Return of the Angels
Azrael looked out to the distance. He could feel that his heart was tearing itself apart but his mind was overworking with plans on how to get her back once he finds out where she's being kept. Apollyon was a mess, despite his angel ranking, but he had to return to the underworld to check on the stability of the gate. His work lies down there; he wasn't involved in this battle. Someone really wanted Lucifer out of his cage and Apollyon was pretty much the only one who is strong enough to fend him off and lock him back inside. Once Lucifer's out, there's no telling that the battle was going to be immense and the angels needed to be ready.
For that they needed a leader. Currently, the highest ranking angel was Celine who's a Seraph. She was to lead them in the battle. But now she's been kidnapped by someone who had disguised himself as Michael to easily slip into the base. She hadn't even discovered a portion of her powers and she's far from discovering them all. She needed lessons, needed to gain her wings, and whilst she's imprisoned wherever she is, none of that's happening and the further away they are from winning this battle.
"My lord, Azrael," he turns away from the desert scenery to turn to see Zariel. He bows and drags a boy of seventeen forward.
"Thank you, Zariel," he said and again he bowed then left. He observed him from where he stood. Black hair filed around him and beneath them were violet eyes. At one point he had been possessed by Zariel, but now with Celine's order in place that no one was to wear disguises, the boy had become free from his clutches. It had taken him a few hours to be able to wake, and he was left down in a prison till he came to. "Name, boy!" he demanded.
He narrowed his eyes. "Do you really think that I'll tell you?"
Azrael was able to read the history he had with his daughter. But yet he did not yet know that she had made a transformation to the person she is now. "You know my daughter, yes?"
"I don't know what you're talking about!" he growled.
"You're not in trouble with me. I'm just asking if you know her." He said narrowing his eyes. "Her name's Celine and I'm well aware that she's not only saved you twice, but she would never harm you. Now I wonder why that is."
"I barely know Celine," he said with eyes glaring at him.
"You know her more than you seem to think you do." Azrael stalked around him, arms behind his cloaked back. "Sapphire, rings a bell, yes?"
"Don't you dare speak about her!" he threatened.
"Now, now, Raven, I can speak about my daughter as much as possible."
"Sapphire doesn't have a sister!"
"I know she doesn't, that's because she is Celine you stupid boy."
His violet eyes widened. "It can't be…"
"Of course she's alive you imbecile. You and I both know that it takes a hell of a lot more to kill her."
"I know that it takes a lot more to kill Sapphire, not Celine…"
"You don't want to admit it's her, yes?" he stopped in front of him. Their eyes locked onto each other. Violet against dark sapphire blue! Raven's eyes widened as he looked into the eyes of Celine's father. The exact replica of the girl he knew as Sapphire. "Now all the information I speak of I've dug in your mind for," Raven glared. "Oh, it's possible for me to do, since I'm not a goody two-shoes angel like the others." He said grinning. "Where was I? Oh yes, I remember. Three years ago you and Celine, aka Sapphire, made a special connection without realizing. Of course, three years later, Celine discovers it and is unable to harm you even though you were possessed by a fellow angel who was supposed to protect her and not fall for her."
"You mean, Zariel, fell in love with her?" he asks.
Azrael just looked at him. "Zariel has lust issues and ones that are so strong are only because he falls hard for the girls. But this would be his first experience at falling so hard for a girl, even though she's his leader and my daughter."
"Why do you want to talk to me?"
"You're a rebel of the new system that has joined the two armies together. Well you're just a rebel who seeks revenge against Van Flyheight, and really I can't be dealing with mortal issues. In fact I don't want to fucking know. You're a rebel I need because you know about the layout of the lands."
"Get on with it!" Raven demanded and Azrael dismissed the demand.
"I want your help on finding my daughter who's been kidnapped, it's that simple."
"What do I get out of it?"
"A simple task in exchange that I vow to make sure that you aren't sent over to hell to be tortured for eternity for the numerous deaths that has caused me to be travelling everywhere for years." Raven just looked at him blankly. "Raven, don't test me. I can send you to heaven if I think you deserved it, which I highly claim to say you don't. I could put you in hell to be tortured for eternity and rot under Lucifer's claws, but my daughter would hate me for that, but sometimes I can take that kind of sacrifice. Or perhaps I might not be able to. But I could also make your soul wander the rest of the earth in a silent torment where no one can help you, even if they can hear you."
"And you're getting at what? Scaring me to the point I shit myself?"
"Oh no, Raven, although that would be a bonus. But I can tell that you're heart skipped a beat there, right? Horrifying my job is, but I enjoy most of it." He knelt down beside Raven and loomed close to him. But still Raven could not even distinguish his appearance, only his eyes that glowed in a deep intensity. "You see, Raven, being the angel of death comes with many responsibilities and keeping the damn balance is one of them. It pisses me damn right off, just like having to run around everywhere to keep the soul cycle right."
"So Celine, sorry Sapphire, is the angel of death's, your, daughter?"
"It's actually Celine; Sapphire was actually a name that that bastard Prozen gave to her because of her eye colour. And yes, that does sum it up about her." Azrael looked at him. "Scared of her now?"
"She's always been infatuated with death since I've known her, so it's not really that much difference."
"She's more than death, Raven, she's everything. Her death means your death…get the picture?"
"If she dies, you'll kill me?"
Azrael laughed dryly. "No, Raven, I wouldn't, because if she dies, so does everything else."
XxX
Raven was given the permission to leave Azrael's presence. Why he didn't argue against the man was beyond him, but he was definitely frightening. Sapphire was alive after all; expect that her name is actually Celine. How could he have fought against it all this time? A better part of him was trying to reason with him by telling him that it was her all along, but he shut it down and kept telling himself that she was dead. Was it because he thought that she had to ask his position to die? Like she'll do that! She seemed to live to disobey him and instead give him orders.
Something tells him that he should have made it memorable between them, but then he was such an asshole. So what makes him so different now? Nothing! He was still an asshole that was focusing on revenge against Van Flyheight. He could definitely agree that something special had been created between him and Celine, but he wasn't sure what it was exactly. He knew that he couldn't stand it when she just sacrificed herself to protect this planet. Before she had hated everyone on this planet and ever since being with Van and his friends, she changed for the better. Even with him she had changed a little. She had accepted him until something happened where she became so cold towards him again.
But now what? How did she feel about him now considering all he's done to her since her transformation? Just because she looked different, well she didn't look different, she just looked as if she had a glow about her that made her even more beautiful. Her hair had changed though; it had become a golden blonde that turned a white blonde in the sun. It looked as if it changed back to the whiteness before she disappeared three years ago in its radiant light. Celine was different, although not physically but in herself. Her father is the angel of death, so it obviously makes her an angel too? But he had said she was Zariel's leader? What kind of angel was she if she leads other angels?
"Raven," he looked up to see Van and glared at him. "I don't trust you either, but we've got to work together for Celine's sake."
"You've always known, haven't you?"
"I was in the same boat as you Raven, she just told us sooner than she has with you."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Wasn't my place to and we're enemies, so why would I tell you anything about my friends?"
"She's not just your friend!" he snapped and quickly arranged himself. "You could have told me about what happens if she dies. I nearly killed her once."
"I didn't know until recently!" Van declared with narrowed eyes.
"You're not fighting are you?" Moonbay asks as she comes over and stands beside Van. Fiona was with her and stood at her side, her red eyes focused on Raven.
"It's best not to fight, Raven. We need to stick together this time." Fiona stated to him in a calm peaceful voice.
"Who says I'm working with you?" he said narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms.
"I did!" a voice chirped up happily and a hand descended on Raven's head. Suddenly he tensed underneath that hand. Van, Fiona and Moonbay looked up at Azrael that towered them as if he were a giant. He bent down to whisper into Raven's ear. "Remember what I said, Raven. You don't help me locate my daughter and I'll be sending your soul to be tortured in hell by Lucifer's claws." He straightened and his aura turned a dull happy one. "Play nice kids, I'm going to join the adults with the planning. Just interrupt us if there's any news on Celine."
He walked away, leaving the four of them to stand awkwardly in the hallway. Van refused to speak to Raven, although the pair of them seemed to have a lot of similar questions to ask each other. They were more like brothers that had been separated since birth and were only just finding each other. Moonbay and Fiona just stood beside each other; unsure on what it is they should do to make themselves useful.
"We should find the others," Moonbay states to Van who nods at her in agreement. The pair walks on ahead and Fiona looks at Raven who stood there with arms crossed and a face set like thunder.
"Are you coming, Raven?" she asks him and he turns to look at her.
"Why are you so nice?" he asks, eyes slightly narrowing.
"I'm not sure what you're talking about!" she says with a smile, dismissing his compliment although he didn't make it sound like one. He walks with her after Moonbay and Van, who took glances back to make sure that Fiona was alright since she was walking next to him. "I'm not sure about what to call it, but I can tell there's a connection between the pair of you." She suddenly says.
"Between what pair?" he asks, not looking at her but glaring at Van's back.
"You and Celine," she says, smiling at him with curiosity in her red eyes. He remains silent as they walk. "I can tell she cares about you," she speaks, looking up in front and taking glances at him to see his reactions to what she tells him. "Mentioning your name makes her become really angry, and usually she only shows that much emotion when she really cares."
"Hm…"
"You care about her too," she continues. "You react in the same way. Hearing her name, although it's not the one you're used to yet, makes you feel a mix of emotions. Anger's one of them." Her voice turns into sympathy. "You thought she had died three years ago." He looks at her as if her voice was betraying her because she sounded as if she was about to cry, although she was trying not to appear like she was. "I thought the same too, until we saw her again. I was so angry with her for just disappearing and making me believe she was dead." She turned to look at him. "You should tell her how you feel about her when you see her again."
"I don't feel anything for her!" he denied and kept walking, silence building up between them.
But the pair of them knew different. Raven was just stamping down on his feelings to hide them. He didn't want anyone to know how he feels and that's where Celine was always able to know. That was why she was always able to get to him so much because she knew what he was feeling.