Angels in Arcadia

[HiddenBeauty13]

Roy simply stood there in shock as he watched the angel and demon battle it out. It was quite a scene to watch up close and he had to step back more than once to avoid getting hit. When the demon finally left, he breathed a soft sigh of relief before shaking his head at Alex's question. "I'm never scared." It was a lie but know one else knew that...maybe...The boy then watched as the angel grabbed his hand and, in the blink of an eye, they were standing inside the only hostpital in this little town.

"Why are we in here?" Roy asked curiously as he looked around. The hospital was slightly busy, as usual, yet no one seemed to notice their sudden appearance. He thought it was quite weird and fancinating all at once. "Are the others coming here too?" He asked and all the others that went to the beach with him popped into his mind. So far, he hadn't seen them since the beach and there was no doubt that they'd encountered the evil beings as well.
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Aoi frowned deeply at the boy's reaction. He looked so upset and lost; she silently wished that she could do more for him so she could actually see him smile for once. She happened to glance up and see the drawing of the curtains in his room and her frown only deepened. Something evil was in that house and, yes, it was her job to get it out. First-- Her train of thought was interrupted as a familiar ringtone floated from Ian's bag. Without warning, she reached forward and grabbed the phonbe before he could even process what had happened. After listening to the message that Parry sent, she frowned yet again and handed the phone back to him. "Ian, I know you want to get revenge on that man, but first, we need to go and meet up with the others. One, because it's safe and, two, we need to come up with an effective plan on how to help you guys." When she got finished speaking, Aoi held out her hand to him. "Please, come with me."

[InkedWolf]

Joanna heard a crash of thunder as Liu pulled the trigger. Her shotgun was capable of a blast dependant upon the faith of who pulled the trigger. Slowly rolling onto her side, she looked at the reaper. He seemed to tilt about like a bizzare marionette, half of his face was cleanly cleaved off. She smirked as the Reaper began to dissolve into the ground.

"This is far from over! I'll be back!"

Joanna slowly puled herself to her knees, her wounds still bleeding quite heavily. "That's gonna sting somethin' fierce in the morning." Looking towards Liu, she stll held the shotgun in her trembling hands. Groaning as Joanna got to her feet, she gently took the shotgun from Liu. The gun seemed to fade as she placed the weapon back in her duster. "Y, did good sweety. I'm proud of you...it take's a lot of punishment for either side to take one outta play. Betcha the reaper will be nursin' a wicked headache fer a few hours." She leaned on Liu for support, as she began to hobble back towards the surf shack.

"If you ever need that shotgun, just think about it and it should now appear fer you too...in case if I'm ever taken outta play, don't stare at those nasty reapers fer too long..." Right now, Joanna wished there was another angel about with healing talents. Unfortunately she was a warrior, her talents were at causing a bunch of damage. Repairing her own wounds was left to her natural abilities.

"What you did right there, y'all took a stand. You just blasted the head off a reaper. I think yer capable of drawin' that line in the sand fer yer folks too.."

----

Ivy nodded as she tried to process the information provided by Parry. "I...I think I understand. That...thing, did we get it off my trail?" Being back in the hospital, especially the pediatric ward made her feel anxious. Her arms and legs felt like lead, as if her very essence was being drawn out. Ivy leaned on Parry as the door to the ward swung upon.

As Parry explained the rules of the hospitals, she giggled at the mention of Detroit. "So..if I'm in trouble, can I run to one of these safe zones? Or does it only apply towards angels?"

As they began to walk through the ward, Parry asked her about cotton candy. She thought about it for a moment, "Pineapple, and wait..there was an angel here..." Thinking hard about the situation that ended her in this ward all those years ago. She remembered images, wings, a kindly woman. "Wait!" She gasped as she reached for her sketchbook, leafing through the pages she spoke, "I remember a woman, she was very gentle...I think she saved me..." as she held the sketchbook out for Parry. "I remember seeing her, she held my hand for a few nights. She occasionally finds my way back into my sketchbook. I'd like to thank her if I can.."

[AkiBlue]

Alex smirked, and slipped his hands in each of his robed sleeves. "There's no need to lie." He led Roy to the hospital, though with not much of a destination in mind. "This place...Well think of it as a game of freeze tag. This is base for Angels. So are churches." He informed and looked around. "Yeah, I think the others should be here. Most likely. Some place to rest from injury." As they walked, Alex's wounds healed subtly, but painfully slow.

"Now where is that weirdo..." Alex looked around, but slowed to walk by Roy. "So Roy, now that I've proven that I'm a good guy. Will you tell me what's wrong so I can help?" He grinned and looked at him. "I promise I won't bite."

It was interesting how none of the doctors or nurses seemed to notice Alex's presence, but they would give Roy subtle glances or nods. Alex didn't seem to mind, although he was partially causing himself not to be noticed.

/:::/

Liu blinked and watched the Reaper yell out. It's face...it was practically gone. Thanks to Liu. It was a shock to her, why wouldn't it be.

"I just shot a reaper." She spoke in disbelief as she helped Joanna up. This was too much for a kid like Liu, especially in one day. Angels, demons, guns?! What could possibly jump out next?! "I-I don't think I want that shotgun..." Liu shook her head, still in disbelief.

"Are you going to be okay?" The sudden realization of the damaged angel hit her. "Maybe we could find someone to help?" Liu offered her idea, but then quickly realized. 'How do you help a damaged angel?' She was sure regular medical treatment wouldn't work.

Liu then frowned a bit. "My parents? I'm sure killing the reapers was a lot easier." Liu shook her head, and shrugged. "I'm fine with letting them come and go. There's no need for...change." Liu shook her head again and helped Joanna sit down.

[Trinais]

"Off your tail? For the moment, yes. He'll get over his disorientation in a bit, but you're safe for now." Parry kept them moving down the pediatric ward hallway, keeping Ivy close in a one-arm hug. Funny how much strength humans got from friendly physical presence. He made a mental note to swing by the library when this was all done and catch up on the latest medical texts to see what was what on that subject.

"It's not a foolproof fortress- the Terrostodon got in once before after all. But just walking in would set off enough defensive wards and alarms to set him running. I tried to get into one of their places once- a legal firm in New York. It made my ears bleed just going into the lobby. Sounded like someone looped nails on a chalkboard into a stereo and cranked the volume to 11. Something or someone gave the Terrostodon enough juice to plow through the wards for a little while. It was probably nursing its wounds for a while after- hence why you're still alive. That and Mirael probably warded you before you were discharged. Like so."

Parry paused outside room 17's window and took a look at the kid's chart. Brain cancer, age nine, probably terminal with a few months to go. Parry scrunched his face up against the glass, letting his tongue loll out onto the pane, fingers splayed as if Ivy had pushed him into the glass before he slid to the ground trailing spit as he went. The kid was at first startled, then reacted as most kids would and let out a laugh. Parry sprang up and used his forefinger to scribble what might have been a mixture of hieroglyphics and cursive writing into the glass with his saliva.

"That'll do for a bit. 'Thou shalt not walk in here, or verily I say unto you, I shall f*** thee up royally.' Mirael was always a bit more subtle and-" Parry snatched the sketchbook from Ivy, flipping it sideways, upside down, holding the page up to the fluorescent light "-and she generally specialized in defensive wards. I like the shading here, by the way. And good eyes too. I didn't realize she'd dyed her wings pink. She was always orange back at the bar..."

Parry offered the book back to Ivy and continued going down the hall, checking in on the patients in the windows as he went- licking or fogging up the windows with his breath, then drawing different squiggles into the glass.

Cancer. Cancer. Bronchitis. HIV. Drunk driver.

"I'd say you could expect to see her soon, but I don't know if I'd be lying or not. These wards are all least three weeks old..."

Broken legs. Cancer. Coma. Can-

"Hold on just one moment."

Parry grabbed the chart outside room 23, flipping through the pages as though they were nothing more than a flipbook.

"Age is right. Diagnosis is vague. Timing fits. Gender is male. Ivy dear? Do you know this fine gentleman from school?"

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"Hey, that's my-"

As Aoi answered the phone, Ian had to pause and think about that statement. Technically it wasn't his phone anymore. It was now his father's stolen phone.

And now there was a plan? And others? Wait, there had been others in the group back at the funeral home with Aoi. He remembered now.

"I want that... thing. I want it dead or to undo what it did." Ian took Aoi's hand, scowling as he squeezed. "I can't lose my boyfriend and my family in the same week, Aoi."

[HiddenBeauty13]

Roy took a deep breath and blew it out, but still, he did not speak. It is true, he did trust Alex now and knew that he was a good guy but something was holding him back. Maybe it was the fact that he was the first person who would know the truth behind his past, or the fact that he was scared he would be rejected? Who knew? Sighing once more, he decided to push all those thoughts away before grabbing the angel's arm. He then put a finger to his lips and led him down a more secluded hallway that wasn't as busy as the others. Eventually, he settled on resting in an empty waiting. "Okay...I'll tell you my story."

By the time he was done explaining, the boy was teary eyed but no tears fell. "Now, you know why I'm like this...why I hate being around people. I'm tired of being hurt or talked about by others Alex. I'm just tired of it." He stated, his voice cracking a bit. All of those feelings that he has worked hard to keep hidden came flooding back in a painful rush of emotions.

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"Okay...close your eyes..." Nodding, Aoi gave his hand a little comforting squeeze before transporting them both to the hospital where all thw angels were supposed to meet up at. The process drained even more energy from the woman and she reached out to steady herself on a nearby wall. Breathing heavily, she looked over at Ian and smiled weakily. "Don't worry...we're safe now...We just have to find the others." Since she barely had enough energy to stand, she resorted to using something to get all the other angels' attention.

Guys...where are you? I sense your presence but I dont see you. she whispered in a way that only the angels would hear.