Lances into the Fire

[Anonymous]

The bitter cold and the menacing clouds that shadowed the earth adequately reflected Alexian's mood. Her lover, the Archangel Elial, was being held hostage, and she had been directed to come to the northern town of Hyoite by his kidnapper. She was all at once frustrated, angry, and fearful about the matter, and that made her ready to do anything to see to Elial's safe return.
The High Seraphim stood on the southeastern edge of the town, her human-like avatar unaffected by the biting cold and occasional gusts of wind. Snow fell at a peacefully steady rate, almost at a stark contrast to Alexian's uneasiness. The town itself was illuminated mostly by torches that braved the wind and the cold, and had sturdy architecture to weather the sometimes extreme conditions. Though it was a few hours past sunrise, many residents of the town were staying indoors today -- one look at the sky foretold of a coming storm.
But Alexian stayed outside, her feet buried in the snow, her white garments and cyan hair flowing with the ever-changing wind. It was here that, on the threat of Elial's well-being, the kidnapper wanted to 'show something' to Alexian, and force her to make a choice of some kind.
And so, impatiently, she waited.


"Weapons check," said Seethe as he and his two other teammates gathered behind a building inside Hyoite.
Reese Chamberlain, his Comms Artificer, was a bald dark-skinned man with a neatly trimmed patch of hair on his chin. He was human that sold his soul to hell for immortality, and one of the lucky few to actually come out on the better side. Like all the others though, once he had a little taste of power, he only wanted more.
Ayria "A.J." Justlight, who worked both Targeting and Field Medical for the team, was a Light Elf of La'marri and a traitor to her people. She was fair-skinned, short and slender, with bright blue eyes and blond hair pulled back into a short ponytail. She started out only as a correspondant for the Hellsend, but her intense hatred of the ways of her people pushed her to become a full-time Hellsend.
Seethe himself was the tallest and most athletic of the group, with short brown hair and blue eyes. He wore casual, inconspicuous black and dark clothing, as did the rest of his team. All three of them wore heavy jackets and gloves as well, given the weather.
But, as the team inspected each other's guns, one thing stood out to Seethe.
"A.J." he said.
"Hmmm??" she hummed back as she slid the magazine back into one of her pistols.
"What the hell is with the earmuffs?"
The big, furry earmuffs on the elf's head were bright pink and incredibly attention-grabbing. And Reese, his attention grabbed by them now, exclaimed, "God damn, where the hell did you get those?"
Flashing a derisive smile, A.J. replied to him, "Oh, I'm sorry, did you want to wear them? Or did your boyfriend want to borrow them?"
"That was uncalled for."
"Aww, you sound hurt. Want some salt for your wounds?"
"Lose the earmuffs," Seethe interjected without looking up from his own weapons inspection.
Ayria gestured to her pointed ears and said in a huff, "Do you know how sensitive these ears are? I can't just let them be exposed to this kind of weather! It's bad enough that I already have to deal with the sniffles and my fucking nails are-"
"Fine, be a bitch," interrupted Seethe again, dropping the issue in favor of more important ones. "Reese, are we up on radio?"
"Yeah. I reconfigured our earpieces for the new channel and set the controller to scramble the signal, so that should keep Pharzu from listening in. Keyword: should."
"Good enough," replied Seethe. "A.J., you got the scanner?"
Ayria took the device, which resembled a handheld camcorder, out of her jacket and aimed it at the ground. When she turned it on, a visible red laser came out of the lens. Pocketing the device again, she said, "Yup. Fully-charged and ready to go."
When the heavily-armed team of demon, damned-human, and traitor-elf finished their weapons check and concealed all of them again, Seethe spoke up, "Alright, here's the plan. A.J.'s gonna run point and sweep the buildings with the scanner until we find Pharzu. No shots fired until I say so or in self-defense, and only non-lethal shots on Pharzu. At this point, he's no good to us dead -- we gotta squeeze him. If anything goes wrong, you both know where the safe house is. Now let's go."

[Anonymous]

Radiance watched as the renegade Pharzu fitted the bomb-filled backpack onto the mind-slave Kael. He was the High Seraphim Mother's proxy, and right now, he was one of her last few ways to manipulate the outside world from captivity.
And though Mother was captured by Skylance, she wasn't completely helpless yet. She was constantly testing the fences, incessantly trying to find any sort of weakness in Skylance's damnable cage. She had a few successes, such as being able to haunt Skylance with a ghost avatar of herself, but the arrogant angel was quick to correct his mistakes and patch up the gaps of Mother's prison.
But Skylance's arrogance would ultimately be his undoing. If his bold, recent speech to Mother proved to be true, then he just might show his face here in Hyoite. And that's where Pharzu and Kael came into play; both of them were overzealous pawns to Mother. Pharzu had the last bomb from Reajh that did not detonate, and Kael was going to be the one to deliver the goods to Skylance.
Boom.
"Is it ready?" Radiance asked impatiently of Pharzu.
A single torch lit the rundown shack that the three were occupying. Still, it was not hard to see the fanatical look on Pharzu's face and the stoic, slavish expressionlessness of Kael's.
"Just a few more adjustments," said Pharzu confidently. "And the foolish angel Skylance is as good as dead."


Alexian waited for what seemed to be an hour before something of significance happened. Her earlier wounds now healed, Director Sine appeared at her side in a brilliant flash of light, just as she said she would. She no longer was wearing her signature military uniform, but rather clothing more suited to a typical Hyoitian citizen. Her normally long beige hair was pulled back into a neat bun, and she wasn't wearing her glasses either.
"Your Holiness, any news? And Sizzlebeast?" Sine asked, taking a moment to scan over the town before them herself.
"He will be here." Alexian shook her head, then replied agitatedly, "And nothing. Skylance certainly is biding his time, preparing for whatever event he has planned here. I know he must be enjoying the power to keep me waiting and uncertain."
"We're going to get him, Your Holiness," Sine reassured. Then, she looked back off into Hyoite and said a bit more openly, "Skylance has a lot to answer for..."

Still, nothing happened for what seemed to be a terribly long while. Worse yet, the gray clouds overhead seemed to be getting darker -- a sign of a severe storm closing in on the town. Though Alexian was unaffected by the cold, Sine had her arms crossed tightly even with the heavy winter clothing she wore.
For a moment in the timeless wait, Alexian's hopes plunged. Maybe Skylance was just toying with her, and had absolutely no intentions of returning Elial whatsoever. Maybe he was just seeing how he could manipulate her through Elial, just like Mother had planned to do.
She dispelled the pessimistic thoughts, and they were replaced by different ones. She wondered what Norriden and his comrades were doing right now, and what he was thinking. Was he still pursuing the wish of his lover, Nazune, to save Mother? Was he doing that right now? Was that the reason why Skylance had yet to make his presence known, because Norriden got to them first?
No. That was impossible, it couldn't be. She simply couldn't picture him standing a chance against either Mother or Skylance without a massive amount of power backing him, such as a High Seraphim.
And what about Neseraph and Insera? Granted the two alone weren't much, but they were practically the only two members of Alexian's former party that weren't necessarily amiably related to Norriden or the SSHE/Brevedor. What were their feelings on the incident back in Reajh?
"Your Holiness... look there."
Alexian didn't have much time to pursue that train of thought further, as a figure was approaching them from inside the town. It was some distance away, and obscured slightly by that and the snowfall. As it neared them, though, the figure became more and more familiar.
It was a man... with a tentacle for a right arm.
Sine gasped as she recognized who it was, and Alexian's eyes widened a bit as she too was caught by surprise.
The Outcast Tangent stood some thirty feet from the two on the edge of the town, staring them down with an puppeteered intensity.

[Anonymous]

The torch on the building nearest to Sine and Alexian started to flicker slightly. A small ember sparked off of the torch and landed on the ground in front of the two. Instead of dying down when it hit the snow, the ember began to burn hotter and brighter. It eventually grew into a blazing fire that could possibly engulf a building in a matter of seconds. It raged for a little bit before dying down a bit. It slowly shrank until it dissipated upon Sizzlebeast's back. He now stood before Sine and Alexian with his fiery orange eyes focused on Tangent.
"I had been observing the village through the torches for quite some time now. There seem to be happenings here and there within the village that are out of our current control. Relation to Skylance, I do not know." Sizzlebeast explained as he towered in front of his companions with his eyes completely focused on Sine's brother.

[Anonymous]

After the long lull, the werewolf made his appearance next to Alexian and Sine. The former addressed him, though still eyeing the Outcast warily. "Very good... but we may need you here for now."
Tangent continued to eye the three from a distance, but made no movements. His face was like a stone, forced into a passive expression that was very much artificial.
Finally, Sine, wraught with uneasiness by her brother's sudden appearance and continued silence, spoke first, "Tangent! What are you doing here? Why have you come?"
The Outcast, ignoring his sister's questions, scanned over the three again with his eyes and spoke in an unnatural tone of voice, one that wasn't his, "Very good Alexian, you have followed your instructions well. Do you recognize my messenger? I thought you would. And who else have you brought with you? My dear friend Sine, of course. And who's the other, now? Have you bought yourself another Norriden to do your bidding, Alexian?"
Sine stepped in front of Sizzlebeast to bring Tangent's attention back onto herself. She had a sense of what was happening to Tangent, and she was furious about it. "You should be more concerned with me, Skylance. I know that it is you that is truly speaking, and that you are too cowardly to show your face. Rest assured, Skylance, that I will bring you down in due time."
Tangent didn't laugh, but the voice that came from his mouth sounded like it just did. "Is that right, Sine? You must not be too appraised of current events, I'm afraid. It just so happens that you are no longer Director of the Province Vindication -- you've been relieved of your command, on charges of corruption and general inefficency of your leadership following the Province tragedy. The newly appointed director, Director Fahsteadiel, is taking office as we speak."
"You lie, such a thing is ludicrous," Sine was quick to retort, taking a glance at Sizzlebeast and Alexian.
"You don't need to take my word for it," Tangent replied. "Check back with your vaunted Vindication should you have any more doubts."
As Sine fumed, the Outcast was forced to look back at Alexian and speak, "I apologize for keeping you waiting, Alexian. You must be wondering where Elial is, and just what it is that I have to show you. Look there."
Tangent slowly turned around, toward the north, and pointed a finger at the sky just above the mountains on the horizon. Far off in the distance where he was pointing at, something strange was happening.
A single cloud, much darker than the others that stretched across the sky, was forming and growing rapidly. Once a mere dot, it soon swelled to a size to match the natural clouds, continuing to grow still. It began to swirl slowly, resembling a hurricane viewed from space, its center crackling with what appeared to be bright gray lightning.
It was terribly unnatural, dangerous, corrupt.
"That is Her power," the voice behind Tangent explained. "That is the power that I now control. But you've seen nothing yet until you witness its raw, destructive potential in action."
Alexian watched with her eyes wide and mouth agape at the distant sight of the humongous 'cloud', and all of her and Elial's fears were realized.
Skylance was going to exploit Mother's power, and he was going to use it as a catastrophic weapon.

[Anonymous]

Sizzlebeast was slightly surprised at the mention of Norriden. Keeping his surprised expression, he turned to Alexian.
"What happened with Norriden? What is he talking about?" Sizzlebeast's concern was more to the fact that he owed a lot to Norriden. Fortunately, his concerns brought him to simply ask and not demand like he usually would. Regardless, the man behind the voice about Tangent continued on. When he showed the controlled spectacle, Sizzlebeast nearly burst into flames over the anger that began to well up inside himself. He calmed himself, due to the fact that he was very near to Sine.
"I will find you and when I do, I will tear you limb from limb." Sizzlebeast spat out at Tangent with bared teeth.

[Anonymous]

"Nothing," Alexian was quick to respond to Sizzlebeast. "Nothing happened. Norriden is doing well."
"Oh come now, Alexian, why don't you tell him the whole story?" the voice behind Tangent spoke in an instigating manner. "We both know that you're not humble enough to be wishing Norriden well after Reajh, Alexian."
Sine, with a keen eye on the unnatural and monstruous storm lingering over the mountains on the horizon, stepped forward and demanded loudly, "Skylance! This is madness! What can you possibly hope to achieve by utilizing such diastrous power!? Cease this at once, for the good of all Heaven!"
Though Tangent's face remained forced and stoic, the voice manipulating him was boastful and assured, "On the contrary, good Sine, this is for the good of all Heaven. For too long have we meddled in affairs of which we had absolutely no business; for too long have we sullied our glorious hands with the dirt and grime of the lesser Realms; for too long have we neglected our own perfect Realm of Heaven for the sake of misguided altruism. It is time that we abandon the unholy Realms of Earth and Hell, and let them drown in their own heresies."
Tangent's eyes shifted to Alexian, and he spoke again, "Like all things of such magnitude, all that is needed is a little push. The right push. Wouldn't you agree, Alexian?"
Before she could even answer, a gigantic bolt of brilliant gray lightning flashed out of the supernatural cloud and struck ground in the mountains.

[center:3srif00s]BOOM![/center:3srif00s]

The distant explosion was enormous, instantly scarring the sky as it rose up fiercely like a nuclear blast. One of the mountains was obliterated in the blast, others sundered severely, and the shockwave from the explosion ripped across the earth, kicking up a tidal wave of snow back into the air.
It took several seconds for the wave to finally reach Hyoite, and though its strength was diminish the town was still rocked: windows were shattered, doors were ripped off their hinges, and loose objects were thrown through the air.
Sine was forced to phase into her incorporeal form, but Alexian's avatar and Tangent braved the blast, though they were nearly tossed off of their feet.
Alexian's eyes were firmly locked on the devastated site of the explosion some distance away, horrified. Skylance was the incarnation of what it meant to be power-hungry, and now he wielded and displayed his ability to effectively control a forbidden power. And, if what he said proved true, then he intended to unleash such destruction upon Heaven itself to impose his will.
It was a nightmare scenario.
In the calm that followed, Tangent pointed with his hand toward the destroyed mountain and the damaged range, "Do you see, Alexian? This is the power that will bring about change -- the change Heaven has long needed. And rest assured, nothing short of victory is even imaginable with this incredible power backing me. So now, Alexian, the question for you becomes 'What is in my best interests'? But fear not, because I've brought someone here to help you make that decision."
Many bright flashes of light burst out from behind Tangent, and, as they died down, Elial and eight masked, fully-outfitted soldiers appeared behind the Outcast. The Archangel was down on one knee, and looked severely weakened.
"Elial!" Alexian called out to him, fearful for whatever life he had left.

[Anonymous]

Normally, Sizzlebeast would be suspicious of Alexian's answer. Especially after hearing Skylance's response on the matter. The current times were dire, so the matter would have to wait. Sizzlebeast could only watch as Skylance displayed his new power that was not rightfully his. When the shockwave struck the town, Sizzlebeast diminished himself into a fire wisp just as Sine made herself incorporeal. The fire wisp dissipated when the town rocked, leaving Sizzlebeast no where to be found.
Skylance's reinforcements showed their faces, or rather masks, along side with the weakened Elial. Not a second after Alexian called out to the Archangel, the torch nearest to the soldiers flickered then shot a wall of flame out to engulf the soldiers and the Archangel. The bestial form of Sizzlebeast soon shot out from the flaming wall and landed in between Sine and Alexian with Elial in this arms. He was unharmed from the fire. The Fire lycanthrope had always been a quick thinker and a dangerous genius when it came to tactics. Unfortunately, his quick temper tended to interfere with such. He pointed a claw towards Tangent and nearly growled.
"Your next mistake will be to show your face to me."

[Anonymous]

Seethe groaned and rolled over onto his stomach, his head swimming around horrendously enough to make him feel disoriented. He and his team never saw it coming, and didn't have any time to properly shelter themselves when the shockwave rocked the town. All three of them were sprawled out on a snow covered main street, having been tossed forcibly from the alleyways they were navigating.
"A.J..." he mumbled, lifting his head just enough to see the pink earmuffs that the elf was wearing.
"Great plan... you had there... fearless leader..." she mumbled back, agonizingly righting herself into a seated position.
"Did the scanner break?" asked Seethe as he slowly stood back up onto his own two feet.
Ayria glanced down and to her left, seeing the shattered device laying ruined in the snow. She shrugged and announced, "Well, I'm not gonna be the one to buy a new one."
Just before Seethe could verbally go off on his subordinate teammate, Reese spoke up, "Uhh... guys. We got trouble."
Seethe looked down the street in the direction Reese was looking, and he could see exactly what the Brit meant. Off in the far distance were the remnants of the destroyed mountain, and gazing upon that dubious sight from a hundred meters up the street was a band of unmistakably bad people.
Hellsends.
Easily identifiable was Master Amodon, perched on the shoulder of his thrall Terris, and his entourage of twenty-something human and demonoid thugs, as well as the Hellsends Gormin and Caroline, Haze and Atel. However, the remaining two people in the Hellsend group both shocked and bewildered Seethe.
One was a mutated woman of some sort, with four tentacles coming out of her back and an elongated right arm. He didn't know that she was Series, an Outcast like Tangent.
Strangest of all, though, was the presence of a man that was supposed to be dead: Telarn Blackbride.
And, almost all at once, they turned around to see Seethe and his team, whom they had branded traitors and were to kill on sight, just down the street from them.
Seethe could only say one thing: "Run."


Alexian shielded her eyes with an arm as the flames roared out of the torch, but Sine stood her ground and watched the spectacle, already familiar with Sizzlebeast's attributes. Though the eight soldiers were gone as abruptly as they had come when the fire dissipated, Elial was safe. Alexian immediately rushed over to the werewolf to check on the health of the weakened Archangel he carried.
Tangent was forced to shake his head in response to the fiery rescue, then relay, "It matters not. Elial, as you well know, is completely dependant on Mother's power for his life. And since I have Mother under my control... well, let's just say that Elial's life is in my hands."
"Skylance!" Sine interjected, furious not only at the horrific and wanton display of force moments ago, but at the complete lack of regard for life he had with it. "You are mad beyond all doubt! First you cause large-scale destruction on Earth, and now you seek to hold an Archangel at ransom??"
"Sine..." the voice sighed dramatically, but Tangent's body made no such movements. "With what little respect you are owed, let me say that this does not concern you. You are nothing to me now. So please, silence yourself."
Elial's body convulsed some, and he yelled out in pain; gray sparks of energy crackled out of his mouth and eyes, fluctuating systematically as if someone where playing with a light switch.
Severely alarmed, Alexian looked back at Tangent frantically and yelled, "Stop it! Please! I beg of you!"
"I just needed to get your attention again, Alexian," said the voice behind Tangent. The outcast started to take some steps toward the group as he continued, "We've had this discussion before, Alexian, so let's stop wasting our time. The choice you have to make -- whether or not to join with me -- is simple, and I'm going to make it even easier for you to decide as well."
The Outcast, Sine's brother, stood defiantly in front of the group now, only several feet from them. He a brief moment, his eyes deviated off of Alexian and onto Sine, and Tangent mouthed the two words to his sister:
I'm sorry.
Stunned by the action, Sine was at a lack to say anything, while the voice behind Tangent continued, "Should you decide not to join me, Alexian, you will have to endure the sight of your beloved Elial wracked by agony every moment of every day until I see fit to finally release him from his misery for good.
"As an added cost, you might be responsible for a few more... unnecessary deaths, shall we say."
Tangent pointed his index finger straight up at the murky sky. Another dark, supernatural cloud, just like the one that had formed over and subsequently destroyed the distant mountain, was beginning to come into existance above their heads -- above the town of Hyoite itself.

[Anonymous]

Alexian slowly raised her head to see the menacing sight forming overhead. It was Skylance's deadly promise, the punishment he was willing and able to enact should she make -- not the choice that was right or wrong -- but the choice that displeased him. Just as he had alluded to back in Reajh, he wanted her on his side: He wanted to use her as well as Mother to achieve his unspeakable ends. And, not only would Elial suffer a terrible fate, but thousands of innocents would undoubtly continue to die until Skylance got his wish.
He had the power, Mother's horrible power at his beckon, and he was all too eager to use it; his insatiable ambition was driving him into wanton confidence and reckless abandon.
And she feared that, right now, there was no way to stop him.
Alexian remained silent, awestruck, as did Sine, and Sizzlebeast spared no words either. The voice behind Tangent spoke with a victorious flair, "You're wasting time, Alexian. I'd dare not doubt my intentions to level this city to dust, as my will is absolute. I'd level this entire dispicable, unclean world if it were necessary so it would be wise not to test my resolve, Alexian. Join me, and you will assuredly be on the winning side of all of this, Alexian; I'll show you."
"No... Alexian," Elial gasped, opening his eyes and glancing toward his beloved High Seraphim. "Do not... take heed of his words. You must do what is right, Alexian."
"Are you apt to listen to the words of a dead man, Alexian?" the voice behind Tangent questioned. "This is about you, Alexian, and what you want -- what you need."
"He cares nothing of you or your desires, Alexian," Elial interjected, his voice gaining strength. "He is blind with power, and drunk with ambition. His one, true concern is only himself and his will."
As Tangent's external voice and Elial continued to argue, Alexian shifting her glance between them both as they spoke, the storm overhead was growing bigger and bigger quickly. Its core branched out into a hurricane-like shape, and bright gray lightning crackled throughout the corrupt cloud. Alexian lowered her head amidst the continuing argument, her face visibly torn, but on the verge of a major decision.
She shut her eyes tightly, then spoke, "I will join you, Skylance."
Elial and Tangent immediately stopped arguing, and both Elial and Sine looked overtly betrayed; both of them could hardly believe what they heard was true.
"Alexian...?" "Your Holiness!?"
The voice behind Tangent, however, was triumphant, and the Outcast was forced to extend his hand. "Very good, Alexian. You've made the right choice."
As the High Seraphim started toward the Outcast, her head still bowed, Elial threw himself out of Sizzlebeast's grasp, struggling to stay on his feet. "Alexian... this cannot be. What are you doing??"
She stopped alongside Tangent, her back still to the group. She raised her head up, and glanced briefly over her shoulder at Elial, saying heavily, "What is best."


The cocky angel just may have had some merit to his boasts.
Master Amodon had watched the display of raw power over the mountains with tremendous interest, and the cocky angel's, Skylance he called himself, offer resonated in his mind. In exchange for the Hellsend's cooperation in Skylance's plan, the cocky angel was offering the demon something that no other corrupt angel did: Earth itself. He was offering to take Heaven out of the picture forever, to cease its meddling in the affairs of Hell and Earth, and he assured Amodon that he had the means to do it.
And Amodon had just witnessed the means.
"What do you think, Amodon?" asked Telarn Blackbride, the Hellsend's new ace-in-the-hole, the double-dealing man who made the whole deal possible. The Outcast Series was also looking to the Hellsend Master for his answer.
The goblinoid demon nodded, and Terris translated his native gibberish: "Hellsend is in business."
"Masta Amadon," said the hellsend Caroline, who was looking behind them rather than at the devastated mountain range. "It's tha trayters."


"Get down!" Seethe yelled as he tackled his two teammates, just as a fireball soared overhead and blew up a small toolshed a little ways down the road.
Looking over his shoulder quickly, he could see the literal wave of Hellsend thugs and goons, both human and demon alike, running after them. A few had guns, and were firing haphazardly in their direction as well.
"Go, go, go!" Seethe yelled again, dragging Reese and Ayria back onto their feet again before bolting.
"We gotta get to cover!" Reese shouted, keeping his head low.
"You broke one of my nails you asshole!" Ayria complained as bullet whizzed by her head.
Ignoring Ayria's bitching, Reese had a good point. Seethe knew that they weren't going to be able outrun the mob, and he doubted that they could lose them in the maze of the cityscape; their best bet was to try and find some good, defensible spots and thin out their numbers, kill them all if they got lucky.
Seethe and his team rounded the next street corner, several bullets chipping away at the corner of the building and racing past the smalls of their backs, and Seethe firing back a few shots before he was completely around the building. They kept up their frenzied pace down the new, short street, just as the Hellsend mob spilled over onto it was well, keeping up their chase and hollering shouts and curses at the three relentlessly.
Seethe, Reese, and Ayria could all soon see that they were inadvertently running toward another group of people.
A group of three people and one, big Lycan.

[Anonymous]

A large black paw overlapped Elial's shoulder after Alexian made her way to Tangent. Sizzlebeast held the Archangel back and shook his head.
"Leave her be, Elial. What she is doing is saving your life as well as the countless lives that enthrall this world. She is doing so at the cost of her own freedom, not her life. There will be a time and place where the two of you will be reunited, but for now, we need to stand back and seek an alternative method to coping with this situation." The large lycan explained as he continued to hold Elial back. Though the choice was entirely unfair, Sizzlebeast understood what there was to be done. He understood that his time would eventually come, but time and patience were dire necessities with the current circumstances.
A lupine ear twitch when the fire beast could hear a large crowd approaching. He looked in the direction of the source to see the trio being chased by the mob of Hellsend. Seeming like it was no interest to him, Sizzlebeast turned back to Elial. A massive wall for fire suddenly engulfed the street behind Seethe's team, completely blocking off the Hellsend. Sizzlebeast believed that a riot would provide for too much interruption.

[Anonymous]

"No!" Elial protested strongly. "She cannot do this for me! She cannot forfeit her own life for mine! She cannot falter here!"
Sine came up to the Archangel's side as well, speaking on Sizzlebeast's behalf, "He's right, Elial. There's nothing we can-"
Elial wrestled free of both of them, invigorated by his renewed strength of purpose to get to Alexian. He called out her name, stumbling slightly as he trudged through the snow.
Alexian glanced back at him with a longing face before she and Tangent were both enveloped in a bright flash of light, and both of them disappeared. For a while, Elial simply stood there and gazed incredulously at the spot where his lover once stood. More fearful than disappointed, it was a chilling thought to him to wonder just what price Alexian was going to have to pay for her decision.
Where Elial was more concerned over what happened, Sine was angry. She was furious and appalled at Skylance and his horrendous plans, and angrier still at for his manipulative use of her brother, Tangent, to do his bidding. And, if his loathsome words about her status as Director of the Vindication were true, then she just lost an enormous amount of power and influence in Heaven.
Still, though, she would perservere, and she would find a way to bring Skylance to justice and free her brother.
Elial gradually looked over his shoulder back at Sizzlebeast, saying to him solemnly, "She trusted you. I am sorry you had to witness this."
The sound of gunfire and the bright reflection of orange from down the street caught the Archangel's attention soon after.

"Holy shit! Did you do that!?" Reese exclaimed, sliding to a halt after catching a glimpse of the huge fire-wall that cut off their pursuers.
Seethe and Ayria stopped soon after, gawking at the spectacle as well, the former of which commenting, "Sure as hell wasn't me."
Ayria was all too gracious, though still awe-struck as she speak, "I'll take the credit if you want."
Seethe glanced up the street, toward the (now smaller) group of people and the werewolf. He squinted his eyes; at least one of them was looking their way. Maybe that meant they had a good samaritan around, or maybe another enemy with bad aim.
"We got company!" Reese shouted as he hefted up his carbine assault rifle and let loose automatic gunfire.
Seethe whipped his head back around: Some of the Hellsend thugs were immune, or at least resistant to, the fire, and were coming through.
Sitting ducks.
"Light 'em up," Seethe ordered as he and Ayria joined Reese in picking off the few unlike demons that haphazardly leaped through the fire. The demons were completely blindsided, wholly unaware that they were popping out of the fire like targets in a firing range. Three demons down, and the tables looked like they might have-
"DOWN!" Seethe yelled.
While he and Ayria were able to dive away, Reese was unfortunate enough to catch a giant icicle spear through his left leg, pinning him harshly down to the ground. His cries of pain were intersparsed with curses aplenty.
At the same time, the massive form of the hellsend Gormin landed down on their side of the fiery wall, holding his ground as he stood up straight, staring the three down. And circling around in the air overhead was his partner, Caroline, who soon descended to hover at his side. Her hands were almost pure white, and a frosty aura emanated from her feet.
"Seethe," Gormin spoke the name gruffly, stating it more than declaring it with anger or hatred. "The Master wants to talk to you."
"The same one that set us up?" Seethe replied derisively, keeping his double pistols trained the Hellsend pair.
"Weer not here ta argya, Seethe," Caroline warned, lowering her head slightly and peering at him dangerously under her brow. "Yer comin' with us one way or anotha."
"Shove it, ice-bitch," Reese at her sneered through clenched teeth.
Gormin tightened up his giant fists.

Elial was watching the ragtag trio fend off the small pack of demons that came through the fire, while Sine was still fuming and verbally lamenting over Skylance. When the two Hellsends came onto the scene to challenge the trio, one of whom had been injured already, something unexpected happened. He heard a voice that he thought he wouldn't hear from again, if only for a fleeting moment:
Help them, child... their enemy is your enemy.
It sounded like she tried to say more, but her voice was drowned out. With her words had come a brief vision of the ragtag trio from a different angle, inside of a building close by.
She was seeing everything happening; one of Mother's proxies had to be nearby.
Still, regardless of how she knew what was going on, her message was still clear. Though it pained him that he, ironically, was going to follow the advice of the corrupter he sought to slay, it was true that they both had a common enemy in Skylance right now.
And, somehow, those three being assaulted by the demons and Hellsends were ultimately fighting against the same enemy. It certainly was a stretch... but he didn't have much of anything else to go on.
"This one time, Elizabeth, your words may ring true. Heaven help you if they do not..." Elial spoke aloud as he started to run toward Seethe and his team and the pair of Hellsends, causing Sine to cast him a bewildered glance.

[Anonymous]

Sizzlebeast had been watching the trio through his peripheral vision for some time now. Even while he had held Elial back from trying to get to Alexian. Her and Tangent's disappearance was to be expected. The Fire Bringer nodded respectfully to Elial when he exchanged his words. But then the Archangel began to talk to himself while he seemed intent on helping out by Sizzle's wall of fire.
"So much for minimizing any distraction." The large werewolf spoke to himself as he watched Elial rush after the commotion down the street. Seconds to come, a sudden swirl of fire enveloped the black lupine and vanished with him in the same speed. Sizzlebeast's form could then be seen leaping out of the wall of fire with a roundhouse aerial kick at the side of Gormin's head. As soon as he landed from the sudden assault, he hefted a massive fireball at the floating Hellsend.

[Anonymous]

Before Caroline could chastise Reese for his insult, she and Gormin were assailed by the once-distant werewolf, who appeared through the fiery wall in the span of seconds. While Gormin took the powerful kick, his head snapping sharply to one side as his body remained motionless, Caroline ascended quickly back into the air, carried upwards by her chill wind, to avoid the attack flying her way. The fireball heated the air below though, causing her to temporarily lose lift and forcing her to struggle to reactivate her sorcery to stay aloft.
Gormin cracked both of his cloth-wrapped knuckles as well as his neck, turning around to face his larger foe then. He dropped a big left hand on the werewolf's shoulder to spin him around and force him to look at him face-to-face, then launched a fast straight punch aimed at the Lycan's jaw.
Ayria momentarily lowered her weapon to get a better look at what happened, not believing it for a second, and murmured in a bewildered tone, "Good dog... very good dog."
Seethe narrowed his eyes some when Sizzlebeast commenced his onslaught, not ready to declare him a definite friend or foe just yet but still ultimately untrusting of his motives. He'd have to wait and see how it played out, and keep his guard up in the meantime.
BANG!
"Shooters!" Seethe yelled as a few more bullets streaked past the trio, aimed primarily at himself and A.J.
"Get me outta here!" cried Reese, blasting a couple bursts at the shooters, the Hellsend thugs who, detered by the fire-wall, took to the rooftops of nearby houses and buildings to gain a vantage point on their targets.
"Let's go, A.J.! Hurry up!" Seethe ordered as he engaged the shooters with gunfire as well, nailing one of them in the head on the building on the right-hand side of the street.
Ayria crouched down next to her fallen comrade and got a good grip on the ice spear that impaled his leg. "Fortunately for me, this'll hurt a lot worse for you than it does for me."
"Oh gee-" started Reese, just as the elf unceremoniously ripped the spear out of his leg. "THANKS!! Holy fuck... aaaahh..."
Ayria rolled her ears, helping him up to his feet. "Oh wah wah, don't be such a big ba-"
A bullet slammed into the elf's upper abdomen, causing her stumbled back and ultimately for both her and Reese to fall back down. "Aaaaahh! My coat! My designer coat!!"
"For fuck's sake!" Seethe grumbled as he shifted his position to move in front of downed duo, still providing cover fire with his dual pistols at both buildings on either side of the street. "Fight through it! Get to cover!"
Seethe tried to move again, but couldn't. Looking down, he saw then that his feet had become encased in ice and melded into the snow-covered ground. He also noticed a rush of cold air flowing down on him from above, prompting him to look up.
Caroline was there, circling above him in a slow orbit, looking down at him while shaking her head. "Y'all're makin' thangs awfully difficult on yerselves. Y'all done lost yer minds."
Seethe aimed his pistols upward at her and said simply, "Catch."
Before any more shots were fired, a divine strike hammered down from the sky on the rooftop of the left-side building. The bright beam had a wide radius, and incinerated three Hellsend thugs in a violent, holy silver flame.
Elial strode in front of the puzzled A.J. and Reese, his hand pointed at and responsible for the strike on the building. Like Sizzlebeast, he had come into the fight with seemingly good intentions for Seethe and his team and definitely set against the Hellsend thugs. Ayria and Reese glanced at each other like they each won two different lotteries on the exact same day, ultimately clueless over the strangers' timely assistance.


Meanwhile, Sine stood her ground on the outskirts of Hyoite, loathe to enter the random battle inside the town with Sizzlebeast and Elial. She took one last look at the supernatural gray storm cloud overhead, the growth of which was halted but it had yet to begin to dissipate. And she took another glance at Elial and Sizzlebeast, seeing them engaging the demons and demon-allied humans in Hyoite.
All of which had nothing to do with her current objectives in her mind.
"This is madness," she grumbled to herself, disappearing in a flash of bright soon after.
There was work to be done, and she was already two steps behind Skylance.

[Anonymous]

Sizzlebeast wasn't really surprised that Gormin was still standing after his assault. When he was turned to face the large Hellsend, he didn't budge and took the punch head on. His head jerked back with the impact and he grinned with his vicious lupine teeth showing.
"Not bad. Not bad at all." The Fire Bringer commented just before his black furred hand gripped Gormin's wrist near his left shoulder. The Lycan's body suddenly ignites into raging flames as he continued to hold the Hellsend dangerously close.
"My turn!" He exclaimed, slamming his powerful fist into the large Hellsend's chest. As if it weren't enough, a massive beam of fire enveloped Gormin's form and incinerate a big portion of the building behind him. After the deadly attack subsided, Sizzlebeast released Gormin's arm.

[Anonymous]

The crackle of gunfire and ambience of mayhem in the distance captured Master Amodon's attention briefly. It sounded like his hellsends were closing in on the 'traitors', but ultimately, their fate, whether they lived or died, would be of little consequence, for they had already unwittingly served their purpose. Even the actual triggerman from the team who did the deed, Pharzu, would be of little or consequence, no matter who he pledged his allegiance to.
The fact still stood that Telarn Blackbride, the Connlaothian drug lord who stood next to Amodon and his thrall Terris, was now completely under Hellsend control. Blackbride, who lived dangerously by double-dealing with both angels and demons, was Amodon's vital link to the few wavering angels in Heaven such as Skylance. And it was Blackbride's diplomatic talents that allowed Amodon to arrange the deal with Skylance now.
"Hellsend is in. What is Skylance's plan?" translated Terris appropriately for Amodon, perched comfortably on her shoulder.
The voice behind the Outcast Series replied, "That's what I like to hear, demon. Now then, you needn't know all of the details at this time, but prepare your forces for movement into La'Marri, and keep it discreet. When the time comes, I'll contact you again through Blackbride."
"Very well then, I'll make myself available," said Blackbride with a tinge of devoted eagerness, receiving the affirming nod from Amodon as well.
"Then it's settled. Master Amodon, I look forward to engaging in this prosperous opportunity for us both. Good day, and you will hear from me again soon enough," the voice behind Series finalized before she was forced to start walking away from the demonic group.
Gunshots still broke the relative quiet of the snowed-in Hyoite, and the supernatural gray cloud that still lingered directly over the town was worrisome. It prompted Hessler, Amodon's chief assistant, to ask, "And what of the traitors, Master Amodon?"
The goblinoid demon waved his hands dismissively, and Terris translated his garbled language, "Insignificant. Traitors cannot stop what is coming. Traitors will die now, or die later."


Gormin's upper lip curled into an apprehensive snarl once his wrist was grabbed, before his face disappeared into torrent of fire that poured out of the fist that slammed into his chest. The feel of the wrist that was in Sizzlebeast's grasp seemed to change, Gormin's skin taking on the feel of rough rock instead of leathery flesh.
The building behind the tall hellsend, the same one recently assaulted by Elial's Divine Strike, was instantly set ablaze. The few straggling hellsend thugs caught on top yelled out in panic and haphazardly jumped off of the burning building.
After the fiery assault died down and his arm released, Gormin fell down on all fours, save that his feet were still firmly planted into the ground where he stood before. All of his clothes were literally reduced to nothingness, and his naked body and hair were all now a dark brown instead of a pale complexion and black in hue. His skin was hardened and cracked, taking on the likeness of stone in appearance.
Still, Gormin panted and gasped for air, the torrent of flame he endured having robbed him of his breath and oxygen in the area around him.

"Isn't that the Godsend head guy?" questioned Ayria of her comrade.
"You mean the one that died twice?" counter-questioned Reese, just as confused as she was about the Archangel who now stood in front of them.
The double-assault on the building was enough to distract both Seethe and Caroline, but it was the latter who acted first in the aftermath. She glided upward and out of the way of Seethe's guns, and he nonetheless fired a few awkward and ultimately ineffective shots at her.
"Boss! Look out!" warned Reese, catching a glimpse of the other half of the hellsend thugs setting up on the right-side building.
Even with the warning, the thugs had the initiative over Seethe and fired a volley of deadly gunfire first.
Just as the immoblized Seethe brought his arm up as a last line of defense, a prismatic shield appeared in front of the demon team leader to catch the shots. Seethe opened his eyes and tossed a puzzled glance at Elial, whose outstretched arm indicated that he summoned the protective aegis. The Archangel merely nodded at the confused demon.
Taking the gesture for what it was worth, Seethe immediately leaned over and returned fire from around the shield, capping two thugs and forcing the other four to duck down behind cover.
"Get your thumbs out of your asses and move!" Seethe yelled to his two wounded but mobile teammates.
"We're going! We're going!" A.J. indignantly retorted back as she and Reese staggeringly got to their feet. They began to hobble as fast as they could up the street and away from the confrontation, but Reese needed Ayria's help to move with sufficient speed.
Seethe crouched down and took advantage of the protection afforded to him by the prismatic shield to start freeing himself from his icy bonds. Holstering one pistol gave him a weaponless hand through he channeled a bit of fiery sorcery to melt the ice at his feet. Bullets still dinged noisily against the aegis as he worked.
Meanwhile, just as Reese and A.J. were clearing a little distance from the battle, a wall of icy claws erupted from the snow-covered ground in front of them, barricading their escape route. They scrambled for the partial safety and cover of an overturned trash barrel on the side of the street as hostile fire from the remaining thugs on the rooftops pelted the ground near them.
"Shit! We're boxed in!" Reese exclaimed as he and Ayria collapsed behind the low barrel.
"Hey, give me some more cover! Beauty before the ugly, now scoot!" said A.J. as she wiggled the exposed parts of her body behind the barrel, pushing Reese out a little as she did.
The sorceress floating high above them, Caroline, called down to them, "Enjoy tha cold, darlin's... while it lasts."
Both A.J. and Reese looked up from their squabble at her, wide-eyed and slack jawed, as they realized they were pinned down and trapped.
She threw up her hands, surrounded by a swirling blue-and-white aura each, to the sky in a dramatic fashion, just as the all of the natural snow falling around her began to spin rapidly into a frigid whirlwind.

[Anonymous]

Sizzlebeast was mildly surprised that his efforts to take down the Hellsend were prolonged by his sudden change of flesh. The large lupine smiled at the challenge that was laid before him. It had been so long since he had ever had a challenge to deal with. Back in the days of his old world during his self induced war with his his rival chosen by fate, Covallok, was the last time he was challenged with anything. Though, he had lost in that war, he had vowed to never allow such defeated once more. Not in his current lifetime. Sizzlebeast stood before the gasping rockman with twisted intent upon his facade.
"I will make sure to reduce you to a smoldering pile of lava next time we clash." He spoke before lifting Gormin by the shoulders and heaving him at the flaming building. Feeling a bit of a chilled aura in the distance snapped Sizzlebeast's attention to Caroline, who was about to assault the two injured. He didn't waste a moment to think or prep. The flaming beast quickly slammed his palms together and threw them out towards Caroline, sending a massive beam of pure fire at her. It was her mistake to turn her back to Sizzlebeast, even if he was distracted.

[Anonymous]

Another divine strike of Elial's hammered down on the second building of Hellsend shooters, the ensuing wave of holy energy incinerating the unlucky few thugs caught in its wrath, giving them but a half-second to cry out in agony. Elial lowered his shield just as Seethe managed to free himself from the ice.
Meanwhile, Gormin caught his second breath and stood back up as Sizzlebeast spoke, the color and texture of his skin reverting quickly back to normal. He did not speak in turn to him, his rigid and determined face speaking volumes instead. Keeping his feet firmly planted on the ground, Gormin maneuvered his upper body out of the way of Sizzlebeast's grapple and looked to uppercut-
The quiet hiss of Seethe's silenced pistol preluded the bullet that hit Gormin in his arm, disrupting his attack by the virtue of surprise-
Gormin. Caroline. telepathed Terris, speaking on the behalf of Master Amodon.
While Gormin stopped to listen to the abrupt message, Caroline found herself in a trickier situation: Sizzlebeast was able to unleash a fiery attack at her, and she was already preoccupied and distracted until the last few seconds. She haphazardly brought all of the gathering forces of ice sorcery around herself, encasing herself in a solid chunk of ice and immediately plummeting down from the air. The blast of fire heavily grazed the ice, causing the outer layers to melt instantly and fall in a rain of slush as well, leaving Reese and Ayria to breathe easier for the moment.
The block of ice shattered apart on command when Caroline landed roughly on the roof of a house below her previous airborne perch. She rolled over sluggishly onto her stomach and replied to the telepathic message, "Masta Amadon?"
Are the traitors dealt with yet?
"No, Master," said Gormin, taking a few steps away from but keeping an eye on Sizzlebeast. Seethe narrowed his eyes some, but kept his gaze straight on the hellsend.
No time then. Leave them. Amodon needs Gormin and Caroline to help set up an assault. A big assault.
"But Masta A-!" started Caroline.
Now. The telepathic voice faded then.
Gormin nodded, then stated quite bluntly his intent aloud, "I must go." And just like that, in light of his new orders, he had no more quarrel with Sizzlebeast or the others; he turned and jumped back over the wall of fire. Elial just smirked at his own inaction, allowing the demon to escape--the days where he would never allow such a thing to happen were far dead and passed.
And, as much as she didn't like it, Caroline also retreated; a large swirl of snowfall whirlwinded around her body, and when it calmed, she vanished.

As Reese and Ayria were hobbling back over to them, Seethe took the time to engage Elial and Sizzlebeast in an exchange of dubious dialogue, "So, what's the catch? I doubt the former lead of Godsend himself would pick sides in a Hellsend struggle without some agenda of his own."
"You are right," concurred Elial, crossing his arms. "You and I share a common enemy. One that would be difficult to bring down alone."
"Huh. Really." He looked to Sizzlebeast then, prompting in the same cynical manner, "And what's your story?"
"He is an enemy of our enemy," said Elial, redirecting attention back onto himself.
"And just who is your enemy, Archangel?" asked Seethe, still skeptical of the whole thing.
"The rogue High Seraphim, Mother. She is the reason for my damnable life, and she speaks to me even now."
Reese chuckled some, saying in an amused tone, "Well ain't that about a bitch!" He grimaced then, and bent over to hold his injured leg. Ayria groaned in an 'I'm-lazy-I-don't-wanna-do-work' fashion and laid Reese down on the ground, taking out her small medical kit to patch him up for the time being.
"Blah, blah, quit your whining," she said to him as she poured through her kit.
Seethe continued his parlay with the two unlikely allies before him, "Isn't that something? Well, tell that bitch that me and my team don't appreciate being setup-"
Another prismatic shield was created by Elial, though he seemed taken by surprise that it appeared. Then, strangely, a vaguely female face could be seen on the surface of the prismatic shield, and it spoke aloud to them:
Seethe... child... know that I bear no ill wishes against you. The intent to incriminate you was not of my doing, but that of your former allies.
"What the fuck??" "Take him, not me!!" exclaimed Reese and Ayria respectively.
Seethe put his hands on his hips and spoke to the representation of Mother with no small amount of suspicion, "That so? And what makes you think I should trust you? Elial and The Wolf here seems to have it in for you, and you still had a hand in making me and my team take the fall for Blackbride's death."
Elial seeks my death, but he shall never find it so long as I am held by Skylance. And you, child, you wish to be vindicated... and I know who you need to find for this...
Thinking little of the mention of the name Skylance, Seethe jumped instead on the person Mother alluded to, "Pharzu. I got something coming for him too."
Yes, child... Pharzu is misguided, and has gone so far as to believe to be acting in my name. He is here, darling, and he has been spying on Skylance's men. My proxy Radiance is following him, but I cannot speak to him while in Skylance's bondage as I normally could. I can lead you to Pharzu, and he may yet have some secrets to tell, child...

[Anonymous]

Normally, Sizzlebeast would pursue the fleeing Hellsend, but he was in no position to judge for himself. Especially since his only contact to the general mishap isn't in pursuit himself. Lowering his guard, the large lycan made his way to Elial and Hellsend outcasts and observed the exchanges. Sizzlebeast continued to remain calm, even when Mother showed her face through Elial's shield.
"I will have my chance to tear you limb by limb for what you have done to me. For now, you best bask in the hands of Skylance. It is your only salvation from my wrath." Sizzlebeast threw in his words once he had his chance after the mention of Pharzu.

[Anonymous]

Seethe snorted, and backed The Wolf's threat, "Hmmpf. I'll second that. Don't think you're gettin' off the hook just 'cause of this."
Mother's face frowned. She replied more to Sizzlebeast than to Seethe:
I know that you are angry, darling... but for this I cannot fault you, for you do not truly understand the beauty of my designs, the things that I do. And from that comes fear, and from fear comes anger. You may yet understand, given time... but for now, Skylance is a threat to us all, and he wishes to use me as his destructive conduit. In this light our misgivings are petty, for only we unlikely few know of and must stand against this threat, lest he destroy us all, child...
"Did we miss something here?" asked Reese, glancing around at everyone for answers that he lacked. He winced again when Ayria put some more pressure on his leg wound.
Seethe nodded, then looked back to the face in the shield. "Yeah. All we want is Pharzu and you. Tell me why I should care about this Skylance."
"You have already seen what Skylance can do," said Elial, gesturing toward the devastated mountain in the distance. "It is he who holds Mother, exploiting her corrupted powers for his own gain. Regardless, if you seek retribution against Mother as I do, then we must first go through Skylance to get to her."
Reese and A.J. looked at each other, both equally bewildered and thinking exactly what was on the other's mind. Seethe, thinking the same thing as them, said after the pause, "So let me get this straight. You're trapped by this Skylance guy, and right now, the only people you got to help free you are same people who are lookin' to kill you?"
Mother's visage smiled weakly, as if grimly amused by the circumstances:
I am well aware of my situation, child...
Seethe laughed right in her face. "And I thought we had it bad! Alright toots, I'll play ball, only 'cause you and Pharzu know that truth about my team's setup. Now, where is he?"
Eager to get them moving, Mother informed them quickly before the prismatic shield faded:
Seethe, you must return to the place where you were first spotted by your Hellsend Masters. They have departed, but an Outcast angel by the name of Series is still there. Pharzu and Radiance are watching her from close by, but make haste, for they will act soon, darling...
"Fair enough," said Seethe, before turning to his two injured teammates. "This is our chance. You two gonna be able to make it? No bullshit."
"I can!" Ayria said fast. "But Reese is pretty banged up. The wound's gonna take a while to regenerate. If you want my opinion, someone probably shouldn't have got hit."
"Hey A.J. fuck you." Reese looked up at Seethe then, making his case, "Come on boss, I can make it. I gotta be there for this-"
"Not with that fuckin' leg you're not, not with us anyway," said Seethe coldly, unconcerned about Reese's personal sentiments. " I'm not haulin' your ass there either. Hobble your ass there, or take my advice and bunker up somewhere until we're done and we can double back for you."
"We are wasting time here," Elial was keen to remind them.
"Right." Glancing at him, Sizzlebeast, and Ayria, he made a 'follow me' hand signal and said, "This way. Let's move."
Seethe led the way, retracing the hurried steps that brought him and his team to the outskirts of town. With any luck, he could trust the Mother broad's desire for freedom enough to rely on her telling them the truth, at least as far as Pharzu was concerned. He doubted that she would be completely honest with them about everything, but for now he resigned to take things one step at a time.
Even if he hated being led right into a potential trap.


Series watched as the twisted clouds hovering over Hyoite slowly retreated into nothingness, revealing the natural cloud cover that it had blocked.
The Hellsend demons had left, as did Skylance's presence in the conduit that was the microchip in her head. She stood alone in the street, snowing lightly falling around her, waiting without a choice for her eventual extraction by Mikael; though the scientist, his schedule always so incredibly tight, deemed that he would do so at his earliest convenience.
The potent combination of the drugs and the microchips in her mutated body left her conscious, cognizant, but totally without control of her body, puppeteered against her will. Only briefly could she wrestle with the effects for freedom, but it was an exhaustive battle that was ultimately futile. She, like Tangent, was being crushed under a weight that she did not have the strength to lift.
The weight left her looking out toward the destroyed mountain on the horizon, dead among its kin in the long range that spanned the vanishing point of her vision. So, she thought, this is how the world ends.
Beneath the rumble of the mountain in her field of vision, and much closer to her, strode a man clad in black whose face was concealed by a cowl.
But he, unmistakably, was walking right toward her.