"I was looking forward to that."
"I saved you the trouble."
Tobias tosses his coat aside, revealing a steel string.
"You really don't know who you're dealing with." He sneers. He begins to twirl the string effortlessly-steel flying that fast could wound Hannibal very badly, especially if it hits his face or neck. He backs away, keeping his arm at face level so the wire won't reach anywhere near his head.
When Tobias swings the wire it catches at Hannibal's wrist. Tobias pulls the wire tight, and Hannibal hisses as the steel digs into his skin. Pulling closer, Tobias grins.
"You can't even begin to comprehend what I am."
It's Hannibal's turn to smile as he wrests the wire out of Tobias's hands and kicks Tobias away.
"You'd be surprised at what I can and can't comprehend."
"Oh Lecter," the man coos, "I am much much more than a killer."
"And I am much much more than a psychiatrist."
Tobias chuckles darkly.
"Oh, we both know that Dr. Lecter. I was referring to something a bit more...celestial."
He lunges forward in an attack of brute strength, socking Hannibal square in the jaw. Hannibal staggers a bit, but recovers. Tobias's attack is a whirlwind of offensive, and Hannibal has no choice but to stick to the defensive, until an opportunity reveals itself. He parries most of the dark man's attacks. The two men fly around the room, evenly matched fighters. Tobias stabs his leg with his letter opener. Hannibal stabs his arm with a pen (his favorite, no less).
Finally he sees his chance, and wedges Tobias's arm into the stepladder. The other man screams, before Hannibal knocks him to the ground, giving him the chance to catch his breath.
"Did you think I was not referring to something celestial too, brother?" Hannibal pants, feeling slightly triumphant. "I'm quite disappointed. There used to be a time where you knew all of us by face and name."
Hannibal rolls his shoulders and grunts as muscles twitch and bones crack from disuse. He hasn't done this in centuries.
They are barely discernible in the dim light, but dark shadows spread across the wall behind Hannibal.
"Tobias" growls in anger, struggling to his feet.
"You!" He spits. Standing up straight, dark shadows spread behind him as well. But instead of standing in fear of the six shadows, Hannibal only makes a noise of pity. These shadows are faded, tattered, signifying the source's damage.
"Raphael...how far you've fallen."
"How far I've fallen!?" The archangel hisses. He begins to circle around Hannibal, and in turn Hannibal circles around Raphael. "As I recall, you were the one who fell, Cabniel!" He spits the name like an insult.
"Left," Hannibal corrects simply, wincing. " Falling implies lack of faith—which I have not. And I prefer the name Hannibal now. I've grown rather fond of it."
Raphael ignores him.
"You ran away, just like Gabriel."
"In a way, yes. Brother Gabriel was tired of watching his family tear itself apart. I was tired of watching the stupidity that was my duty to erase from the earth possess those I love."
"Yes, and you've always done so well at your job!"
"And you've always underestimated the difficulty of my task. I left Heaven because it was felt that my purpose was no longer required. I came here and chose to continue my work in my own way. Yet I see you, you the one who heals in God's name, one of His most faithful followers needlessly destroying the creations he cares most about!" Hannibal's voice slowly begins to rise in volume.
"We were going to bring about Paradise!"
"Against Father's plans. Whatever way he wanted to bring the Apocalypse around, that was not it and you know it. It was not supposed to end with Sam and Dean Winchester. It wasn't even supposed to begin with Mary and John. This is not what God planned."
"God is dead!" Raphael shouts, lurching forward blindly. Hannibal easily sidesteps.
"And your belief in His death shows!" He snaps back. He lets out a small hiss as he slips his blade out for the first time in centuries. It gleams in his hand.
He is not expecting Raphael to barrel into him like he does, tackling him like a quarterback. He can feel the wind knocked out of him as his back slams against the ground and he gasps.
Straddling over him, Raphael begins to punch Hannibal over and over again. Hannibal raises his arms to defend himself and drops his blade in the process. Raphael gives him one evil smirk before snatching it out of Hannibal's grasping fingers.
"I'm glad we managed to meet up again, Cabniel." He snarls, raising the blade high over his head.
"You've gone insane, brother," Hannibal says quietly. "This is not you."
"Times change."
Raphael brings the blade down. It slams into Hannibal's chest and he can hear it stab into the wooden floor. The psychiatrist arches his back in a silent scream, eyes squeezing shut in pain. Raphael smiles, yanking the blade out, expecting to watch his brother's grace burn out almost explosively.
But to his shock, the angel begins to ripple and fade, dissolving into white-blue smoke.
"What!?" Raphael screeches. There is a soft sigh behind him and he whirls on his knees.
Hannibal stands there with his back to Raphael, dusting off his coat sleeves.
"As rude as Brother Gabriel was, he was a talented teacher. And as I mentioned before-"
If his voice betrays a trace of sadness over the loss of contact with one of his closer brothers, Raphael does not hear it. Instead Raphael launches himself at the doctor with a scream, blade raised high, but Hannibal turns on his heel in a blink, directing the blade out of harms way and instead using the momentum to propel it into Raphael's stomach.
Raphael grunts as the blade stops him dead short.
"I prefer the name Hannibal."
The archangel's legs give out, and he can't speak save to whimper and growl like an animal. Hannibal catches him, keeping him on his feet with a strong hand on his back.
"I was once proud to say I was your equal," he murmurs sadly, but Raphael only glares. Hannibal wrenches the blade out of Raphael's chest and the archangel chokes as his eyes begin to shine.
"I'm now disappointed to say I am your better."
Raphael screams, shining blue white light. If anyone had been outside the office looking in, they would have seen the brilliant light shining out of the widows.
When the light fades, Hannibal drops Raphael's limp body to the floor.
Using his pocket handkerchief, he wipes the blood off of his blade before sliding it back into his sleeve. He will have to seal it into his arm again-an unpleasant process. His right hand is covered in the ash of his brother's wings; he wipes it off as best he can. That's when he notices the glowing scar on his palm; the blade must have gotten him in the fight. He wraps his handkerchief around his palm, effectively blocking the light-the wound would only heal on its own, and he can't have anyone seeing his grace. He takes the letter opener and, rolling Raphael's body over, he slides it into the fatal injury made by his blade.
He stands up and walks over to his desk, and slumps into his chair. He calls the police with a shaking voice.
It is only after he hangs up the phone that he realizes he is crying, the red trails of blood tears trickling down his face. Against his will a sob escapes him, but that is all. Using tissues he wipes all the tears from his face, then presses the tissues against his leg wound to hide the source.
When Will walks in, looking worried and uninjured and mercifully alive, a sweeping sense of relief washes over Hannibal.
"I feel like I dragged you into this." Will tells him, looking ashamed.
"I got here on my own." Hannibal glances at his brother's rag doll body being carried away and suppresses his grief.
He cannot change what he is.
He can change who he is.
He is not Cabniel.
He is Hannibal.
He looks back at Will, this brilliant being with the pure-blue-white soul surrounded by dark thorns, this human who is so much greater than he thinks, so much more fascinating than the rest of the stupid scum Hannibal prides himself on ridding this world of, this man who is so close to perfection he only needs to be guided a little farther by Hannibal.
Hannibal smiles weakly.
"But I enjoy the company."
AN: Isn't it such a coincidence that Raphael is known as the "Archangel who walks with Tobias"?
This is supposed to take place present day, as in, after Raphael is supposed to have died (and also in a female vessel). So how did he survive and get his original vessel back? *shrugs and winks* I'll let you decide.
A while back, I was told that Cabniel was the angel tasked with ridding all of the stupidity from the world. I haven't found anything to prove or disprove this claim, and I think Cabniel is a fitting name.
Supernatural and all characters do not belong to me
Hannibal and all characters do not belong to me