YOU BUILD ME UP, YOU BREAK ME DOWN-26
"Do you think she will come?"
It had been exactly a day since the war. Today was the day the last rites were to take place. A group of angels sat in the church, talking.
"I don't think so. She doesn't have to. She wasn't widowed- technically. Was she? Losing a husband and losing your fiancé of 1 week are two entirely different things."
The other angels nodded in agreement. Suddenly, one of them nudged the others. They all turned back and froze momentarily.
The doors to the church opened and all of them moved in. All of the angels bowed down. God nodded his head to acknowledge the other angels and gestured them to stand up.
God walked down the aisle -Gabriel, Balthazar and Stefan walking just behind him, heads bowed. All the three angels were dressed in grey suits. Behind them walked Louisiana, dressed in a grey gown. Black was the colour of complete mourning and grey of collective mourning. She turned around and gestured for the person standing behind her to come ahead.
Gabriella walked next to her friend, clad in a jet-black dress. Her waist length curly brown hair had been cut short till her shoulders. She looked ahead, not acknowledging anyone's presence. She looked completely dead- There was absolutely no expression on her face.
A considerable distance behind her, to everyone's utter shock, stood Lucifer. He was also dressed in black, head bowed down. He was shaking slightly as he walked in. He had not come with God and his brothers. He knew he didn't deserve it.
The church was empty except for the numerous seats and the coffins laid out in the front. Gabriella froze momentarily as her eyes fell on the coffin directly in front. Her face betrayed the slightest hint on emotion ever since she had entered- Dejection. Louisiana stopped and looked back, holding her friend's hand. Gabriella nodded and continued walking.
They all stopped behind the coffins. God gestured everyone to sit down. After a while, he moved to the front and then started speaking.
"This is a tough time for all of us. It has been difficult- Thousands lay injured and many lay dead. It would be comfortable of me to say that we have lost only a hundred soldiers, but I won't say so. Because I know that they were much more than just soldiers. They were someone's son, brother, sister, mother, father, husband. They were someone's family. All of us are here with the same emotion in our hearts- pain. No one's loss is lesser or greater- We all have experienced the same pain. No matter who we have lost, we are united today here to give rest to the souls of our deceased."
Some of the people nodded while some held back a tear. Lucifer bit down on his lip and shut his eyes. Directly to his right, Gabriella looked towards the ground.
"I will now be assessing the loss of life in the battle. In an attempt to stop a suicide mission near the Garrison of Peter, we lost twenty soldiers. They were- John, Mary, Susanne, Christopher, Lloyd... "
With each name he took there was a sniff. People were crying by now.
"In a bombing in the Eden Gardens, we lost 5 angels."
There were more tears.
"The Heavenly Hosts experienced huge losses this time. We lost 5 members- All of whom were the most talented lot I have ever seen. My deepest regrets go out to the families of Annabeth, Julian, Stephanie, Jonathan and ..."
He paused and said, "...Michael."
Nearly everyone in the church sobbed silently. Lucifer turned around a bit to see Gabriella look at the coffin in front of her. On it were the following words, embossed in gold.
Archangel Michael
She was biting down on her lip as her hands wrapped around her abdomen, tenderly. Tears fell from her eyes.
What had he done? How could he have done this?
God looked up and nodded. The family members of the slain angels moved forward to pick up the coffins. At the end-Stefan, Gabriel and Balthazar looked at each other and moved. All of them sunk down to their knees to pick up their slain brother's coffin. They needed one more person.
Lucifer flexed a muscle but heard a voice from the front.
"Don't even think about it."
Gabriel was glaring at him, fire in his eyes. He looked back at the 2 in front of him and muttered something. Stefan moved to the front while Gabriel and Balthazar supported the coffin from the sides.
God went and stood in front of the coffin while Gabriella took her ceremonious position, standing on the coffin's right. There was the low sound of a violin as Stefan started moving.
The coffins were being buried. Nearly all of them had been buried and many angels had left the scene, unable to stand it all.
The only people left now were Stefan, Gabriel, Balthazar, Gabriella, Louisiana and Lucifer. God stood at a distance, talking to Joshua. Stefan moved to the front and to open the coffin one last time. He shook badly as he mumbled- "Th-This is the la-last ch-chance to say good-goodbyes or keeping any keep-keepsakes."
All of them nodded as Louisiana wiped away a tear. He heaven open the lid as Gabriella looked away. His face bore the same expression of peace- It scared the hell out of her.
Stefan touched Michael's face and said- "If possible, please forgive me brother. I wasn't there when you needed me. Please forgive me." He wiped his tears as he kept a small blade in the coffin. He laughed and said, "The first blade you gave me brother. Rest in Peace."
He moved back with tears in his eyes. Gabriel and Balthazar moved ahead next, sinking down beside him. They both muttered their goodbyes in a hushed voice. They placed a gold band in the coffin. It bore the words "Michael, Raphael, Gabriel and Balthazar." It had been hand-carved by Michel. Lucifer's name had been scratched out from the band.
Finally, Gabriella moved to the front. She sunk down gently and stroked his hair. She whispered, "All my life you have been there for me- doing whatever I wanted of you. Please, there's just one more thing, one more thing, Michael. Just do another miracle for me. Don't be...Don't be dead."
She sighed as a tear fell down her cheek. She said, "I know there is another thing you would never part with. Your sword."
She took out his magnificent silver sword from her scabbard and laid it in his coffin. She mumbled, "I love you Michael. Rest in Peace."
Saying this, she moved back as she sobbed. Lucifer was about to move when Gabriella hissed- "You have already kept the keepsake in this coffin Lucifer."
He frowned. She looked at him, eyes chock full of tears as she spat out- "His body."
Gabriel muttered something to Stefan in Enochian. He nodded and closed the lid. Gabriel and Balthazar lowered it into the ground as Stefan hugged Gabriella tight, knowing the emotions she felt at that moment.
Things were never going to be the same again.