Feyda's reply didn't start out good, as it still sounded like she suspected him of being an infiltrator. Then it went from bad to worse, as Feyda started to pull the trigger of her monstrous weapon. Lindraeus never imagined going out like this, but it was just how life was outside of Heaven -- cruel and unfair.
He closed his eyes tightly-
Click.
The rain drummed on his head, as if knocking on the door of his consciousness to remind him that he was still alive. He opened his eyes slowly, relieved to see that the terrible weapon was no longer aimed straight at his head.
She seemed to be leaving at that point, but Fey turned around to ask him a simple question. Lindraeus wheeled around as well to face her, wiping his face to clear some of the rain out of his eyes. He sighed regrettably, guilty as charged of knowing and participating in the execution of the Neseraph Project.
"You are a Neseraph," he started. "You were... are an Angel that was either stolen away or 'donated' to the Will of Divinity when you were very young. The intent of the Neseraph Project was to see if an Angel could harness both the sorcerous energies of Hell and the miraculous energies of Heaven. You were deprived of this knowledge, duped into believing that you were a demon, as part of the experiment. The ultimate goal of the Project-" Lindraeus stopped suddenly, and hung his head slightly in shame. "-was to turn you into a weapon. A weapon specifically crafted to fight for the Will in its attempt to usurp the rule of Heaven."
Lindraeus spoke as if it were just a seperate entity doing all of this, but he knew that he was once a devoted part of the Will too. Knowing this, he spoke to her apologetically, "I'm sorry... for everything that's happened." He took in a deep breath, then confessed to her, "I was a part of it."
There it was, all his cards laid out onto the table. He finally was able to get that lingering guilt off of his chest, to tell someone at least. Lindraeus, however, could not predict how she would perceive the information.
As the two Outcasts secured Duugre for transport back to Heaven, and Mikael's small group of Shadow Operatives returned the unconscious patrons of the tavern back into the building, Mikael himself was busy looking over the master list of the Neseraphs. It was tiring work, tracking down all of the scattered, surviving Neseraphs, but he was passionate about his work nonetheless. He wasn't affected by Action Protocol 771, which was recently enacted by Skylance, so he was free to persue those Projects that interested him the most: The Outcast and Neseraph Projects being two of them.
Then he felt the tap on his shoulder.
Mikael turned about to see Visage standing there, her clipboard in hand, tapping her foot and returning his stare. The personal secretary of the Will's figurehead was not one to be kept waiting, so he engaged her immediately, "Ahem, yes, how may I help you, my dear?"
She tore the note off of her clipboard in an curt fashion and handed it to him. Mikael took it and read the paper carefully, then had to resist the overpowering urge to crumple the note in sheer frustration.
"This is preposterous! Why should my efforts be diverted when the entire Will is working toward this end!? Have we so soon forgotten all of our other research and projects?? What about Neseraph 001? Anima? Feyda? We can't allow them to freely roam about, knowing what they know!" He complained angrily, despite himself.
Visage crossed her eyes and waved a menacing finger at him.
Mikael forced himself to calm down, then resolved, "Fine. I will do as I am bidden. But, I am not to be held liable if anything does happen on the part of those three."
Visage maintained a disapproving glare, but nevertheless nodded in affirmation when Mikael conformed to obey his orders.
"Wrap it up! We're gone in five minutes!" Mikael called out to all of his servants.
After Visage vanished in a brilliant flash of light, the scientist shook his head in slight disgust. As displeased as he was with being recalled from his work on his old Projects, his scientific tenacity nonetheless began to bristle as his mind raced with the possibilities of his newest Project.
Mikael had to figure out how to build a trap fit for a rogue High Seraphim.