NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: I won't be on after 6 PM CST tomorrow night for sure and probably most of the time until then I'll be off too. I should be back sometime sunday evening though. Also, Joshua and Aozora can't be in Sanctuary, remember?

IC: Zena looked around. "This place is incredible!"

As if on queue a group of young children came floating in with wings outstretched. They landed among the group, and one-a girl with long black hair-grabbed Zena's hand.

"Come with us," she beamed.

"Yes," said another-a boy, "Come play with us."

"We three," Raphael said, referring to Uriel, Aya and himself, "need to talk. While visiting, the Shining Ones can entertain you."

OCC: was typhon transported to FUS?

Zena let loose her wings and smiled. "Alright then. I think I just kinda got swooped up in everything anyway." She took off with grace after the so called Shining Ones.

ooc: yes, though no one is fond of the fact...

ic:

"Yay, a chase!" the small angels shouted, taking off after Zena.

Zena took off after them matching any twists and turns they had. "It's only a chase if I don't catch you first." she said tagging the first of them and laughing the whole time.

Zena took off after them matching any twists and turns they had. "It's only a chase if I don't catch you first." she said tagging the first of them and laughing the whole time.

The angels laughed along with her, their voices like music among the air. They swooped and dived, the tagged angel going after one target or another at her whim.

Typhon was in human form walking around this holy place, he was considered evil, but his auro showed light, he was not a demon of fire and blackness but of light. His deep voice sounded as he laughed to himself, he watched the children play, eyeing them hungrly.

Typhon was in human form walking around this holy place, he was considered evil, but his auro showed light, he was not a demon of fire and blackness but of light. His deep voice sounded as he laughed to himself, he watched the children play, eyeing them hungrly.

A black cloud formed near Raphael, Uriel and Aya. It revealed a hooded, black-robed figure, blue flames where his eyes should be shining underneath the cowl.

"Samael," Uriel turned to the new arrival. "Why are you here?"

To keep my eye on that one

ooc: getting some shut-eye. be back tomorrow. fyi, the italics are thought-speak in case some ppl are still curious.

Typhons attention turned to Zena as she played with the children, she was beutifal for an angel, a prophet perhaps? no, not her, but he could investigate.

Zena glanced back to the ground after tagging the black haired girl. Seeing Typhons looking up she waved to him before continuing the game.

Zena glanced back to the ground after tagging the black haired girl. Seeing Typhons looking up she waved to him before continuing the game.

Typhon got up and walked slowly towards the children and Zena, he turned to see the new angel Sameal show up, he smiled towards him evily, then turned into a gentle person as he asked " Can I play to?"

Zena laughed from mid air. "If you can fly up here you can. It seems to be a mid-air thing unless I can convince them to run or fly really low."

Zena laughed from mid air. "If you can fly up here you can. It seems to be a mid-air thing unless I can convince them to run or fly really low."

" Fool I am a GOD!!!" he yelled inside himself as he flew up into the air, without the assistance of wings, although the only reason he could fly was because of the energy being given off of this magical place. Typhon smiled at Zena and shrugged to her as he began chasing the children to.

Zena flew around Typhon as swiftly as she dared try before swooping in to tag him.

Zena flew around Typhon as swiftly as she dared try before swooping in to tag him.

Typhon attempted to dodge her, but was tagged, he quickly switched to the offensive and flew after her, his arm reaching out, getting ever closer.

Zena laughed and twisted in mid air trying to avoid him. Halfway through her spin she felt a hand touch her wing and changed to fly after the "attacker."

Zena laughed and twisted in mid air trying to avoid him. Halfway through her spin she felt a hand touch her wing and changed to fly after the "attacker."

Typhon flew among the children, almost using them as obstacles for Zena to pass through, this was his strategy. He then realized " Does this girl even know who shes playing tag with?"

Zena flew after the god musing to herself For a god, he sure does like to have fun. Zooming through the crowd of stunned angels, she tagged a couple more before tapping the forehead of her intended target.

Zena flew after the god musing to herself For a god, he sure does like to have fun. Zooming through the crowd of stunned angels, she tagged a couple more before tapping the forehead of her intended target.

Typhon landed and sat down " I think im done" he laughed " That was fun though"

Zena chuckled and flew down to him too. "Agreed. Besides, you don't need wings to fly. Try working those muscles out for a bit while playing with a bunch of hyper full angels." Her wings vanished and she fell onto her back. "Oh this is turning into a wonderful day."

Zena chuckled and flew down to him too. "Agreed. Besides, you don't need wings to fly. Try working those muscles out for a bit while playing with a bunch of hyper full angels." Her wings vanished and she fell onto her back. "Oh this is turning into a wonderful day."

Typhon smiled " Yes...yes it is a wonderful day." he laughed to himself inside, once he had the garden...he would become more powerful than ever before. " So, your an angel huh?"

Zena looked at him. "Actually no. My mother was human and I was raised in the human world. It got tricky explaining why my shoulder blades were so weird when they took x-rays of my arm a few years back after I broke it. I've only seen my dad a few times, but he has ways of letting me know he's watching me."

Zena looked at him. "Actually no. My mother was human and I was raised in the human world. It got tricky explaining why my shoulder blades were so weird when they took x-rays of my arm a few years back after I broke it. I've only seen my dad a few times, but he has ways of letting me know he's watching me."

Typhon was a little suprised " Oh I didnt know, so tell me why have you come with us to this place, any purpose?"

Zena gazed into the distance. "Not really. I just kinda got pulled along. My dad's told me about this place, but never how to get here. I guess if I had to say it's because I wanted to see firsthand what he was talking about. Any reason you tagged along?"

Zena gazed into the distance. "Not really. I just kinda got pulled along. My dad's told me about this place, but never how to get here. I guess if I had to say it's because I wanted to see firsthand what he was talking about. Any reason you tagged along?"

Typhon nodded as he said " To fight for the greater good of man." He was being completely truthful, under his dominance he thought he knew best for humanity.

Zena smiled. "It's good to have people who have nobel causes in mind. But those that do must be careful for how they go about accomplishing their goals may be doing more harm than good. What one sees as good the other sees as evil and that's why one must be so careful, because someone might not share your view of what's helpful and good."

Zena smiled. "It's good to have people who have nobel causes in mind. But those that do must be careful for how they go about accomplishing their goals may be doing more harm than good. What one sees as good the other sees as evil and that's why one must be so careful, because someone might not share your view of what's helpful and good."

Typhon agreed " yes, your right..." his eyes stared towards Sameal.

OCC: gtg

OOC: I'm quickly learning that I can't ever not check this thread.

IC:
Gold looked around, "Well this is a change of setting." He mumbled, his new contact looped her arm around his, "So shall we go? Never been to this part of the world before," she was smiling at him. He gave a quizzicle look behind his mask, he then looked at Typhon as he played with the children. I really need to find out where Umbra gets these people. But first...

OOC: I'm quickly learning that I can't ever not check this thread.

IC:
Gold looked around, "Well this is a change of setting." He mumbled, his new contact looped her arm around his, "So shall we go? Never been to this part of the world before," she was smiling at him. He gave a quizzicle look behind his mask, he then looked at Typhon as he played with the children. I really need to find out where Umbra gets these people. But first...

The Shining Ones, having lost their two participants, swooped in on their next playmate.

"Come and play!" the girl with the long black hair demanded, grabbing Gold's other arm.

"Yes, both of you!" chimed in another who floated above.

ooc: idk who the other char is. i think i missed something back there...

The Shining Ones, having lost their two participants, swooped in on their next playmate.

"Come and play!" the girl with the long black hair demanded, grabbing Gold's other arm.

"Yes, both of you!" chimed in another who floated above.

ooc: idk who the other char is. i think i missed something back there...

OOC: Everyone either missed Celestial's Intro or ignored it, meh, either way.

IC:
Celestial looked over at Gold and smiled. Black wisps of energy began trailing from her as she chased after the two flying children. "You can't fly can you Gold?" She said happily, building up momentum quickly. "No. Unfortunantly, my abilities require there be a ground beneath me." Gold said, indifferent to the situation.

OOC: I'm not really sure what the holy water would do... and I don't have time right now to make anything up. I should be back tomorrow, maybe tonight.

OOC: Everyone either missed Celestial's Intro or ignored it, meh, either way.

IC:
Celestial looked over at Gold and smiled. Black wisps of energy began trailing from her as she chased after the two flying children. "You can't fly can you Gold?" She said happily, building up momentum quickly. "No. Unfortunantly, my abilities require there be a ground beneath me." Gold said, indifferent to the situation.

"That's no good," said another of the circling angels. Two more followed him as he landed by Gold. "C'mon and play," he insisted, tugging on Gold's arm.

The other two began a carefree dance around him as they enticed him to play along.

"Ugh, I guess I'll take a break for now..." Gold said, annoyed by the persistance of the young angels. His scarf wrapped around the ring floating behind him and the two morphed into a crude pair of wing-like appendages that sprouted from his back. He spread the new "wings" and took flight, chasing after Celestial with an amazing amount of speed and control. Celestial, who was have plenty of fun began flying faster to dodge her companion's flying abilities.

Typhon sat at his bench from before and watched the children play, he had lost track of time and was waiting for anything important to happen, he felt a presence of danger, but not in this place, must be on earth.

"This is Samael," Raphael informed Aya, "He's also an archangel. Don't be frightened by his appearance, he cannot harm you."

Who is this that you speak my name to

Brother Samael, she cannot speak our words. Talk in her language

"He's wrong," Samael's deep resonating voice told Aya. "There is plenty to fear from me. I am the Severity of God."

"Oh, stop the theatrics," Uriel interrupted. "She's the successor of a fellow messenger. Let us get down to business; the business of the true whereabouts of Leara."

"This is Samael," Raphael informed Aya, "He's also an archangel. Don't be frightened by his appearance, he cannot harm you."

Who is this that you speak my name to

Brother Samael, she cannot speak our words. Talk in her language

"He's wrong," Samael's deep resonating voice told Aya. "There is plenty to fear from me. I am the Severity of God."

"Oh, stop the theatrics," Uriel interrupted. "She's the successor of a fellow messenger. Let us get down to business; the business of the true whereabouts of Leara."

Typhon sent a telepathic message to Sameal in the form of a nightmare, he saw heaven's clouds turning black and angels by the thousands falling into the darkness, he wanted to let Sameal know he knew he was being watched.

Typhon sent a telepathic message to Sameal in the form of a nightmare, he saw heaven's clouds turning black and angels by the thousands falling into the darkness, he wanted to let Sameal know he knew he was being watched.

Do not threaten me with abstracts, defiler

"Samael, what's wrong?" Uriel asked.

"Hrm, my dealings aren't with this *Nephilim anyway," he hissed. He began to reach into his robes, but Raphael placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It is forbidden to battle within Sanctuary," he warned the fellow archangel.

We'll meet again, Typhon With that, Samael dissipated into another cloud of darkness.


*Technically, a Nephilim is half man/half angel, but in this context, it means any type of 'inter-breeding' with angels.

Typhon began to laugh at being unchallenged in the area, he then decided to see the child angel who called himself god's flame.

Samael already has a lot of misdirected rage. I would advise not antagonizing him further

"Now then, my dear Aya," Uriel began. "This story begins years before your birth, when your father was a newly appointed Virtue."

Typhon walked up to the previous small child that was said to be "gods flame" " I know your no child, im curius as to why im even allowed inside this "holy" place."

ooc: uriel changed his image a ways back. he looks like a grown-up now

ic:

"I can assure you," Uriel said, obviously annoyed at being interrupted. "It was through no desire of ours. The bonds of brotherhood are great, unbeknownst to your kind, and seeing at what pains Brother Leara went through to protect this child, we must live up to his legacy."

"I'll have to pay for your entry later," Raphael added, "But if it is to help Aya and shed light on Leara, I feel it was a worthy sacrifice."

ooc: uriel changed his image a ways back. he looks like a grown-up now

ic:

"I can assure you," Uriel said, obviously annoyed at being interrupted. "It was through no desire of ours. The bonds of brotherhood are great, unbeknownst to your kind, and seeing at what pains Brother Leara went through to protect this child, we must live up to his legacy."

"I'll have to pay for your entry later," Raphael added, "But if it is to help Aya and shed light on Leara, I feel it was a worthy sacrifice."

" So you trust Lucifers renegade to help your cause, you take me for a demon, yet no sword has come upon my head, this interests me." he licked his lips.

"She is indeed interesting," Raphael interjected. "Caught between the two worlds, we're concerned for her well-being. As for not striking you-we're barred from violence within Sanctuary. Don't give us a reason to fight you elsewhere."

"She is indeed interesting," Raphael interjected. "Caught between the two worlds, we're concerned for her well-being. As for not striking you-we're barred from violence within Sanctuary. Don't give us a reason to fight you elsewhere."

Typhon smiled " No worry's Heaven is not my concern, you may keep all that is good to yourself, Hell is my concern among other places." His rebellion against Satan wasnt as well planned as he thought, he rememberd when the vast armys of lucifer tied him down and brought him to his cell of space and time...he vowed to continue his revolution to overthrow him, or at least hurt him so bad he wouldnt start another fight.

"However," Uriel stated, "We are concerned with the Balance. While the Light Bearer is undoubtedly an enemy, he understands the delicate nature of the Dark and the Light. What of you?"

"However," Uriel stated, "We are concerned with the Balance. While the Light Bearer is undoubtedly an enemy, he understands the delicate nature of the Dark and the Light. What of you?"

Typhon cocked his head " So that's it, just GOOD or BAD, tell me where do the angels or demons go that are slain, or is that how you keep the balance, your fallen simply reappear for duty?"

"There is a gray area, the many limbos, and of course, Purgatory within the universe, but these also serve the ultimate goal of balance. No one area has more, nor less."

"Angels and demons do indeed die," Raphael said solemnly, "And though I do not know what happens to the slain, I know they do not return." His eyes cast down, as if looking upon the human realm, "Only one species seems to be truly immortal."

"There is a gray area, the many limbos, and of course, Purgatory within the universe, but these also serve the ultimate goal of balance. No one area has more, nor less."

"Angels and demons do indeed die," Raphael said solemnly, "And though I do not know what happens to the slain, I know they do not return." His eyes cast down, as if looking upon the human realm, "Only one species seems to be truly immortal."

Typhon didnt tell him that his true goal was to turn the garden into a kind of fotress, and to funnel the dead of heaven and hell to him. " I will take my leave angel, I dont expect you to trust me, and you shouldnt, because I will not trust you." he turned and layed down on the bench.

OCC: GTG now.

ooc: you've said bench a couple times, but there's no bench. it's just a grassy field. just sorta fyi. and i gtg too. i may be out for a while since finals are next week.

The vial of Holy Water did not explode but rather let out a blinding light that caused the earth to tremble more. It then let out a shockwave that nearly collapsed a few buildings. When the light was gone the was only scorched earth in the place of the rift. Theodoric had stopped this small opening but soon noticed more rifts opening.

Tal was very grateful Theodoric had acted quickly. He had never frozen up like that before. But now, other rifts were beginning to open, and Tal knew that the three behemoths wouldn't have been destroyed by the holy water. His mind racing, Tal turned to Theodoric. "The way I see it, we have two options. We can stay and fight, maybe try to use their strength against them with our agility. However, there will probably be multiple smaller demons to prevent that, leading to our second option. We run and live to fight another day. However, then the demons gain control of this area, and there is nothing to stop their rampage. It's a lose-lose situation. If you have any other ideas, please share them, but that's all I can think of."

Zena, at peace in sanctuary, drifted off to sleep. It was a sleep she'd long been needing and her sub-conscience drifted to the surface. With no active power suppression, her sub-conscience was rocketed to Earth were it could see everything going on from the Clergy kidnappings to the hotel room to the battle with the behemoths before it finally settled itself into an astral projection in front of Joshua and Aozora. "Welcome back Zena. But where are the others?" Joshua asked curiously.
"Still in Sanctuary. But I think I'm asleep, I don't remember a return trip, but I do remember seeing all of Earth."

OOC: My apologies for being gone for the entire weekend.

IC: Aya cocked her head in intrest. "A Virtue? Interesting. Please continue."

Aozora looked at the projection of Zena with interest. "Well, isn't that interesting? Certainly not something you see every day, now is it? May I ask how in the world you do that?"

Zena's projection laughed. "I'm psyonic and right now, I'm pretty sure my real body is sleeping. For all intents and purposes, I'm the side of Zena that doesn't get out much. Basically, I can read minds, move things, create astral images, that sort of thing. But that's beside the point. You wouldn't believe the number of battles that are going on right now. Some are human conflicts we should stay out of but the one that concerns me is that we have two people fighting a trio of Behemoths that I could confirm. I'm sure there's more on their way."
Joshua thought it over carefully. "Are you suggesting we go and help those that are fighting?"
The projections sighed. "It's a thought, though not necessary."

Theodoric then pulled out a flaming sword. He turned to Tal," You must go. You must find the garden, and claim it for God! I will stay here and fight."

Tal was about to object, he was about to explain that there was pretty much no chance of Theodoric winning the fight, when he realized two things. First, there would be other demons looking for the Garden of Eden, and these could just be a distraction. Second, Theodoric knew what his odds were. Tal wasn't sure of the full extent of his powers, but he didn't know anybody who could have faced these demons and won by himself. At this point though, there wasn't much Tal could do. Tal simply nodded. He used his power to make his wings glow with a radiant brilliance, blinding the demons who had surfaced and repairing his wings from his fight earlier. He then burst forth straight through a dense cloud of the demons, hacking a few of them on his way. All the smaller, faster demons who could gave quick pursuit of him, while the three behemoths, who were slow to rise to the surface, stayed behind. Tal thought, The least I can do is draw these ones off of Theodoric. With a final glance backwards toward Theodoric, Tal grew brighter yet, and shot through the sky. Your bravery will not be in vain.

OOC: I'm not saying Theodoric has to die or anything, but Tal just sees that as a definite possibility.

Typhon got up from the grass " So when will we leave for the Garden, the more time we stay here the more time Hell has to find it before us."

OOC: My apologies for being gone for the entire weekend.

IC: Aya cocked her head in intrest. "A Virtue? Interesting. Please continue."

Aozora looked at the projection of Zena with interest. "Well, isn't that interesting? Certainly not something you see every day, now is it? May I ask how in the world you do that?"

"Virtues are an important, if not lower, choir of angels. They govern motion, the elements...and nature in general, " Uriel explained. "In times of need, they provide grace, courage and valor-the virtuous qualities of Man.

Now, since he was a Virtue, Leara spent much time on earth, much more than either of us," he referred to Raphael and himself. "Because of that, he was well-suited for a task I had given him; to find the Garden once promised to humans. It exists in the human world, you see, for the chance that humans may find Grace and be allowed entry once more. There were a score of demons after it back then, too, but we felt a low profile was better, so only Leara was sent.

Time passed when we heard of Leara's fall to the Enemy. As his commander, I could sense he had left the Astral Plain, but could not find the tell-tale evidence that he had...passed on. As such, I have had to come to the conclusion that he is not gone from us, but has hidden himself away. And the fact that he blinded your existence from ours and the Deeps senses is proof that he was indeed powerful. Therefore, it is my belief that Leara found the Garden all those years ago. And you are the key to finding Leara. Find him; save the world."

As Tal flew off, Theodoric made the sign of the cross with his free hand before leaping into the fray to face the unnumbered hordes of hell. His fate was uncertain...

As Tal flew, he sent a silent prayer to all the angels nearby about the battle that Theodoric was fighting. He also warned them about the other demons. He considered asking some to help him find the Garden of Eden, but he decided that for now, helping Theodoric was more important. He would have to find the Garden alone. But first, there was the matter of the horde of demons following him....

In the distance an interested Umbra watched as three massive demons climbed forth from the ground, "This just get's more interesting by the minute. Looks like one's flying off and the other's choosing to stay. How brave... I wonder if he wants assistance." Umbra smiled, he knew he couldn't contact Gold about the chaos that was erupting on earth but he could always have a little fun and help his cause.

OOC: It would seem this thread just up and died for no reason. R.I.P.

OOC: Yeah, seriously what happened here? I kept expecting SOMETHING to happen.

OOC: Hello? Sorry for being gone so much, I was working on my deck. Hmm.. In the sake of possibly reviving this seemingly dead thread, I suppose I'd best go ahead and get the Garden out in the open, so that the wars can commence.

IC: Aya shrugged. "Alrighty. Sounds important, so I'd better do that, eh?"

The Arkazash (I don't recall how I spelled it the first time) then chose to step out of the shadows. He grinned at the stupidity of these angels. You'd think that they would notice an elite demon in the middle of their most holy of places. He knew that the two girls, Aya and Zena, weren't on the list of possible hosts, but the commanders encouraged independent thinking, and it seemed quite likely that one of them could be the host. Looking around at the group, he pointed at Zena and Aya, and grinned his most pleasant smile, which with his sharp teeth, had a rather unpleasant effect. "You, my dears, are going to come with me. Father wants you, you see." He turned to regard the angels, his disturbing smile still in place. "And you, Usurpers, would be well advised to allow them."

OCC: can i get an update on current situation, and im still in this ^^ Typhon lives.

Aozora seemed about to say something to the projection of Zena, but paused, as he saw something in the shadows. It seemed as though there was nothing there, but he began studying the shadows intently. His face brightened, as if in understqnding. "You can come out now 'cuz." He said pleasantly. Abruptly a demon stepped seemingly from nowhere, grinning. "Shoulda known you would catch on eventually Aozora. Its always dangerous to do that around a Demon of Darkness, even a mutt. Well, now that I've been caught, you might as well know. Your uncle wants you and the other mutt, so you two will be coming with me."

OCC: can i get an update on current situation, and im still in this ^^ Typhon lives.

OOC: Current situation? 'Bout the same, 'cept with the demons attempting to kidnap the half-breeds in the group.

Typhon grinned " Who are you calling a mutt fool..." His fist clentched.

OOC: Are you with Aya or Aozora?

OOC: Are you with Aya or Aozora?

OCC: Aya

Gold immediately armed himself with Lightning Angel which began glowing from the electricity surrounding its tip. I did not see this coming, damn. Gold immediately decended from his flight a few yards bbehind the demon. He clutch his halberd tightly but didn't attack. He began muttering a spell to himself.

The demon glanced at him. "I wasn't talking to you, now was I, Traitor. I want the girls. They are wanted. You may be on your way. Or come with, Father has been dying to get his hands on you after he found you had gotten away."

The demon glanced at him. "I wasn't talking to you, now was I, Traitor. I want the girls. They are wanted. You may be on your way. Or come with, Father has been dying to get his hands on you after he found you had gotten away."

Typhon went inside Aya, giving his power to her he talked to her " What do you think we should do?"

Aya considered this, wilst relishing the power. "I think that I should go with. Its worth a try, isn't it? Do you want to go with?"

OOC: Heh, I stopped posting for two reasons... 1.) Got tired of talking to me, myself and I ;) and 2.) the Internet died for me for a few days...

But I can still try...

IC:

Malach had to blink a few times when he stepped inside what he had thought to be a small shrine. The colour-scheme of white and pink had seemed strange to him, but when he got inside he was just blown away. A cashier's desk... a list of various "ceremonies" with prices... and some kind of a saint's statue, depicting a fat man dressed in painfully glaring clothing and a tuft of hair that made him look he's head extended as a hairy unicorn's horn.

"It must have been longer than I realized", Malach muttered to himself as he pushed inside, past the makeshift barricade that had blocked the door. Whoever had been here, had already decided to look for another place to hide. Still, Malach could still feel this was sanctified ground. The feeling of mixed peace and revulsion was all too familiar for him...

Walking down the aisle, the Gatekeeper kept a watchful eye, knowing that the demons might be looking for half-breeds or heck, even humans to do their bidding. Hopefully they had already cleared this strange chapel. Stepping over scattered casino chips - Strange money they have these days... They look like clay... so coloured, Malach mused to himself - he made his way to the altar. He had to keep himself from being physically ill in this weakened human form, but still he walked to the altar, laying his hands on it.

"Almighty...", he whispered, his throat rasping with thirst, a most curious sensation. "Michael... Gabriel... Can any of you hear me?" he continued rasping, knowing full well that the celestials might well think this was some trap or simply ignore the call from their fallen kinsman. Still, he had to try... Try to get some sense into what was happening. And talking with the demons who had broken past his guard seemed like a fast way to excruciating torment.

At least if He was too angry with him, He would just incinerate him and release him from his bonds...

Aya considered this, wilst relishing the power. "I think that I should go with. Its worth a try, isn't it? Do you want to go with?"

There was a silence and Typhon gave one word..." Yes..."

"Typhon," Gold called out, drawing his axe off his back. He said nothing else but nodded slightly, clutching his axe in one hand and his halberd in the other. The runes Gold's armor once again began to glow. He wouldn't remove the seals on Aya just yet, he didn't trust this new demon, but it didn't give him too much of a reason to trust Typhon either. He still didn't want Typhon to try possessing anyone only to fight through them, the seals would stay for now. Gold did however consider throwing Typhon the axe, if they both got an attack at this new presence, their chances of success would be far higher.

While Zena's body slept the projection looked at the new being. "Funny, I didn't sense you there. Though I think someone's drawing close to my body, someone who shouldn't be in sanctuary."
Joshua replied cautiously. "I think it's time you woke up Zena." he walked up to her and tapped her forehead, one of the few ways to undo her projections. Zena vanished from sight as Joshua rounded on the new arrival. "Now then, what does Lucifer want with us? I've never met my uncle, but I doubt there's anything good that can come of meeting him. I may as well tag along though, it's not like I couldn't leave in a second if I needed to."

OOC: Try joining up with Aozora, if you're bored.

IC: Aya noddeed sympathetically, knowing the danger he put himself in. "Alright, lets go." She turned to the demon. "Alright, we're ready, lets go."
The demon grinned. "Alright, we'll be going to your Uncle, mutt." He grinned at Typhon. "Have fun, Traitor." He made a motion with his hand, and another demon appeared. "Make sure the other mutt comes with you, I'll take these two to father." With that, the three air seemed to melt around the three. After a moment of slight nausea, they were in the deepest bowels of Hell, outside a huge imposing looking fortress. The demons breathed deep, and laughed, "YES!! I'm home." He looked to Typhon. "Nothing compares to home sweet home, eh?"

While Zena's body slept the projection looked at the new being. "Funny, I didn't sense you there. Though I think someone's drawing close to my body, someone who shouldn't be in sanctuary."
Joshua replied cautiously. "I think it's time you woke up Zena." he walked up to her and tapped her forehead, one of the few ways to undo her projections. Zena vanished from sight as Joshua rounded on the new arrival. "Now then, what does Lucifer want with us? I've never met my uncle, but I doubt there's anything good that can come of meeting him. I may as well tag along though, it's not like I couldn't leave in a second if I needed to."

The demon laughed, a very unpleasant laugh. "Oh can you? You overestimate your powers whelp. Go ahead and try to Blink, it won't work. I'm a veteran of millions of warfare, usually with other demons. I know exactly how to counter you. As for what Father wants. you'll see. I'm sure you'll be most impressed."

OOC: Try joining up with Aozora, if you're bored.

IC: Aya noddeed sympathetically, knowing the danger he put himself in. "Alright, lets go." She turned to the demon. "Alright, we're ready, lets go."
The demon grinned. "Alright, we'll be going to your Uncle, mutt." He grinned at Typhon. "Have fun, Traitor." He made a motion with his hand, and another demon appeared. "Make sure the other mutt comes with you, I'll take these two to father." With that, the three air seemed to melt around the three. After a moment of slight nausea, they were in the deepest bowels of Hell, outside a huge imposing looking fortress. The demons breathed deep, and laughed, "YES!! I'm home." He looked to Typhon. "Nothing compares to home sweet home, eh?"

Typhon curled up inside her like a cobra. " Ya, home sweet home..." his presence litterally had an effect on most demons, they prefered to look away from the "renegade"

Zena's eyes fluttered open. "What'd I miss?" she asked, still groggy from sleeping. She spotted the demon an immediately was completely alert. "What in Heaven's name is a demon doing in sanctuary." She felt stupid for not realizing it before and panicked at the thought of one being here.
Joshua laughed. "You seem to overestimate yourself. Do you not know that Lucifer's brother, my father, is unable to halt my abilities? Besides, I have other ways of teleporting. Runic circles are most difficult to stop once started. But alas, I've got nothing better to do, so let's go."

As Aya and Typhon vanished Gold leaped forward. "SHIT!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, things were going very badly.

Zena turned to Gold. "Well, this is an annoying development. Any ideas on where they went?"

The demon grinned. "Ooh, I do love a challenge. Whos your papa? Zelros? Legra? You see, I can take out most of Fathers brothers. That, and stopping abilities is one of my specielties. Well, lets go shall we go?" With that, there was the same melting sensation, and they were by Aya and Typhon. Aozora laughed. "Ooh, crazy chick. Wheres your demon buddy, eh?" Aya just glowered at him.

The demon Zena spoke to laughed. "You missed quite a lot my dear. Quite a lot indeed. Short story howevr, is that you are coming with me sweetie."

Typhon spoke within her " For better or worse I will have to leave in the future, and this demon could be on the list of KIA demons, I will be your sword and sheild, but you must be your own armor."

Zena jumped to her feet and chuckled. "Sure, I'll come with you. If you can find me." Her wings unfurled and within seconds hundreds of Zena's were flying around taunting their aggressor.

Joshua looked at his fellow traveler once the nausea died. "You know, I never bothered to ask his name. Still though, best of luck to you on jamming all my ways of moving about. And Aozora, that's not nice. Just cause she's a schizophrenic doesn't mean you can make fun of her."

Aya shrugged. Not quite sure what you mean by that, but okay.

Aozora laughed. "Who in the hell said I'm making fun of her? I'm laughing with her. Most of my childhood friends were insane." He grinned, though not in his normal humorous way. "Very few sane humans were willing to consort for me."

The demon sighed, and one second he was there, the next he was right next to Zena, floating in midair. "Is this really neccesary sweetie?"

Zena grinned. "No, but this is." The Zena in front of him burst into flames that grew until they surrounded both of them. The flames turned to ice and plummeted towards the ground below.

Joshua rolled his eyes. "Good point. I guess that explains why my best friend is only half human. Anyway, does someone care to lead the way? I'm afraid I've never been here before."

Gold placed his hands on the ground and circle of red runes appeared around him. This was one of the forbidden arts he'd been allowed to use in case of an emergency, it granted him sight into different planes to search for specific targets. He began searching at first for Aya but then looked for Typhon knowing that Typhon's energy would be easier to trace.

OOC: Last one for tonight ppl. Cya tommorrow.

The demon shook his head ruefully, and then was instantly out of the way of the ice and fire. "Well, that was pretty, if nothing else. Ready to end this pointless interlude?"

The demon who had gotten Aya and Typhon laughed. "Ah, of course. Sorry, just enjoying my coming back home. Lets go. There won't be any teleporting, Father automatically lashes out at any blinkers. Defense you understand." With that, he started off toward the path to the fortress.

Joshua followed the demon leading the way. "Oh I understand. Governments in general don't like teleportation." He put his hands in his pockets as he walked and unknown to the others, he began to shape a blank silver disc the size of a half-dollar coin into one of his runic circles to get out if need be. The other side contained a spell to call his makeshift familiar. He just hoped the darned cat would answer the call.

The Zenas looked on. Imagine that, he got out. the collective mind thought. The closest projection to him laughed. "Sorry, nope. I don't trust demons, with good reason. There's an obvious exception, be he's half demon." Her psionic powers kicked into overdrive to send a message to Joshua. Damn, a demon got into Sanctuary. He's trying to get me somewhere, but I don't know where he wants to bring me.

Joshua whispered to Aozora. "There's a demon in sanctuary and Zena needs help. Any ideas?"

Aozora thought a minute, than whispered back, "Ask her what he looks like, how he speaks, and what he does. I should be able to recognise him, I keep tabs on most of the stronger demons, and they're weaknesses."

The demon glanced at the projection. "If you're going to talk to me, would you please speak to me with your real self? Projections get ratherconfusing you understand."

Zena posessed Joshua's throat and ears. "I know he hates this, but oh well." Zena's voice whispered to Aozroa. "I hate describing looks, but he's fairly tall, he teleports, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't like me. He seems pretty arrogant too and I don't think he can tell the real me from my projections." Joshua's brow furrowed into impatient annoyance. "Ya, he's getting mad. Would it be a bad time for another projection?"

Back in Sanctuary, another projection spoke. "What, and reveal my position? Heck no. I may be a bit naive, but I'm not stupid. Besides, I can hear you just fine and you can hear me, so we're good."

Aozora thought for a second. "That sounds unfamiliar. Wait..." He brightened and snapped his fingers. "Ah, now I know. That'd be Avuora, don't underestimate him. He may seem like hes all talk, but hes got the fight to back it up. He may get confused at first, but he'll catch on pretty quick. Hes weakness is pretty slight, leastwise the one I know about. You know when he teleports? Hes not quite as good as Joshy, so when he Blinks, theres a split second where hes open to attack. If you can find something else, go for it."

Zena pulled Josh's mouth into a smile. "Right after he blinks, got it." She left Joshua alone and he rubbed his ears. "That's really uncomfortable." he muttered.

Back in Sanctuary, Zenas began to create weapons from ice and some on the ground pulled metal and minerals into something to use. "So, your name is Avuora is is? This should be fun."

Avuora looked confused. "How would you know my name?" He shrugged. "Ah well, its about time I ended this sweetie, sorry." With thst he teleported, intending to be right in front of Zena.

Zenas all over readied their weapons and about half a dozen groups formed, but only one surrounded the real Zena. Those not in a group drifted around looking for his reappearance.

Avuora had now caught on to the entire projection thing, and was going for the real Zena, and was going to appear right before her, but he began wondering. If she knew his name, perhaps she knew his weakness. And so, he appeared behind him.

The Zenas around the real one closed in nearly instantly on Avuora. Swords, spears, clubs, and even a mace all went in for the kill while the real Zena slid down and out of danger, for she could see all her projections saw.

Avuora barely managed to teleport fast enough, yet didn't reappear anywhere visible. He was being extra cautious now.

The demon leading the group, stopped at a giant gate. "Let me in! I have the one Father wants!" A demon glanced through the gate and grinned. "Ah, the whelps. Bring 'em on in." He laughed. "And welcome to the Bascilla of Torment."

Damn, we missed him. The collective mind of Zenas was buzzing with thoughts, sharing their sight and information with all the rest. Joshua, we have another problem. He's gone. Joshua passed on the information to Aozora as discretely as possible while still marveling at their new location.

Aozora, pulling his eyes from the enormous fortress, whispered to Joshua. "Tell her to be extremely careeful. He may not have seemed tough before, but this is where the fight I mentioned earlier comes in. You see, hes one of the few that has multiple powers. The one hes using right now is meant to confuse. Don't bother looking for him. You have to feel. This should be a bit easier for you than most because of your psionic abilities. Feel for his prescence, he gives off fain psychic vibrations while using it. I can barely feel anything, but my psychic levels are barely above human. Feel for a faint pulse."

Avuora watched curiously as the half-angel was seemingly talking to herself. Trying to taqke advantage of this, he floated as fast as possible to her. He couldn't teleport while doing this, but he could still make pretty good time.

Zena heard Aozora's message and followed his advice. Every Zena closed their eyes and sensed. A baker's dozen of them sprang to life behind him, swinging their weapons toward the disturbance, hopefully before he could attack the real Zena.

Avuora leapt back in surprise. Now this is interesting. Perhaps I should step it up a notch. Abruptly he reappeared, and settled back on the ground. "Those projections get rather annoying. I think I'll get rid of them." Not having to close his eyes like Zena, he could instantly see the psychic threads from the projections to the real Zena. Reaching out with his mind, he snapped one of those threads, causing a projection to dissappear. Now that he knew how to do it with her particular style, he started to methodically destroy the projections.

Zena felt the thread break and the projection die. "Shit." she muttered to herself. "This is troublesome." A surge of power coursed through the whole network and every thread shattered creating a nearly blinding light show. With the power Zena sent to the projections, they should be able to sustain themselves for a fair amount of time. "Try and trace me now." the nearest projection said. Zena was cut off from her projections now, though occasional bursts of sight and thought coursed through all their heads from the occasional one who still wanted to keep in touch.

Avuora grinned. "Ooh, excellent try my dear, but you see, I am a master at these type of fights." Locating the nearest thread, and sent a surge of power through, that would be equivilent to a mental strike of lightning to all connected to the thread.

The thread in question was one connecting two projections. They both vanished in a shower of sparks. "Now that wasn't nice." One Zena spoke in front of the demon while three more lunged from above and behind to attack.

Avuora grinned, and suddenly a katana appeared in his hand. It was best described as condensed mental energy. As he turned, he blocked the first blow, and sent another mental shock through the sword, into the thread.

Two of the attacking Zenas vanished and another surge of mental energy went through the Zenas. Every connecting thread vanished and each of the half angels were suddenly on their own. The third Zena twisted in midair, her sword still aiming for it's target while two with lances dived from above.

The demon did another blink, appearing above the two spear-men, lashing out with the odd sword, taking out one then the other, blinking again and appearing above the third, his sword angled down, aimed between the projection's shoulder-blades.

The third attacker let loose a lightning bolt that traveled through the sword. While she vanished after the katana pierced her spine, the attack continued with the lightning conducting itself down the sword of the demon.

The sword dissappearedand Avuora found his right arm momentarily useless, but he simply Sent out his mental powers to start destroying the projections one by one.

Joshua felt Zena's problems growing. "I suppose it's time I try this out." One side of the runic coin in Josh's pocket activated and a brown cat seemed to trot into existence in front of Joshua. He promptly picked up the cat, whispered in it's ear, and it vanished.

Zena's projections began disappearing at an uncomfortably fast pace and she began to panic. How in the world does on defeat someone like this!? she thought to herself. Before she could get any farther than that, a ball of fur sunk claws into Avuora's back and tried teleport again and bring the demon along, this time a small collection of Zenas had lances and spears gathered together at the sight of aid and Chaz was aiming to bring the demon to the center of this point.

Abruptly Joshua was surrounded by fire, both physical and spiritual. Shrould he try to teleport, he would arrive at his destination as if he had gone through the flames directly around him. The demon who'd been leading them whipped around them in rage. "Damnit, I told you no blinking, even if it isn't really you. Now we'll have to wait for them to disable the flames, and Father doesn't like delays!!" Despite all his tough talk, he was genuinly frightened by the idea of an angry Lucifer.

Avuora jumped in rage at the claws of the cat. "ALRIGHT!! Thats it, I'm angry now!" With that he let off the equivilent of a psychic explosion, destroying all the projections. Livid with rage, he reached out with his mind directly into the mind of Zena, and attempted to destroy her very mind.

Joshua instinctively pulled up a trio of stone blocks to protect him from any attacks. "Hey, don't look at me. That cat does what it wants. It came to me asking what was happening with Zena and it left all of it's own accord. I don't know how it travels, but I didn't think it could blink. I have a rune spell that is similar to blinking, but not quite the same."

When the demon went into Zena's mind, he delved right into almost pure chaos. Her mind was going nuts trying to figure out what had been happening and anything that could be used against her to break her was blocked almost physically. Unfortunately, connecting his mind to hers allowed for the reverse. The chaos in her mind flooded into his along with all the pain, anger, confusion, and fear she had. Once she realized what he had done she opened the floodgates and a psychic scream flooded the mind of anyone connected to Zena, which unfortunately meant Joshua too. His blocks fell to the ground and shattered while he collapsed and began to scream in pain.

Avuora felt the ost excruciating pain he had ever felt, and he loved it. He'd grown up in the Bascilla of Torments, where pain was a part of daily life. Growing up, he'd been obsessed with pain, not only in others, but in himself. He'd always gone out of his way to hurt, others and himself. Even other demons had felt that he took it too far, but for him pain was the closest he could get to extasy. As such he began to laugh, even as he was blinded by the pain, but fighting with all his being to hold on to the bond, unwilling to let the wonderful pain go away. He made a blind rush for Zena, and picked her up bodily,and teleported them both to where the rest of the group was, and as the landed a ring of fire erupted around them. Avuora completely ignored it as he laughed in agony.

Zena realized what had happened and figured out what the connection was. He fed off of pain, so the opposite should do the opposite. Zena brought the storm in her mind to calm and began to relive the best memories of her life. Pure bliss, love, joy, and the like filled Zena's mind and flooded into her captor's. You feed off of pain, so what does the opposite do to you? she kept the thought deep within her core, away from the leech. With the removal of pain from the connection with Zena, Joshua stopped screaming, though by that point it had been turned into an involuntary reaction. He curled unknowingly into a ball as he blacked out.

Avuora stopped laughing, and began to think curiously. Wha... What is this feeling? I've never felt like this before. Its...terrible. Wheres the thrill, the pain? I...I can't take it. "Please!! Stop this! This is terrible, how do you manage to survive?" He began to weep in bliss.

Zena laughed, the joy intensifying with something fresh. "This is joy, and love. It's what we feel that would be the equivalent of pain for you. This isn't terrible, this is wonderful for us." she probed Joshua's undefended mind for more memories and found what she wanted. She relived the memories from his point of view and added to the ecstasy she was flooding into Avuora. "Besides, if you don't like it, I'm not the one who first made the connection."

Avuora suddenly cut the bond. As the joy ended, he simply lay on the ground weeping. "How...how can that be wonderful to you? HOW!! Its the most terrible thing I've ever felt."

OOC: Have to get off for just a little bit, be back very soon though, so don't go anywhere.

Zena, glad to have her mind to herself again chuckled. "It's simple really. Since you're a demon, and the opposite of us, you enjoy the opposite. And humans are in the middle, enjoying the range from fear to pain to love. It may be terrible to you, but to us, it's wonderful."

OOC: No problem. I'm just sitting here watching House. My Mail Widgit will tell me when you post again cause of email alerts.

OOC: WIDGET!!!

IC: The demon ignored her and continued to weep.

Abruptly the fires around Joshua and Zena dissapeared, and Aozora rushed in, dropping down next to Zena. "Are you okay? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

OOC: What, is there a problem with my minor misspelling of that word? Or are you just excited to hear it?

IC: Zena laughed. "If you bother to look, he's the one weeping. Turns out that if you can get him mad enough he'll try to break your mind. I just let my emotions flood into him and I figured out that joy and love are his equivalent of pain and misery to me." She walked over to Joshua, still unconscious. "I suppose I was the one that ended up doing this?"

OOC: Hehe, truthfully, I just get hyper late at night, and widgets a fun word. I'd never even heard it before now to tell you the truth.

IC: Aozora shrugged. "No idea personally. One minute hes saying some nonsense about a cat, then the next hes on the ground screaming."

ooc: ok, i step out for one night and a seemingly dead thread comes back to life O_o fine, whatever. i'll be gone most of the day tomorrow, though, so i'll try to catch up. if not, idk.

btw, i'm assuming correctly that aya+typhon aren't in sanctuary...after all that time making a back story, oh well...

OOC: Hehe, sorry, had to revive it somehow.

OOC: You obviously don't own a Mac then. I have an iMac and the Dashboard can run mini programs called widgets. One of them happens to be able to announce when I have a new email. As for hyper, that's me too. I just cannot sleep right now for some reason despite it being 2:30 AM.

IC: Zena sighed. "Well then, I may as well see what's going on." she touched Josh's forehead and within seconds he regained conscienceness. "You alright?" she asked him.
"I'll be fine. I just wonder what happened. We should get moving though. My dear old uncle is probably getting upset we're not there." Joshua spat out the last sentence like it was poison in his mouth.

ooc: no prob, i understand. it just means i'll have a difficult time getting the angels back into the game is all...

ooc: ok, i step out for one night and a seemingly dead thread comes back to life O_o fine, whatever. i'll be gone most of the day tomorrow, though, so i'll try to catch up. if not, idk.

btw, i'm assuming correctly that aya+typhon aren't in sanctuary...after all that time making a back story, oh well...

OOC: Ya, only on NSG can the dead be revived. At least in modern times.

OOC: Nope, I'm a PC man myself.

IC: Aozora nodded. "Yeah, Uncle Lucy ain't a guy you want to piss off. We should probably get going." With that, he hopped up and motioned for the demon to lead on. The demon snorted and shook his head, but kept going.

OOC: Simply out of duty to Apple Inc. I feel sorry for you. lol.

IC: Zena and Joshua followed the demon onward. "You know, we really should think of what to do with Mr. Cry Baby back there. I have a feeling that's something he'll never be able to live down." Zena chuckled at that thought.

OOC: Getting off here, gonna watch a movie.

IC: Aozora glanced back. "Avuora'll be fine. Eventualy he'll come to welcome the unique kind of pain that joy brings him."

OOC: Have fun, I'm going to try and finish watching Season 1 of House before I fall asleep.

IC: Joshua laughed. "I suppose that's true. He does enjoy pain so it's ironic that his pain is what's crippling him. I still think it's funny to see an ancient demon weeping like a newborn baby though."

OOC: So, everyone's in the Underworld. Where does that leave my angel Kenavt? He was following Aya until they teleported, I assume. Can angels go into the Underworld?

I really don't like to swear-typing or out loud. In my thoughts is another matter. :D

OOC: Wait, everyone's in the Underworld? I thought only the half-breeds were in the Underworld. Nevermind that right now... My mind is crumbling apart at how much this thread just burst to life after like a week of nothing.
O.o So much to take in.

OOC: Only the half breeds were taken underground, something Zena is pretty pissed about. The Angels and Demons that were in groups were left where they were. But now that we're all out of the fire circles, maybe that could change...

OOC: So, everyone's in the Underworld. Where does that leave my angel Kenavt? He was following Aya until they teleported, I assume. Can angels go into the Underworld?

I really don't like to swear-typing or out loud. In my thoughts is another matter. :D

ooc: raphael is going to the underworld after aya...so since he's an archangel, maybe only he can go, or maybe all angels can. your choice, i guess.

ic:

Sanctuary

This is bad

Is that your professional opinion, Uriel

You know what you must do now. She seems to have chosen

No, there is still hope for her. If I can-

Your first priority is the Garden. She is not our concern

I know there is hope...I will save her

"Caution," Uriel said, approaching his brother. "Remember that she in Nephilim."

"I know that," Raphael responded, "But I will do what I feel I must."

And with that, he was gone...

----

Raphael looked at the Gate before him. It was imposing, and it was the first time he had seen it in eons. Above was the ominous inscription he and his brothers had erected. His eyes fell to the last lines...


Only those elements time cannot wear
Were made before me, And beyond time I stand.
Abandon all hope ye who enter here

OOC: What about Baghdad? Or Tal?

OOC: My bad, I was gone awhile. I had thought this was dead after a few days of nothing, but I was wrong. (Horray!) So, I'll continue Tal. In a minute.

Tal abruptly stopped in mid-air and zoomed toward the demons, he caught them unaware, and managed to cut down four of their biggest (and dumbest) before jumping back. There where now roughly a score of demons left. More then I thought there were, Tal thought. Oh well. He held his sword high, spread his wings, and grinned. Instantly, he was flying among the demons, cutting them down left and right. After a moments hesitation, four more demons were sent into the abyss in a crimson flash. The others immediately started swinging at Tal, but his attack had surprised them, and their countless years of training was useless when confronted with pure fear of Tal's holy might. Tal swiftly flew among them, parrying the demons away and hewing them down. The final ten demons rushed him, when he gave off a brilliant light. They panicked, and started swinging wildly, sending three of their own into the abyss. When their vision cleared, Tal was gone. "He ran off, the stinking coward! Lucifer's gonna be really pissed when he hears about this!" A soft, gentle voice whispered in his ear, "That's the least of your worries".

Tal was scanning the desert, hoping to find a clue to the whereabouts of the garden. He was very weary, however, from fighting off the demons. He hoped Theodoric had fared alright. Suddenly, everything seemed to be getting dark. I'm not that tired, he thought. He looked up, and realized he was in the shadow of a demon captain flying overhead.

OOC: If anyone wants to control the demon captain, go ahead. I don't care if he's significant or not. Or, if no one wants to, I'll just take care of it.

OOC: Yep, only the half-breed and Typhon are there, but any else who wish to can go ahead and show up.

IC: The demon who had been leading them growled. "COME ON!! Theres no time to waste!"

Aozora shrugged. "Alrighty, lets not keep Uncle waiting."

Gold's tracking ability honed in on the half-breeds. Gotcha, at least I know where you guys are. In the middle of the circle of runes there was the image of the half-breeds, Typhon, and Hell. Seeing was one thing though, being able to get into hell would be something different altogether. Celestial turned to Gold and put her hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry big guy, we'll get to 'em eventually."

Meanwhile, Shadow watched as the angel fought against the horde of demons. His interest was piqued by the situation, Well it would be fun... but I'm not one to get involved now am I? He laughed to himself, I'm just an observer. He hadn't fought in ages but something told him it might be time once more to draw his sword and fight.

OOC: Anyone willing to have their char possessed by a demon?

OOC: Good luck trying to possess Zena (she made the last demon that made a mental link with her cry after all), but you could go for Joshua if you wanted.

IC: Joshua hurried his pace as did Zena. "Just how long of a walk is this anyway?" Joshua asked.

OOC: Never mind about the demon captain. I changed my mind. I'm too impatient, and I want to type while I'm still here, so...

IC: Tal kept on flying straight, staring at the demon captain. They both saw each other, but continued flying. Tal looked forward, and saw a rift in the ground. It was a portal to hell. As he neared, he saw a legion of demons emerge. They flew at him. Tal gripped his sword, but the demons ignored him and flew up to their captain. Tal was puzzled. The demons advanced on him, but not withing ten feet, just enough to keep pushing him back. Suddenly, Tal realized what they were doing. They were backing him into the rift to hell. The demon captain saw his look of recognition, and flew straight up to Tal, slowly. He came within a few feet and pulled his sword. "You have two choices, scum of heaven. You can go down that hole in one piece, or two. It matters not to me. What is your choice?" Tal pulled his sword, pointed it at the captain, and grinned. Before the puzzled look had even come to the demon captain's face, Tal flew straight down the hole as fast as he could. The demons were all stunned for a minute. They were obviously not expecting this. Then captain shrieked, "After them!!!" The demons, after a moments hesitation, pursued Tal, but he already had a substantial lead, and was out of sight. The demon captain decided to deal with this himself, so he flew down the shaft, but turned left into a near invisible shortcut to the bottom.

A second legion was at the bottom of the pit, in hell, waiting for the first legion to chase the angel into hell. They all had bows with flaming arrows ready to shred the angel to bits and pieces. Suddenly, the first captain from the surface zoomed out the hole, and flinched when the startled demons almost fired on him. "Fools!" he muttered. A large demon approached him. "Where is the angel you promised?" it snarled. The captain grinned a wicked grin. "Do not worry, he is coming. My other legion is chasing him this way as we speak. He had a lead on them, and is quite fast so at the first sight of movement, open fire. Otherwise, he may escape. I must report our success to ... Lucifer." A strange look passed over his face, and he quickly flew away. I'd be nervous too thought the large demon.

A little while later, the archers where still waiting, when suddenly they saw a solitary figure zoom out of the gap, followed by the legion of demons. They immediately opened fire, and several arrows hit the solitary figure, along with many of the demons chasing it. The large demon went to examine the angel, only the find the corpse of the demon captain. "What!?! How is this possible?" The demon captain muttered, "Fool, it was Tal....." before he died. The demon realized what had happened, all too late.

Tal was hiding nearby behind a large boulder. His disguise and act had worked perfectly. He had also taken the shortcut. This wasn't his first time to hell, after all. He then disguised himself as a regular foot soldier demon, and glided toward a most familiar feeling of powerful beings and half-demons.....

OOC: Geez, that was long. Just as a summary, if you didn't read that, Tal is in hell, the demons know this, but they don't know where he is, and he is disguised as a demon foot soldier. And he is on his way to the others. My longest post ever! Yay :D

OOC: Where is Joshua at this time?

OOC: He's walking along with the rest of the half-breed group to see Father.

OOC: Gaaaah! :eek: Someone post quick and keep the thread alive! (ok, maybe I'm over exaggerating a little, but it has been a day, and I can't think of anything to do other than this.)

IC: Tal glided along the pathways of hell. He passed a demon who was whimpering on the ground. He must be getting close to the others. Tal, hiding in some nearby boulders, spotted the groups, and the demons with them. He decided to stay hidden and see what happened next...

-bumpage

OOC: Possibly awkward statement but... someone get my char to hell please.

Joshua stopped in his tracks. "Someone's watching us."
Zena too stopped and looked curiously at him. "You're right. Wanna see who?" Her friend smiled mischievously. "Alright then, one spy coming up! Or should I say 'coming down!'" Zena's psychic powers reached through whatever Gold and Celestial used to look at them and pulled the duo through.
"Welcome to Hell you too." Joshua said.

OOC: Alright then, how's that work for you Greywatch?

-bumpity bump

-le bump

-bumpy

OOC: Zena says "Rubber Baby Buggy BUMPer."

Try saying that 5 times fast. :p

Gold and Celestial looked around, "Well this is new." Gold said calmly, "How'd I get down here?" Celestial was afraid at first, it'd been awhile but she quickly got over her fear. "Jeez, never thought I'd come here again..." She muttered. They turned to the group, Gold looked them over, "You guys alright?" He said with a worried voice. Celestial turned to the group, her eyes still covered by the wrap she wore.

OOC: Thankyou kindly.

So, there were two more powerful beings in hell. Tal couldn't decide whether this was a good thing, or a bad thing. Theodoric still hadn't showed up, but Tal had to push his worries aside for now to focus on the situation at hand. He had two choices. He could reveal himself, learn what he could, and devise a plan with them. However, the demons would notice him immediately. Or, he could stay here and observe, and wait for an opportune moment. He decided to play it safe and continue hiding for a while, after all, he could always reveal himself later.

OOC: Tal is still disguised as a foot soldier demon. And hiding behind some boulders or something.

Zena laughed. "Gold, I pulled you down here. Josh noticed we were being watched, you must have been using runic magic, and I pulled you down. There's a connection that you were using to go one way, I just used it to go the other." She continued walking and Joshua followed, calling back to Gold and Celestial. "You might want to consider following us. We're heading to see this demon they keep calling 'Father.'"

Gold and Celestial ran to catch up. "Oh so that was you that pulled me down here. Strange, watching people is one thing, dragging them through a rift to hell is another." Gold said calmly, Celestial laughed at his comment. No one seemed to notice her special ability, yet.

Zena chuckled. "Runes are funny things. They can be manipulated to do what you want if you know what you're doing. For example, you were viewing a scene, this one to be exact, and I put you two INTO the scene, thus bringing you here. Without you there to keep the spell going, it closed itself, pushing you into Hell. It's that simple."

-Rubber Baby Buggy BUMPers, Rubber Baby Buggy BUMPers, Rubber Baby Buggy BUMPers, Rubber Baby Buggy BUMPers, Rubber Baby Buggy BUMPers.

Tal glided along the boulders, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. He needed to follow the group, stay hidden, and avoid the other demons patrolling. He hoped the group knew what it was doing, because for the moment, he had no clue.

Zena tapped Josh's shoulder. "We're being followed." she whispered in his ear. "I noticed. But the question is do we force him to show himself or not?"

OOC: I know I've said this before, but to be perfectly clear, Tal is disguised as a demon still.
Uh oh. This is post 666. What do you think happens to this po

-chitty-chitty bump-bump

Celestial spun around and faced the direction of Tal. She smiled before facing the rest of the group, "Let him follow," she said, "I don't sense any hostility." Gold nodded without turning to Celestial but instead continued walking.

OOC: Again, I apologise for the long absence. I'm rather busy at the moment. If anyones really that interested in an explanation, I'm a teacher, and its nearing the end of the school year. (Always a hellish time)

IC: The demon led them, until eventually the came to the very heart of the fortress. It looked like a large Cathedral, yet horribly corrupted. Where there is a cross on a Cathedral, there was a statue of a man chained and being burned. Inside was worse. Where there should have been beautiful mosiacs, there were horrible scenes of Unholy slaughters and wars, and other unspeakable things. And when the bell should have rung, what sounded like a young girl screamed.

Aozora shook himself. "This is why I never visit dad." The demon snorted. "Weakling. Unable to accept your own heritage." Then turning to where Tal was hidden, he growled. "Come out now. You'll have to explain to me why you were spying on you betters."

As Raphael moved through the upper levels of the Deep, he was rarely challenged. Most of the demons were of low standing and knew they would be utterly defeated at the hands of an archangel. He had something resembling a plan, the basic emphasis of which was to get Aya back from the influence of Typhon. Other then that, Raphael had no idea what he was doing. All that he knew was that, for him, it was the right thing to do.

ooc: mereshka, that's completely understandable, my ma was a teacher for 30+ yrs. also, is aya's mom still around, 'cause i thought of having Raphael running into her...

OOC: hmm, interesting. Go ahead.

ooc: i'm sure u said this earlier, but what's her name, though i expect u to rp her responses...

ic:

Raphael was continuing his journey, searching for the path to the next level, when a somewhat familar face caught his eye. Looking at the woman, he knew she was demon-kind, but her features were vaguely similar to Aya's. There was no way to be sure, and it was too much to be mere coincidence-a concept angels did not understand-and so he approached her slowly.

"Do not be afraid," he said calmly, his arms up in a non-threatening manner. "I have no quarrel with you. It is only...do you have a daughter named Aya?" he asked hopefully.

OOC: Uhh.. I don't think I ever though up a name... But, I'll go with Sayu, that sounds good...

IC: The woman looked up in surprise. "Aya? How do you know my daughter? An angels shouldn't know about her, no no no.... Trouble for both me and him..."

OOC: Uhh.. I don't think I ever though up a name... But, I'll go with Sayu, that sounds good...

IC: The woman looked up in surprise. "Aya? How do you know my daughter? An angels shouldn't know about her, no no no.... Trouble for both me and him..."

"Yes, Leara has stirred up quite the trouble, but fear not, for I am not here to mete punishment to anyone," Raphael answered. "I met your daughter briefly in the human realm, along with a demon named Typhon. Right now, she's somewhere farther below, heading for the Father of All Lies."

ooc: that is where they're going, right?

OOC: Yup.

IC: Sayu jumped in surprise. "Typhon? Shes with him? And going to see Father? Oh no, Typhon is very bady company to be in here, very bad. That should definently be stopped."

OOC: Yup.

IC: Sayu jumped in surprise. "Typhon? Shes with him? And going to see Father? Oh no, Typhon is very bady company to be in here, very bad. That should definently be stopped."

"Could you help me, then?" he asked. "I believe it would be in her...and our, best interest to stop Typhon and secure the Garden from him and his kindred. I have so far been incapable of persuading her...Typhon seems to be a master of deception. As an angel, I am bound to tell the truth."

Tal froze when he saw Gold's friend turn towards him, but she had said something and turned back around. Tal knew he had been found, so he quickly shed his demon disguise. He didn't want the others to know of all his abilities, at least as little as possible. She had been the only one to turn around, and she had cloth over her eyes. He hoped she just sensed him, so she wouldn't have even noticed the disguise. He hadn't bothered disguising his presence too. Just then, the demon who had been leading the group called for Tal. Tal sighed, and glided over to the group. "So, who feels like telling me what is going on?"

OOC: I know I've said this before, but to be perfectly clear, Tal is disguised as a demon still.
Uh oh. This is post 666. What do you think happens to this po

Zena looked at Tal and smiled gently. "So it was you who was following us. We're waiting to see this guy the demons keep calling Father and a couple of us noticed you following us."
Joshua however paid more attention to the scenery of the castle. "This place is horrific. Now I know there's a reason I never came to visit family down here."

OOC: You said it, but it doesn't mean he still can't be detected.

OOC: I know, but I just wanted to emphasis that if anyone saw him, they would see a demon. However, since Celestial is blindfolded, she only sensed him, and couldn't tell he was disguised. Therefore, they don't know he can disguise himself yet.

OOC: Celestial's senses have many different levels but, yeah, at that moment, all she did was sense that there was a non-hostile lifeform following the group. She cant 'see' anything due to eyes always being covered.
And FYI, in a few days I'm gonna be going to Russia for a week, I don't wanna stop the thread or anything so if someone else wants to RP my chars while I'm gone (and not get 'em killed) that'd be fine with me. Hopefully by then I can fully establish what their abilities are.

OOC: And Zena sensed him using psionics, meaning she sent the mental energy.

OOC: Ok then. But, just for the record, I think its only fair if Tal can disguise his "presence" too. After all, disguises are really all he has, besides his sword. (he had simply not thought of disguising it before, which is how they recognized him) Ok?

OOC: Agreed. But disguising as a demon would change your presence to that of a demon, and thus she'd still be open to being sensed. But at least she'd be sensed as a demon and not herself.

OOC: We need an OOC thread don't we?

OOC: We need an OOC thread don't we?

OOC: Yes. But couldn't we just use the sign-up thread? that would work nicely.

OOC: Yeah, we should post there, but I'm too lazy.
I understand that Tal can be sensed, no matter how he is disguised. I'm just saying that he chose not to disguise his presence to match the demon, therefore when they sensed him they could just tell he wasn't hostile/he was Tal, not as he was disguised.

OOC: Lets try some IC for a change! Also, no one has said it outright, so I'll ask. "Father" is referring to Lucifer/Satan, right?

IC: Tal tightened his grip on his sword as he stared at the ungodly visage of the castle. He knew who, or what, lay inside. Tal had never fought directly against him before, but he knew that those who did rarely survived. This was very grim indeed. After listening to the details of what had happened by the others (thought I'd get that out of the way), Tal stopped to think. He was surprised Raphael had let them all into Sanctuary, but these were desperate times. However, Tal would, hopefully, have time to reflect on that later. For right now, he needed a plan....

OOC: Cause some people are just too lazy to do something simple, The OOC/Signup thread is here. (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=554908) Thank you, that is all. :p

OOC: Sorry for being gone so often by the way. I should soon be on much more often though.

IC: The demon, not even bothering to yell at them this time, walked through the halls of the corrupted cathedral. Soon they came to a staircase winding upwards, and he led them up until they came to a door, at the very top of the tower. He knocked, and the door swung open. Aozora sighed, and followed him in.

Inside was a tall man, probably 6'1 or so, dressed all in black, with porcelian perfect features. He appeared to very pleasant, as he bowed to all of the group. Then he spoke, and that was not so pleasant, it was a deep baritone, that seemed filled with unspeakable agony, it sounded as though people were screaming, even as he talked. "Ah, the guests have arrived. Aozora, Joshua, my nephews. How good to finally meet some of my close kin. I get so few visotors, even among my family."

He turned to Raphael. "Ah, my old friend. How long has it been? If I remember correctly, you were just a lowly angelic soldier when I attempted my rebellion."

Then he grinned. "Oh, and Typhons here to. How fun, how fun. Now that you are here, let me assure you, you won't escape me again."

Joshua, being half demon, didn't feel much of the agony Zena felt in his voice. Ugh, closest kin. I think I'm getting sick just hearing that. Joshua's thoughts echoed in Zena's mind.
It's not much better hearing what his voice creates. Pure agony. Zena sent back keeping her resolve. "So you're who we've been brought to meet. And no offense, but it's not too surprising you don't get many guests." She asked this, keeping her wings and other angelic features hidden.

Gold was amazed behind his mask, this was it... the Father the demon had been talking about. The corruption in this place was almost too much, if not for the runes there's a good chance Gold wouldv'e died on the spot. Celestial was smiling widely however, she found all of this to be hilarious. Her friend Shadow was probably enjoying himself for the first time in years. The other demonic contacts were all helping out in small ways, she wanted to help too but alas she was with Gold, in hell. "Well this is certainly a suprise... howareyadoing Father?" She said with amusement.

OOC: Can anyone give me an update on what has happened the last 10 pages?

Tal sighed deeply. Well, looks like we're finally here. He noticed there were many yellow eyes, filled with malice, and brimming with sulfur, staring out of the shadows. It appeared "Father" had come prepared. The group he was with was very powerful, but they were outnumbered at least ten to one, as far as he could tell. No doubt there were more outside. Also, Tal hadn't ever witnessed the full power of "Father" before. He doubted that a full out attack would succeed. No, it was better to wait for "Father" to make the first move...

OOC: Is "Father" = Satan?

OOC: The group in Hell arrived and met Father, who I'm almost positive is Satan cause he called Joshua a nephew. Also, The group that originally went to Baghdad is now almost entirely with them. But now we're waiting for Mershka cause we're all beginning to address Father.

OOC: I need an exit... bloody trip to Russia completely screwed this up for me... And so close to what looks like the end...

IC:
Umbra's senses tingled for a moment, Nah, they're not with... shit, yeah they are... Well this is gonna be difficult. Ah hell... Umbra outstretched his arm which promply enshrouded with darkness. With a swipe he tore open a hole in space, literally creating a direct connection between the earth and where Gold and Celestial were. And now to hope I don't screw this up... He reached in with both arms and grabbed his two comrades, pulling them from the scene as the rend closed. Gold and Celestial were confused, and a little dazed, Umbra looked at the ground were the rend had been, there was molten earth, a small pool of it. Coming forth from the pool was a sulfur statue-ish thing resembling a person trying to crawl out of hell, "Ah well, too bad. Once you go, you don't come back my friend." Umbra said puching the sulfur figure in the lava, "At least humans don't typically come back..."

OOC: Sorry 'bout that all.

Joshua and Zena spun to see what had transpired. Almost like Zena pulling them into Hell, Gold and Celestial were brought back out. How in the world?! Joshua started. I don't have any clue. came Zena's reply.

BUMP

OOC: Sorry again. And by the way, this is not the end. Also, anyone know what happened to North Caleveras?

IC: The man laughed, which was even worse than him speaking. "Oh, I realize this must be extremely unpleasant for you. Yes, I know you are half angel, don't bother to try and hide it, it won't do you any good." He turned to Joshua and Aozora. "But surely you two must feel at home? This is the place of your ancestry." Aozora shuddered and shook his head. For once he didn't seem very talkative. The man grinned, "Ah well, I suppose its about time I got to the point. As I'm sure you have all guessed, I, am Lucifer, Satan, the Devil, Diablo, Shai'tan, destroyer of souls." Just as he made this announcement, the Cathedrals corrupted bell rang. Laughing, he pointed at the half-breeds. "You, are what I want. One of you, is the key to the Garden, which God stole from me. And I want it back. I have no idea how to get it out of you, but I will try everything in my power. And that, is quite alot my friends. Now, who wants to be first?"

OOC: No, NC hasn't said anything in a while.

IC: Zena crossed her arms and pulled herself inward. Feeling violated she seemed to drift toward Joshua for comfort and support. Joshua however spoke. "Well isn't this just a fun little reunion. I don't feel at home here, quite the opposite. It would be nice to simply get out of here as quick as possible. Seeing as I'm related to you, I'm pretty sure I'm not the key. And no offense to her, but it's extremely doubtful Zena's the key too. Even if you figure out which one of us is the key though, how will you get it out of us? Surely if you kill the key bearer, the key will simply return to Eden itself of worse yet for you, God will get it. Now if you torture someone, it's also doubtful that they will give up the key cause I don't think they even know they possess it, let alone how to release it. Now unless I'm mistaken, I just blew your two favorite ways of getting something from someone." he paused for a second. His monologue and fast pace were beginning to wind him.
"As for Zena here, she's not looking too good. I'm pretty sure you freaked her out. But how do you intend to find this key? Unless mistaken, I'm sure we all want to know." He again activated the coin in his pocket, calling for Chaz, and with Zena protecting his mind as always, nobody would be able to tell it was he that summoned the cat. It would appear as if the thing had a mind of his own. The ball of fluff appeared on Zena's shoulders and dropped itself into waiting arms where she began to pet him. His innate magic began to calm Zena's nerves, something that would allow her to come to her senses and possibly talk again soon.

Tal gave a quick, careful glance to the half-breeds that "Father", no, Satan, was referring to. Could the key really be inside one of them? Tal had never even considered this before. This situation was quickly becoming worse and worse. Tal was used to fighting using strategy, tactics, and legions of angels. However, with all these powerful beings here, and none of his troops, these skills meant next to nothing. Also, with Gold and his friend suddenly disappearing, the odds were heavily against them....

OOC: Note, I monologue a lot, sorry.

IC: Tal took a step toward Satan. "So, if it is the half-breeds you want, why bother bringing us all here?" Tal was trying to buy time while he formulated a plan, but in truth he was curious as to what the answer was too.

OOC: don't worry too much about it, just post and remember to do something at least once in a while. Besides, I tend to make my characters spin into a monologue as you may have noticed.

IC: Zena sent a mental tap on the shoulder to Tal. Got any ideas? Josh and I have none, though he's stalling while we try and figure a way out. At the very least, I'm shielding all of our minds so any attempt to get into someone's mind will have to go through me. And something tells me that if I could reduce a demon to crying by forcing love into his head, this guy might have more of a reaction should he try to get someone's thoughts. I know you're used to having people at your command, but now we need to function as a single unit and share ideas.

Lucifer gave a sudden, mad laugh. "Oh this is rich, just rich. You children think you are in control here, don't you? You are in the middle of Hell, surrounded by my legions, although I hardly need them. And why would I kill any of you? I think yoiu misunderstand me, my dear nephew. Killing is artless. It acomplishes nothing, epecielly with you people. You'd just go up to heaven, at least you and your half-angel friend here would. I'm not quite sure about Aozora. But, my point is, I won't kill you. You will live for a very long time. By the end, you will be broken in body, and shattered in mind, but you will be very much so alive."

He turned to Talrania. "Haha, if you recall, I didn't bring you here. No, you just decided to come along for the ride didn't you?"

OOC: My char's name is Tal, just for the record.

IC: Tal laughed. "You don't seriously expect me to believe that, do you? You had your demons chase me into this hell hole (pun intended) right next to this group of people, and you tell me you didn't bring me here? You have always been a deceiver, but righteousness always perseveres and finds the truth." Tal thought (knowing Zena would hear him think) I've got a few ideas. But they mostly involve some of us dying. We could try to trick him, but it is rather hard to trick the king of lies. If push comes to shove, I might be able to hold them off long enough for a get away, but I'd rather live to fight another day. (I did not mean to rhyme, sorry) Wait.... do you suppose you could send a telepathic message to another angel if I gave you a mental image of him and a name? He could gather my men and help us.

Joshua's face went white. "So you do intend on torture then? Just as long as you don't expect me to help and you let me use my reasoning to figure out just who we know wouldn't have the key."

Zena however continued petting the teleporting cat. I could. It's easier if I have a general location, cause "Heaven" is too broad, but "By such and such a fountain" or "In this city" works great. I also have my own idea, but it gets pretty obvious if he noticed how I got the cat. Chaz here can teleport, but there's no place we could all go that he can't follow us. At least not without the key. She shifted positions before continuing. Wait a minute, I just need someone to look at our group. Remember how I pulled Gold and Celestial into Hell? I can do it in reverse by picturing us out of Hell and in the place of another object. Then we have the person close the view and the switch occurs. It's a bit more complcated than that, but it's not blinking or teleportation so his fire ring can't catch us.

ooc: mereshka, i'm kinda in limbo (actually, quite literally) 'cause my char. is still w/ aya's mom...

OOC: Oops, sorry about that one mate...

IC: Sayu nodded. "Right, we've got to get my girl back. Any ideas?"

Lucifer laughed. "Torture, not for now, later perhaps, but for now, I'll be more subtle. Again, who wants to volenteer?"

Zena's fear finally got the better of her at asking to volunteer again and she snapped. But this wasn't a fit, it simply sent all of her active spells into overdrive while she fainted. Suddenly everyone the the group brought to Hell could hear each other's thoughts though they were still protected from any mind reading to the point where anyone who tried it would probably pass out.
As Zena fell, Joshua caught Chaz and using reflexes he rarely used caught Zena before she hit the ground too. "Oh now this should be interesting." Joshua muttered before crafting a small "bed" for Zena to rest in. "I wouldn't recommend starting with her and I'm beginning to doubt you'll get a volunteer. You may as well just pick someone and get it over with."

Lucifer glanced at the Fallen Zena, shrugged, and reached out and with strength surprising in his seemingly polished stature, picked Joshua up bodily. "Hmm... This'll take a while, I have no idea what I'm looking for.." He attempted to reach inside his mind, an encounered Zenas shield. He grinned, "Oh, not bad child, not bad at all..." With that, he simply waved aside the part that was protecting Josh, and continued with his search.

Zena's magic was more powerful than to just allow itself to be "waved aside" however. It came back and reversed Lucifer's magic, allowing all of them to begin to search his mind at will. "Sorry about that, but if you're going to search my mind, the magic protecting me will return the favor. I don't have the key being, how should I put this, a child of Hell, but go ahead because the Father of Lies probably won't believe anything he can't see for himself. Oh, and I'd wager you've only got a couple seconds before the magic kicks in and you end up like the last demon that tried to probe one of our minds."

Lucifer began laughing wildly. "Oh, you children are just absolutely amazing. Do you honestly think that the psychic powers of this mutt can defeat my own? Oh how absolutely amusing. You know, I don't think you really get who I am. I, am Satan, equal to God in power, if not in followers. And you say that you doubt you are the key, just because you are half-demon? Yes, that would make sense, wouldn't it? But when was the last time God did anything that made sense? You see, I say it will be half-demon, for that is His way. Now then, shall we get down to business?" He turned to Zena, and forced open her mind. "Yes... Her power is quite impressive, but, no matter." He sent a psychic pulse, similar to Avuora's electric shock, yet much more complicated, into the part of Zena's psyche that controlled mental shields.

Tal knew what Zena was doing, but he couldn't count on it working. He quickly spread his wings, shining with a blinding brilliance. He then grabbed Joshua and pulled him back out of Satan's grasp. He then stood between the group and Satan, wings spread, flaming sword in hand. "I can not let you defile the minds of anyone with your evil influence, Satan! You may think you have all the power here, but you don't realize that God is in control!" Tal was glad that he had thought to send Raul to awaken the saints to their cause. Their prayers were giving him great power.

Satan turned from Zena, his job finished, and faced Tal. He grinned, quite unpleasantly. "You think so, do you, Angel?" Suddenly a greatsword appeared in his hands. "Come then, see if your God can save you here."

Zena's mind absorbed the shock send to her and it forced her conscience to reemerge. "Bad idea Lucifer." He'd not severed the link made with her mind and the shields switched from keeping him out of everyone's minds to keeping his mind inside itself. "Now then, let's continue." She began to draw from the memories of everyone in their group, pulling love, joy, and peace out and directing it for Lucifer. The memories began to play in his mind, one after another before they ran together and they started playing all at once. "You feed off of hatred and fear, what happens when the opposite is forced into you?

Joshua fell to the ground. "Tal, you seem to underestimate the power of the magic at work. You are great, but Lucifer here is almost as powerful as your boss. Now back down before he strikes you down. And Zena, seriously, be careful."

Lucifer appeared quite bewildered at Zena. "Feed off of...My dear, you misunderstand me. Sure, I enjoy pain, in others at least, but why in the world would you think I hate joy?" He appeared honestly confused, but he snapped his fingers in understanding. "Ah, I see. The only demon you've ever fought is Avuora, isn't it? You see, he was different from most demons. He unerved even me, and that takes quite a bit. I think you're forgetting that most Demons are either ex-humans, or ex-angels. All your really doing is reminding me of the old days, up in Heaven."

Zena's memory reel stopped. "Well if that's not going to do anything, at least I've got you locked in there." She cut the connection with his mind, but not her magic. "See, if you can't connect to anyone's mind, you can't stop me. So at the very least I'm keeping our minds safe. I don't like being probed because in my mind, it's a very violent place where even the strongest of minds have been lost, or at least damaged." She allowed her angelic features to appear and began to hover by Tal. Sorry I haven't said anything in a while, but I need that name again. I need to have them view us and another object, that way I can switch us and move us out of here. But what unnerves me is that what he said about half demons hiding the key makes sense. Joshua or Aozora would be perfect hiding spots.

Satan laughed wildly. "What fun, what fun. This is the most fun I've had in centuries. Strongest of minds? I doubt you could damage my mind if I let it stay open the entire time, and making no move to defend it. As your friend said, you very much so underestimate me. You think yourself so very powerful, don't you? With some training you could be. You know, I've been needing a mistress for a while." He reached out his hand, and grinned. "What do you say? Want to side with true power"?

Zena's reaction was swift and typical of most women: she slapped him across the face. "If you're true power, forget it. Besides, your demons killed my boyfriend a few years back, so why should I join you?"
Joshua gasped at Zena's reaction and stepped back. He remembered the incident well, for he'd almost died in the raid too. His school was destroyed and it was one of the few times the demons ever came to Minnesota.

Tal sent the telepathic equivalent of a shrug to Joshua by Zena's power. I know I don't stand much of a chance, but I can buy some time if need be. Nevertheless, I can not allow this to continue. To Zena, he said/thought, His name is Raul, he should be patrolling the perimeter of Las Vegas right now with my men. He is my second-in-command. I'll send you a mental picture of him. Now, here is my plan. You see, me and all the angels under my command have the special ability to pass though solid objects. We can take others with us, so if we can't get out, they can come in. They will take you with them when they leave. We will travel straight through the barriers of hell back to earth. Also, I can disguise our presence to be that of demons, so we can not be sensed so easily. However, I can not physically disguise all of us. How's that?

Tal you moron, Zena has a plan. She's going to get us out of here. Joshua sent while returning the "bed" made for Zena back into the floor.
Raul, got it. And no, we do not fight, we flee and live for us all to fight another day. Does he have the power to view our situation? Namely all of us present?

OOC: Oops, sorry about that one mate...

IC: Sayu nodded. "Right, we've got to get my girl back. Any ideas?"

Lucifer laughed. "Torture, not for now, later perhaps, but for now, I'll be more subtle. Again, who wants to volenteer?"

"I have this," Raphael said, lifting up the gauntlet that Uriel had given him. Known as God's Fist, it was a powerful weapon against the creatures of the Deep. "But, I don't know how much damage I may do to Aya...we must persuade her to get rid of Typhon herself; she has the power, I know she does," he said, the hopefulness in his voice betraying his emotions.

Satan touched his cheek and grinned. "Ooh, fire, I like that." He turned to Tal and Joshua. "Making plans, are we? Tsk, tsk, naughty, naughty, children. I'm not quite sure what you are planning, as I really don't care to break through the barrier at the moment, but I'm fairly sure you want to get away. Let me tell you something. There is not a place in the world, or worlds for that matter, that you can hide in. And this time, I won't send underlings after you. No, I will find you myself. Now, what say you we conclude this little nonsense, and continue on with the search, hmm?" With that, he leapt at Zena, and instead of attacking psychically, picked her up bodily, and threw her. He was well aware that she would catch herself, with the wings and all, but he would be right there, waiting for her to be off-balance.

Not giving anyone a chance she sent a message to Raul. Raul, if you're hearing this, we're in trouble. Tal told me to contact you. Oh please answer! Continuing her no nonsense policy of the moment, she turned her backward arch into a dive and flipped around in mid air, ready for the next blow.

Instead of striking out, he instead grabbed her again, and instead of throwing her, began to give her a violont sort of hug, squeezing harder and harder. Abruptly a katana was sticking of his shoulder, with Aozora behind it. "Put her down, uncle." Lucifer growled in pain, and pushed Zena away, making a strike at Aozora, which he mostly dodged, though getting s slight hit on the head.

"Bad move!" Zena cried out. She flew forward, full speed and struck him in the back with a half dozen throwing knives she grabbed from her belt. Giving him no chance to react, she blasted him again, this time with a psychic push. It drove the knives all the way into his back and flung him toward Joshua.
"Sorry uncle." Josh said in a mocking tone as he called a wall of spikes into being in Lucifer's flight path.

Lucifer took the spikes and knives, and instead of dropping, howled in a mixture of rage and pain. Abruptly all signs of wounds dissapeared from his body. "ENOUGH!! Do you know who I am? I AM SATAN!! Destrtoyer of souls, milker of torment. Your souls shall burn for eternity." Suddenly he was right beside Aozora, and the greatsword he had went all the way through his midsection. Aozora screamed in agony, and dropped to the ground, writhing in torment. Satan laughed, "You will stay alive as long as the sword is inside of you, but the pain will never stop, no, you will live in agony for the rest of your days." He let out another burst of maniacle laughter, "Now do you understand whom you deal with?" He roared at the rest of them.

"I have this," Raphael said, lifting up the gauntlet that Uriel had given him. Known as God's Fist, it was a powerful weapon against the creatures of the Deep. "But, I don't know how much damage I may do to Aya...we must persuade her to get rid of Typhon herself; she has the power, I know she does," he said, the hopefulness in his voice betraying his emotions.

Sayu appeared confused. "How exactly is that supposed to help us? I'm sure against normal demons it would be invaluable, but against a Demonic God?"

Joshua and Zena's faces alike went pale. We are so screwed at this point, aren't we?
Well Zena, that's a good start. But we're way beyond screwed. I'm getting us out of here, now. Joshua sent his message and pulled the silver coin from his pocket. "This ends now." He changed the inscription on one side and it flew through the air, impaling Lucifer's forehead before beginning it's two spells.
The first would halt any healing magic he had by creating runes covering his body. It would also keep Zena's block permeant even without her there to sustain it. The second created a blinding light and activated a mass blink. Lucifer was brought to the core of the sun where the intense heat and pressure would hopefully do some damage while bringing the group led there by the demons to the gates of Sanctuary, where Aozora and Joshua could still be by them. "That was too close, but we're not out of the woods yet. We need to find the entrance to the Garden and fast. But before we do anything, we need to help Aozora."

Aozora, managing to come to grips with the pain slightly, managed a weak grin. "Can't... concentrate on Garden buddy.... Sorta' have a sword in my tummy..." And with that, he fainted.

Abruptly there was a flash, and Lucifer walked up chuckling, no sign of burns or runes. "Nice try, nephew. You think to use such cheap magic against me? AGAINST ME!!" He roared the last, then seemed to get ahold of himself. He looked down at the prone Aozora. "Oh, such bad family he has, wouldn't you say? Noone to care for him. Poor Aozora, no wonder hes so twisted. Yes, he certainly lives up to his name, doesn't he?"

Zena readied herself again. "Damn this is going to be tough. But I'd like to see you handle this." Resuming tried and true methods, she began creating thousands of copies of everyone around, Aozora being the exception. "Bet you can't tell who's who." The Zena's chanted.
"And the best part," shouted the Joshua's. "She's perfected this to the point where nobody can tell who's a copy and who's real." The two nearest to Lucifer started to blow raspberries at him. "And we can control each one individually" said a third Josh.

Lucifer gave a long suffering sigh. "Noone, eh? Bet you never tried it against a God before, have you? Let me see..." He seemed to concentrate for a bit, then snapped his fingers. Suddenly he appeared next to the real Joshua, and gave a tremendous punch.

OOC: My apologies if it seems as though I'm god-modding, but he is Satan.

OOC: I figured. They're just taunting anyway. Most beings tend to lost focus when enraged and frustrated.

Joshua gagged and colapsed, spitting blood from his mouth. "Damn that hurt." He grabbed Satan by the ankle nearest to him. "Though by using you as a sacrifice, The Gate is wide open to me." He activated the spell he never dared to use, transmutation on a sentient being. A flash of light and it was just the pair standing before a large wooden gate. "I'll let the children behind there handle you, your body was ripped apart molecule by molecule anyway and it'd be tough to fix that. Right here, right now, we're just two souls. Two powerless souls aside from the fact that we could fight hand to hand." The gate began to open and hundreds of eyes peered out. "It seems your welcome wagon is here." Black hands reached out and began to drag the demon leader into the gate while Joshua faded from view and reappeared outside sanctuary.
"I hope he's done for, but I really doubt destroying his body is going to stop him. His soul was left at the gate, but he might be able to get back." He vomited blood again and looked at his left arm. At least, he looked where his arm should be. "Guess I'll need to get another prosthetic."

OOC: He may or may not be powerless there, and weather his body is gone is really up to you, but either way Joshua's pretty screwed AND desperate.

Surprisingly, he was pulled in, and the only sound was his screams, which woke up Aozora. "Did we win?" Seeing no Lucifer around, he nodded. "Well, now that thats over with..." He pulled the sword from his midsection, howling in agony all the while. He finally managed to get the thing out, and lay on the ground panting. "If.. Any of you... Happen to know.... healing...need...it...."

OOC: Woah. Seriously? I'm not complaining, but woah, I'm in shock.

IC: Joshua looked to Zena. "Looks like we need some cellular manipulation. You know my magic's no good without a sacrifice on something like this."
Zena allowed the copies to vanish and she drifted downward to Aozora first. "Hold tight, this WILL hurt." She used her powers and did what she could to manipulate Aozora's body into healing itself by stopping some blood flow and then moving the damaged tissue together and blending it a bit. "That's the best I can do. You should be good as new, but give it some time before you really exert yourself again."
She moved to Joshua. "Haven't we been in this situation before?" She began to pull bits of skin tissue to cover the wound left of his no longer existing arm. Eventually they met and she sealed the wound. "We'll need to find Kathy again. She created the method we used to create the first arm after all."

OOC: Hehe, its not over just yet.

IC: Aozora grinned, and hopped up. "Don't exert myself? Haven't you ever heard of walking it off? I feel better than ever!" He began trotting around, but then doubled over in pain. "Alright... Maybe I'll rest a bit."

Suddenly, they were back in Lucifers tower, but surprisingly, there appeared to be an angel there. He appeared to be the kindest being alive, with a soft and gentle face. When he spoke, his voice sounded just like it would be expected to. "Hello, children. I see we haven't been behaving ourselves, now have we? No, killing poor Angron, not nice at all. You really should learn better manners."

OOC: *sigh* go figure.

IC: Joshua raised an eyebrow and Zena just stared silently. "Killed who? We got rid of the guy bent on killing us just to get what he wanted, but I'm pretty sure his name wasn't An-whatever."

The man sighed ruefully. "How insulting, they think he was actually Satan, yes, very insulting." He muttered to himself. Aloud he said, "Kill you? Oh no, Angron wouldn't have done that, no no, he just wanted the Key, that was all. All you had to do was let him in your mind, no worries. It probably wouldn't have even hurt. But, you just wouldn't cooperate, would you? Now poor Angron is dead, never to return. Ah well, Sai la vei, eh?"

OOC: Almost certain I mispelled that... Never was any good at Italian.

Joshua's eyebrows were now in danger of vanishing into his hair. "Well, I guess dead is the wrong term. Removed from this plane of existence is closer to the truth. If you really wanna be specific, I let him get dragged into The Gate by the Gate's Children. He should have a good time in that true perpetual hell. Now, please, we don't know your name and I'm sure I'm not the only one dying to know."
OOC: Well, I got "You know the vei" with your spelling. But if you spell it "vie" it becomes "ways."

OOC: Really? Than I missed my mark by a long shot.... I was going for 'Such is life'.

IC: The man shrugged. "I am Satan." He said simply. Aozora jumped in surprise, which caused him to double up moaning.

OOC: So "tale è vita" is the translation. Of course, you probably went with the common quote in which case you would be nearly correct.

IC: Zena drifted to Aozora. "I told you so, but did you listen, NO! People never listen to me..." She went off on her rant while returning to her role of medic.
Joshua however kept his calm. "So, then what gives? Why let that other guy go off calling himself Satan? I don't get it. But to the point, he should have given us more information. People are more apt to give something of themselves if they get something in return."

Satan laughed softly. "Tell me, if you were to see me and Angron standing next to each other, without ever seeing us fight, which yould you fear more? Me, whom seems to be the very image of an angel, or him, who is bloodthirsty, and desirious of pain in others, with a vioce that causes strong men to quiver in fear?"

"Well," started Josh. "I've seen Zena fight, and she's half angel. Hell, I've fought Zena. So to be honest, I'd probably pick you. So wait, does this mean you're our actual uncle or was the last guy him? And are you looking for the Key too or what're you after? Sorry I'm asking so many questions, I just want to get this over and done with as quick as possible."

Lucifer grinned slightly. "Yes, I am your Uncle. Aozora's as well, though Aozora had only ever met Angron. And yes, I do want the key. And if you want to get it over with, I suggest that Miss Zena lower her sheild. I really don't want to have to fight you. I've always found that its easier to study someone when they aren't broken."

Zena blinked. "My shield vanished long ago. I forced it entirely upon the guy we thought was Lucifer and then he got removed from here, so I don't have a shield up at the moment. I do however need to use my magic or Aozoa will hemorrhage to death. If you find this key, how will you get it out? Is it even possible to get it out for that matter?"
Joshua nodded in agreement. "I'm curious as to what you'll do in the Garden if you find it too. I know what we're all heading there for, but not what you want."

Waving aside Joshuas question, he clapped his hands. "Ah! Excellent, you are a dear child, Zena. Of course you can heal my nephew. I do value my kin." With that he placed a hand upon Joshuas head. He would feel a cool sensation run through his body, possibly unnerving, but not in the least painful. Clicking his tongue, he shook his head. "Nope, not you, my dear boy." He moved over to Zena, doing the exact same thing. With obvious anticipation, he moved to Aozora, placing his hand on him. He seemed to grow more and more excited, then looked utterly confused. "Well now, this is unexpected, I wonder what that means..."

Zena looked up. "I hope you're not sensing my magic. And of course that cut was magically enhanced, so it could have left something. But I'm guessing I'm wrong. I usually am." Her eyes lit up for a brief second as she looked at Aozora. "I should have done this a long time ago, provided we found the same thing of course."

Sayu appeared confused. "How exactly is that supposed to help us? I'm sure against normal demons it would be invaluable, but against a Demonic God?"

"It was what helped banish your Father Below during the Great Calamity," Raphael answered. "Besides, as I said, we will rely on your daughter's strength to fight the demon within her. We must have faith."

Lucifer sat thinking for a moment, than nodded in satisfaction. "Ah, thats what it was, clever, very clever of you, Brother." He said, seemingly to the ceiling. Motioning to Joshua and Zena, he said "Gather 'round children, gather round, Aozora needs some help. It seems our friend Angron did something wrong, he shouldn't have stabbed him like that. However, it seems that even in his folly he helped us along. Now, what I need you to do, is to wish with all your heart that you could give your strength to Aozora here. Yes, I know Zena, that usually doesn't work, but please do it."

"It was what helped banish your Father Below during the Great Calamity," Raphael answered. "Besides, as I said, we will rely on your daughter's strength to fight the demon within her. We must have faith."

She shrugged. "Faith doesn't help much down here, but I'll try it I suppose."

Joshua did as asked, though he linked his hand with Zena's in hope that she could focus it better. "We're ready." Zena said. "But I'm worried. He's bleeding internally and without more help and a long rest, he'll get a lot worse."