Submitted by Disposable_Hero on Sat, 04/03/2004 - 17:35
Posted in
Name: Kyle Ashton
Type of Character: Kaoshian Demon
Gender: Male
Birth Date: 12/02/1988
Group Affiliation: Formerly: Delancre, White Hats, Valerian.
Position: N/A
Age: 28.
Place of Birth: Chicago
Played by: Aaron Stanford
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Personality
A lot has happened since Kyle was a thrill-seeking kid with a death wish. He has matured both mentally and emotionally, but hardened by four years living on the edge of total darkness. His viciousness and thirst for blood has been sharpened into ruthlessness; whatever goal Kyle has he pursues with single-minded efficiency and cold-blooded determination. ‘Collateral damage’ doesn’t exist in his dictionary.
Kyle no longer pushes the limits of everyone’s patience, and can even be quite amicable now, no doubt a product of his relationship with Robyn. But she is still a vampire, and this has no doubt influenced his new take on the world.
Nonetheless, Kyle can’t forget his tenure in LA and can’t ignore the changes that were influenced by it. His sense of right and wrong is still blurry, but it too has been sharpened. Throwing himself into the grey did much to blur things, but moving towards black has cleared Kyle’s head somewhat. Whilst he may not openly admit it, he does possess moral standards, and has stood by his principles more than once in the last nine years.
His sense of humour hasn’t improved.
Background
Kyle grew up in a comfortable childhood in Chicago. His family was wealthy, with his father CEO of promising Biopharmaceutical Company, and so had little worries about money or want. Because of his father’s career, and the fact he was boss of some of the other kid’s dads, he was automatically eligible for a position in the ‘in-crowd’. But his ‘happiness’ was only skin-deep, and had come at a price.
His father got to where he was not through hard-work, but by, effectively, cheating. He entered into a deal with Wolfram & Hart. In return for becoming the CEO of an expanding enterprise, and of course rich, he would devote a great deal of funds and research to the lawyer firm. His company would be tied to them first, foremost, and no other. He must be loyal to Wolfram and Hart for all eternity.
Unfortunately, he didn’t pay attention to the small print. Just six months into his new life, during a heated argument on the phone, his skin darkened to that of hard marble, his eyes and tips of his fingers blazed with their own fire, a tail grew out of his spine, lighting at the tip, and his skull split down the middle to show an inner own fire.
He had become a Kaoshian fire demon.
Wolfram & Hart told him that the transformation was part of their agreement. He had sold high-valued research to a client other than them because they were offering more money than the firm. And this just four months after making his deal. His own greed had been his undoing. Becoming a Kaoshian was their punishment, and tied him to them. Now that his spirit was corrupted and impure, no longer entirely human, they could retrieve it after his death so he could continue to work for them, as they said, for all eternity. In desperation, he argued his family would not accept him. The lawyer shook his head and smiled. “That’s not a problem.” He replied. “They’re Kaoshian now, too.”
Fortunately, he discovered he could shift his appearance back to that of human again, and thus he and his wife were able to keep it secret from the world. Unfortunately, this did not include their new-born son. But over time they were able to teach Kyle how to hide his nature from the world and convince him this was a good thing. Kyle, though, despised his parents, in particular his father, for making him what he was. His anger increased when he entered his teens, spurred on and amplified by teenage angst. This caused a great deal of tension in the Ashton household.
In an effort to reclaim his son’s love, his father used his position and resources to look for a ‘cure’ or reversal. This started with magics, then later branched into physically reversing the transformation by chemicals and drugs. Because the lawyers would, in the very least, frown upon this, perhaps even kill him, it was kept in secrecy, even from Kyle. Many long and unfruitful years went by. His research and actual work called for him to spend much of his time away from his home. Kyle resented his father even more, now claiming he was avoiding his son because he hated him. Eventually, though, Kyle’s father must have come close, or word of his research got out, for a few days after Kyle’s 15th birthday, for which he was, like almost every other, absent for, his laboratory was destroyed in an explosion late one night where he was working hard. Environmentalist action was suspected, but in reality it was Wolfram & Hart.
Kyle’s mother slipped into depression. Kyle himself, already almost there, was pushed that little extra step when his mother told him why he had been killed, and what he had been doing. He felt unbelievable guilty for a few months, but eventually this guilt turned to anger when he remembered his father had brought it upon himself, and his death meant he couldn’t be with him.
Although the family was still well off from the legal work, the incident served another purpose for Kyle. He saw the death as an example of the weakness and mortality of life. To him there was little point in living so well if an end can come so suddenly and abruptly. After attempting to commit suicide and a number of students saw his demon side he was labelled a ‘freak’ by the ‘in-crowd’ at school and became a recluse. To take his mind off the real world Kyle began to invent fantasies. He often slipped into a catatonic state for short periods of time and blacked out. His girlfriend split up with him and ‘friends’ abandoned him. Kyle fell in with a bad crowd and got into many fights in and out of school. His schoolwork suffered, then ended when he dropped out completely.
His mother too wrapped up in her own world to notice him. This added to his depression, for like his father she hated him, and now nobody cared for him. There were all too focused on themselves. She met a man, Darrel, and quickly fell in love, mainly because she was so traumatised at losing her husband she would love any man who showed her the time of day, and began to feel better. Darrel and Kyle never got on from the start. For some reason he never trusted Darrel. Still, all seemed well for a while, but Darrel hid a bitter side from her. He took his own disliking to Kyle. Frequently beat and abused him for trivial matters. His mother pretended not to notice, caught up in her own fantasy that everything was perfect. Eventually they married, despite Kyle’s continued protests (that eventually lessened after repeated beatings in response).
His step-father spent all their money on gambling, drugs and alcohol. He was fired from a TV repair job for gross negligence and mis-conduct (cheating clients out of money, cheating company out of money, etc). Unable to find a job he became a drunkard. Then, one night, his mother revealed her demonic side to Darrel, hoping true love would overcome any revulsion.
They were not experiencing true love, though, at least for Darrel anyway. For him it was only sex on demand, money (to start with) and a roof over his head. And Darrel was by no means an accepting man. Overcoming his shock, he turned to beating his wife out of fear. As the money started to run out, they moved into steadily worse places until landing in an apartment above a dodgy electrical repair shop in a bad end of town. Kyle’s mother was forced into prostitution for money and too turned to drugs and alcohol, trying to forget her anguish at making such a mess of her life. Although she could overpower Darrel and flee with Kyle, she was too much of a state and too much believed herself in love to do so.
Kyle frequently ran away from home but always returned, either by his step-father’s accomplices or Darrel himself, and then ruthlessly beaten, mainly for being a demon. He also eventually tried drugs and took a liking to alcohol. He rarely spoke to parents and spent most of the day out of the house getting up to mischief: fights, theft, damage and other petty crimes. His depression continued as he became unhappy with life but felt trapped, just like his mother, unable to break free and do something about it. Kyle constantly believed there should be more to life and found himself looking forward to something, longing it, but unsure what. The fantasies continued and sometimes became full-blown daylight hallucinations, eventually getting so bad he tried to make them stop. He revealed them to mother and Darrel for help, but was beaten for being a ‘freak’ so eventually stopped telling them.
At 16, whilst on another run from home, Kyle came across his first vampire. Although he knew demons existed, none of his family were aware of vampires. He was nearly killed and lucky to escape with his life; more bloody and beaten than any punishment his step-dad could inflict. Several minutes after meeting the vampire, Kyle awoke at the scene with no vampire insight and no recollection of what happened. Questioning whether it had been real or another hallucination, he stumbled home half-dazed and in shock. The questioning went on for days, and in the end he decided to go out and find out for himself.
Kyle returned to the same scene, but found nothing. He spent the rest of the night out looking for the creature, but was unaware a creature was looking at him. A vampiress seduced him a few hours before dawn. He fell into the trap only to realise his mistake at the last minute, when her face morphed. Kyle fought as hard as he could, but was no match for a vampire. Even his pocket knife did nothing after he stabbed her repeatedly. With her mouth hovering over his neck, in a last act of frustration, shifted into demon form.
Suddenly realising her mistake, the vampiress shrieked and tried to get away from him. But Kyle grabbed her and held on tight until his own fire spread across her body.
The vampiress exploded, leaving him alone.
After that night, Kyle was addicted.
The thrill of the hunt and the fight, the adrenaline rush that came so close to death, the satisfaction of knowing he was stronger than vampires, that there were others of the non-human sort who were weaker than him, and then proving it, was a greater lure than any other drug. He wandered home on a high nothing in his life had ever brought him to.
Over the next few months, Kyle learnt vampire-hunting the hard way. His demonic side gave him an edge many humans of his age and stature would have lacked. Just so that he wasn’t reliant entirely on being a Kaoshian, Kyle improved his physical fitness. He gained valuable experience and steadily improved, but at a cost. On numerous occasions he was wounded, sometimes seriously. The healing process was sped up marginally by his demonic side, but often wounds would lay him low for weeks, sometimes months.
Kyle began spending most nights of the week out hunting. Upon returning home he was beaten for being out so late. It seemed he had found a purpose for life, but really he just enjoyed the thrill of the hunt. It replaced his life in ways that fantasies and drugs never could.
Unfortunately, the more Kyle learned about vampires, the more vampires learnt about him.
After getting food one night, there was never any in the house, the now 18-yr old was returning home, and looking forward to nothing more than a beating for coming home so late. Kyle got his wish, in a way. He was jumped by gang of vampires. Despite fighting with all his strength like he never had, despite shifting into Kaoshian form, it was not enough. Fate, it seemed, was not finished with him yet, and only the timely arrival of a vampire-hunting gang saved his life. They took the vampires apart that Kyle hadn’t destroyed, not catching his demonic appearance.
Over following weeks Kyle became more in touch with gang, learning fighting skills and then joining. His experience and skill was valued in the group and he finally seemed to have found a place for himself. He was now spending more time with gang than at home which had become his new family. When returning home he was beaten for staying away for so long.
In an after-fight party many months later, the gang was ambushed by a group of vampires. Hopelessly outnumbered and caught unprepared, the gang was slaughtered, but went down fighting. In an effort to save as many of his new family as possible, Kyle allowed his Kaoshian appearance to come to the fore. He was able to destroy enough vampires to drive them off, but the threat had not gone with them. Horrified and disgusted at Kyle, just like Darrel had been, the gang, bloody and battered, fought him. Unable to hurt these people who had taken him in and he had come so close to, Kyle also fled. Licking their wounds, there was no pursuit.
Kyle felt even worse than ever, even more than the pre-vampire times. He stumbled around in a stupor before finally returning home. There Darrel threatened him for worrying him and his mother so, for fighting again and for a dozen other inconsequential reasons. This time as Darrel raised a hand to beat him Kyle fought back; beating him into a merciless pulp with a cry that carried the rage of years. Tears running down his face, he gave his mother one last look, grabbed a bag full of his stuff, and left. Even to this day he does not know whether he killed his step-father or not, or even whether his mother is still alive, and does not care.
Catching a bus to wherever with nothing but the clothes on his back and a bag of essentials, Kyle left Chicago for good. In the haze of his depression, he felt that loneliness was the best way to be. His father, besides making him what he was, had died and set him on the dark path of depression and his mother to meeting his step-father. He had loved his mother, but that prevented him from doing anything about Darrel. He had had friends, but that only meant people to hide behind and to hurt him when they abandoned him. He was part of a gang, but they did not accept his real self and they almost killed him. No, the best way, then, was to stay a loner; not let anybody get close enough to later on hurt him. That there were people in the world that wouldn’t did not enter his mind; his experience had taught him otherwise.
Kyle continued hunting vampires across the country over the next few months. He celebrated his nineteenth birthday, his eighteenth he had forgotten, in a dingy demon bar in Miami by drinking himself into oblivion. Halfway to nowhere, Kyle began chatting to a vampire who recommended a place he would absolutely love, none other than Las Vegas. There was lots of fights always going down there, the vampire said, plus all the gambling, and a ‘kid like him’s sure to have a good time’. Kyle wandered home already planning to head off the next morning, and when the sun rose he began a decisive hitch-hiking campaign to take him to Vegas.
Powers
In human form, Kyle can fight with marginally increased strength and toughness. His experience also helps him. He is extremely reactive and aware to drops in the temperature, and will suffer from cold far more than normal humans.
However, because of his inner fire will Kyle rarely actually catch a cold. As long as it burns strong, he will not catch the illness (and has never so far). His fire can be extinguished in very cold temperatures, and the colder it gets the weaker he becomes, until eventual death. A sign of his fire dying would be catching a cold.
When he shifts into Kaoshian form he becomes stronger. His clothes melt away, revealing skin that has darkened to obsidian and toughens finger tips and toes catch alight, a fire lights in his eyes, and his skull splits from the bridge of his nose to the back of his head; a greater fire blazing forth from there. Kyle also has the advantage of a tail, and can set alight to flammable objects, such as vampires or cigarettes, through touching them with fingers, toes or the end of his tail, and holding on till the fire catches. The tail is strong and aids lends him extra balance for a measure of agility.
Now that he is much older, it is possible to discern Kyle even while appearing human via scent and aura (or any other means).
Since LABN1
After the final battle with Zayn’s Black Hats, Kyle felt permanently sick. He had finally, finally, decided to fight the good fight, to take up a cause and throw in his lot with the good guys. Like the rest of the White Hats, he had showed up willing to fight, ready to give his life. Unlike a lot of White Hats, though, he lived through the battle – only to discover that, in the end, their sacrifice had been for nothing. They hadn’t achieved anything besides knocking off a few scary monsters; their blood, sweat and tears hadn’t had any effect on saving the world. Most of the White Hats were dead, Kyle had even come close to losing his own life, and when it was all over he could not think of one good reason why he had put it on the line in the first place.
Suffering from disillusionment mixed in with this curious style of survivor’s guilt, Kyle took off shortly after the battle had ended. He travelled the world, not really sure what he was looking for, but looking for something. But he found…nothing. No cause tugged at his heart strings. All he found was a world of darkness and evil, unaffected by the legions of vampires or demons he and the White Hat’s had killed, continuing on regardless of the world-ending plots they’d foiled. What the hell was the damn point in it all?
Giving up on it all, Kyle tried to return to his previous thrill-seeking existence. But, much as he hated to admit it, his tenure in LA had irrevocably changed him. Trading blows with some nameless fresh blood vampire just for an adrenaline kick meant nothing after he’d fought against an entire army of demons and killed a Slayer. So he carried on looking, through Asia, Europe and back to the America’s.
It was in the jungles of South America that he found something in the most unlikely of places. He was approached by Robyn, servant to the Elder vampire Valerian, head of some sort of vampire strike team, offering him a job. She had been impressed by his drive and performance during the battle against Morris in LA several years back and had been keeping track of him ever since. She was also disappointed to learn his particular ‘talents’ were going to waste.
Kyle immediately refused – wasn’t Valerian one of the big bad guys after all? He had some standards, and this was probably crossing some of them. But the more Robyn explained their modus operandi, the more he began to realise that here was a way of finally making a difference, a real difference.
Valerian, it turned out, wasn’t one of your run-of-the-mill, world-ending types. He actually quite liked the world, in that it had people in it, and he had a lot of power in it. He was quite happy to let the world continue running as long as the status quo was maintained (which really meant that he was in a position of power, and any threats to that were eliminated). And Robyn’s team enforced it. The Morris case was a prime example of removing a dangerous, unstable and ambitious vampire (that was threatening Valerian’s interests) before he caused too much trouble. Since the Brotherhood’s defeat in LA a decade ago, Robyn told him, a significant power gap had opened with the deaths of two of the Elders. Since then, they had been working overtime to keep things running smoothly (under much of Valerian’s control). In each case they were taking more casualties and forced to bring in firepower. Kyle, Robyn hoped, would make an invaluable contribution to the team.
Kyle thought about it. He really tried hard to consider everything before making a decision. In the end, curiosity, and a desire to be doing something, got the better of him. He soon accepted Robyn’s offer to a trial period, within a month was officially on the team, and before long was in a position of seniority, acting as Robyn’s second. As he became more and more a part of Valerian’s underworld empire, so too did his relationship with Robyn progress until they became lovers.
Kyle spent four years working for Valerian, four years in which he deceived himself over what he was doing. Yes, in a way, he was doing some good. Valerian had them targeting the extremists; the vampire Hitler’s and Mussolini’s, the groups of rogue demons cutting swathes of destruction across continents, the dark arts mage’s dabbling with things they best leave alone, the corrupt CEO’s moving in on Valerian’s or his allies turf. But it was a very fine line Kyle was walking.
Eventually, it became too fine. Pushed to the point where he could no longer convincingly deceive himself that what he was doing was ok, Kyle left Valerian in unfavourable circumstances, that also cost him his relationship with Robyn.
Motivated by reasons beyond his understanding, he returned to LA. Perhaps he wanted to see how the old gang was getting on. Maybe he just wanted to touch base in the one place that felt like home and clear his head. Whatever the case, Kyle returned to LA a different person than the one who had left nine years earlier.