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Welcome to Accel(Max and I)

Pietro's sudden appearance was rather, well, sudden. "A mission?" Seemed pretty odd too. Did they just have random missions just waiting to be done, and just decided, "Hey, let's save it for newbies!". Alexander thought it very unlikely, but nevertheless, Pietro was giving them an assignment that they wouldn't be able to back out of. So, with a light nod, Alexander leaned against the wall and listened to the man as he would begin to brief them. For a moment, he eyed Abigail on the couch, seeing her sleeping form. Last night, he recalled passing by the living room several times and finding her asleep. Especially when he managed to pry himself off Hanna to avoid her from dragging him into her room. But she really was pushing herself with whatever she was doing. Alexander thought it to be just studying. She must have really wanted to work hard in Accel. And her grades showed for it. She was definitely becoming an amazing student, no doubt about it. Alexander? Well...

"Let's wake up Abigail." Alexander flinched lightly upon hearing Pietro use her full name. He still referred to him as "Leander" and to Hanna as "Riley". It made him a bit annoyed, but once Abigail was awake and Hanna walked in, Pietro continued. "Good morning to you too, Riley. Everyone, as I've told Alexander, you will be undergoing a mission this morning that will extend into the afternoon more than likely. I will give you as much information as I can, but to be frank, we're not too informed about the current predicament." Looking among the three, it was lucky that the issue wasn't dire. Still, it was there, and it gnawed at him. "We appear to have a minor demon infestation just outside of an Accel outpost further out. We typically have these outposts set up in the event that missions take too long, and students find themselves in need of a place to rest for the night. Now, the infestation isn't large, and it would appear that the outpost would make due until upperclassmen arrived, however I'd like you three to take a look into it. Perhaps test out your new abilities and become more familiar with them. Gather any intel as well about these intruders that might seem useful."

"Anything more you can tell us? What kind of demons are we dealing with?" Alexander asked curiously, stretching out his shoulders.

"Nothing detailed, unfortunately." Pietro replied as he sighed. "However, their energy signatures don't really shock us. I assume more so that the problem isn't with how powerful they may be, but rather how many there are. It's a manageable number of them now, so I'd like us to take a more proactive approach." He looked over to Abigail. "You three are a team, a squad. But like any squad, there needs to be a designated leader. That is why I'm electing Abigail Hunter as your Squad Captain."

Alexander's eyes nearly popped out of his head as his jaw hit the ground. Recovering from the momentary shock, he pointed to her in aggravation. "Why in the hell does she get to be Squad Captain?! This is bull shit! I don't agree one bit!" Alexander stared heatedly at Abigail before he looked off to the side, nose in the air and far from accepting the decision. "I demand a revote."

Pietro gave a cold, icy stare towards Alexander. "This isn't up for discussion and debate. Abigail will be your Captain, and that's final." He then returned his focus to Abigail, approaching her. "Abigail, you have tactical command of Hannabelle Riley and Alexander Leander, a shape shifter and a Berserker. Not only do you need to be aware of your own skills, but need to know their's as well in order to make sound decisions. In addition to the usual Acceleration observation, I will be grading you on leadership and decision making. Artemis will be your field proctor." He explained. From there, he reached into his coat and provided Abigail an ear piece. "This will link you directly to our communication channels here. Relay intel to us directly or if the situation grows dire, request support as needed."

With a quick nod to Artemis, the head student began to leave the apartment, leaving the proctor with the trio. "Artemis will guide you the rest of the way. Be dressed and ready to go in half an hour. If you take too much time, the end report for you three will not bode well." Pietro said ominously before letting himself out, leaving the three of them to their quick morning routine before having to leave soon. Alexander, however, still glared at the Mage made Captain, grumbling to himself. If she expected him to follow orders from her, hell, she had another thing coming!
 
When they woke up Abigail, she slowly opened her eyes and saw everyone looking at her. She squeaked and then immediately hid herself under the covers. Pietro was here. Pietro was here and she was a mess. Ugh, how could she fall asleep out here?! And why the hell had she done it today of all days when Pietro made a morning visit? Oh god, she was so embarrassed, though she knew that whatever Pietro came here for was important. So, she poked her face out from the blanket, though she kept her messy hair and the rest of her body covered as she listened.

"Ooh. Demon infestation? Sounds dangerous." Hanna commented just before Alexander asked if they had any specifics on the type. Abigail just listened intently on Pietro's words, temporarily forgetting about her embarrassment. Though when she heard Pietro tell her that she was going to be in charge of Alexander and Hanna, she just grinned and her eyes immediately looked at her rival to savor his reaction. Oh how sweet it was, and the best part was she didn't have to say anything. She had waited for this moment for oh so long, and it was as amazing as she thought it would be as Alexander through his tantrum and Pietro simply shut him down and then approached her. She listened to his words of advice and nodded. She had observed Alexander and Hannabelle's abilities during their classes so she knew the general idea of what they were capable of.

Despite the pressure that came with being the leader, and of course knowing that Pietro would be grading her on her performance, Abigail was happy to be tasked with this role. Once she accepted the ear piece, she glanced at Artemis when Pietro told them she would be their field proctor, or otherwise their shadow since she was sure that Artemis would not be helping them. It was a scary thought...what if they were screaming for help and she couldn't hear them because of her music? Well, no matter. They wouldn't need help. This mission was about as simple as they come. She watched Pietro leave and then looked back to Alexander with a smirk. "Better luck next time." She told him before getting up, still hiding herself under the blanket. Then she retreated into her room and got herself ready.

"Well, I think Abigail will be a great leader. She's smart, Alexander. I mean, Pietro could have picked me. If I was the leader I'd probably screw thing up, hahaha. Besides..." Hannabelle walked over to Alexander and hugged him tightly. She had missed him since the eight or so hours they had been separated in their rooms. "You're really strong. Stronger than Abigail. If you two ever fought you'd win. So can't you just be satisfied with that?" She purred in his ear before letting him go and getting ready herself.

Once they were all ready, Artemis escorted them outside of the dorms and into the classroom they had first met Amethyst in. She waved her hand and a portal appeared. The trio would pass through it, and found themselves at the outpost in question. Artemis joined them and closed the portal so nothing could get into the school. Abigail already sensed the demonic activity going on within and around the outpost. Pietro was right, these things were not strong. But there was a number of them, and Abigail felt a strong concentration of demonic energy at the top floor of the outpost. Guess she knew where they should first start.

"Before we go inside...Hanna. Take on your demon form, please." Abigail ordered. The first thing she planned to do was fine one of those creatures and make them talk. Lesser demons did not know the common tongue, but if Hannabelle turned into her demon form she'd be able to understand their language.

"Sure thing!" Hanna stepped away from them and a powerful wind surrounded her. Her magic energy began to change into something more fitting..demonic aura. It was quite amazing knowing that not only could Hannabelle change her form but her energy type, and her physical attributes. She still wasn't sure how she did it, but she'd figure it out eventually.

Once the wind settled, they would see the form Hanna took on their entrance exam. She had wings, a devil tail, horns...the works. If they didn't just see her transform, they could have mistaken her as an enemy. Hannabelle started sniffing the air and then looked up. The sky seemed to be empty, and yet she felt something ominous. "Abigail..." Hanna began as she was about to tell her that she had a feeling there were demons above, only they were using magic to make themselves invisible.

"I know. We'll ignore them for now unless they attack us. Something is off." Abigail then turned to Alexander. She had been waiting so long for this. To give her rival an order, knowing he had to follow it. "Alexander," She tried to keep her expression as neutral as possible because she didn't want to give her field proctor the impression she was trying to fuck with him. "Look for tracks. Perhaps you can identify the types of demons around here so we can better prepare ourselves when they eventually come out to greet us. You are well rehearsed in monster and demon types, right?" She smiled at him.
 
The snide little comment that Abigail left him with left a sour taste in his mouth, Alexander glaring at the back of her head, trying to come up with something. And he couldn't! The fact that she had bested him so incredibly, to the fact that left him speechless, with her new position that stated on the record that Abigail Hunter was indeed better than the amazing Berserker known as Alexander Leander, it tore at his sanity. But before he crossed to that point, Hannabelle spoke to him. Alexander didn't catch her words at first, but she seemed to be supporting Abigail for the moment. Well, that didn't help much. Still, there was no denying her words. Over the month, Alexander had become above average at best. His scores just didn't compare to Abigail, who quickly rose through the ranks and received many accolades. There were so many scores that he saw she hit perfect marks on. And for once, the Berserker was envious. Vying for attention. Was that true? He had to think long and hard about it. But before he could, the shape shifter pulled him into an embrace that caught him off guard.

Hannabelle's affections had been increasing as of late. She genuinely cared, but he wasn't sure why she clung to him so. Call him oblivious. Still, this was one of those moments where she comforted him. The room felt lonely despite the fact that Artemis was standing right there. Hell, she was so quiet, she blended in with the background. Though the next thing he heard was specifically the sound of Hannabelle purring. Then, she just left him there. Alexander stood there baffled, rubbing his arm a bit as he tried to figure out where that come from. "Okay... that was weird." The young man whispered to himself before making his way to his room to get dressed. One last glance to Artemis, and he just watched her continue to focus in on her music. "Weird..."

The trip to the outpost wasn't long at all, and they made it with plenty of time to spare from Pietro's time limit. The moment the portal closed behind them though, said man's voice came through in Abigail's earpiece. "We don't have an exact number still, but we're estimating at least 20 low-level beasts. I don't believe they're being summoned, but something might be calling out to them somehow. Try and keep your ears, as well as your eyes, open." He informed her briefly before his line went silent.

Alexander gazed around him curiously, whistling a bit about the outpost. It was well fitted for a small little pit stop for Accel students. This one seemed rather well kept as well. The metal outside was sturdy, and the windows seemed to have been covered. Accel truly did take good care of its students, even when out on the job. But, he was taken from his thoughts when Hannabelle began to change. With wind kicking up around them, he instinctively covered his eyes as dirt flew up as well. That was the last thing he needed, to be blinded. Though as best as he could, he watched Hanna completely morph. From what he remembered last time on their entrance exam (the second one, of course), Hannabelle had an excellent control of animal shape shifting, but he could always tell it was Hanna. Well, minus the fact that he watched her transform. Compared to now though, had he not known, shit, she made a perfect copy of the enemy. Not only that, but she literally became what she transformed into as well. Alexander had to say that things like that were impressive and out of the ordinary.

Demon Hannabelle quickly got to work, signalling to the sky as Abigail acknowledged her. Suddenly, she was looking at him. And he looked back. It felt like a solid eternity until he heard her speak, and before that, Alexander was watching her move her lips in slow motion. That dreaded, fucking, pair of lips that belonged to the bane of his existence right now. She looked so professional. So calm. Had her wits about her. The Berserker bit his bottom lip, completely forgetting anyone else was here. Gods, he was so jealous and pissed off right now. Why her, huh? Anyone else but her, why not him?! Not to mention how close she seemed to be with Pietro. It almost felt like they set up some sort of deal. So it came with no surprise that when Abigail gave him an order, he only replied with silence. The next thing anyone knew, a single raised middle finger rose up from a tightly closed fist, aimed directly at the woman. He opened his lips to talk then, but nothing came out. Instead, Alexander kept them closed and shook his head, walking off towards the center of the outpost.

Back at Accel's main building, everyone could hear the hysterical laughter of Coach Oscar as he watched alongside Pietro, Amethsyt, and no doubt the rest of the professors. "Oh, hahahaha! A-Amethyst, this is so funny! Alex is a riot, oh, he just flipped her off! Oh, I'm so sorry, I know this is completely unprofessional of me but... pffft, hahahaha!" The Wisp would've fell on the ground laughing if he could, but last time he did, he fell through the floor and got stuck in the basement. It was very dark and scary. "Hah, my sides would be hurting right now if, hahahaha!" Pietro didn't take the same sense of humor that seemed to be reserved to their disembodied coach. It just earned a sigh from the student captain as he looked over to Amethyst after that little display of disobedience by Alexander. As much as he had high hopes for Abigail, he knew Alexander would be near impossible to cooperate with especially now. Suffice to say, Abigail was going to have a tough time.

Meanwhile, the Berserker mentioned knelt down and examined a print on the ground. At least his knowledge on tracking and hunting down these bastards was sharper since coming to Accel. Immediately, he discerned it to be hooves. Goats, perhaps? The most common animal-based demon around these parts was a goat demon, so it seemed very likely and fitting. And as Pietro mentioned, beasts like that were hardly much trouble. They could be easily overpowered. They stood foot and a half feet tall, often with goat-like legs and hooves while their upper body resembled that of a muscular human. Top it all off with a mangy goat head with beady eyes with horns for stabbing or ramming. With a grumble, he looked back at Abigail and Hannabelle, sighing in complete distaste. "Goats. Prints are all over the place." Alexander looked around, trying to see if he could pick up anything else around him. "Don't know where they went." With such a dismal report completed, he glared back at Abigail. "Ma'am."
 
No amount of insults or tantrums could change the facts. He could disrespect her all he wanted as a leader, but that was none of her concern. As long as he followed orders, that's all she cared about. Though she had to admit, she was getting pretty entertained by how salty Alexander was being. Even after all this time, when his grades fell behind hers, he would never admit she was better. The only thing he scored higher on by just a few marks was P.E. When he went to go investigate despite his pointless act of defiance, Abigail closed her eyes and took in everything around her. Pietro was certainly right, there were over twenty. Twenty two. Twenty four...ah and that dense demonic aura at the top.

She opened her eyes again when Alexander came up to her, and listened to what he had found out. It wasn't much, but it was something. "Pietro," Abigail began after clicking on her ear piece to send a transmission to him. "I have counted at least twenty five of them. Seven of them are up in the air, just watching. An unidentified flying type with invisibility magic. Rank E. The rest are in the compound. Leander could only identify one type of track. I suspect they are demons of the goat animal type. From what I sense, almost every one of them is Rank F. But what worries me is on the top floor, perhaps the roof. There is dense demonic energy up there. I cannot tell if it's a demon or not. So, we will investigate..."

Amethyst just smiled at the way Abigail had reacted. Well, it was the lack of reaction that made her amused. "Those two have been together for a month and still they deny each other. Oh, young love." She commented before hearing a ping on the radar to the far right of her screen. A green dot had appeared all the way to the west on the edge of her scrying field of vision. "Hmm. This is odd. I don't think we were expecting any students to arrive to this particular outpost any time soon." She pulled up a second screen and zoomed in, and when she identified the mystery student, she lifted both her eyebrows and just stared. He was back, and of all times too! What a strange coincidence.

"Artemis," Amethyst said out loud, but she would hear the voice inside of her head. Ear pieces did not work for her. "There is another student on the grounds, but I will not have him interfere. If Abigail senses him, make sure she doesn't get off track." Artemis just nodded, and then watched Abigail as she shuddered. No doubt the girls sharp senses picked up something amiss. Though the student in question quickly hid his energy completely. He must have knows what was going on before even seeing it with his own eyes. Amethyst broke the mental link from Artemis and then proceeded to contact the student in question.

"Huh. I could have sworn I felt something just now, but it's gone." Abigail pondered out loud before trying to focus and see if she could sense that odd energy again. It was gone, though. It wasn't her imagination...it was a strong presence too.

"Don't worry about it." An unfamiliar voice said behind her. It was higher pitched, but soft on the ears. Abigail turned towards Artemis who stared back at her. "Don't worry about it. It has nothing to do with this mission, and it will not be a danger to you or your team. So, continue." Abigail just stood there, completely baffled at the fact that Artemis was actually...talking. Her voice wasn't really what she expected it to be. Though, she just snapped herself out of it. She trusted Artemis after all, so she would take her advice and ignore it.

"OH MY GOD! HER VOICE IS SOOOOOO CUUUUUUTE!" Hannabelle shouted as she went straight for Artemis, who simply just stood there staring her down. "Talk again, Artemis! Please?" She asked, though her only reply was silence. As usual.

"Hanna, focus. As far as we're concerned, Artemis isn't here." Abigail told her as she started for the outpost. "Come on, both of you. We're going in."

Amethyst sighed heavily as she attempted to connect mentally to the student in question. "He's always so hard to get in touch with. I really would hate for him to interfere with this. They already had one exam ruined by a mystery presence. Plus, Abigail is really not going to be able to focus if she finds out he is here." Amethyst told Pietro and Oscar.

"Who's here? What did I miss?" Came a voice from behind them. Alan walked up to join the group. Since more than half of his students were gone, he decided to just give the rest a study hall session so he could witness the newbies in person. Amethyst turned back to face him and sighed.

"Elliot Hunter."
 
The communication channel opened up for the newly appointed Squad Captain, Pietro's voice ringing out in answer. "I'm seeing that as well, good job." He replied as he took down some notes concerning that area and outpost. 25 was a rather large number, though still manageable. Perhaps there was a migration or something that came by, especially when she mentioned that Alexander identified goat tracks. These beasts liked to travel in numbers or a group, since the more they had on their side, the better chance of survival that they had. "They could be predators, looking for a moment to snatch one of those goat demons." He presumed, rubbing his chin in thought. Perhaps they just sought shelter in the outpost from whatever was in the sky? At such a low rank, that was very likely. Even seven of those creatures in the sky could peck through 25 pieces of prey without much effort, probably snag a good handful of them. "Those goat demons might be on edge from whatever is in the sky, so be on guard."

When Abigail mentioned the roof, he listened in carefully. A dense, demonic energy? Perhaps a leader? He relayed his musings to Abigail, getting her thoughts on the situation. But he didn't have much time to discuss with her before he muted himself on the communication channel, hearing a rather odd ping on Amethyst's radar. When he looked over, he did notice that there was someone there. And just as Amethyst mentioned, he didn't recall sending anyone or assigning missions out in that region, especially with the issue with the outpost right now. "Let's get a closer look then. Find out who it is." Pietro said, leaning over the professor and staring at the monitor. The moment that the student's image clear and came into view, even he was a bit surprised. "What is he doing here?" Pietro narrowed his eyes lightly at the student in question, having preferred he didn't reveal himself now. Especially considering who was here.

"Oh wow, if it isn't Elliot!" Came Oscar's voice again as a single bowl of popcorn floated atop the same energy that made his being. He then laid eyes on Alan and presented him the bowl. "Popcorn?" With a bit of a hum, he tried to get Amethyst's attention. Especially after she told Artemis not to allow Abigail to meet up with Elliot. Why we should do that? "Huh, why'd you do that, Amethyst? I mean, it's just Elliot. So what if Abigai- Oh! They're family aren't they? Hah, almost missed that one, but I'm just too sharp today." The coach said as he then levitated a piece of popcorn. He then attempted to consume it, but it simply fell through the Wisp-like body he possessed, falling to the floor. "Oh, I can't even enjoy popcorn."

Well, that was unexpected. He hadn't picked up on the presence that Abigail sensed, thus the reason why he gave her a rather perplexed look. And that's when Artemis talked, further raising his eyebrows to the max. Any farther up his forehead, and they'd disappear into his hair. Anyway, the Berserker never recalled another instance where he heard Artemis speak, and it just shocked him. Not to mention that it didn't fit her appearance at all. He even thought that someone else had shown up. If it hadn't been for watching her lips move the second time, Alexander would've definitely believed it was someone else. "Well, uh, okay. C'mon Hanna." Pulling back the shape shifter, he patted her head and sighed. "Let's get this over with so I can think about how life is unfair more."

Suddenly, a loud laughter rang around them, and that same demonic presence that Abigail had sensed seemed to flare up. The voice was deep and foreboding, definitely demonic and malevolent in nature. "Fools! Does Accel think they can just reclaim one of their homes without a fight?! I think not! For I, Baphomet, have claimed this feeble human command post in my name to extend my reign and kingdom!" Immediately after these words, a large mass of bleats and baa's echoed in the air around them, confirming the goat demon track. Though, the sound was definitely not something Alexander expected. They all seriously sounded like goats. Nevertheless, he kept his guard up. "So you chose to stay, hm? You puny humans are bold, but it shall be your downfall. I'll take great pleasure in ending you all!" The energy pulsed hotter and hotter above them, and Alexander couldn't help but gaze up the moment a shadow cast down upon him.

A form came to the ledge and leapt off, coming barreling through the air yet landing gracefully upon the air, roughly 15 or so feet away from the four students. "Bask in the glory that is Baphomet, the Lord of Goats and Demon Purveyor of Women!" Alexander paused at this, looking at the guy strangely. That title didn't sound that ominous, and it just made him sound like a pervert. Yet before he could say anything, further bleats and baa's echoed from within the outpost and around it, the sound of hooves clopping against stone and dirt filling the air as they began to surround the four individuals that dared trespassed in Lord Baphomet's domain. "Yes, my subjects, we have guests that need to be entertained..." Immediately afterwards, also coming from above, were two rather short goat demons, landing beside the leading goat man. They were roughly four feet tall, armed in some leather armor.

"Oh yes, Lord Baphomet is king!"
"Better than a king! He's our lord, and we his knights!" They were apparently marked by a bandanna wrapped around their heads, one wearing a red one, the other wearing a blue.
"Romulus!" The red bandanna goat man spoke.
"Remus!" The blue bandanna goat man shouted.
"And we are Lord Baphoment's Twin Knights!" They recited in unison, each pulling out a small dagger that they clanged together, laughing triumphantly, but it just honestly sounded rather adorable. Baphoment, the Lord of Goats, seemed to stand there rather proud as he crossed his arms about his chest. The only clothing he had were the red, satin pants that covered his goat legs. Up top, he appeared to be a rather skinny looking demon, since that part of him resembled a man. But the entire package was topped off with a very goat-like head. The Twin Knights were the same, yet their attires matched identically, some Eastern-looking leather armor that seemed to flew with their movements.

Suddenly, Baphoment began posing and flexing, laughing confidently again. Alexander just blinked a couple of times, looking back to Hanna and Abigail for a moment. "Prepare yourselves mortal! I am at maximum power! A power that cannot be silenced! A power that cannot be beaten! I. Am. Feeling it!!!" He shouted out with a goat like bleat, his obvious excitement for this power laced in his voice. The goat demons around her bleated too, but nevertheless, remained still. They didn't seem all that dangerous too, but still... Alexander just felt weird right now. Was this right? Was this the evil that they were sensing. He could have sensed it before, that power being rather ominous. However up close, and especially seeing the source of that evil aura, the Berserker almost felt like he was in a comedy show.

Especially when the Twin Knights pranced around their lord and waved their daggers around. And it was all fun and games until Romulus suddenly tripped, Remus tripping over the knight. Even more adorable was the fact that they couldn't get up. They simply flailed like turtles on their backs, suddenly whining and bickering at one another, bleating uncontrollably enough until Baphomet spoke, rather flustered. "You baboons, you're making me look bad in front of the woman! Come on!" He quickly picked them back up and placed them on their feet, all three of them laughing cocky again.

"Are you prepared humans? Especially you females?!" The goat demon grinned and gave a dark chuckle. "We shall see a test of your willpower now~!"
 
As the group made their way towards the outpost, Abigail stopped in her tracks. "Wait, we have company." She told Hanna and Alexander. Suddenly a loud, obnoxious voice pierced the air, and Abigail sighed. Was this really the big baddie that was causing all this nonsense? Well, at least he spoke the common tongue. Still, Abigail simply ignored the voice and started to walk towards the door. Before she could though, the source of the voice dropped down from the air, landing a good distance away from them. Annnd they were surrounded. Ugh, what terrible noises. Goat noises. She felt like she was on a farm. At least though, they all seemed to come out of hiding. It made things a little easier, because they no longer had the element of surprise. After they were done with their little performance, Hanna clapped her hands and laughed, highly amused by the spectacle. Of course she'd enjoy it. Artemis seemed to not being paying attention at all, but..well that wasn't anything new.

"Okay." Abigail simply said after the sad spectacle of a show that was. Were all demons this stupid? At least the lower level ones. Which reminded her...how the hell did they get passed the barrier that surrounded all Accel facilities? Abigail looked up at the demons lurking in the sky. "Hmmph." Abigail was getting an idea. This group was definitely not the cause of that dense energy. Come to think of it, it couldn't have been a demon. If it was, it's energy would have fluctuated as time passed, like any creature's aura. But this was strong. Constant. Abigail could only gather that it was an object. Maybe the thing that they used to get here in the first place? Or perhaps it was a small tear in the dimension? That made better sense. If they all came in from there, these weaklings probably made it passed the barrier because...well they were weak. Meanwhile the others were just waiting for the off chance that they could find a way passed the barrier to pick off these...things. "I get it now." Abigail came to her final revelation, completely ignoring these goat demons.

"Pietro," Abigail began as she clicked on her ear piece. "If I am right in assuming that every Accel facility has an anti-evil barrier, I'd say that the one around here needs some work. These things were so weak that they managed pass through it, probably because of their low energy signatures. The flying types however are stuck in the air. Furthermore..." Abigail looked at the sky again. "I do believe there is a tear within this dimension that needs to be fixed. One that leads straight to the demonic abyss. It would explain where they all came from. If the tear isn't fixed soon, more demons could invade this area...stronger ones. Tears grow larger over time. I'm sure that the one here was once a crack, probably created by a student some time ago if they were practicing powerful magicks here. I could attempt to close it, but I'm still in the experimental stages of my dimensional magic. I don't want to risk making it worse. I know that Artemis isn't supposed to help us. However, I'm sure she could close it."

Amethyst temporarily stopped trying to get in contact with Elliot when she heard Abigail's theory. To deduce all that and not even be close to the source...well it was an impressive thing. It was common knowledge that the academy had an anti demon barrier, so it was reasonable to assume that their outposts that provided shelter to Accel students would have the same system. Of course, it was far weaker than the one that surrounded the school, but it should have been keeping out demons nonetheless. Then, she admitted to them that she would need help from her upperclassmen because she wasn't an expert. It was probably tough for someone like Abigail, who wanted to have an answer for everything, to admit that she didn't have enough knowledge to be a hundred percent sure she could fix the tear. "That girl...she's smart." Amethyst said with a grin as she investigated Abigail's theory.

"I do want you to also know we're surrounded by goat demons, but honestly they can be dealt with swiftly. Should we banish them back to their realm? Or would you like us to exterminate them?" Abigail asked Pietro as she eyed their leader. "If I kill the one that controls them, they would probably run away...Or," Abigail looked at Hannabelle. "I could have Hanna control them. There is a thing that higher level demons can do...through shear force of their own will, they can make weaker demons follow them. It's called Dominate."

"Oh yeah, I can do that! I want to make them dance first though!" Hannabelle exclaimed making Abigail just sigh in response. "Come on Abigail! They were so funny to watch!" She continued with a grin. It was probably the biggest insult for "Lord Baphomet" to watch as the group completely ignored him, talking about him as if he wasn't here.

"Pietro, Abigail's theory is true. I analyzed the stability of the dimension and she was correct. Artemis should fix that once they are done getting rid of the demons, in however fashion they like. Or if you have a certain way you want them dealt with, go ahead and give them the orders." Amethyst told him. Alan took the popcorn from the disembodied Oscar and started to eat it.

"Well, you won't be needing this. Thanks for the snack though. At any rate, they may have solved the mystery, Amethyst. But don't you think they should just kill the demons instead of letting them go? They still have combat abilities that we need to analyze to make sure everyone is where they need to be at. Of course, those goat demons probably won't put up much of a fight. The ones in the air..however..." Alan trailed off as Amethyst looked into his eyes. Alan was their newest teacher, and also their youngest. Though he had a pretty good point.

"You're right. Give the order to exterminate all of the demons." She told Pietro.
 
The Knights suddenly had their attention captivated by Hannabelle's clapping. In the strangest response ever, they flailed their arms and daggers in the air. "Haha, yes! Silly human is in awe of our lord and master! She should be our first loyal sub-" Suddenly, Baphomet struck Romulus in the head for speaking out like that, the creature bleating in pain as it rubbed its head with tears pricking at the edges of his eyes. "My first millionth subject, yes Romulus! Hahahaha! She should indeed, she'd make a fine addition to my hordes of followers, and I'd make her my personal concubine. Heh, would you like that, human? To serve a demon as your lord?!" The chorus of laughter that rang from Baphomet's throat alone was filled with both unhindered volume and cackles to, of course, the random baa or bleat. This in turned cause the goat demons around them to bleat in chant, filling the air annoyingly with their calls even as Abigail began to explain the situation that she gathered on her observations.

Alexander groaned loudly as he covered his ears. "For fuck's sake, shut up! You're all so damn loud!" And despite shouting it himself, he was merely buried by the sound of these goat calls. Ugh, if they weren't ordered to kill these things yet, Alexander might just commit mass goat genocide in three seconds flat. And still they insisted on that god awful noise! "Shut up!!!" Alexander's voice finally pierced through the veil of it all, and for a moment, it sounded like they listened. He even uncovered his ears, hearing the sweet allure of the wind blowing and nothing else. "Well, um, that was easy. So if I tell you guys to just go away, will you go away?" Looking to one random goat demon, he approached it, the goatee swing around as its head tilted sideways a bit. "... Go away." Alexander commanded it, glaring at it angrily. Instead of obeying, the demon suddenly spat in his face. And instead of that horrible bleating, all the goats, including Baphoment and the Knights, began laughing hysterically.

"Bwahahaha, stupid human. We can't be talked to like some dogs!" Baphomet confidently declared as he puffed his chest out, grinning from corner to corner of his goat like head as the Twin Knights bounced up and down.

"Yes! We are demons and will not be ordered or bossed around!" Remus bellowed.
"Stupid human! Stupid white haired human!" Romulus followed close behind, the Twins soon dancing around each other until Baphoment's voice boomed out.
"Sit, you clowns!"
"Yes, master." They both said, ironically bowing their heads and sitting on the ground. What was that about not being talked to like some dogs?

Suddenly, Alexander grabbed the goat demon that just spat in his face and began to choke the creature, shaking it back and forth frantically. This caused the demons next to it to begin to bleat in panic, hopping around and bumping into one another, even Artemis, Abigail, and Hannabelle, bleating in their faces though mostly being an absolute pain in the ass. "You little bastard! Spit in my face?! I'll show you to spit me face! You like that?! Yeah, don't feel good, huh?!" He shouted at it as steam bellowed out of his ears, face red with anger as the goat demon struggled and gasped for air. Lord Baphomet gasped in absolute horror, pulling back with an arm crossed before his chest to accent his shock and disbelief. Such violence! Such murderous intent! The Lord of Goats would not have this at all, he couldn't allow such a travesty to befall his people!

"You monster! Worse than a demon, you are a slayer of goats! Baaaaa!" At the loud, shrill call, all the minor goat demons then glared at the Berserker in question as Baphomet pointed at him, still choking the life out of his prey. "My brothers, slay the beast! Slay this... this... demon! He will murder Paul, and without Paul, there's no way we'll ever understand what it truly means to be a goat. Do not stop until this vile human is nothing but a bloody pile of baaaaa!" And suddenly! Each goat demon suddenly began dog piling or weakly smacking him. But with the other 24 goat demons trying to drown him in goat fur, Alexander was slowly being overpowered.

"W-What?! Fuck, get off! Ow! Hey! Quit it, ow goddamn it!" He grunted angrily, soon only a hand sifting out of the pile of bleats and goat demons struggling to grasp for something or someone.

With Pietro and the professors, Oscar just laughed and laughed. "Oh bloody hell, bwahahahaha! A-Alan! You seeing this?! Oh by the Queen, this is bloody hilarious. He's drowning in goats?! How does... what... bwahahaha!" The Wisp just bounced up and down erratically with each inhale and gasp for a breath. If Wisps could even breathe. Yet he continued to laugh and watch with utter delight. "I-I can't... I can't feel my sides, oh! Hahahaha... no, seriously, I can't feel my sides. They're gone." Oscar's trains of thought were a wonder to all, the greatest scientific mystery that Accel could offer. Pietro simply shook his head in annoyance as he nodded to Amethyst. Alexander had no fear of dying, unless he was allergic to goats. But this little spectacle was becoming a complete nuisance.

"For heaven's sake, Abigail, get things in order over there. I don't-" Pietro's voice would be interrupted by Lord Baphomet loudly cackling once more, throwing in a final bleat as he pointed to the Mage. It would seem he had something in store for her, a rather strange soft red glow surrounding his form. It was his aura. And he was charging something up, something nasty! The Twin Knights were jumping around him, cheering on their master, even complete with pom-poms as they whistled and sang out.

With concentrated, deep yellow eyes, the Lord of Goats weaved his hands in the air, almost as if painting invisible demonic runes or symbols as he began to chant his spell. "I, Lord Baphomet, Lord of Goats do command thee of human origins!" The beast began, striking lewd poses and occasionally thrusting his groin forward in a vulgar display as he bleated out each time. His chanting then switched to an ancient, goat demon tongue, but it sounded like complete gibberish and something one watched off of a YouTube video of pure nonsense. And it went on entirely too long, even as Alexander continuously cursed and fought against the tidal wave of goat demons upon him. "Foo-foo, chicka-pow-pow-wow! Make-a-the-woopee!!!" And then, in a dramatic display, Baphoment crossed his hands over his pelvis and thrust once more with his groin towards Abigail. "Taka-poo-poo!!!" A rush of his aura suddenly engulfed Abigail, giving her no time to react as he cast his vile spell. Baphoment then laughed in triumph. "Now, succumb to your lewd lust and surrender to me, female!"

... Yet, nothing happened. Abigail would literally feel fine. Alexander even had his head poked out and shouted out her name to see if she was fine. But, yes, there was no change. Pietro called in her earpiece. "Abigail! Are you okay?! What did he cast?" His voice called out over the communication channel as the area around them all was dead silent. A full minute passed and still nothing. Baphoment, who seemed so confident earlier, seemed to be sweating bullets as the Twin Knights suddenly gasped out.

"M-Master! I-Is she immune?! You claimed that you could make any female of any species bow down to your incredible sexual appeal! S-Surely your left hoof was too far to the right!" Came Remus's plea for his master, both Twins shaking in concern as they hugged the lord's leg. He seemed completely flustered, stuttering and bleating nervously as he then spun around, facing Hannabelle. In another humorous display, Lord Baphomet did it again while the Twins swung upon his furry legs.

"Taka-poo-poo!!!" The air was filled with loud chanting as he shot another blast of his aura at Hannabelle, but instead of his confidence earlier, instead Lord Baphoment then covered his face and eyes, though one of his index fingers lifted so that he may peak. "R-Romulus, Remus, did it work this time...?"
 
Abigail would have helped Alexander...but to be honest she really didn't need to. He should have been able to handle it. She just stood there, shaking her head. Somehow she was immune to all the sounds of bleating...it actually only seemed to bother Alexander. Hannabelle was just laughing and enjoying the spectacle. Artemis had elected to sit down and wait for them to finish off these stupid monsters so she could go home and relax. Of all the missions she had to do...why was it this one? She turned up her music to drown out all the noise.

When Pietro told Abigail to get the situation under control she sighed. "I'm sorry, just thought Alexander could handle it. Though I guess I'm going to have to. Hanna, go ahead and do that thing..." Despite Abigail saying she'd handle it, she just told Hanna to do it. Well, technically that was handling it, because all the girl could do was laugh and sit there. Why, she looked to be close to falling over because of the amusement she found with these things.

"W-what? Haha...the..thing? I..can't! It's too funny!" Hannabelle suddenly lost her demon form as she doubled over. Abigail growled lowly. What a couple of idiots! This mission was serious but these two obviously thought it was a joke! This was making her look bad as a leader no doubt. Oh man...her scores....Pietro was watching this and he'd surely take away points for this.

"Damn it, Hanna! Fine, I'll kill the leader myself so the rest of them leave us alone." With that, Abigail turned to Baphomet, but before she could cast her spell she saw him doing a strange dance. What now? Hmmph? A spell of some kind? I'll just counter it. She thought to herself as she took on a defensive stance. Though to be honest, it was really hard for her to focus when that thing kept moving in such despicably lewd ways. "Well then, hurry up!" Abigail shouted impatiently, and before long she got her wish. Though for some reason, the spell just simply hit her...she wasn't able to counter it at all. At first she felt a brief tingling sensation, the nothing. When Pietro asked if she was okay, she looked at herself and then spoke to Pietro. "I'm not sure. I feel fine, and I couldn't counter whatever the hell he just did. Maybe the spell failed..." She looked at the goat demon and tried to analyze what happened. When he aimed at Hanna who was still laughing, Abigail looked over to her. "Hey, look out!" She called, though it was too late.

Hanna felt something hit her and she began to feel something tingling..down there. She began to rub her thighs together and moaned while she looked around for something. "Hanna, what's wrong?!" Abigail asked her with a panicked voice. It worked on Hannabelle but not her? She turned towards the goat demon and glared. "What the hell did you do?!"

"Ahhh! Alexander~!" Hanna moaned out loud before she suddenly ran to the pile of goat demons and casted some sort of spell to blow them all away. Alexander would be free for a moment. Just a moment. The goat pile was then replaced with a very horny, very lewd girl who was grinding against his crotch. "Oh Alex..I want you inside of me! I wanna feel it!" She moaned. Abigail just stared at the scene, completely confused. Though once she figured out what happened, she starting getting very angry.

"You...fucking...perverts!" She screamed as she threw both of her arms in the direction of the three annoying goats who had caused her so much grief. Lightning shot from her palms and electrocuted them painfully, though not enough to kill them. Abigail then stomped over to Baphomet and grabbed him by the neck. "Fix this. NOW!" She shouted at him as she forced his gaze towards Hannabelle and Alexander.

"This is getting ridiculous..." Amethyst said as shook her head, hearing Oscar and Alan cracking up over there. "These poor students..having such bad luck on their exams."

"Oh man, that spell WOULD work on Hanna but not Abigail, hahaha!" Alan commented as he put down the bowl of popcorn. "She's gonna do it! She's gonna rape Alexander! Ahahahaha! And Abigail is about to exterminate them all! So good!"

Amethyst shook her head and kept an eye on her radar. It seemed like Elliot was keeping his distance...for now.
 
Okay, first off! There were literally 25 goats all over him, and even if they were some of the lowest ranking demons they could have ever encountered, the sheer number of them kept him from moving efficiently. Every time he punched one in the face, another two took its place. Their tiny hands did absolutely nothing to deter the man, but they constantly forced him back down. "H-Hey!" His voice shouted through the fluffy goat hair that submerged him. "Abigail! Hanna! Fucking help me, goddamn it!" Alexander managed to shove several of them back, but one caught him by the leg and made him fall face first into the dirt. They were soon on top of him again, struggling to keep his renewed efforts contained. "Damn it! Get! Off!" The Berserker continued to struggle, but to no avail.

In the next instant, he suddenly felt much lighter. The air was filled with a brief cacophony of high pitched goat sounds, his eyes settling on Hannabelle. Whoa, what'd she do? Well, no matter the specifics, she helped him out. With a sigh of relief and grateful smile, Alexander began to rise. "Whoa, awesome. Thanks Ha-" Bam! Once again, the young man found himself on his back, having been tackled by the shape shifter for no apparent reason. "Hanna, what the hell are you- M-Mmn!" Without even giving him a second to sit back up, he suddenly felt Hannabelle grinding eagerly against him, her panties doing very little to keep the warmth and wetness of her hidden arousal away from him. What made it worse was that his body was betraying him, and Hannabelle would no doubt feel the excited package she so eagerly wanted to get at. "H-Hannabelle, unf, stop it! We're dealing with a damn demon!"

"Hah! It worked!" Lord Baphomet shouted out victoriously, watching his Twin Knight clamor around him and jump up to high five one another. They cheered for their lord, soon snickering as they watched the woman continue to demand to rut with the human male. "Hm, good thing there are women here. My spells never work against guys, but... ugh, I wouldn't want that at all. Romulus, Remus, could you imagine that?" Baphomet shivered with disgust and bleated nervously. "Never ever, ugh." Though in the next instant, they heard the Mage that Baphomet first aimed at shout out in dismay. The next, they were being electrocuted to a crispy center, all three of them hitting the ground and bleating weakly. "B-Baaaa..." Came their weak voices, Baphomet's hitching slightly when he was seized and choked. Fix? Well of course he would after this... there was just a slight problem.

"I-I..." He gasped between choking before he managed to make her stop for a moment, flailing a bit. "I don't know how to! I just know how to cast the spell, all right?! Baaa! Baaa!!!" The demon cried as the Twin Knights tried to come to his rescue. They began hitting Abigail on her shins or sides, but oddly, their daggers didn't cut her. Now up close, Abigail could see the silver paint upon the wooden blades. And yet they attacked her with all their might. Finally though, Romulus suddenly leapt up and slammed down on her foot to hopefully release her hold upon Baphomet.

"You big meanie! Let Master go! We'll kill you, we swear!"
"Yeah! You're a big booger head and you stink like dragon poop!"

Oscar joined in the laughter with Alan, spinning around him and accidentally phasing through the man once. However, Pietro was the least entertained, his face twisted in distaste at what was going on. "Professor, this needs to end now. This is completely absurd. Amethyst." His voice took a very authoritative edge, glaring at the screen where all the commotion was happening at. "Get these three straightened out, that's your prime directive." The student captain ordered before taking out his earpiece and setting it down. His arms crossed as he sighed in agitation. "It would be much better if Riley and Leander would get their act together. If I could have my way, professor, obedience and proper conduct would not be an issue with these two." Pietro said to Amethyst, looking at her from the corner of his eye. "Once they're finished, I will speak to them."
 
Alan yelped when Oscar went through him. At first he seemed especially creeped out, but then he went back to cracking up and laughing. Amethyst looked at Pietro. "Me..? What am I supposed to do?" As if their roles were reversed, Amethyst just pouted at the student captain who was giving her an order. "If I go over there and interfere they'll fail their first mission. I can't do that..." As she looked back to the screen, she failed to notice how fast that green dot was moving now...

"Urgh! Then you are useless!" Abigail shouted, paying no mind to the other two that were hitting her..that was...until they started calling her names. "What did you say to me!?" She shouted before throwing the idiot who was in her grasp far off to the side. Abigail proceeded to kick and beat up his lackeys and then kicked them over to where she had thrown their master. "I almost feel bad destroying all of you.." She said as a fire ball conjured in her hand. She then got distracted as Hanna started trying to pull Alexander's pants off.

"Oh...it's getting hard. Oh wow...Alex wow, it's so big!" Hanna commented as she began to rub her face onto his tenting pants. Mnn, she couldn't control it. All she wanted was to take Alexander, then and there. She had been waiting so long for this...she was so close. "Just let me see it! Just for a second!" She begged him. Abigail growled and then rushed over to the sex crazed slut. Grabbing Hanna by the stomach, she started putting her way into pulling her off him. "Abigail..mnn you wanna join in?" Hanna asked, thinking Abigail was just hugging her. Yeah..Abigail may have thrown around the goat demons, but she couldn't even budge Hanna.

Artemis decided to send a message to Amethyst. "Should I be doing something here?" She asked Amethyst, though before she got an answer, she felt a strong electrical disturbance in the sky. "A lightning storm..?" She began as started getting shivers. Suddenly, a large lightning bot came down...and hit the three newbies directly. Abigail and Hanna screamed as they were shocked, feeling the electrical current surge painfully through their bodies. Artemis got up suddenly and then ran over to them so she could get a closer look. "Are you three okay?!" She asked them, seeing that they were still breathing but they were really hurt...

As if things could get worse, she heard shrills coming from the sky. Those demons in the sky..they had gotten in?! "Professor Amethyst! what's the status on the barrier?!" Artemis asked as she summoned six large red swords, watching the demons slowly reveal themselves. They looked like women...with feathers..claws and beaks... They were circling them like vultures...trying to find a way passed Artemis to go for the kill on the three students.

"Artemis..stop..." Abigail said weakly, grabbing her ankle. "Don't interfere...I can still finish this mission..."

"Abigail..you three are hurt...and there are seven of these things...how do you plan on fighting them when you can't even stand up?" Artemis asked her. Abigail started to chuckle softly, as she sat up along with Hanna. All of them were still conscious, but hurt.

"Geeze. Have a little more faith in us." Abigail answered as she lifted hand and then looked at her palm. Slowly but surely, a sphere of light gathered in her hand, and then it warped high into the air before exploding like a small firework. Almost like snow, fractions of the sphere sprinkled down on the three and began to heal their injuries. Abigail smiled and then stood up. They weren't a hundred percent...but it didn't matter. They were well enough to fight. "Now...as I said. Don't interfere. I really must thank these creatures for shocking all of us to our senses." Once Abigail said that, Hanna shifted back into that demon form again. This time the transformation was much more powerful.

"I'm sorry, Abigail." She said as she summoned her sword that she had used on their first mission together. "We really made asses of ourselves, but it's time to get serious now." Artemis watched the group rise, and she just sighed. All of her weapons disappeared and she retreated to the side lines. This would be interesting...to watch them get serious.

Amethyst had not gotten Artemis' messages, though when the lightning hit so suddenly she gasped. Though she knew they were alive. "That shock...how did demons like that conjure up something so powerful that it went through our barrier...If it hadn't been there, those three would be dead." She glanced at the radar and then saw Elliot was much closer, but still not there. "When did he..." Her voice was barely above a whisper. Was he the source of that powerful magic attack? She zoomed in on the three, seeing Artemis immediately run to their aid...though she watched Abigail beg her not to interfere. What could they hope to accomplish in their state? What was Abigail planning? Her question would soon be answered when Abigail released a new healing spell, one that could heal all three of them simultaneously. All of their health meters went up to acceptable condition.

"She learned a new healing spell..." Alan, who had ceased laughing as soon as that lightning bolt hit the three kids, walked up next to Amethyst and Pietro to get a closer look at the screen. "Well...I guess their real challenge comes now."
 
Pietro rubbed the bridge of his nose. A professor could do so much, and yet Amethyst simply pouted at him. "Interfering right now would be the best solution as they've completely lost sight of the mission." He stared at the screen with a displeased pair of eyes, watching as the tiny goat demons that were the lackeys to this Lord Baphomet scattering in multiple directions. They were already failing their prime objective to deal with the demon population that had inhabited the Accel outpost. Not only that, but the numerous infractions within the student guidelines were being spat upon by the shape shifter as she attempted to make the beast with two backs along with Alexander, though at this point it seemed more like rape since the Berserker was attempting to calm her down. To no avail, however.

"H-Hanna! Quit! Seriously, this is a bad time!" He blushed profusely, feeling her nuzzle his crotch. Oh, if she felt it then, she was feeling it now. And why did he have to get a hard on now?! This was not the time! "Gah! No, that's okay! Let's just keep it in my pants for now, all right?! Yeah, I think that's a great idea!" Hands pressed to her shoulder, Alexander was shocked to find that Hannabelle was practically glued to his hips and groin. He grunted as he tried again to no avail. Holy shit. Hannabelle did not want to let go. Even as Abigail arrived, tugging with all her might, Hannabelle just simply chimed in and seemed to invite the Mage along. What the hell happened to the mission?!

Finally freed, Baphomet hit the ground hard while the Twins were groaning on the floor in pain, him gasping for sweet, precious air only to cough violently afterwards. "By Satan's left testicle! That bitch nearly killed me." He gasped out, rubbing at his throat as he sat up and watched the three humans struggling with the one who fell under his spell. Which he was still reeling from learning that it worked! It was the first time it did, and he was so happy! He hummed in delight for a moment before he was up and throwing the two lackeys on to their hooved feet. "You two, I thought you had real daggers? What is with these," Baphomet picked up the two fake daggers, seeing one of the hilts coming unhinged on one. "... fakes?!"

"Master, you said we couldn't use them anymore. Real ones." Romulus spoke up as he brushed himself off, adjusting the bandanna upon his head as well as he looked up to Baphomet. Remus quickly chimed in soon after.
"Ah yes. Remember what happened last time?" Baphomet seemed to look at the two for a moment in deep thought. He then snapped his fingers and bleated out.
"Of course! That's when I got stabbed in my tush! Yes, no real blades for you. I couldn't sit for a week, damn it." He rubbed his rear end gingerly, bleating out gently. However, that same sound came again in a bit more fright as thunder seemed to ring out in the air. It was just over the voices of the three humans that were struggling over one another just a ways away, Romulus and Remus laughing and rolling on the ground as they made fun of the humans. But Baphomet narrowed his eyes at them. "Baaa, something isn't righ-" Suddenly, lightening struck all the humans, which only caused the three goat demons to bleat out in shock. Baphomet seized up the two twins and leapt behind a rock. "Keep your heads down you buffoons! Those things are coming!" Their eyes poked out from behind the rock, gazing upward at the descending creatures. They looked like... harpies!

The moment they were struck, Alexander went rigid and bit down hard on his jaw as the lightning coursed through him and numbed his senses for a bit. It felt like he was being burned from the inside out, but thank the heavens above that it only lasted for a brief second, despite it feeling like an eternity. His back hit the ground, body jerking with every jolt of electricity that sparked and ran through his muscles. The spasms hurt as well, his body unprepared for it, leaving his limbs feeling weak and tired. Even the slightest movement caused an involuntary spasm, only causing him even more pain as he would then straighten out his limbs. "U-Ugh, fuck..." Alexander grunted, soon shutting his eyes and trying to breathe to the point where it didn't hurt. It still caused those muscles to twitch in uncomfortable ways, yet air in his lungs was important if he wanted to stay alive.

Pietro had turned his head in time to watch the three students become struck by lightening. Grabbing his air piece, he attempted to contact Abigail. The sudden loud feedback due to her destroyed communicator rang painfully in his ear, and he immediately responded by slapping it down against the desk. "Damn it, I lost Abigail's comm piece. I'll have to rely on you and Artemis, professor." He told her, looking at her with a nod of his head. "Have Artemis aid them. Since they weren't prepared, that kind of attack would have hit them much harder than normal." Pietro looked on the screen, seeing their bodies hit the ground. Oscar and Alan seemed to have gone serious too, soon joining them both as looking over their shoulders. The student captain looked on with narrowed eyes, seeing Artemis then walk over to them. She then took on her blades. It would seem she was expecting those demons soon.

"Whoa!" Oscar began, gaining Pietro's attention while Amethyst seemed already glued to the screen. "Hold on, Pietro, take a look at Abby!"

Perplexed, the young man did so. They all rose up rather slowly, Alexander seeming to pant hard as he looked up to the other two. It was then that Abigail summoned forth the light sphere within her palm, soon to rise up in the air and explode in a glimmering display. As its light rained upon them, the Berserker bowed his head, letting it shower upon him as he let out a deep sigh. Soothing relief began to course not only through his veins but tissue and skin as well. His energy was replenished, and he felt more awake. More vibrant. Oh yeah, this felt much better. And he made sure everyone around them knew as he let out a pleased sigh again. "Oh, I'm going to get back at these pieces of shit..." Alexander spoke softly with a grin, punching his open palm. He was ready for action again.

It didn't take long for Alexander to transform, Pietro taking note as he seemed to take a bit more abuse and hold his form for longer from before. The young man seemed to let out a relieved sigh himself. They weren't dead, and seeing Amethyst's readings, they were good to go. So long as they didn't get hit by something like that again. In the fray, it was Alexander who sprung first. The entire time up to this mission, he had transformed a handful of times. But he often always got asked if his wings actually worked as he never flew in front of anyone in class. They wondered if it was just for show on his form. But in that instant, Alexander's draconic form launched into the air full force as his wings flapped hard. Since these demons were so polite to get the fight started, he would oblige. And he did so by attacking the first beast with a claw to its chest since it dodged in the nick of time. This earned a fierce, displeased roar from the harpy, and it focused all its efforts into attacking Alexander at that time. He even breathed flames at several of the other harpies, and it earned at least another one being very pissed off with him.

"Come on, bitches! Let's dance!" A deep, dragon roar left his throat, and he pulled the two away from the others, leaving Hannabelle and Abigail to work out a plan to take the rest out.
 
When Alexander swatted at the first harpy, he attracted the attention of two other ones. It seemed like they were going to form a group and try to take him down together. As he breathed fire at them, he managed to catch one of their wings and she nearly plummeted to the ground...if her sisters had caught her to steady her until she could flap her injured wing. They all turned to Alexander and let out their own attack, all three of them screaming loud enough to create a sonic attack aimed directly at Alexander.

"Hmph. Alexander can handle this just fine." Abigail mumbled as the last four flew around her and Hannabelle. "So, the question is..how do you want to take them down Hanna? I can't fly, so if you go up there you'd be surrounded by them." As Abigail spoke, the squad of harpy ladies sent out a vicious wind attack that was directed straight for them. Though Abigail didn't seem too worried.

"Hmm, we can do the thing." Hanna said as the attack simply just dispersed, hitting some kind of force field that surrounded the two girls. Hanna had put up a barrier using her demonic powers...without even trying. She had gotten used to fighting in this specific form, as well as her dire wolf form. Currently those were the only forms she could battle in, the only ones where she actually copied their strengths and powers. Abigail sighed and then nodded, signalling to Hanna that she agreed with her. Well, they might as well do it...it would impress the teachers, and it would take care of half the problem in a mere second.

"Alright, let's go ahead and show off. We kind of need it to save our scores." Hanna giggled and then hugged Abigail tightly, causing her to groan a little as she was pressed against her bosom. Hannabelle's body began to glow as her form changed once again. Abigail sighed heavily as Hanna absorbed some of her energy along with a talent. It felt strange, and she was slightly weaker, but it would all be worth it. Once Hannabelle completed her transformation, she was like Abigail's twin. They were perfect copies of one another...except Hannabelle was smiling in a way Abigail never did. "Double casting is not anything I'll be capable of anytime soon, so this is a bit easier." She said as both her Hanna started casting a spell at the same time.

"Wahh, this so cool! We're doing the thing~!" Hannabelle shouted in Abigails voice as she held out both her arms towards the direction of the harpies, which were all preparing for an attack of their own. Though Abigail wouldn't let them...whatever they were casting, she would destroy it with Hannabelle's help.

"Hannabelle!" She signaled as wind began to pick up around her body. A wind much stronger than the harpies wind...this was Abigails strength.

"Right!" The shapeshifter shouted as fire began to start forming in her hands. The harpies sent their combined attack towards them, a much stronger wind attack with air that slice like blades. Though Abigail wasn't worried at all.

"Now!" A burst of strong wind flew from Abigail body, and Hannabelle sent out a powerful fire attack that combined with her whirlwind spell. Had either one of their attacks been any different in regards of strength, it wouldn't have combined at all. The fire monsoon completely consumed the four harpy ladies and disintegrated them, not leaving a trace behind. Abigail smirked as Hannabelle changed back into her own form. "See what happens when you copy from the best?" Hanna pouted and then turned to Alexander.

"I think Alexander is pretty amazing too.." She said as she watched the berserker fight. She was ready to jump in and help...but he probably didn't need it.

"They synced their attacks together...Did you teach them that, Alan?" Amethyst asked him and he just shrugged and shook his head. "Did anyone teach them that? I can understand Abigail, but Hanna? Since when could she not only copy a fellow student and their spells, but actually know how to calibrate her magic power to match perfectly with her partner?" These students were really something..not to mention Alexander..he had really improved since Amethyst last saw him. This was really beginning to make up for earlier.
 
Three harpies instead? Oh boy, what a treat! If his draconic maw could form a grin, oh he would so be wearing it right now. Instead though, he had to grin with his eyes. That was fine by him, because he probably needed those razor sharp teeth in his mouth anyway. Especially when he was tearing the throat out of one of them. "You three don't look so tough. Should've called your friends over too. Maybe then you'd actually have a chance." Alexander cockily growled to them, wings flapping rhythmically to keep him floating there in the air. The Berserker had spent a great deal of time working on flight since before he could merely glide over the ground to cover a large amount of distance. But he wanted to improve that. He wanted to take the skies when he needed to. And for this mission, that was perfect. Especially now as he dealt with the demons in their home territory.

Hannabelle and Abigail were dealing with their foes in no time. He could sense the fluctuation of magic in the area. That was another thing that seemed to be improving, his magical awareness and aptitude. It became a rather solid sixth sense for the Berserker who seemed almost clueless to the direction or presence of magical energy before. But his senses right now told him that Hannabelle and Abigail were about to unleash something huge. Meanwhile, he watched as the harpies dealing with him decided to fan out and try and hit his sides in addition to keeping him occupied from the front end. "Smart." Alexander admitted as he nodded his head up and down expectantly. Though they didn't give him much time to prepare, all three unleashing such a vicious sonic attacking centered upon him. Whoa, that wasn't expected.

Without a second to lose, the dragon weaved out of earshot and decided to take one down to the ground. It shrieked in retaliation, one of its clawed talons pressing at his face. When that failed, it reared its leg back with talons extended out, aiming it straight for his throat. No way was he gonna end up getting cut by this bitch. So the moment the harpy struck, Alexander had dodged it with easy, this time grabbing her by the shoulder in his maw. Another pained scream let loose in the air as the two went crashing into the ground. Her now dead body absorbed most of the blow, the most Alexander received was a short dizzy spell. It was just in time though as he watched the Mage and shape shifter work their magic. His arm shielded his eyes from the flaming display, the four other harpies from the original group being torched to a crispy pile of dust. It was impressive, very much so. Though what really made his eyes widen was the fact that there were two Abigails. "What?!" He shouted out, seeing the two of them there. One had to be Hannabelle... right? Two Abigails? No way, it was too much for him to bare and even comprehend. Though once he realized he was still in the fight, Hannabelle transformed back. Oh well that was a relief, he sighed out. He didn't need another copy of his rival to yell at him for jack shit.

A shadow upon the ground caught his attention, and slowly growing, that meant it was above him. And as he peered upwards, he did see the harpy come crashing down to the ground, followed by her sister. Alexander easily avoided their dives as they swooped upwards to keep the momentum going. However, as they looped around, one of the harpies was rammed into by Alexander's massive form. He then proceeded to slash and claw at the female demon, soon then grabbing her tightly and biting into her winged arm. He felt a bone break as his teeth sunk deeply into the muscle. She couldn't use that arm now. And without further mercy, with bloody jaws, Alexander then grasped her hard by the throat and threw her down to towards the ground. Without a wing and with no odds in her favor, the injured harpy hit the ground with a single screech before it went silent for a moment. With all that dust kicking up too, it was hard to tell if she was truly dead. Though judging on the impact, it was a safe assumption.

The final harpy though got the bead on him. Her talons launched on to his neck and began to apply pressure, causing his airway to constrict and fail to give him the rich, precious air that he needed. "Gah!" He gasped out, struggling as she applied more pressure, even digging her talons in. But she would find that the scales on his dragon form weren't just for cosmetic effect. Even those sharp talons didn't pierce through his tough scales, and eventually he managed to free himself and pull away, coughing lightly as he tried to gain his bearings. No, the harpy wouldn't have it! She came with furious force, followed by the same screech they shot towards him the first time. Alexander easily flew off to the right, but also dove in as she missed and passed. A claw went across her face and then stomach, injuring her deeply. But it was when he pulled back his head, inhaling deeply, that this demon's life was sealed. For he then let loose a mighty torrent of flames that spouted out and burned her to nothing but ashes that fell to the ground. That took care of that, finished all by another roar from the Berserker within his dragon form.

Pietro looked on, clearly impressed as they not only made up for their previous conduct and behavior, but showed that they had also improved and succeeded past expected results of their Acceleration process. This would complete the assessment of not only their skills, but the success of Acceleration. "Excellent work everyone. Professor Amethyst, please instruct Artemis to open a gate and get them back once they've done a final sweep of the area. We need to make sure that no demons are within the outpost. Once that's done, I'll have Dante and a team of students go to adjust the anti-demon barrier there to keep out any unwanted pests." Pietro told her before he looked back at the screen, seeing all three of them converging in on one another while Artemis was a way off. A better close up would have been nice. He'd have to ask Artemis for the details.

"Mission accomplished everyone, excellent work." He congratulated first the professors there, but knew he would have one ready for Abigail and her team. Things would definitely look up for the woman if she kept this up. A rocky start, but she finished with and passed with flying colors!
 
Abigail and Hanna watched in awe as Alexander fought the three demons by himself. The fact that he was flying was indeed an improvement. Even though Alexander's test scores weren't perfect, he had definitely gotten a lot better since Abigail last saw him in a fight. She was especially observing his aura and making sure he was keeping himself under control.

After Alexander's victory roar, Abigail rolled her eyes. Suddenly, she felt a pain in her chest and she started coughing up blood. Ugh! Shit! Using such high level white magic and switching to arcane magic right afterwards wasn't agreeing with her body. She started blacking out, and she could see Hanna coming over to her and holding her so that she wouldn't fall...though there was a loud ringing in her ears that prevented her from hearing. No...stay awake. Don't pass out! It's not over until you're back safe and sound! She thought as she forced herself to stay conscious until the ringing in her ears went away. She then pushed Hannabelle away and stood on her own. "I'm fine.." She told Hanna as Artemis came up to them. She was about to give them Pietro's last orders, though suddenly they heard clapping the distance.

The three girls immediately turned to the source, and Abigail let out a horrified gasp as she saw that man. She felt sick to her stomach, like she was going to pass out again. For a moment she really wished she had, so she hadn't seen his face. He just gave her a charming smile. "Very well done...it's amazing what they're teaching our first years these days." His voice was soft, though the tone attached to his word was indifferent. Passive maybe. "Though I would never imagine my baby sister hurling around arcane magic after casting white magic so soon before. The aftershock wasn't too good, was it? Had you done that in a more dire situation, you would have been a weak point for the enemy to take advantage of."

Abigail could feel a rage like none other surging through her body. What the fuck was he doing here? Didn't he already graduate? "Had the situation been more dire I wouldn't have risked doing that. However, that's really none of your business. Nothing I do..is any of your goddamn business!" She shouted at him. Hanna looked at Abigail confused. He said that she was his baby sister, but yet Abigail didn't seem very fond of him. In fact, she seemed to hate him. He only chuckled at his sisters sudden outburst and continued to walk towards Abigail, slowly. She stood her ground with a defiant look in her eye.

"Forgive my sister. She's rather rude. I am Elliot Hunter, a fourth year in Accel. I am glad to see you're already proctoring, Artemis. Though I think you could have done a better job..." Elliot wasn't even looking at Artemis, though for once the girl had elected to stop playing her music ever since the large lightning bolt hit her underclassman, so she heard everything he said. She just glared at him. She had never liked Elliot Hunter, and it seemed like even his own sister hated him. Finally, after what seemed like eons, he stood directly before his sister.

Abigail was still looking defiantly up at her brother, though her body was shaking. Her legs wouldn't move..in fact nothing would listen to her at all. She saw Elliot's hand reach out to her, and she flinched as he caressed her cheek and ran his fingers through her hair, causing her to look away. "It's been a long time...baby sister. You've grown into quite the mage." He told her as he continued to toy with her. Tears started to come to Abigail's eyes as he touched her. She was clearly scared of her own brother, but why?

"Umm...we should probably finish up here. We still need to do some stuff before coming home.." Hanna tried to distract Elliot, though he seemed to not even pay attention to her. Alexander seemed to also be invisible to him. No, right now this was his moment with his dearest sister. The way she trembled as he touched her was intoxicating. Her fear was just as amazing as it had been the last time he saw her...

"I missed you." Was all he told her as he felt her tears touch his hand.
 
Cue victory music! Alexander soon dived nose first towards the ground before spiraling a mere twenty feet from the ground, smoke exuding from his form and enclosing him in a kind of cocoon that soon broke away and revealed the Berserker's ordinary form. His white hair flared upwards as he tossed his head back, a huge grin lighting up his face while the man rolled his right shoulder. "Hell yeah! That's how we do it!" He called out as he jumped out in his own solo celebration, fist pumping into the air before looking over towards everyone. Immediately, Abigail just rolled his eyes at him. "Well screw you too, Ms.-" Suddenly, Abigail spat up blood, something he definitely wasn't expecting at such a fine moment. "H-Hey, Abby!" Alexander called out, rushing out over to the Mage and skidding to a halt in front of her. Hannabelle beat him to the punch, but he was ever grateful. Why? He wasn't sure, he just acted. "You were coughing up blood. I highly doubt that's fine." Alexander interjected, seeing Artemis tapping into her communication channel to Pietro.

That is, until they were all brought out of the stupor by a newcomer. The first thing that Alexander felt was the rather intimidating magical aura. And the next? A rather distasteful flavor on his tongue. As the older man approached, perhaps a couple years older than them, the white-haired Berserker could already tell that this man was bad news. He didn't know why. He didn't know how. Alexander just felt... bad. But, like... bad. The news hit him as well when the man revealed himself to be Abigail's older brother. "Baby sister...?" He whispered, though it seemed he went unheard, especially when she immediately lashed out at the guy. Talk about a good family relationship.

Elliot Hunter. Alexander didn't even know until just now that his team captain had a brother. Then again, they never were really on terms to talk about one another's personal lives, more so getting at each other's throats or gloating in the other's face how much better they were because of that extra point they won over the other. He briefly eyed over to both Artemis and Hannabelle, seeing Artemis's own dislike for the older student. And while Hannabelle seemed to just mesh with everyone and was open, it was almost shocking to see that in some way, Hannabelle wasn't really enjoying Elliot's presence. Her attempt to derail Elliot's fascination upon his younger sister failed.

However, what was really the breaking point was when Abigail started crying. It was his turn to feel an unquenchable boiling rage, and it wanted out. Alexander flashed a fang for a second, before he acted instead. Pietro had been examining the screen, but suddenly a small alarm went off in his pocket. Immediately, his voice took a somewhat panicked edge as he grabbed the hilt of his blade. "Leander's Rage is coming unintentionally, Professor Amethyst." He suddenly pulled away and was preparing to cast a portal to their location when he was stopped by Oscar. The Wisp directed him to look back at the screen, the student captain once again laying eyes on Alexander approaching both Elliot and Abigail. "Professor Amethyst?!"

"So!" Elliot would suddenly lose his touch to Abigail as the Berserker laughed obnoxiously, grabbing Abigail and pulling her with him, creating a good several feet of distance between them and the older Hunter. "Yeah! We should totally check out these harpies and make sure they're dead and all. Right, fearless leader?!" Alexander's voice was loud and very annoying as he shouted out in the air, even looking back at Hannabelle. "Hey, Hanna! C'mon, team objective thingy! Let's go!" He did indeed bring Abigail over to one of the crispy harpies, beginning to touch it with his boot. He made a rather crunchy sound. "Oh yeah, totally dead. Artemis! We confirm that this... uh, thing is dead. 100% dead. Yup. Uh huh." Alexander had never stopped holding the Mage, his arm slung around her rather defensive and protective. He wasn't even meaning it to be, but it was.

The alarm in Pietro's pocket suddenly ceased. He checked the device, reading that the Berserker's Rage levels had normalized again. He let out a deep sigh, releasing his iron grip upon his blade's handle. "... A false alarm, I suppose." The lead student muttered softly, resting a hand upon the back of Amethyst's seat. Still, those readings seemed to match the exact ones they sensed in the past. He bit his lip lightly, tried to make heads or tails of the situation. For now, though, their main issue appeared to be Elliot Hunter. Pietro looked to Amethyst. "What was older Hunter's current mission? I understand he's rather skilled, but he should have been preoccupied for a good deal of time."
 
Elliot could have gotten Abigail back from that berserker, though he chose not to. He didn't need a reader to feel that sudden rage. As skilled as he was, he really didn't feel like getting into a fight right now. Not one with some first year street urchin. It was beneath him. Though his gaze never left his sister. Ah, he'd have his fun with her sooner or later.

Hannabelle ran over to join Abigail and Alexander. She also got a bad feeling from that man, but it wasn't her place...at all...to say anything to an upperclassman. "Hey Abigail, I'm gonna gather up those goat demons and send them back where they came...you stay here with Alexander and make sure those harpies stay dead, alright?" She smiled and her, though Abigail looked as pale as a sheet. Even though she was so close to Alexander, which normally would have made her freak out...it was like she couldn't take her eyes away from her brother. She looked terrified too. Hanna sighed and then looked at Alexander for a moment before running off to search the area. Though she didn't have to go far.

Every single one of those harmless goat demons were dead, and it was quite the gruesome scene. Their bodies all looked charred, some had even looked like they exploded...it didn't take long for her to realize who had done this. Though there were three bodies missing from the count, Hanna just simply forgot about Baphomet and his underlings. She went to regroup with the others.

"Artemis, I fixed that pesky tear in the dimension, by the way. Though the barrier definitely still needs to be fixed. Odd lightning storm, huh? Those demons sure are full of surprises." Elliot grinned, though he would not get anything in return from Artemis. He turned towards Abigail once more and gave her a smile before a magic circle suddenly appeared at the bottom of his feet. "I'll see you around, my sweet little sister." With that, he disappeared in a burst of magical energy. One could only assume that he had gone back to Accel without the usage of a magic door.

Once her brother was gone, it was like a a spell had been lifted from her body. She realized Alexander had been holding her, and she pushed him away as she breathed heavily, trying to wipe her tears away with the sleeve of her sweater. Hanna came back with an agitated look on her face, something strange for the shapeshifter. "The area is secure. All the demons are dead..even the harmless ones." She said with a depressive tone. Abigail looked at Hanna, though she knew what had happened. Her brother had fucking interfered...

"Well, nonetheless, good job. All of you. I give you an A." Artemis said with a thumbs up before opening the door back to the classroom. "Come on...lets meet with the teachers..."

Amethyst watched the screen closely, relieved that whatever Alexander was experiencing just disappeared with his own willpower. Though that was too close...and as far as she knew Abigail hadn't completely figured out a way to stop what they assumed was inevitable. "He was sent on a mission to investigate some paranormal activity in New York City. People were dying with some strange cause and he was supposed to find and destroy the source of these deaths...with all the vampires in that city lying and covering their own asses, I assumed it would take longer than a month to complete...but I guess not." She explained to Pietro. "Though, he might have just come back to ask for reinforcements...I guess we'll find out soon enough."
 
Hannabelle seemed to try her best to take Abigail's mind off of Elliot's sudden appearance, but even as Alexander pulled the Mage away, he could feel Elliot's eyes on her still. Like they couldn't avoid him at all. He looked down to Abigail, seeing her fearful expression. Hell, what did Elliot do to her? What the hell did he do to her?! Alexander bit his lip, gazing back to the shape shifter and simply shaking his head. What could he say or do right now? He wanted to even convince himself that he was helping, and yet, Abigail still seemed transfixed upon her older brother like she was staring death in the face.

Pietro was listening in, hearing what Elliot was saying. Immediately, a displeased expression passed on his face. Normally, this would call for a failure due to a proctor intervening. However, Elliot wasn't supposed to be here. At all. And just like that, the man disappeared. Pietro had long since had difficulty reigning in Elliot in the past, and it only seemed to get more difficult as Elliot took on his own solo missions, as Amethyst instructed him. "I'm sure you're already thinking it, professor, but Elliot's intervention will not be calculated in the final grade." The lead student spoke, sighing as he ran a hand through his short, white hair. He could already feel that Elliot was here in Accel, probably grinning that same grin he always wore. "It's no use talking to that man. Perhaps the Headmaster can wring some sense into his skull." Pietro muttered with disdain, hearing Oscar whistle.

"Ugh, sends shivers down my spine whenever I see Elliot. His aura gives me the heebie-jeebies too." Looking among the professors and Pietro, a ghostly sigh left him. "Well, I sense that they've arrived. You two wanna meet them?" Oscar asked as he then peered over to Alan. "What about you? I'm stuck fixing a... uh, an obstacle course maintenance issue. Yeah..." Oh shit, Oscar forgot that he hadn't reported that in. Jeez, if word got out, not only would Amethyst probably chew his non-physical ass out, but so would the Headmaster. He didn't have time for that at all right now. "Oh! Gotta go! Bye bye!" And like that, the Wisp suddenly teleported out of the room, leaving the rest of them behind.

Once Artemis and the three newbies returned, Pietro gave his assessment. He assured them first that while Elliot did find the cause, there would be no repercussions to their grading. Elliot's appearance was unaccounted for. Pietro them passed them all, thanking the older student for her assistance. "The mission started rather... childishly." He was quick to note, crossing his arms. "I will admit, if you three didn't reveal the fruits of your labor since you came into Accel, I would have failed you. However, take pride in knowing that much of what you three have been doing has impressed me greatly. Abigail, your leadership skills were tested rather on the spot. While not perfect, you show promise. Keep it up, and they'll continue to improve." Pietro then turned to Hannabelle. "Your abilities seemed to have grown exponentially, Riley. Most shape shifters can't accomplish what you've done right after Acceleration. It takes some time. Excellent work. Leander, while your respect towards chain of command needs a dreadful amount of work," Alexander grumbled under his breath. "Your abilities in transforming have smoothed out. Excellent."

They were all soon dismissed, Pietro deeming that even after being healed, it would do them some good to rest. But, they'd especially need it with the coming weeks. Midyear tests were rolling in, and according to rumors about Accel, the tests were trying and damn near unforgivable. Alexander learned this the hard way when a practice test given to them came back with a huge "F". Even the obstacle courses that Oscar gave them were on a whole new level. It would even test the limits of a brainiac like Abigail, much of her knowledge truly tested. And the amount of information they were given to study? A librarian would feel overwhelmed. So after the first test, Alexander felt like he was about to die. And that was just the first one! The Berserker sat down in the cafe at lunch time, slamming his head on the table. The class schedule was a bit more customized for the testing time, with a rather much needed off week right afterwards. Oh how he wanted it to be next week already.

"I've never failed so bad in my life..." Alexander spoke into the table, his voice muffled and nosed pressed flatly against the surface. He soon lifted his head to stare at Hannabelle, downcast and hoping at least he wasn't the only one suffering. "Please tell me that you at least did the same as me. I can't handle any more disappointment, Hanna!" He honestly wondered how she was doing, considering too that their grades were fairly similar.

Then it dawned on him; where was Abigail? Well, the answer to that would be Pietro, who had been inviting her to research some more information about the Berserker issue. However, seeing as Alexander didn't show signs as of late, Pietro lessened the dire need for constant research, especially during this time. In fact, the lead student was often times seeking her knowledge about some curious issues that weren't made public yet, though none were grave or impacting to Accel. Once again, the meetings were very casual as well at this point, Pietro meeting Abigail at different times throughout the day, and politely in consideration of her schedule. Being so close to the staff, Pietro had access to that information, but would need it no matter to carefully plan in mind the welfare of the students and their missions. Things were especially interesting when Pietro openly met with her to "research" in public, such as busy times within the cafe. While slow right now, word began to spread around about the constant meetings between the two students. When Elizabeth heard from Malech, everyone around her thought it was the end of the world with the way she stared at the artist.

"Abigail," Came Pietro's voice as he walked alongside her as they exited the Accel library. "How have your tests been coming along? I apologize if this workload is overbearing. We can relax our efforts entirely for this week, and of course next. I'm sure you'd like some time to yourself for once." For once, the man gave a small chuckle. Though it seemed he was opening up more and more to Abigail a lot. His rather stiff posture was mostly relaxed around her. Some students even gasped that they saw the lead student slouch once!
 
Of course Abigail was happy that she had managed to not fail their mission. Well...even better than that from the amount of praise all the teachers and Pietro had given her..though she really could not take her mind off the fact that her brother was here, somewhere...lurking. She wanted to look happy but she really couldn't fool anyone for once..

The days afterwards were all just a blur. The practice test for mid terms was hard, and Abigail slipped up a few times but still got an A. She didn't really have the energy to care that it wasn't a perfect score, especially because it didn't count towards their grade. If it did, Hanna and Alexander would have gotten kicked from the program...since they had failed miserably. Though she didn't find her grade impressive nor so terrible that she was ashamed, the teachers did praise her which only managed to irritate the other students. Mopey Abigail was still the smartest one in the class, and as time went by it was getting harder and harder to refute that evidence. Though she damn near killed herself with lack of sleep to stay on top..not that she could sleep knowing her brother was watching her.

She had learned that he was taking a couple weeks break before going on another mission. She had made an effort to always be with someone, a teacher, Hanna, Pietro, hell even Alexander sometimes. She was terrified of being alone, because she knew that's when Elliot would make his move to fuck with her. Though she couldn't bring herself to tell anyone what was wrong, and when someone asked about it she would quickly deny that anything was bothering her at all. Eventually she just stopped being bugged about it, though people were still worried for her. Today she was with Pietro, speaking more about Alexander and his problem. She was almost to the root of the problem, but not quite there in her theories.

Between her brother, these more challenging tests, and her research, Abigail didn't even notice that Pietro was acting different around her. It was so obvious to other people whenever they saw them walk together that Abigail was being treated differently. To top it all off, there had even been a few rumors that the two were already a thing, though Abigail paid those gossipers no mind. People wanted to talk, let them talk. She had other things to do than entertain the other students by acknowledging their stupid theories.

She looked up at Pietro when he asked her how her studies had been going. Promising her a period of relaxation was sweet, though Abigail didn't mind her constant studying if it kept her mind off her brother. "The tests aren't too hard. Though it does take me a little longer to go over the material. I've kind of been using some white magic to keep me from fatigue because I only get a few hours of sleep a night...but it's all going to be worth it in terms of my grades and helping Alexander and future berserkers." Abigail gave him a smile..his relaxed nature was really making her relax too. She felt safe with Pietro, and they had really become close friends.

Hannabelle looked at Alexander and frowned. He seemed so down about the practice test. "I failed it, but technically I really didn't try. Why practice something I'm not gonna pass anyway?" Hanna reached down and ran her fingers through his hair. She still thought about their mission a few weeks ago when she had gone plum crazy and tried to fuck him in front of the teachers and Abigail and Artemis. She felt bad but at the same time the urge never really went away. Hanna really wanted Alexander and she was beginning to grow impatient. All this school crap was really a drag and it was preventing them from having fun together playing video games. Sure they'd attempt to study but Hanna would always end up falling asleep out of sheer boredom.

"Hmm...lets do something fun! Get our minds off of studying for a bit! Like playing video games, or watching TV. Come on, Alex. If you try to study as much as Abby does you'll just burn yourself out. She thrives off reading and stuff but you work differently. You're good at fighting..which honestly should be the only thing Accel should be about. All this other crap is annoying..." Hanna seemed to be a bit down and irritated from all the obsession over midterms. Though she was still smiling, as she looked at Alexander. She really, really liked him.
 
Pietro had long caught on to a rather tense relationship between Abigail and Elliot, if one could even call what they had a "relationship". However, he felt like dwelling on it would just damper their mood. Especially considering that they had began to become more casual and relaxed in terms of their relationship. It was already common knowledge that Pietro simply referred to Abigail by her first name, even during missions and assignments, whereas everyone else was called by their last name. He even seemed to give her more detailed instructions or grading, almost as if he was curious to see her progress in her time at Accel. And he was. He was very much so interested in seeing Abigail not only pass, but exceed expectations set in place for her. Many of the instructors and professors too shared the same sentiments, but even joined in on some of the gossips. Apparently this year's projected couple was definitely Abigail and Pietro. Oscar was even involved in a bet with Amethyst to see how long it would take until Pietro or Abigail said something. Oscar was hoping it was soon, he had a lot of money riding on that bet...

"Ah, I see. While that is a bit of a work around, that does trouble me." The older student told her, stopping for a moment in their walk. They had seemed to come to a halt outdoors underneath the awning connecting adjacent buildings. With a rather concerned gaze, Pietro crossed his arms and continued. "Abigail, magic does aid in our lives, that is definitely valid. However, our bodies should still function as normal. I fear what you're doing will only impact you negatively. And I'm not saying this just for your grades or of my expectations of you. Trust me, that's far from it." He told her, giving her a bit of a small smile. It was odd to see the man's usually stern gaze soften to the point of a smile. "It's human, after all, to live with some leisure as well."

"So, let's do this then." He continued walking, posture ever perfect with his hands behind him. "Enjoy your break, Abigail. Don't even think of any research or studying concerning this issue. I know that it's a pertinent subject, however I won't risk your well being to increase its progress." He told the young woman, looking at her curiously. "In fact, why don't we just relax tonight as well? Over some coffee perhaps? I know a particularly dark roast the chefs in the cafe make that is rather divine." His offer definitely sounded like their usual casual gatherings, as he often suggested other different beverages that she might enjoy. In fact, most of them too were special ordered by the chefs. Those chefs understood the many differing palettes of all the student officers. They were very accustomed to the custom orders that Pietro was prone to order.

If Alexander had known about Hannabelle's still burning desire, perhaps he'd be a bit more conscious of how he acted within their shared dorm. Often times, Alexander was walking around shirtless and much of his muscle tone had been growing more defined with his time at Accel. There were times too that he would work out in his room, the door open as he didn't think much of it at the time. Hannabelle, since the mission, seemed to be around him a lot more, but considering their friendship and teamwork, the young man didn't think much of it. And this "school crap" only seemed to push them together. Abigail had seemed to opt to studying alone, even though it was really research with Pietro. Though Alexander couldn't help but a bit wanting of her attention. Vying for it even. He would never admit it, not even in a thousand moons. To think that he craved Abigail's attention or wanted her praise. It was a complete lie!

With another groan as she weaved her fingers through his hair, Alexander tried to take his mind off of the exams, but truly succeeded when Hannabelle suggested games. Oh hell yeah. And she had a point. Why should he kill himself over studying? Alexander was still pretty awesome, as Hannabelle fed his ego. "Yeah! It totally should. I mean, hell, I could probably teach a lot of these people here how to kick some ass the good ol' fashioned way!" Comically, the Berserker sat up and threw some jabs and punches in the air between them. Ah, if there was a class about straight up fighting, Alexander would ace it with flying colors. "Y'know what? You're right, let's just chill and forget about studying. Ugh, for once, I just want to be lazy as hell on the couch and do something other than drill words into my skull all night long." Standing up and stretching, Alexander just snagged Hanna be the wrist and began walking back to the dorm. "We should rent a movie!" He said in a rather happy tone.

Every guy in Accel seriously wanted to kill Alexander. Hannabelle had been given many gazes and advances, and yet she showered all her attention upon Alexander, to which the man seemed almost completely oblivious too. No man was impervious to Hannabelle's charm and seductive appeal, the shape shifter being the object of affection to many. And yet all her potential suitors were given the cold shoulder to a Berserker that they despised. Almost every room, the men would just glare at Alexander, wishing him such gruesome demises. And while oblivious to Hannabelle's charm, the man never understood why these guys were trying to pick a fight with him. What the hell did he ever do?
 
Leisure? What the hell was that? Oh right, the times where Abigail could actually just sit down and read a book not about spells or having to do her research on the berserkers. She remembered when she had time to do that. Barely...in fact ever since she had gotten to Accel it was was non stop studying. Abigail probably shouldn't have confessed to Pietro about using magic to get over her fatigue instead of just sleeping more, because as soon as she said it out loud it sounded...dumb. Crazy? Well maybe not crazy, but it was something that normal students wouldn't even think about doing. Abigail though? She wasn't normal, not to mention she couldn't really sleep well. Not when she was alone in her room. Sometimes she would wake with and see something slightly out of place. She felt like he was coming into her room and watching her sleep really. Though she supposed that could have just been paranoia.

She didn't really expect Pietro of all people to suggest that she slack off. For how long? A week? A day maybe...a day was reasonable. But an entire week? She studied nearly every hour of her free time away, every single day. So yes, even on the weekends when she didn't have class, she'd use the time to catch up on something she never got around to. Still, Pietro was worried about her, and being that he was her only real friend right now, she probably should just take his advice and relax. At least for a bit. Still, what could she do during the nights when she was by herself? "Alright, Pietro. Coffee does sound good right now." Abigail told him as she fought against a yawn. No need to make her superior officer even more worried about her.

Their walk to the cafe was a silent one, though not an awkward silence. Sometimes they just enjoyed being around each other even if they weren't talking. At least Abigail did. Pietro would work on whatever he was working on that didn't require him to immediately be there. When he brought her a coffee and sat down at the table with her, she gave him a smile. "Thanks. It smells good." She told him as she took hold of the cup by its handle and then slowly brought it to her lips. Softly, she blew upon the surface and then took a dainty sip. "Mnnn." A seal of Abigail's approval. Pietro always knew what she liked...somehow. Maybe they just had similar tastes?

For a moment, Abigail just looked into her cup as her eyes slowly, almost lazily rose up to look at Pietro. For a moment she was silent. "Hey..Pietro? Do you think...Maybe tonight I could come over..." Abigail trailed off, realizing how stupid her words sounded right now. She was going to ask him if she could come over and sleep at his dorm, but that sounded stupid. She didn't want him to get the wrong idea...like her being scared or something. Well she was..but not many people would understand her fear of her brother. It was a tad ridiculous to any outsiders.

The dirty glares Alexander got were here as well. He was taking Abigail by the wrist in such a friendly manner, rather than a manner that was befitting a woman as attractive as Hannabelle Riley. Malech's stare was especially venomous, and he was sitting in the cafe trying to draw Hanna still. "Great...guess I'll have to try again later." Malech said as he started to pack up his art supplies. He was going to leave, but then he saw Abigail and Pietro enter, and he grinned. Maybe he could draw something else and show it to Elizabeth. He loved starting trouble..especially when it came to the woman that stupid berserker was in love with instead of Hannabelle.

Once Hanna and Alexander got back to their apartment, Hanna immediately stripped off her pants before she even got to her bedroom. Today she wasn't wearing a dress, but rather a tank top that was maybe two sizes too small? Her naval was showing and it barely contained those breasts of hers. And everyone fucking knew she wasn't wearing a bra..but Alexander probably was used to such a sight and wouldn't notice unless she was really rubbing it in. "Fuck yeah! I got this new game yesterday anyway that came in the mail! It's this sci-fi first person shooter! Let's kill us some alien scum, Alexander!" Hanna screamed at the top of her lungs as she ran to their game system. She got on her hand and knees as she opened the entertainment center, pulling out the console, controller and all her games. Abigail would always shove it out of sight, but she liked it out where she could mess with it if she had to.

"Oh, before I do that, lemme get out the soda!" She shouted as she ran into the kitchen and then came back with a twelve pack, placing it on the floor by the couch. Once she set up the game, she gave a controller to Alex and then sat between his legs on the floor while he sat on the sofa. She hadn't really been drinking much lately because she knew that Alexander didn't like it...but still. She went through soda really quickly. Too quickly. It was a wonder how she didn't get up to pee every ten minutes. "Alright, let's fucking do this, Alex!" She shouted as the game turned on and she pressed start.

She loved playing games with him. He was really into it, and she loved it when he shouted and hollered at the game. His trash talk was super cute too! Once they beat the first level, Hanna just felt so happy. Really..truly...

"Alexander..." Hannabelle began as she twisted her body around and got into a kneeling position, slowly rising from the floor, but only coming closer and closer to him. He was so...handsome. He made her heart flutter and she just couldn't hold back anymore. "Great job." She whispered before pressing her lips against his gently.
 
Oh how the heads turned from glaring at Alexander to staring at Abigail and Pietro enter in. It seemed even Malech's attention was drawn to the couple. Oh, and would Elizabeth strangle the artist once she heard about what the man was drawing about! Nevertheless, Pietro focused on the task at hand, nodding as they entered the cafe in the sea of students, somehow missing as both Hannabelle and Alexander seemed to walk by them, though those two seemed to do the exact thing, especially as the Berserker mentioned that they should probably watch a comedy or action flick as they were exiting. Pietro though sat them at their usual seat once they walked in. "I'm glad you're up for it. And I know you're probably thinking about studying some more, so don't make me write you up for not relaxing. That would definitely be a first for me." He joked. Several students that overheard just stared at the man, completely taken aback by that. Pietro never joked! What was going on?!

The chefs seemed to be expecting the man as they teased that he was here with his girlfriend. Curious still was the rather light chuckle that Pietro gave off that even the chefs grinned and just nodded, getting ready to make his order. What was so popular about this cafe with the students too was the fact that only two people worked here, and that was the two twin chefs. Crazier still was how they made food on the fly and could instantly deliver it to the students or tables. Even the largest of orders were handled with incredible swiftness. And Pietro's order was no different, each cup delivered with fancy china and an appropriate spoon. They even delivered over a saucer of cream and some sugar cubes for the two if they wished to use it. All at the moment when Pietro sat down across from Abigail. "I don't know how they do it, but those two make it extremely hot, so mind your tongue." Pietro warned her.

As she enjoyed her cup, so did Pietro, letting out a refreshed sigh as he drank with absolute refinement. His pinkie was even extended as he drank. Proper posture, drinking without slurping, the man had it done to an art. And he didn't break it even as Abigail spoke. She soon caught his attention as she first called his name, to which he answered back. "Yes, Abigiail?" The way she said his name even seemed rather casual. But, while she may not have meant it that way, her following request seemed to far past casual. The table beside them, the students spat out their drinks while Pietro gazed at her with a bit of surprise. "Abigail, that's rather forward of you." He first began, though not a single hint of a blush was upon his cheeks. Instead, the man just gave a rather amused expression, like Abigail was telling a joke. Though it seemed far from it as the older student seemed rather interested at the moment. "I would at least expect a girl like you to require a night out on the town first before we escalated to that part of our relationship." And Pietro was just going along with it! Like they were a comedy duo or something!

That earned a chuckle from him as he drank another small sip. "Quite funny, though I'm sure you were requesting something else from me, I presume? Even I would like to very much take you out on a date before we even thought about something like that." Pietro admitted to her as he gazed across the table at her. "Now, what were you really going to ask?" He asked before continuing on and interrupting himself. "But, before that, you are welcome to do so. I can only imagine that something is bothering you, and I would like to do my best to bring any worries that come to mind to rest. Accel is your home away from home, Abigail." A hand reached out to gently rest upon hers, Pietro offering her a reassuring smile. "I promise."

Alexander could not get used to Hannabelle just throwing her pants off randomly, however he did become a little more comfortable with it... to some degree. What helped was the fact that Hannabelle was just downright hot. Sure he was oblivious to all the advances or the rather deep level of affection she was exuding, but her beauty was something that just could not be ignored. From being flustered and embarrassed, the Berserker was coming to enjoy the sight a bit. And with her at home attire, he simply just let it be. Even their level of closeness was starting to feel more buddy-buddy to him. "What?! Seriously?!" He replied with barely contained excitement. The man leapt over the couch to plop on to the cushions, taking a small gander at her cute little butt before continuing on. "Man, I've been looking forward to this game since I saw the preview!" He watched her jump to the kitchen, but Hanna was back in no time, throwing him the controller as he allowed her to sit on the floor. And they were deep into the game in no time!

The Berserker was lost, causing out the game when he got "jipped" or "cheated". He would literally jump out of his seat with each victory they had, and curious too was when he scooted to the edge of his seat, nearly rubbing his clothed groin upon Hannabelle's head. But when the level was beaten, Alexander just sighed in satisfaction, tossing the controller beside him. The man was rather pleased. "Oh man! Freaking sweet!" He said as he heard Hannabelle call his name. Looking down at her, he smiled at first. But then she grew closer and closer to him. Alexander had to lean back, but he couldn't go far and it just bought him a mere second before Hanna closed the distance again.

"Th-Than-" And then Hannabelle pressed her lips against his, making Alexander blush. He was so shocked that he just sat there, lips locked for a bit before he pulled away, yet only an inch or so. "H-Hanna! What was that for?!" The young man asked, blinking several times as he couldn't remove the blush from his cheeks.
 
Abigail was probably tired, because she was completely unaware of anyone watching the two. It was that or she stopped caring about the other students. Maybe a little bit of column A, column B. She wasn't really trying to protect her conversation from eavesdroppers. She wanted to tell Pietro, "Nevermind, forget I said that". Though she had been far too busy reprimanding herself for the pitiful request she was about to ask of him. So, when he told her that she was being forward, a light blush came across her cheek. Yeah, now that she thought about it, that was forward. Oh gosh, she hadn't meant for him to think she was asking for something inappropriate! Then his next words...well Abigail just wanted to die. Her cheeks and ears exploded with heat as she sank into her chair. Wait, relationship? What relationship?! They weren't in any....

Wait. He was just joking. Right, good old Pietro. Joking. Though it seemed like his genuine want to take her out on a date completely went over her head. She assumed it was just apart of his "joke" and so she ignored it. Oh man, ever inquisitive Pietro picked up on the fact that there was more to her sentence. Though, she wasn't sure if she'd truly be able to finish it. Especially now when she realized how provocative a simple request was to come over his dorm room sounded. Despite that though, he said it was okay for her to come over. She wasn't sure if that was a good idea anymore, but suddenly she felt his warm hand touch hers, and she listened to his reassuring words. At first, she hesitated, debating on whether or not she could trust Pietro with her concerns. Though he wasn't the type to pry if he didn't need certain information...and he really did want to help her.

"Pietro, I wouldn't ask this of you if I had anyone else to go to, but..." Abigail bit her lip, feeling shame welling inside of her as she had to admit something to the man she admired most at this school. "I'm scared." That statement was nothing but a whisper, and for a moment she was silent before continuing to go on. "I'm too scared to sleep..which is the real reason why I've been awake so long at night. I don't feel safe right now...I'm really tired though. I really do want to sleep, but if I'm alone by myself...even though Alexander and Hanna are there...." She was really fighting back her tears as best she could, though it was so hard. "The only person I'd really feel safe with, is you...Pietro. I was going to ask...if I could come over and stay the night. Though...I guess it's stupid now that I think about it. Inappropriate even."

When Hanna drew back, she was kind of expecting a different reaction. Though she could work with this. She just smiled at him and then crawled into his lap. Much like the first night they had spent together. "I did it because..I love you, Alexander." She admitted, giving him a big smile. Her cheeks were slightly red, though she wasn't embarrassed for admitting her feelings. "I'm sorry. I tried to wait until we knew each other longer, but..I can't hold back the way I feel about you anymore. You're smart, strong, funny, brave...everything you do amazes me. You're..different than everyone else. It makes me really just want to be at your side forever. Like a little guardian fairy. Well...not that you need much protecting, haha."

Hannabelle moved her arms around him gently. She didn't want to force Alexander to accept her love. She wanted him to do it on his own. She was opening herself up for possible rejection, but she didn't care. She wanted him to know how she felt about him regardless of whether or not he wanted to be with her. "...Alexander. I love you." She confessed it once more as she rested her head against his shoulder. "I really love saying that. It feel so right, to finally tell you. I know you might not feel the same way about me, but...please give me a chance. I promise I'll make you happy, okay?"

Was this really going to work? After all, everyone knew how Hanna felt about Alexander except..well, Alexander. The thing was, Hanna knew that he was attracted to Abigail. Though he seemed to not want to be. So maybe if she dated him, he'd forget about her, the girl he would never be able to have. To be with the one who actually loved him for who he is, and appreciated his talents the way they were. Abigail wanted someone like Pietro, not Alexander. Hanna wished she could say that, but every time she remotely hinted at him maybe having a crush on the mage, he flipped out and denied it heavily. So defensive....
 
The Berserker couldn't put two and two together right now, even finding it harder still as Hannabelle worked her way on to his lap. The very definition of sex appeal here in Accel was not only his roommate, but also coming on to him very strongly. And then came something that just caught him completely by surprise, like a sledgehammer to the face; Hannabelle said she loved him. Loved him! Alexander's eyes widened a bit as he just stared back at her. For a moment, Alexander's lips parted a bit, though the man himself was speechless. Not a single sound left him as the shape shifter went on. Her words were true, he could hear it. Hannabelle was being honest. But it still completely floored him. Hannabelle was absolutely one of his dearest friends, but did he love her?

Suddenly, Abigail's face lit up in his mind. Why'd she come up out of the blue? Alexander bit his lip in confusion, unable to pull away from Hanna at all. He couldn't deny her allure, her friendliness, and best of all, her acceptance of him. But whenever he thought about those parts of Hannabelle, he just had to think about Abigail too. Alexander couldn't understand why, and it just made responding to the shape shifter even harder. The way she felt so close to him, arms around his neck, and every time she said those three special words, Alexander felt warm inside. Should he really give her a chance? But what about these thoughts of Abigail? What about Abigail?

One last thought left his mind as he let out a deep sigh...

'I gotta find Abby...'
"I have to think about it."

Gently, the hands of the man she loved peeled Hannabelle off of his form. Alexander didn't say yes, but he didn't say no either, and the woman would be able to see a rather conflicted expression written across his face. Once she was off of him, he rose and simply walked out, still not able to say more than what he told her. That he would think. About what? All he could think about was Abigail. The way those stupid, dorky glasses framed her face, the way she always yelled at him, how she grinned when it was revealed that she was the team leader... ugh, why was he thinking about her so much?! Before Alexander knew anything else, his feet had dragged him all the way out of the apartment and down the stairs, on the way towards the cafe.

The look upon Abigail's face definitely throw up some red flags for the older student. There was something gnawing at her mind, her sanity perhaps. Pietro could see it all over. But nevertheless, he didn't rush her. He would expect much from her, push her to do her best, and encourage her to soar higher than that. However, Pietro was not the kind of man to force her along into things. The fact that she requested something from him like this, it meant something. "Take your time, Abigail." The older man told her, watching her softly.

The air became rather heavy as Abigail spoke, and he could already tell that to some degree, she was forcing herself to even admit a singe word she was speaking now. Pietro visibly frowned at this, but his eyes never lost the caring shine that they held for the Mage. Instead, it seemed to intensify. She revealed her lie from before, though he didn't lessen his gaze at her. Even when she wasn't alone, she felt like it. To him, that concerned him a great deal. So much so that his hand remained upon her's. Pietro nodded gently as she spoke, and upon finishing, he responded by standing up and giving her that same calm, reassuring smile. "It's not inappropriate at all, Abigail. If this is how you feel right now, nothing you ask is too great. I'll make sure that my spare room is prepared for you and ready. And you'll be welcome any time, simply let me know." Pietro replied and even ushered her to stand up too. They hadn't had quite enough time to finish their coffee, but this was a more important matter.

"Here, at least let me show you the room. Then you can find out what you'll need to bring tonight?" He began, starting to walk. However, a low alarm rang out in his pocket, the exact same alarm that rang when Alexander met Elliot. Oddly though, it rang just once and stopped, Pietro examining the small device with a small glare. "This alarm may be defective, I'll have to work with Amethyst about receiving a new one." He muttered to himself as they walked out. Though the moment they turned the corner to walk up the stairs, Pietro stopped abruptly. "Leander?"

Alexander seemed to be staring at both Pietro and Abigail, but his gaze lingered almost uncomfortably on the Mage. "... Hey." The Berserker softly spoke in response, earning a raised eyebrow from the student captain. When he as questioned what he needed, Alexander momentarily seemed lost as he continued to stare a Abigail. He then shook his head, looking to Pietro. "W-What? Huh?"

"I asked you if you had a question or some business you'd like to discuss. Can I help you, Leander?" Pietro repeated once again, hands behind his back formally.

"I... uh, no. No, no. Just, heh, funny bumping into you guys. I actually forget what I was doing." Alexander gave a rather light chuckle, sounding almost forced like the small smirk he wore. "Didn't mean to interrupt you two. Probably talking about some... big stuff and all." Pietro simply nodded, looking at the Berserker strangely. He opened his mouth to ask him a question, but Alexander simply shook his head and turned around quickly. "Nah, no worries, Pietro. I'll catch you two later." And like that, he was running up the stairs rather urgently. Pietro only hummed in response, perplexed by Alexander's rather awkward appearance and mood. He thought nothing of it for now, walking with Abigail to the elevator while they watched Alexander disappear into the trio's apartment. The Berserker was acting very strange.

Within the apartment, Alexander shut the door and leaned against it, gazing at the ground as his chest began to ache. What the hell was that? Abigail and Pietro? Those two... together? His white hair blocked his face as he seemed to grind down hard on his jaw, before he just relaxed. In that moment, he felt like didn't care. Why should he? Tch. That bitch could date whoever she wanted, he wasn't her keeper. With that thought in mind, a final sigh left him as he walked back to the living room, looking for Hannabelle, wherever she might be. He'd look all over the apartment until he found her, and when he did, Alexander just stared at her for a moment. If Abigail could date whoever she wanted... then...

"Hanna..." Alexander whispered before he closed the distance between them. Her back would find the next solid thing to be pressed against. One hand gently grasped her waist while the other cupped her cheek, pulling her into a deep kiss. He didn't understand his feelings right now at all. But, right now, Hannabelle was here for him. And he found comfort in that. He wanted to get lost in it right now.
 
Abigail was fully expecting Pietro to agree with her, about her idea being stupid. In less harsher words. Though if she had been able to see Pietro's face..well she would have realized that wasn't his thought at all. She really hated the fact that she had let Elliot affect her this way, but...well it couldn't be helped. Every time Abigail would think about him, she'd imagine several traumatic scenes that she experienced with her older brother when she was younger. Scenes that made her skin crawl, her head hurt, her body ache...it was almost like having PTSD. Though what she hated the most was how fucking weak she felt around him. She was certain that the only way she could ever get over this, was beating him somehow. It was true that she had gotten strong since their last encounter, but so did he. And she could feel it as plain as day...

Hearing Pietro's words immediately brought her attention back to the present. At first she didn't process them right...or perhaps she didn't believe she heard him right. Though it became clear that what she heard was what he said, just by the way he looked down at her. His eyes were filled with something she'd call...acceptance? A genuine want to help her. He wasn't laughing at her, or scolding her. Just as Abigail predicted, he didn't pry any further into her reasoning either. He just offered her his hand and didn't think twice about his decision. She took it and rose from her chair, her mind still processing everything he said. A spare room. Maybe she'd be able to sleep in there but...she'd still feel alone. However, Abigail couldn't bring herself to ask to sleep with him or anything. Now that really would have been stupid. Though she didn't hesitate to let him know how she felt on the matter. "No, Pietro. You don't have to get another bedroom ready, I'll just sleep in the living room. I think I'd feel safer in there than a separate room anyway." She told him right before he led them out of the cafe.

Malech had finished his drawing just before they got up. He didn't have to spend a long time looking at either Pietro or Abigail, because he didn't find their scene worth spending more time on than he already had. He wanted to follow them, but he didn't have to. He just waited until they were gone and asked the table that was next to them what they had heard. When they told him he almost laughed. Pietro? Allowing a junior student to sleep in his dorm? From the way they were walking together it was definitely happening, and so he couldn't help but send Elizabeth a little text on her phone. Wanna see a drawing I made of your two favorite classmates? They're spending the night together. Alone in Pietro's dorm room. Malech snickered as he waited for a text back. If she would text him...he could imagine her throwing her phone across the room upon seeing that news.

Abigail was certain even after him showing her the room she'd still want to sleep in the living room. Though she wouldn't tell him no, especially after he had agreed to let her sleep in his own private living space. She looked at the device Pietro pulled out of his pocket and raised an eyebrow. Some sort of magic detector? Before she could ask him what it was though, she bumped into him gently when he stopped. Her eyes followed his gaze, and she saw Alexander. For a moment, she felt very awkward but she didn't know why. It was the way Alexander was looking at her...and for some reason, perhaps the mood she had been in before all of this, she couldn't hold his gaze. Abigail looked guilty about something...and Alexanders mind would be free to come up with whatever scenario he wished upon seeing that look on her face.

She just listened to her upperclassman attempt to figure out what Alexander wanted, though he wasn't very clear about it. Or more so..he seemed like he didn't know what he wanted himself. Like seeing them had disrupted whatever thoughts he had beforehand. And just as quickly as he arrived, he left. Abigail thought nothing of it really. After all she had always been inclined to think he was an idiot. She wasn't in the mood to deal with him anyway...she was just tired. So when he disappeared into their apartment, she just looked up at Pietro and tugged at his sleeve. "It's fine. He's just being weird like usual. Let's let him be for now." That seemed to be enough to convince Pietro to move on, and so they resumed their walk to his dorm room, which was two levels above their floor. Abigail really felt like she was going to pass out any minute...she was just way too tired.

Just as she thought, she was more inclined towards staying in the living room. "You have a really nice spare room, but really...I don't mind sleeping on the couch. I prefer it. Besides...this is a really nice place...and that sofa looks comfortable."

Meanwhile, Hannabelle was confused as she watched Alexander just...leave. What did he want to do? Get something to eat before deciding what to tell her? It was a disappointing reaction, though it wasn't a no. Hanna could only hold out hope that he'd give her an answer soon. So she went into her bedroom to get ready for a shower. Grabbing her usual choice of sleepwear which was another small tank top and a fresh pair of panties, she took a quick shower and then got dressed. She was putting her old clothes away when she heard the door open. Was that Alex? Or Abigail? She would find out soon enough, so she just took her time in her bedroom. It was only when the door opened and she saw a distressed Alexander did she stop what she was doing.

"Alexander? Are you alright?" She asked as she slowly rose to her feet. Though the next thing she knew, he was right in front of her...pushing her back into the wall. To say she was surprised was an understatement. Feeling the cold surface of the wall made her shiver, but she felt warm once his lips met hers for a passionate kiss. It was enough to make even the shapeshifter blush, and her heart began to race as the man she loved finally reciprocated her feelings. Hanna wrapped herself around Alexander, pressing her body against his as they kissed. It felt so wonderful to her and she didn't want them to stop. Though eventually it did, and she looked into his eyes.

"Alexander? Does this mean that you want me? Is this a yes?" She asked him as she pushed a strand of wet hair away from her eyes. She wanted to hear him say it. She wanted to hear him confess to wanting her.
 
Alexander's odd behavior brought a small amount of concern from the leader of the entire student here at Accel. After all, it was his job to ensure the welfare of the students within the school. However, the Berserker's unwillingness to work with not only Abigail but even himself was noticeable by many. Pietro was familiar with such lack of cooperation with Dante as well, hence why the upperclassman Berserker seemed to find the situation rather humorous. It seemed many of the professors too seemed to enjoy Alexander's rather free, untamed spirit and personality, which Pietro couldn't deny that such a thing was one of the few things that promised the young man to be a rather formidable Vanguard one day. In fact, many Vanguards held a similar attitude, if not, the exact same. If Pietro wanted Alexander to change, it would have to be rather minimal. Otherwise, he even wondered if it was possible.

When Abigail interjected, the older student nodded. "I see..." For a moment, he just followed along with her in thought until they reached the elevator. He pressed the numbered button to his floor, however it simply shut the doors with an automated voice requesting a pass card. Pietro didn't skip a beat, reaching into his coat's inner pocket and pulling out a metallic card. It slid into a slot just above the floor buttons, and upon removing it, a confirmation beep rang out softly until the automated voice spoke again, accepting his card and thanking him. "You're really sure about the living room?" Pietro asked her again, but she simply confirmed with him again. He would have insisted on a bed at least, hence the spare room. However, it would be rude of him to continue to persuade her. Besides, the leather couch in his room was rather comfy.

They exited the elevator together, and the first thing Abigail would be hit with upon this new, foreign floor of the student dormitories was that the floor had changed from the rather nice look velvet carpet in the lobby to marble slabbed floors. The colored wallpaper seemed a soft, warm and inviting beige with solid oak stands or entry way desks. Actual plants would sometimes dot the hallway on either side of the walls, a vanity mirror here and there as well. Of course, oil canvas paintings were strung up upon vacant walls. Overall, it was like they were in a completely different part of Accel, and the previous part looked fancy as well. There were less rooms, probably for budgeting reasons, but still. This floor looked ritzy.

Pietro's room was at the end, to which he used his key card again to gain access. He allowed Abigail to enter first. Each room was paved in hardwood floor, a leather sectional couch placed within the living room with a large, slim TV mounted to the wall, right above the stone fireplace that had some log in it right now, though appeared to be clean and unused right now. The kitchen had stainless steel appliances with marble counter tops upon mahogany wood cabinets. "Let me show you the other rooms too. I know you're still opting for the living room, but I can at least be a good house guest." Pietro said, showing her first the bathroom while she stayed the night. It was spotless and sparkling, the tiled floor almost more white than the color could actually be. And then the guestroom was filled in with a queen-sized bed that had a black frame and pure white sheets. Two large pillows covered the top of the neatly made mattress with several decorative pillows as well, night stands matching the frame in color on either side of the bed. A large, yet empty, closet was just off to the side with an equally empty dresser complete with a TV sitting upon it, the remote to it neatly placed in the center in front of it.

He then gave her a glimpse at his room. The master bedroom was a great deal larger, just like the entire apartment compared to their own. Based on the office desk with a computer with two computer screens, a filing cabinet beside it with several folders upon the desk top, and then the rest of his bedroom furnishings that matched the guest room (minus the mattress, which was king-sized), it appeared the master bedroom mixed in both a bedroom and office. Though characteristic to Pietro, the room was extremely neat without a speck of dirt in sight. The worst was perhaps a document slipped out of a folder, but could he really be docked for that?

Finding themselves in the living room, Pietro just smiled to Abigail, offering her the sofa then as he sat on the other end of the sectional. "You're very polite, Abigail. Please, make yourself comfortable, even take off your shoes if you'd like. While you're here, treat it as if it were your home as well." He told her, walking into the kitchen. She'd still be able to see him through the half wall as he grabbed two crystal glasses from the top cabinets. "Can I get you anything to drink? Or should I get the blanket now?" He seemed to be teasing her as he chuckled. "You look like you're ready to call it a night."

To finally feel some sort of reprieve and relaxation, Alexander couldn't help but exhale almost happily as both Hannabelle and himself pulled away from one another, yet their bodies remained in contact. Before he came up to the apartment again, his chest stung. Painfully. He had to get rid of this pain, because even he as a Berserker could stand it. He wanted to be in touch with someone, anyone that could help him forget about that sting that he had no clue why. Just seeing Abigail and Pietro like that... it even made his blood boil a bit. But now, he forced his mind to think to the shape shifter that he forced back into the wall. This felt good. And when Hanna looked at him, Alexander felt like he was on top of the world right now. She loved him. She appreciated him. Noticed him. The more he thought about it, the more he seemed to want to be with Hannabelle. So the moment that she spoke to him, asking him if this was what he wanted, the man just nodded.

"Yes." He told her, licking his lips as he savored the flavor of her own lips upon his. He already missed them. "More than that, Hanna. I need you." A hand softly brushed against her cheek. She felt warm, especially wherever she blushed. Soft, perfect skin. Goddamn, as much as they lived together, Alexander really was noticing how gorgeous she was. Drop dead gorgeous, even. "I didn't mean to just walk off last time." He chewed upon his bottom lip lightly before gazing back into her eyes. "I was... well, I was shocked, Hanna. I didn't see it coming at all." Alexander let out a light chuckle, shaking his head. Maybe that didn't matter right now. Yeah, it didn't. Even thinking about Abigail. It bothered him too, so he simply just shoved it to the back of his mind, welcoming these new thoughts of Hannabelle.

"So, you're my girlfriend. And I'm your boyfriend. And yes, I want you..." Alexander told her with a happy grin, pecking her lips once more. Fuck that felt nice. And that pain left him for the moment. "Sound like a deal to you?" The Berserker held her close, his arms almost possessive around her. Hanna was his. This felt really nice, and it blocked out everything else in the world. Forget about stupid Abigail. Just forget about her...

He kissed her again, harder again, and he just got lost this time, hands roaming all along her body as he just sealed his lips over her's as if he were trying to steal her breath.
 
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