As much as Diablo wanted Adria to possess someone right away, he knew he couldn't have just anyone hold her soul. He needed another witch. He needed one that wasn't pure in the Light, and the only places he could look for were in the slums of the most popular cities. He found a lead.
It was a young girl that was tired of being taken advantage of. He had a goblin spy on her for a good week before making the decision that she was the one he needed. The only problem he had now was that Adria couldn't bond with her properly. She needed to be introduced to black magic. She had to be enticed and willing to accept the older witch. The others failed, because they forced themselves into their new hosts. If the host was willing and completely loyal to the one that was offering to assist them, then it was a more permanent and fruitful transition.
He knew that he did need some form of a host for Adria, though. Something temporary and able to be killed off quickly when I didn't need the host anymore. He wanted a powerful, demonic entity for this. It would help Adria's soul recover faster. He had the demons scour through the Burning Hells, and he found a succubus lounging around out of boredom. She would work.
"Take this to the succubus. Make sure she sees it. And put something...pleasing around it. Go!" Diablo ordered the small goblin. It was given Adria's Soulstone in a carefully wrapped cloth of gold filament. A sparkling diamond and gold tiara was found to place with the bundle when it was left just out of sight of the lounging succubus. It would be easy for her to see if she chased it, and it pondered how to catch her attention. She was lying among a set of super-heated coals and appeared to be completely relaxed. It needed to irritate her.
The goblin now tossed a coin at her lounging form to make her glare back at it. But, she didn't rise up to chase it. The goblin frowned at this and tossed another coin at her. Another glare was given, but that was it. A rude gesture was displayed, and it did irritate her, but she didn't feel truly threatened. She ignored it. Now the goblin walked over to her and kicked her hoofed leg. She just smirked and gave a lazy twitch of her tail.
"Why do you bother me?" she growled.
"Why no chase?!" it scowled.
"You are no threat to me. So, I don't care," she shrugged.
"I have a sparkly for you," it said casually now. Maybe playing up to her would get her interested. Instead, it only confused her. She was a touch older than most of her other sisters. She had more experience with odd dealings. She was a worthy host.
"For me? Why?" she asked warily.
"Gift! You no want?" it asked with a small grin.
"I never said that. I want to know why."
"Follow me and see."
She really didn't like that answer, but it was trying hard to get her attention. She found it a bit cute that something was trying to get a response from her. The only problem was that she was too comfortable where she was. She twitched a wing and said, "No. Bring it here. To me."
The goblin scowled at this. It wasn't used to just bringing things to others. But, its master said this had to be done. If I don't do it, I might get killed off. Sighing with defeat, it trudged over to where the stash was. It paused. The items were missing. "It gone! Taken!"
"What?!" she seethed and rose up now. If something was meant for her, she clearly wanted it back! She moved over to where it was and took in a deep sniff of the scent. She narrowed her glowing red eyes. It was my rival that took my gifts. Another succubus that took up territory near me dared to do this. It was time to kill her.
Diablo watched with complete amusement through the goblin. Whoever made it through the fight would be a willing, temporary host for Adria. He watched the succubus storm over to where the other one was. He watched the fight that happened.
"What's wrong, Xyphorias? You clearly didn't want it!" the rival succubus sneered.
"IT WAS MINE!" she screeched and finally pounced on her rival with a blood-thirsty fury. When it was over, she was scratched up, bleeding heavily from a couple torn arteries, and one of her wings was broken. She collapsed onto the ground weakly and coughed, but she was triumphant in the end.
Diablo had several goblins go to her location to bring her to him. Adria's Soulstone and the tiara were carefully collected to bring with them. This succubus needed to get patched up. A few healing potions were found and given over. It would take at least a whole day for this demoness to become fully stable enough to accept the Soulstone. And, now that she was in the safety of the goblin realm, if she needed more time to heal, she could take the extra time from the severity of her wounds. She may not need to be killed off when her use was done.
"Make sure she is fully healed and well fed!" he ordered the goblins. "And secure the Soulstone once more. I will not have it compromised."
The stone was taken and set up in the main chamber where it would be constantly watched over. The goblin spying for Greed noticed this and was not happy. It had to report what it saw. It picked up a bag to feign getting more gold, and it jumped into a portal for Sanctuary first. Then, to avoid suspicion, it did gather a few things up with other portal jumps before heading to Greed's lair.
"My Greatness of Greats!" it squealed and ran over to him quickly.
"Yes? You look bad. What happened?" Greed asked.
"He has new allies!" it said with worry. It explained what it saw with complete detail, and Greed was now very distressed at this. Then he paused at something his minion mentioned.
"Back up! You said a shiny stone was found?!" he asked with surprise.
"Yes. One he knew, I think. Um...said it had a powerful female in it. Someone he trusted..."
"I know who it is," Greed growled. "I wanted that one found! I need to tell the others. I will call on Gurzick for help. Keep an eye on that shiny stone! I need to know where it goes. And what allies did he gain? You mentioned a new ally?"
"Yes. A hurt demon female. He brought her to him."
"Likely for the shiny stone. Not good. Hmm. Yes, I must report this," Greed muttered and focused on Gurzick. The trusted adviser was now moving swiftly to the High Heavens to find Imperius. He was in Anaurael's chambers with her, as her illness had taken effect again from her pregnancies, and he looked over with a touch of annoyance.
"What do you want?" Imperius asked.
"We have a problem," Greed said from the crown. "and it deals with your rival."
"Imperius, call a Council meeting," Anaurael said. "I will be well as long, as I am with you."
"Done!" he agreed and sent the word to the Host. Within a few minutes, she was being cradled in his protective embrace as he stood in the Council chamber, and the others were now gathering to hear what Greed had to say. The Nephalem was told to appear, as it did deal with a common foe. As much as Imperius would always be against humans being in Heaven, Anaurael did convince him that it was important. Myriam was also there to help lend her support. She found this heavily disturbing.
"Diablo has found one of his old allies in the form of a powerful female," Greed started.
"Adria?!" Tyrael asked.
"Ah! Yes, I think that was the name. She is in a shiny stone. He may have found one to take it up for now. It's still unclear, but this is what we know," Greed said.
"Not good at all," Cain said from where Zayl was standing to let him be there. "If another is needed to provide a way for her to come back, then we may still have time. Can one of you go in and fetch the stone? Is there a way to do this?"
"Hmm. I could try..." Greed pondered this.
"It's too risky," the Nephalem said. "The last thing we want is for him to hide her stone."
"True," Greed muttered out in thought. "I can keep my spy there to watch over it. To ensure of where it goes. If it's taken, we'll be found out. It is being watched over all the time. We could be seen."
"We don't want to risk that," Itherael said.
"Keep your little one there," Myriam said. "It may be able to give false information to help thwart. But...hmm..."
"Do you see something?" Auriel asked.
"I do. One of you must go to Kingsport. Someone there needs our help. And it must be done before it is too late," she frowned. "I...cannot reveal too much. I wish I could..."
"What you can provide is all we need," Itherael nodded. He understood how it all had to be, too.
"Do we know what section of Kingsport?" the Nephalem asked.
"Lyndon will know best," she mused.
"Great. And, if we know him, he won't help us without a form of incentive," the champion groaned. Greed now had the perfect idea.
"Tell him that, should he help us, I will relinquish to him the golden weapon he wants," Greed giggled. That got Tyrael clearing his throat from the laughter that came forth. "I can even have Shen decorate it with gems!"
"That will do it," the Nephalem grinned.
"Then we're set! Let's see what mayhem we can pull!" Humbert cackled.
"Just remember to use caution, too," Anaurael said softly. "All of you are valuable to our cause. We don't want anyone hurt. Don't do anything too reckless."
"If you need a door kicked in, just let me know," Imperael snorted. Anarius was deep in thought about everything, and his angelic brother nudged him.
"What's on your mind?" Itherius asked.
"I AM CONCERNED ON HOW DIABLO HAS GAINED A SOULSTONE. AND THAT IT IS ONE OF HIS OLD ALLIANCES. IT WORRIES ME JUST A TOUCH," he admitted.
"And it worries all of us, too," Cain said in a sympathetic way.
"I still think that you need to be made into an angel," Tyrael said to Cain. "It would simplify a lot of things. Yes, you may lose some memories, but I truly do believe that you need to try and do this."
"FATHER, IT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO DO. HIS LIGHT IS MERGED WITH DARK. WE COULD ATTEMPT IT, BUT HE MAY BECOME LOST IF IT FAILS," Anarius warned.
"Not entirely," Zayl smiled. "His energy imprint is bound to a talisman that I have. He won't be fully lost. We can still retrieve him."
"It's still risky," Cain wavered and sighed. "and I'm not sure if I would be properly dressed."
"That's true. You were...on a pyre when you..." Tyrael winced. Anaurael sent over a calming thought to him to help comfort him. He nodded to her and regained himself.
"As an angel, your armor is your skin. You would be dressed," Izarius chuckled.
"And that is true! But, before we attempt this, I would like to further record my knowledge," Cain said. "I know this will be important."
"That will take too much time," Imperius grunted. "We need to act now!"
"His wisdom is needed," Anaurael whispered to him within his helm to calm him down. "and Greed is watching over all of the events in the other realm for us. Do not worry so."
"There is much that is happening now. I cannot let you become the source of anyone's worry. I shall remain with you," he said and kissed her gently. "Our children are still growing. Malthael is becoming interested in weapons now. Even the animals that flock around him are starting to show off their war-like ferocity. As much as I dislike the thought of him getting stronger in the side lines, I know that we must do the same. It's a stalemate right now."
"I know it is," Tyrael agreed. Imperius looked over at him and showed reflected concern all too well. "But, if we can get Cain to become an angel, then it will free Zayl and allow us to focus more freely on other events. I feel that this is too important of an opportunity to pass up."
"Tyrael," Anaurael said with a small frown. "do you hope that this will work for Leah, if it works with Cain? Is this why you want to try this so badly?"
"Anaurael..." Tyrael sighed and grimaced.
"So, that's why," the Nephalem frowned.
"It is true that my niece can be of great assistance, if her soul is found and freed. But, because she was Diablo's direct heir, it will be hard to find her," Cain said. "But...maybe we need to look for her another way. Hmm..."
"What do you mean?" Itherael asked. Myriam started to smile at this idea.
"She was sired by Diablo, but he was in the body of King Leoric's son, Aidan, too. Technically, he was a prince. So, if we look for royalty among the spirits..." Cain mused aloud.
"Leah was a princess!" Tyrael said with recollection.
"Correct!" Cain chuckled.
"So, if we focus on finding recently deceased royalty..." Zayl blinked.
"We can try!" the Nephalem nodded. "It will definitely narrow down our search!"
"We should do this before attempting to turn me into something else," Cain strongly advised.
"Very well. I can only agree. If we can find Leah's soul and see if she can be redeemed, then I'm all for trying!" Tyrael said. "We can try to reach her in the temple, as we did for you."
"That is fine," Cain nodded.
"I am sure that Malthael can assist again," Itherael said. "And, Cain, I will definitely record anything you wish to say."
"This means I'll be sitting through several long hours worth of story telling," Zayl sighed a bit sadly. Humbert was just as upset. He was the one that was holding Cain's token to keep him with them.
"Can't you leave Humbert with us?" Anaurael asked.
"I can't. He's my focus. As much as I could, I would be defenseless and offenseless. I would have to be with him at all times," Zayl explained. "And I can't leave the token here, either."
"He has it bound to me of all things!" Humbert grumbled.
"Well, of course! You are the most dangerous thing to have around," Zayl grinned.
"What do you mean by that?" the skull asked.
"You have a big mouth..." Malthael said when he appeared. That got Tyrael and Izarius laughing. Zayl was only nodding with complete agreement. "I am curious as to what this new soul would look like. So...I will agree to assist."
"Thank you, Malthael," Anaurael smiled.
"Also, my flesh needs nourishment," he said. "It was...amusing. My body was able to tell me to find you. It is learning how to reach you quickly."
"That is an excellent tactic!" Tyrael said. Izarius was telling the others there that couldn't see Malthael on what was agreed to and discovered.
"I'm here," Anaurael crooned to Mal once she was back in her chambers with Imperius. He wasn't quite weaned from her yet, and she had to tend to Arthurius, too. Imperius was letting her rest in the bed to tend to them, and he was clearly the protective father when he turned to see Izarius appearing in the room. After he nodded with respect, Imperius nodded back to show he was clear.
"Are you well?" Izarius asked her.
"I am. I do worry for Cain. He appears to feel that he still has such a heavy burden to carry. I do wonder why that is," she frowned.
"He knows of the war that happened. He was one of the last true Horadrim. Now that Tyrael is here, we know that he can help teach any new ones. But, Cain can be the real teacher once again. There is only so much that Tyrael can do. He's always called back to Heaven. He has to be here for you. Cain can help take his place. It will allow Tyrael to be here a bit more often for you. You know how he will be when it comes time for Justice to become mortal," Izarius said. She could only sigh at that. "He will also want to start training Mal in the art of warfare."
"I know how to fight!" Malthael said from his body after he fed. "Ow!"
"Ow?" Izarius asked.
"My mouth!" he frowned.
"Oh! You're starting to teeth," Anaurael smiled and cuddled her son. "Yes, that can be painful. We'll get you something to help."
At his small whimper of pain, Imperius now had to act. He teleported to the Council chamber where quite a few still lingered. He found Myriam. "I..."
"You need my help?" the large woman mused.
"Regretfully, I do," Imperius muttered. "Mal is teething."
"Ah! Of course! How could I forget?! Hmm. He needs something cold to help. Ice will work," she nodded. "Soft baby rings made for this also help, too."
"I'll get Izual," Tyrael chuckled and sent the call for him.
"You asked for me?" Izual asked and clasped hands with him.
"I did. Mal is teething. We need some ice," he smiled.
"And you called on me for that?" Izual asked in a puzzled way. At a glance to Azurewrath, he found himself laughing. "I see! And it would be a pure form of ice, too. Very well. I shall assist."
"Just make a small block. We can cut it down easily," Tyrael nodded.
"I can also assist," Greed chuckled from Gurzick's crown.
"That you can! We need some really good baby teething rings. Do you think you can acquire some for us?" Tyrael asked. Gurzick nodded with a large grin and jumped through his portal. He was also going to see about restocking the baby clothes in Anaurael's room, too. As the children grew, they were going to need new clothing. He was going to ensure that they had enough to go around.
"Now that they're fed, I'm a bit hungry," Anaurael chuckled. Imperius was quick to pull her into his arms after the children were taken away to sleep off their meals. He gave a heavy sigh of relief at the feel of her arms around his neck. He would never tire of the sensation. "I love you, Imperius."
"And I love you, Anaurael," he chuckled and squeezed her gently. "Let me help you eat."
"Okay," she nodded. A passionate kiss was shared between them, and he let her sit in his lap to start eating the succulent roasted meat dish delivered to her. When Itherael appeared, she smiled at him. "Are you well, Itherael?"
"As well as I can be. Tyrael and Zayl went down to the old temple to start another summoning search. I may join them to see how it goes," he said.
"You should not stray too far. She is with your offspring now," Imperius warned.
"I am aware. The moment she needs me, I shall return," Itherael nodded.
"And, if you cannot return in time?" she frowned. Itherael now moved to place a hand over her belly. On doing this, she gave a small cough, but it was with complete relief.
"I see. You need my essence at times. It appears that I shall remain at your side," he said gently.
"You had best see to that promise," Imperius warned him. "I will not watch her suffer, if you neglect her. You see how I am with her. And you saw how she was when pregnant with my direct offspring. She still needs me from the offspring I gave her in her soul. You must remain at her side. As much as I may detest it..."
"Tolerate him for me," Anaurael softly whispered into his helm.
"I shall," he agreed and squeezed her gently. They looked over at the sight of several Greed Goblins appearing with various baby supplies, and Izarius was quick with Darius, Azarius, and Mithus to sort them out. With her chambers getting a much needed restocking of baby needs, the Nephalem was talking to Lyndon back on Sanctuary. Most of the heroes were there, thankfully, as they needed to know what was going on, too.
"We have to go to Kingsport. You are the guide. Myriam said it was important," the champion said. "And, yes, we know you may want a form of incentive."
"I'm glad we have an understanding!" Lyndon beamed.
"Your incentive," the Nephalem smiled. "is the crossbow you wanted."
"What?" the scoundrel blinked.
"Yes. Greed said to all of us that he will agree to give it to you at long last. But, that's if you help us out willingly," the champion said. Kormac was extremely skeptical on hearing this. Even Eirena had her doubts. Lyndon was thinking over everything rather hard now.
"If Greed is finally offering me the crossbow..." Lyndon frowned. "Who are you looking for?"
"We don't know. At least, not just yet. Myriam said that you were the one we needed to help us find the person. As to why," the champion said in a grave way to get everyone's attention. "Diablo found Adria's Soulstone. A host is being looked for."
"What?!" Kormac gaped.
"This news is most distressing!" Eirena cringed.
"I see why Kingsport would be looked into. Quite a few could have taken rough turns here and there," Lyndon muttered aloud from his thoughts. "And, yes, I can see why this is important."
"You're being serious for once?" Byden asked from where he was standing.
"This is Kingsport. I have no choice," Lyndon admitted. "Fine. I'll be your guide. But, I want a form of payment up front."
"No!" Greed scowled from where Gurzick appeared to regard him. "You will get your prize after you fulfill the bargain. That's the deal."
"You don't understand. I need something to use as possible bribery measures for other encounters," he hinted. Now Greed had to grumble that the scoundrel was on to something.
"I can easily bribe our jeweler friend for a small bag of gems. You can safely hand one over at a time. Will that work?" Greed asked. Lyndon shook his head.
"I may have to appeal to some old friends," Lyndon said. "They want me dead."
"Ah, you forget something," Byden smirked. "You have the High Heavens looking down on you. You want incentive? We can call for Imperael to punch someone out for sport."
"So we can!" Lyndon said with a bark of laughter.
"And you will be with us. I think none will want to touch you," Jozin nodded.
"Well, some of my dealings will need to be done alone," the scoundrel said.
"You will still be watched," Sohar chuckled. "When the Heavens are involved, very little escapes their eyes. You should know this."
"True at that," Lyndon nodded. "We'll chance it. When do we go?"
"We can go now," the Nephalem nodded. Gurzick now made the portal for Kingsport, and the group moved into it to see what they could do. Time was of the essence. They couldn't risk anymore time to be lost.