Emmanuel was too stunned at first to realize he wasn't flying on his own power anymore. The figures of the man and the woman were becomming smaller and smaller. He feet swayed uncontrolably beneath him. A pair of metallic talons dug deep into his shoulders. It was painful to crane his neck upwards, but Emmanuel wanted to see the face of his attacker.

"Agaracha!"

The lady's face was covered with a metallic mask, but the mouth was still exposed. "I'm not too sure what that means, but I advise you not to go any further than name-calling." The voice wasn't mechanical, but it wasn't human either. She sneered and Emmanuel felt one of the talons loosen and caress his neck. "Your handlers want you alive. Still, if I think you're going to be trouble, I'll just have to slice this artery before you put up a struggle. Understand?"

"'Handlers'?"

"Isn't that what you call your masters? It's what I call mine." She made a strange sound, which Emmanuel thought was the closest thing to a laughing sound the creature could make. "I find the irony amusing. Using one powerful freak to capture another."

Emmanuel couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I am not a freak. I am a weapon of the Lord."

Another mechanical laugh. "You think big, for such a little boy. Tell me, why hasn't your God struck me down from his throne? Too busy managing the weather? Playing chess with Moses?"

Emmanuel had lived a sheltered life before he was sent to the lab. Athiests were heard of, but he never conversed with one before. Hearing such casual snide remarks about the Almighty was...disturbing. "You don't believe in God?"

"I believe in me. Only thing worth believing in."

Now it was Emmanuel's turn to laugh. "Seeing as how you have a 'handler' too, Agaracha, believing in you hasn't work either."

The talons dug into his shoulders tighter, and Emmanuel yelped in pain. "You really hurt my feelings with that one. This is going to be an interesting ride."

"Might not be a long ride, Agaracha. God's Vengence might return, and then you'll be no more."

"You might do that. But somehow, I doubt it. I watched your little verbal fight from above. I don't know your weakness yet, but I don't think you're in the right state of mind to becoming powerful again. I think that man back there rattled your cage, and you're still shaking in your boots." Another metallic laugh. "And if I think for a moment you're about to about to turn into an angel, I'll send you to the angels before you can twitch." She strocked the skin above the jugular for a moment, and then clamped back onto the shoulder. "But listen to me. I don't want to kill you. I don't like to kill." There was no humor in her voice, only a sort of saddness. "You behave, and I'll behave, and we'll part ways forever soon."

Emmanuel bit his lip. She was right -- he was having trouble focusing his thoughts after his argument with the man. It was like he had been punched in the face -- his eyesight was fuzzy and everything seemed to be moving slower. He still thought the Agaracha was a pagan that needed to die by his hands, but if she could be patient, so could he. "My name Emmanuel. What's your name?"

"They call me...Bellatrix."