Heaven
Balthazar sat at his desk working. It was a strange sight. An angel sitting at a contemporary office desk in a room that could only be described as a temple with its gilded columns, colored marble busts of Ancient Greek deities, and eucalyptus trees that stretched upward and poked through the balcony; filling the office with a lovely scent.
The angel hardly cared for those pagan gods. They squabbled and fought over trivial matters and were, in his opinion, lower than humans which was saying a lot. These gods think they’re the centers of the universe when in reality they were the protozoa of the cosmic balance. Still, it was amusing at times because these protozoa had an awful large impact on the world. Only a few decades ago, a young son of Zeus nearly brought the end of the world by his hand.
Balthazar skimmed through the reports brought to him by his soldiers. It was a bit irritating how he had to deal with the logistics of this army but it had to be done. Perhaps he could hire an assistant of sorts. He waved the thought aside. Assistants were overly clingy and overbearing, he frowned as he thought of Mio’s favorite apprentice.
“Sir,” an angel spoke up, stepping inside respectfully. He was of average height with raven-black hair, a plain blue tie and black suit under a large beige overcoat. “We have started to install the armor on the Phoenix.”
Balthazar nodded. Good. Progress. Although he had the archangel’s blade, he knew that would be like a toothpick up against Lucifer. The Phoenix was like a nuke and Balthazar wanted her to explode right when Lucifer rises, it probably won’t kill him but it sure as hell will slow him down. And if Arcadia goes down with the Phoenix, so be it, he never liked that place anyways.
“Good job Androzani,” Balthazar said with a smile. “Have you gotten anything on Mio, or our little rogue Oriel?”
The angle shook his head. “Mio has gone dark and Oriel… We’re not sure but we can still sense him… but it feels like there is something else there. Something powerful and old.”
Balthazar frowned. There weren’t a lot of things in the universe that was strong enough to overpower the presence of an angel. Balthazar stared at his archangel blade intently and he noticed Androzani shuffle nervously, as if he were afraid he would turn that blade on him.
“Look into it but act with discretion. There is no need to overstep our boundaries—“
“Hi, honey!”
Balthazar looked up and the worst possible thing happened. That bitch showed up. She snapped her fingers and Androzani’s eyes glowed brilliantly blue and when it faded he crumbled to the ground, passed out. She looked a bit different this time around but Balthazar recognized the psychotic look in her eyes that matched her crazed grin.
Her fiery red hair cascaded down her shoulders in almost oceanic waves that flickered with orange light like it wanted to burst out into a wildfire. She wore a black biker leather jacket with studs on her shoulders and collars over a simple black t-shirt that had a decapitated Barbie head on it. Her black jeans had holes in it like she spent her free time gutting it with a knife and her dark boots had red stains on them that Balthazar suspected wasn’t ketchup.
Balthazar got up, archangel’s blade in hand, but she glared at him and flicked her wrist toward him. An invisible force slammed him back into his seat and disarmed him. There was no way she was this strong.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Abaddon said with a predatory-grin. “I’m not here to kill you or anything. I just wanted to visit an old friend!”
Balthazar’s glare didn’t falter. He tried not to let it show how disturbed he was by her presence. By ancient laws, demons weren’t allowed in Heaven. Even if they could get in somehow, their very presence would burn up by the amount of divine magic here but she seemed perfectly fine! Her skin looked pinker than usual and smoke trailed off her coat like being here was burning her slightly but other than that she was fine.
“I should slay you right now,” Balthazar growled. Abaddon chuckled as she approached, taking a seat in front of him. “She-demon!”
“There’s no need to be mean,” Abaddon chided with a pout. “I thought we were buddies! Remember Li-Jein? Good times…”
“What do you want?” Balthazar snapped, realizing he was literally stuck to the chair now but he tried not to struggle. Abaddon grinned as if she knew how helpless he was. She leaned back and propped her feet up on his desk.
“I’m here to strike a deal,” Abaddon said casually.
“A… deal?”
“Yep!” she said. “You see, things are going well for us, in Hell. But you know, it’s Hell. So, it ain’t my favorite place to be and I’ve got the feeling that once this is all over, I won’t exactly get some retail space, ya know what I’m saying?”
Balthazar stared at her with a confused expression. Abaddon sighed and leaned forward. “They ain’t gonna give little ol’ me a piece of land for my work. I work pretty damn hard too.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“I’m thinking this,” she started, spreading her hands dramatically. “You give me the Artic and I’ll make sure you get spared.”
Balthazar laughed derisively. “What? In case you’re blind, we’re in perfect condition here. Lucifer will be put down by us, not by the mortals.”
Abaddon rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine, whatever you say. But we’ve got a few tricks up our sleeves anyways. It might help you if you have a mole on the inside.”
Balthazar considered it. With this looming civil war over his head, it would be complicated to engage in an incursion with the demons and this internal conflict depleting his resources. “Why the Artic?”
“Why do you care?” she asked. “It’s a frozen wasteland. But I want it. I help you, you help me, simple!”
“Why should I accept it? With one call, I could have the entirety of Heaven on you,” Balthazar argued. “You will be nothing but a stain on the ground.”
Abaddon sighed explosively and stood up. “Fine, fine, sheesh.” She reached over and grabbed Balthazar’s archangel blade, her hands sizzling and burning from its touch, and stabbed it through her shoulder. She winced a bit… but otherwise remained fine. Abaddon just stood there with the blade sticking right out of her.
“I’m not sure where you got this archangel blade, but look.” She gestured to the blade as if Balthazar couldn’t see. “You won’t be able to smite me, so, I doubt your little army could do anything.”
She pulled out the blade and placed it on the desk. The wound on her shoulder healed instantly. Balthazar stared at her in stunned silence.
“Now, do I have your attention?” she asked.
Balthazar swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded weakly. “Good,” she beamed. “Now then, you give me information on your angels and I’ll put in a good word for you to the big guy.”
The angel could only nod silently, his face was devoid of color and life but Abaddon took that as a resounding yes. She placed her hands on her hips and smiled broadly.
“I’ll even throw in a bonus! I can see your little… coup might not be going well, but I’ll make you look good in front of your little soldiers. They get to watch their fearless leader smite the mighty Abaddon.”
A few minutes ago
“Aw, I remember when you used to be fun,” Abaddon complained as she followed Pale One, calmly following his gait despite his frosty demeanor. “Oh wait, you were never fun.”
Paley was one of those few demons Abaddon liked, and she rarely liked anyone. Usually her way of greeting the other demons was smiting them without a word but with Paley she could never bring herself to try, she wasn’t even sure if she could smite him.
“I just dropped by to give you some info. I know how you’re a nut for knowledge,” Abaddon continued, maintaining her cheerful behavior like she was talking to a good friend. “Turns out, Gabe had some help above. Some two-bit exorcist freed her. I managed to kill off Gabe but they got away anyways.”
Abaddon stopped and focused for a second. She frowned and shook her head. “Nope, can’t sense either. The exorcist might have some ward against me, I hate Enochian…”
Despite this rather disturbing piece of information. Abaddon maintained her grin and threw her hands behind her head, laughing, probably at the prospect of skinning the exorcist that escaped her. “I can chase him down, from what I saw he’s at the big boy leagues with the lesser demons.”
Abaddon personally never heard of John Winters, but to be fair she only rose from the dead a few weeks ago, she was a bit behind the times. “BUT! What I really wanted to tell you is that I’m taking a bit of a trip upstairs. I figure if Gabe got out, that might put a ruffle in some of our feathered friends wings.”
Present Time
Abaddon dodged the first strike the angel shot out, a divine bolt of lightning that would’ve smote her easily. She snapped her fingers and the angel disappeared from sight, leaving only her and the Phoenix.
Elyse groaned as the phoenix began to writhe against her mind, as if aching to go free and run away from the mere sight of this demon.
“You’re trapped there,” Abaddon pointed out with a smile. “Wow, the last phoenix in this little flesh bag. You must be seething!”
Elyse’s eyes glowed molten red as she glared at Abaddon. “Release me, she-demon and you will see the extent of my fury!”
Abaddon considered it for a moment, tapping her chin in deep thought. “Sure!” She poked the center of Elyse’s chest and the armor melted off. Elyse fell to the ground, coughing and hacking as she tried to orientate herself. Her body finally responded to her commands.
“I always liked you,” Abaddon said. “That’s why I spared you. You had a sense of humor and you were cute to boot, Phoenix. It’s a shame your sisters didn’t get the same chance you did, and look at you now! Stuck inside some little girl! Ha!”
Elyse shot up to her feet, flames whipping off her body, melting the ground around them. She growled yet tears ran down her face. “You dare speak of my sisters after what you had done to them?!”
“To be fair,” Abaddon said calmly. “They had it coming. They were all, ‘Ooh, let’s save the planet from global warming and recycle!’ Bleh, who needs them.”
Elyse roared, fire exploding in her hands and shooting out at Abaddon in a blazing tornado. Abaddon dodged, charged, and kicked Elyse right in the chest, sending her flying across the room. Elyse landed with a thud.
“Sheesh,” Abaddon grumbled, feeling her right cheek as it was incinerated right off. “Still got a hell of a punch…”
Elyse got up, fire wrapping around her body as she breathe heavily, her eyes burning with hatred. Abaddon’s cheek healed and she crossed her arms. “I ain’t in much of a mood to fight. So here. Trapped in an eternal, fleshy cage/I name you Firebolt Elyse, the Red Mage.”
Abaddon snapped her fingers and a golden light erupted around Elyse and the flames around her died down. Her eyes rolled up to the back of her head and she passed out. Abaddon grimaced. “Pretty weak spell, I could only knock her out… Well, I hate black magic to begin with.”
Gabriel
Gabriel ignored Oriel’s quip. Humor and archangels rarely went along together. The archangels had to be the bosses of Heaven when things got rough, they were the ones everyone looked up to and considering how scattered and hectic things were, Gabriel was feeling the pressure. There was a time, millions of years ago, when Gabriel was easy-going and silly.
After all, Gabe is the youngest of the archangels and was seen as the kid of the bunch. It meant that most of the responsibilities that came with the job didn’t fall on her, it fell on her older brothers, so she didn’t have much to worry about. But with Lucifer in Hell, Raphael defecting, and Michael lost in the wind, everything fell on Gabriel and then she got captured by a bunch of demons!
She grimaced at what Michael would say if he saw her now, having to be rescued by a damned exorcist, and not just any exorcist it had to be John. Gabriel looked at Oriel, her eyes devoid of emotion. She never got the hang of facial expressions, especially considering this is her third body. She nodded as Oriel spoke and watched mutely as he conjured his weapon.
Most angels were given standard equipment, some acquired weaponry from other sources and used them instead. Gabriel never understood the prospect of human weapons especially since most angels lost them! I mean, look at Excalibur!
Gabriel rubbed her arm restlessly and glared at the ground, as if she were more than aware that she was being watched. “I was jumped,” she answered. “A very long time ago. As for Raphael…” She shook her head and shrugged helplessly. “Who knows if he even wants to help us. He was never a big fan of Father but put most of his faith in humanity. And Michael, I’m not sure, I can’t sense him even now.”
She felt helpless without her brothers, even Raphael would’ve been comforting! But without them, it was up to Gabriel to help out Heaven. She chafed under leadership but she would have to suck it up for her family and for the humans.
“But right now, we must focus on our home. After all, how can we protect humanity if we’re too busy killing each other?” Gabriel asked. Her hand filled with a blue light that brightened and exploded around the duo, when it died they were gone leaving only scorch marks.
They materialized in Heaven and the sensation of a powerful demon brushed against her mind. That was… impossible! Gabriel’s eyes widened as she looked at Oriel, no doubt he sensed the demon too. “It’s Abaddon,” she grimly said, looking toward the room where she was at.
John
“I’m here to offer you a deal,” John said, managing a gruesome smile with his bloodied lips and bruised face.
The room he was in looked like a tornado hit it. Slash marks marred the floor and walls, half the room was set on fire and the other half was encrusted with ice and frost. John was sitting up, propped against the wall, bloodied and battered but still smiling like a bastard.
Michael, the archangel, floated in front of him in the appearance of a blue, plasma-electric silhouette of a man. Energy radiated from him that made John’s inside thrum like it was made of jelly. He didn’t have a face but John could tell he was glaring at him.
“There ain’t no where you can go, mate,” he told Michael, pointing at the ceiling. There was a ward drawn in with chalk in Enochian, the language of magic, which was charmed specifically to lock down angels. “So you may as well get comfortable.”
“Release me, John,” Michael spoke, it sounded metallic and echoey, like he had bad reception where he was. “Or I will—“
“Do what?” John chuckled. “Complain a bit more? You’re trapped. So you may as well listen.”
“You have nothing of import to tell me,” Michael snapped. “I must find my vessel and stop my brother.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know all about your little soap drama spat with Lucifer—“
“Soap drama?!”
“But I’m here to offer you help. You don’t want Lucifer messing up humanity, funny story: neither do I. I’m not exactly Lucifer’s BFF.”
“Yeah, I can’t imagine why he would not like you.”
“Says the angel who booted his ass to hell.”
Waves of anger rippled off Michael and washed over John like a bad suntan, he felt like he was standing in front of the world’s most dangerous suntan bed. “You think I wanted this?!” he roared. “My own brother! And I had to banish him!”
“What’s done is done,” John said calmly. “He needs to be stopped before he gets out of control, and I’ve got just the plan.”
Michael calmed down considerable. The energy radiating from it dulled and faded slightly, so it only felt like he was standing next to an overheating engine than a bomb. Even his aura dimmed to a placid gray. “Go on.”
“I hear you’re looking for a vessel…”
Aiden
It was a bit weird seeing somebody like Doa wax philosophically. He would’ve figured a metaphor like that would be more suited toward someone… less violent? But then again, the most philosophical are the most worldly, and you can’t say Doa wasn’t worldly.
He kept his comments to himself, however, as Doa spoke. Gambling and philosophy were both subjects that bored him. Unless it involved his lovely girlfriend in suggestive scenarios, then sure! Connor made his exit after a friendly greeting with Lucy which struck him as weird.
Aiden had expected a girl like Lucy to be quiet. It seemed when she was around everyone she felt uncomfortable, like she didn’t fit in, the only ones she felt comfortable with were Aiden and Mayuka. Well, to be fair she’s quite casual with Doa whereas some would be more than a little intimidated at her; the flying brick.
But Doa and Connor had a bit of a point. It was a bit strange how comfortable he felt around Lucy, like, exceedingly comfortable. Normally, he would’ve just rescued the young girl, made sure she was somewhere safe and move on by himself. But he made it an effort to stay with her! Aiden presumed it was because he was a big brother himself and good with kids but the more he looked at Lucy the more familiar she was appearing. Like when you see someone who looks like a celebrity but you can’t pin their names down?
The prospect of sticking around with Mayuka nearly made Lucy jump up with joy. Of course the answer was yes, there wasn’t any question to ask! In fact, she assumed she was going anyways but the fact that Mayuka was so sweet as to ask nearly made her cry. As if this is the first time she’s ever experienced kindness.
Lucy just nodded with that silly grin on her face at Mayuka’s suggestion and was so excited she even grinned at Doa when the Ashford girl tried once again to mend the rocky start they got. Connor went on to explain the situation and she listened dutifully, not only to do her assigned objective but because she was genuinely curious.
Connor exuded such confidence and leadership even to these three people who was powerful beyond measure that it was almost superhuman in itself. Lucy always wondered how “normal people” could survive in the world with angels and demons and superhumans but she was seeing it now. She knew that the ancient heroes of the past were like this man.
Connor made his exit and Lucy waved goodbye, well aware that she was being stared at by Aiden. As much as she wanted to hug both him and Mayuka she maintained her cheery disposition and grinned at them.
“Bore me? Never!” she answered, taking Aiden’s hand because Mayuka was still being helped by Dead On Arrival over here.
The prospect of food made Lucy’s stomach growl mutinously. She never required much food but it didn’t mean she didn’t enjoy food itself. Like all growing children, Lucy’s appetite was pretty immense. Her mouth watered when Mayuka suggested food for two reasons. One it was FOOD, two it was food by Mayuka, perhaps her first real home-cooked meal that wasn’t made by some demon.
Lucy nodded excitingly, so hard she probably would’ve hurt her neck if she’d continued. Aiden had given her a piggy-back ride back to Section III which she rode in silence.
They got into the base and as they entered Lucy shivered as a buzz ran down her back. She felt uncomfortable, her shoulders tensed and her whole body buzzed with energy. She felt like she was being watched by a hundred people, waiting to see what she’d do and eager to jump and attack her.
Lucy tensed up her body to stay as small as she could and hugged Aiden’s arm. Aiden looked down at Lucy in slight surprise. Sure the girl was shy and a bit weird but she was calm when a bunch of demons appeared and in spite of all of this chaos. It seemed that this place just made her feel wrong. That was weird. But still, Aiden patted Lucy’s head comfortably, the little girl trembled in his arm.
“It’ll be fine,” he promised her. “This is a safe place.”
Lucy nodded but her face still look ghostly pale. It was only when the other girl showed up that Lucy relaxed. She was a pretty woman (not prettier than Mayuka, Lucy thought) who seemed completely out of place in this military base.
The woman tackle-hugged Doa, a feat that Lucy would’ve considered impressive if she liked Doa. Doa, as per usual, complained like a child which made Lucy chuckle under her breath. She took off her helmet and Lucy took a breath of relief. Aiden merely stared at Lucy and this woman strangely, why was she comfortable with her?
They followed her to the elevator and Aiden expected Lucy to be even more under stress given the claustrophobic conditions but she just stared at Asahina intently. What’s with this girl? She’s so weird.
“Nice hair,” Lucy told Asahina then went back to staring at the elevator door.
Dante
Dante felt like the world’s biggest loser. First, he decided to get himself mixed up in all of this angels-demons chaos, then he lost his freaking apprentice! Dante remembered the day Elyse first approached him. She looked so strange wearing her motorcycle helmet and goggles but she was grinning broadly and hugged Dante out of nowhere.
“You ARE real!” she had cried.
Elyse had then explained that she was a Red Mage, searching for a Black Mage to train under and she was under the assumption that Dante was a myth. A story that Mages told their kids to get them to behave. She was surprised to even find Dante!
Dante appreciated the story but told her he was retired from magic and settled into a domestic life with a little farming. But Elyse was adamant. She stayed for a week, camping about half a mile away from Dante’s home and staying there despite the harsh weather that passed through. Eventually after the third day, Dante invited Elyse to his home and offered to train her so long as she kept magic a secret from his wife.
She was a fast learner and an excellent mage to the point where she didn’t need his training. But she explained that the reason she sought him out was to get the Phoenix under control. Dante reluctantly performed a binding spell on her that would ensure the Phoenix doesn’t go nuts and things were fine…
Then she was taken from him. Right under his nose! And to make matters worse, Lupa was now a helpless puppy.
He tried not to grimace too hard when Henry mentioned Elyse. But it seemed that despite Lupa’s current condition she was still sensitive to his emotions. She squeaked in her sleep and rolled around, whimpering so much anyone would’ve thought she was properly crying.
“Elyse was…” Dante’s voice faltered. Thankfully, Naomi took over, patting Dante on the shoulder and smiling.
“Angels took her,” she explained simply. “Not ones I am aligned with, naturally. They attacked us and took her, the reasoning behind it escapes me, yet I shudder to think what they would do with the phoenix.”
Dante frowned, trying to control his anger. “She’s not the phoenix. She’s…”
But his anger subsided, like he was too tired to maintain it. “Point is,” he said. “She’s gone and Naomi is too weakened to go to Heaven. Mio is MIA as well. Also… there was this one demon who was stronger than she should’ve been.”
“Abaddon,” Naomi filled in. “She’s a Knight of Hell. Powerful, sure, but her strength was unbelievable.”
Stress and worry began to weigh on Dante’s mind as all of these problems began to crop up like mushrooms after the rain. He felt something wet on his palm and when he looked down, little Lupa was licking his thumb comfortably. The pup looked up at him lazily and for a second, Dante could’ve sworn she was smiling at him.
“That’s everything on our end, pretty much,” Dante concluded. “I guess things aren’t going too well for you lot?”
Mio
The demons surrounded Mio, hissing and gnashing their fangs at her in a number of strange languages. Mio stood in the middle of the crowd of a few million demons with her white saber sword glowing menacingly at them. She looked better than before. Her wings were fully healed and expanded to its 25 ft span and the color of her face had returned, but despite that new injuries appeared. A cut above Mio’s left eye had spilled blood over that side of her face but it didn’t diminish her almost animalistic snarl.
“Get back!” she warned, waving her sword. Wherever her sword was, the demons hissed and retreated back only slightly. Her weapon was the only reason they hadn’t attacked yet but they were gaining their composure.
“You monsters don’t realize just who you’re messing with,” Mio growled. “My children are in danger of an unknown threat and it looks like you are the only things standing in my way.”
A ripple of confusion and doubt washed over the army and they retreated back a little more. Mio grinned and took a step forward, making them back up even more. “This fight is going to happen one way or another,” she admitted. “But realize who I am and what I’m capable of then you can do the smart thing… Let someone else try first.”
Mio raised her sword and a blast of light shot down from the heavens and hit her sword causing the area around her to explode in a supernova of divine magic. Millions and millions of demons were instantly extinguished from the blast leaving only a skid mark where they were.
Mio wavered slightly, dizzily moving from side to side, trying to remain conscious. She was surprised at this attack, she had kept her presence hidden from everyone… Mio looked over her shoulder as a shiver went down her back. Was she being stalked?
She shoved those feelings to the back of her mind and her sword disappeared in a golden light. Mio set off in a light jog to the north, so far from home but she did not stop to think about the distance.
