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Episode 26:

Fallen Angel

I take a long pull from my wineglass of blood, staring at the flames of the fire. You sit across from me in the other chair, sipping upon your tea. "I will need to jump ahead a bit for that tale, my pet."

Your question is expected and I nod. "Around my fifth year with this family." I see the look of surprise at such a large gap and shake my head. "It is just as well. I can do little but parrot the tales of sex and training, along with the small building blocks of friendship and love I slowly reinforced in my day to day. They would make for tiresome and repetitive stories, would they not?"

My teeth show in a grin and I shake my head. "If I recall something of importance, we shall revisit it. Do not stress over it, my sweet."

#

My life had become grounded in normality. The love and adoration of my fox, cat, and wolf. The trips to see Gloria and frequent visits to Lorelai. I had become good friends with Kazemde and Harold as well. Val and Kiley were also a constant. Yes, it all had become blissfully stable.

I had a few dozen adventures during that time. Hunting down crazed lycanthropes with Alex and rogue vampires with Katrina. Kazemde had even enlisted our help with circle issues a few times and Gloria was always with us. Lorelai had some special projects we worked on together, just the two of us finding misguided souls in less population-dense areas.

My training had been constant through it all. I never lost my diligence, the protection of my friends and family a constant motivation in my mind. It still felt too soon when it all came to bear upon me.

I was tangled in Katrina's arms in our master's bed the day of, Elias was a few cities away on business so it was just us in his bed. My ears rose at the sound of my phone going off with a text message. I never got messages or calls during the day unless it was important, so my body responded right away. I fumbled at the nightstand for my phone and checked it to find a text message from Gloria. My eyes widened and my heart shoved into overdrive at the words.

'Alice and Alex, It would appear our time is at an end. My superiors have caught wind of things and I quickly send you this message while they are at my door, demanding I open it to face charges of heresy. My tribunal will be immediate and I will doubtlessly be executed before the sun sets. I'm sorry I could not give you both a proper goodbye. However, know you two have made me so happy these last few years and Kat has been a true friend. I love all of you and I'm sorry.'

"Gloria!" I practically screamed her name as the phone shook in my hands.

"Alice? W-what's going on?" Katrina sat up right away and blinked at me in shock, trying to shake the sleep from her mind.

I shook my head several times and pushed my phone into her hands, climbing from the bed. "Fuck... fuck! W-what do I do... what can I do?" I was practically sobbing the words as I paced back and forth, panic gripping me.

Katrina's eyes widened at the text message and she stood from the bed. "Alice... calm down, let's think about this..."

"Think about what?! My angel is going to fucking die!" I screamed the words, tears rolling down my face. "I can't even... I can't even be there with-"

The door of the room slammed open and Alex came storming in, his teeth bared in a snarl. "Alice! Did you get this text message too?" He already had his answer seeing me shivering and tears flowing down my face as Katrina clutched me to her chest tightly.

"Alex..." Katrina sighed and put a hand on my head, drawing my face closer to her chest. "How good of a driver are you?"

The wolf perked his ears and showed his teeth in a scowl. "I like to think I'm pretty good. Why?"

"Alice..." Katrina called out to me but I just kept sobbing in my panic attack induced fit. The cat jerked me to look at her and slapped me across the face, "Snap out of it!"

With a yelp I felt my mind clear for a moment and blinked at Katrina holding my cheek, sniffling and lifting my ears. "K-Kat... Alex..."

Katrina hissed at me. "You going to let a couple of holier than thou goons take your retriever from you without a fight? What did we always tell Gloria?"

I shook my head and frowned, "B-but... it's day... what can we-"

"He isn't affected by the sun." Katrina cut her eyes back to Alex.

"I'm not, guess it's up to me alone then." The wolf clenched his fist with a grin.

"Don't be stupid. You can drive one of the cars that have fully UV shielded windows. We're all going," the cat showed her teeth in a defiant grin. My ears and his lifted up at the prospect of it.

"Right! Let me get my things and I will meet you two in the garage!" Alex stomped out of the room in almost a run.

"Katrina..." I folded my ears and grit my teeth, my eyes shifting to red and my teeth showing. "If they hurt her..."

"One problem at a time, Alice." She pushed her forehead to mine and stared hard into my eyes. "She's my friend too... we will keep our word. Prepare yourself and do so quickly, I will send word to our master that the three of us are going into battle."

I huffed out through clenched teeth and quickly pulled away, turning to the closet to gather my clothes as well as my weapons. I felt the fury and rage flood into me and snatched my phone up. I quickly sent a message to Val sending him my love, in the event I did not return from this. I then left a message with Lorelai, telling her how much I loved her and how happy she had made me if I didn't see her again.

Heavy black boots and jeans, along with my ballistic jacket over a shirt were my outfit. I strapped my guns on along with my whip, grabbing my speed loaders and a box of bullets. "How are we going to get into wherever they will be?"

"Very quickly, that's how. We can throw some heavy cloaks on to get a few extra seconds in the sunlight." Katrina spoke the words while putting her phone away, having obviously just finished messaging Elias.

"What if they are holding it outside?" I ask with worry in my voice.

"Then we snatch Gloria and let them follow us to a place inside." Katrina spoke the words in a calm calculated tone of voice as she dressed as well.

"Thank you..." I took a calming breath and nodded at her, thankful she was being the voice of reason. I quickly filled a duffle bag with a few spare bottles of blood and boxes of ammo.

"We can prepare the bullets on the way, let's get to Alex." Katrina spoke the words as she gripped my hand and pulled me out of the room.

The car ride was spent going over details and plans while prepping our bullets for thaumaturgy. Alex drove like he was possessed, seamlessly navigating the car through the midday traffic of the connecting roads at breakneck speeds.

"Hey..." The wolf called out back to us. "If we don't make it out of this shit... I love you guys and... sorry you're getting dragged into mine and Alice's fight, Kat..."

"You dogs are so damn dramatic... She is my friend too Alex and no one is dying today. Well not on our side anyway." The cat hissed the words while loading her revolver.

#

We finally made our way to the location of the supposed trial. It was an old historic lodge on the outskirts of the city, near a popular natural waterfall and several hiking trails. It would have been bustling in the warmer months, but given we were in the dead of winter, it was practically deserted except the small skeleton crew that manned it during the off-season.

"At least it's not outside..." I grumbled the words as I tightened the large cloak onto my body, thick black gloves worn on my hands.

'They probably used some sort of charm on the staff and are using the conference or dining room to hold it." Katrina clenched her teeth and pulled the hood of the cloak over her head. "Alex, get us as close to the entrance as you can, the less exposure we get, the better."

The wolf grinned and pulled off the road, pulling the car through the dirt, grass, and slush of snow until we were only a few yards to the entrance. "How's that?" He barked the words.

"Good, park the car normally then join us. Don't leave it here, we don't need mundane authorities on top of everything else." Katrina hissed the words then grabbed my hand hard giving me a nod.

I swallowed before jerking the hood over my head with my free hand and gave her my own nod. She kicked the door of the car open and sunlight flooded into the cabin of the vehicle. Just the presence of it made me feel sick and my head spin. I felt faint but clenched my teeth, thinking of my dog and cat.

She pulled me forward and we were at the entrance and in the building in less than a second. I took a knee and panted, trying to regain my composure, the brief touch of sunlight even through the heavy cloak having taken a toll.

Kat panted and passed me a sports bottle. "Drink half of it then pass it back to me." I nodded and pulled heavily from it before standing and passing it back to her. The staff was obviously charmed, they didn't even so much as bat an eye at us.

Katrina finished the last of the blood and tossed the bottle into a trashcan. She took a moment to focus and nodded. "Wow... do you feel that?"

I nodded. "Yeah... it's like the energy Gloria gives, but on steroids..." I shuddered and cut my eyes to a room with double doors and two imposing males flanking it. They were dressed in professional business suits like they were hired security, but they were dripping with divine energy. Both of them were canines but I couldn't make the breeds out.

Katrina clenched her teeth from inside the hood. "We've got the element of surprise, we drop them, bust in and get Gloria, then we-"

"Why drop them?" I showed her my red eyes and gave her a hungry grin.

"You want to play it another way my rabbit?" She quirked a brow.

"Oh yes... We are outgunned and so we need all the help we can get, even from their own ranks." I cooed the words, malice dripping in my voice.

Katrina gave me a knowing smile. "Alright, love. I've got your back."

I hummed to myself and started making my way over to the conference hall. They had their divine energy to ward off things like me from touching them, but the game was rigged this time and I wasn't playing fair. I sauntered up to the two dogs and showed my pointed teeth. "Hello boys, mind letting me in?"

Both of them started to draw handguns with practiced precision but I simply blurred between them and shoved my now gloveless hands to their faces. They were mine in an instant. I took a few heartbeats to slip into each of their minds and fully break and coax them to my way of thinking.

I pulled away from them and looked to each of the broken angels. "So... who do you love?"

Both of them spoke in unison to my question. "You, Mistress..."

"The retriever, this cat, and the wolf that comes behind us. They are my friends. Please protect them as you would me, alright my pets?" I cooed the words lovingly towards them. Both the dogs gave me sharp nods, holding their large caliber handguns to the ready.

"Damn... impressive..." Katrina spoke the words and I saw the pride in her eyes.

We stalled a moment to let Alex catch up with us then I showed my two new friends a hungry grin. "Open the doors."

The doors to the conference room swung open wide and the three of us strode in. Alex stood at the center looking large and imposing, me and Katrina much smaller cloaked figures flanking him.

There were six other occupants in the room. Three were seated at a large conference table two males, one some sort of serpent, like Kazemde but without the hood, on the left. The central figure and second male was a lion of a similar build to Harold's with long flowing golden hair and nearly ivory skin. The third member was a female fox with dark brown ears and tail along with platinum blonde hair.

Two more flanked the trio and were standing, the one on the left was a male tabby cat dressed in a suit, but the one on the right was in a full outfit of half armor with a long sword to her side. She was a retriever like Gloria but wore her hair short, the length only brushing her cheeks.

The final being in the room was my dog. Her ears lifted upon us entering and she didn't even need to turn to see us. Her tail began to wag, her body had been facing the seated trio. She turned to look upon us as we entered, her eyes widening and tears filling them. "Alex... Alice... Katrina?"

"What is the meaning of this?! What sorcery did you use to find this proceeding?" The lion in the center of the group yelled out, the armored dog already drawing her long sword, the other suited guard pulling his own.

"We followed the GPS signal on her phone." Katrina spat the words out in a matter of fact tone, pulling her hood down, letting blood-red eyes be seen plainly. "As to why we are here, we're here for Gloria."

"That's right, I won't let you take her from me." Alex snarled the words and I could see the hair on his arms starting to grow thicker and look more like fur.

I pulled my own hood down and gave a grin to the group of celestials, my own eyes red and blazing. "I love that angel and no one is laying a finger upon her."

The armored dog and cat closed upon us in a flash but I was between them in a blink and touching them like I had been the others. The cat broke instantly to my will but the dog handily swatted my will away.

I whistled in appreciation as she lunged and thrust her sword at me with blinding speed. I blurred from the strike and moved behind the cat, huffing into his ear hotly. "Protect me..."

The turned celestial quickly struck his sword out against the armored dog. She barked out in shock and parried the blow as he kept the attack up, driving her back several paces. "D-damnation! Snap out of it, Francis!" The retriever growled the words, obviously fighting defensively.

"That's enough my pet. Just protect us from her." I looked back at the other two I had charmed. "Shut the doors and join the cat. Lay your lives down for your Mistress and her friends if you must, but do not attack anyone unless they strike out against us first."

"Demon!" The armored dog snarled the curse at me and I showed her a defiant grin.

Alex had already moved over to Gloria and the two of them were embraced tightly. Katrina stayed by my side and had drawn her guns, I noted drops of blood were already at her thumbs.

"Do you abominations think you will leave this room alive after having interrupted these holy proceedings?" The lion snarled the words, looking between the four of us.

"Why don't you blow it out your holy ass, buddy." Katrina hissed the words, keeping her guns trained on the armored dog, her sword still at the ready.

"Alex, bring Gloria over here away from them." I spoke the words and narrowed my eyes upon the three of them.

"Knight Gloria, you are to maintain your station, you follow my orders, not theirs!" The armored retriever barked the words in commandment and I felt her crushing will push out with them.

"Y-yes commander!" She spoke the words dutifully but Alex gripped her hand and gently pulled her along, the dog walking with him towards us.

"What are you doing? Stop walking!" The larger dog snarled the words in anger at her, gripping her sword tighter.

"O-oh... I'm walking... uhm..." She looked upon the armored dog curiously and lifted her ears. "Can I say no to you? Y-yes... I can. So... no, I won't listen to you." She spoke the words in a childish almost innocent voice like she wasn't sure they would even come out.

The trio and the armored dog all looked stunned at her words and willing movement. I gave a cocky laugh and looked between the three of them. "So she's a heretic, is that it?"

"The council will not answer your questions, monster!" The armored dog spat the words at me bitterly.

"That right?" I folded my arms and looked upon the three of them. The blonde foxes' eyes shifted from blue to brilliant gold, I had seen Gloria do it a few times when we were in the throes or she was heavily channeling her divine powers. I grit my teeth and moved a hand to my whip in response.

The lion cut his dark eyes to the fox. "What say you, seer?"

She peered hard upon the four of us and narrowed her eyes. "The rabbit has not broken them fully, she has obviously intended it to be a temporary thing. They are still themselves."

I saw the larger retriever's stance ease slightly, her relief obvious. I showed my teeth and extended my hand. "That's right, I'm not here to start a war, just protect my girlfriend."

"Our girlfriend." Alex barked out while still holding Gloria protectively.

"You mean our friend." Katrina spoke out, pulling her aim away from the retriever after seeing her stance relax.

"They..." The fox blinked her eyes a few times before they shifted back to blue. "They are speaking the truth, your eminence. They are not showing any hostility, only concern and... love."

"Love?" The lion laughed and looked to the serpent next to him. "They speak of love, brother."

The snake shifted his eyes over us and then back to the lion. "Why not humor them, I would be interested in the tale." His words came out in a hiss that reminded me of how Kazemde would drag his words.

"This is not a house of curiosity, this is a house of law and order." The central figure growled the words and folded his arms.

"Actually this is a hotel." Katrina gave the lion a coy grin.

"How about we talk about this? This doesn't have to go south." I folded my arms and looked hard upon the lion, pushing my will forth.

"You come in here, enthrall my men, disrupt out sacred-"

"What's fucking scared about killing your own?!" Alex snarled out, interrupting his statement.

"She is tainted and corrupt. She must be purified in the light of judgment." The lion spoke the words pointedly.

"Gloria has done nothing but protect and serve to your ends. Do you have any idea how many 'abominations' we have put down with her over the years?" Katrina spat the words out bitterly.

"We?" The snake hissed out curiously.

"Yeah. We... The three of us have been helping Gloria fulfill her duty and protect your flock for years now." Alex spoke the words, clutching the smaller dog tighter while she buried her face into his chest, her tail drooped but wagging.

"Seer! Tell me they spread falsehoods!" The lion growled and jerked his gaze to the fox once more.

She closed her eyes then opened them to gold once more, scanning the four of us. "I sense no falsehoods from any of them." The fox cleared her throat and called out. "Knight Gloria, how many abominations have you struck down?"

The dog pulled from Alex and looked upon the blonde fox. "In the five years of my duty, I have personally laid low three. However, between the four of us, seventeen."

"She... speaks the truth, your eminence..." The fox spoke the words hesitantly.

"What is this madness... are you sure your powers work against the corrupted?" He spat the words out in a bitter voice.

"Do you doubt the word of Toroah? He told me my gaze could discern all but the most ancient and powerful of beings." She spoke the words in a neutral tone of voice, as if she took no offense to the question.

"Fine, monster. Explain what trickery you have used to-"

"You call me a monster one more time and see what I do." I showed my teeth, my eyes flushing a brighter red as I threw my cloak off to the floor. "You threaten to kill the dog I love, then presume to talk to me and my family in such a way?"

"Your bravado will leave you a pile of ash, rabbit." The lion snarled the words and rose from his seat. I could see large feathered wings now against his back that were obscured before. I noted that all of them but the three guards I had enthralled were actually sporting wings.

I felt his will wash over me like a storm, I clenched my teeth feeling my resolve waver in the sheer presence of the elite angel. I gritted my teeth and looked back to see Gloria then snapped them together as I glared back at the lion. "No trickery you stupid cat, just us loving her and protecting our family." I snapped the words out and straightened myself, folding my arms over my chest, showing him I wouldn't waver before him.

"Sir... should you really be making such a display?" The snake next to him spoke out in an apologetic tone.

The lion frowned and took a seat, folding his hands over the table. "Your trickery may coax our knight, but it will not us. Any victories you shared with her were obviously some elaborate scheme to corrupt her, which you have no doubt done."

"You should put your tinfoil hat on when you talk like that." I showed him a condescending grin. "You're obviously the type that reason doesn't work with."

"You've strained my patience enough, demon." The angel snarled the words and shifted his gaze to Gloria. "Knight Gloria, it's painfully obvious you have been hopelessly tainted. It's with a heavy heart that I judge you must be purified."

The dog barked out at the words and then Alex pulled her closer, his form shifting to full-on werewolf. "You go through me first, cat." He snarled the words, keeping the dog held in his large paws.

"And me..." Katrina hissed the words as she flung her hand, large drops of blood scattering and taking up formation above the armored dog's body, sharpening to large razor points while she aimed both guns at the lion.

I unfurl my whip in my right hand, drawing my revolver in my left. "A shame... truly... I really did come here to talk, not kill you and your men..." I sighed the words and nodded as the two dogs behind me drew their guns and the cat gripped his sword.

"Y-your eminence!" The seer spoke out sharply towards him. "Our men will fight and die for her in their current state. Striking her down will not remove the charm upon them!"

"I... you will not take my loved ones so readily..." Gloria pulled from the large wolf's paws and drew her own rapier. "Were it just me, I would not resist, but you now threaten everything I love and hold dear, divines forgive me but I will not stand by and watch it."

"Sinners, you will know the divine fires of judgment, even if I must make sacrifices to do so!" The lion stood and thrust his hand out, his will pushing forth like a tidal wave.

I flinched as did everyone else. "Divine fires you say?" I snapped my teeth together and summoned it all up, my eyes shifting to a fiery blue as white-hot flames poured forth from my body. The ethereal fox tail and ears had been lost a few years back with my own personal growth. The power now simply poured off my body and clung to my ears and tail.

The four of them all shielded their eyes and Gloria flinched but had expected it. The lion clenched his teeth hard, squinting at the radiance, the fox simply yelped and shield her eyes along with the snake.

"Here's your divine fires you son of a bitch!" I spoke the words in a haughty tone of voice, the hunger in me fully unleashed. "You will not have her life, and if I must lay you all low to ensure that, I will!"

"By the divines, Ezekiel! That's Elias of the divine flame!" The snake hissed the words out.

"Elias is a fox, not a worthless rabbit!" The lion roared the words and shoved his hand out as a wave of force slammed into my body. The wave of power sent me sprawling back through the conference hall into various tables and desks.

The world stopped spinning a second later as I found my footing and screamed in fury. I blurred through the room and was over the lion with my whip drawn, the length coated in red flames as I lashed out at him. The blows struck against a screen similar to what a mage would have but I felt the unholy energy making him flinch.

"Alex, Kat! Get Gloria out of here!" I shouted the words as I lashed against the lion's barrier, I could feel it wouldn't be breaking against my assault and simply did so to buy time at this point.

The armored retriever had attempted to intercept me, but between dodging Katrina's blood magic and the trio of guards, she wasn't having much luck.

"I'm not leaving you, Alice!" Katrina screamed the words as she kept her thaumaturgy up.

"None of us will!" Gloria set her stance and sprang into the melee with the larger armored dog.

A moment of clarity filled my mind as I realized it was the snake making the shield for the lion. The fox was doing something similar for the armored dog. "Both of you stay out of this!" I shouted the words, lashing my whip at the snake and taking a shot at the fox with my left hand.

The snake hissed out and I saw his focus shift to shield himself while the fox yelped out and likewise shifted her focus. Alex blurred and was on top of the fox in an instant, his claws tearing at the screen she held up.

I slashed my whip at the snake's shield and leveled my gun at the lion before me only to see he was out of sight. My eyes widened as I realized he had blurred behind me in the microseconds I had spent to distract the other two. His hands wrapped around my throat and I was slammed to the ground. I yelped out as he continued to bang my body and head to the floor while growling.

I cried out at each impact then quickly fired a shot off clipping his shoulder. He roared in pain and grabbed my left arm, clenching hard against it. I yelped again as I felt my bones break in my arm, losing grip on my gun as it fell to the ground.

Ezekiel grabbed me by my throat and held me aloft as my flames guttered out from his overwhelming power. "Go, be judged by the divines, abomination!"

"Alice!" Katrina broke from the assault on the armored dog and began firing upon the lion from his side. The shots started bouncing off a new screen of power the snake was projecting, the fox still occupied by the wolf. "Bastard!" Katrina quickly deviated her aim and got the snake with a shot to his hip but it was her last round.

I felt myself blacking out from the overwhelming will and clenched my teeth. I had one more ace up my sleeve. One more trump card I could pull out but it would do me little good. However, it might save everyone else. I gave the lion a defiant glare and parted my lips to speak out as loudly as I could.

#

I giggled at the faint whisper to my ear and smiled at her. "Why so quietly?"

The sheep smiled and tapped my nose with a grin, laying next to me naked in the bed. "It is my true name..."

"Is it such a grand thing, my love?" I looked into her soft brown eyes, my hand sliding up and down her bare hip beneath the sheets.

She nodded at me slowly. "Alice, when beings such as me grow old and powerful enough. Simply speaking our true names is a statement in and of itself. It calls to us."

"R-really?" I asked curiously, my ears lifted up.

"You know that old saying, speak of a devil and they will appear?" She tilted her head curiously. I shook my head and she just sighed. "Getting old is frustrating..."

I giggled and squeezed her hip. "So I should call upon you when I need you?"

She shook her head. "Only in the direst of situations, my rabbit. Using my name will tell me where you are, what you are doing, and the fastest way to get to you, but..."

"There's always a but, isn't there?" I showed my teeth in a lazy grin.

She nodded. "It's like a supernatural billboard sign. You utter a powerful creature's name like that, you will have a lot of attention on you, not just mine. Any nearby beings of power will know you called me."

I swallowed hard and nodded. "Sounds scary..."

She put a hand to my cheek and gave me a gentle look. "It could be... only when it's dire... promise me..."

#

"Lorelai Tahmineh!" I spat the name in his face, along with some of my blood and spittle. The lion's eyes widened in realization at what I had done. Everyone in the room seemed to halt at the surge of energy that gripped them at the utterance of the name.

The doors to the conference hall slammed open with a wave of force and the whole room stopped as if frozen in time. My eyes widened and my heart soared as I looked to the entryway. He stood there, wisps of smoke drifting from his exposed skin to the sunlight. His teeth showed in a savage feral snarl, white flames already rolling off his tail and ears, veritably pouring from his body.

He fixed his eyes on the scene with the lion holding my battered body. There were no words, he simply was across the room and upon us. Elias thrust his fist out, ethereal flames slashing across the lions face as he dropped me and pivoted from the blow. Elias caught me in his left arm before I hit the floor.

Seeing my injuries the fox grabbed the lion's own arm in his right hand and dropped his heel, breaking it with a loud crunch at the elbow. The lion yowled out at the pain before Elias delivered a roundhouse kick to his side, sending him sprawling through the room. He slammed through the conference table they had been seated at and the chairs, before crashing up against the far wall of the room. He slid down the wall to the floor, his left wing clearly broken from the impact.

"Master..." I panted out as my eyes filled with tears. He looked me over, his teeth still bared in a furious snarl and I felt him push a bottle into my good hand.

"Drink... and heal your wounds..." He growled the words and looked to the snake and the fox. Alex looked like he had been ready to tear her throat out when the melee halted. "Alex! To me! Do not kill her." Elias barked the words in commandment.

The wolf dropped the smaller fox and quickly moved over to the white fox. He nodded then glanced at Gloria and Katrina. "Both of you, with me as well." The dog and cat shared a look and moved beside the fox as well.

I fumbled the cap off the bottle with my good hand and started gulping the blood down by the mouthful. I felt Gloria grip my arm and begin to work her healing prayers while the blood started to repair the damage.

"Dame Rachel, why did you not try to stop this nonsense?" Elias snarled the words towards the blonde fox who had staggered to her feet.

"I tried multiple times to diffuse the situation, you know we celestials cannot disobey a superior once they give a command." She spoke the words in that neutral voice of hers, rubbing at her throat where Alex had been ready to rip it out.

"That's right, Elias of the divine flame... we were but marionettes once the brawl began." The snake hissed the words, rubbing at his gunshot wound and slowly healing it.

"Ezekiel, I should have killed you years ago..." Elias snarled the words furiously and clenched his fist.

The lion staggered to his feet, holding his left arm which looked as broken as his wing. He slumped back towards the main group. "Stupid sinful fox... your divine flames won't protect you from me..."

"Ezekiel, are you mad?!" Rachel barked out at him, her ears perked sharply.

"Do not question me, seer." He coughed out and I could see he was already healing the wound on his arm. "These abominations are not leaving this room."

"I will question you, did you not hear what the rabbit uttered?" The fox spat the words out, clenching her teeth together. "We no doubt have an arch-vampire on her way here as we speak, an arch-vampire that killed archangel Hagen! We do not have time for this, Ezekiel!"

"Do not be absurd... I would know if she were on her way. There has been no shifting of such power." The lion growled the words and clenched his mostly healed fist.

"Our people will never make any progress so long as senile old fools like you are within the ranks." Elias snarled the words and set his stance. "I will just do your family a favor and cut out the diseased wound here and now..."

The lion showed his teeth and said nothing as he pushed out his will and a bright radiant burst of energy appeared before him. The sphere of light reminded me of the sun and I felt dizzy and weak despite having mostly recovered. Gloria barked out as I took a knee along with Katrina and Elias.

"You talk a big game fox, but look at you now." Ezekiel showed his teeth victoriously, the artificial sunlight having even brought Alex to kneel, his form having reverted from the light. The light must have been making my grip waver on the trio of celestials as well, they simply stood dumbfounded before it.

The retriever set her sword and stepped before the four of us as a shield. She showed her teeth in a growl. "You will not touch any of them!"

"Knight commander!" The lion called out towards the armored retriever.

"My lord!" She barked out and moved towards him.

"Put the heretic to the sword and do it within sight of them." He showed me a contemptuous glare.

I gave a weak laugh as I leaned against my fox, feeling his hand grip my own. "Ha... you speak a big game about being divine and righteous, but you're the evilest son of a bitch in this room, cat."

"You dare question my divinity, Rabbit?" He showed me a grin, a cocky look that showed me he knew he had beaten all of us.

"Also, fuck you..." I spat the words out and felt my fox grip my hand hard, his power and will surging into my smaller body, fueling my own power. My free hand erupted in black and red flames before I pushed my will forth. I poured the hellfire over the divine sphere making the light from it dim.

"What?!" The lion snarled out and in a flash, Elias was atop him.

The fox drew a blow forth and slammed his fist into the angel's head, making him slam to the ground with a heavy thud. He showed his teeth and slammed his booted foot down against the lions head, grinding his heel against his cheek. Elias cut his eyes to the dog closing on him with longsword drawn, just as my whip wrapped around the blade and wrenched it out of her grip.

The dog barked out her protest at me and set me with a glare as the light faded. By now Katrina had risen and Alex was back in his werewolf form. My trio of friends were even back to following my orders.

"Are you going to kill him, Master?" I asked dryly while picking up my gun I dropped earlier.

Elias sneered through his teeth and clenched his flaming hands. "Yes, mercy is wasted on this one. He would sooner plant a knife in our backs for it."

"I don't think you should..." A voice called out to the room from nowhere in particular. I lifted my ears sharply, recognizing it right away.

"Are you sure about that, my lady?" Elias growled the words and stepped back from the downed angel.

"I am." The sheep shimmered into view, leaning up against the wall, her arms crossed over her heavy chest. I felt my heart sing to see her again and flicked my tail happily.

"Why do we spare him? The celestials would be better off without him." Katrina hissed the words, levying a gun at Ezekiel's head.

"Do you question my will, Katrina?" The sheep gave the cat a level look. The cat swallowed hard and shook her head, quickly putting her guns away.

"Ah... Y-you're..." Rachel stammered as she looked upon the small sheep.

"Yes seer, long time no see. You should be thanking the divines all of you are still drawing breath after threatening my rabbit." Lorelai showed her teeth as she kicked off the wall and moved towards me.

I bit my lower lip at her approach. Lorelai grabbed my collar and pulled me closer, shoving her mouth to my own. I shuddered and wrapped my arms around her, feeling her not just kissing me, she was pouring her will and energy into me, helping my torn up, weak body recover.

"Sinful creatures..." The lion snarled from the floor and slowly climbed from it, rubbing his jaw as he set it back into place.

Lorelai pulled from my lips and gave the lion a grin. "Your mind is still like the rest of you, Ezekiel... weak and ineffective..."

"How dare you speak to me in such a wa-" His words caught in his throat as the sheep stretched her hand outwards.

I saw Lorelai give him a wicked grin, a cruel look I had never seen upon her before. "Ezekiel... who is the most incompetent and worthless creature in this room... no, on this planet?"

"I am!" The lion barked the words out obediently, despite his eyes being full of fury.

"And who has to boss their subordinates around to make up for their obvious shortcomings both in life and the bedroom?" The sheep hummed the question while flicking her tail.

"I do." He spoke again, his fists clenching and tail whipping about furiously.

"My lady, how long have you been here?" Elias spoke out curiously.

"About the time you sent this scrap of a cat across the room." She spoke the words dryly then looked to the lion. "You look stiff, do some jumping jacks."

I giggled along with Gloria as the lion snarled and started doing as he was told. "My love, why did you not make yourself known sooner, especially during the holy light thing?"

"I wanted to see you overcome the trial with your mind. Had you not I would have stepped in before it was too dire." She shrugged and looked to an empty corner of the room. "Also he wanted to observe the situation a little longer."

"He?" I lifted my ears and looked at where she was looking to see a man appear there. He was as tall as Alex with a similar figure. He looked strong and powerful with a large broad chest and well-defined arms. He wore simple clothes, a pair of jeans and a white shirt, no shoes to speak of. Large folded wings were on his back, so big in fact the tips dragged against the floor as he pushed off the wall and started towards us.

My heart leaped into my throat, he was a rabbit like me. He had long white ears sticking out of curly platinum blonde hair that cascaded down his back. The hair moved between his wings and ended at his own small puff of a white tail. My enthrallment broke upon the trio of guards as they all dropped to their knees along with every other celestial in the room but the lion.

Lorelai smiled at the lion and waved a hand to break the domination upon him. The lion growled furiously until the rabbit shot him a look and he quickly took a knee. Much to my shock, Elias also took a knee before the angel.

"Uh... should we all kneel?" I asked the room curiously.

The angel gave a soft gentle laugh as he looked upon me. I felt my face flush as my blue eyes met his and I felt my mind empty of all thoughts. I simply wanted to gaze upon his beautiful marble colored skin. "You and your friends need not, Alice. Elias and I simply have history."

Lorelai cleared her throat. "This guy is why I also didn't jump in right away. We were talking on the sidelines."

"You're so pretty..." I huffed the words and flicked my tail, a dopey grin on my face.

The sheep pushed her palm to her face. "Alice, please focus..."

I shook my head of the haze and nodded at the sheep. "Ah... R-right, I'm sorry love." I frowned and realized Katrin and Alex weren't saying anything either, they were just standing there in awe of him.

Lorelai folded her arms. "Remember that story I told you about the archangel I fought to a draw and had tea with?"

I widened my eyes. "This is him?"

The angel gave a soft laugh and smiled at the sheep. "Really, Lorelai? Is that how you are spinning the tale these days?"

I lifted my ears and frowned. "Is it not how it happened uhm...?"

"Call me Toroah, my little rabbit." The bigger rabbit spoke the words to me with a gentle smile. I blinked at him several times and simply nodded my head. "To answer your question, no. Lorelai handily had the advantage upon me, she simply chose to cease the duel."

"You're getting senile in your old age, Tor. It was closer than that." The sheep grumbled the words and waved her hand. "My story is better, sounds more dramatic and helps you save face."

"Why did you want to watch things?" Katrina finally spoke out, having shaken the initial awe off and moved over next to me.

"I wished to witness Gloria's fortitude in the situation, I wished to see the bonds she formed with all of you." He spoke the words gently and looked toward the dog still kneeling. "You may rise, Knight."

"I have no right to, sire. Please do not ask me such a thing." The retriever spoke the words dutifully and shook her head.

The rabbit grinned and rolled his eyes. "See? She is a good dog, isn't she Alice and Alex?"

The wolf finally shook off the charm and gave a nod. "S-she is... I love her very much."

"You obviously do, my wolf. You risked so much for her... even you Katrina, all on friendship and duty." He spoke the words to the two of them, respect in his voice.

"I have stood with her in battle several times, I trust her with my back. That's all the reason I needed to come to her aid when she needed it. Her being my friend and the lover of my mate were just added reasons." The black cat nodded and folded her arms.

"Tor, what are you going to do about this situation? It's a mess... I don't want to cause problems between our people, but I'm going to kill this lion unless you do something satisfactory about it." Lorelai grumbled the words and fixed the angel with a stern look. "It will be slow and painful as well, an hour of agony for every second of pain he caused her."

"You are within your rights, your family came to negotiate and he turned a blade to them without consideration. Even when the seer gave him evidence to the contrary, he let his bias cloud his judgments." The rabbit gave the sheep a nod as he spoke.

"My lord, I only did what was best for-"

"You will remain silent! You have brought enough shame to us this day." The angel spat the words out sharply towards the kneeling lion and everyone in the room flinched from the will of his tone but Lorelai.

"Fine... I will leave him to you then. What about her?" Lorelai nodded to Gloria who still hadn't risen.

"A good question... she has still broken our laws." He folded his arms in thought.

"Oh come off it Tor, you know she is a good kid. She has done more good in the last few years than that sack of trash has done in centuries." Lorelai sneered the words while jamming a thumb towards Ezekiel.

"It's true, but our laws are our laws, Lorelai." The angel sighed and put a hand to his chest in thought.

"Uh... Toroah, sir? Can I ask a question?" I lifted a finger as I spoke curiously.

"You just did my rabbit." He gave me a coy smile and my cheeks flushed.

"Fine, I'm asking another one... why can't we get past this and everyone just gets along? Our people don't have to kill anymore, hell you celestial's probably do more killing these days than we do, if this situation is any indication." I put my hands on my hips and glared at the lion.

"It's not so simple, millennia of distrust cannot be-"

"Yes, it can!" I snap out and clench my teeth. "I and Gloria found love in months, not centuries. We were friends within a day of meeting one another!" I spoke the words and moved over to my dog, grabbing her arm and forcing her to stand as she barked out but followed my pull.

Katrina sighed and looked upon the angel. "She is right... I bonded with the dog and became friends quickly as well."

Alex nodded. "Yeah... it didn't feel like anything odd or weird, she's a great girl and we all just like her."

"Rise and tell me your thoughts, Elias." Toroah spoke out to the fox.

The white fox stood and looked towards Gloria. "I've seen more kindness and warmth in this one, than I've seen in any other of your kind in centuries. Also, she respects my family, as well as makes my brother and sisters happy."

The rabbit folded his arms and leveled the dog with a curious look. "Gloria... how do you feel about all this? How do you feel about being put on trial and knowing you would die for your actions? Knowing you faced such tribulation despite maintaining your duty."

The dog placed a hand upon her chest, clasping the rosary there. "I gave my loyalty to our cause that has not wavered, but my friends and loved ones have my heart. I do not regret my path, knowing them all and sharing this time with them, It is worth the price I pay. I only wish them all to walk away safely and I regret the pain it will cause them."

The angel extended his hand towards the armored dog. "Knight commander, I would have your sword."

I clenched my teeth and pushed in front of my angel. "Toroah, if you're planning to strike her down, you will have to cut me down first. I have no hope of stopping you, but I will not stand by while you take her from me." I spoke the words pointedly as I stood between them, hand already moving to my whip.

"Be at peace, my rabbit. I have no such intentions." The angel spoke the words gently as he collected the long sword and I felt my tension ease before moving away. "Take a knee, Knight Gloria. All of you rise for this, except Ezekiel."

"This will be bittersweet and painful, my child. I am sorry..." He spoke the words gently to Gloria and she nodded in response.

"First and foremost, you have performed your task admirably and I hereby promote you to a position of Angelic Knight. You now have your wings, my child." Toroah gently touched the blade to her shoulders.

Gloria clenched her teeth then let out a pained bark. The fabric of her shirt ripped apart and wings sprang forth from her back, covered in bloody white feathers. She clenched her teeth, bracing on her palm and panting from the pain, blood running down her sides while staining the shreds of the back of her shirt. "T-thank you, your grace..." She panted the words with a whimper.

Toroah frowned and shook his head. "Now the sad part. You've broken our laws, it pains me to say so, but you are now fallen to us. You have lost your purity of divinity." As the angel spoke the words, the white feathers on her wings were already slowly shifting to a charcoal color.

"Wow... that's really kind of shitty, Toroah..." I growled the words and put my hands on my hips, glaring at the angel. He offered me an apologetic smile in reply.

"It is fine, Alice... I willingly broke the laws after all... my wings would be this way, regardless of what Toroah wanted... It is the taint in me." Gloria spoke the words with resignation in her voice a pant of pain still on her breath.

The rabbit gave me a grin before turning to speak to the kneeling dog. "Fallen angel, Gloria. You are no longer to receive the benefits of our military. You will need to provide your own housing and income. Also, you will no longer receive the benefit of our communion."

Gloria frowned at the words then lifted her ears in realization. "W-wait... you mean?"

"That's right... you have no commanding officers to track your movements, you can go and do as you please." Toroah gave the dog a smile, "Think of yourself as a freelance Angel, so to speak."

"Alice... we don't... we don't have to hide it anymore, I can come to see you now!" Gloria spoke the words excitedly, her brown tail wagging cheerfully.

"I would request you still watch upon the flock assigned to you. Only through maintaining your duty can you ever hope to earn your 'redemption'." The rabbit air quoted the words for her. "It is no longer your duty, but a personal request."

"Y-yes! I would continue to protect them regardless, your grace!" She barked the words as I pushed up to her and hugged her tightly.

"I... I was really scared I was going to lose you..." I shook my head and hugged her tightly. Gloria showed me a grin and moved to rub at my head while I hugged her.

"I was afraid of losing you too. Afraid of leaving you and Alex in pain over my own selfishness." She cooed the words into my ears.

"It's an acceptable solution I suppose." Lorelai smiled and folded her arms.

Toroah glanced over at the lion still in a kneel. "I detest sniveling and whining. You are ordered to be silent or I strike you down here and now." He then looked to the armored retriever. "Knight commander, you will take Ezekiel into custody. He is to be brought before a tribunal on grounds of corruption."

The lion opened his mouth to protest and saw the angel tighten his grip on the long sword he was still holding. He lowered his head without a word as the retriever along with the other three guards took him and seemed to simply fade out of sight.

"You two return with them. Rachel, we may very well need you to take Ezekiel's former position. Keep it in mind." The angel spoke to the other two and the fox nodded at him before simply fading from sight along with the serpent.

"Toroah... my lover speaks sense." Lorelai sighed and put her hands to her hips. "Times are changing. We need to get past this. The mundane are getting smarter and finding us more easily. Your people are suffering from a worldwide lack of faith. This isn't a time for us to still be holding old grudges."

The rabbit folded his arms and nodded. "Old wounds heal slowly, Lorelai. However, I agree with you."

"Let me take her, as an ambassador of sorts. She could meet the various lords while living with a family. Her needs will be met and she can continue to do the work she needs to do for her... flock." She hissed the last word, obviously not appreciating it.

"It is a fetching idea. Would you have a liaison you wished for us to speak to from time to time and learn our ways?" The angel put a finger to his chin, giving the sheep a smile.

"Alice is an appropriate candidate as our only chimera and has been an advocate of this from the start. You may not have her to stay, she visits only." The sheep clicked her tongue and cut her eyes at me before back to his own. "None of your people are to lay with her either. I do not wish to create more incidents like Gloria until our people are on less shaky ground."

"If she agrees, I am in agreement." Toroah nodded then looked to me.

"What say you, Alice? You were worried about strengthening bonds with our people after all." Lorelai folded her arms and gave me a look like it didn't matter what I thought.

"Of course, my lady. I'm excited at the prospect." I hummed the words playfully and grinned at Gloria. "If she is to watch the city she was in, would she not do well to be in the closest family there?"

The sheep rolled her eyes and smiled. "I will speak with Elias on this matter later."

"I look forward to your visit, countess Alice, and I wish you all the best in your new life, Gloria. Divines go with you my child and know I am proud of you, regardless of what our laws may say." The angel gave the retriever a bow and then simply ceased to be before us.

"What a day..." Lorelai sighed and rubbed at her face.

Elias showed her a smile. "I appreciate you watching out for us, Lorelai."

The sheep tilted her head with a huff. "I mostly did it for my rabbit, though I suppose I hold a small token of affection for the rest of you lot." Her words came out in the haughty princess tone of voice I loved.

"You're so kind, lady Lorelai." Katrina spoke the words dryly but smiled at her.

"I am!" The sheep smiled and looked amongst all of us. "And to show my magnanimous nature, I shall even get us all rooms here until the sun sets and we can leave less dramatically. Alice, could you charm the staff to ignore this mess until we leave? I do not wish to explain it to them."

"Of course my love." I gave her a proud grin and turned to leave the room, feeling her hand on my wrist.

"Alice, you are with me." The sheep spoke the words in commandment as she pulled me along. I felt my heart leap at her confident words, knowing once I had her in the room it would be quite different. "Elias, take your cat. The two dogs can share the third room."

"As you wish, lady Lorelai." Elias showed his teeth as he bowed, then cut his eyes to Katrina with a hungry look.

Gloria and Alex were already holding hands, tails wagging furiously. "You can stay with us, you can even share my room if you like!" The wolf barked the words excitedly.

"O-okay! Is that going to be alright?" Gloria spoke the words with a blush.

"Why don't you wait until Elias and Lorelai hash out the details, you horny dogs?" Katrina huffed the words, folding her arms over her chest.

"Yes, we will have spare rooms, but we can work the details out later." The fox smiled at the two of them then started to tug at Katrina's wrist. "With me my love, it has been a stressful day and I wish to relax with you." Katrina showed him a smile and moved along with Elias out of the conference room.

I looked back at Alex and Gloria still holding hands, a moment later they were locked in a hungry kiss as the smaller dog pushed the larger one to the floor, her dark wings flicking as she climbed atop him. I shivered at the scene and pulled the two doors closed, giving them some privacy.

#

"And so the thirteenth day now comes to a close, my pet." I speak the words as a follow-up, not allowing you to ask any questions about the tale.

I stand and put my hands behind my back, offering you a grin, my teeth looking large and sharp. "So a week remains before the twentieth day and your decision. This is a life of pleasure and excitement, but you have seen it is one fraught with danger as well."

You finally speak out to me and I smile. "Gloria? Well, how do I explain that..." I fold my arms and mull the words before continuing. "The more taint a celestial gains, the darker their wings will grow and the weaker their divinity will become. Constantly being exposed to me and Alex caused that, but her pure nature and dedication to her duty kept them from being outright black."

My head tilts at the question. "No... even if they were black as night, she could be a good person.

If anything should be taken from my tale tonight, it is that divinity does not confer righteousness. You can be divine and still be an evil soul. Likewise, you can be undead or demon, and still be a good being."

I grin and wave a hand. "At any rate, I have promised to not let you monopolize too much of my time. My lady is back home after all. Come join me, we shall spend some time with her over drinks."

---

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