Fantasy Thy Will Will Be Done

[NekoQueen49]

In a darkened room, something was stirring. Something ancient, dangerous. Boisterous laughter could be heard from behind the stone wall that separated the entity from the rest of the world. The stirring shadow stilled, not exactly hearing the laughter but sensing it. They brought sharp objects, axes and picks, striking against the stone that separated it from the rest of the world. If the entity could grow excited, it would have. Even as it was, it began stirring more than it previously had been until the barrier grew thinner and thinner. It took almost an hour until fresh air broke through.

The shadow being used this to it's advantage, flowing over the miners that had released it. Under it's influence, their eyes turned dark before turning on each other. Friend against friend until there was only one left. A burly man with fading greasy brown hair. The entity flowed into his shadow. The man turned towards the entrance of the mine, robotically moving into freedom.

In the demon world, Marbas looked on the chaos with amusement. The rulers had summoned the mass majority of the demons for an emergency warning. They had tried to summon every demon but every one knew, including the leaders, that would never happen. Demons, as a rule, were too wild to properly be contained. Even with only the majority, it created a problem as the demons fought amongst themselves. It was part of the reason Marbas went to the meeting in the first place. Looking around, he could see that he wasn't the only one who had that idea in mind.

"Silence!" Boomed a voice. Marbas looked up to see Baal standing in front of the group of Six, the most powerful of all demons. A frown, usually seen on his face, sharpened his already sharp face. Most of the other demons froze, proving Baal's strength more than anything else. Demons only respected strength. And feared it as well. "There have been a plague!" He continued to announce before two other of the other Six drew forward. Belial and Lilith.

If Marbas didn't understand the gravity of the situation, it could be seen of the two faces. The two usually were smirking, looking down on the masses with superiority. That wasn't the case today. Like Baal, they were wearing frowns. It seemed to Marbas that this 'plague' they were talking about was super duper serious. "Obviously it couldn't have one of you runts," Belial continued, "because most of you are too weak and the rest... Well, we would have noticed." Marbas snorted on reflex. He could have easily created a plague without the Six noticing. He was that awesome. It just wasn't fun enough for him. "This came from something else. In order to fight and defeat it, we will order six of our fiercest warriors to fight it."

Lilith rolled her eyes. Marbas could have done the same. How were they supposed to 'fight' a plague? How idiotic could this dude be? "And six of our most intelligent to... work with a special team in order to gather the means to destroy it."

 

[Forever For Never]

From the heavens, the angels watched the event unfold with horror. Not many knew what it meant, but all knew that it could not be good. After all, if it was just a matter of simple demonic antics, they would not have been gathered there as they were. The Colosseum was packed as tight as could be, every angel in Heaven present for the meeting that had been called. No, for something of this scale, it must be something serious indeed.

Evangeline squirmed in her seat. They had been waiting for almost half an hour before anything had happened, and although no one dared leave, everyone was getting a bit anxious. Finally, the Archangel Michael appeared, and the whole Colosseum went silent. He looked around with cold golden eyes, and then addressed the crowd. "My brothers and sisters, something vile has come to us." He started. "Although we first suspected it to be demons, as is usually the case, this was, most definitely, not." There were some murmurs. What could cause that, if not demons? "It is something serious, something that could destroy the very world we have worked so hard to serve in our Father's name. Something that we must all be vigilant about."

"And so, we have devised a plan to deal with it." Gabriel chimed in, appearing right beside his brother. Michael acknowledged him with a tilt of his head. "This is not something we can take lightly, or let go unhandled. We must take action now, before it can spread and wreak more havoc." Evangeline watched intently. What exactly was going on?

"We will be creating a special task force of six unique angels and six unique... Partners to go together and find the items that can be used to seal this contagion once again. Now, those who are called, please report forward... Hanabriel. Laurel. Evangeline. Janid. Kaise. Neandel." Evangeline was shocked. Her? Why? She was fairly high in the rank, but... Not to the 'the world is in danger' rank. Stunned, the crowd parted for her as she slowly made her way down to the pit and met up with the other five. Michael nodded at them.

"Gabriel will finish briefing everyone, you six, come with me. I will tell you about it as we fly to rendezvous with those that we are working with." Evangeline nodded, and followed the angels into the sky. Who exactly were they working with? It must be humans... Right? Strong humans, or possibly world leaders, working with angels? She listened intently to Michael's explanation, horrified at the creatures she would face, but determined to not be defeated. Finally, they touched down, prepared to meet the partners that they would be working with to find the artifacts. But when she got there, her eyes widened in surprise at the creatures already waiting at the rendezvous point. She was going to be working with... Demons?!

 

[NekoQueen49]

"For the mightiest," Belial continued with a slight glare in Lilith's direction, "you will be working directly under me. Nazareth, Kirine, Barbatos, Aamon, Brifrons, and Gaap, follow me." Most of the demons chosen, Barbatos and Gaap especially chortled with laughter. Belial apparently had chosen not only the strongest but the cruelest demons possible. Personally, Marbas was glad to see them go. Those guys were evil for the sake of being evil. Marbas usually did his thing to have fun. But then, it might have not have been so different, them and Marbas. Marbas just had a different sense of what was fun and not. Two of the six had wings, using them to fly to Belial while the others pushed and shoved the other demons from their path, causing more mayhem in their wake.

"SILENCE!" Lilith shouted even louder than Baal had but her voice didn't carry as much weight as his had. The crowd continued to riot though it had calmed somewhat from the girl's scream until Baal once again bellowed for her sake. It was without words and so seemed even scarier than his first cry. Immediately, the demons settled down which annoyed Lilith to a great degree. She heaved a sigh before continuing.

"Agares, Marbas, Kimaris, Gremory, Valac, and Bune," Lilith called with the sigh still in her voice. Marbas raised an eyebrow at his name. Though, he shouldn't be surprised. He was really intelligent, thank you for noticing. But he didn't know if he liked the idea of 'working for the man' as it were. Even so, Marbas dutifully if reluctantly rose and moved towards Lilith. He didn't have wings but didn't feel like putting forth the effort of pushing through the crowd like the violent did and so hopped from spike to spike that circled the crowd in, much like the one he was previously sitting on.

Marbas met with the others of the group a little late but didn't seemed bothered by it very much. Seeing him show up, Lilith turned on her heel and passed into a door that remained behind the Six. Marpas smirked at his leaders as he passed but they largely ignored him. He followed back behind Gremory's large back into what looked like a tiny room. It still comfortably fit the seven of them so Marbas didn't try to complain.

"So, Lily," Kimaris began as the doors closed.

"Don't call me Lily," Lily interrupted. So going to call you that from now, Marbas thought while Kimaris continued.

"-What exactly is this plague that you mentioned oh-so-cryptically?"

"We don't know for sure exactly. Just that the humans apparently have released a great atrocity that threatens not just them, but our lives as well. It may have already killed off all humankind, but that may just be rumors. No one wants to investigate for obvious reasons," she explained.

"Oh so we're going to be the sacrifice?!" Valac growled. His orange-red eyes glinted in his anger along with a few of the others. Marbas just frowned.

"No, we have found a way to look into the matter without sacrificing anyone. If we were going to do that, we wouldn't have told you so much. Instead we would sent you in blindly."

"That's reassuring," Marbas added sarcastically as the doors opened. The room was much larger than the one they had just exited, decked out with cozy furniture that was too bright for Marbas to be comfortable sitting in. In fact, everything about this room was uncomfortable to the bright blue walls from the plush white carpet below his black boots. It seemed... too holy. The reason for which was answered with the approaching new comers. Marbas recognized the angels a mile away. Their very presence made his skin itch and sent a shudder through his body.

He wasn't the only one who felt this way as one of his fellow demons growled, "What are the winged rodents doing 'ere?"

"We're going to be working with them," Lily admitted softly, scowl showing her absolute pleasure at the idea. She crossed her arms underneath her large breasts, pouting like a small child. "Micheal," she sneered as a greeting.

 

[Forever For Never]

Evangeline was frozen with shock at the sight of the demons before her. Why were there demons here? They couldn't possibly be teaming up with demons!! Even if these creatures, if this plague, was that horrible... How could demons be the answer to it? She shook her head in disbelief. Had the world really come to this?

"Lilith," Michael greeted, his blue eyes cold. Just like her, he did not particularly want to be here. But, desperate times called for desperate measures, and so, after discussing with the rest of the archangels, they had reached out to the demons for aid in this crisis. After all, the demons were being affected too. "Be calm, everyone," he said sternly to the rest of the angels, many of whom were tensed in preparation for battle. He should have explained to them on the way here, but he feared that, if they knew, they would not agree.

"Because of the misfortune that has happened... Everyone will be working together to free the world of this calamity, before it ends us all." The angels glanced at each other uncertainly. "You see, the seals that will seal these... Leviathans, as we call them, are guarded by the utmost security. In fact, they are guarded as such that the powers of not only angels, but demons as well will have to be used to uncover them." The angels were silent, but some reluctantly nodded their heads. "None of us wanted it to come to this, but... It is of grave importance that all of you," he stared harshly at the demons, "cooperate in this. The fate of the world rests in your hands."

"There are six seals that, together, can defeat this plague," Michael continued. "Each is guarded by several tests that require, once again, the powers of angels and demons alike. And so, we have predetermined the partnership of each angel and demon, based on your unique skill sets." He cleared his throat and procured a slip of paper from his pocket.

"Hanabriel and Kimaris, you will go after the first seal." Hanabriel huffed, but stepped forward nonetheless, staring at the demon across from him. "Evangeline and Marbas, you will go after the second seal..." Evangeline had stopped listening to him after her name was announced as she looked toward the demon she would be paired with. He had long red hair and cold, cold demon eyes. She resisted shuddering. Did she really have to do this?

"When Michael was done reading off the names, he nodded. "Okay, pair up please. Here we have instructions for how to find the seals." He handed each of the six angels a slip of paper. "Now... Good luck to you all. And, at all costs: do not fail."

With those words, Evangeline felt a shiver run down her spine. This was serious. She met the demon--Marbas--'s eyes, and made her way over to him. "I'm, um, Evangeline," she greeted, forcing a smile onto her face. "So, here are the directions..." She held them out for him to see.

 

[NekoQueen49]

Marbas eyed the angels with interest. Sure their holy aura made his skin itch but they were interesting too. He rarely saw one outside of the battlefield. Even if they gearing up for a battle now, they still weren't trying to tear his head off. Whether he was performing an evil deed or not, all angels treated him as though he were a threat. Then again, most of the time Marbas was a threat.

He smirked as Micheal glared at his group while most of the other demons rolled their eyes. Cooperation wasn't really in a demon's nature. Just like saving the world wasn't. Saving their own hides, however, was a different story entirely. Marbas didn't know about the other, but he had the sense to know the difference.

Leveling with the angel he was stuck with, Marbas gave her a short, friendly wave. It was kinda cute how she put up her guard so quickly. "Hello there, sweetie pie," he grinned at her greeting. "I'm Marbas. Also known as Markath or you can also call me Mark. But for a cutie like you, I might even let you call me Markie." He looked down at her offer of the map. "Oh I know that place! The Cobolt Chasms? That's um, that's er... Hard to explain. Do you know where the Burning Lands are? It's a bit south of there."

 

[Forever For Never]

Evangeline felt herself blush slightly at the nicknaming, but frowned. It wasn't even that she didn't acknowledge that, for a demon, he was fairly attractive, but at the same time she didn't particularly want to be flirted with by a demon... But that was just how some of them were, wasn't it? It wasn't that angels were prude about sexuality, that was a common misconception. They did not hide that they did engage in such activities, as it was natural and, well, fun for both parties. However, there were certain ways to court one, and this demon was not particularly doing it right.

"Well, I guess I'll call you Mark then," she said carefully, still wary. He was being abnormally friendly, concerning that they were supposed to be enemies, but at the same time she was relieved that they were, for the most part, getting along so far. "I've actually not been to The Cobalt Chasms," she said. "If it's south of the Burning Lands though... I guess I do have a faint idea of where it is." She squinted at the instructions. It did not quite specify that they needed to bring anything, but at the same time she wanted to be prepared for whatever lie ahead.

"If you do already know where they are, would you care to lead the way?" Evangeline asked, looking up at the demon. Yes, for a demon he was quite cute, but the demonic energy he radiated made her want to stand far away from him. She resisted the urge, not wanting to be rude. "Or is there anything you think we should prepare for before we depart?"

 

[NekoQueen49]

Marbas chuckled at Evangeline's guarded expression. He really could grow to like this angel. Or at least teasing her. It's been awhile since he's seen a reaction quite like that, a shy one instead of the girl flirting back. That's fun as well, don't get him wrong but the new had it's novelty.

At her mention of bringing supplies, Mark hummed, crossing his arms across his chest while he thought. The demon glanced his partner up and down, slowly in the hopes of making her uncomfortable. The main reason was to assess her outfit on whether or not it could do well in the Burning Lands. Which, one could tell by the name, was gonna be hot. And she was wearing... A dress? Definitely not something you'd wanna wear to a place that's gonna be on fire. "Maybe a change of clothes, sweet cheeks? The place is gonna be on literal fire. Bring your weapon with you if don't have it already. There's rapid fire beasts there and you're gonna wanna have protection. And do angels need food? If so, we should get some of that as well."

 

[Forever For Never]

Evangeline looked down at what she was wearing, feeling self-conscious under the demon's gaze. She supposed that he was right, it was not the most practical choice for the Burning Lands. "Yeah... I guess you're right." She said. "Your outfit doesn't seem to be the most practical either though... But I do have my weapon on me." The angel pulled a shining sword out of what seemed to be midair, letting the light reflect off of it, before pushing it back into its invisible sheath, making it seem as though it was vanishing once more.

She thought for a moment. "I do need food, yes, not that much though. How about we both go change and gather some food of our liking, then regroup here and prepare to head to the Burning Lands?" The idea of a place wasn't the most pleasant, she didn't particularly like the heat, but if it was to save the world, it was something that she could endure. She could hold her own in most fights, but she wasn't sure about this place that she had never been, and she wasn't sure if she trusted this demon to look out for her...

 

[NekoQueen49]

"Mine, not practical?" Marbas scoffed, folding his arms over his chest. "It might not look like it but this is 100% fireproof, darling. You might know this, being from Heaven and all, but some parts of Hell have random spurts of flame. So demons are pretty much required to wear something fire proof unless you wanna buy new clothes every other week. Which, granted, people do, but the rest of us it's just a pain." If Marbas sounded condescending, he didn't really care.

Because he didn't need to change his clothes, the demon didn't really know what to get for his side. His own weapon was resting on his waist, a sword like Evie's. Maybe he could get food? But Marbas didn't really eat much either. Even so, he grinned brightly. "That sounds wonderful, my darling angel."