Slowly all feeling began to slip from the fallen Archangel as his life energy faded from his form. Countless times he had been witness to Death and how each human meet the end of their existance. For Raphael it was a strange sensation for he had never died before. Weakly he turned his gaze back toward his brothers and saw the fall out between them. Lucifer was furious so much so his true features were starting to show through. The angelic healer could only watch as Lucifer grabbed hold of the nearly comotose Michael and proceeded to punch the crap out of him. Michael didn't provide any resistance knowing that was the least he deserved and needless to say this was only the beginning. Although their Father been absent for a long long time there was no doubt in the eldest angel's mind that He would punish him severely for killing Raphael. After a good dozen blows Lucifer released Michael from his grasp and stood up to be by his fallen brother's side. Lucifer recalled what it was like to die and didn't want Raphael to go through all that by himself. The anger Lucifer was feeling was soon replaced with sorrow when he approached his brother's nearly lifeless form. "Why...Why did you do that? You didn't have to sacrifice yourself like that." As Lucifer spoke tears started to form in his eyes for the first time in ages.
Raphael could see the angish written in every fiber of Lucifer's being and it pained him to know he had caused it with his actions although they were meant to protect him. The world had painted his brother as this ultimate creature of evil but there was no doubt in Raphael's mind. There wasn't an evil bone in Lucifer's body. Sure he punished people but those who saw that ugly side of him truly deserved it. That wasn't who Lucifer was. In his last moments he couldn't help but see Lucifer as he was in heaven. An Angel of absolute purity, who loved his father and brothers more than anything. With the strength Raphael had left in his body he reached his right hand up and wiped away the tears that were now streaming down his brother's face. "Because...because I... love you." Raphael choked out.
In that moment Lucifer was grateful that it wasn't Azrael's blade that had struck down his angelic brother. He wouldn't be gone like Uriel, but he doubted that he'd ever see him again considering Raphael's death on Earth would force him back to heaven. Chloe had once said that Lucifer never shut up but for the first time in his existance he didn't know what to say. Raphael didn't need the same comfort as a mortal. He knew exactly where he was going. The only uncertain thing about the whole situation was what would Father say? Lucifer quickly glanced back at the house and remembered that Raphael would be leaving behind Eve. A weak smile appeared on his features when he made another promise. "I'll look after her, brother. I promise I'll protect her in your place."
Eve was a strong woman, one of the strongest Raphael had ever met. He knew that his sudden passing would upset her a great deal but she would understand. There was a comfort knowing that Lucifer would look after her and be there if she needed something. Even though Lucifer proved he was quite sexually prolific he did have a moral code and wouldn't dare make a move on her. The next thing Lucifer knew he heard a light thud as his brother's hand fell back down to Earth. "...Raphael?" The fallen angel look down at his brother's body again and noticed he was completely still. Raphael had been able to pass peacefully and with a smile on his face.
The loss of another brother had struck Lucifer quite hard. He felt as though as his chest was being squeezed to its breaking point. Slowly he took a few deep breaths as he brought himself to his feet to resume to punishment he knew needed to be dished out to Michael for his crime. Before he got too far from Raphael's corpse Lucifer froze when he heard a scream. Both brothers snapped their head in the direction of the noise and found Eve standing there in other shock. In a matter of seconds her strength melted away and crashed to her knees before her husband's body. Tears flowed from her eyes like waterfalls. Her body was trembling with a mix of anger and saddness. In between her sobs she gazed up at the heavens and shouted in frustration at God. "How dare you!? You give him back! Give him back to me!" After fits of rage Eve found find herself sobbing again, laying her head in his husband's chest.
Lucifer had gazed around and there was no sign of Azrael. Why wasn't she there at the moment of death like she always was? Was it somehow different for angels or perhaps something or someone was keeping her away? Eve wasn't the only one not taking the whole situation well. On the other side of the lawn, Michael was on the ground simply staring at his bloody blade. The last time he did something he regretted, he sealed away his emotions and everything that made him, well him. This time was different. In a moment of insanity, he switched the directionality of the blade to turn it on himself. He had done the unforgivable and now he had to pay for it. Quickly Lucifer shook these thoughts from his mind and rushed over to Michael's side grabbing the blade away from him. "Oh no you don't. You don't get off that easy, brother. Look at what you've done!" He pointed over at the scene of Eve still sobbing terribly over her husband.
Angish and selfloathing filled Michael's being as he watched Eve go through the process of grieving over Raphael. It wasn't suppose to be this way. The two of them were suppose to be living together happily. He had taken it all away himself and he despised himself for it. All Michael wanted to do was bury himself in some kind of pit and rot but he knew Lucifer wouldn't let him get away with it that easy. He'd make him feel the pain. Make him suffer until he couldn't take anymore. Only when he had completely broken would Lucifer end things. Father had turned Lucifer into this and he had learned well in his time ruling Hell.
Eve slowly started to regain control over herself and her emotions. Just as she was about to say a final goodbye to her beloved husband she blinked when she thought she noticed slight movement in his hands. Lightly she shook her head. It wasn't possible. Raphael was dead. It was just his body settling into death. Carefully she wiped the last few tears from her features and leaned down to give him a goodbye kiss. When she did her eyes widened again when she noticed a slight but growing movement in his chest. A suprised gasp escaped her throat when she was seeing the remarkable; her husband was coming back to life. In a weak voice he whispered, "... ..." which caused her to let out an excited shout which got the attention of the two distraught brothers.
If they hadn't scene it themselves they most likely wouldn't have believe it. Raphael was now sitting up with the help of his wife. He spat out the blood that accumulated in his throat and smiled over at his brothers. Angels were mysterious beings and sure they could come back from a great deal but even Lucifer was having a hard time accepting what was clearly before him. Both siblings made their way over and all either could say was, "..How?"
Raphael let out a small laugh as he looked up at his elder sibings were looked like they saw a ghost. "Father apparently wasn't ready for me to come home. He kicked my ass back down here and told me to stay like a good son." Bit by bit Raphael could feel his strength returning and then continued. "Well that's not the whole story..." His gaze shifted up to Michael who rose an eyebrow at the comment. "...it seems those remenence you were so convinced corrupted me, actually revived me." Carefully the angelic healer pulled himself off the ground only to feel slightly dizzy after having bled out. "Seems sis passed me over too. Guess I have more to do here."
Just as he stated that he felt a warm palm slap him across the face. The sting lasted for a moment before he locked eyes with his wife who was more upset. "You IDIOT! What were you doing?!" Her anger quickly left as she wrapped her arms around him and muttered. "I thought I lost you."
A light sigh escaped Raphael's throat as he hugged Eve back. He could understand how she felt. Needless to say he was deeply sorry for hurting her like that and he would make it up to her. "I... I'm sorry Eve. I won't be so reckless like that again." He then turned to look at Michael's features. If nothing else the shock of it all had returned the archangel to his original state. "Although I didn't plan for things to happen like this... you're back to normal finally."
Michael sent Raphael a slight glare of annoyance. "By making me think I killed you?! What the hell is the matter with you?!"
Lightly Raphael rubbed the back of his neck. "The best way to get through someone's emotional barriers is to make them relive a tragic event... so I thought..."
"Shock therapy Raphael, seriously?! I thought I KILLED you, literally KILLED you and you're tell me it was part of your plan to remind me who i was? Seriously brother are you trying to one up on Dad or something because this was seriously screwed up!" Michael shouted.
Raphael could see a similar annoyance written behind Lucifer's features as well. The plan had worked but it really did hurt a lot of people. "Truly I'm sorry. I never meant for it to... to hurt any of you. I just want us to.. to be a family again. I wasn't expecting to come back but like I said Father isn't finished." In the end Lucifer knew everything would be fine so he didn't press the issue any further. He just wanted to forget the incident and move on. Of course there was still the whole situation with the double homicide to deal with. Another sigh escaped Raphael's throat as his thoughts also returned to the more pressing matter. "Lucifer... I know it's your job to take down bad guys... but please let me handle things with Alex quitely. I'll get him to come peacefully. I just don't want there to be a big commotion with the police and all."
"Very well. I'll inform the detective."
Once again Raphael placed his hand on Lucifer's shoulder and with his outward expressions thanked his brother without uttering a single word. Without another word he started off into the house to fetch himself some fresh clothes and began to mentally prepare himself for the meeting with Alex. If the existance he was use to was going to get ruined he'd rather do it under his terms. Around the same time Lucifer withdrew his phone from his pocket and told the device to 'Call the detective'.
Chloe had just finished meeting with a judge to discuss matters of a warrant when she heard her phone vibrating in her pocket. Quickly she reached her hand in and glanced at the screen which indicated the call was coming from her partner. "Lucifer, I was just about to call you about..."
"Detective, meet me at Los Angeles General. Raphael is going to confront the killer himself to get the suspect to come quitely." Chloe looked rather shocked when Lucifer gave her more of the details and needless to say she wasn't exactly thrilled that a civilian was going to handle matters. However it made sense to have some internal forces handle matters considering the suspect was a high profile doctor with a great deal of name recongnition within the city. By the end of the call she agreed to meet Lucifer there and would be ready to move at a moments notice.
Alex Burke slowly made his way out from the surgical ward with a deep breath as he reaches up to remove the blue hair cap from his head. His mind had been so filled with worry ever since the morning when Detective Decker had stopped by and was asking questions about the homicide. The young man made it all the way to the admission floor where he shared office space with his partner. He flipped on the lights to the office and looked somewhat surprised to see Raphael sitting behind Eve's desk. "Raphael? Didn't the admistration send you on mandetory leave?"
The archangel let out a small laugh as he stood up and walked around the desk. "I am... I'm not here about a patient. I'm here because I learned something disturbing and I wanted to hear it from the source instead of the grape vine. Did you kill those men, Alex?"
A look of regret appeared on the dark man's features when he saw the look on his partners face. Alex understood Raphael's philosphies regarding life and he hated that things had to turn out this way. "Raphael, they were going to hurt her. After what happened to Natalie... I didn't want that for Azzy. She's... she's better than that. She deserves better than to be treated like some play thing."
"Alex...why? Why didn't you take matters to the police? They could have made a move and arrested them without any of this."
Alex could see the hurt on Raphael's features. Having to confront his best friend about something so evil was a burden. "There wasn't time. I didn't want any of this, believe me. Apparently I wasn't the only one who knew. On my way home that evening, I saw Michael and he was stalking them. I... I panicked...so I..."
Raphael closed his eyes and began to figure out the rest of the story. Michael must have already began his assult when Alex arrived and the doctor acted on impulse and tried to stop him by grabbing the only thing available to him, Michael's sword. Apparently all celestial weapons had a habit of messing with mortals who came into contact with it. Instead of stopping Michael, the blade compelled Alex to see its true wielders desire out and in the end he killed them. "...Alex, I understand. You just wanted to help those you care about. Truth be told you prevented Michael and I from doing a horrible thing. Divine interviention or not... there is no denying you murdered two men in cold blood. I can't protect you from the justice system, but I can keep things quite at the hospital. No one else has to know. Just come peacefully."
Before Alex could reply the two doctors heard footsteps approaching from Raphael's office. To their surprise it was Lucifer. Apparently he had arrived their before Raphael and had been listening the whole time. "Before you do that... Alex, I want to know something. What do you desire most in this life?"
Raphael shot a glance at his brother who guestured back innocently as if to say he wasn't interested in punishing his friend like he did all the others before. "...I...I want to be..." Alex began to say as he fell under Lucifer's spell. "Yes?" Lucifer urged looking rather curious. "...to be a man Azzy can depend on and someone who my friends know they can count on to have their back."
Another pure and honest answer. Lucifer was beginning to wonder what was going on with all the suspects of the world. They all had such positive desires but they had allowed themselves to be lead astray. Raphael broke a small smile as he heard his friend's thoughts. "You... You already are, Alex. More than you know."
The light moment was broken when Chloe finally arrived on the scene and arressed Alex. Like Raphael promised they did things quitely, without cuffs or any of the other obvious outward appearances. Raphael watched as Chloe drove off with Alex in the back of her squad car. Lucifer walked up behind him moments later with a cigerette hanging from his fingertips. "Are you ok, brother?"
Innocently Raphael turned to look at his elder brother and lightly he laughed. "No... no I'm not. You're precious detective just took away my best friend and now I'm finished here. Couldn't be helped, justice had to be served even though those men were as far from innocent as you can be."
"It's not like you lost everything." Lucifer reminded Raphael.
"I have my family, yes... but your wrong brother. I have lost everything else. Without Alex by my side I can't openly work alongside humanity for they would get proof of divinity. I have no intension of revealing myself to others for the simple reason that just gets complicated. No need to worry, I'll live." With that Raphael walked off to return home where he can bury his pain in solitude. Lucifer watched for a moment before he too returned to his corvette and drove back to Lux. The case had been solved but there was no enjoyment from discovering the truth. All that existed in that moment was emptiness.
To be continued...
Hey fellow Lucifans. The case has come to a close but no one came out the winner here. Michael had returned to his senses and now Raphael is dealing with depression. Will this be the new norm for the angelic siblings or will something else happen to turn things on its head? We will have to wait and see. Also needed to tell you were are close to the conclusion to our story. Keep those thoughts coming. It really will help me get through the last leg of this journey. Again I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you in chapter 13.