The Fall of Elfen High (IC, Closed)

[Nationstatelandsville]

"That would be true." Daisuke said. "But he was supposedly freed from the Android presence." Daisuke thought about this. "Alright, let's say it isn't him. But then, let's get to work on looking deeper into Rosalind's DNA."

Science music (D is subtle) echoed through D's lab from the speakers he never actually seems to have installed. (In fact, it was being played from a set inside his armor - which would have been extremely painful, given its design, and was for the first few prototypes.)

A holographic display of Rosalind's DNA structure appeared over D's desk. A twisting double helix, it looked very much like normal human DNA.

"HAL," D ordered, "remove all human material."

HAL immediately complied - even he wasn't fucking stupid enough to mess with D. In a second, all of the "ladder steps" inside the helix save one disappeared. This specific combination was colored black, with a white question mark floating above it.

"The trigger mechanism," D said, "I've given it a look before - it's highly acidic, but at the same time doesn't react unless exposed to energy in a very specific spectrum; energy that resembles, if passingly, magical energy. Would you like to see?"

[Zarkenis Ultima]

The Demon Lord walked into the cafeteria, followed by two demonic army wizards, the three of them being the only Hell troops present. The two wizards, walking in behind their lord, carried with them a strange metallic totem of sorts, roughly square in its form, with two wing shapes protruding from each side, and with three hand-shaped slots, one on each side and one on the back. The totem was surrounded by all manners of strange symbols and runes, all of them demonic in origin, and on its front was the brimstone cross, glowing red. This totem was what was baptised by Alastor as a Magic Resonator, though its purpose, at the moment, remained unclear.

The wizards, themselves, were clad in what appeared to be standard armor for demonic soldiers, though there were a few differences. Firstly, there were runes all around their armors as well, except on their chests, where the brimstone cross sat. The brimstone cross was an important symbol for the people of the United Demonic Realms, after all. Secondly, there were square shaped protrusions coming out from their armors in pairs. There was one on each shoulder, one behind each wrist, and one next to each hip. These housed batteries, which served to empower the wizards in emergency situations.

They walked behind their lord, silent, the kind of silence one witnesses in a funeral.

Because their lord was ready to die.

It was not a terrible epiphany. It was not a grim revelation. Simply, it was a real possibility, and so, the Demon Lord had made arrangements for it, should he fall in battle.

Of course, there was still the possibility of returning victorious. That... Would be nice. But it could also simply not happen.

His survival wasn't certain. His death wasn't certain. Nothing was. He didn't worry too much about it, though being cautious never killed anyone. Besides, the silence gave him and his two companions an air of solemnity, and there was nothing wrong with that.

Besides, as a popular saying went, demons are born ready to kill, and ready to die. This was not necessarily true, but it did hold some truth within.

It was with this truth in mind that the Demon Lord sat, and watched.

---

Suddenly, a small igloo rolled into the cafeteria, seemingly out of its own volition. Atop it was a throne of sorts, which was really just a glorified chair made of ice blocks and adorned with the skins of fallen seals. Vicious foes, those seals. There were no words that could describe the shit they had done. The few who had survived a direct encounter with them were regarded as heroes, some even as legends, though some were simply forgotten in the snows of time.

But anyway, on that throne sat a man in his late forties, with greying brown hair and a trench coat.

And a machinegun under each arm.

"Yeah, I have one." He said, raising his hand. As if it was hard to notice him. "What's the best way to kill an angel? Do they have any particular resistances? Are they just as mortal as anything else?"

---

Ciel walked boredly through the halls of Elfen High, tossing a small black box back and forth between her hands while nibbling on a cannoli. She had stolen quite a few of those, even though she technically didn't need to. She could have bought them, but then, where was the fun in that? She did leave money behind, though. Probably more than what was necessary, but either way, she got a kick out of it.

She was currently headed towards the lab, where she assumed Daisuke was. He had apparently been rather busy, after all, so she figured that was probably where he would be in any case, since he wasn't at the cafeteria, where everyone was getting briefed. She did for a moment consider that he might be doing something important, but then promptly dumped said thought. Unless it was a life or death thing, she didn't really care all that much. Besides, she wanted to talk to him before the war began.

She would have arrived already, were it not for the fact that she had decided that, for once, she would get there like a normal person, instead of breaking a hole in as many walls as needed to get there. They probably wouldn't appreciate it if she broke some critical piece of equipment, after all.

That said, she had no qualms about kicking the door open when she did arrive.

"Hey, Dai, are you in here? Am I interrupting something?" She asked, walking in. "Because if I am, too fucking bad."

[Nationstatelandsville]

Ciel walked boredly through the halls of Elfen High, tossing a small black box back and forth between her hands while nibbling on a cannoli. She had stolen quite a few of those, even though she technically didn't need to. She could have bought them, but then, where was the fun in that? She did leave money behind, though. Probably more than what was necessary, but either way, she got a kick out of it.

She was currently headed towards the lab, where she assumed Daisuke was. He had apparently been rather busy, after all, so she figured that was probably where he would be in any case, since he wasn't at the cafeteria, where everyone was getting briefed. She did for a moment consider that he might be doing something important, but then promptly dumped said thought. Unless it was a life or death thing, she didn't really care all that much. Besides, she wanted to talk to him before the war began.

She would have arrived already, were it not for the fact that she had decided that, for once, she would get there like a normal person, instead of breaking a hole in as many walls as needed to get there. They probably wouldn't appreciate it if she broke some critical piece of equipment, after all.

That said, she had no qualms about kicking the door open when she did arrive.

"Hey, Dai, are you in here? Am I interrupting something?" She asked, walking in. "Because if I am, too fucking bad."

The wall directly to the left of Ciel's head immediately exploded into ash and shards.

D's outstretched palm glowed a burning red, like iron in a forge. It cooled and faded back to flesh as D lowered his plam, though his glare did not.

"Listen," he said, "I need your sex toy here to help me save the fucking universe, and more importantly, my sister. You have two options. First, you leave. Second, I paralyze you permanently and condemn you to a life of conscious immobility, leeching off an IV on a hospital bed. Actually, never mind - you have a third option. Kill yourself now."

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Ciel walked boredly through the halls of Elfen High, tossing a small black box back and forth between her hands while nibbling on a cannoli. She had stolen quite a few of those, even though she technically didn't need to. She could have bought them, but then, where was the fun in that? She did leave money behind, though. Probably more than what was necessary, but either way, she got a kick out of it.

She was currently headed towards the lab, where she assumed Daisuke was. He had apparently been rather busy, after all, so she figured that was probably where he would be in any case, since he wasn't at the cafeteria, where everyone was getting briefed. She did for a moment consider that he might be doing something important, but then promptly dumped said thought. Unless it was a life or death thing, she didn't really care all that much. Besides, she wanted to talk to him before the war began.

She would have arrived already, were it not for the fact that she had decided that, for once, she would get there like a normal person, instead of breaking a hole in as many walls as needed to get there. They probably wouldn't appreciate it if she broke some critical piece of equipment, after all.

That said, she had no qualms about kicking the door open when she did arrive.

"Hey, Dai, are you in here? Am I interrupting something?" She asked, walking in. "Because if I am, too fucking bad."

The wall directly to the left of Ciel's head immediately exploded into ash and shards.

D's outstretched palm glowed a burning red, like iron in a forge. It cooled and faded back to flesh as D lowered his plam, though his glare did not.

"Listen," he said, "I need your sex toy here to help me save the fucking universe, and more importantly, my sister. You have two options. First, you leave. Second, I paralyze you permanently and condemn you to a life of conscious immobility, leeching off an IV on a hospital. Actually, never mind - you have a third option. Kill yourself now."

"D, please fuck off for a moment." Daisuke said quietly, looking at Rosalind's DNA. "And it's fine, Ciel, come on in. We're just looking at Rosalind - D's sister- 's DNA. Trying to figure somethings out." he looked up from the structure, smiling warmly at Ciel and giving a rebuking glare toward D. "Something you needed?" he asked.

[Nationstatelandsville]

The wall directly to the left of Ciel's head immediately exploded into ash and shards.

D's outstretched palm glowed a burning red, like iron in a forge. It cooled and faded back to flesh as D lowered his plam, though his glare did not.

"Listen," he said, "I need your sex toy here to help me save the fucking universe, and more importantly, my sister. You have two options. First, you leave. Second, I paralyze you permanently and condemn you to a life of conscious immobility, leeching off an IV on a hospital. Actually, never mind - you have a third option. Kill yourself now."

"D, please fuck off for a moment." Daisuke said quietly, looking at Rosalind's DNA. "And it's fine, Ciel, come on in. We're just looking at Rosalind - D's sister- 's DNA. Trying to figure somethings out." he looked up from the structure, smiling warmly at Ciel and giving a rebuking glare toward D. "Something you needed?" he asked.

"Unless your whore suddenly understands foreign genetics and quantum physics," D said, "she is a distraction to the war effort, and an actively malevolent force."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Ciel briskly walked in past the shattered wall even before being invited in by Daisuke, not breaking a sweat or even turning her head at the explosion. She simply didn't care enough to be bothered by D's aggressiveness.

"You're amusing, as always. But I don't ask to get paid, little shit." She said as she passed in front of him, sparing him a contempted glance and hitting him with her middle finger which she had held down with her thumb. I'm fairly sure there's a name for that, but I don't know it. "You probably don't give a shit, but hey, neither do I." She told him, before looking at Daisuke.

"Well, not really. Just wanted to talk to you before we went out there, but if it's really so important this prick over here is willing to go Iron Man on me, not that I think too much is needed for him to get that way, then I don't mind waiting around a bit, don't worry." She said, shoving the black box into one of her pockets as she leaned on a wall and continued eating her cannoli.

[Constaniana]

Aziraphale turned on William and bent down to reach eye level.

"Listen to me, you little cunt," he growled, "This is serious. Heaven is a hell your spoiled little ape mind can't even begin to fucking comprehend. This is my home. These are my people. You will not belittle their suffering, or I assure you I will show you much worse."

He cleared his throat and righted his posture.

"Carnaval," he said, "is a ruse maintained by Uriel. The people there are kept happy and alive - not because he cares, but because he wants people to think he does. It's the site of the Military Sector's mainland ports; and he doesn't want them knowing how truly awful his kingdom is. They might rebel."

"Hm. Fascinating," William responded, unconcerned by the threats of the librarian, turning to look at Sanchez, "So, Brigadier, which part of Heaven are we coming into?"

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Ciel briskly walked in past the shattered wall even before being invited in by Daisuke, not breaking a sweat or even turning her head at the explosion. She simply didn't care enough to be bothered by D's aggressiveness.

"You're amusing, as always. But I don't ask to get paid, little shit." She said as she passed in front of him, sparing him a contempted glance and hitting him with her middle finger which she had held down with her thumb. I'm fairly sure there's a name for that, but I don't know it. "You probably don't give a shit, but hey, neither do I." She told him, before looking at Daisuke.

"Well, not really. Just wanted to talk to you before we went out there, but if it's really so important this prick over here is willing to go Iron Man on me, not that I think too much is needed for him to get that way, then I don't mind waiting around a bit, don't worry." She said, shoving the black box into one of her pockets as she leaned on a wall and continued eating her cannoli.

The name for hitting someone with your finger like that is called flicking.

Daisuke sighed. "It's his sister." He explained. "He's just very worried. I'm sure he doesn't mean it." He frowned. "Also, you had seen Richard in your vision, right? He did tell you about his true nature, that he was Yahweh?"

[Zarkenis Ultima]

The name for hitting someone with your finger like that is called flicking.

Daisuke sighed. "It's his sister." He explained. "He's just very worried. I'm sure he doesn't mean it." He frowned. "Also, you had seen Richard in your vision, right? He did tell you about his true nature, that he was Yahweh?"

"More of an out of body experience, really, but yes, I saw him in my vision. He did tell me he was Yahweh. Don't you remember that I told you everything I saw?" She replied, a little annoyed that he'd forgotten about it, but not minding it enough to make her annoyance obvious. "You know, about the spaceship and all that."

[Nationstatelandsville]

The name for hitting someone with your finger like that is called flicking.

Daisuke sighed. "It's his sister." He explained. "He's just very worried. I'm sure he doesn't mean it." He frowned. "Also, you had seen Richard in your vision, right? He did tell you about his true nature, that he was Yahweh?"

"More of an out of body experience, really, but yes, I saw him in my vision. He did tell me he was Yahweh. Don't you remember that I told you everything I saw?" She replied, a little annoyed that he'd forgotten about it, but not minding it enough to make her annoyance obvious. "You know, about the spaceship and all that."

"Why are you dumfucks speaking as though you aren't being recorded?" D demanded, "There are cameras everywhere. Shut the fuck up!"

[Agritum]

"That would be true." Daisuke said. "But he was supposedly freed from the Android presence." Daisuke thought about this. "Alright, let's say it isn't him. But then, let's get to work on looking deeper into Rosalind's DNA."

---

Carry nodded. "Indeed I am. It'll be best for me. A great battle is undoubtedly going to start soon, and I intend to partake in it. Uriel's been in power for far too long, in my own view." He said, standing up slowly. "I'll see you tomorrow then?" he told the priest, shaking his hand.

---

Calliel looked at Grace. "Heavensgate? It'll likely stay and remain as it is. Heaven has been brainwashed for millennia. After this war, and Uriel is removed...well, bringing them back to the proper light will take time. A lot of it." he seemed tired just by saying this. "It'll be very difficult. Heavensgate will be a safe zone of sorts, where angel culture can flourish as we try to bring Heaven to sanity."

Grace, Calliel and Jade talked for some time, but then had eventually dispersed to their different ways. The next day, however, in the early morning they found themselves sitting around a small, circular dining table in the ISSR base. The steel table was surrounded by tough, foldable black chairs, which the ISSR soldiers and scientists sat in easily.

Calliel looked at the two girls. "Good to see you again." he greeted.

---

The next day, as Crowley was walking through the hallways...something changed.

The school began to shake and vibrate. "The hell's going on?" one of the students yelled out.

Crowley gave a smile. Ah. This was a familiar feeling. But this time he was the one controlling it. Before, when the school went to Heavensgate, it was a shock to him, but not now. "Don't worry." he announced confidently. "It'll all be fine." Well, that part was a lie.

There was a blinding flash of light, and Crowley shut his good eye. Ah. I know what's coming now. he thought as the school made a loud creaking noise before the light was gone. He looked around. Inside, nothing was different, but he walked toward a door and opened it up. Outside, there was the ruckus of a military base, people buzzing around and getting organised.

Rick Sanchez walked toward Crowley stiffly, extending his hand for a shake. With a look of surprise, Crowley grabbed it and did indeed shake it thoroughly. When the two released hands, they nodded toward each other. "You ready?" Sanchez asked.

"Indeed." Crowley replied. "In how long can we get to Mecca?"

"Whenever you're ready. We even did the effort of pinpointing precisely where the portal is in advance. Raphael went incognito, located the source of the magic and announced it was definitely a portal to Heaven. He didn't open it yet though."

Crowley gave a sigh of relief. "Thank God. We won't have to do some bloody side quest just to get to the main plot. That usually tends to happen."

"To you too?" Sanchez asked in surprise. "I agree. It felt like I'd have to wait for some idiotic reason to find this portal, and get it open, and then blah blah blah. It feels like it takes a week or something, even if its just an hour in actuality. I'm glad we can rush it along now though."

"I agree. I swear, the invasion of Hell ten years ago felt full of this sort of crap. But, anyway, back to this." Crowley chuckled. "So we can just enter in then? That's good."

Sanchez shrugged. "It appears so. We'll find the Library, of course. And we'll take down Uriel while we're there. I have a map drawn up by my best people, based off the information we have." Sanchez said, showing the map on the phone.

Crowley looked at this glorious map with a raised eyebrow, stepping fully out of the school. "Your artists are impressive, Rick." he snarked. "But what's the terrain like?"

Sanchez slid his finger on the touchscreen, revealing the other map. Crowley nodded. "Alright. I'll talk to Raphael, see where we're likely to land, exactly. Send these maps to everyone in the school, will you? Also, exactly where in the city are we? We're certainly not on the surface, we're underground. I know that much from the coordinates your assistants sent me."

"You nailed it. We're underground. If we were on surface, some would get suspicious." he explained. "We do quite a bit of top secret work here, after all. Now, I wasn't sure the school would fit, but it's seem to have shrunken a bit in order to do so. Impressive."

"Yes, it can do that." Crowley said with some pride, though he had had absolutely nothing to do with it. Rick Sanchez typed a few things on his phone, then looked up.

"Alright. The two maps have been sent off to everyone with an active @elfenhigh.uk email account."

"Good. I should tell them what's happening over the intercom, in case they're confused." He cleared his throat, and his voice magically transmitted over the loudspeakers. "Alright everyone. We're in Bethlehem now." he announced. "We're going to deal with the problems facing us, one way or another. Got that? Come on out to the cafetaria here, may as well have a bite to eat. Falafels here are pretty good."

"We likely won't be able to fit everyone in our cafeteria-" Sanchez objected. Crowley rolled his eyes.

"OK, so it appears these people are limited to stupidities such as "space" and "physics". Meet in our cafeteria. Check your school emails, you've received some beautifully drawn maps." Sanchez flipped Crowley off here. "And then we'll talk to you about what's going on. ISSR soldiers?" Crowley asked, now his voice projecting through the intercoms through the ISSR. "If you're interested, come by to our cafeteria as well. Could be important for you."

Five rushed minutes later, everyone had gathered in the cafeteria, the chairs and tables now all facing Crowley at the end of one of the walls, where a screen was. It showed an image of the political map of Heaven. "Alright. Raphael should be here soon to provide more information-"

A sound of wings fluttering was heard as the tall, imposing archangel appeared, his black face severe and dark, ready for war. "I am here." he said, a tad obviously.

Crowley would have said "Speak of the Devil", if not for the incredible irony inherent in that sentence. Instead, he just nodded. "Alright then. Now, you likely have some questions. I'll try to lay them to rest."

Calliel, Lily and Grace would walk into the cafeteria then, as well as other ISSR soldiers. Calliel saw Raphael, and then gave a bow to his leader. "That is the archangel Raphael." he told Grace and Lily, in case they were unaware. "Treat him with respect." And a mild dose of fear, of course.

Grace nodded, sipping from her morning cup of black tea. The strong and warm aroma of the drink was perfect for waking up her senses. That day was going to be a quite busy one, for her and Lily, and she needed to be at the top of her capabilities.

"I'll follow your advice, Angel Calliel." Grace said, putting down the coup. "Who's going to be the Commanding Officer of our unit, anyways? I'd like to get accustomed to them before the operation officially starts."

"Right, excuse me for associating the word carnival with parties. My mistake, really. It's like seeing a winery marked on a map and expecting to find wine there," William replied, rolling his eyes at the poof, "But whatever. So Carnaval is a somewhat less shite part of shitetopia? So instead of everyone living in holes in the ground worshipping paintings of Uriel they worship paintings of Uriel in pretty white houses? What makes it special enough to get a specific name and not just be marked as part of the civilian sector?"

"William, hand me the currywurst sauce." Hilde ordered, distracting him from his conversation with Aziraphale. She was currently in her pimped out Chancellor Battle Uniform, which made her look like the female version of a Warhammer 40k Commissar. Her hand was held forward and directed towards William, clearly expecting the sauce Hilde had just requested from him.

And William knew pretty well that Hilde would have got very, very angry in case he had not complied to her order.

[Norvenia]

The next day, as Crowley was walking through the hallways...something changed.

The school began to shake and vibrate. "The hell's going on?" one of the students yelled out.

Crowley gave a smile. Ah. This was a familiar feeling. But this time he was the one controlling it. Before, when the school went to Heavensgate, it was a shock to him, but not now. "Don't worry." he announced confidently. "It'll all be fine." Well, that part was a lie.

There was a blinding flash of light, and Crowley shut his good eye. Ah. I know what's coming now. he thought as the school made a loud creaking noise before the light was gone. He looked around. Inside, nothing was different, but he walked toward a door and opened it up. Outside, there was the ruckus of a military base, people buzzing around and getting organised.

Rick Sanchez walked toward Crowley stiffly, extending his hand for a shake. With a look of surprise, Crowley grabbed it and did indeed shake it thoroughly. When the two released hands, they nodded toward each other. "You ready?" Sanchez asked.

"Indeed." Crowley replied. "In how long can we get to Mecca?"

"Whenever you're ready. We even did the effort of pinpointing precisely where the portal is in advance. Raphael went incognito, located the source of the magic and announced it was definitely a portal to Heaven. He didn't open it yet though."

Crowley gave a sigh of relief. "Thank God. We won't have to do some bloody side quest just to get to the main plot. That usually tends to happen."

"To you too?" Sanchez asked in surprise. "I agree. It felt like I'd have to wait for some idiotic reason to find this portal, and get it open, and then blah blah blah. It feels like it takes a week or something, even if its just an hour in actuality. I'm glad we can rush it along now though."

"I agree. I swear, the invasion of Hell ten years ago felt full of this sort of crap. But, anyway, back to this." Crowley chuckled. "So we can just enter in then? That's good."

Sanchez shrugged. "It appears so. We'll find the Library, of course. And we'll take down Uriel while we're there. I have a map drawn up by my best people, based off the information we have." Sanchez said, showing the map on the phone.

Crowley looked at this glorious map with a raised eyebrow, stepping fully out of the school. "Your artists are impressive, Rick." he snarked. "But what's the terrain like?"

Sanchez slid his finger on the touchscreen, revealing the other map. Crowley nodded. "Alright. I'll talk to Raphael, see where we're likely to land, exactly. Send these maps to everyone in the school, will you? Also, exactly where in the city are we? We're certainly not on the surface, we're underground. I know that much from the coordinates your assistants sent me."

"You nailed it. We're underground. If we were on surface, some would get suspicious." he explained. "We do quite a bit of top secret work here, after all. Now, I wasn't sure the school would fit, but it's seem to have shrunken a bit in order to do so. Impressive."

"Yes, it can do that." Crowley said with some pride, though he had had absolutely nothing to do with it. Rick Sanchez typed a few things on his phone, then looked up.

"Alright. The two maps have been sent off to everyone with an active @elfenhigh.uk email account."

"Good. I should tell them what's happening over the intercom, in case they're confused." He cleared his throat, and his voice magically transmitted over the loudspeakers. "Alright everyone. We're in Bethlehem now." he announced. "We're going to deal with the problems facing us, one way or another. Got that? Come on out to the cafetaria here, may as well have a bite to eat. Falafels here are pretty good."

"We likely won't be able to fit everyone in our cafeteria-" Sanchez objected. Crowley rolled his eyes.

"OK, so it appears these people are limited to stupidities such as "space" and "physics". Meet in our cafeteria. Check your school emails, you've received some beautifully drawn maps." Sanchez flipped Crowley off here. "And then we'll talk to you about what's going on. ISSR soldiers?" Crowley asked, now his voice projecting through the intercoms through the ISSR. "If you're interested, come by to our cafeteria as well. Could be important for you."

Five rushed minutes later, everyone had gathered in the cafeteria, the chairs and tables now all facing Crowley at the end of one of the walls, where a screen was. It showed an image of the political map of Heaven. "Alright. Raphael should be here soon to provide more information-"

A sound of wings fluttering was heard as the tall, imposing archangel appeared, his black face severe and dark, ready for war. "I am here." he said, a tad obviously.

Crowley would have said "Speak of the Devil", if not for the incredible irony inherent in that sentence. Instead, he just nodded. "Alright then. Now, you likely have some questions. I'll try to lay them to rest."

Calliel, Lily and Grace would walk into the cafeteria then, as well as other ISSR soldiers. Calliel saw Raphael, and then gave a bow to his leader. "That is the archangel Raphael." he told Grace and Lily, in case they were unaware. "Treat him with respect." And a mild dose of fear, of course.

Daniel gave Raphael a professional nod as the archangel entered. Alastor received a similar greeting. The Sabbatanos himself was seated toward the front of the cafeteria. Now, for the first time, he was not using borrowed weaponry. Instead, over his dark blue cassock, the priest's torso, shoulders, thighs, and upper arms were sheathed in glinting armor plates of dark tungsten steel. This ancient-looking armor, emblazoned with a dull bronze chi-rho on the chest and on each shoulder, was lined on the inside with kevlar, with energy-absorbing insulation, and with ultrahard ceramic strike plates.

And Daniel was armed to the teeth. A long sidesword of Spanish steel hung at the priest's side, its swept hilt an elegant swirl of steel bars, its blade three fingers wide at the base and sharp as a barber's razor. A plain, battered Colt 1911 was strapped to Daniel's thigh, and across the priest's knees sat a futuristic weapon, all glinting black metal and plastic: an electronically-fired caseless assault rifle, with a multi-spectrum gunsight and a magazine-fed underbarrel grenade launcher. Ammunition and grenade pouches were magnetically attached to Daniel's steel cuirass. Armored-knuckle combat gloves covered the priest's hands, and a long dirk hung at his belt, opposite the sidesword.

Somewhere beneath all of that, the priest remained. The white band of a clerical collar could still be seen, just above the darkly glinting steel of the cuirass. But for now, the face that Daniel showed the world was the visage of a warrior: a hunter of unseen things, slayer of monsters, sentinel against creatures that dwelt in the dark. It was a face that Daniel had worn for most of his life, but not a face that he had borne for many years. It felt strange for the priest to be in his own war-gear again: comfortable, somehow; relaxing. Daniel wasn't sure that he liked that.

But there are a lot of things that I don't like about this, and I can't do a thing about any of them. The world needs a warrior right now. So that is what I will give them. Daniel's pale blue eyes studied his gloved hand: a brutal thing of black leather and hardened plastic knuckle-plates weighted with steel shot. My hands could have held babies, once. They could have healed the sick. They could have poured the water of baptism over the heads of little children. The light gleamed darkly on the black armor that sheathed the backs of the gloves. But my hands aren't good for any of that any more, I suppose. This is the only thing I'm good for. So this is what I'll be. Daniel clenched his hand into a fist, felt the steel shot shift against his knuckles, giving him the weight and hand protection to punch through a brick wall. A killer.

"I do have some questions," the priest said finally. His voice seemed soft, almost conversational, but it carried - an old preacher's trick that let Daniel effortlessly fill the room with his words. "First: what are our objectives?" Daniel smiled wearily. "Strategically, of course, we want to kill Uriel before he kills us. But tactically, what are our goals? Do we want to take the Capitol? The Library? Both? Do we want to draw the armies of Heaven into a set-piece battle, or fight a moving battle toward specific objectives, or wear the enemy down by hit-and-run attacks?" The Sabbatanos shrugged. "What is our plan of attack here, exactly?"

"Second," Daniel continued, "and linked to that, I have to ask: where exactly does the Mecca portal open? Where on these wonderful maps are we going to be coming out? What is our insertion point? And where do we go from there?"

"Third," the priest concluded, "what do we know about the enemy? Strength, capabilities, resistances? Where will Uriel's force be concentrated? What will he fight to protect? How long will it take him to amass enough force for an all-out counterattack? In other words, how much time will we have to achieve our goals while the enemy's forces are still spread out?" Daniel shrugged and leaned back in his seat. "Essentially, I'm asking what we are doing here. You've told us that we're going to heaven to kill Uriel, and you've told us that we're using the portal to get there. I'm asking what we plan to do after we get to heaven, and that's not something we've been told anything about."

[Constaniana]

"William, hand me the currywurst sauce." Hilde ordered, distracting him from his conversation with Aziraphale. She was currently in her pimped out Chancellor Battle Uniform, which made her look like the female version of a Warhammer 40k Commissar. Her hand was held forward and directed towards William, clearly expecting the sauce Hilde had just requested from him.

And William knew pretty well that Hilde would have got very, very angry in case he had not complied to her order.

"Right, here you go," William replied as he handed Hilde the curry ketchup, having brought his German girlfriend's favourite sauce with him. He hadn't been able to convince her to carry around a bottle of HP sauce yet, due to outlandish claims on Hilde's part that it "Smelt funny" or was "A vile, disgusting concoction" and other such nonsensical things, but the knight endured the slander to the brown national treasure, knowing Hilde would eventually come around and appreciate it.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

"More of an out of body experience, really, but yes, I saw him in my vision. He did tell me he was Yahweh. Don't you remember that I told you everything I saw?" She replied, a little annoyed that he'd forgotten about it, but not minding it enough to make her annoyance obvious. "You know, about the spaceship and all that."

"Why are you dumfucks speaking as though you aren't being recorded?" D demanded, "There are cameras everywhere. Shut the fuck up!"

"I've sent a loop into the cameras." Daisuke replied, not glancing at D. "I'm not an idiot, D. If Crowley were to look right now, he'd just see the three of us furiously masturbating. Usual behaviour at Elfen High. And our room itself is soundproofed, so I think we'll be fine."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

"Why are you dumfucks speaking as though you aren't being recorded?" D demanded, "There are cameras everywhere. Shut the fuck up!"

"I've sent a loop into the cameras." Daisuke replied, not glancing at D. "I'm not an idiot, D. If Crowley were to look right now, he'd just see the three of us furiously masturbating. Usual behaviour at Elfen High. And our room itself is soundproofed, so I think we'll be fine."

"Why he has a record of you masturbating furiously beats me, though." Ciel said to D.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Damien sighed and hoisted himself back onto his horse. He also unsheathed his sword and twirled it around for show. "Alright bitches, let's get the fuck out of here," he said. He had to admit, it was almost fun to be alive again. Especially in the midst of a long and forgotten war. Perhaps he could carve his name into a rock somewhere, or fuck some ancient demoness. He smiled at the possibilities.

"We have to go, right? Where to, Ganesh? A castle? Asgard? Hell?"

Ganesh paused. "Ah. Yes. Sorry. Lygos." he explained. "We'll head there. It's an artistic sort of city, but also an intellectual centre. We've managed to keep away any invaders from those walls." he explained, a portal opening in front of them. "I think people will be curious as to what on Earth this second moon means as well."

He stepped through, a nod toward Merlin. A few soldiers went through with him, for protection's sake. Then Damien would also go through.

When he stepped out, he saw a large city. And it was indeed a genuine city, with giant buildings almost like skyscrapers. There were massive castles, and a wall surrounding the whole of the city. All the signs were written in Greek, but he understood them - likely due to the instinctual memories of his body. Ganesh walked, following arrows that said "King's Castle This Way", in effect.

"We're meeting with Richard and Valaran Fixban." he explained. "They'll know a fair bit of what's going on here. Perhaps they can explain that." he gestured toward the moon, which many of the townspeople around them had noticed, started babbling about with "what is that?" and "what does it mean?", generally staring at the second moon in puzzlement and confusion.

"Perhaps you won't have to look for him." said a deep English accented voice. (Yes, it somehow had the accent of a country not yet created, in the Greek language). They turned to see Richard, looking just as he would centuries later, sitting on a bench and holding a bowl of sushi. "Would you like some?" he asked. "A few Nipponese sailors wound up here because of one of the portals that had materialised. They decided to set up shop. It's quite good stuff, so I won't complain."

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Aziraphale turned on William and bent down to reach eye level.

"Listen to me, you little cunt," he growled, "This is serious. Heaven is a hell your spoiled little ape mind can't even begin to fucking comprehend. This is my home. These are my people. You will not belittle their suffering, or I assure you I will show you much worse."

He cleared his throat and righted his posture.

"Carnaval," he said, "is a ruse maintained by Uriel. The people there are kept happy and alive - not because he cares, but because he wants people to think he does. It's the site of the Military Sector's mainland ports; and he doesn't want them knowing how truly awful his kingdom is. They might rebel."

"Hm. Fascinating," William responded, unconcerned by the threats of the librarian, turning to look at Sanchez, "So, Brigadier, which part of Heaven are we coming into?"

"All of them." Sanchez said bluntly. "Raphael says that we can use the portal to roughly control where we go. So one group will appear in the northern slave camps and will incite and arm a revolution. Said revolution will then be directed towards the Wastes. Another group will break into Lucifer's library and search for information about the Gotterdamerung. A third group will assault Carnaval, thus drawing the military into combat here. Hopefully, the third group will distract from the rest. A fourth group will assault the north Military Sector. The goal of both groups is to get into the Military Sector's island."

"Then there's group five." Crowley said. "It'll be the largest. It will materialize on the northern border of the City Sector and will cut their way down into the Capitol. This group will be the only one containing Heavensgate angels, who will make up a large portion of its force; this is so they are accepted as liberators." he explained.

The next day, as Crowley was walking through the hallways...something changed.

The school began to shake and vibrate. "The hell's going on?" one of the students yelled out.

Crowley gave a smile. Ah. This was a familiar feeling. But this time he was the one controlling it. Before, when the school went to Heavensgate, it was a shock to him, but not now. "Don't worry." he announced confidently. "It'll all be fine." Well, that part was a lie.

There was a blinding flash of light, and Crowley shut his good eye. Ah. I know what's coming now. he thought as the school made a loud creaking noise before the light was gone. He looked around. Inside, nothing was different, but he walked toward a door and opened it up. Outside, there was the ruckus of a military base, people buzzing around and getting organised.

Rick Sanchez walked toward Crowley stiffly, extending his hand for a shake. With a look of surprise, Crowley grabbed it and did indeed shake it thoroughly. When the two released hands, they nodded toward each other. "You ready?" Sanchez asked.

"Indeed." Crowley replied. "In how long can we get to Mecca?"

"Whenever you're ready. We even did the effort of pinpointing precisely where the portal is in advance. Raphael went incognito, located the source of the magic and announced it was definitely a portal to Heaven. He didn't open it yet though."

Crowley gave a sigh of relief. "Thank God. We won't have to do some bloody side quest just to get to the main plot. That usually tends to happen."

"To you too?" Sanchez asked in surprise. "I agree. It felt like I'd have to wait for some idiotic reason to find this portal, and get it open, and then blah blah blah. It feels like it takes a week or something, even if its just an hour in actuality. I'm glad we can rush it along now though."

"I agree. I swear, the invasion of Hell ten years ago felt full of this sort of crap. But, anyway, back to this." Crowley chuckled. "So we can just enter in then? That's good."

Sanchez shrugged. "It appears so. We'll find the Library, of course. And we'll take down Uriel while we're there. I have a map drawn up by my best people, based off the information we have." Sanchez said, showing the map on the phone.

Crowley looked at this glorious map with a raised eyebrow, stepping fully out of the school. "Your artists are impressive, Rick." he snarked. "But what's the terrain like?"

Sanchez slid his finger on the touchscreen, revealing the other map. Crowley nodded. "Alright. I'll talk to Raphael, see where we're likely to land, exactly. Send these maps to everyone in the school, will you? Also, exactly where in the city are we? We're certainly not on the surface, we're underground. I know that much from the coordinates your assistants sent me."

"You nailed it. We're underground. If we were on surface, some would get suspicious." he explained. "We do quite a bit of top secret work here, after all. Now, I wasn't sure the school would fit, but it's seem to have shrunken a bit in order to do so. Impressive."

"Yes, it can do that." Crowley said with some pride, though he had had absolutely nothing to do with it. Rick Sanchez typed a few things on his phone, then looked up.

"Alright. The two maps have been sent off to everyone with an active @elfenhigh.uk email account."

"Good. I should tell them what's happening over the intercom, in case they're confused." He cleared his throat, and his voice magically transmitted over the loudspeakers. "Alright everyone. We're in Bethlehem now." he announced. "We're going to deal with the problems facing us, one way or another. Got that? Come on out to the cafetaria here, may as well have a bite to eat. Falafels here are pretty good."

"We likely won't be able to fit everyone in our cafeteria-" Sanchez objected. Crowley rolled his eyes.

"OK, so it appears these people are limited to stupidities such as "space" and "physics". Meet in our cafeteria. Check your school emails, you've received some beautifully drawn maps." Sanchez flipped Crowley off here. "And then we'll talk to you about what's going on. ISSR soldiers?" Crowley asked, now his voice projecting through the intercoms through the ISSR. "If you're interested, come by to our cafeteria as well. Could be important for you."

Five rushed minutes later, everyone had gathered in the cafeteria, the chairs and tables now all facing Crowley at the end of one of the walls, where a screen was. It showed an image of the political map of Heaven. "Alright. Raphael should be here soon to provide more information-"

A sound of wings fluttering was heard as the tall, imposing archangel appeared, his black face severe and dark, ready for war. "I am here." he said, a tad obviously.

Crowley would have said "Speak of the Devil", if not for the incredible irony inherent in that sentence. Instead, he just nodded. "Alright then. Now, you likely have some questions. I'll try to lay them to rest."

Calliel, Lily and Grace would walk into the cafeteria then, as well as other ISSR soldiers. Calliel saw Raphael, and then gave a bow to his leader. "That is the archangel Raphael." he told Grace and Lily, in case they were unaware. "Treat him with respect." And a mild dose of fear, of course.

Daniel gave Raphael a professional nod as the archangel entered. Alastor received a similar greeting. The Sabbatanos himself was seated toward the front of the cafeteria. Now, for the first time, he was not using borrowed weaponry. Instead, over his dark blue cassock, the priest's torso, shoulders, thighs, and upper arms were sheathed in glinting armor plates of dark tungsten steel. This ancient-looking armor, emblazoned with a dull bronze chi-rho on the chest and on each shoulder, was lined on the inside with kevlar, with energy-absorbing insulation, and with ultrahard ceramic strike plates.

And Daniel was armed to the teeth. A long sidesword of Spanish steel hung at the priest's side, its swept hilt an elegant swirl of steel bars, its blade three fingers wide at the base and sharp as a barber's razor. A plain, battered Colt 1911 was strapped to Daniel's thigh, and across the priest's knees sat a futuristic weapon, all glinting black metal and plastic: an electronically-fired caseless assault rifle, with a multi-spectrum gunsight and a magazine-fed underbarrel grenade launcher. Ammunition and grenade pouches were magnetically attached to Daniel's steel cuirass. Armored-knuckle combat gloves covered the priest's hands, and a long dirk hung at his belt, opposite the sidesword.

Somewhere beneath all of that, the priest remained. The white band of a clerical collar could still be seen, just above the darkly glinting steel of the cuirass. But for now, the face that Daniel showed the world was the visage of a warrior: a hunter of unseen things, slayer of monsters, sentinel against creatures that dwelt in the dark. It was a face that Daniel had worn for most of his life, but not a face that he had borne for many years. It felt strange for the priest to be in his own war-gear again: comfortable, somehow; relaxing. Daniel wasn't sure that he liked that.

But there are a lot of things that I don't like about this, and I can't do a thing about any of them. The world needs a warrior right now. So that is what I will give them. Daniel's pale blue eyes studied his gloved hand: a brutal thing of black leather and hardened plastic knuckle-plates weighted with steel shot. My hands could have held babies, once. They could have healed the sick. They could have poured the water of baptism over the heads of little children. The light gleamed darkly on the black armor that sheathed the backs of the gloves. But my hands aren't good for any of that any more, I suppose. This is the only thing I'm good for. So this is what I'll be. Daniel clenched his hand into a fist, felt the steel shot shift against his knuckles, giving him the weight and hand protection to punch through a brick wall. A killer.

"I do have some questions," the priest said finally. His voice seemed soft, almost conversational, but it carried - an old preacher's trick that let Daniel effortlessly fill the room with his words. "First: what are our objectives?" Daniel smiled wearily. "Strategically, of course, we want to kill Uriel before he kills us. But tactically, what are our goals? Do we want to take the Capitol? The Library? Both? Do we want to draw the armies of Heaven into a set-piece battle, or fight a moving battle toward specific objectives, or wear the enemy down by hit-and-run attacks?" The Sabbatanos shrugged. "What is our plan of attack here, exactly?"

"Second," Daniel continued, "and linked to that, I have to ask: where exactly does the Mecca portal open? Where on these wonderful maps are we going to be coming out? What is our insertion point? And where do we go from there?"

"Third," the priest concluded, "what do we know about the enemy? Strength, capabilities, resistances? Where will Uriel's force be concentrated? What will he fight to protect? How long will it take him to amass enough force for an all-out counterattack? In other words, how much time will we have to achieve our goals while the enemy's forces are still spread out?" Daniel shrugged and leaned back in his seat. "Essentially, I'm asking what we are doing here. You've told us that we're going to heaven to kill Uriel, and you've told us that we're using the portal to get there. I'm asking what we plan to do after we get to heaven, and that's not something we've been told anything about."

"I think we answered the first two questions with Crowley and Sanchez's response to Sir William." Raphael said to Daniel. "But the third point is a good one. Obviously, Uriel's forces will be concentrated at the military districts. However, substantial police and military workers will be in the civilian sectors and slave camps as well, to keep people in line. We need to try and destroy him before he can realise what hit him. I think the plan we've constructed is a good one for that - but I beg you to try and find holes in it, so we can address them."

[Agritum]

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?"

"That's the one, yes. Now, Oberon is shown as being a bastard beyond belief, but that's to be expected by the King of the Fae, insofar as chaotic beings like them can have leaders. The Fae feed on an interesting source - they feed upon stories and tales, upon music and passion, and so on. You would know of the fairy tales that involve fairies stealing musicians and writers? It's quite common. And they steal children too, for their potential and creativity. They're quite bastards in that respect." Gabriel noted.

"So, the only way to starve them would consist in either rendering the living beings of the multiverse incapable of pretty much doing anything creative? That's a quite lose-lose situation. Is there something else the Fae are vulnerable to, anyways? Given that they're beings of pure chaos, I'd believe that they would be harmed to some degree by...pure order, or whatever species in this multiverse is made of, well...pure order. But feel free to tell me more, Gabriel." Gwen replied, circling the room and keeping an hand under her chin.

[Nude East Ireland]

Damien sighed and hoisted himself back onto his horse. He also unsheathed his sword and twirled it around for show. "Alright bitches, let's get the fuck out of here," he said. He had to admit, it was almost fun to be alive again. Especially in the midst of a long and forgotten war. Perhaps he could carve his name into a rock somewhere, or fuck some ancient demoness. He smiled at the possibilities.

"We have to go, right? Where to, Ganesh? A castle? Asgard? Hell?"

Ganesh paused. "Ah. Yes. Sorry. Lygos." he explained. "We'll head there. It's an artistic sort of city, but also an intellectual centre. We've managed to keep away any invaders from those walls." he explained, a portal opening in front of them. "I think people will be curious as to what on Earth this second moon means as well."

He stepped through, a nod toward Merlin. A few soldiers went through with him, for protection's sake. Then Damien would also go through.

When he stepped out, he saw a large city. And it was indeed a genuine city, with giant buildings almost like skyscrapers. There were massive castles, and a wall surrounding the whole of the city. All the signs were written in Greek, but he understood them - likely due to the instinctual memories of his body. Ganesh walked, following arrows that said "King's Castle This Way", in effect.

"We're meeting with Richard and Valaran Fixban." he explained. "They'll know a fair bit of what's going on here. Perhaps they can explain that." he gestured toward the moon, which many of the townspeople around them had noticed, started babbling about with "what is that?" and "what does it mean?", generally staring at the second moon in puzzlement and confusion.

"Perhaps you won't have to look for him." said a deep English accented voice. (Yes, it somehow had the accent of a country not yet created, in the Greek language). They turned to see Richard, looking just as he would centuries later, sitting on a bench and holding a bowl of sushi. "Would you like some?" he asked. "A few Nipponese sailors wound up here because of one of the portals that had materialised. They decided to set up shop. It's quite good stuff, so I won't complain."

"Richard," Damien said, hopping down from his horse and walking over to a man he would be vaguely acquainted with in the far future.

"My name is Damien Seward. I'm from the future." A normal way to greet others. "We will meet someday. Oh, and learn how to clean. Specifically, learn how to clean schools. Just in case."

He looked at the moon, just now remembering what was happening. "Also, holy fuck, there is a second moon. What the fuck is going on, what do I need to kill, how can I kill it, and where is the nearest brothel?"

[Rupudska]

Meanwhile, in the garage...

Yuzuki was whistling to herself, quite content with what she had accomplished. All around and below her, students scurried about, either loading ammunition, or climbing into the ships themselves.

Yes, ships plural. Besides the Yamato, there were two other ships. The first, and largest, was the former USS Saratoga, longer even than the Yamato itself. More modern weaponry and a 9-degree landing deck brought the old war machine into the modern era. As did a pair of eight massive legs mounted to the sides. Hangar service was provided by an elevator.

Behind the Saratoga and the Yamato sat a smaller, faster ship. This was the Japanese destroyer Shimikaze, one of the fastest warships ever built. One of the same powerplants as in the Yamato made her even faster, and six legs let her crawl onto the hard surface of land.

She let out a deep breath as she stood on the bow of the Yamato.

Yes.

Today would be an interesting day, regardless of what happened.

Yuzuki sang a little tune to herself.

"Yuki no singun kōri o funde doko ga kawa yara michi sae shirezu..."

[Nightkill the Emperor]

"That would be true." Daisuke said. "But he was supposedly freed from the Android presence." Daisuke thought about this. "Alright, let's say it isn't him. But then, let's get to work on looking deeper into Rosalind's DNA."

---

Carry nodded. "Indeed I am. It'll be best for me. A great battle is undoubtedly going to start soon, and I intend to partake in it. Uriel's been in power for far too long, in my own view." He said, standing up slowly. "I'll see you tomorrow then?" he told the priest, shaking his hand.

---

Calliel looked at Grace. "Heavensgate? It'll likely stay and remain as it is. Heaven has been brainwashed for millennia. After this war, and Uriel is removed...well, bringing them back to the proper light will take time. A lot of it." he seemed tired just by saying this. "It'll be very difficult. Heavensgate will be a safe zone of sorts, where angel culture can flourish as we try to bring Heaven to sanity."

Grace, Calliel and Jade talked for some time, but then had eventually dispersed to their different ways. The next day, however, in the early morning they found themselves sitting around a small, circular dining table in the ISSR base. The steel table was surrounded by tough, foldable black chairs, which the ISSR soldiers and scientists sat in easily.

Calliel looked at the two girls. "Good to see you again." he greeted.

---

The next day, as Crowley was walking through the hallways...something changed.

The school began to shake and vibrate. "The hell's going on?" one of the students yelled out.

Crowley gave a smile. Ah. This was a familiar feeling. But this time he was the one controlling it. Before, when the school went to Heavensgate, it was a shock to him, but not now. "Don't worry." he announced confidently. "It'll all be fine." Well, that part was a lie.

There was a blinding flash of light, and Crowley shut his good eye. Ah. I know what's coming now. he thought as the school made a loud creaking noise before the light was gone. He looked around. Inside, nothing was different, but he walked toward a door and opened it up. Outside, there was the ruckus of a military base, people buzzing around and getting organised.

Rick Sanchez walked toward Crowley stiffly, extending his hand for a shake. With a look of surprise, Crowley grabbed it and did indeed shake it thoroughly. When the two released hands, they nodded toward each other. "You ready?" Sanchez asked.

"Indeed." Crowley replied. "In how long can we get to Mecca?"

"Whenever you're ready. We even did the effort of pinpointing precisely where the portal is in advance. Raphael went incognito, located the source of the magic and announced it was definitely a portal to Heaven. He didn't open it yet though."

Crowley gave a sigh of relief. "Thank God. We won't have to do some bloody side quest just to get to the main plot. That usually tends to happen."

"To you too?" Sanchez asked in surprise. "I agree. It felt like I'd have to wait for some idiotic reason to find this portal, and get it open, and then blah blah blah. It feels like it takes a week or something, even if its just an hour in actuality. I'm glad we can rush it along now though."

"I agree. I swear, the invasion of Hell ten years ago felt full of this sort of crap. But, anyway, back to this." Crowley chuckled. "So we can just enter in then? That's good."

Sanchez shrugged. "It appears so. We'll find the Library, of course. And we'll take down Uriel while we're there. I have a map drawn up by my best people, based off the information we have." Sanchez said, showing the map on the phone.

Crowley looked at this glorious map with a raised eyebrow, stepping fully out of the school. "Your artists are impressive, Rick." he snarked. "But what's the terrain like?"

Sanchez slid his finger on the touchscreen, revealing the other map. Crowley nodded. "Alright. I'll talk to Raphael, see where we're likely to land, exactly. Send these maps to everyone in the school, will you? Also, exactly where in the city are we? We're certainly not on the surface, we're underground. I know that much from the coordinates your assistants sent me."

"You nailed it. We're underground. If we were on surface, some would get suspicious." he explained. "We do quite a bit of top secret work here, after all. Now, I wasn't sure the school would fit, but it's seem to have shrunken a bit in order to do so. Impressive."

"Yes, it can do that." Crowley said with some pride, though he had had absolutely nothing to do with it. Rick Sanchez typed a few things on his phone, then looked up.

"Alright. The two maps have been sent off to everyone with an active @elfenhigh.uk email account."

"Good. I should tell them what's happening over the intercom, in case they're confused." He cleared his throat, and his voice magically transmitted over the loudspeakers. "Alright everyone. We're in Bethlehem now." he announced. "We're going to deal with the problems facing us, one way or another. Got that? Come on out to the cafetaria here, may as well have a bite to eat. Falafels here are pretty good."

"We likely won't be able to fit everyone in our cafeteria-" Sanchez objected. Crowley rolled his eyes.

"OK, so it appears these people are limited to stupidities such as "space" and "physics". Meet in our cafeteria. Check your school emails, you've received some beautifully drawn maps." Sanchez flipped Crowley off here. "And then we'll talk to you about what's going on. ISSR soldiers?" Crowley asked, now his voice projecting through the intercoms through the ISSR. "If you're interested, come by to our cafeteria as well. Could be important for you."

Five rushed minutes later, everyone had gathered in the cafeteria, the chairs and tables now all facing Crowley at the end of one of the walls, where a screen was. It showed an image of the political map of Heaven. "Alright. Raphael should be here soon to provide more information-"

A sound of wings fluttering was heard as the tall, imposing archangel appeared, his black face severe and dark, ready for war. "I am here." he said, a tad obviously.

Crowley would have said "Speak of the Devil", if not for the incredible irony inherent in that sentence. Instead, he just nodded. "Alright then. Now, you likely have some questions. I'll try to lay them to rest."

Calliel, Lily and Grace would walk into the cafeteria then, as well as other ISSR soldiers. Calliel saw Raphael, and then gave a bow to his leader. "That is the archangel Raphael." he told Grace and Lily, in case they were unaware. "Treat him with respect." And a mild dose of fear, of course.

Grace nodded, sipping from her morning cup of black tea. The strong and warm aroma of the drink was perfect for waking up her senses. That day was going to be a quite busy one, for her and Lily, and she needed to be at the top of her capabilities.

"I'll follow your advice, Angel Calliel." Grace said, putting down the coup. "Who's going to be the Commanding Officer of our unit, anyways? I'd like to get accustomed to them before the operation officially starts."

Putting down a coup? That casually? Impressive stuff.

Calliel shrugged. "I don't know." he admitted. "It depends on what we end up in, out of the five Sanchez has mentioned. I'll likely be in group five, as I am a Heavensgate angel."

[Nationstatelandsville]

"I've sent a loop into the cameras." Daisuke replied, not glancing at D. "I'm not an idiot, D. If Crowley were to look right now, he'd just see the three of us furiously masturbating. Usual behaviour at Elfen High. And our room itself is soundproofed, so I think we'll be fine."

"Why he has a record of you masturbating furiously beats me, though." Ciel said to D.

"Christmas parties are strange creatures," D said simply.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

"Christmas parties are strange creatures," D said simply.

"I'm sure they are. I'm not going to ask, though." Ciel said, before looking at Daisuke. "You can have whatever fetishes you like."

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Daiuske shrugged. "Anyway, we've established privacy now." he frowned, briefly annoyed at how he had pronounced privacy in the British way due to time spent in England. He kept going. "Richard is Yahweh. And, evidently, Yahweh is still alive in some form. This was a surprise to me, I thought he was very firmly dead. But if he was still alive, that was something I had to research. So I did - I did as much work as I could, looked at Richard's DNA, tried to create a sort of tracker or something. From what I can understand now, ignoring the technical and magic speak, a sort of energy is coming from Heaven's library that is similar to Yahweh's. I think that's where he's being locked up, since you mentioned he had said he was a prisoner. If we can reach the library, perhaps we can free him - that would grant us a huge ally."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Daiuske shrugged. "Anyway, we've established privacy now." he frowned, briefly annoyed at how he had pronounced privacy in the British way due to time spent in England. He kept going. "Richard is Yahweh. And, evidently, Yahweh is still alive in some form. This was a surprise to me, I thought he was very firmly dead. But if he was still alive, that was something I had to research. So I did - I did as much work as I could, looked at Richard's DNA, tried to create a sort of tracker or something. From what I can understand now, ignoring the technical and magic speak, a sort of energy is coming from Heaven's library that is similar to Yahweh's. I think that's where he's being locked up, since you mentioned he had said he was a prisoner. If we can reach the library, perhaps we can free him - that would grant us a huge ally."

"Figures they would keep him in a library. They probably didn't want him to get bored." Ciel joked, befor adopting a more serious tone. "But anyway, that library's probably one of the places we're going to storm, so I agree, we should try to free Yahweh. I still owe him for keeping me safe when your little experiment put me at risk of Fae possession, after all." She glanced at Daisuke, as if prompting him to say something, and then continued without waiting for it. "Shouldn't be too hard to find a spaceship in a library."