Halo

Author's Note: I have no idea why I decided to write this. LOL. Most of the ideas here are because of the roleplaying games I had with my cousin about how Imperius would handle mortality. This was the end result. It takes place after Reaper of Souls as Tyrael will be mortal here as well. I don't know where this may go, really. But there's some maturity to be had here. Maybe where you're thinking. Maybe not.

"Sometimes it takes a good fall to really know where you stand."

- Hayley Williams

"In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it's impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves. And then, in that very moment when I love them... I destroy them."

- Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game

By: VampireQueenAkasha

~O~

The Fall

The taste of earth was the first sensation.

The second was...touch.

Imperius never had to understand these feelings. But why would he know them now? And how had he come to understand them?

The touch he felt was of the rain that fell from the skies of Sanctuary.

Imperius rose, faced with the remains of a farmhouse.

Something felt wrong.

His body... He had physical form...like a...mortal?

Imperius stared down at his hands. What came to him was a very human emotion. An emotion he could not have possibly felt in many lifetimes since being brought into existence.

Confusion.

Imperius found his helmet lying in a puddle nearby and when he bent down to retrieve it, a human farmer approached him. He was holding a lantern and shielding himself from the rain with a cloak.

"My Lord!" the man exclaimed. "What in Akarat's name happened?"

Imperius turned to the mortal, his voice seething. "LOWER your tone with me, mortal!" he bellowed, unable to fathom the insanity in this mortal man. "You know who you speak to!"

The human squinted at him in shock. "Do I speak to the Aspect of Valor Himself?!"

"YES!" Imperius spat, "Are you blind, fool? I am Imperius, the Aspect of Valor! And I demand to know why my helmet was - AHHHH!"

Imperius had caught a glimpse of himself in the reflective surface of his helmet and actually screamed, staggering back so fast, he fell in a most ungraceful manner.

The farmer was so frightened, he actually ran from him, leaving Imperius alone in the rain. The archangel slowly made his way to his helmet - which he had dropped in his alarm - and picked it up, studying the stranger looking back at him from the reflection of it.

Suddenly, he felt...ill.

What was ill? Imperius had never felt physically weakened like this. His legs gave out and he collapsed again, roaring to the heavens above.

O

Auriel had been deeply troubled by this decision.

"Are you certain of this?"

Ithereal drifted silently across his realm. "The Scroll of Fate has decreed it." he said. "Imperius has been judged for his violent deeds. He will soon come to understand."

"He will not know so easily..." Auriel replied, her wings flickering with doubt - it was unlike her to doubt in such a way. "Imperius has his share of faults as we all, but he is firm in his belief that humans are not worth the time nor the effort."

"Talus'ar has seen a glimmer of light," Ithereal replied, "This is unusual for one of our own to be tested. All possibilities have turned to this moment in time."

"Do you see him returning?"

"Yes... But not for a time."

O

Lyndon laughed as he was thrown from the bar. Tyrael had very little to offer in the ways of enthusiasm as far as his companion did. They had just been thrown from a tavern after he had flirted with the barkeep's wife. Why was he happy?

"You see, my friend," Lyndon told him, taking a quick drink from a mead container he'd pilfered, "I told you he'd throw the first punch."

Tyrael frowned at him. "You enjoy this humiliation?"

"Of course not, I'm not a sadist." Lyndon laughed. He spotted something and grinned, offering his mug of mead to Tyrael. "Hold this for a moment, would you?"

"You are not attempting another trick, are you?"

"Of course not."

"Are you lying right now?"

Lyndon grinned and thrust his arms out, backing from the angel. "Of course I am!"

Tyrael sighed heavily. These humans had so much good in them, but he failed to understand why Lyndon preferred to do mischievous deeds.

O

Imperius wasn't sure how long he wandered.

He could see the sight of a well nearby and though he resisted, the sick feeling of thirst was far too unbearable to bear. So he rushed to it and sank his head deep into the water. His actions startled a young child nearby, who fled with a terrified scream.

None of these feelings made sense to him. Imperius wondered what everything was and how Tyrael had dealt with mortality. Why he had willingly chosen such a fate was still beyond the Archangel of Valor. And why this had happened to him without just cause was another question he would soon discover.

"Hey!"

The angel heard the shout and lifted his head from the water. A dark-skinned human was approaching him, wielding a pitchfork in her hands. The child who had fled hid behind her.

"That's MY well you have your head in!" she snapped.

"Aunt Thalia, I think that's the Aspect of Valor..." the child whispered.

The woman-Thalia-looked down at her in shock before regarding Imperius warily. The angel retrieved his weapon from where he had dropped it and menacingly approached.

"You will watched your tone, woman!" he hissed, "And you will not brazenly think to threaten me with such a puny-"

He suddenly doubled over in pain.

Thalia pulled the child closer behind her. Imperius snarled with effort.

"Why is this mortal form so weak?!" he spat, "I am not..."

He suddenly passed out.

Thalia glanced down at the child briefly. She warily poked Imperius' shoulder, reluctant to do anything further. When he shifted a little, the two backed away before rushing to their farmhouse.

O

"How long has he been out there?"

Thalia's mother-Hadar-watched the window and she could see Imperius lying in the muddy ground, his face partially submerged in a puddle.

"I don't know." Thalia said, still on edge. "I don't know why the Aspect of Valor is here. I don't know why he is mortal. I only know that he frightened Maya."

Hadar squinted and rose, gathering a tarp from a chair. "Well, we can't have him dying on the farm." she replied, "I'll take him to the barn and he can sleep with the chickens for a little while. At least until we figure out what has happened to him."

"Mother, no!" Thalia exclaimed, "The angels attempted to kill us!"

"As I recall, that was the Aspect of Wisdom who attempted it," Hadar said, opening the door. "Now let's try and show that humanity can be above that."

Thalia watched as her mother walked over to the limp form of Imperius and took his arm. She attempted to lift him, but with much difficulty. Thalia sighed and walked out, helping her mother by lifting the angel's legs. They dragged him to the barn and rolled him into the piles of hay.

"Why is he so heavy?" Thalia grunted.

Hadar exhaled and cracked her back. "We can leave him here." she said. "I'll bring food for him in the morning."

Thalia looked worried. "We can't let him stay!" she insisted. "He'll throttle us in our sleep!"

Hadar looked around before gesturing for her to follow. "We'll hide his weapon, then." she said.

"Oh, joy. I've always wondered if an angel could kill me with his bare hands."

"Stop it. Now let's get some sleep. We can worry about it in the morning."

Thalia didn't seem so sure.

O

Imperius let out a bellow of triumph, slaughtering every demon who dared cross his path. Gore soaked his armor, drenching him, giving him the appearance of a golden, primordial God.

He saw Diablo's visage across the battlefield, that grinning skull reflecting nothing but malice.

Imperius had nothing to fear, but Diablo knew all there was to fear, even in the smallest increments.

Then, Imperius was impaled through the chest.

Diablo was there now, in his face, grinning widely.

(Do you fear them seeing you as you are?)

Diablo had asked such a question once before, but Imperius had no necessity for fear. He was the Aspect of Valor itself. What did he need to fear?

He looked down and realized he was bleeding black blood. His armor cracked and split and jagged spines shot from his body. His blank visage morphed into a terrible, flaming skull and when he screamed, Diablo's laughter emerged from him.

Imperius awoke with a fierce gasp.

Sun beamed down onto his face from the cracks in the wood. He jerked back, letting out a groan.

Dream? When did he dream?

Angels did not dream, as they did not need sleep. There had been moments of rest that all of them came to experience - much like a meditative state, but never sleep.

Then, he realized Solarion was missing.

Imperius was alert now, immediately digging through the useless piles of hay to find it. Under normal circumstances, he could simply call for his weapon.

He attempted it, but nothing happened.

Frustration sounded in his snarls as he tried again and again, but Solarion would not come at his command.

Then, he began to remember the human woman.

She must have taken it. The humans were thieves as well as abominations.

Imperius staggered to his feet, feeling a weakness in the limbs he was forced to endure. He left the barn in a fury, spotting the house not too far away. The humans would indeed explain themselves. While they were all deserving of death, Imperius was above slaughtering a simple farm girl and her weak family. He was a warrior, not a petty murderer.

Hadar exited the house. When she saw the angel, she seemed cautious.

"I see the Aspect of Valor has finally woken," she murmured, "I was just going to check on you myself."

Imperius hissed at her. His golden eyes flared. "Where is my weapon?" he demanded. "Why have you taken it? It belongs to ME!"

"I'm rather curious as to why you can't simply conjure it," Hadar said, evenly.

Imperius looked abashed, but only for a moment. "That is my concern!" he spat, "Now return my weapon to me, or I will simply bring down this house with my own two hands and find it myself!"

"You could, I imagine. I do not deny the might of Valor is true and strong." Hadar shrugged. "But that was when you were not mortal. I could offer you aid if you are willing to listen."

"What could YOU offer an angel of the High Heavens?"

"Don't think entirely less of us, Imperius. We have aided Tyrael in his fight. We could very easily aid you. Just...spare my house and family from your wrath and learn a little for yourself."

Imperius did not reply.

"Come. I'll fix you some food and we can talk."

Auriel and Ithereal observed the sight from the High Heavens in a portal and were stunned when Imperius actually followed her into the house.