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Post by cyansky on Nov 16, 2009 21:15:28 GMT -5
Asri smiled at Selice, gently taking the cross and nodding at her. He was immensely grateful for her giving him access to the Reaper archives. Asri had plenty of contacts in Heaven, so he could access most archives by pulling a few strings. This would make this much easier though.
"Excellent!" he said, grinning, "perhaps I might find soime clues in there that could really convince the court. I'll present my findings to you when I return in the evening, and we'll go over what we've found and make sure that your story is consistent with my evidence."
Asri chuckled at Selice as he began to step away from the cell. One day wasn't much time to prepare for a trial, but Asri wasn't known as one of the best lawyers for nothing.
"Hang in there, Selice!" he said, "I'll be back by evening! Don't lose hope, because I'm on your side!"
And with that, Asri ran out of the prison, naviguating it easily. This wasn't his first time here; he could already hear all the other Fallen around him, screaming out their pain, hanging at their chains, sobbing... It was horrifying. Asri couldn't stand it! He ran out of the prison, spreading out his wings before flying away into the clear blue sky.
"If there's anything ironic about Heaven," muttered Asri in his native language, "it's that the devil's in the details."
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Post by Selice on Nov 16, 2009 21:41:13 GMT -5
Selice clutched at the bars and watched as Asri ran from the cell block. She wished he didn't have to leave her, but if she was going to have any chance at getting her name cleared he'd have to gather evidence to support her. "I'll try" she whispered to the open air.
Selice took a step back from the bars before turning and examining her temporary habitat. She walked over to the small cot that sat in the corner of the cell and lay down on it, curling up into a ball, trying to drown out the screams of the other prisoners.
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Post by cyansky on Nov 17, 2009 20:17:08 GMT -5
Asri bit his lips as he flew towards the Reaper Archives building. Death angels had their own headquarters, but due to the amount of people dying, the Reaper Archives were so huge that it had to be in another building. It took Asri about fifteen minutes of flying, and weaving around and dodging other angels as they flew by. His wings, meanwhile, glowed brightly due to absorbing so much solar energy, almost blinding some of the passing angels. Asri, however, felt reenergized, and didn't stop for a break until he reached the Reaper's Archives. It was very much like a business building - huge, many stories high, and elegant in appearance. It was seemingly made out of marble, white in colour, and had few windows. Asri might have jokingly compared it to an inverted iceberg or a pretty icicle, but that metaphor did nothing to really capture the beauty that was this building or the rest of Heaven in general. The Reapers Archives appeared much like a huge tower or skyscraper, only spiralling higher and higher to the point where Asri couldn't see the top, and then there were the various buildings attached to it, resembling it closely, but with flat, slanted roofs made out of a reflective material. Asri looked at it for a few minutes, awed by it. These archives were big for a reason; Heaven's death angels had their every capture recorded and documented for who knew how long, perhaps ever since the cycle of life and death began… and what’s more, this wasn’t the only one.
Asri entered the building, feebly pushing the door open and entering the lobby, where a receptionist sat, typing at what appeared to be a computer. Upon closer inspection, though, Asri found it to be a fusion of magic and technology, a machine meant to perform the menial tasks that even the low ranked angels found degrading. The receptionist was a blond, darkly dressed woman with the Death angel symbol on her left chest, as was common with angels. Most organizations in Heaven tended to be uniform, with most angels dressing up in uniforms or according to a certain dress code. Naturally, this didn’t apply to the Fallen, and to the more individualistic higher-ups. The Death angels were no exception.
The woman looked up, seeing Asarek enter.
“I need full access to the Reaper archives,” said Asarek.
“I afraid that won’t be possible,” replied the receptionist, “the Reaper archives are not public information. As is stated by Heavenly Law.”
Asri smiled.
“I believe that your strongest, my lady Selice, is about to be put on trial for ‘over-reaping,’” he said, “I need access to the archives if I am to collect evidence to support her.”
The secretary nodded, a hint of regret in her expression.
“So I’ve heard,” she said, “she’s a kind soul, and she’s always been focused on her work. It’s a shame that she’s ended up like this. But the law is the law.”
Asri smiled.
“I know, and Selice is one lucky angel,” he said softly, “there aren’t many lawyers in Heaven that work in saving Fallen.”
“So she is,” said the receptionist in return. “Especially in a place like that…”
That was a fact, really. Angelic lawyers that specialized in dealing with Fallen were few in number; because the job was often very dangerous. Some Fallen being nice and accepting of their services; others too disgusted with Heaven to even consider returning; others beings never-ending engines of destruction; others just being insane, selfish and/or manipulative bastards; others being beyond classification. This fact, along with the fact that lawyers often had to deal with angels at their WORST, often led few to pursue the profession, and for those that did, often twisted them in the worst ways. Hence why so many Fallen often got sent to Hell without a fair trial – because they couldn’t find a lawyer in time.
Asri then showed the receptionist the cross that Selice had given… er… borrowed him.
“This is Selice’s cross,” he said, “she’s given me permission to access the Reaper archives.”
The receptionist looked at him, surprised. She took the cross, examined it closely, before turning towards the window to let the sun shine on it. Apparently verifying that it was the cross that belonged to Selice. She even took out a magnifying glass and glared at it as if it was a diminutive little demon. After several long minutes of meticulous examining, Asri yawning and frequently applying hand sanitizer, the receptionist… finally… finally… finished.
“Yes,” she said, smiling warmly, “this is indeed lady Selice’s cross. You may access the Reaper’s Archives.”
Asri took the cross back with his sleeve, gingerly wiping it off with a tissue before even considering to touch it. While angels weren’t supposed to get sick, Asri wasn’t a typical angel. He was known as a Plague-bearer for a reason.
“Your name?” “Asarek Sazsaroziel, Angel of Plagues.”
The receptionist froze, looking at him with a stunned expression on her face. Either she was surprised that Asri was so beautiful despite his title, or afraid that his arrival here might case another epidemic. Like the last time he was denied his hand sanitizer.
“What?” asked Asri, giving her a charming smile.
The receptionist blushed a little, and then began typing furiously on her computer. She gritted her teeth, glaring at the computer screen.
“… Nothing. You are free to go see the archives. This is the key the most of the rooms.”
She handed him a thin silver key, engraved in arcane symbols.
“The archivist here is Relazael; speak to him if you need any help finding anything.”
Asri chuckled, and headed towards the entrance of the archivists, a large black door with a small keyhole and doorknob.
“Of course. Thank you very much, miss.”
He gave the receptionist a charming smile and winked at her as he unlocked the door and stepped into the Reaper archives. The receptionist was blushing slightly. Asri chuckled a little more as he closed his eyes and whispered a brief prayer to Luisine. Ironic how he could get away with praying to a light deity in the kingdom of god. Asri sighed. Heaven wasn’t as perfect as humanity believed it to be. If it was, there wouldn’t be any Fallen.
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Post by Selice on Nov 17, 2009 22:17:18 GMT -5
The minutes seemed to pass like hours, the hours passing like an eternity. Selice remained on the small cot, curled up in her protective ball till she heard a familiar voice. Ah, there you are. I was hoping they'd just have you in the main cell block rather than the maximum security. Never can tell these days the smooth voice said with a slight chuckle. Selice sat up from the mattress slowly, wiping away tears and strands of hair from her face. Even though the figure was hooded and cloaked it didn't take much to figure out who it was. "Michael....what...what are you doing here?" she asked between sniffles. What, I'm not allowed to visit a friend while she's in prison. I'll leave if you really want me too He said laughing as he removed the hood of his cloak. He turned and started to walk away. Selice shot up off the cot and rushed to the bars of the cell. "No! Please" i was just surprised you would come here. Please, don't leave" she said softly. Michael laughed and walked back in front of the bars. He reached through and gently took hold of her chin. Hello little one. How's prison life treating you? He asked with a hint of playfulness in his voice. Selice hung her head. "I...I hate it. I feel like a caged bird" she said softly. "Michael I'm so scared! What happens if the find me guilty? I mean....I...I really don't want to be executed, and I certainly don't want to end up in hell!" she said looking into Michael's gleaming blue eyes. The Arc Angel smiled softly, running his gloved hand down Selice's cheek. Don't fret, little one. I'm sure everything shall work out fine. After all, you have one of the best lawyers on your case. I have faith that Asarek will find whats necessary to prove your innocence He said softly, offering Selice a warm smile. Selice bit her lip. "but what if your wrong? What if he can't? I....I'm just so scared. Dammit I feel like such an infant. I fought in the grand war, I have cleaned up after genocide and mass murder, yet in the face of my own trial I shake in my boots and sob like a baby. I just feel so weak" she said softly, new tears forming in her eyes. Selice rested her forehead against the bars of the cell, closing her eyes, trying to hide her cowardly tears from Michael. He sighed, gently stroking her cheek. Shh, don't cry Selice. Please. I'm sure everything will be fine he said softly, trying to comfort her.
An hour or so passed. Michael remained with Selice, just standing there, trying to comfort her in her hour of need. Selice, I have to go now. Michael whispered. He gingerly ran his hand down her cheek, drying her tears. Selice looked up at him, her eyes begging him not to leave. Come now, I'll be back. I promise. I'll even be at the trial tomorrow he said with a comforting tone in his voice. "all right" she said softly. She really wished he could stay. Like Asri, Michael held a calming presence and right now it was just what she needed. Don't worry Selice. Asarek will come through for you. I can feel it he said offering her one last warm smile before he took a step back from the bars and raised his hood. Stay strong little one He said as he walked away, leaving Selice alone once again.
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Post by cyansky on Nov 19, 2009 22:32:33 GMT -5
The archives were truly huge. Some resources in Heaven were electronic, most were stored in good ol’ fashioned ledgers. The walls and shelves and much of the other furniture were black and dark blue in colour. Once inside, Asri could see the massive libraries above him. They were angels, so they had no need for elevators. The floors of the library were visible from above, supported by poles of polished marble and guarded by delicately designed railings. There was a circular gap in the center, which allowed Asri to easily access each floor. Asri looked upwards and immediately headed for the archivist’s office… the archivist here was one of his acquaintances that he had met outside of work.
Relazael’s office, was, as he once said, on the first floor, and it was easily accessible. Asri looked at the massive shelves of the archives… So many different documents were neatly stacked, all in uniform, carefully labelled shelves and documents… it was huge… Asri looked up as he walked, looking up at the numerous darkly-dressed angel assistants flying around, carrying out ledgers and papers all across the library. It was one busy place, but strangely quiet. Asri stepped across the numerous shelves, his footsteps echoing thought the archives.
It was a few minutes before he found Relazael’s office, indicated by a simple black door with a small metal piece proudly displaying his name. Asri approached and knocked on the door, before stepping back and crossing his arms. He heard a panicked voice shouting incoherently from behind the door. Silence. More shouting. Silence.
A few minutes later, Relazael finally opened the door.
He was only slightly shorter than Asri, with short dark hair, green eyes, glasses, a cheerful smile and the usual reaper uniform. He was holding onto a stack of papers, under his left arm.
“Asarek? How… unexpected. I thought that you didn’t have the authorization to come here?”
Asri chuckled.
“I’m here to fight for Selice,” he said, “her trial’s coming up tomorrow and I need evidence to support her. For this purpose, she has allowed me to access these archives.”
“So… the day as come, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah…”
Relazael adjusted his glasses and motioned deeper into his office.
“Come on, then. We have work to do,” he said, “I know these archives like the back of my hand; there would be something here that will support your case.”
Asri nodded, and followed him. This was going to be a very, very long day. He had only met Relazael briefly before, and quite frankly, didn’t really trust him completely, but now he didn’t have much of a choice. Without the archivist, he may as well be on a wild goose chase. Relazael sat down at his desk and gestured towards the computer that sat on it. The computer was rather large, taking up an entire wall of the room, and displayed various texts, all written in Angelic.
“We can find the stuff you need in the archives’ databases, and for you to present them in court, we can fetch the real concrete piece,” explained Relazael, “If you truly are as good as I’ve heard, I doubt that presenting them properly won’t be difficult for you. And of course, if I have time off tomorrow morning, I will be at the trial, both to watch, and to collect the documents when you’re done with them. I can’t afford to lose anything unless the higher-ups will have my hide. You take care of my documents; I’ll help you find them. Deal?”
He offered a hand to Asri.
“Deal.”
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Post by Selice on Nov 19, 2009 22:40:36 GMT -5
With Michael gone there was nothing to occupy Selice's attention and she grew scared and bored rather quickly. She turned and walked back to the small cot, the chains keeping her connected to the wall jingling and rattling as she moved. She lay down on the thin mattress, trying to find a comfortable spot. When she finally managed to get herself comfortable she closed her eyes, drifting off into a dreamless slumber, the last thought running through her mind as she drifted off was of Asri, and how she prayed he was having luck in the archives.
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Geinkotsu
Fleshling
Our characters are only but a piece of ourself. Help it grow into a fictional you.
Posts: 209
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Post by Geinkotsu on Nov 20, 2009 23:06:15 GMT -5
The door creaked open from the far side of the jail, incoherent yelling and muttered could be heard with the sound of chains. An angel with grey and red wings and short brown hair walked through the door, dragging along a teenage boy with black and white spiky hair and punk style clothing. He had his arms crossed, his feet were shackled and he had a leash on his spiked collar, since, it would be fairly useless to put a metal collar on his neck if he already had one. He was mumbling in a different language, being dragged by the back of the shirt across the floor.
“Quit your ramblings boy!” The angel shouted, jerking at Zachery. In return, Zachery turned and buried his teeth into his captor’s wrist, making him cry out and then hit Zachery. He didn’t even flinch, he only turned his head slightly so the burn scar was visible, then went back to crossing his arms and mumbling in woodland. “Lle naa haran e' nausalle, Tor Dolle naa loste! [You are king in your imagination, but your head is empty!]” he grumbled at the angel, apparently pissed off.
“Shut it!” He shouted, wrenching open the door to the jail across from a sleeping angel’s. He threw Zachery in, then slammed the door shut. “You should think next time before assaulting an angel and almost killing him!”
“You should think next time before you screw with me or my family!” He retorted. Zachery sat there, unable to stand up properly with the ankle shackles, but looked up at the vent as he heard something turn on. The angel smiled at his confusion. “Its Air conditioning for the hot headed.” He said and laughed at his joke, then walked away. Zachery started to shiver, it was severely cold in his cell. Well, that answers the question of if they knew his powers… Now he wouldn’t be able to use his fire to escape. “B-bastards..” He stuttered, teeth chattering. As if it wasn’t bad enough he almost killed a six winged angel because the man was trying to kill Daemon, being charged for attempted murder, and was now stuck in a freezing cell.
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Post by Selice on Nov 20, 2009 23:26:49 GMT -5
A loud racket woke Selice from her short slumber. She rose from the small cot, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and pushing a few strands of stray hair behind her ear. She stood and walked over to the bars of her cell, stretching out her tired legs. Cold? She whispered to his mind, not knowing if he was indeed an angel or heavenly being so not wanting to risk harming him simply spoke in her mental whisper. Selice walked back to her cot and took the blanket from it, walking back to the bars. She held out her hand and closed her eyes. In her palm formed a small silver dove, glistening and gleaming in the prison lighting. It took the blanket in it's beak and flew over to Zachery's cell to deliver the thin blanket.
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Geinkotsu
Fleshling
Our characters are only but a piece of ourself. Help it grow into a fictional you.
Posts: 209
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Post by Geinkotsu on Nov 21, 2009 0:02:02 GMT -5
Zachery looked up as he heard the woman’s voice echo inside of his head. She was standing at the bars with a small dove, which soon took the blanket and flew over to Zachery. The dove slipped through door, landing the blanket on Zachery’s lap and returning to Selice. “Thanks…” he said. “I’m sure you overheard our little ‘conversation’. Allow me to enlighten you.” he said as he scooted over to the wall, sitting up with his back against it and knees to his chest, blanket pulled over him. Which, he would later use for his escape, if he had the power to.
“Some bastard named Messiah was planning to kill my friend Daemon. And, I’ve already made an oath to myself a few months before. So, I’m pretty sure you know what happened. I kicked his ass, burnt one of his wings to a crisp, and I would have slit his throat if those uniformed fairies didn’t come to stop me.” He crossed his arms again. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a six winged angel before then, but he was stronger than most of the fairies that tried to stop me. Weaklings. It’s too bad I couldn’t hurt them or else I could have killed Messiah. I wonder where he is right now.” He leaned his head back and smiled. “I guess angels aren’t as impervious to fire as I thought.”
He restrained a shiver as the cold started to get deeper into him. It felt like an icebox. He held out his hand in front of his face, snapping his fingers. A small spark came from them, then a flame. But it quickly died out within second. He wouldn’t be able to make anything more than a small spark soon. Damn cold.
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Post by Selice on Nov 21, 2009 0:16:20 GMT -5
Don't worry about it. And yes, I caught a little bit of it Selice said softly, catching the small dove as it returned to her. It burst into silver flames the moment it landed in her hands. Selice listened as Zac went on about why he had landed himself in the prison and A shocked look crossed the reapers face. You actually tried to KILL messiah?! she asked, clutching at the bars. No wonder why you are here. You're lucky they didn't execute you right there! She said in an excited whisper. She had only met Messiah once...It was the battle of the Fallen. He was on the front lines....She could still remember the way he had cut through dozens and dozens of his old brothers. A shiver went down her spine as she mentally relived those hateful days.
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Post by cyansky on Nov 21, 2009 0:23:09 GMT -5
Several hours later, Asri stepped out of the Archives, arms full of the books and scrolls that Relazael had so kindly given him. They had spent all morning discussing Selice and the evidence both for and against her. From what Relazal had unearthed, it turned out that Selice had reaped three times the amount of souls that she was supposed to, and at an extremely rapid rate. Her reasons were often perfectly justified, mostly revolving around compensating for the absence of her fellow death angels (so and so reaper was MIA, another quit, another was injured... etc.). However, she had reaped such a quantity that it outstripped some of Azrael's best reapers... perhaps even Azrael itself.
The biggest problem though, was that Selice took souls to Heaven that weren't truly suited to Heaven. Azrael was quite stringent on whether a soul was meant for Heavena and Hell, hence why it didn't tolerate any corruption amoungst the judges that decided their fate. Selice was much more lenient. She took pity on souls that had committed sins, and sent them to Heaven anyways. This type of judgement was technically not valid, as Selice's opinion would be considered biased with respect to the souls. She wasn't really in much position to judge them - only take and deliver what souls were her due.
And then Relazael mentioned that she was friends with Lucifer before his fall, having almost dragged her down to Hell with him.
"Go figure," said Asri, as he spread his wings and stepped away from the door. "This angel has friends in high, or low, places. I have to show this to Selice."
Relazael chuckled, crossing his arms and readjusting his glasses, a common habit of his. An angel with glasses... Asri wondered whether he wore them because of fashion or whether he actually needed them to see.
"I've known her for years," he said, "she's rather high up in the ranks, hence why she's familiar with Michael, Lucifer and many other legendary angels. Not all of them have treated her kindly, but she's managed to pull through nonetheless."
"You're right," said Asri, "she must be eons old... I've only been an angel for over two thousand years."
Relazael chuckled.
"Does that make me an old man?" he asked, "come now, you're one of the longest surviving lawyers we've got, since the new ones tended to get themselves beheaded easily. Other times they need a soldier for protection."
"I have my family," said Asri, "and Kiel and its never ending supply of back-up plans."
"I'm glad, Asri," said Relazael, "Few people have ever treated Selice kindly, and her relationships with anyone never last long. Perhaps the exception lies with Michael though, but he's an Archangel and Archangels have stuff to do. He's as busy as a Heavenly Messenger in the old days, always scooting around from place to place. Business."
"She's told me the same thing," said Asri, "it seems that she's lived a lonely life. It's a wonder how she's managed to hold out without enveloping herself in a sort of shell, like a Stoic."
Relazael patted him on the back.
"Selice is too nice for that," he said, "you could almost call her innocent. Now go… we’ve spoken long enough. We have enough information to argue for her defence… even… her personal notes."
Asri chuckled. Relazael was a collector of all things related to a person’s personal experiences. He even the agreed to take in the diaries of deceased angels for safe keeping sometimes. A trustworthy man, although one that Asri didn’t know too well.
“So many documents and stuff that I can barely carry?”
“You should get going,” said Relaziel, gently pushing him away, “Selice is waiting for you. And I have work to do.”
Asri smiled at him.
“Alright. I’ll see you later, Rel.”
Relaziel waved as he watched Asri spread his wings and fly off.
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Geinkotsu
Fleshling
Our characters are only but a piece of ourself. Help it grow into a fictional you.
Posts: 209
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Post by Geinkotsu on Nov 21, 2009 0:28:18 GMT -5
“Why? Is he some sort of important angel or something?” Zachery asked, obviously not knowing who Messiah was, even though he blatantly attacked the angel. “Well, whatever. He’s not a reflexive as I thought he’d be. What with the six wings and all.” He shrugged and smiled. “It was worth the try. I even got a few of his feathers when I was refusing the let go of him.” He searched his pocket for a moment, then pulled out seven pure white feathers that had a pure glow to them. Zachery smiled and laughed. “So, what did you do? You seem a bit to innocent to be in jail.”
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Post by cyansky on Nov 21, 2009 0:33:03 GMT -5
Asri landed at the cells fifteen minutes later, after a lot of high speed flying and being extra careful in not dropping any of the documents that Relzael had lent him. He landed gently on in front of the prison, before running inside, dodging guards as he went. They didn't provide much resistance against Asri; they let him through after he told them that he was the lawyer for one of their prisoners.
Asri thanked them for letting him through, before heading for the cell that held Selice prisoner, calling her name. While he knew where the cell was, he wanted to know if she was awake... he wanted to speak with her...
"SELICE! SELICE!"
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Post by Selice on Nov 21, 2009 0:37:12 GMT -5
Messiah is one of the Oldest. He's an Arc Angel. A general in the Almighty's army. I'm surprised you actually almost managed to kill him, thats no easy feat. She said softly. As for the reason of my inprisonment.... Well the simplest explanation is I reaped too many souls and had pity on some that I guess I shouldn't have had pity on. she added.
"SELICE! SELICE!" Asri's voice rang out through the cell block. No need to shout Asri, I'm awake. She whispered to the excited angel.
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Geinkotsu
Fleshling
Our characters are only but a piece of ourself. Help it grow into a fictional you.
Posts: 209
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Post by Geinkotsu on Nov 21, 2009 0:41:32 GMT -5
“Oh hey, Asarek is here.” Zachery said, arms resting on his knees. “I’d come over and shake your hand, but I’m a bit tied down here. What can I say, They’ve got me leashed like a dog.” He laughed at his puns, fiddling with the feathers with his fingers as he sat there. Asri and Zachery knew each other a bit, but nothing too close even though Zachery considered him a friend. “Selice, over-reaping isn’t such a crime. You should try killing off an entire race with no reason to be sent here.” He said with a reassuring smile.
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