Elfen High 2: Skin to Bone, Steel to Rust

[The Inritus Extraho]

"YOUR PUNY FORCE-FIELD WEAPON IS HILARIOUS," Polarbeard snorted, "BUT I AM NO LONGER AROUSED. WE SHALL RESUME OUR GAMES AT A LATER DATE - I HAVE FORGOTTEN WHY I CAME HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE, AND WISH TO GET DRUNK OFF MY ASS. DO NOT FOLLOW ME, OR I WILL KILL YOU."

Polarbeard vanished, but would soon turn up at a bar in Glasgow, demanding some obscure bourbon that had not been produced since 1659, and never by human hands.

There will be no survivors.

Jade exhaled, relieved, and let the weapon dissipate. She slumped against the wall, and then turned away, walking back out and looking around for people that she knew. Right now, she really just wanted one of her friends; it was a real pity that Nya- the counselors weren't back yet.

[Hardened Pyrokinetics]

James, having no reason to stick around with Damien and Pierre, immediately left after Crowley did. Neither of them were worth his time. One was a stuck-up kid with a fucked-up family, a failure to the legacy of his ancestors, riding on the money they had worked hard to earn. The other was a cowardly, self-centered jackass who refused to be a team player no matter the circumstances, and hid behind his pet demon and butt-buddy when things went sour.

Instead, bored and completely on a whim, James decided to practice with his staff. Retrieving it from his room, he quickly made his way to the gymnasium and started setting up several practice dummies.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

As Laz and William walked through, they'd immediately be ambushed by a car that skidded away from them at the last minute. "Bloody tourists!" A man yelled, the tunnel leading directly out of the Bouverie Street. As though it realised this was no way for a tunnel to behave, it moved itself onto the sidewalk, bemusing the passerby instead.

Of course, people were still shitty drivers, so you could get run over anyway.


But now you were in London! The city of marvels and raining it's fucking ass off. How English. Now you probably see why Britain wanted colonies. But there were a few pubs nearby, if one wanted to visit those. Also a tech cafe on the other end of the road.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Ciel listened quietly as Demonslayer told her about the ceremonies and trials that were to be held, and when she would be introduced to her partner. When the bear asked her to make an announcement about it, she simply nodded. She would get to it later that day. For now, she wondered what the bear she was supposed to mount would be like. However, amidst this, she noticed that Demonslayer was gone. She blinked a few more times, surprised at his stealth, but then simply gave a mental shrug at that.

[Ameriganastan]

"Hey, Willie. Watch this."

Looking around, Laz strode up to the nearest pub. He opened the door and poked his head inside.

"Man-U sucks!"

He closed the door and waited. Five seconds later, the sounds of a massive barfight were audible from inside.

"There Brits and soccer. Always a good way to incite a fun brawl. Now if you'll excuse me...CHARGE!

He kicked the door open, and leaped into the fray.

[Nationstatelandsville]

As Laz and William walked through, they'd immediately be ambushed by a car that skidded away from them at the last minute. "Bloody tourists!" A man yelled, the tunnel leading directly out of the Bouverie Street. As though it realised this was no way for a tunnel to behave, it moved itself onto the sidewalk, bemusing the passerby instead.

Of course, people were still shitty drivers, so you could get run over anyway.


But now you were in London! The city of marvels and raining it's fucking ass off. How English. Now you probably see why Britain wanted colonies. But there were a few pubs nearby, if one wanted to visit those. Also a tech cafe on the other end of the road.

And then Lewis was there.

"He didn't follow me," he panted, "he hates London. Wait, I hate London, too. Goddamn it."

Lewis grumbled a bit, blindly stumbling across the street, before noticing the cafe. Lewis wasn't normally one for coffee, but he liked baked goods quite a bit, and these kinds of places usually sold those, too. Lewis noticed a word he had heard a few times ("wi-fi"), but had never really understood, but ignored it. He assumed it was just some stupid way to say "hippie" or "yuppie", because that was the kind of person who said it a lot and hung around places that had that word. Maybe it was their mating call?

Lewis decided he badly needed a muffin (and a few beers) and could stand a few minutes surrounded by a bunch of horny yuppies. He could fight them off with his cane (which he had forgotten in his room) or convert them to sanity with the power of music if it came down to it, he figured.

And so it was that Lewis spent half-an-hour waiting in line with the most pretentious douchebags anyone will ever find anywhere, in a room filled with portable witch-boxes and annoying buzzes and alarms. Somehow, however, he made it through, but was incredibly uncomfortable and on the edge when he made it to the front of the line.

"I'd, uh, like a blueberry muffin," he said to the woman behind the counter, whose name tag identified her as "Cathy".

"Do you want a frappucino with that?" she asked perkily, "It's free muffin with every frap day!"

Lewis blinked, "No."

"Are you sure?" she continued, "We have mint!"

"No," Lewis repeated.

"And caramel!" she replied, "Caramel's my favorite!"

"No," Lewis said again.

"They have ice cream!" she said, "Ice cream and coffee, yay!"

"...That's horrible," Lewis said, astonished.

"Are you sure you don't want one?" she badgered, "You get a free chocolate chip muffin!"

"I want a blueberry muffin," he responded.

"They're chocolate chip!" she corrected.

"...Fine," he sighed.

"Whipped cream?" she bubbled, "I like whipped cream!"

"...Go to Hell, ye' parasite!" Lewis snapped.

"OK!" she replied, her empty smile reflecting just how dead she was, "Please move over to the other line!"

"Kiss my ass!" Lewis howled.

"No thanks!" she said back sweetly, her smile growing.

A small fire destroyed the coffee shop that day. No one was quite sure what the cause was, except one Lewis Jameson, who figured arson was one of the tamer crimes he had committed. His only regret was that Cathy's burns were only second-degree.

[Condunum]

Jacob was basically quiet through most of what was going on, because fuck work, and fuck home, and fuck everything stressful. So, because fuck work, Jacob took the ever so convenient route give to them to go to London, where he planned to stay for a while. He liked the school, it was just that he didn't like the school. Shut up. He had a feeling somehow, one of the teachers would find him. He hoped to all things that existed that it wasn't Lewis; the man scared Jacob. He wouldn't much mind Anumet, where ever she was, but he felt there was something bad about the woman.

So Jacob strolled down the street, and then realized he was hungry. Then, he realized something else. He hadn't had an interaction with a human food vendor in years. Since he was two. he walked up to a food vendor that had a really tasty name, something about pizza and a house. Well, that seemed inviting enough. Jacob walked inside, and looked around. What the fuck was he supposed to do now?

"Hello, and welcome to totally-not-a-ripoff-of-pizza-hut-even-though-I-don't-know-if-there-is-a-pizza-hut-in-London!"

Jacob was taken back by the woman who had just confronted him. First off, who the fuck was she? He guessed she lived here, because she had the company logo, RIPOFF, on her shirt. Second, he wanted to know what was with the long name, so he asked.

"Well, the powers that be decided that we would have to include the word pizza, and something like a house in the name. So, we took a total-illegal-to-take name, and put it in a large name to make it legal. Make sense?" Jacob shook his head no, "Good! No one else understands either. Now what the fuck do you want to eat, sir?"

Jacob had half a mind to slap her for being so rude, but decided that, even if he was fully capable of taking on a few people by himself, he'd rather not get shot or stabbed. So, he said, "Errr... How much is a large pizza?"

"Like, i-don't-live-in-the-UK-fuck-using-pounds dollars."

He didn't get it, but he ordered the pizza anyway, and sat down in a seat. Only a matter of minutes, probably 20, later, he was given the pizza. He immediately asked for a box. When he got it, he boxed up the pizza, and walked of.

"Hey, you need to pay for that!"

"YOU DIDN'T SAY ANY NUMBERS FUCK YOU!" And with that, Jacob ran away, not knowing where the fuck he was going. Edit: Again.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Crowley was at the grave.

Valaran Fixban: ????-2020.
A good reliable bastard.
He'll be missed.

Richard was also there, leaning on a nearby wall. He glanced at the British wizard who was just staring at the grave silently. "Don't you go thinking about joining him." He sighed. "I won't be cleaning up after you again."

Crowley continued staring at the grave. "A lot of my friends and mentors are gone, Richard." He noted, taking a seat on a chair that he teleported out of thin air. "A lot. My parents? Long dead. My love? Dead. Michael? Gone. Loki? We know how that turned out. And of course..." He gestured toward the grave.

Richard started to walk away. "The world may be ending, but you have no excuse to give up your hope." He told the wizard simply. "You know where to find me."

Then Crowley was in his office again, beer in hand. He took a long drink. And remembered.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
"So then I told him, mind you, that she was really a he!" Loki concluded his story, and everyone at the table laughed uproariously. Only Crowley noticed that Loki used that time to change the poker game to his interest, a few chips moving telepathically to his side. He noticed Crowley watching him and winked. Crowley chuckled and continued to listen.

"Hand me that beer, will you Richard?" Michael asked.

"Get the damn thing yourself." The man grumbled, looking exactly as he did in the modern day. "You have telekinesis. I'm one of the Chosen People, you can't boss me around."

"Chosen Assholes, more like." Michael replied, holding up a hand and having the beer appear in it. "You're lucky I'm not Uriel. I'd have you killed in a minute."

"Uriel would have killed me for looking directly at hi-"

"That brings up a point." Crowley interrupted. "Why are you different?" He asked Michael. "The other angels I've met...they're all not right. They're not human. They can act the part, but they can't be it. But you and Gabriel are able to do it. How are you different?"

Crowley sensed that his innocent question had shifted the mood. He tried to make up for it. "You don't need to answer if-"

Michael turned to Fixban, who gave a nod. He sighed. "No, lad. You may as well know why. May as well learn our history." He sat up straighter, instead of leaning like he had been. "You know how we started." He said seriously, sobering up and putting the beer bottle down. "You know how angelkind started. The four first angels. Lucifer, Uriel, Raphael and I."

"Yeah, but you're archangels. Different species altogether right?"

"No." Michael smiled in a thin manner. "Not exactly. There's a difference, certainly. I am physically much stronger and magically much stronger than a normal angel. But...I'm also human."

Seeing Crowley's look of shock, he shook his head. "Not completely human, of course. But mentally? I'm pretty human. I have that ability, that ability to question, that ability to feel true happiness, true sadness, true hope, true fear, true despair, true love. You'll notice the other angels don't have that power."

Loki nodded. "Angels are never fun to pull tricks on. They don't really react. They're just things hanging around, you know." He grumbled, unable to explain at the moment. Beer had shrunk his vocabularly. But Crowley got the gist.

Crowley frowned. "But then what happened to the others?"

Michael looked tired. "Our Father took it away. He decided the risk of freedom was too great. Then he left."

A quiet pause interrupted only by Loki burping. Crowley spoke up again. "But Gabriel has it too. He also has freedom. He's humane. And he's no archangel."

Michael smiled widely and beautifically. "Yeah. Gabriel. I don't know what I'd do without him. He's amazing. But the thing with angels is this..." He leaned forward. "Strong emotions can break their barrier. It can break that emotional block that keeps them from feeling like you and me. And Gabriel's sheer love for me and mine for him? That barrier shattered." He smiled. "Without him? Lad, I don't know what I'd do. We know what we're doing. We know the consequences and risks of our actions. We fight for justice and freedom when we can. We try to help and be good. We're too human. We feel."

And the dinner could have ended on a happy note, but something occurred to Crowley. "Do you remember that town we saw in Hell?" He said, recalling something.

A quiet moment. They all knew. Richard turned away. Loki nodded. "Yeah. Fucked up, what happened there. I remember that girl...it wasn't right, what they did. Just not right."

Michael nodded. "Yes. I remember. Uriel came and did it personally."

"But...he's an archangel." Crowley said hopelessly. "I thought they knew what they were doing. I thought they felt."

A long and quiet moment. Then Fixban spoke. "Uriel is who he is because he also knows what he's doing. He knows the consequences and risks of his actions. He's too human."

"And he also feels." Michael said, his face contorted in some emotion. Despair? Anger? Fear? Sadness?
---------------------------------------------------
Even after all those centuries, Crowley had no answer.

He didn't think he ever would.

But he knew exactly how Michael had felt. He leaned back in his chair. "And that's what I'm fighting for." He said wryly to himself.

[Constaniana]

"Hey, Willie. Watch this."

Looking around, Laz strode up to the nearest pub. He opened the door and poked his head inside.

"Man-U sucks!"

He closed the door and waited. Five seconds later, the sounds of a massive barfight were audible from inside.

"Those Brits and their soccer. Always a good way to incite a fun brawl. Now if you'll excuse me...CHARGE!

He kicked the door open, and leaped into the fray.

As the car screeched past William he flipped up the two-finger salute angrily, although there wasn't much of a point to it, however expected it may have been. "Rude southern buggers" he grumbled, before looking around a bit and seeing that Laz had come along as well. William wondered what on Earth the demon was going to do as he walked up to the pub before shouting in there about Manchester United and setting off a bar fight. "Brilliant, out of all the people I could be stuck with coming here and it's the thickest demon who ever lived....just bloody wonderful," William said under his breath.

The English teenager stood there for a few moments, thinking, not minding the rain soak into his brown hair and blue jacket. He had wanted peace and quiet, being able to relax a bit, not having to deal with Elfen High style nonsense. So he left Laz to his ridiculous self-destructive fights, and headed to one of the other pubs nearby, one that was a bit older and quieter looking. William walked inside, brushing the droplets of rain from his shoulder, and sat down after getting some chips and curry, thinking about life, the universe and everything as he ate.

[Nationstatelandsville]

"Hey, Willie. Watch this."

Looking around, Laz strode up to the nearest pub. He opened the door and poked his head inside.

"Man-U sucks!"

He closed the door and waited. Five seconds later, the sounds of a massive barfight were audible from inside.

"Those Brits and their soccer. Always a good way to incite a fun brawl. Now if you'll excuse me...CHARGE!

He kicked the door open, and leaped into the fray.

As the car screeched past William he flipped up the two-finger salute angrily, although there wasn't much of a point to it, however expected it may have been. "Rude southern buggers" he grumbled, before looking around a bit and seeing that Laz had come along as well. William wondered what on Earth the demon was going to do as he walked up to the pub before shouting in there about Manchester United and setting off a bar fight. "Brilliant, out of all the people I could be stuck with coming here and it's the thickest demon who ever lived....just bloody wonderful," William said under his breath.

The English teenager stood there for a few moments, thinking, not minding the rain soak into his brown hair and blue jacket. He had wanted peace and quiet, being able to relax a bit, not having to deal with Elfen High style nonsense. So he left Laz to his ridiculous self-destructive fights, and headed to one of the other pubs nearby, one that was a bit older and quieter looking. William walked inside, brushing the droplets of rain from his shoulder, and sat down after getting some chips and curry, thinking about life, the universe and everything as he ate.

"Forty-two!" Lewis exclaimed as he burst into the pub, "Forty-two different kinds of coffee, and none of them came with a blueberry muffin!"

The bartender eyed Lewis with suspicion, a glare that was quickly answered with a few frozen taps behind him. The guy deserved to have his job that much more difficult - trying to start a fight with Lewis on a bad day was the reason FDR became a cripple (also, Guillain–Barré syndrome).

"Oh, hey, Heather," he grumbled, noticing his student and claiming a seat next to him, "Ye' runnin' from Polarbeard, too?"

[Hardened Pyrokinetics]

With the training dummies set up, James took a deep breath and absolutely unloaded on them. He and his staff were a complete blur, as he quickly hit a target with a well-aimed strike, then moved on. He needed to expel his frustrations, and this was the safest manner of doing so. Yet again Crowley had shrugged off James' attempts at talking with him, Jade still hated him, and he hadn't seen Ivy since she disappeared with Calliel. No doubt the angel was continuing to corrupt her with his lies and deceit, if not worse...

That thought pushed him over the edge, and with a roar he swung his staff and decapitated the target training dummy. He stood there, facing it, breathing heavily.

Shoving the broken target off to the side, he set himself and resumed.

[The Inritus Extraho]

With the training dummies set up, James took a deep breath and absolutely unloaded on them. He and his staff were a complete blur, as he quickly hit a target with a well-aimed strike, then moved on. He needed to expel his frustrations, and this was the safest manner of doing so. Yet again Crowley had shrugged off James' attempts at talking with him, Jade still hated him, and he hadn't seen Ivy since she disappeared with Calliel. No doubt the angel was continuing to corrupt her with his lies and deceit, if not worse...

That thought pushed him over the edge, and with a roar he swung his staff and decapitated the target training dummy. He stood there, facing it, breathing heavily.

Shoving the broken target off to the side, he set himself and resumed.

Jade smiled, leaning against the door on the outside of the gym, hearing the rhythmic thump-thump-thump-thwack of someone practicing inside, then she heard a roar and she ducked away from the door just as a head slammed into it, knocking it open. She took it as an invitation, stepping inside the room, and saw James facing the back of the room over a toppled, headless dummy. At least, she thought it was a dummy. They were so realistic nowadays.

"Getting some anger out?" she asked quietly, her voice lilting lightly in an iambic tone.

[Hardened Pyrokinetics]

With the training dummies set up, James took a deep breath and absolutely unloaded on them. He and his staff were a complete blur, as he quickly hit a target with a well-aimed strike, then moved on. He needed to expel his frustrations, and this was the safest manner of doing so. Yet again Crowley had shrugged off James' attempts at talking with him, Jade still hated him, and he hadn't seen Ivy since she disappeared with Calliel. No doubt the angel was continuing to corrupt her with his lies and deceit, if not worse...

That thought pushed him over the edge, and with a roar he swung his staff and decapitated the target training dummy. He stood there, facing it, breathing heavily.

Shoving the broken target off to the side, he set himself and resumed.

Jade smiled, leaning against the door on the outside of the gym, hearing the rhythmic thump-thump-thump-thwack of someone practicing inside, then she heard a roar and she ducked away from the door just as a head slammed into it, knocking it open. She took it as an invitation, stepping inside the room, and saw James facing the back of the room over a toppled, headless dummy. At least, she thought it was a dummy. They were so realistic nowadays.

"Getting some anger out?" she asked quietly, her voice lilting lightly in an iambic tone.

In the midst of another round of beating the fuck out of the dummies, James didn't hear Jade, or even see her, until he finally stopped out of exhaustion. Taking deep breaths, he finally noticed her in the doorway. "Oh. It's you." He said plainly. "Shouldn't you be off having fun, finding somebody else to spend time with? I'm not exactly the best person in the world to hang out with, a fact you know first-hand." He spun the staff around his right hand, before gently slamming it end-first into the floor, giving off a minor *tmp* sound. "Unless, of course, you're thinking of taking up my offer to spar..."

[Nightkill the Emperor]

A tap of a broom against the floor as an old bald man glanced at the two of them. "I think you've spent a while talking with each other today." he noted, taking a seat. "An angel died today, a defector from Heaven, not just some angel from Heavensgate- we know all about that. He was dying, you know. Near dead when you found him. But if you had talked to him there, we could have gotten much more information..and trust me, with what's going on up in Heaven, that could have been needed."

He sighed. "The angel's dead. And we lost a lot of good possible information. You brought him back to the school quickly and I commend you," he nodded to Jade. "You brought him back very quickly. But in that instance, every second had counted."

[The Inritus Extraho]

A tap of a broom against the floor as an old bald man glanced at the two of them. "I think you've spent a while talking with each other today." he noted, taking a seat. "An angel died today, a defector from Heaven, not just some angel from Heavensgate- we know all about that. He was dying, you know. Near dead when you found him. But if you had talked to him there, we could have gotten much more information..and trust me, with what's going on up in Heaven, that could have been needed."

He sighed. "The angel's dead. And we lost a lot of good possible information. You brought him back to the school quickly and I commend you," he nodded to Jade. "You brought him back very quickly. But in that instance, every second had counted."

"I..." Jade slumped against a dummy, collapsing to the ground as the dummy tipped over. "I..." Sure, she had come in here to spar, but now? "I didn't... he didn't... he wasn't that hurt... he didn't look that bad... it can't have been..." She kept murmuring that kind of quiet, self-reassuring stream as she tried to come to terms with it. It couldn't have been that important. It couldn't have been all her fault.

"I-it can't have been my fault... can't be all my problem..."

[Hardened Pyrokinetics]

A tap of a broom against the floor as an old bald man glanced at the two of them. "I think you've spent a while talking with each other today." he noted, taking a seat. "An angel died today, a defector from Heaven, not just some angel from Heavensgate- we know all about that. He was dying, you know. Near dead when you found him. But if you had talked to him there, we could have gotten much more information..and trust me, with what's going on up in Heaven, that could have been needed."

He sighed. "The angel's dead. And we lost a lot of good possible information. You brought him back to the school quickly and I commend you," he nodded to Jade. "You brought him back very quickly. But in that instance, every second had counted."

James looked over at the intruder. "Shut up." James said, something he had been wanting to say to Richard for awhile. "What you're saying, yeah, understandable. Unfortunately, you're overlooking two important facts. First, neither Jade nor I are good at questioning, even of an angel. My career was in killing and occasionally torturing, not saving. I figured that someone like, I dunno, Crowley, or Calliel, or even you would be able to ask the right questions better than myself or Jade. Second, Jade is faster ON FOOT than I am in my supercar. Had she not accepted my offer of a ride, the angel would have been dead even sooner and you would have even less information."

He took a deep breath, calming himself. "We did what we could when we could. Sad that he's dead, although to be quite honest good fucking riddance, but it's not my fault or Jade's that he up and died after Jade delivered him into the hands of people who should have been able to save him. Now, piss off!"

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Richard raised an eyebrow. "Brave words, kid." He smiled. "You know, I like cleaning. It calms my mind." He cracked his knuckles. "You want to spar? Let's go now. I see a piece of shit that could use some sweeping up. And no. It's not a request. You'll either spar me, or you're fired and I'm removing you from the school. And don't think that Crowley will argue against me. Most people here will not be overly sorry to see you go away."

[The Inritus Extraho]

Richard raised an eyebrow. "Brave words, kid." He smiled. "You know, I like cleaning. It calms my mind." He cracked his knuckles. "You want to spar? Let's go now. I see a piece of shit that could use some sweeping up. And no. It's not a request. You'll either spar me, or you're fired and I'm removing you from the school. And don't think that Crowley will argue against me. Most people here will not be overly sorry to see you go away."

Jade scrabbled back quickly, her hands scratching at the stone floor of the gym. "I... you don't mean me, Richard, right..?" she asked quietly, pushing herself back up against the wall and then layering herself with wall after wall after wall, really hoping Richard didn't mean her. She had been polite, she had been good, she had tried. She really had.

"I tried... I really did..."

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Richard raised an eyebrow. "Brave words, kid." He smiled. "You know, I like cleaning. It calms my mind." He cracked his knuckles. "You want to spar? Let's go now. I see a piece of shit that could use some sweeping up. And no. It's not a request. You'll either spar me, or you're fired and I'm removing you from the school. And don't think that Crowley will argue against me. Most people here will not be overly sorry to see you go away."

Jade scrabbled back quickly, her hands scratching at the stone floor of the gym. "I... you don't mean me, Richard, right..?" she asked quietly, pushing herself back up against the wall and then layering herself with wall after wall after wall, really hoping Richard didn't mean her. She had been polite, she had been good, she had tried. She really had.

"I tried... I really did..."

Richard shook his head. "You were fine." He said, clearing it up since I forgot pronouns. He pointed at James. "Not him. He needs a lesson."

[Hardened Pyrokinetics]

James, instinctively, moved in front of Jade when she thought Richard was addressing her. He moved away once he made it clear to her, but looked back. "Leave." He said shortly, before turning back to face Richard. He set himself, and brought the staff up into a defensive posture. "I don't want to fight you, Richard." He said honestly. "But if that's the way you want it to be, so be it. I haven't had a real fight in a long time." He stared into the eyes of his opponent. "Bring it."

[The Inritus Extraho]

James, instinctively, moved in front of Jade when she thought Richard was addressing her. He moved away once he made it clear to her, but looked back. "Leave." He said shortly, before turning back to face Richard. He set himself, and brought the staff up into a defensive posture. "I don't want to fight you, Richard." He said honestly. "But if that's the way you want it to be, so be it. I haven't had a real fight in a long time." He stared into the eyes of his opponent. "Bring it."

Jade obstinately stood there, ignoring James. "I"ll watch this, thanks..." she said snarkily. She stood up stronger, and then watched, her eyes alert and her hands empty. "Player one, are you ready?" she said quietly, staring at Richard, then turned to James, murmuring "Player two?" to him. She didn't intend them to hear, but if they did, oh well. It was just a joke, after all.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Richard did hear it and smiled briefly, before turning his attention back to the Canadian. "No. I think you've grown a bit too overconfident. Some practical work could be useful." He didn't take a staff at all, but simply held up his broomstick.

Suddenly, the sweeping part fell off, leaving the stick behind. "And here we...go." He said quietly.

WHAM! His broomstick suddenly slammed against James' staff, almost breaking the staff under the force. Force, as basic children know, is mass into acceleration. And Richard was a big man, two metres, who moved fast, almost Jade-like fast. Even then, it was obvious he was holding back.

Somewhat. He also brought his knee rapidly, aiming it at James' groin. Fighting dirty was a strategy that worked.

[The Inritus Extraho]

Richard did hear it and smiled briefly, before turning his attention back to the Canadian. "No. I think you've grown a bit too overconfident. Some practical work could be useful." He didn't take a staff at all, but simply held up his broomstick.

Suddenly, the sweeping part fell off, leaving the stick behind. "And here we...go." He said quietly.

WHAM! His broomstick suddenly slammed against James' staff, almost breaking the staff under the force. Force, as basic children know, is mass into acceleration. And Richard was a big man, two metres, who moved fast, almost Jade-like fast. Even then, it was obvious he was holding back.

Somewhat. He also brought his knee rapidly, aiming it at James' groin. Fighting dirty was a strategy that worked.

Jade laughed quietly, seeing Richard move, and quickly thought through it, running through all the calculations; Force was mass times acceleration, rotational velocity was equivalent to the normal velocity affected by the centripetal acceleration then proportionate to the compression of the mass, and then pressure was force over area; suffice to say the fact that neither staff broke shocked her.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Calliel paused, trying to phrase his thoughts properly. "Things have been dangerous. A war is undoubtedly going to break out soon between Heaven and the Hindus, as we poor few in Heavensgate will just as undoubtedly be caught in it. Indeed, I believe that such a conflict could be devastating." Figuring she had changed, he walked through the wall. Being subtle or polite was not a major concern for the angel. They were human concepts which he was occasionally baffled by. But he did understand one emotion.

"I am frightened, Ivy." He admitted. "I have not felt fear before, not really this true fear. But I feel it now and I know that Raphael feels it too. Fear is a human emotion, a sin. We should be courageous and ready to serve the Father, but...I do not want to die. I am constantly amazed you managed to die and still stay relatively stable. Death is something that scares me. I do not get a second life like you. Once I die, I cease to exist, becoming absorbed into the Father, as we have been told. But..." he struggled to explain it. "I have been alive for a very long time. And the possibility that might stop soon is..." He didn't close his eyes or sit down or even change his tone or sigh. He just stopped talking, having no other way to continue that sentence and explain himself. He just said one final sentence. "Do you understand what I mean?"

She nodded stiffly.

"I understand what you mean. The ceasing of existence is a difficult thing to comprehend. But, in the end, each creature, from the most holy to the most vile, must face it. There is nothing you can do about it, and your fear is understandable. However, I would recommend putting your fear aside and focusing on improving the situation on hand. In the end, you will be united with the Father, and you should not worry about death. I understand your fear, though."

"To be quite honest," she thought to herself, "I understand it much better than you do." Her mind flashed back to a month ago yet again - the last few moments before everything had went black were ones of utmost fear and panic, and quite possibly the most terr - she didn't even want to think about that. Shuddering slightly, she turned to Calliel.

"So, how is the current state of Heavensgate?"

"Messy." He replied quickly, happier on a subject that didn't involve very much thought or strange feelings. "Raphael is mobilising our armies, preparing for the inevitable war. People are preparing for themselves to fight." He said, walking out of the room, Ivy following. "And some demon refugees are trying to flood into Heavensgate. Raphael is allowing it to some extent, since they're useful as labour. Personally, I don't like them." Calliel sighed. "They must just go. I don't care where they go, but they must go. We're at the breaking point. People are living in fear."

[Hardened Pyrokinetics]

James reacted quickly. Using the added momentum from Richard's strike, he spun on the ball of his right foot, ducked underneath his knee, and swung his staff around in a tight arc just over the floor, whacking Richard's foot. With the old man off-balance from the missed knee, his foot disappeared from under him and he fell to the floor, onto his right shoulder. James, following through, continued his spin until his left shoulder was facing Richard, before standing straight and withdrawing a ways, returning his staff to a defensive position in front of him.