"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." -Matthew 10:28

With air forcefully slapping down against his eyes, each press of Raphael's wings boosting them further into the atmosphere, Kenny couldn't keep a single goddamn thought straight. His fingers clenched desperately in the archangel's tunic, only vaguely hearing him and Gabriel trying to give him some words of assurance that the problem would be resolved. He just couldn't believe he'd let it happen, couldn't believe that both he and Kyle could have missed such an obvious end to the standoff. But he supposed it couldn't surprise him too much; there was too much happening at once. Kyle's emotions were all over the place from his parents and the situation staring him down, and Kenny had been preoccupied with trying to keep himself in check and not blow up the fucking house. Neither of them had been in the proper state for catching his damn gaping loopholes, and Kenny had only once in his life felt so foolish for letting something so consequential sneak by under his radar.

He snarled to himself. Damien seemed to be the fucking expert at that: slipping under the chaos he created and walking out with what he wanted. The scowl fell, eyes glossing over with worry. Apparently all he'd wanted was Kyle, but for what?

Another war against Heaven? Just merely as a revenge for how Kyle had decimated his prior intentions? Kenny gulped, knowing the very real possibility that there was more lingering beneath the surface. If this was merely a plot to take Kyle away from him and just keep him as a fucking prize, then Damien would have no use for taking Kat. He'd no doubt have a way to keep Kyle under wraps without her if that was the only goal. There had to be something more, something that Damien was using Kat as leverage for. He bit his lip sharply. Then again, he wasn't sure which of those options were more horrific, unable to comprehend just what the hell was worming its way through the antichrist's mind.

He shuddered, knowing well enough that Kyle was already on his way to learning whatever was in store for him. The terror of the unknown consequences had been spelled plainly on both his and Kat's faces as they dropped down into Damien's vortex; Kat unsure of what was happening in the slightest, and Kyle far too aware of the possibilities.

"Hang on, Ken," Raphael instructed, Kenny buckling down and preparing himself as a large break through a cloud slammed into him, holding his breath and feeling water splashing against his face as they soared through. The angels hurriedly got him through the vapored pool, knowing his lungs could only take so much. They surged above the cloud, the rush of atmospheric change smashing against Kenny's body as they began the journey between the planes. It was a surreal feeling, breaking through the realms, the little momentary hindrance of Purgatory's existence between Earth and the threshold of Heaven a chilling experience to pass through. He shook his head as they broke out of its hold, the plane trying to take hold of his living soul and drag him back down, Gabriel coming to Raphael's aid and assisting him in keeping Kenny held high. But no time for concerning himself with messing up the natural order as he had for so long, there was far too much at stake for existential questioning to reign in his vexed mind.

Teeth gritted, Kenny clutched harder around the angels' sleeves, watching with narrowed eyes as they sped towards a cloud silhouetted with a golden ethereal light. He shut his eyes once more as they burst upwards through the dense solution, biting his lip and scrunching his nose as cooled droplets tried to sneak into his sinuses. He gasped down a mouthful of purified air as they breeched the surface, the group caught in the glow clasping around them, lighting them aflame in the warm tones. Raphael and Gabriel set him down on the reformed, firmed cloud, they and Michael following him as he broke out into an automatic sprint towards Peter's gate.

The old man quickly made work to open the doors, watching the speeding man with worry etched into wrinkled features. Rumors spread fast in Paradise, everyone already well aware that the archangel and the only demon permitted to enter the kingdom had once again been targeted. Angels, both veterans of the war and those who came only after the triumph, were more than knowledgeable about the boys who'd given their all for the cause, who'd become the vessels that exceeded the expectations of life and death. They were respected, revered enough that those lingering outside the gates saw Kenny gunning for the city and stood out of the way so he'd have a clear, straight path to God's domain.

Kenny's foot crossed the threshold, not doing more than nodding at St. Peter as he tried to get through. His eyes widened as a sudden agony tore through his back, Ken stumbling with a scream as the base of his wings tore through his shoulder blades and dress shirt. "WHAT THE FUCK!" he screeched, reaching behind him and grabbing the top of a feathered appendage as it unfurled to its full form. Blood streamed in ribbons down the typically pristine white, Kenny all at once nauseated and dizzy with the unexpected assault.

"You're still alive!" Michael reminded him, rushing up and helping him stand up straight. "Your mortal body isn't prepared for Heavenly afflictions."

"Fuckin'…" he sneered, shaking himself and taking back off down the way, wings flapping as he grunted in pain, lifting off the ground and speeding to his destination. That didn't matter. His pain didn't fucking matter. He could worry about that much later, when he had Kyle and Kat up in Heaven and protected so he could finally do as he promised to do and take Damien's head for his own. His three companions caught up beside them, all ready to swoop and catch Kenny should his injury lead to a fall. But mirrored irises told a different story, one that read that the pain was redirecting into fury, that Kenny once more had his goal, and nothing so trivial as a torn back was going to stop him from getting what he damn well needed.

They sped through the city of Paradise, zooming around glittering structures looming higher against the cleared sky and dazzling against the curtained sun's gentle touch, hidden in a colored mist to keep from obtrusive, blinding possibilities. Kenny's hand hit the glassed side of a building, propelling him forward faster, eye tracing straight down the pathway to the grandiose structure waiting for him, to his and Kyle's home away from home. It was the home of himself and his brothers, and their Father. A privilege to inhibit the building, he'd been told time and again. A sin to defile it and besmirch all the holy grandeur it stood for, something that Kenny and Kyle, when their trips were more frequent, took as a challenge.

He shook his head, zooming up to the front stairwell and swooping upwards to follow their path. No time for thinking about that. Only one thing was allowed to be at the forefront of his mind. He could only focus on what needed done, not lose himself. Not again. Ignoring the sparse guards standing at attention and watching him sympathetically, he passed over the marbled steps and hit the ground with his shoes, sliding to a stop before breaking right back into a sprint down the side hall towards his goal.

His wings folded back, bloodied feathers snapping against the air as his back muscles screamed for him to give them the medical attention they so needed. He pressed onwards, making way towards the large, ornately patterned door waiting down the way. "Open the damn thing!" he snapped at the soldiers watching him in astonishment. They shook themselves into attention, grabbing both sides of the door and ripping them open just in time for the four of them to quickly make way through the threshold, finding the remaining six of their group looking over at him guiltily.

Kenny kept running towards them, eyes landing on the furred creature standing on the table with His paws clasped, looking at him with heavy, burdened eyes. Ken slid to a stop in front of Him, shoving Uriel over in the process with a loud yelp. "WHAT HAPPENED TO KEEPING HER SAFE?!" he demanded, not willing to deal with semantics. "YOU FUCKING PROMISED US!"

God cringed, clearing His throat. "Kenneth…" He started gently, looking over as Uriel struggled onto his feet, rubbing his head through thick blonde curls and glaring a bit at the new arrival. "He hid until it was too late," He explained.

Kenny narrowed his eyes, flinching at a hand on his back, Raphael staring down at his wounds and eyes bursting with a hazel glow. Ken winced as his skin pieced itself back together around his wings, muscles properly forming against the new cartilage and letting them become one with him as he was so accustomed to. Kenny shuddered, Raphael's healing not nearly as warmed and numbing as Kyle's, but good enough to silence the sharp throbbing at the very least as his rampage pressed forward. "How did he hide?! He's fucking Damien, he can't sneak under a fucking radar!"

"He kept his power dormant throughout his recovery," Jegudiel explained. "Using it made him far too weak. He remained as such until he was already on Earth. By the time the three of them got there… it was too late," he said guiltily.

"We tried," Michael said quietly, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Kenny, we got there the moment God sensed his presence… I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologize to me, apologize to Kyle and our fucking daughter!" he hissed, shrugging off his palm. He looked at God and his lip wobbled. "You promised."

"I know," He agreed, sinking a bit. "I have told you before, though, Kenneth: I can't know everything at once. There was always a part of me watching for him, but if he didn't reveal himself, then there was little else I could do. He knows I can only find him if he's exuding some form of power that'll rise above everyone else's presence. He used that to his advantage."

Kenny stared at Him in silence for a few moments before snarling, scratching at his hair rapidly. "FUCK!" he screamed. "Fuck he has both of them; what do I do?!"

"We lead an assault," Selaphiel suggested firmly. "Full on mission against Damien. Assassination and rescuing the two of them and nothing more, nothing less."

"That's stupid," Uriel rolled his eyes. "Damien has both Kyle and the child and you know he'd use them as shields or what-have-you. Not to mention the fact that he's in Hell, and he would be at full power down there."

Gabriel leaned against the table, biting his lip, "Do you think he's back to full power? He may still be weakened from his injuries, just well enough to harm mortals."

"Doesn't matter either way," Michael reminded them. "Unless we can get all of Heaven's forces down there, it'd be the eight of us versus countless legions of demons. We'd be outnumbered in no time at all. Damien's strength would only matter by means of what he does to Kyle and Katlyn."

Kenny leaned his head back and groaned, putting his hands over his eyes. "Okay, okay. What about a stealth thing?" he asked, looking back down at the group of them. "We sneak down there, take out any demons we happen to come across, but just quietly make our way through, get Ky and Kat, and get out. Then I go back, take Damien's fucking head and piss on his corpse, and that's the end of it."

Barachiel winced a bit, dark eyes watching the constant tension ranging through his muscles. "I would think Damien would make it so he'd know if any heavenly force came into the realm."

"Exactly. Heaven's servants are easily detected and snuffed out," Jesus said quietly. "Look at what happened to Nathaneal. Damien knew of him and just waited until he could be exploited before doing away with him. I'm willing to bet most demons can sniff out one of our own."

Kenny crossed his arms, tapping his foot and looking down with a furrowed brow. "Do you think the senses would overlap?"

"Whaddya mean?" Selaphiel leaned on the table, putting his chin in his palm.

"I mean, if they can't sort 'em out, then I'm willing to be most of them can sense Kyle right now. And if he's overwhelmin' how well they can sense others, then maybe there's a chance we can get down there quick enough while they're thrown off and get 'em out?"

Jegudiel nodded slowly, "Perhaps. And with his mixed blood, he'd be creating somewhat of a confusion regardless."

"Don't bet on that," God warned. "I'm more than sure word of what Kyle became spread within the realm after the war. They probably all know of the mixture he is… and unfortunately many are going to be unhappy with that. He may have demons coming at him for his betrayal to their kind."

Kenny gnawed on his lip, shifting uncomfortably. "No. Because Damien's gonna make it clear no one gets to touch him without him saying it's okay," he murmured. "But yeah… there may be some lingering around."

Uriel rubbed his temple and nodded, "He's probably a folklore freakshow at this point." Kenny shot him a warning glare and he held up his hand. "I'm not saying to us he's a freakshow. I mean to the demons. Especially since he's part of their second-in-line. Which of Damien's followers wouldn't want to see just who it was that defied him and helped bring them down?"

"But what about Kat?" Raphael asked. "What does Damien want with her?"

"Something to use against Kyle and me," Ken shrugged a bit, shoulders drooping guiltily. "Probably more Kyle. Hate to fucking admit it, but the fucktard isn't stupid. He knows neither of us would let her be hurt." He sighed, unable to even imagine how absolutely terrified Kat had to be. She was nervous enough around animals that weren't Valefor; walking into a realm of hideous creatures that were daunting to even himself and Kyle couldn't be settling well on her young mind.

God nodded, "Precisely. So the goal needs to be getting Katlyn out of harm's way. Then you and Kyle can figure something out to bring him down once and for all."

"Shoulda done that five fuckin' years ago," he grumbled, hiding his eyes in his palm and sniffling lightly. He could've ended this, he thought he did before Damien had made his last grab for Kyle. And at that point it was just too late for Kenny to finish him off, far more preoccupied with making sure that Kyle would be coming home with him and not torn away back to Hell. "Fucking Christ, Kyle's probably scared out of his fucking mind."

Selaphiel shrugged meekly, "Maybe. But… he's going to be much more focused on keeping Kat safe than anything else."

"That's what I'm fucking afraid of," Kenny murmured. He wasn't stupid, he knew damn well that's what would happen. And Kenny knew Kyle well enough to know he'd do damn well anything to keep her or Ken safe, no matter the cost. Just as he would for either of them. He raised his glassed eyes and swept his nerve-wracked expression around the group. "So… any other ideas? Is there a spell or something? Can we figure somethin' out and tell Kyle to do something from his end?"

Jesus nodded slowly, "If we figure something out, we can communicate it to him, yes. He belongs up here, so he has the link to God for such a connection," he gestured towards his father. "The question is, what can we do that'll keep both of them safe from Damien figuring it out and taking it out on one of them?"

Kenny leaned his head back, staring at the silver and blue ceiling and gulping, "I don't know," he sighed. He froze as a notion burrowed itself into his mind, looking back at them all with wide eyes. "Is he going to turn Kat, too?" he whispered.

The angels and Jesus looked at each other, the possibility bearing down on the lot of them. God cleared His throat and shook His head firmly. "No. She's much too young. He would not be able to infect her without killing her, and he knows it. If she's gone, then Kyle has no reason to hold back from incapacitating him and getting you to finish him off. My assumption is she's going to be kept safe so long as…" He trailed off a bit, looking down in guilt once more.

"So long as Kyle does what he says," he murmured, a shudder racking down his spine. "Fuck. W-we gotta get her out. Who knows what he'll make Ky do…" He clutched around his arms, rubbing them vigorously and trembling. Well, as they all thought at once, they knew of one thing that Damien would more than happily make Kyle do.

Raphael put a comforting hand on Kenny's shoulder, "We'll figure this out, Ken," he said gently. "And Kyle's even stronger than he was five years ago, and Damien is weaker. Maybe he can figure something out."

"Not if he's in those chains," Michael muttered. "Then he's nearly helpless."

"He's not helpless," Kenny snarled. "And he can figure it out. He can always figure something out; you all know that as well as I do by now."

Michael frowned, "Yes, we know. But with Damien hol-"

"Sirs!" a call interjected from the doorway, the group quickly turning their head to a soldier standing in the threshold. His eyes drifted over to Kenny. "Archangel Kenneth, It's Damien, he has Kyle!"

Kenny's face fell. "We fucking know. We're figurin' out what t'-"

He shook his head briskly, "No, I mean he has him at Peter's gate!" he pointed down the hall.

The group stiffened, before pivoting, making way to dash. "Hold it!" God demanded, the lot of them halting. Kenny bared his teeth a bit at the interruption before God's eyes picked up a golden glow, the lot of them staring before being swept down unexpectedly with small yelps into a blanket of warming white and rushing along with a soft breeze. The ten of them braced themselves as they headed through the portal, Kenny somewhat amazed at the stark contrast between the ebbing blackness of Kyle's own. He couldn't help the heavy thud of his heart. Then again, Kyle was considered fallen from grace, most everything about him was going to linger quietly within darkness. He blinked off sparse tears, wings snapping back as they sped towards a beaming light, an all-too-familiar hue like the end of Purgatory's tunnel.

They all gasped a bit as they sped out of the hole and landed in stumbles onto the clouded ground, looking up to see Peter staring at them from inside the gate in fright. Kenny turned his head, eyes widening at Damien grinning at him deviously, Kyle propped up against his leg, pulsing blood leaking from wounds scattered throughout his torso and back and rasping for breath. Kyle's eyes raised and met Kenny's, glazed over and fuzzy from the blood loss. He felt so nauseated, so fucking tired. He just wanted to heal, heal and figure things out, unable to understand why Damien was keeping him weakened when he already fucking had what he wanted.

"You fuck!" Kenny snapped, turning his attention from Kyle to his captor.

"Isn't this familiar?" Damien cooed. "Well, for the most part at least. He's a little less human this time around, isn't he?"

"What did you do?!" he screeched, looking at Kyle's barely-coherent form and the pool of wine-shaded blood amalgamating beneath him. "Where's Kat?!"

Damien rolled his eyes, "Calm down, she's fine," he drawled. "Isn't she, mouse?" he asked, flicking Kyle's head.

Kyle coughed a bit, eyes still locked hazily on Kenny. "Val… and Pip are w-with her," he whispered. "She's o-okay." He shuddered at another pulse of blood spilling out of his hip wound and back, along with a few choice scratches Damien had placed on his chest and arms just barely nicking arteries to keep him subdued, but alive.

"I was very generous and let him decide who watches her," Damien purred, playing with a curl and watching as Kenny seethed with rage. "So, I figured before you end up doing something you'd regret, I'd be even more generous and give you fair warning," he said. "The runt is safe if you keep your little goody-goody asses out of Hell. The second one of you crosses in, I'll know, and her little neck gets broken. I have Gragor and a nice little succession line set up to do so if my rules are ignored. Are there any questions?" he cocked a smug brow.

Kenny's jaw trembled, the other heavenly forces standing at his side and staring down the antichrist. "What do you want with Kyle?" God demanded.

Damien looked down at Him and shrugged, petting through Kyle's hair. "What can I say? I missed the little brat." He glanced at Kyle's bowed head and his shaking shoulders, feeling the fading consciousness tormenting the chained man. "And I have some big plans for him," he murmured, tightening his claws in his hair just to hear an airy yelp. Damien looked back over at Kenny and grinned at his devastated face. "Come now, McCormick. You've been through this before, it must be easier the second time around."

Kenny bared his teeth, barely feeling Raphael and Michael both holding onto his shoulders. "You fucking pussy," he spat. "Fucking using a toddler and doin' this shit to Kyle? Can't do nothin' for yourself without cheatin' yer way there, can ya?!"

Damien chuckled, "Remember that I have not only Gragor on standby with your child's life in the balance, but I once more control just how much pain this one goes through," he yanked Kyle's hair. "Besides, little one already agreed to utter compliance to get the dog and the weakling down with the runt. Didn't you?" he purred. Kyle was silent and he pulled his hair again. "Answer me."

"Yes," he breathed out, getting dizzier by the moment.

Kenny watched Kyle's heaving chest and sniffled, shaking his head a bit in disbelief as tears welled across his eyes. "You piece of shit."

"Eh," he shrugged. "Call me what you like, what matters is I have what I want. And your little husband here is in a lot of trouble for the shit he pulled," he said. "But, I'm in a good mood for getting him back," he drawled. "Have a last word," he grinned, tightening his hand in Kyle's curls and throwing him forward with a pained scream. Kenny gasped before Kyle crashed into him, both of them toppling to the ground from the impact. Kenny scrambled up and held him, narrowing his eyes at his legs seeming to be nothing more than dead weight.

"Ky? Ky!" he shouted, putting a gentle hand on his cheek and getting pained green eyes once more opened on him. "Ky, can you move your legs?!"

"Not for now he can't," Damien answered blandly. "Little shit isn't moving around until I fucking let him."

"Christ," he whispered, hugging around Kyle's bound arms and kissing his neck.

Kyle turned his head slightly towards his, their cheeks pressed against one another and his labored breathing echoing in Kenny's eardrum. "Get her out," he whispered. Kenny went to look at him and he shook his head to stop him. "I'll figure out… my pa-part," he stammered, eyes slipping shut and head falling against Kenny's limply. "Just g-get Kat out," he begged.

Kenny sniffled, hugging him tighter and nodding, kissing him again. "I'll get you both out," he swore. "Just wait for me, okay? God can get in contact with you, we'll figure something out together, all right?" Kyle nodded back with heavy bobs, head slipping down against his shoulder and jaw trembling.

His eyes lazily swept upwards, catching the sympathetic gazes of God and Michael in his peripheral before landing on the red-streaked feathers on Kenny's back. His pupils shrunk a bit at the sight. "Your wings…" he whispered.

"Don't worry about that," he said, kissing his cheek firmly. "Just keep strong, okay?" he begged.

Kyle nodded silently, taking a long breath of Kenny's scent before feeling that telltale pull on his body and whimpering. Kenny tried keeping a hold of him for just a moment longer before he flew out of his grip, landing in a crumpled, panting heap at Damien's feet outside the gate. Kenny watched helplessly as Damien reached down and snagged Kyle up into his arms, sneering possessively at the demon. Kyle breathed out in disgust, glaring down at his bound wrists resting against his stomach as Damien's arm supporting his back twisted to let his hand crawl up into his hair. Claws lightly scratched over his scalp, Damien looking at him with a smirk before back at Kenny. "Well. Have a bit of hope, McCormick. Maybe I'll give you back the runt once I have this one broken down and as obedient he should be," he shook Kyle a little, Kyle closing his eyes and biting his lip.

Ken got back to his feet, feeling all eyes on him and his glare turned deadly as he honed in on the antichrist. "I will finish what I started," he promised. "And I won't be so fucking merciful this time."

Damien's lips curled into a grin, fangs beaming a bit in Heaven's light as he looked between the unseeing man in his arms and his infuriated husband. "Neither will I," he purred, eyes striking the match and the two of them sinking down into the void, Kyle managing only one petrified moment of a last glance as he was whisked off and away from Kenny yet again.

The angels, God, Jesus, and Peter stared at the sealed spot in silence, letting the weight of the situation fall onto them at once. They could feel the eyes of bystanders in the background and the horror rippling through Paradise at what'd just occurred. One of their saviors was backed against the wall, the other was being dragged down towards who knew what. Kenny shut his eyes, body tremoring. He knew what. He knew exactly what… or at least a part of it. But Damien's tone told him more than enough: Whatever plans he mentioned weren't so simple as just keeping him locked away to keep. Something more sinister was lingering in the air, and Kenny didn't have the slightest clue as to how to stop it.

"…Shit," Selaphiel's voice finally broke through.

"What can we do now?" Gabriel asked, brow furrowing in thought. "If he has Kat so heavily endangered, how do we get to her?"

Kenny took a shaking breath, looking down at his arms at Kyle's spilt blood drying against his skin and clenching his fists. "We'll figure it out," he murmured. "For right now, I need to get back home for a minute."

Uriel cocked his brow, "Why?"

He bit his lip, staring back at the clouds and narrowing his gaze, nails digging into the flesh of his palms and an iridescence sparking across his eyes. "I need my fucking sword."