✔ || Save Me [[SEQUEL to DISTRACT ME]]

Chapter 31

He rolled his shoulders back, wincing in pain, and scowled at the blackened stumps protruding from his back. They were simultaneously rotting and healing, and they stunk of decomposition and blood. He wondered how long it'd take for his magic to stop fighting the inevitable rot, and what would happen once it did.

An archangel who can't even fly? How could you let this happen?

One down, six left.

Fire.

You're a disgrace.

The voices had become his friends. They kept him grounded, sane.

But there was one voice that wasn't in his head. Though he wished it were. Then he wouldn't have to look at him - to see the reflection of what he himself was to inevitably become.

Fire.

"Still as ugly as ever, I see."

He scowled at the approaching figure. "I told you to stay away from me. I'm still considering your offer."

The newcomer smiled cruelly, his hollow, bloodshot eyes glinting. "I'm afraid you've run out of time. Your answer, now."

Lucifer had always been the most beautiful angel. Even now, as a Fallen, his features were otherworldly. But they were touched by madness - eons spent torturing lost souls had sunken his bright emerald eyes, thinned his curly black hair, and turned ashen his porcelain skin. But he still walked with just as much confidence as when he had his wings - well, his angel wings. He had wings now, but they were grotesque asphalt-gray bat wings with pulsing veins bulging out from beneath the torn leathery skin.

They were the wings of a Fallen who had spent his time on Earth becoming more than what his situation made him. Of a Fallen who decided, no matter what, that he would fly. That he would not be confined to the ground like a lowly animal.

Unfortunately, Raphael admired that.

Fire.

Here was a Fallen who had used the last of his magic not only to heal his broken body, but to build a new pair of wings and then to create his own kingdom out of the ashes of Hell. He was stronger than all of the angels in heaven, but not stronger than Raphael. Especially not now that they were drawing magic from the same place - from the darkest recesses of the deepest cosmic abyss. From Hell.

"Need I remind you that I was an archangel," Raphael snarled.

"So was I," Lucifer pointed out, that stomach-churning grin still stretched across his bony face. "And now we're the same, brother."

Raphael scoffed, "I was more powerful than you ever were."

"But now," Lucifer hissed, his gravelly voice reminiscent of nails on a chalkboard, "you're weak and Fallen, and I'm the ruler of Hell. Isn't it funny how the world works?"

Fire.

Can't fly?

Raphael pursed his lips, nostrils flaring, but the other Fallen had a point. He didn't dare do anything to Lucifer - not in the state he was in.

"Come on, Raph," the man chided. "They betrayed you. All of them. Make them pay. We could be absolutely unstoppable together."

Raphael nodded slowly. "We could." Lucifer grinned, but the the other man continued, "But I am after my own revenge."

Lucifer blew out an irritated breath, rolling his eyes. "Revenge. It's such a petty concept, don't you think? Now, domination. Anarchy. That's a cause worth fighting for! Sending every human to Hell, just for shits and giggles! Doesn't that sound nice?" He shrugged, "They're all gross, you have to admit that. Back when I was up there with all you hardasses, I remember we hated them."

"Times change," Raphael said calmly.

Fire.

Lucifer's eyes twinkled. "Not that much, brother. Never that much."

And, of course, he was mostly right. The archangels would rather have nothing to do with the inferior species - they left that to the lower ranks. But that didn't mean Raphael wanted all of them to go to hell.

Just one in particular. The Fallen at his side going with him would just be icing on the cake. 

You're a disgrace.

Six.

"Perhaps not," Raphael said coolly. "But even still, why should I work for you?"

"With me, brother," Lucifer corrected. "We'd rule together."

Fire.

Raphael eyed the other man. "What good is a Fallen to you?"

"You're not just a Fallen," the man said, his voice dry and alien. "You're a Fallen archangel. You still have immense power in your blood."

A moment of silence passed, broken only by the voices grating in Raphael's skull.

Fire.

Six.

"And as for your revenge," Lucifer smiled grittily, "Well, I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine."

Raphael eyed him, not buying it. "Why?"

"Because, dear brother," Lucifer said, another manic grin stretching across his gaunt face, "you need me, and I need you." Then, he shrugged, "I can personally ensure that your little problem will burn in my favorite domain of Hell, and you can help me overthrow heaven!" He giggled, "Honestly, Raph, we've discussed all this already, learn to pay attention. Now," he leaned in close - impossibly close, "what do you say?"

Fire.

A slow smile spread across Raphael's face, mirroring the Fallen's in front of him. "When you put it that way," he returned Lucifer's victorious grin, "yes."

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{A/N: Yo before you go, I have an announcement:

I might be doing a Q&A over on ARMY Amino but only if I get enough questions for it to be worthwhile. So, if you have anything at all that you'd like to ask me (my fave song, how I get inspiration, why algebra exists...nothing's off-limits), please comment it here! I'll post the link to it in an A/N once it's up so if you ask a question, you'll be able to see my answer!

Oh and if you have an ARMY Amino account, we should be friends. My account is here: http://aminoapps.com/p/ckz79n}