Fallen from Grace

Chapter XI

A sudden cold chill rushed over Eleanora as Gabriel put a hand on her shoulder. The blue sky and green grass sudden changed into a stale grey triangular box which was vacant of any living presence of any furniture, the air smelling like mould and wet earth. Breaking away from Gabe's hold she walked forward a step before taking a 360 turn.

"Gabe, where are we?" Eleanora inquired softly as she held the leather jacket closer to her chest.

"At an abandoned safe house." Gabriel informed as he ran his finger over the blade of his sword.

"Why are we here?"

"For your safety." Gabriel informed seriously. "I made a promise to Lucifer that I'd keep you as far away from the fight as possible."

"What?!" Eleanora exclaimed. "What happens to Apollyon?! Take me to him!" She demanded while vigorously shaking his shoulders.

"Take me to him! Or I swear I will cut you." She threatened while holding the blade under his chin. He simply chuckled at her before grasping the blade in his hands, and twisting it out of her grasp.

"Did you actually think we'd give you a real Angel Blade when we knew that you might do something like this when you found out the truth that your 'Apollyon' is out there on a suicide mission in order to let you live?" Gabriel growled. "We aren't stupid, Eleanora."

"And I'm sorry it has to come to this, but I am just following my brother's dying wish." Gabriel spoke softly before snapping his fingers which resulted in her being tied down to a chair with a gag in her mouth as she spoke muffled sentences through the cloth, most obviously profanities at him for doing this. Gabriel sighed as he walked a few steps away from her and looked up at the ceiling in exasperation.

"Why must it always come down to one of us dying, Father?" Gabriel whispered softly at the ceiling. "Why?"

***

Apollyon walked through a rickety gate that allowed entrance to a deserted park that was at the outskirts of town. He knew that Michael was close, because he could feel him, and he was coming alone. He stood at the center of the park waiting for his brother's arrival as he held his Angel blade in one hand and fished out his phone from his pocket with the other. Clicking at the screen, he opened up a picture of Eleanora having her arm around Apollyon's shoulder, their heads pressed together as she was teaching him how to take a selfie.

Smiling down at the picture, he ran his thumb over Eleanora's face.

He never could have imagined someone giving away their soul to be his friend, but that white haired girl proved him wrong. She was always so patient with him and his incessant questioning and overly curious mind. She cared for him, and he never even got to tell her that he cared for her just as much as she did. He was not good at portraying his feelings, but he knew that he wanted her to be happy and live a long life like she is supposed to, with or without him. He'd miss her, but he was glad for the time he had spent with her.

Putting his phone away, he held the blade firmly in his hand as the wind picked up and a figure materialised in front of him. A man who looked to be in his mid-twenties with dark brown hair and corresponding eyes stood in front of him in a dark suit.

"Hello, Michael." Apollyon curtly greeted the man in front of him.

"Lucifer." Michael nodded in response. "You understand why I am doing this, don't you, brother?"

"All I understand is that you are a spineless soldier, who is thriving on orders, with no mind of his own to make the decisions for him." Lucifer stated as he continued to play with the edge of the blade. Looking up from the task at hand, showing his brother his black and red eyes, a sign of power associated with the devil. "So Michael, yes I understand that you'd rather kill your own brother than go against orders."

"We were created to follow and worship our Father." Michael retaliated in a booming voice. "He knows everything and creates everything."

"Everything, eh?" Apollyon glowered as he straightened his posture. "God knows everything, right? Then God knew that I was going to reject bowing down to the humans. God knew that I was going to start a war. God knew that I was going to become the Devil. God wanted this, Michael. God wanted the Devil. He simply created a piece for his chess game."

"Enough, Lucifer!"

"What's the matter? Can't handle the truth?"

"You have gone out of line, brother, and I can only do one thing about it." Michael gritted out as he charged at Apollyon, bringing up his blade as the Devil blocked the move with his own.

"Oh. It's on." Lucifer cackled as he shot a beam of light at his brother's chest, sending him flying back against a tree. Michael straightened as he tightly gripped the blade in his hand, both the Archangels charging at each other with full force. Both of them stood nose to nose, their blades parring the other's strike as they glared at each other.

"Let's take this to home turf, shall we?" Michael grinned as a bright beam of white light shot up and towards the sky. As the light vanished, so did the two celestial beings.

Gabriel could hear the sound of their battle raging on up in the sky, both of them using the full extent of their power as different disasters struck different countries when their strike would miss the opponent and hit Earth instead. He just prayed that they didn't destroy the planet in order to declare a winner and winced when he heard Apollyon's cry of pain, followed by a strong gust of wind.

"Gabriel?" Eleanora called out to him since he had unbound her, because there was nothing she could do now, it was too late. "Are you alright?"

He winced again as the sound of metal against metal clashed through his skull, the colour draining from his face.

"It's not looking good." He muttered as he tried to decrease his laboured breathing. "Michael is holding an incentive over his head."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't understand. What could he possible hold over Lucifer?" Gabriel murmured to himself. "Do you know?"

"Not really" Eleanora shook her head. "His most precious possessions were the leather jacket and his Harley Davidson bike." Eleanora informed in confusion, a thick silence washing over them.

"He's not gonna make it out alive, is he?" Eleanora choked out as a tightness coiled inside her chest.

"I don't have any hopes by the looks of the battle."

"Is he outnumbered?"

"No, it's just Michael and Lucifer. Like the start." Gabriel sighed before groaning in empathetic pain.

Eleanora blinked the tears out of her eyes as she wiped one away, pulling her knees to her chest as she tried her best not to burst into tears.

"Why are you crying?" Gabriel asked in utter bewilderment as the tears sprung forth.

"I don't want Apollyon to die." Eleanora admitted with a sob. "I don't want to lose him."

"Eh...Eleanora, please, everything will be alright." Gabriel tried to consolidate her. "Sure, he might die and you'll never see him again, but...oh, sweety, please stop crying I'm not good with crying humans...Please don't sob yourself into oblivion....Elanora."

Obviously having failed at consolidating her with words, he tried hugging her but she simply pushed him away while trying to wipe away her tears. Not understanding how to deal with her crying and then the incessant battle resonating in his skull, he did what he thought was the most ideal solution.

He knocked her out.

He simply placed his fingers against her temple, instantly knocking her out as she lay sprawled ver the floor. Sighing in relief, Gabriel picked up Apollyon's leather jacket, wrapping it around her shoulders before he snapped his fingers, allowing a mattress to appear beneath her sleeping form.

"Apollyon....for her sake, come back alive." Gabriel murmured into the sky, closing his eyes briefly to acknowledge the fact that his brother received the message.

The park was still deserted as ever as the wind blew the autumn leaves in all direction the and the dusk sky rolled over. A sudden white flash illuminated the clearing as two figures materialised at the center of the field. Both of them battered and bruised, bleeding from various places as one of them was having trouble standing as the other was kneeling on the floor, a hand on his side as blood streamed down his temple and lip.

"Just give up already." Michael groaned as he tried to get back to his feet.

"Says the one having trouble standing." Apollyon sneered in retort. "Why don't you try giving up once in a while."

"Never." Michael retorted as he struggled to his feet, spitting out a mouthful of blood before facing his brother with laboured pants. Both Michael and Lucifer stood face to face, both of them to exhausted to battle any longer, but both of them holding on until one of them gave up. Staggering, Apollyon charged his brother, holding his blade up to pierce him, but Michael parried the strike. Using the energy he didn't have, he disarmed his brother, the blade clattering to the ground a few feet away.

Apollyon collapsed to his knees in front of his mentor, looking up at him with a pained expression. Spreading out his arms, he declared that he was ready to die.

"Just get it over with." Apollyon groaned in defeat. "And tell Eleanora that I apologise for failing her. If anything, then give her a quick and painless death, too."

Michael grinned like a feral cat, barring his teeth to his brother.

"Killing her isn't out problem anymore. Her days are already numbered. She is, after all, a mere human." He sneered as he placed a hand on top of Lucifer's head, looking down at him with distaste. "I'm going to take your most precious gift away from you, Lucifer."

Lucifer realised too late as his brother brought down his sword, a bright white light illuminating the entire clearing as a scream tore through his mouth. The intensity of scream causing an earthquake to occur in the small town of Forget, Saskatoon, Canada.

The walls of the safe house shook violently as Gabriel fell to all fours due to the intensity of the quake. The shaking awoke Eleanora, who curled into a ball, covering her head to protect herself form any potential damage. The room shook for a moment longer before it diminished into nothingness. Breathing heavily, Eleanora sat up in panic as she tightly wrapped the leather jacket around her for a sense of security and safety. Stumbling off the mattress, she staggered towards Gabriel's figure.

"Gabriel?" Eleanora called out meekly as she approached the hunched Archangel. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she noticed wet drops in front of his face. Tears. "Gabriel?"

"It's over." His entire body shook with suppressed emotions as he continued to remain hunched on the floor, the tears streaming down steadily and landing on the concrete ground. "Lucifer is dead."