[center][h1]Joker of Black, Queen of Spades[/h1]
[h3]Celestine & Diana[/h3]
[@Gentlemanvaultboy][@KillamriX88][@supertinyking]
[/center]

It had been a busy week. The cultists. The demon sow incident. His helplessness. His newfound power, which he took time to investigate its caveats. Changing shapes, unlike that flesh amoeba of Gilliam was such a chore, but nevertheless found it wise to assume his once frail and unassuming form of the girly boy known as Celestine Lightbringer. He still had too many loose ends. So many things to do. It also helped to conduct business when a really cross silver-haired witch dropped by, trying to ask for money due and compensations. He humoured her, like he always did. Her struggle was kind... of amusing and endearing in equal parts, even if that had taken a hefty chunk of his savings. That, and setting her up with De Vile to fix one of her undead. He did not want to ask why in the gods she had put a 20ft python skeleton under a truck's wheel, but it was part of her mysterious charm.

In the meantime, something else was clawing at the back of his mind. He had left too many loose ends in Mephisto's turf, he would have to knot them back one to one. It was when one of his ex-girlfriend's rants caught him his attention. Clara was gone. Mephisto council was like herding cats, so without someone with so much personal presence, it would no doubt have trouble distinguishing what was left from right.

Celestine chuckled, pieces falling in his mind like a demented jigsaw. Yes, that was an amusing idea. He looked at Diana, who in turn stopped her rant to eye Lightbringer. She was perceptive. She knew she was up to something.

"What?" said the Witch of Bones.

"It's a pity you won't join Mephisto... I mean, it was good offer after all. How about I sweeten the deal even more for you?" Celestine said, smirking. "I will cover for that clumsy Erdrigan's misdeeds. It's my job as advisor after all..."

Diana raised an eyebrow but did not say anything for a second, before staring at Lightbringer. "...what are you up to this time, Lightbringer?"

[hr]

The car sped deftly through the streets. It was a sleek car of fashionable curves and jet black paint. The kind of car a smarmy playboy would use to pick up vapid one-night flings. It roared with its decadent show of engineering and gas-guzzling, the plate announcing the world who was its owner. "L1T3BRNG" was what the plate said. 

"Remember, sweetie, that we have to make this horseplay believable." said the masked transvestite, now in fully Mephisto regalia. "We're about to make you a star student."

Diana held tight to her fashionable dress. Brand new, and all black. Whatever moved Cel to do this, he wasn't sparing any effort to support her. She never knew how much would this last. Technically until Clara came back, but she'd enjoy it for the time being. 

The car came to an halt, and parked in Lightbringer's favorite spot, which was usually empty. That got a lot of the students who had line of sight with the car park gosipping. But what sold the deal was the now-metal covered 20ft python sitting in the back seat, and that the Fallen One was apparently [i]bowing[/i] to someone and opening the door for her to come through. That masked student had always been a troublemaker. A whimsical ally at best. But the Fallen One had never bowed down other than the occasional nod to Clara... and yet, they were bowing to the black-clad witch-like figure who was being now carried around by the undead biological ophidian specimen.

Unknown to many people's eyes... a flock of crows was steadily gathering in school grounds as well.

Celestine opened the door carefully, and then showed the newcomer, Diana in. The room of the council was pitifully empty, save for a distressed tank girl and possibly the former wet noodle. Celestine, clapped his hands, trying to get Bak's attention, before going for a sweet approach. "Hi Bak. It seems you've been in quite a pickle lately. Clara's disappearance and several other people having no shows. My apologies, I had a bad case of nearly dying going on so I could not come early. But fear not... I've brought with me a solution."

He then pointed at Diana, now sitting atop her bone snake. "Meet Diana Graeca, the Witch of Bones. Clara was in the middle of recruiting her, but things... went unexpectedly bad. I managed to salvage the deal, so she is hopefully going to be one of us from now on. Her...abilities could plug in the gap that the Student Council leader left."

Diana for her part, had put her neutral stance. She had met this girl before, the one ravaged with the atrocious curse. "Well met, Tsarevna. I was told I would be some sort of Secretary to the council. I shall serve dutifully as stipulated by the deal I have with Lightbringer. I have already made preparations to restore the intelligence network. I hope we can work together well."

Celestine nodded. It was still too much to reveal she was going to overtake Clara in her functions, wasn't it?