A Purpose [Open to Company Members]

Alec re-entered the office as Jr was saying something about genetic memory. Alec told Kuro that he could head back to Makkura if he wanted. The village was pretty much unguarded with Kinzoku and Emiko off in that new desert place, and he'd feel more comfortable if Kuro was on watch. Kuro was more than happy to go on guard duty.

"Soubi Shinkai, it's the name of the city over there. Haikyo, that girl you saved that time over on Sunset from the old boss of New Vegas? She runs the place. All grown up now too. Didn't you have a thing for her once?... The two of you might want to get in contact seeing as you're both bosses now."

Alec slid the window shut noticing that Jr had been putting together some sort of gadgets. Devon was looking at the Templar thing that could steal powers. He wondered how the Yata kid was coming along with finding where they made those things, and shutting it down.

"So, what's this i'm hearing about... genetic memories?"

”Yeah, I have no interest in looking in my own past either. Especially because Cala asked me not to – she knows I'll stumble across her memories and she doesn't want me to know what happened to her when that bastard made her a vampire...”

Devon kept her attention on the collar in her hand. She looked it over curiously, noticing several buttons, and what looked like wires lining the inside of the collar that would rest against a persons bare flesh. The thing itself looked as if it were run by a battery – two double A batteries in fact. There was also an on and off switch, though it seemed to require a key to shut off; something that was likely done on purpose to keep the wearer from shutting it off themselves were they to get free. The whole thing was sadistic in Devon's opinion: even though she was human she could still sympathize how horrible it must feel to suddenly go from being a powerful being to being stripped of everything without warning or good reasoning.

She heard Alec enter and listened to him explain that the new location that had been discovered was a place was Soubi Shingai and that it was run by an individual named Haikyo: apparently someone that Junior used to have a thing for. When Alec asked about genetic memories was when she finally looked up and at him. ”I created a machine called an Animus, or machines rather since I made two of them, that allow one to go through the past of anyone whose blood they have. And I mean like... way past. Thousands of years even. I set up two machines so that two people could either go through different memories at the same time, or sync into the same memory and relive it together. Niala kind of gave me the idea for it when she told me how her ability is limited to the individual she's touching or the item. With my machine you could see the lives of multiple ancestors if you wanted and relive them as if you're there yourself. I figured it might come in handy eventually...”

"Of course there are risks to long term usage; it could cause mental damage. There's also a bleeding effect I noticed when I was testing it out - you can... sort of gain abilities in a way."

Haikyo... he remembered her from the lazy days of Sunset. The days spent lying in a pile of pillows, stuffing his face with chips, staring at half naked girls. The boss of New Vegas, now Ground Zero, tried to drag her off somewhere to have his way with her, and Jr killed him. He'd also spent some time with her up in the house, when that spirit thing from Shinkai, now the ruins of Velo, was on a rampage.

"Yeah, I guess we were close but I don't know this "thing" you're talking about," Jr said, opening one of the bottom drawers to get more parts for the new device he was building. "I don't think she liked me like that. But it's good to know she didn't end up dead or as some sex slave to some fiend from hell or something. At some point i'll have to make contact."

While Devon explained the specifics of the Animus to his father, he continued with his new device. Another upgrade to the Company Cellphone, it was a chip that would make holographic screens, as well as a holographic keyboard, somewhat like the office computer. He'd have to make enough for everyone to have.

While listening to what Devon was telling him, the sarcasm left his face. His mood turned serious. He was the same way he was before fights, back during the Kingdom/Chaos Squad days. A machine that let a person see memories through their own bloodline; memories of their people?... Perhaps now Alec could find out why he was thrown out of Heaven. He could find out why he became a Fallen Angel, condemned to live down here on Earth.

"...There's questions I need answered... If this machine of yours really does what you say it does, then I wanna take it for a ride. I don't mean to disrespect Darkman, but my real family... I have to know. It's something that's been itching at me forever... For as long as i've known, the way it was told to me, I was a trouble maker and a prankster, and I caused an accident that got some people killed. I got in trouble for it, and apparently some of the things I said got me kicked out... but i've always thought this was bullshit. Now I have the chance to find out the truth..."

Alec motioned for Devon to follow him while walking towards the doors to the hall. Answers to questions he'd wondered about forever were right downstairs. He would finally see what his real family looked like; his real mother, his real father. He would finally find out why things had to happen like they did.

"Come on Devon, i'll be your first test subject."

She glanced over to Junior, wondering what he was working on, though she didn't ask: Alec's next comment made her turn her attention back to him with her eyebrows raising up in a mixture of surprise and shock. She hadn't really expected anyone to be so willing to want to use her machines, though from what Alec was saying he sure enough had good reason to do so – he wanted answers to questions he couldn't get any other way. He wanted to know about his family; and apparently he didn't believe the reasoning he had been given for why he had been kicked out of Heaven.

Before she could respond he was motioning for her to follow him as he walked out of the office, saying that he would be her first test subject. Still slightly shocked by how willing he was to do this she followed him quickly, bringing the collar with her. She was going to end up multi-tasking: checking the collar out in more detail while Alec wandered through his ancestors memories in the Animus. ”Okay, but I have to warn you... we might not be able to jump straight into the memories you want. We might have to go back before then and work our way up – but we'll see what happens.”

It was no surprise really. Jr himself had only heard the story a couple of times. His father was a Fallen Angel. He got thrown out of heaven when he was a small child over a prank gone wrong. He only remembered small bits and pieces, because he'd lost all memories of heaven and his real family in the fall to Earth. Besides Nevan, the so-called uncle he'd never met, and the rumors of an aunt named Alexis making an appearance during one of those many wars against those kingdom clowns, none of the Kanes from up there had ever come looking for him.

So his father wanted answers, and now he could have them. Personally Jr couldn't have given a damn about those Kanes up there; what kind of family throws their kid out alone? Fuck them was always what he said. He could never have imagined his father throwing him out there in the world to fend for himself all alone. He'd always made sure that he and Serena - when she was around - were safe and sound. He brought in Dez when she was 4, and he brought in Demi after that whole thing over on Sunset.

Jr would keep watch through the cameras. He wanted to see this, but not through that machine himself. There had to be a good reason things turned out like they did. Jr sent a text out to Demi, Dez and Amaranth, figuring they'd want to be informed.

Hey

Devon invented a machine that lets people look at the memories of their ancestors, dad is using it to find out why he got kicked out of heaven. Unless you all show up to see this for yourselves, will keep you informed.

Jr

[Exit]

Downstairs and into R&D, Alec made his way over to one of Devon's new inventions. He took off his coat and lie it across one of the nearby chairs. Devon said that they might not be able to jump straight to why he was thrown out of heaven, that they may have to go to earlier memories and work their way to the memory in question.

"A synchronization of sorts, then. Alright, where do we begin..."

He was anxious to get underway. Alec sat on the seat that seemed to have just one arm rest. Alec assumed that the machine was going to need a sample of his blood in order to look through his memories. Devon would probably have to set things up at this point...

Seraphina had been pretty much wondering around since returning from Sunset Isle; she had decided not to head directly over to Makkura and instead get to know Edge a little bit more. She had learned a lot since being there, but had spent the majority of the time within the safety of the tower. She had found Devon's office to be the most fascinating.

Which, was exactly why she was headed in that direction now. Just as she was walking down the hall she caught sight of Alec and Devon entering in. Grinning to herself she skipped in after them in time to see Alec sitting down in a weird chair. ”What's going on?”, she'd ask curiously.

Devon followed Alec down to the R&D and watched him take a seat at one of the Animus. She went over to her desk and started up her computer. The screen-saver which was a bunch of color changing bubbles disappeared and a variety of programs were opened all of which had the title of Animus on them. She entered in a variety of commands to get things started and to begin the loading process for the programs she would need.

”I have translators and data packet information ready in case you need it – I pretty much have every language known to man-kind as well as non-human kind loaded. Apparently Niala speaks a variety of languages so she was able to help a lot. So, if you need translations for anything while you're in there we should be good to go...”

Devon then looked over to Seraphina as she went about picking up a bag filled with blood drawing supplies. ”Alec's going to use my machine to look into his past...”

Alec got comfortable in the chair. There was a device on the top of the chair to hold his head and probably to monitor his brain patterns. While Devon fired things up, he wondered what he was going to see. This would be the first time he'd see his father, his mother, his other siblings. He'd get to see where he came from.

Most of all he'd get to find out why he was thrown down here, to be chased most of his life, to fight in wars that went over 10 years, to watch many of his friends die. If anything happened differently than he was told, Alec planned on going to heaven himself for answers directly from his people's mouths, even if it meant suffering the wrath of God himself.

"I don't know if your computer can speak the language of Angels, but i'll let you know."

Alec was all business. A serious look was on his face, one that hadn't been there since the days of the Kingdom and constant war. He wanted to get this going as soon as possible...

Seraphina's eyelids grew a bit wide as she listened to Devon explain what was going on: this machine that Alec was sitting on would allow him to look into his past through technology? That was awesome. ”Oh, wow! That's amazing! I wish I could see, too!” Seraphina loved the idea of learning new things, and it was making her a bit jealous to say the least. Still, it was amazing none the less.

She positioned herself off to the side so that she could watch Devon go to work doing whatever it was she had to do to make the technology work – technology was still rather amazing to her after all. ”This is all kinda cool...”

Devon pulled out some alcohol swabs and went about the quick process of getting a bit of Alec's blood that she would need to make this whole process work. She would also work on the rest of the machine, getting it set up so that it would run smoothly before she returned to her computer to check the progress of the programs she was loading up. She glanced over to Seraphina with a thoughtful look: she was half tempted to suggest she went through the Animus with Alec since she had them set up to run like that, but she didn't know if Alec wanted company on this trip or not.

Instead, she turned her attention back onto her computer, figuring she would give Alec a chance to suggest it if he wanted to. ”Almost ready.”

Seraphina had come into the room. He'd wondered where she'd gone after coming back from the survival adventure, but it couldn't have been anywhere far. Devon had 2 of these machines, but he didn't know how two people would work in the same memory. Alec didn't want to involve her or anyone in this; this was a matter that he figured he had to handle alone.

"Seraphina you should ask Jr for one of those Company Cellphones so we all have a way of keeping in touch with you, and you have a way to get a hold of us too. Last thing we need is you getting lost, or some Templar getting his hands on you..."

Alec didn't even make a face when Devon took some of his blood. His healing factor, even though it wasn't half as powerful as it was without his necklace, was still strong enough to nearly instantly heal him. This was something he'd been waiting for his whole life. Answers.

Seraphina looked over to Alec, watching as Devon retrieved some of his blood and got to work in finishing setting up the Animus for this trip down memory lane that Alec was about to take. At Alec's words she nodded a bit: she had seen a lot of people on cellphones when she was wondering around but she had never thought about bothering to own one. ”Alright... maybe Junior's still upstairs... I'll go find him. Enjoy your uh... would it be a trip?”, she asked curiously. Contemplating this she waved goodbye and skipped out of the R&D department.

She would head back to the elevator and take it upstairs. Once off she would skip back down the hallway and peak her head into Junior's office before walking in and looking around with a small smile on her face. ”Junior?”

Devon, chuckling softly, would watch Seraphina skip out of the research department. She couldn't help but smile a bit: Seraphina's constant happiness was a bit infectious in a way, and Devon couldn't help but wonder if that was actually the case – was Seraphina empathetic? She wouldn't put it past her.

Refocusing on Alec she finished putting everything in order and then returned to her computer. ”Alright, here we go. If you're ready I'll start the program up...” She would pause, giving him the chance to say if he was ready or not. If he was ready she would start up the Animus, booting memories up from the blood sample she had taken from him. ”Alright, this might take a few tries... I need to find a memory stable enough to work with your mind. I'm taking this slow so it might take a few tries.”

With that said she would attempt to boot up the first series of memories available...

Jr had one screen up next to him of R&D, to keep an eye on his father. He himself was curious to know why things turned out like they did. He'd long thought about it over the years honestly. Why had his father been kicked out of heaven? It wasn't really like Jr was sorry about it; had he not, Jr or his sister Serenity - where ever she was now - might not have been born.

The glass door of the office came open and in peeked the head of his new aunt Seraphina. "Hey," he said, finishing up on the new chips to the cell phones. "Just adding the finishing touches to a new gadget of mine. What's up, aunt Seraphina? Something I can help you with?"

Seraphina said to enjoy the trip, but Alec highly doubted that he was going to enjoy what he was about to see. When Devon said she was ready and was about to start the program, Alec closed his eyes. He suddenly found himself in a large, white space. It seemed like he was inside of a computer.

Memories that weren't his began to flash in front of him. Memories of Angels and Demons at war, in a setting that looked like something out of a dream, or a fantasy. Angels, men and women, clad in armor with spears and swords, weak, but very fast. Demons clad in their own armor with axes and clubs, slow, but very powerful. Angels were killed. Demons were killed.

Then there was one angel who looked like Alec, or rather, Alec looked like him. He stood above many of the warrior Angels, seemingly a General or Commander. He had 6 large white feathered wings and a magnificent glowing gold halo. He had the Kane trademark white hair, and wore glowing grey armor. Who was this? Was this his father?

Nodding with a bigger smile spreading across her face Seraphina walked into the office properly and over to Junior's desk. She looked at what he was working on curiously and then back to him. ”Ah, yes. You're father said I should get a... what did he call it... cellphone from you. Yes, that's right, a cellphone. So everyone can get ahold of me, and in case those Templar people show up and bother me.” Seraphina was quite excited about the idea of having her own phone, though she was sure it might take a moment for her to get used to how to work one. Still, it would be awesome.

”What were you making?”, she asked curiously.

Devon worked quickly to ensure that the memory was stable between the Animus and Alec. She worked quickly, surfing through the information that she had while recording everything that Alec was seeing while she too watched from her computer screen. She wouldn't, of course, see it like he was – to her it was more like a movie on a screen while to him it would be much, much more real.

She paid close attention to the individual who resembled Alec with the special looking wings. She wondered if this could be his father – or perhaps another relative? He certainly looked similar to him. Either way she ensured while she watched that things were kept steady and working properly, while also watching Alec for any signs of stress or danger from the Animus.

Jr remembered that she was from a time long past. She probably wouldn't know much about phones and whatnot. "A good idea. Some weird guys are going around. They tried to kidnap your niece Nanalie but my new guy Yata stopped them. Its a long story..."

Jr opened the right lower drawer and opened a black case to grab another one of the androids. After opening the back to put in his new chip, he snapped the case back on. "Ok, when you touch the screen it'll recognize you and put you in the system. There's a little icon on the screen that will show you how to use it. I just made an upgrade that will let you see things kind of like my computer here; it makes 3d holograms. If you stand the phone upright on something it even makes you a holographic keyboard, for times when typing with your thumbs just won't work. Here, give it a try."

Jr handed the phone towards his aunt. He also had one of the many robots that wandered the building to deliver copies to the rooms of all Company members.

Company Cellphone:

Upgrade (Free to all Company members):

A small robot rolled into R&D through one of the hidden doors in the wall with the new cellphone upgrade. There was one for Devon and one for Alec.

John Kane was one of the best Warrior Angels in Heaven. He was known for coming up with ingenious ways to deal with Demons and Arch Demons despite being faster, but weaker than them. In one particularly harrowing battle on the outskirts of Heaven in which many of John's subordinates and friends were killed, he came up with a technique that allowed him to nearly match up with a Demon's strength, at the same time increasing his endurance to untold levels, at the sacrifice of drastically reducing his speed.

Alec, as John, fought in this battle in which he decimated an entire invading army in his new "Demon Trigger" state, which altered his appearance somewhat. He was slightly more muscular. His white hair seemed to glow. His veins and blood seemed to as well, seen visibly in his neck and face. His eyes were a blood red. John's spear seemed to slice through a Demon's tough hide with no resistance at all, like a hot knife through butter. He single handedly routed the army and sent those who still stood fleeing back to the depths of hell.

With the battle over, John and the remaining Angels in his troupe gathered their dead. As the Demons had come up with a new poison and coated their weapons with it; poison that prevented a slain Angel from being resurrected, there was much anger and grief. John wasn't able to grieve for his fallen comrades for long, for he was informed that his wife had gone into labor and was currently in the process of giving birth to his third son.

Warrior Angels lived in an area that resembled Earth, just below Heaven. There were humongous temples that stretched upwards into the clouds themselves, containing the kingdom of Heaven, Guardian Angels, and God himself. Guardian Angels dwelled in Heaven, whereas Warrior Angels lived below Heaven, to fight against the invading hordes of Hell.


Martha Kane was a Guardian Angel, one of those that were the last line of defense should any invader make it past the Warriors. Guardian Angels were the best of the best, and Martha was among the best of those. Taken with John in a "love at first sight" sort of thing, John and Martha quickly fell in love, married and had 4 kids: John Jr, Harriet, and the twins Alexander and Alexis. John Jr was destined to become just like his father, a Warrior Angel. Harriet's strong suit was her brains, possessing genius level intellect. Alexander and Alexis were popular, and let the fame and status go to their heads.

All of them were at the hospital waiting for their father, who arrived with his armor still drenched in the blood of his enemies. He entered to witness his newborn son taking his first breath, and also to be the one to cut his cord. Martha was in good condition after the birth. John was the first to hold his son, whom he'd just gotten back from fighting for.

"What's his name, my love?" asked Martha.

"...Alec," John answered. "Alec Kane."

Seraphina tilted her head a bit to the left with a frown on her face: she didn't like hearing that some weirdo's had attempted to kidnap Nanalie. Yet, she was also glad that Yata had been able to stop that from happening. She definitely understood why Alec had wanted her to get a cellphone now from Junior.

She took the cellphone, her smile returning to her face, as she put her finger against the screen. The phone downloaded her information and then she started the tutorial; which made it easy enough for her to figure the phone out and understand how to use it. She played with it for a moment or two, able to make the keyboard and such appear as well; her smile transforming into a grin. ”This is quite amazing, Junior, thank you.”

She darkened her cellphones screen and then slipped it into the pocket of her dress. Her attention then focused back on Junior and a light frown formed on her face once more. ”Do I need to worry about these weirdo's going over to Makkura? Or rather, being able to follow me to Makkura if I return home?”

Devon kept careful watch of Alec's vital signs and brain functions while he continued to use the Animus. She also watched what was going on with Alec's memories: she watched as Alec's father displayed a strange power that seemed to make him incredibly strong, as well as the fact that he fought very well and easily cut through the Demons and Arch Demons. A poison had been used to keep the Angels from being resurrected, and there was a great deal of sadness because of this. Following this Alec's father rushed off to the hospital room in time to be the first person to hold Alec in his arms.

Devon leaned back in her chair comfortably, still watching carefully. She picked up her mug of hot vanilla chai tea and sipped at it while continuing to keep close attention.

Jr made the screen next to him a little bigger and zoomed in some. He was able to see how Heaven looked, which was what he'd always imagined it to be, and what his actual grandfather looked like. Apparently his name was John Kane. He was a seasoned and feared Warrior Angel, the only one with a special technique called "Demon Trigger" that allowed him to go toe to toe with Demons.

His grandmother's name was Martha Kane, and was apparently even more bad ass than John, seeing as she was a Guardian Angel, and who one faced should they happen to make it past the Warriors.

They got together in a fashion that could only be described as a storybook romance and had a bunch of kids, Alec, his father, being one of them. Jr was able to witness his father being born and named.

Jr turned back to Seraphina after she'd gotten used to using the phone. "No problem," he responded to being thanked. "And no, you don't have to worry about the Templars coming to Makkura. They're looking for artifacts that give the person holding them strange powers. Since the whole country is from another world, none of those artifacts would be over there anywhere. Besides, I don't think those weirdos would even make it past those things that live in the shadows anyways."

Jr had 2 aunts named Harriet and Alexis, and 2 uncles named John Jr and Alexander. Alexis and Alexander were identical twins. Harriet was a brain, and John Jr took after John. Jr could see that he looked like all of them, as did his father. He wanted to see more. It looked like they were finally getting answers to the mysterious questions that lingered over the years...

Alec began to grow up in the same fashion that all Angel kids did. Watching through his father's eyes, Alec could see that he'd began to make many friends. His halo shined brighter than most others, giving hint that he was special. John and Martha go on to have one more son, and name him Nevan. While Alec seems to be headed in the direction of his father John and his big brother John Jr, Nevan was headed in the ways of Shadow Ops, as he'd developed a skill for disappearing from sight, an ability that Alec knew would pass on much later in life to Nevan's son, Nova.

John, a renown blacksmith, begins to forge a weapon for Alec. He is told several times over centuries about a Demon legend that if a loved one were to sacrifice themselves upon certain weapons, their soul would be absorbed by it and make the weapon super powerful and unbreakable by any means. Rumor had it that Demon Generals in Hell Sacrificed their spouses - whether they were willing or not - to create weapons for combat against the Angels. It was stated that most Warrior Demons took mates for this specific purpose. John stated that he would never ask someone to sacrifice themselves for that kind of power, and the thought never crossed his mind.

Harriet, somewhat of a psychic as well as a genius, sometimes made prophecies. As to not spread panic, these divinations were only heard among a several chosen few, John and Martha among them. One of the prophecies said that Alec was a "chosen one" that could change the course of battle against Hell. Another told of how he would fall in love with and marry his best friend Audrey once they were old enough. They were childhood friends that were inseperable while young. Alec watched, seeing he and her together, playing, happy, having no memory at all of the girl.


The next was of how Alec would either one day betray his fellow Angels to "turn to the darkside" to put it lightly, or die in the next war against the Demons, sacrificing himself to end all wars. Worried and wanting neither fate for his son, John's whole attitude towards Alec changes from that day forward. While Alec grows into a young man, John begins to be much harder on him, determined to change history. He tells his other children to say nothing of anything to Alec. He asks Martha to distance herself from him and after much arguing, agrees, thinking and hoping it was for the best, though it causes her much grief and depression.

When Alec is 12 years old, with things still looking as if Alec would either die or turn into a villain, despite please from Harriet and his other children, John orchestrates a situation in the Warrior Academy, while Alec's grades are slipping and he begins to become somewhat of an outcast and a prankster because of his family's newfound treatment towards him. It is because of John that several hopefuls are injured and Alec is blamed for it. With everything changing in his life without any explanation, Alec reaches a boiling point and lashes out.

Because of his actions, a governing council decides that Alec is to be cast out of Heaven; exactly what John was hoping for. He puts the finishing touches on Alec's sword so that he would be able to defend himself while on Earth. Audrey, already in love with Alec, having eavesdropped and over-hearing his fate as well as the blacksmith legend, asks John to use her soul to make Alec's sword more powerful. John refuses. Audrey attacks John while holding the sword, and while defending himself, she impales herself upon it. John goes into shock, but Audrey states that this way she would be by Alec's side forever, dying with a smile on her face and allowing her soul to be absorbed by the weapon, now dubbed the "Angel Sword."

Alec is told nothing. John, requesting that he be the one to cast Alec out himself, takes his son off into the wilderness of Heaven for "training." Alec is given the Angel Sword, and allows John to form a permanent fusion between he and the weapon by way of the birthmark on his back. He is told that the sword will grow and change along with him through the years. Before a cliff above a deep abyss where the depths of space can be seen below, John looks upon his son for the last time, before knocking him unconscious and dropping him off of it. As he and Martha who was nearby watch tearfully, Alec falls, and loses all memories of Heaven and his family.

Alec's anger begins to rise with what he was seeing. His heart rate began to rise. A frown formed upon his face, and his veins began to bulge from his skin. Outside, dark clouds began to gather around the tower. Thunder rumbles within every so often, while a light rain starts to fall.