And here it is. The last part of the Angel arch. This one, I'm proud of. Prepare to have your feels ripped and shredded. Bring tissues.

And just on a quick side note, this '...' means that there's a POV change. but this '[...]' is a time skip. Got it? Good.

Oh, one more thing. This chapter is not the dark and sad thing I was asking about in the last chapter.

Enjoy!

-Feathers of Red-

"Come on, Bodil. Hurry up."

Bodil scowled at the back of Ghost's head, orange eyes tracing the scars twisting around the back of the Fallen's neck. "I'm coming. Don't rush me," he muttered, picking up his pace.

They were flying through an array of storm clouds. Normally, Bodil would have been up much higher, flying along a jet stream, but now he had to wait for the slower Ghost, who insisted they fly through the clouds. "How are we supposed to get to the Aether, anyways? We can't see the paths anymore!"

Ghost flipped over onto his back, flying so he was facing Bodil. "Maybe you can't, but I can! Who do you think ratted you out when you first tried to poison Notch?"

Bodil gaped at him, at a loss for words. Ghost turned back around, tugging on the chain that was wrapped around Bodil's neck. "Come on, dude. You don't want any angels seeing us, do you?"

[…]

"I trust you know what to do with this?"

Bodil stared down at the obsidian blade in his hands. He sighed and nodded, eyelids half-closed. "Yeah, I do…"

"Good. You're target's Notch. So go on, get it over with."

Bodil's orange gaze traveled towards the two gods sitting at the table, conversing over mugs of coffee. He sighed. "How do I get rid of Jeb? I can't just murder Notch right in front of him."

"Sure you can," Ghost hissed, pushing him forward with a wing. "You tried it before."

"But this is different," Bodil protested, turning back to face his ex-friend. "Nobody knew it was me the first time until you told them. But now-"

"Just shut up and do it, Bodil," Ghost snarled, pushing Bodil away. "Go!"

Bodil sighed and leaped into the air, scanning the area. There was only the two gods, no other angels, around. He swallowed and glanced down at the dagger, which gleamed with an unknown enchantment.

He circled in a cloud for a moment, staring down at the two. Bodil closed his eyes and tucked in his wings, falling into a dive.

His grip on the dagger tightened, knuckles turning white. The wind whistled in his ears, screaming at him to stop. Bodil narrowed his eyes, focusing on the black hat on Notch's head.

Fifteen feet away from the two gods, he snapped open his wings and kicked his feet under him. Notch and Jeb had only a second to look up before he landed on them, impacting the two at over a hundred mph.

Bodil shook off the pain searing up his legs and jumped onto Notch, smacking Jeb away with his wings. He raised the dagger and stabbed it downwards, aiming for the heart.

With a twitch of the god's finger, the bricks of the road grabbed Bodil by the foot and hurled him away.

Bodil landed on the ground with a thump, twisting a wing under him, he winced and stood, jumping back into the air. Jeb waved a hand, and a giant skeleton spawned. It clanked a if moved, swinging the bow in its hands at Bodil. He folded his wings and dropped, missing the bow by an inch.

He looped around the bow, the rammed the skeleton. It clattered into a useless pile of bones, and Bodil dropped back to the ground. He took the dagger by the blade, raising it over his shoulder.

He and Notch made eye contact for a moment, and then he hurled the dagger towards the god.

In any normal circumstances, the dagger would have hit its mark. It would have sailed through the air, spinning, before finally striking through the god's heart. Notch would have cried out, dropping to the ground. Then Bodil would have swooped in and finished the god off with the potion of poison he had safely tucked away in his jacket pocket.

But instead of that happening, someone dropped from the sky, landing in front of Notch.

Bodil's world seemed to slow, and he watched as the dagger sluggishly spun through the air before finally striking into the middle of Simon's chest.

Bodil watched, frozen, as Simon fell onto his back in slow-motion. He watched Simon reach towards the dagger, loosely grasping the handle. He watched as Baki landed next to him. And he watched Simon as something formed around Bodil's right hand, jerking it behind his back and clamping over his left. But as soon as Baki looked over at him, tears welling in his eyes, Bodil was ripped out of the slowed down world.

Time sped up, and he jerked forward. "Simon!" he cried, tears pooling in his eyes. "Simon!"

Bodil tried to run forward, but something yanked him back. He glanced down to find that his hands were bound in chains, which ran to the ground. It seemed as if they had grown from the stone brick.

Bokil turned back to Simon to find Baki kneeling next to the angel, furiously shaking his shoulder.

"Simon! Simon, I'm sorry!" Bodil sobbed, yanking against the chains again. He flapped his wings uselessly. "Simon!"

His voice cracked, and he fell down to his knees. Pain ripped at his heart, eating his insides with guilt-ridden sorrow. "Simon, I'm sorry! I didn't mean for this to happen! I was trying to protect you," he sobbed to the floor, orange eyes staring at nothing.

Bodil weeped, tears running down his face and dripping off the edge of his chin. He killed Simon. He killed him. He killed him. He killed him.

"S-Simon, I'm so so sorry. I'm sorry for all those times I trolled you, or teased you, or was angry at you. In sorry I never said goodbye. I'm sorry I killed you. I'm sorry." Bodil screamed, wings curling around him, encasing him in a black and white shell. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

And it occurred Bodil that he had never told Simon how much he was grateful that he was such a grey friend. All those times Bodil had been such an ass; Simon had just put up with it and smiled. All those times he had pushed the angel off a block in a parkour course, all those times Simon had done something for him, and Bodil had never said thanks.

He had been such a horrible fried, and now he couldn't even say how much he loved having Simon as a friend.

"I'm sorry..." Bodil whispered, body heaving in sobs. He looked back up, struggling to his feet. He tugged against the chains weakly. "Please," he croaked, "let me go. Let me go! Simon!"

"Hey, you need to calm down," Jeb commanded, frowning at Bodil. With a twist of his hand, the chains rattled and retreated back into the ground slightly, making Bodil take a few steps backwards.

"No! Let me see him! Let me go! Simon, I'm sorry!"

Baki cash him a tear-filled glance and turned back to Simon, pressing shaking hands against the angel's chest.

Bodil cried, yanking on the chains. He turned around, stomping on the part that went into the ground.

"Hey, what are you-"

With a few heavy kicks, the chain snapped. Bodil ran to Simon, the chains around his hands fading from existence.

Bodil didn't care and didn't notice how the two gods took several steps away from him as he slid to a halt next to Simon. Baki looked up, black eyes sad. "I-is he? . . ."

Baki shook his head, looking away. The snowman pressed a hand to his mouth, closing his eyes against the tears.

Bodil looked back down at Simon. Dark crimson was pooling around him, seeping out from around the dagger in his chest. With a trembling hand, Bodil reached over and closed the angel's glassy blue eyes.

There was a crunch of gravel underneath a foot.

Bodil's gaze snapped up to Ghost, who was trying to sneak away. Fury erupted inside him, lighting his insides on fire. And if he wasn't able to let it out, he'd explode.

Baki looked at him as he stood. "Bodil, what are you-"

Bodil threw himself at Ghost, ignoring his friend. "I'll kill you!" he screeched, pinning Ghost to the wall. "I will!"

Ghost tried to lift a hand, but Bodil quickly grabbed it, keeping it above Ghost's head, against the wall. "B-Bodil, look. You're a reasonable man. I'm sure we can work this out-"

"You killed him," Bodil hissed, leaning closer, orange eyes a bright contrast to Ghost's cold blue ones. "You killed him."

"Ah, actually no, I didn't. You see, Bodil, I wasn't the one who had thrown th-"

Boil slammed Ghost against the wall, fists curling around his neck. "No. You made me do it. You made me. I was trying to protecthim. And you killed him!"

His sentence was punctuated with another slam to the wall. Ghost fumbled for words, clawing at Bodil's hands. "B-"

"And you let it happen! What happened to all those times we were friends, huh? Where did all those years go? What happened to you?"

"What happened was that I Fell," Ghost choked out, blue eyes narrowing. "And... And you d-did nothingto help me."

"But I didn't know!" Bodil shouted, grip tightening. "I would have helped you if I had known! But now there's nothing that you can say to apologize! Simon's dead, and it's all. Your. FAULT!"

Ghost was hurled to another wall, tumbling down to the ground. He staggered to his feet, placing one hand against the wall for support. He opened his mouth, but Bodil slammed into him, again pinning him to the wall.

This time, though, a hand clamped down on Bodil's shoulder, pulling him away from the Fallen.

"I think you've done enough."

"No!" Bodil screamed, trying to get back to Ghost. But Notch's grip was strong, pulling him away from the Fallen. "Don't worry, I've heard enough. Jeb?"

Bodil paid no mind to the god. He struggled to get away, wings weakly beating on Notch's arm and shoulders. "Let me go! Let me go!"

He tried to turn around, glancing over his shoulder. Jeb was sitting next to Simon, gently removing the dagger. "Don't touch him!" Bodil cried, pulling away from Notch.

The white-haired god looked up at him, pupil-less grey eyes narrowing. "I'm trying to help, if you would just calm down, I could-"

"No! Let him go! Let him g-go!"

More chains wound up from the ground, clamping onto his hands. He could faintly hear Ghost curse and rattle his own chains, but at that point he didn't care. He fell down to his knees, wings drooping down to the ground.

He had killed Simon. He had done nothing to save him, too. He had never said goodbye. He had never been a good friend. Never.

Bodil bowed his head, clenching his eyes shut.

He had killed him.

. . .

"Ow, my head…"

Bodil sniffed and blinked, opening his eyes to stare at the ground. He must have gone mad.

"Ugh… Hey, what are you guys staring at?"

Bodil blinked again, lifting his head slightly. "S-Simon?" he asked, voice hardly above a whisper.

Jeb was standing up with a small, proud smile. He looked over at Bodil, sweeping one arm downwards. The chains unwound, releasing the Fallen. He didn't take a single moment of pause before he was running over to Simon, wrapping the healthy and alive angel up in a feathery hug.

"Simon! Simon, you're alive! You're alive! I'm sorry!"

"Wh-what?"

Baki was quick to join the hug, mouth fumbling for words. And Simon sat there, bewildered, as his two friends squeezed the life out of him in one of the most unexpected hugs he'd ever had.

"Um, guys-"

"Simon, I swear. Next time you want to follow Bodil into something dangerous, I'm going to tie you to the first tree I see," Baki said, grinning ear to ear.

Simon blinked and frowned slightly, sitting up. "I, uh-"

"Oh, well, look at this," Ghost hissed as he weakly tugged against the chains that had previously held Bodil. "A convict, a Fallen, and an angel. All happy that they're all alive."

Bodil glared at him, standing up. "Why you-"

"There's no need for harsh words," Notch spoke, going to stand in between the two. "Jeb, could you take Ghost here to the island with the best prison we have? I need a wor with these three."

Jeb nodded once and took one step. A second later, both he and Ghost disappeared. Notch turned the trio.

"Look, sir, I'm really sorry about-"

The god held up a hand. "I knew it was you. Martin, this is the second time you have attempted to murder a god. The first, you succeeded. No angel, Fallen or not, should be alive."

Bodil looked away, mutely helping Simon up off the ground. "I know, sir. I was just-"

"And Baki. You knew it was stupid to come back to the Aether, even if you were following your friend."

Baki opened his mouth, but Notch once again cut him off.

"Simon, you should not have followed Bodil up here in the first place."

Simon looked down, finding some sort of fascination with the hole in his shirt, right where the dagger had ripped through it.

"And," Notch continued, taking a few steps towards the angels. "All three of you have committed serious crimes against the Aether. Not to mention, the abandonment of children-"

Baki winced.

"Being an acquaintance of a homicidal Fallen-"

Simon swallowed.

"And last but not least, murdering one god and attempting to murder another…"

Bodil looked down, scuffing his foot against the ground.

"… So that is why I'm letting you go."

All three of them simultaneously said, "Huh?" and looked up at the god.

Notch nodded, but he didn't smile. "I respect each of your bravery and devotion to keep each other alive. What yo did was wrong and broke at least fourteen laws, but there isn't anybody else around here to say otherwise, eh?" Notch swept his hand around, gesturing to the empty plaza. "So if you leave before anybody else gets here, I may just let you off the hook."

"Are you-"

"You gotta-"

"Be joking."

Notch shook his head, smiling slightly. "No. But go, now. Safe travels, there's going to be a killer storm tonight."

They didn't need to be told twice. In a flurry of black and white feathers, the trio was gone.

…

Notch sighed, sitting back down in his chair. Jeb materialized across from him, looking rather pleased. "So?" Notch asked, stirring the cold coffee in his cup. "What's the deal?"

"Well, the guy wouldn't stop screaming. So the three's names got out to the other prisoners," Jeb explained, shrugging a shoulder. "Two angels went out to look for Simon, though. If they find him, there's a death sentence hanging over his head for being an accomplice with Martin."

Notch frowned, setting his hand, palm-up, in the middle of the table. "He'll need to go undetected."

Jeb nodded, watching as a golden ball of light formed above the god's palm. The angel mention shimmered into view. He was swooping through the clouds, flying in front of the other two.

"He won't be able to fly under the radar with such bright wings, Notch," Jeb muttered, forming another mug of coffee. "It might seem cruel, but he can't be an angel anymore."

Notch nodded and sighed, leaning against his other hand. "Yes, I know… Such a waist of talent; He could have become a Minister, or a Runner."

"I don't think he would have wanted to deliver messages twenty-four seven," Jeb said listlessly, a spoon forming in his hand out of dust. A packet of sugar materialized from the air, ripping itself open and spilling the contents into the dark liquid.

Notch nodded again. He sat up, and a black fountain pen formed in his hand. "Very well. It's to protect him. And his friends."

Without another word, he struck the golden orb.

Jeb leaned in slightly, always finding the process interesting.

Ink as dark as an empty night spilled out of the pen's point. Notch took the feather pen away and watched with sad eyes as the black swarmed towards Simon's wings.

The angel's flight faltered, giant wings trembling suddenly as the ink attacked. Simon glanced over his shoulder, bewildered. The two gods could faintly hear his cry of pain as the first white feather darkened into black.

…

"Bodil! Something's wro-"

And Simon dropped from the sky, wings unable to catch the winds anymore. He cried out, grabbing onto one of his wings. He brought it closer, hugging it to his chest.

I'm Falling, he thought. This is what Falling is.

"Simon!"

He blinked and looked up, stretching an arm out. Baki pumped his wings, trying to dive faster. But it seemed that Simon was falling faster than he could dive. Just as he was lagging too far behind Simon, a black and white blur shot past Baki.

The snowman grunted, trimming his wings so he could stay balanced as Bodil's air wake rocked the wind currents around him. He stared, hopeless, as Bodil stretched his wings behind him. The flash of a falcon, diving to its prey, entered Baki's mind. But in another moment it was gone.

…

Notch sighed and handed the pen over to Jeb. "I wish they would just let him be. They can catch him before he hits the ground, but…"

Jeb nodded, swirling the tip of the feather through the not-so-golden orb. A gust of wind suddenly formed around Simon, catching Bodil off guard and making him careen to the left.

"Did you use enough ink, Notch? He's falling awfully slow, and the ground's only going to get closer," Jeb muttered, tossing the fountain pen back.

Notch shrugged a shoulder, frowning slightly. He rubbing his beard, watching the two Fallen struggle to get closer to Simon. "I think I did. It's running out, you know."

He shook the pen for emphasis, black ink dripping onto the table.

"Watch it!" Jeb hissed, jumping out of his seat.

The ink hissed, eating away through the table. Notch slammed his palm onto it, and the ink dissipated. "This thing must have a leak," he muttered.

…

A gust of wind smacked him, and Simon twirled in the air, facing the ground. A scream locked in his throat as he saw how close he was to the water. He struggled to turn back to face the sky, but his wings wouldn't move a muscle. "Simon, grab my hand!"

And suddenly Baki came into view, reaching out a hand. Simon grunted, grasping onto his wrist. His fall was jerked to a stop. Baki muttered something about him losing weight, wings working furiously to keep the both of them up. "Bodil, help would be appreciated! . . . Bodil?"

Bodil was beating against a wall of wind, being tossed back and forth by an invisible force. "I would, Baki, but I'm kind of in trouble here!" His sentence ended with a yelp as he was yanked towards the ground by a downdraft.

Baki looked back down at Simon, who was kicking at the air, wings shimmering into a dark jet-color.

"Just hold on for another second, Simon," Baki said, clenching his teeth. "It's almost over, promise."

Bodil twisted out of the small vortex of winds, rushing over to help Baki support their friend.

…

Jeb reached or the pen sitting on the table, but Notch shook his head. "No, I want to see what happens."

The other god frowned slightly, raising an eyebrow. "You know Fallen can't be with anyone as they Fall."

Notch's pupil-less black gaze flicked up to meet Jeb's grey one. "No, we just never let them."

Jeb hummed, leaning his head on his palm. "Well, if you put it that way…"

And the two watched as the last white feather melted into an inky black, shimmering in the sun. Simon flared his wings, stepping back onto the winds. Jeb hummed, bringing Notch's attention away from the blackened orb.

"You know, if there's one thing your brother actually made that was beautiful, it would be Fallen Angels."

Notch nodded and picked up the black pen, running his fingers across the silky feather. "Yes. But if I gave this back to him, I think we might be lacking a few angels. But you're right, cousin. This may be the only thing he ever created."

Notch held the feather pen up, twisting it so the sunlight caught the inky color. The black gleamed, turning into a reflective rainbow, almost like oil catching the light.

"It's a shame that he abused the power he had," Notch muttered.

And for a second, he saw two glowing white eyes appear on the side of the feather.