Chapter 13

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Last "Fluff" chapter I guess you would call it. Next chapter we see the ramifications of Leo fighting the Gremory peerage as well as get into the events of the first novel. Also looking for a BETA. Please Read and Review as last chapter received only a few. If interest in this story dries up I will be forced to put it on Hiatus. Your reviews are the fuel that keeps me writing.

Well this sucks. Leo thought snidely as he floated through the Dimensional Gap. He had tried to teleport out but every attempt to escape the chaotic realm had met with no success. It seemed that he was being held by the twin Goddesses who did not want him going anywhere.

Peace my ass. He sneered, wondering how long they would hold him here. The Dimensional Gap had no air to breathe, and an overwhelming presence that would've crushed anyone unprepared, and even he had naught but a few seconds to erect every ward and protective spell that he could think of in order to prevent himself from being pressed into something the size of a tin can. How could they be representative of peace when they dropped him into an area with survival odds as low as this?

With no escape in sight he decided to spend the time relaxing, thankfully he still had access to his dimensional storage, and a surplus of paper.

Humming to himself he delved into his latest project, trying to solve the equations that his mother had left behind on her path to Ascendancy. He had spent years decoding her notes, referencing thousands of old manuscripts and rediscovering 'lost'

. grimoires all in an attempt to figure out exactly how had she gained so much power without dying. Some of her notes pointed at a deep seated lunacy, as well as a casual disregard towards the lives of everyone on their plane of existence as the forces she was messing with were volatile at the best of times, and downright guaranteed to fuck up your day at the worst.

That is…for the few seconds you had left to live.

He was nowhere close to recreating her ultimate shield and ultimate sword, techniques that severed all of existence and protected one from everything. However decoding her notes had led to a massive increase in his understanding of pocket dimensions as well as how to manipulate the flow of time within them.

Right now he had taken a step back from her ultimate shield, instead trying to create a more focused unidirectional type rather than an omnidirectional one that denied all of existence. It was slow going, seeing as the equations he was working with were incredibly complex as well as needlessly long, his mind unable to make those connections that would help streamline the entire process. This meant that if it ever advanced to the point where it was usable in battle he wouldn't be able to cast any other sort of magic seeing as just about all his brain power would be dedicated to supporting the calculations necessary to stop the attack and at the same time to prevent himself from being sucked into the Dimensional Gap and lost forever. What would happen if I cut this part out?

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A voice said from behind him. "You need that part in order to act as a buffer for the excess energy gained from the Dimensional Gap.

"Excess energy?" He asked. It would've been impossible not to recognize the voice, seeing as she had been one of his teacher that taught him everything he knew about the Grecian Magic System. While at any other time he would've stood up and bowed to her, when they talked like this she had preferred they act as equals. A hand appeared over his shoulder, and began to point out several flaws in his theory.

"Correct, this part here diverts any surges that might happen because of the power draining aspect of the spell."

"Draining effect?" He asked in surprise, before diving back through the notes, trying to find exactly what she was talking about.

"Do you even know what you're doing?" She asked pointedly, her glare reminding him of when he had been a young child under her tutelage.

"No, not really." He admitted sheepishly. "But that's why I'm trying to figure this out."

"Well warn me when you decide to test this." She said. "I'll make sure I'm on the other side of the Dimensional Gap when things go wrong."

"You have no faith in me." He teased.

"I taught you, so…no." She deadpanned. Reaching out she tapped the piece of paper, incinerating months of work, but before he could protest she clapped a hand around his mouth. "This will get you killed, and probably everyone else within a 500 mile area, and as you're sucked screaming into the Dimensional Gap you'll blame me for my lack of teaching. So try it again, and this time think about it like this. Once you feed it the initial fuel the spell should be self-sustaining. Do you think that you're mother for all her power and intelligence would've been able to beat a God of Magic at his own game if she constantly had to spare brain power into computing the spell as well as wasting power to fuel it?"

"Harsh as always, isn't she." Another voice said. This time he did rise, and bow. While she might've been friendly with him, it was still good to be respectful if for no other reason than the fact that she didn't turn him into an animal every time they met. "But then again Hecate has always been serious about Magic. Oh stand up straight, please." She waved her hand dismissively. "After all we've known each other for quite some time."

"I'm showing respect to my teacher." He defended.

"Excuse me for wanting to continue my existence." Hecate snarked. "The magic he's working with is more than enough to annihilate a Divine Being."

"Please, Leo, I haven't been your teacher in a long time." She smiled, placing a hand under his chin and lifting his head, ignoring her fellow Goddess. "Not since you so foolishly summoned and slept with Aphrodite in order to lose your virginity." She relished the blush on his pale features as his eyes looked past her, refusing to meet her own stern gaze. "Most magicians summon up succubi to lose their V card, but you had to one up everyone else and summon a Goddess."

"I'll admit that it might have been foolish." He said dodgingly.

"No it was foolish." She said, steel in her voice as her grip on his jaw tightened a bit. "But we're not here to talk about your past dalliances with the Doorknob."

"Must you call her that?" Hecate huffed, adjusting her peplos a bit.

Doorknob? A part of his mind was telling him that he was better off not knowing exactly what was going on.

"I'm only telling it as it is." Circe defended. "Now, my dear Apprentice." She said making sure that he could see the annoyance in her eyes. "Would you mind telling me why there are currently two of you walking around?"

Busted. He mentally whimpered. He still had his pride dammit and wouldn't whimper out loud, although by his sudden shifting as well as his darting eyes, she knew exactly what was going on in his mind. Her eyes flashed gold, the only sign of her magic activating, blowing through his defenses, paralyzing his legs.

"You wouldn't be thinking about running, would you?" She asked sweetly.

Any thoughts of defiance instantly died down at the look on her face, telling him that this would be much more painful should he resist. "I know that it's not some form of duplication magic, nor is it a doppelganger or simulacrum. In fact the signature I'm getting from you bears a striking resemblance to a type of Magic that I expressly warned you not to try."

"It's all Gabriel's fault!" He all but screamed. In the back of his mind he felt a ping of annoyance from her at the casual admittance. "I only dabble in Time Magic."

"Good." She smiled, removing her hand and patting him atop the head. He tried not to be annoyed at the action seeing as he was not a dog, but refused to comment lest she did decide to change him into one for a day. Three wooden chairs appeared in a circle. "Now why don't we take a seat and discuss the implications of your little trip."

Well…shit. He didn't know what karmic entity he had pissed off, but it seemed like it was the universe's turn to fuck him up. Reluctantly he took his seat, the paralysis that Circe had cast on him dissipating in golden motes of light. She sat primly, her back ramrod straight, the perfect form of a well-bred lady except for the clothes she wore. "Now that we're all comfortable." He shot her a disbelieving look that she primly ignored. "Why don't you tell me what's been going on with you?"

He sighed, trying to get comfortable sitting on the hard wood chair. "Where should I begin?"

"Why don't you start with everything that happened recently? I've been hearing rumors of the deals you've been making." Hecate said disappointedly.

"What deals?" He asked oblivious to the rumors that were circulating, refusing to listen to them as didn't put any stock in the drunken whispers of those who often spewed them.

"I've heard through the grape vine that you've been making deals with certain gods…and goddesses." At this Hecate shot him a severe look that made him squirm nervously.

"Haha." He laughed with a fake smile.

"While we support your desire to grow stronger what we don't support is the path that you're treading." Circe reprimanded. "Trying to gain the patronage of Apep? Really?"

"Of all the Gods you could've made in roads with you choose the Serpent that literally embodies chaos and evil? The same serpent that Lucifer took the form of to drive man from Paradise?"

"Not my finest moment." He admitted shrinking under their combined glare.

"And what's this I hear about you and a certain Valkyrie?" Circe said.

"Brynhildr." Hecate answered, naming the Norse Deity.

"Cornelia, Valentia Lucifer, Kalawarner, and now Brynhildr. I hope young man that you aren't leading these women on…the effects would be quite unpleasant for you." Circe frowned, divine magics sparking at her fingertips.

"It's not what you think!" Leo stammered, trying to defend himself. He had no plans on being turned into an animal, and his Master seemed to be in one of her snitches. The time where she was smite first, ask questions never. "Brynhildr and I are just friends! Not even friends with benefits!" Seeing the disbelieving looks on their faces as well as the slight halting in power buildup, he hastily continued. "I stumbled upon her prison when I was exploring one day, and accidentally released her."

"Released her?" Hecate asked. "I thought Odin had let her go after the Sigurd incident."

Leo shook his head. "It seems that the loss of Sigurd drove her mad with grief, and Odin put her back to sleep and locked her back up in the cave until I quote, 'she gets out of her emo phase.' He then erected several defenses around the cave, and pretty much said that she wouldn't be dating ever again."

"That idiot." Both Circe and Hecate deadpanned, imagining the sort of defenses that the Old Man of the North would enact to discourage boys from sniffing around his daughter.

"A lot of that stuff was lethal, and even more you would've lived through but regretted living afterwards." Leo admitted shuddering at the memories. "After getting through all that we…talked."

"Talked?" Circe asked distrustfully.

"Talked." He reassured. "It was mostly me getting her caught up on the times, telling her about everything that's happened since the time of her imprisonment. After a few times, the Old Man realized what I was doing, and in between threatening to erase me from existence, as well as questioning my sanity in tempting the traps he created, I was able to sense a deep sorrow. Sorrow at the fact that he had been forced to imprison his own daughter lest she took her own life in a misguided attempt to rejoin Sigurd, the only man she had ever loved, and whom she had killed with her own hands. She's still not in a good state." He admitted sadly. "Though better than where she had been. Odin's lifted the imprisonment and travels to see her often, trying to reconnect with her, and hopefully help her get over Sigurd. Problem is while the Old Man has had millennia to move on, to Brynhildr the memory of killing him is still fresh, considering she has been locked away for so long."

"And you didn't take advantage of her in a moment of weakness." Circe asked innocently. The heated stare he shot at her was enough to make even her hesitate.

"Never…ever…say something like that again." He hissed, his eyes glowing blue with barely controlled anger and arcane might. While he was nowhere near the level needed to defeat a Deity he had more than enough power to make the battle long and bloody. "I would never take advantage of a woman like that. For a woman that helped raise me, you would think you would know that."

She flinched at the verbal slap in the face. While she had no children of her own raising Leo was as close to motherhood as she got.

"Brynhildr is my friend." He admitted, a bit of affection in his voice. To someone like him who rarely admitted to anything that could be perceived as a weakness, it was a powerful confession. "One of the few that I have. If it meant her recovery I would do just about anything."

The two goddesses fell silent at his declaration, realizing the seriousness of his words. "Very well." Circe said, allowing her magic to fade away. "I believe you."

He allowed himself a small sigh of relief as his anger drained from him. He stiffened at her next words though. "It's a shame…you would've looked so cute as a corgi."

Holy, she really was planning on turning me into an animal if I didn't pass her tests! And not even a real dog like a Rottweiler or a husky but a freakin corgi, with their fat bodies and short stubby legs.

Getting up she embraced him tightly. "I'm proud of you." She whispered.

"Thank you." He responded uncertainly, his mind still processing her bi-polar swing.

"Now…" She started. "Would you like to tell us exactly what's going on? Why are there two of you walking around?"

"Styx knows that one of you was bad enough." Hecate grumbled, only to be silenced by an indiscreet kick to the side of her chair.

"Get comfy, this might take a while." He warned, transfiguring the wooden chairs into three plush recliners. With that he began the long process of recalling everything that had happened to him with the past 5 years. One of the benefits of being a magician was perfect recall as well as an accelerated thought process, which was definitely needed as he told his master/second mother a heavily censored version of the events. In particular he made sure to remove any traces of his new relationship with Gabriel. It was of course impossible to altogether remove her but he downplayed their relationship greatly, making her seem like nothing more than a friend.

Doing so hurt him, and he could feel her annoyance over the link that they shared, but at the same time they both agreed that it was necessary in order to prevent the truth from reaching her brother.

He shuddered at the thought of Michael finding out, images of him being chased around by the spear wielding Archangel and her other brothers, playing in his mind.

That would definitely ruin his day.

"So let me get this straight." Circe said rubbing the bridge of her nose. "You forged a contract with a Seraph."

He nodded enthusiastically.

"The benefits of said contract led to an increased potency in the Holy Light flowing through you, and during a mission for Azazel, which lead to a conflict with the Gremory Peerage, you overdid it, and almost killed yourself.

Another nod.

"In fact I'd go so far as saying that you would've died if it wasn't for Gabriel. Then to prevent anything like that from happening again the two of you jumped back in time 6 months and spent 3 years together in a time dilated pocket dimension. The reason that you were here tonight is because you're calculations were a bit off and you forgot to account for a leap year meaning that you're a day early. Tomorrow is the same day that Gabriel would've taken you, so as to avoid suspicion you'll appear back at Kuoh the day after making it seem like all is right in the world and that you didn't just almost kill a Satan's family."

Seeing his understanding, she waved her hand and conjured three goblets full of a golden liquid. "This is why I hate time magics." Circe sighed. "Here, I think we all need this after that story."

Taking the offered goblet he drank deeply, the golden liquid revitalizing his wearied body. "Woah." He dumbly commented staring at the golden liquid.

Hiding her smirk at the banal comment, a far cry from his normal sophistication, Circe asked. "So when will you be introducing me to Gabriel?"

"What?" He asked a shell-shocked expression on his face.

"My new daughter-in-law." Circe pressed. "You really didn't think that you could lie in my face did you? I may not be Aletheia who personifies truth, but I've lived long enough to tell when someone is blatantly lying to me." She narrowed her eyes in distaste. "In fact the last person that did so soon found himself in touch with his more…porcine…side."

Karmas really come round to bite me on the ass this time. He thought glumly. Trying to figure out how to explain himself, his adopted mother continued. "And don't even think about lying or attempting to hide something from me young man. You may be an adult now, now but you're not too old for me to take over my knee and deliver an Olympian level punishment."

Well…shit. Reluctantly he began to retell the two goddesses of everything that happened to him since their last meeting, this time giving them the completely uncensored version.

"Now that's more in line with the rumors I've been hearing." Hecate nodded as he finished his tale. "While your mother's name is widely known, yours has recently been garnering a lot of attention and not just because of your relation with her."

He quirked an eyebrow at that. While it was true that he had foregone using an alias when doing business, his clients were normally more discrete about things like this. "You broke the monopoly the Phoenix family had on healing items, have taken several high level contracts on targets as well as threatened one of the Magician Councilors with I quote, "cutting them into pieces small enough to force feed to their familiar."

Circe looked at his exasperatingly. "Did you really have to go so far?"

"The idiot didn't know what he was talking about." He defended. "He was trying to convince us that the forging contracts with Devils was the only way to go, and that we should abandon the patronage system."

"Still did you have to threaten him?"

"If I didn't, then someone else would've." He said resolutely. "Being a Councilor is dangerous business, who knows what might happen during an experiment." A malevolently wolfish smile was on his face as he explained his actions.

"I'm pretty sure everyone would know it wasn't an accident if he was chopped to pieces small enough to feed to an owl." Hecate deadpanned. "Now that we at least know why there are two of you running around, what are your plans for the future?"

"Finish this mission and bug the hell out." He answered without hesitation. "Hanging around those two heiresses will bring us nothing but trouble. I think I'll lay low in Rome for a bit."

"You could always stay with me." Circe offered. "Olympus knows I could use the company." He refused to comment seeing as everything that lived on her island was at one point human. "Though I would suggest avoiding Greece altogether, as Aphrodite is quite keen on claiming you."

"I still don't understand what's going through her head." He grumbled. "There are thousands of other mortals she could play with so why does she decide to take an interest in my life."

"You have no one to blame but yourself." Circe countered. "When you summoned her that night gained her attention, and now you've wounded her pride as a Goddess."

"We Goddesses, are not beings to be trifled with." Both Hecate and Circe intoned, their ageless eyes locking on his sapphire orbs, overwhelming might bursting from their forms.

"She will pursue you for all eternity." Circe warned. "She might even convince some other Goddesses to assist her. Artemis wouldn't take much convincing seeing the trail of broken hearts you left behind."

"Thankfully there are just as many who like you, myself, Circe, Nemesis, Eris, just to name a few. If we add in those that owe your mother for not wiping out their existence that number dramatically increases." Hecate reassured. "We'll keep an eye on her; make sure that she doesn't try anything too dangerous."

"Thank you." He nodded, bowing to acknowledge the debt that he would owe them for the help.

"Now then." Circe clapped her hands." "With all this seriousness over with, what say we go and enjoy ourselves? A night on the town would surely do all of us well, and I know that Hecate could certainly do with letting her hair down sometime this century."

Teasingly she looked at the severe bun that her fellow goddess tended to favor. "That sounds great." Leo smiled, looking forward to spending time with his surrogate mother and teacher. "It's been a while since I cooked for you as well, hopefully you've been eating more than ambrosia you begged off Hestia." Memories of introducing them to the traditional German cooking of his ancestry popped into his mind. Before then they had primarily eaten ambrosia as it was all they needed to continue their existence, but even that perfect food got old after two millennia.

"Why don't you head over to Hestia's Temple." Hecate said. "We'll meet you there in a few minutes."

Taking the dismissal, he stood up from the chair, and allowed her to tap him on the head, his forming fading as his body was whisked away.

"We should get going as well." Circe commented, standing and dispelling the chairs that they had been sitting on.

"Not so fast." Hecate commanded, her grip tightening on her staff. "We need to talk."

"About?" Circe asked innocently, ignoring the narrowed eyes of he fellow deity.

"Don't think I didn't notice what you slipped him. What were you thinking!?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Circe defended.

"AMBROSIA!" Hecate spat. "You fed him Styx be damned Ambrosia! You of all people should know what it can do to mortals, death by incineration."

"But it didn't." Circe answered smugly, dropping the charade. "He's still alive and kicking."

"What did you do?" Hecate glared.

"Do you remember how that fool Herakles ascended to our ranks?"

"Unfortunately." Hecate said neutrally, that lech of a God had inherited his Father's womanizing ways. Next time he attempted to convince her to accept his 'glorious and heroic cock', she'd carve the realization of immortality as being a curse into his body. What she would do to him would make the punishment of Prometheus look like a smack on the hand, and if Zeus had anything to say against what she was doing then she'd string him up with the Golden Net that they had used previously. "When Hera turned him to charcoal through a cursed necklace I provided, his spirit rose up. A few more seconds and we wouldn't have had to deal with him for these past millennia. Damn Zeus for noticing so quickly, and I still can't believe that he was given immortality."

"Do you remember how he was given immortality?"

"Hestia gave him-" She paused, eyes widening in disbelief. "Ambrosia."

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" She screamed in outrage.

"What I believed was necessary." Circe answered. "You know as well as I do what Aphrodite is like, she'll stop at nothing to claim Leo for herself, and as much as I may hate her even I acknowledge that she isn't exactly weak."

"You really think that she would move against him?" Hecate asked. "If word gets back to his mother than she might as well paint a target on her back, as Helena will never stop until she kills her."

"Word will never spread." Circe said reassuringly. "If it did Aphrodite would become the laughingstock of all Goddesses. Can you imagine it, a love goddess who can't even ensnare a simple mortal?"

"Leo is many things, but a simple mortal he is not." Hecate retorted.

"You know that, I know that, but many of the remaining Deities don't." Circe smirked. "Their mistake."

"You're playing a dangerous game." Hecate warned, adjusting her grip on her staff. "If Zeus finds out what you've done, it won't end in banishment. He'll probably throw you in Tartarus."

"He'll have to catch me first." Circe answered smugly. "And besides," her tone grew serious. "A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path."

"Agatha Christie." Hecate commented. "I didn't realize that you liked detective novels."

"It's hard not to like her, even if she was born from Athena's thoughts. How she can be considered a virgin goddess with the amount of children she has running around I'll never know."

Smiling at her fellow goddess' antics, she looked out over the swirling chaos that was the Dimensional Gap. "Leo will be safe." She phrased it as a statement but in her heart she didn't know if she could believe it.

"He will be." Circe said comfortingly, placing a hand on her friend's back. "We'll make sure of it."

"Good." Hecate smiled, the first real change in emotion that she had shown this entire conversation. "Now then let's go meet Leo."

Together the two immortal deities shimmered out of existence, leaving the chaotic void that was the Dimensional Gap behind them.

In their wake a Great Red Beast lazily slept, unaware of the trials that it would face.

"Is everything alright?" Leo asked once his master/surrogate mother appeared.

"Just perfect." Circe answered.

They were in front of an open air restaurant with a blazing hearth in the center. Smaller fires dotted the perimeter elegant shadows dancing on the Corinthian marble columns. The entire ambiance of the restaurant was one of homeliness. "There's Hestia." Circe waved towards a beautiful woman tending the fire. He couldn't help but smile at the woman, the sense of comfort and protection that she radiated was like a mother's warmth.

It was almost impossible not to like Hestia.

"Shall we?" Each of the goddesses looped their arms with his and together they began to move towards the smiling Deity.

He couldn't help but think of that old joke, only his version was better.

Two goddesses and a Magician walk into a bar…

After a night spent enjoying himself with the two Olympians, he was reluctant to return to the life that awaited him in Japan. It had been 3 years since he had last seen Cornelia, and for her only hours had passed since he had disappeared.

He hated Time Magics.

While he was happy to be reuniting with his lover, that burning desire that had festered within him when they had been first separated had been reduced to a scant few sparks. I guess it is true. Time does dull all wounds. He thought, trying to reignite the smoldering flames that his time with Gabriel had snuffed.

The memories that they had shared though faded with time, were still a major part of his life, and would forever be with him. He remembered the first kiss, the first fleeting touches. That tender moment when they confessed their love for one another, their bodies intertwined in the throes of passion.

He remembers his love for her.

His Gabriel.

He froze midstep, wondering where that had come from. His mind had been on his partner, his lov-, best friend. What is going on? He thought to himself. Cornelia IS my love. The first woman that I ever loved, and my…my greatest one.

In a distant part of his mind a sinister voice wormed its way through his mind, planting the seeds of doubt. Gabriel. Gabriel. Gabriel. The voice continually chanted, reinforcing his memories and feelings for her.

The link that they shared was one of the most powerful things that they had, but it was also their greatest weakness. He was a young man less than 25 years old, tied to a millennia old Seraph created by God. His mind was unable to fully cope with the pressure and feelings bleeding through the bond that they had.

Shaking his head, he banished those stray thoughts and began to focus on the task at hand, teleporting himself back to Japan without leaving a part of himself behind. Magic circles wrapped around his legs, arcane symbols and calculations running along the perimeter. It was a carefully balanced piece of work, a thing of beauty to those who understood.

Devils might use their imagination and be able to teleport at young ages, but for human mages being able to teleport was the mark of a master. The calculations were monstrously complex and lengthy, meaning only those well versed in the lore could even attempt to teleport themselves a few feet.

Looking around him, he wondered if he had taken things a bit too far. The once lavish room looked like it had come from a bad B-horror movie. The walls had gouges that looked like they came from a massive claw, blood and other bodily fluids soaked the luxurious carpet as dozens of bodies moaned and twitched. Damned cultists. He swore. Seriously who in their right mind would think it was a good idea to see if they can summon an Old God. Grumbling to himself he took a final look at the devices that would cleanse the area. Summoning rituals tended to weaken the boundaries between realms, and the only real solutions were either to cordon these areas off and allow the tears to slowly heal which could take hundreds of years, or to send the entire area into the Gap. Thankfully they were in a secluded area and no one would miss a single cabin in the woods. Granted the area would become a null zone for the next hundred years or so, meaning that magic would either not work or would yield chaotic results but that was better than the alternative of a magician accidently poking around and puncturing the boundary by accident.

Once everything was ready he took a single step forward and with that step the world folded underneath him, whisking him away to Japan.

Moments later the entire area was bathed in a kaleidoscope of colors before the light died down revealing a perfect landscape minus the single cabin that the cultists had been using for their ritual.

Touching down lightly on the porch to Azazel's House he knocked on the thick oaken door. It took a few minutes, as very few people knocked, most who knew who the house belonged to just teleported in, but he wasn't about to risk a light spear to the gut for startling Cornelia.

Pasting a smile on his face as the door opened, he held his arms wide open. "Honey, I'm home."

Rather than jumping into his arms as he thought might happen, or punching him in the gut as he feared, his love simply smiled back at him and moved out of the way. "Welcome home, Leo."

He took a step inside. "What no hug?" He joked, moving towards the kitchen, only to freeze at the other two people in the room.

One was the playboy governor of the Fallen, his smug face invoking memories of Hadraniel, and making him want to beat the Fallen's face until it no longer resembled a face. Where did that come from? He thought. Azazel was like the uncle he never had, he was family and while there was times that he wanted to shoot the man, he had never wanted to hurt him as much as he just did. Rage built up within him the longer he was near the man, straining against his control, threatening to lash out at the first slip.

However it was the second person that he was most surprised to see. It had been a long time since they last saw one another, missions on both sides keeping them busy and separated. She had long silver haired that reached just past her waist, and was a unique beauty, possessing a full and figure and athletic body. Piercing blue eyes similar to his own stared at him with glee as she donned a cocky half smirk that spoke of her supposed superiority. She was wearing a dark pair of jeans, caramel colored suede Chelsea boots, and a black shirt with the image of a white dragon underneath the word Princess.

He almost laughed at the shirt, remembering the time that he had gotten it for her as a gag gift, and she ended up loving it.

And she was laid out on the couch looking absolutely carefree.

Standing above her, he mildly glared at her as she shot him a challenging look, begging him to try and get her to move from her comfortable spot.

Damn lazy dragon. He thought take a seat on the floor beside her, unseen to him was a triumphant smile as she closed her eyes. Immediately her hand came up and began to run through his hair, undoing the ribbon that he used to keep his hair back.

"Enjoying yourself?" Cornelia asked, take a seat on one of the free couches. He wasn't sure who the question was directed towards, but he didn't get a chance to respond before it was answered.

"Yes." The girl responded lazily, indulging in the softness of the couch.

Cornelia's eyebrow twitched at the lackadaisical response from her rival, her response cut off as Azazel began to chuckle.

"Stop messing with her Valentia." Azazel ordered.

The silver beauty glared at him. "My name is Vali. V-a-li." She said enunciating every syllable of her supposed name.

"That's not what the records say." Azazel dismissed. "But we're not here to talk about that. Leo, Cornelia told me you had a bit of a run-in with the Gremorys last night."

"Less of a run-in and more of a one sided beat down." He said leaning into his silver haired lovers talented hands. He'd never admit it but he loved it when they ran their hands through his hair and massaged his scalp. "If they didn't have a Satan in their back pocket they would be no threat at all, and I would've killed them without a second thought."

"You almost did that last night." Azazel pointed out. "And you would've if you weren't visited by a certain woman."

"Gabriel." Cornelia hissed.

Anger bubbled up within him, a feeling of protectiveness surging forth commanding him to strike her down for daring to say the name of his beloved angel in that tone. What is happening to me? He thought struggling to keep these new feelings in check. Nothing like this happened when I was with Gabriel. Resolved to talk to his love the first chance he got, he did his best to focus on the conversation at hand.

"Correct, did she say why she was there?"

"You mean besides the fact that she's a crazed stalker and was just waiting for the opportune time to kidnap him?"

The anger redoubled as he slowly excused himself to head to the kitchen. Taking out a kettle he filled it with water before laying a hand on it, channeling his emotions into the metal container. The water rapidly boiled as he did his best to heat it up and not have it flash boil in his face. Once it was ready he took out several cups, one of which he filled with a small packet of ground up valerian root that he removed from the cabinet. Pouring water into that one he swirled it around, letting the powder dissolve before drinking deeply, indifferent to the scalding temperatures. He wasn't sure if it was a placebo or if it really began to work that fast but he felt his entire body begin to relax as he readied a second cup. In an empty teapot he put some loose tea leaves in and poured the water from the kettle into it allowing the leaves to steep for a minute, before taking the entire thing out to the room.

"I'm telling you that she was up to no good." Cornelia defended. "Why else would she have been snooping around an area controlled by the Devils?"

"I doubt it." Azazel countered. "Angels don't know the meaning of spying or subtlety. Their pureness prevents them from doing anything that might stain themselves, and stalking and kidnapping a person for personal gain definitely counts as staining oneself."

"It's the contract we share." Leo said calmly, an effect of the drug taking effect. "She sensed that I was in danger and came to my aid. It was part of the fine print that I didn't see before."

"But why did she need to come anyway? It's not like we were in any danger, after all you had the entire Gremory peerage on the ground and were in the process of Smiting them."

"It seems that the old adage of 'if you don't use it, you lose it' rings true. The Holy Light flowing through me was stagnant, unused, my body ill equipped to handle the sudden influx of power that came with using the power so rarely. She had to remove the overflow as well as forcibly circulate it through me, at this point I'm limited to small uses until such a time that my body acclimatizes to the new power."

"And that took all night?" Cornelia asked with narrowed eyes.

"Yes." The lie slipped out from his mouth smoothly, no hesitation whatsoever. "She also gave me a bit of an exercise plan in order to help my body get used to using Holy Light faster." Reaching into his coat he pulled out a packet of papers and handed them to her. "It didn't take her long to extract the overflow, at least when compared to the rest of the time which she spent showing me how to do several of these safely."

Skimming through it she passed it along to Azazel who took it gleefully. After all when was the next time that he would get his hands on a training manual developed by a Seraph? "Everything looks good." He said. "Though a few of these exercises I would suggest having a partner to watch over you with. Especially the ones on the later pages, some of these are what Sariel uses to train new Angels and if memory serves you'll be sore for weeks afterwards. Thankfully you won't have her yelling profanities at you like a drill sergeant as she randomly hurls spears of Holy Light above your head."

"Oh." Was all that he could manage to say, refusing to affirm the fact that Gabriel had done exactly that when they were alone together.

"Is that all that happened?" Cornelia asked, looking him right in the eye.

"Yes." He answered, before he could even think. The two stared at each other for several moments before the amethyst haired Fallen turned away, apparently satisfied. Why did I lie? He internally asked. I've never lied to her before.

"Now why don't you give me an update on what's been going on?" Azazel said, his carefree attitude shifting to a serious one.

Even though they had updated him on their progress only a day ago and there weren't any updates they still dutifully reported to the Fallen Leader. Azazel nodded and asked questions at all the relevant parts, clearing up any confusion that might've come about. Vali was also listening even if she didn't look like it as she idly ran her had through Leo's hair.

"I see." Azazel commented, leaning back into his chair as Cornelia finished her report. "Got any of that Pulteney 21?" He asked looking at Leo who had relaxed and almost fallen asleep at Vali's dexterous digits.

"I don't drink swill." The young man answered before pulling out a bottle of scotch and passing it to the Fallen Leader. "Mac's fine oak 21."

"Ah." Azazel remarked pouring himself two fingers of the amber liquid.

"Why are you here Azazel?" Leo asked through narrowed eyes, the longer the man stayed the less control he felt he had.

"I'm hurt." Azazel said adopting a wounded expression. "Shouldn't you be asking the same thing of Valentia?"

"Unlike Vali you bring nothing useful to the table. You're lazy, eccentric, a no-good playboy, and have probably contracted every STD there is with your philandering ways." Leo snapped, the words slipping out of his mouth with ease, as if they had just been waiting to be used.

Three sets of eyes turned to stare at him in disbelief.

"Wow." Cornelia observed. "Blunt aren't you?"

"Don't tell me that it's that time of the month already." Azazel asked, drawing glares from the two females in the room. "Anyways I'm here because of your little text to Valentia."

"Which one?"

"Not the sext ones, thank you very much."

He could feel the heated embarrassment as a blush formed on Valentia's alabaster skin. "Valentia."

"Yes Leo?"

"Remind me to get you a new phone when this is over. Preferably one that your old man can't hack into when he's bored."

Clearing his throat Azazel continued, ignoring the fact that he had all but admitted that he snooped through his adopted child's texts. "It's interesting that you went straight to Valentia just in case you needed backup."

"Why?" Leo asked. "It's only logical that I go to her as she's the counterpart to the Red Dragon Emperor. I'm not taking the chance that the current host might go berserk and ravage the entire area. If something like that were to happen the other Pantheons would be sure to step in and I for one am not willing to answer questions posed by Amaterasu as to why I'm in her domain, fighting the Red Dragon Emperor of all things. Knowing her she'll immediately blame me for the boy going berserk in the first place." For a brief moment he would've sworn that the light streaming through the windows intensified, burning a small patch into the wood that was quickly repaired.

"She still scares you, doesn't she?" Azazel deadpanned. Seeing the lack of response from the young man in front of him he pressed on. "Anyway I previously had Valentia on a fact finding mission that she performed admirably."

"Did that mission have anything to do with figuring out who put out the hit on the Sekiryuutei?"

"Possibly." Azazel admitted, startling all three people in the room. "I need to continue to look into things on my end before I can be certain but everything so far points to a strong relationship. Valentia, I want you to keep quiet about your mission, this is strictly Fallen business."

"What about me?" Cornelia asked, and considering that she was a Fallen Angel she felt it was her right to know.

"You may be one of us…" Azazel started. "But I can't tell you." He held up his hand forestalling any protests. "It's not that I don't want to, but I can't. Your mother would add my balls to her collection if she found out that I told you anything."

"Lady Penemue has not been happy as of late." Valentia admitted. "While she may absolutely adore Leo she still thinks that you should be at home with her where it's 'safe'."

"She's completely ignoring the fact that at your age she was out slaughtering Devils and raising cities." Azazel stated. "Well, now that her mission is over and she has nothing in the future, I thought that maybe Valentia would like to stay here with you guys."

"Really?" Leo asked.

"It's a bit too late to have her join us a school." Cornelia quickly pointed out, not liking the fact that her alone time with Leo would be cut into with the addition of the selfish dragon. While Valentia was willing to share she would also hog him every second that she could.

"School is for plebeians." Valentia rebuked, rolling over so that she could look the Fallen woman in the eyes. "You aren't opposed to me being here are you?"

He could see her struggling with her answer, biting the inside of her cheek as she thought up a response. An act made more difficult as Valentia slowly caressed his cheek, staring at the amethyst haired women with a challenging look. "No, of course not." Cornelia said with a hollow smile, her eyes holding a dangerous look to them that promised pain on the target of her ire.

"Good." Azazel clapped. "Now that that's settled why don't I leave you lovebirds alone." Getting up he grinned lewdly at the only other male in the room. "Don't do anything that I wouldn't do."

"I guess I'll show you to your room." Leo said as they watched the Fallen leader disappear in a flurry of dark feathers.

"No need," Cornelia said getting up from her seat. "I'll do it, it'll give us some time to talk."

"No violence." He said forcibly.

Cornelia smiled, bent over and kissed him lightly on the lips. "I promise."

"Now then," she said facing the lounging woman. "Get up you lazy dragon."

He could only gape as his partner pulled out a conjured stick and began to poke the Heavenly Dragon user, with zeal.

"Are you serious?" Valentia asked, blue eyes cracking open to glare at the offending woman.

"Yes." She smirked, dismissing the stick and holding out her hand. "Come on it's been a while since we've 'talked'"

Something unsaid passed between them as they locked eyes, Valentia slowly nodding a minute later. "It has." Sitting up she spoke to the only man in the room. "Why don't you head out for the night, give us girls some time to catch up."

Seeing his hesitation she squeezed his hand reassuringly. "I won't hurt her."

"You couldn't even if you tried." Lia responded with false bravado.

"Beat it, Leo." Valentia commanded, her tone crushing any retort he might've made. He had heard that tone before and wanted to be nowhere near here when Mt. Valentia blew. With a snap of his fingers he faded from view leaving the two Supernatural women facing off from one another.

"He's gone." Cornelia commented, casting a wide area search spell.

"Spells are up to prevent eavesdropping." Valentia continued, getting up from her seat.

"I've missed you." Cornelia smiled warmly embracing her silver haired friend.

"And I you." Valentia replied similarly, enjoying the contact for a moment before breaking away. "How has he been?"

Cornelia sighed gesturing for them to take their seats once more. "Overworked, stressed, you name it and he's probably suffered from it at one point or another. These past few months have been nonstop deals and contracts with the most obscure of people in the most far flung parts of this dimension. We've literally traveled from Takama-ga-hara, dodging an irate Amaterasu to digging up the old ruins of a Temple dedicated to Quetzalcoatl. Anything and everything that could possibly be used to further his goal of surpassing his mother has been studied and dismissed."

"He's still dead set on beating her?" Valentia asked concernedly.

"You would be too if the shadow of your mother obscured any achievement that you might make. Constantly being compared to a woman who single handedly beat a God at his own game before devouring his very essence. A woman spoken of only in the most reverent of terms whose very existence transcended mortality and borders on the infinite."

Seeing the other woman's crestfallen expression she hurriedly apologized, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry Valentia, I didn't mean to stir up any bad memories."

"It's fine." She dismissed, projecting an aura of strength. "That time is behind me, and the one responsible has long since died."

"If you're sure." Cornelia replied uncertainly, not at all fooled by the front her friend was putting up. "Anyways, I'm glad you're here. Leo tends to listen to you more than me concerning his health."

"That's because he knows that I'll cripple him and put him in a bed for a month if he doesn't take my orders to rest seriously." Valentia said, reclining into her chair. "Better to take a week off and rest than be bedridden for four."

"Hopefully with the two of us here, we'll be able to curb some of his more outlandish tendencies. Recently he's gotten it into his head to play mind games with Sona Sitri."

"That's Leviathan's younger sister, right?"

Cornelia nodded. "I love him like no other but even I'm hard pressed to deal with the fallout of some of his actions. He should've stayed quiet, allowing us to fly under the radar, but no…he had to be the one that tied with her in chess every single time. Then he sparked her interest and she decided to turn the school against him. He got out of it but not without a bit of wiggling and magic use, something that's sure to have tipped her off. She's had familiars scouting out the decoy address we used, and her bishops have even gone so far as to probe the perimeter wards."

"Have you noticed…he's been growing a bit desperate." Valentia said hesitantly. "He's always been driven, something that drew both of us to him, but recently he's been blind to some things. He's making mistakes that he wouldn't have in the past, cutting corners, and rushing to test his ideas."

"I know what you mean." Cornelia answered, her eyes taking on a distant look. "Something is up, but he hasn't told me yet."

Valentia raised a brow in surprise. "He hasn't told you?"

"No." The Fallen woman responded grimly. "I can ask him anything and he'll answer without any hesitation…except for this. This is the first time we've ever had something put us seriously at odds with one another."

"Do you think it might be another woman?" Valentia asked, knowing that it was unlikely.

"I don't mind other women." Cornelia shrugged. "After all, I know that you've slept with him quite a few times." As expected the argent haired women blushed slightly, though it was easily noticeable on her creamy complexion. "So long as I'm number one I don't care if he sleeps his way through entire covens on Walpurgis."

"But maybe you're not number one anymore?" She immediately regretted those words as the temperature in the room dropped to subzero temperatures and items began to freeze over. While she may have been much stronger than the Fallen woman, that did not mean that she was powerless. Cornelia was still an 8 winged angel and while her control over the Light element didn't reach her mother's legendary status she was no slouch and even the shallowest cut from one of her weapons would disintegrate low level devils. While she was nowhere near that level even she would admit that being cut by a Light weapon would be agonizing, though survivable.

"For his sake, he better not have gained another." Cornelia said calmly, a far cry from the tumultuous magics radiating from her.

Fearing where this may lead Valentia quickly changed the subject, moving onto things that were less likely to result in a fight between them.

He couldn't help but shudder as a cold feeling worked its way down his spine. After leaving Azazel's house he had decided to take a walk around the city, in an attempt to clear his mind. Those thoughts that he had been having earlier scared him, as he had no idea where they had come from.

Soon enough he found himself lingering on the belfry of Kuoh Academy, what was the highest point in the small city. Taking several runestones out of his pocket he began to set up a ward around him preventing any sound from escaping. I need to know if this is a side-effect of that. He thought grimly, folding his legs underneath him as he sat in seiza. Now. He took a steadying breath as he delved deeply within himself and found the core of his power. Open yourself to the world.

The floodgates that served to contain his being were wrenched open and he immediately collapsed, screaming in agony as his very soul was flayed and battered.

The Darkness that lurked in the minds of every sentient being, Humans, devils, Angels, Youkai, everything no matter pure had evil within them, and all at once Every Evil in the World took notice of him.

All the malice and feelings of the world began to assault his essence digging their tainted claws into the pure soul that was humans. He saw every degrading act ever performed, every murder, every rape, every vile and twisted thing that was happening, had happened and would happen. They whispered seductive promises offering pleasures unattainable by mortal and immortal means, they tortured and fought desperately scraping at the pure morsel that was his humanity.

Every fiber of his being desperately fought back against the impending evil, but unlike last time there was no Gabriel to save him at the last minute.

He could feel himself sinking in the agony of Malice, the darkness encroaching and dragging him deeper into its embrace. Valiantly he struggled, clawing against the malevolence that drowned out everything.

His struggles were futile, and against the unrelenting tide that was all the Malice of the World his mind and body succumbed.