Avalon had been scowling this entire time, her power like that of a volcano about to blow its top. It had been this way for three years now, at times feeling like a force of its own and difficult to maintain a grip on, but right now they were one as her aura clashed with Uriel’s and embers fell to the ground, setting patches of grass alight. As he turned to her Ava’s wings bristled, and she spread them wide and sent white-hot flames spreading around her and Uriel. She knew few of the others would object, and no one would dare try and stop her anyway.
“I assure you, the feeling is not mutual,” she hissed. “My internal conflict is caused because you thought it important for us to gather to bring you back. As if you think this is some kind of second chance? How arrogant can you possibly be to think you deserve that.” Her flames were fast growing hotter and more unbearable, wrapping around her like a living thing. “While you were wherever the hell it is, do you know what the rest of us were doing? Jett, Scarlett and her brother had to go into hiding or face persecution. Aliviana and Jim were never seen again, probably long dead. Jaden spent the last three years in C.A.R.M.A. maximum security. Mari was in a goddamned coma. I fucking died too, Zeriah.”
As she raged Avalon’s form had started shifting, becoming larger and more avian, all beast and hellfire, and she bared her teeth at him. “Do you want to know what it was like, Uriel? My death? It wasn’t pretty, I didn’t burst into Aether and nothingness like you did. No, I was riddled with bullets, my wings broken, and then I crashed into a building. Through four floors of solid concrete. And there I laid, until my body started to burn up. My power burned me alive until I was nothing but ashes, and I felt all of it. But even when my body was a pile of ash I was still alive, still awake. I could still feel when those ashes caught fire, and then when the fire bore my new body. If you think my fire is hot right now, this is nothing compared to the flames that remade me. I couldn’t move for days after I came back. And when I could finally move I too had to go into hiding until now.”
By now she was snarling, all phoenix and no human as she spewed hellfire out at Uriel. “So no, it isn’t good to see you, Zeriah. Because whatever abyss you crawled out of cannot compare to the hell that the rest of us have suffered because of your arrogance and your hubris. You flew too close to the sun in your need for revenge, and the rest of us burned because of it!”
As Avalon's flame aura expanded, the black of the Nether flared in response, the cold of death pushing back and clashing with her flames. Uriel was quiet as she ranted, the black filling his eyes, revealing a madness that had not been there before.
"Do you think that my own death was easy?" His voice was low and cold, utterly devoid of emotion. "Every cell in my body overflowed with Aether until I exploded from being unable to contain the power with all the injuries I sustained. And then absolutely nothing; no sensation, no feeling, no sense of time. Trapped in a void of nothingness until Mari awoke from her coma and I was able to finally reach out to anyone. Do you have any idea what it's like to spend three years completely and utterly alone, not knowing if the torment would ever end?"
"What did you think was going to happen when we finally made our move to take the city?" He continued, the red of the Aether fading as the Nether began to overtake him. "The things that happened to you all are regrettable, but they were always a possibility. I will admit, I misjudged our fellow metas. I did not expect them to side with the very people who had the audacity to claim they are better than us."
"My need for revenge? You took what I gave and attacked right along with everyone else. You were just as angry as the rest of us at what happened to my daughter. You could have taken my power and fled, so do not blame me for your decision." Taking a deep breath, Uriel had to fight against the madness that threatened to break free before he could continue. "You call me arrogant for calling you all together so that I could return, but you came anyway. Some part of you still believes in me and our cause. We will rebuild and restore the Nephilim to its former glory. Might did not work, so we will change tactics and use subterfuge instead."
