ *Threadbare Comic,* http://fav.me/dc5wtbe
5. ↑ News Clip, Daten's hero takes down yet another dastardly ghost!
6. ↑ Next Stop: Deepest Pit of Hell RP; Thread Link