When The Fall Comes

Chapter VIII

Standing in front of the gates of Hell was intimidating to say the least. Nomed couldn't help but stare at what appeared to be a skyscraper. Her mind wandered to the night before.
She and Autumn were set in a panic. The fact that the demon used himself as a shield against whatever was going towards them was shocking enough. Their anxiety increased dramatically when the demon collapsed. Autumn attempted to pull out whatever was burning the Raug only to burn her own hands instead. When Nomed gave it a shot, she managed to pull it out and examine it.
The T-shaped object felt and appeared to be very old and elegant. Nomed wasn't sure what kind of person would throw such a beautiful thing or how something like this could hurt Raug that badly. The girls decided to ask Feyril if he ever came back. Putting the T-shaped object in the ten-year-old's backpack was the only way Autumn could, in a sense, carry it without burning herself again.
She couldn't help but think about the demon. Her hands seemingly moved on their own. Before she knew it, she was walking in Hell. Screams covered the skies, but her ears muted them. It was at this moment that she had forgotten how to breathe. But, she couldn't stop her body. She had to keep moving.
The child entered the castle unannounced. She received lots of stares, but she didn't care. Her legs brought her to a room where the demon laid asleep. Nomed's eyes did not deceive her. Raug really was pale and weak. It brought nothing but sorrow to her soul, but she couldn't avert her eyes. She moved closer to the bed and grabbed his hand. Her body began to break a sweat.
"Come on, Raug..." she muttered while the small palm gave the demon's a small squeeze. Her mind wandered to Feyril. She would hate to be the one to break the news to him. Autumn had told Nomed what the younger girl knew about those two. She couldn't imagine the idea that the angel would lose Raug. Then again, she had never imagined losing something before...
The door opened behind her. The child was startled by a new voice.
"Oh, this is... awkward."
Nomed quickly turned around and reached into her pocket. She took out a box cutter and pointed it at the blue-haired visitor. "S-Stay back!" She exclaimed without thinking. Despite the serious look on her face, her hands were quaking.
The dark-skinned man raised his hands. "Woah, woah, relax, little girl. I'm not here to hurt you," said the man. "Actually, I just came to check on Raug."
Nomed's eyes narrowed. "What do you know of him? Huh?" She inched closer as her blood rushed in her veins. "If you don't know him, I want you to leave! I'm not letting anyone hurt him!"
"I'm his nephew..."
The child's body settled down as she slowly lowered her weapon. She quickly shoved it back in her sweater pocket before turning away. Her face flushed as her eyes were shielded by her hair bangs. "Oh..." was all she said. The little girl moved so the demon could get closer.
"You know Raug too, huh?" Asked the demon. After seeing the child nod, he nods in return. "What's your name, kid?"
Hearing the word "kid" made the child's heart sink even more, though she was unsure of why.
"Nomed..." she said. She looked at him under her hair. "... what's your name?"
"Diaval," said the man.
So, you really are his nephew, she thought. She toyed with the closed box cutter in her pocket. She glanced at Raug and reached for his hand again.
"You know what happened, kid?" Asked Diaval. He got down on one knee to meet Nomed at her eye-level.
Nomed's hand pulled back and hid in her pocket once more. She found herself staring at the floor. "... Mister Raug was hit by something... I don't know what it was, but it hurt him really bad," she said.
Diaval raised an eyebrow at her answer. "Do you remember what it looked like?" He asked.
Nomed nodded silently before continuing. "It was really pretty T... I'm sure why someone would throw it at us," she said. "Mister Raug protected us from it..."
The child could have sworn someone killed a dog in front of the demon because his red eyes became hurt and lost at an instant. She caught him swearing under his breath while pulling some of his hair back.
"He might not make it..." she heard him whisper.
Her heart drowned within the depths of her sorrow and refused to look up. That is until she could almost hear the man whimper.
"First Latis, and now..." the demon trailed off and covered his face with his hands. The child couldn't help but watch. The name wasn't familiar to her until her mind went back on the week before. She walked up the Diaval and placed a hand on his back. She opened her mouth and said the only thing she knew she could say.
"I'm sorry..."
At that moment, Nomed realized that she couldn't leave just yet. She, instead, continued to rub the man's back as Raug disappeared right before her very eyes. She felt his disappearance in her very being.
So did Autumn.
At the time, she was fending off a creature of the ERROR. Millions of its possessed dolls scrambled around her. It seemed normal until she felt Raug's presence leave her. At that point, the dolls stopped attacking and stared blankly at the still child. There was first silence, then giggling, then laughter. Their cackling filled the room and overwhelmed the child's senses. Her own, broken self and the dimensional guardian were constantly fighting for control. While the guardian told her doppelganger to calm herself, the child's senses became mute.
It all came out as a scream. The child then swung at the dolls, slicing them in many different ways. Tears streamed down her face while the dolls continued to laugh.
"Stop laughing! Be quiet!"
Autumn repeated these words as she continued to slay them all. She grew quieter and quieter as the anger and sorrow began to cancel each other out. She was silent once she finished her bloody work.
The realm disappeared as did her wand. Her feet led her to the orphanage. Despite the questions she received from the lady, she did not hear the woman's concerns. She went straight to her room before wailing to no one.
If only she saw that coming... she could have stopped it... she...
"Autumn, sweetie," said the lady from the otherside of the door. The child gave a hum as she turned to the door. "You have a visitor. Mister Feyril would love to meet you," the woman added.
At the sound of this, Autumn quickly wiped her eyes and joined the woman in the hall. She came to the main room where the angel had waited in his human form. As soon as he saw her, the angel got down and hugged her.
"Oh, sweetheart, I am so sorry," said Feyril. He brought the child closer to him. "I am so sorry for the delay. I will not do it again."
"It okay..." said Autumn. Her voice was a lot quieter than she wanted it to be. And, unfortunately for her, the angel spotted the voice change.
"Is something the matter?" Asked the elite angel. He studied her face before gasping. "My dear, Autumn, have you been crying?" His heart sank at the sight of the girl's slightly puffed eyes. The sight of her quivering lips were a bad omen. Something must have happened while he was away, and he knew he wasn't ready for the answer.
To his surprise, Autumn had shook her head. "No, I'm okay..." was her answer.
"Autumn," the angel started. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "I know you are lying to me. What is wrong?" He paused before looking around. He turned back to the child slowly, fearing his own thoughts and suspicions. "Where... are Raug and Nomed...?"
He's got good eyes and ears...
Autumn's doppelganger spoke through telepathy. She couldn't help but agree even though the child didn't like the truth. She had no choice in the matter. Feyril deserved to know.
"Uncle Raug... He..." she paused, trying and failing to pull herself together. "Something... shiny was trying to hurt us... and... a-and Mister Raug... Got hurt for us..." she watched Feyril's eyes widened at the news. She swallowed her own breath before adding, "N-Nomed went to go... go check on him..."
"What did he get hit with? How was he hurt?" Feyril felt his anxiety going on, much to his dismay. His eyes watched Autumn open a backpack.
"It's in here..." said Autumn. "I-I... I can't touch it... Or it'll burn me again..."
"Burn...?" Feyril slowly took the bag from the child and grabbed the object with ease. His eyes quaked as he moved one of his hands to cover his mouth. "A cross..." muttered under his lips and palm. His fears were realized at that very moment. An angel attacked Raug, and, knowing that it was a cross, the situation was even worse than he initially thought. The amount of dry blood on the bottom half made it clear that Raug had a slim chance of survival...
"I'm so sorry..." the child's words took him out of his mind. Autumn was crying under her hands once again. "First, we couldn't help the angel and now Uncle Raug is..." she hiccups before she could finish her sentence. "A-And I couldn't help them... i..."
Feyril gently placed his hands on the small girl's shoulders. "It is not your fault, sweetheart," he said. He gave a half-smile but it didn't seem to be helping. "There was nothing you could have-"
"If only the Caretaker could interact with the creature..."
Autumn's doppelganger came in so suddenly. Feyril raised his eyebrow to find his startled self. "Excuse me?"
"If the ERROR wasn't physically holding that angel down, we could have saved him..." Autumn's doppelganger muttered behind the child's handmade shield. It was the first time the angel felt that the child's twin sounded... human. "But, it knew if we tried, the amount of power that the cancellation produces would cause catastrophic and irreversible damage to this reality... That's why it..."
That was all he needed to hear.
The angel quietly got up from where he was. Autumn regained control and looked at the angel with a confused and pathetic look on her face.
"Where are you going?" The little girl asked quietly.
The angel rubbed the child's head. He gave a smile. "To find answers," he said before pausing. "And... to tie some loose ends... I will be back in the morning. Do not fret..."
Autumn nodded, appearing to understand. She didn't stop the angel from leaving for Heaven.
The first thing the angel did was approach the Seraph. He had asked if he had ever given an order to attack any demon. To Feyril's surprise, and relief, the Seraph's answer was no. The Seraph did ask if he had heard about what happened to Raug, with Feyril's only response was a yes.
The second thing he did was return to his quarters. Zoran did try to stop him, but the elite angel was not in a mood to answer any questions. He settled himself quickly, so that he could fall asleep in his chamber and meet Azrael.
In the crystalized room, the atmosphere grew tense, but it felt more warm this time around. Azrael did not say a word, but Feyril knew that the caretaker's spirit - or concept, was floating about the collection of realities. He heard another crash and turned to the now broken reality. He watched the golden aura stare at the dimension's remains.
"Azrael...?"
Feyril's voice was quiet. It was slightly pathetic in the angel's opinion, but he didn't care. The Caretaker answered back.
Yes?
The angel took a deep breath.
"I had a talk with the child's doppelganger," Feyril said. He paused to search for his words. "I have full context of the situation."
That is good.
Azrael's words were short as if the Caretaker was avoiding discussion. The angel couldn't really blame him due to how he had acted before. Despite this, Feyril did not give in. He opened his lips.
"I am sorry..."
Silence.
"The way I treated you was unacceptable especially since you wanted to save him, but couldn't risk everyone in our world..." Feyril said. He felt his eyes getting hot. "And, you have been working so hard to keep everything in order... and disregarding all of that because you couldn't do one thing was foolish of me. And for all of that, I am sorry..."
Feyril sat down on whatever floor there was. He raised his arms and chin on his knees. His violet eyes gently shut themselves from the world, allowing his tears to quietly and slowly run down his cheek.
"... Raug passed away earlier today..." Feyril started after a moment of silence. "Autumn felt horrible because she felt that she could have prevented it if she had more strength left..." he paused before looking at the golden aura that was beginning to bring life back into what was once a void of nothing. "I realized that while Latis's passing was sad, a lot more lives were at stake... and it wasn't worth intervening... wasn't it?"
No, it wasn't...
Feyril felt his body getting wrapped by the warm cloth from behind. He leaned against it as his eyes began to daze off into nothing.
"Will you forgive me, Azrael?"
I already have. Will you forgive me and yourself?
"I forgive you. And, I will do my best to forgive me. No promises though..."
Hearing Azrael's laughter was like hearing music for the first time. The angel felt his warm presence all around him, embracing him in this newfound bliss. The angel could be here with Azrael like this for all of eternity, but he knew he couldn't. There was a job to do. There were lives on the line. Both Raug and Latis's deaths should mean something in the end...
"Raug may not like the human world..." Feyril started. "But, he loved his family... my sister..."
And you...
"And me..." Feyril sighed slightly. "And, Latis loved everything that is beautiful... well... in a way, everything in our reality was beautiful... which means Latis loved the world we were in..." he smiled and looked at the golden aura. "I will not let some outside force destroy this reality without a fight."
The tensions left them. The wonders and blisses returned to their former glory. The caretaker's laugh could be heard everywhere Feyril looked. It was beautiful and magical.
I am happy to hear...
He can't let them down. He won't let them down.