Hello! I'm back. Well, since somebody told me that I should write my thoughts in italics (cough Tsume7 cough) I did. You know the disclaimer (me not owning the Bible, this being slash, etc.). By the way, this might not get fluffy for awhile so I apologize. Asmo and Raph (those are my little nicknames for them -) need to build up on their relationship more so the whole point of this chapter is for Asmo to understand Raph. More coming soon so keep reading and reviewing! After all, I won't write more unless you review!


Who does this angel think he is? Asmodeus watched the sleeping form of Raphael. He'd so damn peeving and I bet he knows this just as well. His amethyst gaze scanned around the dull cave. The seraph was much more devious than one would perceive. The floors had no giant stones, only small hills of sand that the demon couldn't transmute into anything. His chains were tight and made of pure silver but strangely enough, not uncomfortable. Although there were stalactites adorning the ceiling, the little angel had smothered them with his light so it would burn the demon to try and reach it with magic. Even the chair Raphael rested on glowed to weaken him. Asmo was really annoyed now. Damn this angel and his actually competent planning.

What's wrong with him? It had been sometime now and Asmodeus was beginning to get bored. He poked his spirit at the sleeping Raphael. Why does his aura feel so off? Soundlessly the demon crept up to Raph and began prodding his mind. First, there was darkness but then images floated in and out languidly. Stupid angel actually left his defenses wide open. He grinned evilly. This'll be fun.

THIS IS A MEMORY! (NOTE: THE USE OF ITALICS IS WEIRD SO TOO BAD IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT)

Michael was scolding him (at which Asmodeus sniggered because that was just too funny). Apparently, Raph was a horrible swordsman.

"You know you'll never win if you have no motivation Raphael."

The longhaired angel muttered under his breath as he brushed dirt from his pants. "Whoever said I wanted to do this in the first place?" Then he retrieved his sword from the floor again. "I don't plan on being a soldier anyway Michael."

"Regardless of what you plan on being, you must learn to fence. It is obligatory of all angels." Raph glared at him. "Yes, even Seraphim Raphael, so I suggest you get over it. Anyway," Michael took ready position, "angels who cannot fight are useless, especially to God"

Then, as quickly as it came, the memory ebbed away. Another one came and took its place.

Uriel was sitting on the borderline of Hell and Heaven polishing her sword. Her raven hair drifted slightly in and out of her green eyes. Raph slowly walked thoughtlessly into the clearing. He didn't seem to be paying attention.

"How are you Raphael?" said Uriel.

"Oh!" Raph looked startled. "I'm fine. And you?"

"I'm wonderful myself." She glanced upwards from her weapon. "Is something the matter Raph?" she asked in a concerned tone.

"No…it's nothing."

The dark angel smiled calmly. "I doubt it's nothing if you came all the way here."

The blond fidgeted nervously. He stared at the ground pathetically. "I really am a horrible soldier aren't I?"

Light laughter resonated in the air. "Why would you think an absurd thing like that?" Uriel put away her sword and faced him. "You're not at all as awful as you think you are. Why, I've seen you practice with more accuracy than Michael several times."

"But…Michael always makes me feel so worthless. Why am I of such high ranking Uriel?" He cried despairingly. " I'm a terrible fighter, I'm not aggressive, and I'm not anything it takes to be a seraph." Raph looked away at the sky. "I'm haven't value. If God were to replace me, I doubt that even half of Heaven would notice."

A heavy ache fell upon Asmodeus' heart. How sad. Even he felt pity for the boy. In Hell, no one ever went out and said one was useless if one couldn't fight. Samael always looked for other ways a person could help if he or she wasn't a warrior by nature. Nobody was ever told they were worthless. The demon gazed empathetically at the angel. I always thought Heaven was paradise. Heaven was the unattainable dreamland, wasn't it?

A soft white light shown in the distance. Small children ran in and out. It was a new memory.

Kids were laughing with Raph as he taught them the uses of certain herbs for medicine.

"Look Mawster Raphie! I faowned this flowa!" said the youngest child. She was barely three. The "flowa" was white with tints of gold. It looked like an inverted sun.

"Why, it's very lovely Murielle." The angel was in his human form so his wings were gone. Still, the same sadness that was present with Uriel lingered in his voice. The other children had gone to fetch some wild grasses in the prairie leaving him with Little Murielle. Raphael sat down upon the ground and sighed. The small girl began to play with his hair.

"Mawster Raphie, how come you sownd so sad?"

Raph put on his best fake smile and cocked his head slightly to the side. "Why do you say that?"

The little girl gave him her best angry glare. "'Cawse you keep sighing. You need ta hide yur emotens beta than tha'."

He sighed again. "I guess I do." Raphael looked at the blue sky. White clouds moved leisurely by. The trees rustled in the gentle breeze. He closed his eyes and laid down.

"Have you ever felt so insignificant that you question your existence Murielle?" asked Raph as his long hair blew with the wind.

"Ya. But Mama an' Papa always make me feel beta."

The angel chuckled. "Yes, but I haven't parents." He opened his yellow eyes and they turned painfully melancholy.

"Oh." A great gust of air blew through the grass. The flower Murielle clutched was carried away by the wind.

A new memory arose. And you know Asmodeus; well of course, he had to pry it open.

"Why isn't he breathing Uriel?" A younger version of Raph sat in a battlefield scattered with corpses spanning to the horizon and beyond. A mortal was sprawled on the blood stained dirt with an excruciating expression. His eyes were hollow, as if a spear had impaled them both. There were many wounds on his body, so many that he resembled a rotten potato. Dried blood crusted around him in a pool of red. He smelled sweet but with the metallic tang of iron and the bitter poison of death. His legs were dismembered from his torso, lying idly from him. His face was no longer familiar with the face of a man for it was brown with decay and dark with mud. A cold smog seemed to ooze from him.

"Do you really want to know Raph?" asked Uriel carefully. A questioning glance came from her worried expression.

"Yes. Of course I want to know Uriel!" Raph was outraged. "Who would kill someone in this grotesque of a method? They would have to be a monster!"

Uriel hesitated and sheathed her sword. She closed her eyes and turned away. "If I tell you this Raphael, every self-concept you've had about yourself will be crushed." The dark hair angel turned around and let her green eyes bore into him harshly. "Do you still want to know?"

Raph was taken back. He diverted his gaze to the dead man again and felt rage and pity in his heart. Then he turned and met Uriel's unrelenting gaze. "Yes."

Uriel sighed and was silent. Years seemed to pass in between.

Silently, she said, "It's because you killed him."

Raph was shocked. His bright yellow eyes widened and he looked at the corpse, so defiled with sin. "What? I-I didn't. I couldn't!" The frightened little seraph tried to recollect every action he had ever done since his creation, every memory he could recall. He had never committed such a crime. He knelt upon the bloody ground holding his head. "No, I didn't! I-I don't remember!"

"Raph…As angels, it is our duty to kill, regardless with what our hearts may

dictate." Uriel turned away to look at the setting sun. "God, he-" The dark angel stopped. "Well, he isn't the best kind of father." The sky was beginning to run red. The darkness of night seeped through the cracks of day and infected it with black. Orange laced the golden orb of light. Sunset had just begun.

"Raph, God activated the berserker curse for you." The young seraph looked confused. Uriel stared at the ground. "It's a way to make an angel have their first taste of blood and the curse insures that we all fight."

"What?" The blonde angel was horrified. "God actually cursed us?"

The dimming sun hid Uriel's face. "I'm so sorry Raph." White tears glimmered as they slid from her leaf-green eyes and fell to the earth. Grass sprouted eagerly from the gruesome ground and twined themselves around the numb dead.

Meanwhile, night had finally come.

Raphael (quite unknowingly of all inside his head) slept in a panicked state, locked inside that memory. Outward he looked calm but then again, he was an angel and they just don't fret. Inside, a flood of guilt and self-loathing overwhelmed him. It was as if they had covered his mouth, nose, ears and had proceeded to smother him in sadness. He was drowning in grief and like drowning, it clogged every pore of his body, only to leave him as a bloated sponge of sorrow. Anguish filled him again and gagged his spirit. Why did I have to sin? Images of that dead man bombarded his mind. Why did I have to kill him?

Asmodeus dragged himself away from the memory. It still burned in his mind. A berserker curse on angels? Even we don't have that! He fumed angrily. I never knew that God was such a bastard to his own men. How unfairly he treats them! It's worse than Hell! Fury built and his magic started to flare. The cuffs around his wrists suddenly sent a jolt of pain through him. Luckily, it was only a warning shot. Irked, the demon forced a sense of tranquility into his seething self. Stupid, proficient angel. Slowly, the rage in him disappeared and he cooled off.

Asmodeus watched Raphael again. His hair had surrounded him in a web of gold. The demon gave a small smirk. So, God really is a little prick after all. And to think he said my master was bad. He continued to stare at Raph. Honestly, he really felt bad for the seraph. Demons were given more freedom than him. For an angel to be imprisoned in his own "utopia" was heartbreaking. At least I like my leader, Asmodeus thought as he sighed. Now I'm picking up Raphael's sighing. Great. He looked back at the angel but he still felt pity. In truth, the people in Hell were fairly decent. No one complained much. Samael was pretty wise in putting people to work. Everyone got to do what they liked. Nothing was mandatory. Then Asmodeus realized what he was doing. Shit. I can't believe I'm empathizing with a frickin angel. A bit of shame filled his heart when he remembered inconveniencing Raphael just to tick him off. A saddening smile graced his lips.

"Well, how was I to know real angels existed?"

Fatigue had wrapped its tendrils lovingly around Asmodeus. Damn it. I'm getting tired and just after this! The whole "running around Media and sneaking into someone's mind furtively" had drained him. Not to mention that staying awake the entire time that Raphael had him in custody made him tired too. But then, maybe it was the emotional thing that had exhausted him the most. Perhaps I should take a leaf out of Raphael's book and get some sleep. Asmodeus yawned genuinely. Now half conscious, the demon started to lull into sleep. Still, guilt and a bit of protectiveness pricked him. Thus, he did the one thing he'd never imagined doing.

"Well… goodnight Raph."

Asmo stretched flexiblely and curled himself like a cat. Gradually, his amethyst eyes closed and he was taken by slumber.

Raphael woke up to the sun setting at the mouth of the cave. I haven't dreamt that one for a while. Suddenly, he noticed something wet on his hand. A single diamond-like tear sparkled, contrasting with the dull paleness of his skin. He couldn't believe he had wept.

In the corner of his eye, he could see Asmodeus sleeping serenely with his head lopped on a random chunk of rock. At least he hadn't seen me cry, he thought thankfully. No doubt, he would have teased me persistently for the rest of eternity. A chuckle came to his throat. What would have he thought if he had seen my dream? Then he timidly glanced at Asmodeus who was sleeping so peacefully. At that moment, the demon looked so helpless and sweet. A smile spread infectiously on Raph's face. He giggled softly. "How angelic."

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