Angel's Tale by Oriel

Rated: PG-13 for language, partial nudity and violence

Disclaimer: Refer to first chapter since it's still unchanged.

Random comments: End of chapter comments will be here from now on. I'm truly sorry it took me so long to come up with this chapter. I've been extremely busy with college. ;_; But I'm on vacation now, FINALLY! Also, this chapter is a VERY important one for the rest of the story. I wanted to take my time and make sure it was perfect. Keep the reviews coming! You know I love them.

" ": dialogue
/ /: thoughts
* *: flashbacks

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Chapter 5 - The Darkest Secret

Earlier that day, Mikael had been knocked unconscious and tied up in the middle of this dark, seemingly empty room. Never had he suspected that his twin brother, Lucifer, had been watching him all this time.

/ Why didn't you say anything to me? Aniki? /

Long ago, Mikael was already invisible to his brother's eyes, no matter how much he struggled to catch his attention, to get closer to him the way they used to be in the very beginning... But his brother's harsh words, his bitter-sweet voice still echoed in his head.

* "Next time we meet, we shall be enemies, Mikael. I'll be looking forward to that day." *

/ That's right... /

How he had wished for this day not to ever come. Broken, driven insane by the mere thought of having to face his twin again in another duel, knowing that only one of them shall win. There would be no going back after that. Nothing would ever be the same again. Even now, the archangel still wished that he could run away.

/ But there's no avoiding it anymore. /

While keeping a concerned eye on his best friend, Rafael unstrapped Mikael's huge Fire sword from his back and handed it back to its rightful owner. Alexiel and he then quietly stepped back into a corner, staying out of the way. Even though both wanted to fight alongside with Mikael, they also knew very well that this fight was not theirs.

Mikael walked up into the shades and took a fighting stance, amber eyes flaring angrily. He twirled his sword with a flick of his wrist.

"Come on! Get up and fight me bastard! I'm ready!"

The red-head was snarling and growling but it was obviously not enough to convince Lucifer to move from his seat. Upon yet again being ignored by his brother, the short angel burst into another fit of rage. Orange, blazing flames engulfed the room in their suffocating heat. Rafael quickly created a shield of wind to protect himself and Alexiel from what would have otherwise been their certain death.

As the fire disappeared, Lucifer and the Mad Hatter now appeared in full sight in front of the three angels. They had not even been burnt. The jester still stood beside her Master's throne, a mischievous smile pasted onto her over-painted face. As for Lucifer, his cold, steel grey eyes were set in front of him, staring past them at nothing particular. Long, ebony hair flowed freely about his shoulders. The crimson tattoo below his left eye contrasted to the milky white of his flawless skin and ironically reminded of tears of fire.

Mikael bounced in front of his twin and swayed his sword in his general direction, faking a blow in an attempt to get some kind of reaction. The sword stopped short of Lucifer's neck but the man didn't even bat an eyelid. Mikael could easily have killed him at this time but he found himself unable to move, paralysed by fear. His hands were shaking with restrained anger and humiliation and he huffed loudly.

* "Don't bother. You're no match with me, Mikael." *

"DAMN YOU! WHY DID YOU BETRAY US? WHY DO I HAVE TO FIGHT YOU?"

The sword fell to the ground with a ringing clatter. Mikael rushed forward to grip the front of Lucifer's attire and swung his fist at the fallen angel's face. But much to everyone's astonishment, Lucifer snapped from his stupor, his hand flying up to capture his brother's fist in his palm. He then crushed the slim fingers mercilessly in his hand, earning a muffled whimper from the angel. A soft chuckle rose from his throat as he slowly lifted his eyes upon his brother.

"Mikael..."

Tears of pain and rage were flowing down the angel's face. The emotionless voice of his beloved brother sent shivers down his spine.

"You and I will never be on the same side. Never."

Lucifer released Mikael's fist and narrowed his eyes. The angel fell down to his knees, trembling. His voice, barely more than a whisper, betrayed his pain and inner turmoils.

"But why not?"

"We are enemies Mikael. Our fates have been decided long ago. And nothing will ever change this. Nothing. ...unless..."

A spark of hope ignited in Mikael's eyes as he heard those words. He lifted his gaze to meet his brother's.

"Unless...? Unless what?"

"Unless I find the angel who's the cause of my demise."

Mikael frowned and peeked at Alexiel who still quietly observed the scene from afar. Lucifer's smirk echoed through the room.

"Not her. I had already fallen long before I met Alexiel. No, I'm talking about the one angel who made me who I am now. She is the one I must find and kill in order to end the curse she has placed on me. Then, we will be united as brothers again, Mikael."

This unexpected confession seemed to surprise everyone, the Mad Hatter included. Mikael frowned, his face etched with confusion.

Feeling as though further explanations were needed, the dark lord took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The words spilled out of his mouth, painful, like blood spills out of a deep wound.

"As you know already, Kami-sama... His greatest desire was to create the perfect being. All of us were born into this world as a result of his numerous experiments. I used to be considered to be one of his most flawless creation. In truth, I was born as pure and devoid of sin as everyone else."

/ Yes, I remember... Aniki's smile was always so bright... /

"One day, as I was still young, He confided a secret to me. And even to this day, I am still the only one to know about it. This secret was that He had achieved the perfect being. She was a eight-winged angel, one more wing than He Himself, who surpassed everyone in beauty and powers. He had thus named this angel Bashia, the Daughter of God. She was His greatest pride yet He confined her to a secret chamber in the tower of Etenamenki, where she was supposed to be safe from all outside influences that might spoil her perfection."

Alexiel stepped forward.

"That's ridiculous! Never in my life have I heard of such an angel! Are you sure she even exists? Maybe God only tried to trick you."

Lucifer once again stared into the dark horizon through half-closed eyes. For a few seconds he almost seemed to be lost deep in his thoughts.

"Of course I know that she is real. I've met her, several times, even though He strictly forbid me to. He should have known better than to tempt me."

Lucifer's eyes now glistened with red bloodlust. He clenched his fist around the arm of his throne, his nails digging into the dark ebony.

"She poisoned my soul with foolish jealousy and pride and then filled my crushed heart with eternal darkness and hopelessness. When Kami-sama found out that I had met with her, He separated her body and soul. He hid her empty shell in Etenamenki, and cursed her soul to go through eternal reincarnation, just like Alexiel. She could be anywhere now."

"I'll find her! I'll bring her back! I promise you with all my heart."

/ Because my only wish is to make you happy, aniki. /

Lucifer stared down at Mikael, somehow amused by his rock-hard confidence. He then lifted a hand to rest it on top of his brother's red-head, closing his eyes once again. The blurred image of a young girl with long, golden hair flashed in Mikael's head, filling his vision completely. He concentrated very hard on this image, carving it into his memory. But the task wasn't exactly easy since it had several blank, undefined spots, just like an undone puzzle.

With one final ruffle of crimson hair, Lucifer took his hand off Mikael's head.

"Unfortunately, this is the best I can do. It's been so long..."

"It doesn't matter, aniki. I'll find her anyway, even if I have to travel across the universe."

/ Yes, I'll do anything. /

Mikael slowly stood up, smiling one last time at his dear twin before joining his rather confused and surprised friends. The doors of the room opened up by themselves to let the angels out.

Once they were out of sight, the Mad Hatter peered down at her Lord questioningly, her mahogany eyes studying him carefully. The man showed no more signs of emotion. His pale blue lips were pursed tightly. His eyes were still locked onto nothingness, or perhaps on something that only he could see.

/ Is it because of this angel that one's master has not been himself lately? /

She knew there was just more to the story than Lucifer let slip.

"Do you think he'll find her, one's Lord?"

"No. Never."

/ He won't allow it. /