[A]ddiction

By MargaritaDaemonelix

Chapter 1: Predilection

A/N: Hello, peeps! Finally uploading this fantastic fic that I've been working on for a while now. Quick note: This fic takes place in my Inferno universe, so if you're curious about any of the other character classes, they're on my profile.

Without further ado, please enjoy!

Predilection(noun; plural: predilections) (pred-eh-LEK-shun)

A preference or special liking for something; a bias in favor of something.

When Ara travelled across Elrios, seeking her brother, she occasionally allied with others.

Sometimes it would be with someone she could confirm was on the Elrian side of the war, someone with high expertise in close combat. Other times it would be a mage of some sort, able to provide movement enhancements and the like for her. Usually, however, it was just another random buff guy she found in a bar, sidled up to, fluttered her eyelashes at, played the innocent sweetheart.

Usually they were too drunk to notice who she really was. All they saw was a beautiful young lady with ebony-black hair and wide golden eyes. None of her "meatshields", as she often called them, really ever noticed who she really was until they were standing in front of a demon legion. And usually, she didn't ever see them again.

That is, until one somewhat odd night, when she was passing through Bethma with nothing but five dollars and the clothes on her back…

"Can I take your order, sir?"

"I'll have a glass of whiskey, please," grumbled the hooded man, bits of his pale lavender hair sticking out of his hood. He laid a handful of coins on the counter, sliding them over to the bartender.

The bartender chuckled. "Sir, you can take off your hood if you want. It's not like we're going to arrest you."

The hooded man looked up and glared at him with intense purple eyes, a glowing scar across his left eye. "Oh, most want me arrested. I'm taking no chances."

As the bartender nodded and set the glass of whiskey on the counter, Ara pushed open the door to the bar. It was mostly filled with buff men, trying to prove their bravado by arm wrestling each other over tables. A few fistfights broke out, but Ara paid no attention to them.

It had been a horrible day. Some of her brother's troops had caught her, tried to torture her. She'd dropped her entire provision pack in her scramble to escape, leaving her with exactly five ED that she'd found on the side of the road.

Hey, at least she could buy herself a drink.

Stepping elegantly to the counter, Ara shoved a few men out of the way by their faces. A path of silence followed her as she sat down on a stool by the bar. "A glass of vodka, please," she said, grinning sweetly.

The bartender nodded, gulped nervously, and turned to fetch her drink. The occupants of the bar stared at her as she swung her pale, long legs around and crossed them in front of her. She could practically see the thoughts going through all of their minds, and couldn't help smirking a little.

"That'll be two dollars, miss," said the bartender, turning back to her with a crystal glass. Have to give credit where credit is due, she thought, he even garnished it.

The bar rumbled back to life as Ara took a long sip of her vodka. It reminded her of the wine Father made at home, from the glutinous rice Mother grew, which meant it smelled and tasted like medical booze. Anything to remind her of home.

"That's mighty strong for a delicate flower like you," said the hooded man next to her. She turned to face him, fluttering her eyelashes at him like they were butterfly wings.

"Oh really? I've had plenty, and I think it's perfectly fine," she said innocently. This man was giving her the perfect setup-a reason to talk would soon evolve into flirting, and eventually, she could get him to go on the next expedition with her, into demon territory.

"As long as you're not going to get ridiculously drunk off it," he scoffed. "I don't want to have to drag you back home."

Dangerous one, thought Ara giddily. "Mm. What's your name?"

The man coughed uncomfortably. "Add. Why?"

His name seemed oddly familiar with her, but she didn't pay it any attention. "Oh, just asking. I'm Ara, by the way."

Add grunted and stuck out his hand. Ara shook it. Amber gold locked with fluorescent purple for a moment before the two turned back to their drinks.

"The war doesn't seem like it'll end at this rate, will it?" She commented offhandedly, staring into her quickly disappearing vodka.

"I don't think we'll see the end of it for another two years," chuckled Add, downing the last of his whiskey. "Those people who fight the demons… They're either frickin' brave, or frickin' stupid, or both. Frankly, I don't think I'm out to do anything about it."

Perfect. "My parents were killed by the demons, you know," she said, her voice dropping quieter. "You have anyone left?"

Add shook his head. "My parents and I were slaves for the old Alteran government," he said. "I escaped by hiding in the library. At least the new queen is nice."

Right. The new Alteran queen is positively adorable. She's like a tiny fluffy marshmallow. "Being in a library is nice, isn't it? You get to learn a lot."

Add stared at her like she was crazy. "Why are you asking me all these questions?"

Oh hell no. "Hey, I've been travelling for a long time by myself," she said, shrugging and raising her hands in defense. "I haven't had someone to talk to in a long time."

Her companion tilted his head before laughing a little and throwing his hood off, revealing a mane of pale lavender hair. "That makes two of us. The Alteran library taught me a lot about machinery, and weaponry. You know how the Alterans are Nasods, right? I learned plenty about them, too. I really want to build my own, someday, but the last time I went to petition to the queen for some codes…" He spread his hands. "She kicked me out."

Ara snickered as Add's expression wilted. "Not funny."

"What kind of gear do you use?" She asked, finally ending her sudden fit of snickering. "Like, what gadgets have you built? Any robots?"

Now it was Add's turn to chuckle. "Not yet," he admitted, "but I do have a set of six Dynamos that I use for self-protection."

"Dynamos?"

"They're like a type of generator," he explained. "By churning in a wheel, they capture the electric flow that naturally occurs in the air and direct it into a beam of energy."

By the sheer tone of his voice, Ara could tell that Add was proud of his creation. "So you fight with electricity," she said. "That's darned awesome." She wasn't bluffing, either; as a user of magic, technology was one of those things beyond her control. "I carry a spear around with me when I travel, but I had to leave it outside… They said no weapons. Hey, where'd you put your Dynamos? I'd give a pretty buck to see them." I don't have a pretty buck.

Add snorted. "Like you said. I had to leave it outside. They said no weapons."

Now's my chance. "Will you show them to me? I'll spar you," she offered.

He stared at her like she was crazy. "You, spar against me? Hah, I'd really rather not kill you. You're too pretty to kill, and honestly, you're entertaining," he said, laughing.

"And are you sure you can call yourself a worthy opponent of the Queen of the Underworld?" She countered. "You've got your fancy electro-gadgets. I've got my spear. And my other abilities, but not that I'll need them if you're just going to chicken out."

Add's scar seemed to glow, as his eyes lit up with a dangerous light. "Are you insinuating that I'm a coward?" He said, slowly turning to Ara.

She had already stood up, and was walking away, pushing people aside. "Get your dynamites, and let's go," she commanded, as gracefully as she didn't feel.

Inside, she was already giggling like a five year old.

"Are you ready?" Teased Ara, twirling her spear around nonchalantly while leaning on a wall, as Add tinkered with the controls on his Dynamos. "At this rate, we won't be able to spar until next week. Seriously, stop messing with your gadgets and fight me like a man."

Add growled under his breath before closing his control panel. "Alright, then."

He turned around, his grey cloak swinging around with him. "Oh, ditch the poncho," chuckled Ara. "It's not like I'll spare you any mercy if you wear it."

The scientist growled again. "Fine."

As his cloak fell to the ground, Ara had to remind herself to look professional.

Add was wearing a polished set of armor, doubtlessly a set he'd made himself. Electricity in his signature purple glowed along the seams in the armor. His purple shirt wasn't quite buttoned all the way, exposing a cast-iron pendant that lay on his chest.

Behind him, the six Dynamos whirred to life, beginning to generate energy.

Ara smirked. "Oh, so now you're ready," she muttered under her breath, taking in a clear gulp of air and exhaling. "En garde."

Unsurprisingly, he was the first to charge in, leaving streaks of electricity trailing behind him. Ara jabbed forwards with her spear, forcing him back before beginning to execute a long train of swift kicks and slashes, forcing him to step backwards. He charged again, sending a shock through her shoulders and down her spine when he grazed past by her.

Dammit! She cursed in her mind as he turned around and sent a storm of homing missiles towards her. A strangled cry left her lips as the twelve missiles made contact with her arms and shoulders, leaving what would doubtlessly becoming bruises overnight.

"You see? I told you that you can't beat me," laughed Add maniacally. He jumped up onto his Dynamos, which began supporting him in midair. "Catch me if you can."

Ara growled under her breath before jumping into the air and slamming her spear into the ground, muttering the words "Falling Dragon" as she did. The blast caught Add by surprise, sending him flying. He landed about five metres away, skidding across the rocky ground before stopping. His face contorted into an almost feral scowl before he parted his lips to yell something.

"PSYCHIC STORM!"

A wave of purple wind began to swirl around him, blowing leaves across Ara's legs and leaving scratches as long as her hand. The electric tornado began to drag her towards him before exploding and sending her hurtling skywards, then to the ashen ground.

As she lay on the ground, trying to ignore the pain searing through her back and hips, a voice began reverberating through her mind, a voice as ancient as time itself.

Do you need some help, my child?

Yes, she breathed in reply.

This was it. She had everything under control.

Jumping away from Add's next attack, Ara slammed her spear to the ground, grinning as she felt her hair flow away from her and become pure white. Nine ivory tails sprouted from behind her. When she opened her eyes, they were red, with equally red streaks across the sides of her face. As she opened her mouth to speak, a different voice left her.

"Now, we dance."

The voice of the millennium fox left her lips trembling from the sheer power. Add, on the other hand, simply scoffed. "Oh yeah? What dance? A waltz where you trip over your own feet, vixen?"

"Excuse you, I am no vixen," Ara heard herself snarl at him. "I am Eun, the Millennium Fox. This human is blessed with my powers, and you're going to step away from her if you don't want your ass to be whipped and handed back to you on a silver platter."

"EUN!" She shrieked, smacking herself in the face. Add took it as a chance to attack, glowing purple as he rushed into the fray. Reacting quickly, Ara swung her hand out to channel magic. A small vortex of powerful, vacuum-like energy appeared in front of her outstretched palm, pulling Add towards her. Now, go!

Ara took in a deep breath, remembering what her animal companion had taught her about using secret arts.

You can't just charge straight into the attack. You need to build the magic up through a series of paths. Every person has their own series, and it differs between person to person. You have access to two secret arts, the first of which starts with a quick attack forwards.

Twirling her spear around in her hand, Ara lunged at her opponent, feeling her spear make contact with his armor three times and send three electric shocks up the metal and into her arms.

The second path is usually simple: a way to force the opponent into a bad position.

A surge of power rushed into Ara's arms as she let the wind carry her spear, delivering a series of lightning-fast jabs to his chest and catching him off guard. He opened his mouth to say something, but Ara didn't hear it. Blood was rushing into her ears, leaving her deaf and deafening.

The third path takes the form of a powerful slash, leaving your opponent bleeding and defenseless.

"Shield!" Roared Add, his Dynamos gathering in front of his to create a last-second defense. Not a moment too soon, either-Ara swung her spear up at him, its two-pronged end splitting the Dynamos into two lines and slashing a line up his exposed sternum, an attack that otherwise could have easily killed him.

The fourth path requires you to trap your opponent in place. Pin him to the ground, or to a wall. Either one works.

Shifting her spear to her non-dominant hand, Ara gathered a globe of energy before letting Eun take over, morphing it into a spear made of shadows. Flicking her wrist, she let her new weapon towards Add, stabbing him before dissolving into smoke.

If you got it just right, your secret art should activate. You are capable of doing it without my assistance, of course, but I will lend you my power, and that of my ancestors.

Deliver the killing blow, Ara.

The girl-turned-kumiho stabbed her spear downwards into the ground, pointing her arm out at Add. A swarm of ancient wolf spirits rushed towards him, completely deactivating his armor and severing its connection to his Dynamos, which clattered to the ground. As Ara watched in somewhat awe and horror, her new companion collapsed in an unceremonious heap, unconscious.

The white drained out of her hair, and the tails disappeared, leaving one very concerned human girl. "Oh my El," she whimpered. "Do I have to drag him upstairs?!"

Yes. Deal with it.

Groaning, Ara threw her spear at a nearby dumpster, making sure it wouldn't be stolen before collecting Add's Dynamos and placing them in the shadows as well. She then bent down and poked Add in the nose. Yup. He's down for the count.

Slinging his arm over her shoulder, Ara stood up, trying to support his weight over hers. Despite appearing beautifully slim, Ara had a lot of muscle from training for years.

Muscle mass wasn't the issue at hand, though. Add was still out cold, and Ara was afraid that he'd knock into things. Just as she was taking her first few steps forwards, his head rolled from his shoulder to hers, causing her to pause and blush at the sudden warmth.

Pull yourself together, Haan! She mentally scolded herself, although it could have been Eun speaking. She took in a deep breath before continuing on, pulling him up the fire escape to their shared room and laying him down on the single bed before rushing back down the staircase to grab their weapons. As she retrieved her spear, a few birds flew out of the dumpster and disappeared into the night sky.

Without looking back, Ara climbed the staircase to the inn, her arms full of weapons and her heart full of hope.

"What are we doing?"

"Shhh, you're going to give us away!"

Add glared pointedly at his partner as they crouched behind a mass of boulders, monitoring what had to be the heart of demon territory in Sander. "I am not. Glitters can't hear anything below fifty-five decibels. Our whispering only hits about twenty. Besides, you owe me an explanation after you knocked me out unceremoniously last night!"

Ara winced and flexed her now sore shoulders. "Serves you right."

She turned to the demon base, where a group was beginning to file out. "You see them? They took my pack when I ran into them yesterday," she explained.

"Why are you even running into the demons?" Squawked Add.

A dry chuckle escaped Ara's lips. "I told you my first name, didn't I?" She said innocently, but the undertone was bitter. "Well, my last name is Haan. Ara Haan."

As Add put two and two together, Ara revelled in his expression changing from shock, to anger, to complete and utter discombobulation. "What-?" He blurted, clearly understanding. "You're related to the dark earl?!"

"He's my brother, actually," laughed Ara. "He killed our parents and was about to kill me, except my kumiho companion, Eun, saved my sorry ass at the last second. I've been trying to take him down ever since."

"He's your brother!" Scolded Add. "Why would you want to kill him?"

Once again, Ara let out a dry laugh. "Anyone who killed my parents and tried to kill me is no brother of mine," she deadpanned. "Anyways, our mission today is to get in there, raid everything we can, kill a few hundred of those creatures, and get my stuff back."

Add stared at her for a moment before breaking out into loud laughter. "You're hilarious, Ara. I like that about you. You're hilarious and pretty much insane, but according to most people, so am I. What the hell."

"THERE! INTRUDERS!"

"Dammit, you hit fifty-five decibels!" Seethed Ara, dragging her spear across a rock and watching the sparks fly in every direction. "Prepare for impact. Oh boy, we might even see my brother today if we're not lucky…"

A horn somewhere bellowed as a group of glitters began to rush out towards the duo's boulder hideout. "If my brother's in today, I'll take care of him, you handle the stupid mindless minions," she yelled over the blaring horn, standing up and readying her spear.

"For the record, it's not my fault if you get killed," he retorted, the Dynamos starting up and beginning to spin in a circle behind him.

As soon as they charged the glitters, an entire line of shield-bearers went down when just one shield touched Add's electric circle. The electricity arced between the shields, creating a massive chain reaction that left the entire line twitching on the ground. Ara stepped in and began jabbing at slashing at everything she could find, while Add activated little gadgets he'd doubtlessly built himself and sent them into the waves of dark minions.

"ARA!" Boomed someone in the distance. The corners of her mouth turned up ever so slightly. "After all the trouble you caused yesterday, you still come back just to annoy me."

A tall man with white hair and black demon horns stepped out of the shadows, wielding an equally dark sword. "And it looks like you brought your little boyfriend to play, too," he sneered. "Why are you here? What is your purpose?"

Tossing her spear out, Ara manipulated a little magic and caused it to spin forwards, like a saw blade, before returning to her hand. She stuck the weapon in the ground and leaned on it casually. "First of all, this isn't my boyfriend, Aren. I'd never hook up with anyone this wimpy."

"Hey!" Yelled Add from his location(atop a steadily growing pile of dead glitters).

Ara ignored him. "Secondly, to answer your questions, I am here to get my stuff back. You know I actually liked that pack, Aren. Mother and Father gave it to me for when I started traveling across Elrios with my friends."

"Mother and Father are dead," hissed Ran, "and don't you forget it. And stop calling me Aren. I am Ran now, and you know it!"

"Whatever, Aren," sang Ara. "Are you going to fight me or not?"

Ran snarled and charged at his sister, who pulled her spear out of the ground and slammed it against the dirt, propelling herself away from his attack. She landed on the shield of a dead glitter, adding just a few more centimetres to her height so she could stand even with her brother. "You took away my childhood," she began, keeping her voice soft and level. "You took away my parents, my friends, my home. I don't even have to say you're not human anymore, because you clearly aren't."

At this point, Ran had clearly had enough of her speech, and charged in. Suddenly, Ara found herself flying through the air as he scooped the shield from underneath her and unleashed a row of damned souls from underneath the ground.

Well, at least Add had cleared the stupid glitters away before she landed. Why does this always happen to me?

Suddenly, her body stopped moving, though she was still able to breathe. Dammit, he did his antigravity thing!

Sure enough, Ran was holding his arm up and channeling energy through the earth, causing Ara to float up into the air. This time, as she dropped down, she was able to right herself up and land on her feet, which was not fun while she was wearing her nice heels.

Really, Ara, you can do better than this. Let me help you a little.

She took in a deep breath, and let Eun's power flow through her once more.

Alright, then. I trust that you want something a little more powerful this time?

Yeah. Guide me, Eun.

I will guide you. Together, we will show him Purgatory.

One of the strange powers Ara had gained upon accepting Eun as her guardian was the control of spirit energy. Every living being had it-some non-living creatures had it too. It was known in many names-chi, chakra, aura-but Ara herself prefered to just refer to it as spirit energy. She begun by letting her spear fall into her arms and pushing her palms out, creating a vortex to vacuum in that very spirit energy that she needed.

A handful of glitters around her fell to the ground, their eyes blank and unseeing. Some of the weaker demons were highly susceptible to attacks like this.

Your first path of the Rakshasa art needs you to drag your opponent towards you.

Taking the energy she gathered, Ara sent it out in the form of a swirling orb, which latched around her brother and dragged him towards her.

Next, take the remaining spirit energy you've gathered, and blast it at him.

Ran was only just getting up after his sister's surprise attack when a chain of fiery little orbs crashed into his gut. He doubled over for a moment before baring his teeth and swinging his sword at her yet again.

The third path is to trap him. Make sure he doesn't touch you, or this won't work!

The Haan family was already a magically-gifted one. Ara brought her hand down, causing a circle of ghostly black spears to encircle her brother. As he clashed against the prison, a final spear, tinted golden in the sunlight, came crashing down on him.

The final path may be a little exhausting. You will need to use some of your own spirit energy to create a shadow of yourself. This shadow will steal the souls of all in its path, and all of it will go to you.

Steeling herself for the attack, Ara slashed out with her spear, causing a silhouette of herself to rush forwards. She could feel it underneath her feet-her secret art had worked.

If you've done it right, there should be a large mass of energy awaiting you. The souls of the damned should see fit to lend you their power, from Purgatory itself.

A wave of large spirit energy orbs erupted from the ground, like a row of volcanoes. Ara sliced out with her spear. "Go."

The orbs detonated, one by one, sending Ran flying and landing on his back, twenty metres away. "Retreat!" He yelled, getting up. "Victor! It's all yours."

Ara nearly toppled off her feet as something extremely heavy walked out of the compound, a gigantic monster that was about as tall as the building itself. "VICTOR IS HERE!" Boomed the creature, the ground rumbling. "WHO'S READY TO RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE?!"

"Not me," muttered Add sarcastically under his breath.

Ara grit her teeth and began to clear her way towards the monster as Eun's power drained out of her, signalling that the kumiho needed a break. The motions had become almost liquid to her, after years of training-slash, stab, lunge, parry, slice.

It was almost too late when she noticed the huge blue thing hurtling towards her.

For the third time that day, Ara found herself hurtling through the air. As she landed, though, a huge ominous shadow loomed over her. It was Victor, and he looked like he was about to turn her into a grease spot.

Calculations ran through Ara's mind; if she used her spear, it would most definitely snap. She couldn't use any magic, though, because she'd run out of spirit energy. Using a vortex to generate more at the last second would only cause certain death by pancakification.

"Get away from her, you fat blue Jabba-the-Hutt knockoff!"

Before she could even blink, the terror that was Victor suddenly disappeared, followed by a familiar streak of purple electricity. "You've got guts to mess around with me," rumbled Victor, wincing as he stood up, sparks still arcing around him. "Fight me. Fite me."

Add laughed-no, he cackled. Ara had heard him simply laugh before; this was the deranged cacophony of a mad scientist at work. "Alright, then," he snickered, "you asked for it."

As Victor charged again, Add began to rush forwards, bringing his full electric glory with him. Hopping off his Dynamos, they created an orb of electricity. A single flick of his wrist told them all they needed to know; the orb crashed into Victor, locking him in place.

"Psychic Storm!" Commanded Add. His Dynamos began to spin around Victor at ridiculous speeds, whirling him upwards and letting him crash back down.

The mind-shattering boom that followed was deafening.

Ara stood up shakily, supporting herself with her spear as she walked into the crater. Add was standing victoriously over Victor, who was lying in the middle of the crater, groaning. "Should I spare him any mercy, milady?" Joked Add.

She shook her head. "Any creature that associates with Aren should be shown no mercy. He doesn't deserve to die," she said. "Let him wallow in his misery."

A sort of wild light shone in Add's eyes. "If the lady commands it."

Together, they climbed out of the crater, leaning on each other for support. "Lady El, that was not how I wanted my day to begin," muttered Ara.

"Yeah, but haven't you gotten used to it?" Asked Add. Upon receiving her confused expression, he elaborated: "You fight demons all the time, don't you. Your brother is just another demon for you to fight-not just a physical one, but a spiritual one too."

He glanced down at his feet. "I guess I've got my own demons to battle too," he murmured softly. Instantly, images of a young boy with snow-white hair locked in a dark library flooded Ara's mind. She saw how much pain he must have suffered, alone in the dark. She knew that pain.

She smiled. "Then I guess we'll just have to take on those demons together," she chirped, giving him a playful smack on the back. The corners of his mouth turned up, not a real smile yet, but getting there.

"Yeah."

The moment they reached a nearby hill, the both of them collapsed on its grassy side. "You know, that was kinda fun," admitted Add. "We went in there, wrecked a bunch of crap, beat the heck out of the dark earl, made a crater the size of Elder City."

Ara frowned. "Now that you mention it, we forgot one thing."

Add sat up, looking confused. "What?"

"We completely forgot to get my stuff back."