Elfen High 2: Gotterdammerung

[Nationstatelandsville]

There was a long pause.

"Aleister," D said, "you will not touch my sister. Do you understand me? Because you may be a god amongst men, but you know better than any other that no god is immortal."

D licked his lips. There were four solutions to this; Rosalind could not be risked, and even if she could, D had no idea where she was. The angel could be left to die, but Crowley would never allow that - the stubborn ass had long since taken a liking to the angel, and would never let it die. Even if he did, what that could do to Crowley made D shutter. The third solution was unthinkable, far too risky to even contemplate.

That only left one.

"You have to use Richard," D resolved, "Even if I wanted to risk Rosalind, I can't find her and you know she can't be found when she doesn't want to be. Not by any but you, and you can't leave right now. I'm sorry, but Richard is the only way."

"I've sent a message to Jade Gates then." Crowley said promptly. "They're looking for Richard and should be here with them soon enough." he said, with a glance at D and Aziraphale. "So, I assume this happened on the moon." he muttered. "And nobody mentioned that to me, how nice. Anything else I should be aware of, D?" he asked the other boy sardonically. "Anything else I should really quite know about?" he shook his head and pulled out another syringe, cleaning it in preparation for Richard.

D developed the rather unsettling feeling that Crowley had just glanced at him, despite the two being several million miles away, and nearly vomited.

"Well, I honestly wouldn't know," D said, "All I know is that he crashed into your school - you'll have to fix the roof, by the way - during the Thule attack, and proceeded to attempt to murder a few people, including himself and Sanchez. I didn't want to stop him either, but you know how it is.

He's gone insane. The angel, I mean."

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Henry shook his head toward Fen. "I'm afraid Mr. Crowley is currently busy." he apologised. "He's performing surgery, it appears, finally putting that medical degree to use. Though I always figured it was fraudulent..." Henry shrugged. "And he earned it in the 1800s, so who knows what kind of surgery he's doing?"

---

Crowley did not wash his hands.

---

Henry nodded to them. "We'll be taking a train soon down to Heavensgate. It'll be a bit rough-" Henry suddenly grabbed them all in a giant hug with one massive arm, and used the other one to reach into empty space. Then, very suddenly, they felt themselves all being dragged rapidly across the ground- and then ending up in a pure white space of nothingness.

Henry used his head to knock on an invisible wall. Right next to them, another door opened up, revealing a brightly lit train car. He threw them all inside and then jumped in himself.

The train car was quite lavish and extravagant, with humans and non-humans alike enjoying the food and such over a table. It looked like a five star restuarant, really. One that happened to be abroad a magical invisible train. It wasn't invisible now though - they could see everything quite well from the inside.

Even if it became apparent to her that the voyage to Hell was much more comfortable and lavish than expected, Hilde defiantly crossed her arms, pouting at Henry, Divia, and pretty much anyone else in the wagon except for William.

"I refuse to eat up until you explain why you kidnapped me and my assistant to bring me to yqour demon infested hell-hole of a planet!" Hilde demanded, angrily banging her first against the table. "And I am not going to eat up until you do what I asked!"

Henry paused. "You know, I would have explained it, but I figure you can starve. That's a good plan." he nodded happily, eating what appeared to be something similar to noodles, except he was using a dagger instead of a fork, and somethings were obviously moving in there before they were stabbed.

He also nodded to Divia. "You can relax, dear. You don't need to mention your God in everything - it gets tiring." Though very much what an angel would do. was his mental thought.

"So, anyone but the Nazi have questions? I'll give a synopsis. Crowley's busy and told me I could borrow some students to explore around in Hell to discover why those towns became lost. First we are going to Heavensgate to get room and board for a night so I can gather supplies and a guide, then we'll be going into the desert to the sites where these towns had been."

[Nightkill the Emperor]

"Merde." Richard muttered again. "Alright then. I don't have too much of a choice. I assume we'll be going to wherever Crowley is by way of teleporter?" he sighed. "My name is Richard Michaelson, by the way. Son of Ivy Green and Calliel Michaelson. A human-angel hybrid, first in...a long time. Nobody really told me the specifics." he admitted. "Who would you be?"

Jade might remember Ivy Green as one of the students who had been killed when demons invaded Elfen High all the way back in 2018, when she had been a mere student. Ivy had also had a small crush on John Calhoun back then, when he was less of a dickhead.

Jade shook her head. "Unless he pulls us out of the blue, no. We've just got a really fast car." She frowned. "Ivy... I remember her, she was... well, at least nice to me, though we didn't talk much. And... wait, how are you a human-angel hybrid? I wouldn't have thought that that could happen, at least from-" she cut herself off, before saying 'genetics'. Or 'science'. "Er. Nevermind. I... can't really say anything about science, back from the dead now as I am."

Jade shook her head. "Unless he pulls us out of the blue, no. We've just got a really fast car." She frowned. "Ivy... I remember her, she was... well, at least nice to me, though we didn't talk much. And... wait, how are you a human-angel hybrid? I wouldn't have thought that that could happen, at least from-" she cut herself off, before saying 'genetics'. Or 'science'. "Er. Nevermind. I... can't really say anything about science, back from the dead now as I am."

Lana stepped in, bored to death with trying to stay quiet. If she was going to be dragged along its this, she would at least make some sense of it. She stood next to Jade and crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "Okay, first of all, human-angel? Come on, you've got to be kidding me." She paused for a second, thinking over the name again. "Michaelson..." She added before anyone could intrude. "I've heard that before."

"Magic, actually. Virgin birth. Angels can do that. It's very uncommon though." he explained. "My father is Calliel Michaelson." he addressed Lana now. "He helped fight in the Demonic War and is a general go-to guy for Crowley's business in Heavensgate. In fact-"

This is where a Crowley hologram projected out of Jade's phone camera.

It glanced at the three of them. "Well, interesting. You got Richard. Nice work. Don't be too concerned about me being projected of your phone - just some technology stuff. I'll pick up the package, by which I mean Richard, in just a bit."

Hologram-Crowley also glanced at Lana. "Who are you?" he asked the student, who would probably be a bit astounded by the headmaster of the school - generally considered the world's premier wizard - talking directly to her.

[Vesperis]

Jade shook her head. "Unless he pulls us out of the blue, no. We've just got a really fast car." She frowned. "Ivy... I remember her, she was... well, at least nice to me, though we didn't talk much. And... wait, how are you a human-angel hybrid? I wouldn't have thought that that could happen, at least from-" she cut herself off, before saying 'genetics'. Or 'science'. "Er. Nevermind. I... can't really say anything about science, back from the dead now as I am."

Lana stepped in, bored to death with trying to stay quiet. If she was going to be dragged along its this, she would at least make some sense of it. She stood next to Jade and crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "Okay, first of all, human-angel? Come on, you've got to be kidding me." She paused for a second, thinking over the name again. "Michaelson..." She added before anyone could intrude. "I've heard that before."

"Magic, actually. Virgin birth. Angels can do that. It's very uncommon though." he explained. "My father is Calliel Michaelson." he addressed Lana now. "He helped fight in the Demonic War and is a general go-to guy for Crowley's business in Heavensgate. In fact-"

This is where a Crowley hologram projected out of Jade's phone camera.

It glanced at the three of them. "Well, interesting. You got Richard. Nice work. Don't be too concerned about me being projected of your phone - just some technology stuff. I'll pick up the package, by which I mean Richard, in just a bit."

Hologram-Crowley also glanced at Lana. "Who are you?" he asked the student, who would probably be a bit astounded by the headmaster of the school - generally considered the world's premier wizard - talking directly to her.

Lana jumped slightly at the sudden hologram and the voice that followed. It was sudden, unexpected, and right in the middle of her damn conversation. She was curious too, it was no fair. It took her a second of looking at the hologram to notice something a little off. Her jaw dropped and her arms fell to her side.

"Headmaster?" She asked, actually astonished. "I'm-" she began to recite the rest of her title but thought it wise to do otherwise, and was kind of flabbergasted at the fact that the headmaster was even addressing her.

[Swith Witherward]

Henry paused. "You know, I would have explained it, but I figure you can starve. That's a good plan." he nodded happily, eating what appeared to be something similar to noodles, except he was using a dagger instead of a fork, and somethings were obviously moving in there before they were stabbed.

He also nodded to Divia. "You can relax, dear. You don't need to mention your God in everything - it gets tiring." Though very much what an angel would do. was his mental thought.

"So, anyone but the Nazi have questions? I'll give a synopsis. Crowley's busy and told me I could borrow some students to explore around in Hell to discover why those towns became lost. First we are going to Heavensgate to get room and board for a night so I can gather supplies and a guide, then we'll be going into the desert to the sites where these towns had been."

Fen coughed. "Henry, what's to stop us from disappearing?" She licked a smudge of poi from her knuckle. "You don't know what's behind it, right? Does it target just towns, or do other things vanish as well? You know, landmarks or forests?"

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Zoryana and Daniel left Raphael's office in silence and in a bit of a rush - but they did notice the archangel discreetly pulling out a bottle of imported Earth beer from underneath his rich dark brown wood desk. German beer, however.

"At least he has good taste." Zoryana observed when they were outside the office, but didn't add more to that. The unspoken words were "He isn't too holy after all," which was also an obvious fact for those who spent time with Raphael. The archangel did not seem to adhere very strictly to the common stereotypes of an angel - rather than being a devout and pure harp player on a cloud, Raphael was quite obviously a tired, jaded and cynical soldier. Something that Zoryana easily related to.

"I speak decent enough Latin and fair Hebrew, so I can get by in this city." Zoryana explained when they left Raphael's building. The church-like structure looked more sinister after having spoken to the archangel - it looked just as much like a fortress as a church. With the multitude of chest-high walls around it, this church would be easy to defend and much harder to invade. On the top, around four angels could be seen patrolling the roof, with more walking quite nonchalantly on the ground. Zoryana approved - it was paranoia, and paranoia was something that generally kept one alive.

Unfortunately for them, Uriel was likely to be just as paranoid, if not more. Zoryana turned to Daniel. "We'll talk more later about the invasion-" when we're not within earshot of Raphael or his friends was the unspoken words again, "But what do you think? About Heavensgate, I mean. There's bound to be a pub here. Not in the angel areas, but in the lower class human and demon areas. I recall some here then. It'd likely be a good place to visit right now, after the last few hours of extreme seriousness."

For a moment, Daniel hesitated. There was a time when I would have refused out of hand to go within a hundred yards of a bar, he remembered. I was a warrior of God, then, called to higher things. The priest shrugged. Now I'm just another of God's children: a shepherd without a flock. Daniel turned suddenly, his pale blue eyes studying Zoryana: her translucently pale skin, her long blonde hair. Or perhaps not quite.

The moment passed. Daniel let out a deep breath and nodded. "Aye," he agreed wearily. "I could do with a pint or two." Even as he spoke, the Sabbatanos' gaze flickered over the surrounding area, noting the angels on patrol, the pedestrians, the vehicles; resting for a moment on windows and alleys and doorways. A new place. Daniel was acutely aware of how dangerous the unfamiliar could be: one never knew from whence to expect attack. And so the priest was alert, focused, on guard - his hands hung loosely at his sides, ready to race for the handguns beneath his coat.

But he could also really use a drink.

With a wry grin, Daniel waved a hand. "You're the one with friends in low places," he remarked with a gently teasing glint in his eye. "Lead on." As they began to thread their way through the streets, Daniel shrugged. "As for what I think of Heavensgate? Well - it's imperfect, like every other place. Divided. But it seems to be trying to do its best to create a place where all sorts of people can live with a bare minimum of decency - and that's really all that any city or nation can do." The priest shrugged a second time. "Not the most ringing endorsement, I know - but the world being what it is, I couldn't really ask for more."

As they started walking out of the angelic centre of the circular city, they noticed the well-polished church-like buildings and residences being replaced by more shoddy, traditional looking buildings made of bricks and stone, stretching toward the sky like skyscrapers (though with considerably less grandeur and shine). This was the area for lower-class angels and humans, a merging of American-style city buildings and angelic design. It felt more humble than the angelic centre - the skyscrapers were there mainly out of pragmatism. Heavensgate could be tightly crammed.

There was less security here than there had been in the centre. The signs were written in Hebrew, Latin and English for convenience, since much ISSR business would get done in this area and it was a fair bet that ISSR soldiers would know English at the least. Very rarely they'd see signs in the squiggles of Demonic. Despite that, even those signs would seem almost like a grudging concession. Neither the humans nor the angels particularly wanted to see demons in this area - they'd rather that their kind remain in the slums on the outer layers.

One sign on a six story red brick skyscraper declared, in all four languages, a simple message. "Lord's Blind Spot - located rooms B1 and B2." (B meaning 'basement level'.) Zoryana openly laughed on seeing that. "I'm always amazed the owner got this spot." she observed. "I can't imagine angels being very happy with that. And according to him, they rarely are." She looked at Daniel's puzzled expression. "Norack's the friend in low places here." she explained. "He's an Orc. Quite an old one too. He even claims to remember the Empire."

The Orc Empire. That was a mysterious relic of the past now. The Orcs once held a society that was the first to unify all of Hell and all its myriad species and demons under a powerful, expansionist war machine respected by all gods and other beings, who generally did not try to mess with them. Standards were living had been high in the Empire - but it became stagnant, corrupt and bloated, as they all tend to, with the native demons less seen as full citizens than as slaves and weak. Who else brought down the Empire but Lucifer himself, all that long time ago? Now the orcs were just seen as scavengers or criminals, unrespected and considered brute fools. But there was a time long before when it was different, and many Orcs recalled it pleasantly. But it was so ancient that the details of it were now just as much myth as factual.

Zoryana opened the door to the red brick building, seeing that the ground floor was converted into an impromptu train station of sorts. There was an actual railway running through the end of the room (which now seemed quite massive, though it seemed small on the outside), and people were being advised to stay at least two metres away from the edge of the tracks, so they didn't get hit by any incoming trains. Zoryana didn't react to it - she'd seen it before, even it had been a shock and quite odd. "The train sounds aren't heard on the bottom floors, so don't worry about that." she reassured Daniel. There were two stairways a metre away from them - one going down, one up. Zoryana nodded at the priest and began trotting down.

There they found a rather more ordinary scene - a dozen humans, a dozen angels and a few demons staring into their beer like they didn't want to see anything else ever again. Zoryana and Daniel sat down on the bar stools, with a human bartender rushing out to see them.

"What can we do for you?" he asked in Heavensgate Latin. When they looked up to see the menu, they'd notice how it would shift and change, so that everyone saw something different - the menus showed exactly what you wanted to eat and drink, though the price tag (in American dollars) was quite expensive.

"I always put it on Crowley's tab." Zoryana explained, ordering some old fashioned Russian vodka. Because of course she would.

---

Unlike Loki, Crowley did know why he got those prices. He didn't care. He passed them onto D.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

"Magic, actually. Virgin birth. Angels can do that. It's very uncommon though." he explained. "My father is Calliel Michaelson." he addressed Lana now. "He helped fight in the Demonic War and is a general go-to guy for Crowley's business in Heavensgate. In fact-"

This is where a Crowley hologram projected out of Jade's phone camera.

It glanced at the three of them. "Well, interesting. You got Richard. Nice work. Don't be too concerned about me being projected of your phone - just some technology stuff. I'll pick up the package, by which I mean Richard, in just a bit."

Hologram-Crowley also glanced at Lana. "Who are you?" he asked the student, who would probably be a bit astounded by the headmaster of the school - generally considered the world's premier wizard - talking directly to her.

Lana jumped slightly at the sudden hologram and the voice that followed. It was sudden, unexpected, and right in the middle of her damn conversation. She was curious too, it was no fair. It took her a second of looking at the hologram to notice something a little off. Her jaw dropped and her arms fell to her side.

"Headmaster?" She asked, actually astonished. "I'm-" she began to recite the rest of her title but thought it wise to do otherwise, and was kind of flabbergasted at the fact that the headmaster was even addressing her.

"Just looked you up, you're Lana something or another. Student of fairy origin. Interesting. Apologies you were caught up in this, anyway." he shrugged. "I'll bring you three into Scotland, just give me a second-"

The three of them felt themselves teleported into the ISSR lab where Crowley had been performing surgery. If they glanced around, they'd see what appeared to be a top notch medical facility - and then Aleister Crowley standing with a lab coat, holding a scalpel and a knife in his hands, while two angels lay unconscious on two separate beds (one of them with his head split open).

Richard stared at the un-split head angel. "That's my dad!" he barked at Crowley. "What the hell?"

[Constaniana]

Henry paused. "You know, I would have explained it, but I figure you can starve. That's a good plan." he nodded happily, eating what appeared to be something similar to noodles, except he was using a dagger instead of a fork, and somethings were obviously moving in there before they were stabbed.

He also nodded to Divia. "You can relax, dear. You don't need to mention your God in everything - it gets tiring." Though very much what an angel would do. was his mental thought.

"So, anyone but the Nazi have questions? I'll give a synopsis. Crowley's busy and told me I could borrow some students to explore around in Hell to discover why those towns became lost. First we are going to Heavensgate to get room and board for a night so I can gather supplies and a guide, then we'll be going into the desert to the sites where these towns had been."

Fen coughed. "Henry, what's to stop us from disappearing?" She licked a smudge of poi from her knuckle. "You don't know what's behind it, right? Does it target just towns, or do other things vanish as well? You know, landmarks or forests?"

"And how exactly do these places disappear? Have search parties already gone to where the towns formerly were and found all the buildings and people missing, or have you simply lost contact with then and every other search party's vanished too?" William asked, sipping from his drink before starting on his Yorkshire pudding.

[Vesperis]

Lana jumped slightly at the sudden hologram and the voice that followed. It was sudden, unexpected, and right in the middle of her damn conversation. She was curious too, it was no fair. It took her a second of looking at the hologram to notice something a little off. Her jaw dropped and her arms fell to her side.

"Headmaster?" She asked, actually astonished. "I'm-" she began to recite the rest of her title but thought it wise to do otherwise, and was kind of flabbergasted at the fact that the headmaster was even addressing her.

"Just looked you up, you're Lana something or another. Student of fairy origin. Interesting. Apologies you were caught up in this, anyway." he shrugged. "I'll bring you three into Scotland, just give me a second-"

The three of them felt themselves teleported into the ISSR lab where Crowley had been performing surgery. If they glanced around, they'd see what appeared to be a top notch medical facility - and then Aleister Crowley standing with a lab coat, holding a scalpel and a knife in his hands, while two angels lay unconscious on two separate beds (one of them with his head split open).

Richard stared at the un-split head angel. "That's my dad!" he barked at Crowley. "What the hell?"

Lana opened her mouth to object, but the teleportation occurred before she could even say anything. She felt suddenly dizzy and disoriented. She held her head in her hands. "Noooo." She huffed. "Stop it with the god damned teleportation already." She then proceeded to fall on her butt, holding her head.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

"Just looked you up, you're Lana something or another. Student of fairy origin. Interesting. Apologies you were caught up in this, anyway." he shrugged. "I'll bring you three into Scotland, just give me a second-"

The three of them felt themselves teleported into the ISSR lab where Crowley had been performing surgery. If they glanced around, they'd see what appeared to be a top notch medical facility - and then Aleister Crowley standing with a lab coat, holding a scalpel and a knife in his hands, while two angels lay unconscious on two separate beds (one of them with his head split open).

Richard stared at the un-split head angel. "That's my dad!" he barked at Crowley. "What the hell?"

Lana opened her mouth to object, but the teleportation occurred before she could even say anything. She felt suddenly dizzy and disoriented. She held her head in her hands. "Noooo." She huffed. "Stop it with the god damned teleportation already." She then proceeded to fall on her butt, holding her head.

Crowley shrugged, putting down a knife and lifting the girl up with his outstretched hand. He then handed over some gum. "Chew on this." he ordered. "Helps with the disorientation. It only feels bad the first few times, you get used to it. The school's been acting up lately, so I think its worried about something. Or horny. God knows."

[Vesperis]

Lana opened her mouth to object, but the teleportation occurred before she could even say anything. She felt suddenly dizzy and disoriented. She held her head in her hands. "Noooo." She huffed. "Stop it with the god damned teleportation already." She then proceeded to fall on her butt, holding her head.

Crowley shrugged, putting down a knife and lifting the girl up with his outstretched hand. He then handed over some gum. "Chew on this." he ordered. "Helps with the disorientation. It only feels bad the first few times, you get used to it. The school's been acting up lately, so I think its worried about something. Or horny. God knows."

Lana took the gum gingerly before looking it over once. The man's voice was commanding, and she guessed she didn't have a choice otherwise. It tasted like nothing, odd enough, and she sighed as the dizziness left her. "What does the school having a hard-on have to do with me being here?" She asked, at least attempting to keep her voice down.

[Nationstatelandsville]

Crowley shrugged, putting down a knife and lifting the girl up with his outstretched hand. He then handed over some gum. "Chew on this." he ordered. "Helps with the disorientation. It only feels bad the first few times, you get used to it. The school's been acting up lately, so I think its worried about something. Or horny. God knows."

Lana took the gum gingerly before looking it over once. The man's voice was commanding, and she guessed she didn't have a choice otherwise. It tasted like nothing, odd enough, and she sighed as the dizziness left her. "What does the school having a hard-on have to do with me being here?" She asked, at least attempting to keep her voice down.

"Can I take that one?" D snarked over the phone, because magic phones are magic. And phones.

"It's because you are inside said 'hard-on', you idiot," D said, "And it's a dimensional erection at that; a warp in space, wrinkle in time. I barely understand it myself, and I invented a new kind of star."

D cleared his throat, "Has the school been, uh, doing this often, Crowley? You really should've told me."

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Lana took the gum gingerly before looking it over once. The man's voice was commanding, and she guessed she didn't have a choice otherwise. It tasted like nothing, odd enough, and she sighed as the dizziness left her. "What does the school having a hard-on have to do with me being here?" She asked, at least attempting to keep her voice down.

"Can I take that one?" D snarked over the phone, because magic phones are magic. And phones.

"It's because you are inside said 'hard-on', you idiot," D said, "And it's a dimensional erection at that; a warp in space, wrinkle in time. I barely understand it myself, and I invented a new kind of star."

D cleared his throat, "Has the school been, uh, doing this often, Crowley? You really should've told me."

Crowley rolled his eyes. "I am completely adept at functioning by myself and-"

"Your fly is down." Daisuke observed, also on the line and looking at Crowley through a hacked ISSR camera.

"Go fuck yourselves, the both of you. Fuck you kids."

"I'm 24." the Japanese-American noted.

"Then it's legal." Crowley snapped. "In any case, it's a regularly occurring event that occurs whenever. So probably not regularly occurring. Disregard that entirely. But it tends to start randomly teleporting people in and out of the school. For example, did you know that there's an entire civilisation of randomly kidnapped people living underneath the school? I found that quite concerning myself."

[Nationstatelandsville]

"Can I take that one?" D snarked over the phone, because magic phones are magic. And phones.

"It's because you are inside said 'hard-on', you idiot," D said, "And it's a dimensional erection at that; a warp in space, wrinkle in time. I barely understand it myself, and I invented a new kind of star."

D cleared his throat, "Has the school been, uh, doing this often, Crowley? You really should've told me."

Crowley rolled his eyes. "I am completely adept at functioning by myself and-"

"Your fly is down." Daisuke observed, also on the line and looking at Crowley through a hacked ISSR camera.

"Go fuck yourselves, the both of you. Fuck you kids."

"I'm 24." the Japanese-American noted.

"Then it's legal." Crowley snapped. "In any case, it's a regularly occurring event that occurs whenever. So probably not regularly occurring. Disregard that entirely. But it tends to start randomly teleporting people in and out of the school. For example, did you know that there's an entire civilisation of randomly kidnapped people living underneath the school? I found that quite concerning myself."

"Oh, yeah!" D laughed, "Yeah, they hate me. Also, not very fond of Patrick Stewart anymore for that matter, after the thing."

He smiled like an idiot, which Crowley could feel several million miles away.

"Yeah, that was a really bad idea," he said, "But! I assumed they had been put there when whatever made the school... made the school. You mean it still does this?"

D frowned, "Would you say it has increased in regularity, at all?"

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Crowley rolled his eyes. "I am completely adept at functioning by myself and-"

"Your fly is down." Daisuke observed, also on the line and looking at Crowley through a hacked ISSR camera.

"Go fuck yourselves, the both of you. Fuck you kids."

"I'm 24." the Japanese-American noted.

"Then it's legal." Crowley snapped. "In any case, it's a regularly occurring event that occurs whenever. So probably not regularly occurring. Disregard that entirely. But it tends to start randomly teleporting people in and out of the school. For example, did you know that there's an entire civilisation of randomly kidnapped people living underneath the school? I found that quite concerning myself."

"Oh, yeah!" D laughed, "Yeah, they hate me. Also, not very fond of Patrick Stewart anymore for that matter, after the thing."

He smiled like an idiot, which Crowley could feel several million miles away.

"Yeah, that was a really bad idea," he said, "But! I assumed they had been put there when whatever made the school... made the school. You mean it still does this?"

D frowned, "Would you say it has increased in regularity, at all?"

"I'd say so, yes, which is why I said it's been acting up just a minute ago." Crowley snarked. "I'm sure it has something to do with Uriel or the others, God knows. But we'll figure it out. I hope. It's been doing this for a while now, since Richard, well...since he died." Crowley said, his last words slowing as he recalled the janitor Richard Michaelson had been named for.

[Nationstatelandsville]

"Oh, yeah!" D laughed, "Yeah, they hate me. Also, not very fond of Patrick Stewart anymore for that matter, after the thing."

He smiled like an idiot, which Crowley could feel several million miles away.

"Yeah, that was a really bad idea," he said, "But! I assumed they had been put there when whatever made the school... made the school. You mean it still does this?"

D frowned, "Would you say it has increased in regularity, at all?"

"I'd say so, yes, which is why I said it's been acting up just a minute ago." Crowley snarked. "I'm sure it has something to do with Uriel or the others, God knows. But we'll figure it out. I hope. It's been doing this for a while now, since Richard, well...since he died." Crowley said, his last words slowing as he recalled the janitor Richard Michaelson had been named for.

"I very sincerely doubt that Uriel is capable of multi-dimensional manipulation on such a level," D said, his words getting increasingly faster as he spoke, "because this isn't teleportation. Who could be doing it? The school? No, the school wouldn't. No reason. This is a physical phenomena, caused by the stretching of spacetime."

D paused, "I've noticed this before. Hell, Heaven, Earth - time, it passes the same for all of them. A second per second. Basic shit. Nothing Narnia. Except not, not anymore. Stretching. Expanding. Warping. A minute per minute and a milisecond, that's Hell to Earth now. And it's getting worse. We're drifting apart - teleportation between the two is taking an infinitesimally longer than usual, masses are changing, etc., etc. Our worlds are pulling apart, and they can't do that. Not unless something went wrong.

The very basic fabric of reality is being pulled and manipulated, and it's reacting like a taut rubber band. Pull it out and flick it, it vibrates. Throws things off. They come crashing down elsewhere, 'cause you can't just escape the universe, that's stupid. But Uriel can't do that - no one can do that. If he could, we would already be dead, 'cause he could just tear a damn hole in the fucking thing. This isn't magic, this isn't science, this isn't magic, this isn't the gods. This is... this is rewriting the Omniverse. I'm not sure even the Fae could do this, because Crowley, they're not just random teleportations - the school is at a weak point, it's going to notice these things first. These, Crowley? These are just the scars."

There was another pause.

"Or I'm wrong," he admitted.

[Agritum]

Even if it became apparent to her that the voyage to Hell was much more comfortable and lavish than expected, Hilde defiantly crossed her arms, pouting at Henry, Divia, and pretty much anyone else in the wagon except for William.

"I refuse to eat up until you explain why you kidnapped me and my assistant to bring me to yqour demon infested hell-hole of a planet!" Hilde demanded, angrily banging her first against the table. "And I am not going to eat up until you do what I asked!"

Henry paused. "You know, I would have explained it, but I figure you can starve. That's a good plan." he nodded happily, eating what appeared to be something similar to noodles, except he was using a dagger instead of a fork, and somethings were obviously moving in there before they were stabbed.

He also nodded to Divia. "You can relax, dear. You don't need to mention your God in everything - it gets tiring." Though very much what an angel would do. was his mental thought.

"So, anyone but the Nazi have questions? I'll give a synopsis. Crowley's busy and told me I could borrow some students to explore around in Hell to discover why those towns became lost. First we are going to Heavensgate to get room and board for a night so I can gather supplies and a guide, then we'll be going into the desert to the sites where these towns had been."

Hilde pouted at Henry. "What? You are even asking yourself why those towns have disappeared? They were in Hell, after all. The worst place in the universe, full to the brim of dangerous wildlife and violent demons. Most likely they just got destroyed by the environment, or left after realizing how shitty their condition was." the homunculus replied.

[The Inritus Extraho]

Jade frowned, looking at the two angels. "Crowley, not to interrupt your discussion about hard-ons and the rapt attention to them the three of you have, but why were you performing brain surgery on Azri?" she asked quietly, walking over to get a better look. "And since when were you even qualified to do something like that; don't you normally let a more... capable student do it?"

[Individuality-ness]

Even if it became apparent to her that the voyage to Hell was much more comfortable and lavish than expected, Hilde defiantly crossed her arms, pouting at Henry, Divia, and pretty much anyone else in the wagon except for William.

"I refuse to eat up until you explain why you kidnapped me and my assistant to bring me to yqour demon infested hell-hole of a planet!" Hilde demanded, angrily banging her first against the table. "And I am not going to eat up until you do what I asked!"

Henry paused. "You know, I would have explained it, but I figure you can starve. That's a good plan." he nodded happily, eating what appeared to be something similar to noodles, except he was using a dagger instead of a fork, and somethings were obviously moving in there before they were stabbed.

He also nodded to Divia. "You can relax, dear. You don't need to mention your God in everything - it gets tiring." Though very much what an angel would do. was his mental thought.

"So, anyone but the Nazi have questions? I'll give a synopsis. Crowley's busy and told me I could borrow some students to explore around in Hell to discover why those towns became lost. First we are going to Heavensgate to get room and board for a night so I can gather supplies and a guide, then we'll be going into the desert to the sites where these towns had been."

"But what if He gets angry at me?" She stared at him with wide open eyes. "I don't want to bring hellfire down upon us for my sins. I'm already sinful enough, having been born with original sin and whatnot. I need not add on to my rather long list."

Then she heard him mentioning that they were going to board in Heavensgate for the night. Her heart sank. Depending on where you planned to stay in Heavensgate, either you'd be walking among the devils or you'd be walking among the angels. Neither option appealed to her. The devils hated her because she loved the Lord oh so much. The angels hated her because she was born with original sin.

And as a demon-human hybrid, she won't win either way.

[Esternial]

Henry shook his head toward Fen. "I'm afraid Mr. Crowley is currently busy." he apologised. "He's performing surgery, it appears, finally putting that medical degree to use. Though I always figured it was fraudulent..." Henry shrugged. "And he earned it in the 1800s, so who knows what kind of surgery he's doing?"

---

Crowley did not wash his hands.

---

Henry nodded to them. "We'll be taking a train soon down to Heavensgate. It'll be a bit rough-" Henry suddenly grabbed them all in a giant hug with one massive arm, and used the other one to reach into empty space. Then, very suddenly, they felt themselves all being dragged rapidly across the ground- and then ending up in a pure white space of nothingness.

Henry used his head to knock on an invisible wall. Right next to them, another door opened up, revealing a brightly lit train car. He threw them all inside and then jumped in himself.

The train car was quite lavish and extravagant, with humans and non-humans alike enjoying the food and such over a table. It looked like a five star restuarant, really. One that happened to be abroad a magical invisible train. It wasn't invisible now though - they could see everything quite well from the inside.

"Mr. Crowley is a medical doct-aaaaah!"

Fen was once again tossed into a new environment. It was becoming habitual. Perhaps it was how everyone got around at Elfen High? Bathroom? No problem... and you find yourself being tossed into a stall. Hungry? Let me throw you into a banquet. She didn't mind. It was better than long car rides, not that she'd ever had one. It was the getting adjusted to a new setting that left her feeling a bit queasy.
-
Oh, wait. That was her inner ear. The fancy restaurant was moving. She tucked her hair behind her ears and felt she was poorly under-dressed. No one seemed to mind. Actually, given the weird variety of people in the restaurant car, she doubted she was even noticeable. New place, new place, new place, she felt the stress rising and turned to Emi for comfort.

Emi's odd behavior caused Fen to raise an eyebrow. The Polynesian felt oddly protective of the person who'd promised to help her, and having a purpose dispelled some of her own self-doubts and fears. "Don't worry, Emi," she whispered to her. "How bad can it be?"

Fen stole a menu from the table and groaned. Poi. Why is there always poi? Her mouth watered at the thought of eating Shellfish Kedgeree, but why on earth would they have that here? She ordered both and settled back to watch the tantrum/spat between the odd German woman and Divia.

Appreciative of Fen's word of comfort, despite being very sober and spoken with some doubt, Emi shook off her discomfort and looked at the menu.

"You're probably right. We have eachother, after all." A smile managed to return to her face.

Lacking any inspiration, she ordered some venison and asked for it medium-rare, adding a subtle request for some blood. Being on a dimensional train such as this, the waiter wasn't particularly surprised by her request and obliged, returning with what seemed like a bottle of red wine, yet without any label to indicate what was inside.

Emi thanked the waiter and observed the scenes alongside Fen until Henry finally them as well.

"I'm good." She replied bluntly, taking a sip from her glass.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Jade frowned, looking at the two angels. "Crowley, not to interrupt your discussion about hard-ons and the rapt attention to them the three of you have, but why were you performing brain surgery on Azri?" she asked quietly, walking over to get a better look. "And since when were you even qualified to do something like that; don't you normally let a more... capable student do it?"

Crowley was going to respond to D, but then happily took the interruption to talk to Jade instead, while he organised his thoughts to figure out this bigger and vaguer problem later. "I'm likely the most qualified person in the human race to do brain surgery on the angels." Crowley explained to Jade. "I've done this sort of stuff before - in my youth, I was rather a scientist of magic and helped break new ground in it. And, quite frankly, I wouldn't trust anyone else to be more capable than me here. It might be egotistical of me to say that, but it also happens to be entirely true." he said. "Now, Jade, and you-" he snapped at his fingers at Lana, trying to recall her name. "Lora. Lana, sorry. I'll have to ask another favour of you two, to help explore that problem D was mentioning. I apologise, but it could be very helpful if you aided us."

[The Inritus Extraho]

Jade frowned, looking at the two angels. "Crowley, not to interrupt your discussion about hard-ons and the rapt attention to them the three of you have, but why were you performing brain surgery on Azri?" she asked quietly, walking over to get a better look. "And since when were you even qualified to do something like that; don't you normally let a more... capable student do it?"

Crowley was going to respond to D, but then happily took the interruption to talk to Jade instead, while he organised his thoughts to figure out this bigger and vaguer problem later. "I'm likely the most qualified person in the human race to do brain surgery on the angels." Crowley explained to Jade. "I've done this sort of stuff before - in my youth, I was rather a scientist of magic and helped break new ground in it. And, quite frankly, I wouldn't trust anyone else to be more capable than me here. It might be egotistical of me to say that, but it also happens to be entirely true." he said. "Now, Jade, and you-" he snapped at his fingers at Lana, trying to recall her name. "Lora. Lana, sorry. I'll have to ask another favour of you two, to help explore that problem D was mentioning. I apologise, but it could be very helpful if you aided us."

Jade tilted her head back and forth, considering. "Makes sense; plus, your magic probably doesn't hurt." She sighed, shaking her head and looking down at the ground. "Yeah, I'll help - I'm on payroll, kinda obligated to - and I'm sure Lana will as well." She looked back at the fae, and nodded. "Of course she'll help, it's a school project, and she gets to work with some of the more powerful names in the game. So, what exactly are we doing?"

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Henry paused. "You know, I would have explained it, but I figure you can starve. That's a good plan." he nodded happily, eating what appeared to be something similar to noodles, except he was using a dagger instead of a fork, and somethings were obviously moving in there before they were stabbed.

He also nodded to Divia. "You can relax, dear. You don't need to mention your God in everything - it gets tiring." Though very much what an angel would do. was his mental thought.

"So, anyone but the Nazi have questions? I'll give a synopsis. Crowley's busy and told me I could borrow some students to explore around in Hell to discover why those towns became lost. First we are going to Heavensgate to get room and board for a night so I can gather supplies and a guide, then we'll be going into the desert to the sites where these towns had been."

Fen coughed. "Henry, what's to stop us from disappearing?" She licked a smudge of poi from her knuckle. "You don't know what's behind it, right? Does it target just towns, or do other things vanish as well? You know, landmarks or forests?"

Henry paused. "You know, I would have explained it, but I figure you can starve. That's a good plan." he nodded happily, eating what appeared to be something similar to noodles, except he was using a dagger instead of a fork, and somethings were obviously moving in there before they were stabbed.

He also nodded to Divia. "You can relax, dear. You don't need to mention your God in everything - it gets tiring." Though very much what an angel would do. was his mental thought.

"So, anyone but the Nazi have questions? I'll give a synopsis. Crowley's busy and told me I could borrow some students to explore around in Hell to discover why those towns became lost. First we are going to Heavensgate to get room and board for a night so I can gather supplies and a guide, then we'll be going into the desert to the sites where these towns had been."

Hilde pouted at Henry. "What? You are even asking yourself why those towns have disappeared? They were in Hell, after all. The worst place in the universe, full to the brim of dangerous wildlife and violent demons. Most likely they just got destroyed by the environment, or left after realizing how shitty their condition was." the homunculus replied.

Henry rolled his eyes. "No, no. We expect it's something else. The Fae, for example." he said. Hopefully that'd shut the German up, but he expected that now Divia and Fen would have questions for what exactly the Fae were. Ah well, he'd answer that when he came to it. "If the Fae are involved, this matter could become altogether more serious. And thus far it merely targets towns- well, the people in the towns. The towns remain physically, but everyone inside them is...gone." he shrugged.

He then nodded at Divia. "Relax a bit." he advised. "Even Raphael doesn't take it that seriously. And your God forgives everything, so calm down a bit and take the stick out of your ass."

[Individuality-ness]

Fen coughed. "Henry, what's to stop us from disappearing?" She licked a smudge of poi from her knuckle. "You don't know what's behind it, right? Does it target just towns, or do other things vanish as well? You know, landmarks or forests?"

Hilde pouted at Henry. "What? You are even asking yourself why those towns have disappeared? They were in Hell, after all. The worst place in the universe, full to the brim of dangerous wildlife and violent demons. Most likely they just got destroyed by the environment, or left after realizing how shitty their condition was." the homunculus replied.

Henry rolled his eyes. "No, no. We expect it's something else. The Fae, for example." he said. Hopefully that'd shut the German up, but he expected that now Divia and Fen would have questions for what exactly the Fae were. Ah well, he'd answer that when he came to it. "If the Fae are involved, this matter could become altogether more serious. And thus far it merely targets towns- well, the people in the towns. The towns remain physically, but everyone inside them is...gone." he shrugged.

He then nodded at Divia. "Relax a bit." he advised. "Even Raphael doesn't take it that seriously. And your God forgives everything, so calm down a bit and take the stick out of your ass."

"What would He have to forgive me for?" she wanted to challenge back.

No. She wanted to scream it in his face, full panic setting in the closer they get to Heavensgate. Why would He forgive her? The angels didn't, they hated her and she knew it from their faces whenever she walked down the street. She could see it whenever they took a look at her and dismissed her as the embodiment of sin, utterly beneath them and unworthy of even a look of kindness. She could see it before she spoke, she could see it from the priest up in the podium at church to the teachers back at school.

What would He forgive her for, if the angels, which were His direct creation and not born of original sin, refused to?

But of course, the more pressing matter. The Fae. The name sent chills down her back, although she didn't know why.

"What could happen if the Fae were involved? What could they do?"

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Henry rolled his eyes. "No, no. We expect it's something else. The Fae, for example." he said. Hopefully that'd shut the German up, but he expected that now Divia and Fen would have questions for what exactly the Fae were. Ah well, he'd answer that when he came to it. "If the Fae are involved, this matter could become altogether more serious. And thus far it merely targets towns- well, the people in the towns. The towns remain physically, but everyone inside them is...gone." he shrugged.

He then nodded at Divia. "Relax a bit." he advised. "Even Raphael doesn't take it that seriously. And your God forgives everything, so calm down a bit and take the stick out of your ass."

"What would He have to forgive me for?" she wanted to challenge back.

No. She wanted to scream it in his face, full panic setting in the closer they get to Heavensgate. Why would He forgive her? The angels didn't, they hated her and she knew it from their faces whenever she walked down the street. She could see it whenever they took a look at her and dismissed her as the embodiment of sin, utterly beneath them and unworthy of even a look of kindness. She could see it before she spoke, she could see it from the priest up in the podium at church to the teachers back at school.

What would He forgive her for, if the angels, which were His direct creation and not born of original sin, refused to?

But of course, the more pressing matter. The Fae. The name sent chills down her back, although she didn't know why.

"What could happen if the Fae were involved? What could they do?"

"Kill everyone, of course." Henry pointed out as though it were perfectly obvious and clear. "Or worse. So it's an issue we should examine more..." The train stopped.

"Ah, we're here." he said with a smile, leaving out of the train door, which slided open automatically. Instantly the weather felt drier and warmer. "Welcome to Heavensgate." he waved dramatically, as they saw...an ordinary train station.

There were stairs next to them leading down. "Let's take those first. There's a pub down there." Henry explained. "A few drinks would be good."