"And so the Archangels reunite, to rain down holy wrath upon the sinners," Kai proclaimed, stretching his bagh-naghk clad arms wide.

"Yeah," West replied with a grin, finishing his spells and checking his pistols.

I've got to admit, getting Kai's call was... exciting. Reuniting the Cabal for this...

He tried to keep his mind off the Gym, and what had happened on the steps outside.

"Orange?" Kai asked, tossing the peeled fruit to West.

"Thanks," he replied, taking a bite.

"You guys are such pussies," came the indictment from Uriel, smiling as he held his ubiquitous shotgun.

West didn't give a damn. Traveling always left a metallic taste in his mouth.

The joking was nice, a time honored custom for those preparing to face death, and not for the first time. What they were doing was risky, and by some standards, foolish.

"How's Ankh?" Kai asked, genuinely interested.

"Good, but god she'd kill me if she knew I was here... or at least, doing this."

She's better than I am, actually. I'm no leader of men.


"Ready?" asked Dex.

Dex. Glad to see you found a place in Baltimore. I'm sorry about Sacramento.

The three men nodded, and brought their weapons to the ready, then jumped through the forming Portals...


...West Accelerated into the room, slicing the pie expertly. tap tap. tap tap. tap tap. It had become muscle memory, from years with the military and then with the Arrows. Three shocked faces contorted in pain, and blood misted the air as they fell.

Hit hard. Hit fast.

West surveyed the room, noting the sigils and sacraments...

...and felt ribs snap and teeth loosen as he was knocked off of his feet.


Stupid.

He looked at the behemoth that had swung a table at him, and didn't bother to look for his Sig or draw his FiveSeven. Hands came together in finger guns, and his whisper released the Psychic Swords he had prepared. Eyes twitched and went lifeless, then the hulking man crashed to the floor. The body spasmed as the spells augmenting it dissolved.

West grunted as he got to his feet, and cursed himself for having to bend over to retrieve his gun. A mouthful of blood and a tooth replaced the gun on the floor.

Shoulda picked it up first.

Making his way out into the hall, he reached out to find Dex.

What the fuck?

There, framed in the bathroom doorway, was a man with his pants around his legs... holding an RPG. Without thinking, the Mysterious Rook shifted...

...and West rolled over, picking up his pistol, ignoring the pain. He stepped out of the living room, already sighting his pistol at head level. tap tap. He walked over, mostly out of curiosity.

Who the fuck takes an RPG to take a shit? I've heard of stashing pieces in the john, but that's fucking ridiculous.

West rolled his eyes as he saw the dull green Field Manual. Apparently Rambo liked to read instruction books on the shitter.

Lucky me he was only halfway done -- with the manual or the shit.

Activating his Acceleration again, he checked the house thoroughly before 'calling' Dex, and then stepped through the Portal.


"Fuck, old man, you're getting slow," Kai said. He was covered in blood, as if he had showered in it. He had already taken the metal weapons off of his hands. "And sloppy," the Asian man added, motioning to the side of West's face.

"Hair hwer hife... na hree," West retorted. He spat another mouthful of blood and gave Dex a dark look as he gingerly wiggled his other two loosened teeth with his tongue.

"Damn, who knew," the older man replied with a shrug.

Yeah, who knew. Motherfucker. We're even now.

It was nice to see everyone had made it. That, and three Seer cells eliminated. Baltimore would continue to recover from the Spirit War -- from Kaa and Hephaestus' treachery.

"I got the German," Uriel said in his usual matter-of-fact way. "Caught him handcuffed to a bed with some gigolo spanking him." He paused and looked at West with a sly grin. "Funny thing, too. His boy-toy looked like you. Coincidence?"

"Huck. Hu."

"You know, I'd fix that for you... but the thought of you having to go back to Ankh like that and explain it..." Kai shivered. "She's so going to bitch you out."

"Huck. Hu."

Good times.