The Fall of Elfen High (IC, Closed)

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Merlin looked at his companion. "You'd be astounded." he replied. "There are many, many things older than the war. There were once Ancients who walked on this Earth who were older than even the Egyptians and Hindus were. They are long gone now, likely dead. But some of their relics remain. Such as this place."

Suddenly, Damien looked out, seeing the vast stones in front of him. They looked exactly like they did in his time, in the pictures he'd seen. Of course, if the pictures he'd seen had included dozens of heavily armed soldiers of various races and backgrounds milling about.

Damien was quite impressed, mostly at how Stonehenge was old-as-fuck, yet it still looked the same as it did in his time. Minus the armed soldiers, of course.

When they got close to the area, he once again looked to Merlin. "What else do you know about the Ancients? Could their relics be useful in the war? Or in my time? Speaking of which, I don't really know how things went with Azazel. But that's not important right now, I'm side-tracking a bit."

"Azazel?" Merlin paused. "Oh, Lucifer's assistant. Bit of a cunt, all things considered. I can respect Lucifer, but I do not like Azazel much at all." Merlin shrugged. "As for the Ancients, we honestly don't know too much. They have left relics around, but they're an old civilisation, long since gone. Likely destroyed by the Fae, I feel. But we could be wrong. They were a warrior race, we know that much. And they had achieved quite a high level of civilisation before being wiped out."

[Constaniana]

"Eat shit, ya bloody redskull," Cat exclaimed as she blasted the heads off a few demons as they came towards her. It took a full eighteen seconds for her to register the fact that she was riding with an actual demon king and five of his minions on the back of a demon dog.

"Ah, no offense, Alastor."

"Hmm?"

Alastor was apparently very busy hurling bolts of black magic left and right as though he was flinging poker cards hidden up his sleeves. Not that his armor had 'sleeves'. Either way, Catrin's apology took a moment to register, and then it took another moment for the Demon Lord to connect it with her other comment.

"Oh, there is no reason to worry. What offends me is that you would believe that I consider myself similar to these traitors and brutes." He stated, shrugging. "Besides, my skull is black."

Meanwhile, several demons managed to land and cling to the Cerberus, piling up against William because they thought he was an asshole. Alastor couldn't blame them.

Some also began climbing up from the sides, slowing down the beast.

Unfortunately for the demons, William was a jackass with a magical death sword of +1 nuking from beyond time and space. The knight continued slaying the enemy demons with ease, lopping off heads and blasting holes in their chests with magic.

"Stupid chumps," he grumbled as he looked down at the demons trying to climb up the Cerberus's leg, before firing narrow radiant blasts at their heads.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Unfortunately for the demons, William was a jackass with a magical death sword of +1 nuking from beyond time and space. The knight continued slaying the enemy demons with ease, lopping off heads and blasting holes in their chests with magic.

"Stupid chumps," he grumbled as he looked down at the demons trying to climb up the Cerberus's leg, before firing narrow radiant blasts at their heads.

"HEY! Watch where you're firing, you cunt!" The Cerberus shouted at William, as the blast had singed a bit of its black fur off. And despite William's heroic efforts, as well as the actions of some Zealots who had begun hacking away at the ground invaders instead of firing at the ones falling from the sky, the beast was being slowed down more and more.

Alastor looked back at the beast after sending up an explosive magic bolt at the sky, and frowned. At this rate the beast wouldn't be useful to them anymore. Soon it would be unable to run, and they were surrounded by enemies, much more so than when they were fighting back at the hotel. It wouldn't do to be without a mount around here. It wouldn't do at all.

"Cerberus, try to go faster, will you? And BY THE DEVIL, JUMP!" The Demon Lord shouted upon looking back ahead, just in time to see an unholy energy beam heading straight towards the beast. The Cerberus did its damn best effort to jump despite all the added weight it was carrying, and it almost managed to leap over the beam, but it hit one of its legs, blasting it off and making it lose its balance and throw the Elfen High group forward.

The beast landed with a loud thud, and lots of demons approached it.

"TRAITOR!" They shouted, as they began raising their weapons.

"Oh, come on guys, be good, I have kids!" The beast pleaded. It went unheard.

Meanwhile, in the air...

"And this is why mounting wild beasts is unadvisable." Alastor said with a loud, frustrated sigh. "My steed is entire orders of magnitude more reliable than that stupid beast was. Of course, it would have to be, it took much more to convince it to let itself be used as a tool of war than a simple snack. Beasts from the Abyssal Plains are the finest, I tell you. One can hardly call them animals still, after meeting one. Speaking of which, I should probably take it out for a while. It has been decades since the last time." The Demon Lord continued his small rant, not noticing he was getting started once again, as he flew through the air.

Eventually he landed on his feet, in the middle of a street crossing that was suspiciously empty. The other five Zealots landed around him, similarly on their feet. A map came flying, and the Demon Lord took hold of it, swiftly memorizing it and learning the direction in which they had to go next.

When he tossed the map away, he noticed, they weren't actually alone, no. In front of them, on the next crossing, stood several dozens of demons, though these were different. They were enormous, with bright green shells covering their backs and bloody, fearsome spikes surrounding said shells.

Alastor recognized them as Garangans.

The others would probably think that whatever created Hell had gone to the future and ripped off of Nintendo.

Either way, several of them got into their shells and then began spinning at absurd speeds towards the characters.

[Agritum]

Almost out of spite, they found Gabriel sitting at a desk in the hallway, right outside an unused bathroom. He glanced up. "Sorry for not responding to you." he apologised to Gwen, looking up from a book written in some incomprehensible language. "I was engrossed in this. The smoke cloud teleported me to a different area in the building, but I found the old library in Alcatraz where some writings from this world and others were available. Odd, actually. It's relatively peaceful and safe here provided you don't harm the prisoners." Gabriel frowned. "There may be something sinister to this, but I'm not sure yet..."

He looked at Caspian and Ivy. "You two. Do you know who Zacheriah is? I found a book by him here. It discusses the dragons and Fae thoroughly."

Caspian, sword still out, raised both eyebrows.

"Zacheriah? We've met, back during the War."

He didn't know if that word was usually capitalized when referring to this specific conflict, but it certainly felt right.

He kept glancing to the corner of his eye. This was very wrong, this. It was the old "quiet, too quiet" trope in action.

Gwen crossed her arms, looking at Caspian.

"Then, please, tell us more about this fellow. Every bit of information we manage to get will be priceless, for us." the queen encouraged. "Also, Gabriel, do you have something to add, maybe?"

[Nightkill the Emperor]

The game had a small technical glitch, resulting in Emi, Fen and Hilde being accidentally booted out of it. Their avatars within the simulation disappeared. Daisuke looked away from D, glancing at the three. "Oh, I'll plug you guys back in-"

He then looked out and saw Yuzuki, Peter and Fred, who coincidentally had wandered outside the room. "Actually, it may be good to give them a chance." he said. "You three interested in joining the sim?" he asked Fred, Yuzuki and Peter. Emi and Fen went off to their dorm room to play Snakes and Ladders, while Hilde was left wandering the hallways for a brief time when she bumped into a tall, blonde and young woman, wearing a black T-shirt and jeans.

"I'm very sorry." she apologised, helping Hilde to her feet. "My name is Zoryana." she introduced herself, the Slavic name hinting at her origins, as did her thick accent in English. "And you must be the Prime Minister of Germany then? An honour to meet you."

[Agritum]

The game had a small technical glitch, resulting in Emi, Fen and Hilde being accidentally booted out of it. Their avatars within the simulation disappeared. Daisuke looked away from D, glancing at the three. "Oh, I'll plug you guys back in-"

He then looked out and saw Yuzuki, Peter and Fred, who coincidentally had wandered outside the room. "Actually, it may be good to give them a chance." he said. "You three interested in joining the sim?" he asked Fred, Yuzuki and Peter. Emi and Fen went off to their dorm room to play Snakes and Ladders, while Hilde was left wandering the hallways for a brief time when she bumped into a tall, blonde and young woman, wearing a black T-shirt and jeans.

"I'm very sorry." she apologised, helping Hilde to her feet. "My name is Zoryana." she introduced herself, the Slavic name hinting at her origins, as did her thick accent in English. "And you must be the Prime Minister of Germany then? An honour to meet you."

"Indeed, miss." Hilde replied with a small grin, as her ninja gas mask bodyguards materialized behind here, apparently turning off a cloaking system. She raised her hand, keeping her palm open, as if telling them to stop whatever they were planning to do, before using said hand to shake Zoryana's one.

"Glad to meet you, Miss. Let me guess, are you an envoy of the Union State? I'd surely enjoy a small talk or two with your superiors, in that case."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

"You three interested in joining the sim?" he asked Fred, Yuzuki and Peter.

Frederick shrugged. "Eh, sure, why not." He replied to the strange offer, unwilling and, quite frankly, unable to (be bothered to) request any context.

[Nude East Ireland]

Damien was quite impressed, mostly at how Stonehenge was old-as-fuck, yet it still looked the same as it did in his time. Minus the armed soldiers, of course.

When they got close to the area, he once again looked to Merlin. "What else do you know about the Ancients? Could their relics be useful in the war? Or in my time? Speaking of which, I don't really know how things went with Azazel. But that's not important right now, I'm side-tracking a bit."

"Azazel?" Merlin paused. "Oh, Lucifer's assistant. Bit of a cunt, all things considered. I can respect Lucifer, but I do not like Azazel much at all." Merlin shrugged. "As for the Ancients, we honestly don't know too much. They have left relics around, but they're an old civilisation, long since gone. Likely destroyed by the Fae, I feel. But we could be wrong. They were a warrior race, we know that much. And they had achieved quite a high level of civilisation before being wiped out."

"So, they're Protheans?" Damien asked, though Merlin might not know what the fuck Mass Effect was. Or would be. Fuck, time travel was bullshit. Damien's thoughts were cut short, because he felt like he had a hangover at the moment. Next time he'd think of more.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

"Azazel?" Merlin paused. "Oh, Lucifer's assistant. Bit of a cunt, all things considered. I can respect Lucifer, but I do not like Azazel much at all." Merlin shrugged. "As for the Ancients, we honestly don't know too much. They have left relics around, but they're an old civilisation, long since gone. Likely destroyed by the Fae, I feel. But we could be wrong. They were a warrior race, we know that much. And they had achieved quite a high level of civilisation before being wiped out."

"So, they're Protheans?" Damien asked, though Merlin might not know what the fuck Mass Effect was. Or would be. Fuck, time travel was bullshit. Damien's thoughts were cut short, because he felt like he had a hangover at the moment. Next time he'd think of more.

"Sure. Protheans." replied the puzzled Merlin, who had no idea what Mass Effect was. He had a good idea of Pacman and Pokemon though. "In any case-" Merlin tapped his staff on the ground, causing the attention of some of the warriors.

Amongst this group, an elephant headed young man appeared, large and obviously strong, covered in golden armour. His elephant head looked at Merlin. "Who's this?" he asked, sounding polite - a strong contrast to the Ganesh of our time.

[Nude East Ireland]

"So, they're Protheans?" Damien asked, though Merlin might not know what the fuck Mass Effect was. Or would be. Fuck, time travel was bullshit. Damien's thoughts were cut short, because he felt like he had a hangover at the moment. Next time he'd think of more.

"Sure. Protheans." replied the puzzled Merlin, who had no idea what Mass Effect was. He had a good idea of Pacman and Pokemon though. "In any case-" Merlin tapped his staff on the ground, causing the attention of some of the warriors.

Amongst this group, an elephant headed young man appeared, large and obviously strong, covered in golden armour. His elephant head looked at Merlin. "Who's this?" he asked, sounding polite - a strong contrast to the Ganesh of our time.

"Damien Seward," he replied. "I'm a time-traveller. I fought with a man named Crowley, who doesn't go by that name at this time. And the Fae are being assholes in the future, but - and you'll be glad to hear - that they didn't do so well after this war. You're Ganesh, right? We've met... er, we will meet, rather. Time travel is bullshit, I'm sure you understand."

He shrugged. "We're here to do some magic bullshit because I remember my life, when this body is that of my new incarnation."

[Nightkill the Emperor]

The game had a small technical glitch, resulting in Emi, Fen and Hilde being accidentally booted out of it. Their avatars within the simulation disappeared. Daisuke looked away from D, glancing at the three. "Oh, I'll plug you guys back in-"

He then looked out and saw Yuzuki, Peter and Fred, who coincidentally had wandered outside the room. "Actually, it may be good to give them a chance." he said. "You three interested in joining the sim?" he asked Fred, Yuzuki and Peter. Emi and Fen went off to their dorm room to play Snakes and Ladders, while Hilde was left wandering the hallways for a brief time when she bumped into a tall, blonde and young woman, wearing a black T-shirt and jeans.

"I'm very sorry." she apologised, helping Hilde to her feet. "My name is Zoryana." she introduced herself, the Slavic name hinting at her origins, as did her thick accent in English. "And you must be the Prime Minister of Germany then? An honour to meet you."

"Indeed, miss." Hilde replied with a small grin, as her ninja gas mask bodyguards materialized behind here, apparently turning off a cloaking system. She raised her hand, keeping her palm open, as if telling them to stop whatever they were planning to do, before using said hand to shake Zoryana's one.

"Glad to meet you, Miss. Let me guess, are you an envoy of the Union State? I'd surely enjoy a small talk or two with your superiors, in that case."

Zoryana raised an eyebrow. "They'd be fairly busy, I imagine." she said, having been aware in advance of the bodyguards. "So I can be a fair enough negoitator for whatever you need, Prime Minister. Would you like to sit down somewhere?"

[Agritum]

"Indeed, miss." Hilde replied with a small grin, as her ninja gas mask bodyguards materialized behind here, apparently turning off a cloaking system. She raised her hand, keeping her palm open, as if telling them to stop whatever they were planning to do, before using said hand to shake Zoryana's one.

"Glad to meet you, Miss. Let me guess, are you an envoy of the Union State? I'd surely enjoy a small talk or two with your superiors, in that case."

Zoryana raised an eyebrow. "They'd be fairly busy, I imagine." she said, having been aware in advance of the bodyguards. "So I can be a fair enough negoitator for whatever you need, Prime Minister. Would you like to sit down somewhere?"

"I think I should be the one making said question, Miss. After all, In this school you're more of a guest than me. That said, I'd believe that the classy meeting room right over there would be a perfect place for our talks, Miss." Hilde replied, pointing to a particularly lofty set of couches and armchairs.

"In the meantime, you could tell me more about your diplomatic mission, Miss. I guess it's something quite important, specifically, an offer directed to me. If so, speak, Miss."

[The Inritus Extraho]

"A soldier." Sanchez said bluntly. "To a large extent, most of us are soldiers now. All that varies is the extent. You'll likely work alongside Lily and others, as well as Elfen High at large. They're coming here tomorrow. First, you're likely hungry. I recommend going up to see a Quebecois restaurant not too far from here. You can ask a local, but there are signs in four languages you can follow. You can also feel free to explore Bethlehem. It's a rare chance. And depending on how this war goes, God knows if any of us will get the chance again."

Grace nodded. "I think I'll pass on lunch, then. I feel I have to go to somewhere else, right now. However, I'll be ready to be deployed at any time you want, Sir." she replied, saluting and walking up to the lift, with a destination already set in her mind.

---

In Betlehem, there's a basilica considered to be one of the most important ones of all Christendom. To access said basilica, you have to go through a small and humble door, The Door of Humility. After doing so, you can climb down a corridor and reach a small, cramped and usually crowded chamber. An altar lies in said chamber, a fourteen-pointed star placed under it.

Grace did the above, before kneeling in front of the altar, removing her helmet, executing the sign of the cross, gazing down at the star, and uniting her hands in prayer. Her eyes were lucid, almost teary.

"Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve: to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus, O merciful, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary." Grace recited.

The young student shifted her eyes towards the decorations on the altar, depicting the newborn Messiah, with Mary and Joseph to his side. It was beautiful, simply beautiful. It filled Grace with hope and devotion, and renewed her will to fight for the good of the one, universal Church and of all of God's children

"Amen."

And yet, Grace still felt that just that prayer alone wasn't enough. In her opinion, a person in particular needed a prayer, to aid him in his endeavour, regardless of his beliefs. Thus, she recited:

"O Father, who art in heaven, inspire and cherish this misguided soul, and lead it back to your blessed flock, for he is an honest and worthy man. Shield him from sin and from the flames of Hell, and guide him in his mission, for he seeks only the best for his fellow living beings. Make him into a model Christian and leader, and bring him to the light. Please, O Lord Almighty, heed my prayer and help President Sanchez and his allies, for they are the valiant defenders of your children. In the name of the Father, The Son and the Holy Ghost, Amen."

Slouching slightly, Lily waited for Grace to finish her prayer; after she did, she almost spoke, but decided to wait, watching Grace. There was a war brewing, and Lily wanted to make sure Grace was ready, but... she couldn't interrupt the peacefulness of the basilica. It would be crossing a line, somewhere. Not that Lily was religious - she hadn't wanted to fake it, after all - so she felt... improper, standing inside, and so she waited, just on the threshold of the chamber, trying to stay out of the way of the occasional person coming or going. Deep breath, Jade, she thought, as she was jostled by someone. Don't disturb people by interrupting, just move on.

[Lazarian]

Caspian, sword still out, raised both eyebrows.

"Zacheriah? We've met, back during the War."

He didn't know if that word was usually capitalized when referring to this specific conflict, but it certainly felt right.

He kept glancing to the corner of his eye. This was very wrong, this. It was the old "quiet, too quiet" trope in action.

Gwen crossed her arms, looking at Caspian.

"Then, please, tell us more about this fellow. Every bit of information we manage to get will be priceless, for us." the queen encouraged. "Also, Gabriel, do you have something to add, maybe?"

"I do, actually." interrupted Ivy, cutting Gabriel off. "We encountered Zacheriah was in the ruins of Atlantis back in 2015. Well, when I say we, I mean myself and a team that came from the school to explore. That being said, from what I heard, he was possessed by Leviathan? I...don't remember that much, honestly." she lied, cringing at awkward past memories.

Holding James Calhoun in her arms and sobbing.

...well.

That never happened. And, honestly, it was easy to pretend like it was a hallucination or some sort - with Elfen High, some things definitely weren't real. Or might not have been. Musical numbers with Ganesh. Going to Heaven. She had no idea if any of that was real or not - it was best just to cherry-pick the pleasant bits and to try to forge it into a narrative that made sense. She didn't have problems with that anymore, though. It was all okay. Because she had Calliel at her side.

In the words of Lewis Jameson, "Life's a big ball of chaos. Keep a center and ye' can make some sense of it."

"Aaaaaaanyway," she continued after an awkward pause, finding her way back to reality, "I heard that he was a researcher for Uriel. I don't know much else, unluckily. He ended up being killed before I ever met him in person." she finished.

[Astrolinium]

Caspian's eyebrows immediately shot up, his face transforming into a frown, eyes sad.

"Dead? Oh, no, that's... very sad."

He sighed and said, "The Zacheriah I met was much younger, and very much unpossessed by anyone. He seemed very genuine, concerned more about his own passions rather than the War that was going on. He knew Fixban and Crowley, seemed interested to know what had become of them in my time. He helped us fight off Azazel."

---

Peter sighed and shrugged. "Might as well. What's the situation in there?"

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Gabriel frowned. "That's a shame. Explains things though. The man went crazy at the end. But it's useful information. Now, the Fae have a king - Oberon. Powerful man, it appears. The Fae are old, older than we can imagine properly. Can even best Death itself. Perhaps that how you're alive. And perhaps that how Azazel came back to life." Gabriel noted. He looked at their surprise. "Oh, you didn't know? I had found out just a while ago. It appears that Azazel returned to life not too long ago. I was informed by a text message from a source of mine."

[Astrolinium]

Gabriel frowned. "That's a shame. Explains things though. The man went crazy at the end. But it's useful information. Now, the Fae have a king - Oberon. Powerful man, it appears. The Fae are old, older than we can imagine properly. Can even best Death itself. Perhaps that how you're alive. And perhaps that how Azazel came back to life." Gabriel noted. He looked at their surprise. "Oh, you didn't know? I had found out just a while ago. It appears that Azazel returned to life not too long ago. I was informed by a text message from a source of mine."

Caspian did indeed look surprised.

"I've met Azazel. Thoroughly ruthless, he seemed -- also, surprisingly cordial and rather concerned with grammar. But then, the best villains often are. Quite formidable -- I've got a gun that blew the head right off an angel but barely scratched him. Can't imagine the ravages of death and time have softened him overly much on that front, I shouldn't think... though, he admittedly may have been protected by time itself. Time abhors a paradox except when it doesn't."

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Caspian's eyebrows immediately shot up, his face transforming into a frown, eyes sad.

"Dead? Oh, no, that's... very sad."

He sighed and said, "The Zacheriah I met was much younger, and very much unpossessed by anyone. He seemed very genuine, concerned more about his own passions rather than the War that was going on. He knew Fixban and Crowley, seemed interested to know what had become of them in my time. He helped us fight off Azazel."

---

Peter sighed and shrugged. "Might as well. What's the situation in there?"

Daisuke glanced at Peter again. "See for yourself." he gestured, pointing at the seats. When Yuzuki, Fred and Peter would sit down and strap in, they would see...well, whatever Zark wants them to see.

Se lo quite, Zark. I think that means "take it away".

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Caspian's eyebrows immediately shot up, his face transforming into a frown, eyes sad.

"Dead? Oh, no, that's... very sad."

He sighed and said, "The Zacheriah I met was much younger, and very much unpossessed by anyone. He seemed very genuine, concerned more about his own passions rather than the War that was going on. He knew Fixban and Crowley, seemed interested to know what had become of them in my time. He helped us fight off Azazel."

---

Peter sighed and shrugged. "Might as well. What's the situation in there?"

Daisuke glanced at Peter again. "See for yourself." he gestured, pointing at the seats. When Yuzuki, Fred and Peter would sit down and strap in, they would see...well, whatever Zark wants them to see.

Se lo quite, Zark. I think that means "take it away".

That would be "Llevatelo", actually.

Anyway, they saw a spiked Garangan shell rolling towards them.

Fast.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Grace nodded. "I think I'll pass on lunch, then. I feel I have to go to somewhere else, right now. However, I'll be ready to be deployed at any time you want, Sir." she replied, saluting and walking up to the lift, with a destination already set in her mind.

---

In Betlehem, there's a basilica considered to be one of the most important ones of all Christendom. To access said basilica, you have to go through a small and humble door, The Door of Humility. After doing so, you can climb down a corridor and reach a small, cramped and usually crowded chamber. An altar lies in said chamber, a fourteen-pointed star placed under it.

Grace did the above, before kneeling in front of the altar, removing her helmet, executing the sign of the cross, gazing down at the star, and uniting her hands in prayer. Her eyes were lucid, almost teary.

"Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve: to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus, O merciful, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary." Grace recited.

The young student shifted her eyes towards the decorations on the altar, depicting the newborn Messiah, with Mary and Joseph to his side. It was beautiful, simply beautiful. It filled Grace with hope and devotion, and renewed her will to fight for the good of the one, universal Church and of all of God's children

"Amen."

And yet, Grace still felt that just that prayer alone wasn't enough. In her opinion, a person in particular needed a prayer, to aid him in his endeavour, regardless of his beliefs. Thus, she recited:

"O Father, who art in heaven, inspire and cherish this misguided soul, and lead it back to your blessed flock, for he is an honest and worthy man. Shield him from sin and from the flames of Hell, and guide him in his mission, for he seeks only the best for his fellow living beings. Make him into a model Christian and leader, and bring him to the light. Please, O Lord Almighty, heed my prayer and help President Sanchez and his allies, for they are the valiant defenders of your children. In the name of the Father, The Son and the Holy Ghost, Amen."

Slouching slightly, Lily waited for Grace to finish her prayer; after she did, she almost spoke, but decided to wait, watching Grace. There was a war brewing, and Lily wanted to make sure Grace was ready, but... she couldn't interrupt the peacefulness of the basilica. It would be crossing a line, somewhere. Not that Lily was religious - she hadn't wanted to fake it, after all - so she felt... improper, standing inside, and so she waited, just on the threshold of the chamber, trying to stay out of the way of the occasional person coming or going. Deep breath, Jade, she thought, as she was jostled by someone. Don't disturb people by interrupting, just move on.

Then suddenly she found out who she was interrupted by.

Calliel had suddenly appeared not too far away, also praying. He knelt for a few minutes before standing as well, looking at the two. He looked at Lily closely. "Do I know you?" he asked, frowning, unsure. He shook his head. "Never mind. You reminded me of someone." He then looked at Grace warmly. "It is good to see such piousness." he said.

[The Inritus Extraho]

Slouching slightly, Lily waited for Grace to finish her prayer; after she did, she almost spoke, but decided to wait, watching Grace. There was a war brewing, and Lily wanted to make sure Grace was ready, but... she couldn't interrupt the peacefulness of the basilica. It would be crossing a line, somewhere. Not that Lily was religious - she hadn't wanted to fake it, after all - so she felt... improper, standing inside, and so she waited, just on the threshold of the chamber, trying to stay out of the way of the occasional person coming or going. Deep breath, Jade, she thought, as she was jostled by someone. Don't disturb people by interrupting, just move on.

Then suddenly she found out who she was interrupted by.

Calliel had suddenly appeared not too far away, also praying. He knelt for a few minutes before standing as well, looking at the two. He looked at Lily closely. "Do I know you?" he asked, frowning, unsure. He shook his head. "Never mind. You reminded me of someone." He then looked at Grace warmly. "It is good to see such piousness." he said.

Jade froze for a fraction of a second, then shook her head. "No... no, I don't think so." she replied - a bit redundantly, as the newcomer had already dismissed the notion - before smiling. "She is quite religious, it would seem. It warms the heart to see such faith, even in such trying times." She nodded, as if affirming herself of that belief, then continued, a second later. "A war is brewing, and it will be nothing good in the end. They never are."

[Agritum]

Gabriel frowned. "That's a shame. Explains things though. The man went crazy at the end. But it's useful information. Now, the Fae have a king - Oberon. Powerful man, it appears. The Fae are old, older than we can imagine properly. Can even best Death itself. Perhaps that how you're alive. And perhaps that how Azazel came back to life." Gabriel noted. He looked at their surprise. "Oh, you didn't know? I had found out just a while ago. It appears that Azazel returned to life not too long ago. I was informed by a text message from a source of mine."

Gwen looked on with interest. "Is Azazel the demon who attacked Caspian and Ivy's universe, by chance? If so, I believe that we should hurry up before he plans another invasion on your Earth." the Welsh queen said, glancing over at the two of them. "Anyways, what else does that book say about Oberon and his people, Gabriel?"

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Zoryana raised an eyebrow. "They'd be fairly busy, I imagine." she said, having been aware in advance of the bodyguards. "So I can be a fair enough negoitator for whatever you need, Prime Minister. Would you like to sit down somewhere?"

"I think I should be the one making said question, Miss. After all, In this school you're more of a guest than me. That said, I'd believe that the classy meeting room right over there would be a perfect place for our talks, Miss." Hilde replied, pointing to a particularly lofty set of couches and armchairs.

"In the meantime, you could tell me more about your diplomatic mission, Miss. I guess it's something quite important, specifically, an offer directed to me. If so, speak, Miss."

Zoryana chuckled. "I was here for two weeks." She rebuked the younger girl. "Not specifically for you." She sat down. "My job here was for Crowley, preparing for the upcoming war. Not involving you at all- I was rather surprised to bump into you." She finished. "So, no, I don't have an offer directed at you. I thought it was the reverse."

[Agritum]

Then suddenly she found out who she was interrupted by.

Calliel had suddenly appeared not too far away, also praying. He knelt for a few minutes before standing as well, looking at the two. He looked at Lily closely. "Do I know you?" he asked, frowning, unsure. He shook his head. "Never mind. You reminded me of someone." He then looked at Grace warmly. "It is good to see such piousness." he said.

Jade froze for a fraction of a second, then shook her head. "No... no, I don't think so." she replied - a bit redundantly, as the newcomer had already dismissed the notion - before smiling. "She is quite religious, it would seem. It warms the heart to see such faith, even in such trying times." She nodded, as if affirming herself of that belief, then continued, a second later. "A war is brewing, and it will be nothing good in the end. They never are."

A few moments later, Grace stood up and crossed herself, before walking out of the chamber, careful not to bump against whoever was entering it. The moment she saw Lily standing next to the doorframe, Grace had a small surge of happiness: even if she hadn't known her for much time, she pretty much considered Lily a good friend, and a nice person to work with.

"Good morning, Lily!" Grace greeted her former exchange schoolmate, grasping her hands with her own ones. "Sanchez told me that you would have participated in the operation with us. I'm so glad that you managed to make it here!" she added, with a smile. "Are you alright, anyways?"

"I think I should be the one making said question, Miss. After all, In this school you're more of a guest than me. That said, I'd believe that the classy meeting room right over there would be a perfect place for our talks, Miss." Hilde replied, pointing to a particularly lofty set of couches and armchairs.

"In the meantime, you could tell me more about your diplomatic mission, Miss. I guess it's something quite important, specifically, an offer directed to me. If so, speak, Miss."

Zoryana chuckled. "I was here for two weeks." She rebuked the younger girl. "Not specifically for you." She sat down. "My job here was for Crowley, preparing for the upcoming war. Not involving you at all- I was rather surprised to bump into you." She finished. "So, no, I don't have an offer directed at you. I thought it was the reverse."

"Oh, then that's a very interesting coincidence, Miss." Hilde replied, taking a sip from a cup of cappuccino which had been just brought by one of her bodyguards. "That said, I feel that the Union State could definitely be a perfect ally in the fight for human independence and survival, Miss. I bear no ill to your particular union, currently."

[Rupudska]

He then looked out and saw Yuzuki, Peter and Fred, who coincidentally had wandered outside the room. "Actually, it may be good to give them a chance." he said. "You three interested in joining the sim?" he asked Fred, Yuzuki and Peter. Emi and Fen went off to their dorm room to play Snakes and Ladders, while Hilde was left wandering the hallways for a brief time when she bumped into a tall, blonde and young woman, wearing a black T-shirt and jeans.

"I guess it could be good practice," Yuzuki said, plopping into the sim.

"Humph. A place like this should have something better than a mere computer simulation."

Oh, shut up.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, for the both of them, Yuzuki wound up quite far away from Catrin and the Cerberus she was riding. At least there were a lot of demons nearby Yuzuki could kill.