Colin's posts

"Very well." Hal responded.

With that, they ended the call, and he made his way through the Unit, to the door of the dorm that Ayla was staying in.

Once there, he knocked.

"Ayla?" he called in.

"Are you in?" he asked.

"I have something very important to ask you!"

Again, Hal was silent for a moment.

"....Elven?" he asked.

"Oh... oh my..." he muttered.

"Angela, I'm going to have to call you back." he told her. "I've just recalled something... or, well, it's more that I might have a clue as to what that is, and I want to ask someone about it." he clarified.

"For now, I suggest making sure your fae friends are all right. All of them." he suggested.

"See if any are injured, and if you can help." he went on.

"There's no need for any pointless death. Ever."

There was silence for a moment, before Hal cleared his throat.

"Well." he said.

"Teach me to jump to conclusions." he mumbled, clearing his throat again.

"Firstly, he nearly killed Cain?" he asked.

"Aedan and Azazel aren't going to like THAT..." he muttered.

"Also, what do you mean when you say 'technically'?" he asked her.

"What happened?"

After a few seconds, she received a call.

From Hal.

"He ATTACKED you?" he asked when she answered.

"Good Lord." he said.

"I'll say this much, if he keeps up, being fired from here will be the LEAST of his worries." he told her.

"...however, since you say his father stepped in, I'm not sure any threat I could make would even stack up..." he then admitted.

Sure enough, her mana identified Zeke's mana as the 'foreign' mana within Cain, and she could feel it coming towards her, collecting and absorbing into her. It wasn't much at all... mere remnants... but it was powerful enough that she felt like she could take down anything or anyone right there and there.

It was almost... intoxicating.

However, the 'high' wore off within seconds, and she could see that Cain's body was now actively trying to repair itself.

She looked into the hole, and saw strange tendrils of demonic mana writhing within it, connecting to opposing sides and attaching themselves.

It was... disturbing, yet fascinating.

And she could tell that it would take a while.

The hole in Cain's chest was pretty bad, and she could see how Zeke's mana had essentially eaten away at him... but it also seemed like Cain's body was actually keeping it from spreading any further.

Which was good, seeing as the wound was but a mere inch away from what could be considered his heart.

She didn't hear anything going on outside... but she also felt a strong mana presence, stronger than before, so she could assume that Uriel was either doing something in a small barrier-like zone he'd created, or they were about to disappear.

But the big thing right now was Cain.

She needed to find a way to remove the angelic mana from the wound.

Again, Zeke laughed. It was dark, it was cruel.

It just... wasn't him.

"We'll see." was all he said.

He then raised his arm, ready to slap her... and hard... before there was a sudden burst of light behind him, and a hand grabbed his wrist.

"Not so fast." Uriel commanded.

"I think it's high time this stopped."

"....." Zeke was silent, before grabbing Cain by the back of his neck, and lifting him up.

"I suppose that's true." he admitted.

"Oh well." he said.

He then shot a beam of light through Cain's chest, and threw his limp body off to the side.

"If he survived that, he gets to continue to exist." he reasoned, before approaching Angela, stepping alarmingly close.

"So why did you do it?" he asked.

"Why did you put the security of that building over your own safety... and your daughter's?" he asked further.

Before the fae could get to Cain, Zeke stamped his foot down in his back.

Hard.

Enough that it caused Cain's limp body to twitch and flinch from the sheer nerve and muscle stimulation.

"Remember what I said?" Zeke asked Angela.

"Talk, and suffer." he repeated.

"You talked. And it's clear that this... thing..." he continued, referencing Cain. "...is something of worth to you." he went on.

"And I AM an archangel. It's my JOB to slay demons." he went on, a cruel chuckle emanating from him now.

"Because of you, everything's ruined!" Zeke declared.

"That infernal building is under a shutdown, and nobody can get it!" he yelled further.

"You just had to butt in where you didn't belong." he continued, swatting away another fae.

"Something's wrong!" the fae next to Angela said.

"Weird mana! Weird energy!" they exclaimed.

"Elven!"

The first thing she noticed was that the house was quiet.

Eerily so.

However, that changed VERY quickly when one of the fae rushed towards her, saying there was something going on the backyard.

She followed the sprite, and what she saw made her blood run cold.

Zeke was there. And he was swatting at the fae that were surrounding him, attacking him to protect the house. And Cain was there as well.

At Zeke's feet.

He wasn't moving or twitching or anything.

And that's when Zeke noticed Angela.

"YOU!" he yelled loudly, glaring daggers at her.

When she did, and got it examined, she found that, thankfully, nothing was broken. But there WAS worrisome bruising. It was properly tended to, and after a few hours, she was sent on her way.

However, all the while, she couldn't stop thinking about Zeke.

Why was he acting this way?

What was his goal?

Was he a danger to her? To Liv?

All she knew was she had to get home to her daughter... and that she couldn't go back to the Unit. Even if she wanted to.

"As I said." Hal responded.

"I trust you enough to let you leave this building right now." he told her.

"If anyone asks, you left to get breakfast at the nearby cafe or something." he went on.

"Now go." he told her.

"Make your way out of here and look out for your family." he said.

"And Angela?" he then went on.

"...be safe." he finished, his tone soft.

"Angela." Hal said.

"If you don't feel safe here, I'm giving you the chance to go home." he told her.

"Part of these proceedings is a complete lockdown." he said.

"And if you don't want to be separated from Olivia, I give you the chance to leave now." he went on.

"But this is your ONLY chance." he warned.

"Lockdown will commence in under 2 minutes, so make your decision ASAP."