The Faded and the Fallen

by Intrepid Inkweaver

The Seraphim and the Wingless live in relative peace in the Light Realm. Most of the people there don't notice the corruption that has been infecting the Realm around them. The Fallen and the Unknown are taking over the streets. Harold Finch sees everything that is happening, but is powerless to stop it-that is until he manages to raise John Reese from the Lower Realms.

2. Chapter 2

Making the climb back to the Light Realm was much more difficult than going down. Pulling Reese along with him—even though he had tapped into the other man's Power to do it—had not been a pleasant experience. Once he landed, he hadn't been able to stand. He had to wait until he'd regained enough energy to shakily get to his feet and contact his employees to come and move Reese's limp form to the bed. Luckily, neither of his men were the questioning type and merely did as they were asked.

It had taken nearly a year to track Reese down. When Finch had found out that the ex-op was no longer in the Light Realm, he'd nearly given up hope of finding him. He'd kept up his research, though, and had eventually discovered that someone who had Faded could be Raised by a seraph.

Preparations for that endeavor had taken months. It had felt so strange planning something so big without Nathan by his side. Harold was certain that he, like Reese, would have Faded after the so-called "accident" that had claimed Nathan's life and Finch's health if not for the Machine.

Even after finishing his creation, the being had chosen to retain a link to its creator. It was that fuzzy little connection in the back of his mind that had kept him sane through everything that had gone wrong. Unfortunately, his connection to the Machine also caused him no end of frustration and sadness. He could see all the crimes, the corruption and the death in the city and there was so little he could do about it.

The Machine had known he needed someone, though, and had sent him the number of one John Reese. Reese was just the type of person Harold needed to help him manage the numbers—to save them when they needed it and stop them when they had to. He was a powerful and talented seraph of the third order. He had the training from the CIA under his belt, and he had a moral compass that was still in tact and pointing in the right direction—despite the agency's efforts to break it.

Now Finch had finally found him and brought him back to the Light Realm. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. Reese was still unconscious on the bed. The glow of the mark on his chest still showed through his shirt, but even now it was fading. The Mark of the Raised was a curious thing. It marked anyone who had Faded and was Raised from the Lower Realms.

Finch moved into the other room and sat heavily in an arm chair. All he could do for the moment was hope that Reese would be willing to help him.