The man stumbled to an abrupt stop and glared at the two in his path.
"For Guild's sake you can't just teleport into the middle of a street like that, someone could get hurt." He rattled the weapons in his cart to make his point. " Now get out of the way before I call the Boros on you for that infraction."
He suddenly found himself face to face with a very angry vampire. He dimly recalled he had been pushing a cart… and that it had looked strangely like the one flying quickly over a distant roof.
"Leave, now." Was all angel had to say.
The street cleared itself rather quickly, without anyone even daring to protest.
Angel turned to Fluttershy's bent and crying form and brought her up to her feet. She barely seemed to notice, but followed when he began to walk along the street. They knew Sorin was somewhere on the plane - he was the only one who could help Fluttershy - but they needed someone to help locate him. Someone who knew Ravnica better than even its millennium old residents.
They walked up to the building and entered the main lobby, immediately confronted by a pair of viashino guards and a vedalkin.
"State your business or leave."
"We wish to speak to your boss. Whatever he may be doing I know he'll want to make time to meet us." The vedalkin looked extremely skeptical.
"If you don't have an appointment you'll have to leave." He motioned for the guards to escort us out.
Angel sighed, he had been hoping they could be more discrete.
"Planeswalker." Was all he said. The vedalken's eyes widened while the viashino grew confused by the terminology, and he instantly waved them towards the steam lift on the right of the room.
Without any more words they moved towards the lift, everyone staring oddly at Fluttershy - still crying her eyes out. The doors opened and as they stepped in the steam began to build up pressure and force them upwards. Their ascent slowed and stopped at the 27th floor.
OoOOoOOOoOOoQ
Jace Beleren leaned back and sighed. There was always so much paper work that needed to be done. As one of the organization's only Planeswalkers, he had almost no one he could delegate it to either. It was rather boring most days - whether he had work or not. An assignment hadn't arrived for months, and the constant wars between the guilds got tiresome after a while. Just yesterday he had been walking through one of the many sprawling markets of the plane when arrows suddenly sprouted from the goblins walking beside him. His wards prevented any damage to himself as several arrows clattered to the ground around him, their energy spent. Ignoring the goblins he simply kept walking. Just a typical day in Ravnica.
Such a wonderful place to live.
Jace leaned forward again to continue his report on the Izzet's progress towards the organizations research goals. After that was the summary of the Azorius's imposition of Organization code into law. Then the Golgari-
Jace stopped suddenly and looked up from his work. Staring at the vampire leaning lightly upon an office chair. A moment later he saw the sobbing figure sitting below him. Under other circumstances he might have panicked a little, but somehow he couldn't bring himself to see the woman as any form of threat.
"The name's Angel, and this is Fluttershy." He didn't offer his hand.
"How exactly did you get passed my guards?" He glanced over at the lift. Jace groaned and put a hand to his head. "You didn't kill them did you? Its not like they'll be difficult to replace if you did, its just so much more paperwork to go through."
"I'm surprised the vedalken didn't tell you we were coming up - he seemed quite shocked by what we told him after all. Perhaps you should consider replacing them anyway." Angel grinned widely, exposing his fangs and raising his eyebrows, as if offering his services on the matter.
"What did you tell them exactly?" He deadpanned, trying his best to ignore what Angel had implied.
"That my friend here's a planeswalker and we had urgent business with you." Jace instinctively raised some shields and tensed up as Angel continued. "Honestly I don't care whether you feel threatened by that fact or not. We're looking for an old friend of ours, a planeswalker as well."
Jace sent some magic to see their true intentions - neither looked that powerful to him - but discovered he couldn't even find purchase on the ancient battle-worn walls around their minds. The only things he could tell were enough to let him know they were far beyond his league. Noticing that Fluttershy had partially stopped crying with one eye glaring up at him through a part in her hair, he carefully pulled back. He let a small smile show, nervously trying to seem as repentant as possible.
Fluttershy continued to stare at him for a few seconds. Jace found he couldn't look away, like his very should was being sucked towards her. He began begging forgiveness for everything he had ever done, sobbing uncontrollably at every instance of evil in his life. Angel couldn't help but snicker at his discomfort.
"It's alright Jace, I forgive you." Fluttershy looked away, and returned to her own tears.
Jace managed to get control of himself soon enough. Not truly understanding what had happened, but neither daring to ask. As far as he could tell she hadn't even used any mana to fuel it, and that scared him more than wished to admit.
"Who exactly is this friend of yours?" Jace pulled a parchment out of thin air, and looked across the names. "There are quite a few 'walkers on Ravnica nowadays. It replaced Dominaria as the planar hub after the incident."
"Lets see if you can guess, Beleren." Angel couldn't resist being a little mean even with Fluttershy's condition. "He's older than Fluttershy here, that should narrow it down pretty damn far don't ya think?"
"If thats the case…" Jace mulled over the names in his mind, they represented all the planeswalkers he knew - both on and off the plane. Only three names stuck out from the others. "Well since I'm not dead yet we can probably rule out old Nic'. Hmmm still haven't gotten conformation that it actually is a planeswalker yet. That would leave Sorin, and I'll admit your own vampirism wasn't necessary to tip me off to that."
"So where is he?" Angel quirked an eyebrow. "He's the only one who can pull Fluttershy back from this, without resorting to violence anyway."
Jace did his best to hide his surprise from the last comment.
"Now normally I'd have to get the organization's permission before giving out the address of a valuable customer like Sorin." Jace took in Angel's barred fangs as he continued. "However seeing as you are a much more present threat than my superiors, I'll bring you to him myself." He paused slightly, debating his next words carefully. "On one tiny condition."
Angel flexed his hand menacingly, "What do you want Beleren."
"Just the answers to three simple questions."
"I'll tell you anything you want, within reason." Angel nodded in response.
"Very well then Angel. First question: How is she still alive? The time distortions should have stripped her of immortality, the only ones who weren't were already immortal regardless."
"We were allies with Urza and Teferi for awhile, they gifted us with some slow-time water at some point." He looked at fluttershy. "She still ages, its just going to be a few hundred times slower than normal."
Jace thought about this before nodding in understanding.
"Just like a certain hot-tempered Gitu I know."
"Ah, yes. Good old Jhoria." Jace saw a slight blush come to Angel's cheeks. "Is she doing alright?"
"She's still mourning over Teferi's grave, hasn't left it in years." He sighed. "I think she feels partially responsible for it." Many emotions flitted across Angel's face, the first time Jace had seen him lose control. He wondered how close they had once been, or if Jhoria had even know of Angel's affections. Angel's twitching face ended on ann accepting and sad form.
"Maybe we'll visit her after Sorin sees to Fluttershy." He sighed.
"That was my second question actually. What exactly happened to make her this way?"
"After returning home for the first time in two millennium, she made friends as close as the two of us are. After a battle where she had to reveal her planeswalker status, she was rejected by all her frightened friends, and the immortal Princess banished her from the plane."
Jace stared at Angel like he was insane, expecting some sort of sick joke all vampires enjoyed. His silence on the matter helped convince Jace of his sincerity however.
"O-oh." Jace couldn't think of a single word with which to comfort his guest.
An awkward silence hung across the room for several minutes, broken only by the watery beats of a broken heart.
"Last question." Angel prompted, breaking the tension.
"Where is this plane?" He had yet to visit one with an immortal Princess, meaning this was a new plane. Offering new opportunities for study.
"That is one of a very things I'm not at liberty to tell you."
"Alright. How much of that water do you have left?" For Jace the only thing better than learning was getting more time with which to learn.
"Again I won't answer you."
"Then how can I earn these answers?" Jace asked frustratedly.
This caused Angel to pause and think. Looking at Fluttershy's bent form he knew the answer she would approve of.
"By becoming our friend, and when the time comes… not fearing Fluttershy."
"I have some vacation backed up." Understatement of the century, I had over two decades worth at the ready. "If I allow you to wipe my memory of the travel, may I accompany you home? I must say that you fascinate me."
"That is up to Fluttershy." Angel looked meaningfully out the oversized window behind Jace. "And before she can make that decision we need Sorin's help."
"Right, of course." He got up and walked around to them. "Just take my hand and we'll be on our way."
"Where is he living, should we be ready for a fight?"
"Only if you think facing down the guild of Orzhova is a good idea." He grinned insanely, never once thinking anyone would dare.
"Don't worry I'm not that bored yet, a few days… then we'll see."
Jace's chuckles died as Angel's face never shifted from his set and bored expression.
"E-hem." Jace coughed. "Right… lets be off."
Angel grasped his hand, resting the other on Fluttershy's shoulder.
When the library went silent the viashino listening through the door dared to peak inside. No one was there. But they did set off the standard memory wiping trap, before stumbling back down to the main doors… for the third time that day.
OoOOoOOOoOOoQ
"Sir there appear to be three visitors waiting at the front door." The imp was hovering in front of Sorin's face, its three eyes shifting about nervously.
"Why are you bothering me with this, smolder?! Didn't I ask you to send all visitors away?"
"Yes sir, they refused to leave master."
"Then why aren't they down in the pit? Only the Boros or a salesman wouldn't leave when a vampire asks it."
"They're hovering above the trap door sir."
"Then let those Simic experiments lose on them."
"They were all disintegrated or turned away sobbing when the pink-haired-one looked at them.
That gave him pause.
"Did you say pink hair?"
"Yes sir, she was wearing a yellow dress as well-" Sorin grabbed the imp and glared at him.
"You didn't read about the exceptions to those rules did you?"
"Um, no sir, sorry sir." Sorin solidified the imp's blood and tossed it in the fireplace. A new imp soon replaced the old one. "I assure you sir I will read that section immediately."
The imp was ignored and thrown aside as Sorin leapt from his chair, sprinting towards the door. It had only been a few decades since they'd last seen each other, but that was still a long time, immortal or otherwise. It was highly unlikely to be anyone other than Fluttershy, and one of her companions was obviously Angel. Sorin hadn't a clue about the third one, though he could already tell he was far weaker than either Fluttershy or Angel. Those two were the only real family and friends he had. Most saw him as a reclusive and unapproachable - and that was how he acted around the vast majority of his acquaintances - yet they knew the truth.
He quickly opened the door for them already apologizing for the imp.
"I'm so very sorry about that incompetent slime. I 'returned' him to his home as soon as he told me what he had tried to do." Not that any of those could possibly have bested Fluttershy or Angel. He slowed down and looked at them for the first time. "Its so good to see you again my friends…" He trailed off as he noticed Fluttershy's state.
Walking slowly forward he crouched down and hugged her sobbing form. She returned the gesture, clutching and seeking comfort from her dearest and oldest friend.
"Come inside and tell me what happened." He waved them all past, barely recognizing Jace from his first arrival on the plane.
He led them all down the main hallway to a small sitting room - in the middle of a multistory library - with a roaring fire.
They all sat down, the young mind sculptor, the king of a forgotten dead kingdom, the heartbroken element of kindness, and the second oldest planeswalker of them all. So Fluttershy began her tale, angel filling in when it was needed. When it was over, Sorin leaned forward and embraced her.
"I'm here as long as you need me 'Shy, and I always will be."