11. Tension

Once again, as so many times before, Gabriel was sitting by the edge of the fountain in his favorite of Heaven's gardens. This time, though, the sketchbook from which he was usually inseparable was laid on the fountain's rim, forgotten, disregarded by its thoughtful, abstracted owner. There was both sadness and agitation in his expression, for he knew that something was going on between his Father and his elder brother, something not good, something that had never happened before and should not have happened at all. No-one had told him anything, which was fair enough given his youth, but he knew that his beloved elder brothers had been trying really hard to avoid each other, though in his presence they had both been pretending – well, they had tried to pretend – that everything was alright. But even if he hadn't seen it he had felt it; this disturbing feeling… a foreboding of evil.

Something had changed even in the air; it was so quiet, abnormally quiet. All the sounds that normally filled The Grace were gone, and even the omnipresent seraphim seemed to have disappeared. Only the leaves on the trees and the water of the fountain broke the silence, but today their song was gentle and sad; everything was different now.

So there he sat by the fountain's edge, saddened and lonely, waiting for Lucifer and Michael to come back from conversing with their Father. In spite of his forlornness, there was still some hope in his expression; surely all the tension he felt was just some deplorable misunderstanding, and maybe, no, surely, it would be gone after they had talked, which they were supposed to be doing right now. And then everything would be the way it used to be, the way it should be. – He tried so hard to convince himself that he almost succeeded. –There was nothing to do but sit and wait.

Suddenly there was a flash of light and someone dropped from the archway to the ground. He didn't recognize the figure, though it was definitely one of his brothers, but looking truly awful: covered with bruises and blood, his clothes a complete mess, his wings crushed and singed, and black.

Within a moment Gabriel was kneeling beside him, offering help. The archangel raised his head; it was Rafael, looking dizzy and semi-conscious, his lips moving silently as if he was trying to say something but couldn't. Then his eyes closed.

Gabriel tried calling for help, but no-one answered. He had the sudden sensation of being totally cut off from his relatives. He looked around desperately and then his gaze fell on the fountain.

"Come on," he said, and tried to get Rafael up, but couldn't; he was too heavy for Gabriel's strength. "Work with me, brother, we need to get you there!" He shook him.

Rafael opened his eyes, his expression becoming more alert. He blinked at Gabriel and then his face filled with fear. It was the first time Gabriel had seen such an emotion provoked by his own presence.

"Raf, it's okay, it's just me, so you're safe now. Don't worry," he said in a soft, reassuring tone. "We need to get you to the water. Its touch will cure you, but I can't do it alone, and I can't call for help because I can't feel anyone right now. So please, work with me."

Rafael shook his head. "Can't walk. Legs broken," he said with a harsh voice, and lost consciousness again.

Only then did Gabriel notice that Rafael's legs didn't look right, that they were lying on the ground in an unnatural way. Gabriel gave a cry of sorrow; he couldn't even imagine the pain that Rafael must have been in, and for the first time in his life he felt anger, towards whatever – or whoever – had done this to his brother. That feeling gave him more strength than he had thought he possessed, and he hoisted Rafael's body on his back and carried him to the fountain, where he laid him in the water, supporting his head and cleaning the blood from his face.

It didn't take long for the elixir of life to do its job. Rafael regained consciousness and managed to stand up without Gabriel's help. He still looked disheveled, but his clothes were the last thing Gabriel cared about right now.

"What happened to you?" he asked. "Was it some kind of accident, or… were you attacked?" The latter suggestion seemed completely absurd to him; for God's sake, who could have attacked one of His Host?

Rafael gave him a hard, distrustful look. "You don't know?"

"I don't know what?" He was starting to feel annoyed. That was new as well.

"How is it possible that you don't know? We're at war, Gabriel!"

"War… what war? I don't understand. Who's our enemy?"

His obvious confusion made Rafael believe him, but it also made him aware that he was about to destroy Gabriel, maybe not literally, but by the things he had to tell him. But it wasn't as if he had a choice, anyway, so he swallowed hard and said, "A fratricidal war. Your… our brother, Lucifer, has raised a mutiny."

"A mutiny, against whom?" Gabriel didn't seem to have understood – had refused to understand – Rafael's words, and Rafael comprehended this only too well. But in spite of the sympathy he felt for his younger brother he just didn't have time to make it easy.

"A mutiny against our Father," he said dryly. "And he claimed that those of us who haven't followed his lead are traitors to our kind. You see my wings? He said that those of us who were ready to bow before the mud were not worthy of white wings, so those loyal to our Father now have black. That's how much power he has. That's why I was frightened when I saw you: you wings are still white, Gabriel."

"This can't be true! It's some kind of horrible mistake!"

"Does the state I'm in look like some kind of mistake to you? You wanna know who did this to me? Baliel. He's fighting on Lucifer's side."

Baliel was Rafael's soul-mate. Gabriel bit his lower lip, looked aside and said, "I'm sorry." Then he asked in a low, lifeless voice, "How many have followed this madness?"

"Their name is legion. Gab, he is… he was our general, he could be so convincing and he is strong, he's so incredibly strong… I don't know if we can make it."

"What about our Father?"

"I don't know, he's blocked our connection. We can't talk, not to each other, not to Him."

"What about Michael?"

"He's leading our army. Last time I saw him he was fighting Lucifer. He is the only one who has any chance of standing against him."

"No, he's not the only one," Gabriel said, and his voice made Rafael shiver. "Take me there."

"No, you can't go in there, you're not a fighter, and it's a real massacre out there. You won't even be able to reach them."

"I will." Gabriel touched his collar. "I am one of His Host, and if I must be a fighter, I'll become a fighter."

He stepped away from Rafael and closed his eyes. Rafael saw an unbearably bright flash of cold, blue-white light, and Gabriel's figure disappeared in the fire.

xxx

It had been twenty long years since that day, time enough for them to get used to what had happened back then in the first days of the Apocalypse, but that didn't stop those memories being painful. For both of them the mental anguish was keen, and made even worse by the fact that they hadn't talked since that final fight at the cliff-top. Too much had stayed unspoken and unresolved.

Looking at their darkened faces, Lucifer gave a harsh laugh. "Yeah, guys, that was one heck of a mess. Honestly, Michael, I don't know how you're gonna make things work out, after all that's happened. You should've just stayed home, considering you didn't care enough about Gabriel to come back earlier. I mean, twenty years – it's a long time, and such a term to have spent among these pathetic creatures, humans, to have been disconnected from Grace, incapable of touch… That could make a person really angry. Of course, you could try to say that Daddy didn't allow you to come here any sooner, but on the other hand that particular circumstance didn't stop you when it was about mankind's fate. Interesting choice of priorities."

"A lot of us lost those dearest to us as a result of your mutiny, remember? Michael and I were lucky to have each other still. Twenty years is nothing compared to all of eternity spent in loneliness, don't you agree, brother?" There was a hint of sarcasm in El's voice. "And as for your attempt to make us quarrel, that's really pathetic."

"Ouch, I'm hurt!" It was clear that he really was, in spite his mocking tone. "But if I were you, lover, I'd be thinking instead how you're gonna look in Michael's eyes after that little escapade of yours back then; something tells me that kicking his ass that hard wasn't exactly the kind of touch he wanted and expected from you. And I'm also quite intrigued about your relationship with the boy, our new little messiah, and I bet I'm not the only one."

"Don't you see," Michael said harshly, for Lucifer's words affected him unexpectedly strongly, "He won't tell us anything useful, he's just wasting our time and we don't have much of it. In fact, we're out of time, and we should solve this problem right now. You want me to do it?"

"Uh-oh… looks like I touched a weak spot and poor Jeep is going to pay for it. So, what will it be, Gab?" The Fallen looked at El intently. "Have you got enough guts to do this on your own, or will it be Michael's job to do the dirty work for you yet again?"

El shrugged and was going to answer, but Michael cut in and it was absolutely clear from his tone that he was really pissed off. "I'm so tired of your presence, brother, that it's not as if it would be any problem to send you back to Hell. And I would call that not dirty work but rather God's work. I swear to Grace that you earned all that happened to you, and you learned nothing from it, and for that I'm sorry."

"No you're not! Don't tell me that this wasn't exactly what you dreamed of, that you could have…"

"That's enough!" There was such power in El's voice that it made Lucifer break off. Even Michael gave her a look of surprise, for he had never known Gabriel could speak that way – especially being like that, human – and then she added in a low but confident tone, "I'll do it. Jeep is my responsibility."

The click of the safety catch was very loud in the silence of the desert night.

"So, how are you gonna do it, lover?" It didn't seem to bother the Fallen at all. But then again, why it would it, since Jeep's body was just a vessel to him? "Why don't you give me a kiss-kiss before the bang-bang?"

"Yeah," she said. "Actually I was intending to do something very like that."

xxx

Cain was sitting in the front passenger seat of the SUV looking out of the window, with Charlie sitting behind him. It was funny that even in El's absence (she was outside, in fact, and really busy as far he could see), none of them had taken the driver's seat, for she couldn't stand anyone but her to take that place in her favorite car. Or maybe it was just a coincidence. – How many times do I have to tell you, Cain, there is no such thing as coincidence; everything happens for a reason. Try to remember that. – Yes, El. – He shook his head. Damn, he could actually hear her words in his mind. On the other hand, that was better than just sitting here waiting for her to try to save his stepfather and not being able to help. Charlie's hand was laid on the back of his seat; he covered it with his palm, stroking gently in an attempt to comfort her. She had stopped sobbing and was staring intently through the glass at the three of them, unable to hear their conversation.

In truth, Cain wasn't sure he actually wanted to hear it. From what he had picked up already, he had realized they used to be in some kind of divine ménage à trios, though he couldn't imagine what exactly that was supposed to mean for archangels; as far as he understood they all were brothers, kin, but those three obviously used to be more than that. One thing he knew for sure: interfering in a family fight wouldn't be the wisest thing to do – Especially with such a family. – In fact, even that could have been fun, and in a different situation he could have made the most of it for teasing El - or maybe not, considering she had such a damn firm hand – if it hadn't been him, who had so many names, the Fallen, and if it hadn't been his father's body that he had taken.

"Oh my God," Charlie said suddenly, with a voice full of terror.

"What?" Cain replied immediately, pushing his thoughts aside and concentrating on the scene outside. "I don't see anything. They're still just talking. And since we can't hear them, mom, why…"

"I don't need to hear them," she whispered. "I saw his face."

"Whose face, mom, Jeep's? I mean, I barely can see him, and…"

"No, not his." It sounded like her throat was constricted and she could barely speak. "Not that thing… I mean Michael's. That creature did or said something that pissed him off like hell."

"Michael only looks slightly annoyed to me, but then again, he was shot, mom. Even if he wasn't seriously injured it must still be painful, but instead of getting treatment he's forced into unpleasant debate, so I'm completely with him on this one. He's got the right to be annoyed, so even if it's true, you have nothing to worry about with him. He is on our side, he is good, he saved your life and mine, you told me so, remember? He wouldn't do anything bad to dad."

"The truth, I'm afraid, is never that simple when it comes to archangels; they're different, Cain, they're so fucking different. They have they own priorities and reasons so far beyond our understanding. Yes, Michael saved my life, but only because I was going to give birth to you. He didn't actually care whether any of the people I was with survived Apocalypse or not. No-one survived, Cain. And maybe I only spent forty-eight hours or so by his side, but I can tell you that he is not annoyed, he is fucking pissed!"

"Fine, you saw a pissed off ex-archangel. I saw another one a couple of times and believe me, that was something. He still wouldn't do anything to harm Jeep; El wouldn't allow him."

"You can't possibly know that."

"I know, mom, okay? I know her. So do you. For God's sake, twenty years should be enough to convince you. Did she ever do anything wrong to us? No. So I'm fucking sure that I know her," Cain said dryly, irritated that his mother questioned El.

Charlie sighed, and when she spoke again her voice was fearful. "Well, maybe you know her, but you know nothing about him, and since it turns out they are the same person, I'll tell you, Cain, that you have no idea what Gabriel is capable of."