"Hey dad," Abel's voice broke through Adam's concentration. "Sera is here to see you. She says it's important." The First Man sighed heavily, putting down the tray of freshly baked cookies beside the already growing piles of sweets that were gradually building up in the kitchen ever since he had been hired to start the Exterminations.
"I'm kinda in the middle of something."
"Oh! Are those the shortbread with the rainbow sprinkles!? I love those!" Abel's eyes fell on the freshest batch of indulgent sweets. "I mean, I like all your cooking, tataleh, obviously but the baking-"
"Have at it, kiddo." Adam made a vague gesture toward his mountain of fresh baked goods. "I made a few of your favorites." Abel's face lit up and Adam felt a little of that heaviness that had been settling in his chest lift for just a moment. Abel grabbed a cookie from the tray.
"You're the best dad in the universe!"
"Damn straight." He reached over, putting a hand on his son's curls, moving his hat slightly as his thumb traced the section of his hair where it turned to gold. For a moment his mind flashed to the same spot; the gold replaced with crimson spilling down his son's face, over his off-colored eye, as he gurgled his last breath.
"You... okay?" And just like that, the image was gone. Abel was fine (if not somewhat confused). Adam shook himself, staring at his fingers, now clean.
"Yeah, just dreading whatever Sera wants."
"Maybe she hopes you'll cook for the next Merry Everything Holiday Extravaganza!"
"Maybe." Adam's jaw clenched to stop his face from twisting into a look of disgust. Sera's last ask of him had been too much. It was weighing on him like a heavy blanket, trying to squeeze out every last bit of air he had. He grabbed Abel, wrapping his arms around him, hugging him tightly.
"Tataleh?" Abel accepted his fate, letting Adam squeeze him like a rag doll as he managed to worm one arm free so he could continue eating his cookie. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Fine." Adam breathed the word, holding tight "Just happy you're here is all." He buried his face in Abel's hair, trying to keep his emotions in check. "I missed you."
"I was just at the zoo for a few hours."
"I know. I'm glad you had fun."
"Yeah, Noah and I were just taking care of all the animals. One of the sheep really likes me, I think. Or maybe it's just my Winner Gift, but I-" Abel stopped talking, turning his head slightly. "Dad... are you crying?" Adam released his son, bringing his own hand up to his face. His cheeks were damp. Funny, he hadn't even realized he was crying.
"No."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Adam pushed his son back, gently. Everything was wrong. Sera had him doing something terrible in exchange for the safety of the same man who killed that smiling face before him. But Adam could never admit that. Admit what he agreed to do. Abel deserved better than his father's burden.
"Are you sure? I could-"
"I need to talk to Sera." Adam turned his back on Abel who stood, staring blankly after him; half-finished cookie still in hand. He didn't have it in him to face his son while actively defending his killer. But... Cain was also his child. And the First Man could never fully let go of his love for him (as much as it tore him up to do so).
"Dad I-"
"I'll be back soon." He headed from the kitchen into the living room. Sera stood in the doorway; her eyes watched him like a hawk as he entered.
"There you are." Her voice was cool and collected. She was smiling, though Adam saw no reason to smile if things were as dire as she claimed.
"Yes. I'm here. In my fucking house. Who would have thought."
"You seem upset."
"You think?"
"There should be no reason to be upset in Heaven. You are a good man, Adam. You spent your life in service of our message, and you have been blessed with an eternity devoid of pain, fear, doubt. Everything you could need catered-"
"Except you need me to help you fi-"
"Shh." All of her eyes opened for a moment as she brought a finger to her lips. Her gaze was like burning ice, boring into his skin. "This is not the place to discuss business."
"Is that what we're calling it? Business?"
"I thought we were past this."
"Well, excuse me for having a few moral hang-up. I had enough of an issue hunting after Eden. But that was necessary to my family's survival-"
"And this is necessary to the survival of reality as we know it." Sera's voice was firm, decisive. Her mind was made up. "Think about Seth, about Abel. Here they are happy, all their wants and needs are catered to, they are safe." She glanced toward the kitchen. "Do you want that to change? Do you want Heaven to collapse under Hell's rule?"
"Well, obviously not. But we've been safe for thousands of years so I'm just having a little trouble processing why now we have to resort to something so... so violent."
"Because Hell made their first move, Adam."
"W-what?"
"Come with me." She held her hand out. Adam hesitated. Something about this still just felt... off. He knew Lucifer was an awful angel and an even worse friend. He knew he was ambitious. But that had been some time ago. After he got Adam's first wife and eldest son, he seemed content to stop ruining his life in particular. Still, Sera was the face of Heaven (outside of Gabriel, but Adam hadn't seen the Archangels in a while, now that he was thinking about it.)
"Abel, I have to go. I'll be home for dinner." Adam called back toward his son who poked his head out if the kitchen, another cookie in his mouth. "You'll ruin your appetite."
"Not possible in Heaven. But point taken." Abel gave him a thumbs up. "Have fun at work! Sera, tell Emily hi for me!" Sera's expression softened.
"Yes, Abel."
"If you need anything, you have my number." Adam mostly had a phone because Abel liked to send him cat videos. But it did have other functions.
"Yep! Dad, I appreciate all the concern, but I feel obligated to remind you that I'm thousands of years old." Abel looked more amused than anything else. Adam sighed.
"Yeah, but you're still my baby."
"And Heaven reunited you both." Sera smiled. "Even after the atrocities committed against you on Earth, you still can be with your family."
"You mean the murder?" Abel blinked. "Honestly, I don't remember it too well. But I hear it was a bash." He flipped the golden locks of his otherwise black hair. "Get it? Because my head... got... bashed in? It- it was a pun-"
"I got it." Adam felt his heart starting to sink again.
"You should not make so light of your murder, Abel." Sera's voice was calm, but her eyes had a harsh intensity to them. "The transgressions of your brother were unforgivable, now you pay the price."
"I mean... I'm in Heaven, with dad- and Seth too, I guess- but Cain is stuck in Hell, away from all of us." Abel shrugged. "If anything, he's the one paying the price."
"And well he should." Sera put a hand on Adam's shoulder, but she was staring directly at Abel. "He knew the consequences, and still chose to do what he did."
"Yeah, it sucked for sure." Abel glanced up at where his halo was bent, right above that section of gold hair, on the same side as the pale eye- constant physical reminders of Adam's worst day. "But I forgive him. I forgave him a long time ago. I like to think he felt bad about it after the fact." Adam felt his breath quicken; his chest was tightening, making each inhale almost a struggle. His face felt hot. "Dad, you okay? You don't look so good."
"He's fine." Sera's hand tightened on Adam's shoulder. "But you must realize, Abel, that while you are over your death, it still weighs heavily on your father. His own shortcomings caused you to pay the ultimate price. It's difficult for him to make light of his worst moment."
"Ah, geeze... sorry dad." Abel's apologetic little smile made Adam's heart sink faster. "I was just trying to cheer you up." Adam took a slow breath in, the air forcing itself into his lungs despite the feeling as if his chest had just collapsed.
"It's fine." His voice cracked. "But I do have work to do with Sera. So, I'll be back later. I love you." He wanted to grab his son, tightly holding him to his chest- but then Abel might realize how badly Adam's hands were shaking. So, Adam settled for a small wave before turning to leave the house.
"Love you too, dad! I'll be here when you get back!" Abel called after him. Adam turned, but Sera ushered him onto the street, closing the door.
"You'll be back." Her voice was gentle, but firm. At the end of the day, Sera was a Seraphim and Adam was just a man. She outranked him. So, he followed along behind her despite the way his actions made his skin crawl. He wanted to go back inside, lock the door, put on a movie with Abel, and spend the rest of the afternoon listening to his son trying to explain the plot while Adam asked the stupidest questions.
"Yes, Sera." But instead, Adam was tailing Gabriel's head Seraphim across the divine streets. Winners waved and greeted as they passed, smiling. They were completely unaware of what Adam had been asked to do in order to secure that peace they felt. He loved the other Winners. Hell, many of them were descendants of his. However, he couldn't help but feel a bitterness inside him as he saw those warm, loving smiles. Envy was a sin.
He knew that.
So there had to be some other name for the feeling that washed over him when he gazed at his fellow Winners, blissful and ignorant of the price that their happiness truly cost. If he had known- if he had been told-
No.
He still had to think of Abel, of Seth. His younger sons had worked hard, had devoted themselves to a good life. They deserved an eternity of peace.
And Sera was right...
If Adam hadn't agreed, she would have just used a different Winner. And Cain's safety would no longer be a guarantee. He knew Cain had done wrong. The day Abel died was the worst in Adam's life. He'd rather get kicked from the gardens a thousand times than relive a second of the death of his middle child. But Cain was still his child too.
Adam had not stopped thinking about his eldest. Where he had gone wrong as a parent. Letting Cain's rage build up to the point where he thought killing Abel was the only option to move forward. It was fucked up.
And now Sera was tasking Adam with purging the afterlife that Cain had called his home. Adam couldn't imagine his son would be super happy to see him.
"Adam? Adam."
"What?" Adam blinked. Sera was staring at him. They had come to a stop in front of the old entrance to Heaven. With the increase in population, the old gates had become too narrow, thus new ones were constructed elsewhere for easier access. The building was still as beautiful and pristine as ever, but it no longer served a purpose. Adam had not been here in quite some time. Really not since he greeted Seth at the pearly gates. He had no need.
"Were you listening to anything I said?" Sera opened the door for him, and Adam made his way inside. It was... darker than he expected. A look around showed the beautiful stain glass windows glimmering in the divine sunlight. But the golden rays almost seemed to attenuate as they entered the room, making the dimness feel particularly cold... stale.
"Yeah. You were saying something about... I dunno..." Adam had not been listening. "Revenge or some shit?"
"Revenge is an act of retaliation. It is wrathful. Angels are not wrathful." Sera scoffed, acting as if the word tasted foul on her tongue. It seemed like a pretty big moral flex from a woman who was proposing genocide.
"Yeah. You just want me to fly down to Hell once a year and start mercilessly slaughtering Sinners- human souls." Adam emphasized the words in case Sera had forgotten that the only thing separating those whose blood she was spilling from those she strived to protect- were just the choices they made on Earth. "I can see how that's not wrathful. It seems like a perfectly reasonable response. I'm just an idiot."
"You're not being cute or clever right now. I want you to know that." Sera's lips were drawn into a thin line as she glared down at him.
"It's not angelic to lie. We both know I'm always cute."
"Adam, I'm not happy about this either." Sera put her hand against the wall. Adam saw her fingers leaving a faint trail against the shining stone. (Though that ethereal shine did seem dampened). Was there dust? Adam was under the impression that dust didn't really exist in Heaven. If it did, he had more than neglected his house.
"Then why are we doing it?"
"Hell murdered Azrael." Her words cut like a blade. Adam stumbled as if he had been hit by a physical force.
"Azrael's... dead?"
"The Arcs don't want the Winners to know just yet. Not until this had all been solved." Sera's eyes glistened, for the first time, Adam understood what she was feeling. Pain. Azrael, despite who she was, what she represented... she was quite beloved by the other angels. Adam liked her, too. She had a way with the dead; it made things seem less terrifying.
"I... fuck... Sera I had no idea."
"I know you didn't."
"What... um..." Adam faltered for a moment, the silence making him uneasy. "What happens to the souls then... after they die?"
"Karen's the new death."
"Karen who?"
"I doubt you knew her too well. She was an Angel from Rochele's Palace of Souls. But she came here once in a while to enjoy our many activities." Sera's hands continued to trail along the wall. "She's taken the name Charon."
"That... sounds almost identical."
"No, it doesn't."
"I kinda does. Like you're just saying Karen twice." Adam could feel the air around him like a wet blanket, the stillness lacking its usual serenity leaving him feeling as if he was being stifled. "But... how do you know Hell killed her."
"Who else would have done it?"
"I..." Adam tried to think of an answer. He knew Lucifer and Azrael were friends. At least, that was the impression he got from Syriel, and from the few times the Devil had come up in conversation when he and Azrael talked. "I just don't think Lucifer would do that?"
"Lucifer killed numerous Angels during the Fall. Why would Azrael be any different?" Sera's words were colder than the winter winds. Adam bit his tongue. He had seen part of the Fall. And as far as he knew, no angels had actually died. But he couldn't speak on what happened after he left. Lucifer had done terrible things. And he knew from experience that the Devil was no stranger to hurting those he called friend. He was all smiles to your face, then his claws were in your back. So long as it benefited him, who cared?
"It just... seems weird, I guess."
"Is it any different than lying with your wife while you two played together in the garden as so-called friends?"
"..." Adam was quiet. That hurt. Still, he shook himself. "Fucking my wife is bad, but it's not really on the same level as murder." And he and Lilith were a bit on the outs at the time. Adam was confident that the relationship would have deteriorated with or without Lucifer's interference. And he got Eve out of it. If Lucifer had not given in to Lilith, inspired her to go down her path. Then Eve never would have been Adam's wife.
"You're a good man, Adam." Sera said the words again, but they didn't feel true. "That is why this is difficult for you. But we are often tested; our faith is tested. But I promise you that you have not been given anything you can't handle."
"I feel like that's objectively wrong."
"God is never wrong." Sera seemed to find what she was looking for. She removed a brick from the wall, and all at once Adam was hit with a feeling he could describe as dread. It felt like something crawling over his skin. His heart quickened; his breath became shallow. There was a ringing in his ears that sounded almost like music. "Here it is, Adam. The most sacred text we have." Sera reached into the hole in the wall, bringing out what looked to be some sort of cloth. She unfolded the cloth and inside was a book.
"W-where did you get that?" Adam's voice shook. He felt lightheaded. Sera held the book as gently as if it were her own child.
"Purgatory. Lucifer stole it from our archives before the Fall and hid it. Gabriel guided me to find it, to bring it home."
"Gabriel?"
"Yes, the Archangels have chosen us. It is our responsibility to protect Heaven. It's a lot to ask, but it's truly an honor.
"Can I talk to Gabriel?"
"No." Sera put the cloth back and closed the hole in the wall. "I'll let you in on a secret Adam." She gestured for him to follow her as she headed toward the exit. Adam followed, despite his hesitations. It felt like his body was on a string, being pulled by the book in Sera's hand. That tome shone more brightly than anything else in the room. It stung his eyes. "The Archangels are not here. They are off doing their own mission, hunting down ways to kill Lucifer for good. Which is why Heave has been entrusted to us."
"To you."
"No, to us. I need you." Sera led him through the gates. Adam felt a sudden change in temperatures as suddenly the perfectly temperate climate of Heaven was replaced by a cool wind. It was too cold for Heaven, stinging his cheek. He tried to use his wings to shield his face but to his surprise they did not respond.
"My wings-"
"You're in Purgatory, Adam." Sera smiled back at him, hearing the panic in his voice. "It reverts you back into your human form. Your abilities are still there of course, but you simply do not have wings."
"But I can still... fly?"
"Yes."
"Why are we here?"
"We need to do something." Sera offered her hand toward him. Adam hesitated but grabbed on. She took to the air. She still had her wings, Adam noted. However, as they rose into the air, above the treetops, light spilled over them. Adam noticed Sera looked... tired. It was odd. She had looked fine in Heaven. Maybe it was just the golden light of the setting sun. "Try gliding." As they flew, Sera lessened her grip.
"Without my wings!?"
"I told you, you can still fly."
"I don't believe you."
"Suit yourself. But you'll need to learn eventually. This is the best path to Hell."
"I thought the path to Hell was paved with good intentions."
"You're not funny, Adam." Sera's words lingered as silence fell again, filled with only the whistling of the wind as Adam watched an untouched landscape flowing underneath him. There were many trees, the ground, when he could see it, was rich with vegetation. He didn't hear much in the way of animal chatter. Coming from a garden, this was a bit unexpected. Even this high up, he expected to at least see some birds, or hear their chirping.
There were also a number of rivers that snaked their way through the overgrowth. They varied in size, in intensity. The water looked clean, clear, refreshing, even from this far above. "Do you think we could get some water?"
"You're not thirsty, you don't get thirsty."
"You don't know that; I could be thirsty."
"No. You're dead." Sera could have phrased that a little more gently. "And the water here is no good. It's filled with the souls who did not make the trip on the Ferry."
"The water is what now?"
"There is more to the Afterlife than just Heaven and Hell." Sera sighed. She lowered them down into a clearing on a riverbank. "Purgatory is the link of every plane. Heaven, Hell, the Living World... and other, less desirable locations." She released Adam's hand going to a nearby tree. "Every soul in existence will pass through here, regardless of the destination. But not every soul has what it takes to make the journey." Sera broke off a large branch that looked as if it had to weigh a ton. She walked to the water's edge, holding the branch, so the leaves dipped below the surface. "And those that get lost, or choose not to reach their final destinations," as she spoke, Adam saw the branch start to shake. He moved a little closer to Sera. He could see bits of white on the leaves, on the wood. The white seemed to be... moving. He squinted, realizing he was looking at hands. Unnatural pale, dripping wet hands were clinging to the branch for dear life. "Are forced to remain in Purgatory for all eternity, now a part of this very domain." Sera pulled back just slightly on the branch and Adam saw them. Their faces were stretched, elongated as if their skin were melting off their bones. Their eyes and mouths were hollow. Their hair like wisps of smoke, floating in the air, even when above the water. He heard them screaming.
Each of their voices was like a pickax to the brain. Sera released the branch and all the pallid; shells of humanity plummeted back into the running water. Adam watched as the massive limb seemed to completely disintegrate. Once back below the water, he couldn't even see a trace of the souls he had seen before. The water looked perfectly serene, clear and beautiful right to the river floor. The massive limb no longer in sight.
"Okay, so, no water then." Adam took an involuntary step back.
"No water." Sera took his hand again. "You must never go in the water."
"I got that." Adam allowed himself to be pulled into the air again. "Where are we going, anyway? I told Abel I'd be back for dinner."
"Then you best let me stay on task."
"Sorry that I was thirsty. I didn't realize the very drinkable looking water here was filled with screaming ghosts."
"You weren't thirsty." Sera retorted. "And the water only looks tantalizing so the souls can draw you in. They think that pulling more innocent victims in will fill the emptiness inside them. But it won't. Like with Lucifer, nothing will ever be able to satisfy them. All they can do is cause more suffering, so they won't have to suffer alone."
"Did Lucifer make the murdering water-ghosts?"
"No. Though I'm certain he would love to take credit for their existence. The Drowned Ones are a natural part of Purgatory. As I said, this realm is unique. It is the only pathway between any and all planes of existence. It predates his rule in Hell." Sera kept going. She had a destination in mind, though Adam had no idea how she managed to navigate. Each twist and turn of the river's bed looked indistinguishable from the one before it.
"How are you not getting lost?"
"I was taught the way to navigate Purgatory. And in time I will teach you. That way you never get lost."
"If I get lost, will I become a water-ghost?"
"Only if you go in the water. There are many other fates that could befall you here. None of them are good. So, it's best to stick close and do as you're told." Sera did not seem like she was in the mood to explain more. "Just know to steer clear of the water and the wildlife. Other than that, once you learn to navigate, you'll be perfectly fine."
"This does not seem safe, Sera, I'm going to be honest with you."
"It's not. But I will tell you from experience, that the correct course of action is rarely easy or safe." Sera's tone was stern. Adam still had some doubts about the use of the word correct in that sentence, but he did not feel like it was a good idea to keep pushing. Sera was already not in the best of moods. "The important thing is, that this is necessary. And I will do what is required to ensure Heaven's safety. And so will you."
"Y... yeah." Adam was not assured of himself in that aspect. But he supposed he no longer had much of a choice. He let Sera pull him along through the colorful sky, bathed in reds, pinks, oranges, and golds as the sun tried to set behind the tops of the trees. Despite the cool, refreshing air, Adam still felt almost suffocated. His eyes kept going to the book tucked under Sera's arm. Every time he looked at it, tried to describe it to himself he just...
... couldn't.
It was like the words to encompass the text, the way it looked the way it made the air around it come alive with some sort of energy, had yet to be invented by the human race. And the human race as a whole had invented a LOT of words in many different languages (thanks tower of Babble). But right when he thought he had the right descriptor in his brain, the book would look completely different. Even the emotions it caused to well up inside him seemed to vary from fear, to disgust, to unease, to even euphoria.
Adam had not felt so many ups and downs since Abel had dragged him onto the Desert Coaster at Promise Land.
"We're here." Sera finally came to a stop after what felt like an eternity in the air. Adam blinked. The ground beneath them looked... different. There were not as many trees. Those that were growing looked younger. The grass covering the ground had an almost sun-kissed glow to it despite the fact that the sun was plunging out of view. The water was not close, from what Adam could tell, but he could still hear it rushing in the distance. But the most unusual aspect to this place was that there was a building. It was old, worn down... but it looked like a church. He could see the golden roof even through the vines that covered it.
"Where is here, exactly?"
"The old outpost." Sera landed on the ground. The earth felt... soft underfoot. The grass looked rather damp. Adam saw little, floating lights, littered over the ground, giving it the golden glow he had seen. "I haven't been here in years."
"It feels... sad." Adam looked behind him at the building, overtaken with plant life. He could see divine architecture; the door had a faint green paint that seemed to be symbolic of Raphael. But the faded sigil over the door resembled Michael's.
"It is a very sad place." Sera walked to the building. She pulled at the vines and flowers, tearing them away so she could get to the door. She put her hand to the wood. For a moment, Michael's seal appeared over the house before it seemed to completely dissolve away.
"What was that?" Adam blinked.
"An old protective ward. It's been so warn down with time that it can't distinguish friend from foe." Sera sighed. "It's sad, in retrospect. Even the most powerful magic can be eaten away by the passing of millennia- especially when exposed to a place like this." She pushed the door open. Adam heard the wood crack and creak with protest as Sera made her way inside. Adam hesitated. He looked at the door, at the sigil overtop. It looked even worse than before, almost like the fading had quickened. Or maybe... it was melting? Adam squinted. Some sort of black substance seemed to be dripping down the solid door. It might have been coming from the sigil. It was hard to tell. Maybe it was residue from the plants. But... Adam knew his flora well; he recognized a few of the blooms Sera had removed, and none of them ever excreted a black substance when plucked. But then again, he didn't recognize every flower.
"Hey, Sera? There's black stuff dripping down the door. Is that... is that normal?" He might as well ask.
"Probably just runoff. It rains a lot here. Always has, even before the war." Sera didn't sound concerned, so, Adam had to assume this wasn't concerning information. He made his way further into the building.
"No ghosts are going to burst out of that water then, right?"
"Is that supposed to be a joke?"
"I think it's a valid question."
"The Drowned Ones are specific to the rivers. Not all the water here is cursed." As Sera moved through the building, the rooms only seemed to get darker. There didn't seem to be any internal lighting, not that Adam could see, and the sun was almost gone from overhead. The light that filled the room came from either Sera herself, or the lights that illuminated the ground outside. But as they got further inside, that light became more faint, so Adam just had to rely on Sera, and her white glow cast the room in an unsettling, almost stale light.
"Look at all the beds..." Adam had followed Sera into a massive room that seemed almost bigger than the entire building had looked from the outside.
"Hospital beds."
"Why are we in a hospital?"
"This isn't a hospital. But it did serve that purpose, briefly. Just do me a favor and don't touch anything." Sera continued deeper. Adam may already have been dead, but he was not ready to be alone, in a hospital, after dark. So, he followed Sera as she continued. They passed a number of rooms, none of which seemed to interest her.
"What are we looking for?"
"This." Sera's expression brightened. As did her light. Adam saw, briefly, a door that was different from the others. It looked thicker, heavier. As Sera's hand trailed over it, bathing it in light, the door had a look more akin to steel rather than wood. The symbol from the entrance blazed to life again, before flickering and disappearing. Sera pushed the door open and stepped inside. Adam's eyes widened as he saw the glint of angelic metal reflecting in her light. He followed her into the room as he realized where they were.
"An armory?"
"Yes. If you're going to lead an army, you'll need plenty of weapons." Sera smiled as she started picking weapons from the walls.
"We... didn't have any that were closer?"
"No."
"Well, shouldn't the angels you recruit for this already have their own weapons?" Adam wasn't sure about loading up on what seemed to be weapons left behind as part of some, long past battle. The entire aura of this place made it feel wrong to be here. Adam had this uneasy feeling, like he was trespassing on sacred ground. If they started taking shit too, it was going to feel almost like grave robbing.
"These are their weapons." Sera handed a pile to Adam who stumbled under the weight of the metal. "Come along. We don't have all night. Especially if you're planning to get back to Abel before dinner."
"What, a bunch of angels just decided to leave all their shit in this incredibly inconvenient location?"
"They didn't have much choice in the matter." Sera's voice was so... sad. She stopped walking for a moment. Adam saw a silver tear dripping down her cheek. She hugged the weapons a little more closely.
"It feels wrong to take these..."
"It is going to be all right." Sera's head turned on her neck, so it was staring at Adam from over her back. It was something he knew angels could do, but it always looked so fucking uncanny. It made him shiver. Sera's eyes were wide, but the tears were flowing freely. "It is all going to be just fine, my little one."
"Sera, are you-" Adam didn't get to finish asking his question as her head snapped back. She started hurrying toward the front room again. She gently placed each of the weapons, propped up along the wall, before taking the book from under her arm and holding it to her chest. Adam stood behind her, struggling under the weight of the weapons in his arm as Sera fell to her knees, holding the book close. He could hear her sobbing. The First Man hesitated, before gently putting his weapons down. He walked forward, putting a hand on Sera's shoulder. At his touch, she froze. "Hey... we don't have to do this-"
"We must always do what is required." Her head snapped backward to look at him again and Adam jumped. "My sisters, my friends... they all knew that. Everything happens for a reason, my little one. And now I know the reason." She got to her feet her head righting itself again as she brushed herself off. "Remember, we are never given more than we can handle."
"I dunno, Sera. I think you might need a fucking break." Adam knew from Luciael that Angels were capable of having rather intense emotions. And that was the closest he had ever seen to what he thought was an angelic mental breakdown. "Maybe Rochele-"
"No!" Sera's voice was so loud it shook the room. "Rochele doesn't have what it takes. That's why I was chosen."
"I thought you and Rochele were like... really close."
"Rochele is almost never in Heaven." Sera sounded almost bitter. "Which is why I had to be the one to carry this out. Plus, she's too soft." Her expression softened. She held the book more lightly as she stepped back out into the glowing field under a brilliant star-filled sky. Adam swore if he kept staring, he could see the end of the cosmos the night was so clear. "She could never let go of Luciael and our Fallen brethren..."
"I hate Lucifer too, but I also have concerns about this."
"You must have faith, Adam." Sera's gaze shifted upward toward the sky. "If the Archangels knew of any other options, they would not ask us to do this." She pulled her gaze away, turning to Adam who had joined her on the grass. She clutched the book close to her with one arm as she used her other one to reach out, taking Adam's chin in her hand. "I never wanted to come back here. The air is still so heavy with grief that I can feel it trying to crush me. It's been millions of years, but it might as well just be yesterday, as far as we're concerned. All the way out here, it's like not even a day has passed. I can still hear them screaming."
"W-what?" Adam's stomach churned at that last comment. Sera's smile didn't change; it was just as warm and inviting as the day they met.
"I think they're lonely out here." Sera let go of Adam's face, only to take his arm. She pulled him along behind her into the field. As Adam walked, the little lights would move aside, returning to their place as he passed. The First Man felt something wet strike the top of his head. He looked up, another drop hit his cheek. He couldn't see a single cloud; above him stretched eternity sprinkled with lights of every color.
"H- how is it raining?" Adam thought maybe a mundane question could snap Sera back to some semblance of reality.
"I told you, it rains here a lot." Sera finally let Adam go. She used her free hand to scoop up one of the golden lights into her palm. "I like to think even the sky is grieving." She kissed the light with such affection; Adam was taken aback.
"A-are we in a graveyard?"
"Yes." Sera spun around, the orbs of light spinning around her. "Each of these is a tombstone, a memorial for an angel we lost in the War against the Elder Gods" Muriel, Sekani, Safya, Leotie, Agatha, Sun, Liza- the list goes on and on because the bodies just kept piling up. Every day, more faces I would never see again..."
"Are these their souls?" Adam backed away from the lights. The idea of messing with the soul of a dead angel made him nauseous.
"No. These are just like I said, memorials. The Arcs made them so we could never forget our sisters. Azzie has one too, but her body isn't out here. It's in Heaven."
"O... okay. That is a really interesting fact." Adam was going to add it to the list of things he had no desire to know. "We got the weapons, Sera, maybe we should head home. I think the grief is getting to you."
"Grief hits harder without Heaven's warm embrace, it's true." Sera did one more spin before falling backward, onto the soft ground, the small golden orbs floating above her like her own personal stars. Adam thought about making a run for it, but he was still unsure about flight here, and he had no idea how to get back home, He was trapped. "But it's all going to be okay Adam." From the sound of her voice, it seemed like Sera was crying, "we're going to make sure it's all okay!" But as Adam inched closer... she was smiling.
"By going home?"
"We can't go home! Not without out army."
"What army?"
"For the Exterminations!"
"Don't you handle that in Heaven?" Adam would admit, he didn't know much about how angels were made. But he assumed the process involved a lot more Heaven and a lot less breaking and entering.
"Actually, it's done at the Palace of Souls." Sera sat up.
"Well, I may not be an expert of Angel-ology." Adam took a step back, gesturing toward the old building. "But this does not look like the Palace of Souls to me."
"Because it's not The Palace is on Earth."
"Should we... maybe... go there?"
"Rochele would never let us make more soldiers. Even with Michael's orders. She would make him tell her in person." Sera made a face. Adam couldn't help but feel there were some unresolved issues between the two highest Seraphim. "And Michael is far too busy to humor some self-important errand girl."
"So then... where are we getting the army? Winners?"
"No. Winners are not strong enough. No offense."
"I'm not offended I'm confused. Why am I here then?"
"I need one Winner. One with a powerful enough soul. You and your direct descendants have a little more magic in your blood than most." Sera sighed, looking out over the field as the rain started pouring down a little harder. Adam had not felt cold, wet, and miserable since he was alive. But as the rain continued, his celestial robes began to cling to his skin. "All our other soldiers, will have to be angels that we recruit."
"Then let's get home so we can recruit those angels..."
"No need." Sera took a step forward and Adam took an involuntary step back. "We are exactly where we need to be."
"What the fuck?" Adam backed up more. "Sera, we're in a cemetery!"
"Yes, it's not ideal. But we should have enough mostly whole angels to do what we must do." Sera's eyes were wide again.
"Mostly whole!? Do you hear yourself!?"
"Well, there should be more than enough spare parts around to fill in the gaps. It's all here in the book." She held the tome toward Adam, who continued backing away. "And the best part is! I'll get to see all my friends again! Sure, they won't be the same, but with enough time and love, we can fix that too!"
"You're fucking insane!" Adam made the split-second decision to run. Where?" He had no idea. But anything- maybe even the water ghosts- had to be better than being here. However, Sera was an angel of Gabriel. In an instant, she was in front of Adam. She took him in her arms. "LET ME GO! LET ME FUCKING GO!"
"Shhh, shhhh." Sera stroked his hair, holding him against her as he thrashed and beat his hands against her in an attempt to get free. "I know it's scary, my little one, I know. But these are orders from God."
"It's an abomination-"
"No, it is an opportunity. My friends, my loved ones... they have another chance at life. It's quite beautiful." Adam could feel her tears falling over his hair as he struggled for freedom. "They won't be the same, but even if they are different isn't that better than being gone? If you could have had Abel back while you were still on Earth, wouldn't you have done anything for that?" Adam felt his own eyes starting to sting. He tried to block her words out. This was wrong. He knew this was wrong.
"No- Sera- no-"
"It's not like that for angels. I don't have a perfect afterlife filled with those I lost waiting for me. There is no tear-stained reunion waiting for us past death. I thought it was all over for them. I accepted it. But it's not! It's not over." Her voice was sweeter than honey, filled with such love and devotion it was making Adam sicker than the freezing rain.
"Don't make me do this..."
"Please don't cry. It's an amazing thing you'll do."
"Piece them back together?" Adam repeated her words back. "Sera, this- it's fucked up. It's so fucked up-"
"No more fucked up than making angels just to die on the front lines in an unwinnable, eternal war." Sera's grip tightened. "But finally, after an eternity of waiting, we have been gifted this blessing. We can make something good out of something so sad." She waved her hand and the book, which she had rested in the grass, floated over. She placed it against Adam's chest as she hugged him. The moment it touched him; Adam's mind cleared of all the racing thoughts. In an instant, everything became coherent.
"I mean... so long as they're mostly whole, right?" Adam looked at the lights on the ground; the sadness no longer seemed to reach him. Instead, he felt... hope? Sera was right. He would have done anything to hold Abel against him one last time, to kiss his forehead, to watch him drift off to sleep. Maybe... maybe God understood that.
"We'll have to do our best to find the perfect subjects." Sera finally let him go, handing him the book. She opened it while it was in Adam's hands. "Study this spell. You'll need it." Adam felt his eyes burning, tears pouring down his cheeks.
"Sera... it hurts."
"It's a very sacred text, Adam. It is written in an ancient angelic language. It's not usually meant for human eyes." She squeezed his hands. "But you're special." She kissed his forehead. "I'm going to find us only the best." She pulled away. Adam watched in awe as Sera began using her magic to dig through the soft, wet ground. The rain poured down harder, but somehow the book stayed dry. Adam tried to study, but it hurt.
Really, he was just enthralled by Sera as she searched through the dirt, piles moving in all directions. Angels, as it seemed, did not decay. Adam watched her pulling out bits and pieces of bodies. Arms, legs, wings-
He turned his gaze to the book, but that only made his nausea worse.
He closed his eyes. There was a soft, melodic ringing in his head. It was music, the most beautiful song he had never heard before. He could listen to it forever. There was something so peaceful about the melody.
"Adam."
He almost felt like his body was floating.
"Adam."
But his hands were burning.
"Adam!"
"Wh-what?" Adam blinked as he felt himself being shaken. His eyes refocused and he was standing in front of the upturned cemetery. Sera was mostly clean, though the bottom of her skirt was stained with mud. Adam himself was soaked all the way through, but it didn't bother him as much as the stinging from his hands.
"I did it!" Sera cupped his face in her hands. "I found five of them with only small parts missing." She pulled Adam along behind her. The first Man stumbled as he tried to keep up. Sera took him back into the building, to the hospital area. He saw five bodies laid out the beds, all of them angels, wings of varying colors (though some had mismatched wings that Sera had pieced together for him). They looked almost like they were sleeping if it weren't for the holes in their bodies. Some almost looked like they had been bitten.
"They look... so peaceful..."
"They look ready to come home." Sera went to the bodies in the bed. There was genuine love in her expression as she caressed the soft, emerald hair of the first one. "This is Hazel. And this," she moved to the next one. This angel had crimson hair. "Lora." She moved to the next two. "Vivianne and Agatha are sisters. It seemed wrong to separate them." She went to the last one. "And finally, we have Freja."
"Right." Adam felt that bit in his stomach again. Like a part of him was screaming that this was wrong. But his mind was too numb to listen to much of anything. Sera made her way back to him. She brushed the soaking hair from his face.
"Start the spell, my little one. I'll be back. Hopefully with more friends to wake up."
"Hurry back." Adam's mouth felt dry. Sera was right. These angels were just sleeping. And he had the best way to wake them up. He looked at the book again, his eyes burning. The language shouldn't have made sense to him, but it did. Each word that tumbled from his mouth felt like fire, his eyes were watering worse than ever as he read a language so beautiful it was making his ears ring with a chorus of angels.
The bodies on the bed started to... change. The hair lost its color; the skin took on a more... grey undertone- as if someone had covered them with a film. The wings drained of the color as well, the wounds starting to close up with some sort of black, viscous, oily substance. It must have stained the wings as well, as it seemed all five angels had black striping across the wings. Adam saw their fingers twitch. Halos started forming above their head, but rather than the illustrious gold Adam was accustomed to seeing, these halos were... well... black. They still had a divine glow around them, but the surface was dark, smooth, an almost mirror-like substance that Adam had never seen before making the familiar shape.
It was working.
Oh fuck it was working!
He finished the spell, stumbling forward. He dropped to his knees, vomiting something thick and black onto the floor. He blinked as flecks of gold joined the ooze on the ground. Adam reached up, wiping his eyes. What he thought was tears, seemed to be blood.
He was snapped back to reality as he heard an earth-shattering scream. Adam stumbled as he tried getting to his feet. One of the angels was sitting upright in her bed, chest rising and falling wildly, her eyes were wild. "WHO ARE YOU!"
"Adam! I'm- I'm Adam."
"Adam! Where am I?"
"You're in Purgatory, in an old outpost."
"That... that means nothing." The angel caught her breath. She took a look around, staring long and hard at her hands. "Adam... who... who am I?"
"Who screamed?" Another angel was sitting upright. "Did I scream?"
"I feel like I could be the one who screamed. I feel very much like screaming." A third angel pulled herself into a sitting position.
"This place... seems familiar..." Angel number four was also starting to sit up. "We've been here before, right?"
"Maybe..." And there was number five. Awake. They were all awake. Adam had done it. He had raised a army- or well, he had raised five angels. So, the beginnings of an army. "I don't... actually remember much of anything."
"I know we're angels, right Adam?" The first angel looked at him. Adam nodded, wiping his mouth, there was more blood on his sleeve.
"That's right! You're angels!" His voice sounded hoarse, his tongue hurt with every word. "You're warrior angels brought into existence to help us fight in a noble war." He smiled, trying to stand confidently.
"Okay, but what are our names?" The second angel pressed.
"Oh, right, You're names." Sera had told him this. "You're Harper." He pointed at the first angel who blinked, but nodded. "And you," he pointed to the next Angel in line, "you're- uh- Lyre! And, you're Viola."
"Do we all have music names?" Harper blinked.
"No, that would be silly." It wasn't Adam's fault that Sera had given him all angels with music based names. "Her name's not music based. It's Vagie." He pointed to the fourth angel who mostly looked confused.
"Vagie? Are you sure?"
"Yeah," Adam was fairly confident that was the name Sera had given him. "It's a super good name in Heaven."
"What about me?" The last angel asked.
"Oh! Yes! You! That's easy!" Adam's phone started buzzing. He fished it out of his pocket. That was odd. He didn't think he got service in purgatory. Was Abel calling? No. It was just an alarm he must have set and forgot all about it. "Pick up the dry cleaning?" He mumbled to himself. Fuck. He had forgotten all about that. Abel needed his formal robes for his band performance this weekend! Adam would have to go tomorrow.
"Pick Up the Dry Cleaning is my name? Are you sure?" Fuck. The Angel had definitely overheard him muttering. Welp. He was in too deep now.
"Yep. That's your name. You're the fierce warriors of Heaven! Harper, Lyre, Viola, Vagie, and Pick Up the Dry Cleaning!" He clapped his hands together decisively as the angels looked at him with visible confusion. "Again," He put a hand on his hip, "it's a super important name in angelic culture. I would pick nothing less."
"If you insist." Pick Up the Dry Cleaning made a face.
"I do." Adam held his hand up. "Now, stay here." He wiped more blood from his face as he turned toward the door.
"Should you be bleeding like that?" Vagie called after him.
"Yes. It's part of the process." Adam assured her as he tucked his book under his arm and headed back into the hall to see more corpses laud out, this time on the floor. Sera was in the middle of making sure the newest in line to be brought back had all of her fingers- it looked as if Sera had to borrow from a few other bodies as the three fingers laying beside the hand were all different colors. "Sera! Sera it worked! They don't have memories, but they're alive. They're sitting up! They're talking!" Sera turned around, grabbing Adam, lifting him in the air spinning him around. "That is wonderful, my little one! You did it! You really did it." He could see the tears spilling from her halos, her face, even the eyes in her hair were crying. "They're home. You brought them all back home." She put him down. "Here are more. Can you do it again?"
"I... I think so." Adam looked at the sleeping angels on the ground- no. They weren't sleeping. He knew that. He KNEW that-
"I believe in you." Sera kissed his forehead. "This is what you were made for." She put him down, hurrying down the hall.
Adam read the words again. Just like last time it hurt. But that was how he knew it was working. Adam was on his knees throwing up more black onto the ground, blood pouring from his face. And just like before, the angels became discolored. The same white and back wings, the black halos- but they were awake!
There were more this time. There were ten.
"Flute, Piccolo, Aria, Harmony, Melody," Adam was the first Man. Naming all of God's creatures was kind of his claim to fame. "Cadence, Piper," he pulled out his phone. Maybe he could come up with something better if he had the right inspiration. He saw a picture of himself with Abel and Seth. "Belle!" He pointed to the next angel. "Sethia..." Ugh. He was not a girl dad; despite how much he would have enjoyed that. He and Eve had only been blessed with sons. Three beautiful Sons that he wouldn't have traded for anything. He loved them all. Even after what happened, he couldn't stop loving Cain. He should. Sera had made that clear. But Cain was still his baby. Adam still remembered holding him as a child. He remembered taking him out in the garden. Watching him grow his first plants-
"Um... Sir-"
"CAIN STILL LOVES ME!" Adam did not mean to shout, but he was startled by the voice interrupting his downward spiral. He blinked, breathing hard. The new angels were all staring at him with uncertainty.
"M... my name is Cain Still Loves Me?" The angel who had spoken looked rather unsure of her question even as she said it. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck FUCK! Adam needed to stop dissociating in the middle of work. But it felt like his mind was shattering to bits the harder he tried to hold it together. Ah well, he had to roll with it now.
"Yep. That's your name." Adam gestured vaguely toward the girls. "Now, if you'll come with me, you can meet the others. I'm sorry we don't have any refreshments for this welcome party. It was a bit last second. Usually, we'd have snacks. I love cooking." Adam brought them into the old hospital ward as Sera's face lit up.
"You're all so beautiful." She cupped each angel's face. Looking them up and down. "Look at you all, so bright, so full of life."
"Should Adam be bleeding?" Vagie brought the point up again.
"It's part of the process." Sera smiled, running a hand over the newly risen Angel's head. "You girls stay here, rest. We have a long journey ahead. Adam, come along." Sera pulled him gently by the arm. They left the room. Sera locked the door behind her. "How many more do you think you can do, my precious soul?"
"I... I don't know." Adam felt like shit. He wasn't going to lie.
"Just a few more, how does that sound?"
"Sera- I-"
"Shh," She put a finger to his lips. "Just try. For me? Just until we run out of suitable..." She hesitated as she searched for a word more pleasant than corpses, "candidates. Fifteen Angels isn't much of an army."
"It's a lot, Sera."
"And you're so, so strong." She smiled at him, putting her hand on his cheek again. "Remember, this is for your family's safety. For all of Heaven."
"I... I know." Adam looked down at his fingers; they looked almost burned. He looked back up at Sera. She was right. He was strong. He had to be. Once they left Eden, he was the only thing that could protect his family. "Okay."
"Perfect." Sera hurried away as Adam sat on the floor of that front room, watching her dig around in the dirt, bringing him one body after another. Maybe... Maybe it would be easier if he tried doing this one at a time?
"Lyric."
It didn't feel much easier.
"Cello."
Adam felt sick, even after just one resurrection.
"Rhythm."
And the naming thing was hard. All this magic, walking the girls to the room and back again. He was getting exhausted. Maybe he and Abel should go out to dinner after this. It could be like a celebration. (A part of Adam thought these actions did not deserve to be celebrated. A voice deep in his head was s̸c̴r̶e̸a̷m̶i̴n̸g̶ in horror as each of these corpses pieced themselves back together before his very eyes. It wasn't beautiful. It was a fucking nightmare.) He had reunited a bunch of angels that had been sleeping for who knows how long (no sleeping. NOT FUCKING SLEEPING! DEAD!) He deserved something nice. Ribs maybe? His rib place had a good bargain going on last time. Which was funny because most things in Heaven were free, but you could still use money if you wanted. It made things more fun. What was that deal?
"Fifty Percent off Ribs, Code D50!"
"That's... a long name." The angel blinked.
"It sure is." Adam patted her on the cheek before bringing her to the others. She and Pick Up the Dry Cleaning could hang out.
And he was back at it. Another candidate (c̸o̸r̶p̷s̷e̷) waiting for him.
"Shoko."
The pain was getting worse.
"Maraca."
He was on his hands and knees, shaking.
"Kalimba."
He almost couldn't speak anymore.
"Uh... Sugar Tits."
"Is that a good name?" The Angel was almost on her hands and knees looking at him. Adam nodded as best he could.
"Great one. Very... fashion forward." He puked on the ground between them. Sugar Tits looked at the vomit and back to Adam.
"You look sick."
"I'm supposed to look this way. If I look too sexy, there is an incredibly high risk that you'll fall in love with me."
"Oh! Okay."
"Stay... stay right here." Adam held up a hand, crawling on the ground he made his way back toward the outside. He could see Sera; she was using her magic to move the dirt around in masses. Adam could see limbs sticking out from piles she had sorted. For some reason the sight made him throw up again. He forced himself to crawl his way over to her, grabbing the hem of her skirt with his hand. Sera jumped.
"Adam!"
"Sera... I can't... no more." His voice was almost inaudible over the sound of the rain. Mud caked his usually pristine robes and his charred hands. "It hurts... So much. So fucking much." He had no idea if the liquid he felt pouring from his eyes was rain, tears, or blood. "Please." His face leaned against her leg staining her dress with blood.
"One more?"
"No." Adam let out a choked sob. "No more."
"I think you can do it."
"I can't. I really can't."
"You sell yourself short my wonderful, beautiful soul."
"Sera..." Adam's throat was on fire. "I think I'm dying."
"You're already dead, my child." She knelt down, stroking his hair, trying to sooth him as he cried against her. Sera's gaze was predominantly focused on her work, though one sympathetic eye in her hair was watching him. Time passed and Adam felt himself fading in and out of consciousness. The pain was excruciating. He wished he could just pass out. "Okay, Adam. We're done." Sera knelt down, picking him up from the ground. "I don't see any other strong candidates." She waved her arm and the dirt, limbs, and everything else folded itself neatly back into place. The golden orbs all floated back to their original locations. Though... the light seemed dimmer. Still, if Adam didn't know any better, he wouldn't think anything wonderful (h̸o̷r̸r̷i̷b̸l̵e̷) had occurred here at all. "Look at you, you poor thing. You're all a mess."
"It hurts..."
"I know, but you're strong." Sera started to wipe the blood from his face. "This will do for now. You did an amazing job, Adam. I'm so, so proud of you."
KNOCK
KNOCK
KNOCK
Adam jumped.
He stared hard at the door, trying to get his head put back on. That whole... fiasco with C'toggha had lifted a haze from his brain. For the first time, Adam could remember things. Things he had done- unforgivable things he had done-
Oh god.
How was he supposed to explain his to Lu-
Fuck.
How was he going to tell Vaggie?
"Adam? It's Uriel, can I come in?"
"Yeah, it's fine." Adam steadied his heart. Maybe he just kept this information to himself for the moment. He stared at his hands, one black, one white, little cracks on the fingertips acting as reminders of what he had touched.
"I hate to bother you," Uriel opened the door and Adam put his hands in his lap as if somehow, she could see exactly what he had done. "But I have a message from Michael. It seems he wishes for me to return to Heaven at once."
"Sounds urgent."
"I am afraid it must be." She paused, looking him up and down. "Are you... all right? You seem shaken."
"It's sweet that you're worried about him." She smiled. She closed the door behind her, making her way toward Adam. "He'll be fine. He's strong. Probably the strongest of us." She put her hand on his shoulder. Adam instinctively winced as he thought of Sera. Uriel immediately pulled back. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"
"You're fine. I'm just... still skittish from C'toggha, I guess."
"Oh." Her face faltered. "Well, I was going to ask if you could use your power to help me get to Heaven. But if you don't feel up to it-"
"I'll do it."
"Adam, I don't think-"
"Please." Adam cut her off, the desperation worming its way into his voice. Now that he knew the truth, he couldn't just sit here with it. He had to do something. Even if it meant turning himself in and letting Michael do what needed to be done. "I want to do this."
"I... if you're sure."
"Yeah." Adam got to his feet. He gave Uriel a practiced smile. He knew from Lucifer's own confession that his Corruption made it difficult for the Arcs to read his emotions. Which was exactly what he needed. "I'm positive."
"All right then." Uriel got to her feet. "Let's go to Heaven."
As far as Heaven knew, Lucifer had just killed two Archangels and the Metatron while Gabriel and Uriel stood idly by and watched. Exorcists rose from the group, surrounding Lucifer as Sera ran to the Metatron, cradling the body in her arms. "HOW DARE YOU! YOU MONSTER!" Her eyes all opened as she glared up at him. "YOU KILLED THEM! GABRIEL! DO SOMETHING! YOU WERE RIGHT! YOU WERE RIGHT ABOUT HIM!"
"Wh…" Gabriel looked like he was in shock. But he moved in an instant. Not to stop Lucifer but to pick Michael up off the ground. "Fakes... Sera… look at the blood." Gabriel spoke calmly as Uriel started trying to safely disperse the crowd. He sat beside Sera who was holding the Metatron, tears streaming down her cheeks as the toxic black goo stained her dress. "It's black. These are not our loved ones." Lucifer's heart was pounding. He stared at the lifeless body of his brother in Gabriel's arms. Even as he watched, Michael's body was disintegrating into a black ooze. A copy. A good one physically. But missing everything that made Michael Michael. He knew his brother. The memories had been clouded by his own grief and self-loathing in the beginning. But he was better now. He knew his brother. He had not made the wrong choice.
"It's gold!" Sera looked at Gabriel horrified, as the black oozed over her hands while she cradled the false Metatron against her. "What are you talking about!?"
"No, Sera. It's not." Gabriel took her cheek in his hand. Warm, loving, and affectionate. Even now, he was trying to console her. "Ser-bear, you are sick. Your mind is playing tricks on you. And right now, it's scary and confusing. I'm scared and confused too." He looked down as the body of Michael turned to goop in his arms, rotting away into black sludge. "I don't know where Mikey and Raph are. I don't know where mom is."
"Lucifer KILLED them!" Sera looked like an animal, backed into a corner, her eyes were wide, but Lucifer couldn't' fathom the world she saw. Gabriel moved his hand to her hair, pulling her toward him. Stroking her hair gently.
"He didn't, Sera. That wasn't our family. Those were imposters."
"Heaven is full of imposters, my dear Seraphim." Gabriel's voice continued, but Gabriel wasn't talking. Lucifer looked up. A second Gabriel had appeared in the middle of the city. He had a calm, serene expression. He clapped his hands, slowly, with purpose, emphasizing his words. "Just as I warned you."
"GABRIEL!" Sera's head snapped to the newcomer. Lucifer instantly pointed his bow at him. Uriel rejoined him on the stage, scroll in her hand as she made a shield around the group. Gabriel was standing on the solid ground, but the Exorcists were in the air around him. Their weapons pointed toward Lucifer.
"Gabriel! Thank fuck! Your asshole brother murdered Michael!" One of the Exorcists that Lucifer recognized from the attack at the Hotel landed beside the false idol.
"I warned you Heaven was under attack." This fake Gabriel was not like the fake Michael or the fake Raphael. His expression remained constant. He felt different. It was hard to put his finger on why but even the black goo that had coalesced on the ground seemed to react to his presence, shimmering as if invigorated with new life. "I only wish I had arrived soon enough to save my family…"
"Gabriel…" Sera sobbed trying to wriggle free of the real Gabriel's consoling embrace. "I didn't- I couldn't save them! He KILLED THEM!"
"I know, my sweet angel." The imposter's voice didn't waver. There was something about him, the way the eyes in the halos looked as if they could bore straight through Lucifer's flesh and into his soul but still see nothing.
"Sera that's NOT me." The Real Gabriel tried to talk over the fake one. He grabbed Sera gently, holding her face in both hands. "Look at me, little dove. You know me." His voice was desperate. Gabriel always had a soft spot for Sera the way Lucifer had for Azrael, or Michael for Rochele. The head Seraphim held a special place in the hearts of the Arcs they served. "That isn't me. That wasn't Michael, Or Raph, or even the Metatron." The bodies looked as if they were degrading more quickly, sprawled out on gilded steps. Gabriel held Sera softly. "We are under attack but your mind is trying to trick you. Trust me, Sera, I would never trick you." The Messenger was trying his best to reason with his Seraphim as Lucifer pointed his bow at the creature wearing his brother's face like a bad Halloween costume, standing in the square below the stage.
"He's right. I would never trick you." The fake Gabriel smiled just a little wider, and Lucifer couldn't help but feel that he was the one being stared at. "It's as I have been telling you, over and over again: You have to save Heaven."
"Where is Michael!?" Lucifer summoned up his helmet. There was more than enough reason to believe the air was toxic here. The fake Gabriel remained unfazed by the arrow with all the power of a star currently pointed at his face.
"Dead by your hand." He gestured to the bodies with their black blood splattered across the stone, staining Sera's dress. "I should think you could see that."
"Bullshit!" Lucifer fired the arrow, aimed straight at the chest of the monster wearing Gabriel's face. However, the deceiver was able to dodge at the last second. The arrow exploded into flame as it connected with the cloud below. There were pained cries as it seemed some of the Exorcists had been caught in the blast. Lucifer winced at the sound. Exorcists were still angels. It had not been his intent to harm any of them. The sound of that slow, purposeful clap broke through the sizzling, hiss of the flame as the fake Gabriel walked through the fire almost completely unfazed by the holy light.
"Luckily for all of us, I'm the fast one."
"GABRIEL!" Sera screamed out for him as the real Gabriel held her back, embracing her tightly, trying to calm her down. The flames dwindled, and Lucifer could see some of the Exorcists had been hurt. Abel and Seth flew down to check on them.
"I'm here Ser-bear. I'm right here. You're okay." The real Gabriel had his hands full with Sera who was torn between two angels with the same face.
"Sera! FUCKING DO SOMETHING!" The lead Exorcist screamed for her. Lucifer could see she had not been one of those injured in his explosion. Though, as he looked her up and down, he felt she should have gotten caught in the blast. How she escaped was anyone's guess. "Come the fuck on! HE ATTACKED GABRIEL!" The Exorcist raised her sword, flying toward the shield.
"But..." Abel spoke up, the expression on his helmet looking conflicted. "But there are two Gabriel's." He looked at Seth for any kind of support.
"Lute! Stand down!" Seth raised his hand.
"Stand down!?" The Exorcist called Lute did stop, but only so she could turn and face the sons of Adam. "He just murdered our leaders!"
"And injured several Exorcists..." Abel looked a little uneasy as he helped one of the Exorcists stand back on her feet. "It-it's not a good look."
"Even if that is the case, what are you going to do against an Arc?" Seth maintained some air of calm despite the chaos unfolding around him.
"I'm gonna cut his fucking wings off. They did it once before, can't be that hard." She raised her sword in defiance.
"What about Uriel?" Abel looked at the crimson shield that surrounded the three Archangels, the Seraphim, and the corpses of creatures that dared to pose as Lucifer's family. "And the second Gabriel? And Luke-" Lute whirled around, sword pointed in Abel's direction.
"Luke is Lucifer!"
"Yeah, I... I got that." Abel hesitated, "but he's still stronger than us."
"We don't want anyone else to be hurt. Let's just calm down and think about this rationally." Uriel kept her arm extended, her shield strong and shining in Heaven's divine light.
"True strength is knowing what must be done and doing it despite what difficulties you may face." The fake Gabriel was watching with an unreadable expression.
"Gabriel..." Sera's whole expression looked hollow as she was cradled in the arms of the real Gabriel. "I... I never meant for anyone to get hurt."
"I know, Ser-bear." Gabriel kept her face in his hands as he knelt forward, pressing a kiss to her forehead in assurance. "But we are going to get you help." Lucifer raised his bow again.
"It's okay Sera." The Fake Gabriel made no move to help or hinder. He just stood tall, arms folded behind his back, eyes of white watching, or staring right through them. "Things are difficult at the moment, but we are never given more than we can handle. And I trust you. When it comes down to it, I know you'll make the right choice." Lucifer drew his bow again; the arrow materialized between his fingers blazing with holy light.
"Brother!" Uriel grabbed his arm as Lucifer fired at the phony Gabriel once again. His aim was thrown off and once more the fire exploded from his arrow with all the intensity of a burning sun. Abel had to jump back; tips of his golden wings blackened. Lucifer felt his heart sink for a moment.
"Abel! Are you-"
"You fucking attacked our general!" Lute didn't really check on Abel who was examining the damage to his golden feathers.
"I'm... I'm okay."
"More Exorcists are injured. Maybe we need to consider a retreat." Another Exorcist joined Abel, looking him over.
"This is what we were made for, Harper! If we don't defend Heaven, then we might as well give the keys to the fucking Devil!" Lute pulled her sword out and pointed it toward her fellow Exorcist. Harper's wings flared out as the eyes on her mask narrowed.
"I was talking to Abel."
"I-I don't-" Abel fumbled for words as he looked below him. Lucifer had downed more Exorcists with his last arrow. They were alive, but the injuries were severe. Even the ground below had been scorched. Lucifer's stomach churned.
"This has to stop!" The Devil lowered his bow for just a moment, knowing they were still safely behind Uriel's shield. "Abel, Seth, Exorcists..." he only knew two of their names. Well, he knew a few more; Adam had mentioned several in passing, but there was no way an Exorcist was really named: Pick Up the Dry Cleaning or Fifty Percent off Ribs Code D50. "Look for yourself! The blood spilling on the ground is black. You know yourselves that Angels bleed in gold."
"I... I didn't think Angels bled at all..." Abel's voice trembled as he stared at the scene before him. Lucifer recognized the expression, fear. He couldn't even blame Adam's son for being terrified, from an outward view; he was still the villain. He had done the unforgivable, slaughtered his own family publicly. And Heaven believed the illusion because it was so much more logical to assume he was the monster they had built up, capable of this blood bath on his own flesh and blood, than it was to admit that maybe, maybe the Devil was trying to change, trying to help.
"The blood looks gold to me, brother." The fake Gabriel had been watching, completely calm, quiet, arms behind his back like a quiet observer. He spoke with such authority and confidence that Lucifer had to look at the ground behind him for himself. The blood on the ground still looked as black as night to him. "Maybe you're being deceived... I want to trust you. I want to believe you would do the right thing, but change was never in the cards for you. And now you trust an Elder's trick over me, your brother." The anger
"YOU ARE NOT MY BROTHER!" Lucifer's wings extended; his halos ignited with radiant fire. "AND I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO WEAR HIS FACE AND TARNISH HIS NAME!" He felt Uriel's hand on his shoulder again, but as he looked over, he saw she was focused on the visage of their brother smirking as he floated above the charred ground.
"You are not welcome here." Uriel's mask had its eyes narrowed. "Seraphim! Angels! Sons of Adam, please know that Luciael only killed imposters! He saw through their disguises! He is trying to save us! Please, if you do not trust him, trust me." Her voice was warmer, more gentle. "Let me guide you."
"You are just another imposter." The fake Gabriel remarked as-a-matter-of-factly. "I know my sister. And she would never defend a known liar and a murderer."
"Stop acting like you're me!" Gabriel was still holding Sera, who almost looked to be in shock. Her eyes were wide; tears stained her cheeks. She looked pallid, lying limp like a doll in his arms, staring at the blood that was shimmering under the crimson light of Uriel's barrier. "It's going to be okay, Sera. I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you." He hugged her gently. "I won't let anything happen to any of you! Heaven is under our protection."
"That's right." The fake Gabriel moved forward smoothly through the air as if there was no resistance even from the wind. "Heaven is under our protection. So, why would I assist the same Angel who just tortured and scarred our soldiers?" His arms extended out as he gestured to the Exorcists bleeding and burned on the ground below.
"Gabriel?" Sera spoke again, her voice hoarse, desperate. She looked up at the loving, gentle face of the real Gabriel above her. "He's killing them... you have to do something-"
"He's protecting Heaven." Gabriel pressed a kiss to her forehead. "We'll be okay, little dove. I promise you that we are going to do everything we can to heal you. Right now, your mind is sick, but we'll find the real Raphael, we'll get you treatment-"
"RAPHAEL IS DEAD!" Sera looked toward the degrading corpse laid out on the stage as Gabriel tried to tilt her head away, shielding her from the gruesome sight. "HE'S DEAD AND LUCIFER KILLED HIM AND YOU JUST STOOD BY AND WATCHED!" She pointed past Gabriel to Uriel. "BOTH OF YOU!"
"And would the real Gabriel and Uriel sit idly by and watch their siblings get massacred?" The fake Gabriel called out to Sera. "And watch their armies burn in the Devil's flame?"
"Those were not our siblings! And I am no longer the Devil." Lucifer's grip tightened on his bow. He could hear Sera's sobs, Gabriel's soothing words as he tried consoling her. Uriel put her hand on Lucifer's shoulder again. She opened her mouth to speak but before the words left her lips, there was a horrible, pained scream. Lucifer turned to see golden blood pouring from his brother who slumped over as Sera pushed him off of her. In her hand was a dagger, covered with gold that steadily dripped onto the stage, mingling with the black
"GABRIEL!" Uriel dropped the shield for a moment out of shock as she ran toward Gabriel. The Messenger gasped, face contorted in pain, his wings laying on the ground beside him as blood gushed down his back, staining his clothing.
"GET THE IMPOSTERS!" Lute saw an opening. She drove toward the Archangels and as she moved through the sky, Lucifer saw a second set of wings tear through her back with such force they left flecks of blood flying through the air in her wake. As Lucifer raised his bow to fire, he was distracted as an Exorcist came from behind him, her weapon appeared to be a halberd. He ducked, but she continued straight over him, her halberd clashing with Lute's sword.
"Lute! Stop!" The Exorcist called out as Lute overpowered her, four wings overwhelming her two as she slammed the Exorcist onto the charred ground, pinning her down.
"Viola!" Lute's armored boot came down on the Exorcist with the halberd's chest. And another Exorcist, this one with a spear, cried out breaking formation to fly down to reach her pinned comrade, struggling under Lute's foot.
"Viola!"
"You're hurting her, Lute! Stop!" Yet another Exorcist broke formation joining the one with the spear that hovered above the ground. Viola's body seemed to sizzle where it touched the charred sidewalk. She looked like she was suffering.
"She tried to protect the traitor." Even Lute's boots seemed to crackle when they made contact with the ground rather than Viola's body.
"He-he's telling..." Viola tried to speak but her voice was choked. Was... was this Exorcist really defending Lucifer? The Devil had to admit; he had assumed she was just really bad at attacking and had just missed him. "The... truth."
"Lute! Lay off!" Seth flew down, touching Lute's arm to pull her away from Viola but Lute swung, throwing him back. Abel quickly tried to catch his brother but they both flew toward the opposing building. Lute's grip tightened on her blade.
"What kind of fucking leaders are you! We need to kill this asshole before all of Heaven goes up in fucking flames! He murdered Michael! He-"
"Danger tits," a familiar voice spoke and Lucifer immediately felt his heart drop. He turned his head to see Abel and Seth caught by arms reaching from the reflective window of the building beside them. The Exorcists all froze as Abel and Seth darted in opposite directions. The arm clad in a familiar white and gold sleeve braced itself on the solid glass as Adam pulled himself from the reflection, helmet and all. "You gotta stop this. People are going to die."
"Adam?" Lute froze. Adam turned his focus away from her. Remaining with his lower half still trapped in the glass.
"Abel, Seth, are you two okay?"
"Dad?" Seth's voice cracked.
"DAD!" Abel flew toward him. Adam opened his arms but Lute charged forward, grabbing Abel by his collar before he could reach his father, pulling him back.
"How do I know you're the real Adam?"
"C'mon bitch, could a fake Adam look this hot?" Adam's eyes flickered onto his kids for a moment before focusing on Lute. Lucifer's halos watched Adam carefully as he turned to look at Uriel who was desperately trying to bandage Gabriel back up. He knelt down beside them. Sera had run to join the face Gabriel who remained in front of the stage, his gaze currently watching Lucifer's every move.
"I thought you said Adam went home!" Lucifer hissed, his voice trembling as he made sure he had a few eyes on the First Man.
"He was supposed to!" Uriel's hands were shaking as Lucifer took them, trying to steady her. He put his other arm around Gabriel. "He said he would go back!"
"Well, he fucking lied." Lucifer's mind was racing as everyone he cared about most was in danger simultaneously. This was why he hated caring so damn much. It hurt. He was dizzy with what he could only describe as panic. He only had the hope that Charlie was safe at home, grounding him in the moment. "Gabe, are you going to be okay?" The feeling of warm blood washed over his sleeve as he braced his younger brother made him queasy.
"Wh... why?" Gabriel choked the word out through pained gasps. "Why would Sera- I trusted her... how could she-"
"She's Corrupted, Gabe. She wasn't herself." Lucifer was careful of his back. He knew the pain of having his wings hacked to bits. But Michael had the courtesy of cauterizing the wounds with the same maiming swipe.
"Lute, Abel, Seth- listen to me!" Adam pulled himself the rest of the way through the window. Immediately Viola pulled herself off the ground, catching him. (Right, Lucifer forgot to Adam couldn't fly. He was a Sinner now, grounded by his transgressions.) "Girls!" He addressed the Exorcists. "You are all in terrible danger. And it's partially my fault."
"TRAITOR!" Sera's voice boomed. Her wings flared out as the dagger gleamed in her hand, pointed at Adam. "YOU GAVE OUR SECRETS TO THE DEVIL!"
"You made me agree to the Exterminations!" Adam pointed his golden guitar toward Sera as Harper joined Viola in holding Adam up.
"YOU KNEW WHAT YOU HAD TO DO!"
"YOU MADE ME SICK!" Adam's wings flared out, one black, one white, almost making Harper and Viola drop him. "Abel! Seth! Girls! Winners! Angels! Listen to me! Corruption is real. I have it! And for years, you made me think I was Falling-"
"You were Falling!" Sera spat back. "And for evidence of that look no further than how your body has mutated under Hell's fires!"
"Lucifer saved me!" Adam was lowered onto the ground, but Harper and Viola were careful not to let him touch the hallowed ground where Lucifer's arrows had struck. "He was the only one who realized something was wrong!"
"You can't be serious, Sir!" Lute's mask contorted into an expression of disgust. "You said yourself Hell was nothing but a cesspit. They're better off dead."
"My mind was the fucking cesspit." Adam turned to look at Lute, the golden eyes of his helmet scanning the other Exorcists who were still hovering in the air. "I was... in such a terrible place. And you all paid the price. My sons," Adam extended the hand not holding the guitar toward Seth and Abel. "I was struggling and I took it out on both of you. My actions are the reason I haven't been able to see you until this moment. And for that, I am so sorry."
"Adam has gone painfully soft, it seems." The fake Gabriel examined his fingernails as he spoke, his other hand on his hip.
"Sir, the Devil has brainwashed you." Lute spoke up, her sword still clutched in her hand. "This isn't the real you."
"This is the real me, Danger tits." Adam laughed at the nickname, an air of nostalgia in his voice. "This is the closest to me I have felt since that bitch made me touch that... that thing." Adam put his head to his helmet. "That... book."
"Those were holy scrolls! I was trying to save you!" Sera's eyes all opened, her voice louder as her halo brightened. "And this is how you repay me!?"
"By saving your fucking life!? It's more than you deserve." Adam scoffed. Lucifer could see the anger radiating around him. "Gabriel tried to help you and look what you did to him!"
"That wasn't Gabriel!" Sera's voice was booming now. Lucifer knelt closer to Uriel. He lowered his voice, as quietly as he could.
"Don't let her hurt him."
"That was Gabriel you dumb ass bitch!" Some of Adam's Corrupted personality was breaking through, but somehow, he seemed to be holding to his sanity. Lucifer was surprised with Sera, with the fake Gabriel, with the bloodied corpses of fake angels that Adam was able to hold himself together if even for a moment. "You cut his wings off!"
"I punished the false idol! I Felled a traitor! Just as the Archangels did so long ago." Sera's voice pierced through the air as sharp as her blade.
"No. You acted against the Archangels! You're so fucking convinced that you're right, you acted against Heaven." Adam pushed the two Exorcists away from him. "You hate Lucifer so fucking much but you are way worse than he ever was! At least Lucifer had the balls to accept his fate!"
"YOU KNOW NOT OF WHAT YOU SPEAK, HUMAN!"
"Adam, for fuck's sake, what is wrong with you!?" Lute seemed torn, her sword was directed at him, but Lucifer could see her hesitation. "Lucifer is a pussy ass bitch with terrible taste in outfits who eats babies and shit!"
"I was wrong about him." Adam looked apologetically at Lute. "I led all my girls astray because I couldn't remember all of who Lucifer is. Is he a pussy ass bitch? Sometimes. Does he have terrible taste in outfits? I mean, that kinda speaks for itself-"
"Hey!" Lucifer mostly interrupted to try and break the tension. He saw Uriel scanning through her scroll with six eyes as the rest of hers were used to survey the battlefield and Gabriel.
"BUT," Adam continued, his voice strong. "Lucifer also cares. He hides it, but he doesn't want the fucking world to end. His whole Rebellion was trying to give humans a chance. He believed we could be strong. He wanted more for the angels too- he wanted choice! So why would a man who lost everything to give humanity a chance, let the Elders have their way with us?"
"Because the Elders gave him his only chance to overthrow Heaven." The fake Gabriel finally spoke again. "I thought that was obvious."
"Overthrow Heaven? Up until this shit went down, all Lucifer wanted to do was make ducks and listen to Despisito." Adam scoffed. "You are giving him way too much credit." He took a deep breath. "Abel, Seth, Lute, Harper, Sugar, Fiddle, Piccolo, Pick up the Dry Cleaning- all of you. I have been leading you down a dark path, dragging you down with me. But I am begging you to listen. As your leader, I appeal to you as individuals, not as Exorcists but as angels. Lucifer is telling the truth."
Silence fell and for a moment, no one moved. All Lucifer could hear were the agonized gasps of Gabriel beside him.
"Sir..." Lute finally spoke. "What has he done to you?" Her heart sounded as if it had been shattered into a thousand pieces.
"Kill him." Sera's jaw was clenched tightly, her eyes blazed.
"Wait!" Abel cried out trying to fly toward his dad, but Sera grabbed him. Seth managed to make his way to Adam's side. "Dad!"
"Let him go Sera!" Adam put one arm around Seth protectively as Lucifer drew his bow, getting to his feet to hurry to Adam's side.
"Abel, I promised Emily I would take care of you specifically." Sera pulled Abel so he was behind her. "Seth, if you stand with your father, you choose your fate."
"Sera! Stop!" Abel struggled to free himself.
"Let him go Sera!" Adam demanded.
"They must be purged." Sera looked to Gabriel for confirmation. He nodded. "THE HERETICS MUST BE CLEANSED!" Sera screamed, her voice booming through the square.
"I will try to make you see reason, Sir." Lute's wings folded in. "EXORCISTS! SPARE ADAM IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. BUT THE OTHERS CAN BE KILLED."
"Oh no you don't!" Lucifer wrapped his arms around Adam as Exorcists began to dive in. The Devil pulled him back, freeing up one hand to grab Seth as well. Uriel raised her arms and the barrier started to reform. Lute zoomed at full speed toward it, but Harper and Viola intercepted her. Lucifer watched as a small number of Exorcists hesitated, looking back at Sera before turning on the rest of the swarm.
He almost couldn't believe it. Some of the very same angels that tore through Hell were now trying to protect them. Adam hugged Seth tightly. Grabbing either side of his face. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, dad." Seth put his hands over Adam's. "If that even is you- I-" he pulled away. "I think it's you? It sounds like you-"
"It's me. I'm here." Adam's winds folded back in. "I told you that I was going to be close by if you needed me. I promised."
"You should have gone the fuck home." Lucifer put a hand on Adam's shoulder. "But you're here now, so, get in a shiny object and get your ass back to Hell."
"I'm not leaving you-"
"Lucifer, we have more pressing problems." Uriel interjected as she was knelt back down by Gabriel. "He needs help."
"We don't know where the real Raphael is..." Lucifer frowned. "But I bet you that fake ass Gabriel does." He held out his bow. "Adam, Seth, stay with Gabriel. Uri, we gotta get to the big guy."
"Try not to kill my girls, Lu." Adam looked at the battle around him. The Exorcists who had taken Adam's side were outnumbered by the ones who had not.
"I'll do my best." Lucifer definitely didn't want more blood on his hands, but he needed to get to his brothers before they were down yet another Arc. "Uriel, can we do anything to protect the Exorcists that were helping us?"
"I can try to treat them superficially until we get Raphael back." Uriel nodded. It did seem like they were getting overwhelmed. But even outnumbered, the Exorcists stood no chance against an Archangel. Lucifer looked at Adam.
"Stay here. Stay safe."
"Get my son. Save in Heaven. And fuck up that bitch." Adam leaned down and Lucifer took the briefest moment to kiss the golden mouth on the mask. (He had never kissed Adam through the helmets before. It was a really weird feeling.)
"Well, that... happened." Seth was staring at them. The glowing mouth on his mask drawn into a thin line.
"Seth, I-" Adam started to fumble some sort of explanation (though Lucifer wasn't sure what the appropriate way to say: I'm getting dicked down by the Devil would be in this scenario). But Seth held up his hand.
"Souls are dying."
"Right!" Lucifer grabbed his sister's hand, pushing through the safety of the barrier. They started gathering the downed Exorcists who had taken Adam's side. There weren't many, just a handful. But they still deserved protection.
"Sera, tell the Exorcists to attack the barrier." The fake Gabriel watched with interest. "You and I can handle these Archangels. But perhaps you should call the other Seraphim." Lucifer began firing at the false Gabriel who dodged with ease as Sera created a bright light in the sky. A beacon. Uriel quickly dampened the light as she summoned chains to try and bind Sera and the monster wearing Gabriel's face.
It was a back and forth. Lucifer had to be careful as Abel was still very much in the crossfire. But to Sera's credit, it did not seem like she wanted him to get hurt. "Gabriel" didn't seem to care. He had yet to summon any actual weapon. He simply danced around the attacks, toying with Lucifer as if he were a simple plaything.
The only reason Sera wasn't on the business end of an arrow was that the Gabriel kept helping her along. This was not some copy. Lucifer was confident in that now. The way he moved, the way he watched. He recognized it.
"Cthulhu," he said the name with as much malice as he could muster through the mask. "Take off my brother's face."
"I have no idea what you mean." The response just assured him more. That soft-spoken, teasing, almost playful tone. The Elder Gods all sucked, that was a fact of life. But they were also all very unique in their personalities. Nyarlathotep was diva. Yog Sothoth always seemed bored. C'toggha was apparently just an asshole. But Cthulhu... Cthulhu was the unpredictable one. He never seemed to take even the Apocalypse seriously.
"Cthulhu could NEVER get in Heaven!" Sera was panting hard, even at her full power she had to be dragged along like a puppet to avoid the Archangels' onslaught.
"Well, the who the fuck do you think the other Gabriel is?" Lucifer looked back at Gabriel for a moment still on the ground, Adam and Seth beside him. He saw the Exorcists trying their damndest to get through Uriel's barrier, slamming weapons down relentlessly to no avail. With each blow the barrier would pulse with holy light that seemed to hurt them.
"That is a falsehood created by you to infiltrate Heaven! It worked! You killed your brother! But I will NOT let this Kingdom fall!" Sera's voice drew Lucifer's focus back to the fight at hand. He fired his arrows as Uriel tried to bind the false Gabriel to his spot.
"I did NOT kill my brother. Mikey isn't dead."
"I know what murder looks like!" Sera summoned a ray of light, directing it toward Lucifer. "I had to destroy the false Metatron with my own hands to save us!"
"You... what?" It was Uriel who spoke. Lightning streaked across the sky, making the Devil jump as electricity sizzled in the air. He... had forgotten what it was like to see his sister get mad. "What did you just say!?"
"I took the holy blade and struck down your false Metatron just as I did with the Gabriel Lucifer made to trick us!" Sera still had the blade in her hand, raised up, illuminated by another crack of lightning too close for Sera's comfort.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY MOM!?"
"Uri! Calm down! You'll kill the Exorcists!" Lucifer knew rage would make his sister sloppy. And he loved her too much to let her burden herself with blood on her hands. If Uri even accidentally killed an angel that could be saved, she's tear herself up.
"It's a little too late to be caring about them." The fake Gabriel glanced down at the ground below. Lucifer's halos glanced down. Exorcists were on the ground, some burned, some stabbed, some bleeding and still trying to break a barrier that kept knocking them away, bloodying them.
"Then call them off!" Lucifer tried to reason with what was left of Sera. "They're your army. You hate me for what I did to the angels that followed me, then why are you any different! They'll die if they keep going!" It didn't shock Lucifer that the Exorcists might be contaminated by Corruption. That would explain why the holy magic hurt them so much. But he couldn't risk Adam or Gabriel.
"To assure Heaven's safety..." Sera glanced below her, then back at the smiling face of Gabriel won over a monster like an ill-fitting costume. "To assure Heaven's safety, sacrifices must be made." She took a deep breath. "And we have our human now. So... we'll recover." Her eyes fell on Abel who was constantly looking like he was ready to bolt but Sera and Gabriel kept pulling him back in at every opportunity. (Lucifer couldn't let them get Abel. Adam loved his kids. And if Abel got seriously hurt, Cain might also get pissed.)
"Our human? The fuck does that mean?" Lucifer started to question, but Uriel zoomed past him, her halos blazing.
"YOU'RE KILLING THEM!"
"Sir!" Sera cried out as Uriel moved at the last second, where she had looked like she was aiming to tackle Sera; she swerved and hit the fake Gabriel instead. As she held him, red chains began forming around his body.
"They are dying, Sera." The fake Archangel seemed more surprised than anything else. He glanced down at the ground. Lucifer let a few eyes look; his stomach churned. The Exorcists were... dead. They had burned themselves out, relentlessly attacking a barrier they couldn't destroy. Adam was hunched over, hand pressed to the barrier beside the one called Lute. "You should probably fix that." Sera nodded, flying toward Abel.
"This is your moment. This is why we need a human soul." She summoned a box, Lucifer readied his bow to destroy what came out, but the sound of chains breaking turned him so, he could fire at the fake Gabriel instead.
The next bit happened so fast it was hard to tell exactly what was going on. The fake Gabriel broke free but took a direct hit from Lucifer's bow. Uriel got knocked backward. Lucifer went to help his sister. And all the while Sera was showing something to Abel.
They were... reading? (Or well Sera seemed to be doing most of it. Abel looked more as if he were in a daze.)
Lucifer's blood chilled even through the protective magic of the helmet as he realized they weren't just reading.
They were chanting.
He saw the smallest hint of the cursed book in Sera's hands. Those words- that text. For a moment he had the clearest memory of Adam arriving in Hell. The burns on his fingertips, on his tongue and on his lips.
You touched something you shouldn't have. You said something you shouldn't have.
It was a fucking spell from the GODDAMN NECRONOMICON!
He heard his sister scream. But it wasn't just Uriel. All around Lucifer was surrounded by agonized shrieks. The Exorcists began convulsing. As the spell went on, black liquid spread over their wounds, forcing their bodies back together with sickening cracks and crunches.
"YOU'RE HURTING THEM!" Adam was hunched over in pain. Seth was trying his best to console his father but even he was looking sick through the mask. The angel called Lute pulled her helmet off, gasping for air as her body slowly mended itself. Her skin was pale, hair white, her eyes a soft gold though they seemed clouded over. She looked... familiar?
He heard Uriel scream. He saw his sister had frozen in the sky, all her eyes on the scene below her. He had never before seen her look so close to vomiting. There were tears in her halos. "Liza...?" Uriel's voice trembled.
Liza...?
Lucifer felt sick.
That Exorcist... sans her helmet... was almost the spitting image of Liza. Not entirely. The eyes were wrong, the hair... but...
Liza had died in the Elder War.
"See? You have divinity on your side. Reunited with your friends just as promised." The fake Gabriel spoke and Lucifer realized he had taken his eyes off him for too long. He hurried back to Uriel's side trying to pull her toward the barrier.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO THEM!?" Uriel was almost hysterical. "THEY WERE OUR FRIENDS! OUR FAMILY!" Chains burst out of the ground binding Sera, pulling her away from Abel. Sera struggled against the bindings.
"I brought them home!"
"YOU DESECRATED OUR DEAD!"
"URI!" Lucifer tried to fly to his sister, but the lightning in the air almost struck him down. He looked back down; the barrier was blazing so brightly Adam, Seth, and the Exorcists they saved were starting to get hurt by it.
"I SAVED THEM!" Sera was starting to get crushed by the chains. Fuck. Lucifer didn't want to kill her, but he had to do something. He drew his bow.
"You know," Gabriel's voice was suddenly in his ear. He whipped around to see that smiling face an inch from his own. Lucifer fired. The arrow hit, but Gabriel took the blow without much of a reaction. Lucifer had damaged him; he could see the blood, but it wasn't in his face. "The good thing about coming here to fight. Is that we were really running out of corpses."
"Shut your fucking mouth-"
"Lucky for us." In the blink of an eye, Gabriel had his hand on Lucifer's shoulder, spinning him around. "We had an extra body here."
"What are you talking about!?" Lucifer fired at him again. He missed and the Exorcists below him paid the price. Lucifer felt a hand under his chin breath washing over his ear as Cthulhu finally spoke in his true voice.
Lucifer searched the Exorcists with the eyes in his halos, but he couldn't tell one from the other with the helmets on.
"DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE!" Lucifer whirled around just to find himself doubled over in pain. He looked down. The fake Gabriel had a familiar looking sword in his hand, the blade of which was in Lucifer's stomach.
"You know, it doesn't glow for me, it's a little disappointing." Cthulhu pulled him closer, so the blade oved deeper. "But I thought your brother's sword was the most poetic." Lucifer coughed up blood as the sword began to twist.
At that moment, something burst from the face plate of Lucifer's helmet. Something angry, screaming, that looked like an unfinished coloring book.
"A... dam?" Lucifer fell from the sky as he saw Adam clawing at Cthulhu's face like a feral animal. As Cthulhu swung the blade, Adam vanished inside it, popping out again like a pop-up from Hell. The ground hit his back, knocking what little breath he had out of him.
"LU!" Uriel was over him in an instant. "No! No! No! I messed up! I wasn't acting like a team- I without Michael-" Lucifer opened his mouth to warn her as he saw the glint of something metal in the air, but all the came out was blood.
"We need to get out of here." Seth grabbed Lucifer under the arm, pulling him back. He saw his sister with her wings sliced, kicking a deranged Sera from her body.
His eyes blurred. He reached his hand up, looking at the image of Adam clawing at Gabriel's face like a wild animal trying to rip the skin off and reveal the monster underneath. "Help... Adam..." He mumbled; more warmth spilling from his lips, his mask cracked open.
Mmmmmm What do you think about this? I’ve set myself a little challenge for the end of August and will try to finish it within those days. If anyone wants to join me, I’d be happy🍎🎸
"Luke! I can't wait for your formal introduction!"
Lucifer and Gabriel were almost bombarded with excited greetings as they made their way toward Raphael's hospital in the medical district of Heaven. Lucifer felt… conflicted. It felt almost… deceptive to play the role of the new, fresh off the angel-assembly-line, Archangel when he was the first Angel ever created. He had been in this role longer than anyone. He had been God's right hand before eventually becoming Their greatest mistake.
"Yes, well, we'll get to that." Lucifer gave a practiced smile as his eyes darted to Gabriel for assistance. "Right Gabe?"
"Yepperino!" Gabriel gave an enthusiastic thumbs up to the gaggle of curious divine souls that had gathered around to see the newest Arc. "We are working through some complicated-uh- paperwork stuff, at the moment. It has Mikey pretty swamped. You know, with that paperwork." Wow his younger brother really sucked at lying, even through omission.
"We're in debates about adding a new color to the rainbow. It's some pretty big stuff." Lucifer gave a practiced smile, a playful wink. "But you didn't hear that from us."
"Why would we add a new color to the rainbow?" Gabriel looked at him dumbly. "It's kind of a classic. And the humans got that whole Roy G Biv thing figured out with the colors and honestly, I'm not really sure-"
"I know you're not big on innovation. You have made that clear in all our rainbow-meetings thus far. Ut once you see what Uriel has cooked up, I promise you are going to change that stubborn mind of yours." Lucifer laughed, pulled Gabriel by the arm trying his best to disengage from the discussion as tactfully as possible.
"What color are they thinking of adding?" A Cherub tugged on the pant leg of Gabriel's track suit. Lucifer tried not to let his halos roll their eyes as he knelt down.
"Well, that's still part of the debate-"
"Chartreuse." Gabriel had finally caught onto the lie but his poor improv skills were more of a hindrance as green was already I the fucking rainbow.
"Yep." Lucifer smiled warmly, putting a hand on the Cherub's hand. "Chartreuse. We want to put it first. Croy G Biv."
"Ooooh, chartreuse." All the angels and Winners that had gathered around were nodding, hanging on every word of the bullshit they were spewing. Was this what Vox felt like when he made up news to spread over Hell? Because whenever Lucifer had tried to get messages out it seemed like every Imp, Succubus, or Sinner off the street was suddenly an expert on the subject and had a ten point, perfectly planned out PowerPoint as to why Lucifer was, in fact, wrong about whatever he was trying to say. (They were more receptive toward Lilith. But to be fair the Sinners couldn't help that fact.) Still, Lucifer found it a waste of his time to caution them about anything (especially after Lilith had left). But whenever Vox made a statement everyone in his district treated it like gospel even if it was something easily disprovable. (In fact, after that stupid movie, Lucifer was convinced all of Hell thought he and Adam were madly in love- and while technically it was kid of true- it hadn't been at the time- and there was no goddam way Vox would have known it.
"We'll see how it goes. The rainbow is a classic. But sometimes it's not the end of the world to make some updates." Lucifer gave a practiced, friendly laugh. "But we'll never know if we don't find Mikey and Raph."
"Oh! If you're looking for Michael, I think he was in the City Hall!" One of the Winners raised her hand, eager to provide help. Hell could certainly stand to learn a thing or two about cooperation from the residents of Heaven.
"Thank you!" The Devil in Archangel skin gave a pleased smile. Of fucking course that workaholic had gone to the goddamn office. He had just been completely impaled (no matter how Michael tried to interpret things) and he was probably trying to do paperwork of all things. "You hear that, Gabe? He beat us there!"
"He does like the office." Lucifer heard the smallest hint of a sigh as Gabriel looked in the direction of the City Hall. It was nice to know that his brother was in solidarity with him about Michael's inability to sit still for five seconds. "Thank you so much for the heads up, Desha! Shall we head on over, Luke?" Lucifer nodded.
"Sounds like a great plan!"
"Any idea when we'll actually get to celebrate your arrival?" One of the angels called out. Lucifer glanced at Gabriel who let out a nervous laugh.
"Hard to say! But I promise when we got Luke into a good routine, we'll throw him the biggest party Heaven has ever seen!"
"Yay!" There was a chorus of Angels cheering as Lucifer and Gabriel took their leave. It was funny, Lucifer knew that Gabriel was only humoring the others, playing along with the lie Lucifer had told to conceal his true identity. But… it sounded almost genuine when he talked about a celebration. They had that one small party with the Metatron right when Lucifer had first been Redeemed. And there was the birthday party for he and Michael… but even knowing how much Angels loved a good celebration (which was an almost unhealthy amount) it seemed deceptive to let them celebrate him. He was the Great Deceiver, and even though his halos had mended and his wings had turned back to gold, his hands were still stained with the crimes of his past.
"You know, you could have told me psychically that you were lying about the rainbow thing." Gabriel spoke quietly as the two pulled away from the group going toward the old office building. While Lucifer had been inside there multiple times, it still felt jarring to see those pearly pillars of the gilded office building.
"I forget that's a thing."
"I can see that." Gabriel put a hand on his shoulder. "You haven't really had much time to adjust to everything happening. We've been just go-go-go since your Redemption." Lucifer also tried not to think about the Redemption too hard as he still had some complicated feelings on the matter. "And I guess it's been a while for you."
"I just forgot how bad you were at playing along with deception." Lucifer snorted. There was also a part of him that didn't want his mind constantly open to his siblings as there were thoughts in his head that he wanted to keep private. If he was going to have a self-deprecating pity spiral, he didn't want Gabriel hearing it. Then he might be subjected to family time or some sort of Heaven-mandated therapy to help him cope. And as the Devil, he liked his unhealthy coping mechanisms. (Though Adam was also a barrier in his mission to self-destruction).
"I think I did an okay job. I just have to think about it like: improv!"
"Of all the beautiful, amazing colors out there that you could have picked for the rainbow, you went with chartreuse."
"Chartreuse is pretty."
"It's just green!"
"It's like a bright green though!"
"Green is already in the rainbow! Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet! It's like right in the middle!"
"Well indigo and violet are pretty similar colors too, but we still have both of those. And their right next to each other."
"Indigo and violet the not that similar."
"I mean, no, but chartreuse isn't the same as regular green either."
"It's pretty much a flat green, Gabriel, I don't know what to tell you."
"Well, I think it would look pretty."
"You…" Lucifer's halos squinted up at his younger brother. "You know that the whole rainbow thing was bullshit, right?"
"Yes, obviously. We haven't even petitioned for an addendum to the rainbow. And there is no way we would have it narrowed down to just one color option this soon into a debate." Gabriel replies as-a-matter-of-factly. "But I still think chartreuse would be a viable choice."
"No, it wouldn't!" Lucifer also knew there was no color actual debate, but at this point it was about showing Gabriel why he was wrong. (It was a matter of pride). "If anything, we would ass like a celestial gold to make it symbolic of the sun."
"But we have yellow."
"Yellow and gold are not the same thing! They're even further from each other than green and chartreuse!" Lucifer had to believe that Gabriel was not, in fact, this bad at colors. The Messenger had to be fucking with him.
"Isn't that Adam's son, Seth?" Gabriel changed the subject before Lucifer had time to manifest a color wheel and maybe one of those eye tests where they had the hidden number in the colored circles. Lucifer saw Seth pacing in the distance.
"Seth! Hey!" Lucifer had to wind down from Gabriel's color incompetence. Seth looked a bit like a deer caught in headlights, helmet tucked under his arm again. Lucifer looked him up and down, he was smiling, but it looked more nervous, than happy. "Did you talk to Raph?"
"Oh! Yes. Thank you." Seth nodded, though Lucifer saw him tense. "He said I was pretty much good to go. So, yay."
"Whatchya… um…" Gabriel was staring, hard at the Winner, the halos narrowing their eyes. "Whatchya go in your arm?" Seth blinked, instinctively holding the helmet so it was partially concealed beneath the fabric of his robe.
"What… do you mean?"
"No need to hide anything, my child. Be not afraid, it was just an honest question." Gabriel's voice was calm, gentle, inviting. Lucifer saw a look of unease on Seth's face, the Winner's golden eyes darted to the helmet then to Gabriel as there was visible conflict in his eyes. He too a deep breath, holding it forward for Gabriel to see.
"Sorry, I… don't know why I tried to hide it." He looked ashamed. "It's just my helmet." Lucifer tried not to cringe at the sight of it, as the protruding horns made to mock the Sinners reminded him of the Exorcists.
"Why do you need a helmet?" Gabriel's question was not the one Lucifer expected. Though, he supposed it was kind of odd for Seth to have given the Exorcists had been disbanded. Seth looked equally confused.
"I… I was given one? For… for safety?"
"But you shouldn't be in danger." Gabriel put a hand on the helmet. "And this design is… a little offensive to Hell, I think."
"It looks like dads?" Seth looked at the helmet as if seeing it for the first time. "I mean, not exactly. Abel has dad's at the old house because, you know, he's the favorite and its not like anyone even remembers that Adam had a third son-"
"Your father loves you." Lucifer put his hand on Seth's shoulder. "I know you said you talked to Raphael, and I believe you," he didn't, "but perhaps you should speak with him again." Seth looked really uneasy.
"I hate to keep bothering him…"
"The needs of the Winners are never a bother to the Arcs." Gabriel assured him warmly. "And I agree with Luke that maybe Raphael should look you over. With your dad's current state, it would be careless of us not to check you over."
"Y-yeah. Okay." Seth looked like he was under interrogation, his face was pale, his breath was rapid. Gabriel shot his brother a look of genuine concern.
"Hey! What are you two doing out here?" Uriel's voice was about the last thing Lucifer was expecting. As he and Gabriel both turned, Seth scurried away. Uriel was standing in the doorway of the meeting hall looking equally confused.
"Why are you here?" Lucifer instantly thought about C'toggha who was, currently, chained up from his ceiling in a way that would definitely haunt him if anyone else in Hell ever saw. Yes, he was weak, but he was still dangerous.
"Michael told me to come. I thought you guys had already talked to him?" Uriel looked equally confused. Lucifer lowered his voice.
"No, we haven't seen him."
"How did you get here so fast?" Gabriel blinked.
"Adam." Uriel gestured behind her. "I'm a little surprised it worked since he's a Sinner and usually the barriers wouldn't allow for him to cross directly like that." Gabriel sucked in his breath slowly through his teeth.
"About the barrier…"
"Adam's here!?" Lucifer cut him off at the mention of the First Man. His eyes darted around as if expecting Adam to jump out of a giant cake (which did seem like something Adam would do, but there were currently no giant cakes visible). "Where is he?"
"I sent him home. Calm down." Uriel put a hand on Lucifer's shoulder. "That isn't really the most exciting news in regard to the barrier, you know." Gabriel let out a small sigh, hands on his hips like someone had just told him the train was delayed.
"Yeah, it was a bit of a shocker for us too, I'll be honest."
"What about our um… guest?" As much as Lucifer was certain Adam would not simply have turned around and left when he was in hugging distance of one of his sons, there were other (annoying Eldritch) matters at hand.
"I have Muppcifer watching him." Uriel assured them, though the idea that the fate of Hell was currently on the shoulders of a puppet didn't exactly leave Lucifer feeling confident, he would have to trust that his daughter would also be handling things.
"Aw, good." Gabriel definitely had more optimism than was really warranted in this situation. But fuck it. Muppcifer had shown himself to be relatively competent in all areas that were not nickname related. "It's probably good that you're here, honestly. With the barrier being… well… you know…" Gabriel didn't finish the sentence, so Lucifer took it upon himself.
"Completely obliterated."
"Oh dear." Uriel covered her mouth. "That definitely needs to be seen to sooner than later." She opened the door for the others to enter the main office. There were a few angels stationed at the desks, not as many as Lucifer thought there should be, but he didn't have long to count them because at that moment, Michael emerged from the hallway.
"Oh, good, you're all here." He smiled.
"Why are you here?" Lucifer straightened his posture as he heard the other angels whispering at the sight of the new Arc.
"I had to do some prep work, you know how it is." Michael gave him a little shrug that Lucifer assumed was supposed to be apologetic.
"Prep work?" The Devil repeated the words, still visibly annoyed. "Where is Raphael?" Though, he was confident he knew that answer, he still had to ask.
"Oh, um, pretty sure he's still working." Michael looked surprised by the inquiry. "But if you want to get him, that would actually be super great. I need to talk to all of you."
"Well, that just works out perfectly!" Gabriel clapped his hands together in quiet excitement. "We need to talk to you you too!"
"Fantastic!" Michael looked back at the tablet in his hands. He was moving pretty well, considering his own sword had been sticking through him not fifteen hours earlier, but to be fair, Michael wasn't one to be kept down. "Then why don't you guys fetch Raphael for me, and we can get this meeting on the road."
"We can do that!" Gabriel was all too happy to help. Lucifer turned on his heel, maybe Raph could talk some fucking sense into their youngest brother.
"What do you think Michael wants to meet about?" Uriel looked visibly concerned, clasping her hands together as she followed them toward the hospital.
"Probably about how he is totally fine to keep working despite having had the shit beat out of him." Lucifer scoffed. "Regardless, it's not going to be as important as: We have a fucking Elder God chained up in one of the bedrooms of my daughter's hotel."
"Do watch the swearing, Golden Boy." Gabriel made a face.
"Sorry, old habit." Lucifer took a deep breath trying to calm himself. Gabriel was right Dropping swear words every few sentences didn't exactly mesh well with his backstory as Luke, the freshly made Archangel. "It's just that it's very hard to not swear when Michael is being a fuc-" he caught himself, "a freaking idiot."
"Raph will talk some sense into him." Uriel assured him.
"Because Michael has done nothing but listen and behave thus far." Lucifer's halos squinted at her, obviously skeptical.
"He'll listen when it's all of us." Gabriel sighed again, and Lucifer was slowly starting to piece together which of his siblings had been watching over the youngest brother after Luciael had been cast out from Heaven. "He just gets really focused on a task and can forget his limitations. Not so different from another Archangel I knew."
"Well, that's no way to talk about Uriel." Lucifer knew who Gabriel meant but wouldn't dignify the comment with a real response. "If she trusted Muppcifer, then, as the Angel pf Wisdom, we're just going to have to trust her judgement."
"I'll admit the situation wasn't ideal but I think that Charlie has everything completely under control." And now Uriel really did thing Gabriel was talking about her. Oops. "And Muppcifer said he would hold down the fort."
"Aw, Uri, I didn't mean for you to question your decision." Gabriel looked genuinely apologetic. "I was referring to Luciael. You know… back in the day."
"Oh, yes." Uriel covered her mouth as her also darted to look back at Lucifer. "The twins are quite similar. Or at least they were."
"Back when we had Luciael." Gabriel reiterated.
"Indeed. At the time when the twins were both in Heaven acting in the Archangel status at a time distant from our current one!" As Uriel stumbled for her words, Lucifer couldn't help but put his face in his hands, shaking his head.
"You are both… just awful."
"Sorry, Luke." Both angels replied to him simultaneously. Their halos widening the eyes to look sadder and more pathetic.
"Yeah, yeah, let's just get to the hospital." The sooner they found Raph; the sooner they could gang up on Michael and maybe tie him to a chair or something. Lucifer was open to suggestions (especially from Raphael); he was still workshopping ideas on Michael-proofing the office. The Winners and Angels alike kept coming out to watch them as they passed. It felt like being a celebrity inn Hell except Lucifer had yet to get hit with bullets or underwear.
As they reached the hospital building, he could see it was slammed. All of the green tinted Angels, the healers were racing about. Even Winners that had healing practice in life had taken up the uniform of the medical staff and were working on helping the injured from the Palace of Souls and Port Gatory. The unsorted souls still needed treatment, so Heaven had taken them in.
Lucifer had not really seen the extent of the devastation up close like this. Even from the waiting room, he could hear the fluttering of wings, the beeping and pinging of machines in the distance. There were still souls and angels alike nurturing wounds from the waiting area.
Poor Raph.
"Archangels!" Immediately all eyes were on them as the entered. For a moment the bustling emergency room came to a stop. Lucifer cleared his throat.
"Is Raphael around?"
"Just a moment." One of the Cherubim that had been sitting behind the check-in desk darted away. As they left, the room instantly snapped back to life. Gabriel and Uriel instantly began helping in any way they could, heling take information (which was easy for an Archangel) and summoning up simple supplies. (Lucifer was surprised Gabriel didn't use what Celine had given them for Hell, but he seemed to be content making new things).
It took a bit for Raphael to come down the stairs. He looked… annoyed? Maybe he was just tired. "Is everything okay?" The Archangel of Healing surveyed the group as he ran a hand through his light blonde hair.
"Michael needs to see you." After seeing the mess the hospital was in, Lucifer almost felt bad for bringing it up. But it wasn't just him asking. Michael really had insisted on Raphael's presence. The medic didn't even look surprised.
"Okay."
"Raph, if things are too hectic here… I'm sure Michael will understand-" Uriel had seen the chaos of the hospital and it was evident that Lucifer wasn't the only one having second thoughts about dragging his brother away from where he was very much needed.
"It's fine." Raph didn't even argue.
"If you're sure…" Gabriel also looked unconvinced. But Raphael simply pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a long sigh.
"It's fine."
"Have you… um…" Lucifer picked his words carefully as they were very much in a public location. "Have you seen Michael recently?"
"Recently enough." Raphael dismissed the question. That wasn't much of an answer. "So, are we going, or what?"
"Oh, yes, we can go." Uriel hurried back toward the door. Lucifer was a bit concerned about his brother. Of all of them, Raphael was definitely the one who was taking on the most after the last major attacks. It might be starting to wear on him. Lucifer, if anyone, knew that even angels had their weaknesses, their limits.
The walk back was quiet, uncomfortable. Raphael didn't seem to be in any mood to talk. "How's Rocky do-" Gabriel started to ask but Raphael cut him off.
"Rocky? He's fine."
"W- no, I mean Rochele?" Gabriel corrected himself. Lucifer was also concerned about Rochele. She was basically the last of Michael's Seraphim.
"She's still alive." Raphael gave them all the first bit of good news Lucifer had gotten since arriving in Heaven. He liked Rochele. While they were never particularly close he knew that was who had gifted Azrael the Gift of Life in order for her to bestow it him him, so he could make Charlie. And while Azzie said she stole it, Lucifer had never believed that story. And Rochele had been the only angel to help him when Adam had bitten him. (Of course, in retrospect, knowing Sera's condition, he realized why she hadn't lifted a finger to assist him when he had come to her.) "She's still severely wounded, as are many of the wounded from the Palace. But she's alive for now."
"She'll pull through, she's a fighter." Gabriel put a hand on Raphael's shoulder. Raphael didn't really react to the touch. He seemed lost in thought.
"Angela is doing well." Lucifer had an idea of what might be on his mind. "And we talked to Celine too. Updated her."
"That's good." Raphael nodded. Lucifer, as a dad, understood the feeling of having a daughter that was tied up in all of this bullshit. He was thinking about Charlie too, constantly. But just like with Charlie, Raphael was going to have to trust that Angela knew what she was doing. Silence fell over the group again before Gabriel decided to break it.
"And how's Emily?"
"She's good." Raphael replied after a moment of though. "Wounded, but good."
"I didn't know she got hurt in the fight." Lucifer tried to think back. There had been a lot of blood but there were also a lot of injuries. But he had been under the assumption that Emily had not taken any physical damage. He assumed Michael had been able to spare her from ending up like Rochele. "Is it just… remnant Corruption?"
"Yeah, there's a lot of that." Raphael rubbed his eyes again. Lucifer frowned, he was starting to worry about his brother.
"Do you… want me to send Angela back? It sounds like you're drowning."
"Might not be a bad idea." Raphael replied dryly. It didn't seem like he was in the mood for conversation. It wasn't a great sign, in Lucifer's opinion. But if Raphael needed space; he would respect it.
They reached the City Hall again to see quite the crowd gathered outside. Lucifer biked. There were decorations hanging all over the front. Balloons, streamers, a small stage had been set up. Michael looked rather pleased with himself as he stood outside waving as they came closer. "Oh, you guys made it in time!"
"In time?" Lucifer blinked.
"Uh, Big Blue?" Gabriel looked equally baffled. "What holiday is it?"
"It's not Talk Like a Pirate Day, I don't think." Uriel had also missed the memo. Lucifer looked at Raphael, expecting him to hone in on Michael like a tactical missile, seeing Michael up and about. But Raphael simply rolled his eyes and dragged himself to stand by their youngest brother, pulling out his phone.
"Now what?"
"I wanted to do something special!" Michael seemed pleased with himself. "I know things have been a little rough for all of us recently. So, I thought it might be a great idea to boost Heaven's morale! And what boosts morale more than a party!?"
"Um," Lucifer took a deep breath. Lots of things boosted morale, and while parties were on that list, they were not exactly the most convenient option given the circumstances. "Can this wait? We really need to talk."
"We can talk." Michael stared at him blankly. The Devil narrowed his eyes at the almost blasé reaction from his brother.
"In private."
"I'm sure it can wait." Michael put a hand o the side of Lucifer's cheek, patting him in a way that honestly felt dismissive.
"No, Mikey, no it can't." Lucifer swatted his hand away and Michael looked a little taken aback. "First of all, you are supposed to be resting-"
"I'm fine."
"No, you aren't." Lucifer's voice was sterner. "And secondly, you told Uriel she had to come here for some urgent meeting."
"This is urgent." Michael pointed at the decorations.
"No, it isn't!" Lucifer hissed, voice low as he grabbed his brother by the arm. He hated to be rough with Mike so soon after what was honestly a pretty notable injury. But the Corruption was clearly clouding his brother's head and Raphael was either too polite, or too disengaged to give a fuck. "We have a fucking Elder God chained up in my bedroom!"
"Kinky." Raphael snorted as Lucifer stared at him in disbelief. That comment seemed to snap Michael back to some semblance of reality, as he glared at the medical angel before turning back so he could face Lucifer.
"Which Elder God?"
"C'toggha." So that had finally gotten his brother's attention. Lucifer wasn't exactly thrilled to be having this conversation on the fucking steps of the City Hall rather than in an office but whatever. Michael would clearly move it now.
"Oh. Ha!" Or not. Michael let out a rather loud laugh before clearing his throat and collecting himself. "Well, if it's just C'toggha and he's here and not in our heads, then I think we're safe to continue as planned."
"Uh, Big Blue, not to be a Debbie downer or anything, but," Gabriel came to Lucifer's defense, "C'toggha is still an Elder God. Subdued or not, he's a threat."
"Not that much of one." Michael waved off the concern. "Unless any of you have sudden, onset narcolepsy I think we'll live for the next few hours."
"No, Mikey. We need to deal with this ASAP." Lucifer looked to Gabriel and Uriel for back up and both of them nodded in agreement.
"And the barriers to Heaven are damaged, Mike." Uriel spoke up as well. "I love a celebration, but we need to sort things out here first."
"Right, we'll deal with that." Michael did not seem surprised or alarmed with the news about the barrier. "But this is more important."
"No. No this is not important." Lucifer could see the crowd growing bigger, there were whispers as the Winners and Angels watched the Arcs talking in hushed voices amongst themselves. Argument between the Arcs was rare, he assumed, and when it did happen, it was never public. "Look," Lucifer needed to calm himself If this was some sort of remnant Corruption, that would need to be delt with away from the public. He didn't want to be the reason Heaven was flung into a mass panic. "Look, you're clearly excited, and I love that, but we got information regarding Heaven that we need to discuss urgently."
"Did you get the information from C'toggha?" Michael looked more confused than anything else. Lucifer let out a long breath.
"Does it matter?"
"I…" Michael sighed, putting his hand to his ow cheek, shaking his head. "I suppose not. We have a few minuets if you want to talk inside."
"Yes," Lucifer started pulling him toward the door. "I would very much like to talk inside and away from the general public."
"The party will be fun though-"
"Forget about the party, baby blue!" The moment they got Michael into a room and closed the door, Lucifer grabbed either side of his rother's face. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Heaven's barrier is down, Mikey- down! And C'toggha is chained up in one of the bedrooms at Charlie's hotel! And you called Uriel back so all he has guarding him now are my daughter and the fucking Muppet! You understand that, right!?" Michael liked.
"Right."
"The fuck does right mean!?"
"Lu. Breathe." Gabriel put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, Big Blue, he's right. I love a party, but C'toggha is a more pressing issue."
"AND we know that Adam wasn't patient zero!" Lucifer's halos shot a glance toward Raphael who was standing, looking at his watch.
"Adam's never been very patient." Raphael shrugged.
"I mean the Corruption, jackass." Lucifer glowered at him. Now was not the time for his siblings to develop a sense of humor. He was a little worried about Raphael, he knew his brother was careful, but overall, he had been dealing with a lot of Corruption. The likelihood that he had been infected had crossed the Devil's mind more than once. "Look," he needed to not get upset. "Raph, have you checked on yourself recently?"
"Yeah," Raphael looked up. "I'm fine just busy."
"We understand that," Uriel bowered her head, "your workload has been rather overwhelming as of late. And for that, we apologize sincerely. But Luciael had an idea to go dream-walking into Adam's mind and he has learned very important information!"
"Is that how you caught C'toggha?" Michael raised an eyebrow.
"Yes." Lucifer was still proud of the capture, despite how (apparently) risky it had been. "And we also learned that Adam was Corrupted by someone else." He took a deep breath, grabbing Michael by the shoulders. "By Sera."
"Sera?" Michael raised an eyebrow.
"Yes!" Lucifer had expected more of a reaction. "Mikey, Sera Corrupted Adam. She's probably the one who ordered the Exterminations! She might even have-"
"Did Ctoggha… tell you this?" Michael cut him off, tilting his head to the side quizzically. It was his turn to stare blankly at his brother.
"What? No. Not exactly. We saw it in Adam's dream."
"The dream that C'toggha controls?" Michael spoke up again.
"Okay, yes but it wasn't like that." Lucifer held tightly to his brother's shoulders. "C'toggha fought us, he did tamper with the memory. Or, well… the Corruption did. But I broke through that!" It was probably what attracted C'toggha to them in the first place. Lucifer was breaking through brainwashing and getting toward something real. "I saw the real memory."
"And how do you know it wasn't just another one of C'toggha's illusions? I'm not trying to be rude, I'm just asking." Despite his comment, Michael was starting to get under Lucifer's skin, just a bit. The Devil had expected more from Michael.
"I know the fucking difference. And Adam confirmed it!"
"And Adam is typically a reliable narrator?"
"Michael, this is the Corruption talking. Not you." Lucifer squeezed his shoulder a little harder but stopped as he remembered the recent stab wound. He pulled back. "Look, I'm serious about Sera, we need to find her. To talk to her-"
"I'm sure she'll be at the party."
"Metatron!" Lucifer early jumped as he saw the glowing figure emerge from the hallway, her sunlight hair cascading down her back. "Metatron, I know that you know this, but we figured out that Sera was Corrupted before Adam! You have to tell Michael we're right!"
"We need to get Sera more help." Gabriel added. At least his younger brother still believed him despite Michael's hesitance. "Raph, you even said that Sera kept testing positive for Corruption way longer than she should have-"
"She's clean now." Raphael waved him off. "But if we're concerned then we can talk to her after the celebration."
"Metatron!" Lucifer looked to her for confirmation again. She smiled, her hands behind her back as she walked past.
"Apologies my child. It is not my place to get involved."
"You can confirm a point!" Lucifer chased after her as the Metatron walked back toward the exit of the room with long, purposeful strides. "Look, I'm really worried about Michael! He was just injured, he's talking about parties-"
"And now everyone is here for it!" Michael ran ahead of the group, throwing open the door to see a crowd of exited souls. "Citizens of Heaven! We are gathered here today to welcome Heaven's newest Archangel!"
"Seriously Blue!?" Lucifer hissed under his breath as he ran to join Michael on the stage. "Hey everyone! Thank you so much for coming out." He addressed the audience with a smile, but he was watching Michael carefully.
"Luke!"
"Hi Luke!"
"Welcome Luke!"
The cheers were comforting, sure, but Lucifer couldn't enjoy them. His halos scanned the crowd as his face watched his brother. He saw Abel with his helmet on, And Seth with his. There were more Exorcists than usual with their helmets on interspersed with the Winners and other Angels. Gabriel and Uriel stood behind Lucifer as Raphael took his place in the back. The Metatron stood directly behind Michael, observing the crowd, quietly.
"I know things have been hectic here in Heaven lately." Michael continued to the audience. "And for that, I apologize. We here as Archangels want things to be safe for you. Heaven is all about love, kindness, respect, and trust." There were murmurs of agreement throughout the audience. "That's why I love it here. I trust all of you with my heart and soul." Sera! There she was! She was standing in a group of other Seraphim watching with polite interest, though her halos were looking at Lucifer with an expression he instantly recognized as disdain. "Which is why I wan t to tell you the truth about our dear friend and brother, Luke."
"Ugh this is taking forever." Raphael kept looking at his watch, tapping his foot. "Always gotta be so dramatic."
"Uh, Mikey?" Gabriel instantly was at his side.
"Not now Gabriel." Michael held out a hand and Lucifer watched as Gabriel struggled with obedience and concern. "Luke is our newest and most wonderful friend! He has made a name for himself! Getting involved with our wonderful citizens, helping with our reconstruction, burning down have of Purgatory." Confused whispers spread through the crowd. "Oh, right. Some of you didn't know that but Luke here almost killed multiple Seraphim. But that's understandable. It wouldn't be the first time." As he spoke, Michael's voice got colder. Lucifer felt himself freeze in place despite the temperate divine air. "If you were not aware, and most of you are too young to recognize him. But Luke is actually my dear brother Lucifer. Who we decided to give a second chance to out of the kindness of our own hearts! Because what are we, the divine, without forgiveness? And what did he do with this gift? He chose to take that chance, and lie. He lied to all of us. To you, our people as he took on the name Luke to escape the burden the rightful judgement of his actions! And he chose to destroy. The Old entrance was destroyed. Seraphim injured, Purgatory in flames-"
"Michael! It was an accident!" Uriel cried out running forward but Michael held up his hand again. Uriel hesitated. "No, Michael, please- this isn't you!" Her voice cracked. Lucifer felt his face heated up; all eyes were on him. The Seraphim… they were burning holes into him with the hatred on their faces. The Winners looked confused, but the other angels looked… terrified. And Michael stood at the front, tall, strong, wings extended.
"Am I wrong?"
"Michael what the fuck?" Lucifer grabbed his brother by the arm trying to turn him around, but Michael pulled his hand free with ease.
"I tried to give you a chance, brother. And this this is how you repay us? Be deceiving our people and burning the barrier between Heaven and Hell to shreds?"
"You don't believe that." Lucifer's mind was racing. He flexed his fingers, summoning his bow in his hand. "Michael doesn't believe that."
"I didn't want to believe it. But I know what I saw."
"And what did you see? Tell me with your own goddamn words." Lucifer's hands were shaking though his voice was calm.
"You lied, you cheated, you burned Purgatory."
"It's called Port Gatory, you fucking bitch." And with that, Lucifer flew up, and fired an arrow straight through Michael's throat and into the chest of the Metatron. The Archangel coughed, black liquid oozing from his mouth. "You're not my brother!" Even Corrupted Michael had never acted that was to Lucifer. This… this was how Lucifer had expected Michael to act in the beginning. This was a Michael made from poisoned memories. He knew for sure when he pulled his arm. No flinching, no reaction, no stab wound. "And you're not the fucking Metatron!" Too many f-bombs. Metatron would only have let him have one. She looked at the arrow in her chest as black began to ooze from it. Raphael grabbed his spear but Lucifer stayed flying. "Who is Angela?"
"You murdered Michael!" Raphael looked at Gabriel and Uriel. "He fucking killed Michael! Do something!
"WHO IS ANGELA!" Lucifer repeated. "WHO IS SHE TO YOU!?"
"RAPHAEL!" Sera ran up from the audience. Lucifer took a deep breath. He thought back on the conversation. All the things Raph had gotten wrong. No. He had to trust himself. He let the arrow fly striking Raphael directly in the head. He fell forward and Lucifer saw black spilling onto the ground, relief washed over him. That had not truly been his family. The blood being black proved it. As sick as Michael was, his blood still spilled gold, then turned black.
Someone had copied his siblings, his mother.
But…
Lucifer felt dizzy as the reality of the situation sunk in.
"Gabriel, before we get into Heaven and start bickering with our brothers, I need to tell you something." Lucifer was not looking forward to this conversation, but he felt it was important.
"If it's about you and Adam, I really appreciate you opening up to me-" Gabriel started to assure him, but Lucifer had to cut his brother off.
"No. Though, yes, Adam and I have moved our relationship into more of a romantic space- this isn't about that." Lucifer flushed slightly, still remembering the feeling of Adam's lips against his, those two toned fingers laced in his hair when they had said their goodbyes. "I want to talk to you about Sera."
"Sera?" Gabriel blinked. "You mean Seraphim Sera? Or Sarah the soul that owns the Smoothie shop? Or Sara the soul that has the yarn store- we actually have a lot of Sarah's in Heaven now that I think about it-"
"Seraphim Sera."
"Okie dokie." Gabriel tapped on the door to Port Gatory and it opened. Lucifer followed him inside. "I know things have been hectic in Heaven recently. But she really is doing better, I think."
"Yeah... about that." Lucifer sucked the air in through his teeth. Of course, good old Gabe was operating under the idea that Sera had only been Corrupted recently, during the incident where (through no fault of Lucifer’s- if anything he had only behaved heroically- part of Port Gatory had been exploded). "I bet you're wondering what we learned from C'toggha."
"We learned that HE is kind of irritable, and shorter than the others."
"Yes, that too." Lucifer came to a stop, mid air, which caused Gabriel to also stop abruptly, scooting back so they could be face to face.
"Is everything okay, Golden boy?"
"I don't really know how to say this, so I'm just gonna say it and hope for the best." Lucifer took a deep breath. "Sera Corrupted Adam."
"I thought Adam was Corrupted first..."
"We all did..." Lucifer wasn't being shot down, necessarily. Gabriel just sounded... confused. "But I did a dream-walk with Uriel into Adam's mind. And we saw Sera corrupting him. She's the one who started it. I think the Exterminations might have been on her too. I don't know."
"She said Michael ordered them." Gabriel frowned. "But if she's really Corrupted, that could all have been part of her delusion." At least he was open minded. "We'll keep an eye on Her for sure. Poor Sera... if that is the case we need to reassign Emily until she can go through treatment."
"You... believe me?" Lucifer blinked. It still felt strange to be trusted. Even after his Redemption. Gabriel reached out, taking his hands.
"Of course I believe you. You wouldn't lie about something like this."
"I wouldn't."
"We'll get her properly quarantined." Gabriel smiled at him. "I'm sure Raph will know what to do! Though I feel badly that we missed this."
"Corruption is difficult to detect in Heaven." Lucifer started flying forward again. "Also... do we wanna... get there faster? I know you're slowing down for me."
"We can go faster if you want." Gabriel held his hand out. "Just give me the word." Lucifer nodded, taking his younger brother's hand.
"Let's get back to Heaven."
"Can do!" Gabriel pulled him by the hand, and suddenly the calming fields of Port Gatory were a blur. Lucifer found himself face-to-face with the pearly gates in a matter of moments. Gabriel's speed was something to behold for sure. His family all had their own special talents. And, in order to win this war, there would be a need for all of their unique skills. "We have now arrived at your destination! Please collect your belongings before departing and I know you had your choice of travel so I would personally like to thank you for choosing to fly Air Gabriel." The Messenger gave a flourished bow. Lucifer couldn't help but snort at the absurdity of his little spiel.
"What, no in-flight beverage service? I'm giving this three stars."
"Oop." Gabriel waved his hand giving Lucifer a little glass of what seemed to be orange juice with a little paper umbrella sticking out of the top.
"Much better." Lucifer touched the gate with his free hand. "Now let's check the barrier since we're here, and you don't have a Cerberus to keep track of things for you."
"They do a good job, you're right. If they ever get bored of guarding Hell, maybe we'll see if they want to transfer to helping watch our barrier."
"Fuck no, you can't steal my dog." Lucifer touched the air around the gate, texting to make the celestial barrier visible so he could check its integrity. But... nothing was happening. "Hey, Gabe, am I doing something wrong here?" He waved his hand along the gate's structure.
"Um... I don't think so?" Gabriel joined Lucifer in waving his arm like an idiot in the air where a Divine Barrier should have been lighting up.
"Is the barrier down?"
"That seems to be the case." Gabriel waved his hand a few more times as if triple checking what he was seeing. "Well, that was certainly a choice."
"No way Mikey and Raph know about this." Lucifer frowned. "Hopefully we won't need Uriel to put it back up." It just depended on Raphael and Michael's energy levels. Raph should be fine, technically, but Lucifer couldn't help but feel like his middle brother had been grossly overworked as of late.
"If we need her, I can swap out to Elder-sit C'toggha."
"You sure you want that duty? It's just... you're such a nice guy and he's such a dick."
"I'll be fine. I'm not exactly a stranger to poor behavior. But hopefully it doesn't come to that." Gabriel pushed open the pearly gates. Lucifer had to admit, it was a little strange to imagine his brother dealing with anyone as awful as an Elder given Gabriel's constant, upbeat politeness. But, he supposed his brother had handled himself in Hell thus far.
"I hope not, for your sake." Lucifer followed behind him. It was strange. Peter wasn't at his post. But otherwise, Heaven seemed perfectly normal once they entered. There was the usual happy, bustling of activity. Cherubim, Seraphim, Angels, and Winners alike all going about their day but stopping and enthusiastically waving as Lucifer and Gabriel past.
"That's the new Arc!" Some of the cherubim were giggling to themselves as Lucifer passed by. "Hiiiiii Luke~" they waved excitedly as he looked over.
"Greetings."
"He talked to me!" The Cherub in front almost squealed at the response.
"He talked to us."
"He's so handsome!"
"You're popular." Gabriel chuckled at the reception. News really had spread fast for a society that priced itself on not giving into gossip.
"They are right, I am good looking." It felt strange being dawned over in Heaven of all places. He certainly had not been on anyone's good list up here for quite some time. He wouldn't lie, it was a much-needed boost to his confidence. Though, hopefully he hadn't made things too difficult for the others when the truth inevitability came out. "But maybe we should focus on finding Mikey and/or Raph. I don’t want you getting jealous of all my attention."
"Right, I'll do my best." Gabriel grinned. "Mikey should still be in his room, recovering, I think. So we can go to him first before we bother Raph at the hospital."
"Sounds like a plan." Lucifer gave a suave wave to the onlookers as he and Gabriel headed toward the home of the Arcs. It wasn't a far journey, but it felt like it was taking forever. He was really just ready to get his siblings and go. (And also update them about Sera.)
"Big Blue, you asleep?" Gabriel knocked on Michael’s door.
No answer.
"Mikey?" Lucifer knocked as well.
Nothing.
"Maybe he's sleeping really well." Gabriel didn't look as if even he really believed that suggestion. Lucifer narrowed his eyes, putting his hand on the doorknob.
"Baby Blue, if you're not sleeping, I will be so pissed." He swung the door open and sure enough the room was empty. It was odd, Michael seemed to have left his phone on his dresser.
"Maybe he's in the bathroom?"
"We don't even have to use the bathroom." Lucifer scoffed. But he still went ahead to check. It wouldn't be the weirdest thing his siblings had done. "He's not in the bathroom."
"I guess we can ask Raph."
"He better hope he's with Raph or I'm going to punt him."
"I would say that isn't a great idea but if Big Blue isn't with the Green Machine then Raph might help you punt him." Gabriel sighed as he opened the door.
"If he is working we can all punt him, as a family."
"Awe, yay! A bonding activity."
"You are way too agreeable about this." Lucifer mused as they headed back out into Heaven. Gabriel followed behind him, fingers laced behind his head as they walked.
"I'm just happy to be included."
"How did everything go, with Port Gatory, I mean."
"Oh, pretty good all things considered. Got everything set up so Jazeerael, Jezebel, and Pentious can all head to Hell for treatment. Eve can't cross the barrier, technically, but she has Charon who will either get her across with Horseman powers or she'll just treat her at the Port. Either way, Eve is in good hands. Her wife would never let anything happen to her."
"Still weird that humans-angel relationships are suddenly a-okay."
"You being in love with a human was never the issue, Lu. Was it preferable no. But had you waited and gone about things in the right way, I don't think we would have been quite as upset over the whole thing." Gabriel frowned at the memory. Lucifer pulled all of his eyes.
"That could have taken hundreds of years."
"It might have. It might not. But now we'll never really know."
"It's too early to get philosophical."
"It's like noon." Gabriel checked his watch uncertainly.
"Gabriel! Luke!" A voice called out to the two and Lucifer was surprised to see Raphael's Winner wife approaching them with bags in her hands.
"Celine! Need a hand?" Gabriel was instantly offering his hands forward. She smiled, handing him one of the bags that seemed to be full of medical supplies.
"Oh yes, thank you."
"Getting stuff for Raph?" Lucifer looked quizzically at the bags.
"No, this is for Angie, actually. Raph has just been so busy and Angie said there was a huge influx of patients at the clinic. So, I figured I could help her out when I could." Celine led them back into the house of the Archangels, heading through the green door to Raphael's room. "Since you're here, Lucifer, do you think you could bring this directly too her?"
"Sure." Lucifer shrugged. "But how were you going to get this to her originally?" Celine began adding things from her kitchen to the bags on the table.
"I would bring it myself if I had to."
"Love the enthusiasm, but I feel like Raph would have to help you cross the barrier." Gabriel put his bag down on the table. "It's nice of you to help out though."
"It's Angela's first big job. As her mother it's my responsibility to make sure she is set up for success!" Celine ran to the cupboard again. "And to make sure she has proper snacks!"
"She has been a huge help, Celine." Lucifer, as a parent, felt the need to stress this fact. He would want to hear if Charlie has been accomplishing great things while abroad in another realm. (Which, if that ever happened, he knew for a fact that Charlie would excel. That was just the kind of girl she was.)
"That means a lot. I had my concerns sending Angie to Hell, I'll admit. But I knew she would be safe with her family looking after her." Celine smiled, her eyes looking directly at Lucifer.
"I promised Raph, and I promise you: I will do everything in my power to protect your daughter." The former Devil bowed his head politely.
"And she says such wonderful things about Charlie." Celine added with a smile.
"Charlie is a wonderful kid-well- adult." Lucifer corrected himself. He knew that Charlie had been coming into her own as of late. His baby girl was becoming a Queen. "She and Angela have been getting along great too. I think they have a little get together once a week."
"Cousin brunch, Angie tells me all about it. You really should bring Charlie over more. I would love to really get to know her. And you too, Lu. You're the in-law I know the least." Celine smiled at him. There was a genuineness to her words that Lucifer wasn't accustomed to hearing, even now.
"When all this is over, maybe we can get our family's together for some kind of vacation."
"Oh! That sounds wonderful! I haven't seen Adam since he Fell." Celine's answer made Lucifer almost choke on the air he was breathing.
"A-Adam? What does he have to do with this?"
"You are with Adam, right?" Celine blinked. "Raphael mentioned that you guys are live-in partners and if we're doing a family vacation-"
"We'll see about Adam." Lucifer's face flushed gold at the thought of holding hands with Adam on some sort of sun-kissed beach while sitting on a fancy lawn chair, drinking appletinis and gossiping with Raphael and Celine while Charlie and Vaggie were out shopping on some lit up boardwalk with Angela. "We're taking it slow."
"Congrats on the Adam stuff by the way," Gabriel whispered, leaning closer. "I meant to tell you earlier. I'm glad you guys finally got together."
"I-uh- thanks." Lucifer's face flushed even more brightly. "But um, these things look important. We'll be sure to get them all to Angela ASAP."
"Thank you! I also am adding a few packed lunches." Celine pulled out a few cute boxes all decorated with various colors of ribbon. "I made a few for Charlie as well. Hopefully she likes it."
"That's really nice of you, Celine. I'm sure she'll love it." Lucifer would really need to get to know Raph's family at some point. So much had changed since he was last in Heaven. He had missed so much of his siblings' lives, and yet they all seemed to never have forgotten him. Not once. Even a Winner who should have nothing but disdain for him, for what he had done, seemed to see him as family. It was jarring.
"Well, Angie just adores her!" Celine finished packing, tying up the bags neatly and spreading them out over the table. "You think you can take all of this to her,?"
"Not a problem!" Lucifer looked back at Gabriel. "That messenger bag of yours still hold anything an everything?" Gabriel immediately perked up, opening the bag.
"Yep!"
"Sweet." Lucifer started placing the bags into Gabriel's fabric messenger bag that was always slung over his shoulder. "Gabe is coming back to Hell with me too, for an errand, so we can get everything to her, ASAP."
"I really appreciate that!" Celine smiled.
"And speaking of errands." Lucifer figured he might as well try his luck. "Do you know where Baby Blue might have run off to? He's not in his room."
"He's not?" Celine looked a little surprised. "I know he and Raph went to look at something earlier, but I could have sworn he would have Michael back by now. He was pretty insistent on getting Michael back to rest." That definitely sounded a little more like what Lucifer was expecting.
"What were they looking at?" Gabriel looked equally confused.
"I'm not entirely sure." Celine shook her head. "But I am pretty sure Raph is back at the hospital by now. Maybe he had Michael stay in one of the rooms there for some additional treatment?"
"That seems probable." Lucifer wasn't exactly sure if this was good news because it meant Michael was under careful watch, or bad news because that meant Raphael thought Michael needed closer observation.
"I suppose we'll head to the hospital," Gabriel nodded. "Thanks for all the help, Celine. I know Angela is going to really appreciate this."
"When you're there, please check on Raph too." Celine was smiling, but there was an air of genuine concern in her voice. Lucifer raised an eyebrow.
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah. He's just been busy with what happened at the Palace of Souls." Celine's smile remained but the expression was not what Lucifer would call happy. "I'm worried about him."
"He has been working pretty hard, that's true." Gabriel gave an awkward laugh. "You don't think he's too overworked or anything, do you?"
"Hard to say. I haven't seen him since he and Michael headed out." Celine's smile faded slightly. Lucifer felt himself get a little uneasy with her words.
"And you really don't know what they were doing?"
"Afraid not." Celine shook her head.
"Celine, not for nothing, but have you spoken with Sera recently?" Lucifer had to ask. He was starting to get a bit of a bad feeling.
"Can't say that I have." Celine frowned. "I really don't interact with her much, even on a normal basis, and I know Raph has had her in recovery for a while."
"Right. Good." Lucifer looked back at Gabriel. "We'll tell Raph to check in with you, Celine. It's good to see you." He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile.
"Lovely seeing you too." Celine opened her arms and Lucifer hesitated. He forgot how huggy angels were. He reached forward, giving her one of those awkward family hugs.
"Great seeing you Leeny." Gabriel picked up both Lucifer and Celine becoming a part of the embrace whether he was invited to be a part or not.
"I love seeing you too, Gabey." She laughed as Gabriel put her and Lucifer back down. The Devil hesitated for a moment as he released Celine, looking her up and down.
"Be careful, okay?"
"I always am." She laughed.
"No, I mean..." Lucifer braced his hands on both of her shoulders. "I want you to be careful. There is a lot going on right now and we're going to get it sorted out. But until then, just... maybe stay here, where you're safe." He thought back at the image of Raphael, the weariness in his face, the desperation in his voice as he tried to explain why he was entrusting Lucifer with his daughter. If Celine was his sister-in-law, he would do everything in his power to keep her safe too. Raphael would do the same for him. In fact, he had done the same for him. He had been keeping Adam safe and sound, watching his health.
"Hopefully, it won't be." Lucifer gave her a smile he thought looked confident.
"I would listen to Lu, Celine. We'll come see you when this all passes." Gabriel was backing him up. It felt... good. Celine looked taken aback.
"Is everything okay?"
"It will be." Lucifer squeezed her shoulder. "C'mon Gabe, let's go find Michael, and maybe punt him depending on how things go." He released Celine, heading toward the door.
"Hopefully not punt him." Gabriel followed him out. "But we'll do whatever is necessary." Lucifer laughed, but a feeling lingered that had him just a little on edge.
Hopefully
Everything was fine.
But he would feel much better when he saw his brothers.
"Puppet-Dad!" Charlie knocked loudly on the warded door. She could see the Archangel's sigils flickering. "Is everything okay in there?"
"You can come in, my little apple related pun!" The voice of Muppcifer was loud and clear through the doorway, but Charlie hesitated.
"Is... that you? Or C'toggha?"
"Yeah, that was actually him." C'toggha's voice came through the door. "But I'm equally unconvinced, so I don't blame you for being skeptical." Charlie looked back at Vaggie who summoned her spear. Charlie pulled her own trident from thin air, grabbing the door handle.
"I'm coming in!"
"Come on in, my dear, Mappleton!" It definitely sounded like Muppcifer. Charlie would think C'toggha would have chosen more on-theme nicknames in order to be convincing. The Princess pushed the door open just long enough for her and Vaggie to get inside before closing it tightly behind her.
"Don't move." She pointed the trident directly at C'toggha as she surveyed the room. She saw Muppcifer waving at her from the chair. C'toggha had noticeably fewer chains on him. The ceiling above him had cracked.
"Damn. I had so much range of motion too." C'toggha looked at the trident that was directly in his face. "Is this really necessary?"
"Yeah." Vaggie pointed her spear at him as well. "You're not fucking trustworthy." C'toggha moved his head, slowly, purposefully- making a show of following the chains all the way from his arms to the cracked ceiling.
"I'm also chained up."
"For now. But whatever took Vox might have tried to free you too." Charlie did lower her trident but tried to keep C'toggha in her sight.
"Oh, you mean that Corrupted signal that pulsed through the building?" C'toggha gave a sad little sigh. "I was kind of hoping it was gonna free me too. Now it seems like we're both left to be disappointed"
"It took Vox." Charlie turned her focus back to the Elder God. C'toggha met her gaze, expression completely stoic.
"I don't know who that is."
"The guy with the TV for a head?" Charlie was most likely wasting her time, but she might as well try to see if C'toggha had any insight before entering the bowls of VoxTek. "He used to work with Valentino, who is probably the one responsible for all of this."
"He's from Arkham." Muppcifer cut in. C'toggha's expression shifted as a flicker of recognition crossed his face.
"Oh, you mean Victor."
"So, you do know his name." Vaggie poked the spear closer, so the pointed tip of angelic steel was poking just slightly into the skin of C'toggha's chest. He looked down at the spear with the same amount of annoyance as if he had just overfilled his cup, and some of his drink had dribbled onto a brand-new outfit.
"I know Victor is the guy from Arkham just because one of our other Arkham guys won't shut the fuck up about him. Also, I've been in his dreams a few times. He's not as receptive to suggestion as many of the other Sinners."
"Valentino?" Charlie hesitated. "Is... Valentino from Arkham?"
"I told you, I don't really bother learning names-" C'toggha started to explain himself again but was cut off by Muppcifer.
"Valentino is from Florida. Which, while it is Eldritch in its own right, isn't Arkham. Arkham is in Massachusetts."
"So, the signal took Victor but left me?" C'toggha huffed. "I'm assuming the ward blocked them from knowing I was in here, but I'm choosing to be offended nonetheless." He struggled against the remaining chains. They stayed firm and he was forced to give up again.
"You know, we don't leave people behind on our side of this battle." Charlie figured she could offer him the choice to change sides again. C'toggha's eyes narrowed.
"Don't push your luck, Cherice."
"Charlie. And I was just putting it out there." The Princess realized this was most likely a waste of her time, so she refocused her attention on her puppet-dad who had summoned up a small stack of cards and was building a little tower in the shape of the mansion. "I need to go get Vox back. Will you be okay here?"
"I'll be fine applet." The puppet looked over at C'toggha. "The corrupted broadcast set us back a bit, but he's still firmly in place."
"Really should have set you back more." C'toggha made a face. "All they had to do was try a little harder. Just goes to show you, even with their eyes open and minds filled with the truth, humans will always let you down."
"We have therapy here at the hotel." Charlie gave him an empathetic expression which earned her an eye roll in return.
"Thanks but no thanks."
"Will you be okay?" Muppcifer ignored C'toggha as he looked at Charlie. "This is no joke, going up against souls that have given in to the Corruption is like going up against particularly spicy Shoggoths. And that did not go well for anyone last time."
"I'll be fine." Charlie wasn't sure. But she had to believe she would be. Muppcifer reached out a soft, felt hand, taking Charlie's.
"I'm always around if you need me."
"Thank you, Puppet-Dad." She leaned forward, kissing the top of his hat. "I'll be back before you know it."
"I know you will." The Puppet smiled back at her. It was funny, even though Charlie knew he wasn't actually her dad; she still felt a since of love toward the silly little creation. According to the Metatron, Muppcifer was the first real evidence they had of her father's Redemption. The first life Lucifer had made all on his own. (Azrael had helped with Charlie. The Princess liked to think that made her like Charlie's aunt.) "I'm proud of you."
"Thanks dad." She hugged him tightly. Her flesh-father as Muppcifer would call him, would most likely have qualms about her leaving in this situation. But he was busy in Heaven. (Hopefully he'd be home soon.) But Charlie could not leave Vox behind. What sort of precedent would that set for her Sinners? It was like she told C'toggha, no one was left behind. And despite her initial hesitation, Vox and Velvette had more than proved themselves to her- not just that they would be compliant to serve themselves (though Charlie already knew that) but that there was still a sliver of good beneath their selfishness and narcissism. She was getting Vox back. "Try not to give him too hard of a time while I'm gone, please."
"I plan on giving him the worst time." C'toggha piped up. "If I have to suffer, it's only fair that he should as well."
"I was talking to my dad." Charlie smirked. She put a hand to Muppcifer's little rosy cheek. "I'm still trying to reach him."
"I'll be just the right amount of good." He winked with his crimson and gold googly eye. (Had he always had eyelids? Was that new? Or was Charlie just gaslighting herself?) "Now go save your friend."
"He's not my..." Charlie trailed off. She looked back at Vaggie, knowing how she felt about the Vees. But at the same time, she couldn't help but think of Vel climbing through the window, Vox acting as a distraction, making up a story on the spot so that he could cover for her Father being accused of betraying Hell. Vaggie smiled slightly, giving Charlie a nod. The Princess looked back at her Muppet-Dad. "Yeah, he is my friend, isn't he?"
"Come on, babe." Vaggie was looking at Charlie though her spear was still pointed at C'toggha. "Let's save the flat-faced damsel in distress."
"Do you think Velvette's going to make us scale a wall?" Charlie made her way toward the door. Vaggie backed away, spear still ready to strike.
"It's not going to do anything to me, you know. You might as well be holding me up with a toothpick." C'toggha remained unimpressed by the threats.
"This is Angelic steel." Vaggie let her blade shine in the dim hotel lighting as she turned toward the door. "So, I wouldn't be so confident."
"Real angelic steel responds to the power level of the user." C'toggha looked mostly bored by the threat. "And you're no Arc, to say the very least."
"C'mon." Charlie grabbed Vaggie by the had that wasn't holding the spear. "We have a Hotel patron to save." And with that, she opened the door. It was a little strange leaving C'toggha with Muppcifer. But she trusted him. Muppcifer was kind of her dad, in a sense. And this was an emergency. As Charlie returned to the lobby. She found Carmilla handing out helmets to Angel Dust, to Cherry, to Velvette, to pretty much all her friends. "What's going on?"
"We're stocking up to kick Val's ass. Maybe kill 'im. I'm open to anything at this point." Angel held the helmet up, examining it with a look of distaste. "Do you have anything with a bit more pizazz? These helmets aren't really my style, what with them lookin' kinda similar to the Exorcists who spent once a year killin' all of us." Carmilla sighed.
"No. I didn't have time to fancy them up. I haven't made these helmets since I Fell. So, you get what you get."
"I'll admit I would also critique this design if we had time. But we don't." Velvette tucked the helmet under her arm. "We have to save Vox."
"Do we really, though?" Cherri glanced toward Angel who grinned.
"Typically, I would say no. But he was kinda helpful like twice now and I don't want Charlie being in debited to one of the fucking Vees."
"You guys... are coming?" Charlie blinked. She knew Vaggie and Velvette were guaranteed to come along. But Angel? Cherri?
"O' course!" Angel scoffed at the question. "We're your friends. We ain't lettin' you go on some big, heroic rescue mission against fuck only knows what without us. Even if the rescue is just... you know... Vox."
"I wish I could help more." Mimzy was sitting beside Rosie who was bandaging her up. It looked like she had taken the brunt of the damage when the chandelier exploded. Charlie went over to her, looking at the many cuts and gashes he had sustained. "But I don't think I'm in any condition to rescue a hot, single Overlord."
"You need to stay put." Charlie looked on as Rosie was bandaging Mimzy up with some fancy looking wrappings she had to assume were DamnWay brand. "I'll contact Angela, see if she can't make a house call. We'll probably need her after this anyway." She hated to say it, but it was better to air on the side of caution. They were heading into a cesspit of Corruption, and it was probably best to have a medic on standby... much like the arcs did. (Of course, more likely than not Raphael would be around by the time they finished. But it was better to be safe than sorry.) "Thanks for getting her bandaged-up, Rosie."
"Oh, of course, sweetie." Rosie looked at her hand for a moment. "I mist say these DamnWay bandages do a number on my fingers. Are you sure you want these?"
"They sting because they're working." Mimzy insisted.
"Those do sting like a bitch." Velvette made a face e seeing Mimzy's choice of care. "But they come in more colors than any other variety of bandage."
"I feel like bandages shouldn't sting." Charlie knew this was probably a moot point, especially for Mimzy who was all in on DamnWay. "But you stay here, recover. Rosie... should you... you know... be here? With You-Know-Who upstairs?" It wouldn't help taking her to fight Val either.
"I will be fine." Rosie smiled.
"I'll keep an eye on her too." Carmilla added. "Zestial is on his way. Between the two of us she won't try anything. Plus, if your angel friend shows up that's more hands on deck. Unless you want Zestial or I to go with you to save Vox..." she looked expectantly toward Charlie. "Your call."
"Right. My call." For some reason the words made Charlie's blood run cold. She could have Carmilla join them, but that would leave Rosie alone where she would be close enough to C'toggha to try to free him again. She could send Rosie home, but there was no telling if the Cannibal wouldn't just return on her own. Plus, it might not be bad to leave Muppcifer with some help. "Carmilla, stay here, wait for Zestial and Angela. When my dad gets back, tell him where we are."
"As you wish." Carmilla nodded.
"Speaking of Angela..." Charlie clapped her hands together. "Syn, message Angela to have her come by and look at Mimzy. And tell her we might need her depending on how this goes."
"Okie dokie!"
"Where's Adam?" Charlie glanced around the room. She had almost expected Adam to be out with the other Sinners. He gas helped save her after all. He had really made a lot of progress since his arrival in Hell. Then again, he had just had a God pulled put of his head... maybe he was tired?
"Left..." Neo spoke up from the kitchen. He looked a little antsy. "Helping Uriel..." Charlie frowned. She was hoping to have Adam's mirror power as a quick escape.
"Oh. Okay then. Does anyone else have transportation based powers?"
"I have a car?" Lysander raised his hand.
"I can turn into a car!"
"Can you really?" Velvette looked up at Syn, clearly impressed. Syn's wings dropped slightly and the rings of color all changed to blue.
"Noooo."
"I have access to company cars." Velvette had to one-up Lysander. "An entire array of them. Mostly limos, I'll be honest. I get itchy on anything less that genuine leather."
"We can take Lysander's car. It's fine. I don't think ordering a company car would go over well right now." Charlie had been suspicious of the VoxTek car when they were going to the Halloween party. There was no water she was trusting it now with only one Vee present. "You car can fit all of us, right?" Lysander surveyed the group.
"I mean, yeah."
"Great!" Charlie took a deep breath. She had to get used to making decisions. One day, she would be Queen, and these choices would become a daily part of her life. (Though she liked to think they would be a little less Life-or-Death.) She didn't want to put her friends in danger, but they wanted to help. Her dad had kept her out of the loop for that same reason, over and over again. She understood how it felt. So, as much as it pained her to endanger those she loved, she swallowed her concern. She trusted her friends. Now she just had to trust herself.
Lysander went to grab his car. Charlie half expected the fucking horse to show up. But instead, he pulled up in front of the Hotel in a sleek, expensive sports car that it looked like he had gotten custom detailed with the image of a flames along the side. He rolled down the window. "Your taxi awaits."
"You said we would all fit..." Charlie frowned as she surveyed the vehicle. It didn't exactly look large. Lysander patted the side of the car with his hand.
"You will! I fit like sixteen of my fat brothers in here once after a party."
"That seems unlikely." Charlie's mouth drew into a thin line. Lysander shrugged.
"Fitting and fitting comfortably are different things, Princess."
"It'll do. Pulling up in something cheap would bring suspicion since most of our employees with parking spots have luxury cars. It's part of the brand." Velvette tucked her helmet under her arm. "Shotgun!"
"Shouldn't the Princess get Shotgun?" Husk shot her an annoyed look.
"I'm a princess in my own right and I called it." Velvette hopped in the passenger's seat. Charlie frowned. It was not going to be a pleasant ride, but without knowing what they were getting into, she didn't want to go straight into the building with a mirror. (Assuming Neo could even go in and out the way Adam could. Charlie wasn't sure.)
"I will ride with Velvette!"
"You stay here, little sis." Charlie put a hand affectionately on the top of Syn's cylinder. "Wait for Angela and for my dad. Let them know what's going on."
"Shall I text Master and alert him that you are leaving?"
"No!" Charlie cleared her throat, not meaning to be so forceful. "No," she repeated more gently. "Dad is busy with work stuff and I don't need him to, you know." To talk her out of it. "To worry. He has s lot going on right now."
"Aw... okay."
"You're a good girl, Syn." Charlie kissed the top of her cylinder.
"I am the best girl! But do not tell Rusti, Cerena, or Bernadette. "
"My lips are sealed." Charlie looked back at the car. "Okay, everyone who is coming, let's try to get crammed in here." She turned to Vaggie. "Maybe you help with putting the weapons somewhere safe." The last thing she needed was Niffty accidentally stabbing someone in the face on the way there.
"Yeah, I'll put these in the trunk." Vaggie started gathering the angelic steel weapons as Charlie turned back toward her Hotel. Zestial had made his way over at this point. He and Carmilla were standing on either side of Rosie. Rosie was all smiles, which Charlie wasn't sure was a good sign or not. Alastor gad always been smiling too.
"Angela will be here soon. Just keep an eye on Puppet Dad and Rosie until then." Charlie felt a little strange ordering around the Overlords this way, but Carmilla and Zestial were nothing if not receptive.
"I has't heard that Angela is the daughter of Raphael. Is yond rumor based in veracity?" Zestial tilted his head to the side curiously.
"Yeah, it is. She's really nice." Charlie hoped it wouldn't be difficult for them to be around an angel. She knew they were Fallen like her father had once been.
"If't be true the lady is aught liketh her father. Raphael was the Virtue of Patience, as he was't a virtuous leader to me. I cannot waiteth to meet her."
"You used to work for my Uncle?" Charlie had never thought to ask.
"We all worked for different relatives of yours." Carmilla explained. "I served Gabriel, Zestial was under Raphael, and Rosie used to work for Michael."
"Does... that makes us all related?" Charlie thought back to Emily and how they were sort of cousins because she was one of Gabriel's.
"No." Carmilla laughed. "None of us were that high-ranking to be considered children of the Arcs. We're more like friendly coworkers."
"The Arcs have always been good bosses." Rosie smiled. "But you don't worry about us. Go and save that flat-faced idiot from his tower."
"We'll be back before you know it!" Charlie gave a last wave to the others before clambering into the over-stuffed car. It wasn't very comfortable, admittedly, but they needed to get to the tower ASAP.
Velvette guided Lysander where to go, and the next thing Charlie knew, she and her friends were unceremoniously disembarking up in front of the looming building with the antenna sticking directly from the top. The Princess pulled herself free of the group on the back the moment the door opened. She was instantly struck with the nauseating stench of Corruption.
"Helmets on." The Princess commanded as she followed we own advice, putting on the angelic helm that Carmilla had made for her. (It even had room for her horns! Carmilla had really thought of everything! Charlie was going to have to do something nice as a thank you.)
"What has Val done to my beautiful home?" Velvette was by Charlie's side in am instant. She had her own helmet secured. "The Corruption made him tacky."
"He was always tacky." Angel grumbled, as he pulled his guns from the trunk. "I don't think this can be entirely blamed on his eldritch rabies or whatever."
"We need to be careful." Charlie took her trident from the trunk, transforming into her infernal form, horns and tail out. She had to be at her best for this.
"Please! Careful is my middle name!" Cherri laughed, pulling out one of her bombs and immediately dropping it. Fortunately. Niffty was able to catch it. Unfortunately, Niffty now had a bomb.
"I'm sure they're expecting us." Vaggie frowned. "So what are your orders?" She looked at Charlie who swallowed hard. It was time again to lead.
"Let's go in, stick together."
"Together, got it." Vaggie squeezed her hand as the Princess headed toward the inside of the building. The first thing Charlie noticed was the black, oozing, plant-like growths that covered the lobby. A few Sinners seemed trapped beneath the vines in what appeared to be a hollow cocoon around them, perfectly embellishing their shape. Charlie covered her mouth, careful not to step on any of the black sludge caked across the floor.
"Do you have an appointment?" Someone spoke. Charlie nearly jumped out of her skin as she saw a figure, standing behind the desk. He looked... off. Not like a Sinner but more along the lines of a living human.
"We're here to see Valentino." Velvette spoke up.
"I see. He's upstairs." The man was pale. He had slicked black hair, a pencil mustache. He was dressed nicely, though the outfit was dated.
"And who are you?" Charlie had not seen him before. The man at least gave her the dignity of an answer.
"Richard Pickman, I'm an associate of Valentino's."
"The Dick Pic Man!" Velvette narrowed her eyes through the mask.
"Richard Pickman!" Niffty ran to the front of the group, immigrant up on the reception desk, behind which Pickman was sitting. "I love your work!"
"You... know him?" Charlie had been in the middle of reaching to grab Niffty off the counter, but she froze at the words. Niffty leaned closer toward Pickman.
"His art is inspirational. It helped me kill two of my husbands."
"If that is what it led you to do then it was meant to be. My art tells nothing but the truth." Pickman seemed flattered by Niffty's words, but Charlie just felt concerned.
"Do you know where Vox is?"
"Do you mean Victor?" Pickman came out from behind the desk. Charlie braced herself for an attack, but instead he walked past her toward the elevators. "He's with the others."
"We're taking him back." Charlie followed behind.
"You can try, I suppose. He was never a huge part of the grand plan for our Gods. More of a prize of convenience. So, do what you will." Pickman hit the elevator button.
It all felt a little simple.
Charlie boarded the elevator, with the others, letting it carry them up to the top floor. Shockingly, the penthouse seemed perfectly normal. Mo pulsing roots, no black sludge, everything looked clean and pristine. Charlie stepped from the elevator into a clean hallway with a door at the end. Velvette pushed numbers on the pin pad and the door opened.
The door led to a living room. There was a plush rug, a number of expensive couches, huge televisions. Valentino was sitting on one of the couches, sprawled out in a fancy, silken robe. There were paintings all over the room. Charlie recognized the Shoggoths in some of the images. But there were other, indescribable monsters painted in glistening paint over the canvases.
"Pickman, is that you? Did you bring the snacks?"
"Where is Vox!?" Velvette was the first to speak up. Val sat up, putting his glasses over his eyes as he squinted at the group, looking a little annoyed.
"Velvette, that helmet you're wearing is a nightmare. And look at all the people you dragged up to the penthouse without a single snack in sight. This sort of gross under preparedness is why you need me."
"I do need you," Velvette agreed, "you're my friend. But right now, you're fucking sick. I need you to come with us to the clinic with Charlie's hot cousin Angela-"
"And since when have you been so friendly with the royals?" Val looked her up and down with disdain. "The future of Hell belongs to the Vees. right? That's what we said. But the only one of us doing any work in that department seems to be me. You and Vox have both run off to be some stuck-up Princess's little house pets."
"We are trying to make sure there is a Hell you dumbass!" Velvette pointed her gun toward Valentino. "If those gods you serve win, there will be nothing."
"Sounds like someone doesn't understand what you're trying to do." A male voice called out from one of the rooms connected to the kitchen.
"Velvette just needs a little convincing, Danny. Ask Vox, he'll vouch for her." Valentino waved off the comment. "The others can die though, they're Lucifer's little bitches. Betrayed us for Heaven."
"And after all Heaven did to them." The door opened and the speaker appeared. Danny was tall, he had jet black hair, his eyes were unnaturally bright. He was dressed in a fine suit. A necklace dangled around his neck with a symbol that made Charlie's mask flicker at the sight of it. On his arm was none other than the same Sinner they were looking for.
"What are you talking about, Danny, you sound crazy." Vox was in his human form, hanging off of Danny, his expression looked glassy, distant. Charlie had seen that look in Adam's eyes on occasion. Vox was delusional. "What is with the crazy costumes? This isn't Halloween."
"I thought you said his memory was coming back?" Valentino glanced behind him as Vox finally made his appearance. Danny laughed.
"He remembers the important stuff."
"What is it with Vox and toxic ass dudes." Angel sneered behind his mask.
"Vox!" Velvette ran forward toward Vox's human form but Valentino quickly stood, blocking her way to Vox. He spread his cloak out, forming the gossamer wings of his Sinner form. He gestured toward the Fashionista Overlord with a graceful sweep of his arm.
"You can kill anyone you want that isn't Velvette."
"Fair enough." Danny touched his necklace and suddenly the lights went out. Charlie tapped her trident on the ground and the tip when up in flames. All of the sudden the room had become consumed by that same plaque-like growths. Valentino, Danny, and Vox were gone.
"The fuck just happened? Val!? Get that expensive ass over here right now!" Velvette ran forward, her expensive boots sticking to the tar-covered floor. There was a slick, squishing sound from nearby. Charlie pointed her trident forward as she saw something moving. A tentacles was reaching toward the ground coming directly from...
"The paintings!" Charlie raced forward pulling Velvette back as a massive Shoggoth pulled itself free from the artwork. It let out a loud cry as Charlie and Vaggie stabbed into it. She heard shots fired as Lysander and Angel were firing on more abominations that were clambering from the pictures beneath the gilded frames.
It was difficult to move. The room was small and some of the monsters practically filled the space. Charlie tried to remember all the protective spells she had learned, making a circle of infernal fire around she and her friends as they fired on the beasts. Her first encounter with Shoggoths she had been underprepared. But she wasn't about to make that mistake again.
"How many of these things are there!?" Angel managed to shoot a clawed hand that swiped last the infernal flame. Charlie surveyed the room. It was hard to see the monsters in the darkness of the room.
"Too many." Vaggie grunted as she dodged a massive tendrils as it came through the fire toward Charlie. The former Exorcist whipped around slicing it with her sword. This time, the blade was able to cut through the bulbous flesh with surprising ease given how hard the last encounter had been. The severed tendrils turned into liquid, splattering on the floor.
"I don't think these are as strong as the other Shoggoths we faced at my dad's party!" Charlie called out as she poked her trident in the fluid. It looked like... paint? "Our weapons should be plenty effective!"
"Oh they're effective all right!" Cherri sent bombs into the mass of monsters. Charlie saw Husk using playing cards to voice through wings, claws, and eyes alike. Vaggie and Niffty were cutting through any appendage that got too close. Angel and Lysander were firing at anything that moved.
It didn't take long to clear the room of monsters. Paint splattered over the pulsing growths that covered the floor. Charlie took a deep breath under her helmet. "Okay, now where did Vox go?" Charlie started searching for doors beneath the eldritch plants that had grown over every part of the room.
"He's where he belongs " Danny's voice spoke up. Charlie whipped around to see he had materialized in the center of the room. He had Vox on his arm again. "You cleared the room quickly. I'm impressed, annoyed, but I realize that not everyone what been blessed by the Gods with understanding."
"Vox, you have to get away from that asshole!" Velvette called to him, her gun drawn.
"Look, we may not like each other, but I know a thing or two about toxic fucking dudes." Angel pointed his guns toward Danny. "And that dickwad is literally toxic."
"You're wasting your time. We've already won." Danny touched his necklace again and all of the sudden, there was a heavy knocking at the door. "Heaven has Fallen, Hell will be close behind. And soon, everything will be as it should be. A world ruled only by chaos."
"Hell's already chaotic." Charlie spat back. "But its my home. And I am not about to lose it to the likes of you!" The door caved under the weight of the heavy knocks. Charlie saw Sinners and Hellborn alike, their flesh stretched, fused together. Their bodies pulled like marionettes by the black, pulsing vines that had buried into their flesh. She hated to see her people suffering, their bodies and souls being used as tools by unfeeling monsters wearing human faces. As Charlie ran toward Danny, she was grabbed from behind by the horrible amalgamation of flesh, bone, fur. And eyes that had once been employees of VoxTek.
"But we can make it better." Val smirked. "Once we're in charge, Hell can be remade in my image- a much sexier image, I promise. I have some great ideas. Right Voxy?"
"Is Mothman talking to me?" Vox hid behind Danny which seemed to genuinely upset Val.
"How long till this memory thing is fixed?"
"Memory is a funny thing. Who knows how long it will take." Danny didn't sound bothered as Charlie and her friends tried nit to get bitten or torn apart by what had once been functioning citizens of Hell. The monstrosity was so massive that it did nit fully fit in the room. The more pieces Charlie cut off or that Angel shot, the more would pile in the room to fill the space.
"Vox!" Velvette dodged past failing limbs making a dive toward Danny. Danny moved to touch his necklace again, but this time Vox grabbed his hand.
"Wait... that girl seems familiar..."
"She's no one, Vikki." Danny caressed Vox's cheek. He moved the fingers on his other hand and the moving mass of flesh surged forward., crashing down on top of Velvette, one of her guns flying from her hand, skidding across the floor.
"Hey! I said not to fucking kill her!" Valentino grabbed Danny by the arm. "You kill anyone else. Not Velvette. She's vital to the plan."
"No she's not." Danny sighed, moving his hand again and the pressure on Velvette lessened. Though she was still solidly trapped.
"Yes she is." Val snapped back. "I got you all these souls. I'm the one who Corrupted the broadcast because you guys are all out of date. And in return you were supposed to assure the safety of Velvette and Vox!" Danny glanced over at Vox still behind him, making a dramatic yawning motion.
"Victor is secured. That should be enough."
"That wasn't the whole deal, Danny! And we're supposed to share Voxy!" Val was getting visibly annoyed. Charlie took advantage of the distraction, stabbing into the flesh entrapping Velvette. She felt several hands grabbing her from behind, the next thing Charlie knew, she was being thrown against the wall. The mass of flesh and limbs crashed against her chest. Pinning her on place.
"The blonde is free game, I'm assuming? Danny glanced in Charlie's direction. Val lowered his glasses again, squinting like he was trying to slice Charlie up.
"Oh. Yeah. That's just the Princess, she's a bitch."
"Good." Danny touched his necklace again. It started to glow. A beam of light burst from the symbol. Charlie closed her eyes but felt... nothing.
"No one calls my baby girl a bitch."
"Puppet-Dad!" Charlie gasped as she saw Muppcifer in front of her. He was standing as tall as he could, chest puffed out proudly. Her heart stopped as she realized he had brought C'toggha with him.
"Is this Lucifer?" Danny looked the Muppet up and down.
"Yeah that's him." Val nodded.
"Look it's Cthulhu's little helpers!" C'toggha perked up instantly. "You guys can get me out of here!" Danny looked him up and down.
"If you got caught, it means you were not really as strong as your peers. We have no orders to rescue you. If you want help, take it up with Cthulhu."
"Are you fucking with me?" C'toggha was still heavily bound as Muppcifer slammed his cane into the mass pinning Charlie in place. The movement was a bit stiff, rigid which was a tad unusual, but perhaps he was still just holding the chains. The Princess fell to the ground, catching her breath.
"You shouldn't have come."
"I was made to protect you." Muppcifer put a hand on her cheek. "I felt you in danger and I came as soon as I could." Charlie teared up, her hand on his.
"Thank you."
"Now let's rescue your friend!" Muppcifer turned back to the fight. C'toggha struggled against the chains.
"If you let me go, I can eat them both."
"No." Charlie gripped her trident more tightly. "No one is eating anyone! But we are ending this." She looked to see her friends all pinned down by the blob that had once been the employees of VoxTek. No one was going to get in her way. She had to save Vox. It was a part of her deal. Charlie clenched her fists. She felt a wave of energy wash over her as her hand turned into its monstrous form again. Her eyes blazed as she saw chains, the chains formed from the various deals that Val and Danny must have made. They were thick, heavy, rotting. She saw them linked to the mass. As the flesh surged, Danny's fingers were pulling the chains to control it. Charlie left forward, using the claws from her demonic hand she tore through the links in the chain as if they were paper.
"Shit." Danny hissed as the parts of the flesh mass attached to the torn chains began falling still. Charlie kept tearing through them, severing each deal that Val and Danny had made.
"The fuck are you doing!?" Val turned his body into smoke, but Charlie's helmet blocked out the scent. He reformed grabbing her by the arms. She threw him over her, Angel shot him in the chest on his way down.
"Enough!" Danny tried to touch his necklace again, the chains started reforming. "You picked the wrong fucking side. You could have been gifted a place in Paradise, but instead you fight every step of the way!"
"There is no Paradise waiting for you!" Charlie hissed the words, her tail thrashing as she tried to rip the chains as they formed. "The Old Ones are liars!"
"Hurtful." C'toggha grumbled.
"Danny you were a human once, to them you are nothing!" Charlie ignored the interruption.
"Not true, the Gods love me." Valentino gasped at the accusation. The wound in his chest slowly starting to repair itself with black tendrils.
"C'toggha," Charlie spoke flatly, "what are either of these humans' names." She gestured to the two servants of the Gods. C'toggha sucked the air in through his teeth.
"You know, I'm not big on names."
"How do you not know my name? I'm like best friends with Nyarlathotep. I let Yog Sothoth be my company bartender!" Val looked genuinely offended.
"Who cares if you're remembered by some minor God. You serve a greater cause. Pull yourself together." Danny spat the words. He grabbed his necklace again. "Your job is to serve. And should you serve well, you will be rewarded. The harder the task, the greater the reward!"
"Val, this guy is fucking batshit!" Velvette called out to him as she fired toward Danny who dodged with ease. "And look what he's doing to Vox! He doesn't even recognize you!"
"That's because Victor was my fucking prize!" Danny's eyes blazed. "I have been doing everything to assure our afterlife together. I have followed every task Cthulhu had for me. No questions. Even when I had to knock that TV over- it was all leading up to this!" He grabbed his necklace and the room started to shake as the very tar that covered the ground began crawling over the flesh-beast making it move all on its own, without the chains. It began growing in size, filling the room rapidly Charlie tried to gather her friends close, making a shield that was barely holding on under the weight of the abomination above them. She kept her focus, trying to keep the cracks from spreading.
"Vox! Val! Do something you assholes!" Velvette was injured, nursing her arm. Angel had a few scratches on his arms and face as he lifted his guns.
"You know, if you had told me I was gonna get crushed to death by a hoard of meat, this is not where my mind would have gone."
"No one is dying!" Vaggie had he spear at the ready. Charlie maintained her focus on the shield but it was starting to fracture under the strain.
"Hang... on..." she needed to think of a fucking plan. Fast. The cracks spread all the way along the crimson bubble she had made for herself.
"VOX! Please! IT'S VELVETTE! We're FUCKING FRIENDS!" Velvette was still trying to appeal to Vox. "AND IF YOU KILL US I AM GOING To TELL THE BLOODY CAT!"
"I can't..." Charlie wince, "hold... on-"
BAM
The surge of flesh stopped dead. Charlie used her magic to expand her shield until the flesh fell away from them. She saw Val hunched over, Danny was on the ground, blood spilling from his head. And Vox, still in his human form, was holding a still smoking gun.
Velvette's gun.
"I remember now..." Vox's eyes were wide, his hands shook.
"Vox!" Velvette ran to him, hugging him tightly before Vox crumpled to the ground, seemingly passing out. The door opened. Pickman walked in, surveying the room. Charlie immediately pointed her trident at him.
"I'm not here to fight." He picked up Danny's body, slinging it over his shoulders. "Just picking up the food for the others. C'toggha." He nodded to the chained up dream god.
"You wanna get me out of these chains, art boy?"
"You and I both know I don't have those orders." Pickman shrugged.
"Are we already leaving?" Val tried to stand but stumbled.
"I'm leaving. There's no reason for me to be here any longer. What's done is done. This battle is over." Pickman's reply only seemed to piss Val off.
"What about me?" Val got up. But fell as Angel fired directly into the back of his head. Pickman watched as Val fell to the floor, unfazed.
"He is not useful to them anymore. All his. Contracts have been destroyed. Do with him as you see fit." And with that, Pickman stepped through one of the empty paintings still on the wall. Niffty ran after him. But hit the solid wall.
"Do you think these are free for the taking? I've always wanted a Pickman original." She reached for one of the paintings. Husk immediately pulled her hand away.
"No."
"Guess we'll need more of those infernal chains." Charlie sighed looking at Val. She looked at her monster arm. Had she really? Broken. Contracts? Was that something she could do? She would have to ask her dad when he got back. "You want to help me out, Puppet dad?"
Silence.
"Puppet-Dad?" Charlie turned. Muppcifer was lying face down on the floor. She grabbed him, flipping him over, looking him up and down. "Puppet-Dad!? What happened!?"
"He took that blast for you when we first got here." C'toggha remarked dryly. I thought you realized that. Sorry, didn't think k you were stupid." Charlie recalled the bright light that cane from Danny's necklace, how it had been barreling toward her but never hit.
"PUPPET DAD!" Charlie shook him. The googly eyes rolled with the motion. She tried to focus her magic. Maybe she could bring him back. "Wake up," her hands shook. "Please wake up."
"Maybe your aunt and uncles can fix him..." Vaggie ran to her side.
"I can fix him." C'toggha hopped a little closer. Charlie could see a number of the chains had already broken.
"Shut up!" Vaggie hissed at him.
"But I can fix him."
"I doubt you could, but even if you can why would you do it?" Charlie cradled the limp puppet in her arms, bowing her head so their foreheads could touch.
"I'm pissed at the other Gods and I want out." C'toggha shook the chains again. "I know how bad all this shit really is, you let me go Carmie, and I'll fix him."
"It's Charlie." She could wait for her family to return. But knowing it was Eldritch magic that destroyed him... it was hard to say if even Raphael could do anything. Not that C'toggha was a better option. He was almost guaranteed to be using her for his freedom and the moment she let him go, that was it.
Muppcifer would be gone forever and she would have put one more Elder God back into the fray.
But at the same time...
"You know you can't do it alone. I'll help you. Just this one time." C'toggha had been shown to be petty from the .moment they chained him up. There was a chance he might help just because his ego had been bruised earlier in the fight. Charlie looked up, directly into the three eyes as she cradled Muppcifer in her arms.
"Tell me why Heaven can't help and promise me you will save Puppet-Dad, then I might let you go."
"Heaven's been taken over." C'toggha's reply sent a chill down her spine.
"Bullshit!" Vaggie pointed her spear toward him.
"Is it?" C'toggha tilted his head toward Lysander who was pulling his phone out of his pocket.
"Sorry mates, my dad keeps calling me." Lysander looked apologetic. "Oi! What's up pops? Pops? You're breaking up... why- calm down. Dad?" Charlie felt herself tense. A call from Lysander's dad did not bode well for anyone. "Dad, you gotta slow down, I got a shit signal." He paused, putting the phone away. "He's gonna call back."
"See? You're already fucked. But you release me, I'll fix this little guy right up. Cursed items are no match for Gods. Think of it as a tiny win." C'toggha smirked. "Trust me, you'll need it."
"Promise?" Charlie narrowed her eyes.
"Charlie don't do this!" Vaggie grabbed her arm.
"Sure, I'll promise. This kind of shit has no effect on the grand scheme." C'toggha's smile widened. Fuck it. Charlie had wanted a chance to Redeem an Elder God, but to do that, she would have to give C'toggha a chance.
"Don't fuck me over."
"I won't in the immediate future. But no promises down the line."
"You do this, and I'll talk with my dad about not putting you to sleep when we win."
"Honey, you've already lost. But the fact that you think you can win makes you a dreamer." C'toggha grinned s little wider. "And I have a soft spot for dreamers."
"I'm watching you." Charlie snapped her fingers. The chains vanished. C'toggha stood, staring at his freedom wrists for a moment. Charlie readied to catch him if he bolted. But instead, he leaned over Muppcifer, putting a hand over him. There was a flash of light and the puppet sat back up.
"My little pineapple! There you are! I've come to save you!"
"Dad!" Charlie squeezed him tightly. She looked back at C'toggha as her eyes filled with tears. "Thank you." She really didn't think he would follow through.
"Don't expect any more favors." C'toggha surveyed the group. "But when we finish taking over, maybe I'll keep a few of you as house pets." And with that, C'toggha vanished in a burst of stars.
"Who the fuck even was that?" Angel Dust squinted at where C'toggha had once stood. "Why did your puppet dad have a hot dude on a leash? Are he and Neo spicing things up... or...?"
"That was an Elder God." Charlie summoned chains again, this tome binding Valentino who was unconscious on the ground. Vox had also passed out and Velvette was doing her best to get him upright.
"Thought the Old Ones would be taller." Angel looked unimpressed.
"Do you think it was a good idea letting him go like that?" Vaggie grabbed Charlie's hand.
"No." Charlie shook her head. "But I took the risk."
Charlie did her best to purify the tower, but she did not have the skills of her aunt and uncles. Still, she was able to clear a oath fir them to get back to the Hotel.
She hoped her dad wouldn't be too mad.
Muppcifer seemed back to his old self, bouncing around behind her as they made their way to the lobby.
Charlie froze.
The floor was splattered with golden blood. And there were Exorcists standing in her lobby.
