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[Twilight] Rising Phoenix (Part Three)
You mean I actually remembered this? Well, I remembered it. And I'm going to see this story to the end. I don't like stopping stories in the middle, and this one's no exception! I'll probably stop with New Moon since I don't have enough jokes to continue, but hey. ♥ This'll be a fun journey while it lasts too.
Title: Rising Phoenix (Part III)
Fandom: Twilight [AU]
Summary: Bella's party is more amazing than she could imagine... but what's this about Alice Cullen and trouble?
Disclaimer: If you recognize this from the original story, chances are that it's not mine. Everything else? Probably is.
21.
It was true that Bella didn't like crowds. Yet, somehow (perhaps it was the lights strung everywhere and the overall dim glow of the tent), it felt cozier. And comfortable.
The DJ - Ben, she cheerfully noted - started playing a slow ballad on the speakers. Bella closed her eyes, swaying softly to the music. She didn't notice that all eyes were on her.
What she did notice, however, was Jacob taking her hand and leading her step-by-step to the music. He sung softly along with her, "When the full moon turns white~ That's when I'll come home~"
They twirled, nearly avoiding Mike and Jessica making out in the corner (now that was just rude!) as they danced along to the rhythm. He spun her around, watching as her periwinkle dress circled around her legs. She finally opened her eyes as she fell into his arms.
"How long were everyone watching?"
He shrugged. "I didn't really notice."
Blushing, Bella attempted to disappear into the crowd. Alas, Edward spied her first and extended his hand. "Come on," He insisted. "Let's dance!"
She groaned, but accepted his (rather desperate) request politely as she walked again onto the dance floor.
22.
"And that is checkmate."
Rosalie grumbled, watching as Alice deftly swept the chess pieces into her hands. "You just had to rub it in?"
"Hey," Emmett happily called as he walked into their game. "Alice, didn't you have some birthday party to attend?"
Alice shrugged. "It was just Bella's eighteenth birthday party."
Rosalie shared an uneasy glance with her husband. "Did you see something?"
Alice kept her gaze on the chessboard as she cleaned the pieces. Turning towards the nearby cabinet, she opened it and brought out a deck of playing cards. "Not really," She found herself softly mumbling as she brought the game over to them.
"That means you saw something," A woman gently remarked, placing her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "You sure you don't want to talk about it?"
"Esme," Alice muttered, "I saw blood. And plenty of angry people."
The entire room was silent for a moment. Then, Emmett blurted out,
"What if they were having a murder mystery party? With vampires?"
Alice decided she would take the high road and not throw that bookshelf at her brother-in-law.
"No, dear brother," She calmly, coolly replied. "I am pretty sure it was anything but that."
That, Emmett quickly realized, was the end of the discussion.
23.
The dance music was lively, the people (thankfully) weren't sneaking in alcohol... everything seemed to be in perfect order. Jacob sighed with relief as he collapsed onto a nearby chair. Ed and Bells were still on the dance floor (typical, since Ed lived for crazy moments like these) and everyone else seemed to be pre-occupied with themselves.
Good. He could keep himself busy too.
He didn't want to think about Sam and the crazy cult that was forming over at La Push. It seemed that everyone supported it! But why? It wasn't like they were actually doing anything. In fact, it felt like they weren't really themselves.
... He didn't want to think about them.
They were not here. This was Bella's party.
And as he watched Bella laugh and smile amongst her friends, he realized. This wasn't about him either.
24.
He couldn't feel the Cullens' presence. Leaf furrowed his brows as he wove through the crowd in the tent. How could Alice not be here? This was Bella's eighteenth birthday! She was only going to have one of these in her entire life. It wasn't like she was immortal or anything.
Edward had said something about her being a vampire, yeah. But why would that prevent her?
She went to school on a regular basis with humans. A party wouldn't stop her.
And then he felt it. Groaning, the child tried his best to walk further and further away from the pain... only to walk smack dab into it.
He looked up and stared into Alice Cullen's eyes.
"Hello," She said calmly, holding a present in her hands. "This is Bella's party, I presume?"
It was all Leaf could do to keep himself calm. He slowly, nervously nodded as he backed into the tent. "Yes."
She smiled (were those fangs? Jeez!) as she disappeared into the party. Leaf took all of ten seconds to regain himself before he ran over to Edward. It was bad enough that she was here, but what about Edward? He had to know.
25.
Something about the party didn't feel right. Perhaps it was the fact that Jacob was brooding with his own internal monologue in the corner? Edward'd interrupt, but he knew better. No one dared interrupt the internal monologue. It was just an unspoken rule.
But then there was Leaf. He seemed frazzled. And as he hurriedly shot out, "Alice's here! Alice's here!" Edward knew exactly why.
Who could blame Leaf? A vampire had drunk the blood of his older sister and brother-in-law. It was natural that he feared them. No offense to Leaf, but it was a little hard to fear Alice Cullen.
Especially since she was the most fashionably-dressed person in the entire tent. All eyes fell on her for a brief five seconds before returning to their business. (They were scared of her too? Really?)
Bella obviously didn't share their instincts as she waltzed over to Alice with a smile. "Hey," She beamed. "I'm glad you could make it!"
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Alice embraced her with her free hand. "So, what'd I miss?"
"Pretty much all the party," Leaf muttered under his breath. Alice shot him a menacing look.
"I'm just glad that you're here," Bella tilted her head to the side. "So don't worry about it, okay?"
(Maybe it was just Edward, but he could definitely sense some... lovely subtext that shouldn't be there. He shouldn't have read all those Anne Rice books after all. Those vampires were just weird.)
"All right," Alice beamed. "Bella! Come and join me on the dance floor, okay?"
Bella gave Edward and Jacob both 'help me' looks, but neither boy wanted to be the one Alice Cullen ate for breakfast the next morning. They just smiled and nodded and pretended like they had absolutely no idea what Alice was doing. And amazingly enough? It worked.
26.
Well. Some help the boys were! Bella groaned as she twirled, glided, and generally danced exactly as Alice instructed her to.
She didn't want to keep dancing! They'd cut the cake, they'd had dinner, and now they were dancing until the entire town told them to shut up? Something didn't feel right. Maybe it really had been a while since Forks had a giant party.
But did they really want it to keep going like the Energizer bunny? They wanted to be known as the small town where no one sleeps? (No offense, but New York had them beat.)
There was a small tremor all of a sudden. It was light - almost as if nothing had happened - but it was enough to convince people the party was over. Within seconds, everyone stopped the festivities as they hurriedly packed food and party decorations.
"Alice," Bella began as she stopped dancing. She paused, staring behind her. "... Alice?"
What'd happened? It wasn't like her to run off! Bella started towards the door; Leaf stopped her with a gentle hold.
"She had to go," The child smiled. "Don't worry, we'll catch her later."
"What about Edward and Jacob?"
"Jake's still brooding to himself," Leaf pointed towards the older teen. "I don't know where Edward is."
"Good enough for me," Bella returned the smile as she ran over to her friend. "Make sure Edward's okay!"
"I will," Leaf nodded as he ran out the tent.
27.
Alice was wondering what that vision had been about. Now, as she stared from the highest rooftop in Forks, she knew.
It hadn't been Bella's party that suffered from blood loss. No. They were fine, with or without her presence. But when she'd felt that tremor? Heard that gunshot that no one else seemed to? She was out of the party.
Forks was a small town. No one should be firing shots at this hour of the night.
She followed the sound to the source, aware all the while that flapping angel wings were behind her.
"Don't you have anything better to do?"
"Hello," The angel sighed. "Guardian angel here?"
"Oh, that's right," Alice rolled her eyes as she kept running over rooftops and trees. "I forgot. We've got a creepy stalker here."
"Hey! That was not what I said."
"Same thing."
The angel made a face at her. "You attack first if we need to. Remember, Isabella's safety is in danger here."
"I know," Alice shot back as she jumped down from the roof.
... Where was the blood? She could've sworn that she'd seen it outside... but the red splattered all over the ground was not. Ketchup, probably. The angel hung behind a nearby tree; Alice sighed with exasperation. If he was going to help, he might make himself useful.
Leaning down, she immediately stared as she was met face-to-face with a silver pistol.
"Hello, Alice Cullen. It's nice to finally meet you."
28.
"Jake?"
That was Bella's voice. But what was she doing here? It was La Push... and it was the middle of the night. He could see that cult just over the horizon... they were just standing, laughing maniacally to themselves. As he approached, their laughs became louder.
"Join us, Jacob," They pleaded. "You'll be happy if you're one of us."
One of them held a knife to Bella's throat. Jacob immediately stared up and started running towards them. "Bellaaaaaa!"
"What? I'm right here."
He blinked. There she was, standing right in front of him... as she said she was. Huh. Was that a dream? It had been happening so often now. Right up there with the internal monologues.
"H-hey," Jake stammered out. "What's up?"
Bella immediately embraced him. "Bad dream?"
He blushed, "Not really. I was just... catnapping, that's all."
"If you say so," She shrugged as she let go. "I just wanted to thank you for all the hard work you put into this. In a way... I guess it was kinda fun."
"I'm glad," He beamed. "So, did you and Edward have fun on the dance floor?"
"Yeah, of course," She blinked. "But I really had more fun with you."
That was enough to make him blush again. "Bella."
She giggled. "Come on, sleepyhead. Billy says he'll take you home," She said as she helped Jacob get up on his feet. For once, Jake was glad that Edward wasn't around.
He may have not realized it, but... without Edward, moments like these suddenly became much easier.
29.
Alice scoffed as she put her hand on the pistol. "You think that could hurt me?"
The gun wielder laughed (it was a familiar laugh, the angel noted to himself). "I know it won't hurt you."
"Then why are you pointing it at me?"
"It makes for a better image, don't you think," The gun disappeared into the shadows. Alice couldn't make out her attacker in the dark of the night, but his figure definitely resembled that of a teenager. Maybe his complexion was pale?
She squinted, waiting to see if he would appear in the light.
He never did; he just walked from side to side in the dark. "I mean, what kind of person doesn't think about how it'd look?"
"People who want to effectively attack their enemy," Alice offered.
She thought she saw the wielder glare at her. "Besides the logical people around here." He paused, looking over to where the angel was.
"Who's with you?"
Alice shrugged. "I've no idea. How 'bout you explain to me why you're here?"
The gun wielder laughed. "How 'bout we play a challenge first?"
Alice narrowed her eyes, "What kind of challenge?"
"If you can figure out who I'm after and what I really am," The wielder smirked, "Then I won't hurt you or your family. Beat me at my own game, if you catch my drift."
(The angel furrowed his brows; this really sounded like it was stolen out of a Pokemon episode.)
"How am I supposed to know if you're after my family?"
In a rare moment of clarity, the gun wielder held out his hand. "I promise I'm not after your family in that sense. I may not be pure-hearted like you so-called vegetarian vampires, but I've at least got my morals."
Alice scoffed at the hand; she slapped it before turning to walk away. "I don't accept."
"Fine, fine," The gun wielder laughed. "Then don't mind if I---"
He paused, staring as he heard the sound of flapping angel wings. "It couldn't be."
3o.
The angel - Bella's angel - crossed his arms. "Oh, but it is."
"An angel," The gun wielder stared at him in disbelief. "In Forks? What kind of madness are you trying to get me to believe here?"
"You're trying to get a vampire to believe you have morals," The angel smiled gently. "I figured you should test them out with the real judges of morality."
(He knew he'd heard the gun wielder curse under his breath!) After what seemed like forever, the gun wielder finally crossed his arms. "Fine. What conditions are you willing to set down?"
"For starters, don't steal plotlines out of Pokemon episodes."
The gun wielder stared. "... How do you even know what Pokemon is?"
"It's my favorite show," The angel cheerfully admitted.
Both Alice and the gun wielder shared looks of complete and utter disbelief. Again, silence threatened to creep up through the entire area.
"But seriously," The angel nodded. "Since you're not after me, do your challenge with me. I'll beat you at your game - and you won't harm the Cullens. Win, and you're free to do what you like to me."
"... Seems interesting," The gun wielder admitted. "Win, and I don't hurt the Cullens? Seems like you're forgetting something."
"I don't think so," The angel blinked. "Those are my terms and I stand by them."
"If you say so," The gun wielder shrugged. "Then may the best man win."
"Right!"
There was no response from the shadows; the angel assumed the gun wielder had disappeared within them. Turning to leave, the angel blinked as he stared into Alice's eyes. "A-Alice---"
"Don't do that again," Alice warned him. "Not everyone knows angels exist. I didn't even know until you told me last summer."
"That was out of necessity," The angel calmly responded. "And I'll be fine. We'll win. And we'll win on my terms."
With that, he disappeared into the sky. Alice hung behind for another minute before she too disappeared into the night. "... I wouldn't be so sure about that, Seraph. Confidence killed the angel."
Title: Rising Phoenix (Part III)
Fandom: Twilight [AU]
Summary: Bella's party is more amazing than she could imagine... but what's this about Alice Cullen and trouble?
Disclaimer: If you recognize this from the original story, chances are that it's not mine. Everything else? Probably is.
21.
It was true that Bella didn't like crowds. Yet, somehow (perhaps it was the lights strung everywhere and the overall dim glow of the tent), it felt cozier. And comfortable.
The DJ - Ben, she cheerfully noted - started playing a slow ballad on the speakers. Bella closed her eyes, swaying softly to the music. She didn't notice that all eyes were on her.
What she did notice, however, was Jacob taking her hand and leading her step-by-step to the music. He sung softly along with her, "When the full moon turns white~ That's when I'll come home~"
They twirled, nearly avoiding Mike and Jessica making out in the corner (now that was just rude!) as they danced along to the rhythm. He spun her around, watching as her periwinkle dress circled around her legs. She finally opened her eyes as she fell into his arms.
"How long were everyone watching?"
He shrugged. "I didn't really notice."
Blushing, Bella attempted to disappear into the crowd. Alas, Edward spied her first and extended his hand. "Come on," He insisted. "Let's dance!"
She groaned, but accepted his (rather desperate) request politely as she walked again onto the dance floor.
22.
"And that is checkmate."
Rosalie grumbled, watching as Alice deftly swept the chess pieces into her hands. "You just had to rub it in?"
"Hey," Emmett happily called as he walked into their game. "Alice, didn't you have some birthday party to attend?"
Alice shrugged. "It was just Bella's eighteenth birthday party."
Rosalie shared an uneasy glance with her husband. "Did you see something?"
Alice kept her gaze on the chessboard as she cleaned the pieces. Turning towards the nearby cabinet, she opened it and brought out a deck of playing cards. "Not really," She found herself softly mumbling as she brought the game over to them.
"That means you saw something," A woman gently remarked, placing her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "You sure you don't want to talk about it?"
"Esme," Alice muttered, "I saw blood. And plenty of angry people."
The entire room was silent for a moment. Then, Emmett blurted out,
"What if they were having a murder mystery party? With vampires?"
Alice decided she would take the high road and not throw that bookshelf at her brother-in-law.
"No, dear brother," She calmly, coolly replied. "I am pretty sure it was anything but that."
That, Emmett quickly realized, was the end of the discussion.
23.
The dance music was lively, the people (thankfully) weren't sneaking in alcohol... everything seemed to be in perfect order. Jacob sighed with relief as he collapsed onto a nearby chair. Ed and Bells were still on the dance floor (typical, since Ed lived for crazy moments like these) and everyone else seemed to be pre-occupied with themselves.
Good. He could keep himself busy too.
He didn't want to think about Sam and the crazy cult that was forming over at La Push. It seemed that everyone supported it! But why? It wasn't like they were actually doing anything. In fact, it felt like they weren't really themselves.
... He didn't want to think about them.
They were not here. This was Bella's party.
And as he watched Bella laugh and smile amongst her friends, he realized. This wasn't about him either.
24.
He couldn't feel the Cullens' presence. Leaf furrowed his brows as he wove through the crowd in the tent. How could Alice not be here? This was Bella's eighteenth birthday! She was only going to have one of these in her entire life. It wasn't like she was immortal or anything.
Edward had said something about her being a vampire, yeah. But why would that prevent her?
She went to school on a regular basis with humans. A party wouldn't stop her.
And then he felt it. Groaning, the child tried his best to walk further and further away from the pain... only to walk smack dab into it.
He looked up and stared into Alice Cullen's eyes.
"Hello," She said calmly, holding a present in her hands. "This is Bella's party, I presume?"
It was all Leaf could do to keep himself calm. He slowly, nervously nodded as he backed into the tent. "Yes."
She smiled (were those fangs? Jeez!) as she disappeared into the party. Leaf took all of ten seconds to regain himself before he ran over to Edward. It was bad enough that she was here, but what about Edward? He had to know.
25.
Something about the party didn't feel right. Perhaps it was the fact that Jacob was brooding with his own internal monologue in the corner? Edward'd interrupt, but he knew better. No one dared interrupt the internal monologue. It was just an unspoken rule.
But then there was Leaf. He seemed frazzled. And as he hurriedly shot out, "Alice's here! Alice's here!" Edward knew exactly why.
Who could blame Leaf? A vampire had drunk the blood of his older sister and brother-in-law. It was natural that he feared them. No offense to Leaf, but it was a little hard to fear Alice Cullen.
Especially since she was the most fashionably-dressed person in the entire tent. All eyes fell on her for a brief five seconds before returning to their business. (They were scared of her too? Really?)
Bella obviously didn't share their instincts as she waltzed over to Alice with a smile. "Hey," She beamed. "I'm glad you could make it!"
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Alice embraced her with her free hand. "So, what'd I miss?"
"Pretty much all the party," Leaf muttered under his breath. Alice shot him a menacing look.
"I'm just glad that you're here," Bella tilted her head to the side. "So don't worry about it, okay?"
(Maybe it was just Edward, but he could definitely sense some... lovely subtext that shouldn't be there. He shouldn't have read all those Anne Rice books after all. Those vampires were just weird.)
"All right," Alice beamed. "Bella! Come and join me on the dance floor, okay?"
Bella gave Edward and Jacob both 'help me' looks, but neither boy wanted to be the one Alice Cullen ate for breakfast the next morning. They just smiled and nodded and pretended like they had absolutely no idea what Alice was doing. And amazingly enough? It worked.
26.
Well. Some help the boys were! Bella groaned as she twirled, glided, and generally danced exactly as Alice instructed her to.
She didn't want to keep dancing! They'd cut the cake, they'd had dinner, and now they were dancing until the entire town told them to shut up? Something didn't feel right. Maybe it really had been a while since Forks had a giant party.
But did they really want it to keep going like the Energizer bunny? They wanted to be known as the small town where no one sleeps? (No offense, but New York had them beat.)
There was a small tremor all of a sudden. It was light - almost as if nothing had happened - but it was enough to convince people the party was over. Within seconds, everyone stopped the festivities as they hurriedly packed food and party decorations.
"Alice," Bella began as she stopped dancing. She paused, staring behind her. "... Alice?"
What'd happened? It wasn't like her to run off! Bella started towards the door; Leaf stopped her with a gentle hold.
"She had to go," The child smiled. "Don't worry, we'll catch her later."
"What about Edward and Jacob?"
"Jake's still brooding to himself," Leaf pointed towards the older teen. "I don't know where Edward is."
"Good enough for me," Bella returned the smile as she ran over to her friend. "Make sure Edward's okay!"
"I will," Leaf nodded as he ran out the tent.
27.
Alice was wondering what that vision had been about. Now, as she stared from the highest rooftop in Forks, she knew.
It hadn't been Bella's party that suffered from blood loss. No. They were fine, with or without her presence. But when she'd felt that tremor? Heard that gunshot that no one else seemed to? She was out of the party.
Forks was a small town. No one should be firing shots at this hour of the night.
She followed the sound to the source, aware all the while that flapping angel wings were behind her.
"Don't you have anything better to do?"
"Hello," The angel sighed. "Guardian angel here?"
"Oh, that's right," Alice rolled her eyes as she kept running over rooftops and trees. "I forgot. We've got a creepy stalker here."
"Hey! That was not what I said."
"Same thing."
The angel made a face at her. "You attack first if we need to. Remember, Isabella's safety is in danger here."
"I know," Alice shot back as she jumped down from the roof.
... Where was the blood? She could've sworn that she'd seen it outside... but the red splattered all over the ground was not. Ketchup, probably. The angel hung behind a nearby tree; Alice sighed with exasperation. If he was going to help, he might make himself useful.
Leaning down, she immediately stared as she was met face-to-face with a silver pistol.
"Hello, Alice Cullen. It's nice to finally meet you."
28.
"Jake?"
That was Bella's voice. But what was she doing here? It was La Push... and it was the middle of the night. He could see that cult just over the horizon... they were just standing, laughing maniacally to themselves. As he approached, their laughs became louder.
"Join us, Jacob," They pleaded. "You'll be happy if you're one of us."
One of them held a knife to Bella's throat. Jacob immediately stared up and started running towards them. "Bellaaaaaa!"
"What? I'm right here."
He blinked. There she was, standing right in front of him... as she said she was. Huh. Was that a dream? It had been happening so often now. Right up there with the internal monologues.
"H-hey," Jake stammered out. "What's up?"
Bella immediately embraced him. "Bad dream?"
He blushed, "Not really. I was just... catnapping, that's all."
"If you say so," She shrugged as she let go. "I just wanted to thank you for all the hard work you put into this. In a way... I guess it was kinda fun."
"I'm glad," He beamed. "So, did you and Edward have fun on the dance floor?"
"Yeah, of course," She blinked. "But I really had more fun with you."
That was enough to make him blush again. "Bella."
She giggled. "Come on, sleepyhead. Billy says he'll take you home," She said as she helped Jacob get up on his feet. For once, Jake was glad that Edward wasn't around.
He may have not realized it, but... without Edward, moments like these suddenly became much easier.
29.
Alice scoffed as she put her hand on the pistol. "You think that could hurt me?"
The gun wielder laughed (it was a familiar laugh, the angel noted to himself). "I know it won't hurt you."
"Then why are you pointing it at me?"
"It makes for a better image, don't you think," The gun disappeared into the shadows. Alice couldn't make out her attacker in the dark of the night, but his figure definitely resembled that of a teenager. Maybe his complexion was pale?
She squinted, waiting to see if he would appear in the light.
He never did; he just walked from side to side in the dark. "I mean, what kind of person doesn't think about how it'd look?"
"People who want to effectively attack their enemy," Alice offered.
She thought she saw the wielder glare at her. "Besides the logical people around here." He paused, looking over to where the angel was.
"Who's with you?"
Alice shrugged. "I've no idea. How 'bout you explain to me why you're here?"
The gun wielder laughed. "How 'bout we play a challenge first?"
Alice narrowed her eyes, "What kind of challenge?"
"If you can figure out who I'm after and what I really am," The wielder smirked, "Then I won't hurt you or your family. Beat me at my own game, if you catch my drift."
(The angel furrowed his brows; this really sounded like it was stolen out of a Pokemon episode.)
"How am I supposed to know if you're after my family?"
In a rare moment of clarity, the gun wielder held out his hand. "I promise I'm not after your family in that sense. I may not be pure-hearted like you so-called vegetarian vampires, but I've at least got my morals."
Alice scoffed at the hand; she slapped it before turning to walk away. "I don't accept."
"Fine, fine," The gun wielder laughed. "Then don't mind if I---"
He paused, staring as he heard the sound of flapping angel wings. "It couldn't be."
3o.
The angel - Bella's angel - crossed his arms. "Oh, but it is."
"An angel," The gun wielder stared at him in disbelief. "In Forks? What kind of madness are you trying to get me to believe here?"
"You're trying to get a vampire to believe you have morals," The angel smiled gently. "I figured you should test them out with the real judges of morality."
(He knew he'd heard the gun wielder curse under his breath!) After what seemed like forever, the gun wielder finally crossed his arms. "Fine. What conditions are you willing to set down?"
"For starters, don't steal plotlines out of Pokemon episodes."
The gun wielder stared. "... How do you even know what Pokemon is?"
"It's my favorite show," The angel cheerfully admitted.
Both Alice and the gun wielder shared looks of complete and utter disbelief. Again, silence threatened to creep up through the entire area.
"But seriously," The angel nodded. "Since you're not after me, do your challenge with me. I'll beat you at your game - and you won't harm the Cullens. Win, and you're free to do what you like to me."
"... Seems interesting," The gun wielder admitted. "Win, and I don't hurt the Cullens? Seems like you're forgetting something."
"I don't think so," The angel blinked. "Those are my terms and I stand by them."
"If you say so," The gun wielder shrugged. "Then may the best man win."
"Right!"
There was no response from the shadows; the angel assumed the gun wielder had disappeared within them. Turning to leave, the angel blinked as he stared into Alice's eyes. "A-Alice---"
"Don't do that again," Alice warned him. "Not everyone knows angels exist. I didn't even know until you told me last summer."
"That was out of necessity," The angel calmly responded. "And I'll be fine. We'll win. And we'll win on my terms."
With that, he disappeared into the sky. Alice hung behind for another minute before she too disappeared into the night. "... I wouldn't be so sure about that, Seraph. Confidence killed the angel."