Life In Imperium

-Brie-

Mithos, Thinius, and Orpheus had wanted her to stay down on the floor and rest a bit longer, but when she’d heard the confrontation going on between Dez and Leandre, she hadn’t been able to stay still. Dez didn’t know what he was threatening. Brie was one of the few that did know what threatening to put Leandre in a cell would be like for him. Her own heart clenched at hearing the threat from Dez, even though she knew why Dez was saying it and if she did not know Lee’s history she might have done the same. But she did know, which meant that she also knew how her friend and guard would react. Brushing off the concern of the three of her guards that were trying to complete the healing, she had gotten to her feet and gone over to where the two males were having their confrontation. She had just laid her hand on Leandre’s arm to get his attention and hopefully get him to calm down and then get Dez to calm down when they were suddenly in a different location.

It took Brie a moment to get her bearings. Her head was still spinning from the healing and her vision was slightly fuzzy. There was a scent of stale air and damp limestone that was her first clue, then something about the very vibration of the soul of the place that instantly took her back to the last time she had been there. As soon as she realized where they were, she released Lee and started backing up, barely able to breathe. Dez had taken them to his prison world, the one where he’d almost killed her. She remembered him almost choking her, the anger in his face, the hatred, the rage, and suddenly she couldn’t pull herself out of the memory.

In her mind it was not just a memory, but she was pulled back to that time. She could feel the aura of his rage, his fingers pressing into her skin, and the burning of her lungs from having their oxygen cut off. As she was backing up, her fingers went up to lightly run over the skin of her neck; skin that had been bruised deeply back then. Her eyes were gazing off into the distance, fixed and glazed. She was not seeing the two men who were there with her now, but what had happened the night of the Horsemen’s Ball.

-Leandre-

It was not the pressure of Brie’s hand on his arm that got Leandre’s attention, it was when she removed it and the soft gasp that followed. When he turned to make sure that Mithos, Thinius, and Orpheus had finished the healing, he froze. Brie’s color seemed to have drained and she appeared to be in a panic and backing away from him as if in fear. He had never seen her in such a state, and wasn’t sure what he’d done to cause it. Even on the battlefield when they were outnumbered or surprised, she faced it bravely. Then he realized that it wasn't him, that something in her mind had her gripped. He’d been there himself and he wouldn’t let her face those demons of whatever her memories held alone. It was then he too noticed that they were no longer in Imperium, though he was not sure where the Grigori had brought them.

Dez was unceremoniously thrown to the ground as Lee hurried over to Brie in long and purposeful steps, and he pulled her against his broad and muscled chest. Strong arms banded around her to keep her from once more pulling back. Whatever horrors of the past that her mind was no replaying, he would shield her the best that he could. “You are safe, amica mea (my love).” Lee’s voice had gone from aggressive to comforting. He did not know where Dez had brought them, but he knew that wherever it was, Brie was terrified of it. What in the nine realms of Hell had the Grigori done? Why would he take them to somewhere that would terrify the Queen, a woman who faced down Lucifer himself and even brought Abbadon to heel? He had never seen her terrified of anything, and was not happy he was now.

One of his hands cradled the back of her head to keep her face against his chest, the other arm was gently yet firmly encircling her waist to hold her against him. Comforting was not something he was naturally good at. He’d tried when he and Talia had been...entangled...and had always failed. It was something that in the end Talia had thrown at him. How she had always felt so alone in her darkest hours when she needed him the most. Even with that history, for some reason it did come naturally to him now. It bespoke the depth of his caring and their friendship. A gentle kiss was placed on the top of her head to help reassure her that she was safe from whatever ghosts that this place held. Lee could feel her arms around him and the slight tremble she had. He knew what it was to be broken in places and to be taken back to the place that broke you, and it was because of that he held her a little bit tighter, resolute that he would find a way to get them out of this place and then introduce that fucking Grigori to levels of Caligo that he hadn’t imagined yet.

-Dez-

Oh Fuck! Was there anything else that could go wrong? No, he didn’t really want to know the answer to that. The universe was royally fucking him over at the moment, he didn’t want to give it any more opportunities to than he had to. Being stuck in a realm with a pissed off Demonic Nephilim was one thing; that he had anticipated and planned on. Accidentally bringing Brie back here was not in those plans, and now that Nephilim was more pissed and if he survived the two of them, it would be a miracle of the Source.

“You won’t be able to teleport out of here. It’s why I brought you here. Her,” Dez inclined his head towards Brie, “was not part of the plan. I’m going to have to come over there and be actually touching you to teleport the three of us out. Trust me, we need to do that fast, because the creepy fucker can teleport in and it took two months last time for my jaw to heal. Finding his sister again here and crying, even though you can at least tell him that I didn’t touch her this time, well, my ass would probably be broken in places I don’t know I had. Last time was painful enough after dealing with him and that asshole Destroyer.” Dez was approaching the two of them like they were a wounded lion that could rip him to shreds at any moment. With all the power that Brie possessed and the warrior currently comforting her, that was a pretty good analogy in Dez’s mind.

When he stopped a few feet in front of Leandre, Dez’s eyes met his and held them for a minute. “But this isn’t over; and you and I,” he gestured to Leandre, “need to talk, bro. So we’re not going back to Imperium, but we are going to get the babe out of here so she can calm down. Bad memories here.” Dez nodded then kept approaching cautiously, arms out to his sides to show that he was no threat. He would see Brie trembling from several feet away and Leandre’s eyes had turned an icy blue that the Grigori was sure meant nothing good.

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@darkknightl

-Dez-

Was this some kind of recompense for having died in front of her? This was the second time his former best friend was laid out prostrate and seemingly dead in front of him. Dez couldn’t say that this time was any more enjoyable than the last time. At least this time he knew that she could not go into stasis and that her becoming whatever it was that she truly was now meant that she couldn’t die. Neither of those things meant it was any easier to watch, and maybe that was his punishment. Who knew? The fates and gods were fickle bastards after all. Knowing that Mithos and Thinius were extremely powerful and that Brie had been able to obtain some talismans that amplified their healing abilities did help to reassure Dez that things would soon be put right again.

Movement off to his side caught Dez’s attention as the three who were trying to heal Brie were doing their “thing”. As soon as his head turned and got a full look at Leandre’s face, he knew exactly what was going through the other male’s mind. Since his “return from the dead” and reintegration into those in Brie’s confidence, he had watched them all. He knew that there was some kind of special bond between her guard and Brie, and the look on the Demonic Nephilim’s face now said that their friend’s current state had the male in a murderous rage. Dez also knew that if there was a murder, when Brie woke up she would be in an even worse mood than just having been knocked clean out.

“Leandre, why don’t we take a moment to think.” Dez’s eyes darted back and forth between Thenasus and Leandre. From the look he saw forming on Thenasus’ face, the larger man was seeing what Dez was. Dez slapped his hand into the middle of Andronicus’ chest to get his attention too. He wasn’t sure he was going to be able to head off the coming confrontation on his own, no matter how much more powerful he was than he had been before.

-Andronicus-

Andronicus felt the stupid Grigori’s fist hit his chest and was about to show him that while he may not be as powerful he could make the male hurt when he caught sight of his friend, Leandre. Instead of putting Dez on his ass, he joined the Grigori in trying to keep Leandre and Thenasus separated. In normal circumstances Thenasus would be the one that most would have bet on to win a purely physical confrontation between the two males, but this was far from normal circumstances. Andi knew that there was something between the Queen and Leandre. He’d never pushed or pried, Leandre was after all known for keeping his own counsel in most things. The past had made Leandre circumspect about sharing details of his life, let alone his thoughts. Recent events with Talia only served to reinforce why this was smart.

“Lee, it was an accident. Come on now, let’s not add more violence to this day.” Andi moved to put himself between Leandre and Thenasus. He needed to keep them separated till the others were able to heal Brie enough for her to wake up. If she was at least awake, maybe Lee would be distracted enough not to kill Thenasus.

-Leandre-

“Get out of my way Andi, I don’t want to have to hurt you.” Leandre’s jaw was set and his eyes were hard. He was going to make Thenasus hurt for not being careful. Yes, they were supposed to fight all out in sparring but there were certain rules when there weren’t full healers present.

Fingers curled into fists then straightened with each step that Leandre took towards Thenasus. The taller male was backing up, trying to avoid a confrontation, but Lendre wasn’t going to let him escape that easy. Now, if Andi would just get out of the way so he had a clear path to get things done.

-Dez-

Why did it always seem to fall on him to solve things? He had to be the one to explain that Thiniu was Talon and Talia’s dad, he was the one that had to explain the whole “Brie could have more than one mate” thing because she was a demi-godess thing and they had weird connections to things, he had to be the one to know things that were coming and to tell anyone, and now he was going to have to be the one to head of this disaster before it became an epic cluster fuck that no doubt he would get to clean up.

“Leandre, calm your tits, boy, It was an accident. I doubt Thenasus set out to bash his Queen’s brains in. Rarely does a member of the royal guard wake up in the morning and think ‘Gee, I wonder how I can piss everyone in Imperium off in one fell swoop? I know! Try and kill the Queen in training!’ Come on boy! Do not make me put you in a cell to calm your ass down.”

-Leandre-

There were few things that Dez could have said that would have gotten through the rage that had been all encompassing in Leandre’s mind; but the Grigori had found one of those things that cut through everything and had the Demonic Nephilim spinning around and now coming at him. Now all of the rage that had been directed at Thenasus was focused like a laser beam at Dez. Without knowing anything about Leandre’s past, he had found the one thing that would trigger Leandre into even greater violence than injuring Brie.

“You will NOT put me in a cell.” Lee started now to advance towards Dez. The normal blue-green of his eyes started to have a red ring around the iris. He didn’t know if he could defeat the Grigori, but Lee would die before he ever let anyone put him in a cell again.

-Dez-

“Then calm your ass down, Leandre.” Dez, unlike Thenasus, was not backing down. Someone had to stand up to Leandre and get him to listen to reason. Otherwise there was going to be a lot of violence and bloodshed, and the worst part was going to be that it would be from friendly fire. “I do not want to have to put you in a cell, but I will if I have to. Don’t make me do it, Lee.”

While Dez’s stance was set, his entire countenance speaking of resolution to stop Leandre from whatever violence and retribution he was seaking; on the inside, Dez wasn’t as assured. He knew exactly where he would teleport Leandre if he had to, but he’d prefer if the other male would just stop for a minute and realize that Mithos, Thinius, and Orpheus would have Brie patched up before too long.

-Leandre-

A vibration of power filled the air and Leandre barely felt it as Andi tried to stop him from advancing on the Grigori. Lee had developed tunnel vision and all he saw, all he heard, all he could acknowledge in the room was the smartass Grigori who was threatening him. He might end up in a cell, but he was going to make th male hurt first. Fuck going back in a cell and being anyone’s prisoner.

He reached Dez and grabbed the front of the dark button down shirt, pulling the other male til their faces were almost touching. When he spoke, his voice came out a growl, “I said that I will not go back in a cell.” He tightened his hold on the other man’s shirt and his voice dropped even lower. “If you try, you are going to hurt, and hurt bad for it.”

-Dez-

There was going to be no talking to Leandre. It was too bad, he had really hoped to be able to. That meant he was going to have to contain him. It was clear that containment was not going to go well. Dez would just have to deal with the fallout with Brie later.

“Just remember this wasn’t my choice, bro. All you had to do was calm the fuck down.” With that, Dez teleported them to the prison realm that he’d been confined to when he was “dead”.

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**Dez**

“I don’t think that Asmodeus….” What Dez was about to say was cut short by Andronicus suddenly appearing in the strategy room where he was leaning over a large conference table with all of the intelligence documents that they had on the Princes laying on it. Thinius, Mithos, and Arioch were on the other side of the table. Cruz and Adriel had just stepped out to go find Olly and Deacon. The remaining four men now looked at Andronicus concerned, it was clear that something was wrong. “Well, spit it out son.” Mithos wasted no time in prodding. Andronicus was rarely one to be hesitant in saying anything, but it was clear that he was rattled and that was keeping him from speaking his mind.

“There was a training accident. Thanasus hit Brie in the head with his bo staff and she’s not moving. Leandre sent me, O is trying to heal.” Andronicus’ eyes said it all as he spoke to the other males, the situation was dire and they needed the powerful healers. Orpheus was not going to be enough.

Dez didn’t wait for Andronicus to say more, he teleported to the training room. What he saw made it feel like when they had made it back from that damn prison planet all over again. Instead of Cruz with Brie, this time it was Leandre. Maybe this was karma for his dying in front of her in battle to undo all the shit that Clotho had done, somehow that would be fitting. He was ready for it to stop happening though. The first time had been more than enough punishment, this was more like torture to him.

Mithos, Thinius, and Arioch arrived just a moment behind Dez. They too were struck by the similarity to the situation that they had been in just a few short months ago. It was one that none of them had ever wanted to be in again; at least this time they knew that she would recover.

Andronicus had not been lying, additional help was needed in healing, and neither Mithos nor Thinius hesitated in rushing over to assist Orpheus. While Brie was doing better in healing on her own, there was still something hampering her. Div was trying to determine what it was, but coming up short. Dez was ready to go shake the deity till his brains rattled round his skull if it helped him figure it out faster. Most of her other powers were still in full force, it was only the healing. Some of those in Imperium blamed Abbadon for that, none were brave enough to say it to Brie however.

**Leandre**

Mithos and Thinius appearing helped to calm Lee’s anxiety over how slow it seemed that Brie was healing. After what Div had told them, he knew that Brie could not fall into stasis or truly die, but seeing her so badly injured and unconscious still sent a spike of worry through him. His duty as her guard was to keep her safe but it was as her friend that the worry was born. There were few that he had taken into his confidence, and she was one of those few. That made her very dear to him.

Once Mithos had gently taken Brie from him, Lee stood and backed away from where the other three male were working to watch the healing start. As they quiently chanted the incantations and worked their magic, he looked down at his blood covered hands. Slowly they balled into fists as he saw the darkening and drying blood that was smeared across them; his heart clenching an aching to know how badly Brie had been injured in training by Thenasus. You weren’t supposed to aim for the head in sparring, especially without a strong healer present. What had Thenasus been thinking? Why hadn’t he been more careful?

Anger grew, boiled, and bubbled within Leandre as he watched Mithos and Thinius, assisted by Orpheus. They were calm and methodical, too calm in his book and they seemed to be in no hurry. How could they not see the urgency of the situation? Did they forget the events of the past? Leandre’s short fingernails dug into his palms until they started to draw blood. The room seemed to suddenly feel warmer and warmer as he stood there. A tremble started in his hands as anger welled within him, a rage that he had not felt in ages.

He wasn’t even cognisant of his movements as Leandre closed the distance between himself and Thenasus. All he could think of was Brie lying unconscious on the floor from an accident that should never have happened if Thenasus had been doing things the right way. Scenes of the courtyard when they’d made it back from that hellacious prison planet flashed through his mind with each step. He remembered the look on Adriel’s face, the despair in Cruz’s voice, the way the other Horsemen had all seemed to almost wither, every detail was still etched in Leandre’s mind as if it had happened only the day before. That Div had ensured that she could never be in that type of situation again was of no consequence to him, that her injuries now were similar was enough to raise his ire and bring him to the bring of extreme violence.

@darkknightl

@gregoriusimmortuos

Chapter 1

**Brie**

The sounds of the two bo staffs hitting one another sounded almost like gunshots as they echoed in the training room Brie and Thenasus were sparring in. He had almost two feet in height on her, but that gave her an advantage that most people would not have considered. She was short and fast, and he was used to fighting those of similar height to himself. It was a good exercise for all of her guards and the legion in general to have to face adversaries of different sizes in sparring. She usually only trained with her guard, the other Horsemen, Dez, Arioch, or the Angels. They were the only ones that she knew that could keep up with her and she wasn’t worried about injuring too badly. While she might be shorter, that did not mean that she was any less powerful or strong than those who were taller, something she reminded the others of often.

As Brie and Thenasus were sparring, Leandre and Andronicus were up in the gallery that overlooked the training room discussing the last skirmish they’d had with the minions of Beelzebub. The Prince was getting extra power from somewhere, and they needed to figure out where before he was able to overpower their forces and mounted an attack against Imperium or Caligo. Orpheus was down lounging on a piece of equipment and watching his Queen and Thenasus spar. Mithos and Thinius were in an adjoining room talking with Dez, Cruz, Arioch and Adriel about recon that they’d gotten about the movements of several of the Princes and plotting their next move. All in all it was a normal day.

Every time that Brie blocked a blow from Thenasus’s staff with her own, she could feel the percussion through her whole body. Thenasus stood almost seven feet tall, in juxtaposition to Brie’s just over five foot in height; and he was at least double her weight. Those facts added together made his swings have a lot of power behind them and the force of them was jarring when they connected. Brie had no problem blocking, and in some cases ducking so that they missed completely, but even if they didn’t hit her body, the repeated jarring from the staffs clashing began to wear on her. They’d already been training for an hour and she was thinking another half hour or hour would be the end of it. This wasn’t her only training for the day, nor was it all she would do. She had other things that needed to be seen to, and had to have enough energy to be able to give her other responsibilities her full attention. Imperium and Caligo did not run themselves, and although she did have a lot of help from her brother and the others, she still took her position very seriously.

**Leandre**

Leaning against the railing on the balcony of the training room, Lee was turned more towards Andi as they tried to come up with a strategy for handling future run-ins with those who served the Princes, but his attention was truly focused on the two down on the floor. Their fighting styles were vastly different, something he knew from sparring with both of them many times. Brie was elegant and fluid, while still deadly. Thenasus was brutal and his strength had to far outmatch the Queen, which meant that she had to be using some of her powers to be handling his blows the way that she was. That was to be expected, most of them had to use their powers to handle his blows.

Brie ducked one of Thenasus’s blows then did a move that Lee couldn’t completely see, but she ended up behind the Demonic Nephilim and took his knees out with her staff. Thenasus spun to retaliate, but with his knees giving way and being off balance his aim was sorely off. His swing went over her head and the trailing end of his staff hit her head with a sickening crack against her skull that took her off of her feet and back onto the floor several feet away. Both Lee and Andi tensed as Orpheus was instantly at her side. Thenasus was trying not to fall on her. Muttered curses by both of them were a good indication that it had been more than a glancing blow. That wasn’t too much of a surprise, one thing that Brie insisted was that they not hold back in training. They were to train and spar as if it were a real fight; they had to be ready when the Princes brought the war to them.

In a second, Lee had vaulted the railing and landed with a heavy thud on the floor of the training room, a few feet where Brie lay with the other two men checking on her. Almost simultaneously, Andronicus could be heard landing next to him. Both rushed over to their Queen using their demonic speed that was far beyond that of humans; but it was Lee who was in the lead and slid the last few feet on his knees, gently probing her for injuries before Thenasus had even had a chance to regain his balance and stand erect.

As soon as Brie’s head was turned to the side, her face toward Leandre, the damage done by the end of Thenasus’ staff was evident. Dark purple already discolored part of her face, blood seeped from one ear, and there was a depression in her skull. All four of the guards uttered low curses and knew that it was serious. Brie still was not healing the way that she should be, still feeling the effects of the Source being cut off from Its powers. Even though Div had restored her to her true form, which was something akin to a demi-goddess from what the men understood, her abilities were still hindered by the Source’s current situation. “Orpheus, can you try healing?” Leandre asked, his voice grim as he gently picked Brie up from the floor to cradle her against him. Her head rested in the crook of his arm, her body draped across his thighs. “Andi, get Mithos and Thinius, their healing will be more effective.” Still Lee had not looked up from the darkening color on the side of Brie’s face. He knew now that she could not fall into stasis, but that did not mean he liked seeing the extent of her injuries. Even though his healing was not as good as Orpheus or the others, his fingers gently traced the edge of the bruising as he tried to heal his friend and Queen. She was one of the few that truly understood him and seeing her like this again tore at him in a way that he had not been affected in a long time. @74hybridangel

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