I quit writing fan fiction for about six months due to personal issues and progressing from being an undergraduate to being unemployed. Decided to come back a bit - so this chapter is majorly to shake off the dust. Forgive any cobwebs that may have accumulated over time. And enjoy - to those who enjoy.

Et Cetera

Rossweisse

"So, it has come to this."

I turned my attention to the All-Father. He stroked his beard. Once, twice, and a third time, his eyes closed in contemplation. I wanted to ask something, or to say something, anything, in order to remove the oppressive air against the room. I preferred the All-Father when he was laughing and smiling jovially, grinning, and even making perverted jokes at my expense.

I would take the harsh reminder about my constant lack of a love-life, over the cold chill which was present on his face.

We stood at the Bifrost Bridge, Heimdall, standing, his sword placed in front of him. Lord Thor stood beside the All-Father, and, even Loki was present, a small, ironic smirk on his face. I resisted the urge to say something to him, as we looked on towards Midgard, and noticed the destruction and chaos that lay beneath.

Loki chuckled.

"Do you believe any of this to be humorous?"

The words had slipped out of my mouth before I could rein myself in. My breath rapidly increased as I resisted the urge to draw my blade and smite down the man who would dare make light of the suffering and torment of millions.

He turned his gaze to me, a sneer on his face. "Watch your tone, Valkyrie."

"No. The noble Rossweisse is right." I felt my cheeks burn slightly, as Lord Thor himself spoke up in my defense.

"Brother, you would laugh in the face of the torment of the Midgardians?"

Loki merely chuckled once more. "And what would you have me do dearest brother? Weep? Mourn? For the lives of those that I could care not the slightest?"

I growled. "They are innocents! Dying! Suffering by the thousands –"

"And here you are, arguing with me about it."

The response caught me off guard. I couldn't stop myself from flinching, nor could I from stepping back, even as I clenched my fists and grit my teeth.

"Hate me all you want Valkyrie –" Loki said, his palpable sneer never leaving his face. "But you are aware, that if we truly wanted to help them, we could. But… we're not. The All-Father, bless his eternal wisdom, must have some, justifiable reason, for remaining here, safe, from the danger and conflict."

"You dare!"

"Rossweisse."

Lord Odin's voice stilled my movement, though, just barely. I could still hear the sound of my own breaths, still feel the slight pounding in my ears and the phantom itch to draw my blade and cleave down the offender who would dare suggest that the All-Father did not want to save the lives of the humans because he was… afraid.

That – that couldn't possibly be the case right?

I turned my eyes back towards the All-Father, and his expression was silent, and grim.

No –

"All-Father –"

It wasn't possible.

"I have seen the faces of those who attack Midgard," Heimdall spoke, his voice stirring me. "They are Outsiders. Beings from a world beyond my perception – their powers…"

The taste of copper assaulted my mouth. It was only then I realized how hard I was biting down on my teeth.

"It is time."

I snapped my attention towards the All-Father, as did everyone else at the three words he uttered.

"Father?"

"Heimdall. Share with them what you see."

The Gatekeeper of the Bifrost closed his eyes, and he opened them once more, before, a small smile appeared on his face.

"The sentinels of Heaven have descended to Midgard."

I blinked, before, slowly, my eyes widened.

"Angels?"

The All-Father spun around, facing all of us. For the first time since I had known and served him, the man in front of me was not a peaceful and benevolent ruler. He was not a jovial and friendly father. He was not a perverted and ebullient old man.

No. The man in front of me, was the Ruler and King of Asgard.

"WARRIORS OF ASGARD!"

His roar stirred them. Materializing, one after the other, in the hundreds, in the thousands, the armies of Odin gathered. My breathing felt lighter, a shiver trembled down my form, and a weight, a heavy burden, fell from my shoulders.

"Midgard faces a threat. It faces an invasion of beings from this realm. It faces an attack by Outsiders – they have come to destroy what was never theirs."

It was the first time I saw the All-Father switch his robes, a majestic conflagration of tiny lights, like sparkling fireflies, engulfed him. Gone were the simple robes, and in place, stood a garment of battle, an armor that all Asgardians had sworn to never again see – The Destroyer.

"The Angels have descended down in protection of their home, and we, the proud warriors of Asgard, WILL NOT SIT IDLY BY!"

The roars were deafening, the chants were ear-numbing, yet, completely uplifting.

"We will show Midgard," he paused, "Nay, we will show all the Nine Realms, the Angels, the Humans, the Devils, and all the Pantheons, the STRENGTH OF ASGARD!"

"FOR ASGARD!"

"FOR ASGARD!"

The battle cries had gotten me wound up, and I did not even realize when I had begun chanting alongside with them, chanting, with my people, who I knew, would never idly sit back and watch as dozens of innocents died. I knew, that we would fight – that we would protect the world, even if it came at the price of exposing the supernatural to all of humanity. Their survival was the most important thing, and I was glad and proud, as we trooped out through the Bifrost, to be an Asgardian.

"Tomogoroshi no Haikotsu."

Until all of it – turned to ash.

Freed

The most dangerous people in the fucking world are the guys who have got nothing to lose. When the chips are down and you know you're fucked, sideways, downways and all-ways, then you go out, and you say 'fuck it'.

Now these people aren't just dangerous because they are willing to do insane, life-ending shit, they're dangerous because they're willing to do stupid, life-ending shit.

And fucking trust me when I say, there is nothing more dangerous than a stupid person with nothing to lose.

"Ugh… fucking damn it… Never taken a hit that hard before…"

There was a sharp ringing in my ears, like the cellphones of a million call girls during a bonanza for virgins. Dryly, I realized that my right arm was popped out of my socket, and there was the feeling of something sharp and pointy digging into my ribs.

There was the good ol' red stuff, gushing out of my sides, making me curse in irritation. Fuck, it was extremely hard to get blood stains out of these priest robes. I was also certain that the shitty laundromats would be closed on account of the apocalypse; those cunts were always looking for a reason to skip out on an honest day's job.

Unlike me of course. I was a hard worker to the fullest – bonafide, and confirmed.

By the time my eyes started doing the only good fucking thing they were used for, I realized that Mr. Fucking-Giant-Purple-Samurai had vanished, alongside with a good portion of the road, the street, the tarmac – hell, I'd call this guy for my birthday party because it was one hell of a trick.

Of course he also tried to make me vanish as well, and that was a no-no. Freed-fucking-Selzen does not appreciate people who try to make him vanish.

I got up to my feet, and felt the good red stuff pump through my veins as my eyes flickered back and forth around my surroundings, taking into notice what had been fucked up, how badly it had been fucked up, and what was the closest thing I could fuck up in order to deal with this fucked up situation.

"Oi! Ray Ray – you still alive?"

It'd be real fucking shame if she'd died. One, because it would be a waste of such prime fucking material. Two, because I was a human, and she was a fucking angel, and if I survived nearly being sat on by a fucking giant purple samurai, and she didn't, then she ought to kill herself for being that fucking pathetic.

I mean – fuck!

Sure, I was a bit banged up here and there – but it was all good. So far as my heart was still pumping blood into my system, I could live with that.

"Need some fucking alcohol."

The Apocalypse is no place for a sober man – Freed Selzen, circa 2000.

I needed to get wasted. Seriously, over the top wasted. Though I'd been stealing some Xboxes earlier, I wasn't a fucking moron. It'll only be a matter of time till electricity was completely gone, and then, I'd be smashing the device to use as tinder, to keep my balls and ass from freezing off.

Now where the fuck was the nearest liquor store damn it?

Oh yeah, flattened.

"This is what you fucking get Japan! Next time, don't fucking create so many shitty, goddamned monster movies! Oh wait, that's right – there won't be a fucking next time, because you're all going to be killed by a FUCKING GIANT SAMURAI!"

I panted a little bit. Fuck, it hurt my ribs to scream – hell, it hurt just to breathe, and here I was ranting like a lunatic. Well, like more of a lunatic.

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuckity Fucking FUCK!"

FUCKKKKK!

I needed to kill something. I needed to kill something now. Wait, no – fuck that. I needed to be drunk. And I needed to be fucking something too. Shit. This was one of those conundrums that I was sure the Vikings had all the time. I wanted to kill. I wanted to drink. I wanted to fuck. Could I do all three at once? Of course I could. Who the fuck had the right to tell me otherwise? No one – that's who.

No one, except my own fucking body apparently. Fuck – I was already seeing double, and it wasn't the good, wasted-beyond-all-fucking-reason seeing double, but the 'your-body-is-slowly-fucking-dying' seeing double. All that red stuff pouring out of my sides was probably the main cause. It'd probably need some good patchwork – the kind and type that came rarer than a virgin succubus during the apocalypse. They'd probably give some petty excuse 'oh, I can't treat you – the world is ending!' feh. Fucking doctors. I was sure that my good ol' friend would be capable of convincing them otherwise.

I tapped my side. My good ol' friend was missing.

"Fuck. Can this day get any! Fucking! Worse?!"

Yeah fate – I'm fucking tempting you. I'm tempting you with my fucking gorgeous ass. COME AT ME YOU SHITTY FUCKER!

A loud, overwhelming siren immediately took over the immediate vicinity. I knew what that siren was for – and I never fucking thought I'd hear it.

Nuclear attack warnings.

I took in a deep breath.

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU –"

Fang

The fire was hot.

Normally, I would not be making such obvious declarations, but given the circumstances of these flames, I had to make the distinction. I had not yet encountered heavy forms of battle in my service to my King, and generally, I was never in any form of true danger.

This scenario was different, as I had arrived, just a shadow of a few seconds too late, and watched as the car swerved into the gas station, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth as I watched the family of four, with the little boy and girl in the back, be completely engulfed by a ball of flame from the sizable explosion.

The shockwave hit my skin and passed through like ripples of water, a benefit of Devilish physiology as such forms of damage could not truly harm me in such little force.

The resounding fireball however, had left me quite singed.

The fires weren't burning or scorching, but felt like someone had splashed me with partially boiled water, enough to be a hindrance, but not enough to be immediately fatal.

My Kuoh Academy uniform however, had not fared as well as I had.

It would be a hassle to get a new one, but considering the extenuating circumstances, I didn't believe I would ever need a new one.

Still, I turned my gaze over to the fire, to the car, barely managing to make out the burnt husks that were inside.

I had not been able to save them. The thought irked me, the failure of once more watching as life slipped between my fingers, a casual passing observer, witnessing the unsightly death of more people, and yet, accepting it.

It did not matter. I turned my attention away from the wreckage and flames, and focused my vision in the direction of Kuoh Academy. I needed to get back to Rias. I was her sword and shield, and though she was certainly capable on her own, it was my duty as her knight to be by her side.

What a night I had chosen to go on a walk.

Akeno's teasing had gone slightly farther than normal, and she had seemed too interested in the affair to not let it drop. My King had gotten curious as well, and I had no choice but to merely choose this walk was a method of calming myself.

Sometimes I wondered if My King believed I was gay. Or perhaps they thought I was simply asexual, or that my drive for other things overwhelmed any form of ambient lust or desire I possessed. I was a boy, a teenage boy whose constant companions were two beautiful women that other men would kill and die for, and a younger, cuter girl that had the appeal of a sister. I was not a monk or a priest or a eunuch, but I was a Knight.

I was not blind to their attractiveness, nor was I to their sensuality. I had many dreams a night about the two of them, but I merely let those dreams stay as that – dreams. Coveting more would be insane. Even slightly hinting any form of interest would net me with a tag that I did not wish for. Both of them were far out of my dreams. They were not in the realm of possibility of someone like myself ever attaining. Perhaps, a careless fling here would be possible, but nothing more. I could not be emotionally or sexually invested, and with all of My King's belief that peerage was family, I doubted she would ever consider the idea of being with me as anything other than incest.

ARF! ARF!

A sound drew me from my thoughts. Barking. The barking of a dog, I realized. The dog, I noticed, was a German Shepherd – a rare breed in Japan – fully grown, growling, yet beckoning, with its one badly bleeding leg, and the large piece of metal attached viciously to the side of its neck.

I approached it gently, and then I tried to remove it, but it snarled instead, leaving me confused at the strange behavior, I followed it, easily, as it kept beckoning to me, and I found myself enraptured, as the dog made its way through the burning streets and littered cars, upturned dirt and destroyed roads, until we eventually came to a stop at a house.

Perhaps it would be best instead to simply call it the 'remains' of a house. Collapsed, tattered, the roof having caved in and the walls haven fallen, the brown dog still beckoned over to me, and eventually, I followed it. Slowly, I began hearing the sounds and yells of someone beckoning for help, along with large, heavy thumps, the sound reminding me of a fist slamming into something wooden.

I rushed past the dog, moving until the sounds and yells came closer, the voice sounding clearer and distinctively feminine, until I eventually came across the source. There were two legs, sticking from underneath a large pile, the legs were clothed in pink pants, and a pair of fluffy, bunny slippers lay strewn aside beside them.

"Hold on!"

I was a Knight, not a Rook, and my specialty was speed rather than strength, however, I was still a devil, and the power of a race that was not of mankind flowed through me, oddly feeling like electricity arching inside my bloodstream. I moved, lifting the first heavy obstacle – a half destroyed television set, then went through the next, a keyboard pilfered entirely of its alphanumerical contents, then through pots and pans and pieces of the collapsed roof. Eventually, I had cleared all the way through it, as I found a table, sturdy and made from oak, I guessed that it was the only thing that had kept the person underneath from being crushed to death or worse. I lifted it up, and the sounds of coughs eventually entered my ears.

"Ugh… those manuals forgot to mention how to bury yourself out of debris. I'm so unsubscribing the first chance I get."

It took a while for the words to make sense to my ears, and I eventually shook my head at the nature of the girl I had found, dressed in dazzling pink pajamas, bespectacled, with her uncouth looking eyes hidden behind those lenses and her brown hair set freely, he had to blink twice.

Did I know her from somewhere?

"Thanks for… oh."

The manner in which she stopped as she stared at me did give me pause, there was no mistaking the recognition in her eyes.

"Saved – by the Prince of Kuoh Academy himself! My great apocalyptic life story has taken a turn for the romantic!"

I almost grimaced at the title, but instead, allowed the familiar kindling smile I wore to come up to my face, as I extended my arm out to her.

"Are you alright?"

She took the hand, and almost instantly leapt to her feet, before she gave out a tired sigh.

"No! I'm not alright! I've wasted valuable time being trapped underneath all that debris, now I'm so behind on my plans!"

My smile never left my face, but my eyebrow did raise, just a smidgen.

"Plans?"

"My plans for surviving the apocalypse!" she said, looking excited, before frowning "Though I totally had my money on either nuclear fallout or zombie virus outbreak. Definitely did not see an alien invasion happening."

I was not sure how to respond to that. Was anyone supposed to have a proper method to respond to that? Instead, I merely retained my polite smile and nodded.

"I see."

"So… What are you doing out here on your own Mr. Prince?" She blinked, "Ah, wait a minute – how in the world did you find me anyway?"

"That would be –"

"KIBA!"

I was caught off guard, for a second, until I realized she was not referring to me. She all but scrambled forward, stumbling across the way until she made it to the dog.

I was not often a person to believe in fate, or even destiny. Yet, in a world with God, it was hard for me to accept such things as coincidence. I watched as she gently did her best to remove the jagged metal embedded in the dog. It let out a small whine and groan that was almost saddening to see on such an impressive creature.

"You… you went to find help for me… didn't you boy?"

The dog whimpered.

"You –" her voice cracked "You didn't need to – all for me…"

It whined even further, cradling it's slightly bleeding form into the girl. It's eyes looked up to her, in a manner I could not explain, yet, in a manner that told all that it wanted to convey.

Did I do good?

"You…. Y-you … y-y-you did good boy. You did good. You were always a good boy. A good boy – yes you are."

I'd never seen a human being smile in their final moments. I'd never seen anyone or anything look satisfied in their demise. Yet, I saw it in the dog. Smiling. Largely smiling. Satisfied. Even as its eyes slowly closed. Even as it stopped moving.

Smiling.

I didn't know what to do. I wasn't sure what to say.

The girl whose name I still could not remember, rose, gently. All I saw was her back, even as her arm ran across her eyes and several choked sounds hit my ears. She spun around to face me. A familiar look on her face. A look I wore and had worn for years upon years – ever since being taught the civility and conduct that I was supposed to carry myself with at all time.

A polite smile was on her face. A smile that matched mine.

And for a brief second – mine faltered.

I wanted to say something. To console her. To empathize – what little I could. Something to make her feel better. To make the situation feel better. My brain toiled and toiled, and my lips provided no fruit. For the first time in a long while –

I was rendered speechless against my own will.

And then – the sirens came.