Heated discussions on priorities
Lynne cornered Jason and informed him bluntly (did she ever do anything non-bluntly?) that since he was a healing angel she expected him to cough up and tell what, if anything, he could do to cure AIDS, or diagnose Karen's hand/ paw. To be fair, she offered all of her essence if that would help, given that the others were much more likely to need theirs for fighting, and she had some to spare right now.
Jason shook his head solemnly and pat Lynne on the cheek. "Patience my friend, there is much work to be done and not enough Essence or Angels to do it all. The fact that humans have as yet not found a cure does not make AIDS incurable. The three of us and a few Essence will take of it. I suspect that Karen's paw will be a similar matter. I am also going to have to do a Divine Destiny on Denis and Frederick to see if I can figure out more about what their roles are, and how they might be tied together. All of these together will probably take all of the Essence the three of us have."
She sighed and sat heavily on the arm of a chair, and looked at him, pressing her fingertips together. It was a long, considered look. "Would it matter if he turned out not to have such a bright destiny? I know he's been researching biochemistry, genetic mapping of viruses, and I know that Jean sent Karen to protect him, so probably he is destined to do something great in that field and save a lot of lives -- but even if he wasn't. He's still just a guy in a horrible situation, with a lot of other people who care about him."
"Did you know he is trying to distance himself from all his friends and relations so that they don't get too hurt when he dies? Did you know that he has a sister who loves him and has secretly sent a nurse to keep an eye out for him? Do you know what his favourite TV show is? I know those things..."
She looked back at her hands, twisting and untwisting them. "I mean.. I know you are probably right. I don't have that hot line to destiny and it just seems .. I don't know. We can't help all of them, but still we could help /one/. Couldn't we? I mean, with the silence and everything we don't even know if any of us are going to be here next week. You wouldn't even have to use up any of your own essence; I have some from killing that demon in the library..."
He shrugged his shoulders and continues "We will also need Essence for talking to Selindeal, and creating a new vessel will cost at least another 12. If we want to track Raphael, we will probably have to go Celestial to do it, that's another 6. Finally, I would prefer not to face Azazel again without at least enough Essence to go Celestial and fight like an Angel. I am not even sure how to defeat him, short of killing a few hosts.
"If possible I would like to outline what we know and what we have to do, so that we don't forget anything important, and don't waste too much time and effort on things that we have some time on. OK?"
Lynne stopped trying to argue with destiny and just nodded and listens to the others, but her heart wasn't really in it.
Jason intrude something of her mood, and spoke again. "I'm sorry, perhaps I did not explain this properly. I have every intention of healing Denis. If for no other reason than he is important to a friend of mine." Jason paused and stared directly at Orli. "That is not the issue. The issue was in what order we do the things we have to do.
She avoided his gaze and just nodded. Still twisting her hands.
"The reason I want to do a Divine Destiny on him, and on Fredrick, is to get some idea of how they tie in with Evalyn and Nathaniel, and to get some idea whether their Destiny or Fate are fast approaching, as I believe Evalyn's are. Azazel is a good deal more powerful than am I. So the more I know and the better I can prepare the better my chances of defeating him. He already knows all about Evalyn, her weaknesses, faults, and everything about her history. That puts him at a great advantage. But if Denis is a part of his plan, we have the advantage of knowing Denis and some things about him, and Azazel does not know that we are aware of it. If Denis is unrelated, and his moral challenge is not for a couple of weeks, then we can wait a bit on him if we have to."
Jason seemed to grow a bit sad. "And don't forget about Raphael. The thought of Him/Her being tortured in Hell does not sit well with me. But I am powerless to do anything about it right now. If we can figure out what we know, and what is ahead of us, then perhaps we can go to rescue Raphael now and still have the time and resources to help Evalyn and Fredrick in a week when they face danger, and then have time to help Denis in two weeks when he meets up with Sonja. If Karen has attuned herself to Denis, than she knows if he is in any real danger in the next week. If he is not, then perhaps we can wait a little while and take care of the things that can't wait."
Jason sighed heavily. "Please don't Judge me to be callous and uncaring. I am basically a healer and am trying to perform triage on this situation. I want to help everyone, but I can't do it all right now, even with the help of everyone in this apartment. And I don't want to lose someone who could not wait because I helped someone who could wait. I just don't have enough information about what is going on to make those kinds of judgements yet. Your resonance tells you things that I can't find out easily for myself. I need to know those things in order to put a plan together. Remember, Azazel has been planning this for years. He has had more than enough time to find out all about these people. And when he possesses someone he learns everything they know, all of their memories, emotions and feelings. We have only a few days to determine what he is up to and how to stop him. We can only hope that he is also responsible for what happened to Sonja. The thought of trying to deal with two Shedim does not excite me I am afraid."
"Yes, all right. I'm not disagreeing with you." She still sounded a bit taut. "Everything you say makes sense. It's just.. it's just very difficult when they are here. Right in front of you. And they need help. And you can give it."
She shrugged and peered into a long cooled cup of coffee as if it might hold the secrets of the universe, then sighed also. "I'm not judging you -- I mean, I'm trying not to do that. And even if I was you'd have nothing to be afraid of. I know you're not callous. It's me."
"If I could think of any better way to help you find Raphael I'd do it but I'm afraid of going to hell..." she admitted after a while, then stirred the coffee and drank it anyway.
"But anyway I don't have anything to add. Shall I give that agency a ring and see if I can get hold of Nat. I hadn't realized that your demon hadn't managed to introduce him to it's boss yet -- it makes me a bit more sanguine about inviting him round. /Do/ you think it'd be a good idea to tell him to meet us here?"
Karen looked up, almost unnoticed as the two angels argued, and her voice cuts across the room "Nathaniel hasn't yet fallen?"
Jason said, "We aren't really sure, but we believe he is still around."
Karen shook her head, as if to clear it, and sighed "Sorry, I�ve only half been listening." She quickly went over what she did remember in her mind and then added "I agree that we have much to do, and in purely selfish terms, I�d definitely like to start with Denis. It's not only my fate tied up with his, but that of Sandalphon, who is also attuned to him and dedicated to his protection."
The two other angels remember that Sandalphon was one of the greatest of the Cherubim, and the one whose Name /was/ Guardian Angel.
�That is fine if you want to handle it that way. I just really" Jason stressed this word "don't want to start fighting fires at this point. I think we need to look at everything we know first and then make a decision as to what we should do and when. It might make sense for Dr. Willis to be involved in Denis' cure. It may give her the strength she needs to achieve what she is capable of. I just don't know yet." He shrugged.
Karen looked down at her hand "The hand doesn't bother me at the moment, but two things worry me: that with this continual bleeding my vessel might bleed to death, and also that I�ve never had a wound that has also affected my celestial form. Admittedly it is a demon caused wound, but even so - I�ve had those before with only the normal affect. I had a friend of Denis' look at the thorn while we were waiting for the plane and she said that the tissue inside was still living, despite the fact that the thorn had been picked. This set of living cells also easily scraped off when they took a sample. She believed that they are what is causing the anticoagulation of the blood within the thorn" She frowned and her troubled look increased as she carefully examined the wound again as if expecting a tendril of thorns to come creeping out right before her eyes. "I keep picturing the demon who did this to me and wondering how he came to be as he was."
Walking over and examining the wound Jason mused half to himself, "Well there are a number of weapons around that do damage on one or more of the planes. Michael's sword, for instance, does damage on all three."
Karen nodded, and continued �I agree with the casting of Fates for Denis and the other, because at the moment information is our most powerful tool, and in this we're sadly lacking. The involvement of Sandalphon with Denis confirms that this assignment was one of great importance, and I believe it further suggests that Kronos is involved in this." She pauses as if considering whether or not to continue, then says quietly "If my guess is right, Sonja and Denis are together destined to create the cure to AIDS"
She paused, then continued. "Again with Raphael and the tracking down of Azazel I need more information. What do you know of where Raphael is now? Do you have any idea why Azazel is involved in this in the first place? Maybe talking to Selindeal, and even Nathaniel, should be amongst the first moves we make?"
"I can track Raphael by his/her heart, although it is certainly a good guess that s/he is in Hell. We should definitely ask Selindeal some things, but I want to know what to ask first. I agree, I think that time is of the essence with Nathaniel."
Karen then made an effort to smile at Lynne "Don't feel bad about being afraid of going to Hell. I'm in that boat myself." She included Jason in her gaze "Just remember, when it comes to corporeal fighting, I�m your angel...but you've both seen my celestial form, and how much it resembles a cute and cuddly stuffed toy... well I have about the same fighting prowess as one while in that form. I just never seem to be able to do that teeth and claws thing... and the wings always seem to get in the way." She sighed and shrugged "Let�s just try to keep this to the corporeal state unless we have no other alternative."
Jason chuckled "Well I guess I am the opposite. I didn't come to this plane to fight, only to heal. My guess is that we are going to have to drive Azazel out of his host and into Celestial form in order to defeat him. Once in Celestial form I hope to be able to best him. As to Hell, I guess I have no real fear on that score. If I could save Raphael by going with only my heart to keep me company, then I would do it gladly. I just don't think it will be that easy." He finished with a sigh.