This is it, the apocalypse 1x1

[BlueJae]

Aiden didn't mind the embrace, really, it was when Gabriel didn't let go that he started to get impatient. He coudn't see a damn thing pressed into the other's chest and he would've tried to focus on hearing if he wasn't being suffocated. He waited, only hearing half of what the human was saying, he'd only gotten a somewhat ok look at him- didn't trust the man worth anything. He would, though, work with him for the sake of what it is they were doing. He didn't know why, and he knew he was probably in the wrong, but something about the man threw him off and he didn't know what. It didn't much matter, however-


"Good point, it doesn't matter, you know what does? Your responsibilities."


Aiden didn't move, rather stood there and sighed roughly "You froze time again didn't you?" He asked gruffly, Azazel arched his brow and Aiden knew he did despite being unable to see him "I'm a demon, not a time lord Aiden. I'm simply pulling you out of reality and into your own mind for a while. Don't worry, it'll seem like a while here, but only a moment or two will pass in the real world...You can pry yourself out of his arms now you know." Azazel said, holding back a snort, Aiden sighed and slipped out of the unmoving Gabriel's arms to face Azazel "Really now. It's been ten if not fifteen minutes since your last visit."


"I said later, its later."


Aiden sighed roughly, rubbing his face, trying to determine if Azazel was being a smartass or serious "What, what is it you need me for?" He asked, irritation pricking at his words, Azazel ignored him "When we go after the Pureblood, what cost do you think this will take?"


"Uh...My life?"


"It won't be just you, can't be, but no. Not your life. Aiden- I need a yes or no, just how willing are you to give everything up on the chance, chance, that this will stop Lucifer from breaking into the Third Level?"


"Quite."


"Quite what."


"Quite willing."


"Despite the effect it might have on those around you?"


"It's us or them right? Besides, it's not just me, I can't do it alone."


Azazel furrowed his brows...Was that...sympathy on his face? Aiden blinked "I think you've had enough for now." Azazel muttered, when Aiden blinked again, he was back in Gabriel's arms...Suffocating. He cleared his throat.

 

[ROUX]

"...you've been trapped in a cell for seven years! What - and how - would you know a thing about what Lucifer is planning?" Gabriel asked, then looked down at Aiden, hearing the noise and letting him go.


"Because people talk...and the guards down there won't shut about it. If Tera wasn't captured, I'd have been telling you all to turn the hell around and go back to the other gate - which is where he's apparently attacking. This was a diversion, and a smart one, since not one of you is going to leave her to rot in hell, not even if the levels are about to be overrun with demons. But we need to hurry. I'm not keen on having another one of my homes being destroyed by the hellspawn, never again," Kristoff said, before heading back toward the direction of he forest.


"Now I've made a bit of a mess of the guard's orders, they think we're coming around to the castles gates. Prison should be deserted now, I've killed everyone inside, and we've got a straight shot to the gate, as long as we don't get lost in the halls of the underground," he explained, sheathing his bloodstained sword while walking, heading back to the stone entrance. True to his word, it was deserted, littered with countless dead bodies made lifeless in every which way.


Michael's face held a grimace all the way, only darkening his mood as he followed after the rest, entering the cave-like corridors. Gabriel too felt increasingly uncomfortable after Marcus closed the door behind them, sealing them in darkness, until the two angels automatically shone light ahead, sharing a slight look of relief before moving on.

 

[BlueJae]

Aiden followed everyone else, so, this was it. They were going to retrieve Tera and then off to war they went. None the less, the look on Azazel had shaken him, he'd never seen it before, not like that. It screamed 'I didn't mean for it to come down to this.". To what though? What was it that Azazel wasn't telling him? It pricked at the demon, terribly, and Matthias was the first to notice by default. Even in the dark he could feel something was off with the hybrid, as for what however, he didn't know. He wasn't a mind reader.


As they neared the bell tower, where Tera was being held as a diversion, a feeling in Aiden's gut twisted his nerves. He felt as though something would go wrong, no, but it didn't have to do with Tera. Something in the back of his head was nagging him, tugging at his every little second of attention, but he was able to push it off for now. They, no he, needed to focus more than ever. It was now or it wasn't, and despite only coming into contact with the blonde once, he was ready to get her back by any means.

 

[ROUX]

Michael was quiet as they walked through the halls, at least until he decided to go ahead and say what needed to be said. He wasn't keen on just leaving them without explanation, so he would give it now.


"I'm going to stay. In hell. I'll...try and get some information, maybe try to reason with Lucifer-"


"With all due respect, sir, you can't reason with this sick sadistic son of a bitch - "


"Call him that again and Gabriel will have to try to reason with me for your life," Michael growled after spinning and pinning Kris to a wall by his throat, eyes wild with the insanity that had lurked under the surface for a time. It was reflex, really. Gabriel stepped forward, putting a hand on his brother’s shoulder firmly, tugging him back slightly. He may have been a bit irritated with his brother before, but he wasn't keen on having an internal fight on their hands, unless something really bad happened. Little did he know…


"Come on, Mike. Let him go..."


Michael blinked, though the frown didn't disappear, and unhanded Kris, who wheezed once before clearing his throat and crossing his arms, starting off again. "Fucking angels. Well then enlighten me, o great one, how are we supposed to get that -" he stopped, thinking over his words carefully when he saw the looks on the two brother's faces. "-I mean, to get him to tell you anything? Doesn't he hate everyone who isn't a demon anyway? I mean, come on. Am I the only one who actually noticed that he slaughtered an entire race?! He killed my parents, tortured my siblings - "


"And he did the same to mine! You are not the only one who had things ripped away from him, Kristoff! I bared my soul to him, fell in love with him, and listened to him tell me the same. And what does he do? He ridicules me, tells me how much of a fool I am, and-”


‘Well…shit.’


Michael spun around and punched the wall now in front of him, pieces of stone falling from around his knuckles as he groaned, not even wanting to turn around to see the other’s reactions. He heard nothing for a long while, until there was the incredulous shout from none other than Kristoff himself.


“WHAT? You mean you…and him…oh hell no,” he said, shaking his head and laughing maliciously, throwing his hands up in the air in an expression of just how much he was done with this situation. “Nope nope nope. Fucking the enemy? Nawww, mate, this is where I hop off. Adios, buggers, someone come and get me when you've all decided to skip the insanity,” he said, turning around and heading in the other direction, his exasperation showing through his body language. The other Kylie and Marcus followed him out, obviously not eager to deal with the family drama that was sure to ensue.


Michael finally did turn to look, although he was fairly fearful of having to meet his brother’s eyes. And he was right to be. Gabriel wasn’t even looking at him when he had finally turned all the way around. Instead, the younger archangel stared at the ground, his face hidden from view. “Is it true? Did you…were you…”


“I did. I was. But Gabriel, I didn't mean-”


He didn't even have the time to answer as he choked on his words as a sword made its way through his stomach and into the stone behind him, before he heard his brother’s infuriated voice again.


“How could you? How could you! After all the things he’s done to us?!”


“Gabe, please, It wasn't like that, it was a long time ago, back before he even fell from heaven,” Michael pleaded, and then grunted in pain when Gabriel twisted the sword.


“That night…I asked you how you knew. How you knew he was planning to strike against the Legion. You said you overheard it, Michael! You lied to me! To my face. And for what, so you could let your own brother fuck you and get away with it –“


“I loved him, Gabriel! Ok? I loved him. And I still love him. I can’t stop it,” Michael shouted, or as much as he could in his current condition. Gabriel shook his head, suddenly yanking the sword back and watching as Michael collapsed to the ground. “Good. Then when all this is over, you can go back to him.” And with that, he left, leaving Michael out cold on the floor from the seraph blade and loss of blood.


Gabriel was fuming, and he kept his sword out, approaching the tower with a determined look on his face. If anything tried to get the jump on him, he was very, very inclined to begin chopping heads left and right. Especially for this. He followed after Kristoff, who was already making his way up. He hoped his eldest brother chose to show his face, so he could ram the sword through his gut too...maybe save Michael the trouble.


"Tera! Tera where are you?"

 

[BlueJae]

"Terrible choice, you see? I wonder where that's gotten him, no where good,a sword through his gut. This is a prime example why-"


"Azazel. Shut up."


Aiden mentally shut the demon out, tired of hearing his voice in the back of his head. He wasn't, no, no one was in the position to judge the older arch-angel. It was one of those things where you simply couldn't, not until you'd at least felt what they had. He moved past him with the others, Azazel's grumbling whisper apologizing throughout his head, Aiden ignored that too. That wouldn't get them anywhere, not now. He kept his pace, coming up beside Matthias, who took up the opportunity to glance at him out of the corner of his eyes. This was a silent way of communication, and the conversation started. The glance asking 'Are you alright?', Aiden's eyes shifting around saying 'I don't know', Matthias's concerned frown 'What's wrong?', however before Aiden could answer he perked up, ears twitching, obviously picking something up. They had to have been close now, they were running out of area to cover. Tera had to be around here somewhere no doubt...Yes no doubt. Matthias didn't look like he was giving up on the subject, but turned his attention ahead.

 

[ROUX]

Michael got to his feet shakily with an arm wrapped around his sore abdomen. Wasn't the worst pain he'd felt in the area, but it still hurt like hell. At least he had gotten something out of it - confirmation of Lucifer's real plans. Briar had said the demon was planning to overrun the place with his army as he had before, and soon. Michael knew there was no way he was letting that happen. He made his way out of the tunnels, watching Alec dissapear into the tower after the others, before he himself turned away, instead heading for the gates. The gates of hell.


-----


"Tera? Tera..."


"Kristoff?"


The man looked up at the sound of his name, now being frantically yelled by the young woman above. He began to sprint up the long winding staircase, Gabriel right on his heels, making their way to the top. Kris kicked open the door, nearly breaking it as he reached the twp of the bell tower. Tera was on top, obviously weakened but ecstatic at her apparent rescue. Her expression changed, however, when they began to cross towards her.


"Don't - there's something here that's keeping me from leaving on my own, Gabriel it'll keep you too. Let Kris...it won't... affect a human," She said, and Gabriel nodded in thanks, retracting the foot he'd been about to step over with. He should of known. The area reeked of demonic energy. Kristoff crossed over to the small angel, taking her with one arm under her back, careful not to crush her wings, and one under her legs as he carried her back over to the door with her leaning her face into the crook of his neck, obviously drained the moment they exited whatever had been holding her captive.

 

[BlueJae]

Briar blinked, squinting her eyes, not quite sure just where she was. She remembered heading for the over world but... Looking around she was caught off guard the minute she realized that she was tied at the wrists and ankles. Darkness was abundant and though she was fond of it usually, she already knew this was a situation she didn't want to be in. Only then did she realize that she couldn't see not because it was dark, but because her vision was altered...Messed with- something was wrong. Terribly wrong. Hyperventilation kicked in as her vision did, she didn't know where she was, and her brothers weren't here to save her. Not this time. She'd promised herself she'd be braver, like her father, but that was flying right out the window. Faintly, she could hear voices


"What do we do with her?"


"The markings on her back, they seem pretty important...How much do you think she'd go for?"


Go for? Go for like sell? Panic started to settle in "Ohhh no, ohhh fuck, help- help, help, help." She muttered the word over and over as if it would make a difference, her voice progressively getting louder "Help, help! Mayday, S.O.S, anyone?!" Her voice had easily gone from shouting to screaming, to screeching like a demon- a tactic that she normally used to call to her brothers, and it echoed.


Aiden blinked, relieved that they'd gotten Tera back, only half way up thenstairway, Matthiasmat his side. He was now more interested in- S.O.S, anyone?!


In that shouting, which quickly reverted to a sound that resembled a dying...Uh, a dying something. The screeching was like nails against a chalkboard, the metal part of a pencil scraping against a desk when the eraser was gone, a sound that would repel most to put it simply, and yet to Aiden it couldn't have been more shocking. Literally. It must have been Azazel or some demon part or him, but he turned sharply, suddenly gaining a deranged look. adrenaline pumping.


"Aiden..." Matthias's cautious words went in one ear and out the other "Go on without me... I'll be back."


Jumping straight off the bell tower and through a window in the next building. He rolled across the floor, hit the wall, and wasted no time getting up. When he did, however, he no longer held his human form. It resembled something of a dog, no, a wolf, about eight feet tall- with horns, an extra pair of fangs, and paws equipped with claws that could probably take the side of one's face off in a single swipe- and it did. One could argue, most likely Alec, that he had alerted them of their presence. False. He'd alerted them, whoever they were, of his own- and they'd made the grave mistake of trying to get in his way. Unlike Kris, however, he didn't fully kill each one, the impulse pulling him along said that that would take too much time. Instead some were left to bleed out, some in too much pain to continue to let themselves on, other had died from simply being run over or impaled by horns. Those with instantaneous deaths were surely deemed lucky. Needless to say, this was the perfect diversion for the group to take Tera and run- and what was left of Aiden at this point hoped at least one of them was smart enough to know he'd catch up. Like hell he would be left on this island, but first he needed to find her. Save her...Whoever she was. He wouldn't let up until he did.


"I'm too young to die, really! Think rationally won't you?! M-My father would be pissed if you killed me, oh god, put the damn spear down!" Back to the screaming it was. One of the guards was ready to lodge a spear in her heart for the ruckus she'd caused the other was watching the door, feeling the thunder of footsteps coming closer. The first guard, with the spear, had asked her many times what she'd called and when she said she didn't know, he'd resorted to this. Needless to say the screams and cries of utter agony echoing against the walls and escaping through the window were enough to echo throughout Infernum- or at least a good distance. Neither had time to react when the door was stormed or when the second guard was devoured, the first slashing the spear against Aiden's eyes before lodging it into his chest. It wasn't enough to save him his life. Briar scrambled in her restraints "H-Hold on, I taste terrible!" She reasoned, Aiden stared her down, she...Was important, at least to his demon side she was, and the undeniable urge to protect her won over even his human side. Opening his mouth, despite the blood pouring from it and the gash against his left eye,, he snarled out "Safe...Now." What could he say, he was a giant wolf, he couldn't make full sentences. Immediately he went to work on the ropes that confined her before kneeling to assist her onto his back "Uh, shit, I-I'm not good at these things you know? Thank you, I think, and uhm, have I made it successfully to the level of Limbo?" She inquired, Aiden gave a swift nod before he bolted, forcing Briar to clutch to him, leaning down into his fur "My name's Briar by the way!" She shouted against the wind whipping past them, Aiden only barked in response, making his way towards the beach, a burning, blood filled castle in his wake. When they closed in on the beach Aiden slid to a stop, setting Briar down and shifting back, the gash got worse on the smaller body and the hole in his chest was bleeding badly "You're hurt, I can-" Briar reached out but Aiden pulled her into a bridal style pick up "No time, I suggest you hold on, this is going to feel weird." He stated, a black shape forming in front of them, he stepped in quickly.


It would be a lie to say Matthias didn't jump when the form came out of nowhere, Aiden and...and? Matthias made a face "The fuck are you still doing here, get this shit moving." Aiden said, firmly, setting Briar down gently, eyes never leaving Matthias "What the hell happened to you-"


"Matthias, ship!" Aiden hissed, but the ship was already pulling away from the island and on it's way back to Redmont. Briar looked around curiously before assessing Aiden "You're still hurt." she said, he snorted "Oh really?"

 

[ROUX]

After retrieving Tera, who had passed out on the way, they'd booked it back to the ship, Gabriel deciding that from the looks of Aiden's current form, he could handle himself. Lord knows, the man wouldn't risk getting stuck on the island, so they didn't have to worry about that. Unfortunately, they had other things to worry about.


Kristoff had been busy tending to Tera below deck, and of course, Matthias was doing his own thing with his ship. Gabriel was also below, probably still fuming about his brother's confession, and Alec was about to join him, before he was ambushed by none other than a little girl, holding onto his leg. Out of nowhere. He supposed she had come from behind the crates he was next to but that didn't explain much, and he stood there, staring down in shock. For once he was wordless. She was not.


"You have pretty drawings...where did you get them?" The blonde asked from below, before grasping at Alec's hand, turning it around a couple of times and poking at the runes on the back. "Did you get them from daddy?"


"Augh....." Alec snatched his hand back and tried to move away, his expression incredulous. "What- how - who the heck are you?" he exclaimed, completely overlooking the fact that she was a child. Really, to him, if you could form a coherent sentence, than you should be able to answer any and all questions in the most preferred manner, but this strange girl was having none of it. "Who are you? Why do you have drawings on your arms? Where am I?"


Alec blanched, and looked around, hoping someone, anyone would notice, but as far as he could tell, no one did. He looked back down, ready to start firing more questions of his own before he heard Aiden from a few feet behind him - and he looked to find the man was bleeding. More interesting to the Nephillim than that was the girl he'd brought back with him...


Before his mind could even begin to inquire what the hell was going on - because really, his brain was about to explode at this point in time - the little girl was crossing the deck, running towards the two new arrivals.

 

[BlueJae]

"Excuse my language little miss, but who the Hell are you?" Matthias looked Briar over, noting her as the reason for his friend's current condition "Me? My name's Briar, at your service Matty." She beamed, Matthias blinked at his new nickname, but he wasn't rude- especially not to girls, so he accepted it and extended a hand "Welcome aboard." He said, then turned to Aiden "I'm guessing he hasn't already introduced himself, his name is Aiden." Briar turned to Aiden "A pleasure dear savior." She said, Aiden furrowed his brows "Why do you talk like that?" He asked, Briar cocked her head "Like what?" Did she talk weird? Oh god what- "He's talkin' about your accent, trust me it's fine, Aiden just doesn't have a word filter." Matthias glared at Aiden, "What?" He hissed, Matthias made a frown to complete the look "Despite our being around boys this whole time, you really can't treat a lady as such." He scolded, Aiden frowned "If you haven't been around girls, then who's the one coming from the man with the upset face?"


"Alec?" It was humorous in the least that Aiden automatically knew who Briar was talking about, but looked down into confusion at the smaller girl running at them, well, he couldn't argue he supposed. That said, he took to Briar' side- who was taller than him mind anyone, as she watched the little girl.

 

[ROUX]

"Ohhh no no no. This- she- I had nothing to do with this," Alec said, raising his hands in the air in an expression of defeat, backing away. His eyes did not leaving the scene however, flitting from Briar to the little one, who he. Would now see had...wings? What in heavens name-


"GABRIEL," Alec shouted, now moving by the stairs that led below deck. He was answered by a groan, and then a slam of a door he supposed,before the angel made his way on deck. "What's going on?" The man asked, seeing Alec with an unsurprising grumpy expression with his hands on his hips again.


"Please-please tell me you did not have another set of kids-"


"Another set of what now? No, trust me, you were enough," Gabriel snorted, and Alec sighed in relief.


"Well. It looks like we have a mini archangel on our hands, as well as yet another demon...powerful one at that. Fan fucking tastic guys, we're so diverse now...Pfft, never mind the fact that demons are supposed to be evil," Alec said, crossing his arms now and walking over to the side of the ship in a huff, leaving his father to inquire about the newcomers.


Alec was correct, she was definitely an archangel...through and through. But how? He knew for a fact that there were only supposed to be five...and there only were ever six. He couldn't see her face at the moment as he observed from a couple feet away, watching her with her back turned to him.


"You're bleeding," the girl said,pointing out he obvious as she looked up at Aiden. She cocked her head to the side, moving closer to him, looking at the wound in his chest, and reaching up to it, her hands glowing as she pressed her palms against the bloody puncture site, and the glowing light from her hands flowed into it, healing it. She furrowed her eyebrows and bit her lip as she focused on her task, before finally removing her hands and beaming up at the hybrid. "All gone. I'm Camille, by the way, and Raphael said you were a demon. So...does that mean you'll be a nice demon?" She asked, fluttering her eyelashes with her wide dimpled smile.


Alec nearly choked holding back his laughter, smothering it in the fabrics on his arm as he leaned back over the side of the ship. Gabriel raised an amused brow, looking for Aiden's reaction as the girl had now latched on to his leg. He listened as the girl spoke, and he didn't re organize her name, though the next one she mentioned, he did.


"Raphael?!"

 

[BlueJae]

Aiden eyed Alec from across the ship, laughing, then looked over at Briar "Would you kill someone for me if I asked?" Briar pondered the thought, well, she did owe him since he saved her life "Well, I do have my sword...Huh, I suppose, as long as you're serious." She nodded firmly, "Mm, I'll keep that in mind." Aiden said, more than pleased as he raised his leg to eye level as he examined the girl attached to it. Flexible he was, and lucky for him, so were his pants "Uh, nice to meet you? And, sure, we'll go with that." He said, prying her off his leg more or less gently before setting her down, hoping she wouldn't attack his leg again. Though, he figured she would sooner or later "Now then," he mused, turning to face Briar fully, arms crossed- she spared him her full undivided attention "You are...?"


"Briar, like I said."


"Full name."


She blinked, then shrugged before stretching an arm across her chest and putting a fist to her heart before folding the other arm behind her and bowing "Briar James Lightwood at your service, Sir Aiden." That said she came back up with a smile, Aiden froze for a second, then quickly added "That's...Who's your- Scratch that, I don't want to know. Don't care, so long as you're not anything like your cousin. You're from?" He asked, his second thought "First level, Hell." She answered with finality, obviously she wasn't a liar he could tell that much by her serious expression"You are a?" He moved on to the next question "Hybrid sir, much like yourself." She said, gesturing to Aiden himself, what was she a mix of though? He couldn't tell, not now at least "And how old are you?"


"Sixteen decades."


"Jesus."


"Can't say I've met or seen." She said, cocking her head, "That wasn't- nevermind. Fair enough, that'll do for now." He muttered, rubbing his face before looking down on the smaller archangel who he'd set down, she seemed innocent enough.

 

[ROUX]

Alec snorted at the cousin comment, arms still crossed as he surveyed the scene, listening intently for his own purposes. Forgoing the leg, Camille fluttered up and around Aiden, hovering above his head before dropping, wrapping her legs around his neck and playing with his hair. Alec, deciding to ask what everyone was already wondering, strayed closer to the three. "What kind of hybrid are you then?


"Shes a demon and and angel!"


Alec looked up, staring at the bundle of confusion that was Camille, sitting on top of the man's head for whatever reason she saw fit at that moment. She was looking at Briar now, and her eyes stopped glowing after she'd finished shuffling through the other girl's thoughts, putting her elbow on top of Aiden's head and leaning her chin on her palm as she stared. "Lightwood? I'm a Lightwood too! Maybe the demon will be friends with you too then. His hair is fluffy. I'm going to call him Fluffy," she decided, reaching down and poking Aiden in the cheek. Alec gaped, completely lost for once in his life, and Gabriel narrowed his eyes, studying the girl again.


No....no way. No. She couldn't be.


The archangel stepped forward, unbelieving, before he shook his head, dismissing the thought. It wasn't possible. But then how... Well, he couldn't just interrogate the girl, that much he knew. But his suspicions were there, and running in every which direction.

 

[BlueJae]

"Lovely." Aiden pulled Cam off his head and sat her down, already tired of her little attachment antics, well no- that wasn't true, he just didn't like people touching his face...Or touching him in general but mostly his face "Seems you've accomplished quite a feat." Aiden said, looking at Briar, referring to her species. He'd never heard of nor seen an Angel/Demon hybrid, wasn't that, he didn't know, never supposed to happen? Briar shrugged "Eh. Nothing like earning the nickname Fluffy," Briar pat Aiden's head, making a impressed face "hm, so it is." She said, talking about the texture of his hair before retracting her hand, Aiden never looked more displeased "I hope you fall off the ship and drown." He hissed "I have wings, despite having them retracted, I can fly mind you." Briar chided, this didn't stop Aiden from glaring at her "However if it does make you feel better I can't swim."


"Good." Aiden frowned, leaning against the side of the wheel, looking over at Matthias, who was ignoring the situation as a whole. Sadly it didn't work well, Briar taking to his other side it was evident that she would soon strike conversation with him...That was, after studying Matthias. He gave off a strange aura, he did, and she'd never encountered it before. All things died at some point, Briar had come across many, many different species that were damned to Hell. Matthias's was not one of them- unlike Alec however, Briar was about to have much better luck with seeing through Matthias...After all, there was always the last resort tactic, she never lost with that one.

 

[ROUX]

Camille, as determined as ever, went for Aiden again, only to be stopped by a strong arm lifting her from the floor. She twisted around, and made a face as she looked at Gabriel, who in tern, made a face right back. "I think Fluffy here needs some space...why don't I show you the crow's nest?" he suggested, and Camille shrugged, instead settling for wriggling from Gabriel's grasp and latching on to his shoulders, hanging there, content as Gabriel crossed the deck and began the climb upwards.


Alec kicked his legs back and forth as he sat on the edge of the ship, ignoring Gabriel's earlier warnings about how he was going to fall and be eaten alive by sharks if he didn't put his legs on the right side. He eyes Briar, looking over his shoulder. "Cousin eh? Hmm," he said, thinking for a moment, before offering a hand. "I'm Alec...my father, Gabriel, just took off with our new little bundle of joy," he said, rolling his eyes halfheartedly, more out of habit than malice. "I'm not as terrible as this one will say I am," he said, eyes flicking to Aiden, then back to her.

 

[BlueJae]

Aiden would've said something, was he not occupied with staring off into the distance- or in other words, taking a trip to his subconscious. Once again he was stuck in a black void, just floating, knees to his chest, amber eyes practically glowing in the darkness "Azazel." He snapped, those glowing eyes quickly narrowed on the single eye that seemed to open up before him, then two more on his left and right- Azazel spared no space in his demon form, the final one that is.


You called?


Azazel's voice bounced off the nonexistent walls of his mind, Aiden hated the way it seemed to shake him mid air "Care to explain our new guest, because I'm still not following." Aiden crossed his arms, bracing himself when the demon let out a sigh which released a burst of scorching hot air out.


I don't know where the smaller one is from, honestly, but the bigger one, she's a long ways from home- something's wrong. She's never left Hell before.


Aiden clapped slowly "Thank you, Zel, that clears everything up." He said, letting out a sigh of his own "Maybe it's the on coming war? But you know, I'm probably wrong there, long shot of a guess hm?" Aiden looked up expectantly at the demon, who had to give it to Aiden- the man gambled hard. If he was the snappy to any other higher demon, they'd have his head- not to say when they first met Azazel didn't try to decapitate him...Oh did he ever.


It would be...Nice if I could answer your question, but I cannot- if you would allow me to speak to her directly then...Possibly...


Aiden considered the offer, then looked back up at Azazel "You wait until I tell you you can, and then we'll see."


Briar opened her mouth, about to attack Matthias with conversation, but lucky for him Alec beat her to it by starting on his own to converse. She blinked, facing him, smiling as genuinely as she could as she took the hand she was offered and shook it. The ship was full of different characters, that was for sure. It was much more fun to experience it then just read about it in books- which is what she'd done prior. Having not been able to reach the overworld, she was forced to read all that there was, every genre she could get her hands on "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Briar." She said referring to her name. The Angel-Demon, which for short could be referred to as Anon, wasted no time. Just as she'd studied Michael within his own head, she studied Alec- her reasons for this were still unknown but it proved useful to her usually later on.

 

[ROUX]

Gabriel stood, leaning over the edge with the little angel still siting on his shoulders as she stared up, presumably at the sky. He looked up at her, puzzled when she gave a long and distressed sigh. "What - you don't like it up here?" he asked, and she shook her head.


"That's not it. Its just..." She stopped, blushing, obviously embarrassed about something that Gabriel simply could not decipher as she rested her chin atop his head.


'Then what is it?"


"I cant...fly. I mean, I can, a little bit, but I cant really," she admitted, tugging at the strands of her hair and watching them bounce back into place as she huffed, avoiding his gaze and pretending to look back over the ship. Gabriel raised an eyebrow for what seemed the hundredth time in the span of a mere ten minutes before lifting the girl from his back and over to the front of him, and she looked back at him now, copying his expression perfectly. Gabriel blinked, and she stopped, and decided to elaborate.


"I'm not allowed to. Well, not really. Raphael told me not, but only because nobody else there could..."


"Nobody else where, may I ask?"


Camille brightened at the question, and beamed back at him when she decided to answer. "California!"


"Cali- what? But that was de....nevermind," Gabriel muttered, and quickly righted his expression as to not let her know what had happened to that very place. What in the world? How would she have...was she from earth? No. She couldn't be. She was definitely not even a century old, she couldn't have ever lived on Earth...or at least, not on the Earth he was thinking of. But then she'd mentioned Raphael...


It was possible. He knew for a fact that the older archangel was literally in charge of keeping balance between the realms...could he have sent her there? But then it begged more, bigger, tougher questions. Why, and how, and who...


-----


He nodded, before letting go of her hand softly, but did not dive into his usual barrage of questions. He was in a fairly passive mood at the moment actually, and he really didn't have the energy to be his usual over curious self either. Besides that, he could be diplomatic of course, he was on the small council...if he ever ended up getting back to his own kingdom under circumstances that were not war. One thing was for sure however. If Lucifer did attack, Redmont would fight...and if that meant getting assistance from the Legion, so be it. Or at least, what was left of it.


"So...what's Hell like? Since, you know, I'm probably going to end up there eventually."

 

[BlueJae]

Briar tilted her head but didn't question the statement "Depending on where you are it can either live up to it's name or it can't. If you're in the capitol it's not different than above despite the heat, if you're in of the abysses then it could get a lot worse depending on which you've been damned to between the eleven there are." She explained, then paused and shrugged "Though you could fairly argue that the eleventh abyss is worse than any Hell that has been described prior via literature or verbal wise." She added.


------


Aiden floated around contently in the safety of his own mind, Azazel sitting there rather awkwardly- he wasn't used to Aiden talking to him first much less letting the boy stay and lollygag around...But it was his own mind and it wasn't Azazel's call to tell him what he could and couldn't do- not now at least. On the outside Aiden's once amber eyes had died out and turned a deep grey- so to speak, showing he was empty or 'not home'. Aiden was idling his time simply doing constant flips mid air until he finally spoke up "So who is she? I want all that you know too." Aiden said, stopping upside down, Azazel shifted.


Briar James Lightwood is the offspring of Lucifer Lightwood and Nicolai Martinez, a once simple fallen archangel and a pure angel. After she was born, however, the Legion had found out and Nicolai was forced to give her life in the place of Briar. While this wasn't exactly what they'd wanted, it sufficed. Briar went on to live in Hell with her father and two older brothers, spawns of Lucifer and Lilith. Their sole purpose of life is to inherit the throne if anything ever happened to their father, and so that Lilith wouldn't claim Hell. Lucifer refused to let Briar above ground, never wanting to let her know what horrors and sin covered it. Reality is cruel, and he wanted his daughter to remain in safe confinement of Hell where her every wish would be treated to...However, she longed to see the overworld, this was denied each time. As you see, strict parents create sneaky children and here she lies. Now, before you a how I know this...I was her babysitter when her father was busy- quit laughing Aiden so help me.


Aiden was laughing quite hard "The first general of Hell was a babysitter? Zel that's so sad! Had you nothing better to do? PRECIOUS." Aiden floated around, laughing his ass off, Azazel glaring at him with all three eye.


Might I remind you, since we are connected, you are prone to protecting her with your life and aiding to her every request so long as it is an order. You cannot escape Hell's law, Aiden.


Silence fell quickly.

 

[ROUX]

"You mean...there's a capital...of Hell? Well, has anyone ever gotten out of the eleventh abyss? I know someone who's probably love to try and prove that theory wrong," Alec chuckled. This was all very interesting. Honestly, he'd have never thought of hell having any sort of discernible structure, certainly not such a grand design such as this. Took some brains to literally shape your own kingdom, and he supposed that even though Lucifer was a diabolical pain in the ass to everyone....the man was a bit of a genius. Of course, he didn't voice his opinion, even though he could have made the argument that he was just admiring the intellect of a similarly intelligent being. He hopped down next to the wheel, not even blinking as he moved behind Matthias, slipping his arms around the taller man from the back without warning and resting his head against his coat. He wasn't exactly trying anything...it just felt comfortable, and he stared back at Briar, awaiting her answer.

 

[BlueJae]

"Well of course there's a capital, its like a- oh how do you put it? Divided up into different areas, the capitol particularly centered in the very middle and equal distance away from everything. As for the Eleventh Abyss, no, no one has escaped. The worst of the damned get sent there. It blinds you, sending you through to insanity by the second, throws off your balance, is at a constant burning temperature, and gives you nausea. No one as of yet has been able to escape it, besides, the gate disappears after you enter so even if you did survive that all you would never really be able to escape even after years of searching." Briar explained, more than pleased to answer the questions that the other had. The corners of her mouth twitched upward when Alec changed positions, that was, what was the word, cute? Yes, cute. She waited patiently for Alec to ask more questions, more than estatic to answer any and all.

 

[ROUX]

"So...If the capital is the first level of hell. Then what's above it? Since it's an equal distance away from everything, and I suppose the gates to the abysses would lead downward?" Alec asked, most of his attention now locked on her. It was so rare to find someone that would answer all of his questions, let alone be eager to do it, and it was because of this that he pressed on. Even though she was technically much older than him...her mind was somehow closer to his own in terms of experience than anyone else's. That and the fact that she looked sixteen made him be open to her, even though she was half demon. He'd have to explore that little aspect later too actually. Maybe the demons weren't all wired to be like their leader after all. After all, both sides thought they were right and the other was wrong, what was the difference?

 

[BlueJae]

"Above it would be where you'd end up when you first enter, a seperate gate, and is actually connected to the capitol. There's a sperate route from those who are going to the abysses and those who actually belong in Hell so everythingis separated to keep order, but yes, the abysses lead lower, each deeper than the last and- conviently enough, each having less damned than the last. One can only be so corrupted." She shrugged, thinking about her home, if there was anything she missed right now it was the heat. Oh frick did she miss that, this sea breeze wasn't the same, and she really hoped this Redmont was called such because it was red hot like fire. However, she had doubts on the city's name origin and that was a false hope indeed. Couldn't hurt to give it a shot though, the girl could dream couldn't she?

 

[ROUX]

Any other person of his position and/or intellect would have indulged Briar the same, but perhaps would have been looking at it from a specific strategic standpoint too. Especially under current circumstances. If he'd heard correctly, they were indeed about to be at war...with the underworld, no less. Alec could have analyzed her every word and used his mental map to begin planning attacks and the sort, id he'd wanted to. Besides his kingdom, the angels were on his side - literally. He probably could have devised a plan to storm through hell, and a far less ridiculous one than the subject matter would suggest to the normal person. But he wouldn't.


There was something Alec understood about these things at least - he may have been sneaky and oblivious to personal space, and too inquisitive for his own good - but he would never use his knowledge to destroy someone's home. Never. Redmont, as much as he'd realized that it wasn't perfect, had been his home for a time now, and he would be devastated to loose it. It was why he was so sympathetic towards Kristoff (who of course, would never be told this tidbit because of his uncanny ability to be averse to any and all hand outs in life) who had not only lost his family and his home, but also his entire race.


He sighed, looking up as footsteps came his way, and he looked up to see his father and Camille, who was walking behind him. "Briar," the angel started, and Alec's ears twitched in curiosity at the tone in the man's voice. "Mind if I speak with you for a moment?"

 

[BlueJae]

Briar turned her head at her name, then grinned "Mmhm!" She mused, making her way over towards Gabriel, about the time Aiden snapped back into reality, colors filling his eyes again switching from an arange of different sets before finally settling on amber. Rubbing his head, he hated that part, but once he was back his eyes followed Briar from her first stationary spot to her next...Whilst Azazel might not have trusted the fallen angel enough Aiden did, and that was enough to get his head to turn the other way despite the inner demon's want to keep eyes on the girl at all times. Once a babysitter always a babysitter, he guessed, even if Azazel was threatening him for such a comment in the back of his head.


He refocused on his hearing instead, which was heightened thanks to Zel, but that was about it as he stared blankly off into the distance all over again, looking more alive however this time. He yawned, tilting his head to the side. Three whole days back and to war it was...Great. After that though, then what? Life started over? He made a new home in Redmont? Who knew. At least it would be bettee this time. Right? Surely.

 

[ROUX]

Gabriel led Briar to the opposite side of the ship before stopping near, but not too close to it's edge. While he had gotten better at dealing with the constant ripples and rocking beneath his feet, he didn't care to see an up and personal view of the waves lapping at this ship's exterior - especially if he might end up falling in. He crossed his arms over his chest, his green eyes sharp but not cruel as he stared at the girl in front of him. He sighed, blowing out a gust of air before addressing her. "I suppose you came out here to see the world, eh? To travel the realms, and to have all your questions answered?" he asked her, expression unreadable as he did so. It was the conclusion he'd drawn, since her father obviously had no idea she was here.

 

[BlueJae]

Briar weighed her hands as if they were scales, tiliting her head from left to right before answer "Well you know, that would be the proper objective, yes, but that isn't all I came for and besides- my questions, or at least the important ones, have been answered already. As for traveling, doubt I'll get any further than this, this is the highest level I can make it to 'legally' so to speak- but I suppose, if you wanted, you could put it that way sure." She said, crossing her arms, not because she was in a mood rather because she'd not much else to do and she hated the feeling of her arms just sitting there for whatever reason. While she was at it, and well while she was there, she examined the other. It wasn't like she stared intensely at someone when she was looking at them, she simply flicked her eyes up and down a few times- memorize their appearance if you will, it was also an effective way to evaluate what they could be capable of. She knew not to judge a book by its cover, and while she trusted the people, because she gave it and you had to give her a reason not to trust one before she became wary, she would've like to understand her friends and could be enemies.