Elli watched as the Guardian easily dodged her attack by pulling the object of sanctity elsewhere, somehow changing its direction so it crashed against the west wall of the church, finally breaking the thing into multiple splinters of metal. What baffled her was exactly [i]how[/i] he had done it- he had only made one flick of his wrist, then had full control over whatever it was that he focused on! Yet even as the cross crashed into the wall, two more gunshots filled the church with their sudden [i]bang[/i], and she snapped her head back to look at the now falling Guardian whose lips were parted in surprise, much like Elli's own reaction. It was only then that she noticed the black abyss of his eyes were gone, replaced by normal human irises and pupils that were filled with pain and vulnerability but also the same fire of pure will power. His life blood steadily seeped out from his wounds, yet he still found the strength somewhere to speak.

"You lot! Come here! Quickly..! Listen closely... I know what you’re here for… I can help you... I know you want answers... And you will find them…" 

Curious as ever, Elli was the first to come forth, crawling out on hands and knees toward the altar, toward the fallen man as he drew a mysterious glowing symbol in the air, her eyes wide in amazement at the hallway that appeared before her. The bright light contrasted so heavily against the dark of the church that it made her squint and bring a hand up to partially shield her eyes, but she heard his voice clearly still, telling them that they would find answers through the portal. There were so many questions to ask, but they all seemed to catch in her throat as she stared on, still crawling forward but slower now out of caution and fear. Her limbs froze as the wispy gray smoke reached the edge of the steps leading to the altar, and she held her breath for just a moment before taking an evaluative breath. It hadn't reached her yet, but that didn't stop her from questioning the peculiar air.

"I know you don’t trust me - and that’s all very well - but believe me when I say that... I am not the enemy. The others… They’re- They’re not thinking. I was in the state you found me in because of them... They want- They wanted my powers, which are much stronger than theirs. And so the fuckers teamed up on me…" 

Elli came to a full stop now, head perking up at the mention of 'others'...the other Guardians. Confusion was plainly written all over her face as he confessed his story to them, and her eyes desperately searched his face for any sign of lies and falsehoods, but it only held the innocence and slight anger of the truth. His tone changed then to a one of soft request, and his own eyes seemed to search them now, starting with the freckled blonde on the cobblestone floor, stripping them down to the core of their beliefs. It was a fierce questioning gaze, but also forceful in the sense that he held their attention, and Elli knew she wasn't alone in clinging onto his every word. 

A sudden sadness and compassion mixed within her heart, and she realized that she and the others may possibly have killed an innocent man. She took pity on him, not because of his fatal state but because he had been betrayed by those he could have considered as his closest friends or possibly even family, and the thought hit home with her. As apathetic as she could sometimes be to sob stories, the girl sat up and cupped her mouth with both hands as hot tears sprung to her eyes, tears that threatened to spill over the edge. She was supposed to be stronger than this! What would Varrina and the others think of her?

“I know this is a lot to swallow.. But if I’m right in guessing who you all are.. Then this is what you’ve been waiting for. They’ve… The other Guardians have lost their way… And they have to be taught a lesson." The Guardian paused to reference the smoky substance that filled the air, putting Elli's question to rest before it could even leave her lips. "Ah, yes, well… I couldn’t have let you all walk into our stronghold with just those flimsy pistols, could I? Don’t be afraid of it... It’s - Consider it a gift, for finishing the fight…" 

Had it not been for the coloration and slight warming sensation as she breathed it in, the gray puffs of air could have easily been mistaken for an odd vapor- it was odorless and tasteless but... a gift? How? "What kind of gift? What do you mean?" Elli finally whispered aloud, voice shaky and weak and throat aching from holding back tears. She knew it wasn't loud enough for anyone but herself to know what she said, but the question was more for herself anyway. Leaning forward once more, she inched on all fours to where the Guardian lay, barely missing his final words as she watched one last breath escape his lungs before he stilled. 

Liquid streamed silently down her face now, dampening freckled cheeks while sympathy overrode any other emotion that she should have been feeling: victory, skepticism, or even disbelief. This was definitely not what she had expected, neither was it something she had prepared for, and the reality of it all fell upon her with such a heavy weight that if it were any heavier, she would be suffocating on nothing but emotion. She turned to face her companions unsure of what to say. "We did it," she murmured flatly, unable to look them in the eyes. "What do you think the gifts were? Those powers, you think?" A sniffle echoed across the room, making it obvious that she was probably the most distraught by the turn of events, and she wondered to herself whether she had been wrong all this time. Why would a Guardian readily give up his power to those that hunted him? 

Although religion constantly bombarded her with tales of how satanic the Guardians were, it was purely another experience to witness one and realize that maybe- just maybe- not all of them were bad. Arlo was definitely a force to be reckoned with, but even she was able to discern that he was not inherently evil. The church was eerily silent as she looked up to the roof, sighing as she studied a dirty, faded mural on the ceiling that depicted the ascension of Jesus into heaven after his resurrection on the third day of death, and an equally faded Bible verse that was painted underneath it. Many of the letters were completely gone, but she could still make the message out... It was, after all, the most famous one of all: [i]For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life[/i]. 

The woman sighed again. Was that not the central teaching of the Lord? To love like He loved the world? Were the Guardians any different? With the man's confession, she didn't know anymore. A whole new perspective was suddenly thrown at her, and she didn't know what to do with it. It was hard just to digest it, mere minutes after she had come close to receiving and giving death, and her head throbbed from both physical and mental struggle. Her face had been dry for some time now, and she shook her head slightly, disappointed that their trip here was met with a much deeper problem than they bargained for. And what of her? If that man had truly given them his powers, surely it didn't make any of them monsters or gods. 

"So what now?" she asked her companions, stretching her legs out before her. "There's still [i]that[/i] to consider." Elli nodded in the direction of the glowing portal, losing all thought momentarily before coming back to focus on her friends. And dammit, if anything defined friendship, it was sharing a near-death experience with each other.