With the stakes so high... (The Mission. 1.2)

[Mark Angelus Fri]

Today was a remarkably peaceful day, in this small town of Santo-Luce people went about their days in complete and utter peace. That peaceful day was about to come to a brief close when the sky suddenly opened up, a bright light shining down onto the village. Three people descended from the sky, all of them dressed in completely white cloaks with wings so large and wide.
They were Archangels, and if they meant to or not, they just scared the 'peace' out of them. The archangels landed in the village as people were beginning to run in all directions, panic over taking them.
“...This might be a problem,” one of them frowned as they watched the people run around.
The one in the middle shook his head, “Calm people, calm!” He tried to yell but they didn't listen, within ten minutes the entire village was clear.
The three truly did look somewhat bothered by this, but in the end, the abandoned village might work to their advantage.

The one in the middle stepped up and placed something in the middle of the village, “The beacon is set... it'll begin to summon as much people as we'll need.”

The person in the middle stood up, taking off his hood to reveal none other than Mark Angelus Fri. He smiled as he looked around the countryside.
Its good to be back... he thought as the other two Archangels walked along the village. Mark sat down next to the beacon and closed his eyes. It wouldn't be long now until people would begin to gather.

The stakes were never higher and there was a lot of work to do. He'd need a set of strong people to do it and that was exactly what the beacon was doing.

it had been a long time since he had walked Allorum but it felt good. He had just wished it was never under these circumstances.

[Ingway Desmodius]

Ingway simply sat and watched the odd turn of events as the three angelic figures descended upon the town. It was understandable how the citizens panicked and dispersed from the scene, as most of Allorum was still washing itself clean from the last "angel" that decided to rear his head, and, well...try and unmake reality and whatnot. Yes, between Trucido, that Kain Angelo character, and now this Duo Angelo person, the word angel or anything even close seemed to be giving people a case of the, " oh my gods, run away before they eat your soul," or something to that effect. 

Regardless of such matters, Ingway could only grab a seat on one of the nearby rooftops and gander at the three figures with a hint of bemusement as he watched them place the strange object into the earth at the town's center. Not long was the object planted before Ingway could feel the flowing magical energy pouring out, giving off a strange sensation, almost like some ephemeral voice was calling to him, drawing him near like a sirens song. Breaking free from the beacon's entrancing grasp, Ingway's attention focused, once again, upon the trio of angels, namely the blonde one who had just removed his hood.

"Wait a minute...I know that face, but from where..." Ingway pondered to himself as he glanced to the sky inquisitively. Flipping through the recesses of his mind like a well organized encyclopedia, He finally put a name to the face and couldn't help but snap his fingers in realization.

"You, you're Mark, aren't you?" Ingway called as he kicked himself off of his rooftop perch. 

"You were one of Profeta's heroes before you up and vanished. Nice entrance by the way. Don't take everyone reaction too personally, they're just all a little on edge, what with the recent developments, but I'd suspect that's why you've decided to show up again, huh?" 

Ingway was a little at odds with how he should feel with the young angels appearance; pleased with the return of an ally, or worried about the threat that this Duo character posed, but Ingway, siding with his usual cautious optimism, figured the former was probably the better of the two. 

[Eli Ventus]

Ingway was not the only person to appear, Juno Rune and at her side Roxa's great-nephew -Eli Ventus- appeared. Juno had a purple hood over her head, moving through the crowd with Eli.

"What does he look like? Mark Fri?" Juno asked.

"Spikey hair, tall, prefers the color black - maybe, I'll know when we see him." Eli said, looking through the crowd and his eyes landing on a thing of spiky hair alongside a person he never met before.

"There he is!" He ran over, Juno quickly moved with him.

"Eli wait! He's gonna think you're Roxa!"

[Yeligar Maelstrom]

"Luckily, Mark doesn't have a grudge against Roxa. Or at least one that we know of." Yeligar said to Juno as he walked up behind her. Yeligar hadn't seen Mark since the battle against Trucido, and it was nice to see their former ally, but feared that the meeting was for all the wrong reasons.

[Mark Angelus Fri]

"I see this as a good sign, as long as people can still feel fear than we're not out of time," Mark turned his attention to Ingway, giving the man a polite nod, "Good to see you again, Ingway."

Mark took one step forward as he heard Eli and Juno start shouting, and to be honest, he fell for it. At first he thought Eli was Roxa, however, the reports he had read about Roxa didn't match the boy that was approaching him.

"You must be Eli, a Lunar Knight, right?" Mark said as he shifted over to look at Eli, "And an extremely hard hitter, if the reports are correct."

His eyes finally set on Yeligar. Yeligar was the only person who continued to try to bring him back after he let Solaris gain control of him and it was because of that was why Yeligar was about the only person he respected. He just wished that their meeting would be under better circumstances.

"I know that look and I can tell you this: you're not going to like what I have to say," He explained as Yeligar approached him.

[Yeligar Maelstrom]

"I kind of figured you were here because of Duo." Yeligar said, as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well from the forces we have seen, we could use your skills and strength." Yeligar then stuck out his hand for a handshake. "It is still good to see you, Mark."

[Mark Angelus Fri]

Mark took his hand and shook it, "It's good to see you too, Yeligar. I just wish it was under better circumstances." Mark made a quick glance around before looking back at Yeligar, "I can tell you the good news: Heaven is not going to sit this one at, we've got the firepower we need to help stop Duo in his tracks."

He made a motion over to the other two Archangels who were standing behind him, "Right here we have enough artillery to burn a city. Not saying that's what we're here for of course!" He quickly assured, as if there were more people around to panic, "But just saying, if there is a city that needs destroying... well, you get the picture."

[Kodoku Itami]

"Not even Heaven will stop a man like Duo if he really wants to burn this world to the ground... Or whatever his objective is..."

A solemn wind blew through the courtyard, setting a cloak aflutter as a single figure stepped from the shadows of the village, into the light where the others stood. The sudden difference in his surroundings caused a small dilation in his pupils, the red iris' of his eyes suddenly seeming large for a split second before his eyes adjusted and returned to their normal size. Itami looked around at the group that had so far assembled, not bad from the looks of things, but he didn't exactly know who was who. All he knew was that none of them seemed particularly weak.

"But don't get me wrong, I'm sure that having Heaven backing us will help..."

[Mark Angelus Fri]

There was a hissing sound as Itami approached the group, the two other Archangels behind Mark were the ones making that hissing.

"That is not a human..." One of them growled out as Mark turned to look at Itami.

Mark stared at Itami, his cat-like eyes studied the man closely, "No, you're not a human. But you don't seem to be our enemy, either." Mark tensed up, he could feel the other two Archangels tense up at they began to circle Itami.

"Who are you?"

[Kodoku Itami]

"I'll tell you in a moment, after I correct your rather rude statement. I am a human, I just don't feel like one." His eyes locked back onto Mark's, the young Kodoku's expression set in stone. "Just like others here." For the briefest moment, a trace of a smile crossed his face before it faded almost as quickly as it had appeared.

"My name is Itami Kodoku, the last of the Kodoku clan. I am the leader of 'Yami' a small unit of warriors who currently have an objective I am not willing to reveal. Sensing energy levels is one of my specialties, and I am not dull enough to believe this 'Duo' is not a threat like some would have us believe. I'm also not dull enough to realize that if I offered my aid to certain heroes, they would rather spit on my grave..." His gaze finally moved off of Mark, and scanned the group.

"Archangels however, know the score..."

[Mark Angelus Fri]

"My apologies, there is just an overwhelming stench of demon on you." Mark eyes broke from Itami and darted between his two allies, "You act like you know a lot about us but than again, you're right, we know the stakes... we also know the stakes if we bring along someone who will only get in our way."

Suddenly the two Archangels attack, a slashing movement across the ground suddenly ripped it all up. A powerful beam moved across the ground, ripping and destroying everything in its way and it aimed right at Itami.

Mark smiled as it seemly clashed into him, throwing up an abundance of smoke when it clashed into Itami.

"Disappointing..." Mark frowned before turning away from Itami.

[Kodoku Itami]

"I agree..." A voice resounded from behind Mark. As the smoke cleared, it revealed Itami stood in place, his eyes wide open, revealing dark black intricate lines around the red of his iris. A deep purple rib cage surrounded the assassin as a small trail of blood traced down from his eyes and made its way across his cheeks. The rib cage faded away and Itami blinked once, his eyes reverting to their normal onyx black. He reached up to his face and casually wiped the blood from his cheeks.

"Test shot or not; I expected more from an Archangel." His gaze narrowed as he toyed with the idea of setting them ablaze with Amaterasu, but he checked himself for his foolishness, if they wanted to flex their muscles, let them, Itami would give them no satisfaction of a proper physical retaliation.

"Face it. You'll need every man you can get, and the stronger the better. What does it matter where my strength comes from so long as I'm offering it to you? I swear, the self-righteousness of you Angels will be the death of you. Trucido thought he was all-powerful as well."

[Mark Angelus Fri]

Mark smiled before disappearing and reappearing behind Itami on top of one of the buildings, "Oh my dear friend, what do you know about Trucido?" Mark laughed a bit before clapping his hands together, "But that's hardly the point now. You're clearly powerful enough to join our little group."

The Archangels frowned at that but didn't voice any opinion against Mark. He was in charge and that was very clear.

Mark leaped down to Itami and held out his hand, "Let's put the fact that we just attacked you behind us, okay?"

[Kodoku Itami]

Itami gave a small chuckle as he gave a mirthless shrug. "Fine. I'm sure it will fit in with all the other knives that your friends will no doubt try lodging into my back. But let me say this; I'm no fool, nor shall I be treated like one, understand my power and use it well. I strongly suggest you do not overlook my capabilities, for I shall certainly not be overlooking yours."

One last glare was directed across towards the other two Archangels, before he closed his eyes a moment and spoke.

"Two more shall arrive soon... Rather similar strengths, one flows like water and the other burns like fire. Fits the description of Unda's Captain and new Captain, I do believe..."

[Mark Angelus Fri]

"Brea and Zaria," Mark nodded, "I knew they picked up the wave of the beacon but it's good to know they're coming."

Mark stepped away and sat back down next to the beacon, which every ten minutes or so would release a pulse of energy. Harmless and was purposely built to avoid the detection of Duo, in theory.

"Make sure we're secured," Mark directed the other two Archangels. They nodded before jumping up into the air and flying off into different directions. Mark didn't trust that their safety was secure on a 'theory' but honestly? This was the fastest and most effective way and both of those attributes are vital to their success.

He waited a moment before looking back at Itami, "Don't blame them, they've been fighting demons way longer than anyone can possibly imagine. It's probably very similar to your own vendetta that you've been holding."