Chapter Eight:
Two Angels in Hand

A tawny yellow cat lazed on the windowsill of William Fleming High School, for all intents and purposes, sunning himself. Inside, a teacher was reading from an excerpt of William Bradford's "Plymouth Plantation," and an assemblage of high school seniors were listening in varying degrees of rapt attention.

Leo had been prowling the premises for nearly a week now. He'd been feeling something-- something! --from this part of town, and he had finally pinpointed that it was coming from this particular school. Further investigation led him to believe that there was someone currently on this floor. The signals had been muddled... there were obviously Others here, too, and he didn't want to get involved with *them*. So he bided his time, and lay low, until he had finally decided upon this particular room. The signals felt strong, somehow, at this time of day, in this particular locale.

He gazed in through the first-floor window, scanning the faces intently. One of these had potential... one of these could be awakened... But which?

It was his bound duty to find out.

Casper lifted his head off his desk, a single piece of looseleaf clinging to his face. He swiped it away with a low growl, and leaned back, slouching further into his chair. Mr. Demartino was droning on and on about some story, drowning the brown-haired youth in boredom.

Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, a flash of movement. He turned toward the window, and saw a .... cat? Ugh. He hated cats with a fiery passion, turning away towards the front of the classroom again. The educational words seeped slowly into his head, and Casper soon found himself drifting away, towards the window. That cat was still there...and it was looking right at him....

Their eyes met, and then the boy looked away and snuggled back into his books to resume his nap. Leo continued to gaze intently. The sunlight was coming in, picking up highlights in the boy's curly brown hair. Bits of blonde shone in the light. The sunlight also sparkled off several random piercings, which the cat tried studiously to ignore. Surely an Angelus senshi wouldn't pick such a tacky look as this boy seemed to nurture, but still... There was a feeling.

Leo was almost sure that this boy was the one whose presence he had felt. There was one way to be sure... He continued his languid rest upon the windowsill, waiting for the last class of the day to be finished with.

"Yo, you gotta cop that joint," Casper said excitedly, tossing some books into his locker, and procuring a dark blue bubble jacket. The boy next to him shook his head.

"Cam'ron is wack, Cass. It's all about Nelly nowadays, fa sho." Casper sucked his teeth, slamming his locker, and beginning a long argument on how Nelly will be forgotten by next March.

The two boys reached the forest green truck, and the shorter of the two slapped the other five.

"I'm peacin', Cass. Catch you later," he said, walking away. Casper muttered a farewell, and fumbled for the keys that were buried in his pocket. His fingers had just found the cold brass when he felt the tingling of something watching him. He looked up to see the cat that was watching him earlier perched on the roof of his Expedition.

Leo cocked his head to one side and gazed very firmly at Casper. He held the boy's gaze until he was satisfied. The piercings, the hair, the funny clothes, the funny words aside-- there was an indescribable *something* that screamed "Angelus!" to the feline.

He had planned this moment for days, ever since he had begun haunting the school. His words had been carefully mulled over, until he had found the choicest phrases to use telepathically to impress his newly discovered senshi. Such delicate words, such eloquence would coax him into rejoining the battles and make him willing to help Leo whip Ariel into shape.

But instead, the only thing Casper heard in his head was a slightly incredulous--

::'I'm peacin'?' Whatever do you mean by that?::

Casper felt his breath cease the moment the voice echoed inside his mind. A thousand irrational thoughts raced. Oh god I never should have done that acid now I'm having a flashback and I should've listened when they said that drugs were bad and I should've stuck to weed and now a cat is talking to me and I think I'm going crazy.

Through the chaos, somehow, he felt something tugging. He wouldn't have realized it, but something was there, telling him that whatever was happening, it wasn't drug-related. It was something that would change him ... forever.

So Casper gasped, opened his door, and turned on the ignition in one smooth movement ... not realizing the back window was open just enough for a feline to ooze through...

Leo would have pouted if his face could make such a contortion. However, he couldn't, and he contented himself with a generically-displeased feline look. Feeling rather emboldened by the fact that Casper could connect the telepathic message with its conveyor so promptly, he slipped into the back window and allowed Casper to drive in peace for a few minutes before adding paternally, ::That stuff will fry your brain. You want to keep your head clear, or else your enemies will beat you silly with no problem.::

"SHIT!!" Casper screamed as the car swooped to the right, swerving, and narrowly missed hitting a kid that was in his gym class. His hands shook violently, and didn't stop until the car was safely pulled into a dead end nearby. He reluctantly turned around, his eyes wide as he gazed at the cat with raw terror.

"Whu—hah—yao-" Casper stammered, trying to fight the urge to bolt out of the car. He really liked this car. He wouldn't just abandon to some stupid cat, a cat ... that was talking to him inside his head. His hand fumbled for the door handle.

::You're terribly nervous to be an Angelus:: remarked Leo, giving the other a wry look. ::You certainly can't be Michael. If you don't get ahold of yourself, Ariel's going to have less than no respect for you when I get you two together. You don't want *him* to make fun of you, do you?:: He stepped on Casper's lap and placed his front paws so that they were face-to-face and nose-to-nose. ::Which one are you?:: asked Leo curiously, his whiskers tickling Casper. He squinted. ::Seraphiel, aren't you!::

He sounded quite pleased with himself.

"What are ... talking about?" the brown-haired boy whispered, looking into the cat's eyes. Seraphiel. Seraphiel. The name rang in his head over and over.

Angelus Senshi. Senshi? What the fuck are senshi? You are. I am. No, I'm Casper. And Seraphiel.

He was bought back to his sense to a warm sensation on his hand. Looking down, he saw the mysterious silver ring glowing with a soft white light.

I am ... Seraphiel?

Leo followed his gaze down to his hand, and looked back up at Casper. ::Ser-aph-ie-l:: he repeated, being careful to enunciate very carefully. ::The soldier within you has been sleeping... but since I found you, it means that it's your destiny to awaken.:: The words sounded cheesy even to the cat, but he somehow kept a straight face. Being feline helped with that. ::There's been a lot happening recently. Others have been awakening, and the Angelus Senshi need to find each other, so they can stand on their own against these hostile forces that will eventually threaten us. Your powers, we need your powers. I'll help you with them, even.:: He hesitated, then added bashfully, ::Fa sho::

When in Rome...

Despite himself, Casper cracked a smile. An end to this secret conflict that raged deeped within him. He wanted so badly to believe what this creature was telling him. But this all still felt like a plot to some cartoon on Toonami. Could this all be true. And if that was case, could he become like ... a Super Saiyin?

"Okay, cat," he talked more relaxed. "Let's do this shit."

Leo raised an eyebrow but refrained from commenting yet again upon Casper's interesting word choices. Instead, he said as cheerfully as he could muster, ::Ariel's the only other Angelus I've found so far. His real name isn't Ariel, actually-- it's Amir, but for all intents and purposes, it's the same thing. You just have to be careful you call him by the proper name at the proper time.::

He gave Casper directions to Amir's apartment, pleased that he had finally elicited cooperation with a minimum of fuss.

They parked in the Virginia Tech lot near Amir's dorm shortly after four. Casper insisted he needed to stop by KFC and replenish his energies before he would follow the cat into the realm of the unknown.    

"I can't believe I'm doing this..." he grumbled as he followed the feline down a path. Whoever this guy was, he had better not be a softie. There was no way he was going to tarnish his rep just to fit in with a corny ass computer geek and an equally wack cat. Casper pretended he was just cruisin' along, not wanting these college peeps to think he was loopy following a cat like a moron. They finally stopped in front of a door, and Casper made eyes with the animal once again, and knocked on the door.

Amir opened the door the three inches allotted by its chain. He surveyed Casper's clothes, Casper's piercings, and Casper's distinctly uncomfortable look.

"Yeah?" he asked, unimpressed. What did this racially-confused kid want with him?

Leo flicked his tail indignantly. ::Be polite, Amir:: he said. ::Open the door for us::

Amir obliged, reluctantly unchaining the door and allowing Casper and Leo inside. He cleared freshly-burned CDs from the couch to give Casper a place to sit.

::Amir, I'd like you to meet Casper. Casper, this is Amir. Both of you are Angelus senshi-- otherwise known as Ariel and Seraphiel.::

Leo seemed quite pleased with himself.

"Yeah?" Casper sneered, sucking his teeth. "So what that got to do with me any damn way? I'm some kinda angel? Y'all need to check ya selves, 'cause I ain't even down with that 'helping everyday peeps change their lives' shit." He finished, leaning back into the couch, and crossing his arms. After a minute of silence, he continued.   

"So what kinda powers...do I have?"

Amir rolled his eyes towards the ceiling. He had a certain urge to call up the radio station and dedicate a certain song by Offspring to this misfit who was contaminating the couch by his very presence.

"You expect me to work with *that*?" he asked, ignoring Casper completely. "He's just a kid; I don't like his attitude; and his personality grates already."

Leo sighed. ::Amir:: he reprimanded sternly. ::Your manners, please.:: He turned to Casper and added brightly, ::I believe you used to be quite good at creating weapons out of energy. You could do energy-blasts, too. You could be invisible and create barriers to protect yourself and your TEAMMATES-:: (this with a glare at Amir) ::-from harm. You were quite good.::

"Used to be, operative word," said Amir. "He's obviously not interested in us, so let him go. Don't force him into something he doesn't want to do. And don't expect me to help you whip him back into the shape he used to be in."

At that, the young man burst from his seat. "Hol' up, hol' up, hol'up ... I KNOW you are NOT telling me to slide off?" he growled, looking down at Amir with rage in his eyes. "From what the cat says, I probably coulda whupped your ass good and proper."

"Alright..." Casper sighed, turning away and beginning to pace back and forth. "I got some kinda angel sleeping in my soul, right? And you guys want to wake him up?" Casper paused, and looked down at the cat, looking more vulnerable that he cared to. "So what happens to ME when he does?"

"You wish," sniffed Amir, but he was hiding a smile. It had been fun to get past Casper's front long enough to get a glimpse of something akin to personality and not just show.

Leo twined himself around Caspers ankles, in something akin to a reassuring gesture.

::*You* are always in control. It never takes over your mind. Rather, it opens up a different door in your mind-- and when that door opens, Seraphiel's powers become accessible to you. However, you can't open this door at will; it would drain you of energy if you tried. But you're safe, as long as you train in the powers you're trying to access. If you don't try to harness them, you might be overwhelmed, and we don't want that to happen. That's where I-- and Ariel-- come in. We help you to explore your own strength, so that you can stand by yourself, or stand with us, when the time comes.::

"Nice," Casper said with a smirk. "Little cat's gettin' his Yoda on, no doubt." The boy bit his nail absently, looking down at the floor. So he was going to be a hero? He didn't exactly HATE the idea. If anything ... maybe it would help him get his LP off the ground. "Alright, I'm in. So, ya'll have a costume for me to put on or something. Yo, word is born, I ain't even tryin' to wear no tights or shit like that..."

::You transform, when you're in your transformed state,:: explained Leo. ::So the 'costume' as you put it--::

"I call it an outfit," interrupted Amir. "I'm not some kid running around trick-or-treating."

::--or 'outfit' as others call it--:: resumed Leo, ::--is already a predetermined uniform. The way you summon it, to enter into your transformation phase--::

"It's an interesting feeling," interjected Amir. "You can feel the power being unlocked."

::--varies from person to person. But I believe that the key to *your* transformation is locked within that ring on your hand.:: Leo indicated the object to which he referred. ::Tell me, can you *feel* the words that will unlock Seraphiel? Sit and think and clear your mind. Tell me what comes to you.::

"Feel the words?" Casper said dryly. With a roll of his eyes, he began to examine the silver band on his finger. He had almost forgotten about it; it seemed so natural that it be there, when in reality, it wasn't. He had passed out in church, had a strange dream that was almost impossible to remember, and awoke with it there. All this was happening so suddenly, he felt lost. He bowed his head,  and folded his hands just underneath his chin. Please God, tell me what I should do.

Ascend.     

How?      

You know.      

Yes...    

"Seraphiel Archangelus Power ... Ascension," Casper whispered. The ring flashed to life, and Casper was suddenly plunged into a warm white light. His limbs extended, eager for the pure bliss that surrounded him. The light was hard and strong, yet calm and heroic. It was alive. And that's where his other half lived.    

He opened his eyes, and saw the world for the first time. The cat and the dark skinned man gazed at him with their jaws agape. The raw power seethed through him like fire in the sun. His clothes were gone, replaced by a costume he could've only imagined in the most fantastic stories. Pads of pure silver rested on his shoulders, and two more guards wrapped around his wrists. An ivory cloak flapped behind him, although there was no wind.   

"Shit," he said in quiet awe, and turned to Leo. "Just one question. Why am I not wearing a shirt?" Casper asked, pulling on the straps that criss crossed on his chest.

Amir lounged back, eyeing Casper appraisingly. "It's an improvement," he admitted, nodding sagely. "Although you'd think you could ditch the piercings for just a little bit."

::Ignore him:: advised Leo, circling around at Seraphiel's feet. ::He gets cranky sometimes:: There was a glitter of humor in the feline's eyes. ::I don't know about the shirt part... if you like, I'm sure you  could have one handy, and um, you could throw it on after you've transformed.:: He approximated a shrug as best he could. ::But like I said, you get precious little choice over what you get to wear. It's rather... predetermined, in a manner of speaking.::

Amir stood up. Seraphiel looked rather incongruous standing in such a getup in the middle of his living room, and he was curious to try something.

"Here," he said, tossing his trench coat to Seraphiel. "Cover yourself up with this, and let's go for a ride. I know this one spot in the woods where no one goes-- I go there to train sometimes, and no one will bother us. If you like, we can do a bit of sparring. I'm curious to see what you can do."

For the first time, Amir was acting borderline friendly.

The three took Casper's car, driving toward the town limits, turning onto a small dirt road. The car emerged in an open space, surrounded by tall oak trees. Casper was the first one out of the car, tearing off the trench coat and tossing it behind him, despite Amir's complaining.      

"I feel strong," Seraphiel said,  looking down at his body, and then up at the forest around him.  Almost without thinking, he took off in a dead run toward a tree. Seconds before colliding with it, he leapt, kicking forward, and pushing off. He was airborne, tumbling through the air like second nature. Upon landing, he steadied himself, drunk on adrenaline. "Damn strong."

Amir watched appraisingly. Seraphiel seemed to have an instinct for his powers that had been unlocked with his transformation. He had taken to them quickly... Amir remembered his own first time. It had been an incredible experience; somehow, what he had *known* he could do had suddenly become do-able.

Leo twitched his tail, watching Seraphiel's experimentation with power. ::What else can you do?:: he inquired, encouraging the experimentation to continue. To Amir, he added, ::After he feels more comfortable, in his element, we can have you two go at it together.::

Amir nodded silently, his eyes glued on Seraphiel.

"Why wait?" Seraphiel asked, suddenly and silently appearing before them. He met Amir's glare with his own; distant, but slightly smug.

"You're up to it?" smirked Amir, leaning slightly against a tree. He straightened himself up, brushing the bark from his clothing, and closed his eyes, concentrating. The incantation sprung to his lips---

---a tall, silver staff appeared in his clenched fist---

---the gems which capped the sphere glowed with brilliant green energy---

---a burst of light---

---a shimmer of angelic wings, which faded all too soon---

---and Amir was no more, only to have Ariel, with his fluttering robes and Persian slippers standing in his place. He swung the staff experimentally, and the streamers which pendulated from it mimicked the flowing motion.

"And you're sure you're up to it?" grinned Ariel, taking a few steps towards Seraphiel. "I'll go easy on you, because you're new--- but not too easy."

There was a defiant gleam in Seraphiel's eye, but there was more-- enjoyment? Anticipation? Did he want to test the bounds of his newly-discovered powers?

"Watch me whup your ass good and proper," grinned Seraphiel.

"Heh. You're on," replied Ariel, and exactly what happened after that was lost in the brilliant explosion of energy as they battled.

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