No time in particular, outside the Omniverse.Uriel had spent some time studying. Leaning over some documents, the archangel calmly read through his books. He picked one book, written by a demon author, entitled simply "Skin to Bone". A controversial sequel, "Steel to Rust", had been written but never found as critics found it distasteful and disembowelled the author, as was demonic tradition at that time. Azazel had worked as a literary critic at the time, since he was a surprisingly cultured psychopath. He had once put on an amazing production of
Skin to Bone as a younger lad, before full-on insanity had set in. Alastor and Azazel had worked together on it, training their primary actor, the renowned stage actor Chauncey the Badger. Chauncey's performance was lauded throughout the realms of Hell, Earth and beyond as "sensational", "beautiful", "dazzling" and "I literally shit out my heart and cried bitter tears at how nothing can compare to this, and how the mere act of Chauncey's performance made my wife orgasm harder than she ever did with me".
But it contained other information, this book."The Fae are a mutable creature - aspects of their bodies can be placed in others, to mutate them further and transform into hybrids."
This is a segment of the book, translated from Demonic. Segments of this book also appeared later in
The King in Yellow, but they originated from here. Uriel had come into contact with an inhabitant of that mythical city when he was in an awkward situation some time ago that required him teaming up with an extremely skeptical Doctor, who was later won over by the former archangel when Uriel saved his life. That was a hell of a story. One day it might even get told.
"
Song of my soul, my voice is dead,
Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed
Shall dry and die in lost Carcosa."
Hmm. That was something, to be sure. Oberon was dead, his corpse floating away between the Omniverse. But there were certainly remnants left, people left...there was some danger left. There always would be. And he would be an eternal guardian. But now he had to make some moves. He looked up at one of his Androids. "Ready the troops." he ordered. "I'm going to go investigate."
One of the Androids looked curious. "Where to, leader?"
"Earth again." he said. "London."
2061The city of London had been recovering from damage for quite some time, after which a lot of people had migrated up towards Scotland and the North to work and live, to the secret pleasure of William. However, over 40 years after that calamity, the city had regrown and rebuilt, attracting immigrants and citizens again, becoming a cosmopolitan metropolis.
A tall black man such as Uriel blended in easily with the crowd of people there. He went to a nearby bookstore, nodding to the bookkeeper who kept his eyes closed and turned the other way. "Welcome and welcome back, my Lord. But make it quick, please." hissed Jeremiah, one of Uriel's utmost loyalists who maintained said loyalty despite all others on Earth believing the man dead. The sounds of the city rang outside, with construction always ongoing.
"I will. Thank you for allowing me to take this entrance." Uriel said sincerely. "Going directly to Heavensgate is not something worth risking."
Jeremiah nodded. "Behind the autobiographies section. Turn the bookcase, and tunnels will appear. Take the one on the left. The one on the right will lead you to Dionysus' pub." said the former angel. "What are you seeking, may I ask?"
"Information." said Uriel. "About the Fae and the Crystals, and perhaps about Carcosa."
Jeremiah raised an eyebrow. "That mythical city?" he asked. "From the play? It doesn't really exist, my Lord."
"That's the speculation. But stories can sometimes be more true than we expect."
"And they never end." Jeremiah said reluctantly.
Now he was in the library of Heavensgate, searching for books about the Fae again, and books about Carcosa and the Yellow King. In his head, he felt Oberon laughing.
And then he saw a new book.
The Second King.Uriel grabbed it, moving further through the library. Meanwhile, on a mobile phone, he double checked some statistics of product being moved in and out of America. It appeared his suspicions had been correct - but more research would have to be done. Uriel was not one to make hasty and methodical decisions. He decided to investigate further, and so vanished from the library in search of collecting more information.
2065Calliel, Daisuke, Jon and Laz appeared, giggling to themselves, outside a warehouse in Jasper. "Fucking hell." chuckled Daisuke. "I haven't done that in some time."
Jon rolled his eyes, unsure how he got into this position. "Fuck everything." he muttered to himself.
Calliel looked at the others, red-eyed. "You know what I could kill for right now?"
"Pizza?" asked Daisuke. "We could try Damien's."
"Damien's" was not a reference to Damien Seward's house or something. It was a popular restuarant chain that Seward had founded in his spare time, his son urging him to do so. And he did kill the competition.
No, genuinely. The slogan was "Papa John's fell before me. The Godfathers fell before me. Herman Cain's skull rests on my belt. Eat at Damien's."
Calliel nodded. "We should do that." he declared. "Let's go out there." the incredibly stoned lord of Heavensgate and one of the most powerful men in the world announced, turning to do that when black armoured security guards appeared, human and bear.
"Eh, what the fuck is this all aboot?" asked one of the bears in a heavily Canadian accent. Canada had been worrying about their bear population for some time, as they seemed to have disappeared as many bears across the world had, deciding that "Fuck this" after the war in Heaven. The civilisation was spending time with their families trying to recover from their fall in 2020. But when they did get out, police work and security work was common.
One of the humans looked up, his nametag announcing his name to be Alan Ramirez. "Sir, you are trespassing upon private property right now, do you understand? Now, go somewhere else and get stoned there."
"We aren't stoned." Calliel instinctively said. Everyone else just stared at him.
Laz sighed. "My friend, you stink of weed and your eyes are redder than Hell's suns. Let's not deny that. However..." he cleared his throat. "Good sirs, allow us entry. I'm Ambassador Lazarian. This is Lord Calliel of Heavensgate, Sir Daisuke of Elfen High and Commander Landsville of the ISSR."
The bear guard and the human looked at each other with raised eyebrows. The bear, whose name tag said "Demonfucker", spoke a lot more politely now. "My error, sir. Please, go right in. Anything that we can do to help."
Calliel nodded, giving a bow as the stoned world leaders and Jon walked into the warehouse, seeing machinary moving boxes from area to area, cranes dripping down, picking stuff up and shipping it away. They also saw quite quickly that the warehouse was bigger on the inside, evidently having borrowed Elfen High technology to do so.
"What the fuck is this?" asked an
old white man with a brown coat, emerging from ordering some demon workers to move shipments into nearby trucks.
"Leadership, sir." said the bear. "I thought you'd be interested."
The man looked closer and then smiled. "Oh, my mistake." he apologised profusely, a seemingly genuine smile on his face. "I made a grave error. A pleasure to meet you, Lord Calliel, Sir Daisuke, Ambassador Lazarian and Commander Landsville. I am, of course, former president Richard Nixon."
Jon just sighed. "I fucking hate life." he muttered at the fact Nixon now looked exactly like Joe Biden. But, to be fair, it somehow worked.
"What's going on here?" asked Calliel, looking at the boxes.
"Do you know of the Crystals are, Lord Calliel?" asked Richard Nixon. "My God, they are truly wonderful, wonderful things." he explained. "Formed from Fae carcasses, actually. And after the events of a few decades ago, there were by God plenty of them to use. I've been using them to help keep my vitality...and my virility." he winked.
Jon wanted to kill himself.
"What are crystals though?" asked Laz, curious. Daisuke and Calliel were fascinated by an open box, looking into the glittering green shards inside.
"They're called Crystals." Nixon corrected. "The C is capitalised. See, they have some special features..." he picked some shards out of the box that Calliel and Daisuke were looking at, slammed them into his pistol and then the gun glowed a bright green and blue before it transformed into an assault rifle. He fired said assault rifle off into the air, causing it to hit a nearby wall...which lit on fire.
Calliel pointed his hand at it, sending ice out and dissolving the flames. Nixon looked embarassed. "I appear to have overpowered this..." he muttered. "But the Crystals have a remarkable ability to improve technology. They merely require willpower and intellect and imagination." he explained. "My God, can you imagine the strength of it?"
Calliel nodded amiably. "Certainly, Mr. Nixon. We'll leave you now."
Laz stopped his friend. Jon raised an eyebrow. "Who are you selling to?"
The room went cold. "I think you've overstayed your welcome, sirs." Nixon said quietly. In the time that they had been here, the doors behind them had closed without them noticing, and the guards had moved into formation.
"I'm afraid everything's ending, my lords." said Nixon quietly, pointing his gun at Calliel. "Time to wake up."
Vworp. Vworp.Everyone's attention was drawn to the side as a blue police box appeared, winking in and out of reality before settling down definitely with a
THUD.
The doors opened with a
creek as a tall Englishman and a short Indian man came out, followed by a demon and a bear. "Where are we?" asked the demon.
Priestcruncher sniffed. "Seems like it's still Jasper." he said calmly. "The scent is similar. But...we've moved a bit ahead in time."
"You'd be correct." said the Doctor, his feet settling on the ground, Khan now finishing up an ice cream.
"Moved ahead in time -" began Calliel.
"The fucking Doctor?" demanded Jon. "This can't be happening. Just...fuck." he sighed. "What the fuck." he put a hand on his gun, looking at Nixon.
Nixon stared at the travellers. "What the hell?"
The Doctor leaped in, looking around himself. "Crystals, hmm?" he asked. "I see what you're doing here, ol' Richard." he said, staring. "A factory. He's farming here. But what are you farming from? What's going on here, hmm?" he demanded. "What's this whole operation for?"
"Doctor, what does this have to do with the kidnappings?" demanded Jackson. "The disappearances. You know...why we came to Jasper."
"And the dragon statue. The transmission." Calliel remembered, coughing a bit, his eyes still red and his stomach grumbling. Khan looked at him.
"That fucker's stoned." he announced.
"No he isn't." Said Jon, to spite Khan.
The Doctor just looked at them with despair and sighed. "The leaders of this planet, everyone." he stated. He looked at Nixon. "What were you planning here, hmm? What were the kidnappings for?"
"Now, look, gentleman." Nixon chuckled. "I did not arrange for all of those kidnappings, not by a long shot-"
"But you did some." Priestcruncher asked. "And evidently, a transmission?" he asked, looking at the Elfen High crew for details, eyebrow raised. "What transmission was this?"
"In Istanbul, there's a dragon statue." Jon explained to the bear. "It was in some museum. But then it woke up and appeared to have become a real dragon of sorts. We were all baffled by that, but discovered there was some sort of remote transmission that had done it. Sent out the message to activate the dragon."
"So you're saying he...woke the dragon?" asked Khan.
There was a moment of silence for this incredibly stupid
Game of Thrones reference so the Indian would realise what he had done, but he just grinned.
Daisuke sighed. "Technically, yes." he admitted, the weed wearing off. But the weed's effects wearing off also meant that Laz had returned to his usual state of stupidity, seemingly baffled by everything around him. Now they just felt very tired and hungry.
Nixon, still pointing a gun at Calliel, just chuckled. "See, I'm not a moron, so I'm not going to explain that to you. My God, what do you think I am? Let's just wrap this up." He fired his assault rifle, the flaming explosive rounds flying toward the former angel...
When suddenly a robotic creation appeared in front of Calliel, taking the hits, falling down to the ground, light fading from the eyes.
Then there was the sound of a man walking in, a swirling green portal disappearing behind him. "I am afraid that this is just beginning." said Uriel calmly, a small army behind him, wielding armoury while Uriel himself held his trusty dagger. "I know what you have been doing. I've spent quite a while studying what's been going on..."
There was a look of absolute amazement from everyone present now, as they stared at Uriel with a mixture of emotions. Shock was amongst them. As was anger. And on one particular face, Calliel's, there was a contorted expression of barely repressed violence. The current Lord of Heavensgate shook with fury, staring at Uriel, his eyes boring holes into the man, his hands twitching as if to attack him there and then. But Uriel paid no heed.
He pointed at Nixon. "He has been kidnapping quite a few humans in the last few years, forcibly and stupidly transforming them into Fae. From that, he then kills them and farms them for the Crystals that result." Uriel explained.
"I'm sorry, are we just going to accept the fact that the man who
briefly ended the human race is here and not the bigger threat?" demanded Jon incredulously.
"In this case, I'm not." said Uriel calmly. "I see I'm recognised, however. The Doctor can currently back me up."
The Doctor nodded. "It's true." he said. "I trust Uriel. He's searching for redemption, a second chance. It's worth giving it to him right now. We've worked together on a few threats in the past."
Uriel nodded. "But the greater threat here is Nixon. Or...the Second King, trying to bring about his haven of Carcosa." he turned, accusingly. "You've been harvesting the converted humans, using them to create your Crystals. Then you're going to use that to aid your army and take over the world, won't you? Sending that transmission out to Istanbul, trying to see what other old technologies you could use or control in your goal...Richard Nixon,
The Second King, successor to Oberon." Uriel declared. "Is that not the case?"
Nixon paused for a while. "You have some details correct." he acknowledged. "But I, my friends, am not the Second King as people predicted could be possible." he said smoothly. "A few years ago, in 2055, on request from some benefactors, I set up shop in Jasper. Great place for that - extremely magical, you know. Huge industries for me to tap into, and I managed to take over leadership of the remnants of the Thules." he said. The Doctor winced. He knew a lot of this had been coming, but couldn't stop it at that time, which is why he had to bring Priestcruncher and Jackson forward. Fixed points in time.
Nixon continued "I was almost given away when one of my Fae-hybrids escaped, and I was worried the whole thing would be given away. Fortunately, you killed it for me." he nodded. "Quite nice. Thanks for that. I'm not the Second King. Merely someone who'll get help when he does come about. Oberon...was just too destructive. Too dangerous. Our new lord is going to be far more agreeable, someone who can handle his responsibilities and be a good hand on the world." said Nixon with a smile.
Priestcruncher paused. "Wait, what about the Crowley's penises?" he demanded. "They attacked us."
"Controlled by us, yes. Remotely, like we managed to control the dragon in Instanbul. It has Fae components, you know. Crowley did."
Uriel seemed somewhat baffled. "If you aren't the Second King, then..."
"Enough chatter." Nixon said bluntly. "It's time to move on."
Then the gunfire began.
Uriel ducked behind a wall, his knife at his side as Nixon's guards moved towards him. At the same time, they pointed their weaponry at the Elfen High crew, causing Calliel to throw up an energy shield to block bullets. However, Nixon's guards began grabbing Crystals and slamming them into their weaponry, upgrading them from simple pistols to submachine guns or assault rifles, one transforming into a
turret and resting on the ground, blasting away at the shield that Calliel had created around the Elfen High crew. "We need to get some of those Crystals." ordered Daisuke. "I can figure some things out with it."
"The TARDIS!" barked out the Doctor. "She has a shield around her, we can use that. Come on!" Moving backwards, Calliel buckling under the strength of the attacks, they moved closer to the TARDIS. Just as Calliel's shield was about to break, Uriel teleported behind the bear operating the turret and slit his throat, before turning the turret around at the guards.
Nixon glared, raising his hand and holding Uriel up in the air telekinetically. "You're ruining quite a few plans right now." he said very calmly. "I can't allow that."
Then there was a knock on the door.
"Hello." said a cheerful Yorkshire voice, kicking down the door. "Have you heard the word of Jesus Christ?"
"Took you long enough, Campbell." grumbled Jon.
In the doorway stood a tall man, 6'3". Campbell Const, infamous leader of the Mormon mercenary groups, known for his psychopathic and dangerous methods, but an associate of the ISSR all the same for being quite helpful. He had responded to the Commander's text before they had gone through the portal, being informed that things were quite likely to go southwards. In one hand, he held what looked an awful lot like a tuba. Until he blew into it and energy beams blasted out, attacking enemies. Also, frankly appalling music. There were stories about this, about how he had fought William nearly to a draw once by preaching to the Anglican until he got annoyed. William and Campbell famously
hated each other, but united on being fellow Yorkshiremen. William did consider Campbell far too Americanised though. And also a tad insane.
But he was here, and with him were many other mercenaries, wearing pleasant psychopathic smiles and armoury. "Let's go for this." he said cheerfully. "Jon, I'll handle this, alright? What are those crystal things now?" he asked, looking at some of the spilled over boxes.
"Capital C." Daisuke corrected, grabbing a few himself. "Slam them into your weapons. They'll make them stronger."
Campbell raised an eyebrow. "Gosh darn!" he said happily. "That's awesome! Billy Jr, grab a few will you?" he said. "Let's have some fun."
A distracted Nixon then was punched by Uriel, slamming down to the ground. "Who is the king?" demanded Uriel. "Answer me,
now!"
Nixon coughed. "A new man...well, a combination of some old ones." he said, leaping upwards. "His strength made my body powerful, stronger, greater. And he will lead us into a new world, transforming this Earth into a greater world, greater than even Carcosa."
"What the hell does that even mean?" Jon demanded, hiding behind Khan. "This is
bullshit."
"That transmission...it's being sent as we speak." declared Nixon. "
It's still going."
The theatre teacher, Kevin O'Shaughnessy, looked at his script for
MacBeth. "You know, it's got some problems, but I seriously think this is the way to go." said the Irish-American earnestly. "This is our chance to make
history."
"No." said the headmaster bluntly,
Aleister Lewis Seward looking up at Kevin. "No, we are not casting HAL as MacBeth. That is not going to happen, understood? And we aren't setting it in a volcano either. And no, you cannot summon a volcano in the auditorium again. That caused us a lot of issues before."
The son of Damien Seward sighed, leaning backwards in his chair. This fucker reminded him of a lot of his father in that innocent psychopathy he displayed, a complete naiveity that he was fucking insane and dangerous. But, like his father, Aleister kept an eye on Kevin because he was far too dangerous to be allowed outside the confines of the school.
Aleister had always lived a dangerous life, being born as a dwarf to Damien Seward and raised by him and Dracula. So, frankly, when he started to attend Elfen High, it was far safer than his old life. He drank a soda while looking over Kevin's proposed script. "This has MacBeth killing the audience."
"Not actually
killing." Kevin corrected. "Just maiming him a little."
Aleister sighed. "We'll need to discuss some more things later, regarding your job performance."
"I put a love of theatre in the kids!" Kevin protested. "Come on now, just because some of them got a bit loopy and went to the seaside-"
"The seaside? They committed
suicide, Kevin." Aleister got out of his chair, looking up at the much taller man. "Look, go use Minh Taka's Old Drinking Room right now. I think the Mummy is there right now, since it's his break. He's good company." Minh Taka's Old Drinking Room, or The Old Drinking Room, was now not just a room, but a full-fledged bar. William had figured it'd be good to get some income, and the staff and students had agreed wholeheartedly with that proposal, especially after the Incident of 2041, after which relations with the Republic of Vietnam were damaged almost irreparably.
Aleister Lewis strided through the halls, watching the school progress and move around him. It had become even more of a country than it originally was, he mused as he sat down at the nearest McDonald's. "Hamburger and fries, please." Aleister Lewis called out, looking at the nearby statue of Aleister Crowley that stood outside the restaurant, in between the McDonald's and the Chipotle. Aleister Lewis reflected on his namesake. Now that
was a man. He had never met him, obviously, but his legend was one that could not be avoided. It was everywhere. And he had earnt that right, becoming a hero everywhere. "Aleister" was nearly as common a name as "John" these days. That's the sort of thing that happens when you save the Omniverse. It did put a bit of pressure on this Aleister, just because his family had actually known the original. But then Aleister Lewis Seward would shrug, not give a fuck, and move on with his life.
"Ah, Erin Tikitiky, pleasure to see you." said Aleister Lewis with a wide smile. "How are you?" he asked the school nurse, offering her his fries. "The new kidney transplant suiting you?"
"Oh, definitely!" said Erin cheerfully. "I have a surplus now, after those Norwegians lost all theirs. They bled
really fast, you know?" she said, holding up her knife, now washed clean of the blood that had covered it.
"Australian kidneys are, to be fair, quite valuable to Norweigans. They probably figured they could get a lot of money from it. Too much of a risk, as it evidently turned out." chuckled the headmaster.
The school shook slightly. Then a voice came over the intercom. The voice of the school itself.
Sir? We have a problem.
Uriel looked at Nixon. "Transmitting...?" Jon wondered aloud while Uriel's brain raced in thought.
"The dragon statue in Istanbul...that was a test run." Daisuke concluded.
"They're going for the big guns...they are going for
Elfen High!" Uriel finished. "He's trying to take over the school..."
"The school is hugely powerful." Nixon explained, still on the ground. "We can utilise it to create our new world, starting there...but first..." he slashed at Uriel, his gun transforming into a sword, but Uriel grabbed his arm and snapped it off in one smooth, methodical motion speaking of a lot of practice.
"We do not have the time for this." he said bluntly. "None of us do. Doctor, take us to Elfen High."
Jon looked at Uriel. "What do we do about Nixon then, hmm? We can't just leave him behind to escape."
Uriel responded by tossing Jon the sword that was in Nixon's hand. "Handle him." he nodded at Campbell as well. "Do your jobs."
"Hey Jon, don't have a frown!" Campbell cheerily said, covered in blood, holding the severed head of a bear in his hand. "This will be
fun!"
Jon and Campbell went back to back, surrounded by enemies. "Nothing is ever fun." said Jon mournfully.
Khan glanced at the Doctor. "I ought to help out." he said, taking a discarded pistol from a dead gun and slamming Crystals in, shooting an approaching bear guard in the head and walking over towards Campbell and Jon.
The Doctor, now inside the TARDIS, growled in frustration. "I can't reach Elfen High! Shields have been set up, the TARDIS is not powerful enough to break through this!" he exclaimed, fiddling with the controls.
"Why do you keep using the same lever over and again?" Laz observed. "That's no good use."
The Doctor responded with a glare. "Don't criticise my work. You are not intoxicated enough to do so."
"Hold on, Time Lord." Daisuke interrupted, his hands containing a box of Crystals. "We just need some upgrades."
The Doctor gave Daisuke a look.
Vworp. Vworp.
Erin blinked. "What's going on now?" she asked, keeping her dagger on her.
"Not me this time!" swore Kevin, charging in.
He's right. It's not him...it's something trying to take control, to break in. grunted the school.
To take...control. That last word came off sounding robotic, distorted, like the school was in pain.
He's a-coming...do you hear the new King?Vworp. Vworp. BOOM.The TARDIS slammed down, settling inside Elfen High in front of Aleister Lewis, Kevin and Erin. The Doctor ran out, his eyes jerking around the area. "Everyone, prepare!" he barked. "Something is about to happen, something big, but-"
Daisuke's phone rang, and he picked up. "Hey, Ciel! Yeah, things are okay, listen it's a bad time so-"
The ground shook. And the battle nearly begun.
"Actually, can you come to Elfen High? Right fucking now?"
There was a civilisation considered dying, pathetic, ravaged due to the Abrahamic War. And since then, radical elements had been growing in that society. Fury had been growing as they found themselves enraged by their loss of status, an honour-bound culture that had trouble accepting this fate.
Three decades ago, swept by bigger concerns, Aleister Crowley had ignored a request by the bears to attend the Equinox, where they elected new leadership. Shame. Perhaps if he had, then radical elements wouldn't have held the power they did now. Perhaps the bears wouldn't have inspired the dogs into revolt and terrorist attacks in 2041. Perhaps they wouldn't have encouraged race riots in 2062. But they did do these things, resulting in evermore blood being shed. Blood that was used to power a sacrifice.
Azazel had realised that it was possible to revive the dead using Fae technology and twisted science. A breakthrough. The man was utterly insane, but he was intelligent, something none could deny. A revolutionary scientist in his own way. The bears had looked at this, and decided to revive an ancient leader, but different. More motivated. So for this, they revived two leaders.
"The plan is coming together well." chuckled Nixon, feeling changes occur. "The Second King rises now."
Khan frowned. "This seems like a problematic issue." he said. "What is going on, anyway?" They circled around some of the guards, before Nixon pulled out two katanas and charged, howling.
It was evident that people were trying to open portals- green flashes occurred, but never managed to really get anything through.
I'm being hacked, sir. said the school.
But I can fight this off."Fucking cunts." muttered Aleister Lewis Seward, pulling out his pistol. "Let's deal with this. Keep defences high."
Yes, sir.But the enemy had a different strategy. They had, after all, a man on the inside. Or a bear on the inside. Priestcruncher felt a pain in his backside and doubled over as a portal opened.
"What the fuck?" asked Jackson.
"Call William." muttered Aleister Lewis to the AI around the school. Still, unfortunately, HAL.
This shit again? demanded the school.
First it was Laz...But the portal had indeed opened, and a bear army marched out of it. They had taken hints from Loki's method - Lord Loki, ruler of Asgard now. But it was serving them well. The army marched out, wearing armour and wielding shotguns, assault rifles and each carrying some Crystals on them.
That reminded Daisuke, who started tossing the Crystals to staff and students with a hurried explanation of what they did. Uriel watched this, putting dots together. "Of course..." he murmured. "The bears. Trying to get power again, hmm?" he demanded.
"Indeed." said a booming, confident voice. From Priestcruncher's portal emerged a tall white bear, but with sharp blue almost human eyes. But eyes devoid of any empathy. Just coldness like ice. Familiar eyes.
Uriel's own eyes widened as he remembered a king's corpse, floating through space after he had killed the man. The bears and Nixon had acquired Fae corpses. With that, they had manipulated bear and human DNA. That was obvious. But the person they had used was evident now. He should have put these dots together.
The Doctor looked at Aleister Lewis. "I'm going to get the civilians out of here." he said. "You need to deal with this threat, but I need to be sure that they are
not in danger."
The short Englishman nodded. "Agreed." he said, shooting an approaching bear soldier dead on between the eyes, his specially made bullets easily going through the armour. "That's the utmost priority."
The Doctor started ushering people into his TARDIS, keeping bear soldiers out.
The bear creature with Oberon's eyes jerked forward a bit robotically. "You were still being made." Uriel said quietly. "You aren't finished yet, are you?"
No response. Just a stare. A cold look at Uriel's face as the jerking monster moved forward, evidently not fully in control of itself, but slowly growing more confident. "
You know how what they did to me?" he rasped, his voice deep, his voice vibrating, echoing. "
How I was made?"
"Sacrifices." said Uriel. "Blood spilled over the course of time."
"
Riots in Hell. Wars between rabbits in the school...sacrifices upon sacrifices." His eyes narrowed. "
Come die with me, little priest." Now Oberon's eyes stared back at Uriel, who felt there wasn't just this new creature looking back, but the Fae King himself, alive in some undying form, covered with rage and fury and a lack of understanding at this twisted form. Ironic considering he helped Azazel achieve it for the first time, a dark art the bears had picked up. And whatever was left of Oberon, it was furious at the last man it saw whilst alive.
"What the hell is going on?" whispered Aleister Lewis Seward to Daisuke, who bent over and quickly got him and the other staff up to speed. Laz glanced at the monster that had been formed.
"I can try to trap it away...." he volunteered. "I know the tunnels fairly well."
"
As do I." came the retort.
The Second King slammed a paw down on the ground, cracking the surface and causing Uriel and itself to fall down. Shaken, Uriel started to stand up, now in the tunnels underneath the school, but found himself tackled by the bear, slammed down toward the ground. With a grunt, he kicked the creature in the chest, pushing it off.
"No." he snarled, gripping his dagger. But now it was just smokey, with the monster unseen.
"You have no idea what I've gone through to be here." came a robotic, crackling tone in the darkness.
"What I was created as after my deaths...the pain as I was born to lead these creatures, these bears...lost and hopeless. They desperately want a saviour, to the point where they manufacture one rather than try to rise up themselves.Uriel looked around, unable to see where the sound was coming from.
"I observed the world move as they worked to build me, used sacrifices to power me. But Polarbeard was not the only one who they used to make me. There was one man who they respected, even in hate, a man they acknowledged had some worth after his actions."
Oberon. It had to be.
Then, from behind, Uriel felt himself punched and falling to the ground, groaning.
Aleister Crowley's face looked down at him. "The genetic material was not difficult to find." he said, in a voice that resembled Crowley's very closely, though with echoes of the others who made up this new creature. "He left it all over the world. It's an irony really that they chose him."
Uriel looked up at the Crowley-esque creature. "That may have been their mistake."
A raised eyebrow. "However do you mean?" he asked, grabbing Uriel by the neck and slamming him against a wall. "I'm afraid you don't understand.
I am the perfect creation, a force of sheer strength, capable of anything." he said confidentially, strongly, a laugh in his voice.
"Who was not meant to live." stated Uriel quietly. "You weren't supposed to exist, whatever you are. It's painful for you. And you know what? It's painful for me too, to see this." he kicked the Aleister copy in the chest, slamming it down to the ground partially with the element of surprise. "You wear my brother's face, but you aren't him. You never will be."
Aleister Lewis saw that the TARDIS was filling with civilians. "We got a hundred or so here." said the Doctor quickly. "I'll make a quick trip out, to get them to some safety, then I'll be back as soon as you know it." The headmaster gave his nod of consent. But as the TARDIS was starting to fade, a bear threw a hatchet at it, which slammed it off course as it disappeared.
Vworp vworp. BOOM.The Doctor swore in Gallifreyan. "We went back to where we were!" he realised, but the doors had already been opened with angsty civilians, who now walked out into a warzone, unaware that they were. As soon as they heard the bullets, they shrieked and went back inside. Except for three.
Erin, Elijah and Kevin walked outside, the latter grinning widely. "Blood!" came the excited exclaimation.
Jon saw this in between avoiding bullets from Nixon and the "accidental" attacks by Khan both, and sighed. "Fuck me. Just fuck."
"Later, Jon." Kevin said, marching out with his lightsaber. "Let's have some fun first."
The left of the building then blew up and a vicious black beast tore into the warehouse, ripping apart several soldiers as he did so.
"Don Ferandez?" asked a Mexican soldier who had blown it open with his bazooka to the sleeping Mexican drug lord next to him. "Estamos aquí."
The drug lord yawned. "We can't stay too long." he muttered. "My cat will get hungry, you know."
"We brought him along, sir. He's already out in the battlefield, having killed a few of the enemy."
Gabriel just stared at his henchman. "If he's doing the bloody work, why the fuck did you wake
me up?" he demanded.
"Well, sir...it's also your birthday."
"Oh."
Jon sighed, speaking into his phone, which was heard then in Gabriel's car. "Hello Gabriel. Please don't make me regret allowing you into the country. Limit the damages, this will be hard to cover up."
"Chinga tu madre." muttered Gabriel, heading back to his nap as his pet monstrosity masquerading as a cat did the work.
This is when Nixon growled, his body twisting and morphing, growing into something indescribable. What I
can describe is that it had tentacles, each holding a sword or a gun merged into them as he grew taller and more monstorous, changing into his true form. "
Enough fucking around." he bellowed.
Thus, Gabriel's cat, Khan, Elijah, Jon, Erin, Campbell and a smiling Kevin charged toward Nixon, roaring and screaming as the TARDIS disappeared to real safety and to get more civilians out of danger. Uriel's Androids joined them in providing covering fire, allowing our heroes to charge forward.
Aleister Lewis Seward walked through this bloodied carnage, keeping his people safe, throwing up magical shields and gunning down some bears with his weaponry. Other times, he would summon portals and drop them off into other parts of the school, locking them up or letting other creatures have their way. The dinosaurs were
quite pleased.
As was ex-headmaster, now Prime Minister, William Nilark, who had gotten the earlier call. "Great to be here, eh?' he demanded, pleased to be ripping apart opposing forces.
"Shut up William." said Ciel, using her music to paralyse large portions of the army. Despite bringing all they could muster, the bears were falling quite easily to Elfen High. Ivy had come to help as well, trapping people in her vines. Years ago, back in 2018, it would have been far more bloodied when the weaker demons had emerged to attack, quite fewer in number too.
But the school had grown strong. An identity had formed. The most dangerous thing here was Kevin now. They dealt with this threat quickly, methodically, swiftly and efficiently. The bears fell quickly to the new generation, trying to rise up but unable to pose a true threat to those of the school.
Meanwhile, underneath in the tunnels, Uriel fought the creature wearing his brother's face, punching him repeatedly in the face. "Things have changed since my brother was Harbinger. Until the end, he ignored his duty, unwilling to face it, unwilling to truly guard his universe. He was a selfish man. He loved a select few. Until the end, when he realised true love, when he was willing to fight for all."
The other creature hissed, showing himself to be more bestial now. "
There is no true love." he declared. "
Only hate. Only death."
Uriel gave the creature a look of pity. "That's where, my friend, you are dead wrong." he apologised, standing upwards. "And if you were anywhere near the man you are disguised as, you'd realise that."
There was a howl as the creature moved towards Uriel, who punched it in the face again and again and again, the monster barely able to get a blow as it edged backwards under Uriel's blows. "What the hell are you?" it said, looking at him in astonishment.
"Your reckoning." Uriel replied, raising a hand glowing with blue light. But then the creature changed its face, shapeshifting into a new disguise to dissuade Uriel. The disguise of his daughter, Hope.
There was no hesitation as Uriel smashed his fist down.
But then something happened. A massive, psychological attack. The bear had built off a lot of creatures. Not just Crowley, or Hope, but many, many people, including former residents of Heaven who had been tortured by Uriel. They had been testing these psychological assaults for some time on tourists to Elfen High, and did it again here.
Across the school, the people fighting the bears fell to the ground, screaming and whimpering as their worst demons mentally combated them. Priestcruncher fell to the ground swiftly, his eyes dead. Aleister Lewis wept as he dropped. But Ivy stood standing, seeming unaffected, but noticing everything around her as her own husband fell down.
Uriel was now, in his mind, in a dark room.
He was now slammed to the ground, shackles on his wrists, bruises upon his face.
"You are Uriel." said a voice, an ecstatic yet furious one. "Former ruler of Heaven. Former
dictator of Heaven." came the laughter out of the darkness.
"Yes, I am..." Uriel coughed. "What do you want? What is happening here?" he demanded, a panic growing as he found he couldn't use his powers here.
"My wife was arrested for being an enemy of the state. She was...questioned." A silence. "Her arms bear the scars of those questions." out of the dark stepped out a white man, but by his demeanor and way of movement, Uriel could see what he was. An angel. Or a former one. As his eyes settled, Uriel realised who it was. Calliel. "I took over Heavensgate after the fall. I cleaned up mistakes, I helped people restore themselves to life. And now, we're all going to die." Calliel said. "But I, Lord Uriel, am
thrilled to be able to avenge what you did to Ivy and others." he snarled.
"I do not remember that name!" protested Uriel, now genuinely and completely terrified for the first time in his life, his natural arrogance leaving him. "I remember every name, but I did not attack her, she must be mistake-"
"
YOU DID THIS. THIS IS KNOWN!" the other angel roared, repeatedly punching Uriel in the face, with absolutely no mercy or strength held back. his voice echoed and boomed in Uriel's subconcious as he was hit, before the man grabbed Uriel and slammed him against the wall. "
IT WAS YOU ALL ALONG! YOU GAVE THE FUCKING ORDERS! NOT JUST HER, BUT SO MANY OTHERS!"
"Calliel." A female voice said quietly. "Stop."
Calliel dropped Uriel, who whimpered on the ground, gasping and exhausted. "Is this real? Or an illusion?"
"It can be both, in a way." Ivy acknowledged. She nodded at Calliel, who dissipated. "I'm real. The bears launched some sort of psychological attack on everyone, but I was fine."
"How did you escape?" demanded Uriel, coughing and weak.
"I was stronger than that. I was broken once, but I'm better now. I improved on myself." she looked Uriel dead in the eye. "I didn't think I'd ever be able to face you." she said. "And what was done to me, on your orders. What was done to so many."
Uriel was silent.
"After my husband and I first arrived to Heavensgate after the Abrahamic War, decades ago now, I was afraid to ever leave our home." she said softly. "So I would stare out in the window into the alley, and I would see this cat looking for scraps. One day some children, human slum kids, came into the alley and trapped him in a box. I watched them light firecrackers and drop them in the box. I could hear him howl from three stories above. So finally, I had a reason to leave my home." she said. "I chased the children off after a good scolding, not telling Calliel about what they had been doing - they were just dumb kids. They would learn by life not to continue such tasks. I rescued this cat and I brought him home. He sat with me when I read, slept with me, and he purred. Richard, Calliel and I loved him." Ivy smiled, lost in thought as Uriel looked on.
"But, every once in a while, he bit me or scratched me. He did this because sometimes he...sometimes he forgot that he is safe now."
Ivy's words choked in her throat as her eyes turned wet and angry.
"So I forgave him when he bit me." she said haltingly. "Because
I remember what it is like to never feel safe. And that is because of
you. Because of you, I was afraid. Because of you, I wasn't sure how to trust or love. And I am
not the only one." she wept. Uriel stared on.
"So today, I ask only one thing of you: I ask you now to show me the respect by acknowledging what you did to me. That you remember giving the orders to torture, interrogate and question me. And that you remember."
Uriel opened his mouth. And shut it. "Yes." he said simply, his own eyes welling in tears. "Yes, I did. I gave that order. And I gave many, many more. And that order, and so many orders, haunt me always, weighing on my mind, defining me and what I am. Each and every one. I remember them all, being assured in them, believing it was
right, mathematically looking at it. I did this. And...and I am sorry. I am sorry for everything."
Ivy stood upwards, extending a hand to Uriel. "Your nightmare was to face this. My husband shared it - because his nightmare was to face you again, to give into a rage that he thought beneath him." she explained gently. "I'll lead you out of here first, before he comes back to this and kills you in this dream, shattering you. I'll have a long conversation with him later - a conversation I think we both need to have."
"Why are you doing this?" asked Uriel to Ivy quietly. "Why did you come into my nightmare to save me? You could leave me here, and everyone would believe you are in the right."
"We are all capable of being a lot of things when we think we're right. But I will not do that. I will not
be that."
Then Uriel woke up, without the wounds Calliel did in the nightmare, and looked at the stunned misshapen creature. "What the-" it began.
Uriel slammed it with his fist, killing it immediately,
tears still in his eyes.My time is drawing thinner
I'm just a tired old sinner
No chips left on this shoulder
No pride in growing older
But when your borrowed time is through...
I'll be with you
Redemption blues
No man can truly outlast
All the mistakes of his past
There's no haven here for me
That's safe from my memories
But when your borrowed time is through...
I'll be with you
Redemption blues
I'll be with you
Redemption blues
And justice ain't no lady
She's a twisted, battered whore
She's laying bruised and naked
On a bloodstained wooden floor
Our days are over
Times have changed around these parts
There ain't no more cowboys
Only men with violent heartsIt was swift and brutal, the uprising of the bears over almost as soon as it began. The world was simply too powerful now, too interconnected. And people learnt from the mistakes of the past.
But Uriel held the shattered body of the creature pretending to be his daughter in his arms, and despite himself felt a deep regret and wept in exhaustion and a knowledge this would continue.
Upstairs, the violence continued for a brief period, but it would not last too long. The bears simply could not match the force of Elfen High, which had called in the European armed forces and the iSSR as backup. Uriel decided now would be a good time to make his move. He opened a portal to disappear silently, dropping the corpse of the very briefly lived creature to the ground as it changed back into a bear form.
"Wait." said a calm, authoritative voice.
Uriel turned around to see a short man looking up at him, blood splattered across him. "You came back." said Aleister Lewis simply. "Why? You had lived, escaped. A fugitive everywhere. Why did you come back to
help?"
The black man opened and closed his mouth, sighing. "Redemption." he said finally. "Atonement. A desire to forgive." he explained.
"Have a seat." commanded the dwarf, creating two chairs for them both. They sat. "The bears are being dealt with as we speak. Their uprising resulted in very few deaths on our side. I'll attend each funeral personally, however." said the tired man.
Uriel raised an eyebrow. "You would?"
"Of course. A leader must care for his people." said Aleister Lewis simply. "Now, tell me about what happened here, context."
Uriel looked at the dwarf with respect as he explained the events leading up to this. The new leaders of Elfen High evidently were quite different from their predecessors in many regards. Though it was unfair to his brother to think so, of course. Lucifer did the best he could with his problems. This younger generation was more optimistic, more sensible, more fair. Flawed, of course, but everyone was. But they were better than those before.
Uriel realised now, more than ever, how wrong his old views had been. People naturally improved. He didn't need to force anything. He felt like somewhere, Richard was smiling. "They acquired Lucifer's DNA." said Uriel simply. "That may have to be taken care of better. They even managed to control the Crowley's Penises with it. That's caused some hell in America. They need to be hunted to extinction."
"I agree. Huge flaw." said the namesake of the man being discussed. He looked wistful. "i wish i hadn't been born after he died, you know. He seemed to be a real hero. Sometimes - not often, but sometimes - it's hard to live up to that. I feel out of my depth."
"My brother?" asked Uriel, privately thinking that Aleister Lewis was much more prepared than either of his namesakes.
"Yeah. I forget he's your brother sometimes." the dwarf said.
"I never do."
"Yeah, suppose you couldn't." Aleister Lewis produced a bottle of water and started drinking it. "What do you do now? Why this sudden turnaround?"
"I found religion."
"You didn't have it before? Religion seems to be the biggest thing we learn about you in schools, you know."
"No, i didn't follow religion then. I followed myself." Uriel's face twitched in what almost seemed like a smile. "You learn about me in schools?"
"Nothing too good." allowed Aleister Lewis. "Monster, psychopath, that kind of thing."
"You don't feel unsafe calling me that to my face?"
"It doesn't seem you are one nowadays."
Uriel stood up now. "Then i'm succeeding in my goal, i suppose. Can you clean up by yourself now?" he inquired.
"Yes. We've got this covered. We've had worse happen. Feel bad for the bears, you know - they clearly planned this out for a while and then at the end just snapped. Probably pressured to start earlier than they had wanted."
"Nixon is still fighting those men in Jasper. Shall we deal with it?"
Uriel nodded. "My Androids are there too." he said, opening a portal again, pointing into Jasper.
They didn't have to do much, it turns out. Nixon's bleeding body lay on the ground as Kevin stabbed it over and over again with a gleeful smile on his face. Gabriel winced. "Dude, calm down." he said, eating a taco. "That guy's basically done for."
"Fuck you." hissed Nixon with his last gasps, spitting at his assailants.
"So, I dunno." Khan was explaining to Jon. "If you want to give this a listen, you absolutely should. Spread it around the iSSR and stuff too. i put my blood, sweat and tears into this." he said, handing the white man a CD titled
The Krishna Khan LP. "I'm really trying to see if i can make this work, you know?"
Jon stared at the tape in a sort of sadistic joy. "Oh, don't worry." he said in a falsely reassuring tone. "
Everyone will hear this."
Elijah just looked irritated, as his own hiphop album had failed to take off on Earth, though it enjoyed a huge following in Heavensgate, as he rapped entirely in Latin. Also, Const, who listened to it all the time as he shot and tortured enemies of the faith and took way too much joy in doing so.
Uriel looked around, seeing everything dealt with. The Androids had locked up and jailed Nixon's guards and soldiers, and the Crystals had been placed into boxes. Jon nodded. "We'll use what's already been made and place a ban on manufacturing more. i saw some of the hybrids. Being morphed into a creature like that is beyond painful."
Uriel merely nodded back. Aleister Lewis looked impressed, though at Kevin he sighed "You can really stop now, Kevin. Nixon's dead."
"That's been said before."
"Fair enough." he looked at Uriel again. "You're going now?"
"Yes. We'll likely meet again." stated Uriel. "Tell the bear and the demon the Doctor will turn them home. it's time for me to continue my journey now."
"Where are you going?"
"There's always threats." said Uriel vaguely. "Not just Fae. Other beasts. The Two-Faced Man. The Higher-Ups. Savage Lee. Creatures and men and women you don't want to bother yourself with unless they come to you. But I'm going to finish them off. The Omniverse won't have these threats if i'm around. And perhaps I can even wipe out the city of Carcosa, where the Fae and other monsters are said to be born. But that's another tale."
Aleister Lewis nodded. "Maybe i'll hear it later then." he said with a smile.
"Perhaps." nodded Uriel. Another portal opened and his Androids stepped followed, ultimately followed by him.
Redemption blues
My time is drawing thinner
I'm just a tired old sinner
Redemption blues
My time is drawing thinner
I'm just a tired old sinner
Redemption blues
My time is drawing thinner
I'm just a tired old sinner
My time is drawing thinner
I'm just a tired old sinner
Redemption blues
My time is drawing thinner
I'm just a tired old sinner
My time is drawing thinner
I'm just a tired old sinner
My time is drawing thinner
I'm just a tired old sinner
My time is drawing thinner
I'm just a tired old sinner