Elfen High 2: Skin to Bone, Steel to Rust

[Nationstatelandsville]

Crowley paused after running through the wall. They were standing in a dark hallway. He glanced back and let his team get through as well, closing the wall behind them by using considerable effort and metalbending it shut. He panted again, already weary from his long day and having to use an art he wasn't much good with.
"Who are you? Can you help us?" "They didn't talk about this in church..."
Crowley looked in front of himself and saw the hallway went down a far, far distance. "No choice. We need to go." He said reluctantly.
"They can't help us. Not anymore."
Crowley continued walking forward "We need to get Zacheriah..." he muttered. "It isn't right here..."
"Get out, yes! Get us out!"
"I don't know how they managed to separate and control those souls, but it's no real life. But we need to find Zacheriah..." Crowley growled, repeating himself. His rage was shaking him. He needed to find and kill Zacheriah, even if it was the last thing he did. For everything he had done.
"Yes! No real life! Get us out! We need to move on! MAKE THE VOICE STOP, MAKE IT STOP!"
He had walked four feet forward when someone emerged from the hallway. "Sir." Minh said crisply. He looked exactly like he had when he had been taken just an hour ago on the submarine. "Lewis." He nodded. "It is good to see you. I wish it had been under better circumstances."

"Minh," Lewis said cheerily, complimenting it with a terse nod.

Before "Minh" had time to react or contemplate the depth of Lewis' fury and insanity, the Geography teacher pounced on him. Lewis flew straight at Minh and, connecting, wrapped his arms around his waist and brought him to the ground. While he did this, he unleashed an unearthly, blood-curdling cry that caused Forestsnow to instinctively shit himself - this noise was known to the bears as "the Howl of the Moon", a terrible sound that heralded death, just as the fabled call of the Moon warned his foes of their eminent dooms. The Moon was kind of a dick.

"Crowley!" Lewis barked, "Get the ring!"

Not entirely trusting Crowley, Lewis attempted to melt the ring with his heat vision - it would take a long time and a tremendous amount of energy to do so, and Lewis was already distracted by the struggle of holding Minh down, a struggle he was not entirely sure he was winning.

Things did not look well for him.

[Olthar]

"GROUP HUG!" Sari-chan shouted as she jumped onto Lewis, hugging him and Minh tightly.

Surely, with both her and Lewis, Minh was properly restrained. Of course, Sari-chan didn't realize that. It was just fun for her.

"I'm so happy we found Minh-sensei again! This is great! Now we can really kick that Levy-a-thong's butt!"

Sari-chan smiled cheerfully at the two men, not a care in the world in her mind.

[The Inritus Extraho]

The old man turned around loved lovingly at his pile corpses. He raised a hand and a few of the pile stood up, unshaky, decomposing and weak. But they stood. "Do not worry. These people are not dead. They remain alive in a sense."
"OH GOD MAKE IT STOP."
"Young Jade, I do wish I could hear you out and even believe you. But you will share in my knowledge, the knowledge of Leviathan himself in the new age when you join us." The man smiled, revealing old and decayed teeth. "But it's time we stop talking..."

The bodies continued to rise and stand. Then they charged in a roar (from the ones who had vocal chords), leaping, running and limping toward the soldiers and warriors, who generally could easily dispose of them- these were weak monsters, just reanimated corpses.

But when they were put down, they connected again. The parts would slide across and cojoin with any other part. This resulted in bizarre creations like a creature with the head of a giant cockroach, the body of a human, but an arm of a demon. They would be sliced down, but unless the body parts were destroyed, they'd recycle themselves. Again. And again. And again.

Jade frowned. "Your knowledge would be nice without Leviathan triumphing. But I suppose fighting is the only way." She made a sharp, cutting gesture, and then lashes of force struck out, looking like octopus tentacles of shimmering force, thicker pads at the end shooting out to wrap around the old man. "Stay a whole to talk, why don't you?" The bands snapped around to catch the old man while Jade built up more resistance for herself.

[Ameriganastan]

"GROUP HUG!" Sari-chan shouted as she jumped onto Lewis, hugging him and Minh tightly.

Surely, with both her and Lewis, Minh was properly restrained. Of course, Sari-chan didn't realize that. It was just fun for her.

"I'm so happy we found Minh-sensei again! This is great! Now we can really kick that Levy-a-thong's butt!"

Sari-chan smiled cheerfully at the two men, not a care in the world in her mind.

Laz pinched his nose his nose in annoyance.

"Sari, it is pronounced Leh-vie-uh-than. Leh-vie-uh-than. Once more, Leh-vie-uh-than. Not Levy-a-thong. Cripes, I'm the biggest dunce here, and even I can pronounce that right. Anyhow, since we found the apparently dead guy, can we go home now? Or are we suppose to do something else first?"

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Crowley was also surprised, but he was quick on the update. He ran toward Minh when Sari hugged him. "Ah. This is simpler now." He said, slowing down a bit.
"No! Watch out!"
Minh was clearly surprised at both Sari and Lewis holding him while Crowley tried to yank off the ring. Unfortunately for the others, Minh had a trick up his sleeve.

He kicked Lewis in the balls, causing the American to lose his grip. He then broke loose from Sari by rapidly turning, making the catgirl fall on her arse. Crowley growled. "Goddamn it." He ran at his biology teacher, who pulled out a pistol and fired three wild shots. That was a surprise. Minh was usually quite the good shot. Maybe there was something in him trying to resist....

Then Crowley was hit in the shoulder and distracted by the sudden pain. Looking back up, he saw Minh was running down the hall. "After him!" he roared.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The man briefly faded away into dark smoke before appearing behind Jade. "Boo." He cheerfully announced, pulling out a dagger and trying to stab her.

[Rupudska]

Yuzuki drew her fuckhuge pistol and ran after Minh. "Don't worry, I'm on it." That bastard said that Literature wasn't a subject. I'll make him eat his words. Rectally. She flicked off the safety and pointed her gun at Minh's legs. No use killing him, he could still be useful. For now. Crowley could probably turn him back to their side. Crowley could do anything, in Yuzuki's mind.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Ciel was rather surprised to see Minh appear out of nowhere. James did say that Zacheriah had put the Biology teacher under his control, though, so she stayed behind Crowley and the others and stood off to the side, holding her stolen blade tightly as she waited for Minh to somehow prove that he was back to normal now.

Such a thing did not happen.

Instead, Lewis and Sarina tried to restrain Minh so that Crowley could take his ring away from him, releasing him from Leviathan's command. Such a thing did not happen either, as Minh used a dirty trick to free himself from all three people that were trying to take the ring away.

Surprised by the firearm that Minh had pulled seemingly out of nowhere, Ciel managed to dodge one of the shots, which had gone in her direction, though judging by Minh's behavior that bit was probably unintended.

Seeing the teacher run off, Ciel gripped the blade and ran after him, slowly catching up. If she managed to jump at him and cut off his ring finger, then Minh would return to normal. A finger was probably a small price to pay. So, when the chance came, Ciel immediately jumped at Minh, with all the intention to cut his finger off.

[Ameriganastan]

Laz...just stood there, looking remarkably uninterested in the whole situation.

"Eh. They can catch him. I'm not exactly big on high speed pursuits...I mean, I could catch him if I wanted to. I just...don't want to."

He picked a bit of demon out of his teeth, and flicked it past Crowley.

"Maybe do Chinese food for lunch on Monday..."

[Hardened Pyrokinetics]

James glared at his companions. "All of you, LEAVE ALREADY." He roared at them, coughing at the end of it. He was becoming sweaty and pale, and his throat was dry. Outwardly, he'd appear to be going into shock. "Help everyone else, not me." He was seriously getting annoyed. He pointed to Randan. "You, rat. Shouldn't you be leading your troops?" He shifted focus on the medic. "You, Brownie, shouldn't you be out there making sure your comrades don't end up with a sword through the neck?" He looked at Ivy and was about to yell at her, but the words just evaporated, the only moisture in his mouth for a fleeting second. "You... Green Thumb..." He mumbled. "You can stay..."

What nobody, not even James, could see, was what was happening inside of him. Slowly, as if by some invisible hands, his kidney was closing up, the toxins leaking out of it being sealed back inside of their vessel. What had leaked out was making its way, like a directed river, towards the openings in his back and belly, to freely flow out onto the hard floor...

[The Inritus Extraho]

The man briefly faded away into dark smoke before appearing behind Jade. "Boo." He cheerfully announced, pulling out a dagger and trying to stab her.

Jade's hand came up in a twisted gesture, and then she lunged forwards faster than the sound of the dagger shattering onto her shield, that very same shield striking forwards. "Simple equation - force equals mass by acceleration." She grinned. A forty-five kilo girl moving at three hundred forty meters per second makes it approximately fifteen and a half thousand newtons, then that compressed down to a millimeter-wide blade a meter long makes it about fifteen thousand kilopascals, or a hundred and fifty times more powerful than the average weight of the earth's atmosphere. That blade, if it hit, would - easily - cut through damnably near anything.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

And the man Jade hit exploded. Seriously. He burst into flames, with body parts flying all over the place and smoke rising from the burning corpse. But the zombies kept marching on. Then a few beautiful looking humans walked out of the wall, two of them, androgynous beautiful but plainly disturbing to the eye. They were too pure and perfect looking, complete blanks aside from that. It was tough to remember or see specifics about them other than that. But now they were here, slowly moving toward Jade...
"I'm sorry..."
When Sobek hit them with his sword, slamming them a dozen feet away. "Souls." he growled. "I remember this."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Randan glared at James. "You're in serious injury and pain. I've been instructed to stay here and I will-" A pause. "You're healing." He said bluntly. "I have a good sense of smell. A very good one. I can even smell colour a dozen feet away with my eyes closed. Inside your body, you are healing. How the hell are you doing this?"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile, Ciel chopped off one of Minh's arms.

But, somehow, the wrong one. His arm fell off, dropping and rolling to the floor while he swiftly turned around and punched her in the gut with the ringed hand. He evidently pulled back his punch, since Ciel still lived and only had mild injury. But she was dropped to the floor suddenly as Minh continued running.

Crowley caught up to Ciel, picking her up and throwing her over his (uninjured) shoulder. "Your wounds aren't too bad, you'll heal quickly. He just dazed you anyway." He said quickly, ignoring Laz. Lewis could deal with the unmotivated demon.

[Hardened Pyrokinetics]

Randan glared at James. "You're in serious injury and pain. I've been instructed to stay here and I will-" A pause. "You're healing." He said bluntly. "I have a good sense of smell. A very good one. I can even smell colour a dozen feet away with my eyes closed. Inside your body, you are healing. How the hell are you doing this?"

"What?" James asked, confused. "The fuck do you mean, I'm healing?" He looked down at his still-bleeding wound. "I wouldn't call THIS healing, you stupid rat!"

Oh, quit being a baby... His inner voice suddenly cut in. You're healing. Just sit down and relax, you being an angry and stressed-out moron is not helping the process.

[Nationstatelandsville]

Meanwhile, Ciel chopped off one of Minh's arms.

But, somehow, the wrong one. His arm fell off, dropping and rolling to the floor while he swiftly turned around and punched her in the gut with the ringed hand. He evidently pulled back his punch, since Ciel still lived and only had mild injury. But she was dropped to the floor suddenly as Minh continued running.

Crowley caught up to Ciel, picking her up and throwing her over his (uninjured) shoulder. "Your wounds aren't too bad, you'll heal quickly. He just dazed you anyway." He said quickly, ignoring Laz. Lewis could deal with the unmotivated demon.

Lewis ignored Laz, simply giving him a passing cry of "Fuckin' pussy!", before chasing Minh. But then, that was how Lewis greeted everyone, including his wife this one time - it did not end well for him, nor the economy of Luxembourg.

No, Lewis had better things to do - a mad pursuit. Logically speaking, he knew he could probably be better used rousing Laz, or, hell, fighting the angels back in the city proper, but to do anything but save Minh felt wrong. Lewis wouldn't have been there if not for Minh - he would have left that day after meeting Sarina and whatsherfacethatfucksSarina... Jade? No. Whatever. He would have left that day if Minh hadn't offered him undeserved friendship. Minh had grounded Lewis to the school, chained him to its halls, and likely saved his life in doing so - as much as Lewis reviled his current existence and damned its initiators for their love and his love of them, not even that dark gremlin in his mind could face death. Death defined Lewis; he had missed the train when it left the station centuries ago, and had since spent his days desperately pursuing it on foot, whilst also wishing not to know what was inside. It could be said that, while Lewis did not wish to live, he did not wish to die. Minh had introduced him to Elfen High's more positive side, and Lewis' life had been reluctantly rejuvenated - a mere distraction from his mortal hopes, yes, but a fine one that yielded even more enriching distractions in the form of Megan and Rosalind. He owed Minh much, and now he had a chance to repay. Perhaps if he did so now, he could one day embrace death without remorse.

It was obviously a trap, even Lewis knew that; if Zacheriah aimed to stop them from capturing Minh, he would have used lethal force of Ciel, or, more to the point, simply trapped them with the turned souls. No, he wanted them to follow Minh to some place... where, Lewis could not guess, but he did not care. He preferred voluntarily entering a trap for his friend to being destroyed at the random whim of a monster.

If Lewis were to die that day, as he secretly hoped he would everyday, he would not die a debtor, that much he would ensure.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

While in mid-air, Ciel slashed downwards, and succesfully managed to cut down not Minh's ring finger, or even his hand, but rather, his entire arm. And the wrong one, to boot. How did that happen, she didn't know, she was fairly sure that she had been aiming at the right place during all of this time, but apparently, it turned out she wasn't, not at all. Was her mind playing tricks on her? And if so, why at such a crucial moment?

She had barely had any time to think about this, when Minh turned around and swiftly struck at her gut. Unable to dodge, Ciel took the hit, which caused pain to rock through her, and then fell to the ground, dropping the sword she had taken earlier and clutching her stomach with both hands. Minh's strenght was something to be reckoned with, and she was lucky to be alive after being hit by such force, though she found it hard to believe that his intentention had been to kill her, she doubted she would still be alive if that was the case.

When Crowley picked her up, Ciel didn't do anything. She couldn't do much after all, other than make sure that the two objects she currently had on her person (Well, three if you count her hat) didn't fall off. She simply nodded at what Crowley said, even though she knew he couldn't see it.

"Alright." Was all she said in response. She was still in pain, but she believed him when he said she would heal quickly. Hopefully quickly enough to not be a burden should another important fight break out.

[Constaniana]

William looked at the people walking towards Jade, feeling a sense of inexplicable terror inside. These things were wrong, there was no other way to describe it. When Sobek said what they were it didn't help calm the Englishman's dread. "You remember this? That's not something good, right?" On the other hand, it means he knows what we're dealing with, so that's always something. But still, these souls are creeping me out, and why are they moving towards Jade? William took a few steps forward, putting himself more in between Jade and the approaching souls.

[Ameriganastan]

"...What did you just call me, banjo fucker!?"

Laz ripped a random chunk of wall out, and ate it for whatever reason.

"I'll show you who's the pussy, you string plucking piece of Eye Eater dung!"

Bending at the knees, Laz took a Hulk leap. He made sure to flip Lewis off, before landing in front of Mihn, cracking his knuckles.

"Alright Mihn, you gonna come along nice and quiet, or should I rip your other arm before you'll cooperate?"

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Minh was surprised and tackled down by Laz. His arm was regenerating, but now he had a giant fatass demon holding him down. He struggled, but ultimately just stopped. "Very well then." He said emotionlessly. "You can take off the ring if you wish. Things are already in full swing." he said in a dark and disturbing voice. Crowley winced as he walked closer to Minh, intent on removing the ring.

Of course, Lewis beat him to it, which should tell you something about their respective personalities. Not sure what, but it probably tells something. Instead, Crowley merely put Ciel down on the ground.

"What's going on?" He asked the world in general, looking exhausted. "Alright. Let's get Minh back."
--------------------------------------------------------------
Randan shook his head. A rat shaking his head is truly a strange sight. "You're regenerating. I'm not sure how, but you are. So I'll stay until you're at full health. Or we can start moving now and do something productive. Up to you." He wasn't being generous now- if James could handle himself, Randan expected him to.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Suddenly, Damien felt something punch him in the back. A cloud of black smoke from the flames had appeared behind his back and a fist had burst out of it. Out of the darkness, a large monster had appeared. It was a massive black owl, it's wingspan stretching sixteen feet and it stood at seven feet tall. It had some human like features- fists, arms, so on. But it was rapidly losing those.
"Neither a myth nor fairy tale."
"I still remember." the monster growled at Damien, the fists disappearing into mere smoke. "My wrath will fall upon you. I swear this in the name of Leviathan itself."

[Nationstatelandsville]

Minh was surprised and tackled down by Laz. His arm was regenerating, but now he had a giant fatass demon holding him down. He struggled, but ultimately just stopped. "Very well then." He said emotionlessly. "You can take off the ring if you wish. Things are already in full swing." he said in a dark and disturbing voice. Crowley winced as he walked closer to Minh, intent on removing the ring.

Of course, Lewis beat him to it, which should tell you something about their respective personalities. Not sure what, but it probably tells something. Instead, Crowley merely put Ciel down on the ground.

"What's going on?" He asked the world in general, looking exhausted. "Alright. Let's get Minh back."

Lewis grabbed Minh's hand and wrenched the ring off, before slapping the half-orc.

"Don't ye' ever do that again, ye' fuckin' asshole!" Lewis snapped, "I'll kill ye' next time, don't doubt it. I'll grab your skull and rip it out of your head. I'll feed ye' your own kidneys. I'll make ye' debate economics and social responsibility with Lazrian!"

He then rose and turned to face Crowley.

"Now what?" he asked, "This is obviously a trap."

[Nude East Ireland]

Suddenly, Damien felt something punch him in the back. A cloud of black smoke from the flames had appeared behind his back and a fist had burst out of it. Out of the darkness, a large monster had appeared. It was a massive black owl, it's wingspan stretching sixteen feet and it stood at seven feet tall. It had some human like features- fists, arms, so on. But it was rapidly losing those.
"Neither a myth nor fairy tale."
"I still remember." the monster growled at Damien, the fists disappearing into mere smoke. "My wrath will fall upon you. I swear this in the name of Leviathan itself."

Damien fell to the ground, but was able to jump back up and turn to face the owl/creature. He was, to be frank, taken aback as all Hell, but nevertheless drew his sword. "What the fuck... Never mind. Who the hell are you, and why do you want me?" Quickly, he backed away, drawing his gun in the other hand and aiming it to fire at the owl, in a vein attempt to hurt it. He was unsure if bullets would actually do anything, but nonetheless tried, hoping something would work.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Still on Crowley's shoulder, Ciel heard Minh's voice, followed up by a disturbing, darker one that didn't quite seem to belong to him. She hoped that he didn't mean that the Fae would come now, regardless of their efforts.

When Crowley placed her on the ground, Ciel made an effort to get back on her feet, and then, with some more effort, walked over to Minh just as Lewis snatched the ring from Minh's finger. After Lewis was done berating the Biology teacher, Ciel spoke.

"I apologize for your arm, Mr. Taka." She said.

[Hardened Pyrokinetics]

Randan shook his head. A rat shaking his head is truly a strange sight. "You're regenerating. I'm not sure how, but you are. So I'll stay until you're at full health. Or we can start moving now and do something productive. Up to you." He wasn't being generous now- if James could handle himself, Randan expected him to.

James was about to say more, but the words disappeared. No complaining for once in your miserable life, mortal. His inner voice snapped at him. It sounded weary, for some reason. You're healing, leave it at that. Just sit your ass down for the next ten minutes, repairing a human is hard work.

The Canadian blinked several times. "I'm going crazier than Ivy did in Heavensgate..." He muttered to himself, before remembering that Ivy was close enough to hear. He looked back at her. "Uh, I mean..."

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Minh blinked. Was it quiet? Was he free?

Then he was slapped in the face.

Yep. He was free. He started laughing. Then he continued laughing loudly, leaning against the wall and madly grinning and crying with joy. "Thank you, Lewis. Thank you. It's quiet now. Leviathan's not talking." he wept, tears streaming down his face, genuine tears. This was possibly the most emotional anyone had seen him. Crowley was certainly stunned.

"It's all right." he said gently, his voice not crude and loud as it typically was. "You're safe right now, Minh. Just relax. This is like a good trip now. Take my hand and stand." he said, extending out his arm. Minh grasped it like a life perserver, using his own newly regenerated hand.

"Let's take you..."

The building suddenly shook and cracks formed in the wall.

"Home." Crowley finished, looking at the walls with dread. "Fuck."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The bullets flew into the owl, who seemed not to care. It advanced forth with quiet rage. "There are many worlds, many times. You are Damien Seward, a seeming constant throughout. One of us was destroyed and corrupted by you in one world. Now I will take my revenge in this one! I AM THE STRIX!"

It roared, flying directly at Damien- when Vidur blasted it with a flamethrower he seemed to have grabbed from nowhere. The owl howled in fury, flying backwards and on flames. Then it shook it off, flying at Vidur. It grabbed the light-skinned Indian man, flying up toward the ceiling and then dropping him to the ground.

[Nude East Ireland]

The bullets flew into the owl, who seemed not to care. It advanced forth with quiet rage. "There are many worlds, many times. You are Damien Seward, a seeming constant throughout. One of us was destroyed and corrupted by you in one world. Now I will take my revenge in this one! I AM THE STRIX!"

It roared, flying directly at Damien- when Vidur blasted it with a flamethrower he seemed to have grabbed from nowhere. The owl howled in fury, flying backwards and on flames. Then it shook it off, flying at Vidur. It grabbed the light-skinned Indian man, flying up toward the ceiling and then dropping him to the ground.

Staring, Damien blinked. "What... What the actual fuck?"

Needless to say, Damien was quite confused, and ran over to Vidur to see if he was alright. "Hey, you need to get up that thing is fucking crazy."

[Ende]

Randan shook his head. A rat shaking his head is truly a strange sight. "You're regenerating. I'm not sure how, but you are. So I'll stay until you're at full health. Or we can start moving now and do something productive. Up to you." He wasn't being generous now- if James could handle himself, Randan expected him to.

James was about to say more, but the words disappeared. No complaining for once in your miserable life, mortal. His inner voice snapped at him. It sounded weary, for some reason. You're healing, leave it at that. Just sit your ass down for the next ten minutes, repairing a human is hard work.

The Canadian blinked several times. "I'm going crazier than Ivy did in Heavensgate..." He muttered to himself, before remembering that Ivy was close enough to hear. He looked back at her. "Uh, I mean..."

"I'm crazy?"

Ivy looked at James for a moment, staring in blank disbelief. For the last few minutes, she had sat against the wall blankly, lost in her own thoughts. She had sighed in relief when she had heard the rat say that James was regenerating. Perhaps he wouldn't die, and then they could be together...but she wasn't even sure why she wanted to be with him. All she knew was that if he died, she'd be utterly alone. It wasn't as if she wasn't already, but...

She tried to ignore her thoughts again. Of course she was alone among these people, and that was a good thing. She didn't want to be one of the mortals, anyway. The mortals were...flawed? Broken? She kept telling herself that she wasn't one of them, and that it was a good thing, and she knew it was true to some extent, but, internally, she doubted that. But...even if she doubted that, and wanted to be known, and to feel friendship, it wouldn't matter anyway. None of them knew her. None of them cared. Her roommates hadn't even noticed that she had gone. She didn't have any friends. Her family believed she was dead. It was just as well, really. "I don't want to be one of them anyway." she repeated to herself inside her head as she leaned against the wall next to James, knowingly lying to herself.

Were her own thoughts the truth? Were they lies? Was there even such a thing as truth? It didn't matter. The mortals were broken, flawed...but so was she. She wished that she was an angel. They were flawless. And yet, at the same time, she wanted to be one of the humans. Of course, she was "technically" human, but, really, she wasn't one of them, and it was obvious. She wanted to feel happiness again. It had been such a long time. Her initial joy at coming back to the world had been short-lived. Her roommates had crushed it, and the exposure to humans again had just proved that the angels were right. Of course they were right.

Was she going insane? James was probably right. She was crazy. She couldn't figure out up from down. Did she want to be one of the humans? Did she not? Why did she even care about James, whether he lived or died, or what he thought about her? There was nothing that set him apart from all the rest.

But she cared anyway...and then he had called her crazy. He thought she was crazy.

He probably didn't like her. No, he definitely didn't. Why would he? Of course he didn't. Why did she think that he would? That was ridiculous. She was a fool for expecting that he might. There was no basis for that. She just didn't want to be alone.

Dejectedly, she turned aside, facing away from the group, and started to cry again, attempting to keep them from noticing. They didn't need to see her weakness, and she didn't want to show it, and she didn't want it to be there, but it was there, a consistent nagging reminder of how flawed she was.

She wasn't angel or human - she was just alone.

[Hardened Pyrokinetics]

James cast his eyes to the floor when Ivy turned away, immediately figuring out he'd fucked up royally. There was no condescending sarcasm from his inner voice, no mocking or leveling of guilt. He knew what he had said, and what he'd done.

"You two, leave." He muttered to Randan and the soldier. "Just... Leave. No arguing, not this time..."