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Hell is other angels

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    • "Anything else, sir?" the air stewardess asked with a smile as she put my glass of coke on the table.

    "No thank you, that's all I think."

    "Very well, sir." She said and moved off.

    I sipped the ice cold liquid and looked around. Man it have to pay great to be a god. He sent me back to the mainland in his private jet. It wasn't one of those small with four seats either.

    Not a full sized 747, but this compartment alone was enough to seat ten in comfort and it was not the only one. Closer to the rear of the plane there was a fully equipped bedroom. Aiko... uhm... showed it to me soon after take off.

    Speaking of my kinda girlfriend(and I'm still not entirely sure how that happened), she was currently in her real form for the first time and curled up into a fluffy ball, deep asleep in the seat opposite to mine. She was a regular sized pure white fox with two tails.

    She was god damned adorable.

    Sliding my hand into my backpack I pulled out the box before opening it and fishing out the tarnished silver coin and rolled it around in my fingers before I got up and left for the bedroom, closing the door behind me, "We need to talk."

    "We do, my host." Taziel answered and as she appeared, sitting on the bed before she crossed her legs, resting her hands on her knee.

    I crossed my arms as I looked at her, "Okay. First to be clear, I'm not sure I can trust you. You Fell for a reason and ended up in that Coin for another reason. You might have Fallen for wanting the right to chose and you might have ended up in that Coin because Lucifer found you too dangerous to keep around... or you may have Fallen for wanting humanity dead and Lucifer got you out of hell because he didn't want the competition. There is no way for me to tell... but I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt instead of just dumping you into sensory deprivation for eternity. Especially because Inari and his family didn't seem overly concerned about me being involved with you."

    Taziel just nodded, "Understandable. And thank you."

    "Yeah. So here is the deal. I'm in charge, you can make suggestions but when I make a choice, you respect that choice and stop needling me about it."

    The Fallen nodded, "Understood, Master." with a playful smile she played with the silver medallion on her collar.

    "And none of that." I sighed and pointed at her, "Another thing... Anything you do, you will teach me how to do myself without your help."

    Taziel flexed her wings with a small frown, "I'm not entirely sure that's possible. Your magical potential is simply not high enough to do some of the things I assist you with, such as healing others. You have to overpower their natural magical resistance and quite frankly, you don't have the ampage."

    "If it turns out I physically can't do it, then I can't. But you will teach me how anyway."

    "Very well. Anything else?"

    I rolled the coin between my fingers and then shook my head, "Not right now, but I may think of other things later. Do you have anything to add?"

    Taziel blinked at me, "Me?"

    "You are an asset. A dangerous one that can easily backfire and get me and and thousands of people killed. But still an asset. Tell me what you think."

    She got up and flexed her wings before crossing her arms, playing with the tag of her collar with one hand, "I think you may have hit the major points to reduce risk, my host." she said with a small frown, "But ignoring the risk of me being the evil mastermind you think I might be..."

    " Fallen super intelligent pocket change."

    Taziel nodded, "...Okay, fair enough. But even ignoring that, you may wish to acquire some weaponry again. At the very least a firearm and some sort of dagger. While you do have the potential to be very strong and fast with the Coin, If that Mo'o had actually wanted to fight and not just scare off your pet spirit, it might very well have killed you."

    I raised an eyebrow at her, "Not entirely sure a handgun would have helped against that thing. Even ignoring any magical resistance, that thing was huge. You would need an elephant gun or something explosive."

    "Lot's of big powerful things dislike things hitting their eyes, as you proved with that branch." She said and frowned at me, "Even if such a weapon would be unable to dispatch the creature, it would very well help even the playing field. Without the coin and magic, tools are your best chance. Humans are tool users after all."

    "True. Well, that will solve itself. We are heading to Laz, she have the weapons. I'll pick some up there."

    She nodded, "Just making a comment. And about your mate..." Taziel then continued, looking towards the closed door, "You are aware that she is going to be... trouble."

    "Trouble?"

    "The demons calling themselves The Powers That Be have declared themselves our enemies. It is possible that she will get hurt or used to hurt you." Taziel said with a frown, "Her nature is also a problem. Despite what you may see her as, she is not human. She may take the form of one and may play one well, but she is no more human than that slime demon you killed a few months ago."

    "...Yeah. I know."

    Taziel shrugged with a smile, "Just warning you. I'm not disapproving if your relationship. In fact, I find it very healthy for you to find a mate, even one that's a very different being from yourself. But you should still be ready that she may act in manners you may find strange or unsettling."

    That did make sense. Meeting her mother came to mind.

    "Anything else?"

    "Nothing come to mind right now, My Host."

    Nodding I looked down on the coin before pocketing it again. So this was it then. ...I was a Nicklehead.

    "Not all of us are bad, My Host." Taziel said before she grinned, "And better than Nickleback anyway."

    "...Point to the Angel."




    AN// Big thanks to Alayn for betaing this section.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Hiver said:
    "Not all of us are bad, My Host." Taziel said before she grinned, "And better than Nickleback anyway."

    "...Point to the Angel."
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    You sir, have earned a funny rating with that line alone.

    Anyway, I certainly hope that Laz isn't dead, because murdering a slayer for trying to murder you because you were there when a slayer was murdered and she thinks you murdered two people...

    It all ends with somebody getting murdered.
     
    Hiver said:
    Aiko... uhm... showed it to me soon after take off.

    Speaking of my kinda girlfriend(and I'm still not entirely sure how that happened), she was currently in her real form for the first time and curled up into a fluffy ball, deep asleep in the seat opposite to mine. She was a regular sized pure white fox with two tails.
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    The real question is, was she in her real form when she "Showed it" to you?

    And if not, when?
     
    MaHaL said:
    Anyway, I certainly hope that Laz isn't dead, because murdering a slayer for trying to murder you because you were there when a slayer was murdered and she thinks you murdered two people.
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    I can totally see it. Slayer 'saw' him murdering people, so if she sees those people alive, will she doubt the veracity of her dream? Or will she immediately think of the sorts of demons that reanimate dead bodies and stake them before it occurs to her that they're standing in direct sunlight?

    Then again, Slayers tend to be bad with and around guns, so she might just underestimate a woman with a gun, which would likely be fatal if Laz is the one with the gun. Wouldn't it truly suck if Faith was next in line, with a bright shiny dream vision of a woman who hunts down and murders girls and a killer angel that murders people in hospitals?
     
    I don't know BtVS very well, but are the Council the kind of people who would assassinate everyone he's healed to create cause for sending a slayer after him? Because I'm getting a bad feeling about this. He's pinning a lot on Laz being alive.
     
    subsider34 said:
    I don't know BtVS very well, but are the Council the kind of people who would assassinate everyone he's healed to create cause for sending a slayer after him? Because I'm getting a bad feeling about this. He's pinning a lot on Laz being alive.
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    Council no. Powers That Be, depends on how the author wishes to portray them. The Powers are exactly the type of beings who would use other people to get to Saint.
     
    subsider34 said:
    I don't know BtVS very well, but are the Council the kind of people who would assassinate everyone he's healed to create cause for sending a slayer after him? Because I'm getting a bad feeling about this. He's pinning a lot on Laz being alive.
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    I'd bet more on the Powers that Be doing that.

    EDIT: Ninja'd
     
    Hiver said:
    I sipped the ice cold liquid and looked around. Man it have to pay great to be a god. He sent me back to the mainland in his private jet. It wasn't one of those small with four seats either.
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    has
    missing word 'ones'

    Hiver said:
    " Fallen super intelligent pocket change."
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    unnecessary space at start of sentence.

    Hiver said:
    "True. Well, that will solve itself. We are heading to Laz, she have the weapons. I'll pick some up there."
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    has, or 'will have'

    Hiver said:
    Taziel shrugged with a smile, "Just warning you. I'm not disapproving if your relationship. In fact, I find it very healthy for you to find a mate, even one that's a very different being from yourself. But you should still be ready that she may act in manners you may find strange or unsettling."
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    of
    might want to use 'prepared' instead
     
    Hiver said:
    "Not all of us are bad, My Host." Taziel said before she grinned, "And better than Nickleback anyway."

    "...Point to the Angel."
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    But I like Nickelback. :(

    Hiver said:
    "The demons calling themselves The Powers That Be have declared themselves our enemies. It is possible that she will get hurt or used to hurt you." Taziel said with a frown, "Her nature is also a problem. Despite what you may see her as, she is not human. She may take the form of one and may play one well, but she is no more human than that slime demon you killed a few months ago."
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    Speaking as someone who has spent a lot of time learning how to play "human", it's very useful for Saint to get the reminder that all people are not necessarily the same kind of people he assumes. A lesson that I hope someday actually gets taught in schools, rather than assuming everyone is bearing the exact same neural structure and motivational schema. :|

    That latter part being the HUGE one that trips people up all the time, watching people make assumptions about those around them that prove not to be true, and never noticing. The most obvious and easily referenced example is introverts and extroverts viewing a social encounter radically differently, but there's a lot of subtle issues out there involving people with different cognitive architectures failing to recognize they have differing architectures.
     
    esotericist said:
    Speaking as someone who has spent a lot of time learning how to play "human", it's very useful for Saint to get the reminder that all people are not necessarily the same kind of people he assumes. A lesson that I hope someday actually gets taught in schools, rather than assuming everyone is bearing the exact same neural structure and motivational schema. :|

    That latter part being the HUGE one that trips people up all the time, watching people make assumptions about those around them that prove not to be true, and never noticing. The most obvious and easily referenced example is introverts and extroverts viewing a social encounter radically differently, but there's a lot of subtle issues out there involving people with different cognitive architectures failing to recognize they have differing architectures.
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    Honestly, I'm not sure this is something that is actually possible to teach someone in school. It's more something that needs to be part of the culture as a whole. It is something that is best taught through experience or as part of the cultural gestalt.
     
    Crazael said:
    Honestly, I'm not sure this is something that is actually possible to teach someone in school. It's more something that needs to be part of the culture as a whole. It is something that is best taught through experience or as part of the cultural gestalt.
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    I think there I meant to use 'taught in school' as a mental shorthand for 'generally accepted in society as worth knowing'.

    But there's an AWFUL lot of other stuff that's 'cultural' that originates from school, from what I've learned in my observations. Either from the teachers or from older students, as this weird ongoing memetic reinforcement.
     
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    • "Mind if we stop on the way?" Aiko asked, "I have some business I need to attend to."

    "Really?" I asked, "What kind?"

    She shrugged one shoulder and adjusted the strap on her dress, "Legal matters, some papers I need to sign for father and some that are for my own affairs."

    "Huh. Sure, no problem. We're not in any rush." I said before I smiled, "You have affairs?"

    Aiko smiled and tapped my nose, "I'm almost two hundred years old. Father realized it would be a bad idea to stick to just Japan when the mortals set the sky on fire. So we diversified. I personally have investments in a number of companies." she explained before she grinned, "What, you thought I was just a rich girl living off of daddy's money?"

    "Honestly, I didn't really think about it. But that would explain the limo." I commented and looked around before I shrugged, "But yeah, that makes a fair amount of sense. I'd bet that pretty much anyone would end up rich after two hundred years no matter what they do."

    "Things do tend to pile up." She agreed and took my hand, raising it to her lips.

    I raised an eyebrow at her, "Are you feeding again?"

    "Just tasting." She murmured, "I can't narrow it down... is it the connection with the Fallen?"

    Taz?

    "It is possible though unlikely, my host. I do not believe so though. Your mate should not be able to detect it simply by tasting your life energy. There may be some bleed through however and it's possible, though again unlikely, that that would be enough for her to taste." Taziel whispered in my ear, "But it's far more likely that it's because you are from somewhere else in Creation. Then again, it might simply be the connection to Hellfire that resides in your native magic."

    "Don't know." I said with a grin before, pulling my hand away, "Does it taste bad?"

    She grinned, "Just a bit spicy. In any case I'm too young to be able to drain that hard, it'll be at least a couple of hundred more years until I'm strong enough to do that." She smirked and leaned closer, "Well... unless you were tied down and I could take my time with it. At that point though..." The smirk grew wider and rather more vulpine "there are much more enjoyable things to be doing."

    Oh boy.


    XXXXXXXXXX


    "Here? This place? Really?" I said and turned to look at Aiko as I pointed up at the Wolfram & Hart sign that adorned the massive glass door way into the law offices, "They're evil lawyers."

    Of course they had an office in New York. Why wouldn't they?

    Aiko giggled, "I wasn't aware there was any other kind."

    "...Point, but I'm talking demonic evil."

    "And? They're effective and don't raise their eyebrows at handling century old accounts." She said and slipped her arm around mine.

    "Aiko, they want to end the world. In fact, they're actively working towards it."

    She frowned at that, "Well they haven't yet. And they really are very good lawyers." A pause. "You don't have to come in with me if you don't want to."

    I sighed and shook my head, "I'll come." and walked with her.

    "You know, she has a point my host." Taziel whispered into my right ear, "It wouldn't hurt to have a contract with them."

    Taz... did you miss the 'evil demon lawyers that want to own my soul and end the world' part?

    "No. And they can't have it." She answered, "But your mate has a very good point, they have not ended the world yet and until we need to stop them, they could be very useful, especially in your chosen profession. What if you need to acquire another anti-tank weapon and this time, you get caught? Unless you wish to fight our way free and possibly harm a great many people then our best option would be a lawyer. And as she said The Wolf, The Ram, and The Hart employ the best attorneys in the world. And they know of it's true nature."

    As uncomfortable as it was to contemplate Taziel made an excellent point. A natural consequence of my chosen profession was that I would be running around with quite a lot of hardware. Eventually, no matter how hard I tried to cover it up, there would be a cop that noticed something was off or simply showed up at the wrong time and I'd really rather not have to shoot my way out of something like that.

    I need ninja smoke bombs.

    "As... amusing as that sound, I believe that having lawyers on retainer to be the more practical option, my host."

    I walked with Aiko towards the impressively large reception desk.

    Assuming I go for that, how exactly would we afford that? Because there is no fucking way I'm paying these people in favors.

    "Knowledge. You can trade knowledge. Or... who do we know with money?"

    Yeah, there's no way I'd countenance taking advantage of Aiko like that. Even if she, for some unknown reason, would let me get away with it. And what knowledge I do have would be far too dangerous to give even to a normal relatively sane person. I shudder to think what it could do in the hands of Wolfram and Hart.

    Taziel chuckled, "Not your knowledge, my host. Mine. I'm sure that there are a great many things that I know and that they desperately want to learn. I'm super intelligent pocket change, remember?"

    Helping them end the world? Fuck no!

    "Nothing important of course. I am not nearly fool enough as to give them such knowledge." Taz snorted, "But I still know things they might want to know. Anything from Names of lower beings to where to find hidden treasures and lost artefacts. Nothing truly dangerous but still very valuable. I have been in this part of Creation for the better part of seven hundred years since Anduriel banished me here. I know where many things... even if it's just gold... are buried."

    I bit the inside of my cheek as I thought. That was something to consider at the very least. Evil scum or not, not needing to worry about being arrested would be damn nice. If we put clauses into the contact about not harming mortals, it might be possible. Need to think it over.

    The rather good looking and well dressed receptionist looked up at us with a smile, brushing her blonde hair behind her ear with a professional smile as she took in our appearance. Aiko in her dress that cost more than most cars and me in my jeans and t-shirt.

    "Can I help you, Miss, sir?" She asked without missing a beat.

    Aiko nodded, "Yes please. I have an appointment..."





    AN// Big thanks to Reads-By-Lamplight for betaing this part.
     
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    • NemoMarx said:
    Honestly, Wolfram and Heart are a little more proactive than them, even if they presumably offer better deals to most clients. MLL were pretty happy letting the world end slowly over like, centuries, WH I think had plans to do it inside the decade?
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    While my knowledge of the Buffyverse is very limited, that sounds like one of the standard All-Or-Nothing villain plans: either they succeed and the world is ended, or the hero(ine) succeeds and the plan is broken.

    MLL may be going at it more slowly, but it looks very, very likely that they will get there. They operate by going slow and steady, by slowly accumulating power and practitioners, making sure their every deal goes well for them in the end, and otherwise expanding their power and influence and getting their tendrils into the universe.
     
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    ...and down the slippery slope we go!

    More seriously, Saint seems to be walking that knife's edge of damnation right now. I'm very interested in seeing how this goes, especially now that he's up against the the Powers That Be. For all that they're supposed to be the 'good guys,' they seriously fuck a lot of people over.

    ...is it too much to hope that Whistler shows back up and gets his ass handed to him/killed outright?

    I also look forward to his next confrontation with the Slayer and the Buffy troupe.
     
    Thing is, if I remember Buffy lore correctly, Power that Be are all about Balance. The things is, that's balance between good and evil. Kinda like the whole Star Wars prophecy of bringing balance to the Force, some people just assume balance is good and that's what the PtB plays off of. Rather, this balance means that if the good guys are winning, well the bad guys are going to get boosted or the good guys get setbacks. Conversely, if the bad guys are getting too strong, the good guys will find their miracle boost. Essentially, the PtB cares more that the status quo is kept at all time.
     
    Moonlit Lord said:
    Thing is, if I remember Buffy lore correctly, Power that Be are all about Balance. The things is, that's balance between good and evil. Kinda like the whole Star Wars prophecy of bringing balance to the Force, some people just assume balance is good and that's what the PtB plays off of. Rather, this balance means that if the good guys are winning, well the bad guys are going to get boosted or the good guys get setbacks. Conversely, if the bad guys are getting too strong, the good guys will find their miracle boost. Essentially, the PtB cares more that the status quo is kept at all time.
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    Umm...isn't the whole "Balance to the force" a force WITHOUT Sith?

    Like, The Sith are cancer.
     
    Silverias said:
    Umm...isn't the whole "Balance to the force" a force WITHOUT Sith?

    Like, The Sith are cancer.
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    That's what the Jedi thought, and look what happened to them. Their entire order nearly wiped out, and the numbers ended up relatively balanced in the end, if you go strictly by the movies series. Palpatine and Vader for the dark side, Yoda and Luke for the light side. I guess you could make the argument for the end of episode 6 being the Chosen one clearing the dark side, but then Episode 7 came out.
     
    Hiver said:
    "But I still know things they might want to know. Anything from Names of lower beings to where to find hidden treasures and lost artefacts. Nothing truly dangerous but still very valuable. I have been in this part of Creation for the better part of seven hundred years since Anduriel banished me here. I know where many things... even if it's just gold... are buried."
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    Seems to me like the smarter idea is to go get that gold or artefact yourself and use money acquired from their sale, to trade for services, rather than operate from a position of weakness when negotiating for the services of evil lawyers and letting them know, that you know, things they might like to just yank out of your skull through whatever nefarious means they have at their disposal (unlikely) or gain their interest and observation. Which is bad. Evil tends to be opportunistic that way. Using coin is much less likely to backfire.
     
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