It had been such a long time ago. The memory was already fading, barely anything of it had stayed behind. A fight, accompanied with the desperate will to win. But oh, it hadn't been enough. Who would have won against this Lord of Darkness at that point, anyways? He barely had reached maturity, while this very special oponent already was one of the older generations. Mystic, and unreadable in so many ways.

What had been worst about it, though, was the humiliation afterwards. He hadn't awaited he would have been talked to at all, but as it seemed, there was a certain need to just add some more salt to the wounds. "The next time you chose an opponent... don't let yourself be fooled by age. That would be the most idiotic decision ever. You made the mistake once. Don't make it twice, boy."

Boy. His insides still were set on fire whenever he remembered the tone the other had used to pronounce it. Boy. He had been a boy compared to the other, true, but certainly not one to take such a thing lightly. From that day, he had sworn revenge, to reclaim his at this day completely smashed pride. And it was getting closer... the day of his revenge. And the Equilibrum would help him to get it.

-*-*-*-

The mood at the corporation was pretty tensed up this day. With their deadline approaching, the hopes of recovering the balance were getting smaller. Ravain had been suspended and now was undergoing some sort of mental training in a secluded section of the company, while Nesay was confronted with even more work. Not that the nephilim ever complained... but one could clearly observe how angry the red-head was at Ravain.

It was no use, he couldn't focus. Sighing to himself, Nesay tossed away the documents, not seeing any point in that. After all, words couldn't be all they could do for the Equilibrum to be restored again. There just had to be something else, still! Now he just had to find out what it would be...

"Why the long face?" Zeyr had noticed how angry the nephilim looked, and therefore wondered what it could be that Nesay was that irritated. "It's just... all this paperwork. There's no point in it. I don't want to do something this senseless any longer. I just want to know whatever happened to Ravain he is acting like a complete idiot, whatever is going on here... I can't bear it any longer. What is going on here?"

Zeyr gave the nephilim a long look, then sighed and took a seat opposite Nesay. "I'm sorry to say that, but I don't know more than you. Not necessarily, that is. We have an unknown nemesis, who opened a second gate to Hell. There is no hint who it might be, much less what the true motives are. We assume it has to do something with the Equilibrum... but there are some contradictions in it."

Nesay furrowed his eyebrows, trying to figure out what the angel was meaning by that. "What are those contradictions?" Zeyr hesitated for a moment, but then sighed deeply. "You know our human coworker already? Felix has been the target of some attacks lately, which somehow don't fit into the scheme of Equilibrum-related plans. After all, he is... well, just a human. Not a powerful demon or anything like that."

The nephilim couldn't quite believe that. "It may be like that, or you may try to convince me it is like that. I don't mean to offend you, Zeyr, but I got the feeling you're testing me a little here. After all, I noticed Felix's aura. A human, for normal, doesn't have more than a faint shimmer of it. But he, he is a whole different case. Halfway to a demon's aura. So, there's no way you could tell me he is 'just a human' and therefore not too important."

Zeyr was, to be perfectly honest, speechless. He had never thought the nephilim would pinpoint the weak point in his words that precisely, much less that quickly. "Fine... I admit, I didn't tell everything of it. Simply because I can't. And that's not a lie, Nesay. You know how uncomfortable lying for an angel can be."

The red-head nodded, leaning back in his chair. "Let me guess... your superior forbid you to talk about it?" Zeyr nodded, fidgeting a little at a sheet on a clipboard he was carrying around. "It's a too big thing to be talked about deliberately, Nesay. I don't know the whole story myself, and I dare to claim I know pretty much about it. Well, anyways... as it seems, Felix has gotten involved into something not exactly good for him. At that time, on top of that. So, as you can imagine... there is quite something approaching us."

-*-*-*-

Felix felt, to put it short and nice, crappy. Sleeping was a torture, as the reoccuring dreams seemed to drain him from energy completely. Only the daily dose of Latte Macchiato kept him standing on his feet, though it surely needed a lot today. Certainly not the best thing for his health... but if it was the only possibility to keep himself from dozing off when he was just leaning against a wall a little, then it was justified.

"Hey, everything alright, furball?" Leor knew he could have shoved that question up his ass, at is was obvious Felix was in a complete mess. "What do I look like, huh?" came the rather rethorical question. "Like you are having some serious sleep deprivation and are running on Latte. That's what it's looking like to me."

The silver-haired demon wrapped one arm around Felix's shoulder, not having any problems there. The human snuggled close to him (something quite rare), sighing heavily. "It just won't stop. Not even in my sleep. It's... driving me insane." Leor stroke along the human's back, in an attempt to soothe Felix a little. "Don't get worked up on that too much. That will go by for sure. No worries, it will go by."

The exhausted male didn't even bother to counter anything. It was pointless, especially in such a state. Felix couldn't think properly, everything just seemed to slip away and vanish into a big void inside his mind. "I think... I should try to sleep again..." Felix muttered, already leaning against Leor's shoulder and seeming all weak. "Why trying? You have no problems there, as I see it."

-*-*-*-

Astan, as so often, was standing by the window, seeming to wonder about what was going on in this town. The developments were becoming worrying... very worrying and disturbing indeed. It needed a lot to make a calm and composed man like Astan believe something was going terribly wrong – but this point had been reached quite fast this time. And it surely wouldn't get any better soon...

Eskan woke Astan up from his strange state as the secretary carefully approached his superior. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, Mister Mendo... but there are reports Ravain seems close to a major outburst. Up to now, they were able to hold him back, but they are not sure if they can keep him from... well... bursting out at all."

The demon nodded slowly, turning towards the door of his office without giving Eskan a second look. The secretary was pretty surprised about that reaction, he would have awaited some more questions, or at least something suggesting that they should solve it on their own and not bother him with that. Whatever Astan had been thinking about, it seemed to have ruined the day before it even had started properly.

His steps were firm as ever, already warning of the authority approaching. Angels as well as demons backed away a little as Astan passed them, giving him bewildered looks as they barely ever had seen him with a this determined expression. Something had happened, that much was clear. Something important the leader of the Mendo part of this corporation couldn't ignore.

-*-*-*-

Gabrielis had seen much before in his life, but a this angry nephilim certainly was something he never had witnessed. Ravain was practically radiating pure rage, held back by some unknown force from just bursting and wrecking everything around him. But as soon as Astan stepped into the hall, where uncontrolled angels as well as demons learned to channel their energies to not harm anyone around them, the angel's worries were silenced. Together, they could work out a solution. Immediately, if it had to be.

Ravain's look seemed to attempt to pierce Astan, but naturally failed as the demon glared back with a this indifferent expression the nephilim looked away after a while. "Whatever makes you behaving like that, Ravain, speak up while you still have the possibility to. You know what happens with troublesome nephilims, and I barely could believe, for one second even, that you would want to provoke this very possibility."

The nephilim shivered noticably, but certainly not out of fear. Astan sighed, putting off his glasses and seeming to be quite annoyed by the whole scene. "Ravain, I mean it. Calm down already. There is absolutely no reason to be that enraged. Noone hurt you, and if you want to take revenge for having been kept from hurting my subordinate, then you better think twice if you really want to get into troubles with me."

This, however, seemed to finally work on the nephilim, and touch something even faintly remembering of rationality. "No... it's not that..." Ravain hissed, but didn't sound too convincing. "It is because of that, my dear nephilim. You haven't gotten what you wanted. Therefore you are enraged, as your creed forbids you to just swallow down your pride and let this whole thing be forgiven and forgotten. Look at me, Ravain, and prove the opposite, if it's not like that."

Only slowly, the deep blue eyes met the demon's gaze, and didn't last long at the intense glare piercing the nephilim's soul with merciless force. Even Astan's look could force his opposite on his physical as well as mental knees. It was... amazing to feel that kind of power in a look alone, and at the same time pretty intimidating. But well, it crushed Ravain's will to fight against the demon as well. Though that wouldn't have applied for the angels, of course...

"I said look at me." Astan declares with a frosty tone, and the brown-haired nephilim couldn't anything but obey. "You won't touch anyone in here, if it's not with a friendly intention behind it. You won't cause any more troubles, you got me?" Ravain nodded, his eyes tearing up at the piercing glare. "One more mistake, Ravain. One single more mistake, and you will curse the day you have decided to give in to your lowest instincts."