And finally another chapter! Hope you enjoy it!
"Why did he faint again?" Lucifer asked Maze as soon as he, Adam and Chloe arrived to the motel. After deeming Crowley fine, despite Aziraphale´s frantic claims that demons and angels didn´t faint like that, the devil listened to a complete explanation from a very cheerful Lilim, who then offered up Amenadiel as proverbial sacrifice. This one looked utterly miserable, but, arrived at that moment, the angel knew he didn´t have any other choice.
"Sit down, Luci, we have to talk. You too, Principality, there is something you must know" the dark skinned man motioned for them to sit down with him, leaving the unconscious snake on the bed. Amenadiel gave him a last view before going to face his demons. "I… I want you to know that there was more about the banishment of Raphael than you know."
"Are you talking about how I found him?" Lucifer talked. Aziraphale jerked his head up. What? In what state has Lucifer found Crowley after the Fall? Why was it so special? The serpent never mentioned it to him before, but with his memory problems, perhaps he didn´t remember it. "And why did Raphael Fall anyway? He never rebel, never supported me. He just ran the medical care for the war."
"Wait, are you saying that Crowley is Raphael?" the Principality asked, looking at the two brothers in bewonderment first, then horror. If that was true… "The archangel of Healing and Guardianship? That Raphael?"
"Yes. You know what happened?" the Firstborn asked, looking at him straight. The other bit his lips. Of course he knew! All heaven knew! He wasn´t present when the actual punishment was dished, having been part of Gabriel´s host in charge of the vigilance, but… he knew what happened to the archangel formerly known as Heaven´s Delight for his supposed crimes. It was no wonder Crowley wanted to forget it if that indeed happened to him.
"Amenadiel" Lucifer intervened, now that he noticed this was something more serious than he thought. "When I found Raphael, he was bathed on his blood, in hysterics and didn´t want to show his wings for anything in the world. And when he finally awoke, he was completely different" he calmly said, gritting his teeth. "What happened to make our cheerful brother like that?"
"Luci…"
"WHAT. HAPPENED?"
"Gabriel did it…"
"But you were there, no? You could have helped if you wanted" the dark skinned angel was taken aback. Lucifer hasn´t talked to him in such a cold voice since… since the Rebellion. "For the last time, brother, WHAT HAPPENED?"
"Well…" Crowley opened his eyes on that moment, stirred by the sudden movement. He lifted himself from the bed without making a sound, walking to the door in complete silence. The door was half opened and, through the opening, he could see Lucifer with his hands around Amenadiel´s neck, squeezing the air out of the angel. At first he couldn´t believe it, the Firstborn was so much more powerful than the Morningstar and the righteous archangel would never allow his evil brother to do something like that, but then he heard the screaming and convinced himself he was not seeing visions. Seeing Aziraphale and Adam there without doing something only helped the theory.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! IS THIS SOME KIND OF SICK JOKE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT" Lucifer was screaming in fury, his hand an iron claw on his brother´s neck. "WE ARE TALKING ABOUT RAPHAEL! RAPHAEL! THE SAME LITTLE SIBLING THAT ALWAYS LISTENED TO US AND THAT LIKED TO INVENT SILLY SONGS WHILE PAINTING THE STARS! WE ALL LOVE HIM! HOW COULD YOU EVEN THINK OF DOING SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO HIM!"
"Luci, let me explain…"
"THERE IS NOTHING TO EXPLAIN! HOW COULD YOU LET GABRIEL DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT?! IT´S HORRIBLE!" Satan took a moment to breathe after that, still glaring daggers at his older brother, but more controlled. Or at least enough to release him and coldly say: "You should have been the ones that Fell, not him. You, Gabriel, Michael, Uriel… you all are worse than me."
"Lucifer, I´m sorry…"
"Do you think that is going to solve anything? Take a peek at that room and answer me that, brother" now the Devil was starting to sound angry again. "You don´t know how it was the first few years of hell. And not just for me, for everyone. Rapahel… Raphael was the worst. He nearly died, Amenadiel, died for good." the Morningstar continued, barely controlling himself to not lash out against his sibling. "He was not meant for there."
"I know, it was an awful thing to do, but…"
"But anything" Adam was finally intervening, sounding slightly pissed off. "No wonder this all happened, if things are like that in this family. I hate HIM" he signalled Lucifer rather rudely, but the Devil was too furious to care. "but right now I´m on his side. Heaven! The only angel I hate more than you now is the purple bastard!" Amenadiel turned to Aziraphale for a little help, but the Principality just stared into the distance. If this was true… "Don´t ignore me!"
Crowley stopped listening then. Raphael, that name rang some bells on his head, but for some reason he couldn´t remember why. Of course, he knew the guy was a high and mighty archangel… and practically nothing more. Besides, was that even important? why should he care? Raphael had nothing to do with what was happening or the prophecies, or Warlock´s murdered parents. Those were important, not that archangel idiot. And… wait, was that Warlock opening the door? Without thinking, he dashed out of the little room and towards the kid, who was secretly exiting the place.
"What are you doing?" the Serpent asked in the parking lot, stopping the fourteen years old.
"Sorry, nanny, it´s just that… you seemed to be sick and everyone cared more about their conversation than you. I thought you would like something to eat, so I got out to get some lunch."
"Oh, honey, it´s okay. I´m not hungry" or needed to eat at all, but he was not going to say that to the kid. "Come on, let´s return to the room. We can ask something from a menu if you are hungry or…"
"You can come with us, Serpent" the redhead froze when two figures emerged from the darkness. Even with their earthly appearances, he recognized them a Lillims. Not from the ones that had previously visited earth, but definitely demon descendants of Lilith. He grabbed Warlock tight and expanded his wings. "Come on, run and hide. We love the chase."
"I´m not in mood to be your prey, hunters" Crowley beat his wings, knowing full well that Lilims couldn´t fly in their mortal forms. Fallen angels has the dominion on that territory. But even like that, it was not easy to lose them. Knives floated around him as he dodged, desperately trying to fly away. "Damn ninja demons and their toys, they are fucking… don´t tell Aziraphale I said that in front of you."
"I´m fourteen, I know curses" reminded him Warlock, who was holding to him for dear life. They didn´t have much time to continue talking, because two winged figures appeared in the distance, chasing them along with a troupe of hunters.
"Warlock" he instructed carefully, gritting his teeth. "I´m going to send you away to Aziraphale in a second. I want you to tell him what is happening here."
"But you…"
"Don´t worry about me, I have dealt with them before!" he dodged behind a building, flying low level so his hunters didn´t realise something changed when he emerged on the other side. A little demonic miracle later, he was on the other side, his hands free and faster. He flew upper, getting a good look at the chasers. When he realised their identities, he wasn´t surprised. "Hastur! Beelzebub!"
"Time to pay, traitor" the fly demon said, smiling. "We have a special treatment waiting for you down there."
"How kind, but I will have to pass" Crowley continued flying away, not noticing that Hastur disappeared from the sky.
"NOW!" with a scream from the Prince of Hell, an arrow came practically from nowhere, impaling itself on Crowley´s side. And not any arrow, but a celestial one. It hurt like hell. How… "Surprised?" Beelzebub mocked, landing near him. "Something I kept from my time as a Seraph."
"I… I see" the Serpent said, putting a hand on his injury. If he hasn´t lost his touch… two rough arms grabbed him from his arms, forcing him to stand. The Lilim hunters. "Do you really think you can get away with this? Lucifer…"
"That idiot has a soft spot for humanity and you, which in turn makes him weak" hissed the fly demon, opening a portal to Hell.
"That´s not what I heard from last time a demon disobeyed his orders"
"Those pansies Dromus and Squee brought here wouldn´t have hurt a mortal fly. WE are from the Fallen and the firstborn of Lilith, complete brothers of Mazekeen. Do you really think a weakened demon who calls himself our king can defeat us?" Beelzebub continued, her confidence showing. "Besides, we have a little surprise waiting for him if he dares to try and come back." She turned to the hunters. "Bring the traitor in."
"Time to pay" Hastur kicked Crowley in the injury before going behind her, laughing all his way. Crowley gritted his teeth. Now he regretted having saved their winged asses during the war. If only he hasn´t done… No, he would still have done it. Because… because of his oath and his duty as a healer… he gasped. How did he remember that? "As our prince said, we have a special treatment for you."
"Oh, I´m dying to know" the snake sarcastically talked, trying to look for escape routes. Heaven, there has to be ways to get out of there besides the official ones. A trap door, Lucifer´s personal door, any door… there has to be.
"Be silent!" the Duke kicked him again as they dragged him through the cells. The screams resounded everywhere, chilling Crowley´s blood. He never liked this place, all the suffering. It was might sound strange for a demon, but he never enjoyed suffering. Not even at the beginning, when he still hasn´t known Aziraphale. It was just not with him.
"Like I was saying, we had something special for you" the female demon said, guiding them to an empty cell. The snake´s eyes opened really wide. A cage with an open door, which kept the guilty chained without needing chains. A Hell cell. The prophecy was already becoming true. "We thought that, as you love humanity so much, why not share their destiny?" he struggled frantically. "I knew you would love it!" she snapped her fingers. "Dump him in!"
"You disgusting creatures! Release me!" Crowley screamed as he was dragged towards the opening. What did the witch say? Heal yourself and the others could begin to heal? His closest hand flew to the celestial object imbibed in his skin, ripping it off. His healing started to work then, sealing the injury, but nothing happened. He was unceremoniously thrown inside the cell, the door disappearing behind him as Hastur and Beelzebub laughed.
"Do we begin with the torture, sir? We usually leave them to themselves the first few days, but for the traitor…" one of the Lilim asked, but a raised hand stopped him.
"I think it would be best for me and the Duke to handle this" the Prince instructed, sending the torturers and hunters away. "Tell Dagon that I will be occupied with this. Or better, don´t tell her anything. I love it when she rages."
"As you order, my Prince" he bowed and left as Hastur and Beelzebub entered the cell through a side door. They were immediately immersed in Crowley´s version of Hell, which looked like some sort of version of Heaven… or the War. The fly demon raised an eyebrow, regrets about falling? Or something done in the war? Because she could clearly see Crowley fighting with some other angel… a white haired one.
"Hah, that is what he regrets? No wonder he is such a loser"
"It only makes our work easier" the other said, carefully picking up one of the many instruments of torture that the Lilim used on the mortal souls that condemned themselves to Hell. Should she use the dangerously sharp knife on the middle? Or the many tails whip? So many ways to inflict pain and so little time…
Meanwhile, Crowley was trying to fight with the cell´s will, but he always ended up stabbing the angel that looked so much like Aziraphale that he couldn´t help but feel pain searing his own heart and falling into the boiling sulphur. And, for some reason, his wings seemed to be ripped off his back, a pain that brought him back into reality, as the image of the other angel got fuzzier and fuzzier and… the prophecy. That was exactly what the prophecy said was going to happen. The Falling, the sulphur, the ripped wings…
But he had healed himself, that wasn´t suppose to…
Wait, maybe the witch didn´t mean this kind of healing. Maybe… she was talking about his soul. The pain regret left in his soul, the same pain that kept him chained now. Healing it… Maybe it requires him to face his past. Face to Face. Beginning with…
"This is a lie… this didn´t happen… THIS DIDN´T HAPPEN!" He screamed as Beelzebub picked up an instrument, making the cell shook. Hastur and the Prince got wide eyed. What was going on there? Never had a cell reacted like that to the outburst of one of the people it was holding. The Serpent smiled, knowing he now had the upper hand. "I remember now, I was in the healing tents, I was a healer" the environment changed, leaving the two other demons confused. "I healed many"
"Just what´s going on?!" asked Hastur alarmed. The Prince opened his mouth to answer, but a scream shut her up.
"IF YOU WANT TO CHAIN ME, FINE, BUT DO IT FOR SOMETHING THAT REALLY HAPPENED, SOMETHING I REALLY HAVE TO REGRET!" Crowley yelled at the cell, which immediately started to accommodate. He looked at his hands and saw them covered in a shinny thing that resembled paint. A shiny thing that… he remembered. The shinny thing turned to golden blood as his hands were positioned over the injury of an angel. A lethal one. He gulped and continued healing, shutting everything else up. Whatever it was his regret, he was going to face it. And beat it. For Warlock, Adam, the them… and Aziraphale.
-In earth-
"They got Crowley!" Warlock startled everyone in the room, appearing out of nowhere. The principality was the first to react, running towards the bedroom where his demon was supposed to be. He found nothing. Meanwhile, Adam was shaking the other boy, desperately asking what he was talking about. "A lot of people, two of them have wings like… like Nanny, big and black."
"BEELZEBUB" Lucifer cursed. Of course his second in command was still lurking somewhere in the darkness, targeting his brother. Crowley ridicule her when he left Hell unscratched after a death sentence, something that neither she nor Hastur could forgive. "She is going to feel it when I get down there…"
"Wait, you are going down there?" Amenadiel asked. The Devil simply gave him a look of unsurprised anger. The other at least has the gall to look guilty. It was just… since when Lucifer returned to Hell willingly? He went for Chloe, of course, but most of the times he tried to escape the place as much as he could.
"Of course I will, it´s our little brother" answered the Morningstar, going out of the room. He needed more space to expand his wings after all. Once in the parking lot, he did so and prepared to fly. "I will return as soon as I can. Please stay out of troubles while I´m taking care of this little strike of rebellion."
"Wait!" Aziraphale took a step to the front. "Take me with you"
"Ja, no. An angel in Hell? That is simply impossible."
"No, it´s not, I have already been there"
"The answer is still no, Principality, the demons down there would smell angel immediately. You would only make things more difficult to me" he stopped the angel before jumping and taking flight. The others stayed there, in the parking lot, looking at each others with concerned looks.
"He should have taken me with him" Aziraphale finally talked.
"You heard him, you would only make things more difficult" Amenadiel tried to reason with him. "Trust him in this, he loves Raphael more than our me and our other brothers united. He is going to bring him home."
"I don´t know, it´s just… I´m worried. He is regaining his memories and if what you said was true, then there is a lot in his head to torture him with" he caressed his pocket, where the prophecies were. Agnes mentioned something about losing Crowley forever, which made his heart clench in desperation. He couldn´t do that, he would simply not survive. Not without his snake by his side. Adam moved closer to him then, tapping his shoulder to catch his attention.
"May we talk?" the Antichrist asked, signalling the vacant room. The angel and the Nephil walked there. "What is happening?" Aziraphale looked at the boy. How did he knew… "I know this is a dire situation and you are afraid of losing Crowley, but there is something else going on and I know it. I can sense it" he extended his wings, which were white and ethereal. "So, for the last time, what is happening? The truth, please."
"It´s really difficult to keep secrets from you, no?" he took the paper out of his pockets. "When the Apocalypse was prevented, Anathema received a new book from Agnes Nutter. Thinking that it would be better in the hands of someone who can see it all realised, she gave it to me. Inside of it, were those prophecies."
"This is bad" Adam said, reading the prophecies. If the old witch saw that they could lose Crowley forever, then it was a real possibility. And it scared him. "That useless father of mine better returns with Crowley, because if he can´t…"
"We have problems" Amenadiel interrupted their conversation. "Lucifer is back and he brings bad news. He can´t enter Hell"
"What?"
"What you heard" the archangel crossed his hands very worried. "the Devil has been banned from Hell"
Adam and Aziraphale looked at each other with despair. Beelzebub and Hastur really prepared the scene very well. They captured Crowley when he was vulnerable, using Lilim to avoid alerting the Devil of their closeness, then aisled the snake from his allies, leaving him alone to deal with whatever they were going to deal him. The Principality looked up to Heaven and sent a silent prayer to the Almighty for help. If only he were to answer…
Am I being too bad with poor Crowley? Well, at least he got Warlock out of the demon´s way. Anyway, hope you like it. Review!