The Path of the N2

[Anonymous]

Tesri seemed a bit muffled about hearing what his big brother had to say. His smile had disappeared with those words. Once Neseraph spoke to the two of them, Tesri let out a simple, 'Heh', while Norriden could only think of if Neseraph was serious about tearing that place apart.

[Anonymous]

"Let me tell you, Insera...we're going back out onto that dance floor," Neseraph spoke up out of the blue after a good few moments of walking through the city in silence.
Insera exhibited the rare emotion of surprise and, rarer still, seemed to be turning red in the cheeks a little, "What? That is preposterous. I thought I already told you that I don't dance."
Neseraph grinned and replied, "Coulda fooled me the last time we were out there. Too bad it got cut short though. Oh, and you made that cowboy outfit look good too, babe!"
The magic word quickly changed Insera's facial expression to a nasty scowl as she snapped, "Don't call me that!"
...
...
"And I thought that costume was ridiculous..." mumbled Insera quickly.
Neseraph leaned in closer and cupped a hand over his ear, "Huh? Didn't catch that."
Insera reached out and got a deathgrip on his ear and twisted it in the most uncomfortable way possible without even looking at him. "I think you heard me loud and clear."
Neseraph struggled for all of about one and a half second before caving in, "The costume was ridiculous! Ow! Got it! Ah! Can you let go?? AH!! ...please? Ah! Oh... thank you."
Tangent observed Neseraph and Insera's interactions out of the corner of his eye, mostly wondering how it was possible that they were still somewhat together if they went through that everyday. After thinking about it for a little while though, it started to make a bit of sense-
"Hey! Bro! There he is!"
"Yeah. I know. I saw him first."
"Hell no, bro. I get props for that one."
"No you don't. Just shut up and let me do the talking."
Some distance up ahead of the group, the Hellsend brothers Haze and Atel worked their way out into the open so they could be easily seen by the party.
"Yo. Neseraph. We wanna talk with you," called out Atel.

[Anonymous]

Tesri sure was getting a kick out of the confrontations between Neseraph and Insera. He neglected to say anything though. Norriden's attention snapped when he heard the two familiar voices. His face gained a scowl once he realized who they were. Norriden suddenly walked passed Neseraph with his guns pointed at the Hellsend Brothers.
"You two were lucky I didn't kill you before. You won't be so lucky if you don't insist on leaving us now." Norriden is definately not a happy camper.

[Anonymous]

"Holy fuck! He's packin' heat!" Haze exclaimed.
Atel elbowed him and called to Norriden, "Hey man, we didn't come lookin' for a fight. We jus' gotta talk to Neseraph right quick."
Haze, after sizing Norriden up, blurted out, "Who the hell are you, anyway? Your style is wack."
Atel elbowed his brother again, harder this time, and growled at him, "Shut the hell up, man!"
Neseraph stopped and crossed his arms, slowly perking an eyebrow. He looked like he had to go way back to remember these two. "Well I'll be damned...if it isn't freaking Haze and Atel."
Haze thumped his chest with both hands and flourished his arms out in that way that people do when they knew they were right all along. "See? See? Didn't I tell you he'd remember, bro?"
Atel shook his head quickly and grumbled, "Yeah. Yeah. Whatever."
"I remember working a few jobs with you two back in the day," Neseraph continued. "'Course, that was really only because Amodon had the hots for Tethra."
"Pfft. Everybody had the hots for Tethra," replied Atel like he just reminded somebody that the sky was indeed blue.
"Oh yeah..." Haze agreed, nodding his head up and down slowly.
Neseraph chuckled to himself, then said to the brothers, "So...what do you two jokers want?"
Haze seemed to be counting heads among the party, and one of the things that he noticed was, "The hell? Hey, Neseraph, what happened to Nazune? I thought she rolled with you and shit. Thought she'd be here too, ya know man? Kinda wanted to speak to her too, see what I'm sayin'?"

[Anonymous]

Norriden lowered one of his guns, but kept one on the brothers in case they try something funny. Tesri placed his hand on Norriden's shoulder to calm him a bit. This slightly distracted Norriden before he heard them mention Nazune. His eyes widen and he slowly lowers his arm.
"She's gone. Nazune is gone, but we are fighting to get her back. If anyone stands in my way, they'd wish they were standing in the path of a freight train instead of me." Norriden speaks up as he stares at the ground before himself with his widened eyes. His view slowly moves up to the Hellsend Brothers to stare them down with his rage.
"That includes you two..."

[Anonymous]

Haze held up his arms and said quickly to appease the obviously angry man, "No beef man, no beef. Jus' wonderin', that's all." He and his brother even stepped far to the side so they couldn't possibly obstruct the party if they continued straight. "Look, we can walk and talk, see what I'm sayin'?"
Neseraph shrugged and continued on, prompting Insera and Tangent to do so as well. "Works for me."
And as Neseraph passed by, the brothers shuffled along the side of him that Insera - who was glaring at them dubiously - wasn't on. Atel spoke while Haze and Insera were trading nasty glances at one another, "So how you been, man? I hear that Tethra got iced a good while back, so that kinda made you a free demon. Kinda sucks though, especially for you, since she would usually put out for her minions when they got the job done. That's some motivation, eh? I heard that was just a rumor though; was it true?"
Neseraph couldn't help but laugh openly a little when Atel said 'free demon' - best to just let that one go. Just as Haze stuck out his tongue at Insera and she nearly snarled back at him, Neseraph replied to Atel, "Yeah. It's true. She did. And why not flaunt what you got, right? That didn't bother me at all. And as for her death, well..." He looked down at Insera, who stopped her facial expression wars with Haze for a brief moment to glance back up at him, then back to Atel, "Shit happens, I guess."
Atel nodded his head up and down, then mentioned, "I heard that you mighta had somethin' to do with it. Get tired of her or somethin'?"
Neseraph grinned and replied, "That's assuming that I actually liked working for her in the first place. Well...it was more of a love-hate relationship, with a bit more emphasis on the 'hate' part."
Haze was making a bunch of hand gestures behind Neseraph and Insera's back toward Tesri for some reason. Though, through careful analysis, it seemed like he wanted Tesri give Insera a noogie...
"Right, right..." Atel paused, then got to the real heart of the conversation. "Well, we're here to make you an offer, Neseraph. Master Amodon is taking steps to rebuild the Hellsend. And not only that, but he's gonna raise up Malignity too. But it won't be like it was before, oh no. It's gonna be whatever we make it, man. We're gonna rule. Hellsend's gonna be the top, not the bottom scrappers like before. Hell no. You just gotta know the right people to get in good on this, Neseraph. What do you think...want to come and be a Hellsend again, in the new Malignity?"

[Anonymous]

Norriden had already put his guns away to walk with the group. Though, he had his hand wrapped tightly around the hilt of his blade. Tesri simply smiled and shook his head when Haze was sending him signals. He seemed more like a kid than a proffessional. Norriden's grip on his blade tightened as far as his glove could handle before tearing when he heard about the renewing Hellsend.
"You two will have to talk about this topic a bit later. It nerves me too much for your own safety. I'm sure you've heard of the Right Hand of Elial, Noubohri Utor, my father." Norriden throws in his comment without looking at anyone in general. That was a hint. If they didn't get it now, they will the hard way.

[Anonymous]

Before Neseraph could even answer, Norriden interjected.
And Haze and Atel gave each other the famous 'Oh shit' expression upon listening to what he had to say.
The two of them stopped and started walking backwards, away from the group. Atel called out as they were gaining distance, "Hey! Think about it, Neseraph! Think about it! This is the opportunity of a lifetime and you know it!"
And with that parting offer, both of them beat feat and quickly mingled among the citizens until they were out of sight and long gone.
Tangent watched the two brothers retreat until they were no longer visible, at which point he remarked, "Strange...those two..." He then looked to Norriden, interested to some extent at what was said, "The Right Hand of Elial...are you proud of your father? Your family?"
Insera watched them depart for about half the while Tangent did, saying once she was no longer interested in them, "Now that that is done with...Neseraph, you would not possibly even consider such a ludicrous offer, am I right?"
Neseraph didn't respond, he just kept on walking with his eyes straight forward and a stony look on his face.
Rather concerned now, Insera asked again, "Am I right, Neseraph?"
...
Neseraph suddenly grinned and let out a long laugh. "It's so funny to see you get worked up and worried like that, heh heh heh. But seriously, no, not really."
Insera's visage changed at the drop of a hat and she looked like she was about to slap the teeth out of his mouth when-
"Look! Hey! Wait! Insera! We're here!" Neseraph exclaimed as he held up his arms to direct her and everyone else's attention to the tall building known as the Exquisite not too far ahead of them.
Insera shifted her attention from Neseraph to the hotel, saying levelly, "Oh...so we are."
Neseraph nodded and said, "Yeah. See, nothing like a little-"
SLAP!!
"Ow! Fuck! Dammit, I thought I avoided that one!!" yelled out Neseraph as he staggered back some, holding his cheek with both hands.
Smiling and satisfied, Insera started to saunter towards the front doors of the building. "I will get us our room, most preferrably one with multiple baths."

[Anonymous]

Norriden was satisfied that he managed to chase off the clowns, though he didn't show it. He had to do whatever it took to keep himself from snapping and killing someone else. Even he realized that he was changing, and yet let it continue. When Tangent spoke to him, he finally turned his view to someone else before looking back down at the ground before himself again.
"My family...? What's to be proud of?" Norriden notes, sounding slightly hurt by the question. Tesri lowered his head as well as he continued behind Norriden.
"I neglected to tell them that my mother was a Hellsend. That would make me and even my brother the products of War." Norriden finishes as Insera approaches the hotel.

[Anonymous]

"Really?" asked the Outcast. "So you are not proud of your family? Not at all? Not even for your father whose name would use to precede even yours?"
The Outcast, instead of looking intently at Norriden for an answer, suddenly turned away and apologized, "Wait...I'm sorry. I've no right to speak myself, not after all that has happened between myself and my sister."
After a moment, he glanced back at Norriden, then at Tesri for a spell, then started towards the hotel.


The finishing of the remodeling and refurnishing of the building, the reason for which it had been closed for such a good while, was...delayed somewhat when the workers entered the building one day and found the aftermath of a good bit of chaos that transpired within the hotel's walls. What truely happened, no one knew...but it did manage to become one of the better ghost stories that circled around Arca and the lands of Serendipity. Nevertheless, the hotel was eventually opened again, and now it looked better than ever.
Insera entered the building, and crossed the familiar main lobby towards the front desk.
Once there, she placed her hands on the desk and leaned forward a little bit. The receptionist saw her coming though, and had her eyebrow perked disdainfully - this wasn't the type of place where people came in with bloodsoaked clothes.
"Can I...help you?" the receptionist started slowly, if only out of business protocol to be courteous.
"I would like a room, please," stated Insera.
Receptionist had to do her best not to frown; not only was this bloodstained riff-raff even daring to come into this high class Inn, but she was seriously asking for a room. Of course, her real thoughts were deceptively masked by her seemingly stoic facial expression. She attempted to catch Insera with something she knew she couldn't possibly have, "Do you have a reservation?"
Insera shook her head, "No, I do not."
Problem solved. "I'm sorry, but if you do not have reservation, then I am afraid that we cannot help you. Good day-"
"Hey! What's happenin'?" Neseraph greeted as he suddenly appeared on the scene on and dropped his elbows down on the desk. "Got a room?"
Receptionist rolled her mind's eye, and was tempted to do it with her normal ones; great, more bloodstained riff-raff. "I'm sorry sir, but if you don't have a reservation, then we have no vacancy. Good day-"
Neseraph looked around and interrupted, "Where's that guy who worked here before? He hooked us up last time."
"...Excuse me?" Receptionist was sort of lost on that one.
"Basically what I'm trying to say is 'What will it take to get you to get us a room?' It's really not a whole lot to ask," said Neseraph with a grin.
"A reservation," Receptionist replied sourly, now less restrained by business policy. "Which neither of you have. Now, please leave, thank you."

[Anonymous]

Click!
The sound of a gun cocking could be heard from behind Neseraph and Insera. Norriden stands behind them with a gun aimed at the receptionist' forehead. His face shows that he is greatly displeased.
"Here's my reservation. I'm feeling very cranky today, so I don't need a mortal making it any worse off than it already is. If I don't get a room to wash up and rest for the night, then your blood will be added to our attire. I know neither of us want that." Norriden explains calmly, not taking his eyes off the receptionist. Surely, his freakish wings would scream out that he's not human.

[Anonymous]

"Whoa!" exclaimed Neseraph as both he and Insera backed away from Norriden as he suddenly appeared behind them with the firearm brandished.
Receptionist, having lived in Arca all her life, really had no idea what a gun was, so that wasn't what intimidated her; it was Norriden's overall appearance, including his very obvious wings, that caused her to look upon him with trepidation.
She slowly raised her arms up in surrender, but said firmly and quietly to him despite the circumstances, "Sir, I don't know who you are or where you are coming from, but you can't just come in here demanding our services and making life threats! The Arca City Guard does not look kindly upon thieves, and they will be on their way shortly if you do not leave immediately!"
Tangent walked in through the front door of the building just in time to see Norriden holding the front desk of the hotel at gunpoint, Neseraph and Insera both looking at him like he was crazy.
The Outcast sighed, then turned around and walked right back out the door; no need to add to this disaster.

[Anonymous]

Norriden lowered his gun, but continued to stare down the receptionist. The demonic angel smiled when the poor woman reminded him of who he really is.
"The Arcan Guard is already here. I am Norriden Utor, Royal Knight of Serendipity Kingdom. Faithful to Queen Dawn to this day." After his own announcement, Norriden lifted up his arm and slid back his sleeve to show the Serendipity Insignia on his wrist. The very one that was trusted to him from the Queen herself.
"Forgive my earlier reaction, I'm still a bit soar from today's battle. My comerades and I are still a bit exhausted from defending the outskirts of Arca." In a sense, Norriden was telling the truth. Tesri walked in as Tangent walked back out on time to catch the end of his brother's announcement.

[Anonymous]

Both Neseraph and Insera were completely lost on the sudden turn of events and circumstances, though Receptionist had the best face of all: she was absolutely incredulous. She honestly had no idea what to think or do for a good few moments before the multitude of thoughts running through her mind finally formed into a coherent assessment of the current situation.
She dropped her arms and stood up from her seat, going over to the keybox while saying, "Very well then, Royal Knight, I can understand where you are coming from. I will allow you to stay this night, but I think you were really serious in your threat to stain your attire with my blood! While I'm glad that didn't happen, I'm going to report your conduct to the proper authorities within the Guard when I get the chance!" Once she found a key without a tab signifying that it was already taken in the keybox, she took it out and made her way back to the front desk. Before she handed the key over to Norriden though, she sighed and said to him in a concerned voice, "Look, we all respect those who serve in the Guard, but all know that it can be hard at times. Maybe you should...I'm just going to say it: Seek help. You're obviously very stressed, and all of that caged up stress is just going to break out sooner or later. Best to just open the cage yourself and let it trickle out slowly then to have it suddenly burst wide open and come rushing out all at once, hear me?"
With that, she handed Norriden the key and said, "Enjoy your stay, Royal Knight. Room 521, fifth floor."
Suddenly, Neseraph started chuckling uncontrollably to himself.
Insera asked through the surprise of the peaceful resolution of the rather tense situation, "Now what has gotten into you?"
He glanced at her and asked, "You really don't remember, babe?"
She crossed her eyes and snapped, "Don't call me that!"

[Anonymous]

Tesri nearly laughed upon hearing what the receptionist had to say to Norriden, but held it in. He simply shook his head and began walking away towards the exit.
"I need a drink..." He notes to whoever is listening as he walks off. Though he felt insulted, Norriden couldn't help but agree with the receptionist. He does need to cool off. It's not like him to just flat out kill someone without a logical reason.
"Tesri!" Norriden calls out, prompting his little brother to turn around.
"I want you to come to the room with us. I have something to say. I believe you need to wash up as bad as us anyway." Norriden adds before he begins to head for the elevators.
"Oh, and could you get Tangent?" He adds one more thing before continuing. Tesri nods and heads towards the entrance.

[Anonymous]

As soon as drinks were mentioned, Neseraph performed a quick 180 and stated, "Damn, that sounds like a good idea-"
But wasn't fast enough to avoid Insera latching out and taking hold of his arm. "Oh no you don't. Priorities, remember?"
Neseraph sighed, then turned back around came along peacefully, "Fine, fine..."
The 'elevators' that Norriden, Neseraph, and Insera stepped onto were actually firm metal platforms in a precisely crafted shaft that magically levitated up or glided down to whichever floor was desired. The Enchanters that helped create and bestow the magic on the elevators were quite proud of their work...and quite happy at the size of their coin purses.
Neseraph pressed the number "5" on the panel, and soon after the elevator began to float smoothly upwards until it reached its destination floor, where it glided to a clean stop.
And as Neseraph and Insera stepped off, Neseraph started with, "But you seriously don't remember, Insera?"
"About what?" She asked in an irritated tone, not too happy with the lack of appropriate information about the question given by Neseraph.
He smacked his forehead and said blatantly, "Room 521! Fifth floor! Remember!" He leaned in closely and whispered in her ear, "I bet this floor gave you a good view..."
...
Oh.
Now she remembered.
"Well aren't the chances of this just incredibly slim?" She remarked with a slightly amused smile.
Neseraph chuckled, then added as they closed the distance to the room, "I'm tellin' you, Insera, it obviously must be fate!"


Tangent was outside, looking up towards the afternoon sky, doing a little more than just waiting for the fiasco inside to subside.
He was wondering where his sister, Sine, had gotten off to...
And where Zekial was, the Blood Angel who still had Reigne's sword in his possession...
Those were the only two things that mattered to the Outcast.

[Anonymous]

Norriden walked down the hallway to the room after stepping off the elevator. He paid little heed to the conversing two behind himself. He stopped at the door and let himself in with the key.

Tesri stepped outside to see Tangent gazing at the sky. He could only wonder what the Outcast could be thinking about.
"Hey, Tangent. The coast is clear. No one died. Norriden wanted to tell us all something anyway." Tesri manages before he turns back around and heads back inside.

[Anonymous]

The ornate, extravagant decorations of the place looked familiar. As did the well-made, masterwork furniture that was plentiful in the room in many different forms. And so did that large window with the fancy blinds that kept out the bright afternoon sun.
More so than all of that though, was the obvious fact that there was only one bed in the room.
Neseraph shrugged and stated, "Well, I guess you can't have everything."
Insera stepped into the room after Norriden while saying, "That is not my main concern right now. What we are looking for is..."
Following a suspected lead, Insera walked over to a door that was ajar along the left wall of the room and slowly pushed it open.
Mission accomplished.
Inside the bathroom were some of the better creations of this time that magic and invention together could produce, but, most notably to Insera, the singular large, oval bathtub within that room.
Coming out of the room, she reported, "Good. At least we have what we came here to-"
"Can I take my bath and wash my clothes with you, Insera?" Neseraph blurted out.
She crossed her eyes, managing to actually suppress the urge to slug him for once, and replied acidically to him, "No. Don't worry, Neseraph, you will have your own turn like everyone else."
Neseraph snapped his fingers and said with a grin, "Damn. Well, I had to try at least."


Tangent continued to gaze up towards the sky, even as Tesri beckoned to him.
He squinted his eyes a little bit, and said to himself, "She is still out there..."
Gradually he turned around, still looking up towards the sky until the last possible moment, and followed in Tesri's footsteps.

[Anonymous]

Norriden leaned against the wall, near the door upon entering the room. He watched Insera's movements when she entered. We waited until after she was calmly rejecting Neseraph's offer. He slightly smirked before he spoke up.
"Before you begin cleaning up, we need to wait for the other two to get back so that I can make my suggestion." Norriden really sounds like he has something important to say. After a short while, Tesri would enter the room, hopefully with Tangent close behind.

[Anonymous]

Not too long after Tesri entered the room, Tangent trudged in as well, closing the door behind himself.
Now that everyone was gathered...
Neseraph sauntered over to the bed and threw himself onto it (with a disapproving look from Insera, naturally), interlacing his hands behind his head and looking Norriden's way, "So, whatcha got?"