The Fall of Elfen High (IC, Closed)

[Swith Witherward]

"Well, possibly shooting up the captives wouldn't help endear us to the people we're trying to convince to revolt. I could manage it with a magic blast, probably...though that would be rather noticeable..." said William.

"Oh, don't tell me you're going to do that finger-beam rubbish of yours again," Excalibur telepathically spoke to William.

"What's wrong with that? I don't always need to do a full-sized Radiant Blast every time I feel like blowing something up with magic," Sir Nilark protested, frowning slightly.

"Yeah, but you don't need to look like Frieza when you do it. You're the best person who's used me in a long while, but I'm not having you acting like the purple alien bugger whose nuts never dropped. That's something The Cunt would want."

"I don't see how you managed to link Frieza and Azhoun together like that," The knight began to respond, before the magical artefact cut him off.

"Nein! Do not quvëstion me, Villheim! I vill nœt havscht zou carrying on like däs race traitor!" Excalibur screeched in a surprisingly good impression of Hilde. "If you won't listen to me I'm sure you'll listen to me if I shout at you in German, since it turns you on or something. Anyhow, ignore your stupid finger-beam idea. I've got this situation handled. Now whip me out so I can show off," it ordered. William complied with Excalibur's request, slowly unsheathing it and holding out from his body. The sword began glowing, shapeshifting into a rifle that looked like the ones the clone troopers used in Star Wars, complete with a magic scope and a great big old-fashioned bayonet on the end. Sir Nilark had the expression of a kid getting a brilliant, unexpected Christmas present.

"Why didn't you tell me about this before?" the Yorkshireman mentally asked as he gleefully inspected his new toy.

"Well, you never asked, really," the enchanted weapon replied. If it had a human body it most likely would have shrugged.

"Yes, because the first thing I think to ask my sword is whether or not it can transform into a Blaster rifle,"

"Not just a laser gun, you know. I can also turn into a battleaxe, a warhammer, toothpick, an umbrella, a torch, a coathanger, a cute toy stuffed narwhale, and a bikini," Excalibur bragged.

"Well, this is convenient," William said aloud. "And I imagine it can disable the caravan's tires. Well, is there anything else we should go over before we set off?"

"You can disable the tires but the blast will be noticeable? Er, is that a good idea?" Fen eyed the knight, having not been privy to the quiet conversation between the man and his sword.

She rubbed her forehead and pulled two aspirin from her pocket. These were swallowed dry just like the prior six earlier that morning. Maybe she could share her headache with the damn telepathic angels. "We don't want to damage the caravan too much, do we? We need it operable so Aziraphale and Calliel can drive it. Then again, I don't suppose the last one would stop for a bit of exposed leg? Or else I can just try to freeze the spinny parts to slow it and then you all jump them?"

[Nationstatelandsville]

"Well, possibly shooting up the captives wouldn't help endear us to the people we're trying to convince to revolt. I could manage it with a magic blast, probably...though that would be rather noticeable..." said William.

"Oh, don't tell me you're going to do that finger-beam rubbish of yours again," Excalibur telepathically spoke to William.

"What's wrong with that? I don't always need to do a full-sized Radiant Blast every time I feel like blowing something up with magic," Sir Nilark protested, frowning slightly.

"Yeah, but you don't need to look like Frieza when you do it. You're the best person who's used me in a long while, but I'm not having you acting like the purple alien bugger whose nuts never dropped. That's something The Cunt would want."

"I don't see how you managed to link Frieza and Azhoun together like that," The knight began to respond, before the magical artefact cut him off.

"Nein! Do not quvëstion me, Villheim! I vill nœt havscht zou carrying on like däs race traitor!" Excalibur screeched in a surprisingly good impression of Hilde. "If you won't listen to me I'm sure you'll listen to me if I shout at you in German, since it turns you on or something. Anyhow, ignore your stupid finger-beam idea. I've got this situation handled. Now whip me out so I can show off," it ordered. William complied with Excalibur's request, slowly unsheathing it and holding out from his body. The sword began glowing, shapeshifting into a rifle that looked like the ones the clone troopers used in Star Wars, complete with a magic scope and a great big old-fashioned bayonet on the end. Sir Nilark had the expression of a kid getting a brilliant, unexpected Christmas present.

"Why didn't you tell me about this before?" the Yorkshireman mentally asked as he gleefully inspected his new toy.

"Well, you never asked, really," the enchanted weapon replied. If it had a human body it most likely would have shrugged.

"Yes, because the first thing I think to ask my sword is whether or not it can transform into a Blaster rifle,"

"Not just a laser gun, you know. I can also turn into a battleaxe, a warhammer, toothpick, an umbrella, a torch, a coathanger, a cute toy stuffed narwhale, and a bikini," Excalibur bragged.

"Well, this is convenient," William said aloud. "And I imagine it can disable the caravan's tires. Well, is there anything else we should go over before we set off?"

"You can disable the tires but the blast will be noticeable? Er, is that a good idea?" Fen eyed the knight, having not been privy to the quiet conversation between the man and his sword.

She rubbed her forehead and pulled two aspirin from her pocket. These were swallowed dry just like the prior six earlier that morning. Maybe she could share her headache with the damn telepathic angels. "We don't want to damage the caravan too much, do we? We need it operable so Aziraphale and Calliel can drive it. Then again, I don't suppose the last one would stop for a bit of exposed leg? Or else I can just try to freeze the spinny parts to slow it and then you all jump them?"

"Freezing the 'spinny parts' will do far more damage to the vehicle than shooting a tire," Aziraphale said, "Tires can be replaced. Each caravan should have an extra one for emergency situations; the difficulty is how loud William's cantankerous new rifle is."

[Swith Witherward]

"Freezing the 'spinny parts' will do far more damage to the vehicle than shooting a tire," Aziraphale said, "Tires can be replaced. Each caravan should have an extra one for emergency situations; the difficulty is how loud William's cantankerous new rifle is."

Fen looked to the knight again. She trusted Sir William. "Alright, Aziraphale, as long as it's not an Earth-shattering kaboom, I suppose we'll be alright. Will we need to worry about them coming to look for the missing one while we change the tire? And, once we're inside, if we make it inside, is there any particular way we should behave? I'm sorry to have so many questions. I've never been here before."

[Nationstatelandsville]

"Freezing the 'spinny parts' will do far more damage to the vehicle than shooting a tire," Aziraphale said, "Tires can be replaced. Each caravan should have an extra one for emergency situations; the difficulty is how loud William's cantankerous new rifle is."

Fen looked to the knight again. She trusted Sir William. "Alright, Aziraphale, as long as it's not an Earth-shattering kaboom, I suppose we'll be alright. Will we need to worry about them coming to look for the missing one while we change the tire? And, once we're inside, if we make it inside, is there any particular way we should behave? I'm sorry to have so many questions. I've never been here before."

"Shut up," Aziraphale said with a shrug, "You can start practicing now, if you like."

[The Inritus Extraho]

Lily smiled, and balanced most of her weight on thin force-conjured platforms under her feet, taking all of her weight off the floating furniture. She was practically made for this game; she never had to step on the floor if she didn't want to. Still, she'd be trying to stay above the furniture - never knew if someone could counter her power, and didn't want to find out by being incinerated.

When the men with guns came, she slowly drew her sword, adopting a careful position, and bringing up a barrier around herself. Bullets were a pain in the ass to dodge, anyways.

[Nationstatelandsville]

Crowley frowned, looking at the huge scene around him. "So, this is Lucifer's library." he tapped his feet down on the ground. "Interesting. Very much so." He paused, looking carefully down at the floor.

At the cracks in the ground, at the wooden surface of the floor. He stood back up slowly. "This floor is not made of a normal surface. Well-" he paused, shrugging. "I don't mean it is some magical substance, though it likely is. It's just not one long wooden hallway. Look down at the cracks. See red light emitting?" he asked.

If they bent down and looked carefully at the cracks, they would indeed see some red light coming out of cracks in the ground. Crowley nodded. "Step back." he barked. He pulled out a wand, because he does actually have one. He pointed it down at the ground, which opened up, a table floating up and off the ground. A few metres below this table was lava flowing, bubbling.

"The floor is lava." Crowley sighed, his eyes closing. "Interesting. I do remember that game. Odd that it's here though...I suppose in the place we've arrived at, there are so many tables and other things floating here that we hardly know what's underneath us. Some other parts of the library are likely not as well constructed, and we'll have to watch our step." Using the wand, he set the table back down, allowing it to float once more.

"Walk carefully." he advised. "Try to avoid setting too much pressure on the ground, if you can help it." he walked cautiously forward, the group moving with him.

A bell chimed loudly in the distance, but from no discernible angle, and a young child's voice giggled. Crowley frowned, standing at attention, not wanting to give away he was a bit worried, though he knew he was doing a shitty job of it.

As they turned a hallway, they saw only occasional tables and stools and wooden blocks floating ahead of them. From one end of continuous ground to another was twenty metres - that space was covered by furniture floating along, making a path from one end to the next if you jumped. Crowley frowned. "Well, this isn't good. I don't wish to risk teleporting here, I don't know what spells Uriel may have placed. Guess we'll have to jump, if you all feel up to it."

He hopped along, moving down the makeshift floating path, not looking at the lava below.

Ahead of them, there was a sound of footsteps stepping towards them. When Crowley looked up, he would see several guards, faces wearing helmets that did not allow one to see their face, white uniforms with crucifixes in the centre of the chest. In their hands, they did not hold outdated weaponry - they held guns.

And pointed at them.

Floating on an unstable stool, Crowley spoke his thoughts. "Ah, bugger."

Lewis gripped his cane hard enough that his knuckles turned white, raising it in the air and jabbing it accusingly at the guards. Shakily, he hobbled forward towards them, less walking and more falling.

"Gentlemen," he said with a nod, "how are we doin' this fine mornin'?"

There was a long pause. Lewis fixed his eyes on the gunmen, his sunglasses hiding his intentions.

"Ye' don't want to shoot us," he continued, "Do ye' really think we came here unprepared? My good friend Al over there, he's got a bomb strapped to his chest. If ye' fire, he blows the fuck up, and ye' blow the fuck up. But, more importantly, so does this Library. Somethin' tells me your boss wouldn't like that too much. Am I right? So let's settle this peacefully."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Frederick leaned back on his birden throne as he continued to listen to Aziraphale, William, and now a girl whose name she didn't know, who appeared to have some sort of power over ice. Like himself, he assumed, but probably stronger as it had never been his forte anyway. "That works for me." He commented. "I have nothing to say to flying evil asshole birds, I've had my own share of them. But, I do have one question. The guards are telepathic, so will they notice that I am as well?" He asked, and then, as if to clarify, continued for a bit. "Long story. Happened in San Francisco. No one probably cares and if someone does, I can tell it later. The question, however, remains. They may have a different treatment for different prisoners, after all. I have no idea." He shrugged.

---

Ciel idly followed Crowley and the others along as she looked around the library. It was massive, that much was certain, larger than any library she had seen before. That enough was sufficient to catch her attention, thus prompting her not to notice the glowing cracks in the surface until Crowley had pointed them out, at which point she glanced at them, raised her eyebrows ever so slightly, and continued on not particularly amused. When they came upon the unstable footing, then that was when things got interesting. Jumping forward, she landed on a desk with a few books on it. In fact, she almost lost her footing due to them, prompting them to kick them off and into the lava.

"Fucking books..." She muttered under her breath, before looking at the newly appeared enemy.

"I don't think they give a lot of fucks, Lewis." She commented.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Daisuke nodded. "Best to prepare for a battle-" he began, when the guns fired out immediately at the desks they were standing on, blowing them apart and causing them to be forced to jump around rapidly. Daisuke used his suit to do quick bursts of speed in the air, not full flight but blasting around and about.

A few ISSR soldiers fell into the lava, burning horribly without time to scream. Crowley refused to look, instead focusing on trying to leap onto the other side and deal with the gunmen. He fired a wave of fire at them, hitting their suits and armour. Some yelped, falling backwards - one lost his helmet and stood up.

He did not have a normal angel face.

His face was mutated, bald and blue, with glowing lines down it, and tubes connecting out of his face.

Crowley stared. "Christ, what has Uriel been doing?"

[Agritum]

Grace's immediate reaction was to jump away from the desk where she was standing, and leap to the nearest bookshelf, executing a wall run on it, and do the same with the bookshelf after it, occasionally leaping to a bookshelf on the other side of the room to dodge gunfire. Reaching the armed angels and taking them out in close-quarters was her main goal, currently.

"Lily! Help me out on this!" she called out to her companion, motioning her to jump towards the angels and bring her sword down upon them. Grace herself was wielding a sword, too, and she was confident enough in being capable of attacking the angels in such a cramped environment.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

"He has been fapping to those things, undoubtedly." Ciel said with abundant sarcasm in response to Crowley's interrogative. She was currently hanging from one of the shelves of the massive bookcases to the side of the corridor of floating furniture. She had managed to jump away in time to avoid falling into the lava, and grabbed onto the first thing she could, which happened to be the bookshelf.

"But anyway, we should probably focus on killing them first." She added, before snatching her flute from her pocket, and looking at the enemy soldiers. There was a bookshelf close to them as well, and with the massive ammounts of books contained in every one of those massive things, perhaps if she could break one of the shelves, she could bury the angels underneath millenary knowledge. Sure, it might not work, but it was worth a try, so without further ado, still in her awkward position she took aim and tossed her flute at the bookshelf.

[The Inritus Extraho]

Grace's immediate reaction was to jump away from the desk where she was standing, and leap to the nearest bookshelf, executing a wall run on it, and do the same with the bookshelf after it, occasionally leaping to a bookshelf on the other side of the room to dodge gunfire. Reaching the armed angels and taking them out in close-quarters was her main goal, currently.

"Lily! Help me out on this!" she called out to her companion, motioning her to jump towards the angels and bring her sword down upon them. Grace herself was wielding a sword, too, and she was confident enough in being capable of attacking the angels in such a cramped environment.

Lily nodded, running out on barely-existing platforms of flickering force, only there for the moment she needed to step off them as she charged across the lava-floor of the library, bringing the blade she held down in a crashing assault towards the angels. Pity about Lewis' attempts for peace. They may have worked, too. Except, you know, lava floor. Probably not worried about heat from a bomb. Wait, lava floor. Wouldn't sparks, or just flat-up heat set the older books on fire easily? Who the hell puts lava in a library??

[Constaniana]

"I'm not sure how loud this is, actually," William confessed, inspecting the barrel of Excalibur to see if there was any sort of silencer on it whatsoever.

"Who wants a blaster rifle that doesn't make the cool laser noise?" Excalibur protested.

"People trying to not be noticed, like what we're doing, for one thing," Sir Nilark thought back.

"Fine, fine, I'll keep the noise down, mate," the magical weapon grumbled.

"It couldn't hurt to test it to see how noisy she is, I suppose," the knight spoke, pointing Excalibur at some nearby wreckage and pulling the trigger. A very faint blue laser sprang forth, making a sound akin to a three-year-old boy softly saying "pew" as it exited the barrel, cleanly punching through the target.

"Well, that seems quiet enough," said William, suppressing a snicker over the pew pew sound Excalibur made.

[Rupudska]

A portal opened up in the Wastes, quite some distance from the slave camps, but not so far as to be out-of-reach. No, it was simply far enough that whatever came out of the portal could reach the slave camps in a reasonable amount of time at high speed, thanks in part to the smooth terrain.

Emerging from the portal was a fleet of walking warships and a horde of four-tread tanks. The tread pods were of interesting design: When the situation demanded it, such as in rough terrain or city rubble, they could raise up the chassis and function as legs, then return to level in more plain-like regions.

The tarlike earth sank quite a bit under the feet of the Yamato and her fellow ships, but not enough to be remotely dangerous. Like most ships, she was light for her size, and the feet were large and round to spread as much of the weight as possible.

Also magic and shit on the hull to lessen the weight. But Yuzuki preferred to be scientific about it, so it was only minor. Hell, the Yamato could walk with or without the magic, it only made it faster on soggy terrain.

The Saratoga came to a stop directly behind the Yamato and Shimikaze, with all three ships facing where Yuzuki assumed - according to her intel - the slave camp itself was. The ships would lower their legs, but neither touch the ground nor deactivate their weapons or passive radar.

The upcoming battle demanded alertness and readiness, and Yuzuki's fleet had both in spades.

"And now," said Yuzuki, lighting up a cigar in the bridge of the Yamato, "we wait for our signal."

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Grace's immediate reaction was to jump away from the desk where she was standing, and leap to the nearest bookshelf, executing a wall run on it, and do the same with the bookshelf after it, occasionally leaping to a bookshelf on the other side of the room to dodge gunfire. Reaching the armed angels and taking them out in close-quarters was her main goal, currently.

"Lily! Help me out on this!" she called out to her companion, motioning her to jump towards the angels and bring her sword down upon them. Grace herself was wielding a sword, too, and she was confident enough in being capable of attacking the angels in such a cramped environment.

Lily nodded, running out on barely-existing platforms of flickering force, only there for the moment she needed to step off them as she charged across the lava-floor of the library, bringing the blade she held down in a crashing assault towards the angels. Pity about Lewis' attempts for peace. They may have worked, too. Except, you know, lava floor. Probably not worried about heat from a bomb. Wait, lava floor. Wouldn't sparks, or just flat-up heat set the older books on fire easily? Who the hell puts lava in a library??

Magic books. The lava heat doesn't kill them. And the whole library quite evidently runs on very contrary logic, anyhow.

The angels fired at Lily with their guns, but as she got close, one of them touched their gun and it changed shape, morphing into a chainsaw. It screeched loudly as he rushed at Lily with it.

"He has been fapping to those things, undoubtedly." Ciel said with abundant sarcasm in response to Crowley's interrogative. She was currently hanging from one of the shelves of the massive bookcases to the side of the corridor of floating furniture. She had managed to jump away in time to avoid falling into the lava, and grabbed onto the first thing she could, which happened to be the bookshelf.

"But anyway, we should probably focus on killing them first." She added, before snatching her flute from her pocket, and looking at the enemy soldiers. There was a bookshelf close to them as well, and with the massive ammounts of books contained in every one of those massive things, perhaps if she could break one of the shelves, she could bury the angels underneath millenary knowledge. Sure, it might not work, but it was worth a try, so without further ado, still in her awkward position she took aim and tossed her flute at the bookshelf.

It hit the bookshelf.

And proceeded to fall back, in the direction opposite to the angels.

On the other hand, some priceless works of literature fell into the lava below, so nicely done, Ciel.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

It hit the bookshelf.

And proceeded to fall back, in the direction opposite to the angels.

On the other hand, some priceless works of literature fell into the lava below, so nicely done, Ciel.

"Well, fuck your shit stupid bookshelf." Ciel half-heartedly shouted at the bookshelf, and then jumped off of the one she was holding onto, landing on a nearby desk. This was the shit she got for trying to think of a somewhat sensible strategy. Things just didn't work out the same way when she did. So, opting instead for one of her favorite methods of doing things, second only to punching walls and chaining people, Ciel charged at the problem, jumping across the furniture. Seeing a metal table that was floating above most of the other furniture, Ciel grabbed it and dragged it along with her, now using it as a shield of sorts. She also violently ripped off one of its legs, in order to use it as a bludgeon when she was close enough to the angels.

[Nationstatelandsville]

A portal opened up in the Wastes, quite some distance from the slave camps, but not so far as to be out-of-reach. No, it was simply far enough that whatever came out of the portal could reach the slave camps in a reasonable amount of time at high speed, thanks in part to the smooth terrain.

Emerging from the portal was a fleet of walking warships and a horde of four-tread tanks. The tread pods were of interesting design: When the situation demanded it, such as in rough terrain or city rubble, they could raise up the chassis and function as legs, then return to level in more plain-like regions.

The tarlike earth sank quite a bit under the feet of the Yamato and her fellow ships, but not enough to be remotely dangerous. Like most ships, she was light for her size, and the feet were large and round to spread as much of the weight as possible.

Also magic and shit on the hull to lessen the weight. But Yuzuki preferred to be scientific about it, so it was only minor. Hell, the Yamato could walk with or without the magic, it only made it faster on soggy terrain.

The Saratoga came to a stop directly behind the Yamato and Shimikaze, with all three ships facing where Yuzuki assumed - according to her intel - the slave camp itself was. The ships would lower their legs, but neither touch the ground nor deactivate their weapons or passive radar.

The upcoming battle demanded alertness and readiness, and Yuzuki's fleet had both in spades.

"And now," said Yuzuki, lighting up a cigar in the bridge of the Yamato, "we wait for our signal."

All along the watchtower, guards stared through telescopes in shock - utter shock - at the fact that some mad idiot had just landed three ships in the middle of the Wastes of Heaven. Heaven had not been invaded, ever. This simply could not be.

"Alright, seriously," muttered one angel, "what in the name of X is going on down there?"

"Maybe it's a drill?" offered his partner.

"A drill?"

"Yeah. Think about it - I mean, are those even weapons? And who would be stupid enough..."

"You've got a point. Still, security alert?"

"I guess."

A bell rang through the brisk air of the Wastes; the slave camps were on notice.

"Fuck," Aziraphale smouldered, "We don't have time, they'll be searching here soon. Do it now, William!"

---

Lewis ducked underneath the gunfire, tumbling across the floor while swearing profusely.

"Fuck subtlety, right?!" he spat, colliding with a shelf, which promptly fell on top of him, scattering ancient tomes all across the floor. The wood broke over his body and he groaned in pain; but this was the least of his problems. Almost immediately, the yawning lumber collapsed into the lava. Lewis yelped and grasped at the sides, splinters digging into his fingers. He hung but inches over the lava, his flesh turning red at its merest whisper. His cane rolled away.

"Somebody help me!" he cried, as the wood he clung to begin to give way.

Megan fired a shot at the head of one of the guards, before ducking behind another shelf, "Freeze it!"

"What?" Lewis shouted back.

"FREEZE IT"

"What the FUCK are you talking about?!"

Megan swore, "Somebody cover me!"

She bolted out from behind the shelf and took a mad leap; high school gymnastics came now in handy, as she landed deftly atop a pile of wood not far from Lewis, She reached her hand down, and he took it.

He was much heavier than she anticipated. She fell forward, landing on her gut - wood stabbed into her stomach, drawing blood quickly and readily. Lewis inched ever so closer to the magma. Megan's foot, when loose in the air, kicked a book down into the hole - it promptly burned up, giving Lewis only a cursory glance at its title; A Farewell to Arms.

"I knew you would kill me one day, you fat bastard!" Lewis cried.

[Constaniana]

William hastily complied with Aziraphale's request, aiming at the rear tear of the last slave transport, and pulled the trigger once. Excalibur softly whispered "pew" aloud as the blue blaster bolt issued forth from its barrel, rocketing towards its target and effortlessly punching through the tire.

"What the hell was the Oriental sex maniac thinking?" Excalibur thought to William.

"Well, we should probably start running," said William, ignoring his weapon for now as he began to follow his own advice, running towards the rear of the prisoner convoy.

[Astrolinium]

Peter smiled grimly at the mention of the floor as lava. A childhood game they'd all played, he was certain. He rolled his neck, cracking it, and thought back to Las Vegas, letting the rage fill him. He'd spent the last month relearning the Sphinx, regaining what little hold he'd ever had on the beast in the back of his mind.

His skin rippled, new muscle and sinew forming underneath it. His body metamorphosed, growing into an ugly mockery of God. His clothes stretched and ripped, falling to the ground like so much fabric. Golden fur sprung from his pores, racing across his body from his chest and pubis like wildfire. Fingernails grew into talons, and great black wings, leathery like a bat's, sprung from his shoulder blades. He was Peter Altier, and he was the Sphinx of Thebes.

Beating his wings, he lifted into the air, easily avoiding any need to jump -- such a thing would be unbecoming of a beast of his ancient stature. He wheeled in the air like an angry, but he was no such winged bird of prey. He was far more than the great raptor of the dreamworld, easily dispatched with a mere fist and a bit of stupid bravery: he was great and powerful.

His main method of attack also involved projectile vomiting, but, well, the universe will always prefer irony over dignity.

When the attack came, the Sphinx landed atop a bookshelf -- not one of the ones that had been knocked over -- and proceeded to vomit at his assailants.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Megan and Lewis in what seemed to be quite the pickle. They fought for the side of Justice, and so they must be helped.

Pushing off with powerful limbs, the Sphinx dove at them and unsheathed his claws, sinking them into Megan's flesh. This would hurt, but not nearly as much as the lava might. Beating his wings, he shot into the air, hopefully pulling Lewis and Megan away from the immediate source of danger to their lives.

"Hold on tight to each other," was all the Sphinx said.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

It hit the bookshelf.

And proceeded to fall back, in the direction opposite to the angels.

On the other hand, some priceless works of literature fell into the lava below, so nicely done, Ciel.

"Well, fuck your shit stupid bookshelf." Ciel half-heartedly shouted at the bookshelf, and then jumped off of the one she was holding onto, landing on a nearby desk. This was the shit she got for trying to think of a somewhat sensible strategy. Things just didn't work out the same way when she did. So, opting instead for one of her favorite methods of doing things, second only to punching walls and chaining people, Ciel charged at the problem, jumping across the furniture. Seeing a metal table that was floating above most of the other furniture, Ciel grabbed it and dragged it along with her, now using it as a shield of sorts. She also violently ripped off one of its legs, in order to use it as a bludgeon when she was close enough to the angels.

Several angels suddenly were whacked by an angry redhead.

Daisuke had an erection.

Peter smiled grimly at the mention of the floor as lava. A childhood game they'd all played, he was certain. He rolled his neck, cracking it, and thought back to Las Vegas, letting the rage fill him. He'd spent the last month relearning the Sphinx, regaining what little hold he'd ever had on the beast in the back of his mind.

His skin rippled, new muscle and sinew forming underneath it. His body metamorphosed, growing into an ugly mockery of God. His clothes stretched and ripped, falling to the ground like so much fabric. Golden fur sprung from his pores, racing across his body from his chest and pubis like wildfire. Fingernails grew into talons, and great black wings, leathery like a bat's, sprung from his shoulder blades. He was Peter Altier, and he was the Sphinx of Thebes.

Beating his wings, he lifted into the air, easily avoiding any need to jump -- such a thing would be unbecoming of a beast of his ancient stature. He wheeled in the air like an angry, but he was no such winged bird of prey. He was far more than the great raptor of the dreamworld, easily dispatched with a mere fist and a bit of stupid bravery: he was great and powerful.

His main method of attack also involved projectile vomiting, but, well, the universe will always prefer irony over dignity.

When the attack came, the Sphinx landed atop a bookshelf -- not one of the ones that had been knocked over -- and proceeded to vomit at his assailants.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Megan and Lewis in what seemed to be quite the pickle. They fought for the side of Justice, and so they must be helped.

Pushing off with powerful limbs, the Sphinx dove at them and unsheathed his claws, sinking them into Megan's flesh. This would hurt, but not nearly as much as the lava might. Beating his wings, he shot into the air, hopefully pulling Lewis and Megan away from the immediate source of danger to their lives.

"Hold on tight to each other," was all the Sphinx said.

When they landed on the "ground", Crowley rushed over.

"How are your injuries?" he asked, resting his hands on Megan's stomach and firing in healing energy.

[Nude East Ireland]

The Englishman in the Egyptian's body jumped down from his horse and walked over to Richard.

"I'll be fine," he replied. "I'll learn everything I need to fighting. Now, let's get going to Jerusalem."

"Sure. But, brief explanation of world powers." said Richard, since I'm a bit too tired to write a good post where we end up in Jerusalem and I have to describe the fucking thing. What do you think I am, a wizard?

I'm so much worse than that.

"So, Jerusalem. Jews occupy that, quite Hellenised. A lot use this mixture language of Hebrew and Greek. Sounds rather odd at first. The Hindus live further east of here, starting around Afghanistan. You're in the Hellenic Empire right now, and you're from Egypt. Or your body is. The Nipponese have come out of their self-imposed exile to help in the war effort, and the Middle Kingdom is starting to wake up. Africa in general is being badly beaten - a lot of their gods and empires are dying."

"I haven't met many African gods; that's probably why," he replied. "In my time, a good number of gods have survived. Not enough, evidently."

He sighed, feeling once more like he had a terrible hangover.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Gwen nodded solemnly. In a few seconds, a group of heavily armed knights who resembled something out of a Warhammer 40k campaign proceeded to flood the throne room. They were Gwen's Royal Guard. They were utterly loyal to their Queen, and some of them were even born on Avalon itself, growing up with a burning hatred for the Fae and their allies.

Each guard was armed with a shining longsword which was apparently quite mundane, except for what seemed to be a button placed directly on its hilt. When pressed, the blade of the sword would have started to vibrate at incredibly high speeds, severely fucking up whatever it managed to cut or slash through. Gwen didn't know if the vibroswords would have been capable of piercing the dragons' scales, but they were pretty much the strongest melee weapons on the whole castleship, excluding Gwen's magical swords.

Speaking of them, the Queen promptly proceeded to toss Cortana into Gabriella's hands, and Clarent into Gabriel's. They were no Excalibur, but they still were capable of incredibly high-powered magic attacks. After doing so, Queen Gwendolyn raised her hand, and motioned the group to move outside of the throne room and forward into battle.

"Gabriella, Gabriella, Caspian and Ivy, follow me and be ready to fight. This won't be an easy battle, and we need all the firepower we can muster, right now."

Caspian took one look at the vibroswords and cast his talwar aside. It would probably not be much help if the guards were breaking out those things. He also holstered (in his pocket) the revolver.

He fished about in his right pocket for a moment before pulling out a large, orange Husqvarna chainsaw with diamond blades. Much more the sort of weapon appropriate to the task at hand.

Running after Gwendolyn, he asked, "Do we have a coordinated strategy of any sort?"

"Probably not." Gabriel cheerfully admitted as they raced up toward the outsides of the ship. "Gwen, you have any other smaller ships? Like TIE fighters or something?"

[Cerillium]

William hastily complied with Aziraphale's request, aiming at the rear tear of the last slave transport, and pulled the trigger once. Excalibur softly whispered "pew" aloud as the blue blaster bolt issued forth from its barrel, rocketing towards its target and effortlessly punching through the tire.

"What the hell was the Oriental sex maniac thinking?" Excalibur thought to William.

"Well, we should probably start running," said William, ignoring his weapon for now as he began to follow his own advice, running towards the rear of the prisoner convoy.

Fen had fallen silent but not due to Aziraphale's suggestion. Her headache had reached a splitting level. She wasn't aware of sirens nor even the soft 'pew' proffered by the weapon in William's hands. Only two thoughts came to Fen's mind (neither being her own): What the fuck is that stench? and Oh fuck, I'm in Heaven. Then came the running.

He'd paid attention of course. He was much more astute than Fen and always had been. He'd heard the plans and understood the purpose and would have stood up and clapped at the thought of Angels being trapped for eternity had he been in possession of the fleshbag's arms and legs. He wasn't at the time. But now? Now he ran behind the knight. The going was a tad difficult; he found himself fixated by the firm breasts that were jiggling with each step Fen's legs took. It didn't matter that they technically now belonged to him. Stupid cunt. Next time, don't wear a bra.

Fen had come to Elfen High to master a power that wasn't her own. She was the innate healer; he was the entity who commanded the ice. He drew upon and focused that power now on the off chance no one was planning to take out the Angels driving the caravan. He might try to kill one or he might just jump ship and make one his new host.

[Nationstatelandsville]

"Well, fuck your shit stupid bookshelf." Ciel half-heartedly shouted at the bookshelf, and then jumped off of the one she was holding onto, landing on a nearby desk. This was the shit she got for trying to think of a somewhat sensible strategy. Things just didn't work out the same way when she did. So, opting instead for one of her favorite methods of doing things, second only to punching walls and chaining people, Ciel charged at the problem, jumping across the furniture. Seeing a metal table that was floating above most of the other furniture, Ciel grabbed it and dragged it along with her, now using it as a shield of sorts. She also violently ripped off one of its legs, in order to use it as a bludgeon when she was close enough to the angels.

Several angels suddenly were whacked by an angry redhead.

Daisuke had an erection.

Peter smiled grimly at the mention of the floor as lava. A childhood game they'd all played, he was certain. He rolled his neck, cracking it, and thought back to Las Vegas, letting the rage fill him. He'd spent the last month relearning the Sphinx, regaining what little hold he'd ever had on the beast in the back of his mind.

His skin rippled, new muscle and sinew forming underneath it. His body metamorphosed, growing into an ugly mockery of God. His clothes stretched and ripped, falling to the ground like so much fabric. Golden fur sprung from his pores, racing across his body from his chest and pubis like wildfire. Fingernails grew into talons, and great black wings, leathery like a bat's, sprung from his shoulder blades. He was Peter Altier, and he was the Sphinx of Thebes.

Beating his wings, he lifted into the air, easily avoiding any need to jump -- such a thing would be unbecoming of a beast of his ancient stature. He wheeled in the air like an angry, but he was no such winged bird of prey. He was far more than the great raptor of the dreamworld, easily dispatched with a mere fist and a bit of stupid bravery: he was great and powerful.

His main method of attack also involved projectile vomiting, but, well, the universe will always prefer irony over dignity.

When the attack came, the Sphinx landed atop a bookshelf -- not one of the ones that had been knocked over -- and proceeded to vomit at his assailants.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Megan and Lewis in what seemed to be quite the pickle. They fought for the side of Justice, and so they must be helped.

Pushing off with powerful limbs, the Sphinx dove at them and unsheathed his claws, sinking them into Megan's flesh. This would hurt, but not nearly as much as the lava might. Beating his wings, he shot into the air, hopefully pulling Lewis and Megan away from the immediate source of danger to their lives.

"Hold on tight to each other," was all the Sphinx said.

When they landed on the "ground", Crowley rushed over.

"How are your injuries?" he asked, resting his hands on Megan's stomach and firing in healing energy.

"I! AM! BURNT!" Lewis shouted, his skin now as red as a boiled lobster - not unlike his hair.

"Cunt," Megan coughed, a bit of blood trickling out of the edge of her lips, "I'm fine, Crowley, leave me be. You're busy."

Lewis's eyes darted around the Library; fixating on his cane, he bolted towards it, into an open area. The guards, no doubt, were very deeply interested in the shooting him; to make this more difficult, he snatched up a piece of broken shelf and held it up by his chest, so as to act as a shield.

William hastily complied with Aziraphale's request, aiming at the rear tear of the last slave transport, and pulled the trigger once. Excalibur softly whispered "pew" aloud as the blue blaster bolt issued forth from its barrel, rocketing towards its target and effortlessly punching through the tire.

"What the hell was the Oriental sex maniac thinking?" Excalibur thought to William.

"Well, we should probably start running," said William, ignoring his weapon for now as he began to follow his own advice, running towards the rear of the prisoner convoy.

Aziraphale wordlessly agreed, bolting after William. After a few yards, he vanished equally without a word, or any other indicator of his disappearance.

"Sodomy!" spat one of the caravan drivers, inspecting the popped wheel.

"We're going to be late," his partner concluded, reaching into the back for the spare wheel. He pulled a wooden rod from his side and beat back the slaves as he did so, cracking one upon the head and blinding him with blood. He pulled the wheel out and walked back to the side of the vehicle, to find his partner slumped over on his back, ichor flowing from his throat.

"Wha-" was all the angel could think before he was grabbed from behind, Aziraphale's arm wrapped around his head. With his free hand, Aziraphale drew from the air a knife of ice. He kicked the angel in the ass, forcing him to bounce upwards towards the knife, Aziraphale bringing it down into his throat with all his strength. Blood gushed out instantly, only more joining it as Aziraphale drew the blade across the flesh. The angel bit down into Aziraphale's arm, drawing his own blood; Aziraphale yelped. Not long after, Aziraphale dropped the angel's limp corpse to the ground. It was now that Aziraphale felt the barrel of a gun press into his back - he instinctually teleported away, but a millisecond before a bullet followed out after him. Aziraphale reappeared behind the third angel, grabbing the back of his head. Tendrils of his ice snaked their way down the angel's temples as his head froze; once nothing but a brittle statue, Aziraphale crushed it.

He made his way back to the slaves and raised his finger to his mouth, "Shh." They complied.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

"Sure. But, brief explanation of world powers." said Richard, since I'm a bit too tired to write a good post where we end up in Jerusalem and I have to describe the fucking thing. What do you think I am, a wizard?

I'm so much worse than that.

"So, Jerusalem. Jews occupy that, quite Hellenised. A lot use this mixture language of Hebrew and Greek. Sounds rather odd at first. The Hindus live further east of here, starting around Afghanistan. You're in the Hellenic Empire right now, and you're from Egypt. Or your body is. The Nipponese have come out of their self-imposed exile to help in the war effort, and the Middle Kingdom is starting to wake up. Africa in general is being badly beaten - a lot of their gods and empires are dying."

"I haven't met many African gods; that's probably why," he replied. "In my time, a good number of gods have survived. Not enough, evidently."

He sighed, feeling once more like he had a terrible hangover.

"Yep. Anyway, let's go now."

A snap of fingers, and suddenly, Jerusalem.

No, wait, it wasn't. Damien saw Jerusalem briefly fizz into vision, the temples and war and carnage around him, but it suddenly fizzed away...and was replaced by him sitting on the floor, watching Gabriel, Gabriella, Caspian, Ivy and Gwen come toward them. He would recognise only Ivy among this group, and nobody here would recognise him.

Gabriel - or a strange blond man to Damien - pulled out a sword and pointed it at the Egyptian. "You? Who the fuck are you, where are you here?"

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Several angels suddenly were whacked by an angry redhead.

Daisuke had an erection.

Much to the pleasure of both Daisuke and his Iron Man, the angry redhead's rampage was far from over. Now that she was with the angels, and, by association, over solid, continuous ground, she proceeded to use her metal table slash giant metal shield to bash the shit out of one unlucky angel, pummeling him into the ground before using her table leg slash metallic battle rod to impale his chest.

"Sorry for having to do this, but it's what one gets when one gets turned into something Alia wouldn't fuck." Ciel stated. She was lying, of course. Such a being probably didn't exist anywhere in the Omniverse, but there was no point in explaining that to an angel, of all things. So instead of bothering, she simply tried to snatch his weapon.

---

Frederick idly listened to the conversation as he sat in his throne made of flightless birds, until the alarm rang through the Wastes and Aziraphale urged William to shoot at the caravan's wheel. At that moment, the dragonslayer immediately sat up and made a signal with his hand, the throne almost immediately disassembling itself.

"Alright you bastards, you know how this goes." He said to his contingent of penguins, who nodded repeatedly before swiftly wadded after their king, as he had taken off after Aziraphale and William, arriving at the caravan shortly after the angel was done dispatching its own kin in order to seize control of the vehicle carrying the slaves.