2 "Acceptance Among many Keys to Victory"
Two pigeons flew into the alley, changing form upon entering the shadow provided by the building. The pigeons now stout purple grey goblins with leathery skin and wings descended into the alleyway.
"That spear was stronger than I anticipated." His hands were still crumbling even as they began to reform.
"Varfolomey..Vittorio... Grant me your power, aid me in separating them so I may consume the boy."
"Sure thing boss!" They both agreed cheerfully.
However Thibault opened his mouth and a vortex of hot air pulled them in. The screeches of protest were quickly silenced.
"Vittorio! Varfolomey! Thank you for your sacrifice..." He breathed, human visage shedding entirely and his form looking demonic.
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Arcane ate another golden yellow apple.
"Strange every morning there is always one of these,"
Jeanne stared in surprise. "Eh..?"
"You see I don't buy them, apples are mostly expensive in this city. But there is always one the next morning." He explained as he finished off the apple.
"I've been getting them all year so I figured you or some faerie trying to bribe me." He shrugged. Jeanne facepalmed.
"Go to the library and get to refreshing your memory, you have a test this evening," she ordered.
"Yes Sir!" He coughed "I mean -"
"Let's go!"
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Arcane frowned as the world jerked and glitched out. The library looked like the shelves of books were becoming a blend of trees.
"Oh man," he whispered dropping his manga book. The library distorted and looked unusually bright and colorful.
The world shifted. Not quite shaking like an earthquake but setting enough change and trembling for alarm.
"Je- Jeanne?!" He grabbed her hand in panic and the world transformed into a vibrant green mountainside with tall trees and brightly colored flowers that made it hurt for Arcane to look at them.
He was also holding Jeanne's hand and several hundred feet in the air. To say he screamed in terror was an understatement.
As they fell back to the ground the surroundings of the library began to resurface.
The library returned almost as if apologizing for the jumpscare and unlike Jeanne, Arcane was too grateful to be on solid ground to question what happened.
"Where am I?" He blurted getting to his feet.
He reprocessed this surroundings and realized he was at the front desk instead of the Teen section.
"Wait where's Jea-"he started.
"It's alright, everything is fine," Jeanne spoke next to him suddenly. He blinked at her.
They walked out of the library and promptly into a robbery.
"Hey kid give me your money," an old man spoke holding up a knife.
"Oh my! You should give him the money!" A woman beside him spoke.
"Huh? Hell no!" He looked at her and spoke without thinking. Then whirled his attention back at her.
"Who are you?!" He asked looking at the unfamiliar woman.
Jeanne had disappeared. Arcane acted on impulse and punched the guy.
"Sorry ! That was an automatic response!" He said reaching for the knife.
"You fight like a girl!" The guy sneered although his nose was bleeding. He lunged forward to stab and Arcane dodged then kicked the guy in the shin, sending the old man to the ground cradling his injured leg. But he stubbornly held the knife.
"You take beatings like a man who can't fight... Pathetically" Arcane scorned.
For the insult, the man lunged but his stance was weakened by Arcane so he wobbled unstably. Arcane smirked and was about to knock him to the ground when abruptly the man fell on his own.
Jeanne was standing behind him, fist raised.
"Oh I hope I didn't hit too hard. I'm not wearing my armor so I didn't automatically think to hold back my strength."
"I'm pretty sure he's fine, probably learned a very important lesson,"
"Even if you don't know the history of our world that is still a very bold thing to say."
"I don't think I'm wrong for saying it though," he remarked.
"The men here are typically very powerful but-" the woman spoke.
"Lacking in the actually-backing -up-that-power ' department?" He asked.
She blinked at him curiously.
"...I guessed," he shrugged casually. Jeanne elbowed him.
"Ow!" He complained.
"Be more polite!" Jeanne scolded.
"By the way who are you?" He asked rubbing his side.
"My name is Beatrice, what are your names?"
They resumed walking and she looked up to see the two newcomers gone.
Startled she ran forward looking left and right for them. But they were gone.
The woman with him hadn't spoken at all. Did they really appear? She wondered.
The old man who had initially been following her to rob her lay beat up on the ground.
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"Don't you think it's cruel to give the boy an apple of chaos?" Raisiel asked.
Before the angel next to him could respond, Zadkiel interrupted.
"An apple... You're going behind my back and interfering ?" Zadkiel asked suddenly standing under the tree that bloomed Chaos Apples.
"Zadkiel, you're very generous letting him talk his way into almost past a full year."
"However he has his responsibility. It's time," another angel spoke.
"If he won't take it, you know what will happen, he'll have to change his plans" Raisiel warned. They all fell quiet, knowing who they were referring to.
Zadkiel looked almost angry.
Raisiel looked somewhat apologetic. "Perhaps it's best if you took over from here, he is your responsibility,"
Zadkiel didn't say anything. He gripped the basket tightly. Unsure of what to do with the picked apples or his conflict.
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The world returned to them walking through the library as if nothing happened.
"We're back?!" He opened the door to the normal bustle of the city. With cars instead of carts and carriages. With a ground of asphalt instead of carefully laid bricks.
"There's no time go do your test! You have a promise to keep!" Jeanne insisted after she looked at a street light with a clock.
"Oh no! Wow is me-" he groaned running to the school building.
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'Guilt is a human emotion, such as sorrow or joy,' Zadkiel was walking around the city aimlessly.
'I have no need for such emotions, not being human myself.' he stopped at a crosswalk, appearing to wait for the signal with a crowd of other people.
"And yet, every time I picture his face... Think about his own wishes simple and selfish they may be, I ...." He mumbled aloud walking past a library.
"Hey young man, you look sad, perhaps an apple will brighten your day?" A woman smiled gently. In her hands were a basket of golden apples, identical to the Chaos Apples.
He blinked in surprise, no longer going through the motions of walking down the streets.
"How much are they?" He asked.
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Arcane barely made it to the testing center on time, the strange transition to some other country eating up alot of what should have been free time.
Back at home, Arcane kept checking the site to see if the test results would come in early as they had for math.
"Zadkiel you used the door?" Jeanne asked as she opened it. She wasn't wearing her armor but instead a monochrome flower shirt and jeans with off white patches down the front.
"I thought I would visit, you told me that you got attacked the other day and i came by again out of worry,"
"Relax we're fine! No more surprises!" He said.
"Well. Arcangelo?" Zadkiel asked.
"Arcane," Arcane corrected.
"Arcane" Zadkiel repeated easily.
"Would you like... These?" He held aloft a basket of apples.
"I'd give them to the angels to try but they have been wary of gifts for the past two years, I want to give them a break," he explained.
"Why are they wary of gifts?" Arcane asked.
"Well it started when Jophiel was given a string of Christmas lights as a prank and told they were wing decorations..." He noticed Jeanne standing there curious.
Zadkiel looked slightly embarrassed, "On second thought it's not a story for mortals. Just know it didn't end well,"
"If you can't tell all the details it must be bad," Arcane noted.
"But back to the original topic, you're offering me a basket with a bunch of golden apples?" Arcane asked.
"Yes, a lady gave them to me after I gave her one coin," Zadkiel said.
"A coin?" Arcane asked skeptically.
"This," he said easily holding out a golden coin the size of a U.S. 50 cent coin.
Arcane's eyes widened. "That's gold isn't it?"
"I gave her one and she handed me the whole basket. I feel a little bad and wonder if that was reckless since someone else could have needed the apples more." Zadkiel glanced at his right where the basket sat next to him.
"I think I know what you are talking about. There's a elderly lady who sells apples for extra money -" Jeanne spoke.
"Wait you gave a gold coin to someone selling apples for 50 cents?" Arcane gaped remembering the woman from one of Jeanne's 'exploring' trips.
"Yes?" He answered.
Jeanne picked up the basket and counted the apples. "There's enough to make two pies."
"Do golden delicious apples even make good pies?" Arcane asked.
"Sure! The pies will be a bit sweeter than some might anticipate but it's perfect!" She defended.
"Forgive me for my lack of pie knowledge." Arcane said simply.
"What am I gonna do with that much sweet stuff... It'd be greedy to have to myself..."
He frowned in thought. "Then I could take it to class to celebrate passing the social studies test?"
"Celebrations are best when you have people to celebrate with!" Jeanne approved.
"It'll be a big achievement and will mean in August I can advance and go to the eleventh grade..." Arcane was saying but Zadkiel zoned out, not listening and clearly with his attention elsewhere.
"Say, Arcangelo-"
"Arcane, we're friends as strange as it is," Arcane cut him off.
".... Arcane, before you go into the kitchen to tease and annoy Jeanne, would you like an apple?"
In Zadkiel's hand was another golden yellow apple. Like the ones he just saw, but maybe because an angel was holding it, it seemed different.
"Uh--" he started to ask something but Zadkiel interrupted.
"If you don't want the entire apple I can eat half of it with you," Zadkiel offered.
"Angels eat human food?" Arcane blurted unapologetically.
Zadkiel blinked owlishly. Then formed a 'smile' at least he wanted to believe Zadkiel was smiling, it looked kind of like a grimace.
"....That was insensitive, I apologize," Arcane said abruptly.
"It is alright," Zadkiel assured. His hand lowered to rest on his lap, golden apple taunting and demanding Arcane's attention.
'This feels like something I read before'. Arcane thought. 'I can't think of what it could be,'
"Yeah I'll take a half," he nodded. "if I go in the kitchen, I'll see all the apple slices Jeanne already cut and pick up a few. I don't want to alter her work."
Zadkiel pointed at the apple and it split itself in half, one for each of them.
He smiled, hiding his wince as the apple's magic surged, doing its job as it was created to do.
It was a temporary effect of course, but chaos apples did cause natural abilities to awry.
And considering the power of them both, they were easily the strongest forces in Arcane's apartment. Perfect candidates for the Chaos Apple to be used to the fullest.