Trapped; Part Two

The note was written in Alex's scruffy hand and it only served to enrage him.

'I'm sorry, Michael,' it read. 'But this is the only way to save Noma. I have to go alone and make Gabriel trust me otherwise he'll never let her go. I know you wanted to do this yourself but he'll never let his guard down with you. Please, don't follow me.'

The Archangel was groggy and his limbs shaky after being drugged into an unnatural sleep for just over 24 hours. He didn't know how exactly, but Alex had drugged him and it infuriated him. He'd given Alex his complete trust and that wasn't something he did lightly. And now, the child was going to willingly walk to his own death, expecting Michael to simply let him.

Unfortunately for Alex, he knew that the sedative Armena had sold him would only last for about a day and it had taken him that long just to reach and climb the mountain to Gabriel's home. *1 If it weren't for the overwhelming sense of foreboding he felt, Alex would almost say that the castle like structure was beautiful, if he wasn't so nervous.

"Well, well, well," Gabriel smirked as he walked across to what appeared to be the Archangel's throne, "The Chosen One in my humble abode, how delightful."

The eight balls around him stared with hungry eyes as Alex came to a stop in front of Gabriel and they stood surrounding him, cutting off any chance of escape.

"Where's Noma?" Alex demanded quickly.

"Oh," Gabriel sighed, "You've been spending too much time with my brother...always straight to business. Speaking of my dear little brother, where is he?"

"I don't know, I managed to lose him a while back," the human replied.

"You...lost him?"

"Look, I'm only here for Noma, I don't care about you or your brother."

"Really?" Gabriel raised an eyebrow. He knew of course, that the mortal was merely acting, though he had to admit he was doing a first class job, and it would interesting to see how this played out. "If that's the case, why should I let her go? She's Michael's lieutenant, why would I free her now that I know she's a traitor?"

"She's no more a traitor than Michael," Alex scoffed, "He's murdered more humans than he can count and he's only working with us now because of his guilt. He wants to use me for his own ends...I'm no one's puppet."

"Are you not? I tried to show you just what my brother is capable of, you know what he's done, what he is and you still trusted him. How am I to trust you now?"

"I'm here alone, aren't I? It took a lot of effort to get away from him."

"I imagine so, but are you willing to hear my side?" Gabriel tilted his head in a gesture that reminded Alex strongly of Michael. "If you hear what I have to say, I will release Noma," he added, deciding to play along.

"Alright," Alex nodded, "Let me see her first," he said.

"Come," the Archangel lead him to the cage in which Noma sat imprisoned.

"Alex," she raised her eyebrows in shock when she saw him approach with Gabriel.

"She's not been harmed, now, please," Gabriel ushered him away again before he could even speak to his friend. He took Alex to an unoccupied room which was as womb-like and cavernous as the rest of the castle. He slouched down into another throne and gestured for Alex to sit opposite him. "You say you've lost faith in my brother?" he asked.

"Of course," Alex shrugged, "He's a killing machine."

"Yes, he is, isn't he? And you've finally realised this?"

"No thanks to you," he replied.

"It's only right that you know just who...or rather, what, the saviour of mankind truly is."

"You're no better than him."

"That might be true," Gabriel shrugged, "But I've never had a chance to prove otherwise to you; Michael hid you from us your whole life. You could be so much more by now, the power you could have learned from us all is too much for your mortal mind to comprehend. What little he's taught you doesn't compare. He's kept you weak to keep you reliant on him. He doesn't want to unite mankind."

"Neither do you," Alex pointed out, "You want to wipe us out."

"Ah," Gabriel stood, "What I want is my father back, and you can help me. You know what it's like to be abandoned by your father just as I do. We're the same, you and I."

"…I'm listening."

"You carry my father's markings, they must hold some way to bring him back. If he returns I'll have no need to wipe out mankind, will I?"

"I don't even know how to use them, I can't read them until they let me, I'm not the one in charge here," Alex told him, "It's like they have a mind of their own."

"Of course they do, they're a divine creation," Gabriel scoffed at him, "They have the memories of all who have borne them...and that is a treasure trove worth of memories."

"Okay, but how will any of it be able to bring your father back?"

"I don't know, that's something you will need to discover," the Archangel answered.

"Great," Alex muttered.

"However," Gabriel began, stalking across to Alex and moving in slow circles around him. "Should you agree to this...and succeed...then no more of your people need die," he remarked.

"And I should just believe that?"

"You must know that I'm sincere, I only want him to return. My father has abandoned us all; you know what that feels like."

"What about Michael? I doubt he'd let me change sides so easily," Alex said.

"Let me deal with my brother. It's high time he pay the price for his treachery...I've put this off for far too long already."

"You're going to kill him?"

"That shouldn't matter to you either way if you were telling the truth just now, should it?" Gabriel sneered, knowingly.

"No, you're right, do what you want."

"Does this mean we have a deal?"

"Let Noma go, then we'll have a deal," Alex countered.

"Why? She'll only go back to Michael."

"She's been good to me, I owe her," he told the angel.

"Loyalty," Gabriel sighed, "I understand. Bring the traitor here!" he called out to his followers.

They dragged Noma into the room forcefully and threw her onto the ground at Gabriel's feet. "But there's one thing I want you to do for me, Alex, just to prove that your loyalties are to me now, not my brother. I want you to kill her," he gestured with his chin to Noma.

"Didn't you hear a word I just said?"

"Oh, I did," Gabriel shrugged, "Now do it...or I will, and I promise you, if I kill her, it will not be a merciful death."

"I said I'll do what you want, you don't need to kill her!"

"She's a traitor."

Alex looked down at Noma and saw that he looked resigned to her fate. She knew that if she were to die, it would at least serve some purpose for Alex. "If you won't do it...I will," Gabriel reiterated and his followers suddenly held Alex back.

They grabbed his arms and legs and held on with inhuman strength, there was no way he could break free in time. Noma was going to die.

"No!" Alex cried as Gabriel raised his sword over her, "I'll do what you want, just don't..."

"Gabriel!" Michael's familiar voice called out, startling his brother enough to make him turn around and their swords clashed as Michael swooped in on them. The eight balls around them backed away slightly in fear.

"It seems you didn't try hard enough to lose him, Alex," Gabriel turned to the mortal.

"What are you doing here?!" Alex demanded, feigning anger, "I told you to leave me alone!" he yelled shrugging off the eight balls after Gabriel gave them a sharp glance to release the human.

"Alex..." Michael breathed, shocked at once by the look of anger and hate on the humans' face. After a brief, pleading glance from Alex, he understood but he didn't like it. He knew that Gabriel wasn't like to fall for such a plan but unless he wanted to expose the charade before it had even had a chance he didn't have much of a choice.

"No, go away, Michael! You're a danger to people around you and you lied to me my whole life! Why should trust anything you say?!" Michael didn't expect it to, but even though he knew that Alex was acting, his words still stung.

"Yes, Michael, tell the child why," his brother smirked at him.

"What I did was for the best," he replied.

"The best for who? For you?" Alex snapped and Gabriel chuckled.

"Whatever your quarrel with me, Alex, you can't join my brother," the Archangel said, playing along.

"Why not?!" the human threw up his arms, "He's right...he's never lied to me like you! I have a chance to save people's lives...innocent lives that you've let die!"

"He's deceiving you, you can't join him," Michael replied.

"It's my decision," Alex said, pulling his gun and holding it loosely in his hands. He knew that they needed to make their argument convincing but he didn't relish the thought of firing his gun at the Archangel again even though he knew that the bullets would do little, if any damage.

"Surely, you've realised that those toys of yours won't be able to harm my brother," Gabriel chuckled. "But luckily for you, this one will," he tossed a gun over at Alex and it landed at his feet.

It was almost identical to the one he already carried but judging from the smirk on Gabriel's face, this was no ordinary gun. "Go on, then, this is your chance to rid the world of my brother for good. There are bullets of Empyrean steel in that weapon, Alex, make me proud."

Alex took up the gun and aimed at Michael who shook his wings and raised his blades before he flew straight at Alex, knocking him off his feet as he fired the weapon, missing the Archangel by a mere inch. In close combat, Alex had been forced to draw his blade and he defended himself against the onslaught that was before him.

"Leave me alone," Alex growled at him, their faces only inches apart and he was able to shoot a brief apologetic glance at Michael, "You can't control me forever."

Michael struck out with his sword and knocked the gun from Alex other hand, leaving him with the sword in the other. "After everything I've done for you," the Archangel muttered angrily, "This is how you repay me."

"I don't owe you anything," Alex countered.

Michael said nothing as he swung his sword at Alex, distracting him before he threw him across the room, landing against the hard rock wall but he forced himself to get back up just as Michael soared over to him.

Before they could attack again though, two eight balls pulled hard of a metal chain and released a net made of Empyrean steel onto Michael who fell from where he was hovering above the ground. His weapons clattered from his hands and the harsh alloy of the net tangled in his wings and burned his skin.

"Well, that was something, really, it was!" Gabriel laughed, "I really didn't expect you to take it this far. Well done, both of you," he said in a truly patronising tone.

"What?" Alex frowned.

"Oh, come on, you people...you really do think I'm an idiot, don't you? First Noma then you...Have I really given the impression that I'm so easily fooled?"

"Fooled? But I..."

"Oh, really, Alex, your performance was commendable, worthy of Shakespeare himself, but I'm afraid this isn't a stage. I knew you were lying from the start...but it was worth it just to see the look on Michael's face. I think you broke his black heart with that little ad lib speech of yours," he smiled.

"I meant what I..."

"Don't insult me, child," Gabriel rolled his eyes, "Your lies have lost their novelty now. I knew you'll never turn on Michael even though we are the same in many ways. We could have been allies, friends even. But you've made it clear that that will never be possible."

"I..." Alex tried again to speak, but Gabriel wasn't interested.

"At first I thought there was a real chance that I couldn't convince you to join us, I'm wasn't entirely against letting you people live if father returns, you know," he said nonchalantly as he advanced on them, brandishing his sword in one hand and the gun that Alex had dropped in the other.

Alex wasn't entirely sure which gun the Archangel held. Was it the one that could hurt Michael or not? Who was he aiming to kill? Both of them? His plan had truly backfired and it was all his fault that Gabriel was going to kill them. He turned his eyes towards Michael and saw that the Archangel, though unharmed, looked extremely uncomfortable squashed under the heavy net, unable to move under its weight.

As Gabriel grew ever closer, Alex moved in front of Michael, taking up the Archangel's fallen swords in his hands.

"You're right," he admitted, "I was lying; I'll never join you. Never."

"That's more like it," Gabriel grinned. "I'll tell you what; you gave us such a good performance, I'll make you a deal. How about a trade? You take Noma and I keep my brother."

"No," Alex snapped quickly.

"No? Hmm," the Archangel pursed his lip, "Well...then I suppose you're all staying here...as my guests," he said darkly.

"Alex," Michael said hoarsely, "Go."

"What?!"

"Take Noma and go," he reiterated.

"But I..."

"Please," the Archangel begged. It was enough to startle Alex into silence for the Archangel never begged, just as he hardly ever apologised or admitted to making mistakes.

"Better do as he says, child," Gabriel remarked, "It'll be another century before he says 'please' again. He didn't even beg when Uriel and I left him bleeding in the middle of a desert, did you, brother? Besides...I only want to talk to Michael. He'll return to you in due course."

"Michael..."

"Go," he told Alex.

With a nod of his head, Gabriel gave the order for Noma to be released and she walked hurriedly, but cautiously over to Alex, not taking her eyes from the hoard of lower angels around them. But Alex showed no signs of leaving, so Michael turned to Noma, "Get him out of here, now," he ordered her and she gave a slow, reluctant nod.

"What?! No, wait..." Alex cried as Noma piled him up and flew them both out of the castle and down the mountain, ignoring his protests the whole way.

"Leave us," Gabriel ordered his followers and he knelt down beside his captive brother. "You honestly thought your Chosen One could fool me? You really thought your little play was good enough to trick me?

"No," Michael admitted simply, "I knew it wouldn't work."

"Then why bother? You're both fools," he sighed, "You were mighty once, Michael...now you may as well be one of them."

"I'll take that as a compliment," his younger brother replied.

"It wasn't meant as one," Gabriel said unnecessarily.

"What do you want, Gabriel? I'm here...your prisoner...so do what you will."

"I told you; I only want to talk."

"Forgive me if I don't entirely believe you," Michael replied, shifting under the net.

"You've done well, poisoning the child's mind. He'll believe anything you tell him."

"It's not like that," his brother snapped quickly.

"Yes, it is. You get to keep the Chosen One to yourself and you get father's markings as well. As always, you get what you want."

"You think I wanted any of this?" Michael asked sadly, "You think I wanted war?"

"You were always happiest living by the sword," Gabriel shrugged.

"Not anymore."

"We both know you're only helping them because of your misguided sense of guilt, not because you actually care about them."

"You cared about them once," Michael said.

"And look where that has brought us," his brother growled, "Haven't you given them enough already?"

"I'll protect them until I'm no more, Gabriel," Michael sighed, "I don't want to fight you...but I will if I have to."

"No, you won't, you're a coward."

"...How did it come to this?" the younger Archangel breathed sadly.

"You drove us apart, Michael," Gabriel told him, "You did this."

Over two hours later, Michael flew, unharmed, down from the mountain and headed for the abandoned hotel where he and Alex had last stayed before the Archangel had been drugged to sleep. It didn't take him long to reach it and he listened closely for any heartbeats and breaths that would lead him to Alex and Noma.

Luckily for him, Alex must have calmed down enough after Noma had flown him from the mountain to plan ahead and direct her to the hotel. He heard two sets of heartbeats and followed the soft sounds to their sources. Alex was pacing around the dusty, bland old bedroom while Noma was sat on the sofa, following his movements with a concerned yet exasperated expression.

"Michael!" Alex blinked, seeing the door swing open from the corner of his eyes, "You're back."

"Astute observation, Alex," he remarked dryly.

"Are you okay?" the mortal asked, walking over to him.

"I'm fine," Michael nodded, noting that his blades had been laid out carefully on the bed; Alex had been holding them when Noma had escaped with him and he'd made sure to drop the centuries old weapons.

"Oh, here," Alex said quickly, taking up the swords and handing them to the Archangel.

Michael took them and sheathed them at his sides before turning to Noma, "Are you wounded?" he asked her.

"No," she shook her head.

"Then get some rest," he replied, "We'll leave in a few hours," he said, bolting the door shut behind him.

"You let them all go," Uriel stated, surprised.

"Eventually," Gabriel nodded, "Yes."

"Why? I thought you intended to murder our brother?"

"I do...but not yet," he replied.

"You do not want to do this."

"...No."

"Then don't," she told him, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"I must," her brother insisted sadly, "We must," he corrected, mirroring her gesture, "To bring father back, mankind must die...and for that to happen...Michael must die. He will defend them until his last breath. We have no choice."

"Then why let him go now?"

"I plan to strike against the mortals...but not yet. Let Michael have his victory for now...it'll be the last one he ever has," Gabriel said ominously.

Noma fell asleep instantly after Michael's return; she'd stayed awake for days, not daring to sleep whilst being held captive by Gabriel with only Furiad for company. Now, Alex and Michael sat awake in the old hotel room. Alex had tried to sleep, but he found his conscience was nagging at him for what he'd said to Michael not too long ago. He'd seen the look of shock and hurt on the Archangel's face and though he knew that Michael understood why he'd done what he had, it was still wrong.

Alex shifted on the mattress which he'd dragged into the room earlier and he sat up suddenly, turning to Michael. He was sat against the wall, his eyes closed and his breathing even but Alex could tell that he wasn't sleeping, he was simply deep in thought. He'd meditated with Michael so much now that he could tell the difference; it was rather depressing.

"Michael..." Alex began quietly, not wanting to wake Noma, "Look...back there...I didn't mean any of what I..."

"It doesn't matter," Michael said simply, not opening his eyes.

"Yeah, it does," he sighed, standing up slowly and making his way across the room. He sat beside the angel with his knees folded beneath him. "You know I was only saying it so that Gabriel would..." he began.

"I know," the Archangel interrupted him calmly, "I understand."

"And I ruined everything...now he knows I'll never join him," Alex furrowed his brow, "He's only left me alive till now because he thought I would, right?"

"Yes. Gabriel believes that you have two paths to choose from; you can unite mankind or you can lead them to their own destruction. Naturally, he wants you to destroy mankind for him."

"I'm sorry, if I hadn't gone solo on this then maybe we'd still have had a chance of convincing him...All that work we did before is useless now."

"You did what you thought was best," Michael said after a moment, "But you could have gotten yourself and Noma killed if I hadn't arrived when I did."

"...Yeah," Alex sighed.

"I know why you went without me," the Archangel told him, "You fear that when the time comes that I will not defend myself against Gabriel."

"...He's your brother...you've told me before you don't want to fight him, I just thought it'd be best that you didn't have to...that's all."

"While I appreciate the thought, I assure you that it is unnecessary."

"I sure hope so," Alex replied, not knowing just how much that conversation would return to haunt him in the future.

*1 OC mentioned in Exile; Part One