Kayku walked through the ruined streets of Baltimore, he'd grown up here, seeing his city this way...it drove him crazy with anger. He wanted to run headfirst into a demon zone and take down as many of the fuckers as he could before they killed him. But doing that would mean doom for the men and women who followed him; it sucked being a leader some days. Behind him something shifted quietly. Kayku whirled firing off two shots from his M16; he watched as the demon fell to the ground and practically dissolved. That happened often enough, demons were everywhere and the low ranking ones were easy enough to kill, however there were some that were immune to their bullets. But every creature has a weak spot; it was just a matter of finding it.<br/><br/>He was working to make sure every fighter he had was trained in hand to hand combat as well as with bladed weapons. He was teaching them to observe their opponent. They were heavily outnumbered and outgunned, the only option they had was to be faster and smarter than enemy, and to do that every person had to be utilized. Even those who didn't want to be involved in combat were trained in it to keep them safe, but then they were put to use figuring out the different types of demons and what seemed to be the most effective way to dispatch them. Damien was great help with that, but demons were just like humans, they were all different.<br/><br/>"You're getting better, Kayku." Damien said emerging from the shadows off to his left. Kayku shook his head.<br/>"Not good enough. I need to be stronger, more observant." He grimaced that demon had gotten that close to him before he had noticed. What would he have done it had been a smarter demon? He couldn't rely on Damien forever. "Letâ€™s get back. There doesn't seem to be much activity today."<br/><br/>*****<br/><br/>Damien shook his head and watched Kayku head back towards HQ. The human put far too much pressure on himself, he was stronger, faster, and smarter than almost every other human Damien had encountered. He followed behind Kayku his constant shadow, though one couldn't always see him he was always there. His eyes scanned the area, to him there were no shadows, he could see where they would be but his eyes penetrated them and cleared them of any threat. He sensed several new presences in the city as well as the scouts that Kayku had sent out earlier today, everyone was returning to HQ before darkness fell, that's when the stronger demons came out to play. Damien hated the sun personally preferring the shadows when the sun was out. When night fell he went off on his own missions and dispatched demons that could make life harder for them later.<br/><br/>He wondered if all the humans would make it back today, lately things had been getting tenser as the humans became more organized. None of the demons had managed to find or infiltrate the human hideout. This was in part due to Damiens magic, but mostly due to Kayku knowing the best routes around the city and passages where they wouldn't be seen, any demon who got too close to the hideout was killed before they could get there.<br/><br/>As the two entered the brightly lit underground hideout, they were greeted with Kayku's people waiting to give him their reports. They all instantly started talking and Damien could see Kayku's shoulders tense. In battle he was at ease but here he wanted to yank his hair out. He needed a second in command before he lost his cool and killed everyone. Damien couldn't fill that role though, he'd never been human and couldn't anticipate their needs, he could only tell Kayku what he thought the demons would do in certain situations. He wondered if any of these new presences in the city would fill the role.<br/><br/>Static filled the room followed by a voice.<br/>"Commander, we're in pursuit of foreigners in the city, do we engage?"<br/><br/>*****<br/><br/>Kayku knew the voice that crackled though the room, it was one of the Marines he had come here with, one of the few that had survived. A 26 year old squad leader, Kayku liked him but didn't want him engaging anyone now, they had no idea who they were or what they wanted.<br/>"Follow at a safe distance. Do not engage." He responded. The team out there would have earpieces in that ensured whoever they were following wouldn't hear them, sometimes it was hard to determine if a new being was demon or human, then they had to determine friend or foe. Kayku wondered which these would be and if he should get out there or not, when an idea occurred to him.<br/><br/>"Damien, I want you out there now. Watch their backs and make sure they don't all get killed." Damien nodded and turned walking out into the fading light, before taking off. "And as for the rest of you, one at a time! I'll talk to you all after we resolve this." He said walking into his office waiting reports from Damien and others, his fingers drummed on his M16 he wanted to get out there, but the team was halfway across the city and he would only slow Damien down if he had gone with him.