The young guardsman staggered for a moment, disoriented by his recent close introduction to the floor, and then seemed to realise Sebastian was talking to him. He stood to attention, and saluted him.

"Your Highness! I would advise you to stay back, we don't know what the mage is capable of..."

"I can more than handle myself, lad. Tell me what happened guardsman!" Sebastian answered impatiently.

The guard nodded. "Yes, Serah. We were stood outside, giving Serah Hawke some space with the apostate's body. We heard Hawke talking, then after a while he opened the door, and we thought he was coming out. The door slammed shut, and... Oh Maker," The guard stuttered, seemingly overwhelmed by what had gone on here.

"Carry on, guardsman." Sebastian prompted gently, yet sternly. "There could be peoples' lives at stake here."

"Aye, Ser! I'm sorry Ser! I've never met a mage before, Serah, I'm somewhat... overwhelmed." The young guardsman admitted, pulling an apologetic face. "We... we heard a shout from inside. We couldn't be sure if it was one or two, but there was a loud crash before the mage put a noise muffling spell up. We tried breaking the door down to no avail, and Lieutenant Brear tried to smite him, but she said she could just feel it hadn't worked. She said the only reason a smite wouldn't work was if... If a mage had been possessed."

"Possessed?" Sebastian said, colour draining from his face. "As in a demon?"

"Yes, Serah. She said it was odd, though, as often when mages are possessed they aren't as susceptible to holy smites, but not completely immune, unless it's a demon that was trapped outside the Fade."

"...Oh Maker." Sebastian said, if possible going even paler. "Are you sure?"

The guardsman caught onto Sebastian's panic, and shifted his feet anxiously. "No, Ser. You'd have to ask Brear."

"Aye, thank you lad." The two ran up to the bubble to help the other two guards, and Sebastian knocked on the door furiously.

"Hawke! Hawke, open this door now!" There was no reply from inside, and Sebastian's anxiety grew. "Hawke! Are you in there?" Again, there was no answer. Remembering that the guardsman had said that there were two voices, he turned to Lietenant Brear. "Lietenant! Is that Hawke's magic or another's? Have you any way to tell?"

Brear flicked her red hair out of her face, and turned to Sebastian, momentarily stopping her relentless assault on the door. "Your Majesty." She replied, bowing her head slightly. "I can't be sure – in the earlier battle I came in towards the end. It is certainly familiar, but I would guess it is not him.

Sebastian nodded. "And could it be different because he has given into a demon?" He scowled, but Brear shook her head almost before he was done.

"No, Serah. The aura is reminiscent of the other mage, the one you killed. Of course, that would be very unlikely – he would have had to be possessed beforehand, or the veil would have had to be torn to -" She paused, noticing the look on Sebastian's face. "Your Majesty? Is there something wrong?"

Sebastian didn't answer immediately, but rummaged in his pockets, and brought out a tiny vial of acid he kept on him occasionally to practice his trap making skills. "Thank the Maker I left that in my pocket from a few days ago..." he murmured under his breath. Turning his attention to the vial of acid, Sebastian answered the lieutenant. "Hawke could be in great danger, especially if your holy smite has drained his magic." He replied to the lieutenant, whilst carefully applying the acid to the hinges.

"Serah?" She queried, hand on her sword at the prince's vocalisation of danger.

"Anders. He was possessed by a spirit of Justice trapped outside the Fade, which later corrupted into a spirit of Vengeance." Sebastian replied. "Had I known that the spirit could linger after death, I wouldn't have..."

There was a click as the last hinge fell from the door, and the rusty lock smoked into nothingness. With a kick from Sebastian, the door fell inwards, and they all drew their swords from their scabbards – or in Sebastian's case his dagger. "Be careful." he uttered, as a blue glow lit up the room.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-O

Carroll's sense of dread grew as the hand on his shoulder tightened, and a slight blue glow lit up in the corners of his vision.

"...Anders?" He was dimly aware of a noise muffling sphere going up as the person behind him started talking.

"Anders is no more, and you know this." A voice boomed. "Your ineffectual actions caused his death, and you watched him die, and did not help."

"Justice, then." Hawke grated out angrily, his greasy black hair hanging over his eyes. "I was rather looking forward to not seeing you again."

"As was I you – for a mage yourself, you have very little care for their plight. Have you grown complacent, Champion? Hiding behind the title that the mortal will leave you be, whilst all others suffer around you?" Hawke whirled round sharply, shrugging Justice's hand off his shoulder, and gasped when he saw that the spirit had "borrowed" Anders's body.

"You bastard!" Hawke shouted. "First you taint his actions and mind in life, and now you desecrate his body in death? Have you no shame?" Justice slapped him.

Reeling from the force of the blow, that would have been a strong punch had it not been flat-handed, Hawke stared at the lifeless body of his lover, animated by a dark magic. It brought back memories of that night in the foundry where he found his mother, and, coupled with the fact he has just been drained of his mana, he sank to the floor and started to hyperventilate. Justice paced the floor, moving erratically, unsure how to control Anders's body completely on his own.

"You have lost me my host, and you have strayed from the cause. You must be made to see." Justice ranted. Hawke paid little attention – he could hear shouting from outside, possibly Sebastian. Struggling to take deep breaths, he decided to keep Justice talking.

"I must be made to see? See what? You murder of all those innocents at Mass in the Chantry that day? Or the fact you have cost me the man I loved, and made Anders and I go on the run, deserting all our friends in the process, maybe? Oh, here's an idea, Justice! How about 'making me see' that you trying to 'finish the job' with Sebastian here being a petty attempt at revenge, nothing to do with fucking justice at all! You're not a spirit!" And with those words, Hawke slowly stood up, leaning against the wall, still drained from the holy smite. "You, my dear Vengeance, are a demon!"

Justice growled at Hawke, and drew his hand back to slap him again, when the door caved through, and Sebastian's voice could be heard.

"Be careful."

Before Carroll could do a thing, Justice lit up blue, and threw himself at Sebastian, waves of destructive energy pulsing off him.

"You will pay for your crimes, Chantry preacher!" Carroll tried to conjure up a spark of lightning to capture the spirit's attention, but nothing but a fizzle came from his fingers – he still didn't have nearly enough mana left yet. With a cry of anger, he threw himself bodily into the fray.