It hurt so much. Angel knew he was going to die, but he didn't expect all the pain. And his friends. They had undergone the same pain. Where were they? Were they in heaven? They must have gone to heaven. Of course they went to heaven. They were clean. He was dirty. He sent his friends to die. He was supposed to go to hell. And that meant...this was hell. Why was hell so dark?
"Why are its eyes closed?"
His eyes were closed. Of course they were. And they were going to stay that way for as long as he could hold them. Angel had been to hell before. There was no way out, no one to please. Maybe if he could just keep his eyes closed...
"What is your name?"
Voices. There were voices. Deep echoes, barely human. They were whispering. He knew they were. But every syllable rang in his ear, grabbed hold of him. They were going to taunt him. Soulless, pathetic vampire. Fallen hero. Who did you save in the end?
"It does not hear us."
There were the voices again. They were so cold. He had to say something back. But he could barely find his voice. He just started talking. He tried to be as loud as they were. As quiet as they were.
"They ripped me to pieces. They ripped me apart. I felt them."
"What is its name?"
The scourge...scourge of Europe? Is that what he was called? Or was his name...Angel? Was that it? There was something else. A little girl. A little girl called him Liam. And he had feasted upon her. He had enjoyed it.
"I killed one. And then another. And then another. They took my sword. They ripped me to bits. I felt it."
"Does it have a name?"
Did he? Hadn't he called himself something? Names...names were important. Good and evil had names. He had different names. They distinguished between...between...what?
"I saw them tear my friends apart."
"All creatures have names. Don't they?"
Don't they. There were women. Three women. Three lifetimes. They had all called him something...What?
"They took my legs first."
"Do they? I'm not sure. I haven't seen one like this."
God, they were the most beautiful women. And they had loved him. Why had they done that? Who would do that?
"They kept me alive long enough to see what they were doing to me. What they were doing to my friends...Oh God, what they did to my friends..." The man with his eyes closed let out a choked sob. The voices didn't care.
"This one has many names. Three. Far too many."Three. That was right. He was called three things. But there was one name that mattered, wasn't there? They had all called him that name.
"He is presumptuous. Three names? How silly. At least it has stopped talking."
Not just the women. The fallen. The comrades. They had all called him something. Was it leader?
"Maybe it will just lie there."
No. It wasn't leader.
"What else is it good for?"
It was...friend. They had called him friend.
"It is good for playing with."
They had followed him. They had trusted him.
"It is not. Not if it keeps its eyes closed."
They had died for him...They had died for...Who was it!
"We could open them for him. It can't do it for itself"Investigations...Investigations...Investigations...
"It can't do anything for itself. It is-"
"Helpless! Helpless!" That was the word!
"It talks to us? It presumes to know what we will say?"Angel Investigations. They helped the helpless. That was his name.
"Angel"
His name was Angel. His friends had died for Angel.
"It thinks we still care about its name. That time has passed."
His friends had died fighting for Angel. Because they loved him, they sacrificed themselves for his cause. They had all accepted their fates.
"Fate. It is thinking about fate."
And he was going to accept his, whatever it was. Any less would taint their sacrifice.
"It thinks it knows something about fate."
The voices were wrong. Angel knew nothing about fate, something he could now freely admit. He had tossed words like fate around so causally, without really understanding their full meaning.
"It knows less than nothing."They were right. He knew nothing. He could accept that. And he could try and accept whatever was in front him. Because he had to.
And with that thought, Angel opened his eyes.
Authors Note: What awaits Angel? Who knows? This chapter was a character piece, as most of them age going to be. I don't think the important thing is what happens to Angel after he opens his eyes. I think the important thing is that he willingly opened them. But would you guys expect any less from our favorite champion? I thought not.
Most of the early chapters of this story would probably work as one long chapter, but ya know what? I hate really long chapters. I hate reading them, and writing them is almost as unpleasant. You may call it simple; I call it practical ;)
So, until next time, leave me a review! Even one would be nice.