According to one of our viewers, Church needs to get laid. I can't help but agree, but unfortunately, he's gotta wait for quite some time.

Anyway, a long time ago I used to hate Elina because she was annoying, but like everyone in the series, I think she kinda grew on me, though not to the same extent as the others. It was mostly because I didn't like her design all that much in the original series, but she took a few levels in badass in Rebellion. In fact, I'm pretty sure Rebellion Elina is my favorite character design from the sequel... but unfortunately I had to trade off between her design upgrade and Aldra's corresponding downgrade. I mean, original QB Aldra was totally badass, but then they replaced her sword with a fucking oar and her sick straps with an apron. Bleh.

Anyway, I'm becoming really conflicted on how this story should conclude. On one hand, I have a great harem ending in mind that would be amazing, but if I do that, I won't have all of the incredibly romantic and emotional singular pairing endings I've concocted. Ah, dilemma. A what-if spin-off may be entirely necessary.

After exchanging his initial 'greeting' with Elina Vance, Church's mind immediately began to fill with escape plans. More than any other moment since he had arrived in this world, more than when he had fought Echidna, more than when he had nearly drowned or even when Tomoe had nearly taken his head off, now more than ever Church was in a very life-threatening situation. He had to get away, really fast, and really far. Literally anywhere that wasn't here.

Without a second thought, Church rolled backwards off of the rock he had been sitting on, dashing away from the rough mountain path and towards the more difficult terrain in hopes of escaping. After all, Elina was on a horse, so there was no way he could outrun her on the road.

Church had barely taken two steps before he heard the blonde shouting to her troops. "Stop him! Whoever catches him gets an immediate promotion and pay raise! Go!"

With a quick glance back at the now active column of troops behind him, Church pushed his legs even harder, wondering how far he could go before he came to a cliff edge. Normally he would be worried about that, but in this case such an edge might help him escape...

The thunder of hooves and metal boots on stone urged Church forward at speeds he hadn't even known he was capable of. There was absolutely no way he would be caught by Elina. Zero. None. He'd literally kill himself before being caught by that insane woman who had made threats against his manhood during their first encounter. No. Way.

At least he had a slight head start...

"Shoot him, you idiots! I don't care if he's dead or alive!"

At her command, Church suddenly had arrows and javelins whizzing past him, several even nicking his jacket or pants.

"What the shit?! C'mon, this is ridiculous!"

Now adding some zigzags to his escape, Church looked for anything even remotely capable of protecting him from his ranged attackers. He made sure to put any tall boulder between himself and his pursuers. It helped a little, but he still had way too many close calls, as several thin lines of blood took their place when a steel tip came a little too close to his body.

Her soldiers' lack of accuracy was apparently pissing Elina off, because he soon heard her angry voice shouting again. "Must I do everything myself?! Give me that!"

Oh shit.

Before Church could decide to duck or dive or whatever he needed to do to survive, he felt a heavy blow to his waist, as a well-aimed arrow bounced off of Grendel's sheath, strapped horizontally across his back. By some miracle, Elina had managed to hit the only 'armored' spot on Church's body.

Even so, the force of the hit sent Church tumbling down the slight slope of the mountainside, which was rapidly growing more steep as he approached a visible cliff several hundred feet from his current position.

"Shit, fuck, this is fucking bullshit!"

Church couldn't help but curse as he received bruises and cuts from his unfortunate tumble, even though he was grateful to Ymir for, in a roundabout way, saving his life.

Fortunately, he did manage to roll to a stop before careening off the edge of the mountainside, though he hardly felt well enough to be glad about it. After all, he had just barely managed to push himself to his feet when the enemy was on top of him again.

Well, really it was just Elina. Fueled by her rage, she had leaped from her horse and down the mountainside in order to reach Church first. She landed with impressive alacrity, seemingly not hurting herself at all, which served to remind Church of the mountain lion he was now seeing her as. The look on her face certainly wasn't helping.

"This time... this time you're dead! But not before I make you pay for violating me you bastard!"

Church peeked over the edge of the cliff he stood at. It was a long drop, but also a relatively survivable one, if he managed to roll down the side of the ledge instead of free-falling. But that was a last resort method he didn't want to use unless he had to.

Instead, what else could he do but fight? With that in mind, Church reached for Grendel's hilt, but Elina had much faster reflexes than he realized. She flicked her spear at him, its head detaching from the main body with a wire. The unexpected function of the weapon caught Church off guard, and before he knew it he had been ensnared by the metal bindings Elina kept hidden in her spear.

"D-damn it... didn't see that one coming..."

Elina smirked maliciously as she wound her end of the wire around her arm to tighten Church's constraints. "You aren't going anywhere this time. I hope you've enjoyed your life, because it's about to end!"

With that she began pulling Church closer towards her, trying to diminish the few feet between them. She could have gone to him, but that would have loosened the wire holding Church and possibly have given him a chance to do something against her. Besides, pulling him towards her as he resisted meant his bones were being effectively crushed, and hurting him was very high on Elina's list of priorities.

As for him, Church dug his feet into the ground, resisting Elina with all of his might. And even though the blonde was very strong, she was still a woman, and Church had more weight to use against her. He didn't budge an inch; in fact, he probably could have pulled her towards him, but that wasn't exactly a good idea.

Unfortunately, being pulled at both ends made the metal wire around Church's body very tight. Against any normal person, the force probably would have broken some bones, but thankfully Church still had, and thankfully always would, his skeletal implants from his time with the Legion. His bones were harder than most normal humans; they were not unbreakable, but this they could handle. For the second time, Church's implants were thwarting Elina's plans.

"I can do this all day cat woman! You're not making any progress here!"

"Oh really? As soon as my soldiers gets down here they can just stab you, how about that?"

"Fuck, you're right! Damn it!"

The mention of Elina's troops led Church to glance up at them. They were getting closer, but the armored and less agile soldiers were descending the slope more carefully than their predecessors. Church had a little bit of time to figure something out.

If he could reach Grendel, he may have been able to cut himself free, but against metal, who knew how long that would take? More importantly, he probably couldn't even reach it in his current state. He definitely didn't think he could talk his opponent down...

That being the case, Church only had one option. "Hey, you know what?"

Elina merely cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Fuck you."

With that, Church used all of his might to launch himself backwards; not enough to send himself into free-fall over the edge, but enough to at least get him over it. And naturally, Church weighed more than Elina. And unfortunately, she had the wire wrapped around her own arm several times, meaning she didn't have enough time to disentangle herself.

"Oh not good-"

The soldiers above the duo watched as their captain was yanked off the cliff side by the very man she had been trying to capture. If she survived, she was going to be very angry. And for that reason, some of those soldiers honestly hoped she wouldn't.

"This is preposterous! These are the very demons that attacked this castle not once, but twice! What possible benefit can there be in joining forces with them?!"

Claudette had to refrain from smashing her armored fist into the table her father sat at in his private conference room. The ambient, pleasant afternoon light pouring in from the windows behind the man did nothing to ease his daughter's frustration. After all, Airi and Melona were standing in the castle courtyard right now, apparently as envoys from the Swamp Witch, to discuss the terms of an alliance with the Vance family. Much to her chagrin, this was the first Claudette had heard of it, and for obvious reasons, she was not happy.

Even the fact that she was speaking to the Count, her superior, did not lower the intensity of Claudette's anger. At this moment, she was questioning him as a father, not as her political better.

As for the Count, he was not angry about Claudette's reaction. As both the general of his forces and his daughter, she had every right to be furious about being kept in the dark on this matter. And since they were alone, he was actually willing to speak to Claudette as his daughter, instead of his general and subordinate.

"Claudette, you said yourself that we stand no chance against the Queen's forces with our current numbers. Unless we bolster our ranks somehow, we'll never be able to retake what is rightfully ours. And though I hate to stoop to such a level, the Witch is the only other person on this continent who has an army of her own. She is the only force we can seek to ally ourselves with."

"If we join forces with her it will only lead to our own destruction! The Swamp Witch would never share the rewards of victory with us, even if she fought the battles alongside us. She would use our armies to reach her goals just like you're trying to use hers! Besides, the discord among the troops in fighting alongside monsters and devils would ruin us! Cooperation would be impossible!"

Count Vance folded his hands under his chin. "I have no intention of fighting directly alongside her. The Witch's armies can open their own front, and we can fight from another. We'll never need to interact with the undead personally. And as long as we reach Gainos before them, we can easily turn its defenses against them and claim the prize for ourselves."

"And what if they reach it first instead? We could hardly defeat an undead army residing in the most heavily fortified city on this continent!"

"Aldra will deploy more of her forces to stopping the Witch's armies than our own. She is a much larger threat than us, and a siege from undead forces is much harder to defeat than a human one. And we both know what kind of tactical genius that girl is. She will stonewall the Witch's armies without trouble, providing us with the window of opportunity we need."

Claudette wondered if this actually made sense to her father. She had no idea how it could. "Indeed, Aldra is a tactical genius. Her skills in warfare and conquest are unmatched in this country. Do you honestly think she wouldn't expect us to do exactly what you've said? She would never leave the capital open to such a maneuver, no matter what circumstance she was facing on another front!"

"Indeed. But no matter how good of a player you are, if you do not have the cards you need to win, you will not. The Queen's armies are not unlimited, whereas the Witch's feasibly are. If we allow the undead to deplete their numbers considerably, she won't have enough troops to hold both fronts back."

"Father, if it were really that easy the Swamp Witch would have conquered us all already! If she truly had unlimited armies there would be no need for her to hesitate in taking over this world."

"And that is why we are discussing the details with her emissaries, whom we have kept waiting for far too long. Come Claudette, we can discuss this more thoroughly later."

With that, the bearded man rose to his feet and walked past Claudette, who could only clench her fist as she followed him out the door.

Airi was quite unhappy with her current situation. Being back in the Vance courtyard reminded her of her defeat at the Thundercloud General's hands, and she knew for a fact that she was going to have to speak to that woman today. It was humiliating, to say the least.

Melona on the other hand, did not seem quite as irritated, as she glanced around at the people in the courtyard, most of who were eyeing the duo suspiciously. She was in a relatively good mood because they had managed to reach the Vance castle in barely over a day. Without a mortal companion like Church to slow them down, they could move very quickly, and that meant this stupid errand could be done and over with much sooner, leaving Melona with time to run off and enjoy herself for awhile.

But in the meantime, she was still bored, since the Count was taking his sweet time in coming out there to meet them. Fortunately for her, a both useful and fun opportunity presented itself in the form of a passing slave boy, who didn't even spare her a glance as he rushed a basket full of bread to the castle kitchens.

"Airi."

"What?"

"I'm going to do some snooping around, take care of things here, would you?"

The redhead turned towards her friend with a critical gaze. "Melona, they already know that you're here with me. If you just mysteriously disappear they're going to assume that snooping around is exactly what you're doing!"

Melona waved a hand dismissively as some of her slime discreetly slid down her legs. As this happened, Airi noticed that Melona was shrinking in some places; namely her breasts, her hair, and just slightly everywhere else. "I'm not completely stupid Airi. I'm gonna impersonate that kid that just ran by. He's small, so I'll only need to spare a little bit of me to make a copy. If I take just a little bit from my usual form all-around, no one will notice that I'm smaller than usual. I'll even make sure my body maintains its usual height."

"Wait, how are you going to control two different bodies? I mean, I know that anatomy-wise you don't have a brain, so how do you control two at once?"

Melona waited until she was positive that none of the guards were watching her before letting the slime that had slid off her body form the visage of the young servant boy who had passed earlier. It was this second body that answered Airi's question. "Slimes don't have brains, but we do have a nucleus, which is basically the same thing. I can split that nucleus into as many parts as I want, but the smaller it is the less intelligent I'll be. So that being said, make sure you do most of the talking. I've given most of my nucleus to this body since it's doing the more critical work. The one next to you is probably only good for standing around and looking pretty."

Airi smirked. "Or just standing around."

The little 'boy' flipped Airi off before running off in the same direction the original had, leaving the ghostly redhead to meet with the Count and his advisers, 'dummy' Melona at her side. Honestly, she looked just as air-headed as she always did...

Still, it looked like Melona, and hopefully no one would ask why Airi was doing all the talking. Either way, she didn't have a chance to do anything about it, because at that moment, Count Vance emerged from his castle, with both advisers, soldiers, and General Claudette at his side. Airi felt a little off being a group of two confronting a group of over two dozen, but considering their actions during their last visits to the Vance castle, Airi supposed that the Count was perfectly justified in his caution.

Regardless, she wasted no pleasantries on him. "Alright, I'm no diplomat, so tell me what you want and I'll tell you whether or not it's acceptable."

To her credit, Melona's lesser half at least managed to act as though she were paying attention, directing her gaze to the situation at hand instead of staring off into space.

On the other hand, Claudette apparently didn't like Airi's choice of words. "Diplomat or not, you will address the Count with the proper respect his position deserves."

It was difficult, but Airi managed to avoid rolling her eyes. "I don't answer to him. And until your little plan to take over the Continent comes to fruition, he's nothing more than an ambitious politician. That's not a position deserving of my respect."

Claudette's eyes narrowed dangerously, but Count Vance cut in before anything could erupt. "You make a valid point, wraith. Let us discuss terms as quickly as possible so we may return to our own areas of comfort. I have but one, true request from the Witch. Considering the nature and size of her armies, I believe she should face the brunt of Queen Aldra's forces. I would like her army to be the vanguard for ours."

Airi folded her arms as she regarded the Count. "Oh? So you can mop up the weakened forces of my Master after the Queen is defeated and take control for yourselves?"

To his credit, Count Vance kept his composure fairly easily. If Airi had hit the mark as accurately as she felt she had, the man did not show it. "I hardly see how that would work. It was my understanding that the army of the dead was limitless. Her forces should be just as strong after the war as before."

Unknown to Vance and his allies, Airi knew that the Witch was far from an infinitely powerful being. For one, she could only hold dominion over so many undead servants at a time. Besides that, the rules of Queen's Blade prevented the Witch from directly overthrowing the Queen herself, which was why she needed Count Vance to overthrow the Queen for her. At that point the ruler of the land would be someone who had not achieved sovereignty through Queen's Blade, and the restrictions on the Swamp Witch's invasion would be moot.

Still, all of that aside, Airi needed to maintain the illusion that the Witch had the power to do as she pleased, while also making it seem like Vance was needed for something more than a loophole of the tournament.

"There are several restrictions that prevent my master from fielding an infinite army. I won't go into detail, for reasons I'm sure you understand, but either way, you have not told me what is stopping you from turning against us after it's all over."

"What is to stop you from doing the same to us?"

Airi smiled. This would be easy enough. Queen's Blade had been established so long ago that its exact rules had been lost to many; but not the Swamp Witch. Few people knew that the Swamp Witch was only forbidden from overthrowing the Queen. Most thought she could not leave the Swamp at all, or rule over any part of the realm of man. These misconceptions had become commonplace in the modern era.

"My master is forbidden by the laws of Queen's Blade, and therefore Heaven, from ruling over the Continent. I will not deny that she wishes to rule alone, but she cannot; she would be destroyed by heavenly retribution if she took the throne for herself. That being the case, my master knows that she will only be able to expand her influence by working together with you; you will reign over the Continent, and she will expand her borders as far as our terms come to agreement with."

Claudette glared at the wraith. "And how much land does your master desire?"

'All of it' was the right answer, but the idea was to convince Vance to overthrow the Queen in full confidence that the Witch would not be able to betray him afterwards. So Airi would tell them that a small portion was all she wanted; little enough to make them feel that they had the advantage, but enough to sound believable.

"My master desires but a third of the territory that is claimed from the Queen. And it may be territory of your choosing. Is that acceptable, dear Count?"

The Count exchanged glances with the advisers around him, locking gazes with Claudette specifically for more than a few moments. Eventually he returned his gaze to Airi. "May I have a moment to consult with my advisers?"

Airi bowed to the man, half-mockingly. "By all means."

With that, the Count and his entourage retreated away from the maid, who watched their actions with entirely too much satisfaction.

"We should do it. The terms are entirely in our favor."

"I concur."

Count Vance nodded in agreement with his political advisers; Claudette was the only one who disagreed. "It's too good to be true. A being who has been hell-bent on ruling the world for decades is now fully satisfied with sharing control with mortals? Even more than that, she'd be willing to settle for only a third of the territory? She obviously has some sort of ulterior motive."

While the Count was all too eager to simply cement his alliance with the Witch and march on Gainos immediately, he was also aware that his daughter had a fair point. It did seem a little too favorable to be realistic. But what choice did he have? "I understand your misgivings General, but what other choice do we have? We will never have enough strength on our own... unless you have another suggestion?"

Claudette did indeed have another suggestion, but she hesitated to say it. It was a valid suggestion, but one she knew her father would dislike. "Queen's Blade."

As she had expected, the Count's expression immediately turned severe. "What?"

"Queen's Blade. If we win the tournament, war will be entirely avoidable, and we will not have to work with the Swamp Witch at all."

"I refuse to use that wretched tournament to-!"

Claudette grabbed her father's shoulder firmly, something she normally never would have done in front of others. More than that, she referred to him not as her Count, but as her father. "Father, please consider this. If you value the lives of your people, this is the option that will keep them safe. It will save both resources and lives for the Vance family, and will make sure that all rewards remain ours. Is it not the best course of action?"

While the mere idea of utilizing the tournament made Count Vance sick, he had to admit that Claudette made multiple logical points.

"You may be right about that, but do you honestly think that either Leina or Elina could possibly succeed?"

At the moment those two were the only Vance members participating or planning to participate in Queen's Blade, and Claudette had no delusions about their chances against Aldra. Hell, there was no guarantee they would even get past the fighters before her, as there would be many.

"Not them, Father. Me. Allow me to participate, and I swear to you that I will emerge victorious."

Count Vance stared at his adopted daughter long and hard. She was strong, he knew, but strong enough to defeat Aldra? Maria could not, and she had been the strongest woman the Count had ever known. And what if he lost Claudette as well? He couldn't handle that loss...

"Claudette... do you truly believe you can defeat her?"

With firmness in her eyes, Claudette wasted no time in answering. "I believe it if you do... Father."

Inwardly moved, Count Vance barely managed to conceal his emotions. "Very well... what shall we tell the wraith?"

"Let's agree to their terms for now, but state that the Witch must only move when we do. That way we can buy time for the tournament to run its course."

"Indeed. Let us relay this decision immediately."

Airi watched as the Count and his entourage began to move towards her again, but not before she noticed Melona's body shift beside her. "Melona? Are you, um... back?"

The slime's ears twitched for a moment, before she turned her gaze to Airi. "Yup. All here again. What'd I miss?"

"Nothing yet, but when did you...?"

"Airi please, I'm an infiltration specialist. As if anyone would notice-"

Airi elbowed Melona as the Vance group neared them. "Later. They're back."

The two servants fell silent as Count Vance came within earshot of them. In an effort to maintain the status quo, Melona let Airi handle the talking once again.

"Well, have you come to a decision?"

The Count folded his hands behind his back, pleased to think that he had the upper hand in negotiations at this point. "Indeed. We find your terms acceptable, but only if the Witch agrees to wait until we move before she follows."

While she was sure that the Witch wouldn't want to wait, Airi knew that she couldn't move until Vance did anyway, so there was no point in trying to change that particular term. "Very well. My Master's armies will not move until yours do. Now, if our business is concluded, we will take our leave."

When none of the humans around said otherwise, Airi took that to mean that they were finished. Without another word to them, she and Melona turned away from the Vance entourage.

No one made any move to stop them, not that they should have. That being the case, Airi felt comfortable questioning Melona once they were beyond the castle walls. "So, did you find anything useful?"

With a wink, Melona smiled at her. "Nothing we didn't already know, but I did find something interesting in another sense."

"Interesting?"

"Let's just say I found something a little... risque, in the tiger girl's room."

Airi cocked an eyebrow at her. "What do you mean...?"

Melona simply wiggled her eyebrows at her.

"Oh... oh. OK, I get it. Wow."

"Yup."

"Why were you even...?"

"Don't ask."

Deciding that it was best to simply let it rest, Airi did exactly that.

When Elina regained consciousness, the first sensory function to return to her was feeling. And the first thing she felt was searing hot pain in her left forearm, soon followed by other aches and pains across her body. Gently clutching her left arm with her right, Elina tried to roll to the side, but something pulled back on her arm, causing her to cry out in pain.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Your arm is still caught in the wire you know."

The voice of the currently most hated man in Elina's life snapped her eyes open. She was at the bottom of a rocky ravine of sorts, staring up at the cliff she had fallen from several hundred feet above. She was surprised she had survived the fall at all, but she chose to ignore that thought so she could painfully turn her head to face the voice that had called to her.

The man in the red jacket looked far too well off considering that he had fallen the same distance that she had, though he was limping a little as he approached Elina while shedding the last of the wire she had wrapped around him. Tracing that wire back to her, Elina could see that it was still wrapped three times around her gauntlet. That being the case, her spear had not fallen far from her. If she could reach it...

Thoughts of impaling her enemy filled Elina's mind, but the pain that dominated her body prevented her from moving to reach her weapon, and with her obviously broken left arm, she couldn't use her claws to attack. This state of helplessness pissed her off more than anything else.

"D-don't come near me you bastard..."

Church looked down at the blonde lying prone on the ground in front of him. Her body was covered in cuts and bruises, and more than a few nasty gashes that bloodied her usually pristine skin. Some of her armor had been broken in the fall, revealing even more skin than usual, but ultimately Elina's decency was maintained. He also noticed that her hair ornament had been broken, allowing her golden locks to fall more fully around her face. Though he hated to say anything nice about her, Church had to admit that Elina looked much prettier with her hair down in such a way. Maybe it was because her bangs brought out the more exotic features of her face.

"Look, your arm is obviously broken. I'm at least willing to untangle it for you."

Elina's ice blue eyes narrowed as Church drew closer to her. "Don't screw with me! I'm not stupid enough to think that's what you're coming over here for. This is the perfect chance to finish me off!"

Fully believing her own words, Elina tried to scoot away as Church came to stand over her, but she was too hurt to get away.

Church merely sighed as he looked down at her. "Look, you're a bitch and all, and completely crazy, but I'm not merciless enough to step on your throat or leave you here to rot, OK? I'm willing to help you for now, even though I doubt you'll appreciate it and I really shouldn't."

Elina's glare didn't grow any less severe, but she stopped trying to get away from Church. She needed him to at least deal with her arm, because she could barely move as it was.

With that, she settled for staring the man above her down as he crouched to better reach her, doing his best to keep his weight off of his handicapped leg. He lifted Elina's injured arm very gently, though he did keep a cautious eye on her in case she tried to attack him. With the wire untangled from his own body, there was enough slack for Church to avoid aggravating her injuries, much to Elina's relief.

Watching her face carefully for any sign of undue discomfort, Church began slowly unwrapping the wire around Elina's arm, doing his best to avoid hurting her. Whether or not it was actually broken, Elina had been yanked off the cliff side by this arm, and it had been pulled with every tug from Church's own body on the way down. He could imagine how much pain she was in, but even so Elina kept any hint of deep pain off of her face. He could at least admire that.

As for Elina, while her hatred for the man before her did not die down at all, she had to admit that something about the situation was nice. It was only her arm, but to have someone cradling her so gently, especially in some sense of being concerned for her health, was... pleasant. She only wished it could be Leina or Claudette or literally anyone she didn't despise as much as this man.

Either way, Church had Elina's injured arm disentangled quickly enough, but he noticed upon doing so that the gauntlet she wore on that arm was dented in certain places. The damage wasn't significant, but surely painful for her hand.

"You want me to get that off too?"

Elina's face contorted into a scowl as she contemplated her answer. It was true that her gauntlet was pressuring her already injured arm, but she didn't want to ask Church for any more help than she already had. Needing his help was already humiliating. But in the end the pain won out over her pride. "Yeah, take it off. But if you make it hurt I swear I'll- gah!"

Since he knew she was only going to threaten him, Church cut Elina off early by tugging gently on her gauntlet to see where it would resist him. He wasn't actually trying to hurt her, but the mere nature of it did, resulting in more than a few tears from the blonde he was treating.

"Ow, you... stupid son of a bitch! You did that on purpose!"

"C'mon, you don't really think I'd do that, do you? Sorry, I'll try to be more gentle."

Hearing someone apologize to her for any other reason besides being scared of her set Elina back a little. For someone she had tried to kill more than once, Church was being awfully generous to her...

"Alright, so there's no way I'll be able to get this off without hurting you... tell me when you're ready for me to try."

Elina grit her teeth. "Just... do it now. Hurry up."

"Slow and steady or fast like a band-aid?"

"What the hell is a band-aid?"

With that answer, Church decided to take it slow in the end. "Look, if I pull it off too fast the metal might catch your skin or something. It'll hurt a little longer, but I'm gonna take it slow alright?"

Elina glared off to the side. She wasn't used to this kind of interaction with other people. "Stop being so damn nice and just do it already..."

"Alright Elina, let me know if you need me to stop at any time. I'll try to make this as painless as possible."

A look of surprise crossed Elina's face before Church could start. "How do you know my name?"

"I've heard you addressed once or twice in our previous encounters."

"That was a long time ago, how on earth do you remember?"

"Well I've got this motto about never forgetting the names of pretty girls. Y'know, in case I need brownie points later or something."

Despite every logical part of her brain that told her not to, Elina blushed. At this point, Church had identified her as both pretty and cute. This asshole whom she hated thought she was pretty. Why did that make her happy?

"Goddamnit, just get this stupid gauntlet, my hand is killing me."

Putting that aside, Church had to hold back a slight smile. Elina wasn't quite so scary and mean when she was blushing. "Alrighty, here we go. Again, if you need me to stop, say so."

The reentry of pain into her flustered mind returned Elina to her usual state of being. She wasted no time in glaring at Church again as he began to wriggle her arm out of her gauntlet. It hurt, but at least he was trying to be careful...

Using her expressions as cues, Church tried to extricate Elina's hand from her mangled armor as painlessly as possible, and after several minutes of trouble, he managed to do so, revealing the full extent of the damage.

Church had to admit, it did look painful. Elina's arm was swollen and red from the elbow down, cut up in places her gauntlet had caught, and bruised up and down its length. However, Church couldn't see any sign of a broken bone. Not that it couldn't be broken, but it wasn't obvious.

"Jesus, that looks worse than I thought. I know this might be a stupid question, but does it feel broken?"

Apparently it was a stupid question, because Elina only glared at him.

"Right, probably impossible to tell. Pain is pain after all... will you let me check?"

"What? I'm not going to let you press around my injured arm for broken bones!"

Church tried to level a pointed glare at her. Despite the fact that she had tried to kill him, it was hard to be angry with her while Elina was in such a pitiful state. She looked like she'd been through an entire battle. "Look Elina, I need to know if it needs to be splinted or not. If your arm is broken and we don't do anything, it's only going to get much worse."

Despite the pain in her body, Elina managed to push herself to her feet, all the while cradling her arm. "Why the hell do you care? In case you've forgotten, we're enemies! I tried to kill you! I'm still going to try and kill you after I get out of here! You should have left me here, or better yet, you should have killed me, and had one less thing to worry about. Are you just a complete idiot?"

Church sighed as Elina reverted back to her insult-based speech pattern. "Look, like I said, I'm not ruthless enough to just leave you down here... and I'm definitely not going to kill you while you're hurt. So come on, if we have to be enemies, can't we do it after we get out of here?"

Much to her dismay, Elina found herself reminded of Leina; someone who was too nice to people they should have hated, someone who was too kind in a situation where anyone else would not have been. To see something she admired in her precious sister in someone else... Elina didn't like it. Not one bit. Beyond even that, he had said if they had to be enemies. Even after everything she had done to him, this fool of a man didn't want to get back at her? What was wrong with him?

"I... I don't need your help. My men will find me just fine."

"It'll take them a pretty long time to find you down here."

"Well... what's to stop me from killing you when we get out of here?"

Church cocked an eyebrow at her. "Would you seriously do that even after I helped you here?"

Elina smirked at him. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

This answer earned a sigh from Church, who folded his arms. "Well... I guess we'll find out."

"What?"

"We'll find out. No matter what you do when we get out of here, I'm still not leaving you. I'd never get a solid night of sleep again. So c'mon, let me look at your arm."

Elina simply gawked at him as Church moved closer to her to examine her arm. She was now certain that this man was completely retarded or otherwise mentally damaged. She could not bring herself to think otherwise. He was just a total idiot.

When no retort came from Elina, Church once again gently lifted her injured arm so he could get a better look at it. He wasn't exactly sure how to tell if it was broken without poking around... he certainly wasn't going to do that, so he'd have to rely on questioning the woman he was treating about her pain.

"OK, so since there's no obvious deformity to tell us if your hand or arm is broken, we'll have to check on some other things. First of all, can you feel it? At all? Is your hand numb?"

Clearing her mind of its earlier thoughts, Elina focused on the pain in her hand. The fact that there was pain answered the question. "Yes, I can feel it. Isn't that obvious from earlier, you fool?"

Church rolled his eyes, not at all surprised that Elina was resorting to insults again. Besides, she did have a point. "OK, can you move it at all? Try flexing your fingers. Stop if it hurts too much."

While she was unhappy to be obeying this man, Elina did as she was told, if only because she herself knew nothing about medical treatment or diagnosis. After all, that was servant stuff. As she had expected, trying to move her hand at all hurt like hell, but for the sake of the diagnosis, Elina pushed through it to flex her fingers. Given, they didn't go very far, but only her index and middle fingers failed to move at all.

"I can't move those fingers."

Church had been watching her, so he knew which ones she was talking about. "Did it hurt more than usual when you tried to curl them?"

"Of course it did you dolt."

"Right. Now, tell me if this hurts."

Before she could withdraw her arm from him, Church poked his finger, albeit softly, into Elina's sensitive flesh. The sharp increase in pain caused her to recoil instantly, while also swinging her uninjured hand at Church's face. Thankfully he had been prepared for something like that, so he managed to dodge it fairly easily.

"So, I'm guessing that's a yes."

"Of course it's a yes, you inbred monkey! What on earth makes you think that wouldn't hurt?!"

Surprisingly, Elina's increasingly creative insults actually earned a smile out of Church, though he repressed it quickly in case Elina thought he was mocking her. "Sorry, but tenderness is something you're supposed to check for, along with swelling, so... in the end there's no way of being sure what state your hand is in."

Elina cradled her wounded arm, glaring viciously at Church. "So that was all for nothing then? You just wanted to see me squirm, didn't you? Asshole..."

Church folded his arms. "What? No, I didn't do that just to hurt you. But I needed something to go off of. Now look, I think it's better to assume that your hand is broken somewhere. Since there isn't a bone sticking out of your arm anywhere, it's probably only hairline, but we should probably try to set it anyway. After all, even if it isn't broken, better safe than sorry..."

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that?"

Church inwardly asked himself the same question. He needed something solid and straight, and he couldn't see anything of the sort in the immediate area. Still, he was a smart guy, and creative too, and he eventually figured something out. Reaching behind his back, Church unhooked Grendel's sheath from the straps that held it at his waist. Once that was done, he drew the dwarven blade from it without delay.

To her own chagrin, Elina actually felt a little fearful as she saw him drawing the weapon, mostly because she couldn't possibly defend herself in such a state. Still, her mind told her that logically, he wouldn't have helped her so far if he intended to slit her throat now. But what was he doing?"

Church glanced over at the blonde, briefly contemplating cutting cloth from her clothing to use as bandages. But she was already under-dressed as it was, and he didn't think a noble would be very happy about using her clothes for something of that nature. Not that Elina was ever happy in his presence regardless, but still.

That being the case, Church decided to cut the cloth from the sleeve of the undershirt Rachel had given him. He hated to damage the thing since it was more or less a gift, but it could serve a greater purpose like this.

With that out of the way, he approached Elina again, making sure to leave Grendel on the ground behind him to avoid any radical assumptions on her part. Coming to a stop before her again, he motioned for her to hold her arm up while he aligned Grendel's sheath with it. It was the only thing he had that could possibly suffice as a splint.

"Is this seriously your best idea?"

Locking eyes with the woman he was treating, Church subconsciously noted that her eyes were a similar shade of blue to his own, but on the surface he was simply questioning why she was so antagonistic towards him.

"First of all, yes. Secondly, why do you hate me so much? I haven't done anything that terrible to you."

Elina was indignant in an instant. "What? You break into my home, assist a criminal by attacking me, and, and... and steal my first kiss and you have the audacity to say that you haven't done anything terrible to me?!"

"First of all, you kicked my ass that time, so I hardly see what you're so bitter about. And that kiss? Come on, that was child's play. There wasn't even any tongue involved, so what is there to complain about?"

Her face going bright scarlet, Elina barely managed a coherent response. "T-t-tongue?! I, wha... what on earth are you insinuating!?"

Using her startled reaction as his opportunity to tighten the splint around Elina's arm, Church did exactly that. Thankfully Elina barely noticed the pain while her mind was racing with thoughts that made her both angry and, though she would never admit it, a little flustered.

"I'm just saying, your first kiss with someone you love isn't going to be something that weak, so it's not like you really missed out on anything."

Failing to see whatever point Church was making, Elina simply glared at him. "As if you would know."

Church struggled to hold back a lone tear. Wow. Even for her, that was a low blow.

Nanael fidgeted nervously as she waited for the Seraph to see both her and Hachiel. Heaven, while seen as a serene and calming place, had never been as such for Nanael. She never felt at peace here, where she could feel the judgmental gazes of her fellow angels, and the only thing she could ever expect from her superior was criticism and disdain. In all honesty she hated it here. She would have much rather been back on Earth with just Church and Hachiel. At least she knew they wouldn't treat her like a stain.

Thankfully she had Hachiel there with her regardless. Nanael was confident that as long as she was there, Hachiel would not allow her to take unnecessary blame or fault from the Seraph. Even if she greatly respected the Head Angel's authority, Hachiel would never allow her best friend to be accused unfairly if she was there to oppose it.

So as they sat outside of the Seraph's chambers, surrounded by clouds and shining white architecture, Nanael did manage to feel somewhat calm. In fact, her biggest worry right now was that there would be no reason for them to be sent back to Earth...

Hachiel could see this worry clearly etched on her friend's face, but before she could make any move to reassure her, one of the angels that tended to the Seraph's visitors spoke out to them. "Hachiel, the Head Angel will see you now."

The pinkette glared at the angel, disgusted that she refused to use Nanael's name or even acknowledge that she was there. It made her absolutely sick. "Nanael, it seems the Seraph is ready for us. Just remember the role you played in all of this, and don't let her push anything that's not your fault on you. Alright?"

Nanael nodded, massaging the base of her wing as she usually did when she was nervous. Since she had nothing to say, Hachiel simply led her to the Seraph's private chamber.

As usual, the Head Angel had quite the imposing presence, and, as usual, the look she gave Nanael was full of contempt and disdain. Hachiel hated it just as much in this setting, but for obvious reasons she kept any distaste from her expression, choosing only to bow in reverence to the highest ranking angel in all of Heaven.

"Ma'am; we have returned to report the completion of the assignment you have given us."

Nanael said nothing for her part, struggling to even make eye contact with the Seraph. It was hard to look into the eyes of someone you knew thought you were worth less than the dirt mortals walked on.

"I am glad to hear it. It took you longer than I had expected to complete this assignment, but I'm sure that incompetence was not your own, Hachiel.

Hachiel plastered a smile on her face, even though she wanted nothing more than to shout or yell at the Seraph above her. How could she be so cruel with no basis to support her claims? How dare she accuse her friend in such a way. Regardless of what rank she bore, the Seraph had no right.

"I assure you that the time-frame of this assignment was only affected by factors outside of our control. In fact, if not for Nanael, I am positive that this assignment would have taken much longer than it did."

The Seraph cocked a disbelieving eyebrow at her. "Hachiel, you are aware that fabricating any part of your report to me is worthy of condemnation to the Underworld?"

Though Hachiel's smile never fell from her face, it was clear, at least to Nanael, that the usually sweet girl was inwardly livid. Maybe it was only obvious to her because she knew her better than anyone.

"Completely, ma'am. I swear by the name of our Lord that nothing in my report to you is anything less than the absolute truth."

This statement earned a look of surprise from the Seraph; for an angel to swear on the name of God meant that they risked the ultimate punishment if they somehow broke that oath. The most horrific and terrible Circles of Hell awaited any angel who lied under such an oath. Surely Hachiel wouldn't risk that for the useless garbage standing beside her?

"Is that so? Well then, pray tell, how exactly was your investigation by your... 'partner'?"

At this point Nanael could see a vein bulging from Hachiel's forehead. Strange, how she was angrier about her mistreatment than Nanael herself was.

Hachiel made sure to put extra emphasis on Nanael's name, stressing the fact that she did indeed have one. "Nanael is the only reason this assignment was completed in any timely manner at all. She was the one who convinced the man in question to share everything he knew with us. If she had not endeared herself to him so effectively, who knows how long it would have taken to acquire the information we required?"

Of course, considering that Church's personality was the way it was, Hachiel was sure she could have politely gotten some answers out of him herself, but what she was saying was in no way untrue.

The Seraph narrowed her eyes at Nanael, who seemed to shrink in on herself under her withering gaze. Considering that no form of divine judgment had struck Hachiel yet, the golden-eyed angel had to be telling the truth. "I see... well, good to know that she did not hinder you. So, what did you discover about the man in question?"

Glad that she had managed to thrwart the Seraph's efforts to blame Nanael so soon, Hachiel replied with less tension than before. "He is indeed from another world, but we do not think his presence is hostile. He was sent here by a freak accident during a dangerous mission of sorts. He has no idea how he has arrived here or why, and as far as we know, he has no ill intent for this world."

While this was good news from an objective standpoint, the Seraph would have preferred it if the man had been guilty of some terrible sin so she would have an excuse to have him destroyed. Unfortunately she was not allowed to do that unless the person in question was guilty of something terrible. "I see. However, you have no guarantee that he does not have some ulterior motive?"

"I'm afraid that it is impossible to be sure. We can only take his word for it, as there is no way to confirm whether or not he has ill intent."

"In that case, he is still to be assumed guilty and dangerous. Keep an eye on him, from a distance at this time. Do not reveal your presence to him."

Nanael finally looked like she wanted to object, for obvious reasons. But since the Seraph was more likely to listen to Hachiel than her, the pinkette decided to speak up first. "Forgive me ma'am, but I believe it would be easier for us to watch his movements from a personal position. He's much less likely to evade us that way, and it'd be easier to determine his motives."

"In that case, you may get as close as you like. Nanael is forbidden from doing so."

For the first time since entering the room, Nanael looked like she was going to get angry. It was obvious that the Seraph was doing this just to spite her. "That isn't fair! Why-!"

The Seraph cut her off with a scathing glare. "I decide what's fair. Do not speak out of turn again."

Nanael clenched her fists, doing everything in her power to avoid yelling and screaming and ultimately attacking the Seraph in rage. Fortunately for her, Hachiel was likewise furious, though she handled it much better.

"I refuse."

The Seraph immediately shifted her gaze to Hachiel. "What did you say?"

Hachiel smiled once again, though it was entirely vicious. "I refuse to partake in this assignment unless my partner receives the full extent of the privileges I do."

The Seraph grit her teeth. "Are you defying me Hachiel?"

"Of course not ma'am. But according to angelic law, passed down from almighty God himself, an angel may decline an assignment they know they cannot perform to a satisfactory level, or if they know someone else can do it better. And I'm afraid that, without Nanael, I just can't fulfill this assignment properly."

Angry that anyone would dare try to circumvent her rules, the Seraph had to hold back a menacing scowl. Hachiel was right, by all counts, but she wouldn't let her get away with this. "If you desire the two of you to have equal privileges, then neither of you may get close to the subject, and you will simply abide by the original terms of surveying him from a distance."

Hachiel's smile never fell. "I'm afraid I won't be able to perform very well under those circumstances either, ma'am. May I suggest another pair of angels for this assignment?"

Nanael looked over to Hachiel in surprise, wondering why on earth she would ever suggest that. But after the insane risks she was taking to stand up to the Seraph, she trusted her friend to do what was best.

As for the Seraph, her hands balled into fists as Hachiel outright defied her for the sake of he garbage in the room. And the worst part was, Hachiel knew she had the upper hand. Of all the angels residing in Heaven, only a select few were actually allowed to go to the surface. Only angels God had specifically created to enter the mortal realm could do so, and Hachiel was one of the most reliable. That aside, most of the other angels with that privilege were already on long-term assignments of their own, and this couldn't wait. Hachiel had the Head Angel backed into a corner, and without doing anything essentially wrong on her part.

Technically, Hachiel had not broken any rules, nor had she outwardly disrespected the Seraph in any way, so there was nothing she could do to punish her. "Very well... you are both permitted to return to your previous situation without restrictions indefinitely, until I instruct otherwise. Now get out of my sight."

Still maintaining protocol, Nanael and Hachiel bowed to the Seraph, the latter smiling all the while, before they exited the chamber. They stayed completely silent as they prepared to leave heaven's gates again, since the Seraph could hear anything that was said there. It wasn't until they were descending towards the Earth again that Nanael blurted out everything on her mind.

"Hachi, are you crazy?! Why on earth would you act like that towards her? You're going to be on her blacklist for sure now! Why would you risk so much?"

Hachiel simply smiled at her. "Because Nanael, she's a bitch. And it felt good to get one over on her. No one treats my best friend like that."

Nanael could only stare in Hachiel in shock. There were so many things coming out of her mouth that she would never normally expect that she had no idea what to say. Eventually though, she broke into a wide smile. "Hachiel... in your own way, you're a badass, you know?"

"Oh believe me Nanael, I know."

Hachiel is the real MVP. At least in this fic.

Anyway, I actually had a lot of fun writing this scene for Elina and Church. I mean, this is the first time the girl in question has outright hated him, so it was interesting to put a more hostile spin on things for once (the thing with Echidna didn't count since she didn't flat out hate him).

Anyway, I downloaded the program that let's you play the original QB combat book game, but I was appalled to find that Shizuka doesn't have one! (Neither does Rebellion Elina for that matter) I understand that considering that she was just a side character, but still, it sucks. I could actually make a custom combat book for her, but I have no idea how to do all the technical stuff involved. If I ever figure it out I'll probably give it a go.

In other news, there's going to be an anime for QB:Grimoire, supposedly coupled with an upcoming release of certain game books. How do you guys feel about that? And if you've seen the new characters already, who do you like the most?

And finally, I successfully defeated Darth Vader with Nyx last night. She now rules the galaxy as the Dark Lord of the Sith. And I for one, welcome our new overlord.