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p.s We don't own 07-Ghost and Kapitel 83 is now out if anyone is wondering!
Chapter VII—
March 26th, 2143: 11:48 AM—
Alex was feeling uncomfortable with Felsen's intense gaze. She shifted in her seat, uncomfortable. Meanwhile, Lazarus was uttering every curse he could think of in her mind.
"I'm sorry!" Alex thought, "I'm sorry!"Lazarus responded with another string of curses, and Alex mentally rolled her eyes.
"You just spoke with him, didn't you?" Felsen asked. Alex flinched, and gave a tiny nod.
"Alex, listen to me," Felsen said. His tone took on urgency as he continued, "Don't listen to Lazarus. He's not to be trusted."
"What?" Alex asked, "But he's saved my life so many times!"
"He's not to be trusted!" Felsen insisted.
"Why?" Alex protested. She didn't understand. Who was she supposed to believe—Lazarus was telling her not to trust Felsen, while Felsen was telling her not to trust Lazarus. Alex wanted to punch both of them and walk off.
"Why is Felsen saying this?" Alex asked, "Lazarus, do you know?"
"I am slightly aware of his reason," Lazarus replied, "but Ea doesn't know the complete truth." His answer seemed well-thought out. Alex became more confused; what did Lazarus mean? The complete truth?
Felsen gritted his teeth, agitated. "Come with me," Felsen said, "Let's go for a walk outside." They both left the café, and went outside. As they walked along the cobbled streets, Alex peered through each stall, looking curiously at everyone and everything. It had been a long time since she had seen normal people—it was rather unnerving yet interesting.
"It looks so different," thought Alex, "everyone...everything."She admired the buildings, the rough road, everything. She followed Felsen, as they walked through the streets. Alex noticed as they continued to walk, the buildings started to thin out, until they arrived at an open country-like area. Alex marvelled at the rolling hills, and noticed mountains in the distance.
"Woah," Alex breathed, "it's beautiful."
Felsen smiled and said, "There's so much out there that many people haven't seen."
"Have you been all around the Barsburg Empire?" Alex asked. Felsen shook his head and said, "I haven't seen District 3." They both sat at the grass, and a comfortable silence lapsed between them.
"We had a plan," Alex quietly said, "Mikage, Teito, and I was going to travel all around the Barsburg Empire. We were going to explore every city until we found,"
Her voice shook, and she began to sob. Felsen placed his arm around her shoulders, and Alex cried harder. She felt so lonely, so sad.
"Why isn't it Mikage's or Teito's arm around me,"wondered Alex bitterly, "it's not ok. What happened to our promise to die together and to protect each other no matter what?"Eventually her sobs stopped, and Alex stared ahead, miserable.
"I don't know what to do," Alex sniffed, miserable, "I don't want to go back. But I have to save Mikage and Teito! I don't even know if they're at the church, I have no idea if he murdered them,"
She sighed, and whispered, "I just wish my friends are alive, happy, and safe."
Felsen remained silent for a moment.
"So you can't go back to the church, because you are worried that these military people will find you?" Felsen slowly asked. Alex nodded.
"There is something you can do instead," Felsen quietly said, "It is dangerous, but I think you can do it." Alex immediately perked up. She looked at him eagerly.
"What?" Alex asked, "What do I have to do?"
"It's dangerous," repeated Felsen softly, "you've been through a lot..." His grey eyes stared at her sympathetically.
"Tell me!" insisted Alex.
Felsen looked into the distance and said, "It is said that if one travelled to the edge of the world—also known as the holy land, the Land of Seele, their body will cease to exist. Their soul will be purified, no matter what terrible crimes they have committed. There, the Chief of Heaven will grant one wish."
Alex's eyes widened at Felsen's words. "The Land of Seele," thought Alex, "their soul will be purified, and the chief of heaven will grant one wish."
"Is this true?" Alex asked, "How do I go there?"
"You have to obtain the seven cursed tickets from each of the god houses," explained Felsen.
"Cursed Tickets? God Houses?" Alex questioned, confused. Felsen nodded and said,
"The God Houses are the households where each Ghost came from. For instance, Fest's God House is in District 6. If you collect all the cursed tickets from each ghost house, you will then be able to travel to the Land of Seele."
"So I just go to each god house and ask for the ticket?" Alex asked. "That sounds easy,"Alex thought, her heart rising. She could collect them all quickly, and then ask the Chief of Heaven—
"Not quite," Felsen said, a small smile on his face, "to obtain each cursed ticket, you must undergo a test."
"Oh no," groaned Alex, "not this again."
Felsen laughed and replied, "Don't worry! I will help train you and make sure you improve!" Alex looked at him.
"Really?" asked Alex, hopeful. Maybe...maybe she found another friend.
Felsen nodded, and smiled.
"Since we're out here in the open, by ourselves, why don't we begin now?" Felsen suggested. Alex grinned, and they both stood up.
"I noticed today that when you were trying to use your manipulation zaiphon, you were badly coordinated," Felsen pointed out, "I think this is due to your injury with your eye. Is that injury recent?"
Alex nodded and replied, "It is rather frustrating, because I can no longer see as much as I could."
"So the first step is for you to use your other senses," Felsen said, "Perhaps you are half-blind, but you can at least touch, and sense, but most importantly...hear."
Felsen gestured around Alex, "Close your eyes and listen. Open your ears and let them help you see." Alex did as he asked. Closing her eyes, she strained her ears to listen, but she couldn't hear anything.
"I can't hear anything," complained Alex.
"It's only been 3 seconds," Felsen said, "You have to be more patient than that."
"Let go of your thoughts, and focus on what you hear," Lazarus suggested,"concentrate."
Alex sighed, closing her eyes again. This time, she tried not to think about anything at all. Focusing intently, Alex began to hear...
"Tell me what you hear," Felsen quietly said.
"I hear some leaves rustling," Alex began.
"Good," encouraged Felsen, "point in their direction." Alex pointed, and peeked open to see if she was right.
"No cheating!" Felsen said, "Now I want you to point where I you think I am."
"What?" Alex asked, "How do I do that when I can't see you?"
Felsen smirked and replied, "Use your intuition." Alex closed her eyes again, and tried to listen. She heard a small crack, and immediately pointed in that direction.
"Nice try," Felsen said, behind her, "but not quite."
"What?"Alex thought, "How did he do that?"
"Nobody said that you have to just listen," Lazarus said, "use logic...why would Ea stand in the middle of a river?"
"Oh," Alex thought, "you're right."She heard another small noise, and pointed.
"Better," Felsen remarked, "you're starting to use logic now."
"Hmph," Lazarus grumbled, "he should be thanking me!"
Alex smiled and continued to train with Felsen. Soon, Alex was able to always pinpoint where Felsen was. Felsen moved on to keeping Alex's eyes open, and they both began to practice zaiphon control. Alex was amazed at Felsen's prowess—he could smoothly maneuver his zaiphon flawlessly. "I wish Teito was here," Alex thought sadly, "he would've been amazed to see this person's skill." Time passed from seconds to minutes to hours, until Felsen finally called to a halt. Alex paused, breathing deeply, and wiping sweat off her forehead. It was a very intense day, training, but she felt as if she had learnt so much. She looked out to the horizon, and was surprised to see that the sun was starting to set between the mountains.
"You're a good teacher," huffed Alex, "I wish you taught at the Military Academy."A small twinge of nostalgia passed through her, but Alex forced herself to remain calm.
"I am the awakening spirit," Felsen said, "It is my specialty to hone other's talents."
"You're a good student too," praised Felsen, "you've improved quite a bit so far, but you still have a lot to learn." Alex gave a rueful grin, remembering how Felsen asked her to manipulate a rock to the river, but Alex nearly killed Felsen instead.
"How long do you plan to stay with this fool?" Lazarus impatiently asked.
"Why do you not like him?" Alex asked, but Lazarus gave no answer.
Alex asked Felsen, "Why do you not trust Lazarus?"
Felsen paused, and stared at Alex. He sighed, and gestured Alex to sit down. "It's a long story," Felsen said, "but I think it's time for you to know it."
Sitting down near Alex, Felsen began, "I think you've heard of this, but Verloren, the god of death, was once accused of murdering Eve, who was the Chief of Heaven's daughter."
"It was believed that Verloren loved Eve, so he was heartbroken; in his grief, he went down to earth and began to murder thousands of humans out of desperation to find out where Eve's reincarnated soul went. Because of the numerous unnecessary deaths, the Chief of Heaven sent seven heavenly lights down to stop Verloren. The heavenly lights met Verloren at earth, where they broke Verloren into two parts. His body was sealed away in Pandora's Box, with the help of the Eye of Mikhail. Meanwhile, his memories were with the Eye of Raphael."
"This is the general myth, but there is more to it," Felsen explained, fiddling with a piece of grass, "My previous reincarnation Ea, and Randkarte were given another special task from the Chief of Heaven. When Eve was murdered, it was shortly found afterward that the angel of dreams and illusions, Lazarus was also missing. The Chief of Heaven was concerned with Lazarus missing, so he ordered us to find out what happened to him."
"We searched the entire heavens, but couldn't find him. We also went to earth, and roamed around looking for him. 1,000 years had passed during our search, and finally Randkarte suggested that we go to hell, and we travelled there," Felsen continued, "We were shocked to find Lazarus with Lucifer, the angel of light."
"Lucifer?" Alex asked, "I thought that was all fake."
Felsen looked at her strangely. "No, it isn't," Felsen replied, "Lucifer was indeed the angel of light...but he was consumed with the sin of jealousy because he desired the Chief of Heaven's power. He started a war against the Chief of Heaven using other angels that he managed to bring to his side. In anger, the Chief of Heaven imprisoned him in hell; shortly after that, the Chief of Heaven created Verloren, the perfect creation."
"I don't get it," Alex said, "So what is special about being the perfect creation?"
"Verloren was the most perfect creation ever," Felsen explained, "in the sense that he would follow the Chief of Heaven's orders without question and pledge absolute loyalty towards him. Verloren lacked the emotions that would supposedly corrupt him to sin."
"So Verloren fell in love with Eve and murdered her?" Alex asked, confused. She didn't get it...
"Yes, he apparently went insane," Felsen said.
"So what does this have to do with Lazarus?" Alex asked.
"I don't know," Felsen said, "But we found him with Lucifer. Worse, he was yelling at him. His exact words were: Because of you, I killed her!"
"How is that possible?" Alex asked, "I thought Lucifer was stuck in hell."
"Exactly," Felsen replied, "Naturally Randkarte and I suspected him. When Lazarus sensed our presence, we demanded that he come with us to heaven to explain himself to the Chief of Heaven. He refused, and Randkarte started to attack him. Both of us managed to seal Lazarus into a simple form—the green orb."
"Then what happened?" Alex asked, her voice hushed.
"I remember holding the green orb," Felsen said, "I was about to teleport away until suddenly Randkarte attacked me." His tone became confused, "I didn't understand it...Randkarte betrayed us. He was using dark magic that I had never seen before. I managed to teleport away, but instead of going to heaven, I landed on earth."
"You landed outside of the orphanage," Alex said, "Where you gave the orb to me."
"Yes," Felsen said, "and then I died. But then my spirit was reincarnated into another older boy nearby—Felsen Kamerad."
"Wow," Alex said. There was a short silence, and Alex's thoughts were troubled.
"So...does that mean Lazarus killed Eve?" Alex slowly asked.
"I don't know," Felsen said, "But Lazarus is a dangerous angel. He must be brought before the Chief of Heaven."
"Lazarus, did you kill Eve? Did you really betray the Chief of Heaven?" Alex silently asked, but there was no answer.
"He's not saying anything," Alex said out loud, worried.
"I wasn't expecting him to," Felsen replied, "You will see him tonight anyways in your dreams. Perhaps you should ask then."
Alex nodded, and Felsen asked, "Shall we go back to the inn? Some food would be nice, and it will be good if we can get back before it becomes dark."
As Alex and Felsen walked back, Alex was feeling troubled. All that Felsen had said...there was truth behind it, but...
Did Lazarus do all of this?
March 26th, 2143: 3:43 PM—
Teito was seated in the library, and in front of him were small towers of books; to be more precise, they were bibles.
Ever since he had agreed to take the Bishop Exam, he was suddenly whisked away to the library with Frau and Castor. Frau was yelling at Castor to reconsider the idea, but Teito was secretly glad that Castor was on his side to help him achieve his revenge. He had to go back to the military and get revenge for Mikage and Alex, he had to.
"The first exam covers a total of 100 topics from all 77 volumes and 7700 chapters of the Barsburg Scriptures," Castor began, "It's a written exam." Teito looked at the books, and felt a chill creep up his spine. He tried not to think about his past.
"At any rate, we'll have to make sure that you learn all of these by heart in half a month," Castor happily announced. Teito felt his eye twitching at Castor's enthusiasm. He was starting to get suspicious at the bishop's attitude. "Is Castor planning something for me?" Teito wondered, "Is he preventing me from leaving by making me do this?"
"There's no way he can do it!" exploded Frau, "It took me 3 years to do it!"
"For once, I agree with him," thought Teito, looking apprehensively at the huge stack of books.
"That's because you're an idiot," muttered Castor, adjusting his glasses and glaring at Frau.
Frau glared back at Castor and angrily sputtered, "Just because you're a little bit smarter..." Teito picked up one of the books and began to flip through it. As he stared down at the words, he frowned.
"I feel like I've read this book before," Teito remarked.
"Oh? Then let us check how much you remember," Castor said, ignoring Frau's baleful look. He snatched the book from Teito's hand and flipped to a random page.
"Volume 5, Chapter 34, Heaven's History 'from the darkness'," Castor read.
"Oh newborn sheep, lend me your ears," Teito recited. He blinked. "Wow, I remembered that!" Teito thought, excited.
"Volume 20, Chapter 3, Heaven's History 'into the sea'," Castor read again, using another book.
"About the sins and punishment of the fallen babel," Teito replied. He noticed Frau's shocked expression and secretly felt pleased with it.
"Volume 77, Last Chapter, Heaven's History," Castor read.
"When you see the light, come to me," Teito responded. By now, Frau was flabbergasted.
"I remember," Teito suddenly said, "these are...the lullabies and children songs father always sang!" He looked at the book again, and scanned the words. Yes...he could almost hear Father's deep voice in his mind, saying the words from the page.
"Father always preached the teachings to me since I was little," Teito reminisced, thinking back. A few flashes occurred in his mind—prayer before meals, sleep talking, lullabies...
"But if I don't remember all these, then I won't pass," Teito said, looking down at the books. Father definitely didn't recite all the words from all the books.
"Be careful, there are a lot of examiners who are bullies," Frau remarked, an evil smirk on his face.
Teito followed the two bishops outside into the courtyard. "The second exam is a practical using zaiphon," Castor announced. Teito immediately perked up; this sounds easy.
"I'm way ahead of the graduating class," Teito thought, "this won't be hard to pass."
"First, let us test the strength of your zaiphon," Castor announced. Teito nodded; suddenly, a huge wave of powerful zaiphon was thrown in his direction. Teito barely had time to put up a shield before he was blasted off his feet. Teito sat up from the dusty ground, looking up at Castor, confused and dazed.
"He did that?"wondered Teito, "No way...he's a bishop and yet..."
"My my Teito-kun," Castor remarked, coming closer to Teito, "you went flying."
"This is my zaiphon," Castor explained, displaying his manipulation zaiphon. Teito looked at him, wondrously.
"Alex should be here to see this person," thought Teito. He tried to ignore the pang in his heart.
"There are many people in this world that you cannot protect merely by thinking of them or praying for them," Castor said, "That is why for the sake of saving lost people in the abyss of despair, we bishops take arms and fight."
"What? Then the clergy's job is..." Teito began.
"The extermination of kor," Frau announced gleefully. He held a strange staff in his hand.
"Because you're still young," Frau said, "your zaiphon is still weak and unsullied. It should be adequate enough to use this staff. Zaiphon is generally the origin of life. It is made up of life energy. Basically, it comes from all living things in this world. You can't use it to attack dwellers of the dark."
Frau tossed the staff towards Teito, and Teito caught it; it was rather heavy. "However, if you channel your zaiphon through this staff," explained Frau, "you can catch and nullify kor."
"In other words, this staff is a device that can convert dark beings?" Teito asked, and Frau nodded.
"Well, you will need to get accustomed to it," Frau said, but Teito interjected, "We learned with weapons that used zaiphon at school."
Teito focused his zaiphon, and tried to make it appear at the tip of the staff. Nothing happened. Teito let out a frustrated growl and tried again; again, nothing happened.
"Haha, keep at it," Frau said, amused. Teito glared at him.
"At the beginning, everyone has a bit of a hard time getting used to it," Castor said, "just be patient."
"It was easy to match the zaiphon wavelength of the Imperial Army's weapons since they were mass produced," Teito remarked, "but this staff has some peculiarities. Who made it?"
"A craftsman specializing in them, the staff master who comes to the church once a year," Castor informed.
"Huh?" Teito asked, "But you don't use the staff on the kor..."
"We have our own circumstances," Frau replied. Teito watched a thin string shoot out of Castor's finger, and watched it weave around a kor flying in the air.
"Hmm, it seems as if someone is looking out for you," Castor remarked, as he held the fluttering pair of bony wings in his hand.
Teito felt something cold in his hand. He saw that Frau had slipped a silver badge into his palm.
"This is proof that you are taking the exam," Frau said, "Someday, no matter when, people will be looking at you. So always remember to conduct yourself properly."
Teito's eyes widened as Frau gently rested his hand on his head. "May god be with you," Frau said.
March 26th, 2143: ? AM/PM—
Alex was leaning against the tree when she opened her eyes. Looking around the meadow, she found Lazarus standing a few metres away, his back towards her.
"Lazarus," Alex called, standing up. Lazarus didn't turn around to face her. His shoulders seem hunched, and Alex could only see his long black hair.
"Lazarus," Alex said again, "I want to talk to you."
"What do you want Alex?" Lazarus asked. Alex blinked in surprise; his voice sounded so tired, so resigned.
"Is it true?" Alex whispered. Lazarus didn't turn or reply. Heavy silence was in the air.
"Is it true?" Alex asked, louder. She walked towards him, and faced him. She was somewhat shocked to see the sad expression on his face. "Why does he look so sad?"Alex wondered.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" pressed Alex.
"You don't understand," Lazarus whispered.
"Understand what?" Alex asked, "Why aren't you answering my question?" Lazarus didn't say anything.
"DID YOU GO TO HELL AND TALK TO LUCIFER?" Alex screamed, tired of his silence.
"Yes I did go to hell!" Lazarus suddenly snapped, his eyes flaring with anger, "I spoke with Lucifer!"
"What?" Alex whispered. Her eyes widened. "Did Lazarus really go to hell?" wondered Alex, "does that mean he killed Eve?"
She took a step 's eyes widened. He raised a hand and said, "Alex, you're misunderstanding..."
Alex turned around, and fled from him. She couldn't believe it. The angel whom she had grown used to...the angel whom she could almost consider a friend was eventually responsible for all of this.
"It's his fault," thought Alex, numb, "I'm harbouring the angel who's responsible for ruining everyone's lives. I'm sorry Mikage, Teito."
She continued running through the meadow, and reached a forest. Not caring at all where she was going, she continued to run through the dense foliage. Leaves and branches whipped across her face, her skin, but she didn't care. She just wanted to run away from that...that...that murderer.
Alex felt betrayed. "I'm not alright," Alex thought, "I'm not ok. It's my fault that Mikage and Teito are lost. It's my fault that I got that scar. It's my fault that I left Madeline to the academy. It's my fault that I was playing in the snow ten years ago when there was work to be done."
Eventually, she stopped, and collapsed to the ground. Catching her breath, she breathed in the earthly smells, and closed her eyes. "It's just a dream," Alex thought, "but it isn't."
She looked around. "Where am I?" Alex wondered. A small twinge of fear settled in her stomach, but she forced herself to remain calm. "I can just wake up, and it will be ok,"Alex thought.
No it won't...a small voice whispered, and Alex froze.
"Hello?" Alex whispered. Nobody responded.
She slowly, shakily, stood up. She noticed a black spider on a leaf; she noticed the strange bugs buzzing around in the air. She squeaked, but realized that a leaf was tickling the back of her leg. Taking a step back, Alex yelped when she hit a tree trunk. She tried to retrace her steps, slowly walking through the undergrowth. She noticed the painful scrapes on her legs, and realized how dirty her feet became.
"I'm lost," Alex thought, when she arrived at another clearing several minutes later. Alex looked up, into the afternoon sky, and said out loud, "I'm lost."
She could call—no. No. No, not him. She couldn't—didn't—want to talk to him, much less have him save her life. She can figure this out herself. Alex took another path, trampling through the undergrowth again. Time seemed to stretch out from seconds to minutes...how long was it now?
Alex paused again when she reached another clearing. Frustrated, she sat on the ground. "I hate this!" Alex yelled, "I hate him! I hate myself!"
"Hate is a strong word," a new voice smoothly replied. Alex gave a start, and looked up. Her face contorted into horror and surprise when she saw a familiar tall silver-haired man in the military uniform.
"You," breathed Alex. A rush of emotions surged through her—fear, surprise, and horror. She couldn't believe that the person responsible for all the drama from the past week was standing in front of her calmly. She wanted to hit him, yet she wasn't sure whether he was a figment of her imagination. It was the man who killed Teito's father, the man who possessed Mikage, the man who gave her the scar, it was Ayanami.
She rapidly summoned her manipulation zaiphon, and manipulated a rock to throw at him. To her surprise, the rock whizzed through Ayanami's chest, and fell to the ground with a loud thump. Ayanami stared at her, somewhat amused with her attempts. Alex stood up, shakily.
"You're fake," Alex stuttered, "My imagination has gone hay-wire."
"You have very little faith in things, Alexandra Night," Ayanami said, "I wonder how you've lived your life so far."
"I wonder how you've lived yours," Alex shot back, "controlling other people's best friends just for their own selfish purposes!"
"Selfish?" Ayanami coldly responded, "You were the one who decided to rescue someone who betrayed the Barsburg Empire."
"I hate you!" yelled Alex, "you've probably killed Mikage and Teito, haven't you?" She no longer cared about the tears streaming down her eyes.
"You are not capable of hate, Alexandra Night," Ayanami stated. Alex stared at him, dumbfounded with his remark.
"What do you know about hate?" Alex angrily spat. "Who the hell is this man?" Alex thought, "he ruins my best friends' lives along with mine, and now he's telling me that I don't hate him!"
"Fear of something is at the root of hate for others, and hate within will eventually destroy the hater (quote by George Washington Carver)," Ayanami replied cryptically.
"You're pathetic," Alex said, "You think I don't hate you because you kill my best friends? What kind of logic is that?"
"If you hate me, then why are you not coming to the army to get your revenge against me?" Ayanami countered, "Why are you cowering in the shadows, crying?" Alex flinched, and felt a wave of anger when she saw Ayanami's smirk.
"Why do you harbour that angel?" Ayanami suddenly asked.
"Why do you want to know?" Alex asked back, "You don't even care about a measly orphan girl like me!"
Ayanami narrowed his eyes, and Alex shivered at the glint in his amethyst eyes. She didn't like his look. "Did you know," Ayanami began conversationally, "the reason I'm here is because Lazarus was unable to destroy all the wars?"
"What?" whispered Alex, her previous anger towards Lazarus forgotten. The wars...it was still in her mind?
Ayanami nodded; his smirk reminded Alex of a predator, going in for his prey. He stood up and walked over towards Alex, pinning her to a tree. "The wars are going to affect your mind slowly," Ayanami replied, "you will slowly lose your mind, your memories, and eventually your soul."
He whispered the last two words near her ear, and drew back. Alex was shaking; she was scared of this man (ohmygodohmygod).
"Now answer my questions," Ayanami ordered, "Why do you harbour that angel?"
"Because," Alex quietly replied. She didn't say anything else after, and flinched at Ayanami's angry gaze. A wave of pain overcame her senses, and Alex brought her hands to her temples, shutting her eyes tightly.
"I wasn't lying about the wars," Ayanami's voice sounded heavily in her mind.
"Go away!" Alex screamed, "I hate you!" The pain increased, and Alex dropped to the ground.
"Why did Lazarus choose you?" Ayanami asked, "Your skills leave much to be desired for, yet the angel of dreams and illusions chose you, a little girl who cries all day long."
"SHUT UP!" bellowed Alex, "AT LEAST I HAVE FRIENDS!" The pain intensified, and Alex cried out.
"Why," hissed Ayanami. His voice was hurting Alex's mind; she was starting to get a severe headache.
"LAZARUS!" screamed Alex, agonized by the blinding pain. It felt as if her insides were burning, she was going to die, it hurt so bad—
"Leave," Lazarus ordered. The pain immediately receded away, and Alex opened her eyes, grateful. Lazarus loomed over her, glaring daggers at Ayanami who returned his angry gaze.
"You," hissed Ayanami.
"This girl is under my protection," Lazarus calmly said, "your fight is with me, not her."
"Why her?" Ayanami asked. Alex lay on the ground, terrified of moving.
Lazarus didn't answer. Ayanami's eyes narrowed and he said, "You're hiding lots of things Lazarus. I intend to find out everything."
"Go away," Alex angrily said. She had stood up, and stared at Ayanami, making eye contact with him. Ayanami looked at her and gave a small smirk.
"That's better," Ayanami replied, "you're already starting to learn." For a second, Alex thought she saw a flash of surprise and uncertainty on his face, but it was instantly back to his normal, motionless face.
"I'll be seeing you again Alexandra Night, Lazarus," Ayanami conversationally said. He turned around, and began to walk away.
"Don't forget my warning," Ayanami called out, "time stops for nobody." The darkness of the forest swallowed his form, leaving Alex and Lazarus standing alone in the clearing. An awkward silence came between Alex and Lazarus.
"Thank you," muttered Alex. Lazarus nodded, and began to walk away. Alex followed him, not wanting to get lost again in the forest.
"Why's there a forest?" Alex asked.
"Each person's mind harbours special places," explained Lazarus,"if their dreams are pleasant, they will come to peaceful areas such as the meadow. If they are having negative emotions, then the scenery changes to something sinister and represents the person's deepest fears."
Alex didn't hear the rest of his words when a strange vision overcame her senses.
Trees all around her...the creature under her...looking around..."How awful, I've lost my way"...a skeleton figure...
Alex blinked quickly, and she saw Lazarus staring at her, concerned.
"Are you okay Alex?" Lazarus asked. Alex nodded, looking slightly puzzled with his worried expression.
"What was that all about?" Alex wondered, but didn't say anything about it. She had something more pressing to talk to Lazarus about.
"I want the truth Lazarus," Alex said, "my life is so crazy right now I don't think I can go on knowing that the grumpy angel in my head is a murderer."
"Do you really want the truth Alex?" Lazarus asked, his voice faint, "even though it isn't what you want to hear?"
A gnawing feeling appeared in Alex's stomach. She found herself nodding, and said, "I refuse to wake up until you tell me everything."
"Very well," Lazarus slowly said, "this will not be easy for me."
There was a period of silence, before Lazarus began, "Felsen has told you part of the truth. The story begins when I was an angel in heaven. As the angel of dreams and illusions, many heavenly beings expressed their admiration for me...all except for one."
"Who?" asked Alex, curious.
"Her name was Eve," Lazarus slowly replied. His voice sounded pained, as he continued, "I remember spending so much time showcasing my powers in the hopes of winning her favour. Her teasing eventually wore away to her friendship, and I later realized that I had fallen in love with the Chief of Heaven's daughter."
"One day, I was going to go see her when I saw her with Verloren," Lazarus said,"Curious, I decided to watch them. It was blatantly obvious from their actions that they both were in love with each other."
Alex was silent. Lazarus looked at her.
"I was jealous," Lazarus muttered, "I wanted to do something—anything to have her love. I was angry that she loved someone else than me."
He fell silent.
"What happened?" pushed Alex, "Did you murder her straight away?"
"No!" Lazarus hastily said, "It wasn't like that. One day, I met a minion from hell. I was using my powers to banish it away when the minion said that someone wanted to meet me. Curious, I travelled to the minion to hell, where I found Lucifer. I was shocked that Lucifer wanted to meet me, and wary. At first I didn't listen to Lucifer until he mentioned that he knew how I could win Eve's love."
Lazarus was looking at Alex with a strange expression. "Go on," urged Alex, her voice devoid of any emotion.
"Lucifer told me the entire plan," Lazarus said, "it was very simple. The next day, a minion was supposed to send Verloren away to a summons, and the minion managed to steal the scythe from Verloren. Meanwhile, I used my illusionistic powers to appear as Verloren. I held the scythe in my hand, and approached Eve."
Lazarus paused, and slowly continued, "I didn't notice before, but it was too late. Lucifer was eating part of my magic when I was talking to him. As a result, I...I couldn't control the scythe. The scythe devoured Eve's soul within seconds..."
Alex's eyes widened. It was...It was like that?
"I panicked," Lazarus whispered, "Dropping the scythe, I went to earth. I wanted to find her soul quickly before Verloren came back and realized what happened. I searched through so many dreams...but I couldn't find her. I later heard that Verloren was accused of Eve's murder."
"You let him take the blame?" Alex whispered, horrified.
"I needed proof that Verloren didn't do it. The Chief of Heaven would think that I was lying to cover Verloren," Lazarus said, "Eve was dead, and it was my fault. I had to somehow get Lucifer to confess to his crimes in front of the Chief of Heaven, or some sort of written proof. I went to hell, and confronted Lucifer. Angrily, I asked him why he tricked me. Lucifer laughed and said that I was just his pawn; he was doing it so that Verloren would lose his power and he would be able to come back and rule the world."His voice turned bitter.
"Horrified, I turned to leave to go to heaven to tell the Chief of Heaven, but I found myself trapped," Lazarus said, "I don't know how long I was trapped. I cursed my greed, my foolishness, and Lucifer for Eve's death. Finally, two heavenly beings—Ea and Randkarte appeared. They accidently overheard me lamenting to Lucifer, and misunderstood. They attacked me, and bound me into the orb."
"And then you came to my possession," Alex finished. She blinked, unable to believe what she had just heard.
"What the heck," Alex thought numbly, "there's so many misunderstandings here."There was so much to take in, and it seemed so complicated...
"So what do you plan to do now?" Alex asked, "Knowing that you're responsible for all this garbage..." She was somewhat mad at Lazarus—the angel in front of her just messed up the entire world...
Lazarus sighed, and stared at Alex. "I must set things straight," Lazarus said, "I have to get my body back, and I must find Verloren and explain everything. I have to warn Verloren about Lucifer's plans before it's too late."
"Plans?" Alex asked, "What is Lucifer planning to do?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Lazarus replied, bitter, "he wants to overthrow the Chief of Heaven and rule the entire world."
"But what can Verloren do about that?" Alex asked, "If he's stuck right now in his human form, then he's pretty useless..."
"Verloren is the Chief of Heaven's perfect creation. Only he has the power to stop Lucifer," Lazarus said, "If we can find the human reincarnation, and then get his body, his powers, and his scythe back, then Verloren will return back to his normal state."
"...that is going to be complicated," Alex said, thinking. "If I remember correctly, Teito had mentioned about Frau being Zehel...and Zehel was the one who had Verloren's scythe."
"How do we know who Verloren's reincarnation is though?" Alex asked, "There are so many people out there!"
"Ea knows,"Lazarus said, "but he won't tell."
"...well, what about your body? Where is it?" Alex asked.
"It's in hell," Lazarus said.
"...oh dear," Alex said. Much as she didn't like the fact that Lazarus was sharing her body, she wasn't fond of the idea of travelling to hell.
Lazarus read her expression and nodded. "I know you will not like this, but I must continue sharing your body for now," Lazarus said.
Alex nodded silently. "Wait," Alex said, thinking, "Maybe you can also ask the Chief of Heaven a wish when we come to the Land of Seele! You can explain everything there!"
Lazarus's eyes widened as he looked at her. "That is an idea," agreed Lazarus, "That could work." Alex nodded happily.
"One more thing," Lazarus said, "For now, can you not mention any of this to Ea or anyone else?"
"What? Why?" Alex asked, "They can help us!"
"They will kill you," Lazarus replied. Alex fell silent, realizing Lazarus's logic. She certainly didn't want to die yet, especially now that she had the chance to travel to the Land of Seele to tell the Chief of Heaven her wish.
"When you wake, you should simply tell Ea that I was too weak from the wars to talk to you," Lazarus said, "we can pretend that it will take me several days for my strength to come back."
Alex nodded."Ayanami mentioned that there are some wars still in my body," Alex said, troubled, "Is there any way we can destroy the wars?"
"No, I'm sorry," Lazarus said, "I can't use anymore of your energy because you might die. For now, you must not think any negative thoughts. The wars like to feed off negative emotions. It will be hard, but you must try to be positive."
Alex sighed and said, "I will try..." Lazarus gave a small smile, and Alex turned around, ready to walk away.
"Thank you," Lazarus's voice quietly came. Alex looked back at him, surprised.
"What for?" Alex asked.
"For believing me," Lazarus said, "I promise not to let you down." Again Lazarus was giving her a strange look...
"We both must achieve our dreams!" Alex said, "No matter what!"
March 27th, 2143: 8:32 AM—
"Good morning Alex," Felsen greeted, and Alex mumbled back to him.
"Is something wrong?" Felsen asked, "Did you have a bad dream?" His eyes were boring into her, and Alex looked down at her plate.
"I just had a nightmare," Alex said.
"Did you talk with Lazarus?" pressed Felsen.
"No," Alex hurriedly replied, "the wars seemed to have heavily affected him." Thankfully Felsen had accepted her explanation, and asked whether she wanted to continue her training today. Alex accepted, and they both arrived at the same place where they were yesterday.
March 27th, 2143: 9:42 AM—
"We're here Konatsu~!" Hyuuga announced.
"Please Lieutenant Major, keep your voice down!" Konatsu chastised, glaring at his superior, "We're here for a very special mission!"
"Actually we have several," Hyuuga replied, looking at Konatsu. Konatsu wasn't sure whether the major winked at him or not—he couldn't tell with those (dumb) sunglasses. Konatsu raised his eyebrows, surprised.
"Ayanami-sama only gave us one assignment," Konatsu replied, puzzled. Did Ayanami-sama give the Lieutenant Major a secret assignment?
Lieutenant Hyuuga looked around furtively, and then dropped his voice into a whisper. "You see," Hyuuga replied, "I must get my stock re-supplied."
"Stock? What?" Konatsu asked, confused. "Does Lieutenant Hyuuga take drugs?"Konatsu thought, worried, "Perhaps he drinks? Maybe that's why he can't concentrate on his work so much!"
"You know!" Hyuuga said, impatiently, "My candy apples! Aya-tan recently confiscated the rest of mine!"
Hyuuga was surprised when his begleiter started to pull on his arm. "Hey, what are you doing Konatsu?" Hyuuga asked as he was dragged to a nearby alley. As soon as they reached the alley, Konatsu slapped his superior on the face.
Hyuuga rubbed his cheek and complained, "Ow Konatsu! What was that for?"
"WE ARE NOT HERE TO GET CANDY LIEUTENANT MAJOR!" bawled Konatsu.