AN: I want to thank Nimberlane and dizzylia for betaing this for me. It means a lot to me.

AN2: There are some controversial issues. Please do not read if such religious ideals bother you.

Fallen by kain donovan

A dark figure crouched silently over a body slumped against a wall in the back streets of the desert town. The figure wore a black shapeless cloak, that covered it from head to foot, but with each slight movement, a quiet rustling could be heard. Finally, with a soft sigh of sadness, the figure reached out a slim ivory hand and gently closed the dead man's eyes. "Rest well, little one," came a sweet voice, full of sadness and yet oddly calm and detached. The figure stood once more, lifting violet eyes toward the sky where it could see the trails left by the departing spirit into heaven. With one last look at the forbidden, the cloaked figure turned and walked into the shadows, unknowingly leaving behind a bloodied black feather.

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A young boy ran through the streets of the same town the next day, shoving his way through the crowd that had gathered around the Nazarian as he arrived into the town. "Sir! Sir, come quickly. It is Paul." The man dressed in white turned kind eyes toward the boy and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Calm yourself, and take me there. What is it about Paul?"

The boy nodded, before leading Jesus and his followers toward the back alley where a small group had already gathered. There, a body of a man laid, with a gaping wound to his side, though it looked as it he'd died sometime during the night. "Can you help him, sire?"

Jesus crossed to his late friend and crouched down next to him, resting his hand on the other man's shoulder. "No, lad. His spirit has already gone home. It would be cruel to pull him from the promised land back to the living, not to mention wrong." Jesus looked fondly on his friend, before leaning forward, and pressing a kiss to the dead man's forehead. "Find Mary and ask her to have him prepared for burial." He stood up and brushed off his hands, before his eyes fall on a black feather. His brows furrowed slightly, before he scooped it up. His eyes widen slightly as his fingers touch it, and he nearly dropped it again, before he gathered his thoughts.

Jesus looked back at the others that came with him. "Go, prepare Paul. I will return to our camp later. There is something I must do alone." He smiled, before he turned before any questioned him and quickly walked out of sight. His fingers tightened around the stem of the feather, then blinked as he noticed the blood. "The blood is still flowing. What torment must it be suffering?" he questioned himself. With a determined step, he began to search for the one to whom the feather belonged.

His search took him out of the town, and deep into the desert itself. He stopped about halfway into a canyon, and looked around. "Where are you, Fallen? I demand that you show yourself." He waited a few moments, and he wasn't disappointed as a voice soon answered.

"You demand? Why, Jesus of Nazareth, do you demand anything of me? I've done naught to you," the soft, yet achingly sweet voice answered. Then, with mock laughter, replied again, "Or, perhaps, like the others that He created, you do not need a reason to demand of or hate me." A figure in a black cloak stepped from the shadows, but moved no further into the light, as if scared of it.

Jesus' brow had arched at the beginning of the creature's speech, but as it continued, and as it appeared, they dropped into a frown over confused eyes. "You killed my friend Paul. Why? Why has Lucifer ordered his death?"

Again, a self-mocking laugh. "Lucifer? I have no idea, as I do not listen to what that daft fool has been bellowing about in millennia. And I didn't kill Paul. I merely released his spirit so he could return to where he belonged." A note of wistfulness enters its voice, before it shakes its head. "Now, if that is all, I would like to take my leave."

Even more confused than before, Jesus stepped forward and reached out, almost touching the fallen angel's shoulder, before it quickly, violently lurched out of reach. "DO NOT!" it's normal soft voice raised in a panicked shout. Jesus jumped in surprise, even as the fallen stumbled back before falling to the ground, the hood of its cloak falling around its shoulders. A heart-breakingly beautiful face is revealed to the light, heart-shaped in design, with large violet eyes hidden behind a cascade of chestnut bangs, the rest of the hair pulled back almost severely into a tight braid. "Do not touch me, Nazarene," came the plea, before pale hands quickly pulled the hood back over his head, hiding himself once more.

The feather fell from Jesus' suddenly nerveless fingers. "I... do not understand, Fallen. First, if you do not band with Lucifer, and you obviously are not vain, why have you fallen?" A bitter laugh floated on the air, before the angel curled his legs close to his body, wrapping his arms tightly around them. He buried his face in his knees. "Oh, little Jesus... There are many more ways of Falling than just vanity and greed." A note of sadness entered into the violet-eyed creature. "Angels are not supposed to have selfish feelings, you know. And of course, foolish child that I was... I developed my own selfish emotions, for which I was cast out of the only home I've ever known."

Jesus had settled onto a rock close to the figure as he talked, his head tilted to the side as he listened. "My Father cast you out for feeling?" The boy's head lifted and he gazed into the messiah's eyes briefly, before he shook his head and looked away. "No, not Him. He long since gave up sorting out petty angel affairs when he began creating life on Earth. No, it was the Archangel council that decided my sin."

Jesus' face looked blank for a moment, before he shook his head. "I can not say I understand, but tell me, what did you mean, when you said you released Paul's spirit? Wasn't he already dead?"

The fallen smiled softly under the shadow of the hood. "Sometimes I forget that mortals don't understand death at all. No offense to you, but right now, you are still mortal. Just because the body dies does not mean that the spirit is free to enter heaven. In fact, if the spirit is not separated before the body is buried, it cannot be released at all. All the strings to the mortal coil need to be severed as soon as possible. If they are not, souls often go insane, which causes wraiths and hauntings sometimes. And why was it me? Just because I am a Fallen does not mean that I can neglect my duty. I am a shinigami, or was... I was an angel of Death. It was my responsibility to release souls into the light, to guide them home. Now, it is all I can do to keep myself sane." He spied the feather on the ground and reached for it. "I guess I need to be more careful not to leave these lying around." He stroked the black feather before tucking it back into his cloak.

Jesus leaned his elbows on his knees, his fists cradling his chin as he watched the fallen. "Why are they still bleeding, shinigami? And what is your name? I cannot keep calling you fallen. It seems rather rude and cruel to keep reminding you of it."

The fallen angel smiles weakly, before he pushes the hood back slightly so he could look at the seemingly older man. "My name used to be Duo. No one has used that name since I was cast out. As for my feathers..." He looks over his shoulder and was about to answer, when a blinding flash behind Jesus made Duo jump to his feet, and he pressed back against the wall of the canyon as the light disappeared to reveal a tall angel with long blond hair that fell to his waist.

"Silence, Fallen. Do not fill the Father's only begotten son with your lies!"

Jesus had leaped to his feet at the flash, but could just blink as the taller angel yelled at Duo. He looked back at the smaller angel, only to see a flash of angry hatred burning in the violet depths of his eyes as he glared back at the angel. "I may run, and I may hide, but I NEVER lie, Zechs! I leave that for you and your kind!" The younger angel's fists clenched in rage. Zechs only seems to smirk slightly before Duo gave out a cry of pain and fell to his knees again, blood pooling around him as if he was struck by an attack from behind. Jesus went to his side and was about to touch his shoulder to see if he was all right, but his hand was quickly struck aside, without malice. "You must not, my Lord." Duo's pained whisper barely traveled to the messiah's ears as Duo ducked his head, his entire body shuddering in pain.

Jesus turned to glare at the gloating angel. "How can you be so cruel!" He starts to stand, only to be stopped by the arrival of another angel behind Zechs. Unlike Zechs, he was small like Duo and clothed in tight-fitting clothing. Brown hair fell in complete disarray around his forehead, while pearl-white wings graced his back, mimicking a dove's wings. "Enough, Zechs," the monotone voice ordered.

Zechs twirled around, his face flushed in anger and embarrassment at his having gotten caught by the other angel. "Heero... Why are you here? How did you find me?" The other angel snorted, and turned to look at Jesus and the trembling Duo. "I have come from Him. He has ordered you to your quarters until He has time to deal with you. He did not like the manner in which you have conducted yourself in front of His son." The tall angel's face goes from red embarrassment to pale dread, before casting a glare that didn't just include Duo this time, before disappearing with another flashy exit.

Heero turned to Jesus, before bowing his head slightly, his wings folded tightly against his back. "I apologize to you, my Lord, for what you have witnessed at my kin's hand. I would like to say he is the exception, except it's becoming increasingly obvious that this is not the case." His cool blue eyes turn toward the shaking fallen, and his eyes seem to warm slightly. "Oh, Duo..." He moved toward the cowering figure before he knelt down. Duo's head lifted at the sound of his name, tracts of tears down his cheeks. "H..Heero? W-why are you here? You know it is forbidden." He sounded almost devoid of emotion, as long as one didn't look him in the eye.

Heero gently took the smaller angel's face into his hands, softly brushing away the tears of pain. "I was finally able to speak to Him without the council around and pleaded our case. He's negated the charges, Duo. You're no longer a Fallen." With that, Heero pushed back the hood, then the cloak, revealing a pair of perfect black wings, which looked similar to a raven's. Jesus frowned slightly, before he motioned. "But I thought he wasn't a Fallen any longer? Why are his wings still black?"

Duo smiled softly up at Jesus. "My wings have always been black, my lord. It's part of being an angel of Death. Not all angels have white wings. In fact, very few do. My Heero, here, is one of the exceptions. See, he's an angel of Life." He smiled and slipped his arms around the other angel. "You asked why I fell? I fell because I fell in love with my other half. There are some in the angel community who don't believe that angels have soul mates. I beg to differ. I know that Heero is mine, for I went to Him before I even approached Heero with my feelings." He turned his face up to Heero, a soft smile curling his lips again. "And now, we can be together again." He turned his face to the messiah. "Thanks to you, my Lord. If it were not for you, I would not have spoken of my situation at all. And He heard through you, I believe." Heero gifted Jesus a rare smile himself.

Jesus chuckled slightly. "So, now what will the two of you do? Return to Heaven?" The two looked at each other with a clueless expression on each face. "Honestly, I'd rather wait until this unpleasantness were over. Mind if we tagged along with you for a little while, my lord?" Jesus looked a little skeptical. "Do you not think people would notice the wings?" A winkling laugh echoed around the trio as Duo jumped to his feet, revealing that the angel was nothing more than a rather skinny young boy, looking to be no more than fifteen years old in human years. His wings had already disappeared, and he was dressed similarly to what Jesus wore, with the exception of the black cloak. Similarly, Heero stood, wearing almost the same manner of clothing as Duo, except his cloak was white. "Better?"

Jesus laughed and nodded. "Much. Come, let us quit this place." The pair nod, before Duo made a sound of surprise and twisted to grab something out of the shadows. He returned with what looked to be a long staff, but Jesus was rather surprised to notice it was actually a scythe. "A weapon?" He asked, disproving. Duo smiled and shook his head. "No. Tool of the trade. I need it to do my job, remember?" He twisted the scythe in his fingers slightly, before it shrunk to something almost miniscule, then he tucked it into his braid. "Deathscythe goes with me everywhere. It was a gift to me from Him when I was created." Jesus nodded in understanding. "Shall we?" With a nod, the trio turned and left the canyon for new adventures.

Fin.

Please R&R. Lemme know what you think.