I am sooo glad I managed to nail the emotions in that last scene! It was such a tough one to write, and I am THRILLED at what you guys thought of it. :D And what you guys thought of the rest of it, too! xD

So, this chapter! There's more processing here, but downtime doesn't last long. :P We're also not yet close to the end, but definitely over the bulk of the story. It's going to get more intense as it goes on.

I actually have music recommendations for this chapter! For real, listen to Halsey's Control as you get closer to the end, particularly with Tony/Gabriel's scenes. I found that song and was like PERFECT. It'll pop up again as something that you guys can listen to in future chapters. I'll leave a note when appropriate! :D But it's appropriate here for sure at the end.

Also, please remember the warnings I posted in the prologue! They're becoming more applicable as the story progresses, so please be kind to yourself.

Enochian is spoken like this.

~Unknown ancient language spoken like this.~

Chapter 9

"Sorry about the mess." Tony twisted a shard of shiny glass around, letting the light reflect off it. "I can fix it if you want."

"We have seen worse." Loki eyed the remaining devastation with a critical eye, politely reaching out to pluck the shard from Tony's hand before he could do anything with it. "Perhaps we should leave the reparation efforts for someone with a more…artistic taste?"

"I can be artistic!" Tony protested.

"I have seen your art, Gabriel. I would rather not have the entire palace decorated with it."

"Truly?" Thor strode up, frowning slightly. "Is it so terrible?"

Loki's expression was carefully blank. "Need I remind you of Gabriel's last attempts at creating a mural?"

Thor seemed slightly surprised, which should probably flatter Tony but was more insulting than anything. "I had thought that was a joke!" He turned to Tony. "I must be honest, then, my friend. Your artistic talents lie in other realms than painting."

"Precisely," Loki agreed.

"I've gotten better," Tony insisted. "You let me take care of the mess that I'm responsible for, then it'll be fixed in five minutes. I don't want to be the recipient of glares from the unlucky schmuck that's otherwise going to have to clean this up."

"It is of no concern," Thor assured him, clapping a large hand on his shoulder. "We were intending on remodeling soon in any case. This will simply move up the time table."

"Really."

"That was not a lie," Loki said, the corner of his mouth twitching up in a small smile. "We can only do with the same décor for so long before it becomes tedious."

Tony considered that, remembering the various remodeling efforts the palace had gone through over the years. "Yeah, I see that. What're you thinking, then?"

"There will be no design input from you," Loki told him flatly. "Last time we asked you for advice, you suggested nothing but tentacles, and Samael went so far as to agree and begin putting them up without permission."

Tony put on an affronted face. "What – everyone loves tentacles!"

Loki returned the face with his own. "No."

"I fear I must agree with Loki," Thor said. "Tentacles are not a good design choice."

Huffing, Tony folded his arms, narrowing his eyes at the shard of glass Loki was still holding. "Rude."

"Simply practical," Loki corrected, throwing the shard into a pile that someone had brushed together.

"Practical's boring. Who wants to be practical when you can be fun?"

"I am afraid that having a 'fun' palace would not be advisable in light of any visiting dignitaries," Loki pointed out.

Tony raised his eyebrows. "Otherwise you'd be all for having tentacles?"

"Even then, no. They are a terribly impractical design choice."

"C'mon. Tentacles are incredibly versatile!"

Thor and Loki both gave him identical "yeah, right" looks. It was eerie.

"I shall tell Samael to curb future purchases of items related to tentacles," Loki said finally. "You need no further encouragement."

Tony smirked. "Like she'll listen to you."

"Gadreel certainly will."

"She's definitely not going to listen to Gadreel."

"He is right," Thor said, nodding. "In this situation, Jarvis is the one to whom we must appeal to. Samael listens to him."

"You guys are total spoilsports." Tony huffed, making a face. "Fine, I'll keep my nose out of what you're going to do with the palace."

"Excellent." Thor patted Mjölnir's hilt, beaming broadly. "Then I will see to the rest to be certain that all is proceeding smoothly. Enjoy your morning."

He swept off, cape swirling behind him, nodding and congratulating the workers who were sweeping up shards of glass and stray rubble that had fallen from the cracks in the ceiling and walls. There was fine dust as well, although the cleaning bots were having a blast taking care of that.

Tony slowly side-stepped over to a green-colored piece of glass, picking it up and tilting it to see if he could figure out where it had come from. It looked a bit like it had been the green from Loki's clothes.

Holding it up to compare to Loki's current wardrobe confirmed this suspicion.

He glanced up in surprise when Loki's fingers curled around his wrist, preventing him from turning the glass shard sideways. Loki was looking at him in concern, brow furrowed as he inspected him.

"I have not seen your siblings this morning," Loki said quietly.

"They're fine," Tony said automatically.

Loki's response was patient. "I do recognize an angel's voice, even if not the words spoken in this case. Samael does not lose control so easily nowadays. What happened?"

Tony didn't respond immediately, rubbing his thumb over the sharp edges of the shard. His skin cut open, blood dripping out of the cut briefly before it healed over without a scar.

Loki took the shard of glass away, rubbing off the blood a second later. "Gabriel?"

"We got some bad news," Tony said quietly. "It…took some processing. They'll be fine."

Loki didn't seem satisfied with that answer. "Are you fine?"

"I'm always fine." Tony flashed a smile, winking.

A small frown was all that signaled Loki's displeasure. "We both know that isn't true." Stop lying to me, was what wasn't said.

Exhaling through his nose, Tony looked down at the floor. "I will be," he said. "I don't have a lot of options."

He couldn't see Loki's face, but he had the feeling Loki was studying him. "There is no need to be fine all the time. Whatever happened – would it be so terrible to be upset?"

"I was upset." Tony swallowed down the achy feeling in his chest. "Still am, but I can't afford to just fall apart. Someone's got to hold it together."

"That does not need to be you," Loki said, coming close enough to brush their shoulders together. "Let someone else shoulder the burden for once."

"I won't put that on you."

"It would not be an imposition."

"And yet this isn't something you should deal with." Tony gave him a weak smile. "But the gesture's appreciated."

Loki tilted his head. "What did happen? You have had bad news before, but nothing that had this sort of effect."

It wasn't any easier putting it into words than it had been last night. If it wasn't spoken, then maybe it wasn't true. But it was, and staying silent wouldn't make it not true.

"There was a death in the family," Tony said finally, resisting the urge to wipe at his eyes. They were dry for the moment. "It's…taking some time to come to terms with it."

Loki didn't seem to realize what he meant. "Was someone killed?"

"No, uh…we would've noticed it sooner if that had happened."

"Then someone in your family died naturally?" Loki seemed confused at the concept. "You are immortal, are you not?"

Except Death could come to all. "Pretty much, yes, but… I guess there's an end even to immortality."

Loki's hand brushed his arm. "Who was it?"

Avoiding his eyes to look out the window to the sky, Tony gave voice to the words that still felt false. "Our Father."

There was barely concealed surprise in Loki's tone. "Truly? The being the humans called God? How?"

Tony put space between them, shoulders going tight. "We don't know. We don't know when or why, only that it happened. And no one else knows." He pulled away from Loki's outstretched hand, carefully looking away from the hurt that flashed across his face. "It's just us, and I can't afford to fall apart now."

Last night was all he would allow himself.

"Why not?" Loki pressed, hands going behind his back. "This is the being who gave birth to you. You can grieve His loss."

"Because I don't know when I'd stop!" Tony snapped, energy crackling at the edges of his words. Forcefully reigning it in, he managed, "So I can't – I can't." He couldn't let go the way he wanted. "Please don't ask me again."

"All right." The word was quiet. Hesitating briefly, Loki asked, "Is there anything I can do?"

"No." Tony softened the answer with a small smile, letting his shoulders relax. "But thanks. For now…all we really need is time."

In the end, time was all they had.

Samael felt vaguely guilty for leaving Tony to deal with the mess ne had left behind in Asgard, but it was only vaguely. Really vaguely.

Most of what ne felt was made up of disbelieving grief and a cold rage that scared nem as much as it reassured nem. It was dangerous yet familiar, and Samael needed familiarity.

Everything ne knew about the universe had been uprooted, and Samael had no idea where ne stood now. For all of nir rage against nir Father, ne had never once actually wanted Him dead. No, Samael had just wanted Him to listen, to understand what ne wanted.

Not that He had. When He had eventually deigned to apologize for what had happened, it was too late and Samael had refused to speak to Him.

Now there wasn't the slightest chance in hell that ne could ever speak to Him. Because He was dead.

Choking down the burning grief, Samael dove through the branches of Yggdrasil, past the other realms until ne was in Niflheim. The realm's icy temperature sunk into nir Grace, familiar and somewhat soothing even now.

Maybe it was twisted that Samael could find reassurance in the cold considering what it meant. It probably wasn't healthy, but it was familiar. Ne had spent so long trapped in the cold that sometimes it was stranger being warm.

Right now, Samael needed familiarity. Samael needed some reminder that not everything had changed (even if everything had).

While Niflheim wasn't the same as the Cage, it was cold enough that it didn't matter. The ghosts of the realm didn't bother nem, evidently sensing that ne wasn't in the mood for company.

Kneeling on the misty ground, Samael wrapped nir arms around nemself, closing nir eyes and deliberately turning nir focus inwards. It blocked out the feeling of wrongness that was Father's absence, which was the last thing ne wanted to sense now.

Like this, Samael could try and pretend that He wasn't dead. Sure, ne would have to return to reality eventually, but that didn't have to happen now. Denial could work for a little longer, at least until Samael pulled nemself together enough to look after the others.

Gabriel didn't deserve being left alone to deal with nir mess. He shouldn't be left alone either, but it had been his suggestion that they take some time away to sort through their emotions and thoughts.

Given what Samael had done to the palace, it was a good idea. Better than shaking the building apart with grief.

Samael wasn't sure how much time passed before ne felt the presence of Hel. She stood off to the side, watching Samael with a neutral expression on her face.

Returning Hel's impassive gaze, Samael dug nir fingernails into nir arms, disinclined to move. "Why are you here?"

"You're here." Hel didn't move any closer. "You don't usually visit."

Samael's smile was too sharp. "Maybe I felt like taking a vacation."

"Of all the places my realm is, a vacation spot is not one of them." Hel gave nem an unimpressed look. "Besides, you don't look in the mood for a vacation."

Unwilling to concede the point, Samael refused to answer, pointedly looking away. "Maybe I just wanted to be left alone."

Hel didn't answer immediately, taking several steps closer before kneeling on the ground, although her posture was distinctly more relaxed than Samael's. "Do you really?" she asked gently.

That cold rage flared outwards. "I'm not one of your lost souls," ne snapped. "If your intention was to comfort me, then you can go back to your palace."

"That's not why I'm doing this. It's because you're family," Hel said calmly. "And you're hurting."

"Oh, really?"

"You think I don't know how to read you by now? You're not so different from Father."

Samael couldn't resist saying, "I resent that. I'm a special snowflake."

The slight twitch of Hel's lips showed that she'd gotten the reaction she wanted. "Maybe so. Yet my point stands. Once I know what I'm looking for, it's easy enough to see."

"Or you just heard something through the grapevine." Samael hadn't exactly been quiet. Anyone with supernatural hearing could've heard nem last night.

"Maybe that, too," Hel conceded. She tilted her head, eyes worried. "What's wrong?"

The answer was right there, but Samael couldn't give it. Nir throat locked up when ne considered saying the words. "Why don't you ask Gabriel?" ne managed, dropping nir gaze.

"He doesn't like coming here, and I can't leave whenever I want," Hel said. "Besides, you're here, so why not ask you?"

The logic was sound, even if it bugged Samael to admit that ne had no reason to deny Hel. Still. "What if I don't want to answer?"

"You don't have to," Hel said. "But it might help. I've heard talking does that." Her smile was wry.

Samael couldn't help but snort. "Who told you that? Gabriel?"

"Among others." Hel's hands remained relaxed on her knees, even though there was a slight tension running through the rest of her frame. "It's bad, isn't it?"

"Depends on your definition of 'bad,'" Samael said. "By mine, it's pretty fucking bad." That cold anger seeped into nir words, nir Grace chilling to match it. It took nem a moment to focus on calming down before ne could speak again. "Did you sense anything? You're the goddess of the dead."

The living half of Hel's face twitched at the reminder of a job she hadn't wanted. "What should I have sensed?" She looked mildly alarmed. "Did someone die?"

"Not recently," Samael reassured her.

"But someone did." Hel paused, studying Samael more closely. "Someone you weren't expecting."

Samael avoided the unspoken question. "So that's a no on having sensed anything."

"You're avoiding the question."

"There wasn't a question."

"I asked you if someone died, and you didn't respond beyond trying to distract me." Hel gave nem an unimpressed look. "Which would work if you'd tried it on anyone else who hasn't had extensive exposure to our family."

This was unfortunately entirely true. Most everyone (except for Jarvis, really) had gotten into the bad habit of taking after Tony's propensity to avoid uncomfortable topics with distractions. Even Gadreel wasn't immune, although he usually just left the premises if he didn't want to talk about something.

"You don't want to know," Samael said eventually, looking off into the distance. There was nothing to look at, but that was fine.

"If it's affecting you, it's affecting Father just as badly," Hel said, "even if he isn't here and you are. So, yes, I do want to know."

Just say it – just say it. It would be over the faster ne got it out. "He's dead," Samael said abruptly. "Our Father is dead."

Hel's eyes widened, fear flashing across her face. "No, he isn't. He was just here—"

"Not your father," Samael interrupted, hating that ne even had to elaborate. "He's fine. Our…the one who Created us…He's dead."

There was a sharp inhalation, but Hel didn't otherwise react. Not that Samael had expected her to; she had no attachment to their Father beyond a peripheral knowledge of who He was and what He was capable of.

Samael refused to look at her, forcefully keeping nir breathing even. Yet nir eyes prickled and nir throat was tight. Not for the first time, ne wished that this body didn't come with the ability to cry.

After a moment, Hel laid a hesitant hand on Samael's arm, the touch gentle. "I'm sorry."

Blinking back tears, Samael jerked nir head in a small nod, pulling in a long breath in an effort to ward off the waterworks. "So am I," ne muttered.

"He wouldn't pass through here," Hel told nem. "Father didn't when he died."

Samael barely restrained a flinch at the reminder of Gabriel's death at Lucifer's hands. There was no apology from Hel, just the gentle pressure of her hand on Samael's arm.

"I know." Samael let nir hands drop to nir lap, interlacing the fingers. "But there was a chance you would've sensed something."

Hel remained silent, simply shaking her head in answer.

Samael let the silence drag out, no desire to speak and break it. Hel seemed just as content to let it lie, offering nem silent support.

It was nice even if company hadn't been the point of coming here. Not that being alone had been a smart idea considering how ne hated it.

But it had been familiar, and that was all Samael had needed at that point.

Eventually, after some time passed, Samael spoke again, looking sidelong at Hel. "Thanks."

There was a slight trace of confusion on Hel's face as she tilted her head. "For what?"

With a shrug, Samael answered, "Being here even though I was behaving like an ass. I know He's not important to you."

"You're important to me." Hel gave nem a soft smile. "And so's Father. And He was important to both of you. Being here is the least of what I can do for family."

"Still…thank you." Samael reached out to take hold of Hel's living hand, squeezing gently.

Hel ducked her head, smiling shyly. "Do…you want to stay for a while? You can if you want."

Samael should be checking on Gabriel, making sure he was doing all right. Ne was older than Gabriel in the ways that counted and Gadreel shouldn't have to do it. But…

Ne would be horrible comfort right now, though. Nir Grace was in the worst state possible for comforting anyone, let alone Gabriel.

Samael looked up, spreading nir consciousness through the planes of existence to nir siblings. "I…"

Accepting the offer was on the tip of nir tongue, but the words died in nir throat when a scream rang through nir head. Someone, please help!

There were countless such prayers every day that Samael ignored, but this one…

This one was Vision.

"You guys can take off if you want," Gabriel had said, his Grace blanketing the area so the Asgardians couldn't see them. "Take some time to yourself."

"Are you certain?" Gadreel had asked, eyeing Gabriel worriedly. He was unusually subdued, cheeks slightly flushed but no other sign of his upset on his face.

"I should help clean up." Samael had sounded ashamed.

"No, it's all right. I'll deal with it. Seriously, just go."

And they'd all gone.

Samael had gone elsewhere, sending clear vibes of wanting to be alone. It probably wasn't the best idea for nem, but Gadreel was in no state to protest or go after nem. In all likelihood, Samael would probably just chase him off in a fit of anger.

"Should we be letting nem go like that?" Balthazar asked, light flickering nervously.

"It's fine," Gadreel said, hoping he sounded more reassuring than he felt.

Balthazar made a noise that clearly said he doubted this assertion, but he didn't say anything else.

Without another word, Gadreel left Asgard, entering normal space a few seconds later. He was mildly surprised when Balthazar followed him, although also grateful because he didn't want to be alone. It seemed Balthazar was of a similar mind.

There was a silent question from Balthazar, asking where Gadreel was intending to go.

Not that Gadreel had an answer. He wasn't sure where he was going, only that he…needed to move.

The aching grief from last night had faded, and now he was just…numb. He should probably still be upset, but instead all he felt was a heavy exhaustion.

He probably was still upset, but for whatever reason he wasn't feeling it like before.

With an exhale, Gadreel landed on one of the pleasure planets of this galaxy. It was beautifully peaceful, the lovely nature it exhibited one of the main reasons it was designated a pleasure planet. That was also probably why Gadreel had decided to land here in the first place.

Now, with Earth mostly dead, Gadreel had to go elsewhere to find someplace where he could feel close to Father. This planet would do for now.

Balthazar appeared behind with a soft flutter of wings, looking around them briefly. "Good choice."

Gadreel didn't answer, slowly sitting at the base of a nearby tree and leaning back against it. If he concentrated, he could still feel Father's presence here, even though realistically it was probable that Father hadn't been here in a very long time.

Balthazar lay down next to Gadreel, head in the soft grass. He held a small flower in his hand, twirling the stem absentmindedly through his fingers as he stared up at the sky. Despite his usually garrulous nature, he didn't say anything, leaving them in silence.

Being able to focus on something other than holding a conversation was nice. Especially since this planet was filled with life, reminding Gadreel that not everything was lost, even if it felt like the universe had come to an end.

How was it possible that things just kept moving onwards without its Creator? Shouldn't there be some acknowledgement that things were forever changed? Some sign that a fixed point in creation was no longer there?

Eventually, what must have been hours later, Balthazar broke the silence. "Feels weird, doesn't it? Like something should've changed, but everything's the same."

"Yes." Gadreel left it at that, relieved Balthazar had voiced what he'd been unable to.

"I still can't believe it," Balthazar continued. "It just…it doesn't make any sense. Something should've happened!" The flower was a small blur of color in his fingers. "We can't be the only ones affected by this."

But they seemed to be.

Life went on, despite the gaping hole in the fabric of existence where their Father had once been. It seemed inconceivable, yet it was happening before their eyes and all around them.

That they hadn't even known before Gabriel had found out was all the proof they needed.

"We need to tell the others," Gadreel said finally, subdued.

"Not it," Balthazar responded immediately. "Besides, if you or I went over there and told them 'Hey, guys, guess what? Dear old Dad's dead!' we'll be laughed out of Heaven. Better if Gabe or Samwise do it."

Balthazar had a point. An archangel's word held more weight than an angel's, no matter what position they'd held before.

"It'll be Gabriel doing it," Gadreel said slowly. And he shouldn't have to, but of course he'd think it was his duty as the messenger.

"He'll be more tactful than Samwise," Balthazar pointed out. "Would've been nice if he was blunt about it instead of dancing around it, but we wouldn't have believed him otherwise."

Gadreel still wasn't sure if he did believe it. It seemed too implausible to be true.

"It's true, though," Balthazar said, clearly reading his mind.

"Balthazar."

"What? I didn't have to go poking around your head!" Balthazar looked affronted at the insinuation in Gadreel's tone. "It's written all over your face!"

Gadreel almost denied this before considering Balthazar's earnest face. There was no hint of a lie about him, and he hadn't exactly been paying attention to what his face had been doing.

"You believe it, then?" Gadreel asked after a moment.

"I don't want to." Balthazar sighed, letting the flower drop to his chest as he folded his hands on his stomach. "But everything he said made sense. And I know all too well that we can die, so why not Dad? It's just…taking a little time to process."

But Balthazar was processing it, unlike Gadreel. He didn't feel like he was processing anything, just hovering in a state between denial and cold acceptance.

"You are further along than I am." Gadreel didn't look at Balthazar, running his fingers through the grass instead.

"It's not a competition." There was a rustle as Balthazar apparently shifted. "Grief is funny like that. We all go along at our own pace."

"Even us?"

"Yeah, even us." Balthazar's answer was wry. "We've got emotions, too, y'know. Humans have got it easier in some ways, but I wouldn't give up being myself just to make processing this easier."

Unlike his siblings here, Gadreel had no way of knowing what it felt like to be human. He had always only been an angel, so he had no firsthand knowledge of how humans felt and processed emotions. Yet from everything the others had said, there were differences, and Gadreel himself had noticed it with his human friends.

Yet he wouldn't want to be human either just to make this easier. Or however much easier it would be, since it hadn't seemed to do Gabriel any favors.

"I feel the same," Gadreel admitted. "Although I have no frame of reference for comparison, I wouldn't wish to give up who I am just to not feel this."

"Don't get me wrong," Balthazar said. "You'd still feel like shit. But humans process things faster than us, see? Perks of dying so quickly; they get to process this shit faster, too. Unlike us poor sods; we've got the slow road."

Gabriel had said something similar, albeit in less flowery terms. He hadn't been human as long as Balthazar, yet it still affected him to such a degree because of his soul.

"We'll get past this," Balthazar said quietly after a moment. "We always do. This is just a bigger roadblock than usual."

"Would our siblings say the same?" Gadreel murmured, thoughts turning to the Host in Heaven. "Or would they decide to turn away from Creation once more?"

"If they tried that shit again, I can tell you that Gabe isn't going to stand for that, and neither is Cassie. Hell, I bet even Raphael would whip them into shape." Balthazar snorted derisively. "Sure, it's going to cause a big to-do over in Heaven, but they'll deal with it. They've got two archangels to wrangle them into shape, and they've been doing this free will shindig for the last billion years."

"Such a small frame of time compared to how long we've existed."

"It's still long enough." Balthazar rapped his knuckles against Gadreel's arm. "You got the hang of it, and you're one hundred percent angel unlike Gabe and Samwise. Even Cassie had a stint as a human, but he was a bit weird before that."

Sighing, Balthazar let his hand drop back to his chest. "Sure, things aren't going to be easy, but we can do this. None of us are alone."

That was an undeniable fact that gave Gadreel great comfort. Because they weren't alone; they had each other and always would.

"You're right." Gadreel smiled at him, glad it didn't feel strained. He still didn't feel all right, but some of the numbness was receding into something that felt a bit like acceptance. It wouldn't be fine now or anytime in the near future, but he would be fine eventually.

They all would be.

"Of course I am." Balthazar flashed him a smug grin. "Since when am I not?"

Gadreel paused, keeping his face carefully blank. "Is that a rhetorical question, or should I list all the times when you were wrong?"

"No, jeez!" Balthazar groaned, rolling over to turn his back to Gadreel. "Are you being serious right now or joking? You've been around Gabe this long. How can you not know what rhetorical questions are?"

"It's still confusing," Gadreel said blandly.

"Like hell it is—" Balthazar cut himself off when he glanced over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes at Gadreel. "You twerp! That was a joke!" He punched a grinning Gadreel in the side.

Gadreel blocked Balthazar's second punch. "Was it?"

"Your sense of humor sucks." Balthazar made a face, pulling away from Gadreel to sit up, crossing his legs. "It's criminally awful."

Turning his face so Balthazar wouldn't see his smirk, Gadreel leaned back against the tree, exhaling quietly as he settled down.

After a moment, Balthazar quieted as well, shoulders slumping as he stared ahead at the green meadow before them.

It was peaceful, but Gadreel didn't know how much longer they should stay here. Technically they didn't have to leave, but he didn't feel comfortable leaving Gabriel or Samael on their own for so long. Gabriel did have his children in Asgard, but if something went wrong…

Sighing, Gadreel told himself he'd stay a few minutes longer and then leave. Balthazar could stay longer if he wanted, but Gadreel wouldn't feel comfortable doing so.

Closing his eyes, Gadreel let himself get lost in the sound of the wind and the animals around them, quieting his breathing as he did. Like this, he could pretend everything was fine. That things would go on as they always had, that nothing had to change—

Someone, please help!

The scream from Vision startled him into awareness, his eyes meeting a wide-eyed Balthazar's for a split-second before they both took off to answer the call.

Perhaps it was overkill, but he'd never heard Vision sound so terrified.

"With all due respect, sir, everything is not fine." Jarvis had his pissy face on, arms folded across his chest and feet set apart defiantly. "Would you please stop saying that?"

"It's going to be fine, all right?" Tony ran his hands through his hair, tugging sharply at the strands before letting go with a loud exhale. "I mean it."

"It's not fine now," Dummy pointed out mulishly, stance almost identical to that of Jarvis except for his feet, one of which was toeing the floor. "Do you think any of us will just let it go like that?"

It took one look at all of his kids' set expressions before Tony had to admit that he had no chance in hell at escaping this interrogation unless he took the coward's way out and escaped via angel methods. And even that wouldn't get them off his back for long since they'd pounce on him the moment he came back.

"You don't even have the defense of saying it's 'grown up stuff,'" Sleipnir said. "We're all adults here."

"And don't say we'll always be your kids," Butterfingers said immediately. "That's not going to work here."

Tony put on an injured face. "It's true, though."

"That's not the point." Butterfingers huffed, narrowing her eyes. "The point is something's wrong and you're all mopey and Loki and Thor are renovating the palace even though it was fine until Sam did her thing and now you won't tell us what happened!" The ferocity of her words wasn't dampened by the huge breath she took at the end. In fact, it was heightened given the fierce glare accompanying them.

Tony folded his arms, leaning his shoulder against the wall besides him. "I'm still working through it," he said slowly.

"We could help you work through it," Fenris said. "It's not fair if you're doing it on your own when you've always helped us."

"As your parent, it's my responsibility to help you guys," Tony said.

"That doesn't mean we can't help you!" Fenris shot Jarvis a helpless look.

Jarvis's stance softened, his voice pleading as he asked, "What happened? What is it that you don't want to tell us?"

Tony looked off to the side, unwilling to see their expressions. "It's stupid," he said finally. "I keep thinking that if I don't say it, it's not actually true. And the more I say it, the more it makes it true. Even though staying silent doesn't change a thing. It happened and none of us noticed."

"What did?"

It took an enormous amount of effort to his voice even when he responded. "Dad's dead."

There were a few seconds of incomprehension before they seemed to realize what he meant.

You reacted first, brow furrowing in confusion. "You mean – Grandfather? He's dead?"

Saying it again was like putting another nail in the coffin. "Yes."

"I thought that wasn't possible," Jormungandr said. "You guys are eternal, aren't you?"

"We can die." Tony resisted the urge to press a hand to his chest. "And so can He, even if we didn't think He could." But that had been borne of a child's unconditional belief in their parent's invincibility, not fact.

Jarvis stepped forwards, touching Tony's shoulder comfortingly. "I'm sorry."

Tony smiled weakly at him. "So am I."

Without a word, Dummy lunged at him, wrapping his arms tightly around Tony's shoulders and pressing his face into his neck. "It's going to be okay," he said, muffled.

In lieu of a verbal answer, Tony pressed his hand to Dummy's back, turning his face into Dummy's hair.

"You didn't have to hide this," Sleipnir said, but there was no judgment in his tone. "We wouldn't want you to be alone in dealing with this."

"Even if we don't understand," Fenris added as an aside. He winced a second later when Butterfingers stomped on his foot. "Ow!"

"We do," Butterfingers said fiercely, glancing back at her AI brothers. "We met Him once."

Fenris took a step back, eyeing Butterfingers warily. "Okay, well, we didn't. And He's not our God or Creator, so…" He shrugged.

"It's okay," Tony said before Butterfingers could erupt into a furious tirade about being emotionally sensitive. "He's right."

"It matters to us because it matters to you," Jormungandr said, Fenris nodding in agreement. "I know you don't want to tell us everything – and that's appreciated when it comes to some matters"—he and the others made faces at whatever they were remembering—"but we still want to be here to help you."

Tony's arm tightened around Dummy before he could stop it, and he blinked rapidly in an attempt to keep the burning in his eyes at bay. "I know," he managed. "And thank you. But this…" He resorted to what he had told Loki, since it was the plain truth. "I need time."

The skin around Jarvis's eyes pinched worriedly, but he nodded. "You can have it."

"You'll come back?" Dummy asked.

"I'm not going anywhere you can't find me," Tony reassured him. "I promise, all right?"

Dummy wasn't the only one giving him a scrutinizing look, but he was the closest to Tony. After a long moment, he nodded and stepped back.

With a small grateful smile, Tony inclined his head and took off, landing on the Bifrost a split-second later to take a breath.

Out here, the emptiness was more noticeable. He didn't know why he was doing this. It was like poking at a bruise just to see if it hurt and being surprised when it did.

His Father wouldn't want him to hurt himself like this. But then He was dead, and there was nothing He could do about what Gabriel did.

Not that He'd cared before.

Pulling in a ragged breath, Gabriel closed his eyes, moving to the edge of the bridge and standing on the precipice, jacket fluttering in the breeze. Against his better instincts, he found himself reaching out to that emptiness, calling out.

No answer came – not that he'd expected one – but it still hurt.

Opening his eyes, Gabriel promptly staggered back in surprise upon seeing that he wasn't where he'd been before.

It was familiar, though, which was just about the only thing not sending him into an utter panic.

That and a sort of unnatural calm that told him it was fine.

Even though it really wasn't.

Wasn't this what had happened with Balthazar before?

Forcing himself to take a deep breath and closing his eyes, Gabriel focused on breaking the spell holding him here. But pulsing his Grace did nothing and neither did cutting the necessary sigils into his skin.

What was more, he couldn't even sense a spell.

Pressing his thumb into the blood still smeared on his skin, Gabriel bowed his head, focusing.

…Nothing.

Absolutely…nothing.

With a sharp flare of panic, Gabriel's eyes snapped open and he let his sword fall into his hand, prepared to fight off whatever would attack him.

But he was the only one here at the moment.

Relaxing slightly, Gabriel took a closer look at his surroundings. The grass was a vibrant shade of green, the sky much bluer than he was accustomed to, and the air a strange combination of chemicals that was still breathable. It was the planet the Light had Created at the beginning, the one that Gabriel had been on before.

But the atmosphere was strange, some kind of menace palpable to his senses. It was as if there was something just outside the periphery of the planet.

Peering up into the sky, Gabriel tried to see what was out there. He reeled back a second later upon being hit with a vast sense of nothingness. Not even the natural emptiness of outer space but sheer nothing.

Breath loud in his ears, Gabriel forced back the reminder of the other place he'd been in that was like that nothingness.

It was fine. He was fine. He'd figure this out and get out of whatever this was.

Tucking his sword just out of reach, Gabriel pushed the tension out of his body, deliberately setting a slow breathing pattern in an effort at calming himself down. Panicking wouldn't do him any good here.

First things first…why was he alone?

There'd always been someone else present during these weird visions. But right now…he was completely alone. There was no sign of life on the planet, just…a stench of death.

Breath picking up despite himself, Gabriel covered his nose and mouth with a hand, reminding himself to breathe slowly. He'd seen and smelled worse than this. The problem was that he had no fucking idea what was going on.

Turning on his heel to start walking, Gabriel kept alert for anything out of the ordinary.

Even so, he almost missed the faint echo of someone shouting what sounded like his name. Instinctively chasing after the call, Gabriel took off flying, only to end up crashing face first into the ground a second later.

Groaning, Gabriel rolled onto his back, trying to figure out what had just happened. He'd taken off but…he'd just ended up flying into the ground?

Sitting up with an aggravated huff, Gabriel rubbed his face.

Obviously flying was out, but it would've been nice to know that before ramming himself into the ground.

Getting to his feet, Gabriel brushed his jacket off before looking up. He instantly took a shocked step back upon seeing that he wasn't alone anymore.

Three beings stood a short distance away, all of them in forms that looked almost physical but weren't. They were a little too odd and shaky around the edges to be entirely physical, but it was a close mimicry. Good enough for mortals to see them without hurting their eyes.

The Light's form was shrouded with a bright light that made it difficult to discern any features. The same went for the Dark, although Gabriel glanced away immediately. The End, though… The End was solid, like there was nothing beyond them.

They were standing at odds with one another. The Light and the End next to each other facing the Dark, the two of them radiating a sense of anguish and grief. There was absolutely nothing but an absence from the Dark.

Shivering, Gabriel took another step back, swallowing convulsively at the sensation.

"~Why, sibling?~" the Light asked, speaking out loud, the words rent with grief. "~Can you tell us that at least? Why?~"

"~Why not?~" the Dark answered, their voice as dark as their form. Yet even the words seemed to suck in everything about them. "~Was that not what you said before you Created this planet?~"

"~I Created, but you—~" The Light broke off, their form wavering briefly. "~I told you what I was doing,~" Ne continued in a calmer tone. "~But you…you just did it.~"

"~So did they,~" the Dark said, gesturing to the End. "~And yet you accepted their role, what they desired to do.~"

"~They told me,~" the Light said. "~And it isn't just an end. Not how those have thought of it as. It's simply a new beginning. But what you have done…there's nothing after that.~"

"~Is something wrong with that?~" The Dark sounded genuinely curious, much like a child given a moral problem to contemplate. "~It is what I do.~"

"~There's nothing wrong with you,~" the Light said, "~simply how you've done this. We could have worked together, sibling. Found a solution to what you desire to do. We could have done this together as we always do.~"

"~Always?~" There was bitterness now. "~Perhaps once we worked together, but since when have we done so since you began Creating? Since they started Ending? No, there was nothing you would have done. You think I can't sense your horror? You reek of it.~"

"~Everything has its End,~" the End said quietly. "~You know we discovered that together. But what you have done is something entirely else. Everything you touched…you swallowed.~"

"~Because I desired it. Because I could. Because why not?~"

For the first time since Gabriel had heard the End speak, they actually sounded angry. "~Because it was not yours to touch! Not without consent. Not without talking with us. It isn't just the living you touched; you touched the dead as well, and they are no longer on this plane.~"

"~Of course not,~" the Dark said. "~They are nowhere. Where else should they go?~"

The Light flinched, horror radiating from Nem. "~What have you done, sibling?~"

The Dark's voice was a mockery of kindness as they said, "~You already know.~"

"~Why would you do this? After everything, why would you destroy it all like this?~"

The Dark seemed to swell, transcending their visible form entirely. Simultaneously, the sky began to darken unnaturally, the blue swallowed up by the sheer dark of nothing that overwhelmed it.

"~Back,~" the End commanded, pushing the Light back from where the Dark touched the two.

~Why so frightened?~ the Dark whispered into their minds, their voice even more terrifying now than it had been before. Gabriel flinched back, reflexively blocking his mind from a voice that slipped through regardless. ~We're family, are we not? You trust me, do you not?~

The End's voice was cold as they said, ~You lost that the moment you devoured a life. You lost that the moment you refused to listen. Perhaps we are family, perhaps we are siblings, but you have broken that trust.~

Dark was creeping through the ground, sapping out the green of the grass under Gabriel's feet. Cracks formed, the earth shattering all around him.

The three beings didn't seem to notice the planet falling to pieces around them as the Dark squeezed tightly. They were utterly intent on one another, two defending against the other.

Scrambling back, Gabriel couldn't find a foothold. There was nothing to hold on to.

The ground gave way entirely, crumbling away into nothingness underneath him. And, with that horribly familiar sensation, Gabriel fell, surrounded by falling pieces of broken earth and that terrible nothingness that sucked in the entire universe—

Gabriel! Listen. To. Me! GABRIEL!

There was a wordless snarl in his chest, resounding through his aching Grace, and something kicked him in the chest, crushing his ribs and lungs and sending him flying backwards.

He hit the ground hard, head smashing a rock into smithereens before he stopped, his entire being burning around a horribly cold sensation of nothing in his core.

Gasping as his ribs reformed and his lungs healed, Gabriel curled into a ball, clutching his head as he struggled to push out that scream of anger that echoed through his brain.

With a dull shock, he realized it wasn't his voice.

~Unnatural!~ the voice snarled, terrifyingly familiar and inside him.

"Gabriel." Samael stood there, nir Grace overwhelming his own. Despite that, ne was frowning at him in concern and barely hidden fear. "Are you yourself?"

"What—" His voice rasped in his throat, unusually painful. Coughing, he looked past Samael to see Gadreel and Balthazar shielding two other beings: Vision and Ultron. Vision was visibly bruised and bleeding, but Ultron looked even worse, nursing terrible burns and staring at Gabriel in fear that he'd never seen on Ultron's face before.

There was the smoking ruin of a ship behind them, mechanical debris scattered around them. It looked familiar, but Gabriel didn't have the presence of mind to figure out why.

He was too busy choking back that disgust and anger that wasn't his, his Grace burning in an attempt to choke out that cold nothing at his core. To his horror, it wasn't working.

Samael dropped to one knee, braced to defend nemself but also peering at him in worry. "Gabriel?"

"There is something in him," Gadreel said, words stilted and formal.

With a sharp shushing sound, Samael gestured back at him, not looking away from Gabriel. "What happened?"

"I-I don't know." Gabriel winced, fingers digging into his scalp as the presence in him lashed out painfully. His Grace flared briefly in response. "I don't know," he repeated, staring up at Samael in panic, hoping ne had some answers.

~Abominations,~ the Dark snarled inside Gabriel's core, and his Grace pulsed again in a vain attempt at driving them out, a corresponding wave of exhaustion rushing over him.

Samael seemed to see, nir brow furrowing, but no answers were forthcoming. And from the look on nir face, none would be.

So, that definitely happened... I know some of you guessed at what was going on, or at least suspected where I was going with it. Buuutttt...did you expect this?

Who betrayed who? What happened between those three? What is he SEEING?

And what is going to happen next? :D

Please leave feedback! I so love hearing your thoughts!