A.N.: Lord Michael, the Archangel, has stubble solely for the reason of looking gruff. Angels don't grow hair, per se, they just look how they want to look.

"All right, we should get to the Astral Plane as quickly as possible," Mike said. "You three could probably have Alex and Justin cast a spell to get you all there. At least, that would be the quickest option. We need a place for your bodies, of course."

"Bodies?" Harper said, nervously.

"When you Astral Project, only your consciousness travels, leaving your body asleep. Just like normal sleeping, except perhaps a bit deeper. It's just as safe as sleeping," Justin said. He was lying slightly, and hoped that the angels wouldn't mind. It was slightly more dangerous than sleeping.

"How about the meeting room?" Harold said. "It's really the only place we have for them."

"Yeah, the chairs there aren't too bad, I guess. They have to be a little bit comfortable, or they'll be really stiff when they return."

Harry and Mike lead the three humans to the meeting room, and had them sit in the chairs. They all tried to get as comfortable as possible.

"You three go first," Mike said. "We'll be right there."

"Harper's not used to interplanar travel," Justin said. "We'll have to guide her." Alex nodded.

Harper still looked nervous, but tried to relax anyway as Alex and Justin cast the spell. Before she even realized they had begun, everything went blank for a moment, and then exploded into a new sort of sensation. She couldn't exactly see anything, but she couldn't quite not see. It was something she had never experienced before. She also couldn't feel anything, but she had knowledge of what she should be feeling, which was a strange sensation. It was made stranger by the fact that it "felt" like she was floating in a viscous liquid, a bit thicker than water. Despite all this, she felt a sense of peace and calm wash over her. She floated around, exploring this new sensation. Small flashes of images began to appear, and she tried to float toward them, exploring what they could be.

"Harper," the voice of Justin came to her, sounding muffled and distant. "You have to focus now. Follow my voice."

"I don't wanna," she said. "I'm having fun!"

"Harper," Justin said more sternly. "This is very important."

"Fine," Harper sighed. She began floating toward the direction she thought Justin's voice was coming from. Eventually she saw an image flash blob that looked kind of like him, so she continued toward it.

"You're almost there," Justin said. "Focus on me, now. Try to remember what I look like, and hold onto that."

As she did as she was told, the blob-like image of Justin began to take shape. Everything around her seemed to start to become even more coherent, and focused, and other familiar images appeared and coalesced around Justin - those of Alex, Mike and Harry. She began to focus on them, too, and found herself feeling less like she was floating, and more like she was walking normally through air.

"Excellent," Justin said. He no longer sounded distant or muffled, but rather like he was right there, much the way she saw him.

"This is weird," Harper said. Alex and Justin shrugged.

"You get used to it," Justin said. "So, what now, Michael?"

"We have to check the Etheric Prison," Mike said. "Do you still have the suitcase, Harry?"

"Yep," Harold replied, lifting it up. Justin furrowed his brow.

"How do you have a suitcase on the Astral Plane, exactly?"

"Well, they do allow a carry-on," Harold said, grinning. Alex rolled her eyes again.

Mike began to head off in a direction that, to the humans, seemed entirely random.

"I am beginning to feel something strange," Mike said. "There's another presence nearby."

"The Ether Bunny himself?" Harold asked.

"No, I don't think so. I know we're close to the Etheric Prison, but-"

"Wait, we're already close?" Harper interjected. "How'd that happen?"

"Distances on the Astral Plane are kind of screwy," Harold explained. "They're more or less meaningless and arbitrary."

"Anyway, I don't think it's the Ether Bunny. In fact, I don't sense him at all. He may have already escaped. Perhaps that demon already got here?"

Another unfocused, misshapen image began to appear before them. It quickly formed into a being that the humans present immediately associated with demons. Although man-sized, he had red skin, sharp impish features, and no hair. He wore a loin-cloth, carried a trident, and had a spear-like tail. The sensation of heat seemed to radiate off his body.

"You're right about that!" it cried, cackling.

"God, you demons are not subtle in your symbolism at all, are you?" Mike said, rolling his eyes.

Justin rushed to Mike's side, ready to do whatever was necessary.

"Bah, whatever. I'm not going to let you re-imprison the Ether Bunny!"

"You're throwing your psychic weight into keeping the prison open, aren't you?" Mike said. The demon paused and narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, look who's smart. There is one way that I'll remove my lock, though."

Justin heard a clicking from behind him. He thought Harold was opening the suitcase, but he had no idea why he'd be doing that.

"Oh really? What's that?" Mike said. He sounded patronizing and disinterested. There was more clicking behind Justin, and he didn't know what Harold would be doing now.

"If you show me a truly selfless, altruistic action performed by one of these humans you have with me, I will admit that perhaps, only perhaps, I am wrong about them, and I will, in this one case, let you go about your business, unhindered!"

Harold came up to Mike's other side and handed him something, but Justin couldn't make out what it was.

"Yeah, no, that's a bullshit demand," Mike said. He raised his hand, and Justin saw what Harold had handed him - a gun. Justin was no firearms expert, but he had played video games before, so it looked like a Glock, although this knowledge didn't really alleviate the shock and alarm. He had no idea what was going on, but before he could protest, Mike had already pulled the trigger. There was an explosion, and suddenly the demon was no longer standing there.

There was a small pause of silence.

"What the fuck just happened?" Alex asked.

"The demon's point, or at least what he claims it was, is to try to get us to think that humans aren't even worth protecting, to get us to rebel with him. But in actuality, he's just a bastard. You cannot perform an altruistic action on demand, and not to mention, by definition you can't perform an entirely selfless act in exchange for anything, even, in this case, his continued non-interference in this matter. Hence why it's a bullshit demand," Mike explained.

"Why a gun?" Justin asked. "Isn't Astral weaponry more metaphorical than real?"

"Yes, it is," Mike agreed. "So why not a gun?"

Meanwhile, Harold had found what looked like a heavy, strong door, except it was unlocked and unbarred.

"Yeah, he did get the Ether Bunny out, though. Who knows where it is now?"

"Well, if anyone could track it down, it'd be the Jackal," Mike said after thinking for a bit.

"Who's the Jackal?" Harper asked.

"Ah, you'll get to meet him soon," Mike said, grinning.

A.N.: Yes, it's kind of metafiction that Mike says that at the very end of the chapter.