Chapter 24

As if he were poison spreading along the forest floor, the angels drew back in a circle around Ivan.

Arthur took the position in front of him, facing Matthew and Alfred, but focused on matters at hand. Elizabeta and Antonio stood between him and Basch. Erika stepped back, nodding to the two Northern angels as they took Arthur's other side. In a low yet clear voice, "I will start. Once I unleash my light, I expect the rest of you to follow suit. We are neutralizing the demon, not killing him."

"Never thought I'd hear that," Berwald mumbled. After a moment of silence for the other angels to exchange bewildered looks, he said, "Not t' kill a demon."

Alfred let out a laugh that went on for a second too long. He glanced to Matthew again, pleading for something in his sappy blues, but Matthew slaved to keep his expression blank toward the angels.

"All right," Basch said. "Let's get on with it."

They looked to Arthur, who nodded, and lifted his arms, palms out, from his sides. The rest followed and tipped their faces to the Heavens.

It's starting.

Ivan glanced around. If he was frightened, his vaguely curious expression did not admit to it. The eternal glow clinging to Arthur's skin radiated, brighter and brighter. He tossed a peek over his shoulder, staring at Matthew as the other angels followed. He lifted a hand, and wiggled his fingers.

Alfred and Matthew ducked, squeezing their eyes shut as an intense light shot out, swathing everybody and the forest in its might.

Birds scattered from the trees from the agony tearing from the demon's throat.

A long scream, then an eerie silence against the soft winter winds. Matthew cupped a hand over his mouth. Alfred clutched him closer, and a little whine escaped his lips.

A grunt of pain, then a heavy body fell to the floor. Even through their shut eyes, a portion of luminescence flickered. Some cries of shock. An angel must have collapsed.

Erika yelled, "I got it!"

Awful tingling washed over Matthew's body. Dread sank his feet. The light was so bright; his eyes burned, even with his face turned away.

The wind howled, and the light scattered, snapping back to the angels, and it was gone. Another body hit the dead grass.

Alfred and Matthew blinked, and lifted their heads. The surrounding seraphs broke apart, some stumbling away from the others to brace themselves against trees, or one another, while others found themselves on their hands and knees. Basch and Tino helped Berwald to his feet as Erika bounced on her toes around him. She must have had to cover Berwald's collapse when his luminescence depleted.

A little further, Arthur's head hung between his knees as his wings and arms drooped in the snow. He did not move.

"Arthur!"

Matthew jumped as Alfred shot forward, clamoring around the other angels who stared after him, too delirious to properly react. He followed at a more stiff pace, terror seeping into his chest at the sight of Ivan lying face-down in the snow, surrounded by people, with nobody investigating his still form. "No. No..."

"I'm fine," Berwald's baritone hardly registered in Matthew's ears. "I just didn't have 'nough like the rest o' you."

Erika said, "No, no! Don't worry about it!"

Tino assured too cheerfully, "You did a wonderful job."

Matthew fell to his knees and grabbed at Ivan's tattered coat. "Hey," he whispered, and groped for a firm grip to pull him to lie on his back. "Ivan, please."

"Artie!"

"For fuck's sake. Stop yelling."

"I'm not yelling."

Ivan's eyes were open, staring dead ahead. Matthew clenched his jaw, and brushed the snow caked to the side of his face. "Oh!" He cried out in delight as those somber violets darted back and forth, flickering to life. "You're...you're...!"

A light sigh came from Ivan's lips, and Matthew wound his arms around his head, pressing their foreheads together. Another soft breath. In, and out. "You're okay!" Tears snuck pass Matthew's lashes and streamed down his cheeks. "Look at you. You're okay, right?!"

"Oh," Arthur grumbled, finding himself to his feet with the help of Alfred. "It's alive."

Ivan picked up his arm, staring at his hand and turning it experimentally before touching Matthew's face. "Matthew?"

"You're alive!"

"Am I? Are you sure this is not Death trying to seduce me?"

Matthew clutched Ivan's palm to his cheek, nudging his nose to warm skin as a thumb brushed away his worries. He knew he should not cry, but could not help himself, "No, I'm all right."

"Ah, but there's something..."

Matthew opened his eyes and glanced down, where Ivan's other hand pawed at a certain spot on his chest. He pulled open the top buttons, gently prodding pale skin until something long and smooth ran under his fingertips. "What's...what is this?"

Antonio knelt before them, appraising, "That must be our hard work!"

This new scar, or patch, felt warm and if Matthew leaned closer, he swore it glowed against the sunlight. Is that his demon-ness? Before he could ask questions, Ivan clamped a hand over his shoulder and hoisted himself to sit with a big grunt. "You do not smell like an angel anymore. That is good. Your stench was making me contemplate driving a blade through my skull."

Yeah, he's all right. Matthew giggled, "At least you didn't."

"He doesn't look like a demon anymore, either." Antonio noted. When Ivan sniffed at him, he leaned away with a disturbed raise of the brows.

Ivan smiled at Matthew, and Matthew had to smile like an idiot right back. "You are very warm right now."

Arthur's spite lived on strong despite the uncertain wobble in his knees, "I dare say that was a job well done." Alfred put an arm around his waist, holding his hand out before the ground could catch him. "What did I tell you, huh?! Yet some of you were dragging your feet before!"

Matthew had to kiss Ivan ASAP. All over.

"Oh!" Alfred remarked. "Come on, dudes."

Someone clapped. It was probably Elizabeta.

He could have died, damn it. I'll kiss him all I want.

Basch announced, "That is over with now. If you excuse us, we will be leaving now. Consider our debt to you repaid." After a moment, he blanched, "Ugh, kids never have any effort of control, do they?"

Matthew planted a last, longing kiss to Ivan's forehead before shooting Basch a dirty look as Ivan simply relaxed in the grass with a big grin on his face. Erika waved with a little giggle, "Come by our way sometime. All of you!"

Basch did not seem to keen on that idea, but he must have been done with being a grump. As they took to the skies in a rush of wings, Alfred craned his head back to watch with a nasty wrinkle in his nose, "Yeah, you're totally excused, dude."

"She's right," Elizabeta put in. "Why don't we come together more often?"

"Yes!" Tino said a bit too passionately, "There just aren't enough apocalyptic scenarios or mass-deaths for a big number of us to be in one place!"

"I would happen to agree," Arthur said. Alfred performed a double take, eyes going wide. "With the regrouping, not the number of worldly misfortunes, I mean. Yeah."

Antonio laughed at Alfred's blight, and stretched his arms and wings to the sky. "Woo! I'm pretty tuckered out! I don't know about you, but I'm going to get back to the bookstore." He tossed a cheeky grin to Matthew, and announced, "Yes, I was going to-"

"Away with you then," Arthur did not sound so scathing as usual, "before your...bookstore misses you."

"Oh, yes! Yes, I'll go now!" So rushed, Antonio shot off the ground and into the pale sky with a lingering laugh to those below.

"We ought to leave now, too, huh, Berwald?" Tino chuckled as he elbowed his companion, After all, it is a long flight toward the North Pole."

"North Pole?" Alfred gasped. "Holy cow! Why'd you come all the way from there?"

"Oh, we came from all over! We owed Arthur a good favor or two. It's the least we could do."

Arthur curtly nodded, as if to agree.

Matthew wrapped his arms around Ivan's back and planted a boot on the ground, getting ready to heave the both of them off the ground. Deep breaths.

Alfred asked, "Are you going to look at the penguins?"

Arthur groaned, "Penguins don't live at the North Pole, Alfred! Nothing lives at the North Pole!"

"Uh-huh. That's what they want you to think!"

Matthew squeezed his eyes shut, suppressing a laugh as the Northern angels said their goodbyes and heaved off of the ground. Berwald did not need luminescence to fly.

One, two, three-!

Ivan grunted, and did not do much to help Matthew find his feet on the ground again. Better yet, he did not do anything.

Arthur said questionably, "Elizabeta?"

"Trying to rid of me so soon?" Elizabeta crossed her arms, and turned away from the blond as if she could not bear the sight of him anymore. Matthew tossed a nervous glance around the clearing. Everyone else was frowning at her. A small smile cracked her seemingly irate mask. "I need my beauty sleep, anyway." She tossed a wink and giggled at the other angel when he rolled his eyes. "Perhaps I too, will stop by in a few weeks time to see what you two are up to. Until then, take care!"

Alfred sighed contently at the dismissing figures, "See, Artie? I helped, too."

"Hmph!"

Matthew huffed and spat between his teeth, "Come on, mon ours, get up!"

"Hm, no, Matthew-"

"Whoa, hey!" Alfred held his free arm out, not really doing anything either. In that moment of distraction, Ivan groaned and slid from Matthew's arms.

"Hey!" Matthew cried and clutched at thin air. "Ivan!"

Ivan collapsed back onto the frosty grass with his eyes closed.

"Whoa!" Alfred released his hovering hold on Arthur to hurry over and investigate, "Is he dead?"

"Ugh, after all that, he better not be!" Arthur stumbled forward, steadying himself before kicking his toes into Ivan's side.

"Hey! Hey!" Matthew tented himself over his partner's unconscious body. "You ass-!"

"Arthur!" Alfred grabbed Arthur's arm and yanked him away. "Don't kick him!"

"I wasn't! I was...gently nudging him with my foot. Repeatedly."

Alfred sighed, but obviously fought with a smile, "Okay, you're tired and in a bad mood, but that doesn't mean you should pick on people!"

Oh, you want to know tired and bad moods? Matthew demanded, "How am I going to get him home? It's too cold to stay out here!"

Arthur shooed Alfred away. "Stop getting so worked up!" He dropped to his knees, a little too roughly, and set a palm over Ivan's forehead. "Come on, now," he held out a hand to Matthew, "Where do you want him?"

Alfred held out a hand, too. Matthew grabbed for the both of them, letting out a big sigh of relief, "Oh, to my bedroom, please!"

Arthur curtly nodded and closed his eyes. Matthew figured it was a good idea to do so, too. With a snap of light, he felt himself being ripped from the forest floor and a flying sensation sucker-punched his stomach. He cringed, but found himself kneeling on carpet.

Alfred said from beside him, "I don't think I will get used to that."

Matthew blinked at the dark spots dancing across his eyes. "Oh."

A drawn out moan sounded from his side. Arthur's legs buckled, and Alfred jumped, his arms throwing out to catch him. "Artie?" He patted the angel's face, and looked up in alarm when his friend did not respond. "He's dead!"

Matthew shook his head, not too much because it still whirled from that Heavenly flight. "Oh, my God. He is not. Look, he's still breathing."

Alfred stared at Arthur's face, probably trying to think. Matthew braced himself against Ivan, took in a big inhale, and heaved. He managed to peel Ivan's unconscious body off the floor, and shoved him onto his mattress. "Holy crap!"

"It's much easier the other way around, huh, Mattie?" Alfred threw an arm out, swirling his hand, before swooping down and plucking Arthur from the carpet. The feathery appendages seemed weightless against that big grin. "Do you even lift, bro?"

Matthew quickly looked away. "I-I can lift!"

"Pssh, yeah, you lift pancakes into your mouth."

"I'll slap you in the face with one," Matthew lamely retorted, worrying himself to tuck a pillow under Ivan's head. "Are you going to stay?"

"Nah, I should get Artie back to his motel room. I'm gonna have to like, say this is a costume or some sort."

"Do you know when you will come back?"

Alfred went quiet. Matthew glanced over his shoulder. "I...don't know. But I will be back!"

"Oh, okay..." Matthew cringed when he tugged on Ivan's heavy coat, trying not to disturb his sleep, but Ivan did not even budge. He stopped to glance back again, at his brother watching him. "Hey, Al, thanks for being there. I really appreciate it."

Alfred scrunched his cheeks up, beaming, "Aw, man, quit it! You're making me feel mushy on the inside!"

"You are mushy on the inside, Al." Matthew rolled his eyes, and pulled the dirt-caked coat from Ivan's still form. "Aha!" He cupped his hand over Ivan's forehead and smiled, "Take care, and tell Arthur 'thank you' when he wakes up, okay?"

"Huh? Oh, sure, sure!" Alfred chirped, and shuffled some more, probably adjusting Arthur over his shoulder. He left silence behind as he ducked out of the bedroom, with the both of them going separate ways.