O~o~O
"...S...Sir? Are you…?"
The question trailed off uselessly, engulfed in the silence. The room was dark, no longer alight with dancing magic. One thing was evident, the still silhouette of the Seraph, cold and unreacting.
Peeking in, the little angel gulped. "A-are you alright?" he tried again, attempting to keep his voice steady.
"I am…" the dull room suddenly lit up dimly with the clear, calm voice, vague blue and green lights pulsing. They portrayed two figures, a demon and an angel, and the light cast an ominous shadow over the Seraph's face. His expression was unclear, but his voice was low and purring, like he was pleased. "I am doing very well."
O~o~O
The gentle pattering of rain outside was soothing, creating a rare tranquil feeling throughout Hell. It beat gently upon the stone and the streets, trinkling down from the dark skies and prodding the walls, dripping from the structures. Not enough to erode, but enough to be known.
It must have been calming, for it was the reason a tired demon and a sleepy angel lay next to each other on a bed, one swathed in blankets and the other simply trying to offer his body warmth. It was a rare sight. The angel was curled up, looking peaceful and ethereal with his formerly bloodied tunic now a shade of off-white, compared to his clean, bright wings. The demon lay on his side, his body not quite up against the angel's; he'd overheat if he did that. Instead, he rested his head on his arm, and his free hand remained on top of one of the angel's wings. He'd fallen asleep while petting it.
A lot had been explained when they were awake. In fact, most of the time had been spent sitting comfortably on the bed, the demon listening while the angel explained himself as fully as he could. By the time he had worn himself out talking, the demon couldn't think of any more questions and they both wanted to sleep on it. So, after washing up separately, and eating actual sustainable food(which the angel regarded with childlike wonder), they soon found themselves returning to the bed to get some rest.
By that point, it was well known that the angel had to sleep a lot longer than the demon. It had been a disappointment, because the demon had become fond of spending every waking moment with the angel. But he would learn to amuse himself in the six hours he had to wait, most likely to simply watch the other sleep judging by the look in his eyes at the time.
For then, at least, there was a while when both the light and the dark enjoyed a very deep, very long rest. A few hours longer than either of them were used to at that point, to say the least.
It must have been something very clear that had awoken the demon, as he was a light sleeper like all others of his kind. Perhaps it was a small growl of thunder despite the serenity of the storm? Or maybe he had just sensed the approaching presence.
Whatever the reason, the only thing Arthur processed was suddenly being shoved and tumbling off the bed gracelessly to the floor, with only a whisper-shout of "Get down!"
He landed hard, hitting his head and side on the ground. Biting his lip to keep from crying out in surprise, he dizzily raised his head to see the vague shadow on the floor of Alfred flying off the bed towards the balcony. Gritting his teeth and wincing, Arthur turned over on his stomach, initially in pain to face under the bed. Then, he noticed another pair of boots land, and he realised another demon had flown in.
"Basch!" he heard Alfred greet him nervously. "Hey, dude, uh...You need something?"
Arthur narrowed his eyes. He wasn't sure if he was afraid or not; surely after all of this Alfred wouldn't suddenly decide to betray him? 'No,' he thought. 'He just pushed me off to hide me.' Regardless, he'd have to work on Alfred's acting.
Noticing their shift, Arthur judged that Alfred had circled around the demon so Basch faced the side wall, not directly facing the bed. "Hello, Alfred." Basch replied in an even voice, sounding skeptical. "I was just with the group...We're becoming restless; neither you nor Paranomia have shown up for awhile and we don't know what to do. I actually came here looking for Paranomia."
It was obvious to Arthur when Alfred didn't know what to say, and he rolled his eyes at the odd stuttering noise. He shifted on his back, inching a little ways under the bed just for a moment, quickly moving his hands.
"Ah- w-well, I-It's really complicated, it-it's like- Um...He's, uh not…" Alfred began to babble aimlessly, not seeming able to form a coherent point. "Ar-Paranomia, he's- he's-"
"Right here." Arthur answered, standing.
Managing to hold back a grin at the sheer horror in Alfred's face, Arthur dusted his uniform off in a somewhat classy way and jumped, gliding over the bed to meet with Basch. "Sorry, I was busy writing something down. You said you were here to see me?" he asked, lying easily and feigning ignorance. He now appeared sharp, his green eyes focused and intense.
Basch looked glad to see him, even smiling a little. "Yes, the group has been confused and lost without you. Where have you been? No one was able to find you or Alfred. Then again, none of them thought to look here except me, but it still feels like you were being elusive. We've been searching for a long time, did something happen?" he seemed genuinely concerned.
Immediately, Arthur pretended to think, furrowing his brows and glancing at Alfred as if to confirm that no, in fact, nothing out of the ordinary happened. "Negative," he answered, flicking his tail. "Alfred and I have just been taking some time to mellow out. We cannot do much yet, after all. We figured it would not hurt." he flashed a grin to Alfred, and the demon smiled nervously back. "Is there anything that requires our immediate attention?"
"Ah, no…" Basch said, seeming to guess what Arthur was about to tell him, evident in how his eyebrows drew together and he frowned in disappointment. "We just...We thought you might know if there was anything we could do."
Arthur crossed his arms. "I am afraid not. We are going to have to be smart about this, in fact, I am honestly dumbfounded that you lot still are with me. You have all put yourselves in danger for my sake, and I do not quite understand why." he sighed, glancing around the room. "We are all very close to being fugitives. Are you certain you do not wish to just return to the Demonocracy?"
The shocked and aghast look Basch gave him startled Arthur. "Paranomia, we have all pledged our loyalty to you! We would not dream of turning our backs on you now." he said in a hurried, insistent voice. "...Very well. If there's nothing we can do yet, we will await your instruction. I'll inform the others." standing straight, Basch saluted Arthur. Upon getting the gesture returned, he turned and flew back out of the room.
As soon as he was gone, Alfred let out a heavy sigh of relief. "Dude! Scared the Hell outta me…" he murmured, walking closer and twisting his tail with Arthur's. "I think it's gonna be a little while before I get used to you switching back and forth." a small smile made its way on his face, while his eyes danced around Arthur's face to absorb the change, the red hair, the horns and all.
"Mm." Arthur hummed in acknowledgement, and seemed to remember something. He frowned, and cautiously reached into his jacket, pulling out the journal from his inside pocket. He looked at it for a moment, having forgotten about it. "And a good morning to you too." he smiled wryly, handing the small book to Alfred.
Alfred accepted the book skeptically, and then laughed nervously. "Oh, haha, yea, sorry about that." he brought his hand up to rub Arthur's head, slower when the angel flinched a little. "I didn't mean to be so rough, but I got kinda panicked."
The smile became a little more genuine. "No, no, you saved my life. Thank you." Arthur calmed down a little, working on making himself less fidgety around the demon. Leaning into the hand, he breathed out slowly and closed his eyes so Alfred knew it was okay to move closer. In a smooth instant, Alfred had pulled Arthur into an apologetic embrace, firmly wrapping his arms around Arthur. While it unnerved Arthur for a moment, he quickly relaxed and tilted his head to rest in the demon's shoulder.
For a moment, the two were silent, simply enjoying one another's company. But that didn't last very long, because Alfred soon began giggling into Arthur's shoulder.
"What? What are you laughing at?" Arthur leaned back, looking curiously at Alfred.
"N-nothing." Alfred said quickly, but continued giggling. "S-sorry, I don't really...I dunno, dude. It's just funny! I got so w-worried when I heard someone coming th-that I shoved you off th-the bed!" at that point, he'd dissolved into laughter so he couldn't explain anymore.
Despite the fact he didn't exactly find the humour in it, Arthur found himself smiling. "Hnn." he made a small noise of agreement, and took a step back over to the bed, trying to get Alfred to sit on it. "You are silly." he smiled, glancing towards the window to make sure no one was around. Then, with a quick gesture of his hands and a luminescent glow of light, Arthur switched back into his angel form.
That abruptly caused the laughing to stop, and Arthur lowered his head sheepishly when Alfred instead looked at the angel with wonder in his eyes, like he was taking in a work of art. After the demon had sat down, Arthur joined him, grabbing the bomber jacket that had been lain on the bed in his place to put it on again. "Why is it always so bloody cold…" he muttered.
Alfred looked alarmed for a moment, and whipped his head around to look out at the balcony. "Blood? Where?" It took a moment, but he did eventually recognise it as a phrase. "Oh. Nevermind." The sudden comprehension was amusing to Arthur. "So...You still gonna tell me about you and stuff? I mean, I don't think there'll ever be a point where I know everything, but still."
"I suppose…" Arthur sighed, absentmindedly reaching up to rub his throat, and then to smooth his hair back. "What else would you like to know?" He closed his eyes briefly before turning his head, peering at Alfred once his eyes had focused.
Nodding, Alfred shifted up, and crawled a little closer to Arthur, carefully pressing up near him. Once he'd situated his arms around Arthur's waist and leaned on him comfortably, Alfred looked up with smiling eyes. "How come angels don't have uniforms?" he asked innocently.
Looking down with a relaxed expression, eased by the demon's gentleness, Arthur's eyebrows creased for a moment. "Does this not appear to be a uniform to you?" he asked, nodding to his tunic.
"Hmm, no..." Arthur shifted, not really uncomfortably but with an odd feeling, when Alfred's blue eyes trailed from Arthur's face down his neck, across his shoulder blades, his arms, and back up to the tip of his clavicle, and down to where the tunic rippled along his somewhat-concealed chest. "It isn't...Practical…" he murmured thoughtfully. "A little...Revealing."
That made Arthur let out an amused chuckle. "Practical? It is very practical, I should think. Angels do not have military bases or fights for practice; the training I had was very different than what you have here. Its purpose is to have the appearance of freedom and peace, and fit for the weather in Heaven. It is a lot warmer up there, after all." Arthur explained. "Does...being so revealing...Make you uncomfortable?"
Alfred finally looked back up at Arthur's face, fiddling with his tie. "Not...Really, I guess. It's just new to me, that's all. You're very handsome and beautiful this way, and I like it." he complimented without mind of how meaningful the words were to an angel. "I mean, I don't think I'd be comfortable wearing that little cover. It suits you, though."
For a moment, Arthur looked off to the side a bit bashfully. "Er, thank you, Alfred." he answered, trying not to shift too much when Alfred moved to lay on his stomach, arms still looped around Arthur's waist. "You would not like to be dressed this way? I am sure you would look very flattering."
The demon made an uncomfortable noise in the back of his throat, and a blush creeping up in his pale cheeks suggested the mere thought bothered him. "Uh...H-hey, Artie, I can't read this." he had opened the journal Arthur had given him, and was attempting to read it across Arthur's lap since his arms were still around the angel.
Arthur could easily see he was trying to change the subject, so he let Alfred, but he still mumbled "Demon's modesty fascinates me sometimes…" loud enough for the demon to hear. "You do not have to be shy around me, you know that?" It was a rhetorical question, and he didn't expect an answer, but he hoped Alfred understood that he meant it. Looking behind himself to the right, Arthur looked at the journal to see what couldn't be read.
"Hmm…" Alfred opted to continue scrutinising the random page he'd turned to, looking at the drawings in particular. "This is yours? What language is it? Dude, you're really good at drawing."
Listening to Alfred talk for a moment, Arthur narrowed his eyes at the journal, trying to think of some form of magic he could use, perhaps a translating spell. Wordlessly, he lifted his hand, and his fingers danced in a complicated but deliberate and calculated way. Alfred fell silent to watch, as Arthur peered more closely at the book like he was focusing on something about it. Both his hand and the words on every page that had been written on began to glow, until Arthur suddenly dismissed it with a swish of his hand.
The glowing dimmed quickly, and with a curious look, Alfred looked at the journal again. "...I can read it now." he noted, sounding surprised. "Wow. Angels really can do a lot of magic!" his broad smile came back, as if he had never been anything but happy. "What else can you do? Can you, like, make stuff disappear? Can every angel do that much magic?" With every question, he'd scooted up eagerly closer to Arthur, until Arthur had no choice but to lean back a little.
"Er, well, magic is usually something that requires training." Arthur explained awkwardly, surprising himself when he realised he found the demon's fascination quite cute. "Only a few angels are well versed like me, but that was because I spent a lot of my alone time reading and teaching myself. I think that was part of the reason they kicked me out, maybe because they thought it being 'too clever?' I do not know, but it really was not clever."
Alfred tilted his head. "You taught yourself? I thought angels liked to be together and teach each other."
With a nod, Arthur confirmed it, but made a face like there were special cases. "Yes. They do. It just...Was not fast enough for me, I suppose." he admitted thoughtfully. "I wanted to know everything, and the process by which the higher ranked angels taught the younger ones like me went too slowly. I got bored, which is an emotion I learned about early on because of it. At first, the archangels encouraged me learning by myself, but later on, they started to confuse me because they told me I should start spending more time with other angels and not as much reading." his eyebrows creased a little and his head lowered, as if he were just realising how sad it had made him.
"Wait wait wait, slow down. You have to learn about emotions? Why would they tell you to stop learning, what were they afraid you'd become too powerful?" Alfred laughed at first, but the amusement faded and his eyes widened after a few moments when the realisation dawned on him. "...Oh. That's why they...Oh." his voice got a lot softer once he noticed Arthur's dark expression.. "I'm so sorry, Arthur…"
He shook his head. "No, no, it is alright. Yes, angels have to learn about emotions, and it is a slowly progressing sort of thing that I never completed. I do not know why they did not just let us feel for ourselves to experience it...Unless…" he trailed off. "Well, unless they wanted to control what we felt. Er, anyway, I suppose that is why I was the one 'chosen.' It would make sense."
Alfred nodded when Arthur was finished, and adjusted himself more comfortably before his eyes flickered down to the journal. Arthur was glad for the silence; it gave him room to process what he'd just realised about Heaven, how corrupted it was. It was a perfect sort of corruption, giving off the impression of grace even to its enemies, and at the same time twisting the minds of all involved in it, to the point where even the highest authority could be manipulated without noticing it at all. The Angelicans had taught him what to do, what to think, what to feel, leaving no space for any individual motives or emotions. It was so perfect in fact, that he'd been fooled up until this point.
Looking upwards dejectedly, Arthur let out a deep, sad sigh. This was why he couldn't be a part of either power, the Demonocrats or the Angelicans. It would be like choosing the lesser of two evils. There was no good, there was only bad. One was gradually using more and more control over its inhabitants to tell them what to do while they were blissfully ignorant to the crimes done to them. Arthur's memory could not go back to a time when things had been better, except for when he too was ignorant. But in the history books he read, portraying those decades and centuries in the past that were condemned, now looked brighter and more free.
The other was carelessly forcing its inhabitants to fight for an unknown, yet patriotic cause. A society of hatred, with absolutely no pretense as to what good was, only that victory would be the outcome. Demons appeared to have horribly pessimistic attitudes despite never opposing the government, always thinking of the worst. In Alfred's case, it was more of a sad, apologetic acceptance that he would die a horrible death, and that had only started to change.
Arthur glanced down at Alfred. He was resting his head against Arthur's side, reading the journal with it held up in one hand so he could see over Arthur's arm. The side of his horn pressed in Arthur's ribcage, but it wasn't painful, and even if it did hurt, Arthur didn't think he would want him to move anyway. He found it odd; Arthur was still shaky and unsure of how much he trusted Alfred, but at the same time, he liked being close to the demon. The reverse also looked to be true, because Alfred may be extremely modest and shy about such closeness, but he never seemed to mind being intimate with Arthur. With a warm smile, Arthur lifted his free hand and combed his fingers gently through Alfred's black hair.
For a moment, Alfred closed his eyes, as if he appreciated the feeling, before he returned to the reading and wrapped his other arm a little tighter around Arthur. "Hell, Arthur…" he mumbled after a moment, flicking back a few pages and brushing his gloved thumb across the very obvious blood stains he found. "You've probably felt so lonely."
He seemed to have finished Zadkiel's note, which was the most recent entry, and looked up at Arthur's confused expression. He blinked a couple of times, before his brows lowered and he pouted. "You taught yourself stuff in Heaven, and that must have taken a lot of time. You were by yourself a lot, right?" At Arthur's hesitant nod, he continued. "Well, once you got sent down here, there was literally no one to help you. You had to fend for yourself, and I can't even imagine...I can't even imagine what that's been like for you!"
Alfred abruptly started moving, shifting up on his knees yet still keeping close to Arthur. Once he'd turned and sat down properly, he opened the book to one of the first few pages and pointed at a couple lines. "You just wrote down a lot of facts, and sometimes how you learned them. You were teaching yourself about demons through experience, which was something you just told me wasn't the way you were used to. You used to be able to just read everything, right? And suddenly you don't know how to do anything or if you'll live long enough to learn…" Alfred turned a couple pages, until he found a page where Arthur had reserved just for expressing his misery. "Look here, you wrote 'I do not know how I have survived this long. Is it chance? Luck? I do not think I can go on fighting like this, everything is a constant fight for demons, especially for life itself. I have become more adept here, but I do not think I will make it for long. My mission is becoming more and more hopeless with each day.' You were just so alone, and...Hell."
The next thing Arthur knew, he was being smothered in a hug, the journal set down on the bed so Alfred could pull Arthur towards him. "Wh-A-Alfred-?"
"I'm so sorry you had to go through all that." Alfred said in a muffled voice. "You don't have to be alone anymore, you know? I understand things now. Like why you didn't want to stay here before I knew you were an angel. But I know now, and I mean...We're still kinda working on it, but you can trust me. I know I trust you, because as far as I know, you only lied about one thing. Everything else I know about you is the same, you're still a frickin' tough dude that sees everything for what it really is. And you've made others see too. It doesn't matter to me if you're an angel, you're still Arthur. Maybe if we get this whole rebellion going, the others might understand too. It's too dangerous right now, but maybe one day we can make them see that it doesn't matter. Angels, demons...What's the difference, really?" he laughed a little sadly.
Arthur had been slow to comprehend what had happened, but once Alfred had started laughing, he shifted his face into Alfred's shoulder and hugged him back. "...I will stay here." he said softly. "Yes, I was lonely, but I...I have never known anything else."
In return, the demon made an odd sort of moaning noise, somehow nuzzling closer. "You'll be safer here. You won't have to feel lonely, or be so scared. You don't have to fight for your life all the time, I have your back now. Okay?" his tail wound around Arthur as well, so determined to hold him close. "I'll keep you safe. I'll protect you."
For a reason he wasn't able to understand, Alfred just saying that soothed Arthur immensely. Almost to a point where he wanted to tell Alfred he trusted him again, though he knew that wasn't true quite yet. But he felt...He felt those emotions he could not put a word to, those feelings not yet taught to him. They were good feelings, though. That's what he concluded, seeing as he felt content enough to relax into the tight embrace.
"Alfred…" he began after a moment of sitting in silence. "You act so shy and uncomfortable around me sometimes, yet you seem to enjoy hugging me at random." he commented quietly, noting that he was being held very protectively and firmly.
He couldn't see the demon's face, but with the slight shift, he could guess Alfred was blushing again. "You wrote in your journal about modesty, and how angels didn't act like that. It's with most demons, we don't like to wear anything other than long sleeves and stuff and showing skin is just kinda weird." he explained. Then, in a softer, meeker tone, he added "I don't know why, but I like to hold you."
At that, Alfred lowered his head so Arthur couldn't see his face. Not like he could anyway, but it was endearing just the same. Arthur found himself unable to stop smiling. In his eyes, it was so sweet that a creature of such a reserved, curiously kind nature would like him enough to admit that.
They spent most of their day that way. They talked, told stories, tried to remember the happier parts of their lives, and remained close to one another the entire time. Arthur would never admit it out loud, but he thought he could feel something he had never felt before, something fond and warm. It was very nice, and a good way to distance himself from the anger and sadness he'd felt before. He couldn't define it, but something in his gut told him he would never be able to let Alfred go.
Alfred acted all sorts of considerate and gentle, as if the smallest stroke would harm Arthur. Almost with reverence, he held Arthur close, determined to renew their earlier friendship. It was going to be a long process, but for once, Arthur felt he could actually rely on someone.
He was also free to express all the concerns that had built up ever since he landed in Hell. Alfred didn't quite understand all of them, but he listened and agreed with or corrected Arthur about what he could. It was mostly things about continuing to play along like he still had a mission, or staying out of the way of the Demonocracy until there was a point when they could make a move. Arthur also asked a lot of questions, worried that Alfred wouldn't find it as easy to free his mind from the trap they had both become a part of. However, Alfred's answers assured him that the demon could see the conspiracies and lies now.
"...It's like...Having all the secrets from centuries past even back to the Flame...Loaded on my back...And it weighs me down…But we have to wait, we have to wait for a sign, you know, a sign that we can do something. I am not sure what yet, but I will think of something…" Arthur mumbled, and then covered his mouth and yawned sleepily, but continued talking. "I will think of...Some move we could make, but we have to be patient...The Angelicans and the Demonocrats have this vast system built up respectively that relies on conquering our...our minds...But we can...We can fight it..."
It was late now; Arthur was beginning to trail off tiredly. Alfred was as wide awake as ever, and listened intently. But he seemed to know better than Arthur that the angel needed to sleep. He lay on his side right next to Arthur, calmly stroking his hair. "Yea?" he asked softly, unaware that his tone was very soothing to a sleepy angel. "Who do you think we should start with?"
Arthur thought for a moment, not even noticing how he was unconsciously working on snuggling into the jacket, the blankets, and of course Alfred himself. '"We could start...Start with the Demonocracy...We are already down here anyway…" he reasoned, his eyelids beginning to droop.
"Mmhm…" Alfred hummed in agreement, pulling Arthur closer to make it easier for the angel nestling into him. "Well, before we go trying to dismantle the government, I think Mr. Conspiracy Exposer needs some sleep."
"Nonsense, I can...I can stay awake, we could find the...The group and tell the lot of them about...About how we are going...To...Dismantle…" Arthur's voice faded off, getting quieter and quieter.
Alfred let out a soft laugh. "A huh, sure, Artie. Let's go tell them right now." he slowly shifted one arm underneath Arthur's head and let the other one rest over the angel's suddenly small body. Arthur felt surrounded by warmth, and it was very nice.
"Okay...We can...Let us...Go...Find…" his voice became barely audible, as he was now talking aimlessly into Alfred's uniform.
Finally, he relaxed completely, his eyes shutting and his body easing. His breathing became long and steady, and judging by Alfred's stillness, Arthur assumed the demon thought he'd just fallen asleep. After a couple of moments, Alfred shifted ever-so-carefully to press his nose in Arthur's hair. He managed to avoid his halo that time, and Arthur also felt Alfred's tail securely wrap around his waist again.
"...Alfred?" he asked quietly, startling the demon.
"Ah-yea?" Alfred answered, stiffening like he was expecting to be told to release Arthur.
For a moment, Arthur was just quiet, until he moved himself even closer to the demon. "...I like to be held." he finally said, like he was answering Alfred's confession from earlier. "I feel safe. Thank you."
That was all the demon needed to hear to relax himself and hold Arthur with just as much firmness as before.
O~o~O
Heaven was a disaster.
Everywhere Feliciano and Francis looked, Camael's preaching denouncing Arthur's efforts were becoming convincing to the angels not involved in the Angelican Party, and the Seraph gradually earned more and more support and belief. Angels of all ranks began to resent Arthur, albeit in a gentle way, but it was still the entirety of Heaven being turned against their only chance.
"The plan has been...Diverted," Camael had told Feliciano after the fact, once he'd calmed down. "Diversion is only a small delay. Like I have said, there is no way Arthur can possibly get in the way of anything. This is the most he can do, prolong the inevitable."
Forced to be his only confidant, Feliciano swallowed thickly and nodded to play along. "It would be impossible, sir." he agreed in a weak voice.
So far, his only consolation had been this 'diversion,' as Camael put it. Initially, he'd nearly broken down completely in front of the Seraph while he watched the demon's Rage resurface, and had to leave. He just couldn't be the witness of Arthur's death. However, upon getting called back into the spherical chamber, he almost cried out in sheer joy when he discovered he was still alive, while Camael was shaking in anger. Arthur had been right to trust the demon!
Camael had even gotten furious enough to storm out more than a few times. Each time he did, Feliciano could let down his apathetic front and watch Arthur alone, smiling at this demon called Alfred. He seemed very gentle, and accepting as well. After listening in on their conversations, Feliciano learned of Alfred's usual nature, and how Rage was just a deficiency, a mental condition. He watched with wide, fascinated eyes at how tenderly Alfred held Arthur, how gently he touched him, and how patiently he helped Arthur gradually get used to him again. He never imagined demons could be so kind, and suddenly he felt himself craving similar intimacy; Arthur's reaction to it was evidence of how long he'd gone without it.
Luckily, Francis was off duty by the time Camael dismissed Feliciano, and had the rest of the day to sit with the Principality and listen to what he'd seen. Arthur's recent experiences brought hope to Francis, and he even felt kind enough to let Feliciano demonstrate how gentle the demon had been, and they cuddled together until it was time to sleep. Truly, they were the only ones who they could rely on. They couldn't tell anyone now that they opposed Camael.
Once Feliciano had fallen asleep, Francis found himself restless, and he stayed up, stroking the Principality's ginger hair and watching the sky with sad eyes. They were unable to do literally anything. Contacting Arthur couldn't be done without suspicion anymore, and flying down to Hell put them at risk of becoming a Drone like Zadkiel. By this point, quite a few angels had been turned into mindless machines, even when they hadn't done anything. According to Camael, they were the ones who he deemed "potentially dangerous."
They had to wait, and it pained Francis, because he knew that the only time they could actually begin trying to find ways to talk to Arthur was after the war began. Not the petty one that had been continually going all along, but the big, ultimate one that promised destruction. Camael was preparing for the war with these Drones, and he wasn't sure, but Francis thought he was beginning to get more ideas from humans. The periods of time that Camael left for Earth were worrying, and Francis could only pray that he wasn't sitting in with the War Hawks of the human race.
Since when did the angels become bad?
It took an entire sleepless day for Francis to come to the same realisation that Arthur did; Heaven had never been good. It had just all been an illusion, and the lies were disguised by a subliminal, deceiving face of purity. And they couldn't do a single thing about it.
Realising it was a big step, though, and perhaps he could get others to see. Or maybe they just had to wait for Arthur to do something. Either way, they were a small step further than they had been now.
The trick now was to find out who all stood behind this. Obviously it was Camael, but were there others? Others who managed to fool the Angels for centuries without question until now? Francis decided his best option was to keep pretending he was with the Angelicans, while doing his best to find out how many were involved in turning around the direction of the Party and tainting all the Angel's ideals. Francis couldn't stand to let this corruption go without doing something.
O~o~O
Arthur's return to the group was very well received. At least, for everyone else.
He had become stronger over the past couple of days, no longer thin and weak like he had been. Living with Alfred had returned some of his skin colour, his muscle, and sleek form. Alfred had even said he looked a lot healthier than he'd ever seen him, which was encouraging.
Before they flew from Alfred's place to find the group, Alfred had given him a few pointers on how to come across as more assertive, though Arthur wasn't the assertive type. He explained that dominance and leadership was not only something that demons responded to better, it was a display of confidence, and that Arthur just had to "fake it 'til he made it." Alfred looked a little dumbfounded when he found out whatever assertiveness Arthur appeared to have before was purely accidental.
Regardless, Arthur was a quick learner, and would do whatever he had to to assure the support he had. So, with no more time to waste, Arthur transformed into his demon form and took off with Alfred, heading for the alley he used to live in.
Once the demons heard him coming, which was from quite aways away, Alfred started grinning. "I can hear them." he said, laughing.
"You can?" Arthur frowned, only then remembering that demons had a better sense of hearing and smelling than he did.
Alfred tilted his wings so he could fly closer and nudge him. "They're whispering excitedly, they can smell us coming."
Arthur assumed that was why he was greeted with demons all standing and facing the direction he and Alfred flew in at, all breaking out into grins and slightly louder conversations. "Paranomia has returned!" he heard some of them say. He could see Basch grinning at him, and even Ivan looked like he was at least a little bit glad to see him.
As soon as he landed, Arthur stood with his back straight and shoulders back, raising his chin to look at everyone. For some reason, there looked like there were more demons than when he last saw the group. As if to confirm it, Alfred landed next to him and leaned to mutter in his ear, "I think there's some more people here. More than there were before, anyway. I guess we got some recruits or something while we were out?"
"Paranomia, it is good to see you again." Ivan came forward with Basch to approach him. "We have been waiting for you. We'd like to fill you in on a few things." Ivan said, though they both looked like they had a hint of nervousness, like they had done something wrong. Or maybe Alfred's suggestion was working; perhaps he was intimidating them. "We have found a few fellow demons who wish to commit Opia with you and join us in our endeavors to defy the Demonocracy. I thought it would be for the best, even though you weren't around…"
Ivan was acting like he'd challenged Arthur's authority, and it seemed a very dangerous thing to do, which would explain his apparent anxiety. Alfred even pulled in a breath behind him, and Arthur guessed he was surprised that they had been so bold. However, their entire group was a reform of everything any of them had ever known, so it was not a matter of leadership to Arthur.
"Really?" he asked pleasantly. "Well, that is certainly convenient. Thank you, Ivan, thank you, Basch. It is good to have as many on our side as we can get." he had trouble holding back a grin at their dumbfounded faces.
He'd thoroughly confused them, and he hoped to confuse them even more. "Listen up!" he raised his voice to make sure he had everyone's attention. "Starting from here, it will be made clear that the Demonocracy has wronged us all!" he announced. "They have lied to us, they have treated us like we are nothing! But no longer!"
That earned a few tentative murmurs, and Arthur raised his wings to fly to the crate he used to sleep on. "They do not even care for our lives, we are expendable! Would you fight for an army that would not even miss you when you are dead and gone, soul lost forever?! Will you slam shut, or will you free your mind?! Or will you stay hypnotised, and fight blindly and rashly without regard for who lives and who dies?!" By then, every single demon had visible shrunken, shocked by the sheer power in his voice. He could see Alfred out of the corner of his eye, and unlike most everyone else, the demon's eyes were shining in admiration. "When the angels fill the skies, will our 'leaders' tell us why?! They only tell us what to do, nothing more!" he paused to let them take it in.
They let out growls of what he hoped were approval, and he took that as encouragement. "We will wait. We will wait for our sign, and we'll know when it's time to make our move. But for now we must stay hidden so they will not see us coming." he told them, and the growls escalated to a brief collective shout.
They no longer looked afraid, instead they all stood with him, stood for him.
This was his army.
O~o~O
"Oh, but it's so much more than that, little Arthur…" the Seraph crooned, smiling as he twirled the image, making the magical projection of Arthur have little swirls in it.
He couldn't see it all yet. With every day he got a bigger and bigger picture, but Paranomia didn't know everything just yet. He chuckled darkly in amusement.
"When the angels fill the skies," he purred. "It's just your leaders in disguise."
O~o~O
So like I don't have any idea how I wrote out this chapter so fast XD But oh my stars I'm so excited to have it done that I might try a timezone reblog about it on Tumblr because I'm publishing it so late XD Late for me, anyway, I am but a tired noodle who just wants to start a Resistance against two governments I made up :P Muse has taught me well XD
So originally this chapter was going to go in a different direction, but it just? Idk, I'm not sure if it was good or not. Like I'm genuinely not sure if this was a good first step in this next arc, but I'm hoping I have the right idea XD I mean, it's all planned out, but I might have taken an early and blind step into it :P
Exo-Politics was interesting to use, because the lyrics are about questioning the value of remaining with the government or standing against it. In the chapter, I used the idea of the lyrics in a mixed up order, like "Carried through the centuries, secrets locked up, and loaded on my back, and it weighs me down..." and "When the Zetas fill the skies, will our leaders tell us why?"
Interestingly enough(or well interesting to me anyways, not sure about you XD), the lyrics talk about Zetas filling the skies, which everyone just kinda assumes has to do with aliens because Muse loves to talk about aliens. In one or more particular performance(s?) Bellamy changed the lyrics to "When the Demons fill the skies..." which I actually did not know until after I had already planned on using this song XD I decided to play off of it, and changed it to "When the Angels fill the skies..." ;)
I love this song. Like, this guitar solo, the album it's from(Black Holes and Revelations), and the tone just perfectly reflects the skepticism and patience and determination Arthur has. Basically, I just love Muse XD
Heaven is a mess...:P
So! Heyyy, since I'm back to regular chapters now, I'll get on with the usual stuff~
Disclaimer** I don't own Muse, Linkin Park, angels, demons, zetas, or bible stuff :D
Makoyana is the artist for the cover image! (Sorry girl I'm gonna tag you in every chapter from here on out XD Regardless of whether or not you actually see this :P)
I got a lot of really nice reviews recently and my heart has just been so overwhelmed XD Like I am still shocked you actually like this! A lot of good things have been happening and it's just in general so nice :D I love you so much oh my stars someday I'll get around to addressing you individually to thank you XD
I'm gonna try to make Messenger a thing on Tumblr, actually! :D Someday also when I get some technological skills, I might even make a Messenger ask blog, or just a blog dedicated to Messenger and the sweet devil au. Or maybe just author stuff. Who knows? XD
Thank you for reading! :D
~Madz