A/N: The song that inspired this story is an instrumental called Dark Angel (of course) made by Edvin Marton. It is a very moody piece so sought to create something to match its drama and aesthetic.

Dark Angel

"Franky!"

Franky saw the explosion before he felt it. Its gleaming light had been blinding for the split second that it collided with his chest, the concussive force knocking him immediately from his feet. As he felt himself fall backwards, he watched as the orange flames crept up his chest before engulfing him. He gasped, stunned and confused. He thought he had flameproofed this latest iteration of himself. Yet those Bastards had still managed to catch him off-guard. He fell to the ground, rolling to, if anything, hopefully protect his back. He could tell the synthetic skin above his waist had started to melt away.

He reached out a hand towards Robin, as a great shadow bore down on him. In that moment she was his everything; their friends were all entangled in battles of their own against the enemy. These bastards "The Seven Virtues" had seemingly come out nowhere to subdue their crew in the name of the World Government, ancient masterpieces uncovered by the power of Venus, and their opponent Temperance had been coming at them with a great deal of bad faith. It felt like the whole fight he had only struck them by surprise, teleporting from obstacle to obstacle, which the glacier scape had quite a few of.

"Dump!" He heard Robin yell, before the shadow bore rapidly down on him.

With a loud hiss; Franky felt the sweet relief of pounds of snow being dumped on top of him. He weakly poked out a hand, to give Robin a thumbs up. If they got out of this alive, he would have to profusely worship that woman and her quick thinking. From under the snow, he could hear Temperance's synthesized laughter. Franky could feel himself begin to burn once again with anger. Any snowfall that hadn't immediately melted or vaporized on impact began to drip down his now streaming metal skeleton. However, the man quickly realized that his body had not recovered enough for him to move yet, and so he helpless watched as the love of his life was set upon by the six-winged mechanical bastard.

"Robin look ou-!," he called out to her, but before he could even utter the last word, the Virtue had whipped his long blonde hair to turn his sights on the incapacitated cyborg. The mechanical angel's orange glowing eyes seemed to burn with pure glee as he raced toward Franky.

"This is it! The justice I so patiently awaited is HERE EHEE!!" the many voices in unison screeched.

"Ochenta Fleur: Quatro Mano!" Robin declared, creating four arms each the width of Franky's shoulders that reached out surround Temperance on all sides. "Clap!"

With enough force to shake the glacier beneath them, the hands came together to crush the angel between them. Franky let out a cheer before he noticed the look of pure rage present on the woman's usually demure face. Wings of hands unfurled from her back. From between the creases where the arms met, the man could see where Temperance had begun to squeeze his way out.

"Going after that man was a huge mistake," she said, tightening the arms grip around him as she took to the air. Even Franky felt his heart race with how terrifying she was. "If you are truly a lost angel of Virtue then it is only fitting you meet your end at the hands of my wrath!"

There was a burst of flames from between the arms as Temperance exploded free, shattering the arms into thousands of flower petals. His face was slightly warped from when he had forced his way out but returned to its normal shape as he careened towards Robin. Long blonde hair and robes took on an almost serpentine life in the air behind him.

"Very well," the voices chided. "I guess I'll just have to kill you first."

Robin soared higher into the sky, bringing her arms together with a large sweeping motion. A radiant pink light began to emanate from where she hung in the air. Franky could feel the ice rumble beneath him, and from the earth burst forth a three-headed torso of Robin the Height of a mountain, her nude form only covered by two of the many arms that snake around her.

"Treciento Fleurs: Mercurius!"

In Franky's eyes the goddess which stood between Robin and Temperance was the incarnation of fury itself. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. The Virtue was not as impressed, attempting to find a gap to close the distance between the woman and himself. The giant reached out, forcing him to bank right to avoid the attack. It was no use however, like a swarm of ants overtaking their next meal, a wave of hands chained off from the giant's arm, ensnaring one of the angel's wings. Slowly he was fully engulfed by flesh, which tore and wrenched his body.

A sound akin to hundreds of people in agony filled the air for a brief moment before slowly becoming muffled as the mass of hands began to draw what was left of the now pitiful creature temperance into the giant's body.

"Oh Shit..."

Franky's suddenly was overtaken by a sense of panic as he realized what was about to happen. With every ounce of energy he could muster, the man forced himself to stand and make his way towards Robin. Every part of his body squealed in protest as he hobbled across the ground frantically waving one bulky arm.

"Oi Robin!" He called "Robin You gotta stop, there's gonna be nothing left of him! Robin!"

The giant halted its progress. Franky thought he could faintly make out the tip of one of the Virtue's wings. Robin turned towards him. Her brows creased three draggers above her nose. Her cheeks were flushed. Her eyes glistened, as she bit her lip. Their eyes met, and she lifted her hands to cover her mouth. Her brow relaxed, and the multi-headed behemoth began to melt leaving piles of silver lotus flowers in its wake.

"Heh, well would you look at that," he said, giving her what smile he could muster. He reached out his hand, welcoming her descent into his arms.

Now that he had her, the only question that remained is what befell their foe. The man glanced around. Intermixed with silver petals Franky could spot Temperance's now crumpled form. He seemed to be stil breathing, but his once beautiful body had been shredded into several different parts. It would take a genius to put him together properly. He then looked down at Robin, relieved to know the fight was over, though the ordeal had clearly drained her quite a bit as well. He bumped her gently with his now truly naked chest.

"You really are something else; I was terrified!" he teased.

He caught the glimpse of smirk begin to tug at her lips. The woman let out a small huff.

"No offense, Franky, but I find that doubtful considering your own appearance at the moment," she shot back.

He leaned in beaming. "Hah? Too metal for ya?"

She laughed pushing him away.

"Hardly," she said. "Though, the hair is a disappointment."

He laughed.

Robin paused for a moment to look from her hands to where Temperance was now sputtering tiny puffs of sparks. She gave Franky a serious look. "You know any sane person would have just let me kill him."

Franky shrugged setting her on the ground. He leaned back with a thud allowing his body to rest. He cocked his head to the side to look at her. "Are any of us sane anymore."

The woman stopped to consider it for a moment. She smiled.

"No, I guess not," she conceded, running a hand along his metal kneecap. "...Are you alright?"

He sighed. It was embarrassing being knocked out of the battle this early. He grumbled a little, fishing some of his tools from his stomach compartment. He looked up at her, clutching a screwdriver in one of his small yellow hands.

"Yeah, I just need to make some small adjustments," he said. "You should go on ahead; the others might need your help."

Robin nodded, before quickly closing the distance between them to place a kiss on the cyborg's nose.

"Never us over them," she whispered, her warm breath a welcome presence for his cold ears.

"Never us over them," he confirmed, before watching her rush off to find the rest of their crew.

The woman vaulted over several large snow embankments and disappeared from sight. Leaving the cyborg to sit alone and work on his repairs.

"Make sure to leave me at least some of the fun!" He called after her.

But the only response was the sound of her laugh and the beating of wings, as his dark angel soared once more into the sky.