"He said he was invincible, so why did he disappear?"

He had probably known who I actually was, the day when he had approached me at the bar, since the word 'coincidence' had never existed in our world.

I was drinking alone, draining shot after shot of vodka, my vision getting slightly hazy as I struggled to keep my mind sane. I was cast out of Heaven after my incessant questioning of the definition of 'righteousness.' My superiors had sensed my doubts in the way of Heaven's doings, and I was predicted to rebel as well, like my predecessor, Castiel. They had decided to nip the bud before the flower could even bloom. It wasn't fair.

The day it had happened was wholly unpredictable; a sudden day when I was simply and quickly stripped of my powers, leaving my wings broken and my flesh bare as I roamed the Earth in my human vessel. It wasn't easy, having to do every little thing myself when I could have done it with a snap of my fingers. I felt hungry, I felt sorrow, I felt anger, I had emotions. I had become, no, I was a human.

It was cruel, they should have killed me instead, rather than making me a beggar in this vile world. My thoughts were fervent with wrath as I chucked down yet another cup; not only my powers but even my thoughts had felled.

"Hey lady, shouldn't you, uh, ease up on your alcohol? You are looking vulnerable, especially for a pretty woman like yourself." That was the first time I had met him, the cheeky, devious Angel. My senses were tingling, my primitive nature was still intact and I knew that he was not a mere human.

"Who are you?" My voice was unusually high-pitched as I glared at the grinning stranger, he was literally the personification of a mischievous devil.

"A prince, ready to save the damsel in distress." He smirked at me, he was not exceptionally handsome but he had this compelling charm to him, and I had been unknowingly allured by the stranger. "Who exactly are you?" I enunciated my words with such force that I had even astounded myself. Eventually, the man gave in to my persistence and revealed his identity.

"If you really want to know…" He grinned devilishly, "The name is Loki, the Trickster."

"A Pagan God, I see." I continued, accepting his companionship, and was reaching out for another glass before he had rather unceremoniously swatted my hand away.

"Nuh-uh. You are at your limit, no more for you. Hey, can I have a cup of iced water?" Loki took the glass from the bartender and placed it before me, "My Lady, you should drink this instead, it's much healthier."

"You are unusually nice. It would be good if the angels above are half as friendly as you." I smirked sadly before chucking the cup down, the water a soothing treat to my sore throat. He glanced at me with his eyebrows raised. "Angels huh… So you are one of them, I guess?"

"Was." I corrected him, a hint of grudge evident in my voice. "So tell me… What is going on in Heaven?" Loki asked curiously, adding on that the impending Apocalypse was now a common knowledge among all and even the Pagan Gods were affected by the upcoming war.

Before long, I started to speak, my words blurting out unguardedly as I slowly found comfort in this new companion of mine. "I don't understand exactly… Lucifer and Michael's battle… the angels are taking sides... I don't know what to do!... I guess my indecisiveness was the shears to my feathers…. My name is Victoria but I have lost everything…"

I might have fallen asleep halfway through our conversation as I had found myself on a bed in a rather luxurious-looking hotel the very next day. My head hurt as I struggled to open my eyes, wincing as I did so. Being human was such a chore.

"Good morning, Victoria." Loki greeted me gregariously, tapping on my forehead. "There, feeling better?" Indeed, my migraine disappeared instantly after he used his powers on me.

"Heh, thank you." It would be nice if I had my powers too; having hangovers were really nasty, a surprisingly terrible aftereffect for drinking something as glorious as alcohol.

"I should leave now." I said afterwards, it wouldn't do well to involve the Nordic God, some angels might be looking for me as well, to complete their unfinished business. There could be some angels looking for my body, after all, even I wasn't expecting to survive the fall when I was expelled from Heaven.

Loki glanced at me briefly before asking a really neat question. "So, where do you intend to go?" Now, that question had caught me off guard. I contemplated for a long while, and I came to my final conclusion- I had no plans indeed. "Well, let's stay together for a while then, Victoria, I could use some friend too."

"Oh, by the way, here's some breakfast that I have brought up from the lobby." Loki put a plate of French toast with sausages in front of me which had incited an embarrassing growl from my famished stomach.

"Thanks... I guess I have to take you up on your offer."

We spent a few days together, doing particularly nothing with regards to the Apocalypse, only simply enjoying life as we put our worries and anxiety behind. We were travelling between towns; I was especially busy watching Loki dishing out punishments to humans who did crimes while helping those in need.

I had noticed that Loki had been especially nice towards me, in contrary to the cruel rumours I had heard about him in the past, such as devouring stray angels. Perhaps he had sensed my loneliness, my aimless, wandering self, and he had decided to take it upon himself to care for me.

Our carefree lifestyle was put to a rude stop when my superior, Zachariah, had decided to hunt me down out of goodwill. I was alone in a dingy cafe, having my afternoon tea while waiting for Loki as he had some personal errands to do.

"Hello Victoria, have you been doing well?" A shadow loomed over me as I was reading the newspaper. The sudden presence put a weight in my heart, an unusual emotion flooding my body as I recognized the low voice. "You have become ah… rather human now." The voice was icy and full of scorn and I had shuddered instinctively at his voice. I was feeling fear.

"Z-Zachariah…" I mumbled as I locked gazes with him, his eyes were narrowed with disdain as he spoke, "How unbecoming of an angel, you, a fallen angel, but still an angel nevertheless. May I join you for a cup of tea?"

Every nerve in my body was trembling, and every fiber of my being was telling me to run, to escape. But I was frozen to my core, I was unable to move, I had succumbed to his presence. "What are you doing here…?" My voice had sounded timorous and weak.

"Cleaning up some business." Zachariah replied nonchalantly, waving his spoon as he sipped his tea. "Oh, you know, you."

In an instant, time was stopped in the vicinity. Everybody had stopped moving, turning into immobile statues. All the while, Zachariah had continued to drink his tea leisurely while looking at me in laze. "You know what happens to those who question the will of Heaven."

"These extra weeks of life you have gained… you know, you are really lucky." Zachariah stood up, wiping his hands on his suit as he revealed the Angel Blade from his sleeve. "It was nice seeing you, though, Victoria." He mocked me but I knew I could have never won against him.

As the Angel Blade came towards me, the motion painfully slow, the dagger disappeared just as swiftly as it had appeared. "Loki!" I cried out as I caught sight of the Pagan God standing behind Zachariah. He had arrived just in the nick of time.

"Who might this intruder just be…?" Zachariah turned around with annoyance before widening his eyes in shock as he recognized the terrifyingly powerful man in front of him. "The Archangel… Gabriel…" He was practically gawking at Loki as he murmured his name.

"Gabriel…?" I asked in disbelief. The very same Gabriel, our supposedly leader, who had disappeared in the times of chaos?

"Look like I was exposed once again." Loki sighed dramatically, tapping his forehead in annoyance as he frowned. "At your service, Gabriel, yes. But I prefer to go by my alias, Loki, now." Then he snapped his finger at once, "and you would do well to stop harassing our pretty lady." As soon as Loki finished speaking, Zachariah disappeared into a flash of bright light, transported to some place far away against his will.

"You are Gabriel…?" My feelings were in turmoil now, the Archangel who had quietly removed himself from Heaven was now before me. The Archangel who could have ruled Heaven in justice; the Archangel who could have stopped Heaven from becoming a chaotic mess; the Archangel who had disappeared when all of us needed him.

But the man in front of me was now the Pagan God I had come to feel for.

"Sorry, princess." Loki mumbled sheepishly as he apologized, "Now that you know who I am… I hope you are not too angry with me." I clenched my fists in quiet disorientation as I stared at him, unable to respond coherently as I looked at him in pain. "Anyway… I have just received an invitation from Kali. I have to leave now, this time, Victoria, for real."

"Leave?" The sudden statement left me in a pit of sadness and surprise. The astonishment at the revelation of Loki's true identity was forgotten at once.

"Yes. However, I might not come back this time round. So take good care of yourself." Loki patted my head affectionately, putting his Angel Blade in my hand before vanishing. "It had been fun, Victoria."

"Gabriel…" I was left alone, standing in the café motionless, as time started to tick again.

The Archangel had come and left like the tempest that he was.

I had tried scouting for news on Gabriel, on his location, but to no avail. I was cut off from Heaven with no Angelic acquaintances and I was as powerless as I could ever be. After a few tedious weeks, I encountered some hunters and I had finally obtained information on Kali, the only possible lead I could get on Gabriel.

"Kali!" I yelled into an empty lounge of a rundown hotel, clutching a piece of white paper with her address. "Kali!"

"Oh, shut it, human girl." A ravishing woman stepped out from within the shadows, a sour frown on her face. As she looked at me with careful eyes, she then asked, "…A fallen angel with tattered wings, I see. What do you want from me?"

"…Where is Gabriel?"

Kali's expression had changed to that of sorrow at the mention of his name, and just within a second, she was indifferent again.

"Dead, probably."

That news had left me stunned and inexplicably hollow. Kali glanced at me and sighed quietly as she walked back to her sanctuary. "Look like there's yet another silly one who had allowed her heart to be stolen by the trickster. But, let's have some faith in him, shall we?"

It was only a short while but those times were more than enough.

"It isn't so bad to be human, isn't it? You get to feel. You get to try. You get to love." Gabriel smiled and patted me on the head as I spoke miserably about my fading angelic powers and my transition into a human.

But Gabriel… it's so painful to feel.

So please save me again.