Up in Heaven, Tyrael and Anaurael were walking together towards the Courts of Justice. For the first time in a very long time, he was eager to go back to his old inner sanctum. He kept an arm around her, as they walked calmly. He had to remain calm to keep things on a down low. Izarius followed dutifully twenty paces behind them to give them a sense of privacy.
"So, what questions did you have for me?" he asked.
"You will find out after you have rested," she said.
"Right," he mused and nodded. El'druin was back on his hip, as they walked.
"You say that you removed your wings as an act of judgment?" she asked.
"I did. I wanted to show that I was no longer going to stand aside to watch innocents in need being relentlessly slaughtered. I had to help mankind. And, with the Burning Hells acting in full, and the High Heavens doing nothing, it enraged me. I couldn't stand in the sidelines any longer. I couldn't intervene in secrecy. My acts were discovered and called on, so it was pointless. The angels should have intervened the moment the demons started to. Practically all of them were stubborn. And Imperius...he was consumed with a bitter rage at everything."
"Yes. He confessed much to me," she nodded. "He also confessed that you were right."
"What?" he blinked and looked at her.
"He saw what he was becoming. But...his pride refused to let him admit it," she said sadly. "He knew you were right in removing the Black Soulstone, too. When he saw the corruption in his new lieutenant, he realized just how bad it was. He honestly had no idea."
"Interesting to know."
"Just don't go storming off at him about this."
"Never!"
"Good," she chuckled. As they continued to walk, Izarius shouted an alarm from where he was behind them. If he was closer, he would have blocked it. Tyrael was bowled over and knocked into a wall. Anaurael screamed when she was hauled onto a large shoulder. The troublesome lieutenant was the cause, and he was all too pleased that his ploy worked. Now that he had her in his grasp, Izarius could not intervene for fear of hurting her.
"We are going on a little trip together," he snorted. Then he paused at the sight of Imperius appearing. He was glowing with controlled rage.
"Set down my champion. Now," Imperius ordered.
"I think not!" the angel growled.
"Titharius...do not make me warn you again," Imperius growled. "or I will believe you have gone rogue! Set her down!"
"You want her back?! Fine. Meet me in Pandemonium," the now rogue angel said and teleported off with her. She should have been able to teleport away from him, but the sudden attack muddled her defenses. That was what he hoped would happen. At the sight of Auriel and Itherael in front of the Pandemonium gates, he snarled out, "Back off! Now! Or I will kill her!"
"It is fine," Malthael said. "Let him take this girl where he wishes. He will end up dead, anyways. He is now hunted by all of the High Heavens."
"But...!" Itherael started.
"This is sacrilege! Release her!" Auriel said.
"I'll snap her neck!" Titharius warned and held her in front of him with one hand on her skull. Her body was pulled taught against his to show he meant it. Auriel was at a complete loss. Itherael seemed to tremble, but they relented and let him through the gate. He threw her back onto his shoulder and sped through it. Imperius was hot on his heels, though. So were Izarius, Darius, Mithus, and Azarius.
"Why?" she asked him.
"Keep quiet, mortal!" he scowled at her and leapt over a chasm. She was defenseless. She lacked her armor and weapon. He tossed her down and drew out his sword. "I shall silence you and make Imperius whole once more! If his Light is trapped in mortal filth, then let it fly free!"
When he rose up his weapon, the demons attacked him. He shouted and fought them off, but only after he succeeded that did he find his quarry stolen away. The demons put up a ruse to distract him, and it worked. They stole her from him now. He snorted, figured the demons would kill her, and turned to go back. He did not expect to see Imperius glaring at him. Now he was in dire circumstances for sure.
"Where? Is? She?" he asked in careful, slow measures.
"Stolen from me..." Titharius muttered.
"Restrain him. Quarantine him. I need to find her!" Imperius said to his troop. "Izarius! You have a part of yourself in her mind! Can you track her?"
"You cannot find her?" Izarius asked.
"I cannot. Her mind is in turmoil, because of me. I cannot calm down. Can you sense her?" Imperius asked. "Please, tell me that you can!"
"I can! Follow me!" he nodded and ran ahead. They let the others restrain the rogue lieutenant to be taken back to the High Heavens. Now that Anaurael was being tracked down, she found herself in a cave. She was surrounded by Fallen grunts and Overseers. There were even a few Shamans there, too. She was choking back on her nausea from the intense smells of rot, feces, and old blood. She could only curl up within herself to keep away from the hands that tried to touch her. At the leering face of a tall, thin Fallen Shaman, and of the stench of old rot on his breath, she found herself cringing.
"This is the one?" a Shaman grunted.
"Yes! Smells of stink!" a small grunt gibbered.
"Good. Maybe have fun later. Maybe now," a larger demon slathered at her. When a large hand moved to grope her, the Shaman smacked away the hand with a staff.
"Not yet! Bait first! Then fun!" the demon scowled. Now there was an argument and a scuffle. The larger Overseer didn't want to wait. He ran the successful attack and wanted the spoils first. When she closed her eyes, she saw Malthael crouching before her.
"Let me take over," he said softly and ran a hand over her cheek. "I will save you."
"But..." she whimpered. He pulled her into a hug.
"This once. Trust me," he whispered. She nodded and gave him full control.
By the time Imperius and Izarius got down into the cave, they were standing in a place of death. She had berserked into a rage, crushed all of the demons with her bare hands, and was covered head to toe in their blood. And, for the first time Imperius could recall, her hair was wet from the blood of the demons she just killed. She had just finished crushing the windpipe of the Shaman that tried to defend her beneath her feet. In her left hand was a heart that she just tore out of a small Fallen's chest to let it fall to the floor and get stomped on. Anything that twitched found itself torn apart. Only after there was no movement, did she finally fall to the blood-stained floor. Her mark was in a brilliant, furious glow of anger and rage. She was gasping for air from the severity of her attack.
"Anaurael?!" Izarius asked. Imperius could only stare with a form of cold satisfaction at the room. But now he saw her mental state and went into shock.
"She is unable to speak," Malthael said. "Help her."
"Prepare a bath for her!" Imperius grounded out and lifted her into his arms. Izarius nodded and quickly left to do just that. He was in shock at what his little sister was forced to do to survive.
"I had to take over to help her. I pushed her body to the limits. If I did not, they would have taken advantage of her. As for the rogue angel..." Malthael growled.
"He is under control," Imperius growled out in the same manner. A nod was given in response.
"And Tyrael?"
"Also being restrained from joining the hunt. He suffered a bruise from the attack that Titharius did. He was struck against the wall fairly hard."
"Console her first. Then let him see her."
"I was planning on that!" Imperius snorted and made it back to the portal of the High Heavens with her. When he appeared, he went straight into her bedroom chamber. "This gown. I liked it. If it cannot be cleaned, destroy it. Same with her shoes. Give me her circlet. I'll clean it now. Same with her rings. Izarius, clean her thoroughly!"
"Of course!" Izarius nodded. Imperius took the jewelry and vanished quickly to the forge. While he worked on that, she was getting a thorough scrubbing from head to toe. Only after she was cleaned was the water changed out swiftly for her to be set back in to get a luxurious soaking. She was still silent at everything that happened. Her mark was flaring out in a form of anger and rage. At least her hair was dry again. That relieved him. After looking around to ensure that they were alone, he whispered, "Vent to me. None others are here."
"I want to kill him..." she whispered in a dazed trance.
"Who?"
"The one who kidnapped me."
"No. You will not be allowed."
"I saw them. The demons. They tried to touch me. To do things to me. Malthael saved me. He had me let him gain full control of my body. He turned me into a complete weapon of destruction."
"And...on doing this...?"
"I have never felt...so much hatred and loathing..." she finally whimpered and sobbed. He pulled her wet body into his arms to hug her tight.
"Titharius is under complete monitoring now. He will go on trial. Tyrael is insisting to judge his fate. Even though he is no longer Justice, his Wisdom will still be respected," Izarius whispered and rocked her. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and decided to take her out of the bath. He dried her off gently and rocked her. "You are safe now."
"But...for how long...?" she trembled. All he did was squeeze her and continue to rock her.