#nightdemon

Tyler clenched his jaw as he sat up.  His body did not want to move like it should.  The demon's been acting up the last few weeks.  Not just that, he's heal was slower than ever before.  

All the while he was trapped in his own body, barely able to move on his own, go anywhere.  Fighting was out of the question.  His arm got broken and his elbow dislocated.  It hurt so badly, even after Arthur popped his arm back.  

Each breath he took, made his broken ribs grind against each other.  The concussion he had was bad.  He felt nauseas the entire time and the shaking wouldn't stop.  Everything felt still felt like he was thinking through a daze.  His memories from everything that happened the day before, were jumbled and confusing.  

His leg hurt, making it clear that he injured something there.  

Bloody demon.  If the damn thing just healed him, he'll be alright, but his healing has been slowing down a bit to much to his taste.  Maybe he should tell Arthur about it.  The old man usual have an answer for most things.

Breathing out he got up from the bed.  Immediately the room started turning again.  With a groan, he immediately sat down again.  Pain riddled his body.  

Knocking sounded from the door and Tyler looked over.  "Arthur?" he asked, quickly schooling his expression into neutral.

"Yes, that's right Sir" the old man's voice said.  

"Come on in" Tyler said, looking down at his hands.  

The door opened and Arthur stepped inside, holding a clothes bag.  "I've brought you suit for the day, Sir" she said.

Tyler winched.  "Do I have to go...?" he asked quietly, before he started coughing.  

Arthur quickly walked over, placing his hand on Tyler's shoulder.  "I will bring you some of the medicine" he said softly.  

Tyler sighed as the coughing finally stopped.  "....  I don't like the meds..." he said "They make me drowsy..."

"Sir..." Arthur said quietly "You need to take care of yourself.  The Medication helps with your healing and stop it from getting worse...  You know that"

For a moment Tyler didn't say anything, then he nodded.  "Alright..." he muttered.  

Arthur nodded.  "Thank you, Sir" he said "Do you think you can handle the meeting today?"

Tyler winched.  "I don't have much of a choice" he said.  

A slight smile formed on Arthur's face.  "That's alright, Sir" he said "Now, do you need help getting dressed.  You did mess up your arm quite badly"

That made Tyler chuckle softly, before groaning, pressing his good hand against his chest.  He had to close his eyes for a moment, breathing through the pain.  His vision blurred for a moment.

A hand caught his good shoulder, holding him stead while he struggled to work with the pain.  

In the back of his mind, he could hear the demon laugh softly.

When the pain started to fade, it left Tyler feeling weak and shaky.  With his good hand he patted Arthur on the arm.  

"I'm alright...." he said "You don't have to worry so much, it will heal"

Arthur watched him with a frown, before he nodded, stepping back.  "As you wish, Sir" he said "Now we better hurry up, or else you will be late for the meeting"

Tyler snorted.  "I'm the CEO....  I can be a minute or two late" he said.

"Don't cause trouble, Sir" Arthur said warningly as he helped Tyler to get dressed.  

***

Tyler leaned on the skin, taking a few slow breaths.  His chest hurt.  It was the middle of the meeting when the demon decided that it was time to heal him.  

"Fuck you...." he groaned.

"Oh I'm sorry....  was that bad timing?" the demon asked sarcastically.  

"You know exactly what the problem is" Tyler snapped at the demon "You almost messed up the bloody meeting!"

"That's not my problem"

Clenching his jaw, Tyler struggled against the pain of his body being healed by the demon.  It hurt so badly and there was nothing he could do about it.  His legs gave in beneath him and he sank to the ground.  

Pain filled his mind.  

He gasped, hands clenching into fists as he struggled against the pain.  There wasn't anything he could do.  He was trapped like that, until the Demon finished healing him.  

Maybe he should have told Arthur that he couldn't attend the meeting.  It would have been better.  

Now he had to figure something out to explain why he left the meeting so suddenly.  Without warning the pain disappeared, leaving Tyler on his knees, gasping for breath.  

How the hell was he suppose to function if he was basically trapped in his own body.  

Clenching his jaw, Tyler slowly got to his feet.  He had to hold on to the sink to keep his balance.  Slowly he breathed in and out.  He'll have to go back to the meeting.  

Looking up at the mirror, he cringed.  His face was pale, there was dark bags under his eyes.  

No wonder he got strange looks from everyone.  

Shaking his head, he splashed his face with some water.  

"Going back so soon, little NightAngel?" the demon asked.

"Just bloody stay in your corner of my mind" Tyler snapped as he dried his face "Before I take you apart"

"I am not afraid of you.... Little boy"

Tyler pushed Chris to the side.  Something slammed into his chest, throwing him back.  His vision went dark for a moment.  He couldn't breath for a moment.  

Somewhere through the ringing in his ears, gasping breaths and pain, he could hear Chris' voice.  

His eyes wouldn't focus when he finally managed to open his eyes.  All he could make out was strange colors and shapes moving around.  Sounds bombarded his senses.  

Fighting sounded around him.  It sounded like fight, but he couldn't be sure about it.  Everything was just so confusing.  

A voice laughed within his mind.  

He could feel something in him shift.  

The Demon.

For a second his vision clear.  He could see Chris struggling against someone, trying to get away.  Blood ran down the other guy's face.  

Clenching his jaw, he lifted one hand reaching for his power.  The demon laughed at him as he struggled.  He was not going to let Chris die, even if he did not like him that much.

Pain flooded his vision, covering everything in a haze of red.

The blast from his threw the attackers away, giving Chris a chance to fight back.  

Tyler could feel himself starting to fade.  

Somewhere through the darkness, Chris’ voice called out, but he couldn’t make out what the other guy was saying.  

“Well now....” the demon’s distorted voice whispered “You’ve gone and done it...  Do you want me to take over?  I’ll quickly take care of them....”

Tyler clenched his jaw.  “Stay in your bloody corner” he snapped at the demon.

“you’re going to die if this keeps going...” the demon chuckled “And then I get to go to the next best candidate”

“Shut the hell up!”  Tyler scream at the demon.

“Don’t get upset now....” the demon started.

Tyler felt his control slip out of his grasp.   Somewhere in his mind he could hear the demon screaming at him.  It sounded frustrated and in pain.  Tyler just ignored it, struggling to keep himself from passing out.

The world around him started fading.  All he could see was Chris getting back onto his feet, turning to him with a shocked expression.  

Then the world disappeared.  

***

Chris jumped back as an attack threw all of the attackers away.  For a moment he just stood there, gasping for breath.  Pain throbbed through his body and he could barely put any weight on his leg.  

Clenching his jaw, he turned back to where he left Tyler.  

The other guy sat slumped again the tree.  It almost looked like the ground around had been ripped up by giant claws.  

“Crap...” Chris cussed as he limped over to where Tyler was “Hey....  wake up man”

He crouched down next to Tyler.  The other guy did not move.  Blood dripped down the side of Tyler’s face.  He’d gone about three shades paler than before.  If they didn’t do anything, Tyler’s wasn’t going to last much longer. 

“Come on, Night...” Chris whispered “Just hold on a bit longer...”

Tyler coughed weakly, cause more blood to drip down his lips.  A bare whisper of a breath moved through his throat.   

“Dammit.... dammit, Tyler....” he snapped, slapping Tyler’s face slightly “Don’t do this to me...”

With a soft groan, Tyler’s eyes flickered open and focused on Chris.

“....What.... happened?” he managed to asked.

Chris breathed out with relieve.  “You scared the living crap out of me” he said, putting a hand on Tyler’s shoulder “Why do you have to be so damn thick headed?”

Tyler just rested his head against the tree.  

“....hurts...” he muttered, chest wheezing “...can’t.... breath....”

Chris cussed.  “Let me see the tube” he said as he gently moved Tyler’s shirt and jacket.  

Tyler gasped, hissing softly.  

Carefully, Chris adjusted the tube, causing Tyler flinch before letting out a whimper.  

“Are you alright...?” he asked softly, keeping an eye on Tyler’s pale face.

Tyler just stayed still.  “...sorry...” he mumbled.

“We need to get you out of here” Chris said.  

“....just go...” Tyler wheezed, barely able to keep his eyes open.  

“I’m not going to leave you here” Chris snapped.  

Tyler groaned.  “....  Why....  do you... care?” he asked, feeling himself starting to slip again.

“because you’re not that bad a guy” Chris said “and Vic will never forgive me if something happens to you”

A frown formed on Tyler’s face.  Confusion flashed over his face.  “....sorry....” he whispered, before he started coughing again.  It hurt so badly that he almost passed out right there.  

Chris sighed.  “Do you think you can get up?” he asked “I can’t really move without help”

Tyler clenched his jaw before nodding slowly.  “.... just not... fast....” he managed, sitting up slightly.

Immediately Chris had to catch him, as he tilted to the side.

“Shit... shit... shit....” he said “Don’t pass out”

Tyler allowed Chris to hold him up.  He did not have the strength to fight anymore or argue with the other guy.  His chest hurt to badly, every breath felt like a chore.  

“Alright... come on, Ty... just hold on....” he said as they moved “Talk to me, Night.... you need to talk”

“.... hurts... to... talk....” Tyler muttered.  

“I know, man” Chris said.

Tyler muttered something that Chris couldn’t make out.   

“You need to heal....” Chris said “We can’t fight like this.... we can’t protect ourselves like this...”

“... said who...” Tyler mumbled.  

Chris chuckled.  “Seriously....  You have a twisted sense of humour” he said.

Tyler grunted softly, before he slowly lifted his head.  His eyes flickered around, before pulled away from Chris.  

“...go....” he whispered “.... they’re... coming...”

“No” Chris snapped.  

Tyler stumbled away Chris, before lifting his hand towards the other guy.  “Go....” he whispered.  

Chris stood frozen.  “What... are you doing?” he asked.

“...not going to...  let you...  stay....” Tyler gasped, before aiming a blast at Chris, throwing the guy back away from him.  Immediately he turned and stumbled to where he noticed the movement before.  

He was not going pull Chris down, because he couldn’t move.

***

Chris groaned as he got to his feet.  “DAMMIT TYLER!” he yelled as he struggled to his feet “You fucking idiot!”

He clenched his jaw as he leaned against one of the trees.  By the time he got to his free, he couldn’t see Tyler anymore.  Fury rushed through him.  Why would the hell would Tyler do this? 

Tyler did not like them.  Vic not included.  No one could not, not like her.  She was to kind.

He barely started moving, when Danielle and Vic landed not so far away from him.  

“Danny....” Chris said slowly, eyes widening “Vic....”

“We found you....” Danielle said as she quickly went over to him, pulling him into a hug “You’re alright....”

“A bit banged up....” Chris said, pulling away “We need to find Tyler....  Immediately...”

Vic bit her lip as she looked over at Chris.  “What happened?” she asked gently.

“He’s badly hurt” Chris said “I’m pretty sure that he’s got a collapsed lung, concussion and broken ribs...  I don’t know what else”

Danielle frowned.  “Where is he then?” she asked.

Chris shook his head.  “I don’t know...  We were moving, until Tyler just threw me back and disappeared” he said.  

“Then we better start looking” Danielle said.

“He’s probably fighting...” Vic said softly.  

“He’s badly injured” Chris snapped, before wincing.  

Vic nodded.  “I’ll... go look for him” she said before looking over at Danielle “Take... care of Chris”

Danielle nodded.  “Call if you need any help” she said as she started checking Chris’ injuries.  

“I will” Vic said as she started walking.  

It did not take her long before she found a path of destruction.  It looked like everything have been pulled apart with holes ripped through some of the trees.  

“Oh... Tyler...” Vic whispered as she kept on moving.  

As she pushed some more branches out of her way, she stopped.  In front of her it looked like everything had been destroyed.

What caught her eye, was the figure slumped against the tree.  There was blood all over the ground.  Around him was bodies of the people that attacked them.  It looked like they were basically ripped apart.  

Biting her lip, she quickly made her way over to the figure against the tree.  

Tyler sat slumped again the tree.  There was blood running down his face, even dripping from his ears and nose.  His face was so pale that she was worried he might not alive any more.  

“Night...” Vic said softly before she quickly knelt next to him.  Gently she placed her hand on his shoulder.  

“Hey....  Night...  can you hear me?” 

Tyler groaned, his eyes flickering open for a moment.  

“....vic...” he barely managed to say.  

Vic smiled slightly.  “That’s right” she said “I’m going to give you some energy...  Then we’ll get you out of here...”

“...I’ll... be fine....” Tyler whispered, before his eyes rolled back.

Vic gasped softly as she caught his shoulder.  “Oh no....” 

Tyler just stared at the screen, trying to figure out what stood there, since nothing wanted to make much sense to him.  

Maybe Garth was right...  He should have stayed in the bed.  The pain made it hard to focus.  With a sigh, he rubbed his hand over his eyes, trying to get them to focus.

“You should get back in bed” Garth said as he walked over to the younger guy.

Tyler slowly turned in his chair.  “Look....  I really don’t care about what you think” he said, hating the way the words sounded just a bit slurred “I have stuff to figure out and it’s not going to happen while sitting in bed”

“You cannot do any of those things when you’re running on borrowed energy” Garth said “And here I thought the NightAngel is supposed to be smart”

Tyler pulled a face at Garth.  “That’s a low blow” he said.

“It’s the truth”

“He’s not wrong, Sir” another voice said, making Tyler jump.

Garth spun, ready to attack.  

“Please don’t attack my butler” Tyler said flatly, glaring at the old man that walked towards them “Arthur, what are you doing here?  Aren’t you supposed to be keeping an eye on Riv?”

The old man looked at Tyler with a flat expression, before turning his attention to the blond man that looked like he was going to attack him.

“First of all, Sir Garth Staton, I will be obliged to kick you out if you attack me, secondly, Master Tyler, young River is fully capable of taking care of himself.  I came by to make sure everything is fine”

Garth blinked at the old man.

“Oh don’t look so surprised, Garth” Tyler said with a slight smile “The old man knows more than any computer can ever know... and I wouldn’t advice you to test him.  Even I’m scared of him”

“Now you are being dramatic, Sir” Arthur said as he walked over to Tyler “Bell informed me of what happened”

“Traitor...” Tyler muttered.

“Now if you’d please do as sir Garth said and get back in bed” the old man said.  

The moment it looked like Tyler was going to argue with him, the old man narrowed his eyes at him and Tyler groaned.

“Fine” he said.

Pulling a face at Arthur, he slowly got up from the chair.  For a second the world turned.  Steady arms caught him, before he could crumble to the ground.  Pluses of pain shot through him.  His leg hurt, side burned, shoulder throbbed and his head felt like it was going to explode.

It took a while before he managed to get his eyes to focus.

Only then did he realize that Garth was basically carrying him back tot he bed.  For a second annoyance flashed through him, but he just pushed it back.

“You are seriously an idiot....” Garth grunted as he helped Tyler back onto the bed, with Arthur behind him, looking like a disappointed grandfather.

“Stop looking at me like that, old man....” Tyler muttered as he lay back “I’ll be fine...”

“Ah yes...  of course” the old man said, flatly “I see that the healing haven’t started yet”

“...good observation, old man...” Tyler muttered.

“What are you two talking about?” Garth asked annoyed. 

“The NightAngel’s healing” Arthur said “I take it that you’ve heard about it?”

Garth nodded.

“It seems like he’s having trouble with it” Arthur said, as Tyler’s eyes just flickered closed.

“I he alright?” Garth asked, actually feeling a bit worried about the younger guy.

Arthur nodded.  “He is” he said softly “Just give him some time... He will be alright, as soon as the healing starts again”

Garth nodded slightly.

“He’s pretty beaten up” he said.

“Probably his own recklessness” Arthur said as he started going over Tyler’s injuries, making sure that they were all treated “Did you treat his wounds?”

“Yes...” Garth said as he watched the old man.

“Well done” Arthur said, before stepped back.  A slight frown formed on his face as Tyler moved a bit restlessly on the bed.  

Pain flashed over Tyler’s expression

“Looks like it has started...” Arthur said quietly, placing a gentle hand on Tyler’s shoulder.

Tyler groaned as the NightDemon started healing his wounds.  He could all but feel his flesh knitting back together.  It hurt, so he clenched his jaw, trying not to scream at the pain.

Garth just stared at Tyler.  It was clear that the other guy was in pain, he just did not know what to do.  It didn’t seem like the old man was all that worried, although the expression on his face showed that he might be.  

“What’s going on?” he asked after a moment, unable to keep to himself any longer.  

“The Demon is healing him” Arthur said.

“The what?” Garth asked, eyes flickering to Tyler.

“Demon of the NightAngel” Arthur repeated “His power”

“...Arthur...” Tyler groaned, he’d curled up on his side, arms folded over his middle.  His eyes flickered open for a moment, before pain ripped through him again and he struggled not to pass out again.

Arthur nodded.  “As you wish, Master Tyler” he said, turning to Garth “I must apologize...  It seems Master Tyler doesn’t wish to involve you in his problems”

Garth shook his head.

“As long as he takes care of himself” he said, eyes focused on the young man on the bed.

“I’m afraid he doesn’t know how to do that” Arthur said, shaking his head.

“Somehow I’m not even surprised” Garth grumbled.  

“I can hear you...” Tyler growled as the pain started to dim.

“Good” Garth said, rolling his eyes.

Tyler groaned, keeping his eyes closed.  “I should have left your ass to rot...” he grumbled.

“Now that wouldn’t be as surprising as you being barely out of your teens” Garth shot back.

“Fuck off” Tyler said as he opened his eyes, glaring at Garth.

“So good to see you making friends, Sir” Arthur said as he turned to leave “Now I have to go back to Master River to make sure he’s alright.  Do play nice”

“Annoying old man” Tyler grumbled as he sat up.