Elfen High 2: Skin to Bone, Steel to Rust

[Zarkenis Ultima]

"Do you still remember our yearly gambling meetings? Well, last year, I happened to have... A particularly bad day. The thing is that now I am indebted to someone who I can not really hide from, and what he wants is not material payment, either. It is something... Complicated. Not dangerous, as this man is only a dangerous man to those who do not stick to their word, but it is quite complicated." Alastor said. He was purposefully holding back some information, less out of fear that Randan would decline and more out of shame. "Either way, one day of servitude is all I ask. I can not tell you much more, or force you to accept, but I would be very grateful if you do." He stated. "I mean, I could pay you, but I am not sure if money is any use to you anymore." He said, motioning towards the garbage.

---

Eventually, the ship sank, and tortured Ciel no longer had anything that enthralled her. Thus, she stood up and dusted herself off. Looking around, she noticed that there was no one around anymore, but thankfully the portal still seemed to be in place. Someone should probably have done something about that, but for now it suited her just fine. Stepping through, she returned to Elfen High, where she started wandering the hallways for a while, unsure of what exactly to do, because seriously, classes were a thing of the past as far as she was concerned, and there was a ton of crazy things happening in the school but she didn't really feel like getting involved in any of that at the moment. It was immersed in these thoughts that she came to stand in front of the cafeteria.

"Maybe..." She thought as she was about to walk in, but instead she ended up landing on her backside, because she happened to bump into Faeborn Ciel, who ended up similarly.

"Sorry." The two said to each other in unison after standing up. But then they simply laughed at how silly that must have been. The two then started walking away from there together, tortured Ciel figuring that she didn't really need to eat at the moment.

"So how was the funeral?" The other asked her. Tortured Ciel didn't really know how to respond, being that she was really distracted watching the fire. In the end she gave a small shrug.

"It was... Interesting enough I suppose?" She said. The other simply chuckled. The two continued walking along, talking about unimportant stuff and doing nothing because the author is lazy and has to go.

[Constaniana]

William pulled himself out of the cavity in the stone he had created with the impact of his fall, casually brushing a few broken pebbles from his shoulder. Immediately after this Lord Oliver blasted a wave of emerald flames at him. William wasn't able to draw Excalibur in time, and the flames knocked him further back. Dasparrs fired another green jet of flame at him, and William braced himself for the impact, when, suddenly, the flames stopped, blocked by a dark force field. William looked up to see who his saviour was. It was this asshole who randomly attacked him at the beginning of the arc and then disappeared afterwards, because I was too lazy to keep him in William's storyline for most of the arc but I decided to pull him back out of my ass wherever forgotten characters go. "Schniezel?" William asked. "Forget that name, I was only using it that week because I lost a stupid dare with a asswipe pixie," the red-haired youth shook his head, facepalming. "This is the crappiest writing I've ever seen. It's literally paining me to say these awful lines Con," William looked up at the screen with a confused expression, as if trying to see who the other guy was talking to. Well, enough of this rubbish sub-plot Const said, picking them both up and putting them right next to Alastor and Randan. I don't know, teleporting and stuff. The ginger has it. And yes, I do enjoy the feeling of crushing the Fourth Wall's second life.

[Hardened Pyrokinetics]

Meanwhile...

The two Jameses lay in the grass of the meadow, staring up at the sky. Everything had gone crazy since they returned with Damien's body, and they had kind of faded into the background. They had both attended the funeral, of course, and EH James had left the sword with Crowley, but nothing much else really happened. Neither of them wanted to talk to anyone, or to each other.

Finally EH James spoke up. "So, you're going to see if you can return home now?" He asked casually.

"Yeah." DH James said with a yawn. "I think it's about time I returned home. I've lost my Crowley, my Minh, my Pierre... School's probably devastated, and I should get back and do what I can to help."

"Alright." EH James said sadly. "Good luck back there, hopefully you can keep it from devolving into the same shitpile this place is." DH James seemed to tense up slightly. "Relax, me, I was joking. You'll do fine." He reached over and grabbed his counterpart's wrist. "I hope you find your Ivy, as well."

DH James smiled. "Thank you." He whispered.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Randan nodded. "Alright then." he said. Then he listened to the gamble. "Oh. Yes. That's troublesome. But I'm sure we can work it all out..."

---

Calliel placed his hand on Ivy's shoulder gently. "It's fine. You had just had an accident on the borders of Heavensgate. Some demons were attacking." he said. "Nothing important." He knew he was lying, but...sometimes lies were better than the truth. They were better and nicer. It was odd, but he had been experiencing many odd things lately.

"I think it would do good for you to go back to Elfen High for a while. Just enjoy life for a while. Even if you're dead, well, I mean, you're still alive, well life is going on and you know, well-" he stopped himself. "Never had trouble with my words like that." he noted out loud. Then Calliel shook his head and looked at Ivy. "Just rest for a while, OK?" he requested, hugging her close. "I think you deserve that."

---

After dismissing Anton and giving him the job, Crowley glanced down at his papers. Raphael had sent him a report on Ivy's current mental state. Crowley sighed and looked up at Minh, rubbing his temples. "So she nearly died and then her soul went for a bloody happy and merry trip around time and space then?" he asked.

Minh nodded. "It would seem so."

"Fan-fucking-tastic." Crowley swore. "Fucking Michael. This is not good character development."

Minh looked surprised. "Michael? Didn't he disappear?"

"You don't think he still does things? Just because he doesn't do anything openly anymore doesn't mean he still isn't powerful. I will try to find him and contact him and demand an explanation. Even though Michael is the second most human angel I know, that doesn't mean his way at arriving at conclusions is the same as ours." Crowley said. "I bet you he's involved in this somehow."

Minh nodded. "He's the second most human angel? Who's the first?"

"Uriel, of course." Crowley looked up toward the ceiling. "Bloody hellfire. Egypt was just..." he shook his head. "Everyone in Moscow is still gone then?"

"Yes." Minh replied, his face clouding. "Yes, all still gone. Russia is in an uproar. My friends, Aleister. Those were my friends. My family. People I had grown up with. The Fae just...God, those Fae. That they can do such a thing..."

"Don't be afraid of them now." Crowley warned.

"Oh, don't worry, Aleister. I'm not afraid. I'm angry." Minh smiled, leaving.

---

In Hell, a surprised demon looked at an approaching Azazel. "Lord Azazel." he bowed. "I wasn't expecting to see you here." There was the distant screaming the background.

"How close is it?" Azazel demanded.

"This is a tiring project, sir." the demon nervously said. "With all due respect, it could take time. We aren't sure how long, but collecting that old DNA or trying to replicate it...it will take time. I'm sorry."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!" the screaming continued.

Azazel ignored it. "Very well. See to it that it is continued as soon as possible."

The demon nodded and bowed before turning back to it's project. "Alright then." he said to the screaming Rosalind. "The more you struggle..." he said, pulling out a scalpel. "The more this will hurt."

---

A month passed at Elfen High. Soon, it was December 23rd. It was a relatively slow month with little occurring. Thor had been saved through the efforts of the Elfen High medical bay, but Arthur had placed a curse on the sword. Thor was confined to a wheelchair generously created by Daisuke who helped also comfort the God.

"Christmas is almost here, you know." Crowley told Minh, taking a walk through the hallways. "Quite interesting, really, to see how the students react. They always do fun things for it. By the way, how did Lewis get his child back? That was quite odd."

Minh shrugged. "He said, and I quote, "Don't even ask." So I didn't." he said simply.

"Good plan then." Crowley said, leaving it at that. "Some new students came by recently. Should see how they fit in. This quiet...I don't like it, Minh. I really don't. Something's going to happen."

[Nationstatelandsville]

And then D was there with Crowley and Minh.

It's hard to say how, really. Kids just have a talent for that kind of thing. Especially kids who have built stealth technology more advanced than anything Sanchez imagines in his wildest dreams.

"Hey," he said casually, eating an apple and kicking his boots off at Crowley's face (like his father, he didn't much like Crowley), "These are some ambrosial apples, Minh, flavorsome. Can I have some more? Oh, and a pony?!"

Crowley's door, meanwhile, slammed shut again. D looked over his shoulder and frowned a bit.

"A pity," he sighed, "The effects of my new lock pick are impermanent in Crowley's realm of ensorcelled, uh... weird stuff. I believe it's called 'napalm'."

He dropped the apple core on the floor and turned to face Crowley again.

"Can I meet the new students?" he asked, "New students are fun. I bet they have really cool games I can... appropriate for my selfsame enjoyment. They always seem to have fun here, but usually only with one or two other people, and Dad never lets me go with them when they break off into smatterings like that.

I think they're fucking."

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Out of mild rage, Crowley immediately left the hallway, went into his office, sealed the doors and started playing music from his favourite rock band Nearly-Soulless Human/Jameson Hybrid. They did have such a great name.

[Nationstatelandsville]

Out of mild rage, Crowley immediately left the hallway, went into his office, sealed the doors and started playing music from his favourite rock band Nearly-Soulless Human/Jameson Hybrid. They did have such a great name.

D blinked.

And then, without skipping another beat, he pulled out a pipe bomb and stomped up to Crowley's office door, shoved it in the space between the door and the ground, and walked off.

Luckily, the bomb was deactivated by a glare from Megan, who camp stomping down the halls with Lewis.

"FRANKLIN DAMIEN JAMESON!" she thundered.

"D," the child insisted under his breath.

"Who gave ye' a fuckin' pipe bomb?" Lewis demanded.

"Minh," D responded. Immediately, Megan ripped a clump of hair off of Minh's head. Lewis would have argued, but holy fuck, no, he liked having hair.

"Come with me," Megan ordered, before grabbing D's hand and dragging him off. Lewis sighed and turned to Minh, smiling weakly.

"Thanks for baby-sittin'," he said, "Ye' know how it is, with classes and Megan's new job at the university."

[Ende]

Calliel placed his hand on Ivy's shoulder gently. "It's fine. You had just had an accident on the borders of Heavensgate. Some demons were attacking." he said. "Nothing important." He knew he was lying, but...sometimes lies were better than the truth. They were better and nicer. It was odd, but he had been experiencing many odd things lately.

"I think it would do good for you to go back to Elfen High for a while. Just enjoy life for a while. Even if you're dead, well, I mean, you're still alive, well life is going on and you know, well-" he stopped himself. "Never had trouble with my words like that." he noted out loud. Then Calliel shook his head and looked at Ivy. "Just rest for a while, OK?" he requested, hugging her close. "I think you deserve that."

Ivy nodded.

"That explains the scars, then. Kind of an odd shape, though, but, really, weirder things have happened. I...I remember hitting you. What was that about? And...there's just a large blank for the last couple of days...it's really weird, Calliel. It doesn't feel quite right, actually. But...okay, that's all?"

She threw her arms around Calliel.

"That's probably it, really. You wouldn't lie to me. I guess I'll rest, if you insist. I feel pretty good now, actually. It's been a while since I've felt like this, really." she said, hugging him tightly to her. She thought for a few moments.

"The last time I can remember feeling like this...well, you were there, and I was in a hospital bed, and you had healed me, and..."

She looked around.

"The universe has a thing for repetition, doesn't it?"

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Faeborn Ciel stirred from her restful sleep, slowly opening her eyes. She felt like she had slept a lot, so it was probably quite late already, not that she could tell, they had blocked out the window with some wooden planks to keep tortured Ciel from freaking out for having glass on the room and all. But either way, even though she would much rather stay there, she knew that she had a duty - Could one even call it that? - as the President of Elfen High, something she and her other had decided after both agreeing that she had the assertivity necessary and that tortured Ciel wasn't in a very good state after what happened with the Fae.

Thus she tried to get up, but soon noticed that there was something holding her down. Of course there was something holding her down. Namely, tortured Ciel, with her head over Faeborn Ciel's chest and her arm over her stomach. Faeborn CIel smiled placidly, running one hand through her other's hair and shaking her lightly with the other.

"Ciel." She called to her softly. "Wake up."

Tortured Ciel slowly stirred as well, and looked over at her other, blinking a few times before letting out a big yawn.

"Celes?" She called. Celes was the name the two of them had cleverly come up with for Faeborn Ciel, since having different names made a lot of things simpler. They also had given other people ways of differentiating between them, most notably the fact that, while Celes' hair was still curly, Ciel's had been straightened out, through magic or something. I don't know.

"What do you want?" Ciel asked quietly. "And what time is it?"

Celes simply giggled. "I have no idea. But I am fairly sure that it is late, lazy. And we have to get up." She said, implicitly noting the fact that Ciel was still over her.

"...I don't want to." Ciel replied. Celes merely sighed and, as gently as she could, pushed Ciel away.

"We have things to do, Ciel." She pointed out. Ciel simply giggled.

"Like what?" She asked. "Go to class to learn little of use?" She inquired, with a hint of sarcasm. "Act as the school's president when it quite obviously runs itself just fine?" She continued. Then she pulled Celes closer and kissed her.

"Stay here with me..." She began singing. Celes smiled.

"...This night we'll be together..." She continued, letting herself be pulled back down by Ciel.

---

"...And that is how the Native American Coalition, led by Chief Giant Water Buffalo, conquered New Dubai with the assistance of King Baal III and the United Inferno Socialist Monarchy, driving out the Neo-Nazi forces, which marked the beginning of the Socialist Age of Hell." Alastor concluded his lesson of the day. "Any questions, kids?" He asked. One unfortunate chap raised his hand, and inwardly, Alastor sighed. "Yes, Isaac? What is it?" He inquired.

"Do the Neo-Nazi forces of Undead Supreme Commander Rommel II have any relation to the neo-nazis of modern Earth?" The boy named Isaac asked, to which Alastor shook his head.

"That is a good question - Well, more or less, at least. But, the answer is no. Earth's neo-nazis have drifted far from the original nazi ideology, while Rommel II's followers stuck quite closely to it. Trust me, I would know, I was there." Alastor said, and the boy nodded, writing that down, a demonstration of dedication quite rare in Elfen High.

"However, there is also the matter of..." Alastor continued, but was cut off when a bell rang, somewhere. He sighed. "Bloody f... Alright, kids, get out of here." Alastor grumbled. Least they could do now that he worked here would be give him time to give his lessons properly, but no, 'set class schedules' and all that shit. Whatever.

Now, the reason he got a job at Elfen High, as a teacher of Hell History no less, is because Randan had convinced him that by doing so he could stay close by in case something regarding his debt came up, and that perhaps he could also convince some people to accompany him. But now the time for payment was coming closer and he hadn't really accomplished much.

Either way, he figured perhaps paying a visit to the president could help him. So he teleported right next to her office and knocked... And knocked... And knocked... Eventually he got tired and teleported inside, only to find the office empty. "Fucking great..." Alastor muttered to himself, sighing and plopping down on Celes' chair. "This is just great... Lucifer damn it... I need to just go and get wasted." He said to himself. So, he did just that. Moments later he sat in someone's car, drinking some stuff that would kill a human's liver in instants. For shits and giggles, he turned on the radio, and the newest single of Nearly-Soulless Human/Jameson Hybrid came up.

"Good song." He thought as he took another swig.

[Astrolinium]

Michael Clade was not listening to Nearly-Soulless Human/Jameson Hybrid. They were, to put it bluntly, far too mainstream for him.

Rather, he was listening to Unicorns Ate My Airplane. They were a post-fantasy grunge-pop/rock underground R&B group from Canada, and their music was absolute shit. His favorite song of theirs was "DC Nuked By a Pink Nuke Bomb". That would, for reference, be what he was listening to. iPods were fantastic, frankly - he'd only been introduced to them last year, accounting for how his first eighty-five years had been spent on the remote and legendary island of Hyperborea, where sickness and deathly old age had had no part. But now that land far across the Ocean was desolate, and (as far as he knew) Michael was the only survivor.

He was also wandering the halls when he should have been in class, not really bothering to give a fuck. He'd set the temperature in his immediate vicinity to a comfortable -14°C, and he was rocking out.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Calliel placed his hand on Ivy's shoulder gently. "It's fine. You had just had an accident on the borders of Heavensgate. Some demons were attacking." he said. "Nothing important." He knew he was lying, but...sometimes lies were better than the truth. They were better and nicer. It was odd, but he had been experiencing many odd things lately.

"I think it would do good for you to go back to Elfen High for a while. Just enjoy life for a while. Even if you're dead, well, I mean, you're still alive, well life is going on and you know, well-" he stopped himself. "Never had trouble with my words like that." he noted out loud. Then Calliel shook his head and looked at Ivy. "Just rest for a while, OK?" he requested, hugging her close. "I think you deserve that."

Ivy nodded.

"That explains the scars, then. Kind of an odd shape, though, but, really, weirder things have happened. I...I remember hitting you. What was that about? And...there's just a large blank for the last couple of days...it's really weird, Calliel. It doesn't feel quite right, actually. But...okay, that's all?"

She threw her arms around Calliel.

"That's probably it, really. You wouldn't lie to me. I guess I'll rest, if you insist. I feel pretty good now, actually. It's been a while since I've felt like this, really." she said, hugging him tightly to her. She thought for a few moments.

"The last time I can remember feeling like this...well, you were there, and I was in a hospital bed, and you had healed me, and..."

She looked around.

"The universe has a thing for repetition, doesn't it?"

Callile nodded. "Happens often, doesn't it?" he joked. "It's fine. All is well. Just go to Elfen High and rest a bit." Then they were in Elfen High's medical bay, Calliel letting her go. "Stay safe." he said, disappearing.

[Nude East Ireland]

"Chemistry! Chemistry is the study of what?"

The class was visibly bored. Most of them were drowsy, and perhaps hungover. Seeing that no one else raised their hand, a red-haired girl did. Anton pointed at her.

"Chemicals," she said, quite bluntly. There was a quiet laugh from some other students. Anton nodded, smiling. "Well, in a way, but no."

He walked in front of his desk, and leaned back against it. "Chemistry is the study of matter. Well, technically. I see it as the study of things changing. Molecules change. Solution, dissolution. It's fascinating, really."

He picked up what looked like a piece of glass. "This is methamphetamine. Obviously you all know what that means. But we aren't going to be 'tripping balls'. At least not until you learn to make it." He put it down on his desk. "But that's all in chapter seven. So we've got a ways to go. In any case, we'll be learning to make different combinations. Create chemicals of our own. And we'll make things like Dwarfen crystal to food coloring."

He sighed, and walked behind his desk. He looked at the clock, noticing that it was time to leave. "Er, class dismissed."

When the students cleared out, he sat down, and sighed. These kids have no will to learn. This place barely qualifies as a school. Well... at least they learn practical things. History and geography are important. Chemistry's important. Oh, right, paperwork. I've gotta fill out some files. International trade is awful.

He grabbed a bottle, and pulled it to his lips. Then he stopped, and examined it closer. "Oh, man, this is scotch. Why would I have this?"

He put the scotch bottle into his drawer, and grabbed a water bottle. "Wouldn't want to be drunk on the job." He smiled, and took a drink.

[Nationstatelandsville]

Faeborn Ciel stirred from her restful sleep, slowly opening her eyes. She felt like she had slept a lot, so it was probably quite late already, not that she could tell, they had blocked out the window with some wooden planks to keep tortured Ciel from freaking out for having glass on the room and all. But either way, even though she would much rather stay there, she knew that she had a duty - Could one even call it that? - as the President of Elfen High, something she and her other had decided after both agreeing that she had the assertivity necessary and that tortured Ciel wasn't in a very good state after what happened with the Fae.

Thus she tried to get up, but soon noticed that there was something holding her down. Of course there was something holding her down. Namely, tortured Ciel, with her head over Faeborn Ciel's chest and her arm over her stomach. Faeborn CIel smiled placidly, running one hand through her other's hair and shaking her lightly with the other.

"Ciel." She called to her softly. "Wake up."

Tortured Ciel slowly stirred as well, and looked over at her other, blinking a few times before letting out a big yawn.

"Celes?" She called. Celes was the name the two of them had cleverly come up with for Faeborn Ciel, since having different names made a lot of things simpler. They also had given other people ways of differentiating between them, most notably the fact that, while Celes' hair was still curly, Ciel's had been straightened out, through magic or something. I don't know.

"What do you want?" Ciel asked quietly. "And what time is it?"

Celes simply giggled. "I have no idea. But I am fairly sure that it is late, lazy. And we have to get up." She said, implicitly noting the fact that Ciel was still over her.

"...I don't want to." Ciel replied. Celes merely sighed and, as gently as she could, pushed Ciel away.

"We have things to do, Ciel." She pointed out. Ciel simply giggled.

"Like what?" She asked. "Go to class to learn little of use?" She inquired, with a hint of sarcasm. "Act as the school's president when it quite obviously runs itself just fine?" She continued. Then she pulled Celes closer and kissed her.

"Stay here with me..." She began singing. Celes smiled.

"...This night we'll be together..." She continued, letting herself be pulled back down by Ciel.

Suddenly, that morning, bears.

Which was probably terribly awkward, but bears don't give a shit.

"PRESIDENT CIEL STRIDER OF ELFEN HIGH!" boomed an elderly cave bear, "YOU HAVE BEEN SUMMONED BY ORDER OF THE HIGH ECHELONS OF THE BEAR COUNCIL ON CHARGES OF WARMONGERING, VIOLATION OF TREATY, DEFIANCE OF THE DIVINE, AND POLITICAL MALEVOLENCE! YOU SHALL APPEAR BEFORE COURT IMMEDIATELY, THE BOTH OF YOU!"

And they did.

---

"WILLIAM 'HEATHER' NILARK!" boomed the cave bear inside the Brit's room, "YOU HAVE BEEN SUMMONED TO TESTIFY IN THE TRIAL OF CIEL STRIDER! YOU MAY NOT REFUSE!"

And then William was with them.

---

They were inside the court of the High Echelons, the two Ciels bound to some rather comfortable wooden chairs and William in a small witness stand below the Bear-King's stand. Lewis himself sat in the center, above William, wearing the Bear-King's crown over his capotain (which he now wore everywhere, for whatever reason) and looking rather grim. The other bears looked warily around them, sitting in their seats, now joined by Demonslayer, who occupied what had once been Damien's position - obviously, he could no longer fulfill it.

"Shall we begin?" Lewis asked.

It was at this moment that the three Elfen Highers noticed Banjie hanging on a hook attached to the roof, held above all of their heads. Something severe was happening and the instrument was the subject.

"President Strider," Lewis continued solemnly, though his eyes betrayed his pity for the girls, "you are hereby charged by Generals Demonslayer and Slotheater of warmongering, violation of treaty, defiance of the divine, and political malevolence. How do you plead?"

[Zarkenis Ultima]

After all the shit in the above post went down, Celes looked around at the bears around her, and sighed in exasperation. Slowly and carefully she started tearing the white blanket that was covering both of them in half. Luckily, half blanket seemed enough to cover their bodies well, or at least the important bits.

Ciel, meanwhile, was simply alternating her rather confused stare between Lewis and General Demonslayer, not quite understanding what the hell was going on.

When Lewis listed the charges against them, Celes raised an eyebrow. "I assume that since the charges are against the President, I am the one being charged. So, non-guilty, your... Highness? Honor? No matter. Non-guilty, and I demand to know more about these charges." She said, before giving Ciel a reassuring look.

[Nationstatelandsville]

After all the shit in the above post went down, Celes looked around at the bears around her, and sighed in exasperation. Slowly and carefully she started tearing the white blanket that was covering both of them in half. Luckily, half blanket seemed enough to cover their bodies well, or at least the important bits.

Ciel, meanwhile, was simply alternating her rather confused stare between Lewis and General Demonslayer, not quite understanding what the hell was going on.

When Lewis listed the charges against them, Celes raised an eyebrow. "I assume that since the charges are against the President, I am the one being charged. So, non-guilty, your... Highness? Honor? No matter. Non-guilty, and I demand to know more about these charges." She said, before giving Ciel a reassuring look.

Lewis cleared his throat.

"Well, it's a bit... complicated," he began to explain.

"Allow me, my King," Demonslayer interjected, "To put it simply, you are born of the Fae. We bears remember the Fae War keenly and, though we did not participate actively, we felt its sting just as strongly as any other. Given that you, 'Celes', are the child of our foe, you are immediately our foe as well. Further than that, you have been appointed the leader of an allied country, thereby jeopardizing our peace - hence the 'violation of treaty' charges. And placed in the control, or very nearly, of an army? 'Warmongering' and simply that. If the bears cannot see Elfen High as anything but an enemy, than so is their army, and their army is a threat.

Your further misconduct comes in the form of the displayed weapon, Eirí̱ni̱, known better to you as 'Banjie'. It is a powerful creation of the false god Hephaestus and can grant mortal beings with tremendous power. This is not something we should trust to a Fae, is it? Yet the Bear-King, prudent though he may be at other times, seeks to grant you this 'banjo' in apology for rightly attempting to smite the Faeborn. 'Political malevolence' and 'defiance of the divine'.

Do you honestly stand to refute these charges?"

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Ciel looked at Demonslayer with a thoroughly perplexed expression on her face. However, Celes simply laughed.

"Yes, I do." She stated when asked if she stood to refute the charges.

"First of all, the reason for which you trust the Fae that said that they had created me is beyond me. I personally saw it as ridiculous at the moment, and still do. Furthermore, I apparently am being charged of misconduct because the Bear-King wished to gift me a weapon, not because of anything I did. If that is the case, then is it not possible for me to simply refuse to accept the gift?" She said.

And then, she looked at Lewis. "Oh, and Mr. Jameson, you have nothing to apologize for. It is all in the past now." She said with a smile.

[Nationstatelandsville]

Ciel looked at Demonslayer with a thoroughly perplexed expression on her face. However, Celes simply laughed.

"Yes, I do." She stated when asked if she stood to refute the charges.

"First of all, the reason for which you trust the Fae that said that they had created me is beyond me. I personally saw it as ridiculous at the moment, and still do. Furthermore, I apparently am being charged of misconduct because the Bear-King wished to gift me a weapon, not because of anything I did. If that is the case, then is it not possible for me to simply refuse to accept the gift?" She said.

And then, she looked at Lewis. "Oh, and Mr. Jameson, you have nothing to apologize for. It is all in the past now." She said with a smile.

Demonslayer nodded.

"Yes, it's possible," he replied.

One of the other bears smiled wickedly and piped up.

"But if you do," he said in a cartoonish Indian accent, "you will be refusing a creation that is, by its very nature, a peace offering. A peace offering from your enemies. We will have no choice but to assume the Bear-King is unable to conduct his duties in a safe manner, will be forced to seize his assets and duties for a short while, and will, assuredly, be forced to accept your refusal as a declaration of war by Elfen High."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Celes sighed after hearing the wicked bear's explanation of why refusing to accept Eirí̱ni̱, Banjie or whatever its name was would be just as bad as if she accepted it and went on her merry way, if not worse.

"So, what you are trying to make me understand here, is that you want war, is it not?" She said in a dead serious manner.

"What do you stand to gain from all of this? Why exactly did you bring me here? I have a good feeling that it was not for a simple trial." She stated, with an eyebrow raised, and then awaited for the bears to answer.

[Nationstatelandsville]

Celes sighed after hearing the wicked bear's explanation of why refusing to accept Eirí̱ni̱, Banjie or whatever its name was would be just as bad as if she accepted it and went on her merry way, if not worse.

"So, what you are trying to make me understand here, is that you want war, is it not?" She said in a dead serious manner.

"What do you stand to gain from all of this? Why exactly did you bring me here? I have a good feeling that it was not for a simple trial." She stated, with an eyebrow raised, and then awaited for the bears to answer.

"There is a way to escape this unfortunate fate," Demonslayer said, "You will be allowed to live, if only to avoid angering Headmaster Crowley and the Bear-King, and the original status quo shall be maintained.

You must resign from your presidency and refuse the present of Eirí̱ni̱. Instead, both things shall fall to William Nilark."

"Ye' can't tell me who to give my banjo to!" Lewis protested.

"I'm afraid, my King, to defuse this situation..." the bear general sighed, "we must."

[Constaniana]

William looked around the chamber with surprise when the bears suddenly teleported him in to the witness stand, although he was growing used to their shenanigins by now. "Wait, so...I...get the presidency?" William asked, beginning to sound excited. "Not bad," he said, shrugging. "Wait, now I'll have to fufill all my campaign promises...bollocks ....wait...I wasn't elected ....so technically I get out of doing most of that stuff." The young Englishman nodded. "This is a good day," he said to himself. He wondered how Ciel and Celes would take the news....

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Celes blinked. "So, let me get this straight. You interrupted us, teleported us out of our room and into this place, accused us of a myriad of nonsensical things, made sure that no matter the choice I took, the result would be war... Just to put William in the presidency?" She asked. She then let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head, muttering some things that forced Ciel to suppress a giggle. However, after a moment, Celes looked back up.

"Alright." She said with a small shrug. "I hereby resign the presidency of Elfen High, handing it to my opponent candidate William Nilark, and reject Eir... Um... How do you pronounce... Nevermind, not important. I reject Banjie." She stated.

And then glared at Demonslayer. "Now just send us back or I will sing songs not meant for mortal ears."

[Nationstatelandsville]

Celes blinked. "So, let me get this straight. You interrupted us, teleported us out of our room and into this place, accused us of a myriad of nonsensical things, made sure that no matter the choice I took, the result would be war... Just to put William in the presidency?" She asked. She then let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head, muttering some things that forced Ciel to suppress a giggle. However, after a moment, Celes looked back up.

"Alright." She said with a small shrug. "I hereby resign the presidency of Elfen High, handing it to my opponent candidate William Nilark, and reject Eir... Um... How do you pronounce... Nevermind, not important. I reject Banjie." She stated.

And then glared at Demonslayer. "Now just send us back or I will sing songs not meant for mortal ears."

"Done."

And the four Elfen Highers (along with Demonslayer and Banjie) were gone. In their place was the bear Dunefiend.

"Dunefiend," began the Indian, "do you understand your assignment?"

[Constaniana]

Celes blinked. "So, let me get this straight. You interrupted us, teleported us out of our room and into this place, accused us of a myriad of nonsensical things, made sure that no matter the choice I took, the result would be war... Just to put William in the presidency?" She asked. She then let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head, muttering some things that forced Ciel to suppress a giggle. However, after a moment, Celes looked back up.

"Alright." She said with a small shrug. "I hereby resign the presidency of Elfen High, handing it to my opponent candidate William Nilark, and reject Eir... Um... How do you pronounce... Nevermind, not important. I reject Banjie." She stated.

And then glared at Demonslayer. "Now just send us back or I will sing songs not meant for mortal ears."

"Done."

And the four Elfen Highers (along with Demonslayer and Banjie) were gone. In their place was the bear Dunefiend.

"Dunefiend," began the Indian, "do you understand your assignment?"

"I think so, Indian. I just watch William and the Ciels, make sure they don't do anything daft, then go burn down the beef district of Saigon l think, right?" The Syrian Brown Bear said, before scratching his head. "Or did I miss something?"

[Nationstatelandsville]

"Done."

And the four Elfen Highers (along with Demonslayer and Banjie) were gone. In their place was the bear Dunefiend.

"Dunefiend," began the Indian, "do you understand your assignment?"

"I think so, Indian. I just watch William and the Ciels, make sure they don't do anything daft, then go burn down the beef district of Saigon l think, right?" The Syrian Brown Bear said, before scratching his head. "Or did I miss something?"

The loudest fucking sigh ever.

"You influence the child," the Indian said, "Convince him subtly to follow the will of their bears, train his army to be loyal to the Bear-King and not Crowley. Should be easy enough, Crowley's an ass and I imagine the Bear-King will do the same. As such, when the war ends and the Bear-King is dead, we will still have that school under our thumb. Don't fuck it up."

[Hardened Pyrokinetics]

James strolled down the halls of Elfen High, his boots echoing along the corridors. He seemed to be studying something - The walls, maybe? The lockers? Pictures, doors, and windows? All of the above?

Whatever it was, he also seemed to be waiting for something. Or someone. Finally he stopped and held up his right hand. "Before you say anything, yes I know what my job is, no I'm not neglecting my duties just to be a dick, and Lazrian's explosive diarrhea has been cleaned up. I was actually waiting for you, Richard."

He turned to face his boss, smiling. "We haven't had a chance to chat since I got back. Figured now would be a good time."