-----------------------------------
Schwarze Engel Headquarters
400 Feet underneath an abandonded subway station.
------------------------------------




Ang and Tris were training in hand to hand combat. Ang was suprised at how far Tris was progressing within the span of the few days that she'd been with the group. She'd already nearly mastered basic takedowns and chaining attacks together, sort of like a combo from a video game. She was also a rather adept user of a short-blade.

" So," Ang panted, catching Tris' punches when they were flung. " How are you-" she began, ducking under a backhand, " Liking it here?" she asked, sweating slightly. Tris never seemed to run out of energy, but then again that was common with certain demons.

" Better than..nngh!-..living out in the stree!" She grunted, panting, muscles straining...for a rookie, she had a rather fit and athletic body. There was almost no training needed there. Her leg strength was at peak condition and her arm strength was exceptional as well.

" I see!" Ang panted, crossing her hands and signaling that they were done sparring for now. Tris nodded and wiped a bit of sweat from her brow. She was wearing a black sleeveless shirt, black tights, and tabi socks for now as her new combat outfit. She also wore fingerless gloves and elbow pads.

They sat down next to each other, catching thier breath. Ang looked over at the young girl and gave a smile. " Those kicks hurt like hell to block. Let me guess, soccer?" Ang asked with a smile.
Tris looked over and nodded, smiling. " Yeah. Used to be number one on my team." she said, remembering all of the good times she had had on her soccer team...all gone now...she was part of something far bigger than she comprehended, and yet..at the same time, she -knew-, KNEW that what she was doing was the right thing.

Suddenly, Kip's voice rang out over the intercom.
" Yo, you two, I think you oughtta see what's going down on the news right now!" he said. The wall of the training room opened and revealed a wide-screened TV. Ang turned it on manually, and switched it to Channel Ten.

"...reporting live from Haven Tower, where apparently, a bomb was detonated near the capital building." A newswoman said in the calm tone that most newspeople have, her and her cameramen perched near the scene of confusion and chaos. Tris' head cocked. " Someone attacked the capital?" she asked. Ang sighed.

" Naah...Jenn probably detonated the message to Lucifer too close to the capital building." Ang sighed, removing her elbow pads and gloves, tossing them aside, eyes fixed on the TV.

" Thankfully," The reporter continued, " No one was harmed except for an albino man with long hair and a trench coat. He reportedly got up from the site of the explosion and walked away laughing, according to eyewitnesses. He is suspected to have attempted a suicide bombing. Police urge you to report this man if you should see him. However, though nobody was harmed besides the man, people were still rattled by it. Like this man, a street musician who happened to be near the blast."

The camera then turned to a slightly, revealing a man in a black trenchcoat, glasses broken inside his coat pocket. His eyes looked around a little, and he was panting, still shaking a little. There was a guitar case on his back. Tris and Ang immediatly recognized him.

" That ham..." Ang chuckled to herself, as the man began speaking into the microphone, seemingly confused and disoriented.

" Y-yeah, man, I was just.." he began, before coughing slightly. " I was just sitting on my usual spot, playing tunes and scraping some money together for..f-for my milk, and all of a sudden I hear this...it was like when a grenade explodes in the movies, and everything just went to hell. S-saw a little kid running around without her mom and hadda help get em' back together." the man said in a voice resembling that of a hipster or stoner's. The image cut back to the reporter.

" President Chome is expected to speak later on about the possibility of a terrorist attack. And now we go from this shocking story to the sports, where the-".
The announcer suddenly dissapeared, along with the scene of chaos, as Ang turned off the TV. " Well, suppose we should meet him? He should be back in about an hour at the most." Ang said, turning to Tris, her legs casually crossed, one over the other. Tris nodded and took a drink from a nearby water bottle.


------

" Hmhm...things are getting intiresting, don't you think?"

" Y..you again?"

" Yup, it's me, Tris. Your good ol' so-called imaginary friend, Trish. Remember me?"

" How could I forget..."

" Good girl. So how're you settling in with this group?"

" It was...difficult. But I'm making the best of it."

" You sure?"

" Yeah. I'm training...I'm doing things I didn't know I was capable of."

" Mm..neat. Listen, you don't have any aspirations of controlling me, do you?"

" ....Wh.."

" Don't play stupid, you dumb bitch. I know that you're planning on taking control of Me. ME. Well it won't happen, you hear? I'm stronger than you. And no matter how much you meditate, how much you fight, nothing, NOTHING..will change th-"

------

Suddenly, Tris shook her head. She was back in the real world with Ang, sitting on a nearby bench in the subway station turned military base. Ang looked over curiously at her, before nodding.

" Fighting with yourself, huh?" she asked. Tris only nodded in reply.

" Y-yeah..I've been having dreams about her...Trish, she calls herself. She says she's stronger than I am.."

" It usually happens when you're asleep. That's when you're the most vunerable." Ang said, using her knowledge of her own inner demon. " You're getting stronger than it though, and it's starting to bluff you. Remember. Tomorrow I plan on seeing wether or not you can control it or not." Ang said, calmly drinking a bottle of water and regaining her energy. Tris nodded and thought to herself.

" You hear that, dummy?" Tris chuckled to herself, mentally. There was suddenly a clanking coming down the tunnel of abandoned subway, and Joy and Jenneko burst in, stopping at the platform/entrance to Schwarze Engel HQ, tieing with each other.


" Dammit.." Jenn panted, " I vas sure I was faster zan you."


" Same here.." Joy panted, her rubber-bottomed boots leaving scorch marks from where she skidded to a stop. " It was fun though, you almost lost me near the cathedral entrance...didn't we agree slipping through the train cars was cheating?"


" You don't get it, Joy.." Jenn panted, smirking. " I like playing dirty." she grinned mischeviously.


" Well, you two are just in time. Nick's almost here, I think." Ang chuckled.


" Aaah, wunderbar, ja." Jenn panted, sitting on the entrance to the platform and catching her breath, returning to normal moments later. Joy took slightly longer, but they were still about equal in terms of stamina. Jenn had taught her well.


Around ten minutes later, there was a beeping from Ang's pants pocket. She pulled out a small communication device that looked like an iPod. She answered the communication device, and Nick's face appeared. He looked like he was on a rooftop, judging by the clear sky behind him, without shadow or obstruction.


" Hey, I'm gonna have to cut this quick. Long story short, I'm trailing Lucifer to see where he's going." He said, hurridley, his voice tense. " I just wired into a phone call of his. Apparently he's having some kind of artifact shipped from Rome to here. If he gets ahold of it, it'll shift the balance of power even more in his favor.
"You'll have to destroy it and whatever the artifact is. The boat's halfway on its way here. You're going to take along Tris, Kip, Joy, and Jenn. You'll be taking the helicopter." he said, panting, as the sky moved behind his head. " I'm wiring in the coordinates and serial number now, from what he said. Be careful. It's a warship, not a cargo ship, so you might be in for a fight. Nick over and out." He finished, before the screen went blank.


The others had been listening in. Jenn smiled at Joy. " Hmhm...at sea, eh?" Jenn grinned.


Joy smiled back, grinning in return. " My favorite place to fight in."


Ang looked over at Tris and gave her shoulder a nudge. " Ok. We're going to develop a strategy before we go out. Since Kip's our pilot, it looks like it's going to be me on the sniper. Jenn, Merry Christmas, you're on the gatling gun.". Jenn gave a squeal of excitement at that. " Joy, you're going to be our main offense since you've got more freedom to cause your kind of damage out there."
Joy nodded eagerly.


" And finally, Tris, if things get hairy, I want you to draw a shield over the ship." Ang said hurredly, hearing a screech of metal coming down the tracks. " Got it?".


Tris quickly nodded as the screeching became louder, and the form of a heavily modified military helicopter, blades turned for an easier fit through the tunnel came into view. It looked as if it had seen some battles, but other than a few paint scratches and bloodstains, it was in nigh perfect condition.


The helicopter came to a halt. The helicopter's cockpit opened up and Kip waved. " Sorry about the screeching, need to fix that! It's not as bad inside, trust me. Hop in!" He said.


" How did you know so fa-..." Ang started, confused at how Kip already knew, supposedly without being told since he didn't have a communication device of his own yet. It was then that she remembered he was the group's tech whiz, so she decided to drop it as she climbed into the helicopter, Kip's sniper rifle perched faithfully next to his seat. The others climbed in and the doors automatically sealed, a door with a bulletproof window lowering itself around the main gatling gun.

Joy sat down next to Jenneko, crossed her legs happily, and smiled at Tris. " You're in for a real show, newbie." She grinned.

" What do you mean?" Tris asked.

" You'll see.." Joy said innocently in a sing-song voice, casually leaning back
-----
A Few Hours Later,
300 feet above the Ocean
------


Soon, the helicopter's radar picked up a large sea vessel on the sonar.

" Heads up!" Kip said, turning his head a little. " We're about five minutes away, Jenn, Joy, Ang, take your positions, Tris, wait for your orders until you're needed. Joy will probably have the ship trashed within a few minutes time, but we're doing this to be safe. Whatever this artifact is, we can't let it fall into Lucifer's hands. This could be the deciding factor." He spoke, reminding the team of the ramifications of failure, were it to happen.

Soon, a large form appeared in the distance, below the helicopter. The radar confirmed it as a military warship. Ang used the scope on Kip's sniper to zoom in...she recognized thier uniforms. She remembered the demons they fought in Nevada; thier uniforms were the same...albiet with less blood on them than when they clashed a few days ago. No matter...she'd soon solve that problem.

" When we get close enough, Joy, go full demon and do exit the chopper. Ang and Jenn, your jobs are to provide cover while Joy tears the ship to shreds. " Kip said as the ship drew ever closer below them. Ang attached the scope to the sniper and nudged the window open a little, moving a bit of herself out. Enough to get a good shot when the time came at least.

Soon, the ship had noticed them. Thier guns all turned toward the helicopter, which had begun circling the ship. Ang picked her first shots, shooting a little ways from her target. The bullets curved with the wind and skillfully hooked themselves down, and into a cannon of the ship. The gunmen spoke in excited tounges and shrieked as the cannon exploded, taking a few grunts with it.

Kip twisted the chopper around, the exit bay hatch opening.
" NOW, JOY!" He shouted out, as Jenn took her place on the gatling gun.
Joy grinned and nodded, and suddenly, a black, metallic armor covered her body. It looked lightweight and fit her skin well, allowing greater movement than a bulkier armor, and it was jagged and covered with what looked like horns, or waves. Two black wings and a pointed tail penetrated out of her armor.

She dashed for the exit and sprang out into the salty ocean air like an acrobat, breathing it in and shuddering in delight; now she was in her sandbox. Her wings spread, as the wind began pushing her through the sky, changing its direction instantly.

Lightning appeared to crackle off of her as she landed on the ship in a flash of light, thunder following her touchdown on the ship. The sky, however, was as clear as it was when they arrived. Joy grinned as the men on deck circled her, guns steadily pointed at her.


Her head whipped up, and her eyes darted around, pupils now red. Small devil horns grew from above her ears, as she circled her body to face the group of soldiers, smirking triumphantly at her...they didn't expect her to smirk back.


Joy grinned and, in a literal streak of lightning, punched two soldiers off of the ship and into the sea. The other soldiers recoiled for a moment in fright, as lightning began to crackle off of Joy's armor, before opening fire on her. The bullets only exploded in midair once they entered within arm's length, shrapnel flying into the lowly grunts and distracting them with slight pain, akin to that of several ant bites or bee stings at once, before Joy took them out as well.


Joy raised her hand to the sky, as lightning shot down and into her palm. With a slight jerk downward, she grinned, holding a sword of frozen lightning in her hand, which still continued to spark, continuously freezing over. It was around this time that some of the men on board realized they were fucked, and decided to abandon ship.


" Good move." Joy thought, as the helicoptor's minigun began firing at soldiers Joy couldn't see, bullets mauling them to shreds, Ang's sniping picking off the harder to reach targets.


Joy spun around and swung her sword, decapitating a soldier who was trying to sneak up on her in a spray of electricity and blood. She spread her wings and bolted foreward, taking out any and all soldiers not escaping, or otherwise being shot, in a matter of moments.


" She's...like a..it's like she's lightning in motion!" Tris said, observing the weather witch's movements. Joy hadn't even gotten a scratch, and already the deck of the ship was burnt and spattered in blood and corpses. Jenn smirked.


" But of course. She's ze only vone who could match me in combat." she purred, ceasing fire on the minigun and patting Ang on the shoulder, signalling for her to stop. Ang nodded and ducked back into the ship.


Joy spent a few more moments playing with the soldiers, before she looked up at the helicopter, as if asking for a signal. Ang and Jenn nodded thier heads, shutting the door of the helicopter.


" What are you doing?" Tris asked.


" Tris, you'd better draw a glass barrier around us.." Kip gulped, knowing what was going to happen as soon as she saw the clouds darken and Joy's hand begin to slowly swirl, causing a funnel cloud, sparking with lightning and rain, to descend on the ship.


"....Oh, no way..." Tris whispered, quickly drawing the barricade as it dawned on her as well. She heard, over the storm, the screams of the soldiers on deck...they knew what was happening as well.

The cloud began to spin at an increasing rate, the eye of the storm forming around Joy, keeping her safe, as the lightning, rain, and hail began to spin wildly as well. A few moments later, a fully developed tornado, lightning coiled around it, had formed, and began tearing the ship apart, large waves beating down on the ship as well, slamming escaping soldiers into the ship, which was slowly ripping in half like a piece of cardboard.

" Jou see, Tris, vhen she is like this.." Jenn smirked, motioning to the barely visible figure of Joy, still undamaged, swirling her hand in the sky to control the storm around her, " Ze vorld is like cardboard to her. Steel is paper to her. Her foes are as flakes to her. Vater, vind, lightning, fire, earth, it's all her sandbox, und she is free to create und destroy as she sees fit." The neko explained, as pieces of the ship began to slam against the barrier Tris had drawn, falling slowly and splashing into the ocean nearby, and onto any escaping demons.

" Wow..." Tris whispered at the specatcle before her. It was oddly beautiful, but incredibly scary at the same time...how on earth could something have that kind of power?


Eventually, there was nothing left but a small pillar of the ship's deck that Joy was standing on. All of the other pieces of the large tanker were scattered in the water nearby...whatever was in the ship was definantly gone, either ripped to shreds, burnt by the lightning, or sunken to the bottom of the sea. The storm dissapeared shortly after the eradication of the transportation tanker, leaving Joy standing in the middle of the wreckage.


" Ho-ly shit.." Kip muttered, swinging the chopper down to Joy's level. Joy returned to her normal form and jumped up to the chopper, entering it.

" Shall we report back to Nick, then?" Joy smiled innocently. The others nodded in agreement, as the door to the helicopter closed, and they turned back to America, where dusk was already starting to settle in...


----------------------------------------------------
Haven City
7:00 Pm,
The rebuilt World Trade Center, Tower 3 roof.
---------------------------------------------------


" So...you knew." Nick spoke up, approaching Lucifer from behind.

Lucifer had stopped on the roof of the tower several minutes ago. He had been aware of a person tailing him, and figured out who it was with little trouble. He recognised the sound of Nick's boots.

" Yup. You can't pull no fast ones on me, Nick. You know that.." Lucifer sighed, sitting on the edge of a building that, two years ago, wasn't even there. " I take it you wired into that little phone call of mine. Figured ya would." He said, nonchalontly.

" What's that mean?" Nick asked, sitting next to him....he knew in the back of the mind exactly what it meant, but the rest of his brain needed that little bit of confirmation. And it came with Lucifer's 'I'm-a-naughty-boy' smirk.

" Means your little wreckin' crew took the bait. That ship was a decoy. Filled it with dead fish." Lucifer gave a raspy laugh at the humor and irony of it that only he saw. Nick's brow furrowed.

" Bait?"

" Yup!" Lucifer grinned, hopping to his feet and pacing the rooftop.. " That little transport tanker was U.S. Military property, just with a few o' my soldiers on it."

" W-what?" Nick stuttered, showing the first sign of confusion. That was all Lucifer needed for the smirk to grow into a full-blown grin. " Y-you mean.."

" Yep! You pulled off an act of terrorism AND a crime against god an' man by sendin' yer little witch-baby in there to cause a hurricane. They know you exist now. A lotta people that're athiests've been convertin to Christ fer their salvation for the last hour. President Chome's about to give a fireside chat an' tell everyone that you exist. I supplied 'im with the pictures of all the main members of the group, and he's gonna put em' out on the tube tonight. Everything's goin' nutso, boy. All because of you." Lucifer grinned wider and wider as he went on, but spoke normally.

" I see..." Nick sighed, giving a low growl. " You tell them where we were?"

" ...Nah. Didn't tell em' where you were out of sportsmanship. Said I just knew you changed locations alot, could be anywhere from Cuba to Calamazoo right now." Lucifer smiled, going back to a regular grin. " Last favor I'm doin' for you, boy...you got most of the good un's at your hideout, so they'll be safe." he said. His grin and the happiness in his voice seemed to dissapear.

" So from here out..you're a traitor to our cause." Nick sighed, looking up at Lucifer, somewhat sadly. Lucifer nodded, taking off his hat and scratching the top of his white mane, somewhat sadly.

" Yep.." Lucifer said, showing the faintest glimmer of sadness in his voice. " You know it's been a blast knowin' everyone...and if things were diffirent...we coulda been friends." he sighed, wearily. " But that ain't me. I'm the devil. You're an angel. We chose diffirent paths. And we're gonna come to a precipice." he sighed, walking over to Nick and placing a hand on his shoulder, his eyes showing the first bit of sadness Nick had ever seen them show. " One of us has gotta kill the other. That's the way it's gotta be. That's the script and role we've been given. I can't turn back after this, after tonight."

" Lucifer...you don't have to do this..." Nick said. " There's still a chance for redemption..."

" No!" Lucifer said, somewhat loudly, startling Nick, before he calmed down. " No..there ain't no redemption for the damned...an' there ain't no sympathy for the devil, neither. You gotta go back to your group...you gotta lead em'. Just like I gotta go to mine and lead them, too. Get it?"


There was a long silence, as Lucifer took his cold hand off of Nick's shoulder. Nick let out a deep breath of regret. " So you're sure..." Nick sighed, stepping away from Lucifer, and walking to one side of the roof.

" Sure as the moon's white." Lucifer said in reply, walking to the opposite side.

" Then it's on..."

" Like Donkey Kong. See ya in a week, sport..." Lucifer gave one final casual wave over his shoulder, but Nick didn't even turn to acknowledge it.

" Very well...enemy." Nick sighed, spreading his black wings and flying high up, into the clouds, away from view, flying back to the underground tunnel. Lucifer spread his wings as well, and headed for a small military base in Nevada...

But if one of the two had turned thier head one last time to look at the other, they might have seen thier opponent crying as they flew away..

-----------
Area 51
Nevada
-------------


" Where the hell is he?!" Came a low growl from the massive form of Patrick D. Ludbrich, a massive scar going up his restored body.

" Who cares?" Kido yawned in reply, twirling her massive sword on one gloved finger, blinking her good eye, a red patch covering her other. " He called us here. He can do whatever he wants, long as I get my revenge on the bitch that took my eye."

" Yess...I need my revenge on the one who tore out my organs as well.." Ludbrich growled.

Both of the two were sitting on a crate near a podium set up in the massive warehouse. They spoke privately to one another over the chatter of thousands of other soldiers, before a tapping came from the microphone nearby. Everyone stopped, and 50,000 red eyes and 20 video cameras broadcasting to private televisions worldwide turned thier attention to the devil with the silver mane standing at the podium.

" Hur-HURRM. Checking, check, check. Am I clear?" he asked to a nearby person, who nodded.
" Oookay, then, Good evening everyone. Please allow me to introduce myself...."


---------------------------
End of Chapter 4.
---------------------------

Final thought:

But who prays for the devil?
Who in eighteen centuries, has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it most, our one fellow and brother who most needed a friend yet had not a single one, the one sinner among us all who had the highest and clearest right to every Christian's daily and nightly prayers, for the plain and unassailable reason that his was the first and greatest need, he being among sinners the supremest?
- Mark Twain




-------------



Credits song:
March of Mephisto
by Kamelot


Aspirat primo fortuna labori (Fortune smiles upon our first effort)
Me duche tutus eris (Under my leasdership you are safe)
Vox populi vox dei (Voice of the people, voice of a God)
Ad maiorem dei gloriam...(To the greater glory of God...)
Ad infinitum! ( TO INFINITY!)

You know just who I am,
Don't be so distant.
Cause when you're lost,
I am solely there to share your grief..

Wailing for your sorrow,
Is only my way to comfort you.
(Reminders of innocent youth!)
Waiting for morrow you're lonely,
I name your solitude..
I speaketh the truth!

Now tell me all about your pain,
Down to the detail..
Don't say it's love!
Your fragile heart feeds my contempt..

Wailing for your sorrow,
Is only my way to comfort you.
(Reminders of innocent youth!)
Waiting for morrow you're lonely,
I name your solitude.
I speaketh the truth!

Chase the heathen call,
We belong...you and I..
Unison in all you deny..

I am the thorn in your side,
That seeks accomplishment!
(Reminding the mortal of death!)
I am the spore of your pride,
An angel,
Heavensent!
The master of all,
I am the urge of the flesh!