Notes: This is where the story gets more serious, and where Wallace comes in. It's dramatic and probably overblown, but enjoy anyway! Special thanks to Bunny-chan2022, who was apparently the only person who read the last chapter. Thank you, Bunny-chan! :D As for the rest of you: even if you didn't review, thanks for reading!

Chapter 14: The Arrival

"I don't want this… I don't want this…" Souichi muttered to himself.

"So don't have it. Tell him to go away. What do you care?"

"He's carrying my child…"

"He can take care of it on his own. His brother will probably help him."

"Why are you telling me this? Didn't you want me to stay with him?"

"Why are you crying?"

"I am NOT crying!" Souichi screamed at the top of his lungs, not caring if the neighbors heard. He wiped at his eyes furiously, angry at the moisture that streaked his hands.

"You're drunk again."

"That's all I want. I just don't want to deal with this! I can't!"

"Then make him stay away. You don't love him, do you?"

"I- I…"

"You don't need him."

"I don't know…"

"You don't like what he does to you. You don't think he's handsome and fun to be with. You don't think he's cute when he pouts."

"Shut up…"

"And that feeling you get when he tells you he loves you?"

"Mori…"

"That's just indigestion."

"Morinaga…"

Weakness. Souichi scowled at himself in the mirror, remembering those drunken rants. He'd been so weak then; helpless, like a child. Was he still confused? Hell yes. But he now knew that he would stay with Tetsuhiro no matter what. He wanted to see their child come into the world. He was looking forward to it, even if he was afraid for their future together. More pressing, though, was that he didn't have any excuses. His family was nuts, as usual, so they supported him 100%. He and Tetsuhiro had help with inter-dimensional transportation thanks to Isogai. He couldn't think of any reason to bail out on this.

The human splashed water in his face, rubbing vigorously. Tetsuhiro was almost ready to go. After months of dreading it, he had finally gotten the news. "Senpai, it'll be soon..." Surprisingly, he felt calmer than he'd imagined. He often saw depictions of harried fathers on TV, rushing around like they were totally out of touch with their minds. He wasn't reacting like that. It was true that his hands were shaking as he dialed Isogai's number, and that he'd needed Tetsuhiro to remind him to pack his own suitcase. But he was certainly in control of himself.

"How do you feel?" he asked when he emerged from the bathroom. Tetsuhiro was on the couch, one hand over his abdomen.

"OK," he said. "He's starting to shift a lot. I can feel him looking for a way out, I guess!" The angel smiled good-naturedly despite his discomfort. "This isn't nearly as bad as what human women go through."

"Good," Souichi walked to the balcony doors and glanced out at the sky. Just looking at Tetsuhiro made him feel calmer. If his kouhai wasn't worried, then he didn't have any reason to be.

Isogai arrived fifteen minutes later. "Wow, Morinaga-kun!" he said with a smile when Tetsuhiro opened the door. "You look about ready to pop!"

"Thanks for coming," Tetsuhiro said with as much gentility as he could muster. Whether he liked it or not, Isogai was their savior in this instance.

"So, when do you think it'll be born?" the demon asked as he stepped into the apartment.

"Hard to say. Tonight or tomorrow."

"Well, we'd better get you to Celest quick, then! You ready to go, Mori-kun? Sou-kun?"

"I've called Dad and put in for vacation," Souichi said, picking up his and Tetsuhiro's small suitcases (they only planned to say for a maximum of a few days). "Let's go and get this over with."

VVVVV

The new king of Demic surveyed his new kingdom, adjusted the new crown on his head, and fell back into the new cushions on his brand-new couch. Life was good. Wallace had received several gifts in honor of his inauguration, and everyone agreed that he had done a great job of crowning himself. The ceremony was spectacular. "Invite them for free food, and they'll go along with anything," he said to himself.

"Sire?" A black shape glided across the floor. It was accompanied by a white one. Each moved like shadows, conforming to whatever object they passed over.

"Just talking to myself," Wallace said. "How goes the search?"

"The wisps haven't reported back yet," Wallace could only tell that it was the white shape speaking by the airy quality to the voice. It sounded like wind made verbal, genderless. "I estimate there to be several dozen angels currently in Demic."

"So many," the king scowled. "Bah. Dozens of vermin in my kingdom… How about the bodachs?"

"Every gate is guarded," the black shape said. Its voice was scratchier, more high-pitched than the wisp. "All demons living in Celest have been located—there are 33. We're ready to move out any time you like."

"Wait for the report from the wisps. I'll issue orders once I know how many angels we have to expel."

"What about Earth?"

"Leave it for now. We'll deal with humans and human-lovers in due time. There shouldn't be any in Demic or Celest, so we can save them for later."

"And if we do find one?"

Wallace glared out the window, as if he could already see the reviled creatures running for their lives. "Eliminate it."

VVVVV

It became apparent that something was amiss as soon as they entered Celest. Isogai didn't lead them down the street, but stood still and looked around for a moment. Souichi glanced around, too; it was still early in the evening, but very few angels were out. Isogai reached for his cigarette pack. "'S quiet out tonight," he said. "I don't like that… Let's go."

"What's wrong?" Souichi asked. Unconsciously, he took Tetsuhiro's hand in his. The angel squeezed it reassuringly.

"There's a weird energy here…" Isogai said, motioning for his friends to follow him as he began walking up the road. "Of course, that's not too unusual since Wallace came to power in Demic. Some say he's talking about starting up a war… whatever that means. It's not like he has a real army."

"What about bad-ass demon powers and all that?" Souichi asked.

"Oh, sure, we have cool powers. But demons are some of the worst soldiers you could ever get. We're not really motivated to fight for anyone else unless it serves our own interests. I'll put it this way—as inspiring an orator as Hitler was, he'd be laughed out of Germany if it were populated by demons."

"That probably would have been better for Earth," Tetsuhiro said. He was taking slow steps, holding his abdomen with one hand and breathing deeply.

"Almost there," Isogai said. Tetsuhiro recognized his brother's neighbors' houses all around them, and he sped up a little. He was eager to sit down again.

VVVVV

"Sire, I've just heard from the bodachs," the black shadow said, gliding into Wallace's room once more.

"Oh? And no news from the wisps?"

"No. But the bodachs have detected movement in Celest…"

"So? Just add them to the roster." Wallace scowled at his minion. He adjusted his red bathrobe, shivering a bit as water cooled on his skin. "Really, why do you have to bother me now with trivial bullshit?"

"Uh, Sire, there were three people who entered Celest just now…"

"AND?"

"Only one was an angel. Another was a demon."

The king paused while reaching for the servant bell. "And… the third?"

"A human."

"In Celest? With an angel and a demon?"

"That's right, Sire."

"Hmmm…" Wallace stroked his chin thoughtfully, his craving for canapés forgotten. "I wonder what that's about? You don't think they're plotting something against me, do you?"

"Uh… I don't see why they would…" the bodach said. If it had a head it would have scratched it. Why did the king always have to think people were after him? That was one delusion that had spurred his ambition to become king in the first place—he always thought people were plotting against him, and so it only made sense that he should have the power to have them executed for treason. It served his ego to believe that.

"I still want to know what they're up to," Wallace said. "Send some wisps to find out."

"Yes, Sire," the shadow was gone in the blink of an eye. Less than three minutes later, a contingent of white wisps was heading towards Celest.

TBC

Well, let me know how it was! Particularly, what do you think of Wallace? Trust me, odds are you'll come to despise him in the next chapter or so. If not, I'm not doing this right.

Anyway, now that these two plotlines are about to intersect, what's going to happen? I already have the next few chapters written, so expect another update soon! ^^