Angel Reborn
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"... God did not spare angels when they sinned, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment...." – 2 Peter 2:4
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It took Asmodeus a fortnight to recover from being dragged into the Matrix without preparation. He later claimed it was because of his method of getting out – letting Tiger drain his Matrix body of all the programmed blood within. It worked out for both parties: Asmodeus' mind escaped the Matrix and Tiger got the best meal he'd had in a long time.
In addition, Asmodeus had gained both knowledge and... insurance. So, vampires were behind the recent substantiations. It made sense, and explained the bruises on the necks of LCD and Angélique, the most recent self-substantiate. He had also learned that someone in Zion was giving the rouge vampires help, but nobody knew who. The rogues, as shell-changer Red had found, simply referred to their Zionite benefactor as Dragão.
In exchange for his... insurance... Asmodeus had agreed to hunt down this Dragão. Not that he wouldn't have anyway, several innocent girls had wound up dead or insane because of this joker. It had been harder to promise himself not to kill Dragão straight off the bat. No, this one had to be dragged before the Council for more reasons than one.
It was a good thing, Asmodeus reflected, that the Merovingian was looking for replacements for most of his men. Cain and Abel had already all but quit, leaving ex-Agents Matthias Brown and Tobias Jones as their replacements, and Seth had mentioned a rumour that the Twins were looking into a pair of assassins to replace them... or at least take over their jobs. It would be difficult to replace the ghost Twins, after all.
Asmodeus got the feeling that the fallen angel and his vampiric partner were also looking for replacements, as were the doubly mysterious Jacob and Esau. Perhaps having their asses handed to them by Neo had made them decide that they were tired of working for the Frenchman; maybe they'd been bored since the peace began.
As for Red... well, who knew about the once-human?
Asmodeus found himself before the aged Council for the nth time, explaining first what he was thinking in jumping out of the Icarus after Angélique, and also in "boarding" the train after Dana's collapse. "Can you even swim, Asmodeus?" Councillor Dillard had asked. After a moment's thought, he replied, "No, Councillor, I cannot." Councillor Hamann had exchanged a glance with Councillor West, then West had leaned forward and asked, "Then why did you jump out after the girl if you couldn't swim?"
"Forgot I couldn't, sir."
Hamann chuckled at Asmodeus' deadpan tone when he said that, not realising that the Demon of Zion had been serious. He had forgotten that he couldn't swim. "Impossibilities and the regularity with which you pull them off aside," Dillard said, slightly exasperated with him, "This still does not explain how you were able to "board" that train to the Matrix, nor does it explain what you were doing in the Merovingian's portion of the machine city."
"I was looking for information," Asmodeus replied, "and the best source for info Matrix-side is the Frenchman."
"And why would a Zion-born like yourself be looking for information on the Matrix?" Hamann asked. Asmodeus shrugged. "I had a hunch about the cause of the recent surge in self-substantiations and only the Frenchman or one of his thugs could confirm my theory."
"And was your theory correct, Asmodeus?" another Councillor asked. "Yes," the man replied, smirking in a self-satisfied way. "Do you mind sharing this theory with the Council, Asmodeus?"
"Yes, actually, I do," he replied. Dillard's eyes narrowed. "That was not a request, Asmodeus."
"With all due respect, Councillor, there is a Zionite involved in this. Seeing as I now must look for him or her, it would be a bad thing to say why I was looking for them, now wouldn't it?"
"Surely you do not suspect the Council, Demon," West said warningly. "Of course not," Asmodeus answered innocently, "but it could very well be someone connected to the Council. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to check on Danaë and make sure that this little adventure didn't have any adverse effects on her or her child."
"Supposing we do mind, Asmodeus?" Hamann mused. "Tough," the Demon of Zion replied, smirking.
"This is not finished, Asmodeus!" Dillard snapped. He turned to her. "With all due respect, Councillor, it is. If it's any consolation, I rather suspect that this little adventure may very well be my last."
With that ominous phrase, he walked out. Dillard sat back in her seat and sighed. "The man is impossible." Hamann smiled. "He rather reminds me of Jet. Jet was much the same, as you may recall."
"The One was not that exasperating," Dillard replied. "But he looks like him. Do you think Asmodeus even knows who he is?" Hamann wondered.
"I don't think so," replied another Councillor. "To my knowledge, nobody's told him, and since he can't jack in, why would he even suspect?"
"The Merovingian may have told him," West pointed out.
"But how would he know?"
"Asmodeus looks exactly like his grandfather, that's how."
"But he acts nothing like Jet!"
Hamann wondered to himself if, perhaps, the fifth One had acted more like Asmodeus before choosing the human race over Zion. One had to wonder just how alike the two really were.
~*~
Kahr awoke on the Mjolnir with a bitch of a headache. "Note to self: Never ever piss off a vampire. Bloody hell..." "Ah, I see you're up!" came Tommy's too-cheery voice. Kahr groaned. "Shut up, Tommy, I'm not in the mood." Tommy laughed and passed Kahr a jug. "Have a drink; it'll make you feel better."
Kahr took a long pull, coughed, and had another. Ah, Dozer's infamous brew. Tommy laughed and pulled up a chair beside Kahr's table. "So, apart from being ejected from the Matrix by an angry vampire, how was your evening?"
"Not too bad. Ran into some old friends, the Sun twins. They come from the same clan as Ghost and I, but they took the assassination route."
"Oh, the pair those ghost Twins are after?"
Kahr frowned. "I thought they wanted that white girl, Jan?" Tommy shook his head. "Nah, I think the vampire wanted her. The Twins have been playing with your assassin buddies and some other friends of theirs. AK and the others are watching. They say it makes for great entertainment, watching humans giving programs a fair fight."
Kahr sighed. "Not with those Twins, it isn't fair."
"Well, the Twins don't seem to want to kill your friends, so that's a bonus, right?"
"I suppose... are they still fighting?"
Tommy nodded. "C'mon, I'll take you down there."
~*~
Two smirked at the exotic Yù-Lién, drawing his razor and preparing for battle. He remembered the feel of her against his body, recalled her trembling in rage. This reaction intrigued him; most girls would have been either terrified or aroused – or both, one could never tell with some humans. She had wounded him as well, which also intrigued him. The girl herself regarded him with fiery rage in her eyes, in a cat stance with her shukusen open and ready to strike.
One faced off with a dispassionate Yù-Lōng, irritated at his apparent lack of interest in this battle. He showed more concern over the safety of that Mitchell girl than he did for himself! One paused as he looked into the human's eyes, reassessing his evaluation. There was nothing in Yù-Lōng's eyes, not even any hint of an emotionless mask, just a sort of unholy joy as he readied himself to fight.
One was suddenly, uncomfortably reminded of himself and his brother.
That look in Yù-Lōng's eyes vanished as a hand came down on his shoulder and the boy wielding a kodachi stepped up. "Don't take all the fun for yourself, Dragon," he admonished as the sword came up and crossed with Yù-Lōng's tai-jian. "This is a two-man fight."
Yù-Lōng glared at him. "Li, help my sister."
"She kind of threatened my manhood when I offered..."
Yù-Lōng rolled his eyes and made room for his... friend. One smirked, hoping to unnerve the newcomer. Yù-Lōng mirrored his smirk, and One suddenly felt that with this human, a razor might not cut it. He was not the type to be phased by little cuts that were more irritance than they were painful. One devised a plan swiftly and struck hard, ignoring the deep slash he received from Yù-Lōng as he went after the boy Li.
Li went down hard as One lunged at Yù-Lōng with the downed boy's weapon. The human assassin blocked easily, trying to force the kodachi aside and finding that One's arms did not move unless he chose to move them. He then tried a different tack, snapping his foot up and into One's elbow, shattering the bone. One simply phased and healed, bringing a slight frown to Yù-Lōng's face. He'd forgotten that the phasing technique served as a healing function for the odd twins.
Yù-Lién wasn't doing too well against Two; their speed was equal, but Two could heal when injured and Yù-Lién could not. He could see that this and the shallow cuts along her arms and face were starting to irritate her. He loved toying with passionate fighters; it was all too easy. He sensed someone behind him and phased as a glaive passed through him.
"Wings!" Yù-Lién shouted in irritation. Two froze, he'd heard that name before... a long time ago... Red had nicknamed his irritating Japanese friend 'Wings'. This had been during the Fourth Cycle, of course, and 'Wings' had been killed before that Cycle had ended, but Two did not like hearing that name.
He sensed another swoop of the glaive and whirled, catching the staff on his arm and glaring into the face of its owner... and feeling his eyes widen behind his sunglasses.
Archangel.
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I said you Archangel were going to love me. For those of you who don't have a damn clue of what it is I'm talking about, please pause in your perusal of this fanfic and go check out Fourth Cycle: Runaways. It introduces Archangel as well as some of his crewmates, including Red, whom you met earlier.
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UPDATE: Roland and Maggie accounted for. 'Maggie' is a nickname for a S&W Model 29 .44 Magnum, while 'Roland' refers to a bullet calibre, the .460 Roland. The bullet fits the character. ^_^ And yup, mjolnir is Nordic. Thanks to Orcus for pointing out that Mjolnir referenced Thor's hammer. I need to brush up on my Norse mythology; Greek/Roman mythology is my strong point.
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Dragonet: Never go on vacation again, then. Sorry about not replying last chapter; I got your review just as I was updating! And, wow, I'm making people late for class? I feel so… heart-warmed, somehow. You love me, you really love me! As for Asmodeus, decide what you will. I love the guy to death, but he's so hard to write! Note to all of you: Never create a character smarter than you are. You will regret later.
Orcus: Hey, baby, long time no see! *hug* Like I said, I really need to brush up on my Nordic mythology. (BIG FAT HINT TO MOCKINGBIRD AND ETHAN AND ANY FAN WILLING TO BUY ME PRESENTS!!) If you know any good websites with Nordic mythology, Babylonian mythology, any sort of mythology barring Greek/Roman, please give me the URL! I need the research and name ideas! ^^ Be patient, young grasshoppa, Avvy and Abel shall turn up soon enough, but they're not the stars of this story. Moody 'Modeus, the Sun twins, and Jan, they're the stars, as well as dear Tiger. ^_^ I might relent and drop in some Krsna for my rabid fans of the Mad Bomber, but I'm making no promises.