Who We Are (Amor)

"It is time, old friend. He's become...... A potential threat," the hooded being said, walking his fellow Warden through the halls of his Keep. The place was dimly lit, cold, and without comfort, much like it's master. Unlike the other Warden Holds that made up The Shroud dimension, this one was closed off to everyone but Kakabel and his underlings. They were secretive, and always seemed to be scheming. That said, most assumed it was for their own good. They had no reason to believe otherwise. The Knowledge Wardens were invaluable.

Amor, The Elder Warden of Love, had been summoned here. This was unusual, though not necessarily against the rules. It was more a preference of Kakabel's that only those that worked closely with him were to see this place, and because he was essentially the number two, his preferences often had the force of law to the lesser kin, and the other Elders just seemed to not care enough to challenge him.

Regardless, this was worth the breaking of precedent. Kakabel lead Amor to his personal studying chamber, and then to a small pool in the room's center. It bubbled and spat, and the bottom of it's murky depths could not be seen by the keenest of eyes. The Warden of Knowledge waved his thin hand over it, causing the water to stir even more.

"He calls himself Asy now, or at least, the humans that did this to him do. He's no longer our brother. Even a Handler can be reformed, but this? This is beyond repair," Kakabiel said, images in the pool manifesting as he spoke. If Amor looked in, he would see the events leading up to The Warden of Sanity's fall to neutrality, and his actions for the past few months after that. He seemed to have latched himself to a group of humans, acting as a pet rather than a Warden.

"Amor of Love, I ask that you go to him, and do your duty to us. It requires an Elder to bring him to an end. You do not have to accept, but I offer it to you so that you might regain some lost honor. Us in the Ward of Knowledge still believe in you, but others........ Well, let's just say they require a further showing of penance in order to move on," the Elder continued, withdrawing his hand. The pool went dead still, and the darkness under Kakabel's hood peered unflinchingly at his fellow Warden.

"Do this, and all will be forgiven. I promise, Amor."

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"He's doing what?!" Aurelius said, spitting his coffee back into his mug. His eyes were wide in shock—perhaps even outrage. The young man sitting across from him tilted his head in confusion, as if there was nothing that would warrant such a reaction in what he just said.

"Does something about that not make sense? I'm sure I spoke it clearly," Verity said innocently. The Warden of Truth scratched his head, thinking he did something wrong.

"No! I mean, yes.... I mean, that doesn't make sense, but you said it fine. Why would he send Amor? Doesn't that seem dangerous?" Aurelius asked, setting his mug down on the table. His gaze was focused intently on his friend, which made Verity a bit uneasy.

"Look, I'm just the messenger. I probably shouldn't even be telling you, but......" Verity paused a moment, trailing off.

"Whole truth thing?" Aurelius laughed. He'd always be able to get the scoop about what Crazy Hood Man was doing from Verity.

"Yup. Plus, you're my friend." Verity said, laughing himself. The two stopped talking for a moment, finishing their breakfast. They looked outside into the mortal world. It was raining, but they were thankfully protected by the walls of their favorite cafe. Not many Warden's spent unnecessary time here, but Aurelius and Verity had come to admire the place, and it's people.

The two stared at the drops of water hitting the windows, more fascinated than they should have been, or perhaps they were just reflecting. Either way, they did this for a solid two minutes before Verity broke the silence.

"What are you gonna do?" the Truth Warden said. He knew what Aurelius was thinking, but wanted to hear it from his mouth.

The Warden of Will smirked.

"Get his location."

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"Seriously, Asy, you're pissing me the hell off. This is serious! No more anime!" Drifter yelled, turning away from his computer to see the former Warden on Netflix on one of his van's other machines. Asy didn't answer. He was like a thrall, his eyes glued to My Hero Academia. Drifter decided to take it a step further, throwing an empty Starbucks cup at him. Asy tensed up.

"Owwww! I did not throw anything at you!" Asy said, rubbing the spot where the cup landed as if he had been hit with a bullet, and not a paper cup. Apparently that's how he thought he was supposed to act when hit with anything.

"Next time it will actually be something that HURTS! Now focus! This is serious, ok?" Drifter span in his chair, returning to typing at his computer after scalding the Warden. Neither said anything for a solid thirty seconds. You could hear nothing but Lukas' fingers clicking against keys. That is, until Asy decided to open his mouth again.

"Lukas...."

"....What now, Asy?"

"Is being in a constant state of fury your Quirk?"

"......"

"....."

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

Amor had felt it the moment he stepped into this closed off realm. If there w3as one place he felt discomfort in being, it was the keep of the Elder of Knowledge. Logical, and even cold with his manner despite how readily accepted his scheming was for the betterment of his kind. These cold, almost analytical halls lacked the passion and emotion that his own home held. Regardless it felt far warmer than the reception that he received when returning to The Wardens.

A people that had once thought so highly of him had turned towards cold, icy glares behind his back and even to his face. The lesser wardens didn’t have the same courage that his fellow elders had, but  even he knew the mutual feelings shared amongst them. The fact that one was willing to even invite him into their personal sanctum showed a level of...willingness that he had not expected for the next few millennia. When the human world was projected to destroy itself in some grand war by many predictions.

As they stepped into the personal study, he let his eyes settle on Kakabel. Nervously sliding his tongue over lips, and slipping hands into the pockets of his  hot pink slacks. They had come here to talk about a potential threat to their entire people. Something that would likely leads to even his own corrupted crimes being overlooked, something that had him wondering until it was explained. Something had been done to him by humans, though he didn’t know what that was exactly.

His attention however seemed to leap from the warden to the pool reflecting pertinent images. The faces of these humans that had caused one of their own to fall, further perhaps. Neutrality, something that seemed to strike a chord with him. This was after-all the gravest of crimes among them. An offense that could not be undone from his knowledge, and even the warden of that aspect seemed to find it an issue.  ”So he’s made himself a pet to the humans now.” Amor mused,  worrying at his lower lip with his teeth until the image faded to blackness.

Even without needing to be told however, there was the statement about what he needed to do. He needed to destroy another of their kind, to prove that he was willing to repent. Even as he thought about it the memories of those he destroyed before came to mind. All looking...shocked as they faded from existence itself. That darkness staring back at him demanded only one response despite all of the power to accept being given to him. A low exhale rasped from him as he closed his eyes for a few seconds, letting the decision sort itself out then.

”If that’s what needs to be done then i’ll do it.” He agreed, knowing that people like Kakabel needed that. The verbal, definite confirmation of his compliance. Any less would have been seen as reluctance.  As soon as the got the information where to go, Amor left without any real need to be told.

He needed to get to work.

As soon as he thought it, the space around him changed from the structured sanctum of knowledge to something more chaotic. Las Angeles, California. City of Angels by the nickname but there was nothing truly angelic about it. Rife with crime like any other massive city, even still it had the interesting species of humanity that had managed to catch his fascination for too many years to count. It was dark now, the only illumination chasing away night being that of the myriad of artificial illumination that blotted the stars from the sky.

His quarries were settled within what he could only assume were run down vans. Very hacker chic. There was an obvious way to go about that, almost a bulldozers approach but then again that was not how he operated. Despite their places within the whole debacle, he found no reason to be the cause of a human death if it wasn’t needed. Hiding from the rain under the lip of a building, seeing the droplets fall unabated while occasionally splashing against his expensive looking shoes.

Even natures slight against his taste in fashion found itself falling on deaf ears, faintly glowing pink eyes narrowed on the vehicle. Another deep, drawn out exhale as he thought over what he should do. It should have been easy but like this shower, guilt had this nasty habit of falling on him. Just a fallen warden and their human, nothing that he couldn’t handle. Oh well, no point in wasting time right? Closing his eyes, he imagined the interior of the van and space shifted around him until he felt it. The cold, even thrumming of the rain fading to the scent of metal and sound of dialogue from a screen.

”Asy now right? I imagine you know why i’m here.”

"Anger is not the way, Lukas," Asy said. Drifter had him by the collar at this point. Sure, it was doubtful the vigilante could actually harm the former Warden, but he wanted to show his level of irritation. That required physical expression, apparently.

"Seriously, stop. We've got a scumbag to take down and security to get past. I brought you here because I figured you'd make it easier. Boy, do I regret that decision!" Drifter said, gritting his teeth. He let Asy go, then went back to work.

The vigilante equipped himself—weapons, armor, and tech. It was a pretty quick process, considering he already had most of his gear on. He'd have been on the move in under a minute if it wasn't for the appearance of a mysterious man in his van.

By the way he teleported in, and by the words he spoke to Asy, Lukas pretty easily discerned this guy was a Warden. He had pretty much no defense against them at the moment, so, this was probably bad.

"....Shit." Luke only managed that one word after exhausting all possible options. He'd thought as quick as he could, and he realized there wasn't much he could do. It was all up to Asy.

What could go wrong?

The former Warden of Sanity didn't waste any time, though. He wasn't too keen on those of his kin at the moment. He lunged at Drifter without even answering Amor, and teleported them both out of the van.

".....Six feet? Why didn't you just take us to fucking Egypt? Now we have to wait," Drifter said. They were literally right next to where they had been previously. The only difference was they weren't in a metal box.

"He found us this time. He probably has a Knowledge or Space Warden backing him up. He'd just follow, so we have to take care of this now," Asy said. He reached out his hand in the next moment, manipulating the van. He crushed it instantly, hoping to trap Amor inside, then threw the carcass a good fifty feet down the road.

"Dude..... My van! You know how much money that equipment costs? I'll have to buy all new shit," Drifter said, exasperated. Asy had just threw thousands of dollars away for an attack that would probably just buy them a couple seconds.

"You should go. This isn't your fight," Asy said, knowing full well Amor would be unscathed by his attack. Drifter just threw his hands up in the air.

"You're damn fucking right. Find me if he doesn't kill you," Drifter said, running off into the city. He blended quickly with the crowd, who were already running for their lives from the two superhumans throwing vans in the middle of the busy street.

Once Amor got out of the van, Asy would wave at him, smiling.

"Sorry bout that. Had to get the human out of here. How ya doin' buddy? You Kakabel's lap dog now? Not the most fulfilling gig for an Elder, but I'm sure it has it's perks," Asy said, sarcasm thick in his voice. He knew full well he was no match for Amor, but that didn't mean he couldn't make this difficult.

Hell, he might even be able to convince him to stop.

When was the last time he had seen the warden of sanity? Amor couldn't even remember that, though now it didn’t matter. He wasn’t here to have pleasant conversation and so trying to speak with him would have been a waste of time. So he allowed them perhaps more time to talk than needed, which led to the human himself more surprised than his warden pet. All he did was offer a curse, as if recognizing what was going on and how in trouble he actually was. That was when his former compatriot disappeared with the human and the van, along with everything inside came around him.

Crushed metal and circuitry imploding around him, attempting to damage the body but finding no way of doing so. Did he realize this? Of course he did but maybe it was a token effort to protect the human as they ran away. Good for them. They lived to see another day, just as if he were still here when he put the neutral warden to their final fate.

As the destroyed van collided with the ground, he sighed and roll his eyes. Exerting his own dominion over the metal around him and ripped it from his body. Fragments that shot outwards, embedding into walls and even the street as he brushed away a few fragments of plastic. ”Doing this the hard way then.” He muttered, turning to the one now waving at him as if that were the most amusing thing ever. His lips curled into an annoyed smirk, drawing his warden weapon into this world.

A bow, pink in color and aura that settled into his hands rather easily. ”A pet protecting its master. An admirable trait if it weren’t so sad,” He noted, manifesting a brilliant pink arrow within his other hand, twirling it between fingers.”but as i’m sure you’re aware of, free of corruption but I can’t say the same of you. Can’t exactly cleanse the neutrality out of you now can we?”

No, he didn’t want to hurt this warden, let alone destroy him. Even thinking about it plagued him with the memories of those he had destroyed before, even those that were under him. Each one like a lance through his own heart, as if he knew he had to find a way to redeem himself and those actions. There just had to be a way. Knocking the arrow, and pointing the tip at him he sighed. ”I’d say accept the punishment but we both know you won’t.”

So he let the arrow fly, or rather it split into three.

As expected, Amor had no problem getting out of the van unscathed. The Love Warden then approached with apparently lethal intent, drawing his weapon.

Asy knew full well the bow could destroy him with only a few hits if Amor wanted it. Usually when Elders dished out punishment, it was just in the form of banishment and confinement for a little while. However, if they chose it, their weapons could be used to make their lesser cease to exist. That wasn't something Asy really wanted.

Amor said a few things. They were probably meant to be hurtful, but Asy could only laugh. He was free, and Amor was not. Not even as a Handler did the Love Warden understand what it meant to truly be alive—none of them did. It was all about duty, or all about destruction when in their corrupted state. Asy was living like a human. He was enjoying life. Nothing Amor could say would make him feel any different.

The three arrows came his way. He couldn't manipulate them. Wardens had dominion over the mortal world, but not of things that laid outside it that weren't their own. It would have been nice to simply will them out of the sky, but that wasn't possible in the moment.

Asy stuck his hand out, pulling up pieces of asphalt from the street. The large chunks intercepted two of the arrows, creating a massive pink explosion, but shielding Asy from the lethal projectiles.

A silver magnum appeared in Asy's hand, a orange glow around it's sleek surface. He aimed the mystical firearm at the remaining arrow, firing three bullets at it. The first two only slowed it down, but the third managed to destroy the arrow in a similar explosion to before.

His weapon couldn't match the Elder's blow for blow, but it could help him defend himself if used properly.

Asy's mind then moved to offense. His eyes glowed a brilliant orange, and his mental abilities activated. An aura of faint energy projected outward from the former Warden of Sanity. Anyone caught in it would find themselves bombarded by their most significant memories—overwhelmed, even.

Despite being an Elder, Asy could sense this would work on the Love Warden. Amor was distressed—taunted by what he had done, and taunted by the guilt of bringing another into it. Amor would see the ones he had destroyed. He would relive the moments where he hurt those he loved. He would see his corrupted self in all it's glory, rearing it's ugly head.

"Ironic that the Warden of Love is the one Elder with the highest kill count. What are you doing this for, Amor? You've already betrayed yourself once, why do it again? You think more destruction will redeem you? You think listening to the Elders, beings that despise you, will somehow purify your being? Only you can do that, Amor. You must accept who you are, as I have. You must come to terms with all aspects of yourself—it's the only way to be at peace," Asy was walking forward, firing his gun at the Love Warden as he spoke. The idea was to hold him in place with mental torment, and then hopefully deal enough damage with the gun to banish him to the Shroud. That wouldn't be easy, considering it took a huge amount of damage from a lesser Warden's weapon to banish a Warden, but Asy had to try.

Duty and destruction. In this instance the two intertwined, becoming one in what he could describe as  something he was not so willing to deal with.  Seeing his brethren turned into this thing was  almost heartbreaking but he knew he had to push that feeling down. There were thins that needed to be done, which his arrows were meant to do. Three maybe even four were all he needed to eradicate him from existence.  Which was why he might have not wanted to be hit by them, ripping sections of the concrete beneath him and blocking the first two and unleashing a torrent of bullets into the thirds one to force it to dissolve.

It was a warden weapon so he knew it could do some damage but the threat didn’t measure up around the same. What was not so easily resisted was the wave that ripped from the former sanity warden, faintly orange in color but drumming up with it certain memories. Each time that he in his corrupted form.

Romance and forgiveness.  

They had tried to personally stop him, redeem even but he destroyed them. Even the individual impacts of the arrows came back. Three through ones chest while the other suffered...well one through the head.  Despite their expected duties, there was an effort and he betrayed them. Emotions rising to the surface that served the other warden far more than it did for him. Rounds impacting his body. It hurt he had to admit, but his body didn’t even respond immediately to the damage being done.  

He didn’t believe that destruction would bring redemption but he knew what had to be done. Not just going to let him talk to you like that are you? Corruption was a thing he thought he had gotten through but here it was now. Scratching at the wall, as if he were so very palpable. Destroy him! You’re an elder! I would have reduced him to a splatter! More shots, impacting his chest and arms, managing to break the skin from what he could tell.

"Shut up!" He managed, area around him cracking and ripping itself upwards before he hurled what could be seen as large sections of the street below at the warden. Most of them off target as they smashed into buildings, and even vehicles. The few that managed to get on target were something he would have to deal with, and it gave the warden of love a few moments to attempt to bring himself back together.

He had no choice. He had to.

Opening his eyes, he looked down to the small number of injuries dotting him, dark red tinting his otherwise pink outfit. Porting to the top of a building he  raised a hand, a few of the vehicles around him and with a motion slung all of them towards Asy.

Apparently his tactic had worked, because Amor fell back. That was better than getting pulverized. Sure, Asy had a bunch of cars coming his way now, but those were easily avoided now that he was recalibrated. Good thing too, because that much force might have actually hurt.

"You're gonna kill some mortals. Best we take this somewhere else. See ya on Mars in a minute," Asy said. He then disappeared from where he stood, going off planet. The cars crashed into the ground, causing some destruction and chaos, but having no effect on their intended target.

Amor would find Asy's location pop into his head, courtesy of Kakabiel. He had literally went to Mars. It would take Amor a minute or so to follow, but in all honesty he probably needed the recovery time.

Not to mention, some time to talk with an old friend.

Aurelius appeared behind him on the rooftop, dressed in his usual old world style. His purple eyes looked Amor up and down. He hadn't seen the Love Warden in a long while. He was simultaneously happy to see him, and filled with dread at the prospect of having to talk about what happened. But, he wasn't the Will Warden for no reason. He clenched his fists, and pressed on.

".....Why did they send you, Amor? Do they want another....... Do they want another war? They're playing with fire. They have to know that," Aurelius said, stepping forward. When Amor eventually made eye contact, the Will Warden would look away, as if he could not gaze into the Elder's eyes.

Aurelius was strong, but Amor always made him tremble. He cared too much for him, even when he didn't want to.

"I apologize for popping in unannounced, but when I heard from Verity, I couldn't stay away. I tried, because I shouldn't be here, but I couldn't stop myself." Aurelius said, now a few feet from Amor.

The Will Warden wanted things to be as they were. He wanted to greet his former lover with a smile and a hug, or perhaps more, but the last time he allowed himself to give into the boy in front of him, the Shroud fell to pieces.

The cars smashed into the ground, sending fragments of glass and twisted metal around. The faint sounds of people screaming could be heard, though he seemed more interested causing harm to the one that had caused instability within him so easily.  Just a few words, reminders of what he had done and his corrupted self had begun to surface once again. Instead he was gone, leaving only destruction and the concept of mortals being injured in his wake. Some even having been harmed from what he could tell.

With the destination of where he had gone known, all it would have taken was a thought to reach Mars but of course complications abounded. Unluckily it was a complication he couldn’t avoid, or turn away from. Because it just wouldn’t be him if he turned from love.

”To clean up a very neutral mess,” He answered, finally meeting those purple eyes. Eyes glowing pink with the faintest hint of red that didn’t belong there. No hiding what was happening within him, nor what he was doing. ”The Warden of Sanity has gone neutral afterall. Only an elder can deal with him and...it looks like i’m the only one who will.” It was hard not to look so happy to see him despite the fractured existence he felt now.

What self control he had was needed to keep himself from hugging the other, as if that would undo what he had made him do. It was unforgivable, so he kept his hands to himself. ”I know. If you want something you always went for it, rules be damned.” The ghost of a smirk formed on his lips as he looked to the sky, approximately where he assumed Mars would be. Not that he needed to know where exactly it was to get there.

”Kakabel  promised destroying this one would...bring some forgiveness. If that’s what I need to do, we both know I have to.”  With a sigh he felt the field spread out, the faintest change within the air. A pink, ephemeral pulse that washed outwards over anyone within it. Those without injuries he knew would feel nothing more than a pleasant sensation but those injured found those injuries quickly fixing themselves.  The ones that he could help anyhow. ”Stupid I know but love isn’t exactly rational.” He couldn’t afford to fail.

Do it for them.

Aurelius' eyes briefly widened when he saw the color in Amor's eyes. It was a hue he had not seen for some time, and it instantly brought back memories of the war—brought back memories of Amor as he was then. He had been obsessive, controlling, volatile, and in many ways, cruel, but even then, Aurelius stuck by him. It had been in the Warden of Will's best interest to leave, but, irrationally, he didn't. He cared too much.

"I.....Wish I could somehow change their minds. I wish I could change your mind... But, if this is the only way for you to atone, then, I suppose it must be done," Aurelius said, sighing softly. Even though he'd rather have Amor just turn back to the Shroud, Aurelius knew that there were things at play here that couldn't be ignored—the Elders, Amor's ever-decaying reputation, and Amor's own well being. If he couldn't be forgiven, it was obvious that it would be far easier to fall back into his corrupted state, and that's something Aurelius never wanted to see again.

"But, just because it has to be done doesn't mean you have to do it alone. Please, Amor, allow me to assist you. It....doesn't have to be anything more than that," Aurelius said, holding his hand out to his former love. Once The Warden of Love grabbed it, Aurelius would teleport to Asy, having gotten his location from Verity. The now neutral Warden may have been able to play mind games with a still recovering Amor, but it would be another thing entirely to do so to the Master of Will.

When he was lost to the darkness of corruption, Amor had felt many terrible things within his heart. Even in that time Aurelius hadn’t abandoned him, which made seeing him  a confusing idea for him.  Despite the possessive cruelty he showed, that was something that he couldn’t forget. This made the fact he needed to wipe this rogue warden off the face of the cosmos even more important.  Their kind were set in their ways, something that almost seemed akin to the willful one before him but they were more aggravating in their errors.  ”That’s been them for...as long as I can remember.” He said, sighing as well while thinking about  how he would approach things.

This mans madness was something that  seemed to lash at him in a way that he didn’t want to entertain.  His own reputation was suffering, likely more as he was allowed to exist around his own kind.  Looking back to the other warden, he felt the memories of his past come back. Even now with what had happened, he was still offering his help in this unpleasant business.  He looked to the hand extended outwards, hesitating for just a second before accepting it.

”No point in saying no. You have a way of getting what you want,” Attempts to brush away the corrupted feelings within him, but they didn’t have the chance to really say anything else as the universe around them warped. Lively, now shattered cityscape giving way to a blasted, lifeless planet of reds and oranges mingling with brown.  Were he human, the atmosphere would have found themselves suffocating but wardens were not as reliant on the need for it.  Realizing his hand might have been lingering longer than...well necessary, he pulled it back and slipped it into his pocket.

Scanning for  his target, he raised the bow in hand and let them narrow on the form of Asy once he came into view. ”Now that we moved this here, how about we just get this over with?” He stated, feeling a certain...hesitance in actually attacking off the bat.

What was with that?

Aurelius and Amor teleported millions of miles away, and when they arrived, they saw the chipper former Warden they were after seemingly relaxing on the Red Planet.

"Howdy love birds, ya made it!" Asy said, sitting on a large red rock with an ear to ear smile. He seemed confident despite the fact he was now not only fighting an Elder, but another lesser Warden as well. He even put his hands up, shiny metal magnum disappearing from his hand as he spoke to the arriving Wardens.

"I mean you both no harm, you know. Always been a big fan of you two Rebels. Let's just talk this out. How about that?" Asy said, keeping his hands up. He still had the smile on his face, and he still looked like he knew something the others didn't.

"Quiet! You know this has to be done. You've broken the rules, and we'd be doing the same if we let you live," Aurelius said, shield forming in his hand as he took up a fighting stance. Asy just cackled wildly.

"And since when have you bothered with the rules, lover boy? Drop the charade. You know you don't care. You just fear what the others will do.......But we can win this time. All you have to do is listen to me," Asy said. Aurelius furrowed his brow, clearly not buying it.

"Very well, if you won't accept your fate, we'll do it the hard way." Aurelius got ready to make his move, and he expected Amor to do the same.

Mars. How he disliked the planet ever everything to do with it. That being the fact there was nothing actually on the planet. No life to love, lust or any7thing between itself. Nothing to even reproduce, which tended to leave him a little...well weak feeling overall. Still it did leave them in a place where they weren’t any people to accidentally hurt  when trying to wipe this stain from the surface of the universe. What they did come to was the rogue warden greeting them in a typically annoying fashion. Bringing up what easily could have been considered old news, despite eithers willingness for that to be the case.

Raising his weapon, he tried to tune out the words they were saying. It was not too hard, considering he had been the one that put the proverbial salt within his wounds.  Aurelius was thinking the same thing, producing this weapon and preparing for the fight they were expecting to have. ”Sounds like you just enjoy the sound of your own voice.” He noted, setting arrow and taking aim at the other. Archery might not have normally been his forte but using his own weapon was something that always felt natural. As if he had mastered it the moment he touched it.

Letting loose the arrow, it zoomed through the air before suddenly splitting off into what looked to be tan all at once. Spreading out, though he had the feeling that they would somehow avoid it but that was supposed to be where his partner jumped on the warden.

Asy was essentially buying time. Being a Mind Warden allowed him to connect with nearly anyone he needed to, and that meant he could get quite the cavalry if he needed it. However, that often took time. In this case, he wished it didn't. He wasn't quite sure how long he could hold these two off without being split open.

That said, this was a favorable position for the former Warden of Sanity. There was plenty of mental conflict that his newly neutral state could siphon from. All the facets of the mind were on full display in these two, irrational and otherwise. Sure, he wasn't as powerful as he would be in a crowd of conflicted people, but he had more to work with than Amor and Aurelius.

The arrows came quickly, spreading out into ten. There wasn't much Asy could do but reform his weapon and attempt to shoot the arrows out of the sky before they got to him, like he had before. He managed to get a couple that were heading right towards him in this way, but it was rather hopeless. His evasive tactics were equally ineffective. Combining the two, he barely made it out of the Elder's volley, with an arrow ripping through his arm, showing the bright orange light that lay beneath his skin.

Pain was unfamiliar to Asy, but he had felt it before a few times. He remembered in that moment that it wasn't a sensation he enjoyed. His plan had to work, or he would be killed.

Asy saw Aurelius charging, powerful shield in hand. He fired a few shots at the Warden of Will, but they just bounced off. That wasn't going to work. He had to pull out all the stops.

Asy once again released his mental aura. It pulsed outward, affecting all those within it. This time, Amor was out of range, but Aurelius ran straight into it, not even caring.

He regretted it almost immediately.

The Warden of WIll saw flashes of his trial. He saw all the looks they gave him which he tried to ignore. He heard the whispers, and felt the shame all over again. Worst of all, he saw those eyes again: Dangerous, distressing, and uncomfortable, but also alluring. He had made a deal with the devil, and in an instant he relived all the pain it had caused. When Aurelius woke from this hallucination, he realized Asy had sidestepped his charge, tripping him. To boot, Asy fired a few shots into his chest when he was on the ground. Luckily though, Aurelius put his shield up before he took enough damage to be banished.

"Best ya.....Best ya got, brothers?"

The Warden of Sanity was tricky, that much he knew but dealing with them was another matter.  More difficult than he had expected from when he was thinking over the matter to himself before. Aurelius made this both easier and harder all in the same swoop. Someone who could offer their support, yet he was also vulnerable to any antics that the former warden would have been able to make use of.  His arrows spread out, more difficult to stop than the ones before. A few of them seemingly colliding with Asy, not destroying him but likely doing enough damage to slow him down.

A part of him felt the impact of the arrow ripping through his shoulder. A small, empathetic portion that remembered the wardens he had destroyed. Grinding his teeth together he watched his partner in motion, using the shield in hand to bat away the bullets being shot at him. Nothing able to break through his shield of will. It however wasn’t the bullets that worried him but the aura that ripped outwards in an orange hue. A single experience of the field itself was enough to know what would happen. Though he didn’t experience what he was seeing personally, he knew even willpower wasn’t enough to withstand it.

Still that didn’t stop him from being put in the position to take a few bullets from the others weapon, ripping through flesh but not reaching the threshold of banishment. It didn’t even require thought at this point, putting far more energy into the arrow he drew and loosing it. He doubted any number of lesser warden attacks would be able to stop the attack but that wasn’t the intention. Should the attacks do their job and force the warden to jump back, he would be standing over Aurelius. Relocated and looking down at him with barely hidden worry.

This brought back memories of when he had managed to be corrupted.

”I wouldn’t push my luck here,” His tone sounded more aggravated, as if he were one step away from striking. ”i’m sure you’re fully aware of what i’m capable of.” Resting a hand against the down warden, he let the healing energy pour through them, Undoing any damage that might have been done as he turned attention back to Asy. He didn’t know what he felt but it was exhilarating, even terrifying. Was this what people called the urge to hurt someone?

"Totally, yeah. I went to Wardy school. You Elders are made up of some universal forces, and we're just the lackies. That's why I don't intend to fight you myself," Asy said, having jumped back from Aurelius to avoid getting impaled by a not so lovely love arrow. It was clear talking to these two wasn't going to produce the desired result, so it was time for Plan B. Asy snapped his fingers, disappearing in an instant.

Aurelius grunted and groaned a bit, but the healing did it's job quickly. He got back to his feet, rubbing his head in confusion. He really didn't like Mind Wardens very much.

Aurelius' eye's sparked with the blue of a Knowledge Warden. His contact was feeding him the info of Asy's whereabouts.

"He went back to LA, though he's across town this time. What is he even doing? I can understand the resistance, but this cat and mouse game........ Why not just face us head on?" Aurelius wondered. He'd wait for Amor to respond, then set about following their target. They didn't know what they were walking into, but this was their duty. The council had willed it so.

_________________

"Asy! My favorite Warden! What brings you to Valhalla?" the owner of the club said, feet stretched out and crossed, propped up on his own desk. The former Warden just ran around, seemingly panicked.

"I-I need help. Elder......... After me!" Asy said, knocking over various items and looking through drawers for anything of use, all the while the white haired man just said, same expression of amusement on his face the entire time.

"Elder? Sounds scary.........." August said nonchalantly. He finally moved, sitting in his seat properly as he sighed at the Warden's fumbling.

"Which one? Kakabiel? Dina? Better not be Amory. The last thing I need is a pissed off Warden of Power in this place." Augest sat up, flicking his fingers. The doors locked, the curtains closed, and all but a few small candle lights went out.

"No, no, it's Amor....... Anyway, remember when you made all of us go away? Like, there must have been a dozen. Can you do that again?" Asy asked, stopping his rummaging. He had hope in his eyes. August just shrugged.

"Hm, I mean I did have Daddy Flamel's help. And there wasn't an Elder. Worth a shot though, I guess. Go get me some of the dancers downstairs, preferably the ugly ones," August said. He then started telekinetically etching a ruin into the floor of the office. Asy left to do the sorceror's bidding.