The moment they appeared in the Angiris Council chamber, Itherael was already there with Tyrael to study the cube in full. The cube was set on a small pedestal for complete examination. When Skular appeared in the Council chamber, he could only stare in vast wonder of the High Heavens. At the sight of Imperius appearing with Anaurael in his arms, he was speechless once more.
"That is the cube?" she asked softly.
"It appears to be," Imperius nodded. Then he directed his gaze to Skular. "And what are you doing here, mortal? What business do you seek?"
"I was...only brought here..." Skular said, as he tried to find the words.
"Love, do not question him so," Anaurael whispered softly. "He came here to help us fight the demons. Demons destroyed his homeland, too! He is as much a victim of them, as so many others. We need to do what we can for his people now. Barbarians are always allies to us. Just think of Kalgor and Salauriel. And who knows? Maybe this one will find a female, too. It can happen!"
"What?" Skular blinked at this. Everything was far too hard to grasp. He was looking at a girl that could rival the beauty of any woman he ever knew of in his life. He was talking to beings of legend and lore. His head started to hurt from everything that was transpiring. He did notice Itherael and Tyrael, though, as well as how they were studying the cube.
"This is fascinating!" Itherael said. "I cannot believe that such a thing of creation was made by mortals from so long ago! Surely there must be an easy way to work with this?"
"Kulle said he knew how," the Nephalem frowned.
"That I do..." Kulle said when he appeared. Then his gaze fell on Anaurael's face and form. He was clearly baffled by her existence. "And...what are you...?"
"Nothing of your concern!" Imperius snarled out protectively. "My ward, go to the cube. Find out what your necklace wants. Then we need to leave."
"Of course, Imperius," she smiled. He let her down gently, but he walked behind her. Her pregnancy was very evident now, and it was hard enough for her to walk alone.
"You're two months away now," Itherael said and helped her to the cube. "Just be very careful."
"I know," she nodded and took a deep breath to steady herself.
"Lean into me," Tyrael said and stood at her side. Then he looked at her necklace and asked, "May I assist with you? You know of her current state."
The necklace shimmered, and Tyrael was able to move it closer to the cube in a careful way. At the shimmering that both necklace and cube did, Kulle was actually amused. "Interesting! They appear to be a sibling pair..."
"Siblings?" Itherael asked. "And I was curious about you, Kulle."
"No," Anaurael winced and moved to hug him. "Don't...involve yourself..."
"Anaurael?" Itherael asked gently. "Ah. I see. Your necklace does not trust him from his past actions. You seek to protect me from the thoughts it is giving you. Very well. I shall remain at an arm's length from my curiosity."
"I would answer your questions..." Kulle mused.
"But at what cost?" Tyrael growled out. Imperius rested his hands on her shoulders and glared at the spirit. When Anarius appeared, Kulle seemed to smirk. He made no move towards the cube, though. He was there to ensure that his mother was well. But, the Barbarian among them was awestruck.
"What...are...?!" Skular gaped at him.
"I AM ANARIUS. I AM ANU REBORN. IT IS GOOD TO MEET WITH ONE LIKE YOU! YOU HAVE A VERY BRILLIANT LIGHT WITHIN YOU. PERHAPS, WE SHALL FIGHT SIDE BY SIDE ONE DAY. IF IT HAPPENS, I WILL LOOK FORWARD TO IT," Anarius chuckled. Then he rested his gaze on Kulle's spiritual form. Nothing needed to be said. It was only obvious as to what was being done.
"You are being watched..." Malthael growled when he appeared. "My flesh sleeps. While my flesh sleeps, I shall remain here."
"Your flesh?" Kulle asked. He was genuinely curious about this now.
"Yes, his flesh..." Tyrael started. Then Malthael swerved to regard him.
"Say nothing to him," Malthael warned when Tyrael was about to explain. "There are reasons."
"What will not be said will only be found out in time," Anaurael sighed and shook her head.
"What's going on?" Lou-yu frowned. Kylariel whispered to him softly. His eyes went round. He agreed that he wouldn't spill the thought, too. Byden was now seated and calmly watching the others. Nikauriel was gently rubbing the back of his neck. When she bent down to whisper in his ear, he gave a slow glance at her and cleared his throat.
"Not yet," he said calmly. She chuckled and nodded back.
"Oh! Tyrael," Xypherael said when he walked over.
"Yes, brother?" he asked and they clasped hands.
"My, eh, twin brother, Xypherius, may feel a calling. He told me when I got here. He's as good as pointing swords in faces, as I am with crossbows. But, I just wanted to let you know," he said.
"Really? Does she have a name?" Anaurael asked.
"Ah...yes! He told me heard the name Tal...um.. Oh! Talarine. Yes. That's right. And, I think he said she was able to change her form..." Xypherael muttered in thought.
"Like a Druid?" Vincent asked.
"Yes!" he nodded. "That's it. He said he might need my help."
"That's fine. If he does call for you, do what you can. Just be cautious," Tyrael said.
"I was planning on that," he agreed. Then he looked at Kartha and said, "Yes, I know. You'll be coming with me, if he asks for me. I know I can't leave you behind."
"I would hope not," she said and crossed her arms over her chest. Then he scooped her up into his arms to hear her squeak. He always relished that sound from her.
"I think we need to change the furniture around again," he growled and teleported away with her. Small coughs and chuckles were given.
"Amusing..." Kulle seemed to snort with boredom. Humbert seemed to snicker, but Zayl grimaced at something. He had given his wife a small talisman to contact him with. He just felt the call from her. She needed him back at her side.
"I need to get back to Anabelle. I'll be back when I can," he said.
"What?! You're leaving the party now? Just let me stay here," Humbert said.
"No. They'll toss you out a window," Zayl smirked at him and teleported away with Darius's help before the skull could complain.
"I am curious about this cube," Auriel said. "It can change weapons?"
"Yes. And much more..." Kulle nodded. "There is an ingredient book somewhere..."
"I have it," Itherael said and presented it. "It was with some old Horadrim items that were delivered not long ago. Some of these ingredients are...distinct."
"Let me see," Tyrael said and scoured through the book. "Interesting. I've seen a few of these around some of our storage sections. I'll get some of our members to start pulling what we can."
"Can any be replicated?" Anaurael asked, as she got pulled back into Imperius's arms. She rested her hand on his cheek under his helm to feel him sigh with relief. She didn't fail to notice how Kulle seemed extremely amused at this. It completely unnerved her.
"We can attempt that," Tyrael said with a nod.
"I shall see what we can do. Bring me the items," Itherael said.
"Let's get it back to Sanctuary for now," the Nephalem said. "Lyndon, get away from it. Now."
"What? I just wanted to see it!" the scoundrel frowned.
"Sure. Maybe you'll turn yourself into a female..." Kulle snorted laughter.
"Humbert would never let him live it down," Byden grinned.
"You would think so," Jozin agreed. Sylauriel chuckled and rested her hands on his shoulders.
"I'm still very confused," Skular sighed.
"It does take time to let it sink in," Kalgor nodded. "You know, if you wanted to get some fresh air, you could walk on the walkways here. The view is very nice."
"Perhaps," Skular said.
"I'm being ignored?" Kulle mused.
"Easy to do..." Malthael growled at him. "But, I am not ignoring you."
"NOR I," Anarius said with a small nod. Kulle simply chuckled, but he vanished away. Right after he vanished, Skular decided to take Kalgor's advice and walk along one of the many ledges. He looked down at the dizzying heights and sighed.
"Much has happened now. My King has tasked me to do this. I will see it through," he muttered to himself. "There is no other option."
"Even you cannot fight alone, you know."
He turned at the sound and paused at the sight of a female archer from the Halls of Valor. The bow on her back burned with a thread of Light, and the arrows were also tipped with a Heavenly Light. She tilted her white, hooded head at him and moved to look out over the lands. Her armor was as sleek and silver as the rest of what she wore, and it was layered with heavy cloth of white and gold etchings. Her wings were wavering with large, blue tendrils, and she seemed to regard him silently. She was a few of the older ones, and she had been watching him the moment he appeared in the travels of the Nephalem.
"Who...?" he blinked. He didn't know why he felt a kinship with her.
"I am Milauriel," she said. He couldn't take his eyes off her. Now she regarded him in full with a soft, warm chuckle. "I suppose the view of the Silver City no longer impresses you?"
"I...um..." he tried to clear his throat. "I am known as Skular..."
"I know. I've been watching from afar. You called me to your side. Shall we find out why?" she asked. He rubbed a large, calloused hand to his forehead.
"My King, is this why you had me go with them?" he mused aloud. She laughed with him in her soft way. He let her take his hand and vanish with him to claim their new room in the High Heavens. Tyrael was soon whispering to Kalgor from a report he just got.
"Good," Kalgor nodded. "Maybe now, things will make sense for him."
"Or throw him for a loop," Byden chuckled. "Oh. What's going on with the goblins?"
"Funny you should ask," Izarius said when he walked over. "Lilaurael and Ilerael are asking for us to go to the viewing chamber. Something is happening right now as we speak."
"Is it?" the Nephalem frowned.
"Are we all to see?" Vincent asked.
"Yes. It's important," Izarius nodded.
"Keep an eye on him," Imperius muttered to Izual about Lyndon.
"Understood," Izual nodded back.
"Mai!" Lou-yu chuckled when he saw her with Tobirael at the viewing pool. She waved at him and chuckled back. "Wow. Are you fat? Hey!"
"Shut up!" she scowled at him. Tobirael chuckled and ran a hand over her belly. "You should know better than to piss me off right now."
"Well, you're not barefoot yet..." Lou-yu shrugged. "Ah...don't do that..."
"Why not?" she smirked, as she held the floating fireball in her hand. Tobirael muttered in her ear to make her blush, and the fireball was quickly extinguished.
"What am I looking for?" Imperius asked. He kept Anaurael close to his chest as he hugged her, and a chair was soon brought to him to sit down with her. "Are you hungry, my ward?"
"I think I'm okay," she murmured and nestled into his protective form.
"She's at the point that she tires quickly," Tyrael sighed. "and we should have Skular here."
"I'll keep him informed," Kalgor said when he settled to watch the pool. Anarius was quick to stand watch over the pool now. He had to keep watch on battles like this. As much as he would go down to assist, he knew his mother's health required for him to stay safe. When Gurzick appeared, he made a small gesture to a certain area that was viewed. The grey landscape with desecrated constructions and old skeletal demons and angels was now in full view.
"This is Pandemonium, as you all know," Greed said from the crown. "My scouts have revealed that the tainted goblins are being forced to start infiltrating everywhere. They are finding the treasures that I left behind on purpose. Ah! Look! Azmodan's forces are now there! Hmm..."
"They haven't seen each other yet," Tyrael muttered.
"They will now..." Greed chuckled darkly when more treasures were scattered closer together. "My minions are ready to snatch up any stunned goblins. Gahin is ready with her portal, too."
"Wait! We need a way to pull them out of that place! Or, can you put them in the Cow King's realm for now instead?" the Nephalem asked. "It would buy us time to get there to help."
"Ah! Yes. We can do that. Can one of you notify him?" Greed asked.
"I'll go. I have the stick," Kalgor said.
"Is there a way to make more of those?" Lou-yu asked.
"I'll ask the Cow King," Kalgor nodded and let his angelic partner teleport him away. The rest of them watched, as demons and goblins descended on each other. The goblins were already changing into small demons before their very eyes. In Pandemonium, the changes to them were twice as fast as that on Sanctuary. Anaurael was heart-broken over it.
"Die!" a large demonic berserker spat out and lunged at a larger goblin sentinel. They started to slaughter each other without mercy, but, when the fighting started to get to be the thickest, the twisted angels in the fortress came out of hiding. They charged into the fray to kill off both sides.
"For Malthael!" a Death Maiden shouted and summoned up her undead minions to rush in. An Executioner leapt out with several others to barrel into the mix. Various groups of the older demons that were left behind were soon learning of Azmodan returning to Pandemonium. Now they lay in wait to ambush the fresh troops with complete hatred.
All the while, the normal goblins were rushing in, grabbing the corrupted goblins and taking them into the Cow King's realm. The moment the first goblin was caught, the Nephalem rose up. At the sight of this, and at the Nephalem gesturing that it was time to go, the other heroes were quick to follow suit. Tyrael understood this all too well.
"There are many appearing now! Hurry! Build another pasture!" he brayed to his followers. They worked quickly to accommodate what they could. When it almost seemed to be too much, the Nephalem appeared with the others.
"Tie them off! Get Gahin ready!" the champion said quickly and picked up several lengths of rope. Gurzick was quick to call on her.
"Yes?" she beamed. Then she paused at the situation. "Okay! We're ready!"
The portal was made, and the infected goblins were tossed in. The moment they were freed, they got pulled out. The demons in the portal were killed. It was the most fun the beasts in the colorful portal ever had! One goblin almost got trampled, but it got yanked out in time. When the freed goblins came to, they were quick to start helping in the havoc to get more of their comrades freed.
"Well, well, well..." Tyrael smirked at who he saw appear in the viewing pool. When the troops appeared from the portal, the older demons that were waiting to ambush attacked. The fighting was intense and incredibly bloody. Then Azmodan appeared and hurled a fireball at everything in front of him to kill off any of the turn-coated opposition quickly. The moment he appeared, the word was spread to where Diablo was resting.
"Keep him sedated!" Diablo ordered. Mitherael was chained down with links of gold and was at the end of his strength. No offspring happened yet, but that would be seen to later. Right now, he had to confront his brother. He recalled the Baroness's memories on how to call forth more goblins. After amassing another fifty of them, he simply recruited them up the ladder to sentinel ranking. Then he charged them through. He was enjoying being in her body. He had instant troops at his command.
"Slaughter them all!" Azmodan snarled out. At his side in a cage was Lilith. He couldn't trust her to leave her alone. Why should he? Then he looked over at the golden portal that appeared. He seethed at the fresh wave of corrupted goblins that launched out of it. Then he paused at the sight of the Baroness appearing. When he sensed his brother in her, he started snickering. Once again, he was in the body of a female. That amused Azmodan to no end.
"Ah. Azmodan. The lesser evil. How kind of you to show your ugly face," Diablo sneered.
"What's wrong, Diablo? Hmm. I see. You don't like true females anymore? Is that why you chose another female to inhabit?" Azmodan goaded. "I always knew there was something...different about you. As always, you are still a failing leader, but..."
"Silence!" he roared. He took the Black Soulstone shard that hung from his neck and jammed it into the forehead of his host. The Baroness's body twisted and convulsed. Spines erupted from her back. The bloated flesh became a cocoon before it burst free to reveal him in a heavier body build. He screamed and charged into the battlefield. His newly formed, spiked tail whipped about to tear any demons that came at him in complete half.
"Oh, man..." Lilith cringed and braced herself in the swinging cage. Her body was chained back up to keep her from attacking her captor. She was also kept a bit back from the battle to ensure her cage wouldn't be damaged. She expected the fighting to be kept on the field of battle before her. She didn't expect the sudden swarm of Winged Assassins to jump onto the cage to get at her. "A little help here?!"
"Protect the toy!" a grunt shouted out.
"I beg pardon?!" she glowered and shouted from the sudden swinging the cage did. Back up in Heaven, Inarius was quickly called for and shown what was going on. Telanya was quick to follow him.
"I should be there to catch her soul!" he insisted.
"No!" Telanya said. "You'll revert!"
"I will not. I vow," he promised. "Is it possible to separate her from the others? So I can finish it in full and trap her soul?"
"We'll see what we can do," Tyrael nodded. "For now, you watch where she goes."
"Done!" Inarius growled and hunched over the pool to keep his own watch over her. Imperius watched everything calmly with Anaurael sleeping in his protective embrace. As much as he wanted to go down there to help kill off everything, he knew that she would worry too much about him. He also couldn't afford to get wounded.
"How many strong champions do we have?" Imperius asked mildly.
"Plenty to spare," Izual said.
"Good. Send them down," he ordered. "I would join in the battle..."
"Do not!" Itherael warned.
"I know. I said I would join in the battle, but you did not let me finish. Anaurael's health is my primary concern. So, we will send down the others that have been called. Do so," Imperius nodded.
"Do I join them?" Imperael asked.
"Not yet. You are needed her to guard her," he said. Imperael nodded and stood aside. After that decision was done, the order was given. And the new angels descended into Pandemonium. At the sight of them, Azmodan paused with disbelief. These angels were stronger. They hit harder. They were the true champions of Heaven. And they were quick to race towards their targets with a vengeance.
"For Anu and the Crystal Arch!" a female angel shouted and released her volley of arrows. Diablo snarled with hatred at them all. He tried to make more goblins, but he realized very quickly that it wouldn't work. I have to be back in the goblin realm to do that. He also realized his error with his transformation. I lost the ability to make a portal out. When various other goblins became fully corrupted, they also lost that power. He did the only other thing he could do. He charged at his enemy with his remaining forces.
"I will not grant the Heavens the ability to destroy you before I do!" Diablo seethed and launched himself at Azmodan. "You will wish that Ghom still lived to clean up after what I leave behind! Mark my words!"
"Bring it, my failure of a brother!" Azmodan spat out and launched at him with a fireball in front of his form. Heavy blows were now being done to each other with fiery scratch marks, claw gashes, and bite wounds. By the time the angels got to them, Diablo had ripped Azmodan from his armored lower body. He howled his victorious battle cry and launched himself at the Angelic Host.
"Death to you, filth!" an angelic warrior shouted and charged with his brethren.
"The moment he is subdued, I shall go down to chain him," Auriel said. "Only my bonds will keep him restrained. Then we shall see what needs to be done."
"We can have the Nephalem remove the Soulstone shard. That would be the safest thing to do," Tyrael said. "And, Imperius, do not get the idea to slay him this time!"
"I should!" Imperius growled out.
"Love..." Anaurael said when she woke with a soft frown. At the feel of her hand on his cheek, he shivered for control. "I felt you slipping."
"I am sorry, my ward," he sighed. "The urge to...cull that one..."
"I know. Maybe you should not watch anymore?" she asked.
"I must. He is my enemy. He was the one that wounded me! He wounded us!" he muttered out.
"And, if he wounds you again..." she winced. He squeezed her to him with understanding.
"I know this. It would be too much for you and your pregnancy with me. Even the one in your soul would become hindered. Don't worry. If he decides to invade Heaven, then that is the only time I will have to confront him. You are safe. You are with me. I will watch from afar with you. Worry not, my ward. I am not leaving your side," he nodded and gently stroked her hair when she hugged him.
"I love you," she whispered.
"I love you, too," he said gently. Then he reverted his gaze back to the battle. Tyrael could only sigh with amazement at everything. Only she would ever be able to keep his rage in check. He now saw how the angels swarmed around Diablo. He saw how they were ready to pin him down. He was not expecting to see the rest of Diablo's forces swarm together to make a portal for him to escape through. The corrupted goblins were able to channel the last of their goblin reserves together to let him retreat and recover. The instinct to protect the Baroness was too strong to ignore, and they let themselves get slaughtered by the Angelic Host when it was done. Imperius was furious at this.
:Love, do not give in to your rage.: Anaurael whispered in his mind.
:He has escaped! I failed to protect you! I...: He started and paused when she took his hand to run over her belly. He felt the healthy, happy kicks of his growing son. He felt the shivers from the one in her soul. He sighed hard and shook his head. "I fear that I failed to keep you safe once again."
"You are keeping me safe. You are keeping our offspring safe, too," she smiled at him, and he sighed again. "I'm sure it will be some time before he can appear again. We will be better prepared now that we know what to expect."
"Do we?" he muttered. At the soft massaging she now did to the back of his skull, he couldn't think anymore. The lull of relaxation she gave him was too much.
"I have documented everything," Itherael said. "He has changed, but, if you noticed, he could not summon any others. They had to pool together their reserves to help him escape. As for now, we have Azmodan's body in our grasp! We need to trap his soul safely. And we have Lilith's cage, too."
"Let her be joined with Mephisto," Tyrael smirked. "As for Azmodan, I'm not sure who we can merge his soul with. It's doubtful that we have an empty Soulstone shard."
"Should we attempt to forge empty ones?" Itherael asked.
"I don't know," Tyrael admitted. "Granted, there are a couple of the scribes left that still have the knowledge of how to do so. I thought all of them were corrupted, but two of them resisted the urge to succumb to it. I just...it's a gamble."
"Then we should take that gamble," Auriel nodded. "We cannot hold them anywhere else."
"True. Very well. I'll speak with the Horadrim and call a vote," he agreed. "As for Lilith's cage, where do we place that?"
"Not in Heaven," Imperius warned.
"Put it in the chamber the Worldstone was once in. I brought her back there. I shall finish it there," Inarius said. "I'll need a stone ready for her. I would also advise not to free her from it."
"I wouldn't free her!" Telanya muttered out.
"Nor I," Tyrael said. Then he looked at Gurzick. "Can you bring Mephisto's Soulstone there?"
"I will ensure it! But, for safety, none should hold it," Greed advised. "I have no clue how the stones absorb such things. So, we shall set it nearby for it to naturally grab onto her. I am also unsure if the Soulstone used by that Evil can be shared from how powerful he is. We should have a spare nearby."
"That's a good idea," Tyrael nodded. When Malthael appeared, he gave off a sensation that he was very perplexed about something.
"I saw that Lilith was brought with Azmodan. I did not see Mitherael with Diablo," he pointed out. That got them all to blink at that. "Mitherael is still trapped."
"As much as we shouldn't, I think we should try to free him," Anaurael said. "It would be the right thing to do. Wouldn't it?"
"I don't know," Ilerael sighed. "But, being in service to Diablo to do...something disturbing...I think he paid for his crimes. As long as he doesn't eye you anymore, that is."
"If he does, he goes back," Imperius snorted. "I am still quite pleased with our forces. We lost very few in that battle. They have been trained well."
"MOTHER SHOULD SING AND REBUILD OUR FORCES NOW. DIABLO KNOWS WE ARE ON TO HIM. I BELIEVE HE WILL ATTEMPT ANOTHER ATTACK. WE MUST BE PREPARED," Anarius advised. He moved to Anaurael's side and accepted the chaste kiss and hug from her. "WE ALSO NEED TO GRANT REPRIEVE TO MORE LOST ANGELS. MANY ARE BEING SPOKEN TO AND ARE RETURNING TO HEAVEN."
"Then we shall go to the Crystal Arch," Imperius nodded and rose up with Anaurael. "My ward, do you feel well enough to Sing with me?"
"Love, I am always ready to Sing with you," she smiled, let him kiss her softly and carry her off to where the Crystal Arch resided.