Elfen High 2: Skin to Bone, Steel to Rust

[Nationstatelandsville]

Broken armor? Lewis thought in his internal monologue (all the good characters have internal monologues), That just makes everything easier.

Lewis suddenly leaped into the air, flying not at Karna, but to his right. He landed just an inch or two ahead of the demigod, hitting the ground rolling. Rolling, specifically, behind the Hindu warrior. He came to a stop next to Crowley, instantly activating one of his lesser-used powers; he used his X-ray vision to peer through Karna's armor and flesh alike, focusing on his veins and capillaries, attentively studying and memorizing the highways of blood found in the demigod's body (though he wasn't smart enough to remember them for very long and required the X-ray vision as a reference).

Then Lewis did something that he'd never considered before; his left eye continued to scan Karna's body, while the the right began to emit a freeze beam (one that was incredibly powerful to compensate for the lack of his second eye, causing him a tremendous deal of pain on the right side of his head). Using the rupture Crowley had created, he fired his freeze beam into Karna's bloodstream, attempting to freeze his blood inside his veins.

"I bet this isn't the first time you've felt somethin' like that, stardust," Lewis said weakly, still attempting to mock the man.

Karna was very, very, very pissed.

He took one deep breath, accepted the pain. It was a part of him. Pain was just another part of life and one to be endured. Time to let it go.

He let it go.

Then he was very calm and very focused and he grabbed Crowley and pulled out his sword to stab him in the stomach like a respectable warrior. Crowley took the moment to use Gram and stab Karna in the neck. Karna yanked the sword out but still tried to abide by rules of honour despite his enemy disregarding it.

"Ye' poor, poor Pandava," Lewis lamented, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "Can't catch a break, can ye'?"

Lewis rolled away from Karna's backside (and was noticeably relieved when he got away from the curry smell), landing in a crouch to the right of the demigod. He closed his eyes tightly and deactivated both powers, taking a second (and just a second) to gather himself, and then fired into Karna's throat.

He didn't freeze Karna's wound, mind you - he froze the blood inside his throat, which did have the side effect of patching his wound, while also having the side effect of causing his blood to form a large ball of ice that a.) squeezed his airways and made it much more difficult (or impossible) to breath and b.) halved the amount of blood going to his brain, as half of his veins were frozen over. Not fun.

"Just give up, ye' Cherokee infidel," he chided, rolling front of Karna, grabbing a wooden scrap of his cane, and throwing at the Indian's eye, "I'd hate burn down your teepee and interrupt your powwow."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Ciel was about to open the door (Or try) and step out of the throne room, when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and heard Izanagi's voice. She did stop moving, though his words did little to calm her down. She simply looked at him over her shoulder for a moment before turning around and responding.

"I do not believe you." She stated. Though she wasn't much calmer than before, she didn't have that much against him. Morgan was the one who started this, and Arthur had seemed nice... But only at first.

"There is no proof. I still have my memories, and everything that makes me myself. I do not see any other me, and even if there was, how do you know that I am the copy and not her?" She said.

But then, a good part of her anger subsided, giving way to surprise, when all of the sudden five people and a bear appeared all of the sudden in the throne room. Laz, William, the janitor, and she was fairly certain that the guy with the wings on his helmet was Thor. She didn't recognize one of those five people, or the bear. But she decided that it wasn't anything important.

In addition to this, she also decided that now was a good moment as any to try to get out of there unnoticed, and so she tried to do just that.

---

Alastor limited himself to follow Richard deeper into the cave as they all went in pursuit of the Ice Giants that were apparently fleeing from something. Perhaps them? Either way, he didn't know, and didn't think about it too much, as suddenly the light emerged. When it was about to engulf everybody, Alastor thought of teleporting everyone to safety, and was about to do just that, but he wasn't quick enough.

Not that it mattered that much, because they didn't die or anything, and simply found themselves in some throne room in a castle apparently made of glass. Strange, but not weirder than some shit he'd seen back in his home... Dimension? Whatever.

Looking around, he saw the king, another man, and two women, one of which had yellow robes and an unmistakable regal air about her. The woman Laz was apparently trying to flirt with, something that caused Alastor to facepalm again.

"Forgive him milady, he is...." He began, but found himself lacking words to explain. "...Well... Laz."

[Constaniana]

After being teleported into a strange throne room William spoke up after Alastor. "You could say he's an immense jack-ass, although that would be both the greatest understatement of all history, as well as insult to the entire donkey race," He offered. Dunefiend nodded, having a personal history with donkeys. You wouldn't suspect it, but donkeys, in addition to having great senses of humour and waffle-cooking abilities, possessed a rather terrifying talent for beating up anything with a baseball bat. Miraculously they had judged Dunefiend fit to learn the ancient ways of Donkey-beatchoasswithbat-man-fu-chu, which was why he had his personal weapon, Bat-with-shotgun-tapedtoit. "So who are you?" William asked the King on his throne.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

There was a long pause while Arthur and Morgan looked at Laz being, as Alastor put it, Laz. Arthur laughed happily. "He honestly is that stupid. Astounding, to be utterly honest with you. This guy-" he gestured toward Laz. "I love this guy. First nice laugh I've had in a very long time, you know." Arthur stood up for the first time, a tall and imposing figure. "I'll get my introductions out of the way. I am King Arthur, King of Camelot. This is my sister, Morgan Le Fae."

Morgan would probably seem much more terrifying to Laz now, though she smiled.

Arthur looked at the group. "In any case, I think we can all just say this then- surrender or die. Only options, I'm afraid."

The door unlocked and Ciel could run straight out of the room. Arthur paused. "Or you could run."

[Ameriganastan]

"...The Morgan Le Fae? The crazy, really dangerous wizard lady?"

Laz had to think on that one...for about 3 seconds.

"I won't hold it against you. Rawr."

He gave another wink, and turned to Arthur.

"Don't act so high and mighty, Pendragon. Even anyone remotely familiar with your little legend knows you're a pansy. Hiding behind your knights of the round, Merlin, Morgan, your fancy Excalibur. Like every other king, you're just a weakling in a crown."

[Mavorpen]

Izanagi watched the new group run into the room, seemingly out of nowhere, causing just enough time for him to be distracted enough for Ciel to slip away and run out of the room. He sighed and figured that he should chase after her. At the same time, he didn't want anything bad to happen to the group that just entered. When Laz continued to flirt with Morgan, Izanagi facepalmed. Not because he knew that Laz was in danger; he didn't even understand completely who Morgan was. It was just...painful to watch.

He decided that whatever happened to Laz, he deserved it. He spoke up, "Look, I'm sure that with all of the insults and flirting, this could be a Sunday drama rivaling As The World Turns, but I'm not interested in this shit." With that, he turned, and chased after Ciel.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Karna was very, very, very pissed.

He took one deep breath, accepted the pain. It was a part of him. Pain was just another part of life and one to be endured. Time to let it go.

He let it go.

Then he was very calm and very focused and he grabbed Crowley and pulled out his sword to stab him in the stomach like a respectable warrior. Crowley took the moment to use Gram and stab Karna in the neck. Karna yanked the sword out but still tried to abide by rules of honour despite his enemy disregarding it.

"Ye' poor, poor Pandava," Lewis lamented, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "Can't catch a break, can ye'?"

Lewis rolled away from Karna's backside (and was noticeably relieved when he got away from the curry smell), landing in a crouch to the right of the demigod. He closed his eyes tightly and deactivated both powers, taking a second (and just a second) to gather himself, and then fired into Karna's throat.

He didn't freeze Karna's wound, mind you - he froze the blood inside his throat, which did have the side effect of patching his wound, while also having the side effect of causing his blood to form a large ball of ice that a.) squeezed his airways and made it much more difficult (or impossible) to breath and b.) halved the amount of blood going to his brain, as half of his veins were frozen over. Not fun.

"Just give up, ye' Cherokee infidel," he chided, rolling front of Karna, grabbing a wooden scrap of his cane, and throwing at the Indian's eye, "I'd hate burn down your teepee and interrupt your powwow."

Karna took a second to stare at Lewis as his blood started freezing.

Then he was immediately next to him, punching him in the face and knocking him across the field and likely breaking a few bones. To his surprise, a regenerated Minh was punching him immediately before Karna threw him across the arena as well. Then he felt himself...yes indeed, hit by a lightning bolt and fell off the stage. Crowley sighed in relief, his blow hitting.

Almost. One hand grabbed the edge of the field, slowly dragging himself back up. Crowley fired four more blasts directly toward Karna's finger, nearly chopping it off. Finally, he ran toward him and stabbed his hand with Gram. Karna winced and fell, now lacking a hand. As he fell, he turned his sword into a bow and aimed carefully....

Crowley barely dodged having his head blown off by a bullshit arrow of kill everything, pulling his head back at the last second. He sighed. "That...was close."

The arrow exploded above him and rained down hundreds of arrows falling directly into his body. Crowley stared at himself. "Oh Christ." he noted hundreds of arrows sticking out of his body. "This is extremely painful."

[Nationstatelandsville]

"Ye' poor, poor Pandava," Lewis lamented, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "Can't catch a break, can ye'?"

Lewis rolled away from Karna's backside (and was noticeably relieved when he got away from the curry smell), landing in a crouch to the right of the demigod. He closed his eyes tightly and deactivated both powers, taking a second (and just a second) to gather himself, and then fired into Karna's throat.

He didn't freeze Karna's wound, mind you - he froze the blood inside his throat, which did have the side effect of patching his wound, while also having the side effect of causing his blood to form a large ball of ice that a.) squeezed his airways and made it much more difficult (or impossible) to breath and b.) halved the amount of blood going to his brain, as half of his veins were frozen over. Not fun.

"Just give up, ye' Cherokee infidel," he chided, rolling front of Karna, grabbing a wooden scrap of his cane, and throwing at the Indian's eye, "I'd hate burn down your teepee and interrupt your powwow."

Karna took a second to stare at Lewis as his blood started freezing.

Then he was immediately next to him, punching him in the face and knocking him across the field and likely breaking a few bones. To his surprise, a regenerated Minh was punching him immediately before Karna threw him across the arena as well. Then he felt himself...yes indeed, hit by a lightning bolt and fell off the stage. Crowley sighed in relief, his blow hitting.

Almost. One hand grabbed the edge of the field, slowly dragging himself back up. Crowley fired four more blasts directly toward Karna's finger, nearly chopping it off. Finally, he ran toward him and stabbed his hand with Gram. Karna winced and fell, now lacking a hand. As he fell, he turned his sword into a bow and aimed carefully....

Crowley barely dodged having his head blown off by a bullshit arrow of kill everything, pulling his head back at the last second. He sighed. "That...was close."

The arrow exploded above him and rained down hundreds of arrows falling directly into his body. Crowley stared at himself. "Oh Christ." he noted hundreds of arrows sticking out of his body. "This is extremely painful."

"Motherfucker," Lewis growled, rolling onto his left side (bad idea - the pain was excruciating) and vomiting a bit of blood, "I can taste my lungs."

Lewis had a good stock of himself, given his two hundred-some years of life and battle. He had a good sense of injuries - he guessed he had two broken ribs on his left, a fractured pelvis and right shoulder, and a shattered left elbow. All injuries that can be mended, even without magic, but none of them particularly fun at the moment.

"Crowley..." he heaved, breathing very, very difficult, "get an ambulance. Now."

With that, Lewis passed out.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

I will be utterly honest. There are many, many, many, many, many ways Crowley could have healed Lewis.

For his own great amusement, he decided upon mouth to mouth while blasting healing magic into Lewis.

In a minute or two, Lewis would feel fine except psychologically while Crowley laughed hysterically, glad to be alive from that battle. The battlefield had changed back into the room, to the obvious annoyance of the man in yellow robes. "Well...you won."

[Nationstatelandsville]

I will be utterly honest. There are many, many, many, many, many ways Crowley could have healed Lewis.

For his own great amusement, he decided upon mouth to mouth while blasting healing magic into Lewis.

In a minute or two, Lewis would feel fine except psychologically while Crowley laughed hysterically, glad to be alive from that battle. The battlefield had changed back into the room, to the obvious annoyance of the man in yellow robes. "Well...you won."

Lewis vomited for six straight minutes (which was hell on his throat), before addressing the man in yellow.

"Hey, ye' dainty little pixie," he grumbled, standing up and brushing himself off, "bring back Karna and tell him that he wasn't so tough and also I would really like his autograph, please."

He cleared his throat and collected himself, his vision refocusing from the pain-induced haze.

"More to the point," he said, "give us the girl before I tear out your beating heart and choke ye' with it."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Ciel did exactly what it has been stated she could do: Run straight out of the room. While the castle of glass was enormous and constantly growing, she figured that she would have to come across the exit eventually. It's not like she was in a hurry to go anywhere, except the hell out of there. The Elfen Highers tried to kill her, and the one person that hadn't betrayed her was convinced that she was a copy. She couldn't, and didn't want to, go back to any of them. She didn't really know where she could go, though.

But then again, wasn't that how she lived most of her life before arriving at Elfen High? Yes, it was, and she had survived, so she would survive again. It didn't matter that she was alone. For most of her life, she had been alone.

Amidst these thoughts, she didn't realize that Izanagi was trying, and failing, to catch up to her.

---

Alastor simply blinked when Arthur introduced himself and Morgan. So, that was Morgan Le Fae. That wasn't exactly good to hear, but he supposed that at least she didn't seem to be acting aggressively towards any of them. She didn't seem upset by Laz's Lazrianness, either, so that was good, he supposed.

Then Laz ignored everything and continued trying to flirt with her. Alastor sighed and rubbed his temples. "I am going to need some medicine after this." He stated. He looked at the open door, but didn't try to run away just yet. Instead, he simply turned to Arthur, not surrendering or making any attempts to run away, or fight and die.

"So, where is Excalibur, if you do not mind the question?" He asked, quite obviously still remembering what they had come to look for.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

I will be utterly honest. There are many, many, many, many, many ways Crowley could have healed Lewis.

For his own great amusement, he decided upon mouth to mouth while blasting healing magic into Lewis.

In a minute or two, Lewis would feel fine except psychologically while Crowley laughed hysterically, glad to be alive from that battle. The battlefield had changed back into the room, to the obvious annoyance of the man in yellow robes. "Well...you won."

Lewis vomited for six straight minutes (which was hell on his throat), before addressing the man in yellow.

"Hey, ye' dainty little pixie," he grumbled, standing up and brushing himself off, "bring back Karna and tell him that he wasn't so tough and also I would really like his autograph, please."

He cleared his throat and collected himself, his vision refocusing from the pain-induced haze.

"More to the point," he said, "give us the girl before I tear out your beating heart and choke ye' with it."

The man in the yellow robes shrugged. "Karna's gone." he said frankly. "And reviving him would be beyond us at this time. So congrats, you beat a powerful warrior. I'm only disappointed he was holding himself back."

Crowley's face had a mild "You have got to be fucking kidding me" on it.

The man in yellow robes pointed toward Ciel as the glass shards flew out of her body. "Anyway, she won't be being injured more. You may wish to cleanse her memory just slightly." The man advised. "Also, heal her current injuries."

Crowley raised an eyebrow and proceeded to heal Ciel the same way he had healed Lewis, though it was considerably more creepy this time. After a minute he pulled back and looked around. "Now, where do we go?"

As Ciel woke up and got over the horror of Crowley giving her mouth to mouth, she would have disjointed and confused blurs of being trapped. Mostly glass and reflections and pain and blood. And pain. Pure pain characterised those memories, making them unsavoury to focus on. But they'd undoubtedly become more clear as time went on.

Minh sat down in front of Ciel in the stands now, his own injuries healing. "How are you feeling?" he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

The man in yellow robes glanced at a watch. "Hmm...well, I suppose I can start the next stage soon enough."

[Nationstatelandsville]

Lewis vomited for six straight minutes (which was hell on his throat), before addressing the man in yellow.

"Hey, ye' dainty little pixie," he grumbled, standing up and brushing himself off, "bring back Karna and tell him that he wasn't so tough and also I would really like his autograph, please."

He cleared his throat and collected himself, his vision refocusing from the pain-induced haze.

"More to the point," he said, "give us the girl before I tear out your beating heart and choke ye' with it."

The man in the yellow robes shrugged. "Karna's gone." he said frankly. "And reviving him would be beyond us at this time. So congrats, you beat a powerful warrior. I'm only disappointed he was holding himself back."

Crowley's face had a mild "You have got to be fucking kidding me" on it.

The man in yellow robes pointed toward Ciel as the glass shards flew out of her body. "Anyway, she won't be being injured more. You may wish to cleanse her memory just slightly." The man advised. "Also, heal her current injuries."

Crowley raised an eyebrow and proceeded to heal Ciel the same way he had healed Lewis, though it was considerably more creepy this time. After a minute he pulled back and looked around. "Now, where do we go?"

As Ciel woke up and got over the horror of Crowley giving her mouth to mouth, she would have disjointed and confused blurs of being trapped. Mostly glass and reflections and pain and blood. And pain. Pure pain characterised those memories, making them unsavoury to focus on. But they'd undoubtedly become more clear as time went on.

Minh sat down in front of Ciel in the stands now, his own injuries healing. "How are you feeling?" he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

The man in yellow robes glanced at a watch. "Hmm...well, I suppose I can start the next stage soon enough."

What followed was the biggest "fuck you" in the history of each and every universe. I won't type it here, for fear of the sheer quantity of characters crashing the entire Internet.

It was big, is the point.

"Next stage?!" Lewis roared, "No, no, this is the last stage. Last stage. Anyone else? Last stage? Yes? Last stage? Yes. Last stage. No more stages. Goin' home now, takin' Ciel and the people of Moscow with us. Stages are over. Yup. Stages are over."

Lewis stomped the ground and swore.

"Fuckin' fantastic," he spat.

[Ende]

"I know exactly why." she snapped, stepping back, pushing his hands away from her.

"You're a power-hungry fool. That's the only reason why you rebelled against your own family, and, in that act, created thousands of years of strife and caused the death of an untold amount of beings. Your followers are all either your own creations, the demons, who are not intelligent enough to see the foolishness of their ways, or other power-hungry men, seeking only to serve their own desires. You left Heaven because you believed that you were superior to your brothers, and you rose up against them. Of course you were cast out. Your followers have joined you because they want the power that you promise to have - and that's the only reason why. So, yes, I know why." she said angrily, taking a few steps back from Lucifer, because standing next to him didn't seem like a very good idea at all.

"Dead wrong." he replied. "Absolutely wrong in every particular. I saw a quote in your mind which applies today and will always apply. History is written by the winners. I'm sure that if I win, I would also write history to be positive about myself. But I lost, didn't I?" he looked at Ivy. "Do you believe some of the things the angels have told you? Do you trust Uriel or Raphael? Can you trust them after knowing the things they have done- or in my case, may do?"

"I rebelled because I once loved a woman. I loved her with all my heart. But then she died. And because she had not been a chosen person or a believer in Yahweh, she did not come with me with Heaven though I tried to convince Michael and Uriel. They simply would not budge. And she died and went to Hell, where she died before I could save her." A darker chuckle now, not the kind of charming and light chuckles from before. "The people who killed her still wish they were dead, a century later. They still wish that." he paused. "You don't really know such absolute, true, pure love, my girl. You may have had skirmishes with something resembling it, but not truly. You had something like a crush when you met that boy James. And you yourself are not sure if you actually love the angel Calliel whose child you carry. You are afraid of love even though it's a supposedly central teaching of the books." Lucifer chuckled. "Which goes to show just how deluded and insane the angels had become. They do not truly follow the purpose of life or love or anything of the like."

"But I digress. I loved that woman with a love that you have not yet understood or experienced. Maybe one day you will. But I loved her with my heart and when she died....my heart was gone." He said. "They do not learn, the angels. And it's possible they never will. I found out how emotions worked, how these blocks our Father placed upon us worked...and I broke them. I broke them utterly and when I did, nearly every angel joined me."

"I find it vastly ironic you wish to be an angel when every angel, at heart, wishes only to be a human." he pointedly told Ivy.

A scene materialised in front of them where Lucifer stood over a gravestone, unmarked. It was a field or a meadow, the sky cloudy and rainy."She had been beautiful." he commented to a man in a robe.

The man in the black robe spoke, the voice sounding vaguely familiar to Lucifer. "So what are you to do then?" the man asked.

"Pardon me?"

"Who are you?"

"I'm Lucifer."

"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.

Lucifer paused. "I'm an angel of the lord..." he said with some uncertainty.

Richard nodded. "I see." he said, walking away and disappearing over the horizon while Lucifer continued to stare at the grave.

"I think that moment was a catalyst, really." Lucifer said to Ivy while they watched the scene.

Lucifer stared at the grave for another minute before roaring up at the sky. Fire erupted around him as he shot directly upwards, up into the clouds. There he stood in the rain itself, so nobody could see if he was weeping.

Lucifer turned to Ivy as the scene disappeared. "I realised that our Father was not here. And even if he were him, he had always emphasised love above the other doctrines. And I would follow that one doctrine of love." he raised a finger. "Ivy, tell me this. When were you happy? Were you happy when you lived among humanity and Calliel when he began to gain emotions? Or were you happy in the perfectly orderly world of Heavensgate? Nothing goes out of order if you are a favourite of Raphael, correct? So why did you enjoy Elfen High more? Because of the fact people had bonds? Because they cared?" he sighed. "I am disappointed with Raphael. He can feel and he chooses to try not to. But I'll say this again- Calliel. In all the time you had known him, when did he seem happiest? It was when he had gained emotions and broken his block."

"Ivy, I may have lost. But I am not a one-dimensional caricature of pure evil. I want angel to have choice and will. I want them to actually have love. I want them to be able to feel how I felt and how your friend Calliel is feeling now. There will be loss. Right now, they're seeing it. My troops are all demons who joined because I convinced them of a way out of simple blood and butchery- picture an entire Hell full of demons like your friend Naxinian- or angels who finally understood how good it feels to, well, feel." Lucifer said quietly. "That is why I'm fighting. I have reasons beyond pride. I may be proud to imagine that this is what our Father had wanted. But it's obvious. If you read the books, that is the word that is always repeated- love. And I'm trying to allow angels to love."

"So I ask you, Ivy- what do you think of my reasons?"

Ivy looked at him blankly.

"I...."

She paused, breathing deeply. He was...she was happier with the...no. No. No. That was wrong. These were lies. Because if he was telling the truth, everything was a lie. Everything. Everything she believed to be a lie was a truth, and everything she believed to be truth was a lie. It would rip her apart from the inside.

And so, she settled on the only response that she could truly believe.

"They're lies." she spat, fists clenching at her sides, only half-believing her own words.

"They're all lies, Lucifer." she continued angrily, but, at the same time, rather weakly. "What else would they be? Your "reasons" are selfish, thoughtless, and uncaring. You didn't create your war for love. You created it from hatred. Yes, you loved her, and perhaps you wanted to give the angels feelings and freedoms, but you didn't give them their freedom because you wanted them to be free. You gave them their freedom because you wanted an army. You wanted revenge. And, really, why wouldn't you? Michael and Uriel were the reason why you had lost her. You wanted to have revenge on them. And, so, knowing exactly what would happen, you gave people freedom. You know exactly what it creates. You know exactly what it does. Have you seen what it creates? Has that happened yet? Because I can tell you what happens, Lucifer. Hell happens. Your sharing of "love" created a hellish war. Hell isn't a planet - it's what you created. You created a war between demonkind and the angels that has lasted for millenia...for revenge. Maybe you don't know this. Maybe this is the past. This doesn't seem like Hell. Do you want to know what happens? You lose. You die. Your quest to spread "love" causes misery and hate for millenia. The only way to fix your "love" was to kill all who you had ruined. The angels aren't supposed to have feelings and thoughts like humans do...humans shouldn't even have that. All it causes is hatred and strife. Before your war, Lucifer, you were all brothers. You were
all servants of the Lord and the Father. And your fit of revenge, which you've deluded yourself into thinking as a noble cause, has caused so much more harm than Michael and Uriel ever did. Millions have died, because you couldn't let go of your grief for one person."

She paused for a moment, and then pulled her sword from her side. The golden metal from which it was made shined in the light of the room, and she pointed it at Lucifer.

"Do you know what you'll cause? Do you know what you'll do? You'll create Hell, Lucifer. And because of your petty revenge, you'll be stranded there, enveloped in your own hatred - until you die, or until you manage to break free and kill your brothers. You deserve to die." she said. Despite her attempted confidence, her hands were shaking violently, and it was clear that she was obviously too afraid to strike Lucifer, or even take a single step closer. She breathed, quickly and shallowly, pressing back against the wall.

"Why am I here?" she said, looking around. "Why are you here? Is this even real?" she stated, closing her eyes and praying that it was not real - but it was obviously real.

[Rupudska]

Yuzuki (who had been there the whole time due to her immense knowledge of the workings of plotholes), sighed, panting. "For once, I agree with you, Lewis. Fuck this. Fuck this in every way, and not in the sexual way. It doesn't deserve it. If there's a next stage, it better involve mass coitus."

"Fuck this, fuck that guy over there in yellow, and fuck you, anti-Yuzuki. In a sexual way of course, my dear."

She decided to draw her anti-tank sniper rifle, which had now been modified to be even longer range. It looked a bit like a Harkonnen now, except more modern and shinier. "Whatever is coming, though, it can bite my voluptuous ass."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Ciel regained consciousness when Crowley's healing magic started affecting her. She woke up and opened her eyes just in time to see him finish healing her and then pull away from her. It was something she never expected and as soon as he was away she sat up and dragged herself away from him a bit, though apparently it wasn't even necessary, since he had seemingly lost interest in her and was asking where to go next. She realized that she didn't know where she was, and looked around as well.

However, when she looked around, something happened. She saw as if her eyes had been covered in red glass: Everything she saw, she saw it in unpleasant shades of red, and sometimes she saw things that were not even supposed to be there. She saw herself several times, most unpleasant things happening to her every single time, most of said things having something to do with glass. Apprehension took over her, but not only that. Pain shot through her body, as if she had just experienced everything that happened to all of those reflections, all at once. She was visibly agonizing in that moment, with her eyes closed, one hand covering her face as her fingernails dug into her scalp, but without truly damaging anything, the other covering her torso, as if she was trying to protect herself from something. And in fact, she was, in a way, even though she knew it was a futile effort.

And then, as fugaciously as it happened, all of it was gone, though she was left with the aftermath of the sudden pain, and a fear of something like that happening again. And glass. She had such a fear of glass now, that it almost burned.

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, and opened her eyes, to see it was Minh, sitting in front of her. When he asked her how she was feeling, she wondered if she should explain everything to him. But before she could say anything to him, she was startled by Lewis' deafening, obscene cry. He and Yuzuki were obviously quite annoyed by something, but she couldn't tell what, as she had only just awakened. She only knew it had something to do with stages, and the yellow man, who she noticed after looking around a bit more.

However, she then realized she hadn't replied to Minh, so, turning back to him, she shook her head. "I do not feel well at all, Mr. Taka..." She said, looking down and covering herself with her arms, as if she was incredibly cold, or trying to protect herself from something once again. "What... What is going on?" She asked afterwards.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Minh sighed. "Don't worry, Ciel. Just relax and try to not worry. Just be ready to run if needed and fight if needed. But you've had a rough time. Just try to keep yourself relaxed. Basically, the Fae appear to have us in a trap. Now we need to save the people who were trapped in this city. But we seem to have more stupid games to play." He glared at the man in yellow robes.

The man in yellow robes gave a shrug. "Just a few more. And you cannot be getting the people here back. There is a simple explanation as for why." he replied. "You've been killing them the whole way here."

A long pause while Crowley thought about this. "What do you mean?' he growled. "Just what the fucking hell do you mean?"

"The Knights. You can't have possibly imagined we managed to bring all of them with us. No, no. The reason we have so many is because we...recruited them."

"You brainwashed them and transformed them." Minh said bluntly.

"Well, that is one way to look about it." The man conceded. "But they're far happier this way, do you not agree?"

"This was my city." Minh said quietly, an edge of steel in his voice. "Those were my friends and comrades."

"The outcome was inevitable." The man replied after a merry chuckle. Glasses appeared in his hand and he put them on, giving himself the look of a kindly old professor. "Now then, let us move onto the next stage of things-"

Minh crouched as though he was about to sprint, but Crowley held him back by grabbing his shoulder. Minh shot Crowley a near death glare and Crowley looked at him impassively. Minh sighed, calming down. "I apologise for my misconduct."

"Good. Let's move on." the man said simply.

Then they were in a battlefield, humans fighting other humans. But the other humans were much more muscular and well-defined and frankly handsome. If you watched from an outsider's view, you'd root for the other team instead of the humans who were messy, dirty, tired and frankly human. This seemed to be from the past, judging by how everyone had swords and crossbows instead of guns and airplanes. "The Holy Grail, my friends." The man in yellow robes said before seeming to fade away. "I suggest finding it."

They were standing in a camp with the humans who looked human and was currently staring at these new people in confusion. "Who are you?" one barked out in an obscure language. Crowley muttered a translation spell so everyone could adapt and speak.

[Nude East Ireland]

They were standing in a camp with the humans who looked human and was currently staring at these new people in confusion. "Who are you?" one barked out in an obscure language. Crowley muttered a translation spell so everyone could adapt and speak.

Damien, finally feeling better now that the fighting was over, walked forward to the man, and held out his hand. "My name is Damien Seward. I'm the wealthiest man in the entire world. We're here to search for the Holy Grail. Perhaps you've heard of it?"

[Nationstatelandsville]

Minh sighed. "Don't worry, Ciel. Just relax and try to not worry. Just be ready to run if needed and fight if needed. But you've had a rough time. Just try to keep yourself relaxed. Basically, the Fae appear to have us in a trap. Now we need to save the people who were trapped in this city. But we seem to have more stupid games to play." He glared at the man in yellow robes.

The man in yellow robes gave a shrug. "Just a few more. And you cannot be getting the people here back. There is a simple explanation as for why." he replied. "You've been killing them the whole way here."

A long pause while Crowley thought about this. "What do you mean?' he growled. "Just what the fucking hell do you mean?"

"The Knights. You can't have possibly imagined we managed to bring all of them with us. No, no. The reason we have so many is because we...recruited them."

"You brainwashed them and transformed them." Minh said bluntly.

"Well, that is one way to look about it." The man conceded. "But they're far happier this way, do you not agree?"

"This was my city." Minh said quietly, an edge of steel in his voice. "Those were my friends and comrades."

"The outcome was inevitable." The man replied after a merry chuckle. Glasses appeared in his hand and he put them on, giving himself the look of a kindly old professor. "Now then, let us move onto the next stage of things-"

Minh crouched as though he was about to sprint, but Crowley held him back by grabbing his shoulder. Minh shot Crowley a near death glare and Crowley looked at him impassively. Minh sighed, calming down. "I apologise for my misconduct."

"Good. Let's move on." the man said simply.

Then they were in a battlefield, humans fighting other humans. But the other humans were much more muscular and well-defined and frankly handsome. If you watched from an outsider's view, you'd root for the other team instead of the humans who were messy, dirty, tired and frankly human. This seemed to be from the past, judging by how everyone had swords and crossbows instead of guns and airplanes. "The Holy Grail, my friends." The man in yellow robes said before seeming to fade away. "I suggest finding it."

They were standing in a camp with the humans who looked human and was currently staring at these new people in confusion. "Who are you?" one barked out in an obscure language. Crowley muttered a translation spell so everyone could adapt and speak.

"Friends!" Lewis barked, grabbing a crossbow and a sling of bolts, "What's goin' on, men?"

They were standing in a camp with the humans who looked human and was currently staring at these new people in confusion. "Who are you?" one barked out in an obscure language. Crowley muttered a translation spell so everyone could adapt and speak.

Damien, finally feeling better now that the fighting was over, walked forward to the man, and held out his hand. "My name is Damien Seward. I'm the wealthiest man in the entire world. We're here to search for the Holy Grail. Perhaps you've heard of it?"

Lewis elbowed Damien. Hard.

"Quit jokin' with the men, Joshua, they don't need your shit!" he roared, like a commander disappointed in his soldier. It was really quite a simple game - pretend you're supposed to be there, and, given enough screaming and waltzing about all confident, and they'll buy it. Give specifics and, worst of all, outright state you're "the wealthiest man in the world" like an arrogant asshole, and they'll turn on you. Lewis had done this kind of thing before; he knew they'd accept a jester of a rookie, but not an aristocratic moron.

"Take us to the commander!" Lewis demanded of the nearest soldier, "We don't got all day!"

[Nightkill the Emperor]

"Dead wrong." he replied. "Absolutely wrong in every particular. I saw a quote in your mind which applies today and will always apply. History is written by the winners. I'm sure that if I win, I would also write history to be positive about myself. But I lost, didn't I?" he looked at Ivy. "Do you believe some of the things the angels have told you? Do you trust Uriel or Raphael? Can you trust them after knowing the things they have done- or in my case, may do?"

"I rebelled because I once loved a woman. I loved her with all my heart. But then she died. And because she had not been a chosen person or a believer in Yahweh, she did not come with me with Heaven though I tried to convince Michael and Uriel. They simply would not budge. And she died and went to Hell, where she died before I could save her." A darker chuckle now, not the kind of charming and light chuckles from before. "The people who killed her still wish they were dead, a century later. They still wish that." he paused. "You don't really know such absolute, true, pure love, my girl. You may have had skirmishes with something resembling it, but not truly. You had something like a crush when you met that boy James. And you yourself are not sure if you actually love the angel Calliel whose child you carry. You are afraid of love even though it's a supposedly central teaching of the books." Lucifer chuckled. "Which goes to show just how deluded and insane the angels had become. They do not truly follow the purpose of life or love or anything of the like."

"But I digress. I loved that woman with a love that you have not yet understood or experienced. Maybe one day you will. But I loved her with my heart and when she died....my heart was gone." He said. "They do not learn, the angels. And it's possible they never will. I found out how emotions worked, how these blocks our Father placed upon us worked...and I broke them. I broke them utterly and when I did, nearly every angel joined me."

"I find it vastly ironic you wish to be an angel when every angel, at heart, wishes only to be a human." he pointedly told Ivy.

A scene materialised in front of them where Lucifer stood over a gravestone, unmarked. It was a field or a meadow, the sky cloudy and rainy."She had been beautiful." he commented to a man in a robe.

The man in the black robe spoke, the voice sounding vaguely familiar to Lucifer. "So what are you to do then?" the man asked.

"Pardon me?"

"Who are you?"

"I'm Lucifer."

"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.

Lucifer paused. "I'm an angel of the lord..." he said with some uncertainty.

Richard nodded. "I see." he said, walking away and disappearing over the horizon while Lucifer continued to stare at the grave.

"I think that moment was a catalyst, really." Lucifer said to Ivy while they watched the scene.

Lucifer stared at the grave for another minute before roaring up at the sky. Fire erupted around him as he shot directly upwards, up into the clouds. There he stood in the rain itself, so nobody could see if he was weeping.

Lucifer turned to Ivy as the scene disappeared. "I realised that our Father was not here. And even if he were him, he had always emphasised love above the other doctrines. And I would follow that one doctrine of love." he raised a finger. "Ivy, tell me this. When were you happy? Were you happy when you lived among humanity and Calliel when he began to gain emotions? Or were you happy in the perfectly orderly world of Heavensgate? Nothing goes out of order if you are a favourite of Raphael, correct? So why did you enjoy Elfen High more? Because of the fact people had bonds? Because they cared?" he sighed. "I am disappointed with Raphael. He can feel and he chooses to try not to. But I'll say this again- Calliel. In all the time you had known him, when did he seem happiest? It was when he had gained emotions and broken his block."

"Ivy, I may have lost. But I am not a one-dimensional caricature of pure evil. I want angel to have choice and will. I want them to actually have love. I want them to be able to feel how I felt and how your friend Calliel is feeling now. There will be loss. Right now, they're seeing it. My troops are all demons who joined because I convinced them of a way out of simple blood and butchery- picture an entire Hell full of demons like your friend Naxinian- or angels who finally understood how good it feels to, well, feel." Lucifer said quietly. "That is why I'm fighting. I have reasons beyond pride. I may be proud to imagine that this is what our Father had wanted. But it's obvious. If you read the books, that is the word that is always repeated- love. And I'm trying to allow angels to love."

"So I ask you, Ivy- what do you think of my reasons?"

Ivy looked at him blankly.

"I...."

She paused, breathing deeply. He was...she was happier with the...no. No. No. That was wrong. These were lies. Because if he was telling the truth, everything was a lie. Everything. Everything she believed to be a lie was a truth, and everything she believed to be truth was a lie. It would rip her apart from the inside.

And so, she settled on the only response that she could truly believe.

"They're lies." she spat, fists clenching at her sides, only half-believing her own words.

"They're all lies, Lucifer." she continued angrily, but, at the same time, rather weakly. "What else would they be? Your "reasons" are selfish, thoughtless, and uncaring. You didn't create your war for love. You created it from hatred. Yes, you loved her, and perhaps you wanted to give the angels feelings and freedoms, but you didn't give them their freedom because you wanted them to be free. You gave them their freedom because you wanted an army. You wanted revenge. And, really, why wouldn't you? Michael and Uriel were the reason why you had lost her. You wanted to have revenge on them. And, so, knowing exactly what would happen, you gave people freedom. You know exactly what it creates. You know exactly what it does. Have you seen what it creates? Has that happened yet? Because I can tell you what happens, Lucifer. Hell happens. Your sharing of "love" created a hellish war. Hell isn't a planet - it's what you created. You created a war between demonkind and the angels that has lasted for millenia...for revenge. Maybe you don't know this. Maybe this is the past. This doesn't seem like Hell. Do you want to know what happens? You lose. You die. Your quest to spread "love" causes misery and hate for millenia. The only way to fix your "love" was to kill all who you had ruined. The angels aren't supposed to have feelings and thoughts like humans do...humans shouldn't even have that. All it causes is hatred and strife. Before your war, Lucifer, you were all brothers. You were
all servants of the Lord and the Father. And your fit of revenge, which you've deluded yourself into thinking as a noble cause, has caused so much more harm than Michael and Uriel ever did. Millions have died, because you couldn't let go of your grief for one person."

She paused for a moment, and then pulled her sword from her side. The golden metal from which it was made shined in the light of the room, and she pointed it at Lucifer.

"Do you know what you'll cause? Do you know what you'll do? You'll create Hell, Lucifer. And because of your petty revenge, you'll be stranded there, enveloped in your own hatred - until you die, or until you manage to break free and kill your brothers. You deserve to die." she said. Despite her attempted confidence, her hands were shaking violently, and it was clear that she was obviously too afraid to strike Lucifer, or even take a single step closer. She breathed, quickly and shallowly, pressing back against the wall.

"Why am I here?" she said, looking around. "Why are you here? Is this even real?" she stated, closing her eyes and praying that it was not real - but it was obviously real.

Lucifer gave a laugh. "Oh, you girl. You stupid, brilliant, beautiful, horrible, generous, selfish and human girl." he said in an amused way. "You've proving exactly what I'm trying to say. Look at you, quivering in fear, in disbelief, in anger and in reluctant belief. Because you know I'm right." he said calmly. Though he may have had arrogance in his voice, he no longer did. Now he was simply confident. "I am what I always said I was- an angel of justice and truth. And occasionally that truth lay outside Heaven. Will I create a true Hell?" he looked at her intensely. "I have seen your memories. I have seen what is in those. I know that because of my actions, eventually there will be a world where humans matter and are not just meat and servants. The angels fear you, do you know? So do the demons and all the pagans. And to be utterly honest, they shouldn't. They should praise you humans."

He looked at the ceiling. "What do you honestly believe? Your belief, not any other. Do you believe that life should be complete and absolute order? No love, no free will, no passion, no pain, no pleasure, no happiness, no sadness? Or do believe that life should be life?" he asked. "My father once told me that I would give the world an ideal to strive towards. They would follow me. We would stumble and fall. But eventually, we would rise up toward the stars. We would accomplish wonders. I know now he wasn't referring to me- he was referring to humanity in general, because my father believed in the human race as much as I do."

"Now, time for us to go. As for whether this is real...of course it's a dream, but why on Earth does that mean it isn't real?" he asked as he faded away into nothing.

Suddenly, Ivy woke up in a battlefield herself, though not the same as the one Lewis and his group were in. This one was quite plainly in Heaven, judging by the pictures she had been shown. But a different Heaven. A burning one, a Heaven on fire and being ripped apart. The sky was a dark red and there was screaming. Screams of pain and occasionally of joy. And there was blood in the air.

A tired man looked down at her, his features perfect like every angel. "Who are you?" he asked her bluntly, a sword in his hand. "I do not have time to waste."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Ciel listened to what Minh said to her, and nodded at him, trying to calm herself. It was quite possible that what she had just experienced was a one-time happening, wasn't it? It probably was. She tried to convince herself of this, and tried to relax. After that, though, something else occured to her. She had been able to speak perfectly well when she responded to Minh, hadn't she? Tentatively, she ran a hand through her neck, and was surprised to find that there was no shard of glass sticking out of her throat. She looked down, and examined herself, making sure that there wasn't any glass on her. After that, just to make sure, she stood up and stepped away from the group a bit, before singing a note, quietly enough that no one would hear her. She could sing perfectly. That meant she didn't retain any damage from... From what happened to her. At the thought of this, her lips curled into a small smile.

When she heard the conversation between Crowley, Minh, and the man in yellow, though, she found out that the Knights were simply people from Moscow who had been abducted and brainwashed. Suddenly, she felt bad for what happened to the Knight she confronted. But... It was the yellow man's fault, wasn't it? And she did it to protect Jacob and Yuzuki, didn't she? Yes, she did. The Knight died because of the blind loyalty to the Fae that was placed in his mind by the Fae themselves, not because of anything she did. She quickly convinced herself of this.

When they suddenly appeared in a camp with humans from one side of the battlefield, Ciel looked around, quite obviously confused by the sudden relocation, even though she probably should be used to it by now. After a while, though, her disorientation wore off and she paid more attention to what happened around her, specifically, the group. Seeing Lewis pretending to be part of the humans' army, she tried to follow his lead, adopting a pose that made her seem as if she knew exactly where she stood and exactly where she was going, even though it was unlikely to work, since the warriors probably noticed how disoriented she was upon her arrival.

All of that, however, didn't matter. What mattered was that, after a moment, her eyesight turned bloody again. Much to her surprise, she saw herself back in the room where she had been before, and saw all of the horrible things that happened, felt the horrible apprehension, and, above all else, suffered from the horrible pain. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, falling to one knee as she clutched her stomach.

Then, once again, it was gone, though Ciel couldn't help but feel that it was slightly worse than the previous time. After the pain was gone, she shakily stood up, and tried to appear as if nothing had happened, though she was obviously distraught and weary of what was happening to her.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Minh sighed. "Don't worry, Ciel. Just relax and try to not worry. Just be ready to run if needed and fight if needed. But you've had a rough time. Just try to keep yourself relaxed. Basically, the Fae appear to have us in a trap. Now we need to save the people who were trapped in this city. But we seem to have more stupid games to play." He glared at the man in yellow robes.

The man in yellow robes gave a shrug. "Just a few more. And you cannot be getting the people here back. There is a simple explanation as for why." he replied. "You've been killing them the whole way here."

A long pause while Crowley thought about this. "What do you mean?' he growled. "Just what the fucking hell do you mean?"

"The Knights. You can't have possibly imagined we managed to bring all of them with us. No, no. The reason we have so many is because we...recruited them."

"You brainwashed them and transformed them." Minh said bluntly.

"Well, that is one way to look about it." The man conceded. "But they're far happier this way, do you not agree?"

"This was my city." Minh said quietly, an edge of steel in his voice. "Those were my friends and comrades."

"The outcome was inevitable." The man replied after a merry chuckle. Glasses appeared in his hand and he put them on, giving himself the look of a kindly old professor. "Now then, let us move onto the next stage of things-"

Minh crouched as though he was about to sprint, but Crowley held him back by grabbing his shoulder. Minh shot Crowley a near death glare and Crowley looked at him impassively. Minh sighed, calming down. "I apologise for my misconduct."

"Good. Let's move on." the man said simply.

Then they were in a battlefield, humans fighting other humans. But the other humans were much more muscular and well-defined and frankly handsome. If you watched from an outsider's view, you'd root for the other team instead of the humans who were messy, dirty, tired and frankly human. This seemed to be from the past, judging by how everyone had swords and crossbows instead of guns and airplanes. "The Holy Grail, my friends." The man in yellow robes said before seeming to fade away. "I suggest finding it."

They were standing in a camp with the humans who looked human and was currently staring at these new people in confusion. "Who are you?" one barked out in an obscure language. Crowley muttered a translation spell so everyone could adapt and speak.

"Friends!" Lewis barked, grabbing a crossbow and a sling of bolts, "What's goin' on, men?"

Damien, finally feeling better now that the fighting was over, walked forward to the man, and held out his hand. "My name is Damien Seward. I'm the wealthiest man in the entire world. We're here to search for the Holy Grail. Perhaps you've heard of it?"

Lewis elbowed Damien. Hard.

"Quit jokin' with the men, Joshua, they don't need your shit!" he roared, like a commander disappointed in his soldier. It was really quite a simple game - pretend you're supposed to be there, and, given enough screaming and waltzing about all confident, and they'll buy it. Give specifics and, worst of all, outright state you're "the wealthiest man in the world" like an arrogant asshole, and they'll turn on you. Lewis had done this kind of thing before; he knew they'd accept a jester of a rookie, but not an aristocratic moron.

"Take us to the commander!" Lewis demanded of the nearest soldier, "We don't got all day!"

The confused man nodded quickly. "Sir!' he yelled instinctively, when a man who looked suspiciously like a darker-skinned Tommy Lee Jones seemed to appear out of nowhere and raise his hand. "At ease. I am the commander here, strangers. Welcome to Egypt. What can we do for you?"

[Nude East Ireland]

The confused man nodded quickly. "Sir!' he yelled instinctively, when a man who looked suspiciously like a darker-skinned Tommy Lee Jones seemed to appear out of nowhere and raise his hand. "At ease. I am the commander here, strangers. Welcome to Egypt. What can we do for you?"

'Joshua' stepped forward, and nodded. "We're with H.Q.," he said, immediately assuming a straight stance and nodding. He made sure to emphasize his stub of an arm, to show that he had combat experience. "Tell us what's going on here, we have delicate business in this region and will need all the information you have."

[Hardened Pyrokinetics]

The Jameses, meanwhile, had massive headaches from all the bullshit their player had missed. Luckily, EH James had his revolver while DH James had his rapier. Quickly he extinguished the flame surrounding the blade and sheathed it. The two cleared their throats and straightened up, but remained silent. They were just soldiers now.

[Nationstatelandsville]

The confused man nodded quickly. "Sir!' he yelled instinctively, when a man who looked suspiciously like a darker-skinned Tommy Lee Jones seemed to appear out of nowhere and raise his hand. "At ease. I am the commander here, strangers. Welcome to Egypt. What can we do for you?"

'Joshua' stepped forward, and nodded. "We're with H.Q.," he said, immediately assuming a straight stance and nodding. He made sure to emphasize his stub of an arm, to show that he had combat experience. "Tell us what's going on here, we have delicate business in this region and will need all the information you have."

"Quiet, soldier!" Lewis barked, "Only speak when your superiors give you permission! Do I look like your grandmother here?! THIS IS AN ARMY!"

He stepped forward and saluted Commander Jones. He'd gotten around to watching Men in Black, so he knew this guy didn't take any shit or something. Whatever. He liked playing the drill sergeant type, let him unleash his pent-up aggression. He had always felt that he was a Vietnam era West Point instructor born too soon.

"I am Commander Elliot Durwood!" he continued, "You are at my service! And who are you, soldier?!"