"Do you remember who was lost?" Anaurael asked Imperius, as she reclined on him in his sanctum. He had to see to the troops, but he needed her first.
"There have been many that were lost," he sighed and ran an armored finger along her cheek. The chair he was on was designed to let him recline without hindering his wings. It was easy for him to get up smoothly when he needed to. Even his feet were firmly planted on the ground for this. As long as his feet felt solid marble underneath them, then he considered it standing. As much as he had lain back on the bed with her before, he didn't want to do that again. His feet were not touching the ground, and it bothered him. He needed the sensation of the floor under his feet in order for something like this to work. He had to be able to jump up to defend Heaven the moment he was needed.
"That isn't good if you cannot remember who was lost," she frowned.
"I know," he admitted. "There were many that were sent out that never returned."
"But...I was curious of something," she said and lightly traced a finger over the outer edge of his helm. The simple motion made him tense. "Izarius did this before he got his hood."
"What was that?"
"He...took off his helmet. For a little bit. And I actually felt his face in full. It was interesting. Of course, I would not ask you to do such a thing, but it was just...very different of him to do," she chuckled. He thought about this silently.
"Perhaps," he mused. "when it is time for me to make my physical offspring with you..."
"Imperius, love, I wouldn't ask you to do such a thing."
"You are not asking. Nor am I saying that I would. I am only agreeing that it may be possible. We shall see," he said. She nodded and let him hold her against his chest.
"You told me once before that armor is like skin," she said and traced a finger down his engraved chest armor. "Is this skin right now?"
"I'll let you be the judge of that," he seemed to growl, and he sat up to pull her closer. As he kept her thoughts preoccupied in the safety of Heaven, a completely different outlook was happening in Pandemonium. And it didn't appear to be a good one.
"Protect our flank!" the Nephalem shouted. "Kormac! Your left!"
"Easier said than done!" the large man grunted, as he shoved an older demon away and punched it in the face. The angelic warrior escorts were quick to help barricade themselves in front of the rest to buy them time. The Wizard cast her disintegrate spell accurately and hurled a meteor from the air directly over at the group of enemies to let it explode on them and melt the ground.
"Zayl! Hurry!" the Monk shouted, as he stunned several minions with a heavy kick. Zayl was already chanting, and Humbert was focusing on all the new corpses around them. When the dead came to life to attack their former brethren, the Witch Doctor had his undead dogs join the fray. The large, undead Gargantuan lumbered forward to deal a skull-crushing blow to the demon before it. Vincent whistled, and his wolf howled to bolster the attacks. After another few minutes, the enemy lay dead.
"Spot check!" the Nephalem said. "If you're injured, heal up now!"
"I am fine," Eirena said.
"Same," Lyndon nodded and notched another bolt in the Manticore.
"Not even a flesh wound!" Kormac boasted when he got his health potion. The Barbarian spat out some blood that got into his mouth and growled.
"I'm not sure where we have to go," Zayl frowned. The corpses he rose up were already falling apart again. The Witch Doctor was chanting to help mend the stiff, torn flesh from his undead following. Then he thought and chanted again for a Fetish shaman to appear. The small figure in rags with a fanged mouth, beady red eyes and holding a staff was being carried around by a different Fetish minion with a larger fanged mouth and the same beady red eyes. The shaman had much longer hair, though. The small warrior Fetish that carried him around had shorter hair.
"You can summon those?! Oh, Hell..." the Nephalem winced.
"Yes, but the ones I call are to help us," the Witch Doctor chuckled. As if to prove a point, a small demon jumped out at them, and the Fetish shaman turned his ride around to face it. Then he shook his staff and turned the demon into a chicken. The Witch Doctor's miniature undead army tore into it right after.
"It did what I can do!" Eirena chuckled.
"Yes. But, I can call on other variations. I may see what else will come," the Witch Doctor nodded. "Such a thing is important. Even the spirits are enraged at this madness."
"As long as they work with us and not against us," the Wizard said.
"I agree to that," the Barbarian nodded.
"You know," Lyndon said. "I find it odd that we are all working together and we don't know any of your names! Isn't that a bit...oh...strange?"
"No," the Wizard smiled softly. "Why should it?"
"Well, we know his name," Zayl said and gestured to Vincent. "If they want to give their names, it's up to them. Don't push them into something that isn't needed."
"Well, you could give me your name," Lyndon said to the Wizard in a flirtatious way. She laughed at him.
"No thanks! The last thing I need is for you to call for me when I'm busy. I don't need that form of emotional attachment," she chuckled. "Thanks for the laugh, but we should move on."
"That we do," the Nephalem nodded and smirked at Lyndon's pout. "and we need a guide."
"I here!" Gurzick said when he finally showed up.
"Sorry for being late. I had to restock the food stores for that Horadrim. I have a special trade set up with the girl. She makes that wonderful music, and I take care of what she needs. I can't get enough of it! Anyways, I'm here. Where did you want to go first?" Greed asked from the crown.
"We need to find any powerful angels that were left here," the Nephalem said.
"Ah! I do know of one. I'll lure you there," Greed said.
"Lure?" the Monk asked.
"If you don't act like you are chasing my minion, then it will look awkward. So...start chasing!" Greed cackled and had Gurzick whoop with surprise before running off. The group members looked at each other and ran after him. Any monsters they ran into were slaughtered. The angels charged ahead and paused at the frozen battle before them. An ancient demon lord was frozen in time. Then they saw the elder angel on the opposite end of the field. Gurzick wisely went into hiding now. He would reappear after this massive, frozen battle was over.
"We shall go and assist our brethren!" one of the angels said. "You all handle the demons!"
"Got it!" the Nephalem said and activated the time warp to restart time. The massive elder angel in black armors and bearing a massive mace was now staring over the mass of battle. He didn't know that his armor was stained black through the time freeze he went through. Even his wings seemed to be more shadow than the white they used to be from how long he was without Heaven's Light. He simply reactivated when time came back to jump back into the fight. When he saw the four, fresh angels, he nodded to them and held his massive angelic mace aloft.
"Greetings, my brothers! Have you come to join the fight?" he asked.
"No. We have come to send you home to Heaven. You are to go back to the High Heavens with what troops you have remaining. Imperius has ordered this. All will be explained when you return," one of the angelic warriors said. This had the elder angel confused. He was frozen before Imperius became the leader of the Angiris Council, and it was before the Worldstone was stolen.
"I cannot abandon the fight," the elder angel started. Then he paused at the sight of Malthael appearing with his wings in their full, white splendor.
"I am taking a chance by being here. Anu sent me down. It was the only way to convince you. Go back to the High Heavens with your troops. Now. It is a Council order. Do not delay any further," Malthael commanded him. When the elder angel was about to argue, a warm feeling of intense love and trust surrounded him and radiated outwards. Anu had to reinforce the decision.
"Anu...!" he gasped. He had never felt such a thing before. It was much like what Malthael felt before. A sensation of a father welcoming home a lost son.
"Yes, Erelus. Now go back to Heaven. The ones here will finish your fight," Malthael nodded. Then his form vanished away when he retreated back to Anaurael's mind. He only hoped that his signature imprint would not be noticed. Erelus was important to go back due to his ancient power. He was clearly needed to help with the new forces.
Malthael had every right to be worried, though. His old following that remained in the fortress was still on high alert. And they did sense his presence. They even felt the presence of Anu, and that had them shocked and very alarmed. At the same time, it was what Anu wanted. He wanted them to question his existence. To see if they had a chance for redemption. He wanted as many lost angels to come back to the High Heavens as possible.
"My brothers! It is time to go home!" Erelus called out. His warriors cheered, and they all vanished. The Nephalem was able to take out the opposing party easily enough. When it was cleared, their angelic escorts came back over to them to report.
"Our brothers have returned to the High Heavens. Let us keep searching for the others," one of them said. Gurzick giggled and started to run towards the old fortress now. The group followed, but Humbert had a feeling that something was odd. Something wasn't adding up to him at all.
"So, Zayl..." the skull said, as he got carried.
"Hmm?" the Necromancer mumbled while he ran.
"If Malthael wasn't supposed to come down...why did he?"
"To convince them to leave. You saw that."
"Yeah, but...wouldn't he be seen?"
"What are you getting at?" Zayl frowned at the skull.
"I'm just getting this feeling that something's going on. That he was sent down for another reason. You know I tend to say what I like. I'm not all just hot air and whatnot, too, when it counts. And this feeling counts. I feel that something's going down."
"And it's rare for you to get such feelings," Zayl agreed and began to raise a few corpses to help with the attacks. "Why are you feeling this?"
"Since I got touched by Malthael, I can sense things about him. I don't like it."
"What things?"
"Thoughts and stuff. He didn't want to come down, but something made him come down. He was worried about the girl. But, he had to come down. Who made the angels again? What started them?"
"Anu?"
"Yeah! He made him come down!" Humbert said with his own form of surprise when his thoughts fit together at the powerful being's name. Now Zayl stopped and stared at the skull with disbelief. Then an angel came up to talk to him, now that there was a lull in the fighting.
"Anu has been trying to gather all of his lost angels. None of us know why. I can only think that it is because of what happened with the Black Soulstone. He is preparing for something. He wants his warriors back. Also, Malthael has old forces here. If he was sensed, Anu was likely sensed, too," the angel said. Now Zayl was in shock at this. Those that were able to overhear were caught by surprise. "Anaurael is able to grant many fallen angels a chance of reprieve. This may be one of his goals."
"That would make a lot of sense," Kormac said when he strode over. "I have noticed that Heaven seemed rather empty. It really puzzled me."
"Two complete sections of Heaven were laid bare. The Pools of Wisdom, and the Courts of Justice. When Malthael left, all of his faction left with him. When Tyrael became mortal, he lost all that he had in his Courts, too. We need to recuperate our losses," the angel sighed.
"What faction do you hail from?" the Monk asked.
"I am from the Gardens of Hope," the angel nodded. "The other three are from the Halls of Valor. Not many leave the Library of Fate, since it is always watched by Hope. The angels of Fate also tend to be more scholarly than fighting warriors. It's their nature. They assist in recording events. Those that belonged to Wisdom were very much the same, but they were all loyal to Malthael to the end. Thus, when he left, so did they. Some from the Courts do still linger, but they are few and far between. Many went into a state of slumber elsewhere in Heaven to wait for a form of Justice to return."
"What more can be done to help Heaven?" Eirena asked.
"When Anaurael gives birth, she will assist in restoring more of our forces. Since she is so developed with offspring, Imperius forbids it. Even Anu ordered her not to Sing to the Arch, too, until she gave birth. We honor the decision. Come now. We need to see to the fortress," the angel said. "The longer we idle, the more prepared whatever awaits us becomes."
"Very well. Let's keep moving," Zayl nodded. As they made their way to the fortress, Malthael watched everything through Humbert's hollow gaze. What the skull discovered had him intrigued. And he was still very worried. Anaurael was resting in her chambers when he settled in her mind, and he had found himself holding her mental form by her favorite rainforest waterfall.
"What's wrong?" she frowned and ran a hand over his invisible cheek.
"Anu...had me go to Pandemonium. A powerful brother was there. He was lost in time. He is regaining his Light, as we speak. But...he was frozen since before I left the Council. He knows not of any current events. Itherael and Auriel are going to explain much to him. He may have different views on things. Different ideals. It may be difficult. Also...because I had to go down to fetch him...my old faction has sensed me. Anu planned this in full. It was something...I had hoped to avoid..." he sighed.
"You fear that Heaven may be attacked again?"
"Not really. I worry about what they may say...about you..." he growled and squeezed her. "I will personally cull them, if they attempt you any harm."
"You won't be the only one," she chuckled. He could only nod at that. "How can you tell what is going on? None down there are tied to me."
"It is the annoying skull. I touched it."
"You did?"
"Yes. It gave me a necessary link. I had also empowered it. I can now see what it sees. It does not know that, but it can sense various things about me. Such a thing is...disturbing. But, my worry truly does lie with my former faction. They may irk me with doubts about you."
"Well, if any do have doubts about me, we can have Imperael set them straight," she grinned softly. That got her rewarded with a short bark of laughter. He could see that. The massive angel was one of the largest he had ever seen, too. After a moment of silence, he tilted her face to his invisible one and kissed her in a tender, gentle manner.
"I love you...far too much...for any to touch you..." he said and ran a slender finger over her cheek. "I can only hope...that I can come back here...to you...when my new flesh rests..."
"I'm sure you can," she said and leaned into him and traced over the lining of his hood. Two separate long strands of silver that lined his dark hood seemed to flow down and merge with his cloak-like clothing, and she traced down one of the strands with a mild form of fascination. That simple, gentle movement had him gasp and tremble. The kiss he shared next with her proved how much he cared for her. When she reached up to run a hand through his invisible hair, he felt much of his stress leave him. It was a sensation that fully caught him by surprise.
"I wonder...if this is what Imperius feels...when you touch his cheek..." he whispered. "This is very calming to me. I do like this feeling."
"Then I'll make sure to do this more often for you," she chuckled softly. He placed a tentative, gloved hand over her belly to feel his body move.
"I do wonder...if I could make a physical form with you. Not with my growing body. But...just maybe...with Tyrael's mind under my control," he mused.
"What?!" she gaped at him. He pressed a finger to her lips.
"It is only a thought. A speculation. It may not happen. Worry not of it now," he advised. She could only wince and nod. "Such a thing may be unavailable for some time yet."
"As you say," she sighed and let him squeeze her. "What is going on now? In Pandemonium?"
"They are heading into the fortress."
"Can you...tell me what happens?"
"That I can," he nodded and focused on Humbert again. The group had just made it into the fortress. When they got into the main hallway, they found it oddly silent.
"I do not like this," the Monk growled.
"You're telling me," Lyndon muttered.
"I'm going to have Gurzick hide. If I find anything, I shall let you know," Greed said and had his minion teleport away. He felt a rather intense feeling of some form of confusion going on. He had to sit out the rest of this. At least for now. Even as Gurzick left, the Nephalem felt an odd uneasiness in the air. At the sight of a Death Maiden walking over, the group readied to attack.
"I come in a rare form of peace," she said. She still held her scythe, but it was in a non-combatant way. She was being truthful. "I wish to ask questions with some idle talk."
"Then speak, and we will listen," the Nephalem said warily.
"We have sensed a presence that should not exist," she started. Her tone was stark and stern with a touch of her hollowed emptiness throughout it. She wore armor much like Malthael's, but where leather should have been, it had been removed to show her blue death energies to show that she no longer had to wear the traditional angelic armors in full. This energy was seen along her elbows, her belly and parts of her legs above the boots. She had even lost her wings, and it was that energy she lost that compensated for how she appeared to them without parts of her armor. A tassel of long, luminous hair in the form of the same blue energy seemed to crackle about from her blackened steel hood.
"Yes, yes, we know you sensed Malthael. Just admit it!" Humbert said with irritation.
"Shut up," Zayl growled at him.
"If you seek reprieve, then now is the time for you to return to Heaven to claim it," a warrior angel said. "Malthael has already done such. Anu is calling back all of the lost angels."
"Anu..." she seemed to whisper. "Then...the other presence was true..."
"Yes. However, only those that seek redemption will be granted this," another angelic warrior said. "For those that stay here, there will be only death."
"Death is something we are familiar with now. I know not of what the others may think. But, I will follow where Malthael goes. My loyalty knows no bounds. If he has returned to serve Heaven, then so shall I. I shall speak with the others. Many may not wish to leave, as they have been ingrained in culling all demons in both humans and pureblood demon types. As much as I see demons in all of you, my loyalty goes to Malthael. And yet...I am only confused. I saw him die," she said.
"He's being reborn again," the Wizard said calmly.
"Yes. Through a pureblood mortal angel," the Nephalem nodded. "I'm sure it will be explained when you go back. He is able to make small appearances, as you have seen."
"Then...why does he not appear now?" the Death Maiden asked.
"Because only Anu grants him the ability. His soul is locked to the mortal angel's mind," the first angelic warrior said. "Only when the need is dire will he be able to come forth."
"I see. I do worry of what will become of me. But, I will follow Malthael. Even if he will be different in form, I will know it is him. There are many like me that are like this, but there are also many that have been lost to the madness of this place," she nodded. "Please wait. I must speak to those here. And...should any come here to attack you..."
"They will not live, if they try," the Barbarian growled. Vincent had his crossbows ready, and his wolf slathered as it looked around protectively. The Witch Doctor was still irked at how the souls were twisted for unnatural usage, but he could only hope that they would be released if Heaven took these lost angels back. The Death Maiden nodded and walked off into the depths of the fortress. When the sensation of confusion turned to outrage in the air, they readied to attack.
"Here they come!" Kormac growled. Eirena readied her spells. Lyndon quickly fired at the first creature he saw to show where they were coming from. The first that reached them were the Exarchs. Originally ones that assisted in guarding the Chalice of Wisdom, they were warped and twisted into free-floating lightning duelers of death. Like the others the Nephalem remembered, their wings had changed to a set of long, demon-like spines that jutted out from their shoulders to give the illusion of six limbs, and the cloth they wore looked angelic, but was darkened from the death they grew accustomed to. They also had a chilling veil of skin instead of energy from what showed on the Death Maiden they spoke with. These creatures had mastered taking on flesh without losing their immortality.
It was easy to take them out, but the Anarchs appeared next in rapid succession. They looked almost like the Exarchs, but they reviled in physical attack. They charged into the group to try and separate them, but the Monk stunned any that got too close before planting his soul bomb onto them. Then the Barbarian with the Witch Doctor's Gargantuan had taken them out to have them explode and remove any other enemies around them. It was easy for the Barbarian to stomp down a foot so hard that it made a vortex to pull them all in to do this properly. Vincent's wolf timed a howl to neatly bolster their attack, as he fired into the fray. Then the Wizard landed a rather accurate meteor into the lot of them. At the sound of something scurrying around them, they all tensed.
"Winged Assassins," the Nephalem muttered.
"Let them come!" Eirena nodded. The small fallen angels leapt down on them from the ceiling. What used to be silent, wise, and all-knowing angels, the madness that Malthael gifted them with corrupted their minds and forms. Their wings were replaced with vicious spines that let them resemble humanoid spiders when they attacked swiftly. The angelic guards made a barrier with the Witch Doctor's undead dogs. As Vincent used his stun bombs and let his wolf continue to howl, he picked off whatever tried to run. They were easy to dispose of soon after. At the sound of footsteps approaching them, they saw a Death Maiden appear. But, she wasn't the one they spoke to.
"Human fools! Malthael is dead! We shall avenge him!" she said and started to summon any undead archers and soldiers to her side. Then two other Death Maidens appeared. One wielded fire, and the other did intense ice. The Barbarian howled and leaped onto the one that controlled ice. The Monk moved to start keeping the summoner stunned and placid. The Wizard and the Nephalem focused on fire maiden. Vincent continued to fire his crossbows, as he ducked and rolled. He was taking out whatever was summoned. The angelic warriors continued to play out as the barrier.
When the summoning maiden fell, the Executioners charged out of hiding. These were massive, altered meat shields with blades on their arms. They leapt at the group, but the Barbarian held them back with a punch to the face of one. Eirena was able to charm one to shortly fight for them, but, as always, it didn't last long. However, it was enough to cause severe damage to the others.
"I can't raise any of these!" Zayl scowled, as he continued to launch acid balls out. He was able to summon up walls of bone to help delay the attackers from reaching them.
"Then just stick to what you're doing!" the Nephalem shouted over the fighting. Humbert focused on any weak minions to alert Zayl on which one was ready to fall. That definitely helped with the crowd control. When the last Death Maiden fell with the final Executioner, the group quickly healed up and watched the one they spoke with appear with a rather impressive following. And this group did not attack. There was a different air about them. They were able to think clearly.
"There are still many here that are resentful. Those that did attack were lost to the madness of this place. There are many more, but they are recouping their losses. There are others here that are still undecided, but the ones with me will return to Heaven to see what reprieve can be reached. We have been able to remove much of the madness from our minds on hearing the call of Anu. And we know this. We will always follow Malthael. He is our leader and master," the Death Maiden nodded.
"There is one last thing, though," the Nephalem said. "There was a teleport device being used. It leads to Sanctuary. We need to destroy it."
"There is no need. The moment we heard Anu, we destroyed the device, ourselves. As I have said, many of us were able to see through the madness. We realized what we had become. We are the ones you see before you now. There is no need to seek a place where our master no longer holds any interest," the Death Maiden said. The Nephalem gazed over them all and sensed no lies.
"Then let us return to the High Heavens before any others delay us," an angelic warrior said. A portal was made to let them all go through swiftly. After it closed, there were many there that now had a large decision to make. To stay and continue to sift through the madness, or to rejoin Heaven's glory and regain what was lost.