Critical Mission I: The Demonic Bodhisattva

- Samael -

Samael intently watched the tense exchange between Bastion and Komori, his eyes began to glare at bastion the further the conversation went on. Every time Bastion began to slowly shift his eyes away from Samael, Samael slowly tilted his eyes in the direction to maintain eye contact.

He had been wanting to talk to Bastion during the ride, but there just seemed to be a barrier between them. He wasn't acting like usual, he's supposed to be worrying, asking if he did everything right, assessing the situation for the next time they engage... but this... this was just wrong.

"Come on you idiot, give the full report. Show me there's nothing to worry about." Samael muttered under his breathe, as his muscles began to tense and tense as his nails began to dig into his skin, that shocked him awake.

"Komori! Bastion failed to mention in his report how he was killed by mother harlot and then resurrected by an angel." Samael blurted out loudly quickly turning his head towards Bastion, as the vanguard walked out of the room behind them not turning around at all....

"He's been acting weird ever since, different. I fear the angels did something to him...." Samael stated out of concern as he glanced at the other vanguards waiting for them to confirm his suspicions, as he turned to continue to say turning back to Komori, "He shouldn't be allowed to go on missions... not until we know what's going on! Especially against the fiends!"

Amira

Amira stood like the other Vanguards, watching the exchange between Bastion and Komori. She couldn't understand what the tension was, she truly could. At the end of the day they fine, that's all that matters, unexpected things happen all the time, that's life.

Yet, they see things like her. For Amira, the nun's betrayal meant nothing, she was someone they found and gave the wrong judgment. That is all.

Simply put, they shouldn't have trusted her. But was that a wrong decision? Should they now just kill every unknown person they meet for the first time to prevent it from happening again?

And yet...

"Komori! Bastion failed to mention in his report how he was killed by mother harlot and then resurrected by an angel."

Amira's eyes widen. She didn't know that. Perhaps she was just too focused on the hoard of enemies. She didn't notice that Bastion had died. Amira watched as Bastion left the room.

No

She couldn't just stand and watch. She left after him, something inside her was compelling her to go after him.

As Bastion walked through the hallway, Amira grabbed onto his shirt. Her breath was panting, but not of exhaustion. Her cheeks blushed, but not of embarrassment.

"B-B-astion, you died?"

Amira blurred out without hesitation

- Cleo -

You're all marked targets.

Cleo frowned at the words, and his fingers twitched, closing around the palm where the shard had impaled him. It wasn't lost on him that Bastion was different. The fact that the other Vanguard had died probably had something to do with that. Magic was a powerful thing, but so was death. None of the stories he'd ever heard about those that came back were good. Death had a way of tainting the soul, even if it was ripped from her cold clutches.

As the others gathered around Bastion, Cleo made his way to Komori. "Some of us are more marked than others." His eyes drifted, for a moment, to Bastion, and then he raised his hand, showing Komori the small scar that remained. "It was her. I didn't realize it at first, but her voice, her visage, even her mannerisms were the same as the woman shrouded in the mist."

Cleo closed his hand, letting it fall to his side. "Bastion might be the obvious target, considering what happened, but she has my blood, which makes me the hunted..."

- Bastion -

Bastion walked away from the group, not acknowledging Vayu or Samael's blurted confession. He moved down the hallway as though halfway through a trance until he felt a tug on his shirt. Pausing, he turned slowly to face Amira, her face flushed and her breathing labored. He stared at the pale fingers clutching at him, then up into her eyes as she spoke.

"B-B-astion, you died?" she blurted out.

Bastion frowned, his expression distant. After a moment, he nodded slowly and pulled aside the collar of his shirt. Over his heart, a pale handprint was branded into his skin, as though sealing closed the flesh that had been pierced.

"I'll be fine, though," he said, covering up the mark once more. "I've been given a calling... and nothing will happen to me till I fulfill it."

Nodding, he turned away and headed off into the building, his vision still half-filled with the image of spiraling angels about him.

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- Komori -

Komori watched Bastion leave, Samael's words ringing in his ears. He covered his mouth, ice settling into the pit of his stomach. This was beyond his knowledge or experience to handle. He'd have to take this to the Three right away.

Before he could quite recover, Cleo approached him and held up his scarred hand. Great, this certainly complicated things. Komori sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Thank you for letting me know," he said quietly. "For your safety, all of you, stay in Chaldea until further notice."

He put a hand on Cleo's shoulder, giving him a fleeting squeeze, then walked away. They would need to begin making plans immediately if they had any hope of countering Mother Harlot and possibly the angels. His heart sank as his steps quickened.

And one thing he was certain of... these kids were going to be at the center of them.