Rogue Adventures - A Tale from Neverbeen Universe

36

Talking to Azrael was cathartic. Having told him about the experiment Thanatos felt a little alleviated of the pressure which had been put on him for about two and a half millenniae. Strictly speaking, he had broken his duty to keep everything confidential, but under these circumstances it would have been too hard to explain what had happened to Raphael. Besides, Thanatos believed the secret was safe with Azrael; he trusted him not to tell anybody about the incident and its cause. And, ultimately, he somehow had the feeling this whole business had brought Azrael and him a little closer.

Thanatos still secretly mourned the loss of Jake Darjeeling, but every day he got to spend with Azrael he thought the younger Reaper returned closer to the way Jake was back then, step by step. And maybe, hopefully, their relationship could also revert to the way it was. Thanatos would wait an eternity if only it happened. He missed Jake every day of every week of every month. But Thanatos couldn't just tell Azrael about his previous existence; it would infringe with his principles as Reaper. Thus he kept quiet and mourned in silence.

The days he spent with Azrael were precious to him though. He enjoyed Azrael's company and he was glad for any improvement in their relationship; he would inwardly celebrate the day when they became friends instead of mere colleagues. Maybe this secret was another step towards this day.

They drank up their cups of coffee and Azrael excused himself as he still had to do a lot of paperwork. Thanatos was halfway done for the day. So he decided to take a look and see how Raphael was doing. He didn't want to treat his friend like that, but the circumstances demanded drastic measures. Raphael was dangerous to all of Neverbeen Universe, the previous incident had proven this, so he had to be detained in the maximum security unit. Still Thanatos didn't want to isolate Raphael completely from contact with others. And he hoped the Daemon could be reasoned with after all. If he showed remorse and promised to never try to destroy Neverbeen Universe again, Thanatos might be able to ease his terms of detainment.

So Thanatos went to Hell. Luckily Lucifer wasn't there, as he didn't want to encounter a drunk on chocolate Lord of Hell, who was really unbearable when drunk. Who he didn't expect to be there was Rhagkal. The Daemon sat on the terrace and drank some tea. Thanatos assumed he had looked after Raphael also.

Still Thanatos figured, Raphael might appreciate his visit so went down below the castle. The structure of this wing of the building was low and massive and resembled a labyrinthine dugout; the one metre thick walls were reinforced with influences and banishments so they could sustain heavy magical damage and block any use of magic in the first place. Thanatos passed a couple of heavy, also magically enhanced doors before he reached the unit in which his best friend was kept.

But as he braced up to face Raphael and unlocked the door to his cell he was shocked to find the cage at the far other end of the room empty. Raphael was nowhere to be seen. "Oh no," he murmured and rushed back upstairs, suspecting the worst.

"Don't follow them," Rhagkal appeared beside him, his hands leisurely folded behind his back.

"Why? I can't let Raphael escape, I must —" Thanatos wanted to hurry after him, but Rhagkal blocked his path.

"You must stay calm and let them go," the Daemon insisted, "everthing's according to plan. I let him out. There is no imminent threat to Neverbeen Universe; the seals are tightly in place, and Gene convinced him of not trying to destroy anything anymore."

Thanatos was confused. He frowned slightly. "I don't understand. Raphael belongs to the Otherside now, and he needs to be detained lest his powers get out of control again."

"No, listen, Thanatos. Raphael needs to be out there so he can find and stop Kaye. Because she is the real threat to Neverbeen Universe," Rhagkal stated. "Don't worry, Rhaleigh is with Raphael and Gene. He will keep a close eye on the experiment. And Gene... well, he's in on our masterplan, and he is responsible for talking sense into Raphael."

Thanatos sighed and rubbed his temples. "In regards to our continued experiment, I might be able to let it go, but what about my responsibilities as a Reaper? I just can't let it slide that he escaped from the Otherside again."

"Thanatos, please," Rhagkal calmly said, and he almost never used 'please', "just this once. The experiment is more important; nay, the continued existence of Neverbeen Universe it more important. We have to stop Kaye. And to achieve that we need Raphael as bait, and he actually is the perfect bait because Kaye wants the power sealed within him. So he needs to be able to act freely and without being worried about you at his heels."

"But what about my colleagues?" Thanatos asked.

"What about them? Raphael is your responsibility. They very likely won't interfere with what's yours, will they?" Rhagkal raised a brow.

Thanatos had to admit, Rhagkal was right. He supposed he could turn two blind eyes for the sake of their masterplan and the continued existence of the whole Neverbeen Universe. "Alright," he relented, "I will refrain from pursuing Raphael as long as his mission to stop Kaye continues."

Rhagkal nodded. "That will do. Now, would you join me for coffee?"