Solitude.
Michael had grown to enjoy it more than he'd expected to. His time in the Cage, of course, had probably influenced that more than anything; Being isolated for so long, it would take a while for the idea of actually being social again to seem… well, to seem real. And, if Michael was being honest, most of this felt completely surreal anyway. Not quite like a dream, but not at all like the reality he had been used to. His world had flipped, and it was only flipping even further, and he was grasping at whatever he possibly could to keep him steady, something a little more stable than what he had now. It was no surprise that he would lean on Adam for support - the demon, with all his fury, was still slightly more stable than Michael, who constantly felt about to shatter and break apart at the smallest pressure. The only reason he hadn't…
Well, he could thank Adam for most of that. The demon kept him going, for the most part. But, beyond that - finding Lucifer, the thought of seeing his brother again, is what kept him moving further. It was something, a plan, a purpose, something that Michael had been completely stripped of the moment he had fallen into the Cage. The archangel didn't have many reasons, anymore, to keep going. Adam and Lucifer were the only things that motivated him now.
Regardless, it wasn't fair of him to rely on Adam as much as he did, and he hated that he did - because the demon had his own issues to deal with. Michael tried to keep to himself, as much as was possible, but Adam knew him, inside and out. His insistance on the archangel giving himself a break was… well, it was certainly welcome, and Michael was grateful, but he still detested the fact that the demon was worrying more about him, in his own way, than he was himself. Michael just didn't feel worth it.
The archangel sighed as he rolled them over, crossing his arms under his head. They had made their way to a small room - one Adam had identified as a "nurse's office" upon entering - and were laid back on a long blue cot. The room was cold, not that either of them were particularly bothered - Adam seemed to enjoy it a little, in fact, and Michael remained more or less indifferent. But, the demon had decided not to retreat to the park this time, enjoying the cold too much to do so, and Michael had been more than happy to stay in control along with him. They were both silent, no words necessary as they tried to drift off, struggling to sleep more than either of them should have been, considering how exhausted they were…
"Adam?" An unfamiliar voice drew them both from their thoughts. "Or… Michael?" They both twitched at the sounds of their names, turning their head as one to look toward who had spoken. It was the maybe-demon - the sight of him made Michael's stomach twist uncomfortably, some horrible, confusing emotion he couldn't quite place - leaning back against the doorway. His eyebrows were raised, mouth twisted slightly as he tilted his head to the side.
He spoke Michael's name with the same discomfort Michael felt at the mere sight of him; It sent off warning bells in the archangel's head, unease coursing through him as he pushed them to sit up. Adam sighed a little, internally, and it was the demon who spoke up to answer the other, tone dripping with a mild amount of sarcasm. "Yes."
"Eh, Sam and Dean told me you'd be pretty much, uh… merged, probably." The maybe-demon drew two of his fingers together, as if to emphasize his own point, and Adam arched an eyebrow slightly. Michael frowned, sitting up completely and crossing their legs up on the cot. "I was just asking what I should call you, y'know, considering."
"Either one is fine," Michael admitted, glancing the maybe-demon up and down. His frown deepened slightly, struggling to focus. There was another thing wrong about this picture - his true face was hidden. He could sense something, some kind of energy from him, but he couldn't tell anything other than that. It was familiar, and yet unfamiliar, and it irked him.
"Who the hell are you?" Adam suddenly asked, a little sharper, much more rude than Michael would have been - the archangel debated on correcting him, but after a moment, he decided against it - but the maybe-demon didn't seem too fazed. His eyebrows twitched slightly, lips curling upwards just a fraction, but otherwise, his was completely stoic. Guarded, almost.
"The name's Belphegor." The maybe-demon stepped forward, offering an over-exaggerated bow, and a rush of irritation coiled up in their chest from Adam's side. Michael just shook his head a little, silently chiding the demon to calm down as Belphegor straightened up. "It's nice to meet… both of you?" He cocked his head slightly to the side, a grin finally cracking at his lips.
Jesus fuck, the lack of eyes is unnerving. Even with the damn sunglasses, Adam complained internally, fighting back a shudder, and Michael had to agree, even if he was more focused on trying to sense even a little bit more from the maybe-demon. Because he didn't feel like a demon. It just wasn't right - it didn't quite add up. He would be able to sense a demon's true form with ease - could demons even hide their true forms, anyway?
"Mm." Michael narrowed his eyes a little, but he didn't say anything else. Belphegor's smile melted, at once, turning his head slightly to look toward him - Michael guessed - as his eyebrows furrowed. A briefly irritated expression crossed his face, just for a second, before it smoothed out again.
"So, I guess neither of them have caught you up yet," the maybe-demon said cheerfully as he approached them. Adam pushed them back a little, a warning growl rumbling deep in the demon's throat - Michael silenced him quickly, moving them back a little bit more, himself. "Must be a little disorienting, finally getting out of the doggy crate."
Doggy crate. Something flickered to life in Michael's mind, something familiar - the words were familiar, somehow, he just couldn't quite place where he might have heard them before. He didn't have much time to react, though, feeling Adam's anger rise further at the thinly-veiled taunt, and tried to reign the demon in slightly as he leaned forward.
"I," Adam started, slow and precise, teeth bared once more. "Will rip. Your face off."
Belphegor looked down at him, smile growing even further as his eyebrows rose, just a little, just enough for both of them to know that he was only teasing the demon further. "Go ahead."
"Okay, enough-" Michael interrupted quickly, before Adam had time to spit out a response. The demon cursed, internally, but he retreated just a little so that Michael could take most of his control back, the archangel sighing a little as he did so. "Just… relax. Both of you." He spared Belphegor a slightly irritated look, himself. He already didn't trust the maybe-demon, but the way he had been taunting Adam most certainly didn't settle well with the archangel.
"Sure," Belphegor agreed easily enough, but he stepped back from Michael, crossing the room toward a desk with a slight hum rising in his throat. The archangel glanced after him as Adam turned them so that they could continue to face the maybe-demon, clearly even more distrustful of him than even Michael was. "But, for real, now, you don't have any idea how you got sprung from the Cage, d'ya?"
"No," Michael responded curtly, frowning slightly at the maybe-demon as he fell back into the chair at the desk, rolling it out a little to the middle of the floor.
"Welp." Belphegor leaned forward a little - Adam leaned back - and clasped his hands together. "God pretty much opened every door in Hell that exists."
For a long moment, Michael just stared, uncomprehending, bewildered. Even Adam's irritation vanished in a split second, immediately shifting into confusion. For a moment, a part of him ached to defend his Father - because opening the Cage would be one thing, but to open the gates of Hell? Allowing all of those tormented souls, and the demons, to walk free? Hell, actively making it happen Himself… Why? Why would God- what would He have to gain from that?
Michael had only met his Father a few times. During his creation, when he was appointed Prince of Archangels, and when God had finally left, leaving him in command of, not only Heaven's armies, but of Heaven itself. Those interactions had been vague, and brief - but Michael had respected his Father, adored Him, followed Him without question. He'd never doubted God's intentions, not even for a second - not just because it wasn't his place, but because he'd never had a reason to doubt his Father; He'd never been given a reason not to trust Him.
Until… the Cage.
That trust had, most certainly, been broken. And the way Michael hesitated over the possibility that God really was behind this, was the proof. This was basically an Apocalypse; His Father's doing, this time. Not his own, and not Lucifer's.
Meaning it was God's will.
The thought scared Michael a little more than he cared to admit. If it was true, then God had freed him, at last - but had that really been His intention? He could have just opened the Cage, if he had only intended for Michael and Adam to finally be released - but, again, to open the gates of Hell… you don't do that, you don't set thousands upon thousands of souls free without knowing exactly what you're doing. And if it was true, and God wanted this to happen, then what… what did he have planned for Earth now? What was he hoping would happen here? Something of a flood? Another reset?
Talk about a plot twist, Adam commented idly, though he seemed a little perturbed. I figured that the Big Guy was a little screwed up, but - damn.
"No…" Michael mumbled, hating that his first instinct was still to jump to his Father's defense, even after everything that had happened, even when he didn't even want to try and defend God's actions this time. He looked up, focusing on Belphegor, who was now busy flipping through a pamphlet he had taken from the desk. "Why?"
"Pardon?" Belphegor lifted his head, eyebrows raising.
"Why did he…" Michael couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence, his throat tightening up uncomfortably. He spared an almost nervous look upwards, as if he were sinning, now, by even beginning to question his Father. It wasn't his job to ask questions - it wasn't his job to ask why - it was just his job to accept and obey, and it felt so, so wrong to do anything else.
After a moment, it was Adam who spoke, irritated as ever. "What my body-buddy here is trying to say is, why the fuck did God open the gates of Hell?"
"Ah." Belphegor sat back in the chair, crossing one leg over the other and pursing his lips. "Interesting story, actually. He's just… ending it. You know, the universe. His story. Pretty much existence…" He trailed off, quirking an eyebrow at them, as Michael sank back against the wall slightly, unable to respond. "He's done here, man. Sam thinks He's already headed to a new universe by now, starting all over again."
"H- He-" Michael choked off, taking a deep breath and holding it for a good few seconds. Adam was silent, now, but the fury had returned - even more surprising, Michael was beginning to feel a little angry, himself. Ending His story? What does that even mean? A new universe? Starting over? Again?
He swallowed back the questions and closed his eyes for a moment, suddenly feeling nauseous. None of this was making any sense to him, now.
"Look, basically, God's done with us," Belphegor said simply, "I don't know exactly what happened, you're gonna have to go to Sam and Dean for all that, but - he's done. And we've been completely trashed, scrapped, discarded-"
"We fuckin' get it," Adam snapped icily, eyes narrowing slightly at the maybe-demon. Michael just stayed quiet, not knowing what to say at this point. "God's a dick. Surprise, surprise- now shut the fuck up, would you?" A moment of silent passed, and Belphegor snorted but sank back into the chair with a hum, turning his attention back to the pamphlet. "Halo?"
It took Michael a good few seconds to pull himself from his own thoughts, still dizzy with disbelief. He really shouldn't be so shocked, considering everything - but he was. As if he hadn't already felt completely, and utterly, abandoned by his Father - but this was just new information entirely. Belphegor was making it sound like they were… literally nothing, to God. Not just him, but everybody; The universe, his entire creation. Like it was nothing - like it could all be thrown away, destroyed and replaced, just like that, and he didn't even…
… and he never even…?
Lucifer was right. If nothing else, Michael was sure of that. His brother had been so adamant, so insistent that God couldn't be trusted, that they shouldn't stand with him. He'd come to Michael, so long ago, with that, begging him to stand with him instead of their Father. And, ever so loyal, Michael had pushed him away. And for what?
"Lucifer…" Adam mumbled aloud, much quieter now. Michael didn't even bother to silence him, still far too shaken to remember that Belphegor was still in the room. "At least we know he's not behind this," the demon muttered, "not gonna help us to find him, though…"
"... You're trying to find Lucifer?" Belphegor's question finally drew Michael from his thoughts, and into a split-second panic, though he wasn't even sure why. He hadn't wanted anyone to know they were searching for his brother - hadn't wanted to put anyone's focus on the Devil, on the off-chance that maybe they weren't even searching for him at all - for their sakes and for his brother's. But, it was too late now, the question was already in the air, and Michael wasn't willing to outright lie.
He nodded to Belphegor, who inhaled slowly through his teeth - creating a very faint hissing sound in the process - and exhaled even slower. "Aha… oh, boy."
Something dropped, at that moment, abrupt and dizzying, from both Adam and Michael. Neither of them liked the expression on the maybe-demon's face, and they most certainly didn't like his tone, or the implications behind it. At this point, Michael was steadily going numb, heart pounding, chest aching, but it suddenly felt all too surreal.
"'Oh, boy' what?" They asked, careful on Michael's side, but a much more dangerous edge underneath coming from Adam. "You know something about Luce?" Adam demanded, eyes narrowing to slits at the maybe-demon in front of them.
Belphegor pulled a face. "Well, I know that you're wasting your time trying to find him."
Adam started to respond, but he couldn't seem to be able to make a sound, as if he didn't really want to ask the question that was echoing through their head - as if he didn't want the answer that they both feared they were going to receive. It took several minutes for either of them to be able to force the words out, and it was Michael who spoke, his voice finally cracking.
"Why?"
Why, why, why.
"Well," Belphegor started, slowly, deliberately… hesitantly, "because he's dead."