Category: Darksiders I & II
Rating: M
Couples: Azrael/War
Warnings: AU, Yaoi, Debatable-Con (once), Lemon, Mpreg
Chapter: 1
Copyright: Characters & places © By Appropriate Copyright-holder, Plot & OC´s © by me
Author's note: This is a collab with Food-for-Mind, so this time I am not alone in being to blame for anything bad that happens: SHE DID IT!
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"You are to be banished for three centuries, during which you will only set foot in the White City or any places under Heaven's control if and when you have been summoned." Raphael stated evenly, his hands folded in front of him. "During these years, you are under control of the Horseman War unless summoned by Heaven."
Azrael's eyes widened, not out of shock at the harshness of the sentence, but rather at the leniency of it all. This was his punishment for aiding Abaddon in destroying the Third Kingdom and starting the Endwar early!? Granted, the exact depth of his sin had escaped Heaven, most angels assuming that he had been tricked into it, not knowing what the General had intended, but still…
The Assembly departed, leaving the Archangel on his spot on the center floor. He looked up when Raphael flew down to him, pointedly ignoring a couple of angels that seemed to hesitate to approach him.
Raphael did briefly watch them, wondering at them simply leaving after those few moments of hesitation.
"Was that for real?" Azrael demanded as his fellow angel touched down upon the ground in front of him. "Raphael, my stupidity ended the Third Kingdom. I ought to be cast into Hell, not the Horseman's keeping!"
"No one is perfect, Azrael." The other angel was dressed in armor. He was formidable, perhaps not to the level of Abaddon – who had been the finest warrior Heaven ever produced – but he had been one of the few who could give the former General some real trouble in a fight and could even best him. "Besides, this arrived earlier today… by crow."
"Crow…?" Azrael echoed, taking the small roll. Opening it, he saw only a few sentences. Immediately his eyes flitted to the name at the bottom. "Wait, War sent this?"
"Yes." His opposite nodded. "I daresay Heaven can reap the benefits of this deal."
Only now Azrael looked at the actual message. For the first time in a good while, he was speechless. "Non-attacking of Heaven in exchange for leniency on me? Why?"
"It does not tell." The other angel shrugged lightly. "But War is honorable, all things taken into account. We were unanimous that we should take this offer."
"Why would he…?" Azrael could not comprehend why the Horseman would protect him so, despite his statement of him killing all that schemed with Abaddon. Had he decided the Archangel had redeemed himself after all the aid he had rendered? It seemed that the Horsemen had taken the place of the destroyed Charred Council…
"You will leave after a short stop to take what you need from your home." Raphael ignored the other's confusion. "The crow carried another note telling us to send you to… 'the Return from Truth', wherever that may be. I assume you know?"
It took the scribe a few moments until he realized what was meant: the place in the Ashlands where he had taken War after Eden. "Yes, yes, I know where that is."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Hesitantly he appeared above the appointed place, looking around. It seemed they were not expecting him this quickly. Slowly he descended towards the ground, still all senses in high-alert.
"You can come down fully now!" A voice sharply called up. Recognizing it as War's, Azrael obediently touched down on the ground, wondering where the Rider was.
He cried out in surprise when a powerful punch hit him between his wings, sending him down onto the ground. Entirely quicker than he would have expected the Horseman to move, a heavy weight was on top of him, sword against his neck. He regretted having exchanged his formal robes for a more sedate outfit, no golden arch of his rank protecting his neck now…
"What did they sentence you to?" War's non-golem hand pushed down between Azrael's shoulders, not hard enough to hurt or even cause discomfort, but certainly enough that the angel knew better than to try to move anything. The massive sword tingled with its' otherworldly energies against his neck, causing his hair to stand upright.
"I… I am banished from Heaven and its' outposts - unless summoned - for three centuries." Azrael wondered if he could risk shifting, one of his wings caught rather painfully between him and the knee of the male on top of him. On the other hand, the pain did keep him nicely occupied. "I am under your watch for that time."
The Red Rider rose then, offering a hand to the angel he had bowled over. Azrael rolled his wing when he stood again, rather awkwardly trying not to look the armored male in the face.
It worked about half a minute, at which point the massive golem-arm shot out and latched onto the scholar's slender neck. His eyes widened, suddenly a horrible thought coming to him: what if War had demanded leniency from the White City so he could be the one to kill Azrael? It would be out of character certainly, but so had been many things this last century and the Horseman would not be the first to surprise people.
"And you better behave well enough that I do not tell the truth to the other angels." War snarled, lifting the white-eyed male clean of his feet. "Your deeds gave you a second chance. Do. Not. Waste. It. Am I clear?"
He certainly had no intention of doing that. Azrael nodded as much as he could with the metal hand under his chin, sighing in relief when he was dropped once more, though he stumbled rather badly at the short drop combined with the awkward balance of his massive wings.
"Come then." War turned on his heels, marching over to where the bridge was – if one wore a Mask of Shadows or knew another way to pierce that veil. Obediently, the mystic followed.