An Inevitable Shadow

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

When Lindraeus began speaking, Feyda fully turned around and gazed at him suspiciously. He knew quite a bit about her. Too much, in fact. More than she could possibly imagine. Hearing more on her own history in great detail only made her want to go back and put a bullet in Mikael's head more. Then the man before her confessed that he played a role in her creation. That explained everything.
"Before I ask anymore questions, I would like you to hold your hand out to the side, away from your body." Feyda spoke, waving her hand out beside herself with the palm open.

[Anonymous]

Lindraeus blinked, not sure what to make of the strange request. In truth though, he knew it really wasn't a request -- he knew who was in full control here. He wasn't a field agent, he wasn't quick on his feet, and he wasn't used to the everyday harshness outside of cozy, office-type accomodations. This made him very complaint, mostly out of inexperience and fear.
As such, he did what he was asked to do: He held his right hand up and stretched out to his side.
He didn't know what to expect, but he had a gut feeling that he might have made a terrible mistake in tracking down the woman in a volatile stage of her life.
The rain continued to fall steadily.

[Anonymous]

"Good..." Feyda spoke and without giving Lindraeus a chance to think of his actions or flinch a muscle, the dark angel quickly reached into her longcoat to draw out her now lone Desert Eagle and blew a hole through the man's hand.
"Now we're even." She added coldly, as she put her gun away and motioned her head to the side in attempt to signal Lindraeus to keep moving. She then turned around and began to walk off.
"What else do you know about my kind?" Feyda called out behind herself to Lindraeus, assuming he could hear her over the rain. Regardless, she continued forward without stopping.

[Anonymous]

"AHH!!" Lindraeus hollered, as one of the worst pains he'd ever experienced in his life surged through his arm and quickly bolted to all corners of his body. The Angel stumbled backward until he lost his footing and fell, his back crashing against a nearby tree. He slunk down into a sitting position up against the tree, and, while biting his bottom lip, gradually brought his other hand, trembling and shaking, over to meet his injured one. He wasn't very good at healing miracles, but it was the best thing he had; thin, faint wisps of white light streamed out from his healthy hand into the wound. It would take a couple hours to completely heal the grievous wound, but fortunately the pain was the first to start subsiding.
Lindraeus was as embarassed as he was repentent, because he knew must of looked completely green and inexperienced to Feyda; he was a thinker in a fighter's presence and world. He had always heard the tales and stories about the terrible violence that occured in the field, but he never imagined that it would one day happen to him. Finally, he managed to calm his breathing down to a normal rate.
"I'm sorry..." he said quietly, not knowing if he could be heard over the rain. "I'm sorry..."
Even, she called it. A moment's intense pain versus a lifetime of suffering -- it was a terribly lopsided deal. But Lindraeus could only be gratitous that she didn't see fit to blow his head off of his shoulders earlier.
Then she started away, calling out to him without stopping. Lindraeus, still sitting against the tree for his lack of strength that denied him to stand, swallowed a thick lump in his throat and called back, "There are others... out there. Not just Neseraphs, but all manner of people. Some know what they are, some don't, and some... have lost their minds completely. The Will is a giant web, an inevitable shadow cast over all things. A divided effort cannot hope to last long... against..."
Lindraeus trailed off, letting his head slink down a little. Water dripped off of his hair, his nose, his sullen face.

[Anonymous]

With her perceptive hearing, Feyda could hear everything that left Lindraeus' mouth. She stopped moving forward when she heard him trail off into silence. The dark angel turned around an smirked when she saw the man, slumped against a tree. She then closed the gap between the two of them and crouched down in front of his fallen form.
"Then it looks like we're gonna have to find ourselves and army if I'm going to personally pay the Will a visit." Feyda noted jokingly as she lifted Lindraeus and slung his fallen form over her shoulder. She turned back around and started away again. In the back of her mind, it wasn't a joke.

[Anonymous]

Feyda's words surprised Lindraeus a bit -- now it seemed apparent that she sought revenge on the Will of Divinity, but for what reasons? Did she want to take them down for the terrible atrocities they commited, for the others who suffered like her, or was it just plain personal? He couldn't read too much into her motives at the moment, but he hoped that perhaps some goodness was at the heart of it.
And, only adding to his surprise, was the fact that he was now hoisted up and onto Fey's shoulder.
Slightly dazed but definitely confused, Lindraeus asked, "What, what are you doing? Where are we going?"
At this point, Lindraeus couldn't tell if he was a helper or a hostage.

[Anonymous]

Of course, it would be natural for someone to flip out when they realized they were being carried by someone while they were out of it. Feyda expected that Lindraeus. She smiled when he started speaking to her.
"You have information that will be a great asset to gathering an army. Even if it's only minimal, I'm sure you have some sort of access to more info. I guess you could say, I'm using you as leverage. And where we go is entirely up to what you currently know. You are my match in this dark cave of a world." The dark angel explained, making sure to let Lindraeus know that he will be helping her. She assumed that since he confessed about being apart of this Will, he would be willing to help bring it down.

[Anonymous]

That was better to know than not knowing anything and automatically assuming the worst. And it was indeed a monumental task to organize a force strong enough to combat the Will, one where every possible advantage would be needed. However, since his original plan was significantly changed now, there were somethings he knew he needed to do to keep up his cover.
"Yes, I will help you, Fey. I know a lot of places on Earth the Will uses to test and experiment. Names and places, actually. But, if I'm going to keep up my cover in the Will, I'm going to need to check back in with them. I was going to sever ties with them when I contacted the Vindicator back at the bar, but that's not going to happen now. And if I draw attention to myself, then I'm through."
He took in a deep breath, then seemed to ask for permission more than say, "That being said, I do need to check back in. I've been gone for a while, setting up everything with the Vindication, so I need to get back before I raise suspicion.
"I need you to trust me on this, Fey. Where can I find you when I come back?"
Somehow, it all seemed very awkward to be saying all of that while still slouched over Fey's shoulder.

[Anonymous]

Feyda listened to Lindraeus, diligently. She soaked in everything he said. He sounded trustworthy. In fact, it sounded like he already had plans to turn his back on the Will. This was good. He even sounded sincere when he asked her to trust him. The dark angel stopped and carefully placed Lindraeus' feet on the ground and beamed a smile towards his face.
"Anywhere, but Reajh. I had a rather bad experience there." Feyda explained, letting the man know that he would be choosing the destination. However, in the back of her mind, she knew she would have to kill him if he brought the Will to her.
"Oh, and the name is Feydeh Soygi. People call me Feyda 'cause it's easier to pronounce." She added, maintaining her smile.

[Anonymous]

Soaked and confused, Lindraeus didn't quite know what to make of that at first. Anywhere but Reajh? That was... awfully broad. He was hoping for something a little more specific, but then it finally clicked in his head.
"Oh! Oh! Right! Well," he scratched the back of his neck, "let's see... how about the Town of Cerenis? I know of a few places there that the Will uses secretly. They're small underground facilities, lightly guarded, but they store tons of information -- stuff I don't even know -- and house all kinds of experiments and stuff. It'd be a great place to get started, since it's just the two of us right now. I'll see if I can contact the Vindication again, and it'd be even better if we something concrete to show them."
But then, there was the matter of finding a place to meet up. Lindraeus crossed his arms and cupped his chin with his right hand, trying to remember something gaudy or a notable building that stood out the few times he'd ever been there. He continued to ponder for a moment, then-
"I know! I don't know if you've ever been to Cerenis, but there's a building there called Fischer and Son's. It's a billiards house, locally owned, and its outside is painted green. It really sticks out, and should be easy to find.
"Is that okay? I should only be a few hours. I just need to show my face really. I've been with the Will for a little while, so I know how to-" he choked a little, realizing what he was saying and suddenly very embarassed about it, "-skip out on work from time to time. Heh, well, I guess it's gonna come in handy now, huh?"

[Anonymous]

Feyda's smile grew bigger upon the mention of Cerenis. Apparently, the place sounded familiar to her. The dark angel's smile couldn't grow anymore after the billiard house was mentioned.
"I'd kiss you right now if you weren't a stranger to me. Cerenis is my personal favorite place to be. You even know about Fischer and Son's? I used to make bank off hustling the tables there with the sailors. I bet I could win a few pouched of gold before you get there." Feyda sounded suddenly rather chipper. Rather excited about going to the Seaside town. She obviously agreed with the location mentioned.

[Anonymous]

In the span of an instant, Feyda's attitude seemed to completely reverse directions. Not that it was a bad thing, but it was hard to believe that this was the same woman who had, just moments before, blasted a gaping hole into his hand (which might be a little tricky to explain, but nothing he couldn't handle). It was also good that she was familiar with the area, and knew exactly which building he was talking about. She'd probably be more street smart than Lindraeus was, and would be a natural at leading them to specific locations in the town.
Lindraeus couldn't help but to smile back, even if it was just a little one made mostly out of a mix of nervousness and delight, and affirmed, "Alright, Cerenis it is. I'll be there in a few hours."
The Angel's hands began to glow with a white aura, though he winced a little when they did due to his one injured hand. After about thirty seconds, a brilliant flash of light enveloped Lindraeus and he was gone.
The plan was set, and the first stop was going to be the Town of Cerenis.