The Fall of Elfen High (IC, Closed)

[Constaniana]

The android paused for consideration, humming softly like a computer's fan.

And then it shot the penguin in the face.

"MOVE," it ordered the rest of the penguins "YOU TOO, HUMAN."

Its partner emerged from the caravan and pointed its weapon at the others, "MARCH."

The third android walked off, leading the new "slaves" towards the barracks - a large, long building, but nowhere near large enough. It opened the door, revealing row upon row upon row of slaves in bunks. Each bed was no more than four feet wide, five feet deep, and a foot tall; just big enough to accommodate them. The feet or heads of many slaves poked out. Each bed was stacked in rows of four - the bunks went on for God knew how long. Thousands. There were six of these buildings in this camp, Silvanigra. It was a small camp.

"IN," the android ordered. It was now that the Elfen Highers realized that the beds were surrounded by the huddled masses of new arrivals, all freezing and chattering as they no doubt were by now - desert nights are harsh. These were the new arrivals, and were at least as numerous as those who were in the beds, if not more so. They had not received sleeping arrangements, nor even uniforms.

Uriel was preparing for something; what, they could not know.

Fen kept her downtrodden head bent towards the ground as she shuffled in with her companions. She was seething inside and wanting to kill everything yet horrified at the slaves' situation and so very driven to comfort them. The conflicting thoughts emanating from the duality of her mind were a static tap dance which manifested in trembling hands and supple lips pressed so tightly together that they reformed her mouth into a cruel, thin line.

Fen wasn't cold. Quite contrarily, she needn't use any of her magic to cool herself from tropical heat or warm rooms. Her spirit was far from broken as well. She saw huddled masses but the opportunist dark corner of her mind saw an army of pawns that could possibly be riled up. Thousands. It would take a charismatic voice. Perhaps William's or even Frederick's.

"Shall we get to work?" Fen muttered to her companions once she was certain the mechanical guard was well out of their hair. "I sense we might not have much time. They didn't search us. They didn't strip us down or even bother to number us. We might be moved out soon."

Her eyes surveyed the masses and she snorted. "The oppressed pray for salvation. They look for hope. We can use that to our advantage. The penguins might walk the length and spread the word, perhaps?"

Sir Nilark looked at Fen curiously. Her word choice and snort seemed quite out of character for the cheerful, naive islander he thought he was getting to know. Elfen High hadn't warped her that quickly, had it?

"What word would you have the birds spread, might I ask? Hi, we just got here, and you lot have no idea who we are, but trust us to lead you in a revolution against the robot angels with lots of guns?" William replied, shaking his head, "We're supposed to keep our heads down and be a tad secretive about our business; sending a mob of penguins to systematically spread messages is quite likely to attract unwanted attention. Why don't we start off a bit smaller and try chatting with a few of our fellow newcomers and the old-timers? You know, things regular prisoners do," he continued in a whisper.

[Nationstatelandsville]

Yuzuki looked through her large telescope from the bow of the Yamato.

"They've entered the slave base... and haven't even raised that much suspicion."

Impressive. This could actually work. Could also still go horribly wrong, but at least now there's a chance it'll work.

She pulled out a comm from her pocket.

"Yuzuki to the bridge. Commence launch preparations, and ready the fighters. We'll probably be moving soon, and I want to be ready to go the moment we need to."

It was now that Yuzuki's communications exploded into meaningless white noise; they were blocked, but only on her personal end. Her crew did not notice.

They did notice, however, when a massive hole was blasted into the side of the Yamato from a distance of approximately fifty feet, from somewhere behind a tower of discarded engines. They also noticed when a platoon of androids armed with heavy automatic weaponry and handguns appeared at that hole, flanked by two platoons of androids wielding rifles. They finally noticed when the androids entered and began to slaughter them.

Yuzuki, however, did not. All she noticed was her ship shaking violently; she could very likely peace together the rest.

Fen kept her downtrodden head bent towards the ground as she shuffled in with her companions. She was seething inside and wanting to kill everything yet horrified at the slaves' situation and so very driven to comfort them. The conflicting thoughts emanating from the duality of her mind were a static tap dance which manifested in trembling hands and supple lips pressed so tightly together that they reformed her mouth into a cruel, thin line.

Fen wasn't cold. Quite contrarily, she needn't use any of her magic to cool herself from tropical heat or warm rooms. Her spirit was far from broken as well. She saw huddled masses but the opportunist dark corner of her mind saw an army of pawns that could possibly be riled up. Thousands. It would take a charismatic voice. Perhaps William's or even Frederick's.

"Shall we get to work?" Fen muttered to her companions once she was certain the mechanical guard was well out of their hair. "I sense we might not have much time. They didn't search us. They didn't strip us down or even bother to number us. We might be moved out soon."

Her eyes surveyed the masses and she snorted. "The oppressed pray for salvation. They look for hope. We can use that to our advantage. The penguins might walk the length and spread the word, perhaps?"

Sir Nilark looked at Fen curiously. Her word choice and snort seemed quite out of character for the cheerful, naive islander he thought he was getting to know. Elfen High hadn't warped her that quickly, had it?

"What word would you have the birds spread, might I ask? Hi, we just got here, and you lot have no idea who we are, but trust us to lead you in a revolution against the robot angels with lots of guns?" William replied, shaking his head, "We're supposed to keep our heads down and be a tad secretive about our business; sending a mob of penguins to systematically spread messages is quite likely to attract unwanted attention. Why don't we start off a bit smaller and try chatting with a few of our fellow newcomers and the old-timers? You know, things regular prisoners do," he continued in a whisper.

It was now that Elfen Highers likely realized the other prisoners, in fact, had ears.

One of those not occupying a bed shushed them violently, his eyes wide with fear, and gestured silently to the bed under which he sat. He was chained to the bedpost.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Frederick followed the android into the dreadful barracks that housed thousands of enslaved souls, utterly annoyed at the loss of one of his subjects, but understanding that it was for the greater good. He could have dispatched the androids, probably, but that petty revenge would have blown their cover and ruined the whole operation, and potentially gotten him, the rest of the group and the rest of his subjects killed as well. Not worth it, definitely not worth it, when there was so much more in play at the moment. Thus he trudged along silently, entering the huge building and seeing the thousands of worn out faces populating the barracks. The captured, the abducted, the enslaved, the oppressed.

The target audience.

Frederick ignored the harsh, cold. He was rather used to it by now, having lived in the north pole for a long time, not to mention that, even before then, the touch of cold metal was ever present. Instead, he focused on thinking of how exactly all of these people could be motivated to fight against the regime. Sure, they were hoping for salvation, but few truly wished to risk their lives looking for it. He was sure that many would prefer to just wait until their oppressors were overthrown by some outside force. Sadly, that was not possible.

Amidst his thoughts, Frederick caught wind of the conversation, and decided to chime in. Or, he would have, had it not been for the fact that they were shushed by one of the prisoners. Looking down at the bedpost, Frederick saw that he was chained to it.

"That'll be troublesome." He thought out loud, before crouching down to examine the chain, testing just how strong it was. Perhaps, with his olympian strength, he could attempt to break it. He wouldn't try that now, though. For now he just wanted to assess the strength of the chain.

[Cerillium]

The prisoner's violent pantomime hadn't been lost on the Polynesian. "Mmm, good point, but how?" Fen mouthed to William. Her fingers mimicked a yammering mouth that became quickly and forcefully silenced by her opposite hand. She peered at the occupant in the bed and then knelt beside Frederick as he examined the chain.

"H'lo," her voice was no more than a sigh or the rustle of fabric as she greeted the captive on the floor beside them. She offered a reassuring smile to him and then peered at the chain in Frederick's hands.

Sir William's sword might take forever to slice through links. There were far too many chains to break by hand. But what if? And then? Oh bother this damned silence!

Fen's fingertip touched the back of Frederick's hand. A delicately thin strand of ice blossomed under her touch. It set out in spiraling patterns along his skin's surface, dancing across his knuckle in playful lines until it reached his own fingertip. The hairs caught in the frosty path stood on end. Fen poked them and they shattered. She pointed to the chain and then gestured to the other chains within sight.

"Elemental manipulation, not magic," she breathed in his ear as she brushed now-melted droplets from his skin. "Would it work to weaken the chains?"

[Nationstatelandsville]

The prisoner's violent pantomime hadn't been lost on the Polynesian. "Mmm, good point, but how?" Fen mouthed to William. Her fingers mimicked a yammering mouth that became quickly and forcefully silenced by her opposite hand. She peered at the occupant in the bed and then knelt beside Frederick as he examined the chain.

"H'lo," her voice was no more than a sigh or the rustle of fabric as she greeted the captive on the floor beside them. She offered a reassuring smile to him and then peered at the chain in Frederick's hands.

Sir William's sword might take forever to slice through links. There were far too many chains to break by hand. But what if? And then? Oh bother this damned silence!

Fen's fingertip touched the back of Frederick's hand. A delicately thin strand of ice blossomed under her touch. It set out in spiraling patterns along his skin's surface, dancing across his knuckle in playful lines until it reached his own fingertip. The hairs caught in the frosty path stood on end. Fen poked them and they shattered. She pointed to the chain and then gestured to the other chains within sight.

"Elemental manipulation, not magic," she breathed in his ear as she brushed now-melted droplets from his skin. "Would it work to weaken the chains?"

This was a mistake.

A hand shout out from the bed and gripped the chain; before Fen or Frederick could react, the hand pulled the chain back quickly and abruptly. The slave's head slammed into the bedpost, but the manacle around his throat continued to move backwards.

"Gurk!"

The corpse's eyes stared at them accusingly.

Two more hands appeared from the bed, gripping the sides and pulling from it the emaciated form of another slave. Only, it was not the one - but each and every slave in a bed. The chained slaves began to whimper, cry, and scream. The newly awoken slaves unfurled their bodies; steel collar, with a decorating red light on the right shoulder, were welded into their collarbones. Their eyes were full of dreams - they were asleep. But they were awake, answering to another's will.

They advanced towards the Elfen Highers, arms outstretched.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Calliel followed behind, very confused. And also quite horrified at the police state his home had become. And this guy came from fucking Heavensgate.

Aziraphale and Calliel moved unchallenged through the camps, before reaching their borders. Just over the fence was a pleasant-looking garden with a stone path leading up to a brick house; not gray bricks of government, but red bricks of suburbia. It was a nice house; two stories, chimney, white shutters. Very classically American.

"THE COMMANDANT," the android said simply as it unlocked a gate into the garden. It stood still.

"Well?" Aziraphale inquired.

"THE COMMANDANT."

Aziraphale frowned. The machine was under specific instructions not to leave the camp, he realized. The Android Leader - or, rather, Aziraphale himself - had prepared for this after all.

"Right," Aziraphale sighed, "Come on."

He set on down the garden path, the android watching from afar.

This could be a problem, Aziraphale thought to Calliel, The commandant is an angel. He'll be able to recognize us.

Calliel frowned. How do you plan to deal with it? We're all following your lead here. A bit of a bite in that comment. How should we disguise ourselves?

[The Inritus Extraho]

Lily looked around carefully. These books were... far older than likely anything else in the place, and that was saying something. She hoped they were protected more than the other books, because they would be so ridiculously fragile... Ah, well. "Well, any idea where we should start? I'm willing to examine them but I'd really rather have some sort of idea where to start before I begin setting off millennia-old magic-traps."

[Agritum]

Damien walked past Ivy, sheathing his sword as he did. "Good to see you too," he replied.

Damien hopped into a TIE fighter, because why the fuck not? There were dragons, so he could probably fly a god damn starfighter. Wires wrapped around his fingers, which kind of freaked him out. Wires? I'm sure there's an industry for this, he thought. He waited until the others took off, because he didn't want to be the first to be shot down. That'd be just embarrassing.

Damien wasn't.

The first guy who was shot down was a black guy in a different starfighter, because black dude dies first. After the black man had taken that sacrifice, Damien (wearing a black Egyptian body) was free to fight without worry of being the black man who died first.

They flew the TIE fighters at the dragons. They were massive beasts, snarling and roaring, their breath exploding flames on the shields of the ship. Some fire broke through the shield, landing on the surface of the ship where it began to do so damage.

Gabriel fired his missiles on his own TIE fighter at the dragons, attracting their attention. The three beasts turned their long necks and lizard-like heads toward the TIE fighters, breathing their fire upon those.

The name of that man was Idris Elba: An once famed actor who had played characters such as the Norse God Heimdall in Thor, mecha pilot Stacker Pentecost in Pacific Rim, and some black guy in The Wire. In the APS-verse, Elba had become one of Gwen's most trusted knights, famed for his chivalrous badassery and for cracking equally badass catchphrases while cutting down Fae.

APS-Elba would have quickly found himself avenged by his own Queen, who was fittingly piloting a starfighter similar to the TIE Advanced x1 used by Vader in the first Star Wars movie. Gwen promptly dodged one jet of physics-defying fire with a move deign of some old-school dogfight movie, before opening fire on the dragons.

"We should distract them and prevent them from ganging up on a singular craft and shot it down! Meanwhile, Gabriel, have you got any ideas on how to wound these creatures?" she radioed.

Lily looked around carefully. These books were... far older than likely anything else in the place, and that was saying something. She hoped they were protected more than the other books, because they would be so ridiculously fragile... Ah, well. "Well, any idea where we should start? I'm willing to examine them but I'd really rather have some sort of idea where to start before I begin setting off millennia-old magic-traps."

Grace put her hand under her chin, thinking. "Well, maybe we should search in the section for books starting with 'G' for Götterdämmerung? Or alternatively, for books authored by Fixban? If either of those indexes exist, I'd believe that the books we are searching for would be there." she replied.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Ciel grinned as she heard the angel girl's agreement to help then, and more so when she opened up a stairway beneath for them to traverse. Now that was the kind of thing one could get by asking nicely, and while she usually didn't care for it, sometimes it worked pretty well. Of course, maybe it was a trap, but hey, one couldn't just go around thinking everything was a trap without accomplishing nothing.

"Thanks, dear. You're the best." She called out to the library as she practically slid down the flight of stairs, making no use of the handrails and quickly reaching the floating room. Looking around the bookcases, she saw a tome that seemed useful enough, and moved her hand towards it to pick it up, before stopping.

"On second thought, someone else check these. They're forbidden, so they might be rigged to explode or some shit." She said. Now that was a reasonable thing to suspect from. Thus she simply stood off to the side, crossing her arms and waiting.

"Aleister?" Megan said.

"Ha!" Lewis laughed, "Hell hath no fury, Al, like a woman scorned."

Megan blushed, "No, no, not like that. I mean... I mean, if any of us can survive a trap, it's Crowley."

She narrowed her eyes and approached the headmaster, "...Al? Are you alright?"

"He's probably just got crabs again," Lewis said, waving dismissively, "Don't waste our time, nancy boy. Get this over with."

Crowley coughed. "No, it isn't that. I'm realising something..." he muttered slowly. "Someone else is here."

Daisuke's face took on a new expression. It was the emotion of a crippled bird who realised that someone on the ground was aiming a gun, and they had extremely good aim.

"That is correct." said a familiar voice gently. "Someone else is here. I'm glad to see you again, Aleister. I wish it could have been under better circumstances." Crowley turned around, his head paining as he saw Richard, as did everyone. Some may recognise him, some may not. The janitor who had lived in Elfen High until his death ten years ago, the man who Calliel and Ivy named their son after, the old prophet who was Crowley's oldest living friend and mentor.

And he was standing right there. "I suppose I owe you an explanation." Richard apologised. "But you are standing on my true body right now..."

The floating station they were standing on shook briefly, the dust and grit disappearing, revealing underneath...silver. Other parts came into view, no longer invisible. The bookshelves remained, but now they realised this platform was larger than expected. They were standing on a very large silver coloured spaceship.

Crowley stared. "I don't understand." he said simply, feeling woozy.

"My son," Richard said with the utmost gentleness. "I am so sorry. I should have been honest with you before this, before we begin making our way toward the end. But I was a coward, and a shortsighted fool. And I suppose I'm not truly who you imagined myself to be, as I had sent my avatar to live among you rather than my true self, who you meet for the first time in a long time."

---

A memory now, staring in wonder at a massive silver ship streaking the sky, firing out at large Vimanas that blackened the clear day with their numbers. Hellfire erupted out of the heavens, creating hell upon the Earth. Tears streaked Crowley's face as he stood near the volcano, screaming uselessly.

---

Richard looked regretful. "Daisuke." he said simply, and the boy looked up, his own face tormented. Richard gave a gentlemanly nod toward Ciel, a reminder of their previous encounter. "The sons of Taka and Jameson knew who I was. They didn't reveal it to people at large, nor did they reveal it to you. Crowley, I am trapped in a prison I created. I am trapped in a conflict by my own children. I have made my own hell in Heaven."

A incredulous stare from the ancient headmaster.

"I am God."

[Astrolinium]

The Sphinx blinked, and the words hit him like a wave. Immediately he landed and his body transformed back into the naked form of Peter Altier, more like shrugging off a jacket that became invisible as you shrugged it off than a proper transformation. He sat down immediately, not caring about the feel of the metal on his bare skin.

But G had been God. He'd... he'd thought it over for years, and then lain the prospect for rest, and then come back to it over the past month or so. And he'd thought very firmly that G must have been God and that God was an asshole.

This was not an asshole. Peter had seen assholes in his time -- literal and metaphorical -- and this was probably a spaceship. The two were different in that Peter didn't know anyone who particularly enjoyed licking spaceships.

This was... well, a fucking revelation. In that cold, gray voice of his, he cocked his head to the side and said, "The God?"

[Nightkill the Emperor]

The Sphinx blinked, and the words hit him like a wave. Immediately he landed and his body transformed back into the naked form of Peter Altier, more like shrugging off a jacket that became invisible as you shrugged it off than a proper transformation. He sat down immediately, not caring about the feel of the metal on his bare skin.

But G had been God. He'd... he'd thought it over for years, and then lain the prospect for rest, and then come back to it over the past month or so. And he'd thought very firmly that G must have been God and that God was an asshole.

This was not an asshole. Peter had seen assholes in his time -- literal and metaphorical -- and this was probably a spaceship. The two were different in that Peter didn't know anyone who particularly enjoyed licking spaceships.

This was... well, a fucking revelation. In that cold, gray voice of his, he cocked his head to the side and said, "The God?"

Little did Peter know that there was a small tribe on Venus who had a ritual devoted to licking spaceships.

I don't mean Venus the planet. I mean the goddess. The small tribe is literally a tribe of tiny people. The spaceships are her tits.

Richard looked at Peter with pity, understanding the shit the kid had been through. "If your definition of "the" God is Yahweh, then yes." he said. Crowley remained very silent, just staring.

[Astrolinium]

The Sphinx blinked, and the words hit him like a wave. Immediately he landed and his body transformed back into the naked form of Peter Altier, more like shrugging off a jacket that became invisible as you shrugged it off than a proper transformation. He sat down immediately, not caring about the feel of the metal on his bare skin.

But G had been God. He'd... he'd thought it over for years, and then lain the prospect for rest, and then come back to it over the past month or so. And he'd thought very firmly that G must have been God and that God was an asshole.

This was not an asshole. Peter had seen assholes in his time -- literal and metaphorical -- and this was probably a spaceship. The two were different in that Peter didn't know anyone who particularly enjoyed licking spaceships.

This was... well, a fucking revelation. In that cold, gray voice of his, he cocked his head to the side and said, "The God?"

Little did Peter know that there was a small tribe on Venus who had a ritual devoted to licking spaceships.

I don't mean Venus the planet. I mean the goddess. The small tribe is literally a tribe of tiny people. The spaceships are her tits.

Richard looked at Peter with pity, understanding the shit the kid had been through. "If your definition of "the" God is Yahweh, then yes." he said. Crowley remained very silent, just staring.

Dumbly, Peter said, "I thought you'd be taller."

It was somewhat poetic that he found himself naked in the presence of God, of course. He remembered -- or thought he remembered -- a cool sea breeze carrying the shouts of his mother.

It had been a sunny day on the coast of Maine. Or had it been a small island nation in the Mediterranean? His mother had long brown hair in a big braid, and the air tasted like salt. Peter was crying. He thought sand might have been in his eyes, but... in the memory there was a shadow looming over him and it felt red.

"Peter," his father said, "we are all naked before the Lord. There is no shame before Him."

Peter flinched and felt a sting.

He winced at the memory even now, though he could not be sure of it.

[The Inritus Extraho]

Lily just... froze. "Richard was..." she said softly, before leaning back on a support and just shaking her head. This was almost too much to be real - and if she hadn't been at Elfen High for so much of her life, she still wouldn't believe it. "I..." She shook her head, and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before looking back up, calmer than anything else.

"Richard? God? Do you know what we're here for? Can you help us?"

[Agritum]

Grace knelt down, her eyes looking at Richard inquisitively, her hands clasped together. "Are you the One God, Father Almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth, of all that is Seen and Unseen? The One Lord, Jesus Christ, only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God, Begotten, not Made, of one Being with the Father? And the Holy Ghost, the Lord, Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son?" she asked solemnly.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

As Frederick assessed the strength of the chain binding the prisoner to the bedpost, he noticed the Polynesian kneeling next to him. Next, he noticed that the hand with which he was holding the chain grew colder and colder. Again it did not bother him particularly, as it shouldn't bother the King of the North, but it was still an odd sensation, the sudden change of temperature, in his hand, and his hand only. He noticed that the girl was using her ice magic, or 'Elemental manipulation' as she later chose to call it, on his hand, demonstrating its effects before asking if it could possibly be used to weaken the links. The dragon-armed brushed the back of his hand while shrugging, about to say that he had no idea, before noticing that a hand began choking the prisoner, killing him.

He then noticed that all of the slaves who were once in beds now stood up, unchained and with collars of steel welded to their bodies. They seemed entranced, as though they were not really there. They likely weren't, as far as Frederick was concerned. But then, this was not his greatest concern.

"So, what do we do with these guys now, then?" He asked casually as he backed off, outstretching his arms at the same time as if to shield Fen and William, forcing them to back off as well.

---

Ciel watched and listened as the others spoke, currently eating a cannoli that she had pulled out of her cloak (Can't go into battle without a food reserve, that's common sense right there), when suddenly, a gentle voice spoke, silencing those of all others. It was a voice she recognized, a voice she knew, a voice she had conversed with before, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Not until she looked to where the voice originated from, at least.

Noticing the man she had spoken with during her brief out-of-body experience, Ciel returned the gentlemanly gesture with a mumbled greeting, her mouth still full of cannoli. She swallowed and then prepared to speak her mind, which was currently dominated by one thought only, with absolute disregard for any queries other people had made or were about to make.

"I told you assholes there was a spaceship here." She said. She then cleared her throat. "But anyway, you called him son? That's not literal is it?"

[Nationstatelandsville]

"NO!" all five D's screamed at once. Without thinking, he threw his hands before him, fingers outstretched. His palms glowed blue intensely for a single second, before firing a burst of blinding light outwards.

Only one of D's puppets was facing Yahweh; "Herman", the young Scotsman.

Another of his drones - "Marcuccio" the Italian - hit an approaching slave with his blast, flooring him and damaging his collar. His body fell inert.

D's own shot just barely missed Daisuke's face, scorching the wall.

"They know!" he cried, mindful to cut the feed to his other bodies, "He knows!"

Ciel watched and listened as the others spoke, currently eating a cannoli that she had pulled out of her cloak (Can't go into battle without a food reserve, that's common sense right there), when suddenly, a gentle voice spoke, silencing those of all others. It was a voice she recognized, a voice she knew, a voice she had conversed with before, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Not until she looked to where the voice originated from, at least.

Noticing the man she had spoken with during her brief out-of-body experience, Ciel returned the gentlemanly gesture with a mumbled greeting, her mouth still full of cannoli. She swallowed and then prepared to speak her mind, which was currently dominated by one thought only, with absolute disregard for any queries other people had made or were about to make.

"I told you assholes there was a spaceship here." She said. She then cleared her throat. "But anyway, you called him son? That's not literal is it?"

"It's true!" "Herman" shouted, "It's true. Crowley, listen to me... we couldn't... we needed you. It was just after the War. We couldn't lose you, the world would never have rebuilt."

Aziraphale and Calliel moved unchallenged through the camps, before reaching their borders. Just over the fence was a pleasant-looking garden with a stone path leading up to a brick house; not gray bricks of government, but red bricks of suburbia. It was a nice house; two stories, chimney, white shutters. Very classically American.

"THE COMMANDANT," the android said simply as it unlocked a gate into the garden. It stood still.

"Well?" Aziraphale inquired.

"THE COMMANDANT."

Aziraphale frowned. The machine was under specific instructions not to leave the camp, he realized. The Android Leader - or, rather, Aziraphale himself - had prepared for this after all.

"Right," Aziraphale sighed, "Come on."

He set on down the garden path, the android watching from afar.

This could be a problem, Aziraphale thought to Calliel, The commandant is an angel. He'll be able to recognize us.

Calliel frowned. How do you plan to deal with it? We're all following your lead here. A bit of a bite in that comment. How should we disguise ourselves?

Aziraphale simply knocked.

"Yes?" asked an annoyed voice from the other side, "what do you want?"

"Don't take that tone with me, you worthless mongrel bitch, or I'll have your head cut off!" Aziraphale shouted, kicking the door down, "Lord Uriel will eat you up, little man!"

Move quickly. Quickly!

"Out the damn way!" Aziraphal added, pushing past the old angel before him and throwing him to the ground. The commandant was tall, with a bent beak of a nose - he peered down at them from a set of glasses like a vulture. In this case, a rather frazzled vulture.

As for Aziraphale, he immediately moved into the commandant's living room, ignoring his screaming wive, and tore the hinges of another door from the wall - this revealed a staircase leading downwards. He took it.

The commandant glared at Calliel, pulling himself up to his feet, "Do I know you?"

[Nightkill the Emperor]

"NO!" all five D's screamed at once. Without thinking, he threw his hands before him, fingers outstretched. His palms glowed blue intensely for a single second, before firing a burst of blinding light outwards.

Only one of D's puppets was facing Yahweh; "Herman", the young Scotsman.

Another of his drones - "Marcuccio" the Italian - hit an approaching slave with his blast, flooring him and damaging his collar. His body fell inert.

D's own shot just barely missed Daisuke's face, scorching the wall.

"They know!" he cried, mindful to cut the feed to his other bodies, "He knows!"

Ciel watched and listened as the others spoke, currently eating a cannoli that she had pulled out of her cloak (Can't go into battle without a food reserve, that's common sense right there), when suddenly, a gentle voice spoke, silencing those of all others. It was a voice she recognized, a voice she knew, a voice she had conversed with before, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Not until she looked to where the voice originated from, at least.

Noticing the man she had spoken with during her brief out-of-body experience, Ciel returned the gentlemanly gesture with a mumbled greeting, her mouth still full of cannoli. She swallowed and then prepared to speak her mind, which was currently dominated by one thought only, with absolute disregard for any queries other people had made or were about to make.

"I told you assholes there was a spaceship here." She said. She then cleared her throat. "But anyway, you called him son? That's not literal is it?"

"It's true!" "Herman" shouted, "It's true. Crowley, listen to me... we couldn't... we needed you. It was just after the War. We couldn't lose you, the world would never have rebuilt."

Calliel frowned. How do you plan to deal with it? We're all following your lead here. A bit of a bite in that comment. How should we disguise ourselves?

Aziraphale simply knocked.

"Yes?" asked an annoyed voice from the other side, "what do you want?"

"Don't take that tone with me, you worthless mongrel bitch, or I'll have your head cut off!" Aziraphale shouted, kicking the door down, "Lord Uriel will eat you up, little man!"

Move quickly. Quickly!

"Out the damn way!" Aziraphal added, pushing past the old angel before him and throwing him to the ground. The commandant was tall, with a bent beak of a nose - he peered down at them from a set of glasses like a vulture. In this case, a rather frazzle d vulture.

As for Aziraphale, he immediately moved into the commandant's living room, ignoring his screaming wive, and tore the hinges of another door from the wall - this revealed a staircase leading downwards. He took it.

The commandant glared at Calliel, pulling himself up to his feet, "Do I know you?"

"Yes." Calliel declared. He quickly waved a piece of paper in the commandant's face, far too fast for him to properly read. All he could see was that it was written in Hebrew script, the official script in Heaven. "I'm an inspector. Lord Uriel believes you may have taken artefacts from the pagan faiths on Earth, and is very curious to see if these rumours are true or not." the angel said, sounding completely serious, having picked up elements of The Art of Bullshit from his friend Laz.

The piece of paper was just a grocery list he had made for himself while staying in Israel, but the Commandant didn't need to know that. "I'm afraid my co-worker and I will need to search this place."

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Damien wasn't.

The first guy who was shot down was a black guy in a different starfighter, because black dude dies first. After the black man had taken that sacrifice, Damien (wearing a black Egyptian body) was free to fight without worry of being the black man who died first.

They flew the TIE fighters at the dragons. They were massive beasts, snarling and roaring, their breath exploding flames on the shields of the ship. Some fire broke through the shield, landing on the surface of the ship where it began to do so damage.

Gabriel fired his missiles on his own TIE fighter at the dragons, attracting their attention. The three beasts turned their long necks and lizard-like heads toward the TIE fighters, breathing their fire upon those.

The name of that man was Idris Elba: An once famed actor who had played characters such as the Norse God Heimdall in Thor, mecha pilot Stacker Pentecost in Pacific Rim, and some black guy in The Wire. In the APS-verse, Elba had become one of Gwen's most trusted knights, famed for his chivalrous badassery and for cracking equally badass catchphrases while cutting down Fae.

APS-Elba would have quickly found himself avenged by his own Queen, who was fittingly piloting a starfighter similar to the TIE Advanced x1 used by Vader in the first Star Wars movie. Gwen promptly dodged one jet of physics-defying fire with a move deign of some old-school dogfight movie, before opening fire on the dragons.

"We should distract them and prevent them from ganging up on a singular craft and shot it down! Meanwhile, Gabriel, have you got any ideas on how to wound these creatures?" she radioed.

"Shoot with extreme prejudice. Eyes are a weak point." Gabriel replied. "Distract them. Then we immediately re-enter the ship and try to fly the fuck away as fast as we can, got it? This is a huge match and we don't want to be involved longer than needed."

He flew underneath one of the massive dragons, who glared down at him with pure black eyes like a darkened stone. Gabriel gulped, flying upwards and shooting a missile into the dragon's eyes.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Lily just... froze. "Richard was..." she said softly, before leaning back on a support and just shaking her head. This was almost too much to be real - and if she hadn't been at Elfen High for so much of her life, she still wouldn't believe it. "I..." She shook her head, and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before looking back up, calmer than anything else.

"Richard? God? Do you know what we're here for? Can you help us?"

"You're here to kill Uriel, I assume." Richard said with a chuckle, then his face turned dark. "I admit that I am ashamed that my own son, my own lovingly made son, has gone to such depths and depravity. It's horrific, it truly is." he gestured at himself. "This body you see is not my true form. Merely a hologram. It's why Aleister hasn't tried to beat it yet." he looked at the headmaster, whose face had started accepting the facts, and went blank. Not blank in confusion - expressionless because of the sheer rage beneath.

Richard looked at Grace in confusion and pity. "You don't need to suck my dick, darling. I'm merely a humble janitor." he said with an ironic chuckle, knowing how inaccurate that was.

"NO!" all five D's screamed at once. Without thinking, he threw his hands before him, fingers outstretched. His palms glowed blue intensely for a single second, before firing a burst of blinding light outwards.

Only one of D's puppets was facing Yahweh; "Herman", the young Scotsman.

Another of his drones - "Marcuccio" the Italian - hit an approaching slave with his blast, flooring him and damaging his collar. His body fell inert.

D's own shot just barely missed Daisuke's face, scorching the wall.

"They know!" he cried, mindful to cut the feed to his other bodies, "He knows!"

Ciel watched and listened as the others spoke, currently eating a cannoli that she had pulled out of her cloak (Can't go into battle without a food reserve, that's common sense right there), when suddenly, a gentle voice spoke, silencing those of all others. It was a voice she recognized, a voice she knew, a voice she had conversed with before, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Not until she looked to where the voice originated from, at least.

Noticing the man she had spoken with during her brief out-of-body experience, Ciel returned the gentlemanly gesture with a mumbled greeting, her mouth still full of cannoli. She swallowed and then prepared to speak her mind, which was currently dominated by one thought only, with absolute disregard for any queries other people had made or were about to make.

"I told you assholes there was a spaceship here." She said. She then cleared her throat. "But anyway, you called him son? That's not literal is it?"

"It's true!" "Herman" shouted, "It's true. Crowley, listen to me... we couldn't... we needed you. It was just after the War. We couldn't lose you, the world would never have rebuilt."

Crowley stared at D. "You fucking knew." he said simply, his voice shaking. "You fucking knew, all this time." he walked toward Herman, his hand grabbing the neck, ripping it off. Before anyone could be horrified, they would see the robotics beneath. He stared at D's other robot bodies, as well as Daisuke's. "Did you think that this is something that I shouldn't have been told about?" he whispered, his eyes red now. Not red with tears - literally crimson without pupils.

"So you know now?" Richard asked with a resigned tone, frowning. "Do you know who you are?"

Crowley stared back, his eyes glaring daggers at the hologram. "And you knew..." he pointed a shaking finger at him.

---

The war raged.

I grabbed the sword, marching off into the battlefield. The battlefield of my own home. Wasn't that an irony in its own way? I looked out with red eyes at the burning destruction around myself in Heaven. I walked slowly toward an enemy soldier left underneath a blazing rod, trapped, crushed and burning.

How appropriate, really. I looked down at her, sighing. "You picked the wrong side." I said simply, eyes full of empathy, understanding the horrific situation we all were trapped in. "We're told lies like they're truth, aren't we?" I brushed a sympathetic hand along the cheek of the angel staring at me with rage. I felt a sudden stab of pain as I did so, a degree of regret and pity.

She suddenly gasped, suddenly understanding what she just felt. Rage. Actual, pure rage. The beauty of emotion, Yahweh's punishment and gift for the archangels. And my gift was to know how to open others to the emotions, to remove their own blocks. And this young soldier had just had her own block removed.

She spoke for the first time. "What have you done?" she asked, staring at me with unadulterated hatred. I said nothing for a moment, before finally taking a breath and speaking.

"You're going to die." The simple truth, something I wish everyone had. No sugarcoat. There was no way to survive this, and I would be honest with her about that. "I opened up the world to you for the first time as you leave it." I take my hand off her cheek, standing up now. "I apologise, but I feel it's necessary."

"It hurts." she said dully, noticing the blazing steel rod across her body, killing her slowly.

"I know."

---

Crowley gasped, pausing and jerking his head backwards, his bloodred eyes staring everywhere in a panic.

---

"We need to keep them safe, Michael." I told my younger brother as we sat at the peak of the Himalayas, looking down at the world beneath us. There were villages there, moving, breathing, living, breeding, loving and dying. "We come from them, after all."

Michael nodded, frowning. "But they're inferior to us, I figured." he was a bit puzzled. "Why should we bother to protect them?"

I whacked him lightly on the back of the head. "Don't say that." I admonished. "You'd be surprised. In some ways, they're much better than we are." I looked down with a smile. "So much potential in the human race. I almost wish I were one of them." Here Michael looked at me in surprise. "Oh yes. Humans? Wonderful creatures. The extremes of good and evil are both in them, sometimes in the same individual. Just as they show the depths of evil, they can show you behaviour that would shame a saint..."

---

"I do this not because I wish to." I explained, standing before the Orc king. I held in my hand the sword of Excalibur, a brief gift given to me by Arthur. I'd return it later on, but this was a work I had to do. "Your empire is crumbling around you. Surely you can see that?" I gestured dramatically with my sword, the sounds of battle outside - screams and crackling flames.

The orc king looked at me, resigned. "You can justify this however you like, Morningstar." he said. "But you'll regret this later on. Do you think that Hell will live in glory if this old government falls? Do you think they'll take the challenge and improve? Or do you think a worse ruler will rise?"

I smiled. "That's where your mistake is wrong, my friend. I'm not you. I'm me. I won't fall into depravity and decadence or allow any of my realms to do the same. I will conquer Hell in order to bring peace to my own home and then also to Heaven."

"Heaven isn't your home?" the prince asked with curiosity, his hideous face frowning in a question.

"Obviously not."

The king knelt his head down. "Very well then. If you're so very certain your dynasty will bring on some golden age. But remember, young Lucifer." I almost felt surprised by the wording. But yes, young Lucifer. In comparison to this orc, I was but a mere child, a mere child throwing a temper tantrum. "Nobody lasts forever. Even the Ancients fell one day, being destroyed from within." he warned.

"I will not make the same mistake." I dismissed, my sword resting on the king's neck. "Any last words, sir?" For the king deserved that, at the least. He deserved that respect from me, for having ruled so very long and with such experience. I almost regretted having to kill him, but I was better. I would rise to the top, and everyone would benefit from that.

"I pray for you, Morningstar." Then the rest was silence.

---

Mr. Crowley, what went on in your head?
Oh, Mr. Crowley, did you talk to the dead?
Your life style to me seemed so tragic
With the thrill of it all
You fooled all the people with magic
Yeah, you waited on Satan's door

Mr. Charming, did you think you were pure?
Mr. Alarming, in nocturnal rapport
Uncovering things that were sacred
Manifest on this Earth
Conceived in the eye of a secret
And they scattered the afterbirth

Mr. Crowley, won't you ride my white horse?
Mr. Crowley, it's symbolic, of course
Approaching a time that is classic
I hear that maiden's call
Approaching a time that is drastic
Standing with their backs to the wall

---

I stood in front of a gravestone.

"She had been beautiful." I said simply, turning to a man standing next to me, a man in a robe.

The man replied then. His voice had been vaguely familiar to myself, but I dismissed it then. It would have been absurd, after all...He had been missing for such a long time now. "So, what are you to do now?" he asked me.

I frowned. "Pardon me?" I asked, unsure what the hell he meant, or even who he was.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Lucifer." I replied, finding the question itself utter idiocy.

"I understood that much. I mean what are you?" the man in the robe asked, removing the robe and revealing an old bald man. Richard. I learnt so much more about him later, and started learning who he had been. But I didn't recognise him at first, as he now held a different face from the one I had known. This was an avatar, an aspect of his true form made to go amongst the humans. Evidently I was not the only one who had chosen to do that.

But his question struck me deep. I blinked, crimson tears in the corners of my eyes. "I'm an angel of the lord." I said, but uncertain now. Uncertain for the first time in my life.

"I see." the man told me quietly. I stared at the grave as the man walked away from me, his work done.

---

"You'll be alright." I frantically told her, breaking my own rules. I was lying. I was deceiving, even. But not necessarily to her. She knew better than I that she would not be alright, not at all. This lie was to myself.

She grasped my hand, looking up at me. "Lucifer..." she said quietly, accepting of her fate. "It's okay. It's-"

"No!" I told her desperately. "It's not okay! Stay with me here, just stay with me! Think of me, think of the village, think of the child, think of everyone! You can't just-" I stopped then, my face turning down as tears began to fall down my cheeks. "You can't just...I want more time..." I repeated, squeezing the hand which life was rapidly leaving.

Then I squeezed it again, feeling it cold. I looked upwards at her beautiful face without understanding or comprehension. "No, no...Lilith...don't leave me like this..." I bent my head downwards again, before turning it up at the sky and letting out an enraged roar, one without sense or sanity.

---

"How old are you then?" I asked, staring at a creature so very far beyond me. And he held a glass of tea in his hand as he looked at me, shrugging.

"As old as the Omniverse. Maybe older. I can't remember anymore. Life, death, chicken, egg. Regardless, at the end, I'll reap it too." Death told me, shrugging as he sipped the tea. He was in a human form for now, a form I could process, and he didn't use the Voice he used when he would reap people away.

"You'll kill the entire Omniverse?" I asked with some surprise, then he gave an affirmative nod, as though we were discussing that it would rain tomorrow.

"One day."

"And then me as well, I suppose, but much sooner..." I then truly noticed the wound in the side of my stomach, the blood spilling. Michael's wound.

Death looked at me in surprise. "You? No. You have something else coming for you, Lucifer..."

"Kill me then!" I howled. "I lost! Don't you understand that! It's done! Let me die with dignity, you fucking bastard!" I glared at Death with utter rage, trying to incite him into anger and ending my life. It was over, after all. I wasn't at the top. I felt lower than the ants. Everything was over.

But Death merely stared at me in contempt. "You have an inflated sense of your importance."

I stared.

"To a thing like me, a thing like you...well think about how you'd feel if a bacterium sat at your table and started to get snarky. This is one tiny planet, one tiny little solar system in a galaxy that's barely out of its diapers. I'm old, Lucifer, very old. So I invite you to contemplate how insignificant I find you. Think on that, please."

Then he was gone.

---

Paradise Lost Part One.

---

"I'm afraid that I can't let my son suffer." his Father had replied. Then Lucifer was gone.

Suddenly, Crowley fell down to the ground, his eyes glowing brightly for a few moments...Then he suddenly stood very still. "I see." he muttered, now entirely calm. "Alright. That makes sense now." he turned to Richard. "I had been living underneath a rather false premise for a while, it seems."

Daisuke spoke slowly. "Mr. Crowley..." he raised quietly, unsure what response he'd get as the red eyes stared at him.

"I am Venus, the Morningstar. I am the judge of damned. I am the serpent in the garden. I am the hand of Heaven, the wrath of the angels, and I am fallen. I am Pride, Sin, and all that is dark." said Crowley quietly, but from the calm and measured tones, it was obvious it wasn't quite him. "I am the Harbinger of the Sun. The man speaking now is Lucifer, the son of God and protector of Earth."

---

Oberon smiled.

[Astrolinium]

Lucifer.

Latin. Noun.

From lux, lucis, f. "light" and ferro, ferre, "to bear".

Lightbearer.

Peter's mind was spinning, struggling to comprehend.

He'd fought dragons. He'd fought things he thought were God. He'd had immeasurable courage in his life. But now he quivered.

His eyes were like saucers, his pupils dilated, and he ran a hand through his hair.

"So I'm sitting naked on a spaceship inside a library that's also a person in Heaven right now, and I am also in the presence of not only God, but also Satan? Just..."

His voice caught in his throat, and he coughed.

"...to be sure."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Lucifer.

Latin. Noun.

From lux, lucis, f. "light" and ferro, ferre, "to bear".

Lightbearer.

Peter's mind was spinning, struggling to comprehend.

He'd fought dragons. He'd fought things he thought were God. He'd had immeasurable courage in his life. But now he quivered.

His eyes were like saucers, his pupils dilated, and he ran a hand through his hair.

"So I'm sitting naked on a spaceship inside a library that's also a person in Heaven right now, and I am also in the presence of not only God, but also Satan? Just..."

His voice caught in his throat, and he coughed.

"...to be sure."

"That's exactly what's going on here, apparently." Ciel confirmed, nodding, before pulling something out of her cloak and offering it to Peter. "Cannoli?"

[Astrolinium]

Lucifer.

Latin. Noun.

From lux, lucis, f. "light" and ferro, ferre, "to bear".

Lightbearer.

Peter's mind was spinning, struggling to comprehend.

He'd fought dragons. He'd fought things he thought were God. He'd had immeasurable courage in his life. But now he quivered.

His eyes were like saucers, his pupils dilated, and he ran a hand through his hair.

"So I'm sitting naked on a spaceship inside a library that's also a person in Heaven right now, and I am also in the presence of not only God, but also Satan? Just..."

His voice caught in his throat, and he coughed.

"...to be sure."

"That's exactly what's going on here, apparently." Ciel confirmed, nodding, before pulling something out of her cloak and offering it to Peter. "Cannoli?"

Dumbly, Peter took the cannoli.

"Sure," he said very flatly, as if unaware of what he was doing and simply going through the motions. "I love cannoli."

He set it down on the floor and didn't touch it, staring intently at Lucifer throughout the entirety of the exchange.

[The Inritus Extraho]

Lily turned, and her expression broke, Jade showing through for a moment as she wrapped herself in layer after layer of her ablative force armor. This was... this was not okay. Not okay at all. She collapsed, sitting down cross-legged on the 'floor' of the spaceship-bubble-thing, and then shook her head. "Not okay..." she mumbled.

[Rupudska]

Yuzuki looked through her large telescope from the bow of the Yamato.

"They've entered the slave base... and haven't even raised that much suspicion."

Impressive. This could actually work. Could also still go horribly wrong, but at least now there's a chance it'll work.

She pulled out a comm from her pocket.

"Yuzuki to the bridge. Commence launch preparations, and ready the fighters. We'll probably be moving soon, and I want to be ready to go the moment we need to."

It was now that Yuzuki's communications exploded into meaningless white noise; they were blocked, but only on her personal end. Her crew did not notice.

They did notice, however, when a massive hole was blasted into the side of the Yamato from a distance of approximately fifty feet, from somewhere behind a tower of discarded engines. They also noticed when a platoon of androids armed with heavy automatic weaponry and handguns appeared at that hole, flanked by two platoons of androids wielding rifles. They finally noticed when the androids entered and began to slaughter them.

Yuzuki, however, did not. All she noticed was her ship shaking violently; she could very likely peace together the rest.

Situations such as this are why high-powered megaphones exist.

"Open fire on the androids. Seal the hole, destroy their automatic weapons so no more can enter the Yamato. Shimikaze, open fire on any androids currently outside the ship, take care not to hit us."

Immediately, the Shimikaze set out to comply. It raised itself slightly off the ground and opened fire with three of its five main guns, firing shells with self-contained force fields at the androids still outside the breach in the Yamato's hull.

The Yamato itself rocked violently away from the Shimikaze, attempting to dislodge the androids, or at least rattle them up while engineers crawled down the side to repair the hole.

And then Yuzuki's 'soldiers' showed up.

It was a bit like the Continental Army in that there was no set uniform, just a general idea of a uniform. Nor was there one set group of people fighting. There were students of the various clubs that had helped in constructing the fleet, there were lower faculty members of Elfen High, there were even some of Yuzuki's yokai friends from Gensokyo Prefecture, Japan. [Gensokyo being the pocket dimension where the vast majority of Japan's yokai population moved shortly after the introduction of the camera to Japan. It was officially annexed in 1953.] They didn't have a set uniform, they didn't have set weapons, they didn't even have similar IQs, really.

But they did know the ship far better than the androids, and thus knew how to prepare for a shaking. They were also well-trained for combat, and had an almost suicidal bravo akin to a Marine. And they tore into the androids.

[Nude East Ireland]

What.

"Seriously, what?"

Anton walked over to Crowley. Er, Lucifer. Er, fuck it. He examined him, though it was clear that he wasn't simply Crowley. Not fully, at least. He rubbed his chin, taking a deep breath. "Al? Aleister? Or Lucifer? What the fuck? Seriously, how did you not know this? Why did nobody know this? Except Richard - and by the way, Richard, why didn't you say anything? What the... WHY? Don't you think we could've avoided so much death and destruction if you just waved your hand? The Abrahamic War happened because you didn't say anything about how you were - are - God. Yahweh."

He lowered himself onto the floor, continuing to grasp this. "People died. So many people. And demons. And Angels. A whole city in Hell was gone by the end of it. You died. Well, not really. But you could've helped us. Warned us about Uriel. Told us to get ready before. What the fuck. What the actual fuck."