How Far We've Fallen (SSoDI-N)

[DanteMGalileo]

"... I ain't capable of doin' such a spell myself. Those lightning rocket things are it, and that's more because I'm an eagle; walking arsenal, basically," Lobo admitted, looking off to the side. "Anyways, the most I can give ya for lightning are some general pointers besides be safe." Exaling, a ball of lightning appeared in his hand, the angel slightly cringing.

"Step one. You need to be clear as to what you want. If you're not clear, it'll settle for frying you." The ball began to stretch out, forming another lightning javelin.

"Step two. Find your target. That'll give it somethin' to hone in on." Lobo took a few steps back, deciding to use the wall as a target again.

"Step three..." With a quick yell, Lobo tossed the lightning at the wall, creating an identical patch of sparks and burns upon impact. "Fire and forget."

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Alright... Makes sense..." Paul nodded along with Lobo's instructions, giving them a couple seconds to sink in. He briefly wondered if he was immune to electricity, given his heritage. For safety precautions, he opted to assume until further notice that he was simply resistant and should not tamper lightly with this spell.

With that, Paul cleared his mind of any details on the Thunderclouds spell and turned his mental focus on his point of attack.

He thought of Vutezoth. He thought of the terrible things the vile wyrm had done, from attacking innocents to killing his friend. He thought of what the monster might do the next time they crossed paths. The need to best this foe rose up within him like bile, reigniting the storm with a new fervor. His heart pounded, and the echo of the phantom heart synced up to create a perfect, intense, powerful rhythm. His tail flicked irately. A rumbling snarl escaped his gritted teeth. His eyes shot open, glowing with white hot sparks.

Paul saw Vutezoth standing before him. The basement had become a crystal cavern, the walls like shimmering blue diamonds, dimmed and tainted by the black beast's reflection. All around them were piles and piles of gold and silver, art and trinkets, swords and shields, jewelry and gemstones, so many iridescent sapphires...

His eyes met the dragon's at perfect eye level.

When he glanced down, beneath Vutezoth's foot, he saw Kelsey, bleeding and broken, barely holding on.

"Kraskdaor..."

Paul raised his hand above his head. A deep, booming crack resounded through the room. Electrical arcs traveled up his arm and danced around his body. As thunder continued to ripple all around him, the air started to stir above him, twisting slowly, pulling together what vapor it could to create an ominous dark cloud.

"WUX GEOU TI CLAX JACIONIV DE VE TENAMALO!!!"

CA-CRASHHH

A flash of white. A roar of thunder. A splintering of wood.

Paul jumped in place and blinked his eyes back to normal, his vision restored, his blinding rage fading into stark confusion. He looked at Lobo, then down at the dust and debris surrounding them. Then he leaned back and craned his neck to look up. The indoor storm was fading away, revealing a sizable hole in the ceiling, itself displaying holes in every ceiling above it until there was nothing but a dim evening sky to stare into.

"Too much?"

[DanteMGalileo]

"... Juuuuuuuust a little bit."

Lobo's ponytail stuck out wildly in every direction as he turned to look upward, noting the sizeable hole in the ceiling, the house above. Huh, they'd been down here awhile, if the dark sky was any indicator. But still, something, someone had to...

"Paul." The angel looked directly at the dragon man with uncharacteristic quietness. "I'm not sayin' I ain't impressed. Quite the opposite, really." His eyes darted around the room, then back at the hole Paul's lightning had created. "But unless you either took out every angel or Paradiso slipped and didn't have anyone deployed in this area..."

---

Working the night shift always sucked arse. Most of the civilians were not about at this hour, so no harassing the little creatures, or finding an excuse to execute one or two for fun. Finch found this work simply degrading; he was part of the council guard, and he got called out to deal with this?! "Oh, Lord Gagana," he muttered to himself and the guard working with him. "What have we done to fall out of favour? To be assigned to this backwater dump?"

Wanting to call this a night and switch out to the next in line, Finch sighed, making his way back to their patrol station. At least, until something caught his eye, out of the corner of his vision lumps. A flash of white light. An explosive sound. He shuddered, sensing the electricity in the air.

Turning to his fellow guard, Finch summoned what appeared to be a police baton, adorned with spikes. "You sense that? Felt like public enemy number two."

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Uh, yeah..." Paul's shoulders and tail drooped in dismay, his gaze still on the highly conspicuous property damage above them. "There's definitely someone out there who noticed that. Probably a few angels. I'm, uh... I'm alright to call it a night here if you are. Leave this dead-end scene."

He warily started climbing the stairs, very visibly nervous and anxious to avoid more drama. "I'm so sorry, man. I-I-I didn't mean for it to be that strong..."

[DanteMGalileo]

"Yeah. Yeah. Let's go and try to avoid detection."

Lobo quickly nodded at that suggestion, looking around as he lead the way back upstairs. Just pretend to be inconspicuous. Just pretend you had a perfectly valid reason to be in a half-wrecked building after dark. "Stay behind me. I have to imagine that they'd have it out for you in particular."

_{Hide all you want.}

"Paul, listen closely." Lobo looked around, seeing nothing above ground. "If we get attacked, forget about me and run." Still nothing. Honestly, he'd rather have an entire platoon waiting for them now. "Yer the one with lightning breath. Not me."

_{Protect him all you want. That won't be enough.}

When they exited the house to find nothing, Lobo quickly pulled Paul into the darkness. "If we move fast enough, hopefully we won't get spotted..."

Take one more step into the darkness. Go on.

"... Looks like we're in the clear." Lobo allowed himself to sigh in relief, voice regaining some of its usual volume. "Now, all we gotta do is-"

There was the sound of wingbeats, followed by the owner of said wingbeats flying by, grabbing Lobo, before lowering himself to face Paul, sneer on his face, his brother's neck in one hand, and in the other, a split, jagged, wicked-looking blade with a multicoloured diamond on the hilt. Between the individual blades rested a sharp pillar of green energy.



"Why, hello there, Paul," Liderc greeted Paul like an old friend, even with a smile that only exposed sharp teeth and malice. "Lovely night we're having."

Liderc slammed Lobo into a nearby wall, back-first. "So, how long do you think it'd take this deserter and betrayer of kin to bleed out if I dragged him along this?"

[ParamountKeymaster]

"What?? Dude, I... I can't just leave you!" Paul sharply whispered, eyes darting about for the tiniest hint of moving shadows. "I still need...! Y-You're my...! We're... We're gonna get outta here, okay? I won't let them hurt you again."

Under the cover of darkness, Paul was tense and on edge. All was silent, which honestly made him even more nervous. The city itself seemed to have gone quiet, and though he couldn't hear anyone or anything within their vicinity, something told him that they weren't alone.

Lobo was going to jinx it, wasn't h-?

"LOBO!!!"

The sound of wing beats came too late for him to react. Paul swiped at the open air as he felt the angel get whisked away from his side. After stumbling a few steps forward, he locked up and found himself staring Liderc in the face, his Plasmis teacher in the Prasino commander's grip and promptly smashed against a wall.

A feral, draconic snarl escaped Paul's throat. Winds kicked and lightning crackled up and down his arms as he straightened up into a fighting stance. "Let him go. I have no qualms about roasting your insides."

[DanteMGalileo]

"Oh, have we learned how to control that lightning breath of your's, Paul? Or should I say..." Liderc paused in mock-thought, making a strange purring sound. "Ulharryrth, is it not?" Ah, he's struck a nerve. "If you hide your name, then what else are you hiding? Not like this one has a right to talk, though..."

"Paul...! Argh!!" Lobo felt the hand on his neck press down tighter. "D-Don't listen to him! Run! R-"

“Ssaz si'ashuhrph!”

From the hand pinning Lobo to the wall came a black substance, similar to smoke, sinking into the yellow angel's throat. Upon taking in this smoke, Lobo's mouth, while continuing to move, made no sound. With his brother's lies silenced, Liderc flew up further, making it clear that if Paul attacked him, he would use Lobo as a shield.



"Now that I've stilled the tongue of this lying traitor," he said with particular venom. "Allow me to enlighten your mind. The least you deserve is to know the truth about my dear brother." Oh, the things he's dug up. Wouldn't it be fun to spill his dirty laundry.

"You know this pathetic waste of feathers as Lobozotoh Njord, aka Lobo. And that wouldn't be his real name, right, brother dear?" Lobo didn't nod or shake his head. He just looked away. "His real name is Sampati Fujin. Code name, the Black Eagle." No response. "The Black Eagle was the best of his fleet, perhaps even his generation. I used to idolize him... He never failed to carry out an order. Entire divisions were blown away. Isn't that right, Sampati?" Lobo averted his gaze. "... I thought he died. Then I learned that he had betrayed us. Who knew the Black Eagle was a bleeding heart? Or perhaps not..." Liderc's grip tightened, and his smile broke for a moment into pure rage. "This thing cost us an entire unit of elite warriors with his desertion! I'm surprised your superior settled for merely robbing you of your ability to fly and shattering your bones!"

Still no serious reaction. Apparently, his dear brother wasn't fazed by threats directed at him. "And our dear sister... oh, the terrors I could tell about her. You may know her as Lobazotah Tethys _{where did you two come up with those ridiculous given names?} aka Loba. We know her to be Fenella Suijin, singer of the Canticle of Ruin... Liderc showed fear, if only for a brief moment. "This song killed, and damaged its singer in the process. And yet, she sang it without hesitation," he mused. "Perhaps once I'm done with you... I could revisit the terrors she inflicted on-"

Liderc didn't get a chance to finish that statement. Lobo had managed to break free, gliding on his mostly-broken wings to punch his brother in the nose, covered in a green aura. The green angel reeled back, snarling, spitting up a gob of green blood, before turning to face his attacker. "Yes! The Black Eagle flies once more! More! Give me more, brother!" His wings extended, the taller angel covering himself in a dark red, flame-like aura.

Lobo spit at Liderc, commanding the winds to push him up, before dive-bombing at his brother, arms crossed in an X shape, covered in a soft green energy. In response, the green angel raised his jagged blade, pushing against the yellow one's arms.

From out of the corner of his eye, Lobo glanced at Paul, muttering a single word.

"Run."

[ParamountKeymaster]

Paul's eye and tail twitched at the mention of that name. That name that felt so familiar, but he could now only associate with memories of the black dragon that haunted his subconscious. "Don't... Don't call me that! THAT'S NOT MY NAME!"

He leaned forward slightly, his eyes glowing with rage as he watched Liderc magically silence Lobo, his own hands subtly beginning to weave a spell. He only stopped when Liderc held Lobo up as a meat shield, though his anger did not abate.

There was next to no change in Paul's stance or expression as Liderc spilled what he knew about Lobo and Loba. Honestly, it was going in one ear and out the other. Paul had already heard everything he needed to know from Lobo, and like he said before, he didn't care where the duo had come from. He held none of it against them, and he wasn't about to give their douchebag brother the satisfaction of a response. Instead, Paul's eyes flicked back and forth as he attempted to formulate a solution. Some way for both him and Lobo to get out of this situation.

Though he couldn't quite tell where, he could sense others in the shadows. More angels, no doubt, offering backup to their commander. He looked back up at Liderc –still prattling on about magic songs or whatever– and took a moment to study the Prasino's current position in relation to Lobo's. He knew what he had to to. It wasn't going to be pleasant for anyone, but-

Lobo made his move before Paul could, sweeping himself up on the wind and delivering a sharp blow to Liderc's face. Paul found himself momentarily frozen as he watched the scuffle, his teeth gritted, a static shiver running down his spine. Then...

Run? Good idea.

CRACK

From out of the dragon man's mouth came white hot lightning, striking Liderc in the side. Blinding arcs of electricity continued to ripple all around him like the inside of a plasma ball, the static in the air intensified by a mighty gale.

The bolts parted and scattered as Paul came charging in with inhuman speed, riding the wind as gracefully as if he had wings, slamming head-first into Liderc's skull with a ten-ton force, knocking the angel to the ground.

Green blood dripped from the tips of the dragon man's horns.

[DanteMGalileo]

"Nice one, Paul!" Lobo complimented, slowly gliding down, arms slightly scratched from the blade. He glanced over at his seemingly-fallen brother, who was twitching, bleeding from the forehead, still slightly sparking. Wingbeats could be heard, but the yellow angel paid them minimal heed. "C'mon, we've got company! I know a place where we can lose 'em!" Yelping slightly, he launched a blast of wind at a water spell that had been aimed in their general direction, scattering into droplets.

"Commander's down!"

"For now. You know he's like a phoenix."

"Paul, I mean it! We can handle the cannon fodder, but if he gets up..." Lobo summoned a gust of wind, knocking several angels down. He lead the dragon man down the streets, ready to cast another wind spell, when...

“Emgai' i'ayl valsk ah kolqmirr!”



Paul would feel a sensation of blindness rush over him. Lobo noticed the dragon man's slight disorientation, and grumbled to himself, raising a hand and preparing to summon a lightning javelin, when...

“Yie'li msish mi rsih ithie esiv i fi!”

Lobo let out a piercing scream, as his arm suddenly began to split down the middle, forming two nigh-perfect halves, ending at his shoulder. The yellow angel swore loudly, biting deep into the split point, visibly straining, until with a sickening sound, he had torn his own arm off. At once, from the amputation spot, bone began to form, followed by muscles and skin.

While Lobo was focused on his arm, Liderc focused his efforts on the temporarily-blind Paul, the gemstone on his circlet cracked, bleeding green down the visible side of his face, the angel looking somewhat feral.

"I don't care if you wound him, but you know damn well I need to take him alive! Go! Attack!"

A circle of green fire materialized around Paul, small gaps opening to allow several angels in, weapons drawn...

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Uh... Right!" Paul saw no reason to stick around once Lobo had an opening. He followed the angel without hesitation and without looking back, desperate to put as much distance between them and the platoon as possible. Though he sprinted with all his might, he couldn't help but warily reach up and touch his forehead, ever aware of the blood on his horns that wasn't his. He hadn't given it much thought at the time, but the damage his blunt attack inflicted, while still minor, managed to shock him a bit.

He didn't have long to contemplate this before his head started spinning and everything went dark. Though he couldn't hold back a startled yelp, Paul did his best to keep running through the black for as long as he could. His equilibrium was gyrating out of control, turning his sprint unsteady and ungraceful, until his foot finally caught a crack in the sidewalk and sent him falling face-first on the pavement.

The rough impact didn't faze him, putting nary a scratch in his scaled hide. Nonetheless, Paul was shaking as he propped himself back up on his hands and knees, anxiously looking around despite his dizziness. Everywhere he looked, he saw only smudges of purple and dark grey, though he could still hear as sharply as ever... and the things he was hearing, coupled with his disorientation, stirred up a well of nausea in the pit of his stomach.

"L-LOBO...!"

Paul didn't let Liderc's orders bother him. The dragon man simply hobbled back onto his feet and blindly hurled himself in the direction of the grotesque noises and the metallic smell of blood. He only lurched back when he felt the intense heat from the sheer proximity of the fire hit him in the face and saw his hazy vision turn a dull green-brown.

As if sensing he was surrounded, Paul raised his hand to the sky, electrical arcs dancing along his arm. The winds stirred the clouds above and around him into a dense storm, thunder rippling through the atmosphere. Though his eyes could not focus on any one thing, there was an unmistakable, unflappable fury in his bright yellow orbs.

"You don't want this! Trust me! YOU DON'T WANT THIS!"

[DanteMGalileo]

"Are you propositioning me?" Said a voice in the fiery vortex. "Because sorry, you're not my type, and we're kind of trying to kill each other." The voice seemed to be circling around Paul's head, taking advantage of Paul's temporary blindness.

"Let's play a game. First to get burned loses- RESTRAIN HIM!"

Wingbeats could be heard, followed by a growling sound from Lobo, who had regenerated his arm and had been, it seemed, trying to get the angels off Paul. "Break his lower appendages! Break his upper appendages! Break EVERYTHING but his wings!" The sickening sound of breaking bones could be heard, accompanied by Lobo's screams, dispersed from time to time by the yelp of another angel.

"It's amusing, is it not?" A vaguely chainsaw-like noise could be heard. "I've heard your hide repels most weapon. A pity for you that this isn't one of them."

An energy blade was run into Paul's elbow, the revving becoming more intense as it cut into the dragon man...

There was a close thunderclap, followed by the abrupt removal of the blade, and with it, the cutting, the wingbeats of the blade's owner indicating that the green angel had flown out of reach.

"TWISTER!!"

There was a gust of air around Lobo, scattering the angels that had attacked him. "Paul! D... Dammit..." Lobo's left leg was bent at an odd angle, clenching his right arm with gritted teeth, a dagger stuck into his skull. "I've endured worse...! Get... get out of here...! I've..."

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Oh, come on, that's a stupid game!" Paul spat, struggling to find where Liderc's voice was coming from so he could properly direct his venom. "You're a fire type! Can you even get burned?!"

He sharply turned in Lobo's direction, his ears easily picking up on the commotion taking place outside the ring of fire. Even now, Paul's biggest concern was keeping the angels off of Lobo. Paul knew what Liderc's plans for him were; he could only imagine what the Prasino had in mind for his deserter brother. "Hang on, man, I'm coming!"

Paul anxiously paced about without any distinct rhythm or pattern, hoping this would make him a trickier target. All the while, he twisted the wind around his form, straining to figure out a plan. Depending on how he commanded the breeze, it was even odds whether he would extinguish the flames around him or feed them. Regardless of whether this turned out for better or worse, he aimed to release his spell away from Lobo, wanting nothing more than to clear a path for himself without hurting his teammate. It was just so hard to judge what he was doing or where he was pointing when he could still only see dark smudges-

Hope clouds observation.

"GYAAAAAUGH...!!!"

Paul didn't experience true physical pain often. Not just because of his advantageous dragon skin, but because the metamorphosis that changed him into what he was had all but numbed him to the very concept. But to have a jagged blade driven into his shoulder, somehow managing to rip out scales and dig into the flesh beneath... that about did it. A flash from his Thundercloud drove the attacking angel away before things could get any worse, giving Paul leeway to fall to his knees and clutch his warm, bloodied shoulder with a sharp groan.

He refused to stay down for long. In defiance, Paul thrust his hand out, droplets of dragon blood scattering in all directions. A great gust of wind burst forth from the movement, striking the green flames with an Extinguishing Blow. Once Paul could sense that the air directly in front of him had cooled, he raced ahead through the break in the fire.

But once again, he just couldn't leave. His vision was starting to recover, though it was still difficult to make out shapes and depth. But even if this hadn't been the case, if his eyes could see perfectly clearly in the dark, his moral fiber wouldn't allow him to escape without his friend.

"I am not leaving without you!" Paul angrily shouted back, circling back around and running towards Lobo's voice, firing wind blast after wind blast at any and every non-yellow smudge he could see. "I'm not gonna let them hurt you anymore!!!"

[DanteMGalileo]

"'ve..."

Lobo dragged his broken leg behind him, reaching for the dagger stuck in his head. Yeah, he'll remove that later, once he's safe. Assuming he'll be safe. No. He will be safe. "... felt worse, but I 'preciate it." Cripes, what was up with Paul? Just what kinda spell was he hit by? "... Yer a good man, Paul. Better than me." But ssh, he can speak of that some other time.

Liderc had flown back up, regrouping with some of his unit. "I will not be made a ballistic banana-eating beast again. I'll have both their command locuses for a trophy tonight." Some of the other angels looked at each other in concern. Just what had gotten into him? "Do I need to execute your families to get you lot to do anything?! GO!!"

"Heads up," Lobo croaked out at the sight of the winged mob. "We're gonna get outta here, just gotta- RRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!" And then, the wild-haired angel was accosted, the wings of several others shedding feathers as a smokescreen of sort.

There was a sound similar to a cross between a growl and a hiss, the jagged edge of a blade slicing along Paul's side...

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Escape now, sentiment later!" Paul hollered breathlessly, grabbing onto Lobo and offering him support as he continued to dash down the sidewalk, slowing to just in between a frantic pace and an awkward hobble. "Can't see well! Vision's almost back! Need direction until then!"

As much as he wanted to get away, as much as he wanted to believe that they could, Paul had to concede that this was getting slightly ridiculous and that getting out of this particular fix was going to be no small feat. He could barely see. Lobo was severely injured. They weren't getting anywhere quickly enough. Another wind spell to sweep them up and speed things along could help, but he feared it would be only a temporary solution.

For one brief moment, Paul wished that they could fly... but Lobo was just too broken... and he was just too human.

Just when it seemed like his eyes were finally starting to focus again, a flurry of feathers clouded his vision and Lobo was whisked away from his side. Paul could only think to let out a guttural roar and blow away the feathers with a brief gust of wind, but before he could aim a proper attack, that same cutting sensation from before tore into his hip, tearing off fabric and scales, earning a sharp cry in return.

Without thinking, barely realizing what he was doing, Paul threw his arms out and released an intense torrent of wind, the air racing and spiraling, rapidly building into what could only be described as a tornado. The miniature storm tore its way through the angels' forces, shaking up the shudders of the houses it blew past, stirring up winds powerful enough to shake the earth beneath them.

Immediately after releasing this tornado, Paul stumbled off to the side, practically tripping over himself until he found a lamppost to lean on, holding his bleeding hip, catching his breath, struggling to stop the spinning in his head.

Vorq sva wux...

Paul's head snapped up. His vision was nearly back to normal, his eyes flicking about, desperately searching for one angel among the commotion. "Lobo?!"

Hawrk'ghukech!

He shakily stepped away from the streetlight, sprinting through the crowd, hand still firmly clinging to his hip. "LOBO!"

Gethrisj. Slathalin ihk svabol ui douta.

In the dim evening night, Paul's blood had a curious sheen...

[DanteMGalileo]

"So..." Came a voice from above. "You can't even say you're truly human anymore, can you?" A flap of wings, followed by a gust of hot air. "And yet, you're hardly better than a common animal. Oh well, the things I do..."

"EX-EXTINGUISHING BLOW...!!"

A burst of cool air blew away the hot air, allowing Lobo and Paul to breathe again. The yellow angel coughed up a mustard-like substance, glaring at the sky. Liderc descended slowly, arms crossed, expression smug. "You shouldn't have come here tonight, Sampati, Ulharryrth." Lobo attempted to form another lightning javelin, but couldn't quite find the strength to do so, instead coughing up more yellow blood. "You're out of shape, brother." The green angel sounded, not angry, instead just disappointed. "You've gone too long without training yourself. I've been to war far too many times..."



"SHUT UP! Just- Just SHUT UP!!" Lobo had regained some of his strength, glaring at his brother, trying to guard Paul. "You don't know empathy. You don't understand what it's like to be the shield and not the sword. NONE OF PARADISO KNOWS!!" Through heavy breaths, Lobo spat a gob of yellow blood at Liderc's feet, glare intense. "I feel bad for your troops. They've swallowed Paradiso's lies." The green aura returned, soothing. "But you? I don't feel any pity for you." Aura swirled around Lobo's arms, the angel's eyes a more vibrant shade of green. "You would know why Paradiso wages war. You know damn well. You've deluded yourself into thinking you're doing what's right, when in reality you're just a pathetic little-"

Lobo was cut off when a green fireball, sparking dark red, was thrown, narrowly missing his head, leaving a sizeable scorch mark on the wall behind him. Liderc's face had twisted into an ugly snarl, pure hate in his eye, his dark red, searing aura returning. "Finish that sentence, Sampati. I dare you."

"You're a pathetic little or-"



A green blur tackled Lobo, sending the yellow angel to the ground, blade digging into his torso.