Dude. Writing this chapter was like trying to draw blood from a boulder encased in ice at the bottom of a lake with a bendy straw. It was really, really hard and it gave me headaches. :(

But, I digress. This is the last chappy! And I'm a little glad because then I can finish another story that is much cuter and happier than this one. And it involves something...fuzzy. Heehee. Anyways... thanks for all of your reviews and on with the show!

Silence.

Heaven has been overtaken by it, as if God's realm has been sucked into a void and swallowed whole. The choirs are not singing, no one is praising, and no one dares to speak. The aftermath of the war lingers in the air, suffocating the once peaceful atmosphere with its icy grip. The remaining warrior angels are rooted in place, staring at Michael with a new level of fear.

They now know the price of disobedience.

Their home, everything that they know, has been completely obliterated. The sensation of loosing so many siblings is staggering, and nothing but pain is left behind from their severed connections with one another. This pain…it's unbearable.

Disobedience can never happen again.

So when Michael finally looks up and levels a glare at the other angels, they waste no time in leaving, afraid that he will cast one of them down for disobeying him.

All but Seraphiel. He stands there staring at Michael, completely still, obviously not intending to move any time soon. Michael looks for a second at him before turning away, but Seraphiel notices the slump in Michael's usually erect posture and he takes a hesitant step forward. This will be tricky.

"Michael?" Seraphiel takes another step and then another, until he's close enough to see the slight trembling of his brother's form. The archangel is slightly hunched in on himself, his wings pressed tightly to his back. "Michael…" Seraphiel doesn't know what to say. Lucifer…he's gone. And he's never coming back. And no matter how hard Seraphiel can try, he will never forget the expression of betrayal twisting his brother's features and his own self loathing for not doing anything. As if he could if he wanted to. Getting in Michael's way did not seem like a good thing to do.

Does that make him a coward?

Seraphiel reaches out and rests his hand on the broad expanse of Michael's shoulder.

In hindsight, Seraphiel should have known better.

Before the younger angel could even think to react he's flat on his back, Michael's unyielding grip on his throat, squeezing and squeezing. A burning fury shines in Michael's enflamed green eyes and his wings unfurl and stretch, casting them both in shadow.

Seraphiel isn't afraid. He doesn't move, he doesn't even try to protect himself. He stood there and watched Lucifer suffer, the angel who was there from the beginning, guiding and offering his support when Seraphiel wasn't strong enough on his own. He owes everything that he is to Lucifer. Everything. Now he's gone and Seraphiel knows that he was never strong enough. He didn't help his brother, and he's gone. He will never be strong enough.

So when Michael's grip starts to burn around his throat and his still unhealed grace withers and strains under Michael's, he lies there and he takes it.

Because he deserves it.

"You coward! You loved him! Is that how you show it? By doing nothing?" Michael is yelling and Seraphiel is hurting so bad and the only one who can ease both of their pain is burning.

They're all burning. Heaven is burning, Michael is burning, and somehow that makes him feel better because deep inside the bowls of Hell, Lucifer is burning too.

They can all burn together.

"You should have stopped me," Michael chokes out, just as he's choking Seraphiel, and he has to insane urge to chuckle in a hysterically distraught kind of way because Seraphiel looks just as he did when he was a fledging. Small, with dusty red wings, looking up at Michael with those golden eyes filled with respect and the slightest hint of wariness all those years ago. Things like this are his reasons for being wary, obviously. Michael didn't mean to come off as intimidating to the young angel, it's just who he was, who their Father wanted him to be. Despite his age Seraphiel understood that, and he tried not to shy away from Michael as often as he would have liked to. Just like he's doing now. He's not shying away, not trying to escape, just letting Michael do what he has to do because he needs it. Maybe they both do.

"I loved him. I did. But Father, he told me…" Michael trails off, looking at a nonexistent point in the distant, his gaze somber. "He told me I would have to kill him." He looks down at his brother and tightens his grip, watching, waiting to see if Seraphiel reacts. He doesn't. "You loved him, but you did not interfere. Not physically, not in a way that Lucifer would see. You were the one he would have expected to side with him, and now he is in Hell knowing that no one cared enough to aid him. I should have killed him. He is suffering because of me…" Before he can continue Michael is knocked off Seraphiel and both angels lie there for a second, confused. Then they swiftly get to their feet and are face to face with Gabriel. And he looks pissed. He stalks right up to Michael and pushes him, hard.

"What in Father's name are you doing? Haven't we fought enough? Haven't we lost enough? Huh? What, you thought 'Hey, I threw Lucifer out and we've lost one third of our brothers and sisters already, what's one more?' What's wrong with you? Can't you see he's hurt?" Gabriel contradicts his words by grabbing Seraphiel roughly by his arm and yanking him closer. "I won't let you hurt Heaven anymore than you already have." His brown eyes are steely, daring, just daring Michael to make a wrong move.

Michael, however, is silent and he seems apologetic as he looks at Gabriel's fierce expression and Seraphiel's pained one. Gabriel is right. They should not be fighting.

"Forgive me. I…" Michael turns away, falling silent.

Gabriel's features soften and he steps forward to pat Michael on the shoulder.

"I know, Michael."

The three angels stand in the silence that has invaded their home and they mourn the loss of their brother and Heaven as it once was.

Things will never be the same.

After a long period of time Gabriel stirs from his thoughts and turns to Seraphiel.

"You should get back to Raphael and heal. Michael and I have something to discuss." He gives Michael a pointed look. Seraphiel says nothing, but he lifts himself into the air and starts toward Raphael's chamber, albeit a little slower than normal. He hurts everywhere. Not even halfway to his destination he lands, out of breath and groaning in pain.

The he feels it.

Him.

Seraphiel forgets his injuries and races towards the angel he senses, anger fueling him on. He sees his target ahead of him, drifting slowly, swaying from left to right, obviously injured. Seraphiel cloaks himself and flies higher until he is directly above the angel. Then he dives straight down, knocking the angel into the ground. Seraphiel lands a few feet in front of him and watches as he stands shakily.

Sonneillon.

The angel's dark gaze lands on Seraphiel and he smirks as he inclines his head in greeting.

"Ah…Seraphiel. How is Zadkiel doing, hm? Oh, I almost forgot. I killed him." Sonneillon cackles, clearly amused as Seraphiel's features contort in rage. "That's right. You feel that? All of that…hate. The rage, the anger…it's so lovely. The power of hate is stronger than anything. Stronger than you or me...stronger than God." His eyes are dark, alight with a baneful gleam and his lips curl into a sinister grin as he laughs again, a chilling sound that immediately sets Seraphiel into action. He lunges toward Sonneillon and grabs him by the throat, hoisting him up in the air. Sonneillon doesn't look afraid. In fact, he looks delighted.

"Going to kill me, hm? Going to make me pay for what I did to that pathetic little brother of ours?" Seraphiel snarls and Sonneillon breaks out into peals of crazed and hysterical giggles that turn into gasps as Seraphiel's grip tightens. "You feel it? The hate," he wheezes out, eyes still gleaming maniacally. "The hate."

Seraphiel does feel it. He has never hated so hard before.

He casts Sonneillon down.

000

"Michael, this is wrong. Everything is wrong." Gabriel gazes at his brother, his eyes sad. This is too much. Part of him knows that what Michael did was justified, but by whom? Their Father? What kind of father condemns his children to an eternity of suffering and damnation? Seeing Lucifer like that…and the way he was begging, it tore Gabriel to shreds. He had to leave, he couldn't watch that. He couldn't.

"This…it can never happen again. We have to make sure it never happens." Michael straightens then, and he looks at Gabriel with hard eyes. "Disobedience will not be tolerated."

Eventually, Heaven resumes some resemblance of normalcy. Only the older angels know of the peace that once overflowed in their home, but it is a distant memory now. Things are different, stricter. Nearly all angels are trained to be soldiers. Obedience is required from every angel and anyone who disagrees is dealt with swiftly.

But to a certain blue eyed and curious little angel, his home is perfect. He loves hearing the choirs sing under Seraphiel's direction, he loves his siblings, he just…loves. He hovers in place as he listens to the praises, singing a little himself. His gray wings are a little small and are ridiculously fluffier than that of his peers, but he's already put an end to their teasing by outracing all of them. He doesn't like to brag, but he can fly circles around them. It's not their fault they're slow. He's just…faster.

Castiel is odd, as his peers have come to know. When he was created the first thing he did was take to the air, flying about like it was what he was made to do. Of course, that was not the case. He is meant to be a soldier when he comes of age, and he shows great promise, but he sometimes gets distracted with things his elders have dubbed nonsense. And then of course, there are the questions.

He asks so many questions.

What are stars made of? How can the choirs be heard everywhere in Heaven? Must we always do as we are told? Who are you? Why are we all connected but I still do not know who you are? Have you seen our Father? Can I see him? Do you enjoy flying as much as I do?

He frustrates Zachariah to no end. If the questions aren't enough, the little angel has a fixation on the humans that borders on obsession. He's always watching them. Mud monkeys, Zachariah once heard Uriel call them. Zachariah likes Uriel. Unlike Castiel, Uriel does not stray from his teachings and he does not ask ridiculous questions. He will be a good soldier.

"Anael, what are you doing?"

Castiel watches his sister from the air, his little wings flapping leisurely as he floats about.

"Hmm?" Anael says absently. She's sitting with her legs folded underneath her as she peers over the border between Heaven and Earth. Castiel drops down beside her and looks at the Earth also. "Don't you think it would be interesting to be one of them, Castiel? To…to feel. Like they do." Castiel tilts his head and then his feathers ruffle as he rises, his large blue eyes disapproving as he looks down at his sister.

"No. We are not supposed to feel." He says this with the utmost conviction, but deep inside, he is also curious about humans and their…feelings. But he will not let his sister know that, because the number one rule in Heaven is that you do not, under any circumstances, disobey. And feeling things makes disobeying much easier. Therefore feeling is bad.

That simple.

Anael simply shrugs, a strange habit she has picked up from watching the humans.

She may be a little bit weirder than he is.

Castiel simply shakes his head and flies off. He smiles as the air flows through his feathers and he flies a little faster. The he hears voices being raised and he comes to an abrupt halt, cocking his head. A shudder passes through his grace, and he knows that he shouldn't be here. Still, he hovers forward, curious, and in a secluded area surrounded by a circle of pillars he sees two angels. Castiel lands and approaches slowly, only to jolt back when he recognizes them for what they are.

Archangels.

Archangels are powerful and dangerous, that much Castiel knows. They are not seen a lot in Heaven, as they usually choose to stay in each other's company in the higher regions. Castiel has never seen one before, and now he doesn't think he wants to again. Ever. Their grace, it's tremendous. And their wings…Castiel has never seen such beautiful wings before. One of the angel's is a rich golden color and the other's is…

White.

Castiel backs up further, finally realizing just who he's stumbled across.

Michael and Gabriel.

And they are just as fierce as they are made out to be. Especially when they're…arguing?

"No, Gabriel! We must not tell anyone!"

"They deserve to know! We can't keep something like this from them! We have to tell Seraphiel, at least. He's chief of the Seraphim now, he has to know."

Both archangels look about ready to kill each other. Castiel is too stunned to move. They're so big. Their wings are at least three times larger than he is. And he knows that they could wipe him out with a flick of their wrists, but Castiel inches closer, too interested in what they're arguing about. What are they trying to keep from everyone?

"Michael, we can't do this. They have to know." Gabriel lowers his voice and Castiel is forced to come even closer to hear Michael's reply.

"No. If they find out, there is no telling what will happen. We cannot take that risk. Besides, Seraphiel already knows."

Gabriel snarls and Castiel leaps back, terrified at the archangel's ferociousness.

"He's gone, Michael! Gone! Do you understand what that means? We just can't keep lying like this. Something like…like before could happen. Please."

Michael stills, and Castiel shifts closer again, his thoughts in overdrive. Who? Who is gone? And before what? What is going on?

"No."

The finality is impossible to ignore. Gabriel bristles at the obvious dismissal and for a second Castiel fears that he'll jump Michael. But he doesn't. He stares at Michael icily and shakes his head once.

"Fine. But I won't be here to see your mistakes any longer."

Gabriel turns on his heel and stalks away from Michael, who actually looks caught off guard.

"Gabriel?" he calls uncertainly. Gabriel keeps moving. "Gabriel, wait. You do not need to…" Michael cuts himself off and frowns. "You are wrong!" he calls after his brother. Gabriel doesn't respond, and Castiel startles because the archangel is coming right towards him. Castiel whirls around and trips over himself, suddenly feeling clumsy, and he lands face first. He lies there for a second, hoping that Gabriel doesn't see him. No such luck.

"Why, hello there. What's your name?"

Castiel is picked up and placed on his feet. Immediately he ducks his head down and his wings lower in deference to the archangel, though he jumps when Gabriel clucks his tongue in disapproval. A shock of panic surges through Castiel and he starts to shake, afraid that he had already angered the other angel somehow. What did he do wrong? Maybe he didn't lower his wings enough. Yes, that must be it. Castiel lets his wings drop to the ground and he stands perfectly still, intent on trying to seem as small as possible. Which, given the circumstances, doesn't prove hard at all.

"C'mon, don't do that. I hate when you all do that. Look at me."

Castiel does look up and finds himself gazing up into soft brown eyes. All of the fierce intensity that Castiel had seen from the archangel is gone now, replaced by a comforting warmth that wells up inside of the small angel. He realizes that it is Gabriel's grace.

This archangel is different.

He's what Heaven feels like, Castiel thinks to himself.

"H-Hello," Castiel says shyly, scuffing his feet across the ground. "I'm Castiel."

He reaches out timidly with his grace, not able to keep himself from smiling brightly when Gabriel wraps his own grace around him. The archangel smiles warmly back.

"Castiel. You seem bright." Gabriel squats down so they are at eye level. "I'm going to tell you something. Don't forget, okay?" Castiel nods, enthralled. He would never have imagined that an archangel would lower himself and look him in the eyes as if they are equal. This whole experience is surreal. "The difference between right and wrong may seem easy right now. But it will get harder, and all you will have is yourself to figure out what needs to be done. No one can do it for you. You have to find yourself, Castiel. Promise me you won't get lost along the way, no matter what everyone else is telling you."

Castiel doesn't understand, but he nods anyways, because this is obviously very important. Gabriel smiles again fleetingly and Castiel returns it.

"Good. Take care of yourself. And remember what I said."

Castiel watches as the archangel stands and walks away.

Gabriel never came back.

He was just gone. Left without a word. If Michael was bothered by it, he didn't let it show. He would shut down when Gabriel was mentioned, so the archangel was never brought up again. Seraphiel waited for Gabriel to appear, but after a while he gave up also. He was saddened by Gabriel's abrupt exit, at how he never got to say goodbye. Seraphiel understands, though. Michael doesn't. Michael never will, it's just how he is. How their Father made him. And their Father made Seraphiel to spread His love, and that is what he plans to do. Even if He isn't here anymore.

Seraphiel will keep singing.

And that's all he does for a long, long time. Everything around him changes. Michael grows more cold and distant, Raphael looses hope, and God doesn't come back. Seraphiel is unaffected by change. Like a boulder in a river he stays stationary as the current passes by him. He praises their Father the way he is meant to, wherever He is, even as the humans continue their self destruction below.

Then there is another change. Concerning the raising of a Righteous Man.

It is an interesting matter, though Seraphiel is only concerned with the angel who is assigned to raise him. A devout soldier by the name of Castiel, Seraphiel learns, and he is not disappointed. Castiel is as intense as the other angels say and his record with his missions is flawless. Very faithful, Seraphiel notes as he watches Castiel return from Hell, his wings blackened, a soul cradled in his arms.

Dean Winchester.

Michael has been going on about that human for decades now. Seraphiel honestly doesn't care what Heaven's commander has planned. Not that it matters, anyway. Michael won't tell him. He's secretive these days, not allowing anyone to know what he's been up to. The only angel he confides in is Zachariah, a very annoying and uptight brother that Seraphiel is in no way fond of. Even though Michael only gives him small amounts of information, Zachariah seems to think that it entitles him to special treatment. Though once again, Seraphiel doesn't care. At all. He is content with being out of the loop until word spreads that the devil will walk. As much as it pains him, he knows what that will cause.

Lucifer must not rise.

Still, Seraphiel remains in Heaven, though he makes himself more aware. He has heard of Castiel's banishment, and the loss weighs heavily upon him because he knows that the angel is still faithful. So when Seraphiel hears desperate prayers from the Righteous Man concerning Castiel (please please please he can't die please), he answers them. He takes one last look at his home, and then he hurls himself down to Earth.

Change doesn't always have to be a bad thing.

The end!

Phew. I don't know why that was so hard. I'm just lazy. XD

Actually, I just want to get back to my Buffy marathon. Spike is so awesome. I wish I had a Spike in my life. Sigh...

Now...review! Or the world will end! O.O