In an enclaved section within Rome, there is a divine religious building within the independent city-state, this building was known as the Vatican. A distinct territory under the Holy See, it is a sovereign entity of international law. Within this grand cathedral and many halls, stood a well-known honored man, the masses often refer to this individual, as the Pope. Within his headquarters, he oversights the grander religious faith and organizations across the entire globe. Once he had escaped the safeguard of his Cardinals, Pope Abaddon VII is shown to be in the middle of a private interaction.
"So, do you think you can retrieve her for me, Veronica?"
The woman in question, who wore a religious, yet revealing outfit was seen bowing down on one knee, showing her dedication to her faith towards the elder. "Yes father, I believe it's within my capabilities to do so. But if I may be in haste, may I ask what for?" The pope looks to be contemplating for a moment before deciding to answer, "This girl, my informants have advised me that she may be in cahoots with an evil god. As the highest standing member of the church, it is my duty to seek out those who follow the path of evil and deliver them to justice." Veronica's smile intensifies as a large blush is plastered on her face. "As expected your elegance knows no bounds! You have my word, I will retrieve this traitor on your behalf, by any means necessary."
Veronica van Astre, The PointeFix Archbishop of the Roman Orthodox church, at a young age, was blessed by the miracle of divine light. Later in her years, she was to be known as the demigoddess of light, for her high authority over light itself. With her divine power at her disposal, she was deemed to be the honored individual tasked with protecting the Pope for generations, as well as the faithful followers of Vatican City. Now she acts quickly upon receiving her latest mission, being sent to Egypt in order to retrieve the Blue Phoenix Goddess for questioning. There she stands on the outskirts of Cairo, using her offensive magic to cause an explosion near the walls of the main cathedral. Wendy stands proud against the violent woman, not readying herself for being captured so easily. "Well now little birdie, be a good girl for mama and come peacefully.'' Veronica is shown to be smiling with gleeful joy, some might say that she looks as if she hopes the blue-haired girl does not comply with her wishes. Hesitating from the woman's dangerously vulgar presence, she edges on. "Why the hell do I need to go with you!? What could the higher-ups possibly want with me?"
"That is something you will have to ask them once you arrive there I'm afraid. I simply was told to retrieve you and that is what I am going to do." Veronica grips her latent staff, and magic can be seen flowing from the top, "please do not make me use force." Wendy takes a moment to look back at the people watching, then at Hibiki, who's holding a sad expression. She tries to read further into the girl's expression, sensing the idea that she wants to interfere in some way, yet something seems to be holding her back, something she most likely fears. Wendy turns around and looks back at the priestess. "Fine, I'll go." Suddenly one of the kids from earlier got in her way. "No! You can't take away big sister! She's done nothing wrong!" The kid sticks his tongue out at the bishop and refuses to let her take away their big sister.
"Ara Ara~ what do we have here, a trouble maker I presume." Without hesitation she summons what seems to be a white orb of light from her staff and jolts the young boy, throwing him out of the way. Wendy, shocked by this act of violence yells at the so-called Priestess. "What is wrong with you? He's just a kid, Have you no shame!?" The priestess laughs under her breath, "Oh calm down, that wasn't enough to kill him, it was simply a love tap. I told you I'm here to capture you by any means necessary, no matter who gets in my way."
The woman still holds her smile, for it had not faltered for even a moment during this whole interaction. Wendy grits her teeth, her fist clenched as she stares at the boy who was injured. The companions of the church have all rushed to his aid, examining his body and attempting any quick first-aid tactics. Fuming by the unnecessary act of violence, Wendy turns back at the older woman and starts getting ready to fight this priestess. "If you're going to harm an innocent kid who didn't do anything wrong, then I don't care what your position in the church is! I ain't going anywhere until I knock some sense into you!" Wendy says after jolting straight in the priestess's direction. As a blue aura surrounds her, she summons her sword in her right hand as she prepares a swing. As she attempts to strike at the priestess, Wendy is taken by surprise as she is shot with a beam of condensed light. She screams out in pain from the intense blow, and only a few seconds pass before she hears maniac laughter being emitted from the distance.
"Silly little girl, you may be a goddess, but even the most powerful gods are subject to the divine light. My ability "Almighty Light" always allows me to conjure up orbs of absolute divine energy and concentrate it on my staff. No Demigod or goddess is immune to its holy rays." She shoots another array of attacks at Wendy that completely immobilizes her. "ONEESAMA!" Hibiki cries out but to no avail. "She's right, those divine spheres are highly concentrated beams of magic, and their effects can harm both Gods and Demons! You can't fight her on your own!" Hibiki was right, for The divine light that had already plagued the girl's body prohibited her from conjuring up the spirits to her aid, rendering her powerless.
"Your parts are composed of the Phoenix are you not, which means I can punish you to my heart's content~." She starts to charge up more energy balls when suddenly a sword is lunged at her from above. There's a quick explosion leaving everyone disorientated. When the dust settles, Another laser of divine light is shot by Veronica, she presumably aimed at Wendy's prior location, but the shot never landed on her. Instead, it was blocked by another golden sword, as a man with spiky brown hair and gold eyes stood before the injured girl.
"Sorry, I'm late, Wendy." Wendy looked up at her knight in shining armor, seeing as her precious childhood friend had arrived just in the knick of time, "Hehe, well a few minutes ago would have been nice too. But wow, I'm surprised you got here so fast!" She responds. Scyron smiles, taking his eyes away from the blue-haired maiden momentarily to stare at their now common enemy. Holding his sword out to the priestess, he puts on a stern face. "Who are you, and why are you attacking my woman!"
"Ho ho ho~ and who may you be? This girl's savior perhaps." Scyron stares blankly at the cold woman, feeling rather upset that his first real reunion with the girl he loved had to arrive in such dire circumstances. He takes a moment to look over Wendy's wounds, his heart is set at ease as he sees the phoenix's flames taking effect as she has already started to heal. "Who the hell is this girl?" Scyron asks the recovering young maiden.
"Beats me, she showed up here not too long ago spouting nonsense of being the Head Church's safeguard. Then when I did not comply with going back with her she assaulted one of the orphans." Scyron looks back at the church, his eyes gazing over the crowd before noticing the one child who's notably injured. In all his years of knowing Wendy, he has come to know many things about her. Her unyielding desire to better herself, her love for pop culture, and her unwavering willingness to help those around her. Everything he aspires to be himself, he learned from her. But the one thing he has come to truly understand about her is her indisputable love for children, and with that love, came only hate for those who would harm them in any way. After experiencing a rough childhood herself, being forced into acting, and being stripped of her youth by a selfish mother, Wendy had no tolerance for those who would damage the psyche of a prepubescent kid before they had a chance to grow into their person. So it stands without question, that any sense of reasoning had been thrown out the window the moment this Priestess showed up and attacked the young boy.
"I see, there are a lot more questions I want to ask, a lot more things I want to say to you… But all that can wait." Wendy stands up, now fully healed and preparing for battle again. "I knew I could count on you, Ronny!" The boy in question smirks, before lifting his sword once again, The blue-haired girl down the same, standing next to her childhood friend as they both mimic each other's pose. "Ho ho~ So you both are going to take me on then?" The pair stare back at the vulgar woman, energy can be seen swarming throughout them. "Let's show this bitch what we're made of!"
"Right!"
The last words before the battle had been exchanged, as the firing duo dashed forward toward the Pointefix. Veronica laughs before charging an array of around 12 white orbs around her, shooting them straight at the approaching pair. "Her attacks are made of highly condensed magic, don't let them hit you!" Wendy screams out before the two separate from one another, now running in opposite directions. The lasers start honing into them, separating and following them in a suit forcing them to attempt to parry the beams of light away from them. They slash them through, each clash and swing getting them progressively closer to their target. Another way of lasers shoots forward, this time the majority heading in the direction of the golden-eyed boy.
"Ronny!" Wendy screamed out in dismay, but the poy was prepared, for within the crisis of his bird-shaped hand, came out another golden sword, now dual-wielding the beams away. After securing his safety, he throws the sword at the Priestess, aiming for the hilt of her staff. This move only stopped her momentarily, but it was enough for Wendy to get close proximity to her. "I got you!" The two women clash their weapons of choice, now faced neck and neck with one another. "My my~ You're a lot more adept at this than I gave you credit for!" Wendy doesn't respond to this, only strengthening the hold on her sword. The priestess, who is no novice to physical combat, can overpower the blue-haired warrior before striking her with her staff, leaving her tumbling on the sand. "Wendy!" The boy says this, as he is simultaneously charging up a ball of golden energy in his hands, after viewing that Wendy is away from the line of fire, he proceeds to shoot a golden laser of his own. His Phoenix magic was fundamentally different from his blue counterpart, with his flames allowing for more offensive techniques. The fiery blast seemingly overtakes the endowed woman, but their hopes are immediately dissolved after seeing the priestess surrounded by a white forcefield, protecting her from the scorching flames.
"I see, so that's as far as your capabilities go, what a shame, I thought I was going to get more fun out of this. Scyron runs over to Wendy before thinking to himself. "The Priestess' smile finally begins to wave. As she is now shown to hold a rather emotionless expression. "Damnit, what Should I do? The gold weapons I create seem to affect her, but I've already made three in a row, that's my limit! I could use Caledbolgen, but there's no guarantee I have enough magic to create it right now!" Wendy rises to her feet, recovering from the blow as she looks over at the brown-haired boy that made his way over to her. "Any idea?" She says, hoping he has a trick up his sleeve. "I do have a trump card, it's kinda the amalgamation of everything I've gone through during my journey, but even then I'm not sure if it's enough to beat this one, I didn't think I'd have to use it on another Demigod." Wendy looks back at the woman in question, seemingly running out of patience. "You're telling me, if other demigods are like this bitch then I don't want to meet any of them." Upon saying this, she grips her sword and Scyron does the same. "In any case, I hope you're ready for round two!" The air around them starts to thicken, as the unyielding woman before them starts to charge up more light spheres.
"That's quite enough!" A sudden voice yells out before them. The Priestess is seen immediately taking a knee, which completely deactivates her abilities. The pair turn back to view the inhibitor of the voice. An old, hunchback woman, with a large mole on her face, can be seen walking over to them. This elder is wearing a signature black sister outfit, with a silver ankh hanging from her neck. "Mother Gertrude! Forgive me for my transgressions. It was unbeknownst to me that you were relocated here." The change in voice and attitude was taken into consideration by the pair as they gazed at the elderly woman. "Veronica, have you no shame in behaving in such a vulgar fashion? Have you not remembered anything from your days under my care?" The Pontifex smiles, "Please forgive me, Mother. I foolishly allowed my excitement to shadow the assignment. I had only desired to test the Phoenix's power if these two were to clash with a powerful demon." After hearing her explanation, the old lady complies. "Very well, but even so, your actions against these two exceed your reasoning. Not to mention the damage you delivered to the church and its children. I'll be speaking to the pope regarding your vulgar actions here today. The Priestess stays silent as she continues to kneel before the Nun. "As for you two, please forgive her for her abrasive nature, she has always been a rather troublesome girl."
The pair, not too keen on being almost purged out of existence by the "Abrasive" woman, is left with a bitter aftertaste. "Are you kidding me, that bitch almost killed us!" Wendy is seemingly ready to take her frustration out on the nun, causing Scyron to try and hold her back. After the pair calm down and reexamine their situation, the older woman takes this as a chance to introduce herself. "It's an honor to meet you both, I am mother Gertrude, and I am seen as the Holy Mother to the members of the Egyptian Orthodox Church throughout all our locations.
First and foremost I would like to thank you once again for your aid in rescuing the orphaned children, and once again I offer my apologies for Lady Veronica's prior actions. But it seems like she was sent here directly from the Pope to retrieve you. Young girl, I'm aware you may still be a novice to this world, but don't be mistaken, a call from the Pope himself is not something to be trifled with."
"The Pope?" The girl questions as the older sister prepares to continue.
"Yes, the people are the patrons of the peoples' religious beliefs around the world. Not including the demigods, he is hailed as the most divine individual in the entire globe. If this man is demanding an audience with you, then it is your duty as a demigoddess to comply with his wishes." Wendy ponders this for a moment, the string of hesitation is still wrapped around her heart. "Why would he want to speak with me of all people?" The Priestess, who had remained silent, decides to answer this question. "The pope would like to interrogate you, for the time being, you are considered to be a fugitive." Scyron is shocked by this, turning over to the woman and speaking up.
"A fugitive!?"
"Yes, she is to be put on trial under the suspicion of being in cahoots with an evil God," Veronica states before Scyron inquires. "An Evil God?" He looks over at Wendy, only to be met with a look of guilt and shame. "How could they know about that…" The girl ponders to herself before meeting the boy's gaze. "There's a lot that I need to explain, but I suppose I can go over all that with you later." Wendy turns back to Mother Gertrude before speaking.
"I'd like to clarify that I was never against going with her. I had only wanted to be made aware of the situation concerning my retrieval. If you think it's in my best interest then I will gladly venture out to meet the Pope." Scyron smiles at this, as he is once again reminded of Wendy's unwavering determination to act in these types of situations.
"Alright then, It should go without saying that I will be coming with you as well!" Wendy smiles back at him, as Scyron's only concern is her safety and well-being. The group now set out to their next location, the place where the source of all faith is united and cultivated as one. The central cathedral within Rome, the Vatican.