Sailor Moon:
Seven Knights
*************
Part 7: Final Judgments
Written by Strike Fiss
Ninja Crowbotics, 1999
Chess is a very odd game at times.
There are Games within Games in Chess.
History teaches us that it is perhaps the most fondly remembered
social activity besides enjoying music or food with others. Matching
wits with a friend or stranger, on a board of game pieces that are both
established and understood. It gives a person a chance to prove
themselves to have some degree of intellect, and to impose that
intellect upon others.
This is not necessarily a clash of egos. In it's most friendly
form, the thinking and strategy can be a wonderful way to spend time
and bond with another mind. Enjoying their company and the challenge
they offer.
Still, there are others who recognize a somewhat less honorable
meaning in Chess. That it is battle. Two foes struggling to deceive
and out-maneuver each other. Completely equal in power, but rarely
equal in mind. Such instances of equality are hardly rare, but they
are bleak. Stalemates, as opposed to Checkmates, usually occur when
one side has completely destroyed the other, leaving only a struggling
King to inch across the board. Other times, both sides have been
decimated, and the Kings are left, uselessly chasing one another around
the black and white squares.
It is a game of friendship and challenge, but also one that
mimics true war. Where the pawns and powerful are destroyed by their
own King in an attempt to gain the upper hand. Where hidden plans are
discovered too late, or to lead away from yet more plans.
It is also a game that, if a status-quo should exist, the Game
itself will force one of the opponents to chose attack. The
alternative is not playing.
In this battle before Azrael's eyes, Michael had not been
foolish. Using the time it took to move pieces into place, the Knight
of SkitZ had leaked a number of pawns through to the other side, and
returned with pieces equal to his own power. He had leapt off the
entire chessboard to reclaim pieces that Azrael thought were long since
destroyed.
Still, this made no difference to his plans. While SkitZ and his
foolish allies would slide across the black and white, dodging and
destroying Azrael's pawns...the REAL pieces were still in place.
Motivation is the one thing that never touches a friendly game of
chess. At least, not a true one. Add money, and players will scramble
like it was for life itself. Add fame, and the losers will truly hate
their victors with a passion.
But add the chance to become a God?
The chance to save himself from the Noize?
The chance to rule Universes of his own design?
For this...Azrael would kill them all. He would drink the blood
of this entire planet if it meant his God-hood. He would turn this
simple, peasant game into Hell on Earth, and burn down Heaven if it
meant he could win.
And so became the circle of the Game. Michael's massive armies
slid across the board towards Azrael for the final conflict. Azrael
prepared himself by focusing on his final moves. All the while, he
never saw that he too was just a Pawn.
A pawn in a very old game of Chess.
Chapter 1
A'albiel was a small man with a big heart. Actually, his
physical size was determined by the fact he was a Cherubim of SkitZ,
and therefore, destined to stay as a child for the rest of his days.
This did not mean he had a childish mind or childish ways, however. He
would often challenge Michael himself on many points of philosophy,
strategy and literature. When it game to the wine bottle, he could
usually drink the Archangel into the ground.
It was no wonder Michael liked him. A'albiel had graduated to
the Cherub Commander position quite early. However, as with all
cherubim, they only cared to label themselves with such silly titles
because the Archangels saw it fit. A'albiel himself never understood
the meaning of ranks or command, yet went along with it. It actually
did seem to speed things up in battle.
Still, he was not beneath himself to helping out around the City.
He had been in charge of caring for Uriel in her cell. A task that he
was now loathing. Even with his usually kind heart.
Uriel hadn't shut up since she became conscious.
A team of five Mages stood by the cell at all times, and they
were perhaps the most angry at the task. Each of their old, wise eyes
looked blood-shot and ready to pop out of their robbed heads. "Please
say you're coming with an order for her execution." One of the Mages
asked as he saw the little cherub flutter in.
Sadly, A'albiel held up a tray of food. His voiceless speech
apologized to the Mages, and offered to come down with a few of his
friends later so they could play a game of cards.
"I want to be there..." Uriel was whispering to herself. "I want
to be there...I want to be there...I want to beeeeeeee THEREEEEE!!" she
snapped and began to sling fire across the walls for the tenth time
that morning.
The Mages all sighed and checked the spell barriers that held her
in. Each was intact, as they always were. The small cherub edged the
tray of food into the cell's one weak point, then backed away so it
could be re-sealed. He pitied the Mages jobs. Though this cell could
probably contain three Uriels without cracking, there were to be no
chances taken. Uriel's craftiness was legendary, and they couldn't
afford her escape. Not with Michael away. The only Knight in
residence was Gabriel, who many thought to be on her last leg of life.
"I want to be there...I want to be there..." Uriel continued to
whisper to herself after she realized her fire had fizzled without
effect. "I want to be there..."
"I want to be in the hot-springs of the South." One of the Mages
laughed, prompting the other four to agree.
A'albiel hovered over to the edge of the cell, looking at Uriel.
She was a tall, skinny woman. Light, gray-whispered wings and long
blonde hair. Her face, nobody had seen in ages. Ever since she dawned
her mask.
Any idea what is wrong with her? He asked.
The Mages all shook their heads. "It could be the Noize." One
offered. "She shows the same signs as Michael when he first came to
us."
That didn't seem right, though. A'albiel could tell she was much
deeper into her own mind then even the Noize. Some kind of mental
loop. She was actually blocking the Noize with the mantra she kept
repeating.
Look into it.
The Mages all nodded.
A'albiel sighed to himself, then fluttered down the hall of the
dungeon. He hoped Michael and the others were having better luck with
their plans.
"An interesting group of friends you have here." Cassiel smiled
to herself as she walked past Michael. Her soft blue eyes cast over to
Lucifer. "Mmm...very interesting."
Lucifer, despite his shifty nature and evil ways, found himself
squirming under the young woman's gaze. "I...it's been a long time,
Cassiel." He managed to squeak.
"Yes." She looked him over. "Yes it has." She was almost leaning
on his chest now. "Tell me, how long...HAS...it been?"
Lucifer swallowed hard, unable to think, let alone speak.
Luckily, before he could sweat any more, she turned to Maury.
Maury, of course, didn't seem to mind. He flashed her his best
swinger-look. "We meet at last." He gently took her hand...an action
that seemed to aggravate Cupid, and kissed it. "I've heard much about
you."
Cassiel seemed impressed...slightly. "Ahh, Maury. You should
watch who's hands you kiss. Someone might be jealous." She smiled,
walking past him. Cupid began to hover in front of Maury, clacking his
teeth. Maury backed away, not sure what to do.
Demeter seemed unimpressed, having only eyes for Andrea anyway,
and both of them caught Cassiel's gaze head on. "You have a good man,
here." She whispered to Andrea with a wink.
"I know." She replied, raising an eyebrow. Demeter did the same.
Cassiel purposely 'missed' Rei and Miharu and turned right for
Chris, who had been watching the whole thing with a smile. "What have
we here?" she asked with a grin that was beginning to irritate Rei.
"Just thinking." Chris cleared his throat.
She raised her hand to cup his chin. Rei was about to rip her to
bits. "Oh? Thinking about what?" she asked sweetly.
Chris cocked his head to the side. "I was just wondering why
you're not a man."
Cassiel did a double take. "Pardon?"
"Oh, it's nothing personal." Chris continued. "Just in movies,
you're always played by males. I thought you would have been a man."
Maury couldn't help but laugh. "You're no fun anymore, Fissy."
"Good thing for him." Rei smiled as she patted him on the
shoulder.
Cassiel laughed softly and moved to Dave. He just smiled and
bowed. "Oooh, and a man in uniform."
"It's not much of a uniform..." Dave blushed.
She looked him over. "You look like the kind of man who would
sleep in his clothes."
"I suppose I usually do." Dave nodded.
"Mmm." She shrugged. "Too bad..."
Michael finally turned around and sheathed his sword. "Cassiel,
we're here on business."
Cassiel turned to him with a slight frown. "If you don't mind, I
was talking with your friends."
He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but words never
came. Michael sighed and walked over to the wall so he could lean
against it. "By all means, take all week. See if I care."
"Now now." Cassiel smiled, walking back over to him. "Behave,
SkitZ, or I may have to get naughty."
"That would be preferable." Michael muttered back. "At least I
wouldn't have to watch people drool over your feet."
Cassiel blinked. Cupid giggled to himself. "Well, where are my
manners?" she snapped her fingers. Three archangels walked into the
room, appearing from the shadows. Each looked like they could bench-
press a small truck, and were wearing only loin-cloth. "Please take
them to one of the high suites."
Michael frowned. "Cassiel, we really need to talk."
"In the morning, my dear Michael." She winked, then turned
around, dragging Cupid behind her. "Have a good sleep."
The three muscle-bound archangels crossed their arms expectantly.
One of them pointed to a door that had opened up behind them.
Chris sighed and had to pull Miharu away from the sight. "Come
on, honey." He paused, then had to come back for Rei. "You too,
honey."
Michael gave the three one last look, then turned to follow the
group out of the room. "I remember why I didn't want to come here."
Chapter 2
Unlike the City of SkitZ, the City of Bri was not built to be a
fortress. At least, not one in the conventional sense. Immediately,
this was evident as they walked into their 'room'.
It was a small chunk of Heaven.
Even Dave was impressed as they waded through long, fresh pond-
grass that left little trails of darker green in their wakes as they
moved. Flowers were planted in various garden plots, while trees
around them towered to the ceiling, giving them the illusion that they
were in a woodland valley, and not an enclosed space. A large window
on the other end of the room showed black, indicating it must be night.
In the center of the impressive expanse was a huge marble floor
that held the suite's accommodations. No walls, though. Everything
was open for living. Privacy didn't seem to matter too much, as the
motif seemed to be more of an intimate spot for couples. The only
barriers of any kind were water-walls that were spraying down from the
roof, and the trees at the edge of the place.
"If one of these trees has Apples of Knowledge," Chris smiled.
"I'm going to be very disturbed."
"They taste like shit." Dave smiled. "We make Applesauce of
Knowledge. It's much better."
"Mm, Applesauce of Knowledge." Maury began to drool.
Miharu already jumped up onto the marble and was testing out one
of the numerous beds...that were the size of some hotel rooms back on
Earth. "Wow! They're so soft!" she exclaimed happily.
Before she could begin to bounce of them, Chris had already ran
over and was using one as a trampoline. "ALL RIGHT!" he shouted,
almost smacking his head into the roof. "These are AWESOME!" he turned
to Michael. "You think Cassiel would let me take one of these home
with us?"
Michael ignored Fiss and sat down on an overstuffed loveseat.
"This is insane. What am I doing here?"
"You're moping about." Chris said. "Now, come over here and help
us bounce. We need a third to get the really good ones." He bounced
around, almost colliding into Miharu, who was joining in quite
enthusiastically.
Beavis was sniffing the air. "I smell grubs!" he zipped off into
the bushes.
"Oooh! Where??" Lucifer ran after.
"Wow..." Rei walked over to Chris and Miharu. "This must be one
of the best rooms in the City. I didn't know you were on such good
terms with Cassiel. The way you were talking about her, I thought you
hated her guts."
"She may want to assassinate us." Michael offered.
"HA!" Miharu drew her sword. "Let's see her try! Not when we've
got TRAMPOLINE BEDS!"
Chris drew his sword, and they began to duel while bouncing from
bed to bed, accidentally destroying a few pillows in the process. "Oh
man, now I HAVE to get some of these for back home!" he launched
himself at Miharu and they rebounded off in opposite directions, then
picked up two large pillows to act as 'shields'.
"You two stop that!" Rei laughed as they began to use 'dubbed'
voices.
"Now...you...DIE!" Chris lip-synced. "DAMN YOU! STINK MAN!"
"MASTURBATE...IN...HELL!!!" Miharu countered as she leapt at him.
They clashed swords and then dropped down, thinking of entirely new bad
subtitles.
"Masturbate in hell?" Lucifer poked his head out of the trees.
"How is it that everyone assumes that's all there is too do in Hell?"
Everyone turned to Lucifer with dry looks on their faces.
"What?!?!? Thanks to young Christopher's dreams, we also play a
mean game of squirrel twirl." Lucifer nodded. "The souls seem to like
it."
"What the hell is 'squirrel twirl?'" Rei frowned, looking at
Chris.
Chris blinked, then turned to Maury, who was blinking as well.
"How does he know about squirrel twirl?"
"I don't know." Maury looked over to Lucifer. "We must destroy
the evidence."
Lucifer blinked. "Uh, never mind."
Chris and Maury kept looking at him with evil eyes.
"Uh...I'm going to go back to the grubs." He ducked back into the
trees. The two boys turned back to the group, innocent smiles on their
faces.
"Hehe. Silly Lucifer." Chris chuckled. "Always making stuff
up."
"Hehe. Yeah. Silly Lucifer." Maury added.
"Does anyone else hear cicadas outside?" Miharu said after an
uncomfortable silence.
"Considering we're probably n a desert, I doubt that very much."
Dave smiled. "Now, what do you all say to some food?"
Michael nodded. "I suppose we could stand for a nice meal before
we kill Azrael."
Andrea yawned. "I thought we were going to wait for your
armies?"
"No." SkitZ grumbled. "We're getting out of here as soon as
possible."
"Yes, but that includes waiting for the fifty thousand angels
that are coming in a few weeks." Chris said, perching on the edge of
one of the beds. "Or have you forgotten that we're not on a suicide
mission?"
"Yeah." Demeter nodded. "The not dying part would have been
nice."
"Agreed." Andrea chimed, already dozing off. "Wake me up when
it's time to eat..."
Chris stood and grabbed Michael. "Come on. We'll see if Cassiel
has any cooks still awake at this hour."
Reluctantly, Michael stood. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to look
around..."
"That's the spirit!" they walked over to the door.
Two archangels were standing guard outside, and gave the Knights
mean looks. They also wouldn't get out of their way.
"So, we're prisoners?" Fiss frowned.
Michael shook his head. "No, but they're probably keeping tabs
on us."
Grinning, Fiss nodded. "Oooh, well then." He leapt at the
biggest one. "MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Startled, the angel fell back on his ass, dropping his spear.
The other began to laugh as Christopher and Michael walked over him and
down the hall.
"Works every time." He grinned.
Not far away...rather closer than one might think, someone was
watching. Of course, watching and looking are two different things,
and Raphael Weskic was not looking for anything out of the ordinary.
Perhaps, this is why he did not notice the slight rippling light that
surrounded the City of Fiss' reflection on the ocean.
Winter had fallen upon them. The first part. The calm winds
came from the North, bringing with them a gentle, near-freezing
temperature. Frost was already forming on the water around the City,
and so partially hid the massive structure's reflection anyway.
"It's almost time." Raphael mentioned.
"The final spells are almost drawn." Azrael said, sleepily. "I'm
just waiting for the final batch of sand."
The days had slowed down as they always had for the world.
Winter in the world of Angels forced flights to be shorter. Wars to be
smaller. Spells to be hardy and robust. Miracles were saved for
emergencies only. These facts combined were all working for Azrael's
plans.
Even if it did make for some dull afternoons.
Raphael was not as idle as he may have seemed, though. Every day
he would spend every spare moment honing his skills with his sword. He
would practice casting his favorite spells in record time. He would
ready the armies in the City of Fiss for combat.
In the times he did not work, he meditated. Raphael was the only
Knight that still did in any semblance of a schedule, but it helped him
keep up to the other, younger Knights in mental strength.
This was proving to be both a blessing and a curse, however,
Michael's words kept repeating in his head.
"Ask him."
SkitZ knew. He knew something was wrong with Azrael and his
plans. The paranoid Knight of SkitZ would not drop his entire life for
a crusade unless he was certain it was not a foolish cause.
The more Raphael thought about it, the more he wondered what
exactly Michael knew that he did not. Massive spells. Thousands dead
to fill the gardens. Already two Knights dead or presumed so. Michael
jumping out of the boundaries and back, bringing with him such amazing
defenses that even a Throne had been thwarted. Reports of entire Hosts
slaughtered at the hands of only a dozen soldiers, as they received no
losses whatsoever.
Gabriel knew Revelations had been coming for a long time. If he
was lucky, he had chosen the right side to be on. However, faith in
his abilities to judge a situation that he did not fully understand was
wavering. How could one put the faith of such things on guesses and
half-truths? How could one trust anyone...even their allies...when the
War had begun and the lies spread like grass-fire?
And Lucifer? Risking a direct confrontation with two Knights?
That alone told of something strange in the works.
A soft snore woke Raphael from his mental deliberations. He
turned and saw Azrael sleeping soundly on one of the observation room's
only pieces of furniture.
He walked over to the younger, smaller angel, looking down at him
as he slept. It would be so easy to kill him now. The startled Knight
of Fiss would not even have a chance to reach for his axe before his
neck could snap under Raphael's massive grip.
Judgment.
The Word called for Judgment as well as Wisdom. One could not
exist without the other. Judgment for Azrael would come in one or two
forms. Either his victory and completion of a spell that would save
them all...or his death at the hands of enemies he never knew he had.
Raphael wondered which one it would be.
And he could do nothing.
Not until he knew for sure.
Slowly, he turned and walked back to the edge of the crystal
shield around them and tried to enjoy the view. The air had turned
stale in this City. Not just here, but everywhere.
In the air, hung magic and death. A very dangerous combination.
Chapter 3
Michael woke to a very unpleasant sensation. It was a whole-body
type of thing. Not one that could be immediately pin-pointed, but one
that was recognizable.
Sure enough, as he opened his eyes, Lucifer's grin was right over
his face. "Do you wish to die now?" Michael grumbled.
Lucifer shrugged. "I suppose I could wait a while."
Michael sat up quickly, forcing Lucifer to move from his perch on
the side of the bed, lest he be head-butted. "What the hell do you
want?"
By the way his eyes were still having trouble focusing, it had to
have been only sunrise or earlier. Lucifer knew this, of course, and
enjoyed waking SkitZ up early. "I want breakfast." He stated simply,
though he was still grinning.
"Then go eat some more grubs." He snapped quickly. "I'm not your
cook."
"Whoever heard of grubs for breakfast?" Lucifer gasped in comical
shock. "Perhaps Brunch...but only a late brunch at that!"
Michael reached for his sword in such a way to make it clear he
intended to pull it out.
"Wait!" Lucifer laughed. "Fine. I was just wondering where the
kitchens were."
"Nobody's up at this time anyway." Michael yawned, looking out
over the numerous beds to the others, huddled in their various pairs or
solo sleeping patterns. "Why don't you go back to sleep?"
"Nightmares." Lucifer shrugged.
Michael blinked, then raised an eyebrow. "Nightmares?"
Lucifer looked very offended. "Just because I live in Hell and
listen to the Noize on a regular basis doesn't mean I still don't get a
bad dream or two that I'm not used to."
"Sorry." Michael snickered. "Pussy."
"Humph." Lucifer crossed his arms. "See if I let YOU give me a
hug next time." A slight smile slid across his lips. "Though, I guess
I could always go see if Cassiel will share a hug or two."
Michael's mood clouded over even more, but he said nothing,
choosing only to lay back down.
"I say!" he whispered. "Did you see how she's grown?" he flashed
his white teeth in the dark light. "Why, I remember when little
Cassiel was only as tall as my waist. Oooh, what fun that year was."
SkitZ had his eyes closed, but he was grinding his teeth.
"But now..." Lucifer sighed happily. "I bet she's quite a little
minx in the sack. Perhaps I'll teach her a thing or two before we
leave..." he paused and then laughed. "Then again, she's already been
taught...soooo...much."
A sharp SHNICK! filled the air, and the mattress by Lucifer's
head was sliced down to the floor. Lucifer would have had quite a
headache had he not moved just in time.
Michael was on his feet a second later. "You will DIE!" he
yelled, waking everyone up in the process.
Lucifer grinned devilishly and leaned in closer. "What's the
matter, SkitZ? Archangel? Knight? Are my comments about your beloved
Cassiel PISSING YOU OFF?" he yelled back.
Michael ignored his sword, and despite Yamato yelling him to
stop, the Archangel drove the palm of his hand right into Lucifer's
chest, throwing the Fallen across the room.
"Do you like hearing about how I'm going to FUCK her, Michael?"
Lucifer coughed as he stood, but he never took his razor-sharp eyes off
of his opponent. "Do you like all those memories? All those
suspicions?" he yelled.
Michael ran towards him, catching Lucifer before he could dodge,
and then flung him around like a sack of potatoes into the truck of one
of the trees. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" he yelled, grabbing him by the
collar of his black coat. "Don't you DARE even say her NAME!" he
finished his sentence by delivering a rather painful sounding head-
butt.
Lucifer decided that was enough, and he slid free of Michael's
grip like a pile of sand...though each fleck of sand was a large
cockroach like insect.
Everyone watched in horror as the insects ran across the room,
then reformed into a taller figure, melting away to show Lucifer
rubbing his nose. A trickle of blood ran down his cheek.
"Okay...that's enough."
Michael was huffing in anger, still against the tree. "Fuck
you..."
The Sensei all relaxed noticeably as they finally saw this fight
was over. Yamato jumped out of bed and walked over to Michael. "You
okay?"
"NO!" Michael yelled. "That unholy pig-fucker is getting on my
nerves a little MORE each passing second!"
"I am not a pig-fucker" Lucifer defended, rubbing his nose. "At
least, not that you can prove."
"Shut up." Yamato turned to him. "If you two would stop getting
down each other's shorts about EVERY little thing, you MIGHT learn that
you two are on the SAME SIDE!"
Lucifer sniffed back the last bit of blood and crossed his arms.
"I was only trying to help."
Everyone...and that meant everyone in the room...looked at
Lucifer with a 'yeah right' look and crossed their arms.
"HEY!" Lucifer grumbled. "I was! Honest!" he raised his right
arm and grinned at Hooze and Rei. "Scouts honor!"
"I am SOOO glad we switched to 'Senshi'." Andrea sighed. Rei
nodded.
"How exactly was all that helpful?" Chris blinked.
"I'm simply trying to get Mike over there to recognize his
feelings for Cassiel." Lucifer stated proudly. "Since he hates me more
than any one of his many denials about things, I knew it would override
them if I got him to flip out."
Michael shook his head. "You're fucking insane."
"Aren't we all?" Lucifer grinned back, then turned to the others.
"However, you will all be wondering why I chose to wake you all up with
that encounter, no doubt?"
"You'd better." Maury grumbled.
"Jolly good." Lucifer nodded. "Anyway, while you were all
sleeping, I decided to go back to Pandemonium for a few hours and check
up on things."
Everyone blinked. Michael sighed. "Pandemonium is his City."
"Yes. And it even has indoor plumbing and fecal-matter proof
window coverings!" Lucifer smiled proudly. "You all REALLY must visit
hell sometimes. It's not too bad where I stay."
Miharu grinned. "Maybe some other time."
"Oh, well anyway, I went to Hell for an hour to check up on
things." Lucifer continued. "After all, Hell isn't exactly a pot of
stew you can just leave simmering in the corner while you watch TV.
Unless you keep an eye on it, it can get very stinky."
Yamato shook his head. "I believe there was a point?"
"Oh yes!" Lucifer nodded. "Well, I went down for about an hour
and a half. When I came back, I noticed that all of you were still in
pretty much the same places on your beds when I left."
Michael shrugged. "And?"
"So, curious, I decided to test out my observations. I noticed
Christopher had a watch, so I remembered the time it was showing just
before I went to Hell again. It read five twenty, PM. Even though our
days are longer, our hours are the same, or at least pretty close. So,
with that in mind, I went back to hell for an hour and a half. That's
ninety minutes, right?"
Everyone nodded.
"So, when I came back, I checked Christopher's watch again." He
pointed over at Chris' watch. "It read only five twenty-seven."
Dave blinked.
Lucifer smiled. "I think we know why Cassiel has such great
looks after all these years, my dear Michael." He gestured around them.
"We're in a Time Script."
Rei's eyes were wide. "What? You mean, this City has slower
time than outside?"
Andrea gasped. "I...I didn't even notice!"
Chris pulled out his laptop from under his pillow and tossed it
over to Dave. Dave began working furiously on it. "Oh shit..."
Everyone looked over to him.
"We've already experienced a week." Dave's eyes were wide.
"Just from staying in this place for a DAY?" Maury stood.
"More or less." Dave nodded, closing his laptop, then he turned
to Michael. "Your Hosts will be here in about three and a half DAYS,
Michael."
Lucifer had a smile on his face as Michael's eyes shot open wide.
"Now you see, I was only trying to help."
Chris had a huge grin on his face. "Hey, Mo! We just slept for
a week straight!"
Maury laughed. "Right on!"
Michael was looking down at his sword. "Three days?"
Yamato nodded. "We'd better get ready."
Cassiel watched from her balcony as the Sensei emerged from their
room way down below. The entire City looked to be a funnel on the
inside, thanks to it's inverted nature. She was on one of the highest
floors at the moment. Her own personal hall. "Cupid, my dear..." she
whispered.
"Whehheeheheheheahahhehehahaheeaaaa!" Cupid replied, bounding
around her, getting tangled up in his leash.
"Tell them that I will speak with them." She smiled softly. "But
lead them to the training grounds."
"Whaaheea-Buttons?" Cupid stopped bouncing and looked at her with
a quizzical face.
"Michael, I'll talk to him. Bring him up here and get him
cleaned up for dinner." Cassiel said. "Be nice. He's an old friend."
She whispered. "But make sure the others stay out of the way. Clear?"
Cupid bounced up and down once. "AWHAHHW!"
"Good." She sighed, gently un-fastening his collar. "I will not
be caught in the middle of this war."
Giggling as he jumped over the edge, Cupid descended.
Rei scratched her stomach angrily. "You'd thing we'd be able to
find the kitchen in a place like this."
"I still have a few meals in storage." Dave said, looking up at
the massive structures towering around them.
"Yeah, but I want some REAL food." Rei complained. "Hell, even
instant ramen would be nice at a time like this."
Chris looked over Rei's head and rolled back his eyes, mouthing
'that time of the month'. Dave nodded, understanding. Rei shot Chris
an evil look. He shrugged. "WHAT?"
"Don't start with me, Fissy." Rei grumbled.
They walked a little more, finding a series of steps that led to
the next floor.
"Do you think I'm fat?" Rei asked suddenly.
Everyone sighed.
"I don't think I'm fat..." Rei continued, crossing her arms.
"So..." Chris coughed, trying to change the subject. "Mike.
What's with that little Cupid guy anyway?"
Michael turned and sneered. "One of the most vile, horrible
things to come from the Word."
"Besides us Fallen Angels." Lucifer filled in. Michael nodded.
Andrea laughed. "What? Cupid? He's funny, but I wouldn't call
him horrible."
Demeter nodded. "He did seem to be a little mentally retarded."
"No, he's just really horny." Michael replied.
"Horny?" Maury laughed. "Is that why he's always looking like
he's going to hump someone's leg?"
"Basically, yeah." Michael nodded.
"So, why doesn't someone just..." Miharu blushed. "Uh...help him
with that?"
"He has no penis." Michael said, grinning. "The higher angels
don't have genitalia."
Everyone blinked. Chris quickly checked his pants, then let out
a sigh of relief. Yamato laughed. "Don't worry. Archangels aren't
high enough on the chain."
"Oh." Chris smiled.
Miharu blinked. "So, how can he be horny if he can't have sex?"
Yamato rubbed his chin with his hand. "That's the problem.
Normally, Cherubim aren't horny. However, Cupid seems to be a special
case. A long time ago, he was set in charge of arranged marriages.
Literally, if a couple needed to get together for the good of the
world, Cupid would be the one who made it happen."
"After a while..." Lucifer continued. "He got too interested in
his work. One of the problems with Cherubim is that they can become
extremely dedicated to their tasks...sometimes to the point of
insanity."
Michael lead them up another flight of stairs. "You see, Cupid
isn't one of the original angels that came out with the Word. He was
created afterwards to fill a purpose that was found much later on in
our planet's history. Even the best Knights, however, can't come close
to being able to create the same thing the Word did so many years ago.
While most of the Cherubim in the land are original, we occasionally
have to summon them. Cupid is basically a spell that had cracks in
it's final woodwork, and so, he has some interesting quirks."
"He started to get horny after years of watching
couples...uh...get together." Yamato coughed. "Now, normally that
wouldn't be a problem. Just find the poor guy a lady and let him get
out of those sexual frustrations. However, Cupid is trapped, because
he can never do that."
Chris, Maury and Dave all shuddered. "Poor guy." Mo said.
"So he wants to hump your leg." Chris shrugged. "I still don't
see what the big deal is."
Yamato coughed. "Are you nuts?! Do you know what kind of weapon
Love is?"
Michael continued. "Before Cassiel took him under her wing..."
he coughed. "Cupid was actually one of the most feared entities on
this world." He shook his head. "Love makes people do crazy things.
Cupid could literally control who loved who, who loved what, and who
killed to protect their love."
Andrea nodded. "Yeah, I guess we've seen that in our line of
work too."
Demeter nodded sadly.
Lucifer grinned. "Now you know why we were so worried when we
saw that arrow. That arrow didn't kill that Aszap."
The Senshi all blinked. "What did?" Rei asked.
"It killed itself." Lucifer said. "The actual arrow did no
damage to the bastard. However, Cupid probably sent along a spell with
it that told the Aszap he loved US more than life itself, and when he
realized he was about to kill us, he decided to end his own life."
Maury was wide eyed. "Whoah."
"Exactly." Michael nodded, turning to Mo. "That's why I want to
get out of here as soon as possible. Cassiel is crazy enough to
actually use that little freak to carry out her own plans. The last
thing we need is everyone getting messed up with Cupid..." he turned
around to see Cupid drop in front of him. "AAAAAAAAARGH!"
Cupid stood, giggling happily. "Wwamamammaaaa!"
Miharu backed away, noticing for the first time that, indeed, the
naked little man had no...genitalia. He looked like a Ken-Doll.
"That's very disturbing..."
Chris, Michael and Lucifer all blinked, then turned to the
others. "He's going to take us to Cassiel." Michael said.
"About time." Rei smiled. "I hope she has some food ready."
Chapter 4
One handy thing about having an army of angels was the
communication that was possible, even over long distances. While the
Hosts could only travel at a set speed, individual scouts were much
faster, and could still report back to the City in only about a week.
The communication went both ways, as not only did it inform
A'albiel and the other SkitZ about how the armies were holding up, but
also let the armies know that everything was okay back home.
The reports coming in showed they had collectively hit about ten
thousand angels of resistance on the way there. That meant Fiss was
playing smart. He would decide the final battle terms on his home
ground, rather than wasting his armies farther from the City of Fiss.
Of course, at this moment, A'albiel would rather be braving the
cold than braving the dungeons once more. He sighed to himself as he
rounded the corner. The guard detail had been cut to one watchman,
since it was clear that Uriel was more interested in making sculptures
of her own feces than escaping the cage.
The angel looked up and smiled at the cherub. "How goes the
war?" he yawned. At least this man didn't complain too much. He was
actually quite cheerful, especially considering his assignment.
A'albiel smiled and explained how the Hosts were already on the
outskirts of Azrael's farmlands, and casualties had been laughable so
far.
"Good, good!" he yawned, stretching in his seat. "I have a few
buddies out in the Hosts. Hopefully they get back in time so we can
catch up on card night."
With a nod, A'albiel agreed, and mentioned he'd bring the chips
and dip for the next game.
"Good man." The guard smiled, then turned to the opaque shield
that surrounded the otherwise plain cell around Uriel. She was huddled
in the corner, as always. "She's the same. I really don't know why we
don't kill her and get it over with."
Uriel was one of the first of the new generation of Knights.
Though she looked to be about Michael and Cassiel's age, she was at
least half a century older than both of them. Word had it that she had
been tutored by the Azer brothers as well as Yamato. The little cherub
explained the problem with losing such a direct link to the past. When
Azrael was defeated, there was a chance she could return to a less
harmful way of life. At least, less harmful to the others.
"I suppose so." He shrugged. "Though we should as least put her
in stasis."
A'albiel grinned. That was actually a very good idea. Though
they would need a mage or two on hand at all times to keep the spell
self-sufficient, that was no worse than the guards that had to be
posted outside her cell.
"So you'll get some mages together?" the guard nodded. "Great.
You should probably get some of the higher mages from Choir Fifty."
A'albiel agreed. They were some of the best mages. It would be
required against Uriel, who was quite powerful herself.
With that, he left the tray of food he brought in the corner of
the cage and re-sealed it. Then, thanking the guard for his
suggestion, he fluttered off to make the arrangements.
The City had all but been rebuilt. Only some of the deeper
structural work had to be finished, but for now, any weak points in the
walls and facilities had been temporarily patched and braced, just in
case of anything like another Throne.
Testing had already been completed with Mister Reinquest's
strange lighting machine, and it too was fully operational. With
enough juice to knock a Host or two out of the sky, the City had
relaxed and started to prepare for the Winter season. They were lucky
that the war had been moved across the continent, as they were only
finally able to stock up on food and supplies.
Besides most of the army being away, life was almost...boring.
As a cherub, he did not mind this fact too much, though he did share
the caution that Tsirya was always grumbling about. It would be
foolish not to prepare. Still...there wasn't much to prepare for.
Maybe keeping Uriel in stasis would be a nice tension breaker. A few
of the higher Archangels had been complaining that it was foolish just
to let her sit there and plan whatever she was planning.
A'albiel wasn't too worried. She didn't seem capable of much
right now. But...this would make them happy. About the only one of
the higher angels that didn't seem to care was Anafiel. He seemed
perfectly willing to relax and continue with the running of the city.
Zooming up the insides of the giant hollow pyramid of the City's
interior was simple for anyone with wings, and soon, he had scaled in
seconds what it took mountain climbers weeks to do. The little cherub
landed on the open part of a balcony, leading to the council chambers.
A kind of meeting hall that the higher-ups always used.
Sure enough, both Anafiel and Tsirya were inside, handling the
daily affairs. "I really don't see why we have to go over this again."
The former sighed, playing with a little ball of light he had cast out
of Theban.
"If the Hosts come back too soon, we're going to be short for
First Harvest." Tsirya explained angrily, looking over his spectacles.
He was one of the very few angels that admitted having eye trouble and
did not want anything cast to correct it. When ever there was
bookkeeping to be done, the City always knew because Tsirya always
donned his glasses.
A'albiel watched quietly, not bothering to interrupt. Patience
was well endowed in the minds of cherubim.
"If we have to, we'll send out extra hunting parties." Anafiel
sighed, clenching a fist over his little distraction to make it fade
into nothing. "You worry too much."
"And you don't worry nearly as much as you should." Tsirya
countered. "I happen to have some faith in our armies, and know at
least a fair amount of them will return to us alive." He said, quickly
pulling out more reports from the shelves and bookcases around them.
"I don't think anyone's going to be too happy if we can't feed them
when they get back."
Noticing a light at the balcony, Anafiel chose to use it as an
interruption. "A'albiel!" he smiled, motioning for the cherub
commander to enter. "We're blessed by your presence."
A'albiel chuckled to himself, then began to speak of the plan for
Uriel's containment, how it would be much more efficient, and safer in
the long run. Not to mention, a lot less dishonorable to a Knight who
they would probably want to be allies with after Revelations.
Both Archangels listened. Anafiel had a smile on his face.
"Wonderful idea!" he rubbed his chin slightly. "Have you talked to the
Mages yet?"
He mentioned he did not.
"Good." Anafiel nodded. "I'll put together a shift team of Mages
for you. I happen to know of a few good angels that have cast a stasis
spell before."
"You do?" Tsirya blinked. "Since when to you hang out with the
Mages?"
"Old friends." Anafiel laughed. "Just because I'm part of the
council doesn't mean I stay here all day like you do."
Tsirya shrugged.
"If you'll approve it, I'll get the Mages for you early
tomorrow." Anafiel continued, stretching out on his chair. "I'm sure
we'll all sleep easier knowing Uriel isn't beneath us with a fire in
her hands."
"It would allow us to close the dungeon and set up some more grub
mines." Tsirya nodded. "I agree."
A'albiel was actually surprised the two had come to such a quick
decision. Michael had personally selected the two because they always
fought and complained about each other's ideas and policies. It was a
wonderful system of balances. With a smile, he mentioned it would be
no problem, and he'd arrange for Uriel's transfer to the spell grounds
in the morning with a nice escort.
"Excellent." Anafiel smiled happily. "Thanks for stopping by, my
friend."
The little cherub bowed to each of the Archangels and then
fluttered off to his own tasks.
Tsirya frowned, not bothering to turn to his counterpart. "A
sudden change. I wonder why he suggested it?"
Anafiel seemed unconcerned. "You know how cherubim are. Weeks
are nothing to them. He probably never bothered thinking about it
until now."
"Mmm. Perhaps."
"You're too suspicious." Laughed Anafiel. "If Uriel was going to
escape, she would have done so weeks ago."
"I guess so." Tsirya rubbed his eyes past his glasses.
"So, now where were we?"
"Oh..." he blinked, then passed a book in front of the desk.
"Now, onto the reconstruction costs of the East wall."
Chapter 5
In the time it took them to enter this room, Dave thought, entire
battles were waged outside. Surly, by now, the SkitZ and Vohal armies
had begun to brush up against some of the Fiss, Weskic and Aszap.
Though probably not as active in the war anymore, Bikko Hosts were
probably swarming around, looking to take out anyone they thought
responsible for their Knight's death.
Outside, it must have been hell.
However, in the shielded palace of Bri, they really had no idea
what was going on. Dave was getting antsy. Time was something he did
not like being fucked with. Just knowing things were happening in a
different speed outside of these walls made him nervous. It was one
thing to be in the Omega Web with their 0.010298 microsecond difference
to help seal the entrances, but when hours were turned into
minutes...he just didn't like it.
Cupid had showed them all to a strange, sterile room with some
kind of public bathing system. Much like a locker room in a gym.
Then, he had taken Michael away, mumbling something about buttons.
Michael just shrugged and said he'd try to make it back as soon as
possible.
"This sucks." Miharu sighed, leaning against one of the far
walls. "How long do we have to stay here?"
"Knowing Cassiel, she may keep us here for days." Lucifer offered
with a shrug.
"Wonder-fucking-full." Maury sighed. "Forget whatever nice
thoughts I had of her." He pouted. "And to think, I was going to let
her become part of my most lurid fantasies."
Chris laughed. "I don't think she could bend like that, Maury.
Not many people besides Gumby could be in your most lurid fantasies."
"Hey! I know it's possible!" Maury defended. "Spines are
actually very flexible if a woman practices..."
"Children." Rei warned, shooting Maury a look.
"Oh." He smiled at Miharu. "Never mind."
Demeter blinked. "Who's Gumby?"
Beavis smiled. "You don't want to know."
Andrea yawned, leaning up against Demeter for warmth. "Well, if
anything interesting happens in the next little bit, wake me up. I'm
taking a nap."
Most of the Senshi sat down against the walls. "So, what do we
do now?" Chris asked.
Yamato shrugged. "I suppose it's up to Michael. We may as well
get comfortable." He looked around at the damp, but otherwise
acceptable accommodations. "Lucifer wasn't kidding. She really could
decide to keep us here for days."
"I'm glad I brought food." Dave sighed, taking off his lab coat
for only the third time this trip. "So, how do we get back when this
is all over? It might be handy to know in case SkitZ gets killed."
Yamato smiled and turned over to Chris. "There's a shortcut I
know." He turned back to Dave. "How fast can you transport us?"
"Here?" he paused. "Two at a time at a rather shitty speed."
"No, I mean back in our universe."
He paused, thinking. "I suppose I could cross the solar system
in a few hours with all of you tagging along."
"Perfect." Yamato nodded, then turned to Chris. "In case we
can't draw up the script to get back home, try to find a crater. It's
a fair bit South of the City of SkitZ, but you can see it quite easily
from the air."
Dave nodded. "What then?"
"You'll know what to do." Chris smiled. "It's a backdoor to our
solar system. Only problem is that it might lead you to outer space."
Everyone blinked.
Demeter smiled. "Don't worry, if it's anywhere near the sun, I
can navigate."
Maury groaned. "Why can't we ever take cars anymore? Or busses?
I'd settle for a bus."
Fiss stood. "NEVER! The mighty Strike Fiss only rides
Nacho...or flies." Everyone blinked. Chris smiled and sat back down.
"Busses are the tools of the devil." He added.
"He's right you know." Lucifer added.
Everyone sighed and smacked either Fiss or Lucifer, whoever they
were closer to.
"We REEEEALY don't have time for this." Michael growled in such a
way that even Cupid flinched.
That was impressive, considering how feared the little Cherub
was. However, Michael wasn't exactly an unimposing figure himself. If
he could get a lucky shot before Cupid could retaliate, he very well
could snap the little guy's neck with a punch.
Of course, it was even more impressive since, at the moment,
SkitZ was dressed in a fluffy, bright pink bathrobe. Anyone who could
scare the shit out of Cupid while looking like that...well...was pretty
impressive indeed.
"Buttons!" Cupid said nervously. "Whaa..a..a! Buttons!"
SkitZ assumed it was some kind of apology, and sighed. "Fine.
Anything to get out of this fucking pink shit."
They stood in front of a room littered with dressers and spools
of fabric. Clothes of every size, shape, color and style were across
the walls. They all shared a common theme, though. Most of them were
dress clothes. Formal outfits and the such.
"Why can't I just see her wearing my normal clothes?"
Cupid just bounced up and down.
"You're a lot of help." Michael mocked. "Thanks a bunch."
"Hehehehheheheheaaaaaaa!"
"Yeah. That's what I thought." He fought the urge to grab the
annoying little bugger and pop it's head off like a dandelion.
Finally, SkitZ noticed some plain, black shirts and moderately
normal pants. Cupid shrugged as SkitZ walked over to grab them.
"Buttons?"
"If you think I'm getting all frilled and dressed up for Cassiel,
you're mistaken." Michael replied sharply. "You already put me through
enough water to wash a Host. That's as far as I'm humoring you two."
The little jittery angel just bounced around slightly from foot
to foot, like the floor was too hot.
With a smile, Michael found two very mean looking black military
boots and put them on. He could tell by Cupid's reaction that they
were not supposed to be here. "Someone must be looking out for me."
Finally, he shifted his wings back into his outer coat and a dark
blue leather. The clothes were, at least, not annoying. They weren't
as comfortable as his traveling clothes but they would make do.
Besides, nothing like an angel in a nice suit to scare your enemies.
It reminded them that you really didn't need armor to crack their
skulls.
"Well?" Michael shrugged.
Cupid giggled and bounced.
"I assume that means I don't look too retarded." He sighed, then
walked over to Cupid. "Let's go."
Anafiel slid through the dark corridors with a practiced ease.
In places like this, one could almost float around at a running pace
without even touching the ground.
Every day, he had been instructed to check on the guards in this
vault. Every day, it was the same old thing. Nothing ever changed.
This would be a nice change, he thought to himself. Compared to this,
guarding Uriel was an amusement part.
"Thank God." A guard laughed as he noticed Anafiel's approach
down the hall. "Someone new to talk with."
He smiled. "Actually, I was wondering if you four would like a
change of pace?"
Each of the four guards blinked. "You're kidding." Laughed one.
"No kidding." Anafiel said, crossing his arms. "We're going to
transfer Uriel to a stasis spell. You four are some of our best Mages,
and I don't want to leave anything to chance."
They all nodded happily. "Did you notify the poor bastards?" the
first asked.
Anafiel blinked. "Pardon?"
"Our replacements." Another smiled. "Surely you have already
told them of their fates."
The Vaults consisted of poorly lit, musty smelling passages that
formed a ring around a central block of safes. The room that connected
to the exit wasn't much different, aside from some beds, desks, and
small torches and candles. It was bad enough four of them were sharing
the cramped space. But they had also been there for almost a month
now.
"They must have done something pretty bad." Laughed another.
"Oh, yes." Anafiel laughed. "Yes, we already have the next team
getting ready."
They all nodded. "When do we start?"
"Now." Anafiel shrugged. "I'll keep an eye out on things here
while you're gone."
They all blinked.
"Uh...but Michael said he wanted at least four guards in the
vault at all times." The first said nervously. He had no reason to be
nervous. It was well within their right to question the orders.
Anafiel nodded. "I sent a message to Michael already. When we
realized it would be safer for Uriel to be in stasis, I knew he'd want
to know about the change. We just got word back yesterday. He
recommended you four in the team." He smiled. "He also said that they
had already stationed an outpost, and have Raphael's Virtue captured,
so we can afford a bit of relaxation with the ones here."
The angels all smiled. "Wow, I didn't know the battle was going
so well!"
"Neither." Anafiel laughed. "Turns out they used the Throne to
wipe out a lot of their defenses. Michael credits Azrael for giving
him the idea."
They all chuckled happily. "Okay. You want us to report to
Tsirya?"
He shrugged. "If you want. He'll probably just tell you to go
to A'albiel."
"Well," one stretched. "Let's get out of here. I haven't had a
breath of REAL air for weeks!"
"You sure you'll be okay here?" the first asked. "I can stay
behind until the next team comes."
"Don't worry about it." Anafiel sighed. "I got some paper work
to finish up anyway." He smiled, pulling out a scroll roll.
"Alright." The first Mage sketched a little cross and blessing
with his fingers, then walked after the other three down the narrow
hall. "Good luck. Uriel will be in good hands."
"I know." Anafiel smiled as he watched them leave, pressing his
fingers to his lips. "That would be the plan."
Chapter 6
It was an odd place. The entire City seemed to be a kind of
thrown-together nest for thousands to inhabit. At one time, SkitZ
could remember the massive monument as his own. Gently tapering
upwards to a point. Those memories were decades old, though.
Still, the inverted nature of Cassiel's City seemed to fit her.
She always did the exact opposite as he did, it seemed. Not to mention
she did not take the Noize very well. He could still remember the
horrible first few weeks after Re-Genesis. How only a select few even
noticed anything had happened...but were also cursed by the maddening
silence and screams in their head after the universe ripped itself
apart.
Cass had suffered some kind of mental breakdown. SkitZ even came
close, being as young and inexperienced at mental trauma as she was.
However, he managed to fight his way though the initial shock. She did
not. Cassiel was not a fighter. She was...originally...a great poet
and mage. Rumor had it that she had been one of the few lucky enough
to be taught Theban by one of the books Christopher had. With that
final book being burnt as his mother instructed, there...maybe...was
only one more in existence.
All the Theban and spells in the world, however, could never have
prepared her for the Noize. It was like being locked in a dimly lit
room for all of eternity, and listening to your own thoughts and breath
bounce off the walls and echo in your mind. It was a thousand screams
for every one of yours. It was loud, and it was maddeningly silent at
the same time.
After her breakdown, Cass had secluded herself in her City, much
as the same way SkitZ had...though for different reasons. While he
fought to learn what had happened, she did everything in her power to
hide from everyone else. Until just weeks ago, she had succeeded in
hiding from Michael.
Not that he was really looking for her.
But Lucifer had reminded him...he did care for her. Even if on
some ancient note of friendship. This helped him concentrate as he was
led to a small balcony by Cupid. He could finally put this all to
rest. A brief visit to make sure she was doing okay, and then a
request for help against Azrael. Simple, straight forward. No
problems.
Michael smiled as the door closed behind himself...thankfully
leaving Cupid outside. As with the rest of the City, this room fit
Cass like a glove.
It was the 'bottom' of the City, now on top, and forming a floor
almost as big as the plaza back at the City of SkitZ. In a kind of
fitting irony, the ceiling murals that had been painted decades ago now
lay on the floor, crumbling under the feet of angels and humans. They
fuzzed and blended together to form a strange entirety that seemed to
actually look better than the original separate paintings.
Leave it to Cassiel to turn everything upside down...and use it
to her advantage.
He had to walk for a while, but finally neared the center of the
giant room. Not surprisingly, a small table had been placed there, and
the area was lit by some kind of light script on the 'floor' above it.
"Cassiel?" he called out, wondering where she was.
A hand rested on his shoulder, and he almost jumped out of his
skin in surprise. He turned, seeing Cassiel was right behind him.
"WHAT THE...SHIT!" he almost fell over. "How many times have I warned
you NOT to do that?!?!"
She smiled at him. "Sorry...I just wanted to see if I could
still sneak up on you."
"Well you CAN!" Michael grumbled. "And one day, I'm going to
have my sword out and you'll regret it!"
She shrugged and walked off towards the table. "I could think of
worse ways to go."
He calmed down and rubbed his forehead. "Considering that I can
store the Noize in my sword, I doubt that very much."
Cassiel blinked, suddenly turning white. "Oh..." she said
quietly. SkitZ almost fell over. He had never seen her get so visibly
scared like that.
"Just a second." He sighed, reaching into his coat to untie his
sword. Then, he put it down away from the table. Cassiel seemed to
relax slightly and smiled. "There."
She bowed slightly, gesturing towards the table. "Sit down."
Michael shrugged and grabbed the chair opposite from Cass. "Nice
place you have here." He looked up at the marble floor and smiled. "A
little upside down, though."
"It's home." She said softly, snapping her fingers. Cupid
promptly leapt out of the shadows and began to set the table.
"How did he get in here?" Michael blinked.
She laughed and shrugged. "He's Cupid. Do you have to ask?"
He watched as Cupid managed to stay still long enough not to drop
the china, then bounded off to fetch the food. "No, I suppose not."
They were both quiet until Cupid returned with a small cart and
began to set up dinner. Cassiel had the same dress he had seen her in
when they all woke up, but had changed her hair slightly. The way she
was leaning on the table, however, was giving him a generous view of...
"It's okay." She said suddenly. "I don't mind."
Michael blinked as he realized he was staring. He quickly
coughed and looked away. "Sorry. Old habit."
Cassiel just smiled and sat up in her chair, alleviating the
problem. "Cupid, dear."
Cupid looked up quickly as he set down the last plate.
"Hehehehahaha?"
"Go check on the others." She smiled. To the little cherub.
"Make sure they have a chance to meet the boys."
Cupid actually hesitated. "Ba...? Chaw? Babachaw?"
"Now." Cassiel stated in a firmer voice.
Frowning, the little cherub turned to Michael and grumbled
something that sounded rather threatening. Then, he grabbed the tray
and bounced off into the shadows again.
Michael blinked, then turned back to Cassiel. She shrugged.
"He's very protective of me." She explained, then flashed him a
rather...inviting smile. "But I don't have to worry about you, do I
SkitZie?"
Grabbing a glass of water, SkitZ downed it in just a few gulps.
"It's Michael, if you don't mind." He said after a slight gasp.
She blinked, then put on a pouty face. "Aww...too bad. I like
SkitZie better." She poured herself a drink.
"Yeah." He smirked. "I know."
She raised an eyebrow. "Funny...I never heard you complain
before."
"Yeah, well I've been meaning to start complaining about a lot
more things lately." He paused when he realized the contents of one of
the dishes. "Is that poppycock?"
Before Cassiel could say yes, he had already grabbed the desert
tray and began to yank off a large chunk of the popcorn/caramel/nut
mixture onto his plate.
She smiled as he started shoveling it into his face. "I thought
you were going to start complaining?"
"Later...mearrgohph!" he stated over a mouthful of caramel.
"Eaaphting!"
With that said, Cassiel just smiled and joined him, helping
herself to some poppycock as well. The rest of the dinner went rather
smoothly.
Cupid was noticeably less jittery when he opened up the door.
Maury walked over to him before the little cherub could say anything.
"Hey, you."
"Wahahaerhhg?" Cupid blinked.
"We're hungry." Maury stated, arms crossed.
Cupid ignored Maury and turned to Chris. Chris blinked. "He
wants us to stay here, but he says he needs help to bring food."
Maury smiled. "Right on! I'll come."
"I'll go to." Chris smiled. "Translation services."
Rei smiled. "Don't get into any trouble."
"Who? US?" Mo and Fiss laughed like maniacs.
With that, Cupid led them out of the room.
"So." Rei sighed, crossing her arms. "How much longer until we
miss the war?"
Dave did the calculations in his head. "If this spell is
constant, we have another fifty hours. That's all assuming the last
stages of a final, all out land-war. We SHOULD try to be out of here
by tomorrow's evening."
Lucifer nodded. "I can get us out in a hurry. If we can't get
Cassiel to help, we'll take the short-cut."
"What's the short-cut?" Miharu asked.
Lucifer smiled and pointed down.
Rei frowned. "I think we'll try the door."
"Just an offer." He smiled.
Chapter 7
The assembled crowd gasped as they realized something was wrong.
Red light began to fight against the shimmering silver air around
Uriel as the four Mages desperately tried to repair the spell.
"Something's not working!" one of them yelled, looking to the Cherubs.
"Get Tsirya and Anafiel NOW!"
A'albiel didn't even wait for the order before he zipped off
across the plaza and then launched upwards toward the higher offices.
This was all going to hell and back.
They had taken Uriel...without struggle...from her cell and
brought her to the plaza where there would be enough room to cast a
stasis field. The very nature of such a spell made it hard to screw
up. It was a safe, gradual addition of magic and energy that stopped
the spell's target from being able to use internal energy and
thought...at least any more than was required for life-sustaining
levels. If such a spell was cast on a person, it was like falling into
a peaceful, dreamless sleep. Even the most powerful Mages could not
use magic in their sleep.
Unless they had cast the spell to take effect while they slept.
Uriel had done so. Or at least it was A'albiel's guess she had.
Then again, she may have simply not WANTED to be put into Stasis. With
her mind so chaotic at the moment, it was possible her subconscious
will was fighting back.
She was not one to be underestimated. That was why the little
cherub became extremely worried when he saw that Tsirya wasn't in the
office. Neither was Anafiel. Both were the highest Archangels still
in the City, and they would probably be the only ones able to reverse
whatever power Uriel was using to free herself.
He found a clerk nearby and quickly asked where the two were.
"Uh...I think Tsirya was going to the Vaults to check on
Anafiel." The man shrugged.
A'albiel was off in a flash. The bad feeling he was having all
day was now amplified. Why would they be in the Vaults? The only
thing there at the moment were the Virtues of Aszap and Bikko.
Oh shit.
Quickly, the little cherub changed course to the residential
block. It took only seconds to find Gabriel in one of the suites. She
was dozing off in her bed with a book gently placed over her stomach,
but on noticing A'albiel, she woke with a pleasant smile on her face.
"Hello, A'albiel." She yawned. "Sorry, I was just napping..."
She was interrupted by a barrage of thought from the little man.
He quickly explained what was happening with Uriel, and that something
was going on at the Vaults.
Gabriel, despite her old bones, was up and out of bed in a
thought. "I'm glad you came to me. Do you want me to check the
Vaults?"
A'albiel shook his head. Gabriel would be needed if Uriel
actually escaped. She was the only person in the City with a Virtue
under her power.
"Good idea." Gabriel said as her old, gray wings slid off her
back and spread to lift her into the air. "Get the others. Make sure
the other Virtues are safe." She withdrew her own sword. It was an
elegant iron broadsword. Almost like a less decorated version of
SkitZ's. It had seen just as much battle, though, and the Knight
holding it still had a bit of life in her eyes.
They flew out the window and headed their separate directions.
She flew to where the crowd of swordsmen were gathering, while the
cherub continued to the Vault.
He was met at the entrance by two other Cherubim. His
Lieutenants. Augustine was a little taller than average, and
specialized in war tactics. He had with him two Spears of Light, the
cherub weapon of choice. He quickly tossed one to A'albiel, who
thanked him for his foresight.
Rikbiel mentioned that the others were being gathered to help the
spell, and they would be on their own. He too, had a spear. The tiny,
yet brilliant barbs of light at the end of the silver staffs could rip
an Angel or Fallen apart if needed, though few instances had ever been
recorded. They were also some of the only weapons that could do
physical harm to a cherub.
A'albiel nodded, and the three little men slid down the stone
passages at top speed; their smaller size allowing them to shoot down
the corridors like they were in open air.
They could already smell blood.
Something was wrong.
Uriel's first breath came in a roar.
A lightning quick hand ripped through the last of the numbing
spell around her and grabbed the neck of one of the Mages. Before the
poor fellow could react, his head burst into flames.
That was enough to finally collapse the spell, and the resulting
backlash of magic threw everyone else away like fish caught in a wave.
Gabriel quickly got to her feet, half expecting Uriel to be flying
through the air with an intent to rip her to shreds.
Uriel, however, hadn't moved. She stood, with her thin wings
clung to her back, shivering. Though the fire in her hand was still
lit, she didn't seem to care about the hundreds of warriors flocking
around her.
Gabriel couldn't believe she had finally broken out. Weak,
probably tired, and outnumbered, her fellow Knight simply tore the
spell apart, even as they were adding more power to it. "Uriel!" she
bellowed, raising her sword.
Hissing, the younger Knight turned to Gabriel. "Fool...you're
all fools."
Frowning, she walked closer. Her sword pointing at Uriel's neck.
"We were just going to put you in stasis."
Uriel's eyes blinked behind her mask, then she laughed. "I KNOW
what you were trying to do." Her eyes narrowed. "That's why I stopped
it."
"So you could escape." Gabriel countered.
Uriel's flame went out and she slowly sat on the ground in a
meditative pose. "No."
Hundreds of swords clanged as people dropped them in surprise.
Gabriel herself was rather shocked. "Pardon?"
Uriel cocked her head to the side and sighed. "What happens to
us now is not important. I simply want to be here when it happens."
Gabriel slowly slid her sword into her sheath. "When WHAT
happens?"
Looking up with a grin under her mask, Uriel leaned closer to
Gabriel. "The Second Word."
Gabriel's jaw dropped.
A'albiel couldn't help but cringe when he saw the scene.
A thick trail of blood led to the corner, where a shivering man
in a dark green robe was trying to force himself to stay awake. It was
quite a feat, considering his feet were in the opposite corner of the
room.
Tsirya?
The angel looked up with fading eyes and smiled. "A...A'albiel.
I...I'm glad you're here."
The two other Cherubs quickly went to the Vault to see if anyone
else was there. And to check on the swords.
"It...it was Anafiel." Tsirya whispered. "I...came to check on
things...he had the Virtues in his hands."
If the little cherub could have gotten any more pale, it would
have been impressive.
"He...just minutes ago..." Tsirya continued weakly. The pool of
blood around him grew as his skin got whiter and whiter. "You
must...stop him."
A'albiel turned as Rikbiel came back into the outer room,
mentioning that the two swords were no longer there. Furious, the
cherub commander ordered a Mage to come quickly to try a healing
spell...even though he could tell it was already too late.
"Don't worry, A'albiel." Tsirya sighed, leaning against the wall
as his strength gave out. "Just stop Azrael. Help Michael."
With a final sigh, the man slumped forward, and his glasses fell
off his face, landing in the pool of red below.
The three Cherubim stood silently over the body, praying for the
soul's safe journey. Then, they fluttered out of the Vaults as fast as
they could.
Chapter 8
"I don't know." Maury said as they walked down the hall. "If it
were up to me, I think I'd have bat-wings."
"Well, I didn't exactly have a choice." Chris shrugged as they
walked. "Besides, I don't think bat-wings are part of the deal. I
think it's limited to feathers."
"Can you set them on fire?" Maury asked.
Chris blinked. "Why would you want to do that?"
He shrugged. "Well, that would be pretty cool. Imagine. Big
old flaming wings of doom. That's pretty sweet."
"I think it would hurt a little to much to be worth it." Chris
grinned. "Hey, don't do that!"
Maury plucked off a feather from his friend's back. "He he.
Cool."
"That stings, you know." Chris grumbled, rubbing his shoulder.
"And it itches too."
"Ahh, bitch bitch bitch." Maury sighed. "Come on, you'd do the
same thing if I had wings."
"Yeah. But that's the third time you've done that today." He
poked Maury on the arm. "Besides, you can fly without wings. I don't
see what the big deal is."
"Mm, true. But I look like the flaming torch guy." He shrugged.
"Sure, it looks cool, but I always get really thirsty after flying."
"Aww, poor Mo."
"Yeah. Oh well."
The two had been following Cupid for quite a while now. The hall
seemed to go on forever in a giant circle. Chris hoped it wasn't just
some sick game the little cherub was playing. Especially when it was
wasting hours of their time ever few minutes.
"Hey, Cupid." He sighed. "How much further? You get lost?"
Cupid shot him a dirty look and kept bounding forward, assisted
by his rapidly flapping wings.
"Ooh. I haven't heard that kind of swearing since High-School."
Chris blinked.
"What did he say?" Maury laughed.
"Something about your dick and the nostrils of an animal I've
never heard of before." Chris shrugged. "But it sounded rather nasty."
"HEY!" Maury rolled up his sleeve. "Fucking Cupid! See if I
ever honor Valentines Day again!"
"Relax." Chris offered. "He's probably just having one of those
days."
"Huh?"
"You know. Like you remember the flights over to Tokyo after we
haven't seen Rei or Lita in months? Ever notice how we're really pissy
towards the stewards?"
"You mean, besides just annoying them for more peanuts?"
"Yeah."
Maury nodded. "Ahh. Yeah. Poor Cupid. We should send him some
Playboy magazines or something."
"Naw, that would probably make things worse."
They were interrupted as Cupid stopped at a huge, wooden door.
He pushed it open with an ease that was surprising, considering how
small he was. The laughter and sounds of a crowd of people were
inside. "Must be the dining hall?" Maury shrugged.
Cupid led them inside the expanse that indeed turned out to be a
dining hall. Hundreds of angels, men and women and cherubim fluttered,
walked, sat and ate around bench after bench of food and drink.
"Whaehehgh." Cupid motioned to the far side of the room where another
door seemed to lead to the kitchen.
Maury and Chris shrugged and followed, ignoring the stares they
were catching from the feasting individuals. "Why are they looking at
us?" Mo frowned, adjusting his sunglasses.
"They probably like your coat." Fiss smiled.
Suddenly, two of the largest men he had ever seen stood from the
seats and blocked Chris' path. He nearly bounced off one of their
chests before he noticed.
"Remove your sword." One growled, arms crossed. He had arms like
tree-trunks, and a dull silver breastplate that had scratches from
uncountable swords on it.
The other, though wearing no armor, was a foot taller, and had to
weigh close to four hundred pounds. At least three hundred of raw
muscle. Both shared similar looks on their faces, like Chris had just
insulted their mothers or something.
"Pardon?" Chris blinked.
"Your sword." The other mentioned, reaching for Chris' side.
Chris sidestepped, then tugged his coat close over his sword.
"Sorry. Can't do that."
Maury walked up next to Chris and stood an inch away from the
other man. "Is there a problem?"
"We don't allow weapons in the dining hall." Explained one. "It
is sacrilege."
Chris smiled and attempted to step around him. "Well, don't
worry, we're just here with Cupid. We'll be gone in a second."
He was blocked by an arm...with a little more force than was
necessary. Chris fell on his ass, actually. Maury helped him up, but
kept a steady eye on the two angels in front of them. "Now THAT was
just uncalled for."
Cupid watched the exchange with a grin.
"I apologize for not leaving my sword at the door." Chris bowed
slightly, though it was obvious Mo didn't think he should have. "We're
new here. Next time I come in, I won't have my sword on me."
Both of the men grinned at each other. "You're right. You
won't."
The one in front of Chris reached over his head, and grabbed him
by his wing, lifting him up. "HEY!"
"I'll just take this little tooth-pick from you before you hurt
yourself." The other laughed as Chris struggled, but couldn't reach
behind himself far enough to free the man's grip.
Not about to let anyone touch his sword, even if it was just out
of some stubborn samurai pride he held, Chris closed his eyes and
remembered the song SkitZ had told him. Instantly, his wings slid
themselves out of the other angel's grip, and wrapped themselves around
Chris' dark gray coat, turning into a second, snow white layer.
Three hundred people dropped their eating utensils at the same
time.
Chris blinked as he saw the terrified looks on the faces of the
two huge men. Maury noticed too. "Oh...right..." he swallowed hard.
"The coat..."
Instantly, screams erupted. It was almost like a nuclear bomb
went off and caused a shockwave to throw the entire room back in
horror. Maury and Chris stood, blinking as everyone scrambled to get
as far away from them as possible.
The tallest of the two angels began to stutter.
"Th...th...th..."
"THE MAN IN WHITE!!!!!!" a huge, burly man screamed, sounding
like a frightened old woman.
"THE NI PROPHECY!" yelled another.
"What the hell's a 'Ni'?" Maury looked over to his friend.
"I...think you'd better change back."
Chris nodded, raising his arms slightly and stretching his
shoulder muscles. The coat slid back and formed his wings once more.
"Sorry..." he smiled nervously.
Of course, that was when the armed guards began to rush through
the door. Two swords were tossed to the two big angels who had
originally stopped Mo and Fiss. They too, judging by the colors of
their clothes, appeared to be guards.
"It's HIM!" they both pointed. "The Prophesized one!"
"HEY! I am NOT prophesized!" Chris pleaded, looking around at
all the pointed objects being held by nervous, anxious angels.
"Something tells me they think you are the prophesized one."
Maury quipped, earning a grumble from Chris.
They were surrounded on three sides. The wall blocking in the
other. Considering they were trying to get Cassiel to help them, this
was not going to be very fun.
"Hey, Mo?"
"Yeah?"
"Duck."
Maury ducked and Chris whipped out his sword, blowing a bright
blue ball of energy through the wall, making an exit into the hallway.
Mo didn't wait for Chris to regain his balance from the swipe, and
grabbed his friend, yanking him through before anyone knew what was
going on.
As the guards all rushed for the new exit, Mo and Fiss landed
past the thick metal and concrete wall. "Wait!"
Mo stopped. "What?"
"Hit the roof. Now!"
"Hoot yeah!" Mo swept his hand at the tunnel, throwing three Sol-
Stars at it.
Chunks of stone began to fall, but it wasn't enough to burry the
exit. Fiss, however, had his sword out. "STOP!"
At the end of the blade, in golden, shimmering light, a perfect
Theban character had been traced in mid air. Like magic, the stones
began to stop falling and froze.
Three of the guards in front smashed into the strange net of
suspended pebbles. They seemed to shudder, but stayed in place,
forcing the guards back as they tried to thrust their swords through
the gaps.
Maury barely managed to pull Fiss out of the way in time, but was
awed. "How...did...you DO that?"
Chris shrugged, quickly sheathing his sword. "I figure I
eventually had to get that bloody spell right."
Without another word, they rushed over to the dining hall door.
Maury pressed his hands against the metal hinges, fusing them shut with
a blast of raw heat. "We'd better get the hell out of here."
"Please don't say 'hell'." Chris sighed. "This place is getting
to me."
They took off down the hall, just as the first shoulder-checking
began against the door. It wouldn't be long before they broke free.
Chapter 9
"You're going to get fat." Cassiel laughed.
It was a young, innocent laugh. Michael replied in same. "I
don't see YOU watching your weight." He grabbed another chunk of
poppycock and stuffed his face.
"I'm only fourteen!" Cassiel laughed. "I'm not fat!"
"Suuure." Michael grinned. "Fatty."
"Hey you two!" Yamato called from the kitchen. "Michael! Knock
it off."
Cass stuck out her tongue and made a face.
"She started it!" Michael yelled back.
"Then be a gentleman." Cass grinned. "After all, you have to
respect a lady."
Little SkitZ grinned evilly, then started batting his eyelashes.
"Oooh!" he cooed in his best 'girlie voice'. "I'm Princess Michelle!"
he said with pouty lips.
Deadpanned, Cassiel almost fell over onto the giant fur carpet
that spanned across the room. "Stop that!"
Michael...or Michelle...began to copy Cassiel's little flirting
eyelash thing that seemed to be really effective against most other
guys. "Oooh! I'm so cute and defenseless! Big bad Cassiel is always
picking on Princess Michelle."
"Stop that!" Cass grumbled, though she had to fight laughter.
Yamato came into the room with dinner and sighed. "Cassiel. How
many times have I told you not to pick on Princess Michelle."
"Michael?"
SkitZ looked up from his empty plate. Cass was looking at him
with an odd grin on her lips. The little girl from his memories now
the fellow Knight in front of his eyes.
"Sorry." He shook his head. "Memories."
Her eyes lowered, knowing exactly what kind of memories he must
have been having. "Hope they're nice."
A long silence.
"You must know why I'm here." Michael said finally, setting aside
his plate.
"I was hoping it was just a rumor." Cass shrugged. "Revelations
happening twice in our lives? I mean, it does sound a little much."
"Considering what happened during the last few years, I would be
surprised if it only happened once." Michael shrugged, rolling around
the wine in his glass.
"How's it going?"
"We're winning." Michael shrugged. "But, I think Azrael is up to
something."
"Are you kidding?" she smirked. "He's ALWAYS up to something."
"We all are." Michael retorted. "He just is always up to
something that everyone else will pay for later."
Cassiel nodded. "I've noticed."
SkitZ frowned. "How so?"
"I've watched Azrael's city from time to time." She said. "I
think he's been casting Callings."
"Calling spells?" Michael blinked. "Where did the beams go?"
"That's just the thing." She smiled. "They're not going
anywhere.
"Well, not anywhere here, anyway."
Cassiel leaned back in her seat. "That still doesn't explain why
you're here." She crossed her arms. "You and a group of little
children out in territory even YOU haven't ventured on in decades,
while your armies are still weeks behind you. Do you really expect to
defeat Azrael by storming his City?"
"The idea has come up." Michael grinned.
"You can't be serious."
SkitZ shrugged. "You haven't seen what we can do." His lips
suddenly sported a dangerous grin. "I haven't smacked around so many
people who've deserved it since the first Revelations. It's nice to
have friends who understand what needs to be done, and even nicer that
they can actually help me do it."
"That's what you said with Azrael." Cassiel frowned.
Michael blinked, then shrugged. "True, but when I was Azrael's
friend, he wasn't a pig-fucker. People change, Cassiel. I've changed.
I know what I need to do and how to do it. If Azrael wasn't so full of
his own bullshit, I'd probably still be his friend. If he could
refrain from blowing up the Word and everything under it, I would leave
him alone. I don't care what he does so long as it doesn't fuck with
my world as well."
Cassiel sighed. "You overestimate people. Including yourself.
You haven't changed, SkitZ."
"And how would you know that?" he replied coldly.
"Nothing changes here." She said cryptically. "We are a dead
society. A race of ideas. We're guardians who do more harm than
good." She stood, pushing her chair back. "Hope is not enough to
justify our atrocities. Nothing will change so long as we live."
Michael clenched his fists. "Fine. I knew it as a mistake to
come here." He stood and turned around.
"Why DID you come here, Michael?"
SkitZ sighed. "I wanted you to help."
Cassiel blinked.
"I wanted to know if you would join us on the final assault."
Michael said. "I have to admit, we'd have a better chance of
overwhelming the bastard with a Host or two."
She sighed. "No."
"Figured as much." Michael walked off towards the exit. "Thanks
for dinner. We'll be gone by morning."
Cassiel couldn't believe it as she watched him go. When his
shadow had passed through the door, she turned to the table. "Shit."
She whispered.
"SHIT!"
The table exploded upwards as her sword connected with it.
Chapter 10
"Is this the way back?!?" Chris gasped as they slid around the
corner. The sounds of armor and weapons clanged behind them.
"Trust me!" Maury smiled happily. "Remember, I'm an experienced
woodsman. Trails are no problem."
"What about that time when we were following the river and..."
"Okay, except for that time." Maury grumbled. "But it's not my
fault. You're the one that wanted to go chasing after frogs."
"True enough." Chris shrugged.
"Here!" Maury grabbed his collar and hauled him against the wall.
"SOL STARS!"
A large patch of the wall exploded outwards to reveal another
hallway. Chris was about to grumble at the directions, but then saw
the door to the room the others were in. "Sweet!" he grabbed Maury's
collar now, and they jetted forward through the hole thanks to a quick
wing flap.
The Senshi all blinked as Maury and Chris fell through the door
and quickly closed it behind themselves.
"What's going..."
"SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" they both hushed.
Rei frowned. "Now what did you guys do?" she whispered.
"They don't like my coat." Chris grumbled.
Dave's eyes widened. "Oh my." He quickly took Chris' laptop and
scanned. "I'll put up a sound wall."
Outside, they saw hundreds of feet run past, leaving quick
flashes of shadow under the door's crack. The sound was dampened,
though, thanks to the computer.
"Dave?" Chris whispered as they waited for the rest of the feet
to run past.
"Yeah?"
"What the hell is a 'Ni'?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. The script was muddled in that part
of the prophecy. I think it might have been changed due to Re-Genesis.
I think it's part of an instruction. Maybe how to stop the plague."
"Great." Chris sighed. "Well, those guards out there tried to
kill us because they saw my coat."
"And they called you the prophesized one." Maury added.
"I AM NOT PROPHESIZED!"
Beavis shrugged. "It sure seems that way to me."
"Shut up." Chris fumed.
"So what do we do now?" Rei sighed. "Did you guys get in trouble
with Cupid?"
As if by magic, Cupid opened the door, scaring the hell out of
everyone. He had a creepy smile on his face as he delivered the tray
of food, then looked at Chris.
Chris clenched his fist. "You say ANYTHING, and I SWEAR you'll
have to learn to breathe through your own ass."
Cupid just narrowed his eyes and left, still smiling. With a
quick flutter of his wings, the door shut behind him.
"What did he tell you?" Maury asked.
"He asked if I wanted to play with all the guards some more."
Chris replied. "I really don't like this."
Raphael sighed as he walked down the halls. Once more, to the
Gardens. In his fist was a report of border activities. Michael had
begun his attack, it seemed.
Their first line of defense had been easily taken out, and they
had advanced quite impressively considering the elements against them.
He hoped that this was all part of Azrael's plan.
The guards were still outside the doors.
The same guards.
Almost zombies now, they were thin and fragile looking. Deathly
pale, yet their unnerving stares gave Raphael the impression they would
still have enough strength to rip intruders apart with their swords.
The magic had them. They would gladly be the walking dead if they
could stay around it more often.
He nodded to one of them, receiving no indication he was
received, and proceeded into the chamber. "Lord Azrael?" he called
out, looking around the oceans of script and sand.
Azrael was sitting next to the sand, laying on his back with a
smile on his face. His hand was wrapped in a piece of blood-stained
cloth. "Hello, Raphael."
Raphael blinked, then looked out over the script. Every last
inch of the sand had been covered in Theban. "Y...you're finished..."
he whispered. Just to the edge of the sand was a small splatter of
red. Where the caster's blood had sealed the sand.
"Oh yes." Azrael sat up slowly. His weapon was at his side, on
his belt, instead of in his hands being used to draw. "I am finished."
The larger angel smiled. "Congratulations."
Azrael laughed, standing up weakly. "I have been laboring on
this spell for over a year, my friend. I have formed the biggest, and
greatest spell since the Word...possibly surpassing it. I have worked
endless nights and mornings." He took a deep, cleansing breath. "And
all you have to say to me is 'congratulations'?" he laughed. "I AM
DONE!"
Raphael watched his younger friend jump up and down, doing a
little dance. He laughed despite himself. "I am glad. You'll finally
be able to save your strength for the final stages."
"Thank you." Azrael smiled, walking over to his friend. "I know
you mean well...even though your enthusiasm is not as obvious." He
paused, looking down at the scroll reports. "You brought me
something?"
"Reports." Raphael nodded, handing them to Azrael. "It seems
Michael knows we're up to something."
Angrily, he breezed over the reports. "This is not of any
concern."
Raphael blinked. "Pardon?"
"By the time they think they've breached our defenses, there will
only be three or four of their Hosts left. It will be the dead of
Winter. Not only that, but if they actually get here with time to stop
the spell, I would be very impressed indeed."
With a sigh, Raphael nodded. "I guess so. But that's not a very
good tactic."
Azrael smiled. It was very scary, actually. "Yes, but don't you
love a nice trap?"
Raphael sighed. "Very well."
Walking past him, Azrael just chuckled. "Send another two Hosts
to the front. Just in case Michael sent some actual talent our way."
He paused. "You remember the exceptions, right?"
"An older man and anyone who claims to be a Knight. I remember."
Raphael shrugged. "Strange orders, though."
"The world works in strange ways."
Chapter 11
Michael had been walking for hours.
At least the clothes fit nicely. The last thing he would have
wanted was to have to find Cupid and get his old stuff back. They were
probably already burned or thrown out.
He had wasted enough time. Cassiel had already given up. Like
hell he was too.
Still, it took him a long time to regain those thoughts.
Cassiel, even now, had a calming effect on his mind. Every time he
felt himself leaving her presence, it was almost like a cold wave would
wash over him, just to remind him how nice and warm it had been with
her.
Lousy body. No fucking good. Always wanting to take the easy
path. Lay down in bed and sleep in. Lay down your weapons and you
might not feel pain. Maybe, just maybe, if you gave up fast enough,
you'd just die and get it over with. Even if you were able to drag
your good-for-nothing body out of bed, grab a sword and go out into the
fray, there was always the physical attractions to deal with.
Even to Michael's oldest memories, he had always liked being
around Cassiel. Not in any sexual sense, though it was certainly
present now. But before, she was comforting. Someone with a nice
voice and a patient ear that he could talk to all night. Hell, the
damn woman even knew exactly where, if he had an itchy back, to
scratch. Nobody else had ever gotten that right.
As if just to make a point, Michael's back began to itch. "Oh
come on..." he sighed and leaned up against the metal railing to quell
the sensation.
Gabriel was full of shit. Flesh was just a pain in the ass. He
would have much preferred being made out of holy light like the Old
angels. The ones they were supposed to be imitating.
Finally making up his mind, he started heading back for the
others. They would leave as soon as everyone was ready. With or
without Cassiel, it no longer mattered. They were running out of time
anyway. It was one of those times they had to drag their bodies out of
bed, no matter how tempting it would be to sleep in.
Of course, even though deep in thought, SkitZ DID notice the
sudden influx of guards that were running around the hallways. Some
would give Michael a quick stare, then realize who he was and return to
their running around.
"What the hell's going on?" he frowned, feeling the reassuring
weight of his sword at his side.
With a smile, he pulled a small chunk of coal out of his pocket
and traced some Theban on the floor. One of the guards zipped by, but
accidentally stepped on the character, activating it. A large ball of
fire enveloped the poor bastard, scaring the hell out of him.
As soon as the fire had started, though, it flashed off, leaving
a trembling and smoking guard. He looked up at SkitZ with shocked
eyes. "Knight Michael!"
"Now that I have your attention..." he smiled. "What's with all
the troops?"
The man, ignoring his singed feathers, looked even more
surprised. "You mean you don't KNOW?!"
"That would be why I asked, idiot."
"Oh, sorry." He bowed. "We've found the Man in White."
SkitZ's eyes widened. "What?"
"Of the Ni Prophecy." The man nodded as more and more guards flew
past. "Of the Soulless Faces and the Wingless Skies!"
"Where is he?" Michael grabbed the collar of the man's armor and
hauled him up to eye level. "He's NOT the Prophesized one! You must
NOT kill him!"
Confused, the guard just shook his head. "I...I don't know!
He's hiding somewhere in the City's lower levels."
"Dammit!" Michael sighed, dropping the guard. "I told him NOT to
show anyone his coat."
Gasping, the guard almost fell on his ass. "You mean you KNEW he
was here?!?"
"Yes, but he's not the Man in White." Michael growled. "Tell
your commander that Michael SkitZ says so. I will NOT be pleased if
that man is killed."
"But..."
"NOW!" Michael thundered, reaching for his sword.
With a nervous bow, the man ran off.
Michael sighed and ran off to find the Senshi. "I should have
never taught him that fucking song."
Everything was perfectly quiet.
Then...
Maury growled. "Okay..."
Everyone turned to him. "What is it, Mo?" Hooze asked.
"Who farted?" he shot an accusing glare at everyone.
They sat, huddled in behind a flight of stairs that lead to the
higher levels. While guards tromped up and down the steps, they never
thought to look behind in the dark crevice, and had continued to do so
for almost an hour.
"So who the hell farted!" Maury frowned.
Suddenly, Dave sniffed the air. "Oh dear god!"
Each of the Senshi began to groan at the smell. Lucifer just
smiled. "Sorry..."
"DAMMIT!" Chris growled. "Can't you just hold it IN next time?
That was horrible!"
"Few times in my life have I smelt such a vicious and lament-evil
fume." Beavis commented in his usual Shakespearean prose. "If you
weren't the Devil, I'd damn you to Hell!"
Demeter began to franticly wave his hand, hoping to fan the
gasses away from his nose.
Their evil looks toward Lucifer were cut off by a sudden group of
nearly guards stopping their random advances and regrouping close to
where they were hiding. "We've sealed the rest of the City. They must
be here on the Gate level." One said.
"Gate?" Chris blinked.
Rei smiled. "Hey...maybe we're at the entrance!"
"You mean we can get the hell out of here?" Maury's eyes
brightened. "Kick ass!"
Dave allowed himself the liberty to use Fiss' laptop and did a
quick scan. "We should be able to see it past the guards."
"Do they have Cherubs?" Miharu offered. "If there's any guarding
the entrance, then we'll never get out of here alive."
"I don't hear any." Fiss smiled. "If there are any, they're all
quiet."
"What about Michael?" Miharu asked. "We need him to come with
us!"
"Yeah, but sooner or later, those guards are going to find me."
Chris sighed. "Then, we're all going to be in a pile of nougat."
"We could always dress you up like a girl." Lucifer grinned.
Chris blinked. "What?"
"Well, it worked on Final Fantasy Seven, didn't it?"
Everyone gave him dry looks.
"WHAT?" Lucifer grumbled. "I say it WOULD work!"
Demeter's eyes went wide. "He's right!"
Everyone gave Demeter even dryer looks, however, Andrea nodded.
"Wait...it might work. After all, Demeter could just add a little
glass here N there to make you look completely different, Chris!"
"Well..."
Demeter nodded. "I won't be able to do much, but I could at
least change your hair, and maybe give you a different face."
Chris' eyes widened. "Can you make me look like MacGuyver?!"
"Uh...sure!" Demeter shrugged.
"Right ON!" Chris beamed. "Okay! Let's do this!"
Andrea laughed softly. "Well, just remember, you won't be able
to talk much. That glass is actually kind of brittle."
"And you should hide your sword so they don't recognize it."
Maury offered.
"Cool..." Miharu was also beaming. "Now I can brag to all my
friends that my dad is MacGuyver!"
Rei frowned. "Who's MacGuyver?"
"He can make a nuclear bomb out of tin foil and some lobster
shells." Maury filled in happily. "He's invincible!"
"And he does it all with his knowledge of science!" Dave
continued enthusiastically. "He's my hero!"
"Well, him and Michael Knight from Knight Rider." Chris nodded.
"Ooh!" Maury exclaimed. "And Airwolf! And don't forget Bo and
Luke Duke from the Dukes of Hazard!"
Rei almost fell over on her face. "I must be the only person
here who never watches TV."
"Don't worry." Chris smiled warmly. "Your amazing beauty and
skill makes up for it." He raised an eyebrow. "But just barely."
Rei shot him a look.
One of the guards noticed the sudden appearance of a group of
people by the steps and drew his sword. "Hey! You! Who goes
there?!?!"
The Senshi were immediately confronted by an equal number of
swordsmen. Dave...who had wisely taken off his white coat and hung it
around his waist...went to the front and bowed. "Good evening, fine
sir."
Each of them lowered their swords. "What business do you have on
this level." He scanned the group, picking out the males and giving
them each a hard look. None of them matched the description of the Man
in White...though one did look like MacGuyver, and was grinning like an
idiot.
Luckily, besides Michael and Lucifer, nobody in this universe
knew what TV was, let alone MacGuyver. He ignored the strange man and
relaxed. The bearded man...almost...looked like Lucifer...but it
couldn't have been him. Otherwise, he'd be ripping everyone apart.
Yeah...must just have been someone who looked like Lucifer.
"We were just passing through." Dave stood and smiled his best
disarming smile to one of the female guards, who blushed noticeably.
"My friends and I couldn't help but notice all your guards. Is there
something the matter?"
The guards all put away their swords. "Well, have you seen
anyone wearing a white coat and looking like this?" he pulled out a
small piece of paper that had a rather hideous drawing of Chris on it.
He was growling, and looked like his forehead was about to burst open
due to the throbbing veins and glare from his eyes. Dave almost lost
it and laughed.
"Oh my..." he coughed. "What a scary individual!"
"If you had seen his evil in person, you too would know why we
have so many guards active at the moment." The guard nodded.
The young man who looked like MacGuyver was no longer smiling.
In fact, he was mumbling something under his breath. Beavis turned to
him and whispered for him to shut up.
Dave ignored Fiss and continued. "Well, in that case, would you
mind if we made our way past?"
The guard blinked, almost like he didn't get it. "Pardon?"
With a shrug, Dave pointed past the guards to the huge doors
behind them. "I assume that's the exit. We need to get going."
Almost at the same time, the guards began to laugh.
"You...you're not serious, are you?"
"What do you mean?" Dave frowned. "I can assure you we are
inclined to leave."
"You mean you don't know?"
Dave, due to his position of intelligence back on Earth, couldn't
help but feel a little smack to his brain upon hearing those words.
That had to have been the first time he heard that phrase in the last
eighty years at least.
"No." he admitted through a strained smile. "I do not."
"If you were to open those doors..." the guard laughed "you would
probably drown."
Everyone's face went blank.
"That leads to the ocean." The guard continued with a smile.
"Then where's the exit?" Dave edged. All humor in his voice was
gone.
"Well, we're actually not supposed to let anyone out for now."
Another guard offered. "With Revelations happening, Cassiel probably
chose you all for a purpose. She'll want you to stay until
everything's safe."
"We can handle ourselves, buddy." Maury stepped forward and
pushed his sunglasses up on his nose. "Now, make with the exit."
Beavis sighed as the argument began, then was suddenly hit by a
chunk of something falling on his back. He looked up from Chris'
shoulder to see another chunk of Fiss' disguise cracking off. "Oh..."
Chris blinked, causing a part of the darker skinned "mask" to
fall off of his cheek. "Sheeeit..." he breathed through his teeth,
trying not to move."
"Well then." Dave frowned. "I demand to talk to Cassiel."
The guards laughed like it was the funniest joke ever. "Nobody
'demands' to talk to Cassiel."
"I am not 'nobody'." Dave defended with a growl. "And had I
known I was to be a prisoner here, I would have talked to her when I
had the chance earlier."
The guard sighed and confronted Dave and Maury with crossed arms.
"Listen, this is a time of crisis. If a Knight wants you to stay, you
listen. It's divine privilege, and part of something much greater than
your simple need to travel."
"Right now, my need is to travel my foot into your nuts." Maury
mumbled under his breath.
"What was THAT?!" The guard sneered.
"Chris?" Rei looked over to him, noticing his face was beginning
to crack...quite literally.
He turned slightly and shrugged. A small flake fell down to the
floor. Though he still didn't look like himself, the guards were bound
to notice this sooner or later.
"Just stay still..." she whispered, then took a few steps over to
Dave. "Uh, we better leave."
Dave turned, catching the sight of Fiss trying to hold his face
on. "Oh..."
Maury still hadn't noticed, and was dragging out the argument.
"AND ANOTHER THING!" he poked his finger into the guard's chest. "Your
uniforms look GAY!"
"Happy?" the man shrugged. "I never thought they looked 'happy'
before?"
"Dammit!" Maury sighed. "You can't even insult people properly
in this place."
"Uh, no no no." Dave interrupted. "I suppose he's right. We
should go find Michael." He turned to Maury. "Quickly."
Maury blinked. "WHAT?! Don't tell me you're wimping out too!
Can't we just kick some..." he noticed Chris and stopped.
"Oh...uh...yeah, we should be going."
The guards all blinked. "W...uh...okay..."
The Senshi began to turn around and walk off, surrounding Fiss,
hoping that nobody would notice.
"What's with that?" the female guard frowned. "Why did they
suddenly leave?"
The lead guard narrowed his eyes. "I'm not sure..."
Chris was having a very hard time trying to walk. The mask had
shifted over his eyes slightly, and was only guessing where to go
thanks to Rei's hand on his shoulder. "We...better get out of here..."
he whispered. "It...is...coming off..."
"Shh!" Rei smiled softly. "MacGuyver can survive anything,
right?"
Fiss smiled just enough so he didn't crack off the remainder of
his disguise. "Yeah..."
Of course, nobody thought to tell him about the stairs.
"WHOAH!"
CRAAAASHHHHHHHHH!
"Oh oh."
The guards all looked at the Senshi in horror, as Strike Fiss
stood, rubbing his head from his face-plant into the stairs.
"THE PROPHESIZED ONE!" gasped one of the guards.
Chris sighed. "I really hate being called that..." and then they
ran.
Chapter 12
Cassiel stormed out of her room, holding Cupid back via his chain
leash. "What the HELL is going ON here?!" she demanded as a second
explosion down in the bowels of the city echoed around them.
Cupid had his suspicions, but just shrugged. This would be fun
to watch.
One of her personal guards...the huge, body-building rejects in
loincloth, ran up to her and bowed. "We've found the Man in White.
The Prophesized one."
Cass almost fell back on her ass. "WHAT?!?!"
"He's here. We already have the Dominions harnessed and ready."
The guard smiled proudly.
"Holy shit..." she growled. "So Azrael sent us the Ni Prophecy."
"He is the work of Azrael?" the guard blinked.
Nodding, she walked past him. "I wouldn't be surprised.
Especially since the outside is so close to the Winter Soloist."
"Well, never fear, my Knight. We shall kill this intruder
and..."
They were interrupted by a large ball of liquid flame slamming
into the opposite wall. When the flames dissipated, it turned out to
be a surprised, smoking black Dominion, who promptly fell with it's
wings melted off by the heat.
"You were saying?" Cassiel frowned slightly, then took flight.
"I'll handle this myself."
Cupid giggled and then was drug along after her.
Three massive dragons, actually slightly larger than the one they
had encountered in the forest, circled the Senshi at a distance. They
would have been closer, but Maury was having a lot of fun with his fire
abilities. "Oooh, come on...who's next?"
Yamato sighed. "This is going to be messy. Dominions never die
easily."
"Antimatter." Dave smiled, taking out a Pookie. "It cleans up
after itself."
With that, he fired a round right into one of the Dominion's
feet, vaporizing it's lower half. The beast howled in pain, and fell
towards Dave, attempting to crush him.
"Jan Ken Pon...PAPER!!" A pink shield popped up in front of Dave
just in time, and the beast was halted in it's advance.
Finally, running to the front, Strike Fiss leapt at the dragon's
neck, and in one swift motion sent the silvery-green head flying into
the crowd of assembling guards.
The two final Dominions were just as easily destroyed. Miharu
slit the throat of one of them at an angle, starting from the beast's
skull. It dropped to the floor, shuddering. Rei simply took out an
ofuda and flicked it at the forehead of the next one. As it was
stunned, she placed her hand into it's open jaws. "Mars FIRESTORM!
STRIKE!" While the Dominion's stomach might have been able to handle
so much fire, it's lungs obviously could not, and it collapsed in a
smoky cough.
Meanwhile, the others had regrouped in case the guards decided to
charge.
They didn't. However, a dozen Mages did. As they advanced, they
began to trace little spells in the air with their fingers. Chris
gasped, dropped to the ground, and began to do the same with his sword
into the floor. "Everyone! Huddle!"
From each of the Mages came a sudden bolt of lightning. It was
unnaturally orange in color, and flew straight and heavy towards the
Senshi. Chris finished his own spell, however, and activated it just
in time. A spider-like cage of metal rose out of the ground around
them. When the lightning hit it was captured by the metal and flowed
into the ground harmlessly.
"Nice one." Dave smiled.
"Thanks." Chris puffed, catching his breath.
The metal spines dissolved as Chris stood. Yamato quickly found
what he was looking for in his backpack, and threw a dozen small wooden
chips at the Mages above their heads. Each one attached to the
forehead of the angels like magnets drawn to opposite poles.
"LIGHT STONE!!" he yelled.
Each of the Mages were suddenly enveloped in white, shimmering
light, forming perfect spheres around them. The twelve orbs then fell
to the ground harmlessly as each Mage tried in vain to break their way
out.
Finally realizing that Yamato was one of their adversaries, many
of the guards began to take steps backwards. "The Knight Master!" a
few gasped.
"It must be a trick!" another offered. The guards around him all
nodded as they eyed the old man suspiciously. "KILL THE IMPOSTER!"
Yamato groaned, but knew nothing was going to stop these guards
now. "Well, so much for respecting your elders."
Chris raised his sword. "Yeah. I hate it when they do that."
Three hundred of the best swordsmen on the planet charged at the
same time.
"FFFFRRRRRAAAAAAAAGGGGAAABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!"
The thundering noise literally flattened everyone to the ground
as they held their ears. The City shook.
And the Archangel Michael walked through the crowd, unopposed.
It was obvious he was not happy. His sword was in his hand, and
was humming contently...daring someone to piss him off. "You're all a
bunch of assholes, aren't you?" he said in his normal volume of voice.
Andrea ran over to meet SkitZ. "Uh, Mike...be nice..."
Michael growled, looking at the guards who were still huddled on
the floor. "What do you mean, 'nice'?"
Yamato nodded quickly, seeing that Michael was close to doing
something...well...something that would probably kill all the guards in
the room in some gruesome way. "We were just trying to leave. They
haven't hurt us." He begged. "Diplomacy is key at this time."
Michael's eyes narrowed. "They were about to kill you."
Andrea shook her head. "We were fine...just...get them to point
out the door, and we'll go."
"Diplomacy?" Michael frowned.
Andrea nodded. Yamato too. "Yeah. Diplomacy."
"Try talking to one of them." Offered Demeter helpfully.
Michael smiled brightly, then turned to one of the guards.
"Okay!" he sheathed his sword and knelt down. "Excuse me..."
The man shivered in fear. "Y...Y...Yes...Knight Michael???"
SkitZ turned back to the others with a shrug. Andrea shrugged.
"Be gentle." She explained.
He turned back to the guard as hundreds of eyes watched,
unblinking and nervous. "Hey." He brought up his finger and poked the
man on the shoulder.
"Ahh...ehh..." the man stumbled for words, but was clearly too
scared to say anything.
Michael shrugged, and continued to poke the man. "Pokey pokey!
Hello in there?!?!" he smiled happily. "Pokey! Pokey pokey pokey!"
"At least he's being gentle." Yamato sighed. Everyone else
sighed as well.
Michael seemed to be having fun, actually. "Pokey! Poker poker
poker! This is fun. You guys gotta try this!"
The poor guard was now weeping openly.
"Now, I'm going to ask you a simple question." Michael smiled,
showing all his teeth. "Did you KNOW that man was Yamato? The Knight
Master and my personal friend?"
Shaking, the guard nodded.
"And you were going to try to kill him, weren't you?" Michael's
smile turned rather evil looking.
Still crying, the guard shook his head to the affirmative.
"I...I'm sorry..." he babbled.
Michael stood slightly, then delivered a swift punch to the
guard's face, knocking him over and out cold. He turned to the others
with a smile. "Hey! You're right. I LIKE diplomacy!"
Everyone developed large sweat-drops on their heads.
The relative silence didn't last long, though. Michael drew his
sword again, causing a deadly sharp ring to sound out. "Attention City
of Bri." He said loudly. "You have been misinformed about the
Prophesized One. He is not in this group of warriors. I will offer
proof if needed, but know this: Anyone who further attempts to harm
anyone in this group shall have to go through me." He grinned evilly.
"And that's fine by me, because I'm itching to kill some assholes."
"JAN KEN PON PAPER!" Andrea struggled to yell out the words in
time.
A pink shield snapped into existence right over Michael's head,
and a bright red arrow slammed into it, stopping it's advance just
barely an inch away from it's target.
Everyone, including her own troops, gasped as they turned to the
sky above them.
Cassiel and Cupid hovered there, descending slowly. Cupid looked
extremely mad that his arrow had been thwarted, and was already loading
another into his bow.
"This..." Cassiel growled. "...is not your playground, Michael,
and you are WAY out of line."
Michael's grip tightened on his sword as the arrow and shield
fell away harmlessly. "I'm not playing."
Chapter 13
It had been eight of the hardest days he had ever known.
Carrying three Virtues was hardly easy. Their very nature made them
slightly heavier than average swords. Combine that with the need to
keep them in good condition while traveling, and dealing with three
different shapes, and it made for some very strenuous flying.
Anafiel never stopped, though. What little sleep he did allow
himself came in short, five hour bursts whenever he could find a safe
hiding spot.
Venturing into towns and villages was too risky, but he still had
managed to enter one, relatively undetected, to purchase supplies and
warmer clothes.
Though completely exhausted, he had flown over the battles below
as the massive armies of SkitZ and Fiss began to clash at the inner
borders. The small bit of his mind that had not betrayed Michael felt
pride in noting that the SkitZ Hosts were fighting exceptionally well
and seemed to be surviving the war.
That was, however, a very small part of his mind.
The rest of him was disgusted at the war. Angels were not
supposed to fight against each other. It was blasphemous. At least
Azrael was only defending himself against irrational enemies like
Michael.
When Azrael had first contacted him, he had been surprised,
angry, but open to the suggestions presented. Azrael had explained
that the old Word was breaking down. It explained the wars and the
Noize.
He had also mentioned that he...for a long time...had been
working on a new Word. To replace the old, and save them all. To
strengthen the world through divinity like the first Word had done with
the Old Religions.
Though it took a lot of soul searching, Anafiel finally decided
that Azrael was right, and his own Knight had betrayed them all. When
the Knight of Fiss offered him a chance to help with the creation of
the next Word, he agreed wholeheartedly. There was no higher honor in
his mind.
And so, he took the Virtues and fled the cesspool of corruption
and unholy-ness that was the SkitZ.
By now, Uriel would probably be loose and wreaking havoc in the
City of SkitZ. Everyone would be too busy to notice the absence of one
Archangel, assuming he was killed...just like Tsirya had been.
A smile crossed Anafiel's lips as he trudged through the snow
with his heavy backpack. "Bet you didn't see that one coming, fucker."
He whispered. "Not even with those childish glasses on your wrinkled
nose."
There was only so much patience and love one could have for a
person who was at their throat every day for every reason possible.
Anafiel would admit freely that he did enjoy killing his counterpart.
Strangely satisfying, despite the ease that it came to his sword.
With his final destination only hours away, these last eight days
of hardship were nothing. They felt like his penance. Cleansing
punishment for his years of serving the wrong side. Finally, though,
just past two giant mountain cliffs, he could see a glint of sunlight
reflecting off of an angel-made structure.
The City of Fiss.
The giant tower of metal and stone seemed to rise out of the
earth like a tooth, high into the air. It had to be at least twice as
tall as the City of SkitZ, though much more slender in width.
Each of the Cities had the same pyramid design, but this one was
set on a natural tower of stone, making it much harder to access. Not
only that, but it was out on the water, much like SkitZ's own domain.
The very top of the smooth metal walls seemed to be cut away, and was
replaced with a shimmering dome of crystal instead of the point.
To the weary traveler, it was a sight for sore eyes. Azrael
would reward him for such loyalty for sure. It was reward enough
knowing he would have a part in recreating the glory of the angels.
He was so awe struck by the sight that he didn't notice his
shadow shifting to his front, indicating some strange source of bright
light approaching him from behind.
One simple slice, and Anafiel lost half of his left wing.
Gasping in pain, he tumbled forward, somehow managing to save his
wings by turning them into his coat. The impact was hard, and he
rolled down a slope of icy rock, further into the valley. Vision
returned slowly as he shook his head free of snow. "Wh...who's
there!?!" he coughed, noticing the coppery tang of blood in his mouth.
A tiny man in a cloth diaper frowned, holding a silver and light
spear in his hands. He stood at the edge of the valley, waiting for
the next move.
"A'albiel!?!" Anafiel stood, quickly drawing his own sword.
The cherub nodded and his eyes narrowed. Even though most
Archangels could fly much faster than Cherubim, it was a little known
fact that Cherubim didn't need to sleep. Or worry about the cold. He
had been tailing the traitor for a week now, finally catching up in
time to stop him.
"You...you don't understand!" Anafiel pleaded, taking steps
backwards. "Azrael's trying to HELP!"
The little angel held his spear in both hands like a sword. The
glowing white tip made steam trails as he walked trough the cold winter
air.
"You killed him." He spoke at last.
Anafiel had never heard him speak out loud, and almost dropped
his sword in surprise.
"You killed your own brethren, and you DARE to tell me what is
right or wrong?" he said angrily, taking more steps toward the larger
angel. "You hide behind a smile and use the attention toward false
targets to accomplish your treason. You do all this, without remorse
and without guilt. You fly to our enemy, offering to give him power
not even God had, and you DARE TO TELL ME WHAT IS RIGHT AND WRONG?!!"
Shivering, though not of cold, Anafiel could only inch backwards,
hoping to find some way of escape. With his wings damaged, though, the
little cherub would easily be able to catch up and strike again. "You
don't know any more than I do." He defended, hoping to strike some
doubt into A'albiel's mind.
It didn't work. The cherub had made up his mind to slay this
traitor LONG ago.
"It's not even enough that you betrayed our trust and our House."
He continued. "You betray us all. This entire world. You risk
bringing the Noize back to us and causing our destruction, even though
we've been given a second chance." He sighed. "You've lost the Word
and your Grace. You have fallen. Even if you don't know it yet."
"THE WORD IS DEAD!" Anafiel screamed. "Don't you SEE that?
Heaven is gone! Only Hell and Earth remain! I'm helping to bring
Heaven BACK to us!"
"Heaven?" the cherub frowned. "You have no idea what Heaven is.
It's inside yourself." He brought forward his spear. "Though, in your
case, only Hell will remain."
"A'albiel...please..." the Archangel begged. His hand never left
his sword, though. "You don't know the whole situation. There are two
sides to this game."
"Tell me one thing before I kill you." A'albiel growled, edging
forward. "Will you ever repent?"
A long pause as the angel looked down at his smaller brother.
"I don't see why I should." He said quietly.
The little man nodded. "Then there is only one side for you."
He lunged. Desperate, Anafiel fell backwards to avoid the
weapon, however, his feet caught an edge of ice, and he slipped. With
a cry out in pain, he began to slide into the valley even further,
noticing his descent was taking him into one of the red clouds that
were hovering in the lower areas.
"NO!" he gasped, trying to stop his fall by clawing his fingers
into the raw ground. Bloody trails were left, but offered no purchase
on the fresh snow and icy slope.
His backpack came loose, throwing the Virtues into the snow.
Desperate, he tried his wings, but the tangled into a bone-crunching
mess of feathers and blood as they were smashed between his own body
and the ground.
A'albiel watched sadly as Anafiel tumbled into the thick red
mist, and let out one final, horrifying scream.
Then, all was silent.
"Up and Down." He whispered to himself. "You chose Down."
Deep in the red cloud, the body of Anafiel SkitZ finally tumbled
to rest. His eyes were frozen shut, though it was clear that they had
burst from the sudden ice that formed inside them. His skin looked
shriveled, as the moisture in his body had combined with the deadly
chemical to speed the cooling reaction. Instead of blood, he now was
filled with ice.
On his back were shattered wings.
Chapter 14
"I can't believe you Michael." Cassiel yelled as they walked down
the hall.
Chris and Michael followed quickly, trying to keep up with her
and Cupid as they stormed through the passages to god-knows-where. The
rest had been mutually ordered to stay behind before an all out war
erupted between the two groups.
"You stomp in on my own House and assume your word is law." She
fumed, throwing apart door after door. "You make a mockery of my
guards, and ME." She spun suddenly, startling the two Knights. "If
that was all...I could forgive you." She jabbed her finger into
Michael's chest. "But you've done so much more that I'm surprised I
haven't killed you yet."
Michael's eyes narrowed, and Cassiel turned and continued leading
the small group.
"You KNEW that this little man was the Man in White, didn't you?"
she yelled. "You brought the most feared prophecy in the history of
the Word right to MY DOOR! And on the Eve of a Second Revelations? I
didn't know you liked playing with death that much, SkitZ."
"YOU are the one that assumes I'm playing some kind of game."
Michael said suddenly. "I'm actually quite serious here."
"YOU," Cassiel echoed "have never been, never will, and never ARE
'serious'." She sighed, pushing open a final door to reveal her main
quarters.
Michael just followed, barely keeping his anger in check.
"The MOST serious question I have ever heard from your mouth is
'Do this smell?'" she laughed. It was not a merry laugh; rather
spiteful.
"Oh COME ON!" Michael yelled back. "We were just KIDS back
then!"
"NO, Michael." She spun, standing almost as tall as him. "YOU
were just a kid back then."
"Oooh, that hurt." He said dryly.
Christopher cleared his throat. "Uh, may I have a word?"
"NO!" they both yelled.
He stumbled back. "Oh..."
Cass turned back to Michael. "But while I'm at it, back to this
Prophecy!" she pointed at Fiss, almost poking out his eye in the
process. "You KNOW what the Prophecy says! Don't you REMEMBER how
close the Howling Desert is to this City?"
"We already crossed it and nothing happened." Michael defended.
"And if you were SOOOO worried about the Prophecy, you would have
stopped me and Azrael from even MAKING the Desert!"
"That was ages ago, and I didn't think anyone was so stupid to
let something like HIM get this far!" she sneered at Chris. Chris
jumped back slightly.
"Hey! Leave him alone!" Michael growled. "And while you're at
it, get your retarded little..."
Cupid shrugged at Chris. Chris shrugged back. Both of them sat
down against the far wall as the two Knights argued.
"So, Cupid. Are they always like this?" Fiss asked.
"Whaehehgh! Muffins! Yarrrgh!"
"Ahh. I see."
"Don't lecture ME about my duty to the Word." Michael continued.
"You're the last person who should be giving ANY advice!"
Cassiel's voice was now in full 'pissed-off yelling' mode.
"Why's THAT? Because I'm the only Knight who's smart enough to know
we're no longer needed? That all we do is cause wars and death now?"
"You're no longer qualified because YOU GAVE UP!" Michael
thundered at her, getting even more angry that she wasn't flinching.
"It's so easy just to hide in the shadows and let people die, isn't it?
Much easier than actually TRYING to SAVE those people! You've gotten
lazy, Cass. You still remember the Word...you're just content to let
it ROT!"
"TRYING TO SAVE THEM?!! How many have died in your wars this
year?"
"How many will die if Azrael succeeds?!" He countered. "And
while we're on the subject, did you actually think we'd LIKE this?!?"
Cassiel blinked. "What are you talking about?!"
Michael gestured to the walls around them. "Oh, I suppose you
just assumed we already KNEW you had Time-Script around this place?"
Her face went white. "H...how did you...?"
"That's not BLOODY important, is it?" Michael growled back. "By
the end of the week, you'd let us out to whatever Hell awaited us
outside, and everything would be over! You tried to trick us! You
KNEW we were the only ones actually TRYING to do something, and you
tried to STOP US!" he yelled. "WHY?!!"
"Dammit!" she yelled, though her voice was cracking now. "I was
only trying to protect you! So WHAT if Revelations happened and Azrael
won? While you were so busy fighting, you didn't stop to think there
was nothing you could have done! You all would have been lured inside
that bloody maze of his and ripped apart at his leisure!"
"Fuck you." Michael retorted.
"You KNOW what kind of tricks that unholy fucker pulls, SkitZ!
He even taught YOU some! Ones I know you never used because you had
more virtue than that!"
"I KNOW the risks. So do the Senshi." Michael said simply.
"That's not..."
"THE HELL IT ISN'T!" Cass yelled, and slammed the palms of her
hands into Michael's chest, delivering a rather impressive knock to the
larger body that forced him back a few feet. "You want to know what I
was doing here? I was SAVING YOUR ASS! You and whatever little
friends you managed to get riled up with your hopeless crusade!"
"You TRAPPED US IN TIME, Cass!" Michael yelled, his patience
thinning even more. "You pulled us out of the picture for WEEKS!
Weeks where we COULD have done something! You don't KNOW what this
group can do! What you saw against the Dominions and Mages was
nothing! Any one of those individuals could have wiped out half your
army without even using Theban."
Cassiel turned her head to the side, but it was not a defeated
motion. "I was right. You're exactly the same."
"What the hell is THAT supposed to mean!?!"
"You're like little boys on the playground, fighting for the
sand-castle. On each side, you have your toughest, meanest friends,
and no matter how big or mean or how many are on the other side, you
all think your fucking invincible." Cassiel turned to Fiss, who was
wisely keeping out of the conversation. "You are all just little boys.
That will never change. And when the dust settles, you'll have broken
bones, sand in your eyes, and all your precious toys will be stolen by
the other boys who were just a LITTLE bigger and stronger than you
thought they were."
Chris and Cupid sighed, knowing they weren't about to get a word
in anytime soon.
"I was right when I said you haven't changed, Michael" she said,
this time much softer. "You may have new toys and new friends, but so
do the bullies. And when you fight these bullies, you'll suffer a lot
worse than a broken arm or leg."
"At least we're fucking TRYING to stop them." Michael hunched
over to glare at her. "At least we're not sitting off to the side with
our little dolls and tea-cups, fretting over those silly boys who are
fighting on the playground."
The twitch in Cassiel's right eye was almost audible.
Michael smiled dangerously and leaned closer. "While we're on
the subject, you haven't changed much either. Still soooo worried
about growing up and being important that you forget what the world
needs is a good swift kick to the..."
CRUNCH
Michael cursed himself for giving her the idea and stumbled
backwards, holding his crotch in pain. "Now that was out of line..."
he squeaked.
Both Chris...and surprisingly even Cupid...were wincing at the
display. "HEY! Now THAT is enough!"
"Back off, Chris..." Michael wheezed. "I'm okay."
Cass stood over him, not really gloating, but also not showing
any regret. "I didn't hit you that hard." She sniffed.
"Last time you did that..." Michael stood again, though still
winced as he did. "...I was seventeen. I didn't exactly have to worry
about it as much back then."
Cassiel raised an eyebrow. "Is that some obscure brag?"
"Shut up." Michael snapped. "Every time you can't win an
argument you get like that."
She blinked and took a step back. "What?!"
"You know EXACTLY what I mean!" he laughed. "Any time you
couldn't get what you wanted, you just turned on the pouty lips and the
thing with the eyes!"
Cassiel pursed her lips. "I...I do NOT!"
"Or, you just acted like a slut..." Michael shrugged.
Everyone else' jaw dropped. Chris hadn't really expected him to
actually say that out loud.
"Mmph." She growled. "Not that you'd care anyway."
Michael was equally surprised by her reply. "What?"
"It's not like I was biased against you, you know." She sighed.
"If you'd only open your eyes once in a..."
"HA!" he laughed. "I was the only guy that DIDN'T fall over
myself because of you. If anything, that just pissed you off. I
remember quite vividly the subject of that last argument that ended
when you kicked me in the nuts!"
Cassiel blushed, to both Chris and Cupid's surprise. "W...what?"
"If I remember correctly, you were extremely mad when I beat the
shit out of those guys who were trying to..."
"I could have handled myself." She stated quickly, feeling the
eyes of the two other people in the room.
"Oh, yes, but then, afterwards, you didn't want me to tell
Yamato." Michael said with a shrug. "I suppose on retrospect, I
probably would have agreed if you said 'reward' instead of 'bribe'."
Cassiel just stood there, jaw dropped to the floor.
"However, even back then, you were quite a control freak. You
said that in exchange for not telling about your close encounter of the
non-consensual kind, you would fulfill two or three of my young mind's
fantasies." Michael continued, finally able to stand straight without
his groin groaning in pain. "Isn't that almost EXACTLY how you said
it?"
She didn't dare move. Cupid looked from her to Michael, and
back. "Muffins?"
"Of course, you made it sound so sneaky." Michael sighed. "So, I
turned you down. After all, it was important. I had to tell Yamato."
He smiled happily. "It ate you up that I didn't fall head over heels
for your little attempt, and so, when you saw me next, you delivered a
nice, swift kick to my happy sacks and even mentioned that I wouldn't
know what to do with them if they worked anyway."
"Ouch." Chris winced. Cupid giggled something unintelligible.
"And I bet it helped to further piss you off that I was the one
that saved you, too." Michael said casually.
"You're FUCKING right it pissed me off!" Cassiel yelled, suddenly
back on the offensive. "I may have worded it wrong, and that's my
fault, but you didn't have to go off on a holy crusade against me just
because I wanted to pay you back!"
"Ahh, is THAT what you call it. 'Paying back'?"
"And you WONDER why I said you didn't know what to do with them
anyway?" she shot him an ice cold glare.
SkitZ rubbed his forehead. "This is EXACTLY why I wanted to stay
away from you. If I had WANTED my sex drive attacked both physically
and verbally, I would have stood naked in front of a punching bag while
the cherubs giggle at how silly human sex organs look!"
Cassiel shook her head with a sigh. "Michael, there's no sex
drive to laugh at. You're too busy being the Archangel all the time."
Something in Michael snapped, and he remembered Gabriel's advice
earlier on that month. Sometimes, he DID forget about flesh and blood.
No matter how annoying it was...it was still...
"No sex drive to laugh at?!!" he growled, reaching for his sword.
Cassiel hadn't noticed, though Cupid and Chris did. "What's the
matter?" she smiled slightly, though her eyes still were shooting
daggers. "Are my comments pissing you off? I thought angles weren't
supposed to get horny anyway, right?"
"Fuck that, cooter..."
Chris and Cupid winced and turned away as Michael grabbed Cassiel
by the arm violently, hoping not to get splattered by the bloodbath
that would certainly come.
However...
There was only silence. Well...not complete silence. Chris
could swear he heard kissing. When he dared to look up, he almost fell
over.
Michael and Cassiel were almost wrapped around each other in what
could only be described as a very...intense...kiss. Not only that, but
any anger in Cassiel's eyes seemed to dissipate, and she melted into
the embrace with a satisfied little whimper.
Cupid looked up at that time and his jaw dropped in absolute
horror. "Ba...babachaw!"
Chris smiled and stood, walking over to Cassiel, who barely even
noticed him slip the leash off her wrist. She didn't mind, though, and
was then able to use her free hand to haul Michael closer via his coat.
"Come on." Fiss whispered, taking Cupid to the door as the poor
little cherub watched as the object of his affections was taken away so
easily.
"Uuuuguh..." Cupid sighed, following as his chain tugged toward
the door. "Me bad?"
"No." Fiss said as they walked out. "There's just some things
that have to have closure."
The doors shut behind them, leaving the two very old...very
close...friends alone at last.
Cassiel broke from the kiss gently and looked up at Michael. "Is
that a cherub in your pocket? Or are you just happy to see me?"
Michael grinned.
Chapter 15
Though Gabriel would have been very pleased to know what was
transpiring elsewhere, she found herself firmly rooted in the here and
now. Against everyone's better judgment, including her own, Gabriel
had decided to let Uriel stay free of any confinement.
She really didn't seem to be too much trouble, actually. She
asked for meals, but did so very politely. The rest of the time, she
actually sat and meditated in Gabriel's room, usually asking no more
space than a corner.
So, as odd as it felt just to watch her endlessly, Gabriel found
herself fascinated by her fellow Knight. She seemed to be able to
recover from the Noize, even though SkitZ had blasted her with an even
higher dosage than he himself received.
"You wish to ask me something." The younger woman said suddenly.
If it wasn't for her voice, you could have never noticed her talking
behind her mask.
"Yeah." Gabriel admitted. "How come you're so calm?"
Uriel cocked her head to one side.
"You've lost your Virtue, control of your armies, and have been
exposed to the Noize." She smiled softly. "I doubt I would be taking
it as well as you are."
"I need only to be here when the Word happens again." Uriel
sighed. "Nothing else matters."
That made sense. Even Michael, when he was focused enough on one
thing, could almost forget that the Noize was even inside his head.
Though he was often a strange individual to know personally, his
professional side was flawless.
"Tell me about this second Word." Gabriel asked. "What will it
do?"
The mask beneath Uriel's face shifted slightly, and could have
been caused by a smile. "I do not care. I do not know."
"Do you always speak in riddles?" Gabriel frowned, leaning back
against her chair.
"It is not a riddle." Uriel replied. "I answered your question.
What this second Word will accomplish, I do not know."
"Then why are you looking forward to it so much?" Gabriel
pressed. "You said yourself that it is the only thing of importance to
you."
"Do you know what will happen?" Uriel said with a cute, girlish
voice. "Magic will fill the air and begin to change everything. No
matter what it will change into, there will still be magic unlike
anything you have ever seen."
"Or you." Gabriel smiled to herself. "But why is that so
important?"
"I have use of that magic." Uriel stated quietly. The playful
tone in her voice was still there. "I know Azrael is planning
something big. However, I require only enough magic for myself and my
House."
Gabriel frowned. "You...you know of a way to shape a Word
spell?"
"Not the entire spell." Uriel admitted. "But just enough so I
may use it to make my own."
"Your own what?" Gabriel whispered.
"My own Hell." She whispered back, then began to laugh at the
elder's horrified reaction.
"You're insane!" she gasped. "Another HELL!?!"
The playful tone was now gone, replaced with condescendence.
"You read names too literally." Uriel said sternly. "Hell is simply a
place where the Word can no longer reach. Where I will be free of it's
laws and it's pain." Her voice became much happier at the thought.
"This place will be a Hell, but it will also be my Heaven. Where my
House and I can start a new world."
Gabriel calmed down slightly, but her opinion that Uriel was
insane was still the foremost thought in her mind. "You're going to
make your own Heaven?"
"I want only to practice magic and live until the end of my
days." Uriel said with a content sigh. "Azrael is a fool. I can see
he makes his Word for the wrong reasons. But then, we are all fools at
times. I will use his time to take me away from all this foolishness."
"But..." Gabriel found herself thinking about it. "...Magic is
changed during a Word spell. It is universal and massive. Everything
is different!"
Uriel nodded happily. "Oh yes. You are correct." She leaned
forward. "Everything is MUCH easier to do during a Word Spell." She
giggled. "Magic flows like honey, and can be pulled along with your
bare fingers if you know how."
Gabriel leaned back, contemplating the information. "I wonder if
we'd be able to stop Azrael then?"
"The time is too brief to cast a counter-spell." Uriel yawned,
leaning back against the corner. "But, there is still a moment when
much more is possible than before."
"Oh." Gabriel sighed.
"I shall now meditate." Uriel said quietly. "If I may request a
favor, can you leave a small meal for me before you sleep? I may wake
early."
"Sure." Gabriel nodded, then watched Uriel as she slowly relaxed
and began to breathe as if asleep. "This is creepy." She whispered to
herself. "I sure hope Michael knows what he's doing right now."
"I'm pretty sure Michael knows what he's doing." Chris said
nervously, as Cupid shot him a glare that could kill a small animal.
The Senshi were still surrounded by the others, but everyone was
relaxed, and nobody had any weapons at the ready. Yamato was even
chatting with a few of the higher ranking guards, letting them know
they were on the same side, and what the situation was outside.
Andrea was exhausted due to the fight, and was being fussed over
by Demeter and Maury, who offered to get her some food. "I really hope
we wrap this up soon." She sighed as Demeter let her relax up against
his chest. "I'm getting too fat for this."
Dave was giving her a quick scan, and looked up from the computer
with a smile. "Well, you're doing great. No problems. If we keep
doing our jobs and keep you away from sharp, waist-level objects, I
think you and your child will both be fine."
Miharu and Rei were sitting across from Chris and Cupid. Cupid
seemed to be admiring Miharu's bluish hair, and in turn, Miharu was
blushing quite obviously.
"So what did you guys talk about?" Rei leaned back against him.
"Uh...well, I didn't get in much in the way of conversation."
Chris shrugged. "But...considering the way the day started, I think
the delegations went well."
Rei smirked. "YOU didn't get in many words? That's gotta be a
first."
"Well, I couldn't." Chris shrugged. "The yelling seemed to drown
out most of my ideas."
"Yelling?" Rei frowned.
"A lot of yelling." He smiled. "I really didn't think anyone
could stand up to Michael in the way of yelling. Turns out they were
pretty much perfectly matched."
Maury sighed, hanging his head. "Beautiful, and a bitch. I'm
going to have dreams about tying her up all erotically, but then
kicking the shit out of her."
"Oh." Rei sighed. "Well, so long as they didn't start hitting
each other."
"Well..." Chris coughed. "Cassiel did kick him in the nuts."
Every male in earshot cringed; even Cupid who had no nuts to
begin with, yet still knew it must have hurt. "Bawbachaw!" he
exclaimed, bounding up and down and getting tangled in his leash.
Rei turned and looked up at him. "And you left those two alone?
They'll KILL each other!"
"If they did, it would probably be through dehydration." Chris
commented dryly.
Rei blinked. "What?" she noticed Chris' raised eyebrow.
"Oooh..."
Miharu sighed and began to untangle Cupid. "Sit still."
He obeyed, helpless anyway. It wasn't long before Miharu finally
did untangle the little cherub, though, and smiled in satisfaction.
"There."
Cupid smiled happily and began to chatter his teeth together.
Lucifer hovered over her head suddenly. "I think he likes you,
Miharu."
Both Chris and Rei sighed. "Miharu, no dating cherubim until
you're at least seventeen." She said.
Miharu quickly slunk back, blushing terribly. "I...I was just
untangling him..." she turned to Cupid. "You should really just learn
to relax, you know."
Cupid shrugged, and actually sat still for the rest of the
evening.
Love does strange things, they say.
Chapter 16
When it was clear that things would have to be resolved in the
morning, the guards decided that everyone should go back to their
quarters. The first two big men that had noticed Chris' coat back in
the dining hall even came up and apologized.
Everyone was shown to slightly less lavish, yet very hospitable
rooms for the night and dinner was waiting for them. Dave was about to
hit the sack when someone knocked on his door. "Come on?" he blinked.
Chris poked his head through. "Hey, Dave."
"Come on in." Dave smiled, hanging up his lab coat by the bed.
"I was just about to nod off. Did you need anything?"
"Well, I was going to grab my laptop from you for the night." He
smiled. "Unless you needed it?"
Dave shook his head and pulled it out of his coat's Penguinspace
pocket. "Not really. I can play music inside my head anyway."
"Really?"
"Well, no Spice-Girls, of course." Dave smiled.
Chris smiled and nodded. "Oh, I wanted to thank you for looking
after Hooze while I was gone."
"It was no problem." Dave nodded. "I feel almost like a brother
anyway." He smiled warmly. "You all grow on a guy."
"Just like fungus!"
"Except with more eyeballs." Dave nodded.
"Well..." Chris sighed. "Anyway, I'll let you get some sleep."
He paused. "Tomorrow, I think we'll be ready for the final attack.
I'll make sure you know where that exit to the Sol system is just in
case you need it."
"Sounds good." Dave nodded. "Have a good sleep, Chris."
He smiled, then closed the door behind him. Dave yawned, crawled
into bed, and decided he should get some sleep.
"It's strange."
"Mmm?" Cassiel looked up from her vantage point on Michael's
chest. "What's strange?"
They lay together, huddled in the corner of Cass' bed. Various
articles clothing had been tossed aside, forming a trail from outside
to the bedroom. The only thing that seemed to keep with the strange
ways of this universe were that two swords had also been tossed aside
with the rest of the clothes.
"I was just thinking..." he said. "I normally hate doing this."
Cassiel blinked.
"I hate staying in bed unless I'm sleeping." He explained. "I
always get bored, or start thinking all crazy. Eventually, I just get
up and beat the shit out of something until I go back to sleep."
A pause. "Do you hate it now?" she smiled sweetly.
"Well, at least I'm not bored." He grinned.
They lay there for a while longer, enjoying each other's warmth.
"You wanted to know why I didn't tell you?" she whispered.
He nodded.
"I didn't want you to go off and kill yourself before I had a
chance to say sorry." She said.
"I accept your apology." Michael said happily.
Cassiel frowned, then laughed. "You're just saying that because
of the sex."
He shrugged. "Hey, I'm an easy SkitZ to please." He grinned.
"Plus, you owed it to me for kicking my nuts."
"Everything seemed to be in excellent working order." She
commented with a grin on her face. "So don't complain."
"Well..." he yawned. "I guess we'll leave by tomorrow afternoon.
It's going to be a long day. Might as well get it over with."
Cassiel was silent.
"Don't worry." Michael offered. "We can take care of ourselves."
"That's not what I'm thinking about."
"Oh?" SkitZ blinked.
She turned and looked up at him again. "I can send you two
Hosts. Cupid and I will also fight. Will that be enough?"
"Why the sudden change of heart?" he grinned evilly. "Then
again, once you've had SkitZ, you're a changed woman..."
She laughed quietly, but shook the comment off. "No...it's just
that..." she shrugged. "I don't know. If I'm not out there helping,
you'll have no chance. At least this way I can make sure you don't
kill yourself."
"Mmph. My hero."
Cassiel grinned. "Well, someone's got to protect Princess
Michelle, right?"
"Princess?" Michael sat up suddenly, slid out from underneath
her, then wrestled her still as she giggled and tried to escape. "I'LL
show YOU 'Princess!'"
"My my, Princess." Cassiel laughed. "You certainly are an ugly
woman."
"Well, if you were a man, I'd still do ya." Michael commented.
"Aww, how romantic." Cass smiled, then leaned forward for a kiss.
"Where's Miharu?" Rei yawned as Chris gently shut the door.
"Talking with Cupid." Chris said. When he saw Rei's worried
look, he just nodded. "Maury and Beavis are with her. She'll be
fine."
"Oh...okay." She replied sleepily, watching him set the little
computer up besides the bed. "What are you going to put on tonight?"
They had a kind of ritual formed after all these years to listen
to music before going to sleep. Especially before a big battle, it
seemed to calm the nerves and promote a nice, restful night.
"I don't know. Maybe just random." The music started to play.
Some kind of classical symphony. It was nice, very restful.
"Sounds good." She nodded, then scooted over, letting Chris crawl
into the bed behind her. "Looking forward to going home?"
A long pause. "Yes."
"How long have we been gone?"
"Not sure." Chris shrugged. "Less than a year, though. I know
that much." He smiled slightly as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"I hope Serena isn't worried about you. She'll probably start crying."
Rei smiled, knowing that was probably what would happen. "I told
Ami. She probably explained it a million times by now. Still, it has
been a while. I was only thinking this was going to be a month or
two."
"Look on the bright side." He yawned sleepily. "Only one more
year until the next Star Wars movie comes out."
"Baka." She turned over so she could give him her best frown.
"I'm trying to be serious."
"Well, nobody's perfect." He grinned back.
She sighed, but settled against his chest contently. The two
drifted off to a much needed sleep right around the time the song
ended.
Miharu sighed, watching Cupid as he nervously handed her some
tea. "I...no, really...I just wanted some water."
"Teeeee!" Cupid giggled happily. "Shahehwhahaha!"
She sighed and shook her head. "Do you know what caffeine is?
There's a lot in tea, and it keeps me up all night."
Cupid promptly began to vibrate.
"NOT like THAT!" Miharu blushed. "I meant not being able to
sleep!"
That didn't help, and Cupid began to vibrate faster. His little
wings making quite a stir. Maury, who had been nursing a cup of
coffee, just smiled. "I could have told you that."
"You're not helping, Uncle Mo." Miharu shot him a look.
"Face it." Maury shrugged. "He's a pervert. Just like me. And
I say there's nothing wrong with being a pervert. How else do you
think your mom and dad got together?" he smiled proudly. "Chris and I
were the biggest perverts ever!"
"What about those people who draw Pokemon Hentai?" Beavis asked
suddenly.
Maury blinked, then nodded. "Yeah, I guess they're bigger
perverts..." he shrugged. "But you have to admit, we were pretty damn
good perverts ourselves before our old age."
"Poke! Pokey!" Cupid said happily. "Hentaiooooo!"
"You're just making him worse." Miharu frowned at Beavis and
Maury. "Cupid, don't listen to them. They're just being childish."
"Fine." Maury stuck out his tongue.
She turned back to Cupid, who was still fluttering on occasion,
letting his little wings carry him a few inches into the air at a time.
"Listen. What you need to do is find some way to use all
that...energy...of yours."
Cupid paused, then fluttered around some more, waiting for a
suggestion. "Bawbachaw?"
She blinked, then smiled. "You know...you're about as tall as I
was when I got into kenjitsu. Do you have any bokken here?"
"Bokkenchomp?"
Miharu nodded. "Yeah. Like pieces of curved wood that..."
Maury and Cupid began to giggle. Beavis sighed. "You said
'curved wood'."
"Grr." Miharu growled at both of them, making them be quiet once
again. "ANYWAY...as I was saying, wood practice swords."
Cupid thought about it for a moment and shrugged.
"We could always carve one up for him." Maury offered.
"That's good." Miharu smiled brightly. "You'll be whacking wood
in no time flat..."
Of course, even Beavis had to laugh at that one.
Miharu sighed, stood up and walked off. "I'm going to bed."
Chapter 17
Above was endless sky. An infinite heaven with nobody to divide
it between, and only one's self to conquer it from. Only a slight cold
on his back gave away the existence of the ground.
Laying in the snow, Azrael watched the clouds roll by. Some were
flying so low, he could reach out and brush his fingers with the gentle
mists. If it weren't for the Noize, the scene would be extremely
relaxing. Almost peaceful in it's beauty and simplicity.
With the Noize, however, it was terrifyingly slow. Like time
drawing out, torturing his mind with nothing. A visual manifestation
of the deepest parts of the Noize. Where heaven was always just an
arm's length away from your face, but your back refused to move from
the biting cold ground.
"Why do you do that?"
He turned and looked to his side, gently brushing the snow away
from his eyes. Sitting besides him was a small boy wearing a little
black vest over a white shirt and some kind of dark sunglasses. White
gloves on his hands reminded Azrael of some kind of third rate
illusionist who would perform at parties and gatherings.
"Pardon?" Azrael finally answered.
"You keep reaching up at the clouds." The little boy said with a
shrug. "Why do you do that?"
Azrael turned back to the clouds, not worrying about why the boy
was there. "They bring me peace." He said softly.
"That is a lie." The little boy giggled.
The Knight turned with a growl. "Where are your parents. Go
bother them. I am in no mood for your voice."
"You watch them still." The boy shrugged, ignoring the comment.
"You watch them so your mind will be full of Noize. So you will
remember that you lost them once. That you lost Heaven."
"What do you know of me?" Azrael frowned, ignoring the boy. "I
never lost Heaven."
"You never had it." The boy accused.
"WHAT?" Azrael sat up, glaring at the little boy, who was smiling
right at him. "What do YOU know of anything, little man? Do you even
know who you're talking to?"
"I know." The boy nodded with an eerie, calm smile. "You're a
spoiled little brat."
Azrael's fists clenched.
"You never deserved what the Pool gave you." Continued the boy.
"Nobody really does...but you least of all." He leaned closer. "You're
so much worse than Lucifer. You won't even realize you've fallen until
you have lost every feather on your back."
There was a sudden, sharp pain on Azrael's shoulder, and he
gasped, reaching back to find something sticky, warm and wet. When he
withdrew his hand, it came back bloody. Before he could question it,
another pain rocked his mind from his other side, and he fell over
against the snow, desperately trying to dull the pain.
Unrelenting, the boy continued.
"I know of your plans, Azrael." He smiled. "I know you wish to
be the next..." he laughed "...the next God. But that can never be."
Azrael lay there, shivering as a puddle of red began to spread,
turning the snow a similar color, and melting it to add to the mess.
"I will succeed! We are all our own Gods."
The boy nodded. "That is true..." he sighed. "But you wish to
be everyone's God. It was not enough that you were allowed to serve
for the same ideals. Men and women would beg to have that honor, but
you only bickered about not having more power."
The larger man could only lay there and watch as the sky turned
into a storm. "W...what's happening?"
"Your Heaven." The boy looked up with a frown. "Your Heaven will
be nothing. Your own fantasies mixed in with false power. All the
while, you are nothing but a puppet in a sick game."
"Shut up..." Azrael whispered.
"But what you didn't plan on..." continued the boy "was that
while you made yourself so pure and focused, you discarded the good
parts of your own soul. That soul that has now grown into something
more than you could ever be." He smiled, looking down at the shivering
Archangel. "Someone with a kind heart. Someone who understands honor
and the virtue of protecting, instead of destroying."
"SHUT UP!"
"Look below you, Azrael." The boy smiled. He pointed to a pile
of gore that had thawed from the snow. Bodies by the thousands now
lifted him up like a mountain. Faces of fellow angels just as numerous
as the innocents of the wars. "All your deeds are pushing you toward
your so-called Heaven."
"SHUT UP!!!" Begged Azrael as he felt himself being lifted
towards the now-turbulent storm. "STOP THIS!"
"But you're so CLOOOOSE!" the boy whispered. "Why would you want
to stop now? What's a few more bodies to help you up to your Heaven?
It's just a matter of time, right?" he laughed playfully. "So VERY
soon! You just have to wait a little while longer!"
Azrael nodded quickly. "That's right. Just one more night.
That's all..."
Silence.
Azrael looked up from the ground. It was gone, replaced by
perfect, white clouds, capped by a beautiful blue sky.
Slow realization came to him.
He had made it!
Heaven.
No...
HIS Heaven!
But he was not alone. The little boy was standing next to him,
shaking his head.
"What?" Azrael grinned, kneeling down to face the little boy.
"Are you scared you're wrong? That I might succeed? Are you some
pitiful attempt at a dream spell to scare me out of my Grace?" he began
to laugh. It was a low, haunting laugh. "You said yourself, that it
was only a matter of time. That it was so soon."
The little Christopher looked up with a smile. Sunlight
reflected off his sunglasses.
"Not soon." He said quietly.
Azrael's smile faded as he noticed something being reflected off
the little boy's glasses. Something...behind...
He turned, face to face with Strike Fiss.
Strike Fiss wore a perfect copy of his younger smile. He also
held his sword off to the side, ready for a strike. This time, as he
opened his mouth, he did not say "soon."
"Now."
Even before he could scream, Azrael was cut in half.
Azrael woke, drenched in sweat. To his credit, however, he did
not scream. He held onto his tongue, forcing the dim morning light to
kick his mind into reality and away from the nightmare.
"Shit..." he whispered, taking deep breaths. "Him again..."
This dream had been much worse than any before. Not only did the
other Him seem to know what was going on in the real world, but that
strange copy of his with the shorter hair and piercing eyes actually
killed him!
The sheer audacity for his sleep induced mind to want to commit
suicide was bloody annoying.
Of course, that train of thought was interrupted as he looked
down through the crystal dome. He had spent the last night in the
observation room, finishing another Calling spell, and had slept on one
of the makeshift beds.
As he gazed out over his City's shadow, however, something was
different. A small glimmer of light. Almost like something just below
the surface of the water.
Even through the red clouds and morning frost, he could see it
plain as day. A shimmering light that seemed to be getting brighter
and brighter with each passing second. It took his straining eyes a
moment to distinguish the shape...Almost like thousands of little
slivers of metal...swords...
A cloud?
It moved suddenly, heading closer to shore and away from the
shadowy reflection of the City of Fiss. Beneath the water, however, he
could see a long, snaking tube connecting somewhere down below, into
the water. Finally, however, the cloud began to change as it slid over
the shore.
And the Angels began to pour out.
If on cue, Raphael came running in, desperately clinging to a
report in his hands. "LORD AZRAEL!" he yelled. "It's..."
"Cassiel." He smirked.
"Yes!" he gasped. "What are we going to do? The Hosts are
already deploying, there's not enough time to set up any firm ground
battle."
Azrael simply strode past his larger companion with a glare.
"Deploy our Hosts. Recall the others from the front. Prepare the City
for invasion." He paused. "Bring me Yamato and the other Knight when
you find him. I'll be here."
Raphael blinked. "L...Are you sure?"
"Just do it." He turned after fixing his weapon to his belt.
"Kill everyone else. Michael is yours to do with as you see fit."
"Yes...sir..." Raphael ran off and slid down the access hall.
Alone again, Azrael watched a growing storm-cloud of angels
forming at the entrance to the tube. His smile was gone, though he
showed no fear.
"Now, indeed."
Chapter 18
A'albiel had stayed there for days. After a while, they ran
together. Even a Cherub could not enter the strange cold clouds
without becoming frozen after only moments.
What was it that Mister Reinquest had called them? Aluminum?
Ammonium Nitrate clouds? Strange words, but he seemed to already know
what they could do.
Just sitting next to the red cloud meant suffering extreme cold
that even the harshest winters would never be able to bring by
themselves. They were horrible to battle next to. Winter wars were
almost never fought in such strange conditions, as both sides would
suffer terribly to the cold.
The Virtues were still waiting inside the cloud that had yet to
dissipate. It was the little Cherub's duty to make sure he got them
back safely.
When he first noticed the black and silver flashing cloud growing
nearby, he feared the worst, and had begun to cast a protection spell
around the valley so as not to be discovered.
"So, this will be how it ends." He whispered to himself as he
noticed the angels begin to rain down onto the snow. "Dammit...and
Michael still owed me ten bucks."
"What was that????"
The little cherub almost shit his diaper. When he turned around,
there was Michael...and someone else he hadn't seen for a very long
time.
Cassiel smiled, pulling her winter coat around herself as she
leaned over and tapped the smaller angel on the nose. "Aww,
Michael...you didn't tell me you had such adorable friends like this!"
Stunned, mostly from surprise, A'albiel just stood there as
Michael grinned. "Hey! A'a! I didn't know you were here!?!"
Finally regaining his bearings, A'albiel smiled and bowed deeply,
then mentioned how wonderful it was to see them both...and also
wondered why Michael was glowing.
"I am NOT glowing!" Michael grumbled.
Cass shot the little cherub a sly smile. "He's glowing."
A'albiel smiled, and then got serious. He told of Anafiel's
betrayal, Uriel's escape, but containment, and the three Virtues that
were in the valley below, probably buried under layers of ice by now.
Michael's jaw had dropped open. "That FUCKING COOTER!"
Even Cassiel looked shaken. "Your two High Ministers?"
"Fuck...I'm going to kill Azrael for this shit..." Michael
growled. "If Fissy gets him first, then I'll piss on Azrael's remains
instead."
A'albiel offered to do the same, if he had the ability to
urinate.
"Thanks buddy." Michael sighed, then cringed. "Okay, all that
can come later." He turned to the sun, that was just starting to rise.
"Let's get with the others. The sooner we start, the sooner we can get
to the pissing."
A'albiel blinked, then wondered that he meant. Were they to
attack NOW? Without an army? It would be impossible!
"Follow us." Michael smiled, then followed Cassiel's lead.
The little cherub shrugged and hovered besides the two as they
crossed the valleys. It was only a short climb, and they could already
see the crystal dome on top of the City reflecting the early morning
sun.
"We noticed the power emanating from this valley." Michael filled
in. "Caused by the three Virtues in one place. We came to check it
out, incase Gabriel and the rest of you all were here for some reason."
A'albiel asked where the others were.
"Right over here." Cass said. "We're ready for the final
assault."
Curious, the little cherub mentioned how he remembered the
initial plan called for a sneak attack.
"Well, the others are still fighting the main force." Michael
said. "Probably around the Howling Desert by now. So long as we can
keep them split up, we have a chance with an all out attack."
They reached the top of the valley, now leading down to the
shore.
A'albiel almost shit his diapers again...had it been physically
possible for him to do so.
Fifteen thousand angels, mages and Dominions stood ready,
literally filling the plain. Wow.
"Not bad, eh?" Michael smiled, looking over to Cassiel.
"I have to admit, I missed this Divine Wrath thing." She sighed
happily. "It's the best part of the job."
"Isn't it, though?" SkitZ grinned as they made their way down to
the assembled armies.
Dave was making sure everyone knew how to use the special
features on the last four remaining Pookies as they got ready. Miharu
and Cupid had paired up. Considering Cupid's abilities to scare the
hell out of anyone, Rei agreed. He'd be a good bodyguard.
She, and Yamato also got a Pookie, and the last remaining one
went to himself. Dave had also given Demeter the last bit of glass he
had in Penguinspace to top off his body's supply. If there was ever a
time, it was now.
Already, they could see angels begin to swarm around the City of
Fiss like insects. They would have to start the attack soon. This
would be an aerial battle since most of the water had not yet succumbed
to winter ice.
The construction of the City of Fiss was slightly different then
they were used to, but would come in handy if they could just get close
enough to it. Surrounding the base was a wide rock ledge that could be
used for a ground attack once they got onto it. Even if they couldn't
breach the walls immediately, at least they wouldn't have to fly around
all the time.
That was great, considering some of them couldn't fly anyway.
Maury checked his belt, insuring he had a nice amount of Sol
Stars to use, and then brought out a bo that Dave had stored for him.
"What's this made out of?" he asked, impressed at it's balance.
"Aluminum tetrocarbon plastique wrapped with the same armor
Chris' vest is made out of." Dave said as he checked his Pookie. "In
fact, it will probably stand up to the Virtues, so long as you don't
misuse it."
"Sweeeeeeeeeeet." Maury grinned, spinning it around once.
Andrea sighed and flexed her fingers, getting ready for spells to
be cast. In her other hand was her Time Key. The smaller, but similar
copy of Pluto's staff. "Well, I guess we didn't come all this way for
the scenery, now did we."
"How ya doing, Hooze?" Chris asked, flexing his wrists to get
them ready for swordplay.
"I crave pickles and orange Jell-O, but otherwise I'm fine." She
smiled. "Besides, I have Maury to watch my back, right?"
"Damn right." He growled. "If you think I'm letting you and your
kid out of my sight, you're in for a surprise."
"See?" she smiled. "I'm all set."
Demeter gave Maury a smile and nodded. "Thanks, Maury."
"This is all YOUR fault, you know." Maury grumbled. "So you
better help or I'll make sure you can't have any MORE kids!"
"I will!" he backed up as Maury swung his new bo dangerously
close to Demeter's groin.
"You really think we can do this?" Lucifer frowned as he watched
the sun rise.
Chris nodded. "That's the FIRST thing you have to do if you want
your wings back, Lucy. Never give up."
"I'm not giving up." He glared, then shrugged. "I just seem to
have more experience with fighting angels than most angels do."
Fiss nodded, then took out his sword. "Well, now's your chance,
Lucy. Just remember. Think happy thoughts. Even as you crack
people's heads open."
Lucifer grinned. "I always do."
Chris shook his head. "Well, whatever works."
"Oh my..." Lucifer whispered.
"What?" Chris turned to the horizon.
"I..." he blinked. "I haven't done this in...years." Lucifer
paused as he watched the sunlight begin to flood over the ocean.
As if on cue, every angel behind them stopped talking and
clattering and moving about, and everyone turned to the sunrise. It
was beautiful. For one, perfect moment, a valley of Death became a
smiling group of humbled angels, each enjoying the coming day's
entrance. Anyone who didn't already have their wings open promptly
shed their coats and stretched in the cool winter air.
A collective deep breath seemed to be mandatory, and the Senshi
all smiled at the sight. Dave promised himself to re-think his
position on the angels and their war. If anything, they were still
very inspiring when fighting for the right reasons. "We'll this is
it." He sighed.
Yamato and Beavis both smiled and nodded. "In case we don't have
time later, I just want to wish you all good luck." Beavis said.
"Luck?" Yamato laughed. "Luck's got nothing to do with it."
Dave smiled. "Now I know where Chris gets it from."
They were interrupted as a distant thundering roar echoed out
over the water. Small clouds of Fiss warriors began to cross the gap,
lead by a small force of War Dominions and their riders. There had to
be at least a hundred in the first wave, not to mention the rest still
grouped with the Hosts.
"Oooh, this is going to be fun." Fiss smiled.
"You always say that." Andrea commented.
"What can I say." He shrugged. "I love my life."
"Glad someone does." Hooze chuckled.
"Ahh shad up and do your stuff." Chris grumbled.
"Jan Ken Pon..." she grinned. "STONE!!"
Her punch impacted hundreds of feet away, growing in size until
it splattered ten of the massive beasts like flies in mid-air. Parts
of dragon and angel splashed down into the cold waters below.
"You're right." Hooze smiled. "Very fun."
Chapter 19
Raphael was smiling.
Not because the battle. Actually, if he had cared about the
casualty ratio, he would have been quite worried indeed. Luckily,
these were not his armies at stake, so he allowed a small smile.
Somehow...somewhere...Michael had pulled together an assault from
the seat of his pants. It was incredible. The sheer determination of
the Knight of SkitZ was enough to make even he proud.
"Well done..." he chuckled as another explosion rocked the sky
nearby, knocking the feathers from more of the Fiss troops.
The battle was complex, and on all fronts. Whoever could still
fly was in the air, eating away at, or being the defenses that hovered
around the City like a cloud. Despite the initial surplus of Fiss
angels, the two groups were now almost evenly matched.
Had they been Michael's own Hosts, Raphael mused they may have
already won by now. Still, the Bri attackers had some skill, enough to
combat Fiss.
Air battles were always the most spectacular to watch. They
lasted longer and were so complex, one would need a dozen eyes just to
watch half of it. Hundreds of dog-fights combined with massive-scale
chunks of a Host. You could almost watch the battle itself as one
entity, or rather two halves of one.
What worried Raphael were the small group still left far off on
the shore. Occasionally, he would catch a glimpse of a spark or flash
of light, and somewhere, even this far away, dozens of the Fiss would
be hit by magic.
Luck was with the City, however, as some of the lower areas were
now hazed with the red winter clouds. Few dared to get close. In
doing so, one could freeze their wings solid, even without entering
them. They were a protection against any direct assault, and would
probably last far into the day.
Though he hoped for a chance to challenge Michael himself,
Raphael decided that this battle was probably too little, too late.
Azrael had been correct. It would not be in time to stop the spell.
With another scan over the battle, Raphael decided he should get
ready for the final stages.
Chris grabbed the reins on the Dominion just in time to avert the
jet of flame away from a few of Cassiel's fighters, and into the path
of three advancing Mages. Though the massive dragon struggled, it
didn't pull away in time, and the surprised mages screamed briefly
before being burnt into toast.
With that accomplished, Chris angled the Dominion down at two
other Dominions, and cut off it's head. As the dead beast fell, Fiss
concentrated, hovered, and then launched out a streak of blue energy
from his sword, that impacted into the Dominion's belly just as it
reached the two others.
The explosion engulfed all three, and then amplified with the
addition of more explosive chemicals. There were only ten or so
Dominions left...oh...nine...Michael slit one in half not too far away.
Cover-fire was being provided by the Pookies, but most of the
battle was up close and dirty. Miharu was given a lift via Cupid,
who's tiny wings put out a surprising amount of lift. Occasionally,
Chris would see his daughter zip past, then come back with blood on her
sword.
Like he had taught her, she stayed very focused. Even during the
more...gory...deaths, she never got phased once. She was actually
tutoring Cupid when she could as well, explaining afterwards about
certain strikes.
"Ahh, my baby's all grown up." Chris sighed, then extended his
sword to the side to catch a surprised angel off guard. A sickening
slurp later, and the man fell to the ocean in two pieces.
Maury was having a ball. He had finally been able to use his
flame-on attack, though much slower. At the moment, he was a
zigzagging jet of flame that was ramming through two more Dominions,
adding to the large clouds of smoke caused by Chris and Michael.
Though the view was probably not that great...flying through a dragon's
intestines and coming out on the other side...it certainly was
effective.
Dave finally caught up with Chris, somehow hovering. "They're
stalling us." He coughed, out of breath.
"I know." Chris nodded, turning to the City. "Need cover?"
"Sure." He checked the levels on his Pookie. "Just don't get
near that red shit. It's that crap they use in instant-cold packs."
"Got it." Fiss grabbed Dave's collar, helping him along, and then
flew towards the City.
Cassiel and Michael joined them moments later. "We have to
breach the wall!" he yelled over another explosion nearby, this time
via a very well times shot by Rei.
"That armor's too thick!" Cass warned. "I've already had Mages
try against it. Something's protecting it."
Michael and Chris both began to cut a thick path through the
guards, all the way to the massive City that loomed up around them.
They were high, about half-way up the mountain-like structure, but it
was the only place not almost covered by the red clouds.
Cassiel kept an eye on Dave as he took aim at the blue, gray and
black metal pattern and lights. "Pinpoint discharge! Full stream!
Everyone get clear!"
"Think this will work?" she whispered.
"It always does." Dave nodded. "Locked, Cocked, READY TO ROCK!"
CRACK!
A blue and white explosion threw them all back as the green beam
dissipated. However, there was only a charred dent in the City's
meters-thick armor.
Dave blinked, then shrugged. "Mmm, that's a new one on me!"
Chris wound up with his blade and stabbed it right into the dent.
Thought the blade did slide through to an extent, it stopped after only
inches. "SHIT this stuff is strong!" he tried to pull free the blade.
"Dammit! FISS!"
His sword came loose, but the armor only showed a small scratch
for his efforts. Michael tried the same, but even his crushing, heavy
blade could make only scratches. "Well, so much for that..." he
huffed, then got angry and kicked the side of the City with all his
force.
"How are we going to get in now?" Cassiel said. "This battle is
just to slow us down. They might be calling re-enforcements as we
speak!"
Dave had his laptop out, scanning already. "Shit...more
interference." He paused. "But...if we could get a big enough
explosion, it might work."
"But the antimatter did shit!" Chris blinked, flapping his wings
once to stay in place.
"That's because it was concentrated on one point." Dave said.
"Just like your swords. If we could get that kind of power to a wider
area, it should buckle at least some of the internal structure."
Michael nodded. "Got it. I'll get Hooze and Maury here. If we
concentrate enough energy on this one spot, it might work."
"Maury does have the most raw energy." Fiss nodded.
"And I'll see if I can throw the remaining Dominions over here."
He smiled.
As if on cue, a howling dragon slammed into the wall just past
them, and they all shielded their eyes from the explosion. Lucifer
smiled a few meters away. "Oops. I should have warned you, Michael."
"Yeah. Remember that for next time, asshole."
Cassiel sighed. "Now now, boys."
Maury landed next to the others on the shore, breathing heavily.
Andrea frowned. "You okay, Mo?"
"Yeah, just a little tiring." He coughed. "And I smell like
barbequed Mo."
Demeter shot another volley of antimatter to ward off the latest
group of attackers. "What are the others doing by the wall?" his eyes
automatically adjusted like a telescope.
"I think they were trying to breach the armor. If we could get
inside, this battle would be much easier." Maury sighed as he heated a
handful of snow in his hand so he could have a quick drink.
"Hey, Maury..." Demeter frowned. "What did Dave call them spooky
red clouds?"
"Ammonium nitrate." Maury coughed. "Why?"
Demeter smiled. "Isn't that a high explosive???"
Maury blinked, then nodded. "Yeah, from the old Terrorist
Handbook days. The only problem is that it needs a really good trigger
to ignite it."
"What kind of trigger?"
"Uh...lots of heat." Maury coughed. "But even I couldn't get
enough heat. You'd have to do it to the entire cloud, or it would just
fizzle away like a firework."
Andrea noticed the sparkle in Demeter's eye. "What is it,
honey?"
"I...I think I can do it!" he said excitedly, looking up at the
sun, now almost to it's highest point in the sky.
Maury looked up at it too, and shook his head. "We'd have to
focus it. Otherwise, it won't be hot enough."
"I can do it." Demeter grinned. "Tell everyone to get away from
that cloud hovering around the base."
Maury nodded, then took to the air. "I hope you know what you're
doing."
"HEEEYA!" Fiss launched out another blue slash, but it simply
wasn't making enough damage.
Michael, at the same time, was focusing a beam of solid sound,
trying to make the metal resonate, but there was too much to break.
They needed something much bigger. "FUCK!" he turned to Chris. "No
wonder Azrael got the Throne. You bloody well NEED one to get through
this shit."
A sudden jet of flame slid to a stop next to them, and Maury
dissolved out of it, panting. "Man, that's hot."
"Good, we need your help here." Chris said.
Maury shook his head. "No! I came to warn you. Demeter's going
to try something. I think he's going to ignite one of the clouds!"
Dave's eyes widened. "Oh my god! That's PERFECT!" he looked
around. "That one?" he pointed below their hovering feet.
Mo nodded. "That one."
"Okay." Dave took charge. "Cassiel, does your attack generate
any heat?"
"Damn rights I'm hot." She laughed.
"Okay, I'll set this Pookie to thermal detonation at the same
time. That should do it. If Demeter can do the rest, that is."
Chris and Michael nodded. "Lets get everyone back."
"How far?" Michael blinked.
"Far." Dave smiled. "This will be big."
Andrea watched in amazement as Demeter began to morph. It was
slow and smooth, not like some cheesy sci-fi rip-off. Rather more
organic, like something growing into something else.
He thinned out and began to expand into a large disk. As he did,
his clothes turned transparent, along with his body, except for his
back, turning almost reflective. A small blob at the base showed his
Zistle body was out of the way. Though thin, he began to make slight
ripples in his forward surface, forming a flat lens.
"Stand back!" he warned suddenly.
Andrea, Rei and Yamato all nodded and quickly put distance
between them and Demeter as he solidified his structure.
"He's going to use that crystal dome!" Yamato said in amazement
as he noticed the sun was lining up almost perfectly now. A bright
spot of light, about the size of a compact car, was now inching towards
the giant lens-Demeter.
Sure enough, the light hit Demeter dead on, and he soaked it up
for a good minute, getting brighter and brighter as the light became
more and more intense inside his body.
"Demeter?" Andrea blinked, wondering what his plan was.
"Just a second..." he said, though his voice seemed distant, like
he was concentrating. "Stand back..." he warned again, then began to
re-shape back into his human form.
Finally, after about a minute, he stood there again, fully
formed, eyes closed. "Ready! Aim!" he smiled. "ZZZZZZZZZZZAP!"
Demeter pointed his finger right at the base of the City of
Fiss...then let out a blast of light.
Andrea and the others had to shield their eyes from the amazing
red beam.
The red light focused onto the cloud, and began to superheat it.
Any angel unlucky enough to be in the way was vaporized instantly in
the brief, but massive beam of energy.
At the same time, Dave tossed in his Pookie. The tiny weapon
slid through the fog for less then a second, then exploded in a ball of
pure heat. Also, Cassiel closed her eyes, pointed her sword, and let
out a beam of scalding white light.
That was when the cloud exploded.
Raphael fell flat on his face as the entire City was shook by the
blast. "What the HELL was THAT?!!" he yelled, getting to his feet as
Mages and swordsmen scrambled around him, wondering what was going on.
"You're good, Michael." He found himself saying as he ran to the
nearest vertical passage way. "Damn you're good."
As the dust cleared, Demeter smiled, now relaxing from the heat
he had just collected. "COOL!"
Andrea, Rei and Yamato were all in awe. "I didn't know you could
do that, Demeter...?" Rei said weakly.
"I didn't know either!" he laughed. "That was NEAT!"
"Uh...one thing, Demeter." Andrea walked over to him and placed a
hand on his shoulder. "Why did you say 'Zap'?"
"Well, light is silent, right?" Demeter shrugged. "So I figured
I needed a cool sound-effect. Zap seemed a good one. I was also
thinking about using Blam."
The three of them almost fell over in surprise.
"That's my Demeter." Andrea smiled.
Chapter 20
Coughing from the dust, a team of swordsmen climbed through the
rubble in the hall, already drawing their sword. "What happened?" one
asked.
"It must have been some kind of new spell." Replied another.
"Set up a defense parameter until the repairs get here." The
leader ordered quickly as his teams set up next to the smoking hole in
the outer wall.
Nobody was really prepared for a bright, yellow barbed spear to
slide through the smoke, however, and A'albiel managed to kill half of
them even before they realized what was going on.
Michael forced himself through the tiny opening, followed by
Lucifer and Christopher. By then, the tiny team of guards was no more,
and they sheathed their swords after making sure nobody else was in the
hall yet.
"Okay." Dave said, sliding through the hole thanks to his
transportation abilities. When he materialized, he had the remaining
laptop open and scanning. "There's less interference in her. I'll
have a rudimentary map of the City in less than ten minutes."
Cassiel came in next, then Miharu and Cupid, who both seemed glad
to be on solid ground again.
Chris looked around. This was nothing like the other Cities.
While Bri and SkitZ had built their palaces like hollowed out
mountains, this structure, from what he could see, had much more
internal working.
Lit passages ran left and right, though he could also see holes
in the roof and floor at regular intervals to allow access to other
levels. Doors opened up onto the halls every so often. Almost
everything, aside from an occasional bit of script on the intersections
looked almost identical. It was a bloody maze.
"Man, what I wouldn't give for a GPS tracker right now." Maury
whispered as he poked his head inside. The hole the explosion made was
just big enough for a full grown man or two to slide through at the
same time, but it was also jagged, and had to be carefully entered.
"Wouldn't work." Dave commented. "Need the satellites as well as
the tracker. Plus, they don't work in three-dimensions very well."
A'albiel commented that he preferred the open space of the SkitZ
City much better.
"Well, just remember. Once Azrael's dead, we can get back to
places slightly less fucked up." Michael nodded.
Lucifer yawned and took advantage of the dull moment to lean up
against the wall. "Well, Azrael's probably in the bubble at the top of
the City, but you can bet there's going to be some serious resistance
getting there. If I were me, I'd go to the Gardens. That's probably
where he drew whatever spell he's planning to activate."
"Where are the Gardens?" Fiss frowned.
With a spooky smile, Lucifer pointed down. "Beeloooooowww..." he
whispered, then chuckled.
Michael smiled. "Yes. In the most spooky place in the entire
City. Where else?"
Dave nodded. "The path should be fairly simple. You just need
to get to the center access column." He showed Fiss the computer
screen. "It leads the farthest way down, though you might have to blow
through those two doors to keep going."
Chris nodded. "Okay. Lucifer, you know where they are?"
Lucifer nodded. "I think I can get there again."
Cassiel shook her head. "If you two are going, you're going to
need help once you find the spell. I'll go too."
"Okay." Chris said, turning to Miharu. "You and Cupid get all
the others up here. Bring some of the Host if you notice any really
good swordsmen, honey. We might need them."
Cupid sketched a salute that looked very official. Even though
he was still very jittery looking, at least he was wearing clothes this
time. Bright silver and gold armor.
"Be careful, dad." Miharu ran over and gave him a quick hug
before walking back out of the breach, assisted by Cupid, who held her
by her shoulders as he flew.
Michael turned to Chris. "Dave, A'albiel, Maury and I will see
what we can do to track down Raphael and anyone else who might cause
problems once the others get here. By the time you get that spell un-
made, we'll have cleared a path right to Azrael." He smiled. "I
believe you'll want the honors."
Chris nodded, but didn't smile. "If you see the fucker, kill
him. Don't let him escape just because you don't want to finish him
off yourself." He looked over to A'albiel. "We all have reasons."
"Oooh goodie." SkitZ grinned. "So if I kill him, you won't be
mad?"
"I'll buy you a case of peaches when I get back." Chris nodded.
"Deal."
Dave gave Chris his laptop back after the scan was done and he
memorized the data. "Okay. Just follow the route there. I'm sure
Lucifer knows the rest."
"Thanks." Chris smiled, then turned. "Come on, people. Time to
go gardening."
"Bad joke." Cassiel grinned.
"I know." He snickered.
Michael cleared his throat as Cassiel was about to follow the
other two around the corner. She stopped, and turned with a slight
grin. "Yes, Princess?"
He batted his eyelashes. "Don't get yourself killed, okay?"
Cassiel raised her eyebrow. "Is that a badly disguised attempt
at saying you'd miss me?"
"More or less." Michael nodded toughly, though he had a hint of a
smile.
She nodded, then blew him a kiss. "You too, big guy. Watch your
wings."
With that, she disappeared around the corner. Michael sighed,
then turned his attention to the hole in the wall as Maury helped
Andrea through the breach.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY'RE INSIDE?!!" Azrael yelled.
Raphael sighed, having quite enough of this. "You heard me. The
team to guard the breach hasn't reported back, and one of the cherubim
have already spotted intruders."
"Where are they headed?" the smaller angel demanded. "How many?"
"Probably only a dozen or so at the moment, but I believe both
Michael and Cassiel are among them. Maybe even Gabriel. I can sense
three Virtues."
"So can I." Azrael grumbled. "I should have never sent Uriel out
into the battle. At least then we'd have someone who could counter
Cass."
"The lack of foresight would seem to have a negative effect on
the situation, Lord." He commented with a grin.
Azrael shot him a look that could have melted flesh. "Find them.
And when you leave, seal up the upper levels. I do not want to be
disturbed."
Raphael blinked. The seals? If he did decide to stop Azrael, it
would be difficult for even HE to break through the script. "Lord! I
insist otherwise!" he said nervously, not wanting to seem worried.
"What?" Azrael frowned. "Why??"
"I cannot leave your side in these final hours." Raphael
demanded. "You do not know what Michael may have planned. He's
already broken into the City, and the Hosts from the field are at least
an hour away still!"
Azrael didn't buy it. "This spell will be completed at ALL
costs. If that means I will have to fight another seven Knights
myself, I will succeed. Now go. Make sure it doesn't come to that."
He demanded.
Raphael hesitated still.
"I will still be able to escape if needed." Azrael sighed. "Now,
go. Find Michael and Cassiel."
Finally, Raphael sighed, bowed, and headed for the floor exit.
"Good luck, Azrael."
In a rare common insight with his alter ego, Azrael said "Luck?
Luck is no longer in play."
There was a loud swishing sound as the exits all sealed
themselves, except for one. His own personal halls. He would still
have access to the entire City, but nobody would have access to this
place.
Perfect.
The final pieces were in place. Michael and his friends would
receive more meaningless pawns to play with, and never, ever, would
they see the grand scheme of the board until it was too late.
All Azrael had to do was find Yamato and the Eighth before
nightfall. Both were close. He could feel it.
Strange, thought Azrael as he walked over to the edge of his dome
to watch the battle. Yamato and Michael had taught him chess long ago,
yet neither were as advanced as he was today. "Proof." He whispered as
he watched the two armies fight. "Proof that one can raise themselves
from their original state." He smiled. "As far as necessary..."
His mind replayed the last part of his dream from that morning.
"And we shall see who gets their Heaven."
He walked over to the exit, now partially sealed, except for the
branch that lead to his network of passages. As he descended into
them, he held his axe in his hands. It almost seemed to glow in the
dim light.
Chapter 21
In such a large City, it was strange Chris found himself
getting claustrophobic in the narrow spaces. An uneasy silence
followed the three as they walked. Fiss carried his sword along the
back of his arm, not willing to let his guard down for a second.
"You really do look like him." Cassiel said suddenly as they
found the main vertical access tunnel.
"Pardon?" Chris turned.
"Like Azrael." She smiled softly. "Not a bad thing. He used to
be one of the world's most eligible bachelors." She paused. "Well,
until the whole 'evil plan to destroy the world' rumor started leaking
out."
He smiled and shrugged. "Well, I can assure you, I am not him."
He frowned as they each spread their wings and began to descend down
the dark, inclined space.
"I know that." Cassiel nodded. "If I thought any differently, I
would have killed you long ago."
"Thanks for the vote of trust." Fiss replied with a grin.
"I see the way you look at Rei." She continued. "And how she
looks back. That kind of love doesn't happen between bad people."
Fiss blinked, then smiled brightly. "Really? You think so?"
Lucifer sighed. "Stop it, you two. All this warm and fuzzy
stuff is making me sick."
Cassiel laughed quietly. "Poor Lucifer. You know, back when I
was a little girl, I had the biggest crush on you..."
A loud 'SMACK!' echoed around them as Lucifer temporarily lost
his concentration and slammed his head into the side of the wall.
"What?!"
"Just kidding." She grinned. "You deserved that."
Lucifer rubbed his forehead angrily. "Damn you and your spooky
mind control powers."
"Oh, it's not your mind I can control." She said coyly, then
turned back to Chris. "Azrael has never looked like that towards
anyone that I know of. He is devoid of love, and therefore, he does
not truly hear the Word. I know you're different, because he does not
have that spark that I see in you two."
"Two?" Lucifer blinked.
Cassiel smiled. "Yes. Even you have a little spark left."
"You're too kind." Lucifer replied. Though he did sound slightly
sarcastic, there was real gratitude behind that mask.
"We're coming up on the doors." Chris interrupted them as they
continued to slowly slide down the shaft.
Now noticeable in the dim light, they saw two massive wood doors
that cut the circular column in half. Some kind of emergency gate in
case of a full-scale invasion. The power needed to open such massive
gates would probably require a team of Dominions harnessed together.
Luckily, Strike Fiss had the ultimate door-knob.
"Stand aside." He slowed his fall by flapping his wings until he
was standing on the doors, right in the middle. Then, he knelt down
and jammed his sword right through the wood.
"Not bad." Cassiel nodded.
With a grunt, Fiss then began to drag his blade around in a large
circle, making the cut at an angle like the top of a pumpkins so the
lid would not fall down inside.
When he was done, he walked over to the side, then, also using
his sword, traced a glowing gold symbol in the air. Both Cassiel's and
Lucifer's eyes went wide, impressed he had learned how to do that.
"You got one of His books, didn't you?" Lucifer smiled as the
wooden circle began to lift up like it was lighter than air.
Fiss smiled. "Yup."
"I co-authored those books." Lucifer said. "They were a bitch to
make." He raised an eyebrow. "Did you burn it afterwards?"
Chris nodded.
"Oooh, then you got the hidden meanings." He smiled. "That was
my idea."
"Uh, well, SkitZ's mom just told me to. I really didn't know
why."
Lucifer blinked, then sighed. "Damn. That was the best part of
the book, too!"
Their conversation was once again interrupted. A sword slammed
right through the door, almost hitting Chris' leg before he noticed and
leapt away. "Shit! Guards!"
Angels began to pour out of the hole, onto the upper level. Each
of them sported a double silver stripe down the front of their vests.
Cassiel was more than ready, however, and was doing some script-
drawing of her own. Without warning, she grabbed Lucifer, hauled him
to the floor, and touched the script.
Luckily, Fiss was also on the ground, or he too might have been
hit by the razor-thin plane of light that suddenly snapped into
existence over their heads.
Ten of the swordsmen didn't duck in time, and their heads
promptly separated from their bodies before the spell flickered off and
disappeared with the fading glowing script.
Once it was safe to stand, Chris joined the other two. "That was
rather interesting..." he blinked.
"That's the great thing about Theban." Cassiel smiled wickedly.
"You're only limited by your imagination, and how fast you can write."
"Hoo haw!" Fiss raised his sword and cracked it into the skull of
the next attempted assassin.
Lucifer picked up one of the guard's sword and started to help.
"Whip up something to flush out these cookers." Lucifer advised as they
quickly dispatched anyone who tried to climb or fly out of the hole.
A small fireball flew up, narrowly missing Fiss. "Quickly, if
you can." He smiled.
Cassiel was already drawing a more complex spell on a piece of
wood that she had cut from the door's edge. "Just give me a minute."
She nodded, etching into it with the tip of her sword as she rested it
against her shoulder.
Lucifer closed his eyes, and pulled out a rat from the inside of
his coat. "Go get them, boy." He tossed it down the hole. Screams
promptly filled the air.
"That's some rat." Chris blinked.
"That rat has venom." Lucifer explained as they heard three more
horrified screams before someone caught the rat and a squeak sounded
out, signaling it's death. "Damn. He was my favorite, too. Rats like
that don't grow on trees, you know."
"I sure the hells hope not!"
"Run." Cassiel advised as she pressed her thumb against the
wooden chunk, activating her new spell. Then, she tossed the wood down
into the abyss below.
The three of them made it to the walls just as a massive fireball
exploded up and into the air around them. The smell of cooked flesh
soon followed. "Wow..." both men nodded.
Cassiel grinned and spread her butterfly wings once more to
descend. "That was nothing. You should see me at parties."
They dropped down, ignoring the broken and burnt bodies. This
time, the door was on the wall, so Christopher had no problems opening
it up with one well-placed slice to the hinges. Apparently, the guards
had hoped to stage one last line of defense in the hall they just
cleared. When this next door opened, nobody was waiting for them.
Lucifer walked past the other two. "This is the way."
"How do you know so much about this place?" Fiss asked as they
followed him into the darkened passage.
"If I was going to take over a Virtue..." Lucifer said quietly
"...it would probably have been Azrael's. I made sure if I ever needed
to, I could kill him in his own City and escape with his axe."
Both Cass and Fiss blinked. "Oh." They said.
"Unfortunately, he got more powerful later on, and I never got
around to actually trying." He smiled. "At least all that planning
came in handy."
"I'll tell you what." Chris smiled. "If you help save the
universe, I'll get you his Virtue."
"Really?" Lucifer smiled.
"I hate axes anyway." Chris nodded.
They began to walk down a series of stairs. The passage curved
around a number of times, sometimes left and right, eventually moving
into a series of strange corkscrews, like three or four spiral stair-
cases linked together in series.
Light was almost nonexistent. If the air had been only slightly
more stale, it would have been like a crypt. The fact that breath
still came easily showed that this decrepit passage had been used
recently. Occasionally, Chris could pick out a footprint in the soft,
loose dirt steps.
"How does anything GROW this far down?" Chris whispered. "It's a
garden, right?"
"Artificial light." Lucifer offered. "It's a simple spell.
Lasts a long time, too. Azrael probably has cherubs to refresh the
script every month or so in the City."
"That's a lot of script." Chris said.
"There are a lot of angels." Lucifer smiled, then frowned. "In
fact, there should be more. Everything's been rather quiet here, don't
you think?"
"Don't jinx it." Cassiel said. "Everyone must assume we're
heading for Azrael. This may throw them off for a while."
"Or maybe this is all a big trap." Lucifer said quietly. "I
really don't think the Gardens would be a nice place to die."
Light was leaking through at the bottom of these stairs, leading
to another room. Each of them walked as quiet as a mouse, unsure what
to expect. Least of all, Chris, who had no idea what these 'Gardens'
would look like. As they entered, however, a new smell filled the air.
Decay.
Cassiel traced a simple circle in the air with her sword,
enhancing the dull lamp light from the walls. "Oh my God..."
In each corner of the room sat...
Skeletons?
No, these were still...they still had some flesh on them. Six in
total. Two sat by a set of massive oak doors set into the farthest
wall. In their bony hands rested long, wicked swords.
"What the hell are these things?" Chris whispered as they stared
in horror.
"I have no idea..." Lucifer admitted. "But the magic in the air
is horrible..."
Chris finally noticed. It was like an invisible smog that made
his chest hurt when he breathed. A taint that was almost visible in
the shadowy corners of the room. It made his skin crawl, and every
feather on his back stand straight up in protest.
Cassiel leaned over to him, careful not to speak too loud. "They
were angels...look at the feathers..."
Each of them sat or lie on a small pile of feathers that Chris
had initially thought to be dust. They were gray and fragile looking.
Lifeless. Like leaves of a plant never watered. "W...what happened to
them?"
"I'm not sure..." she whispered. "It's almost like they rotted
at their posts."
"Buried alive?" Lucifer wondered. "No...they could have gotten
out...they just didn't...want to."
"What do you mean?" Chris blinked, gripping his sword tighter.
"He means whatever's behind this door was worth it to them to
stay here until they rotted alive." Cassiel whispered gravely. "Come
on..." she walked past Lucifer and towards the doors.
Chris eyed the one closest to him carefully. "Hey...Cass..." he
leaned closer. "Is it just my imagination, or are they breathing?"
"It's probably just the light." Cassiel said, reaching over to
grab the massive metal ring that acted as a door knob. "Here we go..."
Had Lucifer been paying any less attention, he wouldn't have been
able to pull Cassiel away in time to save her arms. He yanked her
backwards at the same moment as two swords came whistling towards her.
"WATCH OUT!"
Cass and Lucifer fell backwards as the two guards by the doors
stood up. "Holy shit..." she whispered.
They were zombies. Horrible, sick looking twigs of their former
selves. The speed they achieved with their swords should not have been
possible...but then again, the way they were actually able to WALK was
probably just as impossible.
One opened it's mouth, showing a cracked, bloody tongue. It
howled something that would have frightened most wild animals, then
slowly brought it's sword to it's front. Though it's knees were
creaking and it's skin threatening to crack, the guard crouched as if
it was getting ready to charge.
Lucifer quickly spread his right wing over his arm and formed his
usual bladed feathers. "Everyone get back! These things are still
alive!"
"No shit." Chris smirked. The howl the first one made had woken
the other four, and he was now looking at a very rotting individual who
shouldn't have been able to hold such a massive sword in it's atrophied
arms. "But we can fix THAT!" he lunged.
To Fiss' shock, the zombie actually blocked, and then made a
swipe for his head.
Lucifer was finding a similar trend with his two targets.
"Shit...these guys are good!" he blocked a double-bladed attack, and
had to roll out of the way to avoid an energetic suicide leap.
Cassiel had regained her bearings and managed to bring her own
blade down into the skull of the one that just charged, slicing it in
half down to the collarbone. It died, but not before trying to rip her
sword free from her hands.
"EEEEEARGH!" one of the guards charged, deflecting Fiss' blade
with it's own, and then using it's decaying head as a battering ram to
flatten Chris against the wall.
Winded, he barely found the strength to block and then duck the
other's series of attacks. "Damn I hate zombies!" he tapped his sword
on the floor, spun so it exposed the dull edge of the blade, and
splattered the semi-solid remains of one of the bastards all over the
wall. It fell over, missing most of it's shoulder and neck. Then,
without slowing, he switched directions and the sharp tip of the katana
slid effortlessly through the first three inches of the other's neck.
It's head tilted back in a silent scream and blood oozed out of the
gash as it hit the ground.
Weaponless, but far from defeated, one of the original guards
ignored Lucifer and jumped at Cassiel, clawing it's way onto her back
and wrapping it's bony arm around her neck. Chris took a swipe at her
neck, slicing the zombie's arm open lengthwise, letting the bone and
muscle spill out in a gooey black mess. Cass managed to stumble back
into the wall, knocking it off of her back.
"Fucker!" she gasped, then buried her sword deep within it's
chest. "NEVER touch a lady without her permission!" her sword lit up,
and the smell of cooking flesh flooded the room.
Two left. Lucifer easily took care of one by ripping out it's
spine...through it's belly. Then, he turned and used the wet spine as
a club to beat the last zombie down into the dirt long enough so his
bladed feathers could slit it's torso open. Bowels mushroomed out of
the wound, and the guard was silent with a final, raspy breath.
Cass retrieved her sword from the smoking zombie and they all
took a deep, shaky breath. "Well, I can't say I enjoyed that." She
wiped her coat-sleeve off on the wall, leaving a trail of blackened
blood.
Chris cringed and had to avert his eyes from the mess at their
feet. "I'm liking Azrael less and less."
"Well, the walking dead don't help in public polls." Lucifer
huffed, letting his feathers relax. "Trust me, I've been there."
Chapter 22
"Locked!"
"Cocked!"
"Ready to ROCK!"
Mother and Daughter knelt down, aimed, and pulled back the "fun"
grips on their Pookies, sending out a dozen deadly green projectiles
flying into the opposition.
Just prior to Rei and Miharu's attack, Yamato had tossed out
another handful of anti-spell spell-chips, neutralizing the last of the
Nephilim's magic protection. Each antimatter round found their mark,
and destroyed them with frightening ease.
"FALL BACK!" yelled some of the Mages, who's colleges attempted
to cover their retreats with more fireballs.
Andrea was ready this time, though, and a series of three paper
shields sprung up, saving them from even having to retreat. "This is
getting insane!" she coughed as more smoke rolled past them.
Bodies of the less effective sword-toting angels were lain out
over the hall behind them. Also behind were a few of Andrea's paper
spells, protecting them from any sneak rear attacks. Dave hoped this
would be the quickest way, but it was proving to also be the most
guarded way.
"We just have to get to that door." He said, pointing to just a
few meters down the hall. "Then, we can get into an air-duct and come
out on the next level."
They had already tried to go through the roof, but between armor
and protection spells, it was a waste of time they could not afford
while under fire. The confines of indoors was making it harder and
harder to fight the growing numbers against them. For some reason,
many of the guards from outside had returned, yet none of the Bri had
yet.
"Let's make a break for it!" Maury yelled, ready to stop any
attacks. His body was already slipping into liquid plasma state.
Rei and Miharu nodded, and launched another massive volley of
antimatter at the Fiss armies, and then again around the Senshi and
their small entourage of swordsmen and mages. Maury stood at the
front, blasting anyone who dared attempt to take the advance to their
good fortune.
Dave blasted open the door with his hand, and the group piled
into the training hall quickly. It was vacant, luckily. Maury slid in
at last, once he was sure everyone got in okay. When he solidified, he
noticed his trenchcoat now had three large holes in it. "Man...I can't
keep this up much longer." He coughed.
"Almost there, Mo." Dave promised. "We just have to get to this
next level. We'll have a good ten minute breather before anyone
figures out where we got to."
Rei pressed her hands onto the edge of the light metal door.
"Fire SOUL!" It was welded shut seconds later. "Cupid!" she turned.
"Get Miharu up to the vent. Honey, get your sword through that roof
and make a hole."
Though they both looked tired, neither of the two smaller members
of the group complained, and with a quick boost from Michael, was able
to reach the roof easily. Dave pointed to the support beam. "Just
left of it."
"HAI!" Miharu drove her wakizashi up into the weaker metal and
plaster, finally breaking into a structurally unprotected section of
roof. "Got it!" she cheered.
Dave breathed a sigh of relief. If the scan had made an error,
and the air-ducts had been armored, their advance would have reached a
rather abrupt halt. "Secure this up there." He pulled a collapsible
rope ladder from his coat, to the constant amazement of the angels in
the group.
"How does he do that?" whispered one of the swordsmen.
"Big pockets." Dave smiled.
Miharu had carved out a large hole, and now was attaching the end
of the ladder over the side, into the air duct far enough so it's self-
attaching bolts could embed into the City's main superstructure. "Sa,
ikimasho!"
"Let's go." Rei translated. Whenever Miharu got tired, she
started talking in Japanese. It was cute, but at the moment, it
worried her.
Andrea finished placing about a dozen Paper shields around the
door, reinforcing it's weld. "That should buy us some time." She
huffed. "We'll need it."
Dave helped Hooze up the ladder, before going himself. Maury and
SkitZ waited until everyone else was up and crawling through the vents.
"Just a second." Michael said, tracing a few quick symbols on the
ground with his blade.
"What will that do?" Dave asked.
"Make their feet explode." Michael grinned. "Come on." He
followed Dave up the ladder and into the vents, carefully rolling up
the ladder and tearing it out of it's supports so it couldn't be used
by anyone else.
Behind them, Mages began to try to break down the door with
spells...but it would still take time. Time the Senshi desperately
needed against an unrelenting enemy.
Old, creaking doors finally gave way to the next room, along with
a sudden flood of tainted air. The sickening bittersweet touch of
magic hit all three at the same time, and they reacted as if being
blasted by a cold wind.
"What's in here?" Chris whispered as his eyes adjusted to the
sudden brighter light.
"Oh my..." Lucifer gasped.
Cassiel couldn't find words.
"The Gardens..." Lucifer walked forward slowly, venturing closer
to the strange, glowing, yellowish-gray sand that seemed to flood the
floor.
Christopher found himself unable to breathe in any more than
small gasps. He finally realized what the sand was. "Oh my god..."
"Did..." Lucifer swallowed hard. "Did Michael tell you what the
Aszaps do to their victims?"
Chris wished he didn't know, but couldn't find words to voice his
wish.
Cassiel actually lost her footing and had to sit down.
"Brains..." she whispered. "Those are all brains..."
The younger Azer brother nodded grimly as he clenched his fists.
"They dry them out in the sun for a week." He whispered. "Leave the
corpses to rot. Then, they haul them back to Uriel's City. There,
they have a room who's walls are lined with Mages."
"Shit..." Chris coughed, fighting the urge to throw-up. He could
still remember the first night, with all those brains in the gutted
houses. Now, it was coupled with the stench of powerful sorcery and
multiplied God knows how many times.
"They say it takes a month or so." Lucifer continued coldly.
"Each cell is separated from the others. Grated and grinded until it
is a silky powder." He pursed his lips and ran his hand over his beard.
"Each fully grown man will only produce a weak handful of this shit.
They'll often slaughter thousands just to make enough for a decent
spell..."
"There has to be millions here..." Cassiel whispered. Her face
was deathly pale. "Millions of lives."
"All turned into paper for some sick bastard's piece of shit
spell." Lucifer growled. Then, he growled again. Louder. "FUCK your
bloody divinity!"
Chris closed his eyes. "Come on, Fissy. Pull yourself
together..." he stood slowly, then walked over to Cassiel. She looked
up at his offered hand. "We better figure this out fast, so we know
exactly how to destroy it."
She nodded weakly, and took his hand, standing up after a moment
of struggle. "You're right." She took a deep breath. "Let's get this
over with."
Lucifer was already reading the spell. "This is...not...good..."
he whispered. "Cass, check out what it says on the far side of those
trees. There should be another focal point there." He turned to Chris.
"You know what a Theban focal point is?"
Chris nodded, thinking back to his lessons. "Points where the
actual spell is condensed into, so it can strengthen the individual
characters around it."
"Right." Lucifer smiled briefly. "Go to that area and find the
point. Then, read what it says around it. Tell me what it says.
Don't step on the shit until we know how to disarm it."
"Okay." Fiss nodded, letting his wings take him over the angel-
made beach.
Lucifer did the same, only in the opposite direction. "There are
four points." He frowned. "I don't get it. There should be a fifth."
He muttered as he read the patterns like they were plain English.
"Found it." Chris announced, looking down just past his feet.
"I...I think..." he closed his eyes, envisioning the script. "It's
some kind of key."
"What does it unlock?" Lucifer called back, reading a similar
spell arrangement himself.
"I think it's to open Hell..." Chris blinked as images flooded
his mind. Strange images, flashing through his brain, showing glimpses
of darkness and pain, but never being so cruel to show him the whole
picture. "Yes. It's to open Hell..."
Lucifer re-read his own section in horror. "You're right..."
"But..." Cassiel called back. "That's not too bad, right? You
control Hell, right?"
"No." Lucifer said quietly. "Not my hell..."
"What do you mean?" she blinked.
"You can't create a Heaven. It's impossible to do with Script,
since the original Word and Theban still had no idea what a real Heaven
was like. However, being the sick bastards that we are, we had very
clear ideas on a Hell."
"He's going to open up another Hell???" Chris coughed. "WHY?"
"So he can turn it into his own Heaven and flood the world with
it." Lucifer whispered. "Brother...my brother...what have we done?"
"Then we have to stop him." Chris said slowly, kneeling down to
the sand. "Now. Before this is used." He angled his sword at the
spell. "FISS!!!!!!"
A blast of bright blue light exploded into the sand, throwing it
around in a blast of dust.
The dust, that, when it re-settled, formed the exact same pattern
that had been under it before.
Lucifer looked around quickly. "Oh SHIT! He SEALED IT!"
Cassiel groaned as she found a small patch of dark brown. "Dried
blood. It's already done..."
"Why...what do you mean, SEALED!?!" Chris demanded, desperation
in his voice. He landed with full force into the sand, leaving
footprints. However, as soon as he lifted his feet, the sand seemed to
slide back into place.
"It's Script-sand." Lucifer said weakly. "It REMEMBERS the final
spell. Once it's sealed, it will never move until the spell is
activated."
"You can't be serious..." Chris whispered, looking up at him and
Cass. Both wore grave faces.
"It's already finished, Chris." Cassiel said quietly. "This
part, anyway. If we can't stop whatever else he has planned, then he's
already won."
"No...I refuse to believe that!" Chris growled, turning back to
the script. "There has to be a way..."
He stopped, dead in his tracks. Lucifer noticed. "What?"
Chris shook his head. "There's something else. This script
over here is also a lot like the spell Michael used to bring us here."
Lucifer hovered over and noticed it. "Oh shit..."
"What?" Cassiel asked, flying over to see for herself. "I...I've
never seen that kind of script before...what does it mean?"
"He wants to break the boundary." Lucifer said simply. "He wants
to create his own, private Hell, and then completely obliterate
everything around it."
"Not quite." Came a familiar voice...
The three of them turned, casting shocked eyes onto a man with
white robes and crow-black wings on his back. Swinging back and forth
from his right hand was a long, gnarled staff. It's vicious blade
tapped lightly on the marble floor as he walked toward them.
"Azrael..." Lucifer growled.
"Lucifer..." Azrael hummed, smiling right at him. "I'm glad
you've come." His smile faded, though, as his eyes moved to Chris.
Chris couldn't believe it. It was Him.
Him.
After all the stories.
After all the battles.
After all the prophecies.
Nothing could have prepared him for this confrontation. Seeing
this nightmare come to flesh almost knocked Chris' breath away.
Azrael stared back with an equally unsettled look. "You..." he
whispered.
Chris raised his sword. "Me."
Chapter 23
"Who are you." Azrael demanded, backing up as Strike Fiss gently
floated to the marble floor.
"Christopher Fiss." He replied calmly, folding away his
sunglasses.
"That's impossible..." Azrael glared at him as they began to
circle each other. "I've never had any brothers. Or children."
"You're nothing but an accidental copy of me." Chris whispered.
"A part of me I should have known to have left out of this universe
long ago."
"What are you talking about...?" the Knight demanded. "If
anything, YOU are the copy."
"Either way, you're a part of me that died a long time ago, and
should have stayed dead." Strike Fiss stated, gritting his teeth.
"I've had dreams that scared me to my bones thanks to you. I've seen
everything I care about die in your hands. I've seen, even just today,
that those dreams PALE in comparison to who you REALLY are." He gripped
his sword, making a leather squeaking sound. "And I have waited for
this moment for months. Where I finally get to save myself from you."
Though shaking, Azrael glared back with the same intensity.
"You're on my ground, little Christopher. I suggest you respect that
before it comes back to hurt you."
"I'll kill you anywhere I can, Azrael." Chris replied.
Shaking in rage, Azrael brought his axe forward, then yelled a
battle cry, trying for one, massive slice. "DIIIEEEEE!"
Christopher's katana moved effortlessly, and the massive axe
blade stopped dead in it's tracks an inch from his face. The shaking
in Azrael's hands made the weapons rattle. "Try again." Strike Fiss
whispered back in a harsh voice.
Realization came to Azrael's eyes as he saw the katana, however,
and he stumbled back. He was smiling, though. "You're..." he paused,
then laughed. "You're the Eighth!"
Frowning, Fiss also took a step back. "What do you mean?"
"I've been waiting for you for months." Azrael said through a
sudden, eerie smile. "Tell me, will Yamato come to pay his respects as
well? I've been looking forward to it."
"Okay, that's enough." Strike Fiss said, bringing his sword to
his side. "Looks like it's party time..."
Having seen the speed of his katana in dreams, Azrael was
prepared for the blue slash, and brought around his axe in time to
deflect it into the roof. SMASH!
Before Chris could wonder what just happened, Azrael charged, and
forced Fiss to block and flip the other angel over his head. Katana
found only air when he slashed a moment too late. "You have NO power
here." Azrael growled as he flew into the air. "This is MY domain. My
sapphire throne to my own Heaven!"
Chris slashed upwards twice, but only caught roof. Cassiel and
Lucifer had to dodge the falling debris. "I should have killed you in
my dreams so many times." Chris replied, taking to the air also. "And
I finally did, once, because I finally figured out what you were." He
hovered across from Azrael. "I don't need power to kill you here
either."
"We shall see." Azrael smiled, then brought out his axe.
"HURRICANE!"
At first, it was nothing. A gust of wind that breezed past their
faces. However, both Cassiel and Lucifer recognized it. "Oh no..."
she whispered.
"Help him. I'll see what I can do..." Lucifer said quickly as
the wind began to pick up.
Chris launched himself sword-first at Azrael, but his sword slid
to the side at the last moment, hitting a shield of some kind. He was
about to try again, when he noticed something familiar.
Azrael was being surrounded by blue light. His eyes were closed
in concentration, but a smile was still on his lips. "Tell me, little
Christopher..." he yelled over a sudden gust of wind that threatened to
toss Chris to the side. "Did you ever learn how to do this?" he
laughed.
The roof began to crumble as the light expanded, forcing itself
past the stone and plaster, then outwards, pushing Chris back as he
strained against the ultimate attack with his own sword. He was too
late, though, and there wasn't even time do try it himself. Not that
it would be guaranteed to work anyway.
"Shit...come on!" he gritted his teeth as his wings twisted in
the accelerating winds. His katana would not budge, however. The wall
of blue light held fast.
"Oh, I see now." Azrael grinned as he forced the spell to speed
up. "You KNOW what this is...but refuse to give up? Is that it?" he
laughed slowly. "How heroic."
"SHUT UP!" Fiss demanded, but was cut off from further voice by a
sharp pain in his back taking the air out of his lungs. That was
exactly when he noticed his coat sliding back over his arms. "Oh
shit..."
The wind picked him up like a rag doll in a tornado. Barely able
to hold onto his own sword, Strike Fiss tumbled away from Azrael and
the miniature hurricane's epicenter.
A quick arm snagged him, however, before he could crash into the
wall. Cassiel, grimacing under the strain, managed to slow their
tumble until they only bounced off of the hard stone confines of the
room. "Hold on!" she coughed as sand was thrown around their faces.
"We have to get down!"
Her face suddenly snapped into shock, and her wings disappeared,
forming an elegant, but useless blue robe around her shoulders. The
wind was too much for her delicate stature, and they both fell down to
the floor hard.
Lucifer hadn't moved, but instead, seemed to be chanting
something with his eyes closed.
Azrael ignored him and began to draw the power of his spell into
his weapon, exactly like Chris had done against his clone years ago.
"Oh shit...we have to go...NOW!" Chris begged as he sheathed his sword.
"I...I can't..." she gasped, still out of breath. "Get out of
here! Take Lucifer!"
"No! You don't understand!" Chris looked up. The blue light was
almost completely focused now, transferring all it's energy into
Azrael's blade.
"Well well, mister Christopher." Azrael whispered, looking up at
the slashes across the roof. "It seems you like destroying my
ceilings." He grinned. "I don't see why I shouldn't help you."
Slowly, he raised his axe, and then, in one quick jab, he
embedded it into the stone above them all.
Chris knew right away that a 'Fiss' deflection wasn't about to
stop that giant slab of marble from crushing everything in the room
flat. "Shit..."
Trees off in the distant corners of the Gardens began to offer
resistance to the roof as it fell...but failed in a horrible explosion
of snapping wood. The entire room shook, though the Script-sand stayed
still. Even with the slab on top of it, it would be intact. Not only
that, but it would be sealed on top of it's seal. Nobody would even be
able to touch it.
Strike Fiss and Cassiel could only watch in horror as inch by
inch, the massive crushing block came down on them. "This..." he
whispered. "Is going to suck."
Azrael was now above the falling rock, having slid through the
hole his own attack had made in the rock. "Goodbye, my nightmare." He
whispered. "And thank you for brining me the Eighth Virtue." It would
survive. Any of the Virtues would be able to.
However, a black object ran past his feet. Lucifer. He ran,
still chanting his spell, even as the roof threatened to crush his
head.
At the last second, he dove at Chris and Cassiel, covering them
with his coat.
THUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMM......
A cloud of dust billowed up from the crumbling rock. Azrael
smiled to himself as he watched the dust settle. He had the Virtue.
More or less. There would be time to retrieve it later.
"I love this sword." Michael sighed happily as the door he just
sliced down fell to the side.
They had already taken a break, and were another level up,
encountering only three guards on that last one. "How much further?"
Rei asked. They were defiantly reaching the top. They could see each
side of the entire hallway curve around from end to end. Probably only
three dozen meters squared per floor now.
Dave looked around. "I'm not sure...something's changed. There
should be an access tube going up at an angle somewhere close to here."
"Shit." Michael looked around quickly. "This entire floor is a
big seal." He ran his fingers over some script on the wall. "Is there
any way through it to the next level?"
Dave nodded. "One passage way. But it's almost vertical. We'll
have to set up another ladder, and the drop is...well...very bad. We
have to be REALLY careful."
"How about through the roof?" Demeter asked, looking up.
"Scans showed it was at least three times as thick as the outer
wall." Dave smiled. "We'd get there faster by breaking our way out
through the wall, then breaking back in from the outside again."
"Considering we're down to three Pookies and no midday sun for a
Demeter-Laser, that might not be a good idea." Rei smiled.
Demeter smiled proudly, but nodded. "We'd still need some of
that fancy explodey-cloud anyway."
"So, the passage it is." Yamato nodded. "Which way?"
Dave pointed towards a door leading to the interior 'core' of the
floor. "Let's go." He reached for the latch and melted it with a quick
blast of power.
Raphael's ancient, but smiling face met Dave's as the door fell
aside. "Hello, there."
The Senshi all blinked in horror as they saw the room behind the
Knight was full of Mages. A snarling War Dominion sat in the back with
it's head snaking over their heads.
Dave smiled politely, then shrugged. "Uh, wrong door?"
"ATTACK!!" Raphael bellowed, stepping aside.
Rei raised her Pookie, but was immediately overrun by bodies, and
the weapon got tossed off to the side. She would have been a goner,
except Miharu shot the ones piling on top of her mom. "RUN!" she
yelled, getting back to her feet.
Frantic, Hooze barely was able to generate a Paper in time to
stop the lightning bolt cast by a Mage, and it indeed, did not have
enough time to take hold, shattering upon impact. Dave took charge and
flung himself down the hole they had risen from. One by one, he caught
the Senshi as they slid down the ramp, careful to catch Andrea without
harming her stomach. He noticed, however, that Michael, Yamato and the
other swordsmen were not coming.
"GO ON!" Michael yelled from above. "I'll hold off this old
geezer! Get everyone out of here! Find another way!"
He was cut off by the sounds of swords clashing, and a ball of
fire racing over the opening, throwing Dave back on his ass.
"Shit...we have to MOVE!"
"WHERE?!!?" Miharu yelled as the sounds of battle surrounded
their thoughts.
Dave looked to the door they came from. The other group would
almost be arriving. They couldn't go back down. He then turned to the
wall. "Out."
"But!"
"NOW!" he grabbed Miharu's Pookie. "Demeter, press the "Extra
Fun" button, then fire right there!"
"Where?" Demeter blinked.
Dave reached over to the wall and pounded his fist into it with
such force that it left a large dent. "THERE!" he activated his own
weapon, trying not to notice the 'low regeneration' gauge flashing on
it. They had no time to set the Pookies to generate more antimatter.
"FIRE!"
The two remaining weapons pelted the wall with all the force they
could muster. Each time, the glowing green packets were smaller and
smaller. Explosions still racked the wall and flooded their vision
with mist, but it was obvious they were running down.
Maury and Rei noticed a new sound. "Footsteps?" Mo wondered.
Rei nodded, and they both looked down the hall at the same time.
The other group. At least fifty swordsmen charged.
"ANDREA!" Dave ordered. "Stone! Wall! NOW!"
"Jan Ken Pon...STONE!" she wound up and punched as hard as she
could, throwing chunks of rock and metal everywhere, but still not
breaching it.
"You can do it, Hooze!" Maury promised. "We'll hold them off!"
he let his body change into fire, then shot forward into the charging
forces, vaporizing entire chunks of bodies at a time.
Rei, however, noticed that Michael and Yamato were only holding
Raphael at bay. "INCOMING!" she yelled, pointing at the chute they
just came from.
Demeter extended his arms into two deadly blades and began to
meet the threat head-on. Rei used her impressive karate abilities to
pacify any of the strays that got through.
"Jan Ken Pon...STONE!" Andrea punched again. "Jan Ken
Pon...STONE!" she cried. "DAMMIT!"
Each attack only knocked away inches at a time. It wasn't going
to be enough...
Beavis suddenly joined the fray.
"Stand back!" he ordered, glowing a blinding white blue. "YEAH!"
He shot forward at blazing speeds, impacting with the metal armor
with all his might. Though it hurt more than he would ever admit to
anyone, it actually made progress.
Dave's eyes widened. "Hooze! GO!"
"STONE!" Andrea yelled. The familiar red energy splatter now
eating deeper into the wall.
"BEAVIS!" Dave said.
The little hedgehog powered up once more, and slammed all his
energy into the wall the best he could, but he too was fading.
Andrea had spun and erected a Paper shield on the tube, buying
Rei and Demeter some time. It was getting harder and harder to focus
the power she needed. "Come on..." she swallowed hard. "Jan Ken Pon
STONE!!"
The crackling hole was now deep enough to crawl inside, but
still, no sunlight could be seen on the other end. "Go Beav!" she
coughed weakly, trying to regain focus.
"COME ON!" Beavis roared, crashing again into the metal.
Surprising everyone watching, he quickly regained his glow, and did it
again in rapid succession. "Son of a BITCH!" still no hole.
"Just a little more!" Dave promised.
"HURRY!" Rei begged as the shield began to crack and Maury's
strained grunts could be heard as he tried to keep his plasma form
longer than he had ever attempted before in his life.
"Jan Ken Pon STONE!" Andrea gasped, collapsing to her knees,
absolutely exhausted. "Jan Ken Pon STONE!!!!!" Again, and again, both
attacks ate away at the seemingly endless wall. "FUCK!!" she screamed.
"JANKENPON-STONE!" she forced her fist out again. "JANKENPON-STONE!!"
She collapsed, sobbing from the effort. Miharu rushed over to
her, but didn't really have any idea how to help. "Hooze-chan! Get
up!"
Dave tried to help Andrea up, but she was almost unconscious by
now. "Come one! Just one more, Hooze! You can do it! One more and
we're out of here!"
Again, Beavis sacrificed more of his power into another blast,
but he was getting weaker and weaker. The last hit didn't even make a
scratch and he bounced off of the metal with a pitiful squeak.
"It..." he coughed as Miharu picked him up. "It can't end like
this...not for Bond..." he chuckled weakly.
"It's..." Hooze gasped, barely able to speak. "No...it's not the
end..." she shivered.
"Stay still...rest..." Dave offered, hoping they could hold off
the others for an amount of time he knew they couldn't.
"No..." Andrea gritted her teeth and slowly picked herself up.
"One more..." she promised. "One more...just one more..."
"Jan..."
The paper broke, and Demeter was almost crushed by the sudden
avalanche of bodies. Rei was barely able to keep them off.
"Ken..."
Andrea closed her eyes, making the symbols for paper and scissors
as Maury fell back on his coat, completely exhausted. More swordsmen
were coming from down the hall, though, and his bo wasn't going to stop
them for long.
"Pon..." Hooze focused all the energy she could into one last
thought.
"BITE ME!!!!!!"
CRACK!
A sudden rush of air flooded over them as Andrea's stunned eyes
realized she actually did it.
In a heartbeat, Dave grabbed Rei and Demeter. Cupid, also
waiting, grabbed Miharu and Beavis. Maury ran over to Hooze just
before the swords got there, and yanked her towards the opening. "HOLD
ON!" he yelled, hopping he could figure out a way to stop gravity.
Poor Hooze was too exhausted to even worry about the fall, though
she did have a smile on her face.
"I hope this works. I hope to God this works, because that's the
only way we're going to survive this..." Dave prayed to himself as they
fell. Cupid, Miharu and Beavis would all be fine, but he was too
tired, and too heavy with both Demeter and Rei clinging on for dear
life. And unless God was miracle-happy in this last thirty seconds,
Maury and Andrea were also going to suffer the same fate that Chris had
months ago in the Pool of Angels.
There was JUST enough antimatter left in the Pookie. Dave made a
quick mental calculation and then threw it at the water as fast as his
arm could drive it down. Then, the moment after it slid through the
surface, Dave dug deep into the recesses of his power. What little
power he had left.
He scrounged little bits from every corner he could muster.
Every second taking him and the others closer to a nice, watery impact
from a height of a thousands of feet.
Into his mind came the atomic structure of Water. He saw it and
felt it in his mind. He used every neuron in his gray matter, and
every facet of his universe of a mind to pull that shape apart. H2O
began to take another shape. It began to shift and form links with
other H2O's until it was like peer pressure. Soon, everyone wanted to
be like that first molecule.
It continued, trillions of times a second in Dave's mind, until
all his mental energy, in it's amazing entirety, was focused onto the
water below. One purpose.
At the exact moment he knew it would, the Pookie, now a few
meters below the water, exploded with tremendous force. The antimatter
generator had been working to the brink of overload, and still only
just managed to make enough of the amazing substance to negate enough
water to displace each of their volumes. More or less.
He hoped it was more and not less, or this was going to hurt a
lot more than it was going to before.
The energy focused into the water did one, incredible, amazing
thing. And by the time the five Senshi hit the water, it's surface
tension was one hundred percent.
Like some kind of rubber.
There was no splash at first, only a strange, stretching sound as
the water caught them from their fall, and gently cradled them as they
descended.
Because of the vacuum below, the water was cut away like a wedge
going through wood. A trampoline over top of empty space so you didn't
hurt yourself when you landed hard. Dave remembered looking up and
seeing crystal blue water stretching up around them, leaving a dry view
of the sky above. "Wow..." he whispered as he felt the negative
acceleration pass through his body.
Unfortunately, because he said 'wow', he lost concentration, and
the water immediately returned to the state Mother Nature intended it
to be. "BLARGH!" the Senshi all gasped as they found themselves
surrounded by the ocean.
Everyone surfaced moments later, very wet and cold, but still
quite alive.
Miharu looked at Cupid. "Did you just see that??"
Cupid was so shocked, he didn't even clack his teeth in
excitement. "Woooow..."
She smiled, then turned to Beavis. "I didn't know Dave was
related to Moses!"
Beavis laughed. "Anything's possible."
Chapter 24
"Don't open your eyes."
Chris remembered Lucifer's voice, though his head was foggy, and
decided to listen to him. After all, when a Fallen Angel took the
effort to warn you about something, it was usually for a very good
reason. "Wh...what happened?" he coughed, feeling a strange air fill
his lungs.
It seemed dry and dead, but at the same time, full of smells.
Bad smells. Smells he wasn't even sure he wanted to know what came
from. Cold, too. If they were in some kind of sewer, the decay would
be warm, not cold.
"W...where am I?" Fiss whispered, keeping his eyes closed shut.
Finally, he noticed he was moving somehow. Carried by someone,
piggyback style. From the feel of the clothes, it was probably
Lucifer. "What happened?"
"Don't talk." Lucifer said quickly, keeping his own voice down as
well. "You'll attract their attention. We don't need that."
"Who's attention?" Chris frowned, fighting to resist the urge to
open his eyes.
"Shh!"
Screams.
More bloody screams.
"Ahh shit." Lucifer sighed, then picked up his pace. "Keep your
eyes closed and your head down."
"Where's Cassiel?" Fiss asked as he heard the screams get closer.
They were tormented, horrible sounds. Barely even human, if you could
call such a twisted though 'humanity.'
"She's safe. I already brought her. We're almost there."
Lucifer promised. "Don't open your eyes."
Chris nodded, still drowsy. "Okay..."
"Keep them CLOSED!" Lucifer warned, just before Chris felt
something grab at his back.
It ripped a handful of feathers off of his wings, and Chris had
to fight the pain back. "What the HELL?!!" he gasped, squeezing his
eyes shut with all his might.
"Exactly." Lucifer said, now running as fast as he could to try
to beat the things behind them.
There were many. MANY. Screams and growls of anguish. Howls of
pain and sadistic laughter at that pain. Some moments, they were loud.
Almost creeping up on Chris' ears like insects he desperately wanted to
swat away, but they never touched again. Lucifer redoubled his efforts
and they began moving up a slight incline. The voices and screams
finally began to fade completely, leaving only cold and darkness.
"Hold your breath." Lucifer said, finally slowing.
Chris took a deep breath, then almost screamed as he felt himself
being covered by insects.
"STRIKE FISS!" Cassiel shook him violently by the shoulders.
"WAKE UP!"
He sat up, clawing for air. "AAARHHH!!!!!" Both Lucifer and
Cassiel sat around him, waiting until he caught his breath before
speaking.
"We're safe." Cass said quietly. She had hurt her head, by the
looks of it. A small dribble of blood had dried across her brow.
"Relax."
"Where..." Fiss gasped, leaning back on the cold ground, vaguely
noticing that it was sand. Normal sand. Not like the
processed...brain...oh god... "Where was I?" he asked after a moment.
"Hell." Lucifer smiled.
"You're kidding." Fiss blinked.
"Nope." He shook his head. "We were going to be squished flat as
cookers under an Aszap Cherub's hoof, so the only exit was Down."
"Well..." Fiss blinked, looking around. They were at the edge of
the Howling Desert, as far as he could tell. Screams and wails could
be heard off into the distance just a short while away. "HOW!?!?"
"Don't ask questions I can't answer." Lucifer smiled. "If
everyone knew how to get to Hell, I'd be killed or taken over within a
week." He sighed. "I'm sorry I had to bring you both down there,
though. It was the only way I could think of."
"We're in the Howling Desert." Cassiel continued. "If we fly
quickly, we can get back to the City in about an hour."
"Then lets go!" Chris stood, ignoring his woozy stomach.
"GET DOWN!" Lucifer hissed, grabbing his arm and yanking him to
the sand. "Look over there..." he pointed in the direction of the
Cities.
Three thunderclouds.
Hosts.
"There's no way we'll be able to sneak past them, and even less
of a chance we'd be able to defeat them all." Cassiel sighed. "The
mountains narrow to the South, but it will take three hours just to
walk there. They may already have another Host guarding that
approach."
Chris slumped to his knees. "What are you saying?"
"That by the time we get back...the war will be over." Lucifer
said, looking down at the cold sand around them. "We can't do anything
anymore."
Fiss shook his head. "NO! Just bring us back!"
"Through Hell?" Lucifer grinned.
"YES!"
"I can't." he frowned. "I told you to close your eyes because I
didn't want you to see all the damned souls that were coming for your
ass. Do you even realize what kind of an attraction an angel is in
Hell? A REAL angel? They'll tear you apart just because you have a
feather boa down there, let alone wings!" he shook his head. "And
they'll be waiting for your return for quite some time. We can't just
go back the way we came, and there's no way in, or out of Hell, that
you'd be able to avoid thousands of angel-hungry asshole-souls. Your
sword would probably just make them ticklish."
Cassiel, hoping for a chance, cleared her throat. "Can't you
control them, Lucifer?"
"HELL NO!" he yelled under his breath. "I don't even LIVE near
those fucking things. I can throw them around, ruff them up and
slaughter some of the weaker ones into non-existence, but they
certainly aren't going to obey me just because I'm the 'Big L'."
"Fuck this." Chris stood, then began to walk towards the Cities.
"WHAT are you DOING?!" Cassiel yelled. "Get down!"
He did nothing, and kept walking forward. "I'm not giving up.
I'm going to kill Azrael. I'm going to kill Azrael, and I don't care
how I do it."
Cassiel did the only thing she could do to stop him. She tackled
his legs. Fiss waved his hands out for balance, but found none, and
slammed face-first into the sand.
"Fuck." He said, muffled.
"Sorry." Cassiel stood, brushing herself off. "But we can't just
one man against thousands of angels. It's suici..."
Fiss turned his head, his face still covered in sand. "What did
you just say?"
She blinked. "Uh...it's suicide?"
"NO!" he said, suddenly excited. As he got to his feet, he
grabbed Cass by the shoulders. "Before that!!"
"Oh..." she paused. "Well, I said we can't just pit one man
against thousands of angels."
Chris grinned.
Had he been Azrael, it would have been very creepy indeed.
However, this particular grinner had no something else in his eyes. A
spark. An idea. A plan.
"One man, eh?" he shrugged, turning around. "Not even the Man in
White?" His coat slid onto his back, replacing his wings. Indeed, it
was white. Indeed, it was a coat.
Cassiel's face was one of absolute surprise.
"Wait just a second..." she whispered.
Lucifer scrambled over to them. "It can't be...all these years?"
his gawking mouth began to change into a smile, then a full fledged,
toothy gape. "The Prophecy of Soulless Faces wasn't a warning?"
Strike Fiss smiled at them both, then in his best impression of
Beavis, retold what he knew of the Prophecy. "It will come during a
dark time. A man in white shall bring forth a plague of Ni, and the
sky shall be filled with soulless faces. All enemies will be
vanquished under these wingless skies." He cleared his throat. "Now,
is that prophecy looking more and more like a GOOD thing to you, or am
I just fucking insane?"
"You're fucking insane." Lucifer nodded. "But, we all are."
Cassiel blinked. "But...what's a 'Ni'?"
Fiss and Lucifer blinked.
"Uhh..."
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!
The final wave of soldiers fell, though once again, Raphael
stood, immune to the little 'tricks' of Michael's sword. Still, his
expression was one of admiration as he stepped into the training room.
"I am truly impressed." The old Knight smiled.
Michael wasn't nearly as humoring as he had been last time they
met. "Fuck you, Raphael." His shoulder was cut, he was exhausted from
a day of heavy battle already, and had no idea if the Senshi escaped
alive or not.
Yamato leaned up against the wall, catching his breath. His
magic pouch was almost empty now. One more round of powerful Mages and
they would be finished.
A'albiel was also suffering. A Mage caught him off guard, and
nearly disenchanted his Light Spear. It flickered on and off like a
battered light bulb. He also had a deep gash down the side of his
cheek, and a white glowing liquid seeped out much like blood would. It
was the closest thing to pain the little cherub had ever felt, and it
was not helping his ability to fight.
Of course, Raphael had all but meditated while Michael fought one
of the hardest battles in his life, and was fresh as a spring shower in
some cheesy soap commercial.
"At this moment, your forces are outnumbered by almost ten to
one." Raphael continued, letting his fellow Knight catch his breath.
"We recalled the war. Though your Hosts are also outside, you will
find that nobody will be able to reach this fortress before dawn of
next day. By then, your crusade, no matter how noble you think of it,
will be over."
"Fuck you, Raphael." Michael said again, this time in a stronger
voice. His strength was coming back quickly, out of his sheer desire
to rip Raphael in half with his toes.
"In about an hour, we will be sending our remaining three Hosts
to attack your armies from behind. It is my understanding that, while
they put up an excellent fight, the House of Bri has fewer than two
hundred of her warriors left." Raphael explained. "It will be a messy
battle, but a glorious one."
"Fuck you, Raph." Michael growled as he slowly lifted his sword
again.
"Furthermore, it seems that your 'allies' Lucifer and Cassiel
were caught in an unfortunate accident in the Gardens." Raphael sighed,
honestly sorry.
Michael's grip tightened on his sword. "Fuck. You."
Raphael smiled and brought out his own sword. The massive,
twisted chunk of metal gleamed in the artificially created light.
"And, even though you know it is hopeless, you continue to fight." He
smiled. "And that is why I will always respect you, Michael. No mater
what side you fight on."
"No." Michael growled, taking a deliberately large step forward.
"No, you don't fucking get it, Raphael." He began to growl under his
breath. "You can do whatever unholy bullshit you want, so long as you
keep bitching about the Word and the Virtues. But you never practice
them." He looked up past his bloody blade. "And for that, Raphael, I
will now, and forever, tell you to go fuck yourself until you bleed to
death in an anal fashion."
Even Raph was surprised as Michael launched himself forward,
striking down at his opponent hard. The blade dodged the block, and
sliced through the giant angel's breastplate and beard like it was
nothing.
Raphael stammered backwards as his armor snapped off and
clattered to the ground. His long white beard now cut at an ugly
angle, and the same angle was etched onto the Knight's chest in a thin,
but real line of blood.
"My words alone can not tell you..." Raphael coughed, but then
smiled. "They can not tell you how much I respect you, Michael. So my
actions will. This will be a fair battle. No tricks. No Noize. No
miracles."
"Just shut up so I can kill you." Michael wiped his brow with the
back of his hand.
Their swords clashed again; each one grunting at the effort.
Shivering, the Senshi all climbed up onto the shore. Rei quickly
lit a fire to warm them up before hypothermia set in.
"Thanks...Dave..." she chattered when she was able to breathe again.
He nodded, not shivering. His brain issuing orders to his body
like a computer, telling it to burn the fat stores immediately to get
more warmth. "Saved my ass too..." he shrugged, drying out his coat.
They sky was now a cloud of warriors. The main battles had been
recalled to the City to put the pressure on. The battle was much
slower now. The SkitZ, Vohal and Bri just barely having time to save
their own asses, let alone kill the other side.
"No more Pookies." Miharu sighed as she and Cupid chattered their
teeth. For once, because of the cold.
Hooze and Maury were almost unconscious from overexertion, but
were out of the danger zone physically. Demeter and Dave each took
care of them as they watched the war above wage on.
"How the hell did we get caught up in all of this?" Maury said
weakly, as he realized with some sense of awe that he was watching
angels fight.
"At least the trees don't bite." Andrea whispered back.
The sun was far behind them now. Only an hour, maybe two,
remained of the daylight.
Chapter 25
They call it serendipity.
A strange force that will let you discover something important,
often when you needed it most, and were thinking in the exact opposite
direction.
It brings ideas, inventions and progress in amazing leaps forward
at times. It is the mother of invention, when there is no necessity,
or when the necessity is almost too far fetched to believe.
Naw.
It was the caffeine.
Yup. Definitely the caffeine.
When ingested occasionally, this amazing drug promotes awareness,
creativity, and even arousal. Because Strike Fiss never drank coffee
every day, he suffered only those three positive side effects when he
finished his last bottle of "End of the World" reserve Jolt Cola.
And so, while wondering how he was going to sneak back one of the
soft, bouncy beds in the City of Bri for him and Rei, Chris found
himself drawing in the sand with his finger.
Cassiel and Lucifer, who were wracking their brains for answers
to the 'Ni', noticed this, and watched in fascination. "What are you
doing?" Cass asked.
Chris shrugged. "I don't know. Just drawing." He sighed,
tracing the letters 'NI' in the sand.
Luckily, that was about the time where the Creativity and
Awareness kicked in. "Hey, Lucifer." He looked up. "You can use
Theban as a literal sound alphabet, right?"
He blinked. "Uh, yeah. There is a list of sounds along with the
non-language based spells."
"I was just thinking." Fiss looked at the sand as it whispered
back little screams to him. "Maybe that Prophecy was an instruction
manual. I mean, the 'Soulless Faces' seems to be used enough to be the
official name, right?"
Cassiel and Lucifer nodded.
"So why do they have that weird chunk about 'Ni' in there? It
seems out of place." Chris pondered. With his hand, he smoothed out
the sand at his feet, then began to trace the character representing
'N' in Theban.
"But that might not do anything at all." Lucifer warned. "Sound-
based script doesn't work, unless it's used to call spirits or other
powers."
Chris carefully traced the representation of "I" under the "N".
The character for I looked almost like an upside down Omega symbol. A
'U' shape.
"Well, how about that?" he let the two experts look.
Cassiel shrugged. "It will probably just make a sound."
"Well, here goes nothing." Chris gently placed his hand over the
tiny spell, and pressed down into the sand.
Something coughed. At first, Cassiel thought it was Lucifer.
Lucifer thought it was Chris, and Chris thought it was Cassiel. They
all smiled politely and said "Bless you!"
That's when the awareness really kicked in. Chris slowly lifted
his hand, staring down at the sand.
A Ni stared back at him. Then, it blinked.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"
"SQUEEEEEEEEE!" it jumped up into the air, scared half to death.
All three of the angels scooted away from it, scared the other
half to death. "W...what the hell is THAT?!" Cassiel gasped.
Fiss leaned forward, noticing the little creature was shivering.
"It's a Ni!" he whispered.
"Ni!" the little thing replied, eyes wide.
Actually, that's basically all it was. Two large, round eyes.
They were squished flat on the side, but appeared to be actual eyes.
Little black pupils followed Chris' hand as he slowly moved it back and
forth. Four long hairs...or eyelashes...or...something...stuck out of
it's head. Below it's eyes were teeth. Sharp looking, white teeth.
However, there was no bottom jaw.
The most distinguishing feature, besides the large body to eye-
ball ratio, was it's tongue. Dark pink and human-like. It even seemed
to be capable of salivating. The entire creature was only about the
size of a large grapefruit.
Lucifer's jaw had long since dropped on the ground. "THAT is a
Ni?"
The little Ni suddenly turned as Chris shot Lucifer a mean look.
Somehow, it looked angry all of a sudden. It's eyes narrowed and
arched upwards to make the illusion of a frown.
Of course, that was nothing compared to when the Ni flew over to
the shocked Lucifer, and embedded it's teeth in his forearm.
"AAAAAAHHHH!" he screamed, grabbing at the little monster and yanking
him free from it's bite. "That FUCKING HURT!!!!"
Cassiel laughed despite herself. "Wow...not bad for a little
guy."
Chris laughed and nodded. Promptly, the Ni jetted over to
Cassiel, and began to purr like a cat. Lucifer just grumbled. "That
thing doesn't even have a penis!"
"Goes to show nobody can resist me." Cassiel grinned.
"Unless of course, it's tongue is it's penis." Chris coughed.
Cassiel's eyes shot wide open.
"So it's a Script-Creature." Lucifer sighed. "I don't see how
that little eyeball collection is going to start this prophecy."
"Ni?" Chris said suddenly.
"Ni!" the little Ni answered back.
"Can you help me make more of you?" Chris asked in slow, plain
words.
The little creature blinked. Well, it didn't actually blink,
since it had no eyelids. But the pupils seemed to disappear for a
moment.
"Are you crazy?" Cassiel blinked. "You want to make MORE of
him?"
Chris nodded. "Yes."
"What? Crazy or you want to make more?" Cassiel frowned.
He smiled. "Yes." Then, he frowned. "We are running out of
time. If we don't get to the City of Fiss soon, the war will be lost
and we'll all get tossed around in that damn spell of his."
Suddenly, the little creature dove into the sand, then flew back
up, leaving another Ni where it had landed.
"This is getting weird." Cassiel whispered.
The second Ni shook off the excess sand and it's teeth tilted up
at the sides in an odd kind of smile.
"A self-replicating Script-Creature?" Cassiel whispered.
"I...didn't know they could do that?"
"They can't!" Lucifer whispered back as the two Ni became four,
and then eight. "But these aren't like normal Script-Creatures."
"What the hell are they then?" Cass took a few steps back as a
batch of sixty-four turned into one hundred and twenty-eight.
Chris, however, was having a ball. "Ooooooh, now THIS is cool."
"Holy shit..." Lucifer's eyes went wide.
"What?!" Cass replied.
"I know what they are!" he laughed, turning to her. "These are
his Cherubim!"
Cassiel turned back to Chris and the Ni now hovering around him.
"It can't be..." she almost fell backwards as she realized how many
there were now. There had to be close to a million of the little guys.
It took only moments for them to fan out, then replicate again. "Those
are Cherubs?"
"It would explain why we could never draw a spell like that..."
Lucifer nodded. "Cherubim are an extension of the Word and the
individual Knights. Strike Fiss is not part of the original Seven. He
can do magic we've never heard of, just like he can't make an Aszap
cherub."
They watched the silent army grow, just as one of the Hosts
noticed the growing cloud of strange creatures, and decided to
investigate.
Hovering around their Knight, one of them alerted him to the
approaching angels. He nodded, understanding what they were saying the
same way he could with A'albiel.
"If they are from Azrael..." he said. "Take them out."
Three of the little Ni zoomed up into the air, meeting the force
head-on. Minutes later, one came back, and explained that not only
were they of Fiss origin, but were hostile.
"Attack." Chris said with a small grin on his face. "Let's show
these fuckers what caffeine can do."
Chapter 26
"Mmph." Michael spat out a bit of blood. "I never needed both
kidneys anyway." He took a deep breath, and launched another attack.
"YEEAHH!"
Raphael hadn't expected the younger man to recover from such a
nasty kidney punch, and had to block the series of strikes the best he
could until he hit the wall. Michael wasn't about to let that
advantage get away from himself, and pinned the larger angel against it
long enough to get one, perfect shot on his arm.
SkitZ's blade found flesh and then, found steel, pinning
Raphael's right hand to the wall right through the bone. Raphael
yelled out in pain, but didn't dare move. If he did, the wound would
only get worse.
"Good one, Michael..." Raph cringed, but then slammed his foot
into Michael's stomach, launching him backwards so far, he hit the
opposite wall.
Michael fell, coughing, but it was clear that Raphael was not
able to take advantage of the situation. He had dropped his own sword
and was now trying to take out his opponent's blade from his arm.
"Fuck! You're a bloody moose!"
With a horrible slurp, Raphael finally did pull free the sword,
and tossed it away, collapsing to his knees as he held his arm. A
small puddle of red was forming at his feet already. "You...you are
much better than you think you are, SkitZ."
"I don't care what I think." Michael crawled over to his sword.
"My head always lies to me." He slowly stood. "I don't see why you're
any different. Maybe you don't bitch at me when I'm hungry for tacos,
but that's besides the point! I want my tacos, dammit! And you're not
going to stop me now!"
Raphael didn't even bother to reach over to his sword. His arm
wasn't strong enough to pick up a katana, let alone his huge chunk of
metal. "I concede, Michael."
Michael drug his sword along the floor. "Since when do YOU
concede?" he laughed. "I thought never giving up was a Virtue.
Patience and Judgment and all that stuff."
The larger angel sighed. "Since I realize I wanted to be on your
side."
"What?" Michael blinked, almost dropping his sword.
"I've sent message to my House." He said. "They will come to
your side when this is all over. If I die, they are yours to command.
That should help you clean up anyone who is opposing you or wants
revenge for Azrael's death."
Michael actually did drop his sword this time. "You're serious,
aren't you?!"
"Azrael, from what I can tell, wants to form another Word."
Raphael continued. "Stop him. Blow this city sky high if you need to.
Save the Word we've fought for."
"A...second Word?" he turned to A'albiel who nodded, saying it
fit with what Anafiel was blabbering on about.
"Where's the focal point?" Yamato asked suddenly, running over to
Raphael.
"Up there." He pointed. "A small plot of sand. The Gardens
can't be erased, but that one can." Raphael leaned back against the
wall. "He sealed it...but there has to be a way inside. Don't go
through the tunnel. The script in there will kill anyone but him."
Yamato quickly knelt down and began to pull out medical supplies
from his kit. Raphael smiled, but shook his head. "Go. Now. I can
hold on long enough for a Mage to arrive. You, however, have to stop
this before sunset."
Michael picked up his sword and sheathed it. "You could have
decided this sooner, you know."
"I had to be sure." Raphael grimaced. "That you were the SkitZ I
knew before the Noize."
With a tiny smile, Michael turned. "Come on...let's find the
others. We still have a few hours."
They filed out of the room quickly.
Raphael sighed, ignoring the pool of blood that continued to
expand. It was probably too late anyway, but...
At least he made the right choice in the end.
Dave looked up as the sun was blocked out by a Host. "Oh man..."
The Senshi, all huddled together, out of the way of the battle,
watched as another thundering cloud of Azrael's army headed over their
heads to destroy the resistance.
"That's really overkill." Maury coughed, still smoky. "You think
they'd at least fight fair."
It was quite a shock when they heard a scream coming closer.
"eeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRGH!"
CRUNCH!
Everyone gasped as an angel slammed right onto their camp fire,
bleeding from numerous cuts on his skin. One of his wings looked
RIPPED off. Andrea thought she was seeing things and began to giggle.
"Wow, that was cool."
Rei turned to Andrea. "That really happened." She whispered as
the angel let out one last moan, then was forever silent.
Andrea was standing a second later. "WHOA! Who what when
where?"
They all looked around. The Host that just passed over them was
now headed for the City of Fiss, and seemed not to be slowing down.
"What's it doing?" Miharu wondered out loud.
A strange trail of little white and pink dots seemed to follow,
almost like a swarm of bees chasing a kid who rattled their nest.
"That..." Dave strained his eyes. "That is the WEIRDEST thing I have
ever seen!"
As if on cue, a little Ni popped out of the robes of the dead
angel on their fire. It smiled, burped, then licked it's teeth clean
before rocketing back into the sky to attack more of the Fiss army.
They all sat, staring at the dead body.
"Oooo Kaaaayy..." Demeter blinked.
"They're...biting the Fiss angels!" Dave blinked, clearing his
eyes. "There's MILLIONS of them!"
With an amazing crack, the out of control Host slammed into the
wall of the City of Fiss, finally dissipating and falling into the ice
cold water below, all the while, more of the little creatures zipped up
and down, attacking anything that was still moving under it's own free
will and owned a House of Fiss uniform.
"Hey guys." Came a familiar voice.
Everyone turned to see Strike Fiss smiling, standing with his
white trenchcoat displayed proudly. Behind him, Lucifer and Cassiel
watched the battle around them begin to change power. Their jaws were
almost dropping on the ground.
Maury stood and laughed. "What the hell did you DO?"
"Turns out I'm the Prophesized One after all." He grinned
happily. "I'd like you to meet my cherubim." He pointed to his
shoulder. On cue, a tiny Ni poked it's head out from behind Chris'
neck.
"Ni?" it blinked.
"Yup...that's defiantly the weirdest thing I've seen in a LONG
time." Dave sighed, putting back on his coat.
Azrael cringed as hundreds of bodies slammed into the thick
crystal dome, leaving blood streaks as they fell. "What in the FUCK
was that?!"
Of course, being all alone got him no answers. That was, until,
he noticed something strange attached to the dome. It had two big
eyes, a row of razor sharp teeth, and a tongue that it was using to pry
itself off of the crystal.
When it finally did, it smiled at Azrael. It was not a happy
smile, rather a grin of knowing something he did not. Then, the little
face turned tail and zipped off to join the battle.
And, far off, by the shore once again, he noticed something
strange. A tiny man wearing a white coat of some kind.
He was waving.
Azrael's eyes narrowed into slits.
Strike Fiss waved from the beach happily. He could feel the
sickening gaze of his counterpart, and KNEW he'd be able to see. It
felt good.
"Hello, butt-pumpkin." He smiled. "I'm baaaaaaack..."
Chapter 27
While the Ni were just as mortal as any cherub or angel on this
globe, their sheer numbers were staggering compared to the few that
were actually killed by a lucky sword-strike or two larger bodies
colliding and squishing a Ni or two in between.
They didn't bleed, rather, just vaporized back to sand. That
further scared the poor bastards that were being the targets of the
bites.
Though they were far from being a collective mind, the little Ni
did seem to communicate quite well, and would often set up ambushes for
some of the better Archangels or Mages who had avoided the random
strikes.
Better yet, they didn't attack the SkitZ, Bri or Vohal armies.
While the little cherubim bit and distracted their enemies, it was much
easier for the Hosts to avoid casualties and still cut down their
opponents who were now only outnumbering them five to four. That did
not include the two or three Ni that would attack each and every
opponent.
Now, with the armies taken care of, Chris looked over to the
City. "I guess it's my turn." He sighed.
"What do you mean YOUR turn?" Rei demanded. "We're ALL going to
kick the shit out him."
"Considering the spell in that place, I would prefer you all to
stay out here where it might be safe if something goes wrong." Chris
said with a stern look.
"He's right." Lucifer added. "We might be looking at the
creation of a new Hell. No matter how much I'd like some company down
in Pandemonium, this isn't the best way."
"At least if you guys are out here, you can get away if
everything goes to shit." He turned to Dave. "You know where the
doorway out of this place is, right?"
"Down the rabbit hole." Dave nodded with a grin.
"Exactly. You said yourself we need at least ONE of us to get
back. That won't happen if we're all swallowed into Hell part Deux."
Chris turned to Rei. "And I would fight a lot better knowing you're
not inside that bloody deathtrap."
"Michael and Yamato are still in there." Andrea said. "They'll
be able to help you."
"If they're still alive." Maury coughed.
Chris spread his wings and nodded. "Smoke me a kipper, skipper.
I'll be back for breakfast."
"Right, Ace." Lucifer smiled, spreading his wings. Though the
others hadn't really noticed before, his left wing was a little
smaller, still growing back from his battle with Michael.
Fiss blinked, then sighed. "You stay here too."
"Like hell!" he chucked at his own joke, but then got serious.
"You have no idea how to undo a Word spell. Even if you did read that
book. I do." He turned to Rei and the others. "Besides, I don't want
them bitching at me if you don't come back alive. I'll never hear the
end of it! Everyone always blames me. The Devil made me do it!
That's what they always say. Devil made them do it...my white ass!" he
crossed his arms. "I'm also the only other one here with the expertise
and power to be of any use to you. I'm coming with you, and I'm going
to make sure that if you die, I die too. If I don't, then I'm going to
have a shit-storm to sort out when I get back into Hell, and will
probably end up killing myself anyway."
Everyone blinked. That was quite a mouth-full. Chris hesitated,
but then shrugged. "Okay, but just you and I."
Rei stormed up to both of them. "Lucifer, you better watch out
for my Chris here. I'll do something nasty if you don't."
Lucifer bowed. "No problem."
"And YOU!" she growled at Chris yanking him around by his collar.
"You better come back alive, or I'll call you back with a spirit ward
so I can kill you again."
"Yes, honey." Chris smiled.
"Fine." Rei nodded, then gave him a quick kiss. "Now hurry up.
The sun's already setting."
With a final smile and nod, Lucifer and Strike Fiss jumped into
the air and rocketed through the still-fighting armies. A quick
thought to his cherubim alerted a dozen of the Ni to follow for backup.
"Any idea how we're going to stop him?" Lucifer asked as they
swooped up to the hole in the wall.
"I'm sure we'll think of something." Chris smiled innocently.
With a sigh, Lucifer followed him inside. A Ni smiled at the
Fallen, then began to snuggle with his shoulder, hoping to reassure him
everything would be okay. "Do you MIND?" he grumbled, scaring the Ni
away.
"Stand back." Yamato said, then activated the script.
Michael and A'albiel covered their eyes instinctively as three
lines of script on the floor lit up in a bright red light, then seemed
to jump off of the ground, colliding at a point on the wall. The
explosion was quite impressive considering no chemicals had been used.
They got lucky this time, and finally exposed the final support
beam at the corner. Raphael had been right. Inside the access tunnel
to the top level, Azrael had written some kind of protection script.
It was subtle, but powerful enough to warrant them to find another way
in.
Since each City was built on a series of giant metal beams,
acting as a frame, there had to be some kind of space between the beams
and most of the walls to allow for cooling and heat expansion. That
meant that there were also small gaps between the outer armor and the
inner walls.
"It's a really tight fit..." Yamato sighed as he poked his head
through the hole. "Any ideas?"
A'albiel mentioned he could fit through just fine.
Michael shook his head. "You'd be all alone up there."
"With all due respect, Michael." Yamato said with a sigh. "We're
running out of time. There's not a lot we can do unless at least one
of us is up there."
"What about the access tunnel?" Michael said. "There has to be a
way past that script!"
"Yes, but that would require a mimic spell. We don't have the
time, or the sand to draw something like that. Not only that, but
there's no guarantee the script wouldn't see through the disguise and
know you're an intruder."
Without any other options, A'albiel explained, he had to go.
"Fine." Michael nodded. "Get up there and wait until you see the
opportunity for an attack. We'll keep trying to find a way up."
With a little smile, the cherubim commander nodded, gave a little
salute, and then entered the hole in the wall, slowly moving up the
crack between the support and the plaster and wood making up the inner
walls. His only light was a badly flickering spear.
"Come on." Yamato sighed. "We'll try out in the hall again. We
might get lucky and find the air-ducts."
Michael followed. "What I wouldn't give for a Throne right now."
A final layer of rock stopped A'albiel's ascent. However, it was
not any special armor, and he was able to chip away at it with the
blunt end of his spear. He recognized the white and red pattern as
some kind of marble. Usually, it was used for a floor's surface! That
meant he was almost through!
He redoubled his efforts with bone jarring impacts that would
have hurt like hell had he bones to begin with. "Come on, you
sonofabitch!" he muttered out loud.
After a few more minutes of scraping and prodding with his spear,
a dull, golden red light punctured through the rock, illuminating his
face.
A'albiel stopped, and stayed back for a moment, listening for any
signs he had been heard. Everything above was silent. Once again, his
tiny baby hands began to pull away small pieces of rock above his head.
It broke off in tiny chunks at a time, and he made sure to stay
absolutely still and silent as possible. Each small crack and pull
sounded already too loud to his sensitive ears.
Soon, there was a hole big enough for him to fit through. This
was it, he thought. Slowly, he raised his head through the crack.
It was the observation dome alright. The back of his head almost
touched the massive crystal bubble over the entire area. Smooth,
marble floor stretched out before his eyes. At the very center of the
room was a small square of sand. Directly over it was some kind of
focal point for the light in the room. It was the source of the golden
light.
A quick scan of the room found Azrael. He was watching the sun
set, laying back on a small sofa. A'albiel gripped his spear tighter.
One, tiny stab, and it would all be over. Just one.
Taking one, last, deep breath, A'albiel flew.
He brought around the spear to his front and charged as fast as
his little body could go. All the while, Azrael was turned to the
setting sun.
Die...please die...
A'albiel then noticed his reflection. Oh no...
Azrael ducked easily, seeing the Cherub's attack a mile away.
Stunned, A'albiel had no time to swerve and try again. A powerful arm
shot up and a grip slid around his neck, slamming him forward into the
wall.
SMACK!
Azrael stood, holding the little man against the glassy surface
of the dome, his hands wrapped around his neck. "A Cherub?" he
growled. "They send a CHERUB?" Azrael laughed as he grabbed the spear
away from A'albiel and snapped it in half with one hand.
Shaking from the pain, A'albiel couldn't even reply
telepathically. White light oozed from his forehead as he was pressed
harder into the solid crystal.
"I wasted months over YOU?" Azrael growled. "Worrying about some
amazingly hopeless war, only to find my enemies could barely throw
stones and scream at me when it came time. I spent a dozen restless
nights with nightmares that taunted me that I would fail, and THIS IS
IT?"
A sickening crunch sounded out as Azrael lifted the shaking
little angel back, then rammed it's head back into the wall.
"I expected much more from such a foolish quest." Azrael
whispered. "But, I suppose it is all just a testament to how weak
you've all become."
He tightened his grip on A'albiel's neck. "You know as well as I
do that you will not die no matter how hard I crush you." He smiled
down at the cherub's nearly shattered face. "And I would love to
continue showing you the exquisite pain you must be feeling right now."
He lifted his head back to the sunset. "But, I'm afraid I am on a
schedule..." he grinned, throwing the little man down onto the floor.
A'albiel couldn't move as he heard a weapon being drawn. His
'neck' was crushed, and he was weak with pain coursing through his
entire body.
"Go..." he whispered. "Go to hell, Azrael..."
"I intend too." The Knight replied, then brought down his axe,
slicing the little angel in half.
Chapter 28
"How much time?" Chris gasped as they ran down the halls,
stopping only to fight the remaining opposition.
Lucifer tore the head off of a guard with his bare hands, then
sprinted forward again. "I don't know. Less than an hour, now."
"Shit." He sighed, folding back his wings to squeeze through the
hole in the wall he had sliced through. Three Ni came flying around to
him, bouncing up and down in mid-air.
"What are they saying?" Lucifer asked.
"It's Michael!" Chris smiled. "He's still here. Come on! Just
one floor up!"
"If this were any time besides the End of Reality, I would not
think that was so great of news." Lucifer followed. "But for now? I'd
probably kiss the bastard."
"He'd probably hate that more than you would." Chris smiled as
they found the air-duct. Assisted by his wings, he easily managed to
crawl up into the passageway.
Lucifer followed. "How come you're so good at crawling around in
air-ducts?"
"You get used to it after stealing diamonds." Chris smirked as
they crawled.
"You actually DID that?" Lucifer whistled. "I thought you were
just having some kind of fantasy dream when I saw that one." He
laughed. "Like the one with the thousands of naked women throwing
little pickles at you on top of the pyramid."
"Well, that one I'm saving for my honeymoon." Chris said.
They were interrupted by the sounds of battle overhead. "More
fun!" Lucy grinned.
Chris found the exit. A small floor vent that had already been
blown open wider by the Senshi earlier on. He sent his Ni on ahead to
cover them, and seconds later, he and Lucifer heard screams as the
little cherubim began to bite their opponents.
"Those things are really handy." Lucifer admitted.
"They're not bad for their size, eh?" Fiss nodded as they crawled
out of the vent and got to their feet.
Yamato and Michael watched in amazement as two little Ni finished
biting into various vital arteries and pressure points on the last
standing guard, who fell quickly after.
They looked over to see Fiss. "What the HELL are THEY!?!?"
Michael yelled, raising his sword.
"Relax." Chris nodded. "They're with me."
"Turns out the Prophecy of Soulless Faces was a GOOD thing."
Lucifer smiled as he relaxed his wing.
Yamato laughed and ran over to Chris. "I'm impressed." He gave
his grandson a quick hug.
Lucifer ran over and gave Michael a deep kiss before the Knight
could realize what was going on. "Hey SkitZ! No hug for me too?"
Michael gagged, leaning over so he could heave. "Oh MY GOD!
BLEAHH!"
"Mm, guess he's not as happy to see me as I thought." Lucifer
shrugged.
"Would it kill you to eat a MINT!!??" Michael hacked.
The two remaining Ni began to chuckle in that spooky way that
only a pair of eyeballs, hair, teeth and a tongue could.
"Okay, where to?" Chris sheathed his sword.
"Azrael's on the top level. Only problem is that it has a lot of
script stopping us from using the tunnel." Yamato explained. "You
might be able to get up there, though." He said to Chris. "But there's
no guarantees."
"Show me where."
They ran down the hall, past a disturbing amount of dead bodies.
"What the hell happened here?" Lucifer frowned as they ran.
"Did the others get out okay?" Michael blinked. "They ambushed
us."
"Yeah, everyone's back on the beach." Chris nodded. "They looked
pretty beaten up, though."
"How about the battle outside?" Michael wondered. "Raphael said
they called in more Hosts."
"Taken care of." Chris smiled. His two Ni nodded as they
followed behind. "Just worry about Azrael now."
"A'albiel isn't back yet." Yamato said quietly as they rounded
the corner. "Either he can't get through, or..."
"I know." Michael interrupted.
They had finally reached a hole through the wall, leading to a
less-finished room with a large tube stretching from the floor to
ceiling. It was etched on the outside with a gently spiraling line of
Theban.
"Damn..." Lucifer whispered, impressed at the magic. "It's an
insanity spell."
"What do you mean?" Chris blinked.
"You know all the stuff about the Noize driving you insane?
Well, that's nothing. The Noize is just a really nasty problem. This
will literally turn you into a cross between a raving, berserk lunatic
and a vegetable."
Chris tapped his sword on the hollow tube. "I can break though."
"So can I. But anyone who isn't the Knight of Fiss will be
attacked by the spell." Yamato said...then paused.
"He IS the Knight of Fiss." Michael grinned.
"Can you do that big vortex thingy?" Lucifer blinked. "If you
can, all you'd have to do is hover in the middle of the tube, and it
would break the script so the rest of us can come up."
"I..." Chris blinked. "I might be able to...but I haven't
tried."
Yamato nodded. "He might not have the power anymore. We're not
in the Sol System."
"Bullshit." Michael smiled. "He's got wings now. He doesn't
need no stinky planet." He took out his sword. "All you gotta do is
imagine the spell. The wings and your sword will do the rest, right?
It's simple."
Mike wound up and smashed his sword through the metal, ripping a
large line through it. Then, he knelt down and did it again. "SKITZ!"
he yelled, blasting the section away with a well-placed wall of sound.
Though noisy, the attack did work, and they now were looking at
the inside of the tube, where a second line of script had been drawn.
"So, if this doesn't work, I'll go insane?" Chris blinked as he
walked closer to it.
"Basically, yeah." Yamato cringed.
"Well, I'm already halfway there, so I may as well." Fiss smiled,
tucked his wings around his body, and then stepped inside.
Everyone held their breath.
Chris hovered there for as second, feeling the spell wash over
him. However, nothing strange happened. He smiled. Everyone outside
of the hole breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay. Everyone stand back."
He said, looking up. There was only a few meters of tube, then it
branched out onto another passageway without any writing on it.
His katana felt good in his hands. As it always did.
Remembering all those times in the past when he had been forced to not
only use it, but call upon what he thought to be it's most destructive
power, even now, he felt a bit of excitement.
Now, though, it was coupled with the fear that the massive
hurricane of energy was NOT it's most powerful ability. He had to
focus. Make sure he didn't start destroying Reality as well.
"STRIKE FISS!"
He closed his eyes and felt the energy start to come. This time,
it was different. Something about it was faster. More powerful. All
those times he used it before, it felt like sunshine. The stored up
power of the sun over thousands of years, collected in Saturn's rings.
This time, however, it was different. Familiar, yet alien to
him. The air around him began to thicken and charge with power, until
he could see the bright blue light through his eyelids.
It was working!
As he hovered in the middle of the tube, it began to expand
outwards silently, surrounding him with a column of light that kept
getting brighter. Finally, it came in contact with the sides of the
wall.
The simple script and metal was no match for the power of his
sword, and it began to crumble under the pressure of so much energy.
CHOOOOOOM!
Azrael fell to the ground as a massive cloud of dust exploded out
of the floor. "What the?" he coughed, shielding his eyes from the
light.
Pieces of plaster, rock and metal slid out across the floor as
the rumbling came to a stop. The entrance was now ripped up in a small
crater. Azrael found himself reaching for his axe. "What have we
here?"
Two small creatures came zooming out of the hole, brandishing
their teeth. Azrael fell backwards, but was able to slice one in half
on the way back.
The second Ni continued, though, and plowed it's little fangs
right into Azrael's elbow as he tried to block. "AAARRGH!"
While the Ni bought them time, Michael had grabbed Yamato, and
entered the now destroyed passageway with Lucifer. Then, the four of
them flew up and into the room via the hole in the floor.
Chris pulled Yamato up, then stood back as SkitZ and Lucifer
popped up one by one.
Azrael finally threw the last Ni off his arm, and met it's re-
advance with his axe, slicing it in half and returning it to sand.
Though his arm was bleeding, it wasn't cut on any vital parts. He
looked up in surprise to see four new opponents.
Each stood, now reaching for their swords, or readying other
weapons, respectively. "Miss me?" Chris smiled, spinning his katana at
his side.
His alter ego, however, was smiling. "Good..."
"Good what?" Michael frowned.
The other Knight of Fiss began walking over to the center of the
room. As he did, they noticed the light around them begin to darken.
The sun had almost set now, leaving a bright orange horizon around
them.
"You're just on time." Azrael grinned to Yamato, who swallowed
hard. Then, he smiled over at Chris. "And you brought you sword too?
How wonderful! You saved me the trouble of going through all that
rubble in the Gardens."
Chris growled, gripping the handle tighter.
Azrael's smile was illuminated by the strange, ebbing focal point
of light just above his head. "Now that everyone's all here, we can
start."
Before anyone could do anything, Azrael leaned down to the sand
beneath him and drew one last character.
Everyone was thrown back by some invisible force as the top layer
of the sand leapt into the air and wrapped around the ball of light
like a blanket. The light then began to eat away at the sand, leaving
only brilliant glowing script. They surrounded it like a shield,
swirling and mingling in a hypnotic pattern.
Michael helped them to their feet as Azrael began to laugh.
"What's he done?"
Yamato looked around in horror. "We're too late..."
Lucifer sighed. "Shit. Not again..."
Chapter 29
The battlefield was washed over with a silent, blinding white
flash. Angels and other warriors stopped their foolish battles in
surprise. Everyone turned to see the source of the light. A pinprick
of brilliant energy at the top of the distant City.
Sailor Hooze, co-guardian of Time, knew something wasn't right.
The bright flash was a dead giveaway, but she also could feel something
much deeper. Like a gut feeling. The same gut feeling she had around
the time Armageddon started.
Cassiel dropped to her knees. "They...failed..." she whispered.
"It's starting..."
Slivers of light began to appear in mid air where the spell began
to spread. Millions of them. The sky looked almost like a field of
fresh snow, full of growing cracks and light.
Dave lifted his arm in horror to see as he did, his body was
pierced by these strange cracks as well. They all were. Each one
radiating out from the City of Fiss. "They're everywhere!"
Rei and Miharu stayed close, watching as the strange 'cracks'
began to multiply. "We have to DO something!" Miharu begged, trying in
vain to grab onto one of the impossibly thin lines and pull it out of
her. They were part of Reality itself, though, and her hands and body
just passed around it.
"Time's cracking..." Andrea whispered as everyone started to
panic. Her voice was strangely calm, though. "It's all going to
explode."
"Is there anything we can do?" Rei asked Dave.
He shook his head. "Miss Hino...for the first time in my life, I
honestly have no fucking clue what to do."
"Great..." Rei smirked, even as more cracks appeared through her
body.
The area was now a haze as the needle-thin fissures spread. The
armies all stopped and quickly found ground, unsure what to do. Sounds
and light began to come slower, almost like molasses to the senses.
Andrea found herself almost slipping into sleep. Between the
exhaustion of the battle and her more fragile pregnant body, she was
about ready to give into the inviting darkness. It would be better to
face the Noize while unconscious anyways.
Sailor Pluto had told them of such things. How Time and the
Universe died. How it would crack and fold in on itself. Even now, as
the fabric of the Universe fought against the spell, the increasing
number of slivery faults showed that it would not win against...
Silence.
Only the silent, cracking universe around her.
The Senshi still stood around her, but there was no more sound.
No more movement. No more light. They were almost gone now. But,
just before Hooze fell back into nothingness...
She felt something. Something at her stomach.
A kick.
Her child.
Reality came rushing back over her as she felt it again.
"Fight..." she growled, reaching behind her back and calling forth her
Key. "One more...time..."
It materialized in her hand. The cool, gray and purple steel was
satisfyingly heavy in her gloves as she swung it around through the
air. If she hadn't been so focused, she would have noticed that as she
did, it wiped the cracks away like an eraser.
"No..." she breathed angrily, her mind now re-focused.
"Dammit...NO!"
A new light began to form. It was green and angry. Fighting
back against the slivers of white, it began to expand. Energy began to
pour around her in a small swirling tornado, now washing over the other
Senshi, who finally noticed her actions.
"Sailor Hooze!" Miharu whispered. "You can do it!"
Cupid bounced up and down. "WHOO HOOO YEAH!"
Demeter gently placed his hands over hers. "Come on, Andrea!" he
whispered. "You can do it!"
She nodded, grimacing under the strain. "Stand back..." she
replied.
Everyone watched as the slivers tried once more to get through
the green light. Andrea held onto her staff with all her strength as
she felt the Word spell begin to fight back.
"Oh no you don't..." she growled, lifting her Key over her head.
"NOOO YOU DON'T!" she formed a bright sphere around her, slamming back
the slivers. "SAILOR HOOZE! ULTIMATE DESTRUCTION PROGRAM!!!!!!!!!
NYYEEEEAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!"
CRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Across the entire land, far past where the Senshi, and even the
other Cities rested, the slivers stopped their spread. Out in the
furthest reaches of space, they stopped. All the way to the edge of
Reality, they stopped.
All at once, countless infinity of these needle thin points of
light rushed back to their origin, back to the City of Fiss, slamming
through the tiny crystal dome that had been the origin.
As they did, a sphere began to form around the City of Fiss. An
odd, black color. No...it wasn't black. It was blue, and red, and
gold. It was orange and green and silver. Every color and every
pattern melded into one, forming a giant, flickering egg around the
City as the slivers of light tried to fight it.
Thought, Reality and Time all collided and began to seal the
breach, however, and the cracks could no longer get through.
Dave watched the formation of the sphere with wide eyes as it
began to take on a strange new shape. One that few with human eyes had
ever seen before.
He watched the surface begin to shiver and change into the same
shade of black as a shadow in the most intense light would. The way
the shape began to flatten out on the top and bottom and curve into
itself.
Andrea stood there, still wrestling with her Key as it finally
faded into inactivity. Though she was shaking, she had a determined
look on her face. "HOO HAW!" she yelled out happily.
She had just created a Universe.
Chapter 30
The City was rocked by force like it had never seen before. A
deafening sound threatened to overwhelm even the Noize SkitZ knew, but
never did.
Azrael, however, was watching outside in a panic as something
began to crackle in the air around the structure, forcing back the Word
and cutting it off before it could finally take hold. "NOO!" he
screamed as the rumbling began to slow down. "WHAT'S GOING ON?!?"
"We're being cut off from the rest of the universe!" Yamato
whispered, looking out at the sky as it began to fade into darkness.
The panicking Knight of Fiss took a few steps back as he realized
what was happening. "No matter..." he growled. "All I need is here
with me!"
Lucifer had been waiting for him this time, and jumped forward
with a roar as Azrael did. However, Azrael wasn't about to let that
stop him. He brought around the blunt end of his axe and smashed it
into Lucifer's shoulder.
Despite his best efforts, Lucifer was tossed aside, completely
winded by the impact. Azrael took everyone's hesitation to his
advantage, and pressed his hand into the script-sand once again,
activating another spell.
Michael realized what it was, and grabbed Yamato and Fiss out of
the way. They fell to the ground next to Lucifer as a pillar of black
light began to extend upwards to the domed ceiling. "It's a Calling
spell?" Yamato blinked. "Why would he cast a Calling spell during a
Word?"
"What the HELL is a Calling spell?" Chris ducked as another wave
of force threw everyone back out of the way.
"It opens up a gate between the caster's position and somewhere
else..." Yamato looked up as everything got deathly quiet. "But...it's
not supposed to work outside the Universe..."
They all turned to see a square, black hole in the ground.
However, from it came forth a strange light. It wasn't even really
'light'. More like the absence of darkness.
That's when the voices came.
They were horrible. Screaming loud and infinitely soft at the
same time. Some whispered. Some laughed. Some cried and some
screamed angrily. Whatever they said, though, it was combined into
one, synchronous sound.
"Is it done?"
Azrael stood quickly as the others watched. "Yes. But I don't
know how long we have."
"Are they with you?" the voices continued.
The cold, ice blue eyes of Azrael found Chris'. "Oh yes. I
brought you everything you asked for. Yamato and the Eighth."
Both Yamato and Christopher blinked in horror.
"We have to get you out of here..." Fiss turned to his
grandfather.
"There IS no way out." Azrael screamed back at them. "Which one
of you WAS it that did this?" he pointed to the strange, flickering
blackness outside. "What is YOU, Old Man?" he growled. "I still had
things to DO in that Universe. What good is a new Heaven without an
Earth under it?"
"SILENCE!" Everyone clasped their ears as the voices screamed
and yelled. "AZRAEL! Stop this foolishness." They continued after a
pause. "You will be returned if you so wish it. As part of your
reward."
Azrael stood, letting a smile cross over his face. "Very well."
He raised his axe. "Yamato. Get in."
Yamato glared at Azrael with none of the love he used to hold for
the boy. "Never."
It wasn't about to be that easy, however, as a coil of smoke
began to rise out of the hole in the floor. Azrael stood back, but
seemed to know exactly what it was.
Chris could feel it coming long before it actually did. He
angled his sword just before it lashed out and slashed as the whip-like
smoke slid past him. The smoke simply slid around the blade, however,
and headed straight for Yamato.
"ERK!" he coughed as the black smog wrapped itself around his
neck. Then, it solidified, and turned into a gnarled organic root.
"HELP!"
Both Michael and Fiss shot their razor-sharp swords through the
appendage as it began to pull Yamato towards the hole. Both, however,
slid through without actually breaking the thing's grip.
They fell over, off balance, watching in horror as
the...thing...kept pulling their mentor towards and down into the hole.
Azrael stood, watching the whole scene with a smile. "Save
yourself the trouble...Strike Fiss, was it?"
"Shut up!" Chris growled, standing. "Make them STOP!"
"You're next, I'm afraid." Azrael sighed with mock sorrow.
"We'll need that little butter-knife too."
Chris looked at Yamato, who's eyes were wide as he was slowly
hauled into the darkness. "No..." he whispered.
Yamato shook his head. "Chris! DON'T!"
Lucifer's eyes went wide as he caught their train of thought.
"CHIRSTOPHER! DON'T!"
Azrael took a step back, not sure what to expect. Suddenly,
however, he felt a new power in the room. "What??"
"DON'T!" Yamato shook his head, even as he was almost upon the
edge of the hole.
"You'll FALL!" Lucifer yelled.
Azrael's eyes were wide as he recognized the power. "Casting
Block?"
Chris closed his eyes, held is sword...
And cut Reality.
It was instinctual, just as he had feared. A small barrier
stopped him, but slid aside at his insistence. There was no other way,
he kept telling himself. No other way. It had to be done.
Just one, tiny change.
The katana turned into pure liquid silver as it moved. Light
played off of it's surface at an incredible speed. Little notes of
pure silver light began to float around it like dust caught in
sunlight.
Everything turned into slow motion at that moment. The blade
came down, slicing through the gnarled smoke, permanently severing it.
Yamato stumbled forward in shock as the rest of it dissolved and faded
off of his neck.
He could feel it coming. Something bad, Chris thought.
Still, he had time. Just enough time, he thought as he ran. He
lunged at the crystal wall, stabbing his katana deep into the solid
rock like it was nothing...even lighter than air.
It was so easy. Frighteningly simple. It still took two hands,
though, for him to drag the blade down, cutting not only the crystal,
but the Universe as well.
Lucifer, Yamato and Michael watched in awe as beautiful golden
light flooded them. A tear in the fabric of Space-Time now shivered
before them. On the other side...they saw the beach.
The Senshi all gasped as they saw the blade of Chris' sword
puncture the black, shivering ring-shape. "What's that?" Beavis
gasped.
"He's breaking through!" Miharu cheered.
"Chris..." Yamato whispered as he watched his grandson and
student rip through the wall.
Azrael was in complete shock. Lucifer couldn't believe he
actually did it. Michael, however, yelled "RIGHT ON POKER!"
Strike Fiss turned with a smile to his friends as he swung his
sword around, free of the breach. They had a way out.
But...
His smile faded as he felt something coming. Lucifer, had to
look away, not bearing to watch and relive it. Yamato's eyes
apologized with so much sorrow that he didn't have to say anything.
"Oh no..."
Strike Fiss Fell.
Chapter 31
Every nerve in his body lit on fire. Black, charring fire, that
raced up every limb and inch of his skin, until flooding into his brain
all at once. Had the pain been that of organic nature, Chris would
have probably gone unconscious.
However, this was much worse. His soul felt like it was being
ripped in half. Mouth open in a silent scream, the four others watched
in horror as he was lifted into the air by some unseen hand.
When he finally fell back down, his wings were shaking violently
as he knelt down on the ground, trying to find breath that would not
come anytime soon.
A high-pitched scream filled the air as a new light, now no
longer from the sword, began to spread. It was not a kind light, or
one of power. It ravaged and stripped itself off of Chris' body,
pulling away like something bursting through the skin.
Desperately, Chris curled around his sword. It was the only
thing keeping him from losing his mind to the pain at this point.
As soon as it had started, it stopped.
Chris slumped to the ground, gasping for air as his shoulders
smoked from the transformation. There were no more wings.
The heavy air of silence was finally lifted by footsteps as the
three rushed to his side. Michael pulled Chris' head up, checking him
over quickly. "Chris! Come on! Wake up, man!" he shook the
smoldering boy gently.
Chris, though unable to speak, just smiled weakly, making a small
cough that could have meant 'SkitZ'.
Lucifer shot daggers at Yamato as they helped the weakened Senshi
to his knees. "You made him swear..." he whispered. It was the
closest thing to something threatening he could manage at the moment.
Yamato, however, knew exactly what he meant, and his heart just
shattered further. "I know..." he replied, shaking. Tears were
evident in his voice.
For a long time, Chris thought he was dead. Light seemed so
distant. Feeling and touch seemed like a dream, as if he was having an
out-of-body experience. Even his own body felt alien. His
wings...they were gone. He could feel them gone. The pain was fading,
but now, that left him with the horrible realization that they were no
longer there.
"Go..." he whispered, still holding his sword. It had changed
back into it's original state long ago.
The three of them did nothing.
Chris finally stood, and looked over to the flickering hole.
"Go...before it closes." He said. His voice seemed almost dead.
Lucifer nodded gravely, and grabbed Yamato with a strong grip.
"Thank you, Christopher..." he whispered.
Yamato nodded. "I'm sorry..."
"NOW!" Chris yelled, falling back down to his knees painfully.
Lucifer nodded and carried Yamato as he jumped through the tear.
Michael sighed, and helped him to his feet again. "Come on
Fissy..."
"No..." Chris smiled, looking up at SkitZ. "You too. I have to
finish things here..."
Though he looked about to protest, Michael nodded. With a quick
spin before he could change his mind, he walked towards the tear. Just
before he jumped through, however, he turned and waved with his first
two fingers. "Kick some ass, Fissy..."
He was cut off by the hole closing.
Chris collapsed, breathing just barely.
Azrael was still in shock from seeing the sight. He lay,
gasping, from the far end of the room. His axe was next to his heart,
hoping for some protection.
"You..." he shook. "What the hell ARE you?"
Strike Fiss turned his head with a sigh. "I don't know what's
worse." He coughed. "Losing my wings, or knowing that I was like you
when I had them."
Azrael stormed over to him, past the black hole, still open, in
the middle of the floor. "You are NOT me." He growled, kicking Fiss'
sword away before lifting him up by the collar.
"For once, we agree." Chris smiled weakly.
With a painful THUD, Azrael tossed Chris aside, turning back to
the hole. "You cost me Yamato." He growled. "But at least I still
have your sword."
"You have nothing." Chris replied, slowly crawling over to his
katana. "I'll make sure you stay that way."
With a glare, Azrael noticed him retrieve his weapon. "So, you
want it like that, do you?" he walked over to his end of the room and
picked up his axe. "Fine. I can play your childish games too."
Chris barely had time to duck as the blade screamed over his
head, missing it by less than an inch. Stumbling until he fell, Fiss
only just managed to get away before Azrael could try again.
He headed for something in the corner. A huge, velvet draped
object he had seen earlier, but never paid much attention to. Azrael
looked up, huffing as he watched Strike Fiss dart behind it. His lips
pursed into a thin smile. "Trying to hide now?" he walked over
casually. "I thought you would want the honorable fight to the death?"
"Who says I'm hiding?" Chris coughed from the other side. His
brain screamed for sleep, despite his best efforts to stay alert. Both
his hands shivered, even as they tried to hold his katana. "I'm just
catching my breath."
Azrael laughed. "I guess Michael was right."
Chris frowned.
"I guess I eventually DID fall, in a sense." Azrael mused to
himself. "But even I wasn't expecting YOU to Fall for me. I'm very
grateful, though."
Fiss winced as he felt his shoulders shoot pain through his body
when he leaned back against his hiding spot.
"Now, I guess you'll die." Azrael continued, mostly talking to
himself anyway. "You may have been able to rip apart those feeble
little creatures outside. The ones you called angels...but...I am not
anything LIKE them."
"You can say that again, fucker." Chris grumbled as he began to
lift himself back up off the velvet.
"Did you and your little friends honestly think you could defeat
a God?" Azrael hissed contently. "It's amazing what little ideas go
through your minds. It really is. Annoying but useful in the form of
entertainment."
"You should watch movies instead." Fiss shook his head.
"Poor Chris..." Azrael continued. "It must be especially hard
for you."
"What do you mean?" Chris frowned.
"Well, obviously." He hummed. "Growing up under the shadow of
me? It must have been very intimidating. I can see why you chose to
rebel against me."
"Shadow of YOU?" Chris hacked. "I've wanted nothing in my life
as badly than to cut you away from me! I don't want to BE you! Are
you fucking nuts? You're everything that I hate!"
Azrael frowned, but just sighed. "I sense you are confused." He
laughed to himself. "I suppose I shall put you out of your misery
now." Chris heard footsteps and quickly ran to the opposite direction,
almost falling over on the velvet covering. Azrael reached the other
side and saw nothing. He laughed again. "Oooh, he still has a spark
of life left!"
Gasping for breath that just wasn't coming fast enough, Chris
couldn't reply. His body was pleading for him to just rest. Just a
few seconds, it promised. Luckily, he never did trust sleep.
"You know you've lost your powers." Azrael said loudly. "You're
just some silly little child running from death."
Chris shook his head. "Man, this guy really likes the smell of
his own bullshit..."
"And I am the Angel of Death." Azrael continued. "You wouldn't
want to keep me waiting much longer."
Suddenly, the world rocked.
Grunting in pain, Chris opened his eyes in time to see the room
spin once, and then land against his face, floor-first. Azrael stood
on the other side of the mirror, laughing. The velvet covering had
been yanked out from under his feet. His sword skittered off into the
corner, unreachable.
"I don't believe that worked." Azrael laughed as he poked his
head out around the side.
Chris spat out blood, but luckily, was able to finally breathe
again. "Dammit...I should have done that."
Azrael strode over to him, tossing the cloth away. "Don't feel
bad." He picked Chris up by the neck once again, then spun him around,
catching him in a secure headlock. "After all, some would consider it
an honor to be killed by me."
Chris watched in the mirror as Azrael raised his axe to his
throat. Blood poured out of Azrael's mouth and his eyes as always. He
now knew that blood to be justified. "I...don't...need..." he coughed.
"I don't need wings."
With a laugh, Azrael turned to the mirror.
Then stopped laughing.
He saw himself. This time, however, he was normal. It was
definatly his reflection. In his arms, however, was not a weak,
struggling little figment from his nightmares.
"What is this...?" he whispered.
Strike Fiss looked at himself this time. Kneeling down, about to
be killed by Azrael, however, something was strange. "I don't need
wings..." he whispered to himself.
Wings. Angel.
He blinked, watching the ghostly reflection in his mind. "I
don't need wings..."
Wings. Light.
Something touched his back. Something warm and familiar. "I'll
still kill you..." Chris whispered. "Even without wings..."
Wings.
Light.
Sword.
And at that moment, the sensation came back. Somehow, Chris felt
his fingers wrap around the handle of his katana. In a smooth, quick
motion, he took the blade in his hand, spun it to point backwards, and
brought the blade back with his hands. The warm, warn leather back in
his grasp was almost as good as the sound of a blade hitting flesh.
Azrael's axe dropped as his mouth went wide in a horrified
expression. Slowly, Chris stood, still holding his sword into Azrael's
side. "I." He said quietly. "Don't NEED wings." The mirror-like
katana moved around the flesh, digging deeper as he stood.
"No..." the Knight shivered, backing up, off the sword with a
sickening sound.
With a flick of his arms, a white trenchcoat slid onto his back.
With it, the pain disappeared. Strike Fiss then picked up Azrael's axe
and walked past him as he lay, bleeding to death on the floor. He
would not live the night. No matter what spells he had.
"WAIT!" Azrael begged, clutching his side in pain. Between his
wound and his bitten arm, the pain was almost unbearable.
Fiss turned.
"Don't leave me here..." Azrael pleaded. "Bring me back."
"I don't think so." Christopher said. His voice was still weak,
but his eyes had the same piercing blue they always did. He had never
lost that.
"You owe me." Azrael said, even as Chris sliced his hole through
Reality once again. "YOU ARE ME!" he screamed, trying in vain to drag
himself closer.
With a grim smile, Strike Fiss turned, sheathing his sword as it
gently returned to it's inactive state. "Not any more."
The rip closed behind him.
Chapter 32
It had been hours now.
Days maybe. Who could tell in this strange Hell that had been
created around him. Azrael, without his Virtue, now lay in the middle
of the floor, arm shaking as he traced script into what was left of the
sand.
Even with just a little left, he might be able to do something
with it. Another calling spell. The voices would reward him, after
all. Even though he had failed. He still was useful to them.
He wanted his Heaven. Even as he bled silently. The only sounds
in the room were ragged, forced breath as he forced himself to keep
living. Living long enough to get revenge.
Crunch.
Just a little more. Maybe a few minutes more. An hour maybe.
Crack, crunch! Tink!
The sounds next to him didn't even register in his mind as he
wrote. Every thought in his twisted brain going towards salvaging all
he had worked so hard for, ever since the Noize. If only he had that
damn sword...
"Lord Azrael?"
He jumped back in surprise as Raphael's pale, but huge face
lifted out of the entrance tunnel.
"Raph...?" he whispered back, then managed a small grin.
"Raphael!"
"Where..." the large angel grunted as he lifted himself up and
onto the floor, taking a short rest before he stood. His arm was
bandaged, but covered in blood from the elbow down. "Where is
everyone?"
"They escaped." Azrael hissed. "But I am not dead yet." He
continued writing on his spell.
Raphael's eyes narrowed. "I can see that."
Oblivious, Azrael continued franticly. "Help me, dammit! We
don't have much time left!"
Raphael withdrew his sword.
Azrael looked up in horror as the massive angel began to walk
towards him. "W...what are you DOING?!?!"
"Something I should have done a long time ago." Raphael hissed.
"Before this all got out of hand."
"Raphael!" Fiss yelled. "Wait!"
"I hope..." the larger man whispered. "That you do not repent.
That way, I have a chance of never seeing you in Heaven." His sword
came down.
Azrael's crushed skull skipped across the floor, leaving a trail
of blood.
Raphael got his wish. And as he watched his own blood leave him
on the floor, he knew that his angel of death would not be Azrael.
Fading eyes widened, and suddenly grew bright as he clutched his sword
to his chest.
"I see him..."
Seven Knights Epilogue:
"Running for Home"
Chris gasped, completely winded as he fell down onto the grass.
"You're getting really heavy, you know." He groaned.
Miharu laughed, sitting on his back. "Hey! You offered! Now
get up and take me to the smith."
"Is it that time already?" Chris spread his wings carefully.
They were still sore from the traumatic experiences over a month ago,
and he didn't want to overexert them again. Even in their weakened
state, though, they managed to generate enough lift to get him and
Miharu upright, so he could continue to give her a piggyback ride.
"It's been almost five weeks!" Miharu complained. "I bet you
could make a sword faster than that!" she held onto his neck as he
walked.
"No, actually I can't." he laughed. "Yamato tried to teach me
once."
"Ahh, well, I hope he did it right. I don't want to teach using
a second-rate wakizashi."
The City of SkitZ was in full swing. Tonight was to be the
glorious First Harvest festival, and a lot had to be done. Twice as
many people now inhabited the City and surrounding provinces now.
Raphael had been telling the truth. Many of his old House were now
allied with Michael.
Luckily, the brought with them all the food Raphael had been wise
enough to store over the last five years. It would be a glorious
feast.
"I hope you realize we can't take Cupid back with us." Chris
warned as they dodged all the people who weren't flying.
"I know, dad." Miharu sighed. "It's not like I like him or
anything."
"Ahh, suuure." He teased.
"Anta baka?" Miharu frowned. "Just because I hang out with him
doesn't mean I love him. He is kind of...strange..."
Fiss shrugged and put her down as they entered the black-smith's
shop. Sounds of hammering could be heard in the back. "Whoa...deja-
vue."
"Huh?"
"Nothing." He smiled. "Let's go get his sword."
Demeter and Andrea sat outside on the cool spring plain, watching
the sun as it got closer to the mountains.
"Do you like it here, Demeter?" Hooze asked suddenly.
In the last month, any attempts to fit into her Sailor Fuku had
failed miserably thanks to her child. She was now having to wear a
dull brown cloak that pissed her off to no end.
"Yes." Demeter said simply. "It is nice, but I don't think I
would like not being able to watch summer sunrises."
Hooze smiled, but then sighed. "I was thinking about the baby."
"Mmm?"
"It's probably going to come soon." She explained. "We...should
be making plans for where we're going to live."
Demeter blinked. "Oooh!" he smiled. "Well, Beavis can teach me
carpentry, and maybe I'll just build a nursery onto a nice little one-
bedroom townhouse back in Edmonton." He smiled brightly. "You remember
that one little place?"
"No." Andrea shook her head. "I meant...where are we going
to...STAY...?" she gestured around them. "What if our child has to
stay here?"
Demeter's face dropped slightly. "Oooh..."
"You saw my brother." She nodded. "Even though he was born back
home, because he spent his childhood HERE, he had to come to the Pool
of Angels and all that bad stuff."
"I guess." Demeter nodded. "But, I thought that out kid
was...uh..." he began to blush. "Before all that."
"That's the thing." She smiled. "I'm not sure. Even Dave
wouldn't be able to guess perfectly."
"Well, uh...we'll just bring him back here when he gets those
nightmares!" Demeter proudly deduced.
"What if we can't?"
They watched the rest of the sunset in silence. "We should be
getting back." Demeter offered.
"Mmm." Andrea replied, not sure to what destination he meant.
Her arms gently held her stomach as they walked back to the City.
Lucifer and Michael watched in absolute amazement as Maury
chugged back his eighth glass of beer. "AND another thing..." he
hiccupped. "I don't get it why you guys don't have no lobsters!" his
Eastern Canadian accent was now in full swing. "Why can'tcha have da
lobsters?"
The two angels shrugged, then looked at each other and began to
laugh their asses off, also drunk. "Man, that was fucked up." Michael
snorted.
Lucifer hailed down the waiter and asked for another bottle of
wine. "Soooo, SkitZie!" he stood. "How do you like my brand-new
bottle-opener?"
"Oh no, not again." Maury laughed.
The waiter came back with a new bottle of wine, and Lucifer
promptly sliced the end of the bottle clean off, thanks to his new axe.
"Damn I love this thing!" he whooped, pouring the table another round.
Cassiel and Gabriel sat across from them, sipping their wine in a
much more dignified manner. "Amateurs." Cass smiled.
"Hey!" Michael interrupted. "Dontcha be givin my friend Lucy
here no lip!"
Everyone's jaws dropped. Even Lucifer's. "What did you just
say?"
Michael shrugged. "Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm still goinna
kill you one day." He promised happily.
Lucifer shrugged, smiled, and slammed back his mug. "Same here,
buddy."
Gabriel just laughed as the two toasted glasses. "Well, so long
as it's not today. Blood and food go horrible together."
"Unless you're a vampire." Maury said, taking another drink.
All the angels blinked. "What's a vampire?" Cassiel shrugged.
Maury sighed. "AND no VAMPIRES? You guys have a fuckin' rough
life!"
Dave woke up just long enough to mumble something incoherently,
completely blasted out of his mind after trying to keep up with Maury,
beer for beer. Then, with a light 'thunk' his head fell back to the
table.
"Heh..." Michael smiled over to Cassiel. "I don't suppose you're
doing anything tonight?"
Gabriel blinked in surprise as Cassiel blushed. "Well, at least
someone's getting some."
Of course, that night was the absolute worse night of them all
for Dave to be drunk.
Andrea and Demeter were walking back to their room, when
suddenly, she stopped in her tracks. "Oh oh..."
Demeter blinked, wondering what was wrong. "What?"
"Demeter?"
"Yeah?"
"I think we'd better get Dave up here..." she said, wide-eyed.
Fifteen minutes, and much yelling and screaming later, Dave had
barely been able to wake up. Chris was helping the best he could,
feeding him coffee, but it obviously wasn't working. Maury just sat
off to the side, drinking another beer.
"Uh..." Dave groaned. "Okay...and hot water...s'we need hot
water."
Rei ran off quickly, returning with towels and a basin of warm
water as Andrea's yells began to flood the room.
Demeter looked absolutely terrified. Probably because Andrea
kept giving him the "this is all YOUR fault! Why can't guys have the
kids!" look. "Uh...what now!?!?" he gasped.
"I DON'T KNOW!" Andrea cringed.
"Okay...uh...now..." Dave began to snore.
"AAAAAAAAAH!" Chris shook him violently. "DAMMIT! Dave! Wake
up, Dave!" he turned to Maury. "Damn you!"
Maury just shrugged and took another sip. "Can someone turn off
the car-alarm? It's loud."
Luckily, Beavis was coaching Andrea. "Don't worry, Sailor Hooze!
I've done this before!"
Andrea blinked nervously. "You've given BIRTH before??"
"Uh, no, but I've seen it happen lots of times. You're doing
great!" Beavis smiled.
"Grr." She replied.
"Mo! Dammit! DO something!" Chris demanded.
"Uh...like what?"
"I DON'T KNOW!!!!"
Demeter chose that moment to pass out and crack his head on the
floor. Luckily, his head didn't pop off again, but it still sounded
rather painful.
"AAAH!" Chris freaked out.
"AAAGH!" Dave yelled as well. "What's going on?!?!?!"
"MY SISTER IS HAVING A BABY!" Chris yelled at him. "DOOOO
SOMETHING!"
"One, two, in, out...PUSH! PUSH!" Beavis yelled.
"I'm PUSHING, DAMMIT!" Andrea restrained herself from grabbing
Beavis and throwing him across the room.
"BABY??" Dave gasped, promptly falling over on his seat. "Ouch,
my noggin!"
"JESUS! This is a bloody episode of E.R.!" Andrea yelled at
Chris and Dave. "STOP FREAKING OUT!"
"AAAAHG!"
Andrea sighed.
Rei promptly smacked Chris in the head, knocking him out of it.
"Stop that!"
Dave continued. "AAAARGH!"
"uh...guys?"
"AAARGH!" Chris replied to Dave, who looked just as freaked out.
"Guys???"
Rei sighed and just slumped over. "What do I DOOO???"
"Guys!!!?"
Maury finally joined in, forgetting where he was for a moment.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAARHG!"
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Beavis bellowed.
Everything was perfectly silent.
Except for a tiny voice crying. Beavis smiled. "The baby's
already here."
Instantly, everyone forgot about freaking out, and rushed over to
Demeter, who luckily, was there to catch his...
"It's a BOY!" Maury cheered happily, before passing out on the
floor.
Andrea just lay back, stunned, and recovering from the
experience. "Ugh...I'm getting an epidermal next time..."
Rei quickly grabbed a cloth and began to wash the child off, who
had actually stopped crying as soon as it figured out he could breathe
air. Oh yes, this was rather nice!
Dave finally had enough strength to stand up, and was smiling
brightly. "Wow! You guys did it!"
Chris just lay next to Maury, passed out.
"Mmph." Hooze sighed. "Wussies."
Demeter stood as Rei helped wrap the perfectly normal looking
baby in a towel. "Aww!" she smiled. "He's even got hair already!"
Andrea slowly sat up on the bed. "Hey, how 'bout sharing?" she
smiled.
Demeter gently passed their son over to her as Rei continued to
dry him off with a cloth. "He's beautiful!" Rei cried happily.
"I know..." Andrea whispered. "You know...you're right...he's so
cute! And fuzzy..." she took the cloth away from Rei, and began drying
his hair as he looked up at her with quizzical eyes.
SHNICK!
Everyone jumped backwards. The little baby looked up at Andrea,
now with a spiky head of hair poking through holes that it ripped
through the cloth.
Andrea blinked. "Whoa...I'm glad he wasn't like that on the way
out..."
That prompted a huge smile from her son. "Eeeehhh!"
Demeter rubbed his own spiky hair and smiled. "That's m'boy!"
Weeks after the First Harvest, the Senshi once again found
themselves at the Pool of Angels. Though they had mixed feelings about
coming back to this place, they knew that they had to do this one last
thing before going.
"Are you sure about this?" Andrea asked Michael as they walked up
to the sealed entrance.
"Yes." He nodded. "At the very least, he won't be hurt by it.
You may as well see if he's going to be an angel now instead of
waiting."
"Five bucks says the kid has wings." Maury offered.
"You're on." Beavis nodded.
"Hey!" Andrea frowned at the two, then stood back as Michael used
his sword to pry away the rock.
Chris walked over and helped, and soon, they pulled away the
large boulder. The dark entrance was now beckoning them inside.
"Ready, Hooze?"
She nodded. Demeter, Fiss and SkitZ followed her inside.
"I'm scared." Hooze admitted as they descended. "What if he
can't come back with us?"
"Hey, I was able to go back and forth." Chris shrugged. "I don't
see why he won't be able to."
"I know..." Hooze sighed. "I'm just worried."
"You'll be a good mom, then." Michael said with a reassuring
smile.
"Yeah, and I can still kick your ass." Andrea punched him in the
shoulder. Michael frowned and punched her back. Hooze frowned and
punched him again. He was about to do the same when Andrea held up her
smiling son. "Watch out! Baby!"
He grumbled and stopped.
"Heheh." Andrea chuckled evilly.
"Heheh." Her son mimicked.
"I love this kid." She smiled happily.
"Uh..." Chris smiled. "So have you and Demeter decided on a
name?"
"I want to wait until we know for sure if he's going to be all
spooky and powerful." Andrea explained. "But if he's just going to be
a normal kid, I'll name him like Brodie or Seth or something. If he's
going to have wings, I'll give him something more traditional from this
place."
"Ooh! I vote for Michael!"
Andrea punched him in the shoulder again.
"Ooow! That hurt!" Michael grumbled.
They finally reached the bottom of the walkway, finding the Pool
of Angels in much better shape than it was last time. Not only was it
full of crystal blue water, but it was up past the deeper hole, spread
out along the entire upper basin.
It was so calm and serene, like an indoor swimming pool. Chris
looked visibly relived. "At least we won't have to see if he can fly."
Hooze knelt down and smiled at her kid. "Okay, honey. Just swim
around for a moment, okay?"
The kid blinked, suddenly realizing she wanted him to go into the
water.
"Here ya go..." she gently edged him closer.
"WAHH!" he gasped, then began to struggle.
"I don't think he likes water." Demeter observed.
"Grr! HEY!" Andrea struggled to ease him in carefully. "Come
on! Just...HEY! OW! Don't bite me!! THERE!"
SPLASH! FAPAFPAPAPAPAFPFPPAPFPFPAPFPAAAP!
Her son began to frantically paddle around, making quite a wake
behind him as went around in a little circle. "EEP!"
Chris and Michael started laughing, watching Andrea now try to
retrieve her son. "Wow...he's quite wily, isn't he?" SkitZ grinned.
"Yes. I'll have to give him lots of sugar." Chris nodded. "Heh."
Andrea FINALLY managed to wrangle her son back in, who gratefully
accepted her arms and the waiting towel. "Well," she coughed out the
water he had shaken onto her. "At least he doesn't have wings." She
smiled, looking up at Michael and Chris.
Michael and Chris, however, were looking down at her son like he
had just sprouted a new head.
She looked down at him. He still only had one. "What is it??"
"Raziel!" Michael gasped.
"Bless you." Andrea smiled, but then turned to Chris, who also
looked rather serious. "What?"
Little Raziel smiled and sneezed.
"That's his name." Chris explained. "The Pool...uh...I don't
know..."
Andrea blinked, then took another look at Raziel's back.
"I...don't see any wings..."
"He's not like that..." Michael smiled. "The Pool has blessed
your son, though."
"Raziel means Secret of God." Chris explained. "The keeper of
the secrets of the Universe. Even secrets that other angels don't
know."
"Really?" Andrea looked down with a smile. Raziel smiled
brightly up at his mom, forgiving that she threw him into the water.
"That's a great name!" she held him up. "What do you think?"
Raziel tilted his head to the side, blinked, then smiled, mouth
wide open and gurgling.
They started the trek back up the side of the indent as Andrea
hugged her son. "You're goinna be a smart little bastard, aren't ya.
He he. That's right." She paused. "Oh, yeah. Heh. I guess you ARE a
bastard! Hehe."
"The most adorable little bastard I've ever seen!" Demeter said
happily.
Michael and Chris blinked as the Hooze/Demeter/Raziel family all
hugged. "Heh. Bastard." Mike grinned.
A few days later, back at the City, it was early morning. Not
just any morning, either.
Today, the Senshi would go back home.
The script was already being drawn nearby with the help of the
Mages and Uriel, who offered to lend a helping hand. Beavis and Miharu
sat on the shore, looking out over the water and the City.
"I'm going to miss this place." Miharu sighed, stretching her
back.
"I agree." Beavis smiled. "It was a nice getaway...except for
the almost dying parts."
"Well, yeah. Those I could have done without." Miharu smiled.
"But it was fun. I hope we can visit."
"Sure we will." Beavis promised. "I hear that Dave is going to
try and set-up a permanent portal between the two Universes. Andrea
will probably want to show Raziel around when he's old enough to enjoy
it." The little hedgehog yawned. "And it's probably going to be a lot
calmer when we come back."
"I heard SkitZ was going to take off for some kind of training
mission, and was going to let Cassiel and Gabriel run his House."
Miharu shrugged. "No more war. It will be nice."
The two lay there for a moment, enjoying the cool spring breeze.
The red clouds were already floating back up to the higher altitudes
they stayed at during the summer.
Suddenly, they heard a sound. A frantic buzzing noise of fast-
paced wings. Miharu sat up with a smile. "Hey, Beavis. I'll see you
back at the City, okay?"
Beavis got the subtle hint and nodded. "Don't be late. We'll be
gone in an hour." He winked, then floated off across the water.
She turned and smiled as she saw Cupid land a few meters away in
the grass. "Ohayo gozaimasu!!"
Cupid blinked, then giggled happily. "Hehe. G'mornin." He
managed to say in a nice voice. He really did seem like a normal guy
when he learned how to relax. "Uh...mechaw?"
She nodded, having learned his style of speech over the last two
months. "I wanted to give you something before we had to part." She
said, arms behind her back.
"Whoosh?"
Miharu smiled sweetly and knelt down so she could get into her
backpack. After only a second, she found the right object and pulled
it out. "Here." She smiled, handing it to him.
Cupid looked at the cloth-wrapped parcel with wide eyes as she
passed it over to him. It was long and slightly curved. He quickly
opened it to find a wakizashi sword and scabbard inside. It wasn't
very fancy, in fact, the scabbard was nothing more than a sanded piece
of wood, and the handle was the same, though crisscrossed with leather.
A small hand guard, however, was red, and in the shape of a heart.
He looked up with shimmering eyes. "T...th...ank...you...!"
She bowed. "It was no trouble." She said. "I...figured in case
you ever got tired of the bow and arrows..." she blushed slightly.
"And in case you're bored, it's something to remember me by."
Cupid was shivering in excitement, having never gotten such a
wonderful gift in his entire existence. He looked up at her with one
of the biggest, brightest smiles she had ever seen. "HOOWYAAAH!"
Miharu laughed, then smiled. "I guess you like it then."
Cupid nodded frantically.
There was a short pause as they stood there. A light wind blew
the grass at their feet. "Well, I guess I have to go..." Miharu said
softly.
Cupid nodded, his mood dropping slightly, but he seemed to
understand. "Bawbaw."
Miharu then leaned forward, catching Cupid off guard, and planted
a small kiss on his lips. She stood, blushing, but smiled at the look
on his face. She ran off with a final wave.
Cupid blinked.
Cupid then smiled. Then, his little wings went into hyper drive,
and he slingshot into the sky at mach speed. "WHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOO
HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!"
Death makes angels of us all & gives us wings
Where we had shoulders smooth as raven's claws
No more money, no more fancy dress
This other Kingdom seems by far the best
Until its other jaw reveals incest
& loose obedience to a vegetable law
I will not go
Prefer a Feast of Friends
To the Giant Family.
-Jim Morrison
**********************************************************************
**********************************************************************
There will be no more crazy talk. No more Jolt induced insanity.
No more heroes and villains with plots ranging from everything to
everything else. No more. I'm tired of writing. Consider this my
final work. This is it. The last...
HAHAHAHA! No more crazy talk? No more Jolt? You've GOT to be
kidding! I'll write until I'm 104 years old so long my fingers don't
explode from the constant typing!
Darn tootin! And when
that happens, we have other...'appendages' we can type with!
Exactly!
Anyway, on to the important stuff! Yes, this fic is slightly late.
You want to know why? CAUSE IT'S 150 PAGES LONG! ARE YOU BLOODY WELL
SATISFIED? I know I am. ^_^ Anyway, that also is the longest
epilogue I have ever written. I hope nobody minds me cutting the story
off where I did. (Make sure you read TO THE VERY END OF THIS FIC,
though...HINT HINT, NUDGE NUDGE!!) I will probably write a shorter fic
very soon, detailing the return to Earth.
Soooo, lessee...Revelations. Ahh yes. So, now, the Angel universe is
happy and recovering from the many battles over the last few years. It
will come back into the picture occasionally for sure. I love making
my own universe. Hehe. Makes me feel all godly.
Fact: Besides angels, I'm an atheist. Strange, huh?
Anyway, I hope this wasn't too strange for anyone's belief system out
there. One of the great thing about angels are the classic stories
involving them. Call me kooky, but I thought it was more than worth
it. Believe in yourself above anything else and your life will be
wonderful, whatever else you believe in. ^_^ Sailor Strike Fiss Says!
Heheh. Oh, unless you worship the Telletubbies. Then you need an
exorcism. Boo.
HOW TO CONTACT ME: Comments and Criticism are ALWAYS lovely. Even
flames. They make me laugh. Heh. Send if you know what's good for
you. Grr. ^_^
EMAIL: strikef@bigfoot.com
WEBSITE ARCHIVE: "Crystal Canada" has been up for years, and will
probably never move, thanks to the lovely people at Geocities, who even
after Yahoo's takeover, survived intact to give me free web-space.
This site will be expanding into other areas of fan fiction too, so
keep an eye out!
WEBSITE: http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/9110
And so, it is with impacted fingers but a smile on my face that I bid
you all "Ima no mosura no kazaritsuke niwa kando shimashita."
Uh...no...that means: "I am struck by the Mothra decor of your living
room"
Uh, let's just say Farewell for now. ^_^
So, STAY TUNED for the NEXT spine-tingling, ass-kicking, spleen-
slicing, nougat-laced, caffeine accelerated installment of Ninja
Crowbotics Fan-Fiction! The ONLY stories that need this disclaimer at
the end:
WARNING! Drawing in the Sand may cause serious side-effects, such as
insanity, zombies and/or mummers, nausea, loss of appetite, time-
travel, blindness, dimension-leaping, fallen angels, flying lobsters,
foot-itch, crotch-itch, the creation of the Twilight Zone, first-
degree-frostbite, a strange craving for pickled beets, and the ability
to stay up for days on end so you can read Strike Fiss' stories.
You have been warned. ^_^
***********************************************************************
Dave held his head as he walked down the hallway of the apartment
buildings. He had almost maxed out his credit card (Omega Express,
never leave quasispace without it!) to pay for the rent, but
considering what the Senshi had done for him, and indeed, the entire
universe, it was more than worth it.
Angry as hell that he hadn't called sooner, the Omega Web
promised to get very mad at him later...after they had finished
analyzing the data from the two laptops.
At least that would be a few years, Dave smiled.
In the meantime, William had told him to get some sleep. It just
didn't seem right to ditch the Senshi so soon after such a trip, and he
had decided to come and see how they were getting settled in their new
accommodations.
Not surprisingly, the first thing he heard when Miharu opened the
door, was Maury, Yamato, Andrea and Michael fighting for who's turn it
would be to use the shower next.
Michael?
"Oh COME ON!" he pleaded. "I wanna try the vertical squirt bath
next!"
Miharu laughed. "He decided to stay for a while after we showed
him the scrambled porno channels. For some reason, he seems to be able
to like them just as much as a non-scrambled channel."
"Great." Dave smiled. "Well, at least he's an easy man to
please." He yawned, then smiled. "Oh, where's your dad? I want to
give him his new laptop."
"Mmm," Miharu blinked. "I think he's sleeping."
"Sleeping?" Dave blinked. "I would have thought he'd be driving
around in Nacho until midnight." He followed the younger girl down the
hall.
It was a huge condo, actually. An entire floor with separate
rooms for each of the families that were developing. Michael and Maury
were going to bunk, mainly because of their taste in porno-channels and
their ability to drink everyone else into the ground. Yamato was
staying in one of the guest rooms until he got used to Life on Earth
again, and started up his old shop. With the younger body he had been
blessed with in the confusion, he still had many decades of sword-
smithing left in him.
It took them a moment to get to the right room. They passed
Demeter, who was looking after Raziel, showing him how to eat glass.
Oddly enough, the only non-human aspect about him seemed to be his
hair, and he occasionally had to sprinkle ground up glass onto his head
to keep him happy. Maybe only once a week. Not a bad side-effect to
the amazing cross-species relationship.
Raziel noticed Dave and Miharu walk by and quickly waved happily.
Dave waved back, getting an even bigger smile from the little boy. "He
certainly is a happy little guy." He laughed.
Miharu poked her head in. "You know where Chris and Rei are?"
Demeter nodded. "Yeah, they looked pretty tired, so I think
they're in the spare bedroom. It's already got it's bed set-up and
they crashed there."
"Thanks, Demeter." The two continued down the hall. "We're
almost moved in now." She continued. "Next week there's a whole bunch
of stuff at the parliament building, so we have to relax while we can."
"How about Sailor Moon?" Dave asked. "I didn't get much of a
chance to catch up when I dropped by the Web."
"Rei's going back on Monday." She sighed. "I'm probably going to
go to. I have some friends back at the Temple I'd like to see."
They finally came to the guest room. Dave knocked softly. No
answer, so he quietly poked his head through.
Chris and Rei lay on the bed, right in the sunlight, curled
around each other. Dave smiled to himself, then reached into his
pocket. Inside was a small, palm-top computer that he laid down next
to the lamp. "Sweet dreams, you two."
The door closed softly behind him and Miharu, leaving the two
alone.
Fiss smiled in his sleep as Rei snuggled against his chest. The
sunlight was warm. Though his wings were tucked away, they were still
with him now. His sword lay in the corner, letting little specks of
bright dust play off of it's shiny scabbard.
Most importantly, Rei was in his arms, and his dreams.
Rei could feel his heartbeat through her back as she slept. It
comforted her. Reassured her that she was not alone like in some of
her worst nightmares. It was a heart that reminded her of everyone she
loved. Miharu. Grandpa. Even a ditzy young woman who was now Neo-
Queen Serenity.
Most importantly, this was real. Her dreams told her so.
They slept the day away like that. The sun traced a lazy,
window-shaped pattern on their bodies, gently moving across them.
Tomorrow, there would be time for everything else. There would be new
adventures and challenges. There would be new things to fight for and
protect. New games to play both deadly and for fun. New opponents to
size up and beat down.
But, for now, they needed nothing more. Thoughts of chessboards
and pawns the last things on their minds.
The End.
Strike Fiss, Ninja Crowbotics, 1999. Khattam-Shud, EOF.
               (
geocities.com/tokyo/9110)                   (
geocities.com/tokyo)