II. Gods and Monsters

27. Rage Against The Machine

Charlotte lay propped by her shoulders, staring at the scene unfolding before her. Oliver was encased in 6-inch thick ice, squirming to try and free himself, Amadeus was clutching his burnt shoulder, the angel was lying not three feet from her and Metatron was now striding towards Hades, his blood-red eyes locked onto his target.

"You should have died that day. The same day our brother did. It would have been more fitting than this feeble attempt at self-preservation," the cybernetic hunter told Hades in its grating voice.

As Metatron stalked towards its prey, its back began to split down the middle, opening up to reveal a dull, traditional sword. It seemed to have lost all colour and almost drain that of its immediate surroundings, casting its already dark form into even more shadow. A great hand reached over, grasping the hilt and sliding the sword out of its resting place with a dramatic "shwing".

"With this blade, I took one. Now I take the other."

As Metatron raised the sword above its head, Charlotte scrambled to her feet. She reached into her pocket and grasped onto a cold, almost cylindrical object which she had been carrying around with her for no discernable reason till now. The pin which had held her shackles closed inside Hades' lair. She knew she could live to regret this, that this could be the choice that ended the world, but she was never going to feel helpless again. This was not the time to cower in fear, she'd had her time for that. She sprinted towards the towering figure of Metatron, clutching the pin in her right hand till her knuckles turned white. She covered the ground before anyone had the time to react, leaping up towards the towering metal figure before her. With a scream that was nothing short of a battle cry, she used her legs to push the last little bit up Metatron's back before plunging the pin straight into the base of Metatron's skull. The cyborg let out a screech of pure agony, dropping its sword and flailing its arms behind its head, trying to dislodge her. She clung on for dear life, forcing her makeshift weapon as far as she could through the gap in Metatron's armour. The cyber-angel gave a great beat of its wings, propelling itself backwards. But its engines failed to give it the force it expected, sparking and smoking. Instead, the cyborg was simply knocked off balance.

"You worthless sack of flesh, I'll flay you from your bones!" Metatron roared.

Instead of beating its wings outwards, it folded the great, bladed feathers in and used the smoother edges like battering rams, landing a single, crushing blow to Charlotte from both directions, finally dislodging her. Now the pain had stopped intensifying, Metatron allowed itself to fall to its fists and knees. With a shaking hand, it slowly reached up, clutching the rusted metal, and yanked it free in one sharp pull.

"You will pay dearly for that, little girl..." it vowed, painfully rising to its feet once more.

"NOT WHILE I STAND, TRAITOR!" a voice echoed through the entire room.

Metatron slowly curled its hands in fury, turning to face the angel Charlotte had lay beside mere minutes ago.

"You dare accuse me of such things, female?" Metatron spat. "After the crimes you yourself have committed against our people?"

"I heard your confession! 'With this blade I took one'?! Did you honestly think I was so dazed that I would not understand your meaning?!"

Charlotte heard a faint hissing sound, turning to her left to see the ice around Oliver begin to bubble and melt, his eyes glowing that now welcome shade of orange.

"All these centuries I have worked alongside you, through all those years I believed we were hunting the man who murdered my mentor... When the real killer was right in front of me all along!"

Amadeus slowly pushed himself upright, still nursing his injured arm.

"Well you have finally made your mistake, monster. I have lost the two most treasured people it has ever been my blessing to know thanks to you and your folly. Because of you, my mentor Gabriel was sent into eternal darkness and because of your lies, Carter Slade's soul now resides in wretched Purgatory!"

Each word spoken caused Gabrielle's voice to gain a strange echoing attribute. Each word spoken caused her body, wings and eyes to glow with a white light. Each word spoken caused a bow of burning gold to form in her open palm.

"By the power invested in me, by The High Lord of Heaven Himself, I will see you destroyed in vengeance of my murdered mentor, Gabriel! ON THIS DAY, THOU SHALT PERISH!"

It is often said in braver realms than our own, that the only thing more passionate than an angel's love, is an angel's rage. This moment was no exception. Three arrows of burning light were loosed in as many seconds from Gabrielle's bow, each finding their mark square in Metatron's chest. The angel pursued her blinding onslaught, tears of pain and fury streaming down her face as she did so. The metallic destroyer raised its arms in front of its face, shielding itself as much as possible from her devastating attack, hoping to gain an opening in which to gain the upper hand. But this time would not come. Amadeus was now on his feet and a stream of crackling energy was now erupting from his hands, joining the cloud of arrows unleashed by his unlikely ally.

"You have hunted us both, denied us the gift of a peaceful night, simply to uphold a lie? To satisfy some twisted need for violence against your own family? Just your crimes against my dearest friend would be enough for me to desire your death, but my attempted execution on no grounds? That has sealed your fate."

Hades' fire returned to him, burning with an intensity that threatened to melt the very concrete beneath his feet.

"You have pursued me for centuries. You savagely murdered our brother out of spite. You broke the heart of our mother out of jealousy! AND YOU DARE TO CALL ME THE SAVAGE! I WILL SEE YOUR SOUL BURN IN HELL FOR ALL ETERNITY!"

A stream of sapphire Hellfire joined the onslaught of energy now enveloping Metatron.

"You have hunted us. Torn us from our family. Made us an outlaw in our own town. Impaled us with a weapon designed to bring about our slow and agonising death. Risked the lives of everyone we hold dear and the woman we love. You have spilt innocent blood after innocent blood, and their souls now cry for vengeance! We shall answer their call! We shall kill you where you stand!"

The Ghost Rider's mouth opened, unleashing a second stream of Hellfire at Metatron, finally causing him to be lost in the sheer heat now surrounding its body.

From inside the mass of energy, Metatron screamed and cried. It was fixed in place due to the sheer force of the attacks and could do nothing but watch as the metal cladding and what remained of its body began to glow white-hot and be torn off in great chunks in places, completely melting in others.

As The Rider continued its onslaught, it grasped the chain around its torso with both hands, before pulling them in opposite directions. The chain split into two instantly, the two halves igniting and almost melting in its hands. The molten slag warped and changed, extending outwards and away. The ends closest to its hands solidified into handles, the far ends sharpening into glowing-hot hooks. Through its fire, it saw Metatron's horrid face begin to fall away, and the bloodlust finally took complete control. The Rider leapt forward with an unearthly screech, slamming one of its new hooks into Metatron's eye, using its momentum to flip onto his shoulders. As the other three attackers halted their attacks in surprise, Metatron frantically stumbled around the room, as if chased by some invisible assailant.

"NO! GET AWAY! NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The cybernetic angel cried in terror.

With a screaming of metal and a sickening crunching sound, The Rider sunk its other hook into Metatron's chin and pulled, slowly tearing the mechanical angel's head clean in two and revealing the bone beneath.

"Piece of tin..." The Rider growled, leaping down from Metatron's towering body and yanking it to the floor.

Silence fell, as the machine finally lay dead, the revenge of its four enemies now finally complete.