Chapter 16: Rebirth
"Mercer? As in the guy that destroyed New York Mercer?" Asked Issei, hardly believing that the hooded man is in fact Alex Mercer.
"Yep, that's the one," said Adrian, leaving his friends sides so he could face the man, who was scanning everyone in the room.
"So this is the company you keep around you nowadays," he said, "interesting."
"Mercer, how did you survive? Heller absorbed you!" Adrian shouted. To which Alex only laughed,
"I have my ways, like a germ that can't be cured," he said cryptically, "And now, it seems you've taken up the company of literal devils. And they say I'm the evil one."
"Being a devil doesn't necessarily make you evil Mercer, and do you really have room to talk after you tried to destroy the planet?" Adrian asked rhetorically. Alex frowned,
"I have learned from my error. But since I have a second chance at life, and as of now, a handful of new powers," he paused, letting black feathered wings shoot out his back, followed by him forming his blade, now encased in the same red light Raynare used when she was alive. "What say we finish what we started in New York?" Adrian formed his own blade, ready for a fight, until a bright white light got between the two of them,
"I'm afraid your time to fight is not yet," said an older voice, and when the light subsidied, there was an older man between them, dressed in white hooded robes, brown leather pants and boots, and a red scarf covering the lower half of his face.
"Oh it's you!" Alex said in realization, and his blade vanished.
"Alright, who let the jedi in the room?" Damon asked, turning his attention to some invisible wall, confusing his comrades.
"Damon, who are you talking to?" Asked Issei, trying to see who he was speaking to, but seeing no one. Damon blinked, seeing his friends staring at him, to which he simply shrugged,
"No one," he answered, to which everyone, save for Adrian, Alex, the red scarf man, and himself, comically fell over. They quickly picked themselves up and dusted off, glaring at the former devil hunter.
"Damon you dingbat!" Shouted Calvin, "Focus at what's going on here and now! Not in your own fantasy land!" The red scarf man began to laugh, catching the conduits attention, "What's so funny?"
"So young and dumb...much like myself at that age," said the man, which made Calvin pop a vein,
"Who are you calling young and dumb?!" He then approached the man, electricity pulsing, "Why don't you go ahead and say it to my face!" The man laughed some more, and while Adrian and his friends prepared for a fight, Alex sat down in a church pew,
"I won't fight if you all don't," he said. To which Adrian looked to Calvin,
"Don't worry, I think I can handle an old geezer," said Calvin. Adrian looked to Rias, looking for a sign, and she motioned for everyone in her house to stand down. They sat down in the pews, much to most of their discontent,
"Oh, before we begin," said the older man, walking over to Asia's Sacred Gear, picking them up off the floor, and dropping them in Adrians hands, "I think those should go back to their rightful owner." Adrian turned to Asias body, still laying on the church pew, and he squeezed the Gear in his hand like it were her hand he was holding,
"I wish that were possible, but she's already dead."
"Oh? Did that stop Issei from returning?" Adrian looked to the old man, and the thought he had before began to return to him, "Think for a second, what happened when Issei died?"
"He was made into a devil..."
"Correct...Adrian," said the old man. "And I will simply leave you with that. Now then," he returned his attention to Calvin, "do you still wish to fight?"
"Well..." said Calvin, now thinking, "I'd rather not beat up an old man after he just helped-!"
WH-ZAPP!
Calvin went flying straight to the alter, smashing straight into it. The others stood up in shock, while Alex simply kept his seat, crossing his legs to get comfortable. Calvin pulled himself from the rubble, glaring at the old man, and was shocked to see white electricity pulsing from his hands,
"Look familiar Calvin?" He asked. Calvin looked down at his own blue electricity, then back at the old man,
"You're...?"
"A conduit, my boy, just like you." Calvin couldn't believe it, and neither could the others. Calvin then leapt up, and tried to throw an missle at him, but the old man countered it with a missle of his own, only his was larger, and more powerful. The blast made Calvin land in a heap on the ground, and the old man walked up to him, "Don't tell me that was the best you got sonny." Calvin gritted his teeth, and tried to hit the old man with a sweep kick, but the old man nimbly leapt over it, landing a pace or so away from the younger conduit. Calvin clenched his fists, and using all his energy, brought a Lightning Vortex down throgh the roof of the chruch, aimed straight for the old man, who made no move to dodge it.
The room was filled with smoke when the vortex ended, and after waiting a moment for the smoke to clear, the old man appeared right behind Calvin, landing a chop to the back of his neck.
Calvin stumbled forward from the shock, and whirled around to look at the old man, not believing he even saw him move. He then looked at the floor, and saw a skid mark, ending right where the old man was standing.
"You're fast," Calvin said.
"Now you're beginning to catch on," said the old man. Calvin then held up his fists, ready to fight in hand to hand combat, "I suppose now I'll have to end this fight, but at least I can finish with one of my favorite abilities." The old man held his hands out, summoning more electricity, only now it was beginning to take shape, until they looked like a pair of blades exiting his wrists.
"I wish I knew how to do that," said Calvin, hinting some jealousy. He ran at the old man, but with one hit from the Gigawatt Blades was enough to send Calvin skidding across the floor unconscious. House Gremory was now rushing to help Calvin to his feet, and Alex Mercer rose to his feet,
"Well that was fun to watch," said Mercer, making his way to the double doors,
"We'll meet again soon," said the old man, and he began to follow Mercer out the doors. Adrian then looked back at the two as they began to leave,
"Hey, who the hell are you?" Adrian asked the old man. The old man stopped, and turned around,
"Trust me, Adrian..." He said with a sad smile, "We've met. But if you want to call me something..." he paused, allowing himself to think carefully, and finally came up with a name, "...just call me Kessler." He then walked out the double doors with Mercer, and the group turned their attention back to Asia and her Sacred Gear.
Adrian slid the Sacred Gear back onto Asias fingers,
"It's impossible, isn't it?" Asked Adrian. "We got lucky with Issei, because he had just barely died. Asia has been dead for a while now...so it's impossible, right?"
"This may not make sense to you, but I want to show you something," said Rias, and she pulled something small and white out of her skirt pocket.
"Is it...a pocket dildo?" Asked Damon, earning a slap to the back of the head from Wesker,
"It's a bishop piece! You bastard piece of shit!" He said in a loud whisper, several veins popping in his head.
"The bishops position of power is to protect and heal the other devils in the household," explained Rias, ignoring her two newer devils. "Perhaps the timing is perfect. We could use a good clergyman." Adrian began to grow hopefully,
"So it's not too late...?"
"Our good sister is about to be reborn in the underworld," said Rias with a smile. After some careful placement, Asia was placed over a red rune on the floor, the bishop piece in the center of her chest, "In the name of Rias Gremory, I call to Asia Argento, hear my command, return thy soul from the shadows of death to the human realm, rise once more as my demon servant! Rejoice for you have been given new life! Wake as my healer and clergyman!" The bishop piece sank into Asias chest, and the rune faded from existence. All was quiet, and Asia twitched, her eyes slowly crept open, and she sat up. Adrian knelt next to her,
"Asia, is it really you?" Asia was still gathering her surroundings, so Rias answered for her,
"It is. I don't make a habit of reviving the deceased but her power may be useful," she then turned away, still speaking, "From here on you are her protector. You ARE the senior devil after all." As Riasxwas walking away Damon began to whine about himself not being senior devil, with the other pawns bickering with him, but Adrian wasn't paying attention,
"Adrian, am I here?" Asia asked, clueless as to what had transpired, but Adrian simply threw his arms around her and pulled her close,
"You're here Asia," he said, shedding tears of joy, "You're home."
Before long everyone had gone to their respective homes, with Adrian carrying Asia bridal style to his own room, laying her down and tucking her in, seeing she was already fast asleep.
"Sweet dreams Asia," he said, and he hesitated before leaving the room, and decided to lay a gentle kiss on her forehead, seeing her smile in her sleep. He gently closed his bedroom door, a pillow and blanket under his arm, and he made his way to the living room, intending to sleep on his couch, until he heard an unfamiliar sound coming from Calvins room (which he recently set up because he didn't want him OR Katrina to stay in the basement forever). The noise sounded like...moaning? He went up to the door, slowly opened it, and blushed as red as a tomato at what he saw. Both Katrina and Calvin were once again in the bed, naked, only now it looked on purpose as Katrina was straddling Calvin, and was bouncing up and down wildly, making lewd noises and sayings in the process, calling Calvin her "Thunder God," and the like. Adrian slowly backed out of the room, making sure to place his blanket under to door to keep in the extra noise.
The following day, ORC...
Adrian had just walked into the ORC, cracking his neck after being healed by Asia early that morning,
"Morning Rias," he said to the club president, who was casually sipping tea. She pulled her teacup away so she could look at Adrian,
"Hi! I'm surprised you're here today! How are you feeling?"
"Amazing, thanks to Asia," said Adrian, "That pain from the light spears are only a memory now, I don't even hurt after sleeping on the couch last night," said Adrian with a smile.
"Fantastic. She's already proving how useful she can be. It's no wonder those fallen angels were threatened by her power."
"So I had a question, if you don't mind," said Adrian, "If we're all named after chess pieces, does that mean ALL the positions are represented?"
"It does," answered Rias, taking another sip of her tea.
"So taking that into account, that means you can have one more knight, rook, bishop, and two more pawns, correct? Just curious." Rias set down her cup and smiled,
"All except the two pawns are true," said Rias, and she stood up, approaching Adrian as he was seated on the couch opposite her. "When someone becomes a devil, the number of evil pieces they consume varies. It just depends on what special abilities that person has to contribute." Rias wrapped her arms around him from behind, "and since you already know what pieces I had left, I decided to try and use five pieces on you, but for some reason, your body would only accept three, leaving the two pawn pieces I had left for Damon and Wesker. For some reason, I think that Sacred Gear of yours would only allow three, but I don't know why. But regardless of the reason," she turned his head to face her, "I want you to strive to become the mightiest pawn. I know you have the ability to do so, so consider it an order." Adrian stood up,
"You can count on it," said Adrian, and while completely off his guard, Rias planted a gentle kiss on his cheek, and the Devil Virus felt a flow of energy flow from her lips and through his cheek into the rest of his body.
"Just a little spell to strengthen your stamina," she said, and Adrian blushed,
"O-Okay...for what?"
"You'll need your strength to better fulfill my orders, and I'm going to have to stop coddling you or our newest member will become jealous." Adrian was instantly confused,
"Jealous?"
"Um, what's going on?!" Adrian turned around, seeing Asia in a Kuoh Academy girls uniform,
"Asia! I didn't realize you were here! But me and Rias were simply talking, and giving me a stamina spell for reasons that are still a little vague to me."
"Talking...that's how it always starts!" She panicked, "It's okay I know she's prettier than me...and will probably do things I won't so it makes sense that you like her more." She then squeezed her eyes shut and began to swing back and forth, "Oh I shouldn't say things like that! I swear I'm not jealous I'm just insecure!" She then put her hands together and began to pray, "Dear Lord, please forgive my sins of lust and AAGH!" She knelt to the floor, clutching her head, making Adrian dash around the couch and place his hands on her shoulders,
"Asia are you okay?!"
"It felt like a knife just went through my head!" She cried.
"God's not too receptive to the prayers of devils," said Rias sympathetically.
"I forgot," said Asia, standing back up with Adrians help, "He's probably angry with me that I became a devil, huh?"
"How do you feel about it?" Asked Rias with a smile. Asias demeanor changed to a happy one,
"Oh, me? I don't have any regrets at all! The best part is that Adrian and I can be together forever now, and that's all I really wanted!" Adrian smiled,
"That's very kind of you," he said, "Now Asia, that outfit you have on, does that mean what I think it means?"
"It does," said Rias, "My father is on the school board, so getting her enrolled as a transfer student wasn't a problem."
"Good," said Adrian, wrapping one arm around Rias, and the other around Asia, "now maybe we can all live happily ever after AS FRIENDS!" He quickly raised his index fingers up, making it clear, "I'm saying that now because I don't want Damon talking shit and saying 'Hey! Adrians gonna juggle two girls!'" Right on cue, the door the the ORC opened, with the rest of the club filing in, conveniently enough with Damon taking the lead,
"Hey! Adrians gonna juggle two girls!"
"Son of a bitch!" Adrian released Rias and Asia, and dived at the former devil hunter, landing some good punches on him as Calvin busted up laughing, and Katrina rolled her eyes. Wesker simply stepped over the two as they began to wrestle on the floor,
"I told you not to go there Damon," he said, apparently already irritated.
"Good morning everybody!" Said Kiba brightly, also stepping over the two fighting devils.
"I'm almost glad to see you're not dead," said Koneko, who roughly pulled Adrian off of Damon, who then realized that both he and Wesker were now wearing Kuoh Academy boys uniforms. He swore under his breath, and Wesker asked him, as if reading his mind,
"You thought Asia would be the only one going to school here now?" Another set of doors opened, and Akeno rolled in with a cart loaded with a large strawberry cake with small plates and teacups.
"Oh perfect you're all here! I brought cake so we could officially welcome our new members!" Soon everyone was dining on the cake and sipping tea, with Damon adding rum to his teacup when no one was looking.
"Oh, and Adrian," said Rias, looking to her hooded pawn, "Great job out there, I was very impressed." Adrian raised his teacup,
"Thank you, President Rias." Truth be told he wasn't feeling so impressive. Alex Mercer was somehow back from the dead, he has a new electrical ally claiming to be another conduit, which is no doubt bothering Calvin, and he still has no idea how to be a devil, per say. But right at that moment, all he cared about was enjoying the moment with all of his friends, eating cake and drinking tea.
Little did he know, however, a new problem was brewing right outside their window, as a red and yellow bird perched in the tree watched the club, looking in from the outside, a silent but evil laugh emanating from the bird,
"What a sweet ending...gag me," said a man, swarmed by women of various ages and sizes, looking through the birds eyes, keeping a close eye on the Occult Research Club.
