Welcome to Gaia! ::

Faust carefully cut a small incision in Netsubo's wrist and letting the blood fall in the middle of the candles. He whispered an incantation, which sounded strange in Netsubo's voice, but seemed to work. The candles all flickered out, and the flames appeared around them. Coming together, they formed a glowing core, which radiated outward and became a luminescent skeleton. Muscles laced over bones, skin appeared, and Mephistophiles opened his eyes. "I'm naked," he noticed. "Wow... look at that... you summoned me, Netsbuo! You must have really wanted to see me..."

"It's Faust," Faust said icily. "Put some clothes on, you shameless idiot."

"Fine... fine, I'll put something on..." Mephistophiles sighed. "Too bad you're dead, Faust old boy, your clothes always fit me perfectly... where are they now?"

"Goodwill and the Salvation Army," Faust answered. "You can't take material objects with you, you know."

Mephistophiles made his favorite outfit, a victorian suit with a red cape, appear. "Hey, Netsubo, you did summon me... what did you expect, angel's robes?"

Faust floated through the ceiling, then struggled back towards the ground floor. "Sorry..." he apologized. "I was just getting used to weighing something again..."

"Hello, little Xing," Mephistophiles said, bending down and looking at the little girl. "I can't tell you how happy I am that you took after your mother... your daddy isn't nearly as good looking as your mommy."

"So... how old are you, Xing?" Mephistophiles asked casually. Faust glared.

"How could I ever be angry with you, Precious?" Mephistophiles asked. "You are the cherry blossom in my bouquet of wilted grass... but whoever has claimed your heart might have to answer to me," he warned.

"OK, because you said 'please,'" Mephistophiles sighed. "You could have married me, you know," he added in an undertone so that Xing couldn't hear. Faust could, and narrowed his eyes. "I would have taken a human form and been yours until death parted us. But, you got married... you didn't wait for me."

"No, I would not have!" Mephistophiles said, raising his voice slightly. "I would have aged for you! I would have made myself ugly and moldy and disgusting and decayed in my own withering flesh, to make you feel better! I would have even died with you!"

"Mephistophiles," Faust warned. Turning to Xing, he tried to distract her. "You know something about ants, Xing? They can carry fifty times their own weight?"

"Of course... you couldn't possibly want to fix your own mistakes." mephistophiles said sarcastically, glancing at Ren and Xing.

"Xing, have you thought a lot about your spirit ally?" Faust asked, hoping to God that she couldn't hear Mephistophiles talking about "mistakes".