Get what u wanted

"Issei..." Koneko whispered as she recognized him.

Issei wasn´t leaving his eyes off the man before him. This guy was clearly one of the Exorcists. Probably the one Gaeriel had especially warned him about... Freed or whatever his name was.

Given the state both the Devil Koneko and the man on the chair were in, it was more than rightfully.

"I guess I should introduce myself," the Exorcist said. "I am Freed Selzen. My job... and my quite personal pleasure... is it to exterminate all Devils that cross my path..." he declared, "... and everyone who associates with them." He grinned.

As he said this, he readjusted the gun he held in his left hand... just a little bit... and shot the bounded man in the head. Blood splattered the floor and the wall close by and his body sank down, dead.

Issei, who didn´t expect a reaction like this like this, didn´t act to stop him in time.

"Why did you do that?" he asked.

Freed just shrugged with the shoulders, as if this wasn´t a serious matter at all and continued to speak as if nothing had happened. As if he had not just killed a bound up man in cold blood.

"This guy had summoned a Devil, as you can see here," he pointed to Koneko with a glare, "and we can't let that happen, can we?" he questioned. "I mean where will we get when anyone can just summon a Devil and get away with it? Maybe even making a deal with them, eh? I mean these are Devils we are talking about, shitty Devils.

They are like a disease, spreading everywhere... always tempting `innocent´ people to create more of their filthy race. They need to be wiped out. Ideally in the most painful way of course." he laughed.

Issei was looking at the man. Whatever he was, it was clear to him that he was not completely right in the head. After their last confrontation he couldn´t say that he was all too about Devils either. But this? This was madness.

"You should know that I have nothing to do with the Devils," he told him.

"Oh yes, that is exactly what a friend of the Devils would say," The Exorcist replied. "That´s how they are. Always lying, cheating and betraying. Killing, maiming, raping, torturing, just like everyone else. But never admitting it. Never being honest about it like us `righteous´ people do, no."

Damn it, Issei thought. It was clear that there was truly no reasoning with this guy. Not that he had really intended it from the beginning. But he had hoped he could at least talk him down for some time and maybe give Koneko a chance to flee.

"And that..." Freed stated, "... means all will have to die. You of course only after you have told me where the girl we are looking for is." He was looking at Issei.

"I won´t tell you anything you freak," Issei exclaimed.

"Ah resistance," Freed announced. "You truly are an interesting one, aren´t you?" With this words he pointed the gun at him... and fired nearly in the same moment.

Issei moved, incredible fast. He managed to actually evade the first volley of three shots.

[Boost,] he heard Ddraig´s voice in his mind as the Boosted Gear did it´s work.

Issei remembered his training. But at the same time he was for a short moment, surrendering himself completely to his own power and acted nearly completely on autopilot... on instinct.

He also remembered what Ddraig told him a short time ago. That his powers were growing and growing and that he needed training for control. But right now he couldn´t bother with control. He needed to survive... and for that he needed speed.

Near instantly he reached Freed, after avoiding the first three bullets... and landed a hit on his left arm that threw off his aim.

But Issei had miscalculated his own speed, moved accidentally passed him, lost his footing in the process... stumbled and nearly crashed into the wall behind the mad Stray Exorcist.

Freed was for a split second starring at him, caught between shock and amusement about what had just happened. But only for a short moment. Then he was back to his normal sadistic self.

"A bit clumsy aren´t we?" he commented. "Maybe I should cut off your legs so that something like that can´t happen to you again."

Freed grinned maliciously... and took aim again.

"I guess that was what Ddraig meant about controlling my own powers," Issei murmured to himself as he was still trying to regain his balance.

He moved his left arm just in time to block another one of Freed´s bullets with his Sacred Gear. Like he had learned it, he used his own energy to strengthen his own defenses, like an armor made of his own power.

A master of this technique could have stopped the bullets with his bare hands. Sadly, he wasn´t one.

If he had better control over his other abilities, he could - as he was told - use Draig´s and his own energies to form a barrier... a shield... around himself, that could stop bullets before they even reached him. But he wasn´t yet capable of that either. Maybe he would in the future.

But in this moment he had to work with what he could do right now.

To that came that Freed´s weapons had themselves a certain spiritual energy behind them. Issei could sense it, feel it. They were the weapons of an Exorcist after all. It wasn´t exactly what one would call holy power. Not anymore at least. Not with what Freed had become. His power was now just as corrupted as his character.

"I see you are able to use your Sacred Gear, in moresense than one," the Stray Exorcist commented drily.

Issei was standing ready, waiting to deflect the next shot. But it didn´t come.

Freed decided to stop wasting his bullets and lifted his sword instead, taking a fighting stance.

Issei run forward, intending to match him. But he waited a bit longer until he conjured his own sword, hoping to catch him off guard. It was one of the earlier techniques he had learned.

The sword, as he had been explained, was placed just a little bit outside of normal space and could be brought here by his command. It worked quite similar as the materialization of his Sacred Gear, so he could learn it quite easily. Normally such a technique, letting a object vanish and bringing it back, would have been above his current level of skill. But he improvised, with other words, he attempted to send the blade to the same place as the Sacred Gear... and it worked.

As the weapon suddenly appeared in his hand, the Stray Exorcist indeed seemed surprised and had to readjust his position in the last moment and barely managed to block Issei´s attack. He had obviously expected him to use his Boosted Gear for it like the last time.

But the surprise only kept him unbalanced for a short moment and he was now back in the game. He parried the next two strikes without any problem.

The Boosted Gear, Issei knew it would continue to power him up. A few more boost and he might be able to take this Freed down by pure strength alone. But he knew his body couldn´t take much more and he would most likely collapse before he reached this point... and then he would be helpless.

So he deactivated it for the moment. That meant he would need to power up again from the beginning. But this was the lesser risk by far.

This was it, Issei thought. This opponent wasn´t underestimating him and he wasn´t holding back. Whoever this nutjob was. He knew he couldn´t win this fight on power and reflexes alone and he didn´t have the skill yet to keep up with someone of Freed´s caliber. He needed to find a middle ground between both...

... he needed to or he would be dead.

xxxxxxx

The abandoned church

At the same time the Fallen Angel Gaeriel was just landing, along with Asia who she had brought back with her, outside of the church building.

"Remember," she said to her with a low voice, "try not to act too close with me. That would only make them distrustful. As far as it comes to them I have just found you and dragged you back here.

I will not be your protector when we are there, not officially at least. That will be Raynare. A bit ironic, don´t you think? Since she is the one who would have killed you otherwise." She said those seemingly cynical words to her. But her voice was warm and she gave her a reassuring smile while doing it.

"You see, in some sense we are not only helping you, but Raynare as well. We are helping to show her that what she truly wants cannot be achieved with death and violence. I promise I will do everything to keep you safe. But for now you just have to stay quiet and look frightened," she told her.

They entered the building.

Inside, in the hall they met Raynare, Mittelt and a handful of the Stray Exorcists. The others were obviously still out somewhere in the town, looking for Asia. But she was already here.

"You have found her," Raynare exclaimed - sounding, perhaps for the first time since Gaeriel met her, truly happy. "It seems it wasn´t a bad idea to add you to our group," she stated.

Asia didn´t say anything. But she was looking around from one of them to the other, visible fearful. She was playing her role really good, Gaeriel thought. No, she corrected her own foolishness, it was more than an act. Of course Asia was truly afraid. How could she not in her situation?

Raynare was kneeling down right in front of the small Nun.

"I see you are finally here Asia," she said. "You remember me, right? Lord Kokabiel had introduced us shortly some time ago. I am to take care of you from now on."

"Yes, Raynare-sama... I remember," Asia responded a bit hesitated.

"You don´t need to be afraid. I won´t let anything happen to you," the Fallen Angel assured her. "I admit that I want your Sacred Gear," she downright told her the truth. "But you don´t need to worry. We have a new method to take it without harming you," she said. "That means you won´t have to die."

Mittelt was looking at them, visible surprised about this statement. But she didn´t say anything, at least for the moment.

"You have gone through so much because of it," Raynare reminded Asia. "The Sacred Gear was the reason you were excommunicated by the Church. Tell me, wouldn´t you actually be happy to get rid of it? Why don´t you give it to me?" Raynare asked her with a soft voice.

"I..." Asia began, not quite knowing what to say. It was clear that Raynare´s words were getting to her.

"I know you liked helping people. But I promise you I will put it to good use when I have it. And you can live a normal life. Don´t you want that?"

"Yes," Asia now answered firmly. "I don´t want to be alone... I want to have friends."

"You see, I will take the Twilight Healing from you and we will both be happy," Raynare told her. She had a friendly smile on her face. It nearly seemed genuine. And who knew, maybe it was. Who said that she didn´t actually meant what she said and expected Asia to be happy? Now that it was no longer necessary to kill her.

"Asia, tell me, I have heard that you have met Issei," Raynare said to her. "How is he? Has he said anything? Do you know what he is doing right now?" she asked her.

"Yes..." she answered slowly, "... he found me when I was walking through the town. We... talked. He had mentioned you as well," she said, remembering the few times Issei had mentioned the Fallen Angel.

"Of course he had. Me and him, we are quite close to each other. You should know. I am his girlfriend," she told her. The smile on her face, if at all, turned even brighter than before.

"What?" This clearly surprised Asia. She could barely keep her voice down. Sure he had mentioned Raynare... but not like that. She clearly didn´t know what to make of this information. Why did she feel so uneasy about this?

"Tell me, how is he?" Raynare asked her. "We didn´t get to spend much time together in the last days, since I have many important things here to take care of. So tell me, what is he doing right now? Has he told you anything?"

Asia didn´t see the grin on the Fallen Angel Mittelt´s face as she heard her saying this. But Gaeriel did.

"He... he said he wants to protect me. We have become friends. He said he cares about me. He said he will keep me save at every price," Asia stated.

"Really?" Raynare replied. The snarling tone in her voice was barely heard, but it was noticeable, for someone who paid attention. "Well, if you are a friend of my boyfriend, then that means we should be friends as well, right Asia?" The coldness and anger was barely to hear now. But it was still there.

"Yes Raynare-sama, thank you," she said `happily´. She didn´t think that the Fallen Angel truly meant it. But she knew she would be happy to make another friend.

"Come, I will show you your room," Raynare told her and gestured for the Nun to follow her. As they were leaving, the other two Fallen were left alone.

Mittelt saw no reason to hold herself back.

"That was just hilarious don´t you think? I knew Raynare was a great liar, but this was just great." She chuckled.

"What makes you call her a liar?" Gaeriel asked with an obviously played curiosity. "If you look closer you will see that nothing she had just told her was actually untrue." Just out of context, she thought.

"You are kidding, right? She just told Asia that she is in love with that Hyoudou guy."

"Really? She just told her that she is his girlfriend and that she would really like to know what he is doing right now. This is quite true, isn´t it?"

Mittelt, who finally got it, was now laughing freely.

"Oh yes right, it was aaallll completely true," she said, intentionally exaggerating with a smirk, thinking that she saw the irony.

"You see, the greatest liar is the one who tells you the truth right in your face," Gaeriel remarked.

She let a little bit of her real amusement of the true irony of her statement flowing in as she grinned. The small Fallen Angel didn´t realize that she was the one being fooled... she and the others.

"It was nice talking to you Mittelt," she stated.

"Yeah, see you around," the child-like Fallen replied cheerfully as Gaeriel too left the room.

xxxxxxx

Issei and Freed Selzen were still crossing swords. After being taken by surprise for a few moments, the Stray Exorcist was now attacking on his own.

Like he had learned, Issei was channeling part of his energy into his weapon. This was to be honest probably the only reason he had not been disarmed yet. While the light-based powers of the Exorcist´s weapons were not very effective against him, since he was not a Devil or another demonic being, there was another factor. Freed was simply better than him. His opponent was a skilled swordsman and an experienced fighter, while he was only an amateur with an impressive source of power.

He had started to draw strength from the Boosted Gear again. But he knew his current limit his body could take and that this power boosts alone would probably not be enough. And any wrong move could cost him his life against this opponent. Issei truly cursed his luck for running into this situation.

He blocked another strike of the Exorcist´s sword by letting it hit his Sacred Gear, while trying to land a hit with his own blade at the same time, that Freed however dodged.

He stopped another two hits, one with his sword, the other once again with the Boosted Gear.

[One of the most powerful sources of power in the world... and you use it like a simple wood-shield,]Ddraig commented his habit of using his Sacred Gear to deflect his enemies blows.

`When I am able to use it in a better way I will tell you, ´ Issei told him mentally. `Until then I need to survive. ´

[Okay Partner,] Ddraig responded, [it is clear that you won´t beat this opponent in swordsmanship and if you just continue dodging his bullets, he will get you sooner or later. Use another kind of power he is not prepared for. Stop playing his game.]

`Good idea Ddraig, ´ Issei replied. But what should he use? To be honest he wasn´t all to proficient in any of this techniques.

His telepathy... he remembered... Of course, he thought. It was clearly the power he had shown the greatest talent so far.

Issei tried to focus. He intended to send a telepathic attack against his opponent. Similar as he knew now he had done it against Kiba. Only that this time it wasn´t a reflex but a conscious choice.

The Stray Exorcist had already raised his weapon again for another strike.

If only he had one second to concentrate, Issei thought.

To his luck his wish was fulfilled a moment later when Koneko finally took her chance and jumped at the Exorcist from behind.

Freed, who put a great part of his concentration on his current opponent, only saw her coming in the last moment. But he did saw her. The day when he let a Devil like this take him by surprise was the one he would gladly die, he told himself mockingly. He turned his blade around and instead of going against Issei, stepped her in the left shoulder.

She cried out loud from the pain the light-based weapon caused her.

"No you little cunt," he hissed at her, "this is not how we are doing it. First I will deal with your pal over there and then I will have some fun with you. But see it from the positive side, at least you won´t die a virgin."

Issei felt even more sick as he already did before as he heard his words. Sure, he wasn´t on good terms with the Devils, for obvious reasons. But to do that to Koneko?

By the look of horror on her face she was thinking the same thing.

He swore to himself that he would take this guy down here and now.

Freed was hit by Issei´s mental attack without warning... and for all his training and experience he wasn´t prepared for this. As an Exorcist he had been schooled to resist mental probing to some level. But what nobody had ever thought of was a telepathic assault right in the middle of a battle.

All what Freed could do in this moment was holding his head and screaming in pain.

Issei on the other hand saw for a short moment a few glimpses of Freed´s memories. What exactly he did to the man on the chair, other of his victims, a scene of him talking to Yuuma/Raynare, Asia, another Fallen Angel, this one looking quite different than the others he had seen, red eyes, long black hair and pale skin. The guy was looking a bit like Dracula, he thought... and heard Ddraig scoffing in the background of his own mind at that. A few other people he didn´t recognize.

But at the same time he was not wasting this chance. Issei was jumping at his opponent.

[Boost.] The Sacred Gear was assisting him once again... in more than one way, as Freed had put it.

Before the Stray Exorcist had time to recover and to react, he was hit by Issei´s blow. It hit him with enough force to send him flying and leave a visible crack in the wall before them. Issei believed he heard, much to his satisfaction, at least a few of Freed´s bones breaking.

The Exorcist was now lying on the ground, clearly out. But he saw that he was still breathing.

Issei sat down, trying to come to breathe again.

"Thank you Issei-sempai," Koneko said to him. Their personal disagreements seemed to be forgotten for the moment.

A short time later a magic circle showed up on the ground in front of them and Rias and the rest of her peerage were appearing in the room.

They all were looking in shock from Koneko and the state she was in to Issei, the dead man on the other end of the room and the unconscious Stray Exorcist. None of them was looking very happy about what they were seeing.

Then Koneko began to explain what happened.

xxxxxxx

A few minutes later Gaeriel was leaving the building. She had left Asia behind for now... in Raynare´s care.

Yes, it was quite the irony that the one who would have otherwise killed her was now watching over her. But right now Raynare was propably the person most interested in her safety, even if it was mostly for her own self-interest. At least until the ritual.

But for that part, Gaeriel knew she needed a special kind of power, a power she didn´t possess. She sends out a mental call. Not to Issei, but to another person she had a telepathic connection with. She sends the call into the void between the realities.

`Boss... I hope you can hear me. There's something I need you to help me with, ´ she said.

Gaeriel knew in some sense she was just as much a manipulator as many of the people her groups were standing against.

She was manipulating Raynare and the others, not quite unlike Raynare had manipulated Issei, there was no denying that. She was using their ambitions for her own agenda. So far she had found out a few interesting things. But she was doing it all for a good cause.

She had for example been lying to Raynare about what exactly the ritual would do as well. Yes, it would give her what she wanted, but not exactly in the way Gaeriel had claimed. She had been falsely claiming to work for Azazel... to be part of the Grigori. And many other things.

So what? she thought. If her manipulations kept Raynare from killing an innocent person and maybe... just maybe... even helped to turn her into a better person in the process, then she gladly accepted to be one.

For now, it was time to reunite with Issei and tell him about what happened. She concentrated on the telepathic marker that had been placed on him. A circle appeared under her feet and a moment later she had teleported away.

xxx

As she reappeared moments later... she felt how her jaw dropped. She had expected Issei to be home by now. Or maybe out at training. But not this.

The scene before her could have come right out of a horror movie. She was standing inside some house. At the other side of the room was the mutilated body of a man, bound to a chair, who had been killed by an head shot.

Issei was standing there, breathing heavily and being visible beaten up. Another body was lying on the ground before her. She recognized him as Freed Selzen, unconscious by what she could say.

The entire room was stained with blood. The furniture had been broken. What in the world had happened here?

What made it even worse was that some of the Devils from Kuoh Academy were present. In fact, the entire Gremory peerage was here. One of them, a white haired girl, seemed to be injured and her clothes had been partly cut off. Most likely the work of Selzen.

They all were standing in opposite to Issei and had their eyes on him. But now with her arrival, their attention turned to her. It seemed the cat was probably out of the bag now when it came to their connection.

The Devils were looking at her with wariness and in most cases open hostility. No wonder, they could sense what she was after all.

"Gaeriel," he called out as he saw her.

Great, so much for the last bit of chance at pretending that they had nothing to do with each other, she thought sarcastically.

"Issei, I think we should plan in another lesson about the entire concept of `keeping your mouth shut´, especially in front of Devils," she remarked.

"So you have joined the Fallen Angels Issei," Rias Gremory stated. "I hadn´t thought you would after the last one tried to kill you."

"She is not one of that Fallen Angels," Issei replied. Not that this Devil had any right to talk here, he thought. "She belongs to the same group like me."

"Is that so?" she responded distrustful.

"He is telling the truth. I am not a member of the Grigori. In fact, I have infiltrated the group residing in the old church building for our own reasons," Gaeriel told them.

"Really?" Rias asked. Her curiosity was now sparked. "And for what purpose?"

"That is our business and not yours Devil," she replied sharply.

Rias frowned, but held herself back from saying anything. If the group Issei had joined were truly not the Grigori, she at least wanted to avoid a fight with them until she knew more.

"Gaeriel," Issei said to her, "I was able to take a short look into this guy's head. It was only a few glimpses, but I think he might know something important."

Her gaze turned to Freed. Yes, having Selzen captured might turn out more than useful. But as things looked they would very likely have to leave his capture to the Devils.

Not only did they have a very good argument, since he had as it looked nearly killed a member of their peerage. She and Issei also had not the time or a place to actually hold Selzen and guard him. Especially not with her still with the Fallen Angel group and Asia.

But the Devils had both.

As an Angel/Fallen Angel and a member of the Guardians she didn´t trust a Devil as far as... No, scratch that. She had found out that she could throw a Devil quite far from personal experience.

Well, the point was she didn´t trust them. But this opportunity was too good to pass up.

"Rias Gremory," she finally said, "I want to offer you a deal."

xxxxxxx

Raynare was standing by herself somewhere in the area surrounding the church building. She just wanted some time away from the others.

Things were going well again. Asia Argento was now here and it was now she would probably not even be trying to leave.

But there was still the question of Issei... or whoever it was... who was still out there. It was not so important, she thought. As long as he didn´t interfere. Asia was the Sacred Gear user who truly mattered, she told herself.

But her time alone was cut short in this moment.

`Yuuma-chan,´ she heard a well known voice... Issei.

But as Raynare was looking around she didn´t see anybody.

"Where are you?" she called out.

"Yuuma-chan," she heard the voice again, this time it was a bit louder and sounded closer by.

As she turned around this time, she actually saw Issei Hyoudou standing a few meters before her.

"So it is really you," she stated.

"Yes, of course it is me. I am so happy to see you again," he said with obvious sarcasm. Not that she could truly hold it against him. "Yuuma-chan or should I rather call you Raynare-chan?"

"It seems you have found out a few things," she remarked.

"I know a lot," he responded.

"Issei, tell me, how exactly are you still alive? You are clearly not a Devil, just as I have been told," Raynare questioned.

"There are other people beside them who can bring you back," he answered.

"Others? It wasn´t Heaven, was it? No. Then another group? Interesting. Lord Azazel will be very interested in this information."

"Is that all you care about?" he asked her. Anger was now shining through his words.

"Oh, what´s with that tone? Can it be that you are still a bit raw about this whole `killing you´ thing?" she asked him mockingly.

"You know, I really cared about you. I had even begun to love you. But what did you do?"

Raynare said nothing for a few moments before she answered.

"I took no pleasure in killing you. Like I told you, it was all because of your Sacred Gear. But I will not hesitate to do it again if you disturb my plans for Asia." In this moment she lunged at him.

But she just passed through his body as if it wasn´t even there. And it wasn´t. Some sort of projection, she realized. Interesting.

Issei had to suppress a grin. After the last confrontation with the Devils, he, Gaeriel and Ddraig had gone through another few rounds of training. Telepathic projections were a part of it. And this was a good opportunity to test it out... not to mention to get back a little bit at Yuuma.

He reappeared behind her and was laying his arms around her.

"You know, the sad thing is, I can't really fondle your boobs in this form," he told her.

Raynare got a deep blush on her face as she noticed where exactly his hands were... and stepped a meter away from him.

"You... you have not changed at all," she said.

"I hope not," he replied grinning. "And just that you know. I don´t intend to interfere in your `plans´ for Asia, as long as I am sure that no harm will come to her."

"What´s with you and her anyway? Are you already trying to replace me?" she taunted him.

"No... Asia is my friend and I want to protect her... from people like you," he replied.

"Just tell me one thing," he said. "Why... why did you kill me?" he asked.

"The plain truth? Orders. Lord Azazel told me to watch over you... but he also warned me that he feared your Sacred Gear could go berserk and endanger everything around you, if it got out of control. Then some of my superiors told me that our leaders decided it would be better to get rid of you.

That and I could hardly deal with that and with Asia at the same time. So I stopped the problem before it even started... and in some sense protected everyone else," she added as if it was an afterthought.

Issei was startled for a moment about this simple explanation. But he was also very uncomfortably reminded of Ddraig´s prediction what would happen ifhis powers got out of control.

"Stopped the problem?" he responded. "You murdered me. You were planning to kill Asia. That is reason enough for you to kill someone?"

"This is just what happens to Sacred Gear users. If you don´t get used... or killed... by one side, then by the other," she replied coldly. "Believe me, I have seen people die for far less reason. We don´t live in a very nice world."

For a short moment Issei wasn´t even sure how he should answer to that. But his anger finally caused him to continue talking.

"This happens to Sacred Gear users you say? Well it seems Fallen Angels are not so different, right? I have found out a lot about your kind in the last few days. Let's see. Born into a conflict, Devils and normal Angels are your enemies - no say in that. You all are part of an organization called the Grigori. You all become part of the war, if you want to or not.

People around the world hate you just for what you are. Even the ones who never did anything to fall and were just born this way. It seems the Sacred Gear users are not the only ones who got a crappy deal, right?

Tell me, do you really believe that the other Fallen Angels will suddenly start to love and adore you, just because you have taken a Sacred Gear from a Nun?" he asked her. "Look at you, the one guy who actually told you that he loved you was the one you stabbed to death. Maybe I should actually feel sorry for you."

"Shut up!" Raynare now yelled at him angrily.

"Why do you think this Sacred Gear will give you this, if you didn´t do it for Asia?" he wanted to know.

"This is different for a Fallen Angel," she replied.

"Really?" he asked. "Well, we will see. I will leave it to you. Make sure Asia will not be harmed and I won´t interfere." With this words he vanished.

Raynare was left, still starring at the spot were Issei´s thought projection had just been. The plan will work out; she was telling herself. He knew nothing about the three Factions except what he might have learned during the last days.

Issei, he was alive, she thought.

xxx

A few miles away, stood Issei´s true body, somewhere at a sidewalk in the town. He had just ended the projection and his consciousness had returned.

This short confrontation was one of the hardest things he had ever done, he admitted to himself... and that not only because it was difficult to keep up the projection.

"So Gaeriel, I hope your plan works out," he said quietly.

xxxxxxx

Abandoned church; The next day

The ritual had started. Asia´s body was bound to a cross in one of the lower leveled rooms of the building, hanging in front of the two Fallen Angels. But otherwise she was okay.

She was still awake... during the entire process. Before this had started Gaeriel had made sure that the way she was hung up didn´t caused her any unnecessary pain.

Despite that however the fear on her face was clearly to see. Gaeriel had assured her that nothing would happen to her. Still the entire ritual in itself was frightening. She was truly sorry that she had to put Asia through this. But on the other side, the Nun had volunteered to do this.

Gaeriel was performing the `improved´ ritual, while Raynare was standing next to her, waiting to receive the Twilight Healing.

What she didn´t know was that all that was mostly facade. Hanging Asia up on a cross, the long preparation, the strict ceremonial procedure, all this was unnecessary. This made Gaeriel only feel even worse that she was putting Asia through this. But it couldn´t be helped. Raynare and especially everyone else, needed to think that this was only a modified version of the original ritual.

In truth however Gaeriel was using a completely different technique. A power that she normally didn´t had on her own. She silently thanked Darien for transferring it to her temporally, for this one task.

`Mirrored Essence, ´ she thought without words as she reached out her hand to Asia´s chest. Her mind and her powers concentrating on her life energy and on that was hidden inside it, the Sacred Gear.

Asia cried out... and a second later sank down motionlessly. Just as she had told her to do it earlier, Gaeriel thought.

One moment later she focused her powers once again and redirected them... and the power was gathering in her right hand, until it was taking form... the Sacred Gear, the Twilight Healing in the physical manifestation of two bright glowing rings.

Then she handed it to Raynare, who was eagerly taking it with a mixture of glee, greed and pure happiness and placed it inside her own chest. The entire body of the Fallen Angel began to glow in a green colored light.

"Yes, yes, it is mine. Finally, I have what I have longed for so long," Raynare exclaimed.

Gaeriel took a side-glance at her. She found her fixation of this Sacred Gear fascinating, she admitted and on some level disturbing. One thing was clear, it was more than just greed or hunger for power that drove her to this.

Then she looked at Asia. She was alright, but she looked tired and her clothes were quite disheveled, in more sense than one. For the ritual she had only been wearing a light nightdress that had seriously slipped out of place. Her left boob was nearly completely hanging out. Issei would have loved to be here in this moment, she thought naughtily.

But she pushed the image away right afterwards. She still had some important things to take care of.

"As I promised you, you have it and Asia is still alive," she addressed Raynare. "Now about the rest of our agreement?"

"Don´t worry. There is only one last thing I need Asia to do for me. I am keeping my word. Then she can go wherever she wants to and start a new life if she wants. And we will leave everyone else to believe that she died here... despite your efforts," Raynare told her. "Then nobody will ever go after her again."

"Raynare-sama... thank you," Asia said to her weakly.

The Fallen Angel grimaced a bit at the unexpected words of the Nun. Why in the world would she say something like this? She and the other Fallen had just put her through this painful procedure and she knew that she had originally planned to take her life. So why?

"When Asia has recovered enough tell her to come to me," she said to Gaeriel. "we will be making a little trip... and then, when we return, she will be free.

xxxxxxx

Somewhere in Italy

Cardinal Azetti was sitting behind the desk of the main office of a secret installation of the Catholic Church that he was visiting and waiting for the two people he was here to talk to.

Less than a minute later he heard a knock on the door.

"Please come in," he said in Italian.

The two people who walked in were two very young women, not more than school girls actually. But he knew perfectly well that both of them were trained Exorcists... and beside that both of them were Holy Sword wielders.

"Your Eminence," the first one greeted him, "you wanted to talk to us."

She was 16, maybe 17 years old and had light brown, nearly orange colored hair, that she was wearing in twin tails. Her partner was a but taller than her and had short blueish hair.

"Yes, Irina Shidou and Xenovia Quarta, I am here to inform you that the Church has decided to interrupt your current mission," he told them.

"What?" Xenovia said.

A small break of discipline, maybe. But he had already been informed that this girl had somewhat of an impulsive strike.

"An important matter has come up. One that could by our knowledge also help with the task you are currently working on," he stated. "We have been informed that Freed Selzen has been captured..."

At the mention of the infamous Stray Exorcist, both of the girls knew this was truly important.

"... and the ones who are holding him have offered to hand him over to us," Cardinal Azetti informed them. "I want both of you to travel to Japan and retrieve him."

"Your Eminence, it may be Freed Selzen, but by what you said he was already overpowered and detained. May I ask why two Holy Sword users are necessary for this task? especially since we were already on another important mission... and why you are coming in person to tell us?" Xenovia asked him.

"The place where Selzen was captured is in Devil's territory," the Cardinal answered. "To that comes by our information the Devils of this area are involved in this.

xxxxxxx

Grigori Headquarter - a few hours after the ritual

Raynare had returned. She was in this moment standing in front of a group of a dozen individuals who were sitting at a long table before her. They were the leaders of the Grigori, the Fallen Angel state and organization.

Asia was standing beside her, proving to everyone that she was still alive, while Raynare demonstrated to all of them that she now possessed the power of the Twilight Healing. By cutting her wrist and healing it right afterwards.

The reaction of her leaders was not quite what she had expected.

Kokabiel was sitting there, watching silently and looking at her with... approval? This surprised her, since he was the one who had brought up the idea of taking Asia´s Sacred Gear in the first place and she had basically screwed him over. If she had expected one of them to be against her it was him.

Baraquiel on the other hand seemed barely to hold back his hostility. It was clear that he didn´t approve of her latest actions in the slightest.

Shemhazai said nothing. She didn´t know what he was thinking. Penemue seemed to merely looking at her with curiosity.

She had expected her return to either be praised and rewarded or to be court-martialed for acting out of orders. She had been more than ready to face either of them if she was honest. But this, this mild reaction? This was much worse. They were not impressed... not in the way she had wanted them to.

Curiosity, interest, yes... but mostly about the circumstances how she had gotten the Twilight Healing, not the fact that she had it in the first place.

Azazel was just sitting there in silence, looking at her with an calm expression. Only that. The one of them whose attention she had wanted to win most.

Issei´s words were coming back to her.

"Do you really believe that the other Fallen Angels will suddenly start to love and adore you, just because you have taken a Sacred Gear from a Nun?"