The Three Dark Angels

The moment he emerged from the rubble he threw his own fist out at Aegis, who barely had time to see Angelus' raised fist before Aegis was struck and thrown backward, rolling and skidding across the ground for several yards before managing to regain his footing with Angelus in close pursuit.

Aegis threw up his own protective wall, which Angelus blasted straight through without hesitation, and blinked upon finding that Aegis was nowhere in sight. In his excitement of blasting through the wall, Angelus hadn't realized that he had dashed right past Aegis, who was remaining close the wall and low.

The sound of Aegis' movement gave him enough time to turn, realizing his folly, and barely avoided a double fisted swing that was meant for the back of Angelus' head which most likely would have put him out for several hours, based on the force which had brushed past his face that followed Aegis' fists. Aegis wasn't finished, and followed with a hard kick, and Aegis' left shin made direct contact with Angelus' right side just above the hip, knocking Angelus to the ground.

Aegis pounced on Angelus, pinning him down and putting a strong chokehold on Angelus, whose own two hands were barely holding back the arm that was dangerously close to his neck. Aegis, however, was winning, and Angelus could slowly feel his own fingers pressing against his neck as the coil around it became tighter and tighter.

Angelus, realizing that both he and Aegis were on their sides and that his hand could touch the ground, gambled everything to a single moment as his hands released the arm around his neck, allowing Aegis' arm to wrap around his neck completely, and threw a single flat palm on to the ground.

Aegis had wasted no time, and Angelus prayed as the blood circulation got cut off from his head that he would hit his mark. He did, and a tower of earth not much larger and thicker than a small tree bursted from the ground which struck Aegis' ribcage and began to push him into the air.

Angelus caught his breath as soon as Aegis released him, and shook his head a little to orient himself while Aegis was unceremoniously thrown off the small tower of earth as soon as it hit it's maximum height of seven feet.

It had almost (ended), right there at that moment, Angelus realized. (Everything) had almost ended right there. Angelus turned to Aegis, blood in his eyes.

(You've been holding back long enough. If you continue to hold back, you will LOSE!)

Aegis met Angelus' glare, and Aegis' eyes widened upon seeing red instead of white in Angelus' eyes.

"Angelus! Control yourself!" Aegis shouted as Angelus seemingly vanished and struck Aegis with a gust of wind from Angelus' fist at point blank range. And Angelus hit him hard, hard enough to force Aegis to cough up blood as he was thrown backwards.

Regardless of the pain, Aegis regained himself quickly as he came to the conclusion that Angelus was currently beyond reach, and was going to have to be put down by (force).

(He is too dangerous and too powerful to be taken lightly. If this continues, he'll destroy everything around him, including himself. Now is not the time to hold back or show mercy. Now is the time to step up and do what must be done.)

The blood formed in Aegis' eyes as his eyes narrowed and he jumped into the night sky, with Angelus in hot pursuit, and now holding a fireball in his hand. The intent was clear for all to see, and Aegis responded by forming his own fireball in his hand and throwing it at Angelus. Angelus held up the fireball in his hand to defend himself, but was caught in the ensuing explosion, powerful enough to be felt by the crowds which were now screaming, and Angelus was thrown into the ground hard as Aegis landed.

The Conscripts and Dragoons who were present were stunned at the sudden change of a fight that they themselves had been enjoying. Once both Angelus and Aegis touched ground, however, they had already braced themselves and began jumping into the ring before they were struck with shock once more.

Aegis had raised an arm into the night sky, and a black cloud which crackled with lightning began forming in his hand and seeping into the sky, blotting out the night stars within seconds, which then began to crack with lightning just as Angelus climbed out of the ground, the impact barely slowing him down.

Angelus only had time to look quickly at the black cloud which crackled ominously and then back down to Aegis before Aegis threw his arm down, which was still connected to the black cloud in the sky, and a powerful lightning bolt struck where Angelus had been standing. Although Aegis paid it no heed, the force had been powerful enough to be felt within the crowds, who were now screaming in terror and creating as much distance as possible between themselves and the two maniacs that were fighting.

Aegis saw that Angelus himself had not been struck, and was moving across the field at rapid speeds, fast enough that the naked eye could no longer catch all of his movements. For several moments, Angelus was simply moving around Aegis and not directly attacking him, for he saw that Aegis' blood eyes could read his movements perfectly. At the flip of a unknown switch, Angelus suddenly turned to Aegis and began running directly at him.

BOOOOOOMMMM!!!!!

The lighting bolt, one even more powerful than the one Aegis had produced, suddenly flashed and struck the ground between Angelus and Aegis, cutting Angelus off before he had reached Aegis.

Aegis never saw it coming. One moment, the world was in his eyes in all it's blood red glory, the next, black.

Just as Angelus removed his arms and opened his eyes, growling and ready to fight whoever had dared come forth, he found an all white figure was in front of him, and without warning Angelus' world flipped over and he found himself slammed on his back hard, a foot on his arm and the tip of a sword at his neck.

"H-holy..." Angelus uttered as he looked up and saw that the Grand Dragoon was standing above him and was the one who had brought him down. Angelus couldn't quite read the Grand Dragoon's expressions, though he seemed to have a number of them which ranged between pure fury and curiosity.

"We'll have a talk. For now, stay as you are, and do not move unless I direct you to. Agree, and I will release you."

"Uh...y-yeah..."

The Grand Dragoon's eyes narrowed.

"Uh, I mean, yes Grand Dragoon, I understand." Angelus sputtered quickly. He knew it. He had fucked up. Royally fucked up. Triple double mega super ultra fucked up. And it didn't matter how old this guy was, he is more terrifying than anything else in the world that Angelus had ever encountered at that moment.

The Grand Dragoon then removed the tip of his sword from Angelus' neck, and raised his foot off of Angelus' arm just as Aegis was stirring and coming around. The Grand Dragoon turned to Aegis and pointed his sword at him as Aegis' head rose and his blood eyes looked up to see the Grand Dragoon, whom he recognized and the blood in his eyes began fading.

"G-Grand Dragoon..." Aegis whispered.

"We will talk tonight."

"Grand Dragoon!" Master Phoenix's voice echoed as he, along with the entire battalion of Dragoons and Conscripts that were present, closed in.

"Stay as you are!" The Grand Dragoon boomed, and everyone froze in their tracks. "From this moment for the remainder of the night, these two are in my custody and are not to be harmed or provoked! Master Phoenix, Master Rubadron, and Master Phineas, you may approach. The rest of you are not required, and may attend to the business of wrapping things up tonight and sending everyone home safely. Due to extenuating circumstances, I hereby officially declare Graduate Azreal to be the winner of tonight's Tournament, and I ask him to come forward."

Though hesitant, the Conscripts and Dragoons followed the Grand Dragoon's directions without question, and the individuals he sought came forward.

Both Master Phoenix and Master Rubadron had the look of fury on their faces, and even Azreal was giving Aegis and Angelus a look of venom, correctly guessing on what had just happened, and sending a clear statement saying 'you guys are fucking idiots' with his expressions.

Master Phineas, the Master in Charge of Templar and the only other Master present aside from Master Rubadron and Master Phoenix, who appeared to be little more than just an older looking man in his early forties, his short black hair having a little seasoning of grey, and brown eyes which were neither intimidating nor meek, held a look of defensive concern and ready to act if required.

As instructed though, they approached without a word, awaiting the Grand Dragoon's next command, who turned to Azreal first.

"You are a personal acquaintance of these two, correct?"

Azreal blinked in obvious confusion.

"My apologies, what I meant was that you know these two well, correct?"

"Oh, uh, yes, Grand Dragoon, I do." Azreal nodded.

"Do you have the same...condition that I witnessed in these two just a few moments ago?" The Grand Dragoon asked, and Azreal could not stop himself before shooting both Angelus and Aegis a quick glare before nodding while the three Masters showed a puzzled look.

"Yes, Grand Dragoon."

"I see. Master Rubadron, since Azreal will be joining us in our discussion, he will not be able to be the customary class leader in the Graduate's first steps into the Dragoon Palace. Therefore, I believe that since Graduate Fortuna, Graduate Beasley, and Graduate Scorpia all made it to the round prior to the semifinals, it is they who shall be the class leaders. Do so in alphabetical order, and have a Veteran take care of the welcome since you too are required for our discussion. We will be heading up to the Palace now, you may catch up at your leisure."

The Palace that the Grand Dragoon spoke of is the home of all Dragoons of the Magi, the Palace of Ascendance.

Master Rubadron nodded. "Yes Grand Dragoon." He said before walking off without question.

"Graduate Angelus and Graduate Aegis, you may now rise. Master Phineas, I need you to tell the Wiseman that everything is under control and I will disclose everything to them tomorrow morning at sunrise. You too may catch up at your leisure."

Master Phineas nodded. "Yes Grand Dragoon." He said before he walked off as well.

"Master Phoenix, you will accompany myself and the three Graduates here to the Palace where we will patiently await the return of both Master Phineas and Master Rubadron, and only then will we discuss what just occurred. You'll understand soon enough why I do not want to have this conversation in earshot of others."

Master Phoenix merely nodded his understanding, even if he had none. "Yes Grand Dragoon."

"Now let us be off."



"Are those two out of their fucking minds!? They could have killed either each other or someone out here tonight!" Beasley practically shouted in protest, not only at the blatant carelessness of those two, but now, because of what happened, she won't be seeing her family for perhaps the rest of the night, since all non-service members were being sent home.

"I have no idea. I mean, this is a bit of a stretch even for Hothead, but that would have been one thing. But Aegis...seriously, how the fuck was he able to use Fury of the Skies with such power? That...that was scary, I'm not going to lie. I'm still a little shaken about it, Aegis...I don't know what happened there." Fortuna answered.

"Angelus was able to use Lightning Steps as well, he never showed anything resembling that speed, even when he fought me, and he tried pretty hard." Scorpia pointed out.

"That was freaky too, I've never seen anyone use Lightning Steps live before, it was fucking weird watching him vanish and reappear constantly like that."

"Aegis was able to follow him, it looked like he was following Angelus' movements perfectly. I think we can all pretty much agree that some sort of switch was thrown on and those two were suddenly fighting at a much higher level." Wartron surmised, to which Beasley, Fortuna, and Scorpia nodded.

"I also think we can agree that the bigger issue is Aegis. Like Fortuna said, although a bit of a stretch, something like this wouldn't be completely impossible when it comes to Angelus, but Aegis, for Aegis to just...lose control of himself like that, that's unheard of." Wartron said next, again to which the others nodded.

"One of the main reasons I respect Aegis so much is his complete control. He's almost never out of line, obeys everything without question and with no talk back, shows up on time, is neat, and very responsible. For him to do this...I wouldn't have believed it unless I had seen it." Scorpia said as she shook her head.

"Regardless, he did do it, and things have really gone to shit tonight because of what he and Angelus did. As if things weren't bad enough as it is." Kreiger said as he joined them.

"No one's arguing that, but the question we're wondering is why." Scorpia said as she turned to him.

Kreiger shrugged. "Does it matter?"

"Yes, especially if he's going to be sent out with us, I would like to know whether or not he is completely sane. The same goes for Angelus as well, and maybe even Azreal." Scorpia answered.

"Azreal? Not Azreal, if there is one guy who can keep calm and cool to a fault, it's Azreal. He acts like a dumbass, but in reality, that guy has his act together and just acts stupid on purpose." Fortuna responded.

"And we would have said the same thing about Aegis before tonight. Scorpia is right, we can't change what happened, and we're going to have to deal with it. But, if they do get sent out with us, I at least want a proper explanation and decide whether or not I can trust them." Beasley answered.

"Attention all participants in the Graduate Tournament, you are to gather before Veteran Brandall who awaits in the field in front of the VIP boxes. I repeat, all participants are to gather before Veteran Brandall in the field in front of the VIP boxes." The message echoed among the Dragoons and Conscripts, ensuring that the summons was heard, which all Graduates answered without question and gathered before Veteran Brandall as instructed.

"Now that everyone is gathered, I ask Graduate Beasley, Graduate Fortuna, and Graduate Scorpia to come forward as the leaders of this Graduate class of twenty thirty one. It is you three along with myself who will lead your brothers and sisters on their first pilgrimage to the Dragoon Palace, our true home as it has always been for the past two millennia." Veteran Brandall announced, and the three stepped forward and stood before the Veteran.

"As the representatives of this class, it is your privilege to ask me any reasonable question as we walk, or in silence if you wish." Veteran Brandall informed the Graduates as he turned and began walking, with all of the Graduates following. Normally, it is customary for the crowds who had been watching to join the Graduates at the rear behind them, separated by a thick wall of the Dragoon and Conscripts who had been present. It is also customary that the Grand Dragoon, along with any Masters and Wisemen that are present to walk in the front with the winner of the Graduate Tournament.

Instead, the only followers tonight will be the staff who were present, since the Wiseman who had been present was escorted back by his own personal guard of Guardians, and all of the bystanders had been sent home for the evening.

The walk was a quiet and tense one, rather than the customary cheers of joy by the crowds as the Graduates truly become full fledged Dragoons as they enter the Palace for the first time, and a dark cloud hung over the atmosphere that was thick enough to be cut with a knife.

Conversations were low key, mostly whispers of what had happened, though a few were of different topics. The leaders of the pilgrimage did not speak since they began walking, not until Veteran Brandall broke the silence.

"I am sorry that things did not turn out better for you tonight. This pilgrimage is supposed to be a joyous occasion full of excitement and pride. What those two did was beyond irresponsible. The first time, sure, many are young, foolish, headstrong, and get into fights the way they did the first time. What they did tonight, however...there is no excuse for that."

"Veteran, sir...have you ever seen a Graduate use either Lightning Steps or Fury of the Skies like that?" Fortuna asked.

Veteran Brandall was silent for a few moments before answering. "No, not in all my years have I ever seen Graduates perform or fight at that level." He decided to omit the fact, based on that display, those two were on the same class as himself, and he only got this far through almost two decades of a rigid and disciplined life. It was uneasy to think about how strong those two could be after a few decades if they continue at that kind of level. One would almost think they were Dark Angels, an old Magi folklore conspiracy theory of humans that were given otherworldly power to be allowed to change the course of history, with Osirus being one of the primary candidates, along with other important figures of Magi history.

Of course, the conspiracy goes farther and says that history has been manipulated by some non existent individual in the shadows, and this figure (who some believe to be the legendary White Angel, Garserimos) supposedly gave them powers so that he could use them to turn the course of history in his favor, or something along those lines. Veteran Brandall didn't think too much into it, for most of it was far fetched crap with no evidence whatsoever, and Dark Angels were little more than an old wives tale.

At the moment though, it seemed a little more real than usual.

He remembered watching those two carefully the night they had gotten into their little fight at that bar. Angelus, the Hothead, even though he was a Hothead and easily got into fights, he did notice that Angelus did not seem to be the brutal type who goes for a kill, but a competitive type who goes for the victory. He had demonstrated that same trait during all of his fights leading up to the final round. For those few moments, it was like he had suddenly decided to aim for the kill instead of the victory. And he did so with tremendous power, perhaps the most unsettling issue of the night's events.

"Though it may be a little leap of faith to ask for, but I hope that someday, you can look back on this day with a bit of pride, regardless of the circumstances. This is your final step in your long transition to becoming a true Dragoon. Once you step into the Palace, your long journey will be over and you will officially be Dragoons without question. Take that into heart, even if you do not stay a Dragoon forever. Not many enter the doors of the Palace in their entire lifetime." Veteran Brandall added to try and ease the tension of the atmosphere as well as to change the subject.

"Well, it is true that I personally have been waiting for this day for most of my life." Beasley said, going along with the Veteran's change of topic, though her real concerns were not far from her mind.

"What's the Palace like?" Fortuna asked.

"Hmm...I remember when I first entered the Palace, it was a bit overwhelming. It's one thing to see it from the outside. Yes, the Palace truly is large from the outside, but it seems even bigger from the inside. It is, after all, supposed to be a major refuge for the denizens of Skytown in the event of an emergency, and it certainly looks capable of handling it. But surprisingly, it's easy to navigate, and you'll most likely catch on quick on where everything important is since the majority of the Palace is merely maintained for those emergencies and not used by the regular Palace staff."