I aim to misbehave Who: Jonas, Selena in passing, a Legionnaire of Eurynome (NPC), and an unfortunate victim (also NPC’d) Where: Jonas’ apartment → The bridge When: Early morning
It had been a long time since Jonas had one of his visions. It was never a power he was able to control, his clairvoyance kicking in whenever it saw fit, and what he saw didn’t always make sense. Sometimes the visions involved people he knew or places he’d been, and sometimes they literally were random. When he was in Celestia, he’d often catch glimpses of his family - it was how he suspected his mother had fallen to the demons, and how he knew Matthias still had to be alive, somewhere. But since coming to Scarlet Oak - returning to Earth in general - his powers had been quiet.
Until today.
Jonas woke with a start, sitting straight up in bed. The sun had yet to come up, and Selena was still sleeping beside him. The vision had been a bit hazy, the way they always were, but he knew the feeling behind it, the weight in his stomach that said this wasn’t something he could just ignore and go back to sleep. He closed his eyes again and willed the images to come back. It was the bombing site, the sun was shining, the water from the river lapping against the shore. There was a feeling of dread, and in half a heartbeat Jonas knew why. A demon, cast in black shadows, lurked in the waters, feeding upon the dead, intending to kill the living. His brain wasn’t making this up, it was happening, or going to happen shortly.
There was nothing that pissed Jonas off more than demons. If it had been up to him, he’d have stayed down on Earth all those years and help fight the bastards off - but Selena dragging him to Celestia had probably saved his life. No matter, he could make up for some of that now. It was his responsibility as an angel, his duty. If he had some forewarning about this, then he had to try and see if he could save those who were going to stand in harm’s way.
He slipped out of bed as quietly as he could, not wishing to disturb Selena as she slept. They’d both been working at the wreck site helping with the recovery efforts, and she needed whatever rest she could get. Of all the visions he’d had since the Gates had closed, Jonas never had an opportunity to act on them, to try and stop the future he’d seen. You saw Nathaniel die too, and you couldn’t save him either. Jonas pushed the thought aside as he got dressed, in simple jeans and a tee. His boots were military grade, meant for the abuse he was about to put them through. Just by his looks, no one would suspect him for the angel he was, or the fight he was about to start.
Before leaving, he did stop to brush his lips over Selena’s forehead, leaving a note for her on the nightstand. ‘Gone to the bombing site. See you this afternoon. Love you - J.’ With that, he jumped in his car and made the trek to Ann Arbor.
* * *
The whole bombing in general, for Jonas, was more than just a tragedy. If the people were furious at such a heartless and senseless attack, it said nothing about how the Angel of Honor felt about it. Regardless of whether or not the Light of May was a good idea, regardless of supernatural heritage, innocent people had died. People with lives and families and friends who would never get a chance to properly say goodbye to their loved ones. The way Jonas saw it, hiding behind a massive bombing was sheer cowardice, and one of the most dishonorable things one could do. It wasn’t fighting like a man. It wasn’t standing up for what you believed in. There was no honor in attacking when everyone had their backs turned, with no way to fight back.
It didn’t help that seeing all the destruction brought back memories of being in World War II, especially of Pearl Harbor. Though Jonas had met Selena there, and he’d always be grateful for that, he’d hoped never to see chaos of that level again. Yet here he was, nearly seventy years later, and mankind was still finding new ways to torture each other.
Jonas parked his car a few blocks down from where the bridge had been, the air already hot and sticky as he climbed out. As an afterthought, he realized he probably should have brought his familiar with him, but Asher hadn’t even stirred when Jonas left the house. It would probably take the spider monkey a few hours to realize his master was even gone. Hopefully he wouldn’t be too much of a problem for Selena. The sun had only been up for about half an hour, casting the streets in something of a warm glow and getting brighter, some of the street lights still on from the night before. What street lights still worked and weren’t destroyed in the bombing, anyway.
For a moment, Jonas simply stood on the sidewalk, eyes drifting closed, listening - and feeling. There was a part of him that hoped he’d been wrong, that he hadn’t seen the demons returning to a place already filled with such heartache, but the way his stomach turned, the way he wanted to snarl, he knew he wasn’t. There were demons here, and they were close.
He started making his way down to where the bridge had been and to the water underneath. Here was the spot where his vision had taken place, and if anything was going to happen, it would be here. The feeling in his chest just grew the closer he got to the water, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Jonas wasn’t afraid, far from it. This wasn’t the first time he’d faced a demon, and though that little creature with the blonde curls had gotten the best of him last time, it wasn’t about to happen again.
Letting his intuition guide him, Jonas followed the shoreline until he found what he was looking for. The shadowy demon he’d seen in his vision, coming up out of the water, and its head snapped up the moment it could feel Jonas on the other side of the riverbank. Good, let it figure out that an angel was here. Jonas would rather it come after him than another innocent victim. And, just like in his vision, there was a body clutched in the demon’s right hand, bloodied and battered, one arm missing, long blond hair covering the girl’s face and clear bite marks along the rest of the body. Jonas willed that out of his mind. He had to shut off that part of his brain that revolted at the sight - this was the exact reason why these creatures had to die. If he, and the rest of the angels, didn’t step up to defend those in need, then who would?
The demon stopped about ten feet away and let out a snarl, dropping the girl it held. The corpse - Jonas no longer held any hope that she was alive - barely made a sound as she hit the water. It probably figured that he’d make a better breakfast than the average human.
Jonas only cracked half a smile, reaching his hand out to the side and summoning his ax to him. There was another snarl as the demon realized exactly who he was dealing with: A Virtue. Not your run of the mill angelic blooded person, but an actual full-blooded angel and not one to be toyed with lightly. The weight of the ax felt lighter than it actually was, and it seemed a bit like it was vibrating in Jonas’ hand. Deep down, he wanted this fight, more than he would ever acknowledge. Selena dragging him to Celestia all those years ago might have saved him, but Jonas had wanted to stay and fight. It might be several years too late, but at least now he was making up for lost time.
It was a feeling that he’d never be able to describe even if asked, fury and hate and instinct combining into the storm that was Jonas and his emotions right now. He couldn’t walk away. He didn’t want to walk away. Even if the demon tore him to shreds, he didn’t care. It was worth it to know that one less demon walked this earth, one less danger for those who couldn’t defend themselves.
It would be dead at the end, Jonas was sure of that.
At least this section of the riverbank was deserted at this hour. Good, the last thing Jonas wanted to worry about was another innocent bystander getting caught in the thick of things. As it was, he was sure someone would question why he had the ax and where he got it from, but that was something he’d worry about later. After this demon - and any others that happened to be in the area - were dead.
The creature attacked first, swinging one fist in Jonas’ direction, only to wail when the ax collided with its forearm, and Jonas grunted in satisfaction as he could feel the blade hit bone. Why yes, his ax was blessed - and why shouldn’t it be? he was an angel after all - and the scream the demon let loose reassured him of that fact. He couldn’t take too long to revel in that fact, only because the next thing he knew the demon was coming for him again, this time catching his legs and knocking him to the ground, nearly taking the wind out of him as he fell.
It wasn’t like Jonas was out of practice, per se. There hadn’t been much for him to do all those years in Celestia aside from hang out with Selena and make sure he stayed in good shape. But a fist to fist fight with a demon? Jonas was twitching for it, and his body remembered what to do without having to think about it too much. When the demon came down on him, black blood dripping all over his clothes from its wounded arm, intent on smashing Jonas’ skull in, all the angel had to do was roll onto his side and unfurl his wings. The back of his tee tore as he did so, but that was the last thing he noticed as he flexed said wings and flew up and over the demon. Normally Jonas was more cautious than to fly out in public - especially here, of all places - but he’d rather risk exposure than die at some clumsy legionnaire’s hands.
He didn’t fly far, just up and over to the next spot of beach, ax still in hand as his feet touched ground again. His body was meant for this, especially since, at any other time, he would love to just soar through the open skies. Not today. Today was for demon killing. The moment Jonas’ feet touched ground, his wings were docked again, almost as if they’d never existed in the first place. True, the scars that marked him for what he was were now visible beneath his torn shirt, but all things considered, no one would notice and Jonas wasn’t concerned about it.
This time, when the demon charged, Jonas was ready. The first strike had the ax hitting the same injured arm again, lopping off said arm at the demon’s elbow. While the demon reeled back, Jonas kicked it to the ground. The next thing he knew the demon was clawing at him, tearing through cloth and into his shoulder. Jonas grunted, ignoring the pain, and instead brought the ax down and around in one clean arc.
One strike, then another, and finally a third blow was all it took to chop the demon’s head clear from its shoulders. Beheading was the only way to make sure it died and stayed that way, and Jonas was nothing but thorough in that respect. He paused for a moment, breathing a little heavy, unconcerned with whatever injuries he might have. Right now, it wasn’t anything that couldn’t be patched up with a little magic later.
With the demon dead, his attention now turned to the girl he’d been carrying. Jonas dragged her out of the water, brushing back the blonde hair from her face - she looked to be about Telyn’s age, and if he didn’t know his granddaughter was safe and wasn’t anywhere near here, Jonas would have had to pause and make sure that it wasn’t her. I have to warn Telyn. Tell her not to come here. She didn’t need to see this, didn’t need to risk becoming part of the carnage. Jonas could handle this on his own.
He didn’t need to check her pulse to know she was already gone - her face was a mass of torn tissue, bloated. She’d been dead likely since the bombing itself, one of the souls who had yet to be recovered from the wreckage, her body dragged to the surface by the demon.
The ache in Jonas’ chest grew heavier. Whatever reasons why she’d been here, if she was a part of the march, if she’d simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time, it didn’t matter. No one deserved such treatment. Laying her out on the shoreline, Jonas bowed his head and prayed. Not to any god in particular - though he was an angel, he knew about as much about God as anyone else did - but simply in the hopes that, wherever this poor girl’s soul had gone, she had peace now. He would see to it that her remains got back to her family. It was the least he could do, since there was no way he could have saved her.
Jonas got back to his feet, picking up his ax from where it had fallen. This wasn’t the only demon in the area, because that mix of hatred and anger and uneasiness still settled in the pit of his stomach. He swung his ax up to his shoulder, resting the hilt there, ignoring whatever injuries and bruises he could feel gathering underneath his skin.