Kale got up, feeling a very cold, foreboding aura. This wasn't good. Getting dressed, he grabbed his blade, and looked back at Kesh'e. It might be best for her to stay where she was. Letting out a deep breath, he could feel them. Wings, on his back. But they weren't visible. Yet.

Slowly, they began to materialize, albeit still transparent, folded up. He could feel himself become light on his feet. Walking outside, he could see them in their robes. Drawing his sword, he raised it. His voice had changed, and carried a deep echo to it. It sounded ethereal.

"Leave. Now."

The mages halted in their approach, but sneered at him. Sure he had some power they were unfamiliar with, but with so many of them, he didn't stand a chance.

"Not on your life. We have a job to do, and we have no intentions of stopping"

The men were in more number than originally. And more were coming from other sides. There were even spies already inside the hotel, pretending to be normal everyday people. Kesh'e could feel death there. But something else disturbed her senses. She smelled...fire. A fire mage was inside the building, lighting it up and burning. Already, the small old hotel was filling with smoke, and people were screaming as they tried to flee, but found the exits blocked.

Her eyes snapped open and she bolted upright, taking a swift intake of breath.

"Fire...they've lit this place on fire..."

She flung herself out of the bed and into her clothes, slinging her pack over her shoulder, and running out into the halls. Most had already managed to escape, but she sensed 9 people still trapped inside. She was about to take control of the fire, when she sensed something else click into place. An explosive spell. If she so much as sparked any of her magical energy, the entire place would blow, and she had no idea how to unravel such a high level spell. An ancient spell. Clearly one of Vetis' newer ones. She swore under her breath and covered her mouth and nose. If she could not command it to not affect her, she needed to be able to keep conscious. So she ran through the hotel, grabbing people, carrying them out the back entrance, and only stopping when she had grabbed all nine, despite the fire burning her as she did so. But there was something else. A young woman ran up to her, shaking her.

"My daughter! My daughter ran back inside! Please save her!"

Kesh'e frowned, not realizing what had happened.

"Remain here. I will find her. I will protect her"

She bolted back inside, coughing and covering her face again as she ran inside, following the soul trail straight to a room, and kicking in the door. A little girl of perhaps 5 was crouched in the corner crying, clinging to her doll. Kesh'e moved to herside.

"Come on, little one! We must get you out! It's not safe here!"
"I'm scared! They killed mommy!"

Kesh'e froze.

"What?"
"They killed mommy!"

The little girl pointed to a barely recognizable corpse in the corner. Kesh'e gasped. It was a setup. A mage disguised as the little girl's mother to send her back inside where the explosive spell lay in wait. She grabbed up the little girl quickly as she felt the magic starting to activate.

"HOLD ON!"

She threw up a single shield around them as she let loose her demon form. The explosion rocked the entire building, and Kesh'e was sent crashing through a window. But she wasn't protecting herself as she fell from the second story. She was holding onto that little girl and using her wings to shield the child as debris rained down and Kesh'e slammed into the ground. The people Kesh'e had gotten out rushed over to see if they were alright. The little girl was fine. Scared, but held tightly in the arms of Kesh'e as her wings finally uncurled from around her. Her bright blue eyes looked up at Kesh'e. To the child, Kesh'e was a guardian angel. Her tiny hands reached up to touch her angel's face.

"Angel? Angel, wake up"

Kesh'e groaned and her eyes fluttered open. Tears trickled down her cheeks as she felt an odd sensation within her body. She felt a shift inside of her own soul. The pure side had become bigger and now she was more pure than dark, whereas before she had been half and half.

"I did it..." she whispered weakly, though no one but the child could hear. "I did it, Kale..."

She looked to the little child in her arms.

"Do not fear...little one...I am not going to die...I am just hurt...soon the...real guardian angel will come..."

A better look at her wings revealed that they had already been severely damaged. They were feathered black wings that seemed shredded and constantly leaking blood. But now...they were pierced with shards of glass and somewhat burned from the explosion.

The mages, thinking they had done their duty, began to swarm around Kale. There were at least a good 20 of them left now, all charging up their various elemental powers to attack him.

"Give up, dark one. Your hellspawn whore is dead..."

Dead.

"Uh-" his mouth opened, but no words came out.

Dead.

"Wha-"

DEAD. The word rung through his head like he had been hit by a giant bell. His eyes wide, another pair of wings ripped from his hips. And then another. Six wings, covered in blood. Transparent, glowing with a brilliant gold. Magnificent, and pure, white. Something inside took over. An instinct, a spell. A defense mechanism, cast on his bloodline from ancient times. His voice became thunderous, drowning out the flames as his toes rose to the point they no longer touched the ground.

"Dark? You, mortal, who would call me dark?" a frightening side had took over. Whoever this was, it was not Kale.

The mages began shooting at him. Lightning, fire. But they hardly singed his flesh. The light around him acted like some kind of anti-magic armor. Readying his sword, he let loose only one more word.

"JUDGEMENT."

He swung it. The darkness of the night, for a few seconds, was ripped asunder. Like a flash of lightning, everything lit up brilliantly as a blade of light ripped through their ranks, lightning branching from it, which seemed to pierce them like arrows, and some even being torn to shreds by it. A bloodbath on the once peaceful grassy knolls. But just as quickly as this violent, wrathful side took over, the top and bottom pairs of wings snapped back under his flesh, his wounds healing over them. Returning to its' bluish glow, he fell to the ground, coughing.

He could feel her presence. She wasn't dead. It was probably that realization that snapped him out of his trance. But there were other mages still standing. shocked in awe, but standing. He gripped his sword. He would have to defeat them while he could! He glided over to one, slicing it in half in a flash of light. His own angelic might seemed more prominent the more wings he had. But even just a pair was enough to make him inhuman.

A bolt of lightning struck him, making his heart beat out of control. His chest on fire, he toppled to the ground. He almost had a heart attack. The mage in front of him started charging a fireball! But he was quickly stabbed by the sword, and ripped in two as Kale recovered.

"I have a promise... I need to keep!"

His legs grew cold as ice covered them. Not letting them trap him, he shattered it. They began to surround him again. They meant business...

Trembling with pain, Kesh'e rose to her feet, shaking off her battered wings and pulling glass shards out of her body. The little girl, Lily, watched with worry, her crystal blue eyes wide with fear.

"Worry not...young one...I am simply a bit...worse for wear..."

She took the childs hand, leading her around the destroyed remains of the building that still crackled with flames and smoldered into ash. It was when she saw the mages closing in on a battered Kale....that Kesh'e snapped herself. Another explosion from within the flames happened, and geysers of flame rose up, snaking around, and beginning to incinerate the men. Screams of terror filled the air and mages tried to flee. One ran straight into Kesh'e herself, who impaled him on her scimitar, wrenching the blade and twisting it in the man's gut.

"No one...and I mean NO ONE, TOUCHES MY KALE!"

It was only when a tiny little girl in a tattered and burned dress clung to her leg, shaking something terrible, that Kesh'e froze and let her magic and scimitar fade away.

"P-pretty angel...p-please don't get m-mad...."

Keshe's expression softened, and she kneeled down, placing a hand on the girl's cheek.

"Lily...sweet little Lily....you have no need to fear me....I am simply protecting the real angel..."

Her gaze went to Kale, but just as she was reaching out for him, her adrenaline shut off.....and Kesh'e suddenly collapsed. Lily screamed and shook Kesh'e, cutting her little hands on the shards of glass still sticking out of Keshe's flesh as the wings faded away into shadows...

It all happened so fast. Kale struggled back to his feet, and limped over to her. He never thought he'd have both burns, and frostbite at the same time. Kneeling, he took her into his arms, and looked over to the girl. His wings faded away. He suddenly heard a voice in his head though, just before they did. Picking up Kesh'e, he looked over to her, a sudden tear in his eye.

"Your mom... says she loves you."

He looked over to Kesh'e. He suddenly felt something in her that was different. But, he couldn't quite put his finger on it. But she was alive. This girl had some serious gall. Holding her close, he gritted his teeth. Those men called her a demon, but they were for worse.

Kesh'e was completely limp by the time Kale got to her, cradling her close. But the little girl, Lily, was completely aware. Kesh'e had taken the brunt of the damage during the explosion.

"Mr.....Angel......?"

Despite being in a tattered and burned dress with smudges and a few little cuts on her body, the girl clung to Kale's sleeve, trembling.

"W-will pretty angel lady...be okay?"

The little girl was actually quite adorable and sweet. She had golden blond hair with a slight curl to it, and crystal blue eyes. Were she clean and in a fresh dress, without the old and tattered doll, she would be the perfect image of the child that all people in this area wanted...

"I'm......scared...."

His heart melted. Everyone else in the area had run away. Was there no one who cared about this child!? Max didn't know this area. He didn't know where to go, but he could not stay here. Placing Kesh'e down, he quickly began scouring through the rubble. He got lucky...

"We still have our supplies..."

There was only one thing left to do. Those who chased them were attacking them on a daily basis. How much longer could they keep running like this!? And this girl... He fell to his knees, and wiped a tear from his eye.

"I'm scared to. Bad people are after Ms. Angel. They almost got her."

Without warning, Lily moved to Kale's side and wrapped her tiny arms around him. The girl could be no more than age 6 or 7, but her heart was as big as a lions, and she wanted Kale to feel better.

"She'll get better, right? I-I mean...angels have powers...she has to get better..."

The child kept hugging him, beginning to cry a little.

"What am I gonna do now? Mommy is....mommy is..."

Suddenly, a very weak Kesh'e reached up, brushing away a tear from Lily's cheek.

"I...will take...care of you.......I promise...to find...you a new home..."

Kesh'e then turned her attention to Kale.

"We'll....be okay...the next ones...shouldn't come...for a while..."

His heart crumbled. Would they be able to take care of this girl? They were hardly able to protect themselves... But whatever the case, they owed the child for her mother's death in a way. He smiled.

"If you insist, Kesh'e," he knelt down and looked the girl in the eyes, still holding Kesh'e in his arms, "If you like that idea... may we rest in your house tonight? It wouldn't be good to just brave the wilderness this late at night."

He felt something sinister coming from nearby... It felt familiar, but not demonic. Looking back, he saw the silhouette of a tall man disappear into the shadows. The world was too full of mystery even now. He somehow had more questions than when he began...

Kesh'e nodded to Kale. She had known from the start since she'd rescued Lily, that it was now her duty to ensure the child's safety until Kesh'e could find a better home for her.

"I just-"

She was cut off by the feeling of a presence, and she was ready to get up and use what little strength he had to attack...but it disappeared, and she sighed.

"Lily...do you mind...if we stay at your...home?"
"S-sure...it's...okay...small though..."
"That's fine. We'll go in a moment..."

Kesh'e forced herself to her feet, trembling and unstable.

"I can do this..."

The trio slowly made their way to the little girl's home. It was now more clear than anything why no one was coming to see them. They were afraid of getting in the way. Rather than blame them for this, it seemed the town was whispering and cheering in awe, silently, from their houses. Everyone was peering out of their windows, or standing at their doorsteps. Entering the cottage, it wasn't anything to marvel at. A log house, with basics. Kale helped Kesh'e to sit down, and began to take bandages out of his bag, wrapping them around her wounds. Every now and then he would have to pluck a wooden shard or glass out of her flesh. She truly was resilient. No ordinary human, or even a strong one, could have survived that.

The child watched curiously and antsy at the medical procedure. It wasn't anything special, but to her, it would seem like he was fixing the woman who saved her. But to Kale, each wrapping was like a silent thank you. Every painful pluck, an apology. The mood was anything but happy, but it wasn't sad either. It was... a strengthening, determined feeling. The kind that makes one think "we can get through this". And indeed, those were Kale's exact thoughts.

He had minor burns and frostbite, himself. Magic is no laughing matter. But his condition was of no concern compared to Kesh'e.

"Done," he nodded. White wrappings, darkened brown by blood in many spots, had bound around her upper torso, a breast, her arms, and legs.

Kesh'e hated the journey to Lily's house. She moved so slowly, and blood trailed after her as she walked. What irritated her most were all of the stares from the townsfolk. She knew they were grateful and filled with adoration, but she didn't want it. She just wanted to rest and heal.

"This place...it is too bright for my tastes..."

Once they finally reached the tiny house, Kesh'e eagerly went in, sitting down so Kale could patch her up. Every shard of glass or wood that he pulled out stung and drew a hiss of pain from her. But the bandages were welcomed, despite many of them bleeding through rapidly. She was glad she was so powerful and resilient, or she would have died. Vetis had almost gotten his wish with that last attack.

"I will begin my search immediately for a home for Lily once I have healed enough to ask around the town..."

"I see," he looked at the sleepy child in front of him and sighed. This was... a very twisted situation. Walking up to the girl who had sat down on a chair, he put a blanket over her as she drifted off to sleep.

"We need to rest. Those monsters are really doing their best to drain our strength," he walked back and sat down beside Kesh'e, wrapping his arms around her softly and laying his head on top of hers.

"I was afraid I had lost you already."

Kesh'e looked at Kale sadly, pressing herself against him for comfort. She was so tired of the constant running. She just wanted her freedom. Was it so much to ask for?

"I'm...sorry you have to deal with this, Kale..."

Tears of blood stung at her eyes as she fought them back, trying her best not to cry in front of Lily, who was curled up on the floor several feet away, playing with her tattered doll.

"I never should have let you come with me.......then you wouldn't be in danger....you wouldn't get hurt because of me..."

"No... Haven't you seen it? Whatever I am, I'm becoming more and more in tune with it, more than my father ever was. I don't think I'm really an angel. But whatever I am, I'm pretty close. I'm certainly not some human with weird powers or hallucinations. Only be being with you and fighting these monsters, have I learned that."

He looked over at the little girl, and cuddled with Kesh'e smiling softly, a glazed look in his eyes.

"I'm getting stronger with each fight. Who knows, maybe next time I'll be able to wipe out an army of mages surrounding you."