Act One
At the hotel, time had seemingly slowed for the group as they watched a soldier approach Charlie and place his rifle against her head. Tears welled up in her eyes as they were wide with shock. Vaggie's eyes were wide, filled with tears as well as she tried to stretch out her hand, trying to desperately reach her girlfriend. Husk couldn't help Angel, yelling and pulling against his restraints as the soldiers had him pinned and went to have their way with him, getting between his legs and choking him. Alastor could barely move now after the beat down he had received but still tried to, his broken body on fire from the pain. Niffty and Cherri could barely do anything themselves as the soldiers sneered, assaulted, and kept them still, knowing they would be next to die after Charlie.
"Please...please don't!" She begged as blood ran down her leg where the hook had punctured.
"Permission to kill Charlie Morningstar?" The shark demon soldier asked the radio imp next to him. The imp waited for a moment before giving him a thumbs up as the shark grinned and went to pull the trigger.
"Charlie-!" Vaggie screamed as Charlie looked to her with distraught eyes, then was followed by the sound of a gun going off. "NO!" She screamed as blood ran down Charlie's head. Charlie's eyes were blank but she didn't fall or crumple. The shark demon released the gun as one would find it quite difficult to use a gun if they didn't have a brain to fire it. The shark was missing its head as it's body crumpled down to the ground, catching the group off guard. Charlie blinked in shock as Vaggie was just as surprised as her. Suddenly, the demons holding Vaggie down found it difficult to breathe as their throats were sliced open, their blood pouring down their chests. They collapsed as Vaggie could see a force dash between the multitude of soldiers, delivering precise, killing blows as each soldier began freaking out. They started to fire their guns in multiple directions, nearly hitting Charlie and her friends as they began dropping like flies.
"Raphael! Raphael! We have an enemy-!" The radio imp was cut short by a tight spray of holy bullets blowing through his body and making him swiss cheese. Angel found the demon trying to rape him suddenly lifted off his body and cleaved in two as the demons screamed in terror. They ran to the door to retreat but the murderous force shot a basketball size hole through each of the demons, both shark and imps alike. The group only watched as this force delivered a bloody end to the attackers. A radio imp watched this massacre happen as he turned to Charlie and grabbed a knife. He charged Charlie as Charlie tried to back away upon seeing the knife.
"DIE!" The imp screamed, but that was all the demon said as the force met him next. The imp found himself lifted off his feet as Charlie could now clearly see the force in front of her. Cross brought the imp above his body as he slammed the imp down to the ground. The imps skull cracked open as it's eyes widened and it tried to speak but was met with Cross's shoe slamming into his head, curb stomping him. Blood splattered on the ground as Cross removed his foot from the bloody mess, flicking chunks of brain and tissue off his foot. Cross glanced around quickly as his sword, pistol, and coat were drenched in blood.
"Cross? Is that you?" Vaggie croaked, tears sliding down her face as the angel turned to her. Vaggie almost couldn't recognize Cross due to his new helmet and blood covered look but it was his wings that helped her finalize that it was in fact her old friend. Seeing the enemies were all dead and no longer moving, Cross extinguished his blade and wiped his pistol cleaned with the inside of his coat. Holstering and pocketing his weapons, he turned to Charlie as the young daughter of Lucifer stared at him with tear soaked eyes.
"Hello, Charlie. I'm sorry you had to deal with that, but the rest of this ring is in danger, so I can't stop and chat. Allow me to help you-" Cross went to touch Charlie but she flinched as she had a look of uncertainty in her eyes. Cross sighed as he grabbed his helmet and removed it, setting it on the blood soaked ground. His face was sweaty and concerned, a look that not many knew Cross to have. How many demons had Cross killed to get here? She wasn't sure, but with a quick flick of his hand, Cross pulled the hook out of her leg as she grit her teeth and whimpered.
"I am not your enemy, Miss Morningstar. The enemy are currently destroying this ring and your hard work. Me and my associates are here to help, so please, do not be afraid." Cross carefully unwound the chain from Charlie as she watched him. His face was calm and his voice soft as he finished releasing Charlie. He stood and went to Vaggie next as he unhooked and unwound her, allowing her to go to Charlie. The two embraced as Vaggie peppered her forehead with kisses. Cross helped Alastor next, taking a bit more time with him due to him being hooked multiple times.
"Good show...fffuck...well done, Cross!" Alastor growled as the angel finally released the demon and allowed him to move if he could. Cross quickly went to Husk and Angel next as he unbound them both.
"Thanks, I'll help Angel. Get Niffty and Cherri." Husk growled. Cross did so and quickly, removing the hook and chain from Niffty who immediately ran to Alastor's side, checking him over. When it came to Cherri, Cross saw her staked hands and clicked his tongue.
"Pardon me, Miss Cherri, what is your favorite color?" Cross asked as he stood in front of Cherri and grabbed both stakes.
"The fuck does color-!? FUUUUUCK!" Cherri screamed as Cross quickly pulled the stakes out of her hands. She fell to her knees, staring at her hands as she couldn't feel them anymore, and Cross quickly unbound her from the hook and chain. Throwing it to the side Cross stared at the wounded group, feeling a pain in his heart as the once lively group was now sullen and suffering. He bent down to Cherri and cupped her hands in his. Though she flinched and even tried to pull her hands away, Cross kept her still and with a bright light in her hands, suddenly, Cherri could feel her hands. He released them as Cherri flexed and moved her fingers around, relieved that Cross did that for her.
"Thanks mate..." She whispered, earning a nod from Cross. He turned to the door as his wings flapped and he flew outside quickly, shooting upward to the roof of the building. It was here he found two of Raphael's masked guards with the large platform with scriptures on it. It seemed to be powering the blessing as Cross realized he had been spotted by the two.
They flew up to engage in battle with him as they were armed and fired Hellfire bullets at him. He weaved through the air as he pulled out his pistol and fired two shots, which both missed, before his pistol shut down. Realizing he forgot to charge it after holstering it, he quickly holstered it and focused his power to the pistol. He pulled out his hilt while avoiding the bullets and ignited his blade. He wasn't able to get close until the two guards ran dry on ammo and had to reload. At this time, he shot forward at them and was caught off guard by them pulling out their own blades and then clashed with him. Cross used his skills to keep the two at a reasonable distance in the air, but being outnumbered, Cross had to be extra quick to avoid receiving any serious wounds. No words were shared between the three as their battle would soon come to an end as Cross would parry an attack from one of the guards. While the guard tried to bring his sword back up to attack Cross, Cross pulled out his pistol and shot the guard through the face, blowing his head open. As the guard fell, the other guard swung at Cross as he ducked and impaled the guard through his stomach with the sword. Cross followed up with multiple pistol shots through the body as he kicked the body off his sword. The fallen angel crashed into the hotel before falling down to the other guard, dead. Cross flew down to the device as he eyed the scriptures. Taking his sword, Cross raised it above his head and sliced through the device, breaking it, and causing the star to disappear above the hotel. Cross let out a few heavy breaths on the roof for a moment, catching his breath.
"Taking a breather?" Cross turned to see Vaggie flying behind him as he sighed.
"Something like that..." Cross responded turning his back to her.
"How were you doing that back down in the lobby? Dashing around and stuff? Was that something you learned from Michael?" Vaggie touched down behind Cross as his eyes narrowed.
"I...wait, what did you say-?" He turned his body and was greeted by Vaggie stabbing him through his shoulder with her spear. He clenched his jaw as he released his hilt causing his blade to extinguish itself. He stared at Vaggie as he clenched his teeth and felt himself slowly kneeling down to one knee.
"You aren't her. No one knows how I got this power except Raphael and Michael. Who are you?" Vaggie laughed as her face morphed and changed to reveal the Changeling who Cross had seen in Clara's memories.
"A Changeling? I thought your kind only existed in Treachery!" Cross growled in pain as he tried to pull the spear out of his shoulder but Jessie pushed back. Her entire body changed to showcase her silver chest plate and armor as her serpent eyes bored into Cross's golden eyes.
"Hmm~ We do! But I left and was alone until Raphael found me and took me in! He told me all his stories and how you just left him when he needed you most!" She pushed the spear further down into his shoulder as he yelled in pain. Anger ran through Cross as he quickly grabbed Jessie's hand and squeezed, the sound of bones breaking was heard by the two as Jessie grunted in pain. She quickly went to pull Cross's hand off hers but Cross quickly brought his body up and headbutt her. She cried out and stumbled back as Cross pulled the spear out of his shoulder and threw it away from himself as gold blood splattered the ground. He hissed in pain as Jessie extended her hand and summoned a pistol as she pointed it at Cross.
"Sorry, but you'll never reach Raphael, not while I'm here!" Cross waited for her to pull the trigger but she never did as she just shook, her face reflecting confusion and fear. Beneath her, a shadowy figure laughed as its hands had gripped her legs, somehow immobilizing her entire body.
"Now now, I can't have you just go and kill the man responsible for saving my life so easily! What kind of man would I be then, hmm?" Alastor's voice surrounded the two on the roof as Cross held a hand over his wound, trying to stop the bleeding slightly. He stared at the spear as he noticed red and black smoke emanating from the tip.
"Hellfire..." He muttered softly, realizing why the spear had hurt so much. Onto the roof came Charlie, Vaggie, Alastor, Husk, Angel, Niffty, and Cherri as they surrounded Jessie and Cross. Alastor went behind Jessie as his red fingers danced across her arms and took the gun from her frozen hand.
"There! Now, you just stay put for a while!" Alastor said as he approached Cross. Alastor threw the pistol to the side as it disappeared into thin air. Vaggie, Angel, Husk, and Cherri kept a close eye on Jessie while Charlie, Alastor, and Niffty tended to Cross.
"Are you okay!?" Charlie said as Cross noticed she was in her demonic form, horns and all. It made him slightly relieved to see she was ready to fight if need be. The throbbing pain in his shoulder brought him to answer Charlie as he hissed in pain.
"F-Fine...except I can't feel my left wing..." Cross muttered as his left wing drooped. Alastor observed the wound and clapped his hands.
"Niffty~!" He called as she jumped up on his shoulder.
"Yes boss?" She chimed as Charlie had Cross sit down.
"Be a good girl and sow up his shoulder for me, will you? While you do that, I believe he owes us some questions," Alastor grinned.
"Hehehehe with pleasure~!" She hopped off Alastor's shoulder as she took her needle and scurried over to Cross, climbing onto his shoulder.
"Hold still, bad boy~" She whispered in his ear, making Cross shiver with unease.
"Now, Cross, please explain the current situation of Hell so we might go about in ending this charade?" Alastor said with a toothy grin. Knowing he had nothing better to do in this situation with Niffty patching him up, he began explaining the situation to them as Alastor hummed and Charlie gasped.
"All of Hell!? He can't do that! Not everyone in Hell are sinners! Some haven't done anything wrong!" Charlie exclaimed.
"Forced ascension hmm? I thought it was just a myth! Seems this Raphael fellow thinks otherwise!" Alastor tapped his cane on the ground as Cross hissed at Niffty.
"Damn it woman!" He barked before Niffty pointed the needle at his throat.
"Hush, or I'll make you." She growled with a smile as Cross went silent, allowing Niffty to go back to sewing up his wound.
"What is my dad doing during all of this? Surely he's fighting right!?" Charlie asked Cross who gave her a side eye.
"We have no knowledge of Lucifer. But we also have no knowledge of where Raphael is. I would bet he has your father pinned down, stopping him from going anywhere. What he's done to him to ensure that, I don't have a clue."
"Who is 'we'?" Alastor questioned.
"Me and my other associates. Graves, Stone, and Chorus are on the lower levels trying to lessen Raphael's presence there. It was imperative that we did this before-" Suddenly, Cross went silent, his eyes went wide as his head turned in a certain direction. Standing up, he ran to the edge of the roof, staring out at the horizon, while Alastor and Charlie stared at him.
"Cross? What's wrong?" Charlie asked as Cross's hand began to visibly shake. He tightened it into a fist and, with Niffty still patching him up, walked over to Jessie who was still frozen due to Alastor's shadow holding her in place.
"Hey, you left this downstairs-" Husk offered Cross his mask as the angel took it and fit it quickly over his head in a quick motion. Anyone could tell something had pissed off Cross as his hand shot out and gripped Jessie's throat. Suddenly, light engulfed Cross's hand as Jessie's eyes went golden and she screamed violently.
"Cross!? What are you doing!?" Vaggie yelled as she stared in horror at Jessie who Alastor released, making her fall to her knees.
"All E.V.E angel's are connected. It helps us figure out if we're in danger at all. But now I can't feel one of my friends," Cross said over Jessie as he gripped Jessie's throat harder, her eyes steadily becoming dull.
"Wait, one of the other E.V.E agents are gone?" Vaggie asked as Cross didn't respond, confirming what she asked. Cross released Jessie as the Changeling slumped forward and fell face first on the ground, her body an empty husk as Cross's hand returned to normal.
"Oh fuck! She's dead!" Angel mentioned as both him and Cherri poked corpse.
"Ooo I like you more and more~" Niffty hissed, finishing up as she cut off her needle and hopped off Cross's shoulder.
"Cross, while I must applaud your willingness to get rid of the trash that plagues Hell, we could've used her." Alastor mentioned, surprised at Cross's ruthlessness.
"I agree that she had information, but now I have all the information we need to fuck Raphael over." Cross said through grit teeth as the group looked to the angel in surprise as he turned to them. The face his mask portrayed was tight and angry, reflecting his true feelings for all to see.
"I think it's time we even the scales."
Act Two
As the train soon came to a speeding stop on Lust, some of Raphael's soldiers guarding the rails wondered why the train had arrived at all. They had already transported all their troops and supplies and were ordered if the train was to arrive, kill anyone who comes off it. They readied their guns as the doors slid open showing a blood stained train on the inside. They stared in horror at the grisly sight but their attention was then turned to a figure appearing from the other train cars. Graves had his shield and sawed-off already out as he turned to the soldiers right before they opened fire.
He placed the shield in front of him and charged forward as the bullets bounced off and even reflected back at the soldiers. Graves rammed into one of the shark soldiers as he brought his shotgun around the shield and fired one shell, blowing a huge chunk out of the sharks side. Throwing the demon off the shield and to the side, he stopped a charging imp by staking the imp through the throat with the sharp end of the shield. The imp slammed into the ground as Graved stood on the imps body, taking aim at the next soldier. He quickly fired his last shell into the other nearby imp soldier, blowing a hole through their chest and sending them down into the train tracks. Needing to reload and seeing the last shark demon charging him, Graves holstered his shotgun and pulled his gauntlet away from his shield. The shield came off with a pop as he was able to duck the attack of the shark swining his gun at Graves head. Graves proceeded to retaliate with a quick three punch combo to the gut and then one to the face as the shark demon fell to one knee. He slammed his foot onto the demons leg and placed his head into a headlock. The demon choked and sputtered but was silenced by Graves snapping his neck with a quick motion. Letting the demon drop, Graves grabbed his shotgun and opened it with a quick flick and emptied the shells. He snapped his fingers as two more shells appeared in his hand and he loaded them before snapping the gun shut. Holstering it, he returned to his shield and saw the imp still alive, choking on its blood. Graves humphed and pulled his shield off the imp before he walked away leaving it to die.
Though Graves had a pretty loud entrance to the squad he met on the tracks, he went about going deeper into Lust with a more silent approach. Rain and thunder helped mask his approach toward Asmodeus's tower. His goal he had given himself, was to secure Asmodeus and help him gain control of his ring so the exterminators could come and clean up after him. The streets were swarming with squads, and Graves, on top of having to avoid them, took note of the fact there were hardly any of the heavily armored fallen angel's. Had there been a reason for it? He didn't think on it too much as he eventually made it to the street where Asmodeus tower would be at the very end. He pressed himself up against the wall as he slowly peeked out to the large opening that the city center had, where the entrance to Asmodeous's home was. Outside the front doors stood four heavily armored fallen angel's, which Graves then concluded that they were probably assigned to guard high risk areas. A smart move by Raphael, but a death sentence to those in low risk areas.
"Now, how to get inside..." From what Graves could tell, he could walk through the front door but that would be insanely risky due to him not having enough information of who lay inside. He could try to fly in, but he would be easily seen and shot at. There was also no telling of whether or not Asmodeus would be put in danger if Graves was found out. Suddenly, Graves noticed the guards stir as they spoke to one another and two flew off in the direction of the train station. Seemed Graves had luck on his side tonight as he readied his weapons.
On the inside of the first floor of the building, two fallen angel guards stood at attention. Behind them was the elevator to ascend and in front, the large lobby that was once filled with demons, now was empty.
"The silence is killing me..." An angel spoke up as the other turned to her.
"How? We have rain and thunder outside. This ring is practically under our control, and on top of it, once all the other rings are subjugated, Hell will fall and we'll be back up in Heaven!" The other angel held an optimistic attitude as the first angel shook her head.
"That's not what I mean. Hell is going under and its been strange we haven't heard any news of Heaven's involvement in the situation. We haven't even seen so much of an Exterminator since coming here." This got the other angel thinking as they heard loud, thunderous noises outside.
"Man, that lightning sure is loud, sounds like it's right on top of us," The second angel said. The first went quiet as she gripped her gun, anxiousness filling her body.
"A little too loud-" Suddenly, a round, silver mass shot through the doors and straight at the first angel as it collided with her head, knocking her head back into the elevator doors behind her.
"Amanda!?" The second angel yelled as Amanda grunted and slid down the door, her head ringing. In front of her, the decapitated head of one of the guards lay in front of her as she quickly attempted to stand up. Graves crashed through the doors as lightning shot off behind him, illuminating his intimidating figure. Amanda and the second guard opened fire at Graves with their rifles as he held his shield in front of himself. He charged them as he quickly slammed Amanda back up against the elevator door behind her. She coughed and felt her entire body ache as Graves turned to the second and pointed his sawed-off at her face. She ducked in time but the sound of the shotgun blew her eardrums out as she screamed loudly. With a loud pop, Graves got his gauntlet free as a blade shot out of his wrist. While she was hunched over and screaming, Graves brought his wrist up and shoved his blade through the eye hole and through her head. She stopped screaming and squirmed for a moment before Graves pulled the blade out and she collapsed on the ground. Amanda yelled as she pushed against Graves shield and cracked it. Graves saw this and quickly grabbed the rifle the dead guard had dropped and stuck the barrel in Amanda's eye hole. Pulling the trigger, the recoil made Graves hold onto the rifle tightly as he unloaded the entire mag into Amanda's head. When the rifle clicked, Graves took a few heavy breaths as blood and smoke poured out of Amanda's helmet.
"All that armor...and yet it still can't protect you from bullets...whoo fuck me..." Graves whispered as he threw the rifle away from himself. His blade disappeared and he retrieved his kite shield in one slick motion. Amanda collapsed to the floor as Graves hit the elevator button as the doors opened and he stepped inside. Hitting the top floor button, he started ascending up through the tower. He observed the crack in his shield as he knew the only way to repair it was to have someone from E.V.E do it. He had told them he would be more careful with it and yet there it was, the illuminating metal and wood shield now cracked along the base. The elevator dinged as Graves quickly reloaded his sawed-off and watched the doors open. In front of him was a long blue and purple sensually lit hallway. Down it, pictures were hung up showing Asmodeus and Fizzy.
"Man...how the fuck you fit inside that guy? You're like, five times his size dude..." Graves whispered as he slowly made his way down the silent hall. Reaching the door, he could hear talking and yelling on the other side. Placing his shield in front of himself, he brought his leg up and kicked the door opened. Two shark demons landed on the ground in front of Graves as he popped the two with his sawed-off. Ahead of himself, he saw an imp soldier point his gun at an individual hanging upside down, gag and bruised. He recognized the demon from the photographs as he popped his shield off and lobbed it at the imp. The imp was caught off guard by the flying shield as it went through him cleanly and got stuck in the window behind him, with the upper half of the imp getting stuck on top of the shield. Graves ignited his blade from his gauntlet as his wings shot out behind him. He flew at the other soldier who fired at him in terrified sprays hoping to hit him. Graves maneuvered around the shots as best he could but took a hit to his leg just as he was successfully able to slice the soldiers head off.
"Fuck me! That hurt!" Graves yelled as he heart footsteps behind him. He turned and saw Asmodeus on his bed, bleeding and chained, with a scantily dressed succubus on top of him. She wore a bra, high heels, fish nets, and panties which completed the typical look of most succubus.
"Well, well, well! A new playmate! An angel as well! Wanna play with me, handsome?" She cooed at him, bending forward and showing off her pink cleavage.
"Girl, lemme tell you, I ain't never sticking my dick in demonic cooch like yours. It wouldn't even be sloppy seconds with how much action it gets." Graves quickly loaded his sawed-off as he saw the succubus frown.
"Aww, that's a shame! I guess we'll have to go straight to punishment then!" She pulled off two of the hook chains on her waist and smiled maliciously at Graves. She ran at him in shocking speeds as she uncurled the chains and sent them at him. He narrowly dodged the first two attacks and went to slice her with his blade. She pulled her chains back as they flew past Graves and returned to her. Graves attack narrowly missed her stomach and he backed off as the succubus went on the offensive, keeping Graves at a distance. She was able to hook Graves around his injured leg and due to him being bound, she threw the other hook at him which latched itself onto his rib, tearing him open as gold blood flew from the wound. Graves grit his teeth and hissed as he was starting to lose blood, and fast.
"Mmm, fuck yeah baby, gimme all of that hot blood~!" The succubus laughed as she licked the blood covered hook. Graves could feel the hot metal in his leg and a surge of electricity pumping through him. He shakily held his sawed off as the succubus could see him stumbling to stay upright.
"Aww, don't worry baby, I'll put you out of your misery!" She laughed as she threw the hook yet again, this time aimed at Graves neck. The angel smiled as his blade disappeared and he leaned as much as he could to one side of his body, the other hook digging into his thigh. He successfully dodged the hook as he gripped the chain and made the succubus eyes widen.
"Let go!" She screamed.
"Nah, come here!" He yelled as he pulled with all his strength and launched the succubus at him. He released the chain and ignited his blade as the succubus couldn't stop herself. His blade sliced across her stomach as Graves shoved his shotgun into her gut and smiled, staring at her pained expression.
"NO-!" He fired both shells as her upper torso was practically blown apart. Blood covered the area around Graves and his entire front as he pulled his shotgun out of the dead succubus. She hit the floor with a "Splat!" as Graves holstered his shotgun and removed the hook from his thigh. He turned to Fizzy and placed a hand over his still gaping wound as he removed the gag from him.
"HOLY SHIT! YOU'RE AN ANGEL! AN ACTUAL ANGEL! YOU JUST BLEW HER EVERYWHERE!" Fizzy croaked as Graves eyed the chain he was tied up in. He loaded his shotgun and shot the chain out above Fizzy as he hit the ground, allowing Graves to unchain him.
"Fuck! Thanks, but ouch!" Fizzy grumbled as Graves eventually untied him with one hand, having holstered his shotgun before doing so.
"Go help Asmodeus. I'll take care of the device on the roof..." Graves muttered as he found it hard to breathe in his helmet. He threw it off as it clattered to the ground, revealing his face at last. His eye color was actually a deep brown, his face was clean shaven and pointed His hair was that of a traditional marine buzzcut and on his cheek he had the words, "Semper Fi" etched into his skin.
"What device...? Oh right!" Fizzy launched his robotic arms over to Asmodeous as he began to unhook his lover. Asmodeous had lost a lot of blood and was healing at a very slow pace due to the David's Star above the building. Graves approached his shield still stuck in the window as he pushed the imps body off it. He extinguished his blade as he attached his gauntlet to the shield and pulled. He was in pain the entire time as he succeeded in pulling the shield out and leaned on it, his vision slowly starting to go black. He took out his sawed-off yet again and reloaded it, though slower and a bit more rough this time. He fired it as the glass blew open and created an entrance to the rainy outside. He used his wings and shot out of the room as he flew up to the roof and landed. There was the device...and two of Raphael's fallen angel's guarding it. They watched Graves land as he stared at them with an exhausted look. One held a massive hammer while the other held what looked like a type of repeater rifle.
"Well...hehe...this just might be my last deployment. Thanks Cross..." Graves muttered as the armed fallen angel took aim. Graves shielded himself as the angel fired. He could feel the heat of the Hellfire bullets smacking against his shield and worsen the crack but still Graves pushed forward slowly. He left bloody footsteps as he walked forward, rain running down his body and face. As he advanced, Graves saw the hammer wielding angel charge him and bring his hammer back. Graves braced himself as the hammer slammed into the shield and broke it apart. His hammer didn't stop at the shield as Graves narrowly dodged the swing. The angel had left himself open as Graves pointed his shotgun and fired the last shot. The angel's arm was blown off as it dropped the hammer. Graves released his sawed-off as he grabbed the hammer with one hand and swung it upward, smacking the angel under the chin and breaking its jaw apart. The armed angel opened fire again as Graves took multiple shots to his arms and one to the gut. The worst pain he had ever experienced ran through his body but instead of submitting, he roared and grabbed the angel in front of him. Dropping the hammer, he charged forward with the angel as his meat shield. The armed angel fired as quick as she could but couldn't stop Graves from throwing the other angel against her, causing her to drop her gun.
The two fell to the ground as Graves quickly grabbed the repeater and began firing the remaining shots into the angel's bodies. The bullets penetrated the armor like butter as he didn't stop firing the gun until it clicked. He saw them move slightly which caused him to pop off the remainder of the kite shield and ignite his blade, allowing him to rapidly stab the two with a wild, bloodthirsty look in his eyes. Gold blood covered his entire arm as the two enemy angels had finally stopped moving after Graves had stabbed them a total of 33 times. After this, Graves felt himself losing feeling in his limbs steadily as he turned to the device and walked to it. He collapsed in front of it as the smell of rain filled his nostrils. He raised his head and stared at the scriptures written on the sides as he raised his blade and using the remainder of his strength, slashed through the platform, disabling it.
"Fuck your scriptures...fuck your beliefs. You have no right...disrespecting His words..." His head and hand fell to the ground as Graves heart beat one last time before silencing itself.
Act Three
On Gluttony, Chorus had already made her way from the train station while Graves had taken the train to Lust. While Graves approach in Lust was silent and somewhat secretive, Chorus was humming as she walked down the middle of the street, heading straight to Beezlebub's home. While the other rings had a depressing, dark look about them, Gluttony had bright skies with an orange tint, colorful vegetation, and bright coloring on the housing. As Chorus was making her way down the main street, the soldiers that saw her pointed their weapons at her as she made no attempt to protect herself. Suddenly, she stopped walking as she turned to look around herself.
"Mmm, now this is a crowd! I love myself a crowd!" Chorus voice was so unbelievably smooth and gorgeous that the demons couldn't help but listen to her as she started to sing a song. The song held a haunting tone to it and was sung low and slow. Her tune filled the entire street as each demon began to slowly point their guns at one another. Their eyes were the same color as her mask as her song began to pick up pace, each beat and word she sang making them inch their fingers closer and closer to their triggers. She paused for a moment as she took a breath suddenly started singing the words to an upbeat, pop song. One by one, the soldiers began shooting one another as she danced down the street, holding a large smile and doing a unique series of spins and hip movements.
She continued this exciting, energy filled song as she soon reached Beezlebub's house, having left an astonishing number of dead soldiers behind her due to her singing. Her vibrato slowly came to low, soft note, ending the song, and finishing the last two demons as they killed one another. She went to place her hand on the door handle but stopped as she saw a red and black smoke drifting off the handle. She clicked her tongue as she brought her gauntlet under her mouth. Suddenly, her hand was engulfed in light and showcased the gauntlet transforming into that of a glowing microphone. She muttered a few notes, cleared her throat, and finally, let out the most ear piercing screech possible, the force blowing down the doors and shattering the glass around the house. The well lit inside revealed the leader of this squadron, tall, spiky, and slender as he stared at Chorus with wide eyes.
"An angel!? Here!? What happened to the guards!?" He hissed as Chorus giggled and flourished her spear.
"Oh~ they fell for my wondrous voice! Just like you will, dear devil~!" She turned her gaze to Beelzebub who stared at her with an equally shocked expression. The last time an angel was down on her floor was during extermination day, and this angel definitely fit the look of one except, of course, the color and microphone.
"What are you gonna do, sing me a lullaby!? Soldiers, open fire!" The demon leader roared as the soldiers took aim and opened fire. Chorus suddenly broke out into a bright but slow paced song as her microphone amplified her voice. She became surrounded in a bubble of golden light as did Beezlebub and any hostages in the room. This light caused the bullets to completely disintegrate upon touching the shield as the soldiers were shocked and began dropping their rifles. The leader glanced around himself at the cowardice of his soldiers as Chorus voice only grew more and more intense, causing the ground to actively shake some. It was here the guards forced themselves to keep balance and with their focus no longer on Chorus, she moved in a flash. Using her spear and wings, she shot forward at the closest enemy and started her ruthless combo of stabs, slashes, and impalings that chained to other soldiers. One by one the demons fell and the leader, wanting to silence and halt Chorus, dashed at her and slammed his fist into her shield which only rebounded. On both his hands, were brass knuckles that had red and black smoke drifting off them, but it was useless if he couldn't hit her. She turned her attention to him as whatever attack he made to her shield left no mark as her voice powered through it. He let out a roar of dissatisfaction as he raised both his fists to the air and brought them down. Chorus suddenly cut her song off as the shield disappeared and she backstepped, causing the leaders attack to completely miss and leave himself wide open. Chorus turned to the left as her wings came up and slashed him across his chest but before he could do anything more, he was promptly met with Chorus shoving her spear through his throat.
The leader sputtered as blood poured out of his throat and mouth and, with a swift motion, Chorus pushed her spear to the right and created a giant gap in his throat. The leader fell to the ground as Chorus glanced at the remaining soldiers and then the hostages as she started her song back up, loud and proud. Blood stained the ground and parts of the walls as Chorus finished off the last demonic soldier and flicked her spear clean of blood. She flourished her spear again as she turned to the chained up Beelzebub. Beelzebub began growling and trying to move as she watched Chorus approach her, humming as she did so. She raised her spear as Beel closed her eyes and awaited her demise but it never came. She heard her chains break, and felt herself come lose as she opened her eyes and saw Chorus removing the hooks from her body. She finally removed her muzzle as Beel moved her jaw around and side eyed Chorus.
"Alright, so you kill the guys who chained me and my friends up and then set me free. What's your deal, Exterminator?" Beel asked as Chorus frowned.
"Listen honeysuckle, I'm not an Exterminator. I'm here because a friend called and I answered along with my husband. Now stay here, and shut up. I'll go make sure that star dissappears." Chorus said as she left Beel on the floor and left the house. Flying onto the roof, the platform was working full force, and two fallen angel soldiers stood in front of it. One of the fallen had a trident, while the other had two swords, each glowing in the light.
"So, you two work for Raphael I take it? Why are you trying to disrupt Hell? Like, what is the final goal?" Chorus asked.
"Forced ascension," One said.
"We want to go back up to Heaven. It's not fair that we have to suffer while there are worse individuals in Heaven!" The other said.
"Okay, guys, or gals...I really can't tell when you wear the masks. You realize that by murdering Hellborn that haven't done anything means you're technically killing innocents right? I mean, even forced ascension is a bit much, don't you think?" Chorus's words resulted in the fallen charging her as the three immediately engaged in a heavy fight. Even outnumbered, however, Chorus didn't feel stressed. In fact, she was easily dodging, parrying, and blocking the attacks the fallen threw at her. She ended up with the upper hand when the trident wielding fallen attempted to skewer her foot. Chorus slammed her spear into the ground and used it to launch herself into the air, avoiding the attack. While in the air, she took a deep breath and let out an ear piercing screech as the two fallen had to cover their ears. She quickly flew back to the ground as her wings swung toward one of the fallen. They couldn't react in time as her right wing beheaded them, gold blood flying as Chorus quickly turned to the other.
"DIE!" The fallen screamed as they began wildly swinging their twin blades to slice Chorus. But, with another loud scream , the fallen fell short with their blades allowing Chorus to stab them in the shoulders, stomach, and finally in the face as her spear ran through with ease. She pulled the spear out as the fallen fell to the ground, joining the other in death. Chorus quickly went to the platform as she ran her spear into the device and ruined the insides, causing the platform to shut off. The moment she did, inside the house, she heard Beel roar and begin going about freeing her people. As Chorus flew off the roof and approached the destroyed door, she stopped as she felt a pulse hit her and she turned around.
"Graves...dammit..." Chorus cursed as she quickly went inside and went to find Beel. She eventually found the sin inside a dark room, but it wasn't any better for her as she was holding the still, cold body of a black and grey Hellhound. Tears ran down her face as Chorus could see bullet holes riddled across the body of the hound. Around Beel were multiple dead bodies, filled with bullets or even stabbed. So much death, and for what? A lie told by Raphael? What was the significance of all this blood shed?
"Who is he?" Chorus asked Beel as she crouched down next to the sin.
"M-My...my...boyfriend..." Beel cried as she pushed her face into the hounds neck, sobbing. Chorus felt sadness in her as she knew how she would feel if she ever lost Stone, so she gently placed a hand on Beel's shoulder.
"Beel, I'm sorry to ask this of you, especially now, but I need to get to Pride. I don't have a car, the train isn't working, and I need to meet up with my associates so we can end this war. I need your help, will you give it to me?" Chorus asked as Beel glanced at the angel. She sniffled as she looked back to her dead lover and shut her eyes tight.
"Will you promise that the person responsible for all of this will pay?" Her words were tight as Chorus stood up and nodded.
"Of course, I promise." With Chorus answer, Beel set her lover down and stood up, her body growing in size as she looked down to Chorus.
"Then I'll do more than help. We're gonna pay those fuckers back in blood!" She roared.